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Nanoscale structure detection and monitoring of tumour growth with optical coherence tomography
No full textApproximately 90% of cancers originate in epithelial tissues leading to epithelial thickening, but the ultrastructural changes and underlying architecture are less well known. Depth resolved label free visualization of nanoscale tissue morphology is required to reveal the extent and distribution of ultrastructural changes in underlying tissue, but is difficult to achieve with existing imaging modalities. We developed a nanosensitive optical coherence tomography (nsOCT) approach to provide such imaging based on dominant axial structure with a few nanometre detection accuracy. nsOCT maps the distribution of axial structural sizes an order of magnitude smaller than the axial resolution of the system. We validated nsOCT methodology by detecting synthetic axial structure via numerical simulations. Subsequently, we validated the nsOCT technique experimentally by detecting known structures from a commercially fabricated sample. nsOCT reveals scaling with different depth of dominant submicron structural changes associated with carcinoma which may inform the origins of the disease, its progression and improve diagnosis.This project received funding from Irish Research Council (IRC), under Government of Ireland postdoctoral fellowship with project ID: GOIPD/2017/837. Nandan Das acknowledge National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) for research facilities. Also, this project has received funding from the European Union\u27s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreements no. 761214 and no. 779960. The materials presented and views expressed here are the responsibility of the author(s) only. The EU Commission takes no responsibility for any use made of the information set out. This work was supported by NUI Galway, Galway University Foundation, the University of Limerick Foundation, the National Biophotonics Imaging Platform (NBIP) Ireland funded under the Higher Education Authority PRTLI Cycle 4 and co-funded by the Irish Government and the European Union
Characterising the geochemistry of the natural environment using compositional data analysis
No full textThe geochemistry of the natural environment (e.g. soils, streams, sediments and groundwater)
is representative of the source(s) from which these materials are derived. In fact, a geochemical
dataset is essentially a breakdown of the parts that together form the composition of materials.
As pointed out by Pearson (1897), spurious correlation can occur when attempting multivariate
analysis on a dataset that is compositional in nature (i.e. the variables are measured as parts of
some whole e.g. mg/l). Compositional Data Analysis (CoDA) was developed by John
Aitchison (1982) and others to solve this issue, and is therefore the correct mathematical
framework by which to statistically analyse these types of data. CoDA also allows for a unique
interrogation of compositional data primarily through the use of the multi-dimensional
compositional bi-plot.
CoDA methods have been used extensively here, and in some cases compared to traditional
multivariate statistical methods, in order to better understand the relationship between
geochemistry and the natural environment on a variety of temporal and spatial scales.
Specifically, two studies were undertaken; i) the geochemistry of groundwater in the area
surrounding Lisheen Mine in Co. Tipperary, Ireland, and ii) the geochemistry of soils, stream
sediments and stream waters in the border region of Ireland.
Geochemistry datasets from Lisheen Mine offer a unique opportunity to investigate the
chemical nature groundwater in an area prior to, during and following significant mining
activity. Overall it would appear that the local groundwater was relatively un-impacted by the
excavation of lead/zinc massive sulphides over a 16 year period (1999 – 2015). This may be in
part thanks to the buffering effect of the host Carboniferous Limestone reducing the potential
for acid mine drainage. Groundwater chemistry in the area appears to be more influenced by
nitrogen from peat bogs, local agricultural practices and in some places redox reactions.
The border region (composed of the six counties that border Northern Ireland) was the subject
of an extensive geochemical examination by the Tellus Survey completed in 2013. The
resulting freely available datasets were analysed here using CoDA. The primary, secondary
and tertiary factors controlling soil, sediment and stream water geochemistry were determined.
The dominant control on each of these materials is bedrock geology. However, soil type, landuse
practices and topography also influence geochemistry
Aetiology and severity of childhood pneumonia in primary care in Malawi: a cohort study
No full textObjective To determine the aetiology of community acquired pneumonia in children presenting to primary care in Northern Malawi, and to ascertain predictors for identification of children requiring hospitalisation. Design The BIOmarkers TO diagnose PnEumonia study was a prospective cohort study conducted from March to June 2016.
Setting Primary care in Northern Malawi. Patients 494 children aged 2 –59 months with WHO defined pneumonia. Main outcome(s) and measure(s) Number of children with bacterial infection identified and the sensitivity/ specificity of WHO markers of severity for need for hospitalisation. Results 13 (2.6%) children had a bacterium consistent with pneumonia identified. A virus consistent with pneumonia was identified in in 448 (90.7%) of children. 56 children were admitted to hospital and two children died within 30 days. 442 (89.5%) received antibiotic therapy. Eleven children (2.6%) had HIV. WHO severity markers at baseline demonstrated poor sensitivity for the need for hospitalisation with a sensitivity of 0.303 (95% CI 0.188 to 0.441) and a specificity 0.9 (95% CI 0.868 to 0.926). A prediction rule to indicate the need for hospitalisation was developed. Conclusions and relevance The low rate of bacterial infection and high use of antibiotics in the setting of
high immunisation rates highlights the changing profile of childhood pneumonia. Similarly, the markers of need for hospitalisation may have changed in the setting of extended immunisation. Further studies are required to examine thi
A Defence and Illustration of Marie de Gournay: Bayle’s Reception of ‘Cette Savante Demoiselle’
No full textThe assassination of Henri IV by François Ravaillacin 1610 sparked an immediate pamphlet polemic regarding the Jesuits and their position in France. First in the fray was the Lettre déclamatoire by the assassinated king’s Jesuit confessor Pierre Coton, which triggered the anti-Jesuit satire L’Anti-Coton. Amongst other replies, Marie de Gournay’s pro-Jesuit text Adieu de l’ame du roy de France et de Navarre Henry le Grand à la Royne, avec la Defence des Peres Jesuistes appeared at this point, shortly followed by Le Remerciment des Beurrières de Paris, the latter of which treats of Gournay as a public woman
What do we still need to know about Ixodes ricinus?
No full textIn spite of many decades of intensive research on Ixodes ricinus, the castor bean tick of Europe, several important aspects of its basic biology remain elusive, such as the factors determining seasonal development, tick abundance and host specificity, and the importance of water management. Additionally, there are more recent questions about the geographical diversity of tick genotypes and phenotypes, the role of migratory birds in the ecoepidemiology of I. ricinus, the importance of protective immune responses against I. ricinus, particularly in the context of vaccination, and the role of the microbiome in pathogen transmission. Without more detailed knowledge of these issues, it is difficult to assess the likely effects of changes in climate and biodiversity on tick distribution and activity, to predict potential risks arising from new and established tick populations and I. ricinus-borne pathogens, and to improve prevention and control measures. This review aims to discuss the most important outstanding questions against the backdrop of the current state of knowledge of this important tick species
Studies in medieval Irish inter-territorial law: The structure of legal agreements between kingdoms
No full textThis study investigates and explains types of inter-territorial dispute settlement and how they functioned within inter-territorial relationships that characterise the dynamic of the political and legal administration of overkingdoms in medieval Ireland, focusing on the late seventh to tenth centuries. One chapter examines an array of aspects of cairde, including enactment, liability, fine structure, and enforcement and legal procedure. Another chapter explores aspects of the seventh-, eighth- and ninth-century ecclesiastical cánai relating to inter-territorial dispute settlement. The final chapter analyses the dispute settlement methods in the early tenth-century tract on cró and díbad, drawing comparisons with the previous two chapters and suggesting possible shifts in inter-territorial dispute settlement.2025-09-0
Ligand adsorption energy and the postpurification surface chemistry of colloidal metal chalcogenide nanocrystals
No full textThe binding of ligands to nanometer-sized surfaces is a central aspect of colloidal nanocrystal (NC) research, for which CdSe NCs were mostly used as the model system to evaluate different surface chemistries. Here, we take the opposite approach and analyze the binding of a single ligand to two different materials. Using CdSe and CdS NCs of similar size and shape and purified with the same protocol, we show that both NCs are capped with tightly bound cadmium oleate (CdOA2). We systematically find that CdS NCs bind more CdOA2 per surface area and that a larger fraction of these ligands withstand displacement by butylamine (BuNH2) as compared to CdSe NCs. These findings concur with density functional theory simulations, which predict for CdS on average cadmium oleate displacement energy larger by 32 kJ/mol than for CdSe. Even so, the displacement isotherm indicates that for both NCs, the initially displaced ligands have the same displacement equilibrium constant. This result suggests that NC work-up codetermines the actual surface chemistry of NCs by effectively setting a displacement (free) energy threshold for ligands to remain bound throughout the purification process. As such, this work highlights that the actual surface chemistry of NCs post purification is the mixed result of intrinsic ligand-NC binding characteristics and concrete processing and purification methods used.PUBLISHEDpeer-reviewe
Monte Carlo modelling of confidence intervals in translation quality evaluation (TQE) and post-editing dstance (PED) measurement
No full textFrom both human translators (HT) and machine translation (MT) researchers\u27 point of view, translation quality evaluation (TQE) is an essential task. This is especially the case, when language service providers (LSPs) face huge amount of request frequently from their clients and users to acquire high-quality translations.
While automatic translation quality assessment (TQA) metrics and quality estimation (QE) tools are widely available and easy to access, human assessment from professional translators (HAP) are often chosen as the golden standard cite{han-etal-2021-TQA}.
One challenge that comes to this point is this: textit{to avoid the overall text quality checking from both cost and efficiency perspectives, how to choose the confidence sample size of the translated text, so as to properly estimate the overall text or document translation quality}?
This work carries out such an motivated research to correctly estimate the confidence intervals cite{Brown_etal2001Interval} regarding the sample size of translated text, e.g. the amount of words or sentences, that needs to be taken into account for confident evaluation of overall translation quality. The methodology we applied for this work is from Bernoulli Statistical Distribution Modelling (BSDM) and Monte Carlo Sampling Analysis (MCSA)
Characterisation of Italian and Dutch forestry and agricultural residues for the applicability in the bio-based sector
No full textKnowing the accurate composition of biomass is of crucial importance in order to assess and decide on the use and processes to be applied to specific biomass types. In this study, the composition of the lignocellulosic constituents present in forestry, agricultural and under utilised waste residues was assessed. Considering the increased interest on hemicellulose fractions for application in biomaterials and biomolecules, large emphasis
has been given in detailing the monomeric constituents of the hemicellulose polymer. Lignin and cellulose, the two other major components of lignocellulosic biomass, were analysed and correlated with the trends in the other constituents. In the samples analysed, the total structural sugars content ranged from 26.0 to 67.5% of the biomass dry
weight, indicating high variation between different feedstock and fractions. Hemicellulose concentration and composition also varied significantly (from 38.8% in birch (Betula Pendula Roth) foliage to 22.0 % in rice (Oryza sativa L.) straw) between the feedstock types and within the same feedstock type between different species and different fractions. The extractives content varied greatly between the different species (from 2.66 % to 30.47 % of the biomass dry weight) with high contents in certain fractions of feedstock suggesting more detailed compositional analysis of these extracts is warranted
Accommodating HRM in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): a critical review
No full textThe significance and imprint of SMEs as dominant employers is not proportionally reflected in people management
scholarship. In an effort to map out the prospects for greater understanding, this paper critically evaluates the prevailing
understanding in HRM. First, a case is made for definitional clarity to avoid aggregate interpretations of SMEs and illdefined
applications of HRM. The paper then explores four key theoretical frames of reference, namely universalism,
best fit, cultural and ecological theories, highlighting their merits and limitations as applied in the SME context. This
assessment results in a call for more holistic, integrative and context sensitive theory and research to understand the
dynamics of talent management in an SME context. This provides a pathway to better capture, and inform, the realities
of practice in this area