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An evaluation and validation of simulated emergency tasks for firefighting
No full textThe aim of this thesis was to evaluate and validate simulated emergency tasks (SETs)
as representative of the fire emergency environment. This evaluation and investigation
comprised of a desk-based systematic review, a critical appraisal of previous work, and four
experimental studies. The findings then informed the development of a standard operating
procedure for implementing SETs within the context of firefighting, both for research and
professional purposes.
Firefighters participated in four experimental studies that involved completing a
submaximal treadmill test and a maximal strength test (Study One); a novel SET that included
psychological demands (Study Two); two cognitive tasks, a memory recall task and a
problem-solving task (Study Three); and a second attempt of the SET completed 12 weeks
later (Study Four). Data collection included repeated measures of state anxiety, mood states,
and positive and negative affect and heart rate was measured throughout. The SET (Study
Two and Four) and Study Three included measures of cognitive performance.
The SET increased negative affect and resulted in lower cognitive performance. These
findings indicate the SET to be psychologically demanding and to involve greater
psychological demands than the lab setting. The SET also demonstrated validity and test-retest
reliability as a measure of the physical and physiological demands of firefighting, with
associations observed between SET performance time and SET heart rate and VO2-max.
These findings provide evidence to support the inclusion of psychological demands
within SETs in order to improve the overall validity of SETs, and validate a novel SET that
includes psychological demands, along with physical and physiological demands, as
representative of the fire emergency environment. These findings provide a starting point for
further examination and validation of the inclusion of the psychological demands within SETs
and the development of an empirically supported SOP which has practice and policy
implications
Genomic analysis of Leuconostoc citreum TR116 with metabolic reconstruction and the effects of fructose on gene expression for mannitol production
No full textThe species Leuconostoc citreum is often isolated from grain and vegetable fermentations such as sourdough, sauerkraut and kimchi. Lc. citreum has seen an increase in its use as a starter culture for various fermentations and food applications. The strain Lc. citreum TR116 has been applied previously in this laboratory aimed at sugar depletion through metabolism resulting in the reduction of fructose to mannitol, a polyol considered as a sweet carbohydrate. Besides reducing sugar, TR116 showed flavour modulating characteristics and contributes to the extension of microbial shelf life. In order to obtain a better understanding of this strain and to fully use its set of abilities, the genome of Lc. citreum TR116 was sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq, assembly with SPAdes and annotated by the Prokaryotic Genome Annotation Pipeline. Metabolic reconstruction was employed to elucidate carbohydrate, organic acid and amino acid metabolism in the strain. Of particular interest was the gene expression analysis ascertained the influence of fructose on the genes mdh and manX involved in the uptake of fructose and its conversion to mannitol. This investigation, the first in Lc. citreum, illustrates the metabolic processes involved in fermentation used by this strain and demonstrates that in the presence of fructose, expression of the genes mdh and manX is increased. The resulting transparency of the skill set of TR116 contributes highly to future functionalisation of food systems and food ingredients
Neoplatonism in Nonnus\u27 Dionysiaca: Aesthetics, Allegory, and Inspiration
No full textMy PhD thesis offers a sustained analysis of Nonnus of Panopolis Dionysiaca and its
Neoplatonic influences. The 5th century epic-encomium was produced in the predominantly Christian literary environment of Alexandria or the Egyptian Thebaid. Although there has been a recent surge in interest in Nonnus and his poetry, the philosophical context of his work has been largely overlooked. Neoplatonic thought had a profound impact on early Christian theology and literature, and it formed an important cultural bridge between Hellenic and Christian philosophic and literary traditions.
My project identifies distinct Neoplatonic themes and motifs throughout Nonnus poem. This includes mimesis (loosely, imitation ) as an aesthetic, ethical, and metaphysical principle of Nonnus Dionysiac world. I argue that mimesis is a Nonnian poetic principle, second only to poikilia (variety), which he invokes in his proem. This argument is supported by a series of case studies and a macro-level frequency analysis of mimetic vocabulary, which is compared against a broader corpus of texts to highlight Nonnus innovation in this regard.
During the 5th-century, Neoplatonism was the primary lens for ancient literary criticism, particularly on the Homeric poems. While Nonnus debt to Homer has long been recognised, his knowledge and use of Neoplatonic literary approaches (particularly allegoresis) has been left understated. My project identifies key allusions to Neoplatonic exegetical commentaries, including Porphyry s On the Cave of the Nymphs. Nonnus use of allegorical models implies a familiarity and nuanced understanding of Neoplatonic Homeric criticism, and he is able to transpose and rework existing models into new frameworks and contexts. Collectively, this creates almost meta-allegorical episodes, that look back to poetic models through a lens of
Neoplatonic allegory. I argue that correspondences between the Dionysiaca and the Odyssey, a text that Neoplatonists subjected to extensive mystical exegeses, suggest that Nonnus own poem may have triggered similar interpretive techniques among its audience. Conclusions have implications for our understanding of the sophistication of Nonnus poetry, and methodologies can potentially be applied to a wider corpus of Late Antique literature
Mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from beef cattle production systems
No full textThe whole-farm model HolosNorBeef was used to estimate the efficiency of GHG emission
mitigation strategies in Norwegian beef cattle herds. Various mitigation scenarios, involving
female reproductive performance (i.e. calf mortality rate and the number of calves produced per
cow per year), production efficiency of young bulls for slaughter (i.e. age at slaughter and
carcass weight), and supplementation of an inhibitor currently reported as promising for enteric
methane (CH4) inhibition (3-nitrooxypropanol; 3-NOP) was investigated in herds of British and
Continental breeds. Reducing calf mortality and increasing the number of produced calves per
cow per year both reduced emission intensities by 3% across breeds. Continental breeds showed
greater potential of reducing emission intensities due to increased carcass production.
Combining mitigation options in a best case scenario reduced the total emissions by 11.7%
across breeds. The emission intensities could be further reduced by 8.3% with the use of 3-NOP
Developing a microsimulation model for farm forestry planting decisions
No full textThere is increasing pressure in Europe to convert land from agriculture to forestry which
would enable the sequestration of additional carbon, thereby mitigating agricultural greenhouse gas
production. However, there is little or no information available on the drivers of the land use change
decision from agriculture to forestry at individual farm level, which is complicated by the inter-temporal
nature of the decision.This paper describes a static microsimulation approach which provides a better
understanding of the life-cycle relativity of forestry and agricultural incomes, using Ireland as a casestudy. The microsimulation methodology allows for the generation of actual and counterfactual forest
and agricultural income streams and for other attributes of utility such as long-term wealth and leisure,
for the first time. These attributes are then modelled using purpose built forest models and farm
microdata from a 30 year longitudinal dataset. The results show the importance of financial drivers
but additionally show that wealth and leisure are also important factors in this inter-temporal land use
change decision. By facilitating the examination of the distribution of farms across the farming population, the use of a static microsimulation approach allows us to make a considerable contribution
to the literature in relation to the underlying drivers of farm afforestation behaviour. In the broader
context of Climate Smart Agriculture and the Grand Challenges facing the intensification of agricultural production, these findings have implications for policies that seek to optimize natural resource
use
Implementation: Facilitating and Overseeing Public Services at Street Level
No full textImplementation is a key concept in the language of public policy as a field both of practice and of scholarship. The concept is less well developed in administrative law, but can be put to use in examining the daily practices of street level bureaucrats in giving effect to government programmes in such areas as welfare, housing, health, industrial policy, transport and so on. A focus on implementation takes us to what are frequently for administrative lawyers ‘the dark and windowless areas of the administration (Harlow and Rawlings 2009: 201), since they are not very visible from the perspective of a court-centred approach to administrative law which largely focuses on judicial review. Today, of course, the development of a wide range of mechanisms for supporting the achievement of administrative justice means there is a greater focus by lawyers on such ground level decisions and actions which constitute the implementation of government programmes. The literature has largely focused on the broadening range instruments of accountability and control for decisions rather than primary decision making itself. Arguably, if the architecture of accountability and control was working well, administrative decisions would be properly made and would not need to call on such external scrutiny frequently. A key function of administrative law and administrative justice is to support decisions being made and implemented well on the ground. There is a potential tension between managerial concerns with effective and efficient decision making, on the one hand, and public law values of accountability, equality and legality on the other (Christensen, Goerdel et al. 2011). The focus of this chapter is on that first level implementation of administrative decisions and actions. I have aimed to pitch the analysis at a level of generality such that it captures key questions and trends relating to implementation across contemporary public administration within the member states of OECD. But the analysis has the potential to illuminate the core functions involved in implementation and the variety in how those functions are executed in terms of levels of government, actors and modes across any system of government. The Chapter concludes with an assessment of the role both of proactive and reactive modes of accountability and oversight in supporting legitimate and effective street level implementation
Hyaluronic acid 3D microenvironments for diabetes treatment
No full textDiabetes mellitus is characterized by hyperglycaemia. The origin of type 1 diabetes
mellitus (T1DM) arises from loss of pancreatic β cells in response to an autoimmune
reaction. This results in a state of absolute insulin deficiency. The current state of the art
research in T1DM involves developing a strategy to protect pancreatic β cells from
immune system attack while restoring physiological insulin responsiveness to blood
glucose variations for transplantation. This thesis aims to develop a new
immunoprotective microenvironment based on hyaluronic acid (HA) for insulin producing cells to treat T1DM. Therefore, biomaterial development is fundamental to the
success of creating an immunoprotective microenvironment. This project investigates
new routes to chemically modify and crosslink HA. Bis(β-isocyanatoethyl) disulphide
(BIED) has been synthesised to crosslink HA of low and high molecular weight (0.1 and
1.2 MDa, respectively) through the formation of urethane bonds. Chemical, physical,
mechanical, and biological characterization of the HA hydrogels were performed. Results
show that 0.1 MDa gels have higher crosslinking densities and consequently, higher
tensile and storage loss moduli. Both high and low molecular weight gels show
biocompatibility. Gels maintain cell viability and they do not incite activation of the
immune system as observed by low GM-CSF and TNFα cytokine secretion. Moreover,
results show that 1.2 MDa gels have increased bacteriostatic activity against
Staphylococcus aureus. Subsequently, reduction of the disulphide bond of these
hydrogels resulted in new HA derivates bearing thiol groups and pyridine groups. A novel
cell encapsulation technique was then developed, utilising the latest cell surface
modification methodologies, and conformal multilayer deposition of these HA derivates
via a disulphide exchange mechanism in physiological conditions. Pancreatic beta cells
from the MIN-6 lineage were encapsulated and displayed normal function with improved
immunoprotection in vitro. Female mice from the black 6 (C57BL/6) strain were induced
with diabetes by five consecutive low dose streptozotocin (STZ) injections. Following
diabetes induction, mice were transplanted with surface engineered MIN-6 and
encapsulated MIN-6 cells under the kidney capsule. Due to sex dimorphism and hormonal
variances, female mice showed to be more resistant to the inducing effects of STZ, where
hyperglycaemia was achieved in 48% of the cohort. Moreover, single-cell encapsulation
did not revert hyperglycaemia after transplantation due to the lack of cell-cell interactions
Overall, materials research from benchwork to final animal testing showed great potential
of HA derivates for cell encapsulation and protection of pancreatic beta cells for T1DM
treatment
An examination of evidence admissibility rulings in trials on indictment in Ireland
No full textEvidence is the lifeblood of a trial in the common law world and the admissibility of
evidence in criminal trials is, in particular, an area of immense tension and import. This
thesis endeavours to shine a light upon a selection of rulings made in criminal trials on
indictment in Ireland by a variety of trial judges from the Circuit Criminal Court, the
Central Criminal Court and the Special Criminal Court. These rulings are analysed within
the context of how discretion is used by the trial judge. The field-work undertaken
involved interviewing some of the participants involved, including practitioners and trial
judges. The following also assesses whether the appellate courts in Ireland can be relied
upon to curb the more egregious effects of judicial discretion
Operation Chaos and the 2020 Presidential Election
No full textIt would be impossible to cover all of the questions and “hot topics” of American electoral politics in a single, or a single series of, films. But films are often very effective in explaining, one or two at a time, a variety of relevant issues, from voter suppression and legal machinations to the workings of an arcane and arbitrary electoral system. Film often manages to transmit the affective implications of fundamental issues that, in the minds of those who take advantage of them, would better remain obscure. Leaving aside series and documentaries—in which the will to explain and sometimes to denounce is perhaps more straightforward— and because it would be unwise to speak generically of such a prolific genre that continues to fascinate viewers, in this piece I will focus on just a number of films that, in dealing with the “behind the scenes“ of election campaigns, draw attention to a number of issues that remain unsolved and that continue to be extremely relevant today.Irish Research Counci
Key considerations in the design of a one-stop-shop retrofit model
No full textThe Irish Government’s Climate Action Plan emphasizes the need for increased retrofit activity within the built
environment. As such, the plan has set targets for the completion of 500,000 energy efficient retrofits by 2030 at a rate of 50,000
per annum. Ireland’s current retrofit uptake rate is considered relatively low, at approximately 23,000 primarily shallow retrofits
per annum. Thus, a significant step change is required to drive retrofit investment at a national scale, however, there are various
barriers existing to such. Considering these targets, the establishment of a One-Stop-Shop (OSS) retrofit model has been identified
in the Climate Action Plan as a key action. Such OSS models are emerging across Europe, with some OSS style models already
introduced in Ireland. However, significant upscaling is required to deliver on the targets set. This paper provides a definition of
a OSS model, highlights its benefits and how it responds to some of the barriers limiting retrofit uptake in Ireland. Secondly, this
paper reviews existing literature and business models of existing European OSS models, with focus on the customer segment in
these models. A brief discussion on the potential reach of such customer segments in the Irish context are presented, based on
available statistics. The main finding of the paper is that there is limited published research on the characteristics and motivations
of households engaging with existing OSS models and retrofitting in general in Ireland. A deeper understanding of such will be
crucial to the success of the establishment of a OSS model in Ireland as a policy measure toward the achievement of the Climate
Action Plan targets set.The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of
European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation
programme under grant agreement No. 839134, as well as from
Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) for the ERBE Centre for
Doctoral Training under grand agreement No 18/EPSRCCDT/3586 and the MaREI Centre under grant agreement No.
12/RC/2302_P2