NUI Maynooth Eprint Archive
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The Court of Public Opinion: True Crime Podcasting as a Response to Prosecutorial Culture in Media.
No full textThe focus of this research was to explore the mechanisms of the media and how it frames true crime cases in contemporary western society. This research makes use of two case studies including true crime podcasts that explore the prosecutorial culture of true crime media, court procedures and police conduct in the jurisdictions of Maryland (U.S.), the Republic of Ireland, and France. The aim of this research is to explore how the criminal justice system and the wider public feed into prosecutorial culture when evaluating prime suspects identified by policing bodies, and the role of factual evidence, DNA, and witness testimony in the formation of these perceptions.
The current research contains two strands of research. The first strand of research includes two case studies of true crime podcasts – ‘Serial’ hosted by Sarah Koenig and ‘West Cork’ hosted by Jennifer Forde and Sam Bungey. The case study analysis explored the individual consequences of each case, with results including cultural profiling based on racial stereotypes, lack of DNA evidence, reliance on witness testimony and circumstantial evidence, and prosecutorial media framing. In the second strand of research, a comparative approach is used to evaluate the legislation and court procedure of the three jurisdictions of the case studies. From this analysis, it became clear that the legislation is applied in court with the priority of conviction rather than establishing truth. Furthermore, it is highlighted in the discussion of this research that the legislation has become more symbolic than it is effective.
The primary theme derived from both strands of research related to the prevalence of prosecutorial culture fostered by media coverage of high profile murder cases, and in direct response to this, the podcasts under analysis are sophisticated, scientifically informed retellings with effective critical analysis to engage viewers in productive, active consumption which for the first time in media history, has positively impacted real life cases
Microbial community diversity and structure in the cecum of laying hens with and without mannan-rich fraction supplementation
No full textThe gastrointestinal microbiome in animals provides an attractive target for manipulation to improve animal health and production performance. A better understanding of the chicken intestinal microbiome and how nutritional interventions can be used to modulate the microbiota is needed. Most studies of the intestinal microbiome of chickens have examined broilers with few studies focusing on the layer microbiome. This study focused on examining the impact of mannan-rich fraction (MRF) supplementation on the cecal microbiota of layers during and post peak lay.
In a feeding trial, Shaver female laying hens were fed a control diet or a control diet supplemented with MRF in a randomized complete block design. Cecal content was collected from 10 randomly selected birds per treatment and subject to metagenome analysis at 4 timepoints (d 16, 32, 64, and 84 post-MRF introduction).
Alpha diversity analysis revealed that Chao1 was significantly greater at D 16, D 32, and D 64 post-MRF supplementation but was significantly lower at D 84 in the MRF supplemented layers compared with the control (P < 0.005). PCoA plots showed that the bacterial community composition at the species level differed significantly (P < 0.001) between control and MRF supplemented layers at each timepoint. Microbiome analysis showed that following 84-days supplementation with MRF the pathogenic bacteria Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter jejuni, Enterococcus faecalis, and Clostridioides difficile were significantly lower in the layer cecum.
In this study we observed greater alpha and beta diversity and lower bacterial pathogen detection over the 84-days following supplementation with MRF in laying hens. Increased bacterial diversity of the intestinal microbiota is one of the key determinants of colonization resistance against invading pathogens. With reference to the global challenge of antibiotic resistance and food security, reducing pathogenic bacterial species through the use of natural nonantibiotic alternatives is of particular importance for food chain integrity as well as flock health
The histone demethylase KdmB is part of a trimeric protein complex and mediates virulence and mycotoxin production in Penicillium expansum
No full textEpigenetic modification of chromosome structure has increasingly been associated with alterations in secondary metabolism and sporulation defects in filamentous fungal pathogens. Recently, the epigenetic reader protein SntB was shown to govern virulence, spore production and mycotoxin synthesis in the fruit pathogen Penicillium expansum. Through immunoprecipitation-coupled mass spectrometry, we found that SntB is a member of a protein complex with KdmB, a histone demethylase and the essential protein RpdA, a histone deacetylase. Deletion of kdmB phenocopied some but not all characteristics of the ΔsntB mutant. KdmB deletion strains exhibited reduced lesion development on Golden Delicious apples and this was accompanied by decreased production of patulin and citrinin in host tissue. In addition, ΔkdmB mutants were sensitive to several cell wall stressors which possibly contributed to the decreased virulence observed on apples. Slight differences in spore production and germination rates of ΔkdmB mutants in vitro did not impact overall diameter growth in culture
Factors Influencing Self-Medicating with Codeine in Pain Management - An Exploratory Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Qualitative Research Study
No full textThe use of over the counter (OTC) codeine-based analgesics in Ireland is high despite codeine’s known misuse and abuse potential. Codeine misuse and abuse is an internationally recognised problem but quantifying the scale is challenging due to its availability without a prescription. The effects of codeine that lead to its misuse and abuse are typically initially discovered through legitimate pain management. However, the factors that influence positioning and transitioning on the continuum of codeine use in pain management within the general population are unclear. The aim of the current study was to explore the factors that influence positioning and transitioning on the continuum of OTC codeine use in pain management. The study consisted of two phases: 1. a cross-sectional study with community pharmacy professionals (n=25), to explore their views and experiences on their interactions with codeine consumers in pain management; 2. a longitudinal qualitative research study consisting of four interviews, at 6-months intervals, with individuals living with chronic pain (n=10), to explore their experiences of self-medicating with codeine overtime. Phase 1 identified three themes: unintended consequences of codeine regulations, systemic failures, and social influences as issues at the interface between community pharmacies, and OTC codeine consumers in self-medicating. Phase 2 identified the through-line “just managing” as the driver of self-medicating with OTC codeine overtime across three emblematic themes; feeling disregarded, feelings of being misunderstood, and ‘OTC codeine is my enabler’. Overall, the emblematic themes highlighted how; 1. environmental factors (access to healthcare, quality of healthcare, classification of OTC analgesics and relationships with healthcare providers), 2. social factors (socio-economic status, psychosocial support, and social influences) and 3. individual factors (health status, knowledge and experience, psychological stability, and motivation and beliefs) pose as risk or protective factors to self-medicating on the continuum of OTC codeine use in pain management. The findings have
significant implications for codeine provision, and healthcare policies going forward. The availability of codeine as an OTC analgesic has implications to its misuse and abuse in pain management. Upscheduling of OTC codeine to prescription only can minimise the misuse and abuse of codeine in pain management in Ireland. In addition, there is immediate need to provide adequate accessible care through primary and secondary care services informed by a national model of care in pain management services in Ireland. The current organisation and delivery of care has significant gaps that can influence elevated self-medicating with over-the counter codeine-based analgesics in pain management
Refining a forecasting method for first emergence of an important forestry pest (Hylobius abietis) in Ireland through environmental modelling
No full textLarge pine weevil (Hylobius abietis) is a serious pest of coniferous plantations throughout Northern Europe including in Ireland, causing significant mortality in replanted trees. Replanted trees are new transplants set on clear fell sites. This mortality results in severe economic losses to foresters (Langstrom and Day, 2004). Development of weevils takes place in the stumps of felled conifer trees and emerging adults feed directly on new transplants on site. Currently, young trees are mainly protected by chemical insecticides applied when weevil attack is anticipated. In Integrated Pest Management (IPM), adequate timing of management actions can help reduce the necessity for pesticides, or the amount used. In the case of pine weevil, forecasting the extent of weevil infestation is centred around the process of stump hacking to estimate numbers of weevils developing there (Teagasc, 2020). The research outlined here adapts an existing UK simulation model developed to determine geographic variation in voltinism of pine weevil under climate change (Wainhouse et al., 2014) to forecast timing of first year emergence of pine weevil in Ireland. The model utilises historical temperature data, derived either from nearest synoptic stations (weighted for distance) or interpolated gridded (Walsh, 2012) to forecast cumulative weevil emergence for specific sites and years for which existing biological data of emerging weevil populations were available. Observed and model simulated emergence patterns were compared, both for an early version of the model and a corrected version (adapted with the machine learning algorithm random forest). Site-specific co-variates that affect the model forecast simulations of weevil emergence were identified. Previous research at Maynooth University (Williams et al., unpublished) had demonstrated that the original implementation of the UK model could be used to predict site-specific patterns of weevil emergence based on data from local weather stations. This project builds on these findings, resulting in the development of the pineR model, incorporating data from additional sites to detect potential site-specific factors of influence, such as elevation, that could be considered to provide more accurate predictions of first year weevil emergence in Ireland. It also lays the groundwork for future work that would potentially incorporate information on weevil population structure in stumps to create an accessible version of the model using the in-stump values and local weather data to forecast timing of weevil emergence from a specific stage. It is envisaged that pineR will ultimately help refine the stump assessment protocol (i.e., stump hacking) currently used by foresters in Ireland
Technical Summary. In Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
No full textThe Working Group I (WGI) contribution to the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6)
assesses the physical science basis of climate change. As part of
that contribution, this Technical Summary (TS) is designed to bridge
between the comprehensive assessment of the WGI Chapters
and its Summary for Policymakers (SPM). It is primarily built from
the Executive Summaries of the individual chapters and Atlas and
provides a synthesis of key findings based on multiple lines of
evidence (e.g., analyses of observations, models, paleoclimate
information and understanding of physical, chemical and biological
processes and components of the climate system). All the findings
and figures here are supported by and traceable to the underlying
chapters, with relevant chapter sections indicated in curly brackets
Editorial introduction'. Studies in the Education of Adults
No full textGender is how women are oppressed; sex is the excuse patriarchy uses for the oppression of women. Reality – the reality shared by women, actual women, in the world – really does matter for feminism. Metaphysical definitions of the category ‘woman’ really, really don’t. (Lavery Citation2023
Data-driven key performance indicators and datasets for building energy flexibility: A review and perspectives
No full textEnergy flexibility, through short-term demand-side management (DSM) and energy storage technologies, is now seen as a major key to balancing the fluctuating supply in different energy grids with the energy demand of buildings. This is especially important when considering the intermittent nature of ever-growing renewable energy production, as well as the increasing dynamics of electricity demand in buildings. This paper provides a holistic review of (1) data-driven energy flexibility key performance indicators (KPIs) for buildings in the operational phase and (2) open datasets that can be used for testing energy flexibility KPIs. The review identifies a total of 48 data-driven energy flexibility KPIs from 87 recent and relevant publications. These KPIs were categorized and analyzed according to their type, complexity, scope, key stakeholders, data requirement, baseline requirement, resolution, and popularity. Moreover, 330 building datasets were collected and evaluated. Of those, 16 were deemed adequate to feature building performing demand response or building-to-grid (B2G) services. The DSM strategy, building scope, grid type, control strategy, needed data features, and usability of these selected 16 datasets were analyzed. This review reveals future opportunities to address limitations in the existing literature: (1) developing new data-driven methodologies to specifically evaluate different energy flexibility strategies and B2G services of existing buildings; (2) developing baseline-free KPIs that could be calculated from easily accessible building sensors and meter data; (3) devoting non-engineering efforts to promote building energy flexibility, standardizing data-driven energy flexibility quantification and verification processes; and (4) curating and analyzing datasets with proper description for energy flexibility assessm
A New Chaos-Based PRNG Hardware Architecture Using the HUB Fixed-Point Format
No full textChaotic systems have been applied in many applications involving instrumentation and measurements, such as
in sensors and control systems, due to their pseudorandom
proprieties. However, reproducing chaos in digital systems is
challenging because of the dynamical degradation of chaotic
digital systems and, consequently, their intrinsic periodic orbits.
Many techniques have been used to guarantee a sufficiently large
period, making them suitable for such applications. Nevertheless,
few articles pay attention to the effects of using different numerical representations on chaos degradation and, at the same time,
keeping key design parameters, such as few logical resources and
power consumption. Thus, this article aims to provide a new
hardware architecture for a chaos-based pseudorandom number
generator (PRNG) using the Half-Unit-Biased (HUB) format for
fixed-point numbers by bi-coupling the tent map in conjunction
with the Bernoulli map, causing a significant impact on its
logical resources and performance. Results show that the HUB
format is more effective than the standard fixed-point numerical
representation and that the proposed approach is chaotic, with
pseudorandomness
Wave-to-wire modelling of a vibro-impact wave energy converter for ocean data buoys
No full textIn this study, a wave-to-wire (W2W) model of a vibro-impact wave energy converter (VIWEC) is proposed for powering ocean data buoys. A battery and a supercapacitor are integrated to the VIWEC to form a hybrid energy storage system (HESS), in order to provide continuous and long-term DC power for the payloads of ocean data buoys. Based on the W2W model, controllers for maximising wave energy capture and managing the HESS are integrated, and then implemented by fully controllable AC/DC and DC/DC converters. On the basis of irregular waves, preliminary results show that the proposed W2W model with control can provide stable and continuous DC power. Thus, the proposed W2W model, integrated with HESS and control, can be used to investigate its feasibility and to assess its performance for ocean data buoys