NUI Maynooth Eprint Archive
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Psychological distress associated with the second COVID-19 wave: Prospective evidence from the UK Household Longitudinal Study
No full textBackground: In late 2020 a second wave of COVID-19 infections occurred in many countries and resulted in a
national lockdown in the UK including stay at home orders and school closures. This study aimed to compare the
prevalence of psychological distress before and during the second COVID-19 wave in the UK.
Methods: This study drew on data from 10,657 participants from the nationally representative probability-based
UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS). The 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) assessment
measure was used to detect the proportion of UK adults experiencing clinically significant psychological distress.
Changes in distress levels associated with the second pandemic wave were examined between September 2020
and January 2021 using logistic regression and linear fixed-effects regression models.
Results: Longitudinal analyses showed that the prevalence of clinically significant distress rose by 5.8% (95% CI:
4.4–7.2) from 21.3% in September 2020 to 27.1% in January 2021, compared with a 2019 pre-pandemic estimate of 21% in this cohort. Fixed effects analyses confirmed that the second COVID-19 wave was associated with
a significant within-person increase in distress (d = 0.15, p < .001). Increases were particularly pronounced
among those with school-age children in the home.
Limitations: A non-specific measure of mental health symptoms was utilized and it was not possible to separate
the potential impact of the pandemic from other changes occurring in tandem within the study period.
Conclusion: Clinically significant distress rose during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and reached
levels similar to those observed in the immediate aftermath of the first pandemic wave
Forecast electricity demand in commercial building with machine learning models to enable demand response programs
No full textElectricity load forecasting is an important part of power system dispatching. Accurately forecasting electricity load have great impact on a number of departments in power systems. Compared to electricity load simulation (white-box model), electricity load forecasting (black-box model) does not require expertise in building construction. The development cycle of the electricity load forecasting model is much shorter than the design cycle of the electricity load simulation. Recent developments in machine learning have lead to the creation of models with strong fitting and accuracy to deal with nonlinear characteristics. Based on the real load dataset, this paper evaluates and compares the two mainstream short-term load forecasting techniques. Before the experiment, this paper first enumerates the common methods of short-term load forecasting and explains the principles of Long Short-term Memory Networks (LSTMs) and Support Vector Machines (SVM) used in this paper. Secondly, based on the characteristics of the electricity load dataset, data pre-processing and feature selection takes place. This paper describes the results of a controlled experiment to study the importance of feature selection. The LSTMs model and SVM model are applied to one-hour ahead load forecasting and one-day ahead peak and valley load forecasting. The predictive accuracy of these models are calculated based on the error between the actual and predicted loads, and the runtime of the model is recorded. The results show that the LSTMs model have a higher prediction accuracy when the load data is sufficient. However, the overall performance of the SVM model is better when the load data used to train the model is insufficient and the time cost is prioritized
The role of human DEAD-box protein DDX3X in the activation and function of Estrogen Receptor-alpha
No full textThe human DEAD-box RNA helicase DDX3X was shown to be involved in innate immune signalling
pathways mediated by IKKε and TBK1. Interestingly, both DDX3 and IKKɛ have independently been
shown to act as breast cancer oncogenes. In breast cancer, DDX3 expression was shown to be
upregulated and linked with tumourigenesis. IKKɛ was suggested to phosphorylate Estrogen
receptor alpha (ERα) at Serine-167 and drive expression of ERα-responsive genes in an estrogen-
independent manner, leading to cell proliferation and resistance to anti-estrogen treatment. The
current study aimed to investigate whether DDX3 and IKKɛ also collaborate in the activation of ERα.
This work suggests that DDX3 and IKKɛ collaborate to mediate ERα phosphorylation and activation,
akin to the mechanism that the MU Host-Pathogen Lab elucidated for IRF3 activation in innate
immune signalling. DDX3 knockdown in breast cancer cell lines resulted in reduced ERα
phosphorylation, reduced ERE-controlled reporter gene expression, decreased expression
of ERα target genes, decreased cell proliferation. Vice versa, overexpression of DDX3 resulted in
enhanced ERα phosphorylation and activity. This study provides evidence from co-
immunoprecipitation and pulldown experiments that, DDX3 directly binds to ERα to regulate its
activation and function. Present work further analyses the effect of DDX3 knockdown on the
proteome of the T47D breast cancer cell line grown under estrogen-replete and -deplete conditions.
DDX3 knockdown lead to decreased expression of three chaperones involved in regulating ERα
activity, Hsp90, Hsp70 and FKBP52. DDX3 was previously also shown to activate β-catenin by
regulating CK1ε in Wnt pathway activation, and β-catenin was linked to an increased ERα protein
level. This work demonstrates that, CK1ε and β-catenin might also be contributing to activation of
ERα. In conclusion, this work provides evidence for a novel molecular role of DDX3 in activation of
ERα, highlighting the oncogenic effect of DDX3 in breast cancer and linking it to endocrine therapy
resistance
A Single Aspergillus fumigatus Gene Enables Ergothioneine Biosynthesis and Secretion by Saccharomyces cerevisiae
No full textThe naturally occurring sulphur-containing histidine derivative, ergothioneine (EGT), exhibits potent antioxidant properties and has been proposed to confer human health benefits. Although it is only produced by select fungi and prokaryotes, likely to protect against environmental stress, the GRAS organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae does not produce EGT naturally. Herein, it is demonstrated that the recombinant expression of a single gene, Aspergillus fumigatus egtA, in S. cerevisiae results in EgtA protein presence which unexpectedly confers complete EGT biosynthetic capacity. Both High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and LC–mass spectrometry (MS) analysis were deployed to detect and confirm EGT production in S. cerevisiae. The localisation and quantification of the resultant EGT revealed a significantly (p < 0.0001) larger quantity of EGT was extracellularly present in culture supernatants than intracellularly accumulated in 96 h yeast cultures. Methionine addition to cultures improved EGT production. The additional expression of two candidate cysteine desulfurases from A. fumigatus was thought to be required to complete EGT biosynthesis, namely AFUA_2G13295 and AFUA_3G14240, termed egt2a and egt2b in this study. However, the co-expression of egtA and egt2a in S. cerevisiae resulted in a significant decrease in the observed EGT levels (p < 0.05). The AlphaFold prediction of A. fumigatus EgtA 3-Dimensional structure illuminates the bidomain structure of the enzyme and the opposing locations of both active sites. Overall, we clearly show that recombinant S. cerevisiae can biosynthesise and secrete EGT in an EgtA-dependent manner which presents a facile means of producing EGT for biotechnological and biomedical use
Rethinking the Concept of a ‘Financial Elite’: A Critical Intervention
No full textWhile the concept of a ‘financial elite’ has become prominent within politics and the social sciences, it is not clear what value it holds for the analysis of inequalities of income, wealth and power under financial capitalism. Who are the financial elite, and what distinguishes them from other economically powerful groups? We delineate ‘distributive’, ‘categorical’ and ‘relational’ approaches to financial elites, arguing that various unresolved tensions have hampered clarification of the differentia specifica of the concept, and blunted its normative significance. We develop a new concept of financial elites that combines insights from elite studies and financialisation studies. We argue that the financial elite possess not only high incomes, but income primarily derived from ‘rentier’ channels, as endowed by the institutional structures of financialisation. Financial elites demonstrate the capacity not only to capitalise on these new accumulation channels, but to shape the institutional and regulatory landscapes in which they operate
“What Is This, the Seventies?” Spectres of the Past (and the Future) in Recent Northern Irish Television
No full textFor all the gains made during its celebrated peace process, Northern Ireland remains haunted by a conflict that claimed more than 3,700 lives. One of the spaces in which the ghosts of the past manifest themselves is that of television drama. In this article, Mark Fisher’s reading of “hauntology” provides the theoretical frame for an analysis of two recent TV series set in Northern Ireland: The Fall and Derry Girls. Although the programs could not be more different in both tone and content, they both illustrate sharply that the region remains, in John Hewitt’s indelible phrase, a “ghost-haunted land.” In particular, The Fall and Derry Girls reveal that Northern Ireland continues to be deeply troubled both by those who were lost during the conflict and by that which was lost in the transition to peace
Characterising the proteomic response of mushroom pathogen Lecanicillium fungicola to Bacillus velezensis QST 713 and Kos biocontrol agent
No full textThe fungal pathogen Lecanicillium fungicola
causes dry bubble disease in Agaricus bisporus cultivation and affected mushrooms significantly reduce the
yield and revenue for mushroom growers. Biocontrol
agents may represent an alternative and more environmentally friendly treatment option to help control dry
bubble on mushroom farms. Serenade ® is a commercially available biocontrol product used for disease treatment in plant crops. In this work, the in vitro response of
L. fungicola to the bacterial strain active in Serenade,
Bacillus velezensis (QST 713) and a newly isolated
B. velezensis strain (Kos) was assessed. B. velezensis
(QST713 and Kos) both produced zones of inhibition
on plate cultures of L. fungicola, reduced the mycelium
growth in liquid cultures and damaged the morphology
and structure of L. fungicola hyphae. The proteomic
response of the pathogen against these biocontrol strains
was also investigated. Proteins involved in growth and
translation such as 60S ribosomal protein L21-A (−32-
fold) and 40S ribosomal protein S30 (−17-fold) were
reduced in abundance in B. velezensis QST 713 treated
samples, while proteins involved in a stress response
were increased (norsolorinic acid reductase B (47-fold),
isocitrate lyase (11-fold) and isovaleryl-CoA
dehydrogenase (8-fold). L. fungicola was found to have
a similar proteomic response when exposed to
B. velezensis (Kos). This work provides information on
the response of L. fungicola to B. velezensis (QST 713)
and indicates the potential of B. velezensis Kos as a
novel biocontrol agent
Charging Techniques for UAV-Assisted Data Collection: Is Laser Power Beaming the Answer?
No full textAs COVID-19 has increased the need for connectivity around the world, researchers are targeting new technologies that could improve coverage and connect the unconnected in order to make progress toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In this context, drones are seen as one of the key features of 6G wireless networks that could extend the coverage of previous wireless network generations. That said, limited onboard energy seems to be the main drawback that hinders the use of drones for wireless coverage. Therefore, different wireless and wired charging techniques, such as laser beaming, charging stations, and tether stations, are proposed. In this article, we analyze and compare these different charging techniques by performing extensive simulations for the scenario of drone-assisted data collection from ground-based Internet of Things devices. We analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each charging technique, and finally show that laser-powered drones strongly compete with, and outperform in some scenarios, other charging techniques
Can a teacher improve speech clarity in children presenting with speech sound disorders using targeted interventions?
No full textThis action research was influenced by a past pupil who presented with a range of complex needs, including unclear speech which hampered his ability to communicate effectively. Although I tried to address this need, my lack of knowledge inhibited the effectiveness of strategies put in place, and I felt as though my practice was insufficient to meet the needs of all the children in my class.
This study, which was carried out with four 2nd class children in a suburban DEIS 1 Junior School in Dublin, examines whether I as a primary school teacher can effectively implement a programme which improves speech clarity for children who present with speech difficulties. Using a mixed methods approach, and following the ethical standards laid down by Maynooth College, formal and informal pre- and post- interviews and discussions took place with the four children and their parents. Nineteen questionnaires were distributed to school staff, and two speech practitioners were also interviewed. A reflective journal was maintained. I designed and implemented an 11-week intervention focussed on improving a specific target sound (TS). The intervention took place in a learning support classroom three times weekly for each group, withdrawing them from their mainstream classroom. Evidence-based methodologies were put in place to address speech perception, phonological awareness, sound production and minimal pairs. For this study, the TS for group 1 was /r/ while /sh/ was the TS for Group 2.
Although the improvement of the children’s speech clarity was not strikingly noticeable, unexpected positive developments were evident in regard to speech perception, phonological awareness and spelling. All children were more conscious of correct pronunciation of their TS and established self-awareness of their own sound production; however this did not transfer to their social engagement with their peers. School staff expressed concern about the rising number of children presenting with speech difficulties, and the impact of this in the classroom. This was echoed by the speech practitioners. The collected data contrasted the importance of informed intervention in addressing speech needs and potential difficulty in accessing these services.
The lack of improvement in the children’s speech clarity and information gathered from interviews highlights the need for professional intervention for children presenting with SSD. While phonological awareness strategies can be implemented to improve children’s self-awareness of sound production, this research has found that this is a difficulty for teachers who are not sufficiently trained to assess, diagnose or treat. This study detailed the benefits of collaboration between various professionals in order to provide the highest standard of services. This research also exposed the challenges in accessing speech services which emphasises the need for improvements in how the system operates, with recommendations for improved on-site services for speech and language
