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Tiny-T: A small-scale demonstration tank for real-time wave energy control
Full text linkThis article presents a detailed description, and step-by-step process, required to build a small-scale wave energy tank demonstrator (Tiny-T). The system consists of an operative wave energy converter (WEC) with active control, representing the first demonstration of electronic WEC control at 1/100 scale. A key feature of Tiny-T is that the full demonstration system costs below €600. This document provides complete details on the materials, construction, and testing of the system, as well as aspects related to the appeal of the demonstration. As an experimental platform, Tiny-T represents a valuable resource for introductory research inquiries, catering to both high school and university-level studies. Overall, Tiny-T accessibility opens doors for a broader audience to engage with the promising potential of wave energy and real-time control technologies
Control Application in Renewable Generation
Full text linkWhile many control problems fall into the general category of regulation or setpoint following, the control of renewable energy
systems has a wider variety of objectives, including energy conversion maximization or minimization of the cost of the converted
energy. Given the intermittent and potentially unpredictable nature of many renewable energy sources, there may also be objectives
related to matching supply with demand. This chapter focuses primarily on intermittent renewable energy sources, such as wind, wave,
tidal, solar, while some consideration is also given to salinity gradient, and ocean thermal. This chapter discusses resource and system
modeling, and outline solutions to typical renewable energy control problems
Contested Medical Authority in Proust’s À la recherche du temps perdu
Full text linkThis article studies how contested medical authority in the late nineteenth century is represented in Proust's À la recherche du temps perdu (1913–1927). Medical discourse and the authority of doctors regarding childhood diseases and disorders are challenged by the narrator/protagonist's mother and grandmother, in situations which articulate tensions between maternal and patriarchal authority over children's health and hygiene. Informed by the work of Michael R. Finn, Donald Wright, and Joan Tronto, this article traces the politics of care in Proust's work to show how intersections of class and gender inform the experiences of those living with illness, with ideas of care and scepticism towards medical expertise transcending class divisions
Storminess in North West Europe and volcanic activity during the Holocene
Full text linkEvidence from observational records and model simulations suggest that volcanic eruptions can strengthen mid- to high-latitude atmospheric circulation and enhance westerly wind strength, with recent proxy data-model assimilations supporting this. However, assessments of Holocene variability in storminess rarely consider whether major volcanic eruptions could be a possible driver of reconstructed periods of enhanced storminess. This research presents a new reconstruction of past storminess from a coastal peatbog situated in western Ireland spanning the last ∼ 7 ka. The record is based on the measurement of the sand content along the core, with XRF core scanning analysis also applied to test whether variations in quartz sand, shell sand and sea spray can be detected by variations in silica, calcium and bromine respectively. Ca measurements were similar to the long-term changes in sand content along the core, however, peaks in sand content were not detected, while Si reflected increases in sand content only within the last millennium when the inorganic content was highest. Br concentrations appear to have been influenced primarily by humification. We also compared sand-based storminess records from northwest Europe. Six multi-decadal to centennial periods with enhanced storminess are common to records from Ireland and Wales during the last 2.5 ka BP, centred at c. 2.25, 2, 1.4, 1.1, 0.5 and 0.2 ka BP, with less agreement between records before this time. The storm periods at 2.8, 2.2–2, 1.1 and 0.5 ka BP are more widespread events and agree with records from Sweden and Scotland. Each of the episodes of increased storminess coincide roughly with major volcanic eruptions during the late Holocene, as well as with periods of enhanced North Atlantic ice-rafting. We hypothesise, therefore, that both enhanced storminess and ice-rafting may have resulted from the climate and environmental impacts of these eruptions, aligning with the findings of recent observational and modelling studies on the climate response to eruptions. Challenges remain, however, in testing this hypothesis, given chronological uncertainties in peatland records and uncertain interpretations of the factors influencing sand deposition. Therefore, to provide an independent assessment of the influence of explosive eruptions on storminess for Ireland's northeast Atlantic position, we draw upon the rich tradition of annalistic record keeping on the island, including many reports of major storms and windy seasons, to develop a windiness index running from the sixth to seventeenth centuries CE. A set of superposed epoch analyses shows that the ice-core-based dates of explosive volcanic eruptions are statistically significantly associated with the dates of documented storms and windy seasons in Ireland, suggesting avenues for future research
A multi‐omic biomarker signature in pre‐treatment rectal tumours stratifies patients with different pathological responses to neoadjuvant treatment
Full text linkNovel Developments in Physical and Computational Methods for Wildfire Modelling and Analysis
Full text linkWildfires are a natural disturbance which can cause harm to people, local ecology, the environment and infrastructure. Wildfires are theorised to have increased both in frequency and scale due to climate change. This has expanded interest in managing and reducing large scale, often catastrophic wildfires. A critical part of achieving this requires real-time fire line prediction. This provides insight as to how resources can be deployed to reduce the propagation of wildfires. Real-time fire line prediction is usually performed using a wildfire model. There are many frameworks wildfire models can simulate fire propagation with. A grid-based framework for modelling wildfires was developed in this thesis. Different types of grids were compared using this framework. A comparison was also made with a continuous-based framework. The use of a grid allowed the wildfire model to run fast. A critical research area regarding wildfire modelling often overlooked is the task of finding where a wildfire started and how long that wildfire burned. This information is important as it may help fire investigators determine the cause of the wildfire, which can be insightful for preventing future wildfires. A genetic algorithm which estimated both the wildfire starting locations and the propagation duration using its burn scar data was developed in this thesis. Typically, wildfire models are derived from experimental data. An investigation into the feasibility of using a desktop apparatus to model wildfires was completed in this thesis. The desktop apparatus was also used to validate the developed grid-based framework. A significant portion of this thesis was completed in collaboration with DecaMap, a group based in Maynooth University with the goal of developing emergency event management systems. This research was also completed with input from the Irish Fire Service and associated services
Renewable energy discourses of fossil fuel companies: obstruction and delay of climate action
Full text linkBackground
For decades, multinational fossil fuel companies have strategically promoted discourses to obstruct climate action. Initially, the fossil fuel industry publicized communications that denied the role of fossil fuels in climate destabilization. Recently, however, they have advanced nuanced messages to delay climate action and policy. As the climate crisis worsens and calls to phase out fossil fuels intensify, research into the industry has revealed pervasive “greenwashing” and a discrepancy between external messaging on renewable energy and internal operational positions. Corporate annual reports, which are public-facing communications, offer insights into how companies align their internal strategy with their external messaging. Based on a textual analysis of the annual reports of four of the largest fossil fuel companies (ExxonMobil, BP, Shell, and TotalEnergies), this research compares how companies have adapted their communication strategies about renewable energy between 2016 and 2022.
Results
The study reveals that each company focuses on different renewable energy technologies and highlights a variety of positive and negative messages about renewable energy. Since 2016, positive messaging about renewable energy has increased, including narratives on economic benefits, sustainable development, climate action, and strategic business benefits. Negative messaging, including mentions of variable energy intensity, potential business risks, and reductions in companies’ renewable energy businesses, constitutes a small yet consistent part of the communications. This combination of sentiments highlights the benefits of renewable energy while simultaneously undermining the positives with nuanced and negative messages about renewable energy. By promoting fossil fuels as a partner to renewable energy, corporate messages link renewable energy to fossil fuels, reinforcing discourses that slow down the energy transition and expand fossil fuel production with renewable energy development.
Conclusions
Since the 2015 Paris Agreement, the annual reports of fossil fuel companies consistently employed a communication strategy of mixed-sentiment messages that link renewable energy to fossil fuels, particularly fossil gas (i.e., commonly known as natural gas). In this way, companies created and employed doublespeak and delay tactics, obscuring the need to phase out fossil fuels to achieve global climate and sustainability goals
Generalized Additive Modeling of Ecological Data With mgcv: New Adequacy Assessment Tools
Full text linkGeneralized additive models (GAMs) are a semi‐parametric extension of generalized linear models (GLMs) that allow incorporating different forms of nonlinearities commonly encountered in ecological relationships, thus frequently offering a better statistical description than GLMs in such cases. Due to the use of smooth functions, however, validating that the observed data represent a plausible realization of a fitted GAM according to the underlying distributional assumptions being used is less straightforward than with GLMs. Moreover, if the number of basis dimensions used in smooth terms to control the degree of flexibility is set too large, overfitting can arise despite in‐built penalization procedures aimed at preventing excessive wiggliness. Here, we present how GAMs fitted with the mgcv package in R can be assessed for their adequacy based on half‐normal plots with a simulated envelope using newly‐available helper functions for the hnp package. A proposed metric relying on the mgcViz package is also presented to help detect both under‐ and overfitting relative to a predictor of interest from a realized coverage perspective. Three fisheries‐related examples analyzing continuous data, counts, and discrete proportions are then presented to illustrate the usefulness of these approaches in providing more statistical context for the interpretation of nonlinear ecological relationships
The Emergence of a Climate Change Signal in Ireland's Rainfall Extremes
Full text linkDetecting the emergence of anthropogenic climate change signals in precipitation is essential for informing adaptation strategies. This study analyses long‐term, quality‐assured observations from 36 stations across Ireland (1930–2019) to assess trends and emergence in six seasonal precipitation indices. Using a combination of Mann‐Kendall trend testing, Theil‐Sen slope estimation, and monthly persistence analysis, robust seasonal changes are identified. Emergence is evaluated by regressing local precipitation indices against global mean surface temperature (GMST), with the resulting signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) classified as normal, unusual, or unfamiliar relative to early industrial (1850–1900) and modern (1950–1980) baselines. The influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is also assessed using commonality analysis. Results show statistically significant intensification of rainfall extremes, particularly in western Ireland during winter and spring, and in the southeast during summer and autumn. Many stations exhibit significant relationships with GMST, with increases in extreme indices (e.g., Rx5day, SDII) ranging from 12% to 27% per °C of warming, often exceeding thermodynamic expectations. Emergence of unusual climate conditions is already evident at several stations relative to the early industrial baseline, and many are nearing this threshold for the modern baseline. While NAO variability strongly modulates winter precipitation extremes in the west, significant GMST relationships in the SNR analysis indicate that these are still robust climate change signals. Commonality analysis reveals that GMST and NAO jointly explain variability in winter PRCPTOT and Rx5day at western stations, suggesting that natural modes of variability like the NAO may not be independent noise but rather embedded within a warming climate signal, complicating the separation of anthropogenic and natural drivers in attribution studies. Findings also challenge projections of widespread summer drying with warming, instead revealing intensification of short‐duration extremes in the southeast. As Ireland faces increasingly intense and seasonally variable rainfall extremes, regionally tailored adaptation strategies will be essential
Patents & Access to Health-Technologies in Everyday Healthcare Contexts for Rare Diseases: Implications and Limitations of the Right to Health at the National Level?
Full text linkPatent rights enable rightsholders to exclude others from using a technology for typically 20 years. The exclusionary nature of patents mean they can be used to incentivize certain technological developments, including health-technologies. On the other hand, this exclusionary role also means that patents can be used in ways that can create barriers for access to technologies. For patents over health-related technologies, such as medicines, vaccines and medical devices, this can have significant health implications for patients. Thus, it is sometimes argued that the right to health could be used to mobilize greater access to patented health-technologies.
This chapter analyses the role of the right to health, focusing on Article 12(1) International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1966, as an avenue to be used within national States to obtain greater access to patented health-technologies. Against the backdrop of increasing costs of medicines globally, within high-income and low- and middle-income States, this chapter focuses on the role of the right to health in everyday healthcare contexts. It examines whether and to what extent, the right to health can be leveraged at the national level within States – by individual patients and/or their families, and by States - to offer effective avenues to address access issues posed by certain uses of IPRs over health-technologies. It also analyses various limitations of the right to health in such contexts.
The chapter argues that for the right to health to offer an effective avenue in national contexts to appropriately balance patients’ interests with intellectual property rightsholders’ interests, States must show greater willingness to engage with the right to health in a proactive manner,
including using this right to support targeted policy and legislative reform. A key element of this is the need for greater State recognition and engagement with the collective dimension of the right to health. Moreover, it argues- that the more States which adopt such approaches, the greater likelihood that the right to health can offer effective avenues to address these issues