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The ERC DANCING WP4 Tools for Change
Get PDFThis report is part of the project entitled ‘Protecting the Right to Culture of Persons with
Disabilities and Enhancing Cultural Diversity through European Union Law: Exploring New
Paths – DANCING’. This project has received funding from the European Research Council
(ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant
Agreement No. 864182). This report reflects only the authors’ views and does not necessarily
reflect those of the European Union (EU) or the ERC
Genomic analysis of antimicrobial resistant Escherichia coli isolated from manure and manured agricultural grasslands
Get PDFAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a multifactorial issue involving an intertwining relationship between
animals, humans and the environment. The environment can harbour Escherichia coli that are
pathogenic or commensal. Escherichia coli is used as an indicator of environmental faecal
contamination. Through culture dependent approaches this study identified 46 E. coli isolates in
porcine and bovine manure, non-manured and manured soil, and manured grass. The grass isolation
highlights grass as an environmental reservoir for E. coli. We also identified a diverse plasmidome with
23 different plasmid replicon types. The E. coli isolates were phenotypically antimicrobial resistant,
predominantly multidrug resistant. Whole genome sequencing identified 31 antimicrobial resistance
genes, and mutations in the gyrA, parC, and parE genes, conferring fluoroquinolone resistance. This
study demonstrates grass as an understudied environmental niche of AMR E. coli, which directly links
the environment to the grass grazing animal and vice-versa via the circular economy of manure
application
Diagnosis of neonatal and adult sepsis using a Serum Amyloid A lateral flow test
Get PDFSepsis is the overwhelming immunological response to infection, which if not treated can lead to multi-organ failure, shock and death. Specifically, neonatal sepsis results in 225,000 neonatal deaths globally per annum. Moreover, Uganda experiences one of the highest materno-fetal death rates (62,000 p.a.), with neonatal sepsis deaths at approximately 6,500 p.a.. The difficulty in diagnosing neonatal sepsis lies in the non-specific signs and symptoms associated with sepsis and an absence of definitive sepsis-specific biomarkers. However, serum amyloid A (SAA) detection has potential as a superior biomarker for the diagnosis of probable neonatal sepsis. Herein, in ethically-approved studies we have deployed a competitive lateral flow test (NeoSep-SAA (research-use only)) to detect SAA in whole blood at patient bedside in a resource-limited environment. Results are available within 10 minutes and test format is compatible with small blood volumes available from neonates (5 μl). NeoSep-SAA exhibited a high sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis of adult sepsis, and in neonates showed a sensitivity and specificity of 92% (89%, 95%) and 73% (68%, 77%) with PPV and NPV of 78% (75%, 81%) and 90% (86%, 93%), respectively (n = 714 individuals; 95% CI). NeoSep-SAA showed superior sensitivity for neonatal sepsis over C-Reactive Protein detection (sensitivity: 37%), albeit with some sacrifice of specificity. NeoSep-SAA enabled rapid diagnosis, which combined with minimally-invasive blood withdrawal, was less stressful for neonates. Overall, NeoSep-SAA can readily identify infection/inflammation and has the potential to enable rapid and informed clinical decisions to combat sepsis. This approach has potential to improve neonatal sepsis detection and reduce neonatal mortality in line with United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.2 objectives
Serum N-Glycans as Independent Predictors of Death: A Prospective Investigation in the AEGIS Cohort
Get PDFTotal N-glycome in blood serum or plasma provides
information about all serum/plasma protein enzymatic
glycosylation, a tightly regulated cotranslational and
post-translational modification. Total plasma/serum
N-glycome has shown specific patterns (signatures) in
patients with high-mortality pathologies, such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases; thus, we explored the
capacity of total serum N-glycome to predict mortality
in a general adult population. This prospective cohort
study was performed in a municipality in Spain
including a random sample of 1516 adults. Participants
were profiled for total serum N-glycome at baseline.
Serum enzymatic N-glycan release was performed on a
robotic platform followed by hydrophilic interaction
chromatography–ultraperformance liquid chromatography glycan separation. The computerized medical
records were checked at a median follow-up of
7.52 years to collect the date and cause of all deaths.
N-glycan groups from total serum were used to develop
mortality prediction models. Total serum N-glycome
peak (GP) 16, mainly composed of A2[3]BG1S[3]1, predisposed to all-cause mortality; GP 22, mainly
composed of FA2G2S[6]1, protected from all-cause
mortality. The balance between them predicted allcause mortality incidence over time (area under the
curve [AUC], 0.810 [0.773–0.847]). Similar results were
obtained for cancer mortality, with GPs 16, 17, 22, and
23 (AUC, 0.786 [0.728–0.843]); and for cardiovascular
mortality, with GPs 7 and 9 (AUC, 0.747 [0.645–0.850]).
Their predictive powers had an independent and additive effect on classical prediction factors. The balances
between specific GPs are independent predictors of all cause, cancer, and cardiovascular mortality and could
contribute significantly to improving prognostic tools
Development of transition metal dichalcogenides, oxides and carbon based nanomaterial composites for electrochemical sensing of antibiotic drug pollutants in aqueous environments
No full textThe widespread use of antibiotics in healthcare, agriculture, and veterinary sectors has improved human and animal health but has also resulted in environmental contamination and the rise of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Conventional wastewater treatment systems are unable to completely remove these contaminants, leaving traces of antibiotics to persist in natural waters which in turn allows the growth of resistant bacteria. Recognised by the World Health Organization as a major global threat, AMR emphasizes the urgent need for sensitive environmental monitoring tools.
This thesis presents the development of electrochemical sensors for the detection of nitroimidazole antibiotics, ronidazole (RON), ornidazole (ORZ), dimetridazole (DMZ) and 2-nitroimidazole (2-NIM) in aquatic environments. The sensors are based on advanced hybrid materials, including transition metal dichalcogenides, tellurides, oxides, and carbon nanostructures. Although carbon nanofibers (CNFs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) provide high conductivity and stability, their poor aqueous dispersion limits performance. To overcome this, a green non-covalent functionalization using tannic acid (0.85-1.0 mM) and mild sonication (50-60 min) was developed, producing uniformly dispersed CNFs and CNTs with enhanced electron transfer and stability for nanocomposite fabrication.
A CNF/WO3/WS2 nanocomposite sensor exhibited excellent sensitivity (0.860 μA μM-1 cm-2), a detection limit of 4.1 nM, and a linear range of 10 nM-260 μM for ORZ detection, with strong selectivity and 14-day stability. Similarly, an exfoliated MoSe2/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sensor achieved a 4.0 nM LOD and 2.60 μA μM-1 cm-2 sensitivity for DMZ. Nickel telluride (NiTe) nanoparticles enabled RON detection with a 1.5 nM LOD, while a CNF/CNO/CQD nanocomposite achieved an even lower LOD to 0.49 nM. A mixed oxide/MWCNT sensor quantified 2-NIM with sensitivity (0.245 μA μM-1 cm-2) and low LOD (3.7 nM).
Overall, this work advances scalable, high-performance electrochemical sensing materials for antibiotic monitoring and water quality assessment
The Reach of EU Disability Norms in Eastern Partnership Countries
Get PDFOver the last few decades, the European Union (EU) has enhanced its role as a global
actor in human rights broadly and disability rights, in particular. By concluding the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2010
and assuming an obligation to promote disability rights externally under Article 32
CRPD, the EU has increasingly integrated disability rights into its external action to
support the implementation of the CRPD in third countries.
Among the broad spectrum of the EU’s relations globally, this thesis focuses on the
EU's role as a promoter of disability rights in the European Neighbourhood Policy
(ENP) and, particularly in its Eastern dimension, the Eastern Partnership (EaP).
Arguably, establishing an area of prosperity around its borders to ensure its own
stability and security remains one of the EU’s main objectives in its foreign policy.
With this in mind, this thesis investigates the disability facet of the ever-evolving EU’s
cooperation with the EaP countries – Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova (Moldova),
Georgia, the Republic of Armenia (Armenia), and the Republic of Azerbaijan
(Azerbaijan). Through the lens of the ‘global reach of EU law’ as a theoretical
framework, it discusses which mechanisms and tools stimulate the transfer of EU
disability norms into the legal orders of partner countries. To this end, conditionality
and socialisation, as the main modes of the EU’s governance in the EaP, are scrutinised
to investigate how they support the reach of EU disability norms. It then examines
how EU disability norms transfer impacts the national legal orders of the EaP countries
and presents a case study of Ukraine
Current understanding and theories of wellbeing washing in the context of workplace health and wellbeing: A scoping review protocol
Get PDFWorkplace health and wellbeing practitioners have recently voiced concerns regarding the emerging concept of wellbeing washing (WW). While practitioner literature extensively discusses this
concept, research supporting the examination of it and offering solutions is lacking. This scoping review protocol outlines a means of comprehensively investigating and mapping the mainly
practitioner-authored literature on WW, to support the establishment of a working definition and
deeper understanding of this concept, which will inform future research.
A search strategy will be employed to map information from diverse practitioner literature
sources. Guided by the JBI Scoping Review Framework, two reviewers will use predefined criteria to independently screen included sources and capture information using a standardized data
extraction tool. A basic qualitative content analysis will be conducted and results presented in
tabular form. A narrative summary will complement the tabulated results, providing further context
Justification for high-ascent attainment for balloon radiosonde soundings at GRUAN and other sites
Get PDFWe assess and illustrate the benefits of high-altitude attainment of balloon-borne radiosonde soundings, up to and beyond 10 hPa level compared to, for example, 30 hPa, at operational stations and at sites of the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Reference Upper Air Network (GRUAN). We first discuss technical challenges and the possible solutions for balloon soundings at these higher altitudes. Then, we assess the role of high-ascent radiosonde measurements in climate monitoring and various process studies, contributions to satellite calibration and validation, and impacts on numerical weather prediction systems. The analysis herein shows that the extra costs and technical challenges involved in consistent attainment of high ascents are more than outweighed by the benefits for a broad variety of real-time and delayed-mode applications. Consistent attainment of high ascents should therefore be pursued across the GRUAN network and the broader observational network
Increasing global temperatures transformed an otherwise average Irish summer into a record breaking warm summer
Get PDFPerformance safety: conceptualising psychological safety when errors have consequences
Get PDFPsychological safety is a concept of considerable interest in sport. However, varying conceptualizations and definitions often present conflicting meaning. Recent literature has questioned the transferability of the performance-based dimensions of psychological safety to high performance and selective sport settings. While athletes need to make errors to learn, they must also perform in environments where errors are consequential. In this article, we address critiques of the transferability of psychological safety to high-performance and selective sport contexts, whilst acknowledging the essence of psychological safety as having value for sporting contexts. To contribute constructively, we expand on the “dual effect” of psychological safety and its impact on voice behavior and the perceived consequences of errors. We propose a theoretical adaptation using the concept of Performance Safety: a temporally dynamic perception emerging from individual–environment interactions, specifically concerning the perceived consequences of error. By introducing this differentiation, we aim to distinguish between the ability to express oneself verbally and the implications of performance-based consequences.
Lay Summary
In this article, we suggest a theoretical adaptation to enable transferability of psychological safety to high-performance and selective sport. We introduce the differential concept Performance Safety as a time bound perception concerning perceptions of consequence from error, to delineate between speaking up and perceptions of consequence from error.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
Athletes require errors to learn, however they perform in environments where errors carry significant consequences. The article addresses concerns regarding the transferability of psychological safety to high-performance and selective sport settings.
Separating a climate of voice from the ability to make errors, we suggest Performance Safety as a temporally dynamic perception emerging from individual-environment interactions, specifically concerning perceptions of consequence from error.
We suggest that coaches, psychologists, and athletes deliberately manipulate perceptions of performance safety to optimize skill learning and preparation for competition