The gut microbiome: Relationships with disease and opportunities for therapy.

Over the past decade, our view of human-associated microbes has expanded beyond that of a few species toward an appreciation of the diverse and niche-specialized microbial communities that develop in the human host with chronological age. The largest reservoir of microbes exists in the distal gastrointestinal tract, both in the lumen, where microbes facilitate primary and secondary metabolism, and on mucosal surfaces, where they interact with host immune cell populations. While local microbial-driven immunomodulation in the gut is well described, more recent studies have demonstrated a role for the gut microbiome in influencing remote organs and mucosal and hematopoietic immune function. Unsurprisingly, therefore, perturbation to the composition and function of the gut microbiota has been associated with chronic diseases ranging from gastrointestinal inflammatory and metabolic conditions to neurological, cardiovascular, and respiratory illnesses. Considerable effort is currently focused on understanding the natural history of microbiome development in humans in the context of health outcomes, in parallel with improving our knowledge of microbiome-host molecular interactions. These efforts ultimately aim to develop effective approaches to rehabilitate perturbed human microbial ecosystems as a means to restore health or prevent disease. This review details the role of the gut microbiome in modulating host health with a focus on immunomodulation and discusses strategies for manipulating the gut microbiome for the management or prevention of chronic inflammatory conditions

The future direction of on-farm irrigation technologies and practice research

The Cooperative Research Centre for Irrigation Futures mission is to facilitate cooperative research and training networks and programs which continuously improve irrigation policy, tools, practices and processes. This paper provides an introduction to the current and planned research activities within the CRCIF with a particular focus on the tools and practices of relevance to improving on-farm water use efficiency. A key focus of this research is the delivery of research outcomes via toolkits which enhance the irrigation sector's ability to measure, monitor and manage the water balance at the field and farm scales, improve the precision of in-field irrigation applications and maximize agronomic responses to irrigation

Notebooks As Reflective Practice

NUI Maynooth Teaching and Learning Showcase 2013 – 201

Civic Engagement: Sharing library knowledge, collections and expertise with local artists. A project in part fulfillment of PGDHE

NUI Maynooth Teaching and Learning Showcase 2011/1

Maynooth - towards a community profile 1750-1911

The thesis is about communities in Maynooth from the mid-eighteenth-century to the early twentieth-century. It looks at the worker within the community and focuses on three areas of the town - Carton demesne, Maynooth town itself and the seminary of St. Patrick’s College Maynooth. Employer-employee relationships, job descriptions, status, wage levels, length of service, gender ratios, recruitment and mobility are explored particularly in relation to the servants and workers of Carton demesne and those of St. Patrick’s College. A profile o f Maynooth town emerges through an examination of its population, housing, property ownership and economic and social activity. Change over time and the nature and level of interaction between three employment loci is explored. Certain groups or ‘communities of interest’ emerge, some of which operate on separate levels to others. They are the servants of Carton demesne and those of St. Patrick’s College who are not of the locality and who are bound by rules and regulations. However these groups are indirectly linked to the wider community by co-workers from the locality who enter and leave these separate worlds on a daily basis, such as the labourers from the Duke of Leinster’s cottages. The community of Maynooth town to some extent forms a central community that feeds into that of Carton demesne and St. Patrick’s College and at the same time it is shaped by their influential presence. It also endeavours to operate independently of them sometimes to greater or lesser degree of success over the period

Maynooth - towards a community profile 1750-1911

The thesis is about communities in Maynooth from the mid-eighteenth-century to the early twentieth-century. It looks at the worker within the community and focuses on three areas of the town - Carton demesne, Maynooth town itself and the seminary of St. Patrick’s College Maynooth. Employer-employee relationships, job descriptions, status, wage levels, length of service, gender ratios, recruitment and mobility are explored particularly in relation to the servants and workers of Carton demesne and those of St. Patrick’s College. A profile o f Maynooth town emerges through an examination of its population, housing, property ownership and economic and social activity. Change over time and the nature and level of interaction between three employment loci is explored. Certain groups or ‘communities of interest’ emerge, some of which operate on separate levels to others. They are the servants of Carton demesne and those of St. Patrick’s College who are not of the locality and who are bound by rules and regulations. However these groups are indirectly linked to the wider community by co-workers from the locality who enter and leave these separate worlds on a daily basis, such as the labourers from the Duke of Leinster’s cottages. The community of Maynooth town to some extent forms a central community that feeds into that of Carton demesne and St. Patrick’s College and at the same time it is shaped by their influential presence. It also endeavours to operate independently of them sometimes to greater or lesser degree of success over the period

Barriers and opportunities for evidence-based practice: Curriculum changes in fieldwork and classroom in social work education

The purpose of this study was to consider perceptions held by social work faculty and agency-based field instructors to incorporate EBP into social work student classroom and field placement experiences. This study identifies perceptions of social work faculty and field instructors about EBP, determines the extent to which social work faculty and field instructors incorporate and use EBP; and considers how organizational leadership and/or technology supports influence adoption and utilization of EBP. The population for this study included all full-time social work faculty members employed by three large public universities in southeast Michigan (Michigan State University [MSU], University of Michigan [UM], and Wayne State University [WSU]), as well as the agency-based master-level social workers who serve in the role of field instructors for students enrolled in the social work programs at these institutions. A web based survey was used as the primary source of data allowing for both quantitative, as well as qualitative components to be studied. Separate sections of brief questions for faculty members and field instructors with 4-point Likert item responses were used. Open ended questions were used to capture participants\u27 views on multiple factors that impact perception and use of EBP in instruction and practice. Findings indicated that there is an associate between faculty and field instructors on opportunities to use EBP in the classroom/practice as well as on barriers to the use of EBP in the classroom/practice setting. Findings also indicated that there is a difference between faculty and field instructors regarding attitudes, openness, and support (leadership/technology) for the use of EBP in the classroom/practice. EBP is not an approach that can be taught once and learned; rather, it is an on-going educational process that requires incorporation of problem solving and critical thinking skills. The appropriate use of the EBP process requires an endorsement by social work educators, as well as the practice community. Leaders of these groups need to adopt the model and accept EBP as part of their on-going learning environment. The integration of research, theory, and practice must continue to develop and be tested constantly to create effective social work practices

Library Partnership with the Department of Modern History

NUI Maynooth Teaching and Learning Showcase 2011/1

Library Partnership with the Department of Modern History

NUI Maynooth Teaching and Learning Showcase 2011/1