Highly efficient F, Cu doped TiO2 anti-bacterial visible light active photocatalytic coatings to combat hospital-acquired infections

Bacterial infections are a major threat to the health of patients in healthcare facilities including\ud hospitals. One of the major causes of patient morbidity is infection with Staphylococcus aureus. One\ud of the the most dominant nosocomial bacteria, Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)\ud have been reported to survive on hospital surfaces (e.g. privacy window glasses) for up to 5 months.\ud None of the current anti-bacterial technology is efficient in eliminating Staphylococcus aureus. A novel\ud transparent, immobilised and superhydrophilic coating of titanium dioxide, co-doped with fluorine and\ud copper has been prepared on float glass substrates. Antibacterial activity has demonstrated (by using\ud Staphylococcus aureus), resulting from a combination of visible light activated (VLA) photocatalysis and\ud copper ion toxicity. Co-doping with copper and fluorine has been shown to improve the performance of\ud the coating, relative to a purely fluorine-doped VLA photocatalyst. Reductions in bacterial population of\ud log10 = 4.2 under visible light irradiation and log10 = 1.8 in darkness have been achieved, compared with\ud log10 = 1.8 under visible light irradiation and no activity, for a purely fluorine-doped titania. Generation\ud of reactive oxygen species from the photocatalytic coatings is the major factor that significantly reduces\ud the bacterial growth on the glass surfaces

Temporal and spatial trends in stranding records of cetaceans on the Irish coast, 2002–2014

Using Irish strandings data collected between 2002 and 2014, seasonal and annual trends in the number of strandings for all strandings identified to species level (N ¼ 1480), and for the five most frequently reported species: common dolphin (25.7% of records), harbour porpoise (22.2%), long-finned pilot whale (8.8%), striped dolphin (6.9%) and bottlenose dolphin (6.9%) were investigated. With the exception of bottlenose dolphins, there was a significant linear increase in the number of strandings across years for all species and for all strandings collectively, that were identified to species-level. Only common dolphins demonstrated a significant increase in the proportion of records relative to all other strandings, which may be indicative of a real rise in the number of strandings of this species. Common dolphins and harbour porpoises showed a similar significant difference in monthly strandings, with more strandings occurring during the earlier months of the year.\ud Significant differences in the gender of stranded animals were found in common, striped, bottlenose and Atlantic white-sided dolphins and sperm and pygmy sperm whales. Live and mass stranding events were primarily comprised of pelagic species. Most strandings occurred on the south and west coasts, with two hotspots for live and mass strandings identified. The patterns and trends identified are discussed in relation to the caveats in interpreting strandings data. Specifically to Ireland, the findings highlight the urgent need to build on the current volunteer reporting network and augment this comprehensive dataset with post-mortem examinations to better understand the cause of the trends identified. The importance of strandings data in informing conservation and management guidelines of these species’ is discussed

Improved high temperature stability of Anatase TiO2 Photocatalysts by N, F, P co-doping

Among the three commonly occurring phases (anatase, rutile, and brookite) of TiO2, the anatase form is reported\ud to be the best photocatalyst due to the improved charge-carrier mobility and the greater number of surface\ud hydroxyl groups. The anatase to rutile transition in titania photocatalysts usually occurs at a temperature between\ud 500 °C to 700 °C. Development of a high temperature stable (above 1000 °C) anatase phase is important\ud for various environmental applications (e.g. self-cleaning ceramic tiles, anti-microbial sanitary wares, etc.). In\ud this study, the use of ammonium hexafluorophosphate as a single source dopant (method A) and urea,\ud trifluoroacetic acid and phosphoric acid as multiple sources (method B) was undertaken to improving its high\ud temperature stability. Method A was seen to produce a more stable anatase phase, with 68% anatase present at\ud 1100 °C, compared to method B which showed 100% rutile at 900 °C. Kinetic analysis shows a marked increase\ud in the photocatalytic degradation of a model dye using materials calcined at 1100 °C for method A\ud (0.042 min−1) compared to that for method B (0.005 min−1) and the commercial photocatalyst Evonik-\ud Degussa AEROXIDE® (0.031 min−1) at 1100 °C. XPS results showed that, the only dopant detected at high temperatures\ud is phosphorus in its P5+ form. The incorporation of phosphorus has proved to be an effective method in\ud stabilising the anatase phase at high temperature. The current investigation also showed that a single source precursor\ud is more favourable to obtain high temperature stable anatase phase photocatalysts

Incubation centres and the teaching of entrepreneurship: bridging theory and practice

This paper argues that collaboration between Higher Education Institutions and Incubation Centres can contribute to the embedding of entrepreneurship in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The study aims to address the dearth of research on the teaching of entrepreneurship to non-business students and to provide a framework to implement the proposed pedagogical approach. Enterprise Ireland has funded business incubation centres on college campuses across Ireland in order to provide a supportive environment for start-up companies. The work is based in the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) which has two Incubation Centres. The research question addressed in this paper is: How can incubation centres support the teaching of entrepreneurship to engineering undergraduate students? The theoretical framework for the study is Donald Schön’s seminal work on the topic of reflective practice. The methodological approach is action research with particular emphasis on “doing action research in your own organisation” as proposed by Coghlan and Brannick. The study makes a contribution by developing a process for collaboration between engineering students and incubation centres that can be replicated in other pedagogical situations

Long-term outcomes of open repair of inflammatory and atherosclerotic abdominal aortic aneurysms

Background: \ud Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) are a common vascular disease mostly affecting those over the age of 65 years. Open surgical repair (OSR) is considered the gold standard for the treatment of AAA, however long-term mortality and morbidity still remain high in patients with inflammatory AAA, when compared to atherosclerotic AAA. \ud \ud The aim of this study was to evaluate long-term outcomes of both inflammatory and atherosclerotic AAA after OSR. \ud \ud Methods:\ud Out of 837 aortic interventions, 149 patients were identified as having undergone open surgical repair for AAA between 2003 and 2013. Of the 149 patients, histopathological data was available for 92 patients with open AAA repair. Kaplan-Meier curves were analysed to evaluate probability of survival.\ud \ud Results:\ud Patients with inflammatory AAA were younger (70 years) by an average of 2 years compared to atherosclerotic AAA (72 years). Morbidity and length of intensive care stay were insignificantly different in both groups. Inflammatory AAA were associated with higher all cause survival rate (82%) compared to atherosclerotic AAA (68%) (P=0.008) after ten years.\ud \ud Conclusion:\ud There was no difference in clinical outcomes between both atherosclerotic AAA and inflammatory AAA, which is due to the technique used. IAAA were associated with lower mortality rates and improved all cause survival at ten years post open surgical repai

A flexible decision support tool for MSY-based MPA design

ICES WGEF recommends that demersal elasmobranchs be managed using spatial proxies 11 for Maximum Sustainable Yield. Here we combine escapement biomass – the percentage of the stock which must be retained each year to conserve it – with maps of predicted abundance of four ray species (cuckoo, thornback, blonde, and spotted), created using Boosted Regression Tree modelling. We then use a Decision Support Tool to generate location and size options for MPAs to protect these stocks, based on the priorities of the various stakeholders, notably the minimisation of fishing effort displacement. Variations of conservation/fishing priorities are simulated, as well as differential priorities for individual species, with a focus on protecting nursery grounds and spawning areas. The result is a complete software package that produces maps of predicted species abundance from limited survey data, allowing disparate stakeholders and policymakers to discuss management options within a mapping interface

The reconfiguration of CPD for social care practitioners in Ireland : an activity theory approach

Social care practitioners at the frontline require specific Continuous Professional Development (CPD). Many changes affecting practitioners have occurred in Irish society since the start of the 21st century, resulting in the need for new types of reflective CPD. Previous research has explored the social care profession, but with little research conducted specifically on the CPD training provided to practitioners in residential child care centres.\ud This thesis addresses this gap by providing an insight into the issue of CPD through the voices of practitioners. It is informed by Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), advanced by Engeström as a way to study learning phenomena within the complicated, ill-structured, and contradiction-laden world of adult professional life. Primary research was in the form of semi-structured interviews with 18 participants: 15 practitioners and three social care managers. A CHAT-informed intervention was conducted in the form of a sequence of change laboratories (CLs) in relation to Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI) – a key technique adopted in state-funded residential care. A follow-up questionnaire study took place with six of the eight participants who took part in the TCI CLs. The outcomes of the CLs indicated that the CHAT approach could be adapted to a small-scale work setting; a follow-up survey was conducted with six participants who originally took part in a TCI intervention. Secondary research includes a comprehensive review of relevant literature in the field of contemporary social care and in that of CPD.\ud The findings reveal that practitioners do not have a competency-based training framework; some participants said they had not received their mandatory training. In the follow-up, questionnaire participants reported they had subsequently received additional CPD. While structured formal supervision is offered, most expressed disappointment with it and suggested external supervision. Team reflection was the norm as opposed to personal reflection, with practitioners citing work constraints, staff shortages and depleted resources as the barriers to non-participation. Above all, professionals identified a lack of communication between them and their senior, external management and trainers; they all called for a change in their professional CPD training. In light of the findings, recommendations and avenues for future research are discussed

PCB pollution continues to impact populations of orcas and other dolphins in European waters

Organochlorine (OC) pesticides and the more persistent polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have well-established dose-dependent toxicities to birds, fish and mammals in experimental studies, but the actual impact of OC pollutants on European marine top predators remains unknown. Here we show that several cetacean species have very high mean blubber PCB concentrations likely to cause population declines and suppress population recovery. In a large pan-European meta-analysis of stranded (n = 929) or biopsied (n = 152) cetaceans, three out of four species:- striped dolphins (SDs), bottlenose dolphins (BNDs) and killer whales (KWs) had mean PCB levels that markedly exceeded all known marine mammal PCB toxicity thresholds. Some locations (e.g. western Mediterranean Sea, south-west Iberian Peninsula) are global PCB “hotspots” for marine mammals. Blubber PCB concentrations initially declined following a mid-1980s EU ban, but have since stabilised in UK harbour porpoises and SDs in the western Mediterranean Sea. Some small or declining populations of BNDs and KWs in the NE Atlantic were associated with low recruitment, consistent with PCB-induced reproductive toxicity. Despite regulations and mitigation measures to reduce PCB pollution, their bio-magnification in marine food webs continues to cause severe impacts among cetacean top predators in European seas

Around the table : food work in children's residential services in Ireland

This study uses food and eating practices around the table to explore the complexities of daily life in residential care settings for young people principally from the workers’ perspective. The overall aim is to elicit the significance of food and eating practices in children’s residential care settings in Ireland. How food is used in residential care - what is eaten, how, when and where it is eaten - increases the sociological understanding of institutional eating practices in residential care for young people - an under researched area in Ireland.\ud The table, both physical and metaphorical, is the focus for this research. Using a four legged table as a conceptual metaphor the four themes or legs that support the central focus of this thesis are; commensality, hierarchy, discipline and government. The approach taken is an exploratory sequential mixed methods design of: focused ethnography in five residential care centres, a survey of ninety two social care practitioners and photo- elicitation with a further forty two social care professionals. Thematic analysis of the collected data sets was connected during interpretation. This study puts forward a conceptual framework that enhances the knowledge of aspects of everyday life in residential care. In addition it makes a practical and theoretical contribution to the literature on residential care for young people.\ud The findings are situated in the broader literatures of the sociology of food, the new sociology of childhood and the sociology of home. The key findings suggest the significance of food in residential care settings need to be considered within the everyday realities of lives lived in the centres – the young people’s ‘home’. Food can be used as a symbolic instrument to demonstrate care. Furthermore, food can also be used symbolically to reject the care on offer. In addition, food and eating practices can be seen as an expression of governmentality that contributes to the normalisation of ‘proper meals’ in a ‘homely home’. The research has highlighted the value of using the metaphorical table as the key focus to examine the theoretical concepts to enhance the understanding of the significance of food and eating practices in residential care for young people in Ireland