A spatial analysis of agriculture in the Republic of Ireland, 1991 to 2000

End of year projectBy linking farm census and administrative data from the CSO and DAF to a geographic information system and analysing the mapping output, this project shows the continued broad division of farming in the state into marginal farming areas in the north and west and more commercial farming areas in the south and east. While this division was compounded by the 1992 CAP reforms, and commercial farming became more spatially concentrated over the 1990s, the influence of the development in the non-farm economy, particularly in peri-urban rural areas across the state, provided local drivers of change that encouraged enterprise substitution to beef production, the farming system most readily combined by farm holders with another job. A full report on the mapping output will be produced in a forthcoming publication (see publications list)

Microglia and Progranulin Regulate Neurogenesis in the Developing Vertebrate Retina.

Microglia are classically thought of as the resident macrophages of the CNS. However, evidence of the neurogenic role microglia play in the developing and adult brain is increasing. The main goal of my thesis research is to use zebrafish retinal development as a model to test the hypothesis that microglia and the factors they express and secrete play a fundamental role in vertebrate neurogenesis. Microglia derive from primitive yolk sac macrophages that migrate to and colonize the developing CNS. I utilized genetic and pharmacological models that prevent microglial precursors from colonizing neuroepithelial tissues to determine the function of microglia and their secreted factors during developmental neurogenesis in the retina. The results showed that when microglia are excluded from the retina, neurogenesis is significantly altered. Retinal progenitors do not exit the cell cycle at the appropriate developmental time, and neuronal differentiation and early retinal growth is delayed. I also evaluated the expression and function of the microglia-specific growth factor, Pgrn-a. At 24hpf, pgrn-a is expressed throughout the forebrain, but by 48hpf becomes exclusively expressed by microglia and their precursors. Compared to the genetic and pharmacological models, knockdown of Pgrn-a using morpholinos resulted in a similar, albeit more severe retinal phenotype. Blocking Pgrn-a translation diminished the number of microglia in the retina and caused a significant lengthening of retinal progenitor cell cycle and a corresponding paucity of neuronal differentiation. These data demonstrate that microglial colonization of embryonic neuroepithelial tissues is required for early neurogenic events in the developing retina. Further, Pgrn-a functions to recruit microglial precursors to the embryonic CNS, govern cell cycle kinetics, cell cycle exit and neuronal differentiation. Therefore, microglia and the factors they secrete play a fundamental role in governing early neurogenic events and serve as cellular components that regulate the brain’s intrinsic timing of the cell cycle. To enable further study of the function of microglia and Pgrn-a in the developing, adult, and regenerating retina, I recombineered BAC constructs to generate transgenic pgrn-a reporter zebrafish lines that will enable conditional targeted genetic ablation of microglial cells, and used genome engineering technology to establish a pgrn-a mutant zebrafish line.PhDNeuroscienceUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/133182/1/walshce_2.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/133182/2/walshce_3.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/133182/3/walshce_1.pd

Evaluation of a programme of transferable skills development within the PhD: views of late stage students

Recent years have seen an increasing emphasis placed upon the development of transferable skills within PhD degree programmes. This paper reports on steps taken to evaluate a programme of transferable skills development at a research intensive university in the UK, focussing on the views of late stage PhD students in the science, engineering and medical disciplines. It shows that most students report a positive impact from having taken part in transferable skills initiatives and that they have a positive attitude towards them. Participants report an enduring positive impact on their behaviour and consider that the training meets their perceived needs as they progress as researchers. However, amongst the population as a whole, there were differences in views. For example, it was found that females, overseas students and those mainly motivated to do the PhD by career-related reasons attach the greatest importance to such opportunities to develop transferable skills

A turn to the market: a magical solution but is it practically adequate? : The impact of a market oriented food policy

Jan Moorhouse, Caroline Walsh, ’A turn to the market: a magical solution but is it practically adequate? The impact of a market oriented food policy’, paper presented at the Academy of Marketing Conference AM2015, Limerick, Ireland, 7-9 July, 2015.This paper attempts to explore the impact of a market oriented food policy on the vegetable sector in England. Since the publication of The Curry Report in 2002, policy has turned to the market, and to better marketing, to transform a farming sector beset by crises into a sustainable food supply system. This was to be achieved with a sprinkling of marketing magic to transform inward-looking producers into competitive, sustainable and diverse rural businesses. On the consumption side, policy aimed to encourage individuals to adopt diets rich in vegetables (and fruit), for health and to lower environmental impact (2010). Marketing practices, criticised in many other contexts for fetishizing commodities (Williams, 1980) would transform humble vegetables into objects of desire and encourage more consumption. Our research suggests that a policy based on market reconnection has had mixed results in terms of encouraging increased production and consumption of vegetables and we question whether a market oriented policy has been practically adequate (i.e. works in the real world) in achieving policy goals.Peer reviewe

Progranulin regulates neurogenesis in the developing vertebrate retina

We evaluated the expression and function of the microglia‐specific growth factor, Progranulin‐a (Pgrn‐a) during developmental neurogenesis in the embryonic retina of zebrafish. At 24 hpf pgrn‐a is expressed throughout the forebrain, but by 48 hpf pgrn‐a is exclusively expressed by microglia and/or microglial precursors within the brain and retina. Knockdown of Pgrn‐a does not alter the onset of neurogenic programs or increase cell death, however, in its absence, neurogenesis is significantly delayed—retinal progenitors fail to exit the cell cycle at the appropriate developmental time and postmitotic cells do not acquire markers of terminal differentiation, and microglial precursors do not colonize the retina. Given the link between Progranulin and cell cycle regulation in peripheral tissues and transformed cells, we analyzed cell cycle kinetics among retinal progenitors following Pgrn‐a knockdown. Depleting Pgrn‐a results in a significant lengthening of the cell cycle. These data suggest that Pgrn‐a plays a dual role during nervous system development by governing the rate at which progenitors progress through the cell cycle and attracting microglial progenitors into the embryonic brain and retina. Collectively, these data show that Pgrn‐a governs neurogenesis by regulating cell cycle kinetics and the transition from proliferation to cell cycle exit and differentiation. © 2017 The Authors. Developmental Neurobiology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 77: 1114–1129, 2017Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138360/1/dneu22499.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138360/2/dneu22499_am.pd

Prevalence of hepatitis B virus amongst refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced persons in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review

Hepatitis B, caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV), is a global public health issue that affects 290 million people worldwide. Most people with hepatitis B are in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), where health systems and resources are often constrained. Refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced persons (IDPs) often face barriers in seeking health care and are a priority population at risk of hepatitis B. No systematic review to date has evaluated the prevalence of hepatitis B amongst refugees in in LMIC. We undertook a systematic review of the literature identifying 28 studies addressing this topic. Though few studies on this topic exist, the available evidence suggests a high prevalence amongst refugees in LMIC, with wide variation between and within countries. Possible risk factors contributing to hepatitis B include unsafe injections, low immunization coverage, low awareness, mother-to-child transmission, and limited health services. Further study is needed to better understand the prevalence and risk factors for hepatitis B amongst refugees in LMIC, to inform public health responses. Vulnerable populations such as refugees are an important group to consider in national and global efforts to eliminate hepatitis B

Hiberno-Jewish Communities: Ireland, Zionism and the creation of Israel

The main objective of this research project was to address some of the ‘gaps’ in the narrative of Ireland’s Jewish community. Although previous literature has contributed much to the account of this ethnic group, the research pertaining to this section of Irish society has for the most part remained underdeveloped. Therefore, to explore this narrative further the research project required that an archival based approach was utilised in order to examine the various historical eras discussed in this thesis. Moreover, this research project will illustrate how adopting an archival based research approach has facilitated the dissemination of new knowledge in relation to political discourse and policies during the Second World War era in Ireland. Our point of departure for this research study will commence with the early Jewish settlers who arrived from the 1880s onwards and conclude with the foundation of Israel in 1948. Although anti-Semitism was not as evident and widespread in Ireland as in other European countries, sporadic displays of antagonism towards the Jewish communities such as the Limerick pogrom in 1904 did occur. Whereas Catholicism was viewed as ‘the main ingredient in the Irish personality’ (McCaffery 1973, p.527), the nationalist cause was viewed as being exclusionary to minority groups such as the Irish – Jewish population. The World War Two era would also witness Ireland’s exclusionary immigration policies which were specifically implemented to keep Jewish refugees out of Ireland, regardless of the Irish government’s awareness to the use of concentration camps and the mounting refugee crisis. The end of World War Two left millions of displaced people across Europe and the Irish government’s solution to the crisis was to tighten further the immigration policies with the introduction of the Alien Order, 1946. In response to the founding of Israel in 1948, Ireland would withhold de facto recognition until 1949. Indeed, whilst Zionism was embraced by the Irish – Jewish community, conversely, immigration figures suggest, that Irish Aliyah to Israel was significantly lower than previously proposed

The MASSIVE Survey - X. Misalignment between Kinematic and Photometric Axes and Intrinsic Shapes of Massive Early-Type Galaxies

We use spatially resolved two-dimensional stellar velocity maps over a $107"\times 107"$ field of view to investigate the kinematic features of 90 early-type galaxies above stellar mass $10^{11.5}M_\odot$ in the MASSIVE survey. We measure the misalignment angle $\Psi$ between the kinematic and photometric axes and identify local features such as velocity twists and kinematically distinct components. We find 46% of the sample to be well aligned ($\Psi < 15^{\circ}$), 33% misaligned, and 21% without detectable rotation (non-rotators). Only 24% of the sample are fast rotators, the majority of which (91%) are aligned, whereas 57% of the slow rotators are misaligned with a nearly flat distribution of $\Psi$ from $15^{\circ}$ to $90^{\circ}$. 11 galaxies have $\Psi \gtrsim 60^{\circ}$ and thus exhibit minor-axis ("prolate") rotation in which the rotation is preferentially around the photometric major axis. Kinematic misalignments occur more frequently for lower galaxy spin or denser galaxy environments. Using the observed misalignment and ellipticity distributions, we infer the intrinsic shape distribution of our sample and find that MASSIVE slow rotators are consistent with being mildly triaxial, with mean axis ratios of $b/a=0.88$ and $c/a=0.65$. In terms of local kinematic features, 51% of the sample exhibit kinematic twists of larger than $20^{\circ}$, and 2 galaxies have kinematically distinct components. The frequency of misalignment and the broad distribution of $\Psi$ reported here suggest that the most massive early-type galaxies are mildly triaxial, and that formation processes resulting in kinematically misaligned slow rotators such as gas-poor mergers occur frequently in this mass range.Comment: Accepted to MNRA