Young children as global citizens

The publication of Aistear, the Early Childhood Curriculum Framework (NCCA, 2009) provides a unique opportunity to promote the inclusion of a global and justice perspective in education programmes for young children at pre-school and junior primary school levels. The Framework highlights the importance of global citizenship and diversity issues and provides the opportunity to support educators engaged in their implementation. To facilitate the provision of such support, a partnership between Trócaire and St Patrick’s College, Drumcondra has undertaken research into young children’s engagement with issues of global justice. This article describes the background to the research, the methodologies used, and the research findings and dissemination

The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect: Does Happiness Lead to Success?

Numerous studies show that happy individuals are successful across multiple life domains, including marriage, friendship, income, work performance, and health. The authors suggest a conceptual model to account for these findings, arguing that the happiness–success link exists not only because success makes people happy, but also because positive affect engenders success. Three classes of evidence—crosssectional, longitudinal, and experimental—are documented to test their model. Relevant studies are described and their effect sizes combined meta-analytically. The results reveal that happiness is associated with and precedes numerous successful outcomes, as well as behaviors paralleling success. Furthermore, the evidence suggests that positive affect—the hallmark of well-being—may be the cause of many of the desirable characteristics, resources, and successes correlated with happiness. Limitations, empirical issues, and important future research questions are discussed

Hepatitis C Virus infection in Irish drug users and prisoners : a scoping review

Background: Hepatitis C infection is a major public health concern globally. In Ireland, like other European countries, people who use drugs (PWUD) and prisoners carry a larger HCV disease burden than the general population. Recent advances in HCV management have made HCV elimination across Europe a realistic goal. Engaging these two marginalised and underserved populations remains a challenge. The aim of this review was to map key findings and identify gaps in the literature (published and unpublished) on HCV infection in Irish PWUD and prisoners.Methods: A scoping review guided by the methodological framework set out by Levac and colleagues (based on previous work by Arksey & O’Malley).Results: A total of 58 studies were identified and divided into the following categories; Epidemiology, Guidelines and Policy, Treatment Outcomes, HCV -related Health Issues and qualitative research reporting on Patients’ and Health Providers’ Experiences. This review identified significantly higher rates of HCV infection among Irish prisoners and PWUD than the general population. There are high levels of undiagnosed and untreated HCV infection in both groups. There is poor engagement by Irish PWUD with HCV services and barriers have been identified. Prison hepatology nurse services have a positive impact on treatment uptake and outcomes. Identified gaps in the literature include; lack of accurate epidemiological data on incident infection, untreated chronic HCV infection particularly in PWUD living outside Dublin and those not engaged with OST. Conclusion: Ireland like other European countries has high levels of undiagnosed and untreated HCV infection. Collecting, synthesising and identifying gaps in the available literature is timely and will inform national HCV screening, treatment and prevention strategies

Electric Propulsion Methods for Small Satellites: A Review

Over 2500 active satellites are in orbit as of October 2020, with an increase of ~1000 smallsats in the past two years. Since 2012, over 1700 smallsats have been launched into orbit. It is projected that by 2025, there will be 1000 smallsats launched per year. Currently, these satellites do not have sufficient delta v capabilities for missions beyond Earth orbit. They are confined to their pre-selected orbit and in most cases, they cannot avoid collisions. Propulsion systems on smallsats provide orbital manoeuvring, station keeping, collision avoidance and safer de-orbit strategies. In return, this enables longer duration, higher functionality missions beyond Earth orbit. This article has reviewed electrostatic, electrothermal and electromagnetic propulsion methods based on state of the art research and the current knowledge base. Performance metrics by which these space propulsion systems can be evaluated are presented. The article outlines some of the existing limitations and shortcomings of current electric propulsion thruster systems and technologies. Moreover, the discussion contributes to the discourse by identifying potential research avenues to improve and advance electric propulsion systems for smallsats. The article has placed emphasis on space propulsion systems that are electric and enable interplanetary missions, while alternative approaches to propulsion have also received attention in the text, including light sails and nuclear electric propulsion amongst others

From Mainstream to Minor and Back: The Irish Labour Party 1987-1992

This article charts the Irish Labour Party’s (ILP) journey from a minor to mainstream political party between 1987 and 1992. This is arguably the most turbulent period in the party’s electoral history, when the ILP performed significantly below its average result, before making unprecedented electoral gains. It identifies the factors which led to this fall and rise during the discussed period and reflects on the ILP’s place in the Irish party system arguing that the term ‘mainstream’ or ‘proximal mainstream’ party with regard to the ILP is perhaps more appropriate than the terms ‘major’ or ‘minor’ party, especially in view of its return to its usual level of support following the gains of 1992

A Coaxial Pulsed Plasma Thruster Model with Efficient Flyback Converter Approaches for Small Satellites

Pulsed plasma thrusters (PPT) have demonstrated enormous potential since the 1960s. One major shortcoming is their low thrust efficiency, typically <30%. Most of these losses are due to joule heating, while some can be attributed to poor efficiency of the power processing units (PPUs). We model PPTs to improve their efficiency, by exploring the use of power electronic topologies to enhance the power conversion efficiency from the DC source to the thruster head. Different control approaches are considered, starting off with the basic approach of a fixed frequency flyback converter. Then, the more advanced critical conduction mode (CrCM) flyback, as well as other optimized solutions using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components, are presented. Variations of these flyback converters are studied under different control regimes, such as zero voltage switching (ZVS), valley voltage switching (VVS), and hard switched, to enhance the performance and efficiency of the PPU. We compare the max voltage, charge time, and the overall power conversion efficiency for different operating regimes. Our analytical results show that a more dynamic control regime can result in fewer losses and enhanced performance, offering an improved power conversion efficiency for PPUs used with PPTs. An efficiency of 86% was achieved using the variable frequency approach. This work has narrowed the possible PPU options through analytical analysis and has therefore identified a strategic approach for future investigations. In addition, a new low-power coaxial micro-thruster model using equivalent circuit model elements is developed.This is referred to as the Carlow–Stuttgart model and has been validated against experimental data from vacuum chamber tests in Stuttgart’s Pulsed Plasma Laboratory. This work serves as a valuable precursor towards the implementation of highly optimized PPU designs for efficient PPT thrusters for the next PETRUS (pulsed electrothermal thruster for the University of Stuttgart) missions

Improving the Pharmacodynamics and In Vivo Activity of ENPP1‐Fc Through Protein and Glycosylation Engineering

Enzyme replacement with ectonucleotide pyrophosphatase phospodiesterase‐1 (ENPP1) eliminates mortality in a murine model of the lethal calcification disorder generalized arterial calcification of infancy. We used protein engineering, glycan optimization, and a novel biomanufacturing platform to enhance potency by using a three‐prong strategy. First, we added new N‐glycans to ENPP1; second, we optimized pH‐dependent cellular recycling by protein engineering of the Fc neonatal receptor; finally, we used a two‐step process to improve sialylation by first producing ENPP1‐Fc in cells stably transfected with human α‐2,6‐sialyltransferase (ST6) and further enhanced terminal sialylation by supplementing production with 1,3,4‐ O ‐Bu 3 ManNAc. These steps sequentially increased the half‐life of the parent compound in rodents from 37 hours to ~ 67 hours with an added N‐glycan, to ~ 96 hours with optimized pH‐dependent Fc recycling, to ~ 204 hours when the therapeutic was produced in ST6‐overexpressing cells with 1,3,4‐ O ‐Bu 3 ManNAc supplementation. The alterations were demonstrated to increase drug potency by maintaining efficacious levels of plasma phosphoanhydride pyrophosphate in ENPP1‐deficient mice when the optimized biologic was administered at a 10‐fold lower mass dose less frequently than the parent compound—once every 10 days vs. 3 times a week. We believe these improvements represent a general strategy to rationally optimize protein therapeutics