Strategies for Success: How a Small Business Competes in the Motorhome Industry in Ireland.

The motorhome industry in the Irish economy has grown and transformed over the last 20 years with a rise in the number of motorhome companies and campsites around Ireland. This is a small competitive industry that has faced numerous economic challenges, in particular since the economic downturn in 2008. The failure of many firms’ strategy can arise from the firm’s inability to gain a competitive advantage (Porter, 2008). This study provides an analysis of how a small Irish motorhome company can achieve a competitive advantage to increase its business profitability, growth and performance. The motorhome industry in Ireland has received little attention in the business literature. Therefore, the methodology of this study involved the collection of primary data from interviews held with a motorhome manufacturer and a motorhome company. Customer surveys were also randomly distributed to obtain information regarding the motorhome industry and motorhome company in question. This qualitative analysis is accompanied with Porter’s Five Forces (1980) framework to analyse how a small business positions itself in the market to gain a competitive advantage. Since the 2008 economic downturn, a complex and highly competitive marketplace confront many small businesses in Ireland. There is an increase in the intensity of rivalry as the motorhome industry is relatively small in Ireland with each dealer striving to increase its customer base. In 2012, the government introduced policies such as an introduction in Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) on all new motorhomes purchased and a Value Added Tax (VAT) Margin Scheme which inhibited positive growth and performance in the motorhome industry. These constraints heighten the importance of a company to diversify its strategy. In the motorhome industry, the rental service provides the opportunity of increasing a company’s profitability, customer base and business profile. A larger motorhome market exits in the UK which could potentially increase the performance of a company, however uncertainty is exposed in the British market due to Brexit. The aim of the study is to provide context on the Irish motorhome industry, identify the position of a small motorhome company within the industry and provide suggestions to the company for future development

Functional characterisation of VAV-interacting Krüppel-like factor (VIK) in breast cancer

PhDBackground. VAV interacting Krüppel-like factor (VIK) is a novel transcription factor. Previously our lab reported a series of breast cancer tumour samples where VIK methylation was associated with an increased risk of recurrence in tamoxifen-treated patients, indicating a role for VIK in ER positive breast cancer and endocrine resistance. Additionally VIK has been shown to be involved in cell cycle regulation, interacting with CDK4 and VAV1. The cyclin D-CDK4/6-Rb pathway is frequently dysregulated in ER positive breast cancer. Combined treatment of palbociclib, a highly selective CDK4/6 inhibitor, with endocrine therapy substantially improved outcome of patients with ER positive metastatic breast cancer. Increasing clinical use means acquired resistance to palbociclib is emerging as a major clinical challenge. Results. VIK was confirmed to be subject to regulation by DNA methylation in breast cancer. VIK methylation correlated to transcriptional silencing of mRNA in both cancer cell lines and primary tumours. To determine the functional significance of loss of VIK expression, VIK was knocked down in unmethylated breast cancer cell lines and a normal breast epithelial cell line. Knockdown resulted in cell death via induction of apoptosis. VIK knockdown altered cell cycle progression from G1 to S phase. Expression of multiple regulatory cell cycle proteins was altered, differentially in normal and tumour cells. Treatment with the CDK4/6 inhibitor, palbociclib, in cells with reduced VIK expression resulted in decreased sensitivity to the drug, inducing a shift in IC50 value towards resistance. In a model of acquired resistance, T47D cells were cultured long-term with palbociclib generating resistant clones. VIK was significantly downregulated in all resistant clones to barely detectable mRNA levels, suggesting a role for VIK in resistance to CDK4/6 inhibition. Conclusion. This PhD has confirmed VIK is a novel epigenetically regulated gene in breast cancer. VIK expression is essential to both normal and tumour breast cell survival and is involved in the regulation of the G1/S phase transition in the cell cycle. Loss of VIK expression potentially contributes to the development of acquired resistance to CDK4/6 inhibitors.Breast Cancer Campaig

Contrasting pelagic plankton in temperate Irish lakes: the relative contribution of heterotrophic, mixotrophic, and autotrophic components, and the effects of extreme rainfall events

The mobilisation of energy from allocthonous carbon by heterotrophic bacterioplankton can be proportionally more important than autotrophic production in humic lakes. Moreover, increasing levels of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in many aquatic systems linked to increases in precipitation, which in turn may be related to changing climate, mean that this heterotrophic component of the food web may play an increasing role in the overall transfer and production of energy, particularly within peatland catchments. While such catchments are common in the temperate northwest Atlantic regions of Europe, studies describing the seasonal dynamics of the heterotrophic, mixotrophic, and autotrophic components of their aquatic food webs are rare. In this study, the biomass of these pelagic components was enumerated over 1 year in 2 oligotrophic lakes, both situated in peatland catchments in the west of Ireland but with contrasting DOC concentrations. Bacterial biomass dominated the pelagic food web of the more humic lake, Lough Feeagh, while autotrophic phytoplankton biomass was greatest in the clearwater lake, Lough Guitane. The biomass of potentially mixotrophic flagellates was also slightly larger in the Lough Guitane, while phagotrophic ciliate biomass was comparable between the 2 lakes. An extreme precipitation event led to a significant increase in bacterial biomass while simultaneously depressing autotrophic production for several months in the humic lake. Extreme precipitation in the clearwater lake also depressed autotrophic production but did not give rise to significant increases in bacterial biomass. This quantification of autotrophic, mixotrophic, and heterotrophic components provides a vital first step in understanding how pelagic communities contribute to net ecosystem productivity, and thus how Irish peatland lakes may be affected by projected climate changes

Review-Electrode Kinetics and Electrolyte Stability in Vanadium Flow Batteries

Two aspects of vanadium flow batteries are reviewed: electrochemical kinetics on carbon electrodes and positive electrolyte stability. There is poor agreement between reported values of kinetic parameters; however, most authors report that kinetic rates are faster for VIV/VV than for VII/VIII. Cycling the electrode potential increases the rates of both reactions initially due to roughening but when no further roughening is observed, the VII/VIII and VIV/VV reactions are affected oppositely by the pretreatment potential. Anodic pretreatment activates the electrode for the VII/VIII reaction, and deactivates it for VIV/VV. Three states of the carbon surface are suggested: reduced and oxidized states R and O, respectively, both with low electrocatalytic activity, and an intermediate state M with higher activity. The role of surface functional groups and the mechanisms of electron transfer for the VII/VIII and VIV/VV reactions are still not well understood. The induction time for precipitation of V2O5 from positive electrolytes decreases with temperature, showing an Arrhenius-type dependence with an activation energy of 1.79 eV in agreement with DFT calculations based on a VO(OH)3 intermediate. It also decreases exponentially with increasing VV concentration and increases exponentially with increasing sulphate concentration. Both arsenate and phosphate are effective additives for improving thermal stability

Genomic investigations of unexplained acute hepatitis in children

Since its first identification in Scotland, over 1,000 cases of unexplained paediatric hepatitis in children have been reported worldwide, including 278 cases in the UK1. Here we report an investigation of 38 cases, 66 age-matched immunocompetent controls and 21 immunocompromised comparator participants, using a combination of genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and immunohistochemical methods. We detected high levels of adeno-associated virus 2 (AAV2) DNA in the liver, blood, plasma or stool from 27 of 28 cases. We found low levels of adenovirus (HAdV) and human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B) in 23 of 31 and 16 of 23, respectively, of the cases tested. By contrast, AAV2 was infrequently detected and at low titre in the blood or the liver from control children with HAdV, even when profoundly immunosuppressed. AAV2, HAdV and HHV-6 phylogeny excluded the emergence of novel strains in cases. Histological analyses of explanted livers showed enrichment for T cells and B lineage cells. Proteomic comparison of liver tissue from cases and healthy controls identified increased expression of HLA class 2, immunoglobulin variable regions and complement proteins. HAdV and AAV2 proteins were not detected in the livers. Instead, we identified AAV2 DNA complexes reflecting both HAdV-mediated and HHV-6B-mediated replication. We hypothesize that high levels of abnormal AAV2 replication products aided by HAdV and, in severe cases, HHV-6B may have triggered immune-mediated hepatic disease in genetically and immunologically predisposed children

A molecular dynamics exploration of the properties of bulk and nanosized single-crystal copper

Copper has a history of use that is at least 10,000 years old and it is still one of the most useful metals in today’s world. Nanocrystals of copper are of great scientific interest as they are effectively a bridge between bulk materials and atomic structures. Nanocrystalline copper is used in medical, electronic and coating applications. As Integrated Circuit devices approach nanoscale dimensions copper is the metal of choice for interconnect design. While bulk copper will have constant physical properties regardless of its size, at the nanoscale size-dependent properties are often observed. One purpose of this study was to investigate the properties of reduced-dimension copper crystals and to compare the properties of these small crystals with those of bulk single crystal copper. Metal crystals contain inclusions such as vacancies and voids. These inclusions can change the properties of the crystal. Clusters of vacancies are also thought to result in void formation under certain conditions of stress. Another aim of this work was to investigate and characterize the stresses and energies introduced by single vacancies in copper single crystals. Voids can drastically alter the resistance of a current carrying copper film and can lead to line breaks and device failure through electromigration. As void formation and collapse is an integral component of the electromigration process, the final aim of this work was to determine the pressures required to expand/collapse various sized spherical voids under compressive and tensional strains. Since the study of vacancies and small voids in copper crystals requires techniques beyond the scope of modern technology, Molecular Dynamics simulation was the tool used to undertake this study. The potential energy function employed to model the dynamics of copper atoms was the Sutton Chen potential energy function. The original parameters of this potential energy function were modified to return the most up-to-date properties of copper. The melting process in spherical nanocrystals of copper was investigated and compared to those of bulk single crystal copper. An appropriate method for determining melting temperature in nanocrystals was obtained. It was found that the melting process proceeded from surface to interior with increasing temperature. Distance to interior rather than crystal size was found to be the determining factor in melting temperature. A study of the effect of surface on the elastic properties of copper was undertaken and a previous anomaly between theory and experimental results was explained. While a number of methods are in use to measure stress on an atomic level using a twobody potential, difficulties arise in implementing some of these methods with a many-body potential such as the Sutton Chen potential. A suitable method was identified and implemented. A single vacancy was introduced into both a bulk and a nanocrystal of copper and the stresses and strains in atoms surrounding the vacancy were studied and documented. The volume of a vacancy was found to be much larger than previous studies predicted. The energy introduced by the inclusion of a vacancy was found to reside mainly in those atoms closest to the vacancy. Atoms closest to a vacant atomic site were found to exist in a state of tension. Finally, single spherical voids of different radii were introduced in bulk single crystals and both compressive and tensional strains were applied. Under tension, voids expanded elastically until a critical radius was reached after which the void expanded freely. A clear relationship emerged between void radius at this point and system pressure. Under compression, contrary to previous studies, a barrier to void collapse was found to exist. This barrier is a function of void surface structure rather than void radius or applied pressure. Previous studies on copper tend to emphasise the effect of high current density on thin copper films. The rationale for the studies is to reduce line failure. The results often focus on theory developed on mesoscopic scales and without the addition of temperature effects. At the nanoscale these theories sometimes fail. This work forms a basis for understanding copper crystals on an atomic level

Modelling and accelerated testing of catholyte stability in vanadium flow batteries

Using our standard methodology, we examined the thermal stability of vanadium flow battery positive electrolytes over a range of temperature from 30 to 70 °C with stable lifetimes from 11 min to 87 days. At higher temperatures (45 °C–70 °C) measurements showed excellent reproducibility but at lower temperatures (30 °C–45 °C) showed some scatter. Measurements at higher temperatures are in good agreement with our (single-slope) model which is based on earlier data but there is some divergence from the model at lower temperatures. Arrhenius plots of the data show two linear regimes: one in the range 45 °C–70 °C and another in the range 30 °C–45 °C, the latter having a higher Arrhenius slope. Based on linear least-squares best fits in these two regimes, we have formulated an improved stability model (two-slope model). We use our models to derive expressions for accelerated testing of thermal stability using increased temperature, increased vanadium concentration and decreased sulfate concentration and estimate values for the acceleration factors over a range of test and use temperatures and concentrations. We analyse the effect of changing concentration to counteract the decrease in electrolyte stability at higher temperatures and derive expressions to calculate the necessary concentrations

Communication—A new additive for increased stabilization of catholytes in vanadium flow batteries (VFBs)

We report a newadditive,monobasic potassium arsenate (KH2AsO4), for improving the thermal stability of VFB catholytes.Using our standard accelerated testing methodology at 30–70°C, we showed that the effect increases continuously with increasing concentration of arsenate over the range investigated (0 – 0.10 mol dm−3). In comparison to similar experiments with phosphate (H3PO4), the magnitude of the effect was greater for arsenate. A combination of arsenate and phosphate was also effective. Based on these results, we speculate that other Group-V elements in the +5 oxidation state may also stabilize VFB catholyte

Communication-observation of arrhenius behavior of catholyte stability in vanadium flow batteries

The stability of typical vanadium flowbattery (VFB) catholytes with respect to precipitation of V2O5 was investigated at temperatures in the range 30–60◦C. In all cases a precipitate formed after an induction time, which decreased with increasing temperature and concentration of VV and increased with concentration of sulfate. Arrhenius-type plots are shown for two typical solutions. These have excellent linearity and have similar slopes which yield an apparent activation energy of 1.79 eV (172 kJ mol−1). The variation of induction time with temperature for various concentrations of VV was simulated, and stability diagrams for additive-free VFB catholytes were generated

Measurement and computer simulation of catholyte stability in vanadium flow batteries (VFBs)

Based on careful experimental measurements, a model for the stability of vanadium flow battery (VFB) catholytes was developed which quantifies their precipitation behavior as a function of temperature and composition. The model enables simulation of the induction time for precipitation at a temperature T for any catholyte with concentrations of sulfate and VV within the range of applicability. The results of such simulations are in good agreement with experiment. The model can predict catholyte stability using any of three alternative metrics: the induction time τ, the relative stability parameter ρ and the stability temperature TW. The induction time is a good measure of overall stability; the relative stability parameter compares the stability of any catholyte to a standard in a temperature-independent manner; and the stability temperature estimates the upper temperature limit at which a catholyte is stable for practical purposes. Equations are derived for these parameters and the behavior of each parameter is simulated and plotted under a variety of conditions. Likewise, the effect of state of charge is simulated and plotted. The plots and the associated equations provide detailed stability data that can be useful in the design of practical flow batteries