Lives Blighted by Trauma - Reflections on Working with Young Refugee Children

Every child has a basic fundamental right to survival, protection and education. These and many other rights are outlined in the UNCRC (1989), a legally binding international agreement. Yet the rights of children all over the world are violated on a daily basis, as they flee armed conflict and inconceivable atrocities in countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Eritrea. This chapter which draws upon a reflective journal that documents my experience of working with refugee children and their families in Lesvos, Greece, illustrates the interplay between pre-migration and transmigration factors, and how they affect children and families. Set against the backdrop of the UNCRC, and the EU-Turkey deal, which has resulted in the detention of thousands of refugees, half of whom are children, in Greece, the chapter provides insight into the reality of life for children in a refugee camp. While the chapter explores the issue of trauma, it also highlights children’s resilience as they establish relationships with children and adults and engage in play activities in the pre-school and daily life of the refugee camp. However, life as these children once knew it has changed utterly and forever. As families are relocated from refugee camps to European countries, I question whether early childhood educators and teachers have the capacity to meet the needs of children traumatized by war within the context of early childhood and primary school classrooms. Early childhood educators and teachers should not be left with the burden of rehabilitating these young children. Rather, political will is essential to galvanize societal support for systemic investment in national educational systems, and comprehensive supports at multiple levels, child, family, school and the wider community. The time for action is now. Children can no longer wait. This is an issue of basic human rights. The right to survival, health, well-being and education

Determination and Occurrence of Phenoxyacetic Acid Herbicides and Their Transformation Products in Groundwater Using Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Tandem Mass Spectrometry

This research is funded by the National Development Plan, through the Research Stimulus Fund, administered by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (RS-544) and the Teagasc Walsh Fellowship Scheme.peer-reviewedA sensitive method was developed and validated for ten phenoxyacetic acid herbicides, six of their main transformation products (TPs) and two benzonitrile TPs in groundwater. The parent compounds mecoprop, mecoprop-p, 2,4-D, dicamba, MCPA, triclopyr, fluroxypr, bromoxynil, bentazone, and 2,3,6-trichlorobenzoic acid (TBA) are included and a selection of their main TPs: phenoxyacetic acid (PAC), 2,4,5-trichloro-phenol (TCP), 4-chloro-2-methylphenol (4C2MP), 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP), 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (T2P), and 3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxybenzoic acid (BrAC), as well as the dichlobenil TPs 2,6-dichlorobenzamide (BAM) and 3,5-dichlorobenzoic acid (DBA) which have never before been determined in Irish groundwater. Water samples were analysed using an efficient ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) method in an 11.9 min separation time prior to detection by tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). The limit of detection (LOD) of the method ranged between 0.00008 and 0.0047 µg·L−1 for the 18 analytes. All compounds could be detected below the permitted limits of 0.1 µg·L−1 allowed in the European Union (EU) drinking water legislation [1]. The method was validated according to EU protocols laid out in SANCO/10232/2006 with recoveries ranging between 71% and 118% at the spiked concentration level of 0.06 µg·L−1. The method was successfully applied to 42 groundwater samples collected across several locations in Ireland in March 2012 to reveal that the TPs PAC and 4C2MP were detected just as often as their parent active ingredients (a.i.) in groundwater

Importance of dietary sodium in the hypercalciuria syndrome

Importance of dietary sodium in the hypercalciuria syndrome. Daily urinary calcium excretion in renal stone-forming subjects is shown to vary directly with moderate changes in dietary sodium intake. The changes produced are sufficient to alter the basic diagnostic classification from ‘hypercalciuric’ to ‘normocalciuric’ because dietary sodium is reduced from 200 to 80mM/day. Similar changes were observed in fasting morning ‘spot’ urine samples, resulting in alteration of diagnostic subclassification between so-called ‘absorptive’ and ‘renal’ categories, in the absence of demonstrable change in parathyroid function. Diagnostic and therapeutic studies in stone-forming subjects require control of both dietary calcium and dietary sodium if misinterpretations are to be avoided. Habitual high sodium intake may be an etiological factor in the generation of excessive excretion of calcium, sodium, and phosphate — the hypercalciuria syndrome.Importance du sodium alimentaire dans le syndrome d'hypercalciurie. Il est montré que l'excrétion urinaire journalière de calcium chez les sujets atteints de lithiaseurinaire varie directement avec des modifications modérées de l'apport alimentaire en sodium. Les modifications produites sont suffisantes pour altérer la classification diagnostique de base entre ‘hypercalciuriques’ et ‘normocalciuriques’ lorsque le sodium alimentaire est réduit de 200 à 80mM/jour. Des modifications identiques ont été observées sur des échantillons d'urine ponctuels le matin à jeûn, altérant la sous-classification diagnostique entre les catégories dites ‘absorptives’ et ‘rénales’ en l'absence de changement démontrable de la fonction parathyroïdienne. Les études diagnostiques et thérapeutiques chez des sujets lithiasiques demandent le contrôle à la fois du calcium et du sodium alimentaires si on veut éviter des erreurs d'interprétation. Un apport habituel en sodium élevé pourrait être un facteur étiologique dans l'apparition d'une excrétion excessive de calcium, sodium et phosphate — le syndrome d'hypercalciurie

Optimisation of Nutrient Supply for Beef Cattle Fed Grass or Silage.

End of Project ReportSince forage forms a large part of growing ruminant rations in Ireland, the trust of this project was to examine the effect of ensilage on ruminal digestion of grass and to examine ruminal microbial protein and intestinally absorbable protein supplied by grass and/or clover. A range of in vitro and in vivo techniques were employed and strategies used by commercial beef producers to optimise cattle growth (and nutrient supply) were also documented. To accomplish the aims of this project, a range of methodology developments/ modifications in vitro and in vivo was carried out. From in vitro methodology development it was concluded that : (i) Compared with fresh silage, drying per se may give artifically higher rates of dry matter (DM) digestion. (ii) Greater experimental precision can be obtained by ensuring a greater substrate surface area to reaction volume ratio in each reaction vessel. (iii) For studies where the rate of digestion is of greatest importance, pre-incubation of frozen inoculum in a nutrient medium best simulated the cellulolytic activity of unfrozen inoculum. In studies that require large volumes of inoculum for extended work, freezing directly is justified. (iv) Neutral detergent extraction altered in vitro digestion characteristics of silage. The residue after washing with water at 70°C has a high residual fibre concentration and is more representative of the structural components of silage ingested by ruminants. (v) A semi-continuous culture system developed at Grange Research Centre can successfully model in vitro ruminal digestion of fibre and starch-based diets in a controlled environment. From in vivo methodology development it was concluded that : (i) Oven drying at 60°C and correction for loss of volatiles gives a good estimation of DM concentration of ruminal particulate digesta. This procedure has the added advantage that drying at 60°C allows the residual materials to be analysed for fibre fractions without concern for heat damage which can occur at a higher drying temperature. (ii) A naso-ruminal sampling device can be used to measure the relative patterns of fermentation of contrasting diet types when in situ for up to 7 days. (ii) Application of a vacuum to withdraw samples had no negative effect on ruminal fluid variables. From in vitro studies on grass digestion, it was concluded that : (i) Ensiling of grass decreased the apparent extent of digestion of cell walls when in the presence of the whole plant and that this largely reflected an increase in the lag time before digestion commenced. (ii) Ensiling of grass did not negatively affect the digestion of isolated cell walls. (iii) There is a negative impact of ensiling on microbial protein production from the water soluble carbohydrate fraction of grass. (iv) Supplementation with the water soluble fraction of grass significantly improved the apparent extent of digestion for ensiled forages when compared with the supplementation of the post-ensiling fraction in a batch culture system. (v) There is a negative impact of maturity on the pattern of cell wall fermentation and that this impact can be decreased by ensiling method. From studies on herbage digestion in vivo it was concluded that : (i) Grass silage type had a greater effect than the rate of concentrate fermentation on ruminal microbal protein synthesis. (ii) Harvesting time had a bigger impact on nutrient supply from herbage than sward type (grass or grass/clover). (iii) Increasing clover content in the herbage decreased the biological value (g nitrogen retained/kg absorbed) of dietary protein. Diverse stratgies were used on commercial beef farms to optimise nutrient supply and animal growth. Average animal performance on individual farms was not better than would be typically recorded in a research environment. There was scope on many of the farms to improve technical performance and to decrease the costs of production.European Union Structural Funds (EAGGF

Neoliberalism and government responses to Covid-19: Ramifications for early childhood education and care

The Covid-19 pandemic has created an opportunity to examine the initial policies developed by Australian, Canadian, English, German, Greek and Irish governments to limit the spread of the virus. This has revealed governments’ conceptualisation of the early childhood sector and its workforce. This paper argues that neoliberal ideology and neoliberal imaginaries have already influenced the early childhood sector globally. During the pandemic, the choices that governments made at the outset of the pandemic has allowed their priorities and underlying ideology to be more transparent. Using an ethnographic methodology, early childhood researchers from each of the six countries, examined their individual governments policy responses and the effects on the early childhood sector during its initial months (between March and June 2020). The authors consider the extent to which this may have implications for the sector in how it should continue its ongoing pursuit of professionalisation of the sector. © 2022, Western Australian Institute for Educational Research Inc.. All rights reserved

An Assessment of Contamination Fingerprinting Techniques for Determining the Impact of Domestic Wastewater Treatment Systems on Private Well Supplies

Private wells in Ireland and elsewhere have been shown to be prone to microbial contamination with the main suspected sources being practices associated with agriculture and domestic wastewater treatment systems (DWWTS). While the microbial quality of private well water is commonly assessed using faecal indicator bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, such organisms are not usually source-specific, and hence cannot definitively conclude the exact origin of the contamination. This research assessed a range of different chemical contamination fingerprinting techniques (ionic ratios, artificial sweeteners, caffeine, fluorescent whitening compounds, faecal sterol profiles and pharmaceuticals) as to their use to apportion contamination of private wells between human wastewater and animal husbandry wastes in rural areas of Ireland. A one-off sampling and analysis campaign of 212 private wells found that 15% were contaminated with E. coli. More extensive monitoring of 24 selected wells found 58% to be contaminated with E. coli on at least one occasion over a 14-month period. The application of fingerprinting techniques to these monitored wells found that the use of chloride/bromide and potassium/sodium ratios is a useful low-cost fingerprinting technique capable of identifying impacts from human wastewater and organic agricultural contamination, respectively. The artificial sweetener acesulfame was detected on several occasions in a number of monitored wells, indicating its conservative nature and potential use as a fingerprinting technique for human wastewater. However, neither fluorescent whitening compounds nor caffeine were detected in any wells, and faecal sterol profiles proved inconclusive, suggesting limited suitability for the conditions investigated

Determination of the presence of pathogens and anthelmintic drugs in raw milk and raw milk cheeses from small scale producers in Ireland

peer-reviewedThis aim of this study was to assess the microbiological and anthelmintic drug residue risks associated with raw milk used for cheesemaking and raw milk cheese, over an 18-month period. Samples of raw milk, milk filters, curd and cheese from nine raw milk artisan cheese producers in the south of Ireland were tested. Numbers of presumptive Bacillus cereus group, Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes were determined. The determination of anthelmintic drug residues, including benzimidazoles, flukicides, macrocyclic lactone (avermectin and milbemycins), levamisole and morantel was also performed. Neither L. monocytogenes, nor Salmonella spp. were detected in any of the samples tested and no anthelmintic drug residues were detected. Only one of the samples did not conform with regulatory numbers for other bacteria. This survey has shown a good microbiological and residue quality (and low risk) of the raw milk cheese and raw milk used for raw milk cheese produced in Ireland. Moreover, it has shown the importance of frequent assessment of raw milk used for cheesemaking and for raw milk cheese, as it allows the identification of potential problems facilitating resolution of these issues before they cause any public health threat.Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marin