Research Day 2013 Book of Abstracts

Waterford Institute of Technology gratefully acknowledges the support of the sponsors of

Research Day 2013.

WIT Research Day 2013

Schedule of Event

8.45 – 9.15 Registration and Refreshments Main Atrium, WIT Cork Road Campus 9.15 – 9.35 Keynote Address: Is it worth doing a PhD?

Dr Conor O’Carroll, Research Director, Irish Universities Association

9.35 – 9.50 Academia versus Industry: the choices and the opportunities Dr Willie Donnelly, Vice President for Research & Innovation, Waterford Institute of Technology

9.50 – 10.00 Early stage researchers in the IOT sector Mr Andrew Brownlee, Director of Research, Development &

Innovation, Institutes of Technology, Ireland

10.00 – 10.20 Question and Answer Session

10.20 – 11.25 Research Theme: Society, Culture, Economy, Business & Enterprise

Chair: Ms Susie Cullinane, Office of Research & Innovation, Waterford Institute of Technology

Developing insight into tourism destination dynamics, and

the life cycle status: the role of network management capabilities, and network embeddedness

Mr Noel Murray Department of Management & Organisation

Country characteristics in the demand and supply nexus of

SME finance: a European perspective Ms Andrea McNamara Department of Accounting & Economics


An investigation of inefficiencies and additionality in enterprise supports: a study of the Irish enterprise support system

Mr David Pasley Department of Accounting & Economics

Innovation in micro firms: a critical study of managerial capabilities in the Irish tourism context

Mr Arthur Kearney Department of Management & Organisation

The plays of Jim Nolan: a study Mr Patrick McEvoy Department of Creative & Performing Arts

11.25 – 12.00 Coffee Break & Poster Viewing

12.00 – 12.10 On my way to Research

Dr Pelagia Glampedaki, South East Applied Materials (SEAM) Research Centre, Waterford Institute of Technology

12.10 – 13.15 Research Theme: Materials, Energy & ICT Chair: Dr Pelagia Glampedaki

A field investigation into the seasonal and regional variation of moisture content: the most important quality parameter of wood fuel

Mr Nicholas Mockler Department of Chemical & Life Sciences

Challenges of electromagnetic nano-communications in the

Internet of nano-things Ms Armita Afsharinejad Department of Computing, Mathematics & Physics


Design of a controlled drug release system (CDRS) for target molecules

Ms Sarah Duggan Department of Chemical & Life Sciences

An investigation into the wood fuel supply chain of stump wood as a biomass material

Mr Billy Horgan Department of Chemical & Life Sciences

Development of contact lenses for ocular drug delivery Mr David Phelan Department of Chemical & Life Sciences 13.15 – 14.15 Lunch, Poster Viewing & Voting

14.15 – 15.30 Research Theme: Environment, Health & Life Science

Chair: Ms Eimear Fitzpatrick, Office of Research & Innovation, Waterford Institute of Technology

Bio-transformations using nitrile hydrolysing enzymes for stereoselective organic chemistry

Ms Tracey Coady

Department of Chemical & Life Sciences

Antenatal care for low risk pregnant women in the south

east of Ireland: an exploratory study

Ms Annette Cullen Murphy

Department of Nursing

The application of non-invasive genetic methods to free

ranging deer populations

Ms Ciara Powell



Cell-derived microparticles as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of carotid artery disease

Mr Antony Wekesa

Department of Health, Sport & Exercise Science

Concordance of macular pigment measurements obtained

using customised heterochromatic flicker photometry, dual-

wavelength autofluorescence, and single-wavelength

fundus reflectance

Ms Jessica Dennison


Development of Transdermal Drug Delivery Devices for the

Treatment of Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer

Ms Jennifer Morrissey


15.30 – 15.50 Poster Viewing & Networking

15.50 – 16:15 Proclamation of the Winners of the Poster and Oral Competitions

Closure of Research Day 2013


Society, Culture, Economy, Business & Enterprise

Chair: Ms Susie Cullinane


Noel Murray

Title: Developing insight into tourism destination dynamics, and the life cycle status: the role of network management capabilities, and network embeddedness Supervisors: Dr Patrick Lynch, Dr Anthony Foley

Tourism destination management has attracted considerable attention in the literature with changing tourist preferences requiring an integrated offering at a destination level. However, attempting to integrate disparate stakeholders within the tourism destination has made the role of the Destination Management Organisation (DMO) extremely difficult. Due to the fragmented nature of the tourism industry, no single organisation has the capability to manage the wide diversity of tourism offerings at a destination level. It is likely that the inconsistency evident in the efficacy of tourism destinations is explained by this dynamic. Therefore, it is proposed that applying a network perspective, where destinations can be viewed as strategic nets for the specific purpose of creating an integrated destination offering, will offer insight into destination efficacy.

The theoretical basis to the study is informed by the Industrial Network Approach and Resource Based View (RBV) of the firm which provides a meaningful lens for exploring destination management efficacy. The study also incorporates destination lifecycle literature to examine destinations along a development continuum. A longitudinal multiple site case approach is used in the empirical study (situated in the destinations of Killarney, Kilkenny, and Waterford) to investigate how levels of network and positional embeddedness, and the presence of key network management capabilities, can explain the dynamic, and life cycle status of the destination. The findings illustrate varying configurations of network embeddedness, and management capabilities to explain destination life cycle stage, and efficacy.


Andrea McNamara

Title: Country characteristics in the demand and supply nexus of SME finance: a European perspective Supervisor: Dr Sheila O’Donohoe

Within the capital structure determination of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), many studies concentrate on firm, owner and industry characteristics as key determinants (Heyman et al, 2008; López-Gracia and Sogorb-Mira, 2008; Mac an Bhaird and Lucey, 2009). Further studies consider country characteristics, evaluating whether a firm’s financing behaviour is shaped by country specific factors (Hall et al, 2004; Daskalakis and Psillaki, 2008; Beck et al, 2008; Psillaki and Daskalakis, 2009; Jöeveer, 2012). Despite SME studies that include country characteristics, the focus has been on their impact in the demand for finance in particular SME bank credit (Hall et al, 2004; Daskalakis and Psillaki, 2008; Beck et al, 2008; Psillaki and Daskalakis, 2009; Jöeveer, 2012) with little or no attention on the supply side. This study set in a European context evaluates a more complete set of country variables and draws on the US conceptual framework of Berger and Udell (2006). Conducted over three distinct phases, emphasis is placed on the demand and supply side of SME bank credit as this study assesses how country characteristics influence the capital structure of European SMEs. Using a sample of SMEs from 11 European countries spanning the time period March 2010 to September 2011, the results from phase 1 reveal that the judicial, bankruptcy and social environments are important in influencing the availability of SME bank credit with the information environment deemed less important. Furthermore, firm size and the wealth of a country are also deemed important in shaping SME bank credit availability.


David Pasley

Title: An investigation of inefficiencies and additionality in enterprise

supports: a study of the Irish enterprise support system

Supervisors: Professor Bill O’Gorman, Dr Sheila O’Donohoe

Irish SMEs represent 99.7% of enterprises and account for 69% of private sector employment (CSO, 2012a). However, these enterprises face a myriad of challenges including poor access to finance, low export intensity, low levels of technology investment and high failure rates (CSO, 2012b, 2012c; Lawless, McCann and NcIndoe-Calder, 2012; Forfas, 2012). To address these challenges governments intervene with support. Irish government capital expenditure on enterprise will amount to €2.33 billion for 2012 to 2016, equating to 13.7% of total capital expenditure (Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, 2011). Given this high level of spending, evaluating the effectiveness of such intervention is paramount.

Evaluations of such spending typically involve measuring the level of additionality; the additional level of economic activity attributable to support (Lenihan, Hart and Roper, 2005). However, evaluations have also uncovered a range of inefficiencies associated with support. These include deadweight, information asymmetries, rent seeking, substitution of private finance with public funds, misperception of market failure, selection bias, and the appropriateness of support for the issues SMEs face (Wren, 1994; Roper and Hewitt-Dundas, 1998; Lenihan, 1999; Bergstrom, 2000; Wren, 2003; Boter and Lundström, 2005; Tokila et al 2007).

Previous studies have typically examined these inefficiencies in isolation. This current research aims to examine all of these inefficiencies simultaneously, while also testing for additionality. Furthermore, many previous studies have relied solely on sampling supported enterprises. This research will employ surveys and semi-structured interviews to compare enterprises supported by Enterprise Ireland and City and County Enterprise Boards (CEBs) with matching, rejected applicants for support. This will be supplemented with interviews conducted with Enterprise Ireland and CEB representatives.


Arthur Kearney

Title: Innovation in micro firms: a critical study of managerial capabilities in the Irish tourism context

Supervisors: Dr Denis Harrington, Dr Felicity Kelliher

The tourism industry is highlighted by policy makers as an indigenous source of G.D.P. and employment growth (Department of the Taoiseach, 2012). The industry faces complex and deep competitiveness challenges (Fáilte Ireland, 2012), though innovation is one mechanism for overcoming these (Adalabert et al. 2010). Micro firms dominate the industry (EU, 2012) and are the subject of an emerging literature base positing their uniqueness (Morrison and Conway, 2007 and the vital role played by the dominant micro firm owner/ manager (Greenbank, 2000). Research into micro firm innovation is limited (Corrocher et al. 2009) and specifically, despite calls for research (Thomas et al. 2011; Simpson, 2001) there is limited literature on managerial capability for innovation in micro firms. A critical literature review develops a theoretical model of managerial capability for innovation in context delineating leadership, strategic thinking, problem solving and people relationships as key capability criteria. Premised on the contextual nature of micro firm managerial capability (Devins et al. 2005) the argument is made for the use of a qualitative research methodology to test the efficacy of the theoretical model. Specifically the interview method is argued to provide a unique arena through which to dynamically engage with owner/ managers of micro firms, enabling the capture of managerial capability rooted in informality (Greenbank, 2000) and manifest as practice (O’Dwyer and Ryan, 2000). For the academic community the research fills a gap in the literature. The contextual nature of the research promises to aid both policy makers and practitioners in the development of competitiveness.


Patrick McEvoy

Title: The plays of Jim Nolan: a study

Supervisors: Dr Una Kealy, Dr Richard Hayes

Jim Nolan’s plays have won critical acclaim and have toured nationally and internationally. However, with the exception of a minor dissertation thesis no critical appraisal of Nolan’s work has been completed. This paper examines how Nolan’s work is expressive of similar concerns to other major Irish playwrights particularly Brian Friel, Tom Murphy and Billy Roche but contends that Jim Nolan is a unique talent in Irish theatre and, though he may share some interests with his contemporaries, his writing is driven also by particular concerns of his own. Amongst such concerns is a curiosity for and interest in the South East region, a region that is not widely understood or recognised. Nolan’s work is informed by the region in that his dramatic plots are frequently based on incidents from there, his characters’ voices are in its regional accent and its places provide the settings for his dramas. This paper explores the relevance and resonance of the local Waterford landscape, the people and their social and cultural preoccupations to Nolan’s drama and, through comparison with other playwrights such as Billy Roche, chronicles and critiques Nolan’s contribution to Irish theatre and literature thus remedying an existing deficiency in Irish theatre research.


Materials, Energy & ICT

Chair: Dr Pelagia Glampedaki


Nicholas Mockler

Title: A field investigation into the seasonal and regional variation of moisture content: the most important quality parameter of wood fuel

Supervisors: Mr Tom Kent, Dr Eleanor Owens

Fuel property databases help to describe the nature of wood fuel, with reference to the optimisation of operations associated with the harvesting, seasoning, processing and conversion of wood into energy. The most important of all fuel properties is the moisture content of wood. Moisture content has an influence on the energy conversion efficiency, storage properties and transportation logistics of wood fuel. In this study, the seasonal and regional variation of moisture content was investigated. The premise of this investigation was to identify suitable harvesting and seasoning periods for wood fuel. This comprised of sampling stem and branch partitions during winter, spring and summer, in three different locations: the South East (52oN), Midlands (53oN) and North West (54oN) of Ireland. Six tree species were investigated in this experiment: alder, ash, birch, lodgepole pine, Norway spruce and Sitka spruce. Of the six species, ash was the only one to show significant seasonal variation in stem wood moisture content. Ash stem wood moisture content was lower in winter and higher during spring and summer. For the most part, branch wood moisture content reduced for all species during spring and summer in comparison to winter. These significant seasonal fluctuations in moisture content occurred in all three sampling locations. Ultimately, this study confirmed that the ambient drying conditions for the seasoning of wood fuel as opposed to investigating moisture content in situ should receive more scrutiny. Nonetheless, this study confirmed that March – August is the most suitable seasoning timeframe for drying wood for energy purposes in Ireland, whereas September – February are not suitable.


Armita Afsharinejad

Title: Challenges of electromagnetic nano-communications in the

Internet of nano-things

Supervisors: Dr Sasitharan Balasubramaniam, Dr Ray Carroll

Recent advances in nanotechnology have enabled the development of nanomaterials such as graphene. Graphene is a substance made of one-atom thick sheet of pure carbon, with interesting properties. By utilizing the graphene as the communication unit, we can envision the fabrication of nano-devices (nano-things), just a few nanometers in dimensions capable to communicate via electromagnetic waves.

Theses nano-devices can be connected to form the internet of nano-things providing a wide range of applications such as health monitoring, military and defense systems.

The most notable challenges for electromagnetic communications at nanoscale are the molecular absorption and noise. These parameters have an intensive effect on the effective transmission distance, channel capacity and therefore packet loss of a network. The observed absorption and noise strongly depend on the communications frequency band and the distance. Therefore in our research we study the effect of frequency tuning on the channel capacity and packet loss probability as performance parameters of a nano-network.

Considering the nanoscale electromagnetic communications as a new research area, there are many challenges for feasibility of communications in a network of nano-devices.

In the literature some of these challenges have been addressed as the communication method, energy limitations of nano-devices and so forth.

Focusing on the communication challenges, there are proper propagation and energy models for devices in nanoscale. Based on the previous works in this area, the operational frequency of such nano-devices will be in the Terahertz range.


Sarah Duggan

Title: Design of a controlled release system (CDRS) for target

molecules

Supervisors: Dr Orla O’Donovan, Dr Eleanor Owens, Dr Wayne Cummins, Dr Helen Hughes

Mucoadhesion is the binding of a material to a mucosal surface of the body. Many natural and synthetic polymers exhibit mucoadhesive properties and are utilised as drug delivery systems. Current routes of administration, for example injections and oral tablets, often cause systemic side effects, have poor patient compliance, and can have limited therapeutic action. As a result, research is currently on-going into the creation of controlled drug release systems which may lessen these concerns. Mucoadhesive polymeric drug delivery systems are thought to have many advantages over other methods of administration. This targeted drug delivery would facilitate localised controlled drug release to the specific site of action. Thiolation of polymers has been shown to increase their mucoadhesive properties by up to 100-fold. Some natural polymers have mucoadhesive properties but many can be improved by the process of thiolation. Natural polymers are increasingly being investigated as drug delivery systems due to their biodegradable properties. This in turn may lessen the risks of unwanted side effects. In this project, a biodegradable polymer, which has limited mucoadhesive properties, was used. The aim of this project initially is to modify the polymer, thus creating a highly thiolated product with improved mucoadhesive properties. Characterisation of the polymer is carried out including its physical characteristics, swelling potential and the measurement of its mucoadhesive properties. Future studies of this polymer will include its potential as a drug delivery device.


Billy Horgan

Title: An investigation into the wood fuel supply chain of stump

wood as a biomass material

Supervisors: Mr Tom Kent, Mr Michael Pedini

Ireland’s demand for wood based biomass is increasing due to the implementation of the European Parliament Directive 2009/28/EC. It is estimated that there will be a shortfall of supply by the year 2020 of approximately 1.6 million cubic metres if only currently employed wood supply chains are used. Stump harvesting may be able to supply biomass to contribute to this requirement, but at present no stump harvesting system is operating in Ireland. Before the adoption of such system, an evaluation of the biomass recoverable in Irish conditions is needed.

This study evaluates the stump biomass supply chain from five trial sites in Ireland during a collaborative trial between Waterford Institute of Technology, Coillte (the Irish State forestry company) and Medite (an MDF manufacturer in the south east of Ireland). The evaluation took place investigating three separate work packages. These work packages aim to evaluate the quantity of material recoverable from each site, the productivity of each process in the supply chain and the quality of the material. The trial took place on five sites: two peat soil, and three mineral soil conditions. All sites were conifer clearfells. In total, 4.83 hectares productive area was harvested. During the study measurement were taken to estimate the quantity of material extracted from each site, the productivity of each operation in the supply chain and the quality of the material throughout the trial period.

Currently the material on each site is awaiting being processed and transported to the end user Medite. Once complete the study will report on the total biomass recovered from each site, the productivity of each process in the supply chain and the quality of the material throughout the trial.


David Phelan

Title: Development of contact lenses for ocular drug delivery

Supervisor: Dr Peter McLoughlin

Ocular diseases such as Intra-Ocular Pressure and allergic conjunctivitis are treated using eye drops, ointments and gels, which account for 90% of the Ocular drug delivery market(1). These drug delivery methods however are not very effective, with 95% of the delivered dose lost by tear drainage and blinking(2). Furthermore, therapeutic dose levels are only present for a short period of time after use(3). This leads to issues with side effects and poor disease management. Contact lenses have the potential to become medical devices which can maintain the therapeutic dose in order to more effectively manage these diseases.

The objective of this research is to produce novel medical devices for ocular drug delivery. To this end, the research focusses on state of the art techniques and applications of controlled drug release from contact lenses. Lens design, in-house lens manufacture, material characterisation, and drug elution optimisation were used to manufacture and load contact lenses with pharmaceutically relevant materials.

This study has successfully shown that it is possible to manufacture lenses loaded with vitamin E, in-house, to commercial standards. Vitamin E acts as a diffusion attenuator and affects the release of pharmaceutical compounds subsequently loaded into the polymer matrix(4). Result data has shown it is possible to tailor polymer composition and control lens properties and to facilitate their use in drug delivery. A 35% increase in loading of vitamin E was observed by altering polymer composition. These prototype drug delivery devices will be investigated to establish their potential for use in the treatment of allergic conjunctivitis and other ocular diseases with a variety of drug substances and drug loading techniques.

1. VisionGain Ophthalmic Drugs: World Market Prospects 2012-2022, published in March 2012. 2012. 2. Xinming, L., et al., Polymeric hydrogels for novel contact lens-based ophthalmic drug delivery systems: A review. Contact Lens and Anterior Eye, 2008. 31(2): p. 57-64. 3. Jung, H.J., et al., Glaucoma therapy by extended release of timolol from nanoparticle loaded silicone-hydrogel contact lenses. Journal of Controlled Release, 2013. 165(1): p. 82-89. 4. Peng, C.-C., J. Kim, and A. Chauhan, Extended delivery of hydrophilic drugs from silicone-hydrogel contact lenses containing Vitamin E diffusion barriers. Biomaterials, 2010. 31(14): p. 4032-4047.


Environment, Health & Life Sciences

Chair: Ms Eimear Fitzpatrick


Tracey Coady

Title: Biotransformations using nitrile hydrolysing enzymes for

stereoselective organic chemistry

Supervisors: Dr Claire Lennon, Dr Catherine O’Reilly

Nitrile hydrolysing enzymes have found wide use in the pharmaceutical industry for the production of fine chemicals. b- hydroxy nitriles can act as sources of b-hydroxy carboxylic acids via hydrolysis reactions(1). Nitrile biocatalysis can selectively facilitate this hydrolysis without affecting acid- or alkali- labile functional groups present (2, 3). For example, 3-hydroxy-3-phenylpropionic acid and its derivatives have been used as precursors to chiral drugs such as nisoxetine, fluoxetine and tomoxetine (4). Additionally of particular commercial interest is the nitrilase catalysed hydrolysis of 3-hydroxyglutaronitrile, the ethyl-ester of which is an intermediate to the cholesterol lowering drug (atorvastatin) Lipitor (5). This potential has resulted in significant work to identify bacteria and fungi capable of hydrolysing such nitriles (6).

This work presents a strategy that facilitates the rapid identification of isolates demonstrating nitrile hydrolysing activity. The strategy incorporates toxicity, starvation and induction studies along with subsequent colorimetric screening for activity, further focusing the assessment towards the substrates of interest. This high-throughput strategy uses a 96 well plate system, and has enabled the rapid biocatalytic screening of 256 novel bacterial isolates towards β-hydroxynitriles. Results demonstrate the strategy’s potential to


rapidly assess a variety of β-hydroxynitriles including aliphatic, aromatic and dinitriles. A whole cell catalyst (Rhodococcus ertyhropolis SS1-TE) was identified and found to catalyse the hydrolysis of 3-hydroxybutyronitrile with remarkably high enantioselectivity under mild conditions, to afford (S)-3-hydroxybutyric acid.

1. E.C. Hann, A.E. Sigmund, S.K. Fager et al. Adv. Synth. Catal. 2003, 345, 775 2. S. Kamila, D. Zhu, E.R. Biehl, L. Hua. Org Lett. 2006, 20,4429 3. D. Brady, A. Beeton, J. Zeevaart, C. Kgaje, F. Rantwijk, R.A. Sheldon. Appl. Microbiol. Biot. 2004. 1. 76. 4. A. Kamal, G.B.R Khanna, R. Ramu. Tetrahedron . Asymm. 2002, 18, 2039. 5. G. DeSantis, Z. Zhu, W.A. Greenberg et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002, 31, 9024. 6. C. O'Reilly, P.D. Turner. Journal of Applied Microbiology. 2003, 6, 1161


Annette Cullen Murphy

Title: Antenatal care for low risk pregnant women in the south east

of Ireland: an exploratory study

Supervisors: Dr Martina Gooney, Dr Patricia Chesser-Smyth, Ms Linda Sheahan

A pregnancy is considered ‘low risk’ if the woman is without pre-existing medical conditions and pregnancy complications. Midwives are specialists in normal pregnancy therefore midwifery led care is recommended as being the best type of care for low risk pregnant women. In Ireland, most maternity units follow the medical led model of care and women’s choices for maternity care are limited to using either private health insurance or public consultant led clinics. Various different midwifery led schemes are provided in the South Eastern region; however, concerns exist regarding the knowledge and accessibility of these schemes.

The aim of this research study was to explore the provision of antenatal care services for low risk pregnant women in the South Eastern region. A mixed methods approach was used involving 3 phases: a descriptive survey (n=394) and focus groups involving women (n=42) and multidisciplinary professionals (n=62). Data was analysed using Predictive Analytics Software (PASW) and a content analysis framework (Elo and Kyngas, 2008) with data management aided by the use of NVivo 9 software.

Overall, the results confirmed that participants were largely positive about their antenatal care however a lack of awareness regarding their low risk status and care options was demonstrated. Findings also revealed that there were problems with the provision of information and women expressed communication difficulties and decision making concerns. Findings from health professionals involved concerns regarding communication between services and access to care. Recommendations include the development of decision making aids and integration of a referral pathway.


Ciara Powell

Title: The application of non-invasive genetic methods to free

ranging deer populations

Supervisors: Dr Catherine O’Reilly, Dr Peter Turner

Estimating population parameters of free ranging animals living within forest landscapes can be difficult. This is the case for three deer species in Ireland, red deer (Cervus elaphus), sika deer (Cervus Nippon) and fallow deer (Dama dama). The objective of this study was to develop a suite of molecular tools to assess the population parameters of deer living within concealed habitats. A pilot study was conducted to establish baseline winter population distribution of the three deer species within two study sites in County Cork, Ireland. During November 2012, fecal pellets were sampled from 1km transects along forest roads at 78 sites within two 16km2 study areas. DNA was extracted from individual pellets and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays were used to determine species of origin for each sample. Three deer species were identified, red, sika and fallow. Four non-target species were also identified in survey, sheep (Ovis aries), goat (Capra hircus), hare (Lepus timidus) and rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Deer were detected at seven forest sites within the two study areas. The positive deer samples will be assessed for genotyping and a proportion will be identified to individual using a suite of microsatellite markers. These genotypes will be used to estimate deer abundance and will provide a baseline population estimate for comparison with summer and winter surveys during 2013 and 2014.


Antony Wekesa

Title: Cell-derived microparticles as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of carotid artery disease Supervisors: Dr Michael Harrison, Professor Keith Simon Cross

Cell-derived microparticles (MP) are small plasma membrane derived vesicles shed into circulation by cells. There is increasing interest in their potential as biomarkers of cardiovascular diseases.

This study investigated whether MP and soluble cardiovascular biomarkers can; (1) discriminate (a) symptomatic carotid artery disease (CAD) patients from volunteers without CAD (b) stable from unstable CAD patients (2) predict CAD

Blood samples were obtained from 42 symptomatic CAD patients and 69 volunteers without CAD. The bloods were processed and analysed for MP and soluble biomarkers.

In univariable models, soluble thrombomodulin (sTM), soluble vascular adhesion molecule 1 (sVCAM-1), serum amyloid A, C-reactive protein, annexin V+ MP, CD31+ MP, CD41+ MP and annexin V+CD41+ MP identified CAD patients. The logistic regression models containing annexin V+ MP, sVCAM-1 and sTM (C-statistic 0.701); annexin V+ MP and CD105/CD144/CD146+ EMP (C-statistic 0.694); annexin V+ MP and sVCAM-1 (C-statistic 0.665) identified CAD patients.

Twenty five plaques were stable and 16 were unstable. In univariable models, sTM, CD31+CD41- MP and CD105/CD144/CD146+ MP identified CAD patients with unstable plaques. The logistic regression model containing CD31+CD41- EMP and sTM (C-statistic 0.828) identified CAD patients with unstable plaques.

MP have diagnostic and prognostic ability and might complement traditional biomarkers thus improve assessment of CAD. MP have the potential to identify which asymptomatic CAD patients should have surgical treatment and therefore a similar pilot study utilising asymptomatic CAD patients should be undertaken.


Jessica Dennison

Title: Concordance of macular pigment measurements obtained

using customised heterochromatic flicker photometry, dual-

wavelength autofluorescence, and single-wavelength fundus

reflectance

Supervisor: Professor John Nolan

This study compares in vivo measurements of macular pigment (MP) obtained using customized heterochromatic flicker photometry (cHFP; Macular Metrics Densitometer™), dual-wavelength fundus autofluorescence (Heidelberg Spectralis®) and single-wavelength fundus reflectance (Zeiss Visucam®).

MP was measured in one eye of 62 subjects using each of the three devices. Agreement between the Densitometer and Spectralis was investigated at various eccentricities, using a variety of quantitative and graphical methods, including: Pearson correlation to measure degree of scatter (precision); accuracy coefficient to measure shifts in location or scale; concordance correlation coefficient, paired t-test, scatter and Bland-Altman plots. Because data at different eccentricities is not yielded from the Visucam, agreement between central MP on this device and central MP from the Spectralis and Densitometer was investigated using regression methods.

Agreement was strong between the Densitometer and Spectralis at all central eccentricities. Regression analysis showed a very weak relationship between the Densitometer and the Zeiss Visucam data. Regression analysis also demonstrated a weak relationship between MP readings yielded from the Spectralis and Visucam.

MP values obtained using the Heidelberg Spectralis are comparable to MP values obtained using the Densitometer. In contrast, MP values obtained using the Zeiss Visucam are not comparable with either the Densitometer or the Spectralis MP measuring devices. Taking cHFP as the current gold standard, the Spectralis is suitable for use in a clinical and research setting, whereas the Visucam is not.


Jennifer Morrissey

Title: Development of Transdermal Drug Delivery Devices for the

Treatment of Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer

Supervisors: Dr Niall O’Reilly, Dr Helen Hughes, Dr Peter McLoughlin

Transdermal drug delivery (TDD) is the effective delivery of drugs into the skin. However, the skins main barrier, the Stratum Corneum (SC) is designed to protect the body from dehydration, infection and the passage of chemicals. This in turn, makes TDD very challenging. One large area of interest in TDD is non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC). NMSC is the No. 1 diagnosed cancer in Ireland in both men and women, next to prostate and breast cancer, respectively. Due to high dose application of the commercial product many undesirable side effects occur which, in turn can lead to patient irritation/pain and non-completion of the treatment. This study addresses these issues with the development of a low dose transdermal polymeric patch. Five polymers (A-E) were chosen with uniform drug encapsulation of Drug A1 throughout each patch design. Following a number of release studies, results indicated patches using Polymer A and Polymer B demonstrated equal potential in TDD. Using Polymer E, microneedles were fabricated to investigate the permeation of Drug A1 when the SC barrier has been punctured/disrupted. A full thickness In-Vitro human skin study was completed using patches, Polymer A, Polymer B and microneedle treated skin (poke and patch technique using Polymer B patches) and the current leading commercial product. Following analysis a full skin distribution study was completed for each TDD device to evaluate the retention of the drug in the skin layers over 24 h.


Poster Displays


Society, Culture, Economy, Business & Enterprise

1 Innovation in micro firms: a critical study of managerial capabilities in the Irish tourism context Arthur Kearney, School of Business

2 How can I become a woman? Media discourses and feminine identity creation among teenage girls in Ireland: a qualitative study Irena Loveikaite, School of Humanities

3 Value of analysts' recommendations: an application of the law of small numbers Aine Murphy, School of Business

4 Determining the role of social support on sports participant's intention to behave Sean McGee, School of Business

5 Between body and mind: creating connections Magdalena Karol-Nowakoska, School of Humanities

6 Inter-organisational relationship dissolution and repair in Irish SMEs: an integrated framework Deirdre Fleming, School of Business

7 Towards a maturity model for service innovation capabilities: identifying the research imperative Tadhg Blommerde, School of Business

8 Clár agus Staidéar na Lamhscríbhinní Gaeilge ó Chnuasach de Hindeberg i gColáiste na Rinne Liam Ryan, School of Humanities


9 Patterns of SME Internationalisation and the role of finance: empirical evidence from across the European Union Lisa Naomi Spencer, School of Business

10 The plays of Jim Nolan: a study Pat McEvoy, School of Humanities

11 A framework for lean service design Lorna Bailey, School of Business

12 Developing insight into tourism destination dynamics, and the life cycle status: the role of network management capabilities, and network embeddedness Noel Murray, School of Business

13 An investigation of inefficiencies and additionality in enterprise supports: a study of the Irish enterprise support system David Pasley, School of Business

14 How does live art affect the sensory experience of the performer and reviewer? Ruth Flynn, School of Humanities


Materials, Energy & ICT

15 Electric vehicles for power storage in microgrids Michael Donohoe, School of Science

16 Design and fabrication of disposable plasmonic sensor Yiyang Sun, School of Engineering

17 Information systems through a socio-technical lens: a soft systems engineering approach to systems risk John Organ, School of Science

18 Novel low power mechanical sensors for biological applications Shibo Cai, School of Science

19 Data offloading and processing in the mobile cloud computing environment Radhika Loomba, School of Science

20 Photovoltaic energy harvesting: the big picture Dong Yang, School of Engineering

21 Stochastic model for a calcium signalling molecular communications system in a cellular tissue Michael Barros, School of Science

22 Training traffic classifiers with arbitrary packet sets Runxin Wang, School of Science

23 Design of a controlled drug release system (CDRS) for target molecules Sarah Duggan, School of Science


24 Challenges of electromagnetic nano-communications in the internet of nano-things Armita Afsharinejad, School of Science

25 Development of contact lenses for ocular drug delivery David Phelan, School of Science

26 Low power wireless CO2 sensor node Rentao Wang, School of Engineering

27 Controlling the transfer of kinect data to a cloud-hosted games

platform

Cathal O’Connor, School of Science


Environment, Health & Life Sciences

28 Who is most likely to consent to follow-up in a longitudinal study of active travel in Irish adults? Barry Lambe, School of Health Sciences

29 Cancer awareness and screening in women with intellectual disabilities Mary Reidy, School of Health Sciences

30 Central retinal enrichment supplementation trials: design and methodology Kwadwo Akuffo, School of Science

31 Empowerment in Irish epilepsy services: a systems study utilizing critical social theory Louise Bennett, School of Health Sciences

32 How can meaningful service user involvement develop community mental health services in the Republic of Ireland? Lorraine Murphy, School of Health Sciences

33 Population structure and bat predation analysis of pine marten (Martes martes) and stone marten (Martes foina) in the Nietoperek bat hibernation site, Poland John Power, School of Science

34 Sports and physical activity for ethnic minority groups in Ireland: an evaluation of participation and programme provision Margie Kadango, School of Health Sciences

35 Concordance between measured concentrations of the macular carotenoids and label claim in commercially available supplements Sakina Kashani, School of Science


36 Characterising the sedentary behaviour and physical activity patterns of patients with Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) against age and sex matched controls Rebecca Power, School of Health Sciences

37 Assessing the risk posed by Salmonella in pig feed Anne-Marie Burns, School of Science

38 Development of Transdermal Drug Delivery Devices for the Treatment of Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer Jennifer Morrissey, School of Science

39 In vitro assessment of antimicrobial-producing marine Bacillus for use as animal probiotics Maria Luz Prieto, School of Science

40 Biotransformations using nitrile hydrolysing enzymes for stereoselective organic chemistry Tracey Coady, School of Science

41 The development and evaluation of the antimicrobial efficacy of a novel seaweed extract-based hydrogel wound dressing Shiau Pin Tan, School of Science

42 Antenatal care for low risk pregnant women in the South East of Ireland: an exploratory study Annette Cullen Murphy, School of Health Sciences

43 Cell-derived microparticles as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of carotid artery disease Antony Wekesa, School of Health Sciences


Research Day 2013 Advisory Board

Dr Willie Donnelly Research & Innovation

Ms Susie Cullinane Research & Innovation

Ms Eimear Fitzpatrick Research & Innovation

Ms Siobhan Harkin Research & Innovation

Ms Kathryn Kiely Research & Innovation

Ms Clare McCormack Research & Innovation

Ms Martha McIlvenny Research & Innovation

Ms Mary Mosse School of Business

Dr Anne Graham School of Education

Dr Austin Coffey School of Engineering

Dr Michael Harrison School of Health Sciences

Professor John Wells School of Health Sciences

Dr Una Kealy School of Humanities

Dr Chris Mulhall School of Humanities

Dr Wayne Cummins School of Science

Dr Steven Davy School of Science

Professor John Nolan School of Science

Dr Cormac O'Raifeartaigh School of Science

Ms Denise O’Meara School of Science (Recipient of Presentation Award 2012)

Research Day 2013 Book of Abstracts

Documents

Transcript of Research Day 2013 Book of Abstracts