Dublin City University

About: Dublin City University is a education organization based out in Dublin, Ireland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Machine translation & Laser. The organization has 5904 authors who have published 17178 publications receiving 389376 citations. The organization is also known as: National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin & DCU.

SmartCoast: A Wireless Sensor Network for Water Quality Monitoring

Abstract: The implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) across the EU, and the growing international emphasis on the management of water quality is giving rise to an expanding market for novel, miniaturized, intelligent monitoring systems for freshwater catchments, transitional and coastal waters. This paper describes the "SmartCoast" multi sensor system for water quality monitoring. This system is aimed at providing a platform capable of meeting the monitoring requirements of the Water Framework Directive. The key parameters under investigation include temperature, phosphate, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, pH, turbidity and water level. The "plug and play" capabilities enabled by the wireless sensor network (WSN) platform developed at Tyndall allow for integration of sensors as required are described, as well as the custom sensors under development within the project.

From Graphene Nanoribbons on Cu(111) to Nanographene on Cu(110): Critical Role of Substrate Structure in the Bottom-Up Fabrication Strategy.

Abstract: Bottom-up strategies can be effectively implemented for the fabrication of atomically precise graphene nanoribbons. Recently, using 10,10'-dibromo-9,9'-bianthracene (DBBA) as a molecular precursor to grow armchair nanoribbons on Au(111) and Cu(111), we have shown that substrate activity considerably affects the dynamics of ribbon formation, nonetheless without significant modifications in the growth mechanism. In this paper we compare the on-surface reaction pathways for DBBA molecules on Cu(111) and Cu(110). Evolution of both systems has been studied via a combination of core-level X-ray spectroscopies, scanning tunneling microscopy, and theoretical calculations. Experimental and theoretical results reveal a significant increase in reactivity for the open and anisotropic Cu(110) surface in comparison with the close-packed Cu(111). This increased reactivity results in a predominance of the molecular-substrate interaction over the intermolecular one, which has a critical impact on the transformations of DBBA on Cu(110). Unlike DBBA on Cu(111), the Ullmann coupling cannot be realized for DBBA/Cu(110) and the growth of nanoribbons via this mechanism is blocked. Instead, annealing of DBBA on Cu(110) at 250 °C results in the formation of a new structure: quasi-zero-dimensional flat nanographenes. Each nanographene unit has dehydrogenated zigzag edges bonded to the underlying Cu rows and oriented with the hydrogen-terminated armchair edge parallel to the [1-10] direction. Strong bonding of nanographene to the substrate manifests itself in a high adsorption energy of -12.7 eV and significant charge transfer of 3.46e from the copper surface. Nanographene units coordinated with bromine adatoms are able to arrange in highly regular arrays potentially suitable for nanotemplating.

Determination of anti‐inflammatory drugs and estrogens in water by HPLC with UV detection

Abstract: An analytical method based on LC and UV detection has been developed for the determination of anti-inflammatory compounds and estrogens in water samples. The drugs investigated were diclofenac, ketoprofen, ibuprofen, naproxen, clofibric acid, estriol, 17beta-estradiol, estrone and ethynylestradiol. The detection limits were in the range of 6-74 microg/L and 0.041 -0.16 mg/L for acidic pharmaceuticals and estrogens, respectively, using narrow-bore C18 analytical column. Analyte enrichment from water samples was achieved by SPE procedure using polymeric Strata-X cartridges. Average recoveries obtained from 2.5 L of surface water sample were in the range of 77-98%.

Identifying fair trade in consumption choice

Abstract: Although increased consumer concern for ethical issues has been recognised in research, this has tended to explore such concerns in isolation, neglecting to consider the often complex interaction between ethical issues in consumer decision‐making. Such interrelationships are important to the study of fair trade in terms of providing a richer understanding of market potential and development in strategic decision‐making. The present paper, therefore, seeks to explore fair trade within the context of other discursive narratives such as green consuming, ethical consuming, and voluntary simplicity and the strategic marketing implications for fair trade organisations.