Zidni mozaici u Eufrazijevoj katedrali u Poreču: prethodno izvješće

This article provides the findings of a study of the 6th century wall mosaics at the Eufrasiana. It was based on a visual analysis of the lower mosaics (to the inscription) done from scaffolding during June of 1997. After a review of the conservation history and pre-restoration records, the authors characterize three phases of mosaics: the original work, a limited restoration from 1886 (Solerti), and an extensive restoration from 1890-1900 (Bornia). Analyses are offered of both the original and restored tesserae, setting beds and setting techniques. Bornia took great pains to preserve as much as possible of the original mosaics

Zidni mozaici u Eufrazijevoj katedrali u Poreču: prethodno izvješće

This article provides the findings of a study of the 6th century wall mosaics at the Eufrasiana. It was based on a visual analysis of the lower mosaics (to the inscription) done from scaffolding during June of 1997. After a review of the conservation history and pre-restoration records, the authors characterize three phases of mosaics: the original work, a limited restoration from 1886 (Solerti), and an extensive restoration from 1890-1900 (Bornia). Analyses are offered of both the original and restored tesserae, setting beds and setting techniques. Bornia took great pains to preserve as much as possible of the original mosaics

ConnectED: an Enhanced Online Interface for Engagement between Industry and Academia

The drive for third level education institutes to engage with industry, enterprise and the community recognises their interdependence and need for continuous knowledge exchange. The extent to which students are capable of embracing their post-qualification roles, may be determined by the currency of the curriculum and work-readiness, which is informed by the context of the ‘real-worlds’ however they are shaped. Similarly, the activities that challenge industry, enterprise and the community could find support in the broad the spectrum of knowledge, skills and expertise that resides in the domain of formal education. A key obstacle to collaboration between higher education institutes and enterprise seems to be one of communication. Typically, the discourse and structure of third level education institutes presents a challenge to those wishing to engage. This may be intensified by the tendency to ‘silo’ disciplines in a way that may not reflect enterprise categorisations. Recognising this, three Dublin Higher Education Institutes, Technological University Dublin (DIT), Institute of Technology Tallaght (ITTD) and Institute of Technology Blanchardstown (ITB) developed an innovative cross- institute approach to bridging the communication gap between the academic world and the communities in which they are situated. Specifically, the project partners collaborated to develop a platform, entitled ConnectED, to enhance proactive dialogue between industry and academia, thereby creating a trusting and supportive environment in which mutually beneficial interactions could progress and lay solid foundations of mutual respect and trust. An additional aspect of the collaboration is that the three Institutes involved are currently in the process of preparing for merger and applying for Technological University status. Consequently, working together on the project facilitated a closer working relationship and contributed to organisational restructuring debates. In summary, ConnectED aims to be a sustainable and capable approach to promoting, enabling and facilitating engagement with industry, enterprise and the community. It seeks to establish partnerships for the mutual benefit of all the stakeholders and to embed the expertise and resources of higher education clusters in their strategic thinking. Supported by a consolidated enhanced online portal, an open access repository for engagement knowledge, impact story-telling, and resource-brokering, ConnectED contributes to the development of a strong engagement commitment and is a catalyst for an improved strategic approach to managing engagement relationships. ConnectED was funded by Higher Education Authority: Roadmap for Employment-Academic Partnerships (REAP) initiative

National and international perspectives on policies for and models of numeracy

One of the themes of ALM 23 was policies for and models of numeracy, and several contributions to ALM 23 focussed on these matters. This paper is a report on an all-conference symposium which aimed to discuss this theme. This is not a discussion paper, rather it is a collation of the outcomes of the symposium. Our hope is that this will facilitate future discussions and investigations in this area

National and international perspectives on policies for and models of numeracy

One of the themes of ALM 23 was policies for and models of numeracy, and several contributions to ALM 23 focussed on these matters. This paper is a report on an all-conference symposium which aimed to discuss this theme. This is not a discussion paper, rather it is a collation of the outcomes of the symposium. Our hope is that this will facilitate future discussions and investigations in this area

SN 2009md: Another faint supernova from a low mass progenitor

We present adaptive optics imaging of the core collapse supernova (SN) 2009md, which we use together with archival \emph{Hubble Space Telescope} data to identify a coincident progenitor candidate. We find the progenitor to have an absolute magnitude of $V = -4.63^{+0.3}_{-0.4}$ mag and a colour of $V-I = 2.29^{+0.25}_{-0.39}$ mag, corresponding to a progenitor luminosity of log $L$/L$_{\odot}$ $\sim4.54\pm0.19$ dex. Using the stellar evolution code STARS, we find this to be consistent with a red supergiant progenitor with $M = 8.5_{-1.5}^{+6.5}$ M$_{\odot}$. The photometric and spectroscopic evolution of SN 2009md is similar to that of the class of sub-luminous Type IIP SNe; in this paper we compare the evolution of SN 2009md primarily to that of the sub-luminous SN 2005cs. We estimate the mass of $^{56}$Ni ejected in the explosion to be $(5.4\pm1.3) \times 10^{-3}$ M$_{\odot}$\ from the luminosity on the radioactive tail, which is in agreement with the low $^{56}$Ni masses estimated for other sub-luminous Type IIP SNe. From the lightcurve and spectra, we show the SN explosion had a lower energy and ejecta mass than the normal Type IIP SN 1999em. We discuss problems with stellar evolutionary models, and the discrepancy between low observed progenitor luminosities (log $L$/L$_{\odot}$ $\sim4.3-5$ dex) and model luminosities after the second-dredge-up for stars in this mass range, and consider an enhanced carbon burning rate as a possible solution. In conclusion, SN 2009md is a faint SN arising from the collapse of a progenitor close to the lower mass limit for core-collapse. This is now the third discovery of a low mass progenitor star producing a low energy explosion and low $^{56}$Ni ejected mass, which indicates that such events arise from the lowest end of the mass range that produces a core-collapse supernova (7-8 M$_{\odot}$).Comment: MNRAS accepted, revised version following referee's comment

Genetic characterization of outbred Sprague Dawley rats and utility for genome-wide association studies

Sprague Dawley (SD) rats are among the most widely used outbred laboratory rat populations. Despite this, the genetic characteristics of SD rats have not been clearly described, and SD rats are rarely used for experiments aimed at exploring genotype-phenotype relationships. In order to use SD rats to perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS), we collected behavioral data from 4,625 SD rats that were predominantly obtained from two commercial vendors, Charles River Laboratories and Harlan Sprague Dawley Inc. Using double-digest genotyping-by-sequencing (ddGBS), we obtained dense, high-quality genotypes at 291,438 SNPs across 4,061 rats. This genetic data allowed us to characterize the variation present in Charles River vs. Harlan SD rats. We found that the two populations are highly diverged (FST > 0.4). Furthermore, even for rats obtained from the same vendor, there was strong population structure across breeding facilities and even between rooms at the same facility. We performed multiple separate GWAS by fitting a linear mixed model that accounted for population structure and using meta-analysis to jointly analyze all cohorts. Our study examined Pavlovian conditioned approach (PavCA) behavior, which assesses the propensity for rats to attribute incentive salience to reward-associated cues. We identified 46 significant associations for the various metrics used to define PavCA. The surprising degree of population structure among SD rats from different sources has important implications for their use in both genetic and non-genetic studies

The type IIb SN 2008ax: spectral and light curve evolution

We present spectroscopy and photometry of the He-rich supernova (SN) 2008ax. The early-time spectra show prominent P-Cygni H lines, which decrease with time and disappear completely about two months after the explosion. In the same period He I lines become the most prominent spectral features. SN 2008ax displays the ordinary spectral evolution of a type IIb supernova. A stringent pre-discovery limit constrains the time of the shock breakout of SN 2008ax to within only a few hours. Its light curve, which peaks in the B band about 20 days after the explosion, strongly resembles that of other He-rich core-collapse supernovae. The observed evolution of SN 2008ax is consistent with the explosion of a young Wolf-Rayet (of WNL type) star, which had retained a thin, low-mass shell of its original H envelope. The overall characteristics of SN 2008ax are reminiscent of those of SN 1993J, except for a likely smaller H mass. This may account for the findings that the progenitor of SN 2008ax was a WNL star and not a K supergiant as in the case of SN 1993J, that a prominent early-time peak is missing in the light curve of SN 2008ax, and that Halpha is observed at higher velocities in SN 2008ax than in SN 1993J.Comment: 10 pages, including 8 figures and 4 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA