Not just for the birds: augury and archaic attic vase paintings

With the exception of extispicy scenes catalogued by Francois Lissarrague and snake-eagle omens discussed by Diana Rodríguez Pérez, divination has been ignored by vase-painting scholars and of ancient religion scholars, only Michael Flower has touched on visual sources. Despite this lack of attention by current scholars, acts of divination and birds that I argue ought to be interpreted as omens appeared on hundreds of black figure Attic vases in the sixth century. Most of these bird omens were painted behind men on horseback. Henri Metzger examined a subset of this group, the funerary Rider Amphorae, and concluded that the riders were cavalry and the eagle an attribute of Zeus, the patron god of the cavalry. The riders’ armor suggests that horsemen were hoplites and because of the prominence of augury in everyday life, the birds are best identified as ambiguous omens. These bird omens add a future temporal dimension and emphasize the uncertainties of battle. By doing so, the Rider Amphorae highlighted the virtues of the horsemen and eulogized them at the tomb. Other vases with men on horseback were used in the symposium where the moment of the journey provided a common experience which fostered bonding among the symposiasts. The moment of a man embarking journey joined by a bird omen corresponds to Babylonian omens, the British Museum tablet 108874 and the Summa Alu, and may be explained as an example of a wider Mediterranean understanding of divination. Examining augury and bird portents in Attic vases provides insight into both the layman understanding of augury and the vase painter construction of narrative

The Dzieduszyckis’ Natural Museum in Lviv

The article presents the history of the collection created by the Dzieduszycki family in Lviv. The collection contains various ethnographic, numismatic and library exhibits, but fi rst and foremost natural exhibits. In the 19th century Count Włodzimierz Dzieduszycki set up the Natural and Ethnographic Museum in Lviv, based on his collection. The paper also contains a description of the museum building and the history of the collection during the 1st and the 2nd World Wars, and in the aftermath of the take over of the museum by the USSR authorities after the shifting of borders in 1945. The activities of people professionally involved in the operation of the Natural Museum in Lviv and their scientifi c relations are also briefl y covered. After 1945 the collection was dispersed - some exhibits are to be found in other museums, while other exhibits are still in their former building. Unfortunately, it is very diffi cult to access them

Geneza i dzieje Muzeum Przyrodniczego im. Dzieduszyckich we Lwowie

The article presents the history of the collection created by the Dzieduszycki family in Lviv. The collection contains various ethnographic, numismatic and library exhibits, but first and foremost natural exhibits. In the 19th century Count Włodzimierz Dzieduszycki set up the Natural and Ethnographic Museum in Lviv, based on his collection. The paper also contains a description of the museum building and the history of the collection during the 1st and the 2nd World Wars, and in the aftermath of the take over of the museum by the USSR authorities after the shifting of borders in 1945. The activities of people professionally involved in the operation of the Natural Museum in Lviv and their scientific relations are also briefly covered. After 1945 the collection was dispersed – some exhibits are to be found in other museums, while other exhibits are still in their former building. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to access them

Late growth stages and post-growth diffusion in organic epitaxy: PTCDA on Ag(111)

The late growth stages and the post-growth diffusion of crystalline organic thin films have been investigated for 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) on Ag(111), a model system in organic epitaxy. In situ x-ray measurements at the anti-Bragg point during the growth show intensity oscillations followed by a time-independent intensity which is independent of the growth temperature. At T > 350 K, the intensity increases after growth up to a temperature-dependent saturation value due to a post-growth diffusion process. The time-independent intensity and the subsequent intensity recovery have been reproduced by models based on the morphology change as a function of the growth temperature. The morphology found after the post-growth diffusion processes has been studied by specular rod measurements.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Surface Scienc

Reducing Medical Costs and Improving Quality via Self-Management Tools

The authors consider the advantages and limitations of self-management tools used for treating chronic illness

The clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of point-of-care tests (CoaguChek system, INRatio2 PT/INR monitor and ProTime Microcoagulation system) for the self-monitoring of the coagulation status of people receiving long-term vitamin K antagonist therapy, compared with standard UK practice : systematic review and economic evaluation

Funding The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme.Peer reviewedPublisher PD