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The Irish Government published a National Student Accommodation Strategy to tackle issues surrounding the availability of accommodation for students in higher education. 23,634 students could not be accommodated with a bed space supplied by a Higher Education Institution in 2017. Therefore, many students live in private rental accommodation during the academic year. This paper examines the indoor temperature profiles of private rental housing occupied by third level students in Ireland. From the results, the temperature levels across the majority of the 16 cases were found to have temperatures below the recommended 18°C. At least 90% of the recorded temperature data during February for all but three of the cases was less than 18°C, highlighting the poor indoor temperature levels that the students were living in. While the sample size of this study is small and more research needs to be carried out on this topic in the future, the data suggests more accommodation needs to be provided for people in higher education that allows them to achieve indoor temperature levels within recommended guidelines. non-peer-reviewed

This report presents the results of a qualitative, process study evaluation of the Ballyhaunis Community Preschool and ‘Greater Tomorrow’ crèche services, conducted by the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre (UCFRC), NUI, Galway in 2015. Currently, the community preschool and the crèche facility are located in the grounds of St Mary’s Abbey and the Old Convent grounds respectively, close to Ballyhaunis town centre, Co. Mayo. Together, both services provide childcare spaces for approximately 60 children, employing seven staff in total. In both services, all staff members are qualified to NFQ Level 5 standards or higher. One senior staff member in the crèche is trained to NFQ Level 7, and the manager of both the crèche and preschool services is completing an NFQ Level 8 degree programme in Early Childhood Studies and Practice at NUI, Galway. The Greater Tomorrow crèche caters for children aged between 18 months and 3 years and operates a 4-day service from Monday to Thursday. The preschool caters to children aged 39 months or older and operates a 5-day service per week (Monday to Friday). Both the crèche and preschool services implement aspects of the ‘HighScope’ curriculum, which emphasises active and participatory approaches to learning and teaching. non-peer-reviewed

The human LINE-1/L1 ORF2 protein is a multifunctional enzyme which plays a vital role in the life cycle of the human L1 retrotransposon. The protein consists of an endonuclease domain, followed by a central reverse transcriptase domain and a carboxy-terminal C-domain with unknown function. Here, we explore the nucleic acid binding properties of the 180-amino acid carboxy-terminal segment (CTS) of the human L1 ORF2p in vitro. In a series of experiments involving gel shift assay, we demonstrate that the CTS of L1 ORF2p binds RNA in non-sequence-specific manner. Finally, we report that mutations destroying the putative Zn-knuckle structure of the protein do not significantly affect the level of RNA binding and discuss the possible functional role of the CTS in L1 retrotransposition. Highlights • The 180-aa C-terminal segment (CTS) of human L1 ORF2p was expressed and purified from bacteria. • The nucleic acid binding properties of the CTS of L1ORF2p were examined in vitro. • The CTS of L1 ORF2p is an RNA binding domain. • The CTS of L1 ORF2p binds RNA in non-sequence-specific manner in the low nanomolar range. • Disruption of the putative Zn-knuckle structure does not significantly affect RNA binding.

In order for researchers to deliver robust evaluations of time series models, it often requires high volumes of data to ensure the appropriate level of rigor in testing. However, for many researchers, the lack of time series presents a barrier to a deeper evaluation. While researchers have developed and used synthetic datasets, the development of this data requires a methodological approach to testing the entire dataset against a set of metrics which capture the diversity of the dataset. Unless researchers are confident that their test datasets display a broad set of time series characteristics, it may favor one type of predictive model over another. This can have the effect of undermining the evaluation of new predictive methods. In this paper, we present a new approach to generating and evaluating a high number of time series data. The construction algorithm and validation framework are described in detail, together with an analysis of the level of diversity present in the synthetic dataset. Highlights • This paper presents a new method for generating 50K diverse synthetic time series. • We present a discussion on time series characteristics and metrics with a view to understanding time series diversity. • We developed a robust framework for validating diversity in synthetic time series generation. Graphical abstract

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peer-reviewed Osteoporosis and osteoarthritis are common diseases with significant rates of morbidity associated with same. The search continues for effective treatment strategies for both diseases. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are critical components in the effective formation and repair of healthy bone and cartilage. Understanding the characteristics and behaviour of MSC’s in osteoarthritic and osteoporotic patients can help delineate and characterise the pathogenesis of these diseases further. The first aim of this study involves the creation of a biobank of osteoporotic and osteoarthritic MSC’s. The second aim includes analysing differentiation potential and cell migration/homing capabilities of these diseased MSC’s. Continuing from these results, a third aim is to explore aspects of how diseased MSC’s may interfere with TGF-β1 signalling, given the potent role of this pathway in regulating bone and cartilage metabolism. Bone marrow aspirates were obtained from osteoarthritic, osteoporotic and healthy donors undergoing scheduled hip surgery in the University of Limerick hospital group. Bone marrow aspirates were extracted through the exposed acetabulum during arthroplasty surgery. MSCs were isolated through standard in vitro culture conditions and underwent characterisation and differentiation as per the criteria outlined by the International Society of Cellular Therapy guidelines. Osteoporotic and osteoarthritic MSCs were then analysed for their osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation potential, migratory capacity and interplay with aspects of TGF-β1 signalling. A total of 10 donors were included in the study with no difficulties or complications arising from obtaining bone marrow aspirates during necessary arthroplasty surgery. MSCs were characterised using flow cytometry and by demonstration of their capacity to differentiate along adipogenic, chondrogenic and osteogenic lineages. Osteoporotic MSCs had an increased propensity to differentiate along the adipogenic lineage in comparison to their osteoarthritic counterparts. Both osteoporotic and osteoarthritic MSCs had altered chemokinetic profiles in comparison to healthy controls. Of particular interest, whilst healthy MSCs migrate towards TGF-β1, osteoporotic MSCs failed to migrate towards this important chemoattractant. The results of this research detail the successful extraction and isolation of MSCs from patients with osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. The surgical location and technique incorporates a transferable skill that could result in largescale collection of both healthy and diseased MSCs. A critical finding includes the altered migration of MSCs towards TGF-β1. This has implications both in the basic understanding of the pathogenesis of osteoporosis and in the development of future therapeutic targets.

. Understanding how density dependence modifies demographic parameters in long-lived vertebrates is a challenge for ecologists. Two alternative hypotheses have been used to explain the mechanisms behind density-dependent effects on breeding output: habitat heterogeneity and individual adjustment (also known as interference competition). A number of studies have highlighted the importance of habitat heterogeneity in density dependence in territorial species, but less information exists on demographic processes in colonial species. For these, we expect density-dependent mechanisms to operate at two spatial scales: colony and breeding unit. In this study, we used long-term data from a recovering population of Cinereous Vultures (Aegypius monachus) in southern Spain. We analyzed a long-term data set with information on 2162 breeding attempts at four colonies over a nine-year period (2002–2010) to evaluate environmental and population parameters influencing breeding output. Our results suggest that breeding productivity is subject to density-dependent processes at the colony and the nest site scale and is best explained by interference competition. Factors intrinsic to each colony, as well as environmental constraints linked to physiography and human presence, also play a role in regulatory processes. We detected the existence of a trade-off between the disadvantages of nesting too close to conspecifics and the benefits of coloniality. These could be mediated by the agonistic interactions between breeding pairs and the benefits derived from social sharing of information by breeding individuals. We propose that this trade-off may play a role in defining colony structure and may hold true for other colonial breeding bird species. Our findings also have important management implications for the conservation of this threatened species. Peer reviewed

This paper outlines a proposed open competition which will compare energy-maximising controllers for wave energy converters (WECs), both in simulation, and in real time,using a scale device in a tank test situation. To date, a wide variety of WEC control algorithms have been proposed, but have been difficult to compare due to differences in the simulation/scale models they are evaluated on, the range of incident sea states employed, and the reliance to a greater or lesser extent on wave or excitation force forecasts. In addition, most WEC control algorithms have been evaluated only in simulation, which masks the real-time computational capability, as well as the degree to which the model-based controllers are robust to WEC modelling errors, since the controllers are predominantly evaluated with a WEC simulation model identical to that upon which the controller is based.This paper describes the format of a proposed WEC control competition, detailing the scale target device, the open-source WEC-Sim simulation platform, along with likely performance metrics and range of sea states under which the assessment will be performed. The paper serves the purpose both as an announcement of the competition and indicates the nominal schedule, as well as soliciting feedback at this stage of the process.

The abstract is included in the text.

Estrogen receptor (ER)-negative tumors represent 20-30% of all breast cancers, with a higher proportion occurring in younger women and women of African ancestry. The etiology and clinical behavior of ER-negative tumors are different from those of tumors expressing ER (ER positive), including differences in genetic predisposition. To identify susceptibility loci specific to ER-negative disease, we combined in a metaanalysis 3 genome-wide association studies of 4,193 ER-negative breast cancer cases and 35,194 controls with a series of 40 follow-up studies (6,514 cases and 41,455 controls), genotyped using a custom Illumina array, iCOGS, developed by the Collaborative Oncological Gene-environment Study (COGS). SNPs at four loci, 1q32.1 (MDM4, P= 2.1 x 10(-12) and LGR6, P = 1.4 x 10(-8)), 2p24.1 (P = 4.6 x 10(-8)) and 16q12.2 (FTO, P = 4.0 x 10(-8)), were associated with ER-negative but not ER-positive breast cancer (P> 0.05). These findings provide further evidence for distinct etiological pathways associated with invasive ER-positive and ER-negative breast cancers.