The present work focuses on majolica objects from the collection of the museum of ceramic in Ascoli Piceno (Italy). The scientific investigation was performed on fragments detached from seven ...maiolicas attributed to the Castelli production (Abruzzi region) and one majolica from the Ascoli Piceno production (Marche region). The Castelli artifacts (late sixteenth–early eighteenth century) belong to the decorated style known as “
compendiario.
” The piece from Ascoli Piceno recalls the decoration style of the other considered objects and is attributable to the “Paci” manufacture (first half of the nineteenth century). The selected objects were investigated by fiber optics reflectance spectroscopy, micro-X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy coupled with electron-dispersive X-ray spectrometry. The ceramic bodies of all objects are calcareous, whereas the glazes are lead-alkali type opacified by tin dioxide. Blue and purplish-red decorations were obtained by cobalt and manganese compounds dissolved in the glaze, respectively. Yellow and orange decorations were obtained by particles of lead antimonate and hematite. Finally, black decorations were obtained using compounds rich in manganese and iron. The study contributes to knowledge on the production of Castelli ceramics and presents first archaeometric data on the maiolica production from Ascoli Piceno. The scientific examination highlights continuity with the Renaissance production, and the joint contribution of the three analytical techniques suggests distinctive features among different productions, thus integrating and refining the information obtained by the art-historical study.
Medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae, Poales: Poaceae) is an annual grass native to central Asia and the Mediterranean region. It is a noxious, invasive weed in much of western North America. As ...such, it is the target of a classical biological control programme established by USDA-ARS. During explorations carried out in 2014 a new species of eriophyid mite, Aculodes altamurgiensis de Lillo & Vidovic, 2018 (Acari: Eriophyidae), was discovered on medusahead in southern Italy; it was also collected from medusahead in Bulgaria, Serbia, Turkey, and Iran in subsequent years. In the field A. altamurgensis has consistently been associated with the target weed while never having been detected from sympatric grass (Poales: Poaceae) species (e.g. Stipa austroitalica, Avena sativa, Triticum durum, T. aestivum), suggesting that A. altamurgensis is highly specific to medusahead. An open-field host-specificity test was carried out in Rome, Italy in 2016 in which an Italian population of A. altamurgensis was infested onto 11 different grass genotypes, including five crop species and five different populations of medusahead (two from Italy and three populations that are invasive in the USA). The results supported the previous observations that A. altamurgiensis is highly specific to medusahead and merits further evaluation as a candidate for biological control of this invasive grass. However, the Italian population of A. altamurgiensis showed variable colonisation rates on different medusahead populations, indicating that populations of A. altamurgiensis from other regions should also be tested to determine if they can colonise medusahead at more uniformly high rates, particularly on the targeted invasive populations in the USA.
.
The paper presents an experimental study on mortar samples taken from historic and monumental buildings damaged or collapsed following the seismic events in Central Italy (2016-2017). Sixty-one ...samples were analysed via a set of diagnostic investigations to characterize the mortar and correlate it with the performance of the masonry. The techniques used were: X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and microanalysis, differential scanning calorimetry, calcimetry, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, soluble salt analysis by conductimetry and dosage of anionic species by ion chromatography, particle-size analysis, direct shear. Microstructural characterization of the mortars revealed differences in mortar composition depending on their provenance. In particular the samples from Norcia contained large quantities of calcite while in the mortars from Pretare, dolomite was identified. In the case of Amatrice, only a few samples showed crystalline phases and compounds ascribable to binders. These results were largely confirmed by the other chemical and physical analysis performed, and mechanical tests also demonstrated low cohesion. The tests showed that in almost all the samples, poor quality mortars were used, and, in some cases, underachieving binder mortar.
A self-produced (DIY) material has been developed from peanut hulls waste in a starch-milk based matrix, which has been referred to as Peanmat. This is obtained after some attempts, which are also ...shown, of including this waste in a DIY bioplastic. It shows some potential in terms of sustaining its own load and to make small objects, such as buttons, for design purposes. Its limits were clarified by thermal characterisation in terms of not being able to exceed temperatures of around 80°C and suffering non uniform deformation, especially in the case its thickness does not go beyond a few millimetres. Colouration tests proved effective. Of course, the material is in search of full mechanical characterisation though it proved suitable to be punched and did not suffer fragmentation or excessive porosity.
Heart failure (HF) is a leading cause of mortality. Inflammation is implicated in HF, yet clinical trials targeting pro-inflammatory cytokines in HF were unsuccessful, possibly due to redundant ...functions of individual cytokines. Searching for better cardiac inflammation targets, here we link T cells with HF development in a mouse model of pathological cardiac hypertrophy and in human HF patients. T cell costimulation blockade, through FDA-approved rheumatoid arthritis drug abatacept, leads to highly significant delay in progression and decreased severity of cardiac dysfunction in the mouse HF model. The therapeutic effect occurs via inhibition of activation and cardiac infiltration of T cells and macrophages, leading to reduced cardiomyocyte death. Abatacept treatment also induces production of anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10). IL-10-deficient mice are refractive to treatment, while protection could be rescued by transfer of IL-10-sufficient B cells. These results suggest that T cell costimulation blockade might be therapeutically exploited to treat HF.
ITALUNG is contributing to the European evaluation of low-dose CT (LDCT) screening for lung cancer (LC).
Eligible subjects aged 55-69 years, smokers or ex-smokers (at least 20 pack-years in the last ...10 years), were randomised to receive an annual invitation for LDCT screening for 4 years (active group) or to usual care (control group). All participants were followed up for vital status and cause of death (at the end of 2014) and LC incidence (at the end of 2013). Pathological and clinical information was collected from the Tuscan Cancer Registry data.
1613 subjects were randomly assigned to the active group and 1593 to the control group. At the end of the follow-up period 67 LC cases were diagnosed in the active group and 71 in the control group (rate ratio (RR)=0.93; 95% CI 0.67 to 1.30). A greater proportion of stage I LC was observed in the active group (36% vs 11%, p<0.001). Non-significant reductions of 17% (RR=0.83; 95% CI 0.67 to 1.03) for overall mortality and 30% (RR=0.70; 95% CI 0.47 to 1.03) for LC-specific mortality were estimated.
Despite the lack of statistical significance, the ITALUNG trial outcomes suggest that LDCT screening could reduce LC and overall mortality. Moreover, the comparison of the number of LC cases diagnosed in the two groups does not show overdiagnosis after an adequate follow-up period. A pooled analysis of all European screening trials is advocated to assess the benefit-to-harm ratio of LDCT screening and its implementation in public health settings.
Results, NCT02777996.
Performances of the Gas Gain Monitoring system of the CMS RPC muon detectors after one year of operation at the scaled down closed loop recirculation gas system are presented. The GGM is made of 12 ...single-gap RPC's arranged in a cosmic ray telescope, with charge readout for online monitoring of working point. Preliminary results on sensitivity to gas changes and to environmental variables will be reported on.
The CMS RPC gas gain monitoring system: An overview and preliminary results Benussi, L.; Bianco, S.; Colafranceschi, S. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
05/2009, Letnik:
602, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The status of the Compact Solenoid Spectrometer (CMS) Resistive Plate Counter (RPC) Gas Gain Monitoring (GGM) system developed at the Frascati Laboratory of INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica ...Nucleare) is reported. The GGM system is a cosmic ray telescope based on small RPC detectors operated with the same gas mixture used by the CMS RPC system. The GGM gain and efficiency are continuously monitored on-line, thus providing a fast and accurate determination of any shift in working point conditions. The construction details and the first result of GGM commissioning are described.
MEMS resonators are today widely investigated as a desirable alternative to quartz resonators in real-time clock applications, because of their low-cost, integration capability properties. ...Nevertheless, MEMS resonators performances are still not competitive, especially in terms of frequency stability and device equivalent resistance (and, then, power consumption). We propose a new structure for a MEMS resonator, with a vertical-like transduction mechanism, which exhibits promising features. The vertical resonator can be fabricated with the low-cost, high performance THELMA technology, and it is designed to be efficiently frequency tunable. With respect to the commonly investigated lateral resonators, it is expected to have lower equivalent resistances and improved large-scale repeatability characteristics.
PDF
