Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) System for Ancient Documentary Artefacts

This tutorial summarises our uses of reflectance transformation imaging in archaeological contexts. It introduces the UK AHRC funded project reflectance Transformation Imaging for Anciant Documentary Artefacts and demonstrates imaging methodologies

Integrated survey for the reconstruction of the Papal Basilica and the Sacred Convent of St. Francis in Assisi, Italy

The Papal Basilica and the Sacred Convent of Saint Francis in Assisi in Italy are characterized by unique and composite particularities that need an exhaustive knowledge of the sites themselves to guarantee visitor's security and safety, considering all the people and personnel normally present in the site, visitors with disabilities and finally the needs for cultural heritage preservation and protection. This aim can be reached using integrated systems and innovative technologies, such as Internet of Everything (IoE), which can connect people, things (smart sensors, devices and actuators; mobile terminals; wearable devices; etc.), data/information/knowledge and processes to reach the wanted objectives. The IoE system must implement and support an Integrated Multidisciplinary Model for Security and Safety Management (IMMSSM) for the specific context, using a multidisciplinary approach. The purpose of the paper is to illustrate the integrated survey for the reconstruction of the considered site that was necessary to obtain all the necessary information to start to set up the considered IMMSSM and the related IoE based technological system

Invest to Save: Report and Recommendations of the NSF-DELOS Working Group on Digital Archiving and Preservation

Digital archiving and preservation are important areas for research and development, but there is no agreed upon set of priorities or coherent plan for research in this area. Research projects in this area tend to be small and driven by particular institutional problems or concerns. As a consequence, proposed solutions from experimental projects and prototypes tend not to scale to millions of digital objects, nor do the results from disparate projects readily build on each other. It is also unclear whether it is worthwhile to seek general solutions or whether different strategies are needed for different types of digital objects and collections. The lack of coordination in both research and development means that there are some areas where researchers are reinventing the wheel while other areas are neglected. Digital archiving and preservation is an area that will benefit from an exercise in analysis, priority setting, and planning for future research. The WG aims to survey current research activities, identify gaps, and develop a white paper proposing future research directions in the area of digital preservation. Some of the potential areas for research include repository architectures and inter-operability among digital archives; automated tools for capture, ingest, and normalization of digital objects; and harmonization of preservation formats and metadata. There can also be opportunities for development of commercial products in the areas of mass storage systems, repositories and repository management systems, and data management software and tools.

CAD-CAE methods to support restoration and museum exhibition of bronze statues: the “Principe Ellenistico”

Ancient bronze statues mainly require material integrity assessment and restoration. Restoration may include also the update of the museum exhibition, defining new structural frames and fragment re-composition to preserve the statue and improve the interpretation of the original aspect. This paper proves how engineering methods (such as Finite Element Analysis, Computer Aided Design modelling, Reverse Engineering) may assist cultural heritage experts and restorers in these tasks. It presents the activities made together with the Museo Nazionale Romano and the Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione e il Restauro, on the so-called “Principe Ellenistico” (Hellenistic Prince). This bronze was found in pieces (body, left arm and right leg), at the end of 19th century during an excavation made in Rome. No visual or reference sources can say its origin and its final posture was defined by restorers at the end of the 19th century according to their hypothesis and studies. In the 20th century, a further restoration was made on the critical areas of the surface, together with some structural improvement of the inner frame. Nowadays, after a review of its position inside the Museum, new experimental and numerical analyses have been carried out to better understand surface weakness and correct left arm positionin

Monte Carlo-based Noise Compensation in Coil Intensity Corrected Endorectal MRI

Background: Prostate cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer found in males making early diagnosis important. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been useful in visualizing and localizing tumor candidates and with the use of endorectal coils (ERC), the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) can be improved. The coils introduce intensity inhomogeneities and the surface coil intensity correction built into MRI scanners is used to reduce these inhomogeneities. However, the correction typically performed at the MRI scanner level leads to noise amplification and noise level variations. Methods: In this study, we introduce a new Monte Carlo-based noise compensation approach for coil intensity corrected endorectal MRI which allows for effective noise compensation and preservation of details within the prostate. The approach accounts for the ERC SNR profile via a spatially-adaptive noise model for correcting non-stationary noise variations. Such a method is useful particularly for improving the image quality of coil intensity corrected endorectal MRI data performed at the MRI scanner level and when the original raw data is not available. Results: SNR and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) analysis in patient experiments demonstrate an average improvement of 11.7 dB and 11.2 dB respectively over uncorrected endorectal MRI, and provides strong performance when compared to existing approaches. Conclusions: A new noise compensation method was developed for the purpose of improving the quality of coil intensity corrected endorectal MRI data performed at the MRI scanner level. We illustrate that promising noise compensation performance can be achieved for the proposed approach, which is particularly important for processing coil intensity corrected endorectal MRI data performed at the MRI scanner level and when the original raw data is not available.Comment: 23 page

Digital Transformation of Preservation and Restoration of Ukraine's Cultural Heritage

Digital transformation of the preservation and restoration of Ukraine's cultural heritage plays a key role in the national and patriotic education of the people and in ensuring the country's territorial integrity. As a result of the war in Ukraine, a significant number of cultural sites were damaged and destroyed. Therefore, there is a need for their digital registration and further restoration through the use of digital technologies. The article aims to study the principles of digital transformation and possible improvement of the quality of the cultural level in Ukraine and to define the Ukrainian idea through the dissemination of culture, in particular, through educational activities. Given the current trends in the penetration of digital technologies into all spheres of life, their use in the cultural sphere can help boost morale and serve as a tool to combat Russia's expansive cultural rhetoric. The article focuses on the peculiarities of digital transformation, the main means of its implementation, and possible further development. The results of the study indicate the need to use digital technologies as a tool for reconstruction and a means of information protection of the most important cultural sites. The article draws attention to the public administration policy and the problems of financing cultural monuments and objects as the main means for possible further digital transformation. The findings of the study may be useful for further analytical research on the use and implementation of digital transformation of cultural heritage in Ukraine