The colours of Segesta. Searching for the traces of the lost pigments

Many monuments and objects of the ancient civilizations were painted, but unfortunately the pigments are not still present and sometimes only small traces are evident. The analysis of the traces requires a multianalytical approach through the use of non-invasive techniques and only if necessary of a microsampling. Here, the study of the traces of colours found in some architectural elements and findings belonging to the Archeological Park of Segesta (Trapani, Italy) is reported. The traces are identified and characterised via several techniques such as Optical Microscopy, UV-Fluorescence Imaging, Fiber Optical Reflectance Spectroscopy (FORS), X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) and FT-IR Spectroscopy. Various pigments were identified, some of which are no longer clearly visible to the naked eye: hematite, umber, vegetable black and bone black. Despite the small amount of detectable pigment, the performed investigations allowed us to define part of the pictorial palette to imagine and relive the past in one place

Stressed caregivers. An observational study in a rehabilitation care home in western Sicily

Introduction: Caregiver is the person who takes care of the patient from the practical point of view, helping him in managing the disease and carrying out daily activities, but also supporting him on an emotional level. Caregiver burnout is a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion that may be accompanied by a change in attitude from positive and caring to negative and unconcerned. The aim of the study was to understand what factors were associated with having panic attacks or crying crises in the caregivers of our study population. Materials and methods: The study design is observational. An anonymous questionnaire was administered to caregivers of the patients of a hospital for the intensive post-acute rehabilitation from April 2016 to December 2018. The statistical significance level chosen for the entire analysis was 0.05. The covariates to be included were selected using a stepwise backward selection process, with a univariate p-value <0.25 as the main criterion. Results are expressed as adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) with 95% Confidence Intervals (CI). Results: The sample consists of 302 caregivers (60.93% was females and 39.07% was males). The mean age of the sample is 53.42 years old (SD ± 12.19). The multivariable logistic regression model shows that the risk to have panic or crying crisis is significantly associated with the following indipendent variables: female gender (aOR 27.06); living with the patient (aOR 4.38); had claimed that the problems related to the illness of their family member is a source of stress (aOR 23.54), smoking cigarettes (aOR 14.68); had claimed that taking care of their client affected their personal financial statement/career (aOR 5.95), having free time (aOR 7.68). Conclusions: In our study we found a greater probability of having panic attacks or crying crises in female subjects, smokers, who think they have sacrificed their careers to take care of the person they follow from a welfare point of view. Certainly in the light of what has emerged it is necessary to dedicate and pay close attention to the psychological and social aspects of the caregiver

Influence of the Ce :YAG amount on structure and optical properties of Ce :YAG-PMMA composites for white LED

Ce:YAG-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) composites were prepared by using a melt compounding method, adding several amounts of Ce:YAG in the range 0.1–5wt.%. The optical properties of the obtained composites and of the composites combined with a blue LED were measured to investigate the effect of the amount of Ce:YAG on the resulting emitted light in view of possible application in white LED manufacture. An increase in Ce:YAG amount caused an increase in the emission and a shift of 15 nm, influencing the white LED performance. The structure and morphology of the composites were studied. The results show that the interaction between the two components, observed by using solid state NMR experiments, are the responsible for the observed shift.The authors acknowledge the University of Palermo, FFR 2012–2013 –ATE 0594 and CORI201

Looking for the Original Materials and Evidence of Restoration at the Vault of the San Panfilo Church in Tornimparte (AQ)

This paper reports the investigation of six microsamples collected from the vault of the San Panfilo Church in Tornimparte (AQ). The aim was to detect the composition of the pigments and protective/varnishes, and to investigate the executive technique, the conservation state, and the evidence of the restoration works carried out in the past. Six microsamples were analyzed by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and infrared and Raman spectroscopy. The investigations were carried out within the framework of the Tornimparte project "Archeometric investigation of the pictorial cycle of Saturnino Gatti in Tornimparte (AQ, Italy)" sponsored in 2021 by the Italian Association of Archeometry (AIAr)

Chemometric tools to point out benchmarks and chromophores in pigments through spectroscopic data analyses

Spectral preprocessing data and chemometric tools are analytical methods widely applied in several scientific contexts i.e., in archaeometric applications. A systematic classification of natural powdered pigments of organic and inorganic nature through Principal Component Analysis with a multi-instruments spectroscopic study is presented here. The methodology allows the access to elementary and molecular unique benchmarks to guide and speed up the identification of an unknown pigment and its recipe. This study is conducted on a set of 48 powdered pigments and tested on a real-case sample from the wall painting in S. Maria Delle Palate di Tusa (Messina, Italy). Four spectroscopic techniques (X-ray Fluorescence, Raman, Attenuated Total Reflectance and Total Reflectance Infrared Spectroscopies) and six different spectrometers are tested to evaluate the impact of different setups. The novelty of the work is to use a systematic approach on this initial dataset using the entire spectroscopic energy range without any windows selection to solve problems linked with the manipulation of large analytes/materials to find an indistinct property of one or more spectral bands opening new frontiers in the dataset spectroscopic analyses

Sicilian byzantine icons through the use of non-invasive imaging techniques and optical spectroscopy: The case of the madonna dell’elemosina

The iconographic heritage is one of the treasures of Byzantine art that have enriched the south of Italy, and Sicily in particular, since the early 16th century. In this work, the investigations of a Sicilian Icon of Greek-Byzantine origin, the Madonna dell’Elemosina, is reported for the first time. The study was carried out using mainly non-invasive imaging techniques (photography in reflectance and grazing visible light, UV fluorescence, infrared reflectography, radiography, and computed tomography) and spectroscopic techniques (X-ray fluorescence and infrared spectroscopy). The identification of the constituent materials provides a decisive contribution to the correct historical and artistic placement of the Icon, a treasure of the Eastern European historical community in Sicily. Some hidden details have also been highlighted. Most importantly, the information obtained enables us to define its conservation state, the presence of foreign materials, and to direct its protection and restoration