Dalla tazzina del diavolo al mondo in una tazza

L'articolo prende in considerazione la storia del caffè, dalla sua introduzione in Occidente fino al XVIII secolo, esaminandone le valenze filosofiche, mediche e sociali

θ\theta dependence in trace deformed SU(3)SU(3) Yang-Mills theory: a lattice study

In this paper we investigate, by means of numerical lattice simulations, the topological properties of the trace deformed $SU(3)$ Yang-Mills theory defined on $S_1\times\mathbb{R}^3$. More precisely, we evaluate the topological susceptibility and the $b_2$ coefficient (related to the fourth cumulant of the topological charge distribution) of this theory for different values of the lattice spacing and of the compactification radius. In all the cases we find results in good agreement with the corresponding ones of the standard $SU(3)$ Yang-Mills theory on $\mathbb{R}^4$.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, published versio

Materialità e Imaging. Le ricerche radiografiche di Alan Burroughs su Giorgione e Tiziano alle radici della Technical Art History

The thesis Materiality and Imaging. Alan Burroughs’ X-ray studies on Giorgione and Tiziano at the Roots of Technical Art History aim to retrace the beginning of Technical Art History, searching for the documents that show the pioneering work of few art historians and scientists in the field of scientific analysis of artworks. This took place in 1920s and 1930s in both America and Europe and the archives of Harvard Art Museums Archives, the National Gallery of London, and Centre de Recherche des Musées de France preserve much of this memory. In particular, the thesis focuses on the contribution of the art historian Alan Burroughs and his mentor Edward Forbes, being the outstanding figures of a crucial event: the international X-ray campaign promoted by Fogg Art Museum since 1926. The first book on X-ray in art studies was published by Burroughs (Art Criticism from a Laboratory, Boston 1938), stressing the contribution of the scientific approach to art history. This manual is groundbreaking for the methodology: Burroughs deals with specific critical issues in art studies “testing the tool” of X-ray. The thesis focuses on one issue, which is the topic of the 9th chapter in his book: the distinction between Giorgione and the young Titian. In order to detect the technical features that may differ one painter from the other, Burroughs studied several paintings through X-rays. A significant group of works is reviewed testing Burroughs’ results and following achievements by art historians and conservation scientists. The history of the conservation and technical research, relating to those paintings, may balance the real value of Burroughs’ legacy and his confidence in the new methodology, which is now called Technical Art History

public housing in florence seismic assessment of masonry buildings

Abstract Florence is known all over the word for its historical and monumental buildings; however, most part of residential buildings have been made in the XX century, and they present all the critical issues proper of recent housing. Florence is one of the first Italian cities to have experienced the public housing. Its public housing population consists mostly of masonry buildings, and it does not comply the requirements provided by the current seismic legislation. This work is aimed at evaluating the seismic performance of a masonry building-type belonging to the public housing population of Florence. A typical public housing intervention, consisting of 18 masonry buildings, has been assumed as case-study. The seismic input has been described according to the Italian Code prescriptions, by considering the effective soil stratigraphy, and considering the effective mechanical properties of each layer. The seismic performance of the case-studies has been checked by performing a nonlinear static analysis. The results are expressed in terms of seismic performance, defined as the ratio between the seismic capacity and the corresponding demand. The obtained results evidenced the role of the building features on the seismic assessment of the buildings

Localisation of Dirac eigenmodes and confinement in gauge theories: the Roberge-Weiss transition

Ample numerical evidence from lattice calculations shows a strong connection between the confining properties of gauge theories at finite temperature and the localisation properties of the low-lying Dirac eigenmodes. In this contribution we discuss recent progress on this topic, focussing on results for QCD at imaginary chemical potential ${\mu}_I/T = \pi$ at temperatures above the Roberge-Weiss transition temperature. These confirm the general picture of low modes turning from delocalised to localised at the deconfinement transition, in a previously unexplored setup with a genuine, physical transition in the presence of dynamical fermions. This further supports the use of Dirac eigenmodes as a tool to investigate the mechanisms behind confinement and the deconfinement transition.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures; contribution to the proceedings of the XVth Quark Confinement and Hadron Spectrum conference (ConfXV), 1-6 August 2022, University of Stavanger, Stavanger (Norway

Nutraceuticals and Herbal Food Supplements for Weight Loss: Is There a Prebiotic Role in the Mechanism of Action?

Numerous nutraceuticals and botanical food supplements are used with the intention of modulating body weight. A recent review examined the main food supplements used in weight loss, dividing them according to the main effects for which they were investigated. The direct or indirect effects exerted on the intestinal microbiota can also contribute to the effectiveness of these substances. The aim of this review is to evaluate whether any prebiotic effects, which could help to explain their efficacy or ineffectiveness, are documented in the recent literature for the main nutraceuticals and herbal food supplements used for weight loss management. Several prebiotic effects have been reported for various nutraceutical substances, which have shown activity on Bifidobacterium spp., Lactobacillus spp., Akkermansia muciniphila, Faecalibacterium prausnitzi, Roseburia spp., and the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio. Different prebiotics have beneficial effects on weight and the related metabolic profile, in some cases even acting on the microbiota with mechanisms that are completely independent from those nutraceuticals for which certain products are normally used. Further studies are necessary to clarify the different levels at which a nutraceutical substance can exert its action

Microbial cell-free extracts as sources of enzyme activities to be used for enhancement flavor development of ewe milk cheese

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