Technological innovation in creative clusters. The case of laser in conservation of artworks in Florence

The field of laser application to the restoration and cleaning of cultural assets is amongst the most thriving developments of recent times. Ablative laser technological systems are able to clean and protect inestimable works of art subject to atmospheric agents and degradation over time. This new technology, which has been developing for the last forty year, is now available to restorers and has received a significant success all over Europe. An important contribution in the process of laser innovation has been carried out in Florence by local actors belonging to a creative cluster. The objects of the analysis are the genesis of this innovation in this local Florentine context, and the relationships among the main actors who have contributed in it. The study investigates how culture can play a part in the generation of ideas and innovations, and which are the creative environments that can favour it. In this context, the issue of laser technologies for the restoration of cultural heritage has been analysed as a case study in the various paths taken by the Creative Capacity of the Culture (CCC)

Large Deviations of the Free-Energy in Diluted Mean-Field Spin-Glass

Sample-to-sample free energy fluctuations in spin-glasses display a markedly different behaviour in finite-dimensional and fully-connected models, namely Gaussian vs. non-Gaussian. Spin-glass models defined on various types of random graphs are in an intermediate situation between these two classes of models and we investigate whether the nature of their free-energy fluctuations is Gaussian or not. It has been argued that Gaussian behaviour is present whenever the interactions are locally non-homogeneous, i.e. in most cases with the notable exception of models with fixed connectivity and random couplings $J_{ij}=\pm \tilde{J}$. We confirm these expectation by means of various analytical results. In particular we unveil the connection between the spatial fluctuations of the populations of populations of fields defined at different sites of the lattice and the Gaussian nature of the free-energy fluctuations. On the contrary on locally homogeneous lattices the populations do not fluctuate over the sites and as a consequence the small-deviations of the free energy are non-Gaussian and scales as in the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model

Identification of an average temperature and a dynamical pressure in a multitemperature mixture of fluids

We present a classical approach of a mixture of compressible fluids when each constituent has its own temperature. The introduction of an average temperature together with the entropy principle dictates the classical Fick law for diffusion and also novel constitutive equations associated with the difference of temperatures between the components. The constitutive equations fit with results recently obtained through Maxwellian iteration procedure in extended thermodynamics theory of multitemperature mixtures. The differences of temperatures between the constituents imply the existence of a new dynamical pressure even if the fluids have a zero bulk viscosity. The nonequilibrium dynamical pressure can be measured and may be convenient in several physical situations as for example in cosmological circumstances where - as many authors assert - a dynamical pressure played a major role in the evolution of the early universe.Comment: 16 page

Urgent need for preservation of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L. subsp. vinifera) germplasm from small circum-Sicilian islands as revealed by SSR markers and traditional use investigations

Since the last decades grapevine germplasm is undergoing a process of rapid genetic erosion. This process is of particular concern in minor circum-Sicilian islands, because of the sharp reduction of the cultivated surfaces and the shift of their economy from agriculture to tourism. Aiming at valorising and preserving the surviving varieties we collected 185 accessions during several surveys since 2007. Six nuclear microsatellite markers were used for germplasm characterization, yielding 75 different genetic profiles. We found out that most genetic profiles (39) were not listed in national and international grapevine databases, confirming that the Sicilian minor islands represent underexplored hotspots of genetic diversity for grapevine. We also identified several synonymies, often due to geographic isolation, having 20 varieties at least two names. Conversely, 18 homonyms collectively indicated 34 genetically different accessions. Interviews with farmers provided information on current and past usage, and the origin and type of cultivation practices as well. The study also shows the urgent need for preservation of local grapevine germplasm, due to the disappearance of the elder caretakers of these traditional varieties. For rare germplasm preservation most part of the collected grapevine cultivars were introduced in an ex situ collection field

Magnetic fingerprint of dithiazolyl-based molecule magnets

Magnetic bistability in organic-radical based materials has attracted significant interest due to its potential application in electronic devices. The First-Principles Bottom-Up study herein presented aims at elucidating the key factors behind the different magnetic response of the low and high temperature phases of four different switchable dithiazolyl (DTA)-based compounds. The drastic change in the magnetic response upon spin transition is always due to changes in the JAB magnetic interactions between adjacent radicals along the π-stacks of the crystal, which in turn are driven mostly by changes in interplanar distance and degree of lateral slippage, according to the interpretation of a series of magneto-structural correlation maps. Furthermore, specific geometrical dispositions have been recognized as a ferromagnetic fingerprint in such correlations. Our results thus show that a proper substitution of the chemical skeleton attached to the DTA ring could give rise to new organic materials with dominant ferromagnetic interactions

Practical and clinical utility of non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) for the acute treatment of migraine. A post hoc analysis of the randomized, sham-controlled, double-blind PRESTO trial

Background: The PRESTO study of non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS; gammaCore®) featured key primary and secondary end points recommended by the International Headache Society to provide Class I evidence that for patients with an episodic migraine, nVNS significantly increases the probability of having mild pain or being pain-free 2 h post stimulation. Here, we examined additional data from PRESTO to provide further insights into the practical utility of nVNS by evaluating its ability to consistently deliver clinically meaningful improvements in pain intensity while reducing the need for rescue medication. Methods: Patients recorded pain intensity for treated migraine attacks on a 4-point scale. Data were examined to compare nVNS and sham with regard to the percentage of patients who benefited by at least 1 point in pain intensity. We also assessed the percentage of attacks that required rescue medication and pain-free rates stratified by pain intensity at treatment initiation. Results: A significantly higher percentage of patients who used acute nVNS treatment (n = 120) vs sham (n = 123) reported a ≥ 1-point decrease in pain intensity at 30 min (nVNS, 32.2%; sham, 18.5%; P = 0.020), 60 min (nVNS, 38.8%; sham, 24.0%; P = 0.017), and 120 min (nVNS, 46.8%; sham, 26.2%; P = 0.002) after the first attack. Similar significant results were seen when assessing the benefit in all attacks. The proportion of patients who did not require rescue medication was significantly higher with nVNS than with sham for the first attack (nVNS, 59.3%; sham, 41.9%; P = 0.013) and all attacks (nVNS, 52.3%; sham, 37.3%; P = 0.008). When initial pain intensity was mild, the percentage of patients with no pain after treatment was significantly higher with nVNS than with sham at 60 min (all attacks: nVNS, 37.0%; sham, 21.2%; P = 0.025) and 120 min (first attack: nVNS, 50.0%; sham, 25.0%; P = 0.018; all attacks: nVNS, 46.7%; sham, 30.1%; P = 0.037). Conclusions: This post hoc analysis demonstrated that acute nVNS treatment quickly and consistently reduced pain intensity while decreasing rescue medication use. These clinical benefits provide guidance in the optimal use of nVNS in everyday practice, which can potentially reduce use of acute pharmacologic medications and their associated adverse events. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02686034

Highly variable clinical pictures in dogs naturally infected with angiostrongylus vasorum

Canine angiostrongylosis by Angiostrongylus vasorum is increasingly reported in both enzootic and previously free areas. The complex pathogenesis of the disease makes the clinical workup challenging. Infected dogs show highly variable clinical pictures, characterized by subclinical to life-threatening general, cardio-respiratory, neurological and/or gastrointestinal signs. The present study reports the high variability of clinical pictures from 36 dogs across central and southern Italy that were naturally infected by A. vasorum. Of them, 23 (63.9%) presented at least one clinical sign, while 13 (36.1%) were subclinically infected and apparently healthy. Overall, 19 dogs (52.8%) showed cardiorespiratory signs, 14 (38.9%) had non-specific abnormalities, 2 (5.6%) presented coagulation disorders and 1 (2.8%) had a severe neurological condition. Importantly, four dogs presenting with clinical signs had neither cough nor dyspnea. These results underline that angiostrongylosis should be included in the differential diagnosis, even when dogs display only non-specific clinical signs. The proportion of apparently healthy dogs highlights the relevance of routine copromicroscopic and/or antigenic tests in enzootic areas to avoid the sudden onset of potentially life-threatening signs

Altered processing of sensory stimuli in patients with migraine

Migraine is a cyclic disorder, in which functional and morphological brain changes fluctuate over time, culminating periodically in an attack. In the migrainous brain, temporal processing of external stimuli and sequential recruitment of neuronal networks are often dysfunctional. These changes reflect complex CNS dysfunction patterns. Assessment of multimodal evoked potentials and nociceptive reflex responses can reveal altered patterns of the brain's electrophysiological activity, thereby aiding our understanding of the pathophysiology of migraine. In this Review, we summarize the most important findings on temporal processing of evoked and reflex responses in migraine. Considering these data, we propose that thalamocortical dysrhythmia may be responsible for the altered synchronicity in migraine. To test this hypothesis in future research, electrophysiological recordings should be combined with neuroimaging studies so that the temporal patterns of sensory processing in patients with migraine can be correlated with the accompanying anatomical and functional changes

Decoherence by engineered quantum baths

We introduce, and determine decoherence for, a wide class of non-trivial quantum spin baths which embrace Ising, XY and Heisenberg universality classes coupled to a two-level system. For the XY and Ising universality classes we provide an exact expression for the decay of the loss of coherence beyond the case of a central spin coupled uniformly to all the spins of the baths which has been discussed so far in the literature. In the case of the Heisenberg spin bath we study the decoherence by means of the time-dependent density matrix renormalization group. We show how these baths can be engineered, by using atoms in optical lattices.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure