The rotational shear layer inside the early red-giant star KIC 4448777

We present the asteroseismic study of the early red-giant star KIC 4448777, complementing and integrating a previous work (Di Mauro et al. 2016), aimed at characterizing the dynamics of its interior by analyzing the overall set of data collected by the {\it Kepler} satellite during the four years of its first nominal mission. We adopted the Bayesian inference code DIAMOND (Corsaro \& De Ridder 2014) for the peak bagging analysis and asteroseismic splitting inversion methods to derive the internal rotational profile of the star. The detection of new splittings of mixed modes, more concentrated in the very inner part of the helium core, allowed us to reconstruct the angular velocity profile deeper into the interior of the star and to disentangle the details better than in Paper I: the helium core rotates almost rigidly about 6 times faster than the convective envelope, while part of the hydrogen shell seems to rotate at a constant velocity about 1.15 times lower than the He core. In particular, we studied the internal shear layer between the fast-rotating radiative interior and the slow convective zone and we found that it lies partially inside the hydrogen shell above $r \simeq 0.05R$ and extends across the core-envelope boundary. Finally, we theoretically explored the possibility for the future to sound the convective envelope in the red-giant stars and we concluded that the inversion of a set of splittings with only low-harmonic degree $l\leq 3$, even supposing a very large number of modes, will not allow to resolve the rotational profile of this region in detail.Comment: accepted for publication on Ap

3D mosaic documentation using close range photogrammetry

The paper describes the close range photogrammetric survey of a roman mosaic stored at Regional Archaeological Museum “Antonino Salinas” in Palermo (Italy). The aim of the work is the production of a full-scale representation (scale 1:1) of the mosaic useful for documentation and restoration processes. The research has allowed evaluating limit and potentiality of image-based approach using photogrammetric and computer vision (Structure for Motion) techniques in a context where the metric point of view is a very important factor

La “dimensione oscura”. Viaggio dentro Piansano (VT)

Il sottosuolo di Piansano è un incredibile intreccio di cavità, alcune recenti altre forse antiche di millenni, che interessano l’intero odierno edificato e si spingono anche oltre i limiti delle costruzioni. In tempi recenti, è stato avviato uno studio di dettaglio, strutturato in formato gis-oriented, finalizzato alla conoscenza di tutti gli ipogei (attualmente sono stati mappati oltre 200), sia in termini di estensione e dimensioni, che in relazione alla definizione di tutte le caratteristiche litologiche delle formazioni a spese delle quali sono state realizzate le cavità, senza peraltro trascurare gli aspetti relativi alle loro condizioni statiche ed agli interventi da mettere in atto per la loro messa in sicurezza. Tutto ciò è stato reso necessario per contrastare gli effetti sugli ipogei stessi dovuti al traffico veicolare, sempre più marcato, alla presenza di impianti tecnologici (fognature, linee idriche, ecc), ma anche a seguito di una maggiore sensibilità nei confronti di quelle problematiche che, nei casi più gravi, possono creare dissesti a danno delle abitazioni, delle strade, dei monumenti e delle strutture di superficie, con conseguente rischio per l’incolumità delle persone e costi aggiuntivi per la collettività.Underground Piansano is an amazing tangle of caves, either recent or, possibly, thousands of years old, extended within the present-day settlement and even beyond its limits. Recently, a detailed gis-oriented study has been carried out aiming at defining all the underground sites (up to now more than 200 of them have been mapped) in terms of their location and extension, as also related to the lithological characteristics of the hosting formations. Moreover, the aspects concerning their conditions of stability have been also addressed, as well as the related interventions to be put in place as safety measures. This is in order not only to prevent the effects on the underground sites of the increasing traffic and of the presence of technological systems (e.g., sewers, water lines, etc.), but also in light of a greater sensitivity to hazard issues. In fact, the most severe cases of underground instabilities may result into damages to homes, roads, monuments and other surface structures, with consequent risk to the safety of people and additional costs for the community

Beneficial effect of sodium dichloroacetate in muscle cytochrome C oxidase deficiency

Beneficial Effect of Sodium Dichloroacetate in Muscle Cytochrome C Oxidase Deficienc

Annealing studies of visible light emission from silicon nanocrystals produced by implantation

The annealing behavior of silicon implanted SiO{sub 2} layers is studied using continuous and time-gated photoluminescence (PL). Two PL emission bands are observed. A band centered at 560 nm is present in as implanted samples and it is still observed after 1000 {degrees}C annealing. The emission time is fast (0.2 -2 ns). A second band centered at 780 nm further increases when hydrogen annealing was performed. The emission time is long (1 {mu}s - 0.3 ms)

Two-photon excitation and relaxation of the 3d-4d resonance in atomic Kr

Two-photon excitation of a single-photon forbidden Auger resonance has been observed and investigated using the intense extreme ultraviolet radiation from the free electron laser in Hamburg. At the wavelength 26.9 nm (46 eV) two photons promoted a 3d core electron to the outer 4d shell. The subsequent Auger decay, as well as several nonlinear above threshold ionization processes, were studied by electron spectroscopy. The experimental data are in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions and analysis of the underlying multiphoton processes

Was the ICO boom just a sideshow of the Bitcoin and Ether Momentum?

We investigate whether the market for ICOs in 2017–2018 and 2021 showed signs of contagion from prices of Bitcoin and Ether. During phases of optimism, ICO daily returns display low correlations with those of Bitcoin or Ether. But when the bubble bursts, correlations jump to very high levels, signaling that the ICO market becomes a sideshow of the cryptocurrency dynamics. We demonstrate that this high correlation was not present during the Nasdaq bubble in the 1990s, signaling that the price dynamics of digital tokens seems to be driven by a common factor, much more than in previous bubbles

The Activity of Anandamide at Vanilloid VR1 Receptors Requires Facilitated Transport across the Cell Membrane and Is Limited by Intracellular Metabolism

The endogenous ligand of CB(1) cannabinoid receptors, anandamide, is also a full agonist at vanilloid VR1 receptors for capsaicin and resiniferatoxin, thereby causing an increase in cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration in human VR1-overexpressing (hVR1-HEK) cells. Two selective inhibitors of anandamide facilitated transport into cells, VDM11 and VDM13, and two inhibitors of anandamide enzymatic hydrolysis, phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride and methylarachidonoyl fluorophosphonate, inhibited and enhanced, respectively, the VR1-mediated effect of anandamide, but not of resiniferatoxin or capsaicin. The nitric oxide donor, sodium nitroprusside, known to stimulate anandamide transport, enhanced anandamide effect on the cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration. Accordingly, hVR1-HEK cells contain an anandamide membrane transporter inhibited by VDM11 and VDM13 and activated by sodium nitroprusside, and an anandamide hydrolase activity sensitive to phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride and methylarachidonoyl fluorophosphonate, and a fatty acid amide hydrolase transcript. These findings suggest the following. (i) Anandamide activates VR1 receptors by acting at an intracellular site. (ii) Degradation by fatty acid amide hydrolase limits anandamide activity on VR1; and (iii) the anandamide membrane transporter inhibitors can be used to distinguish between CB(1) or VR1 receptor-mediated actions of anandamide. By contrast, the CB(1) receptor antagonist SR141716A inhibited also the VR1-mediated effect of anandamide and capsaicin on cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration, although at concentrations higher than those required for CB(1) antagonism