COMPUTER AIDED RESTORATION TOOLS TO ASSIST THE CONSERVATION OF AN ANCIENT SCULPTURE. THE COLOSSAL STATUE OF ZEUS ENTHRONED

The research focuses on the contribution of the integrated application of Computer Aided Restoration digital procedures as a means to guide the integration measure of an artifact, innovating and implementing the traditional investigation methods. The aim of the study was to provide effective geometrical-formal investigation tools in the frame of the conservation work of Zeus enthroned from Soluntum, conserved in the Archaeological Museum \u201cA. Salinas\u201d of Palermo. The paper describes the workflow of the 3D acquisition and graphical modeling with non-invasive digitalization and high information density techniques to assist the conservation of the legs of the throne, especially the integration of the missing part. Thanks to the technique of the digital fabrication it has been reconstruct the two missing parts following the theoretical criteria as: recognisability, compatibility and retractability. This innovative application of 3D digital technologies have showed as the integrated use of the new technology can be a useful tools for improving the conservation of a work of art

Isotopic Composition of Fragments in Nuclear Multifragmentation

The isotope yields of fragments, produced in the decay of the quasiprojectile in Au+Au peripheral collisions at 35 MeV/nucleon and those coming from the disassembly of the unique source formed in Xe+Cu central reactions at 30 MeV/nucleon, were measured. We show that the relative yields of neutron-rich isotopes increase with the excitation energy in multifragmentation reaction. In the framework of the statistical multifragmentation model which fairly well reproduces the experimental observables, this behaviour can be explained by increasing N/Z ratio of hot primary fragments, that corresponds to the statistical evolution of the decay mechanism with the excitation energy: from a compound-like decay to complete multifragmentation.Comment: 10 pages. 4 Postscript figures. Submitted to Physical Review C, Rapid Communicatio

On the occurrence of the silverstripe blaasop Lagocephalus sceleratus (Gmelin, 1789) along the Libyan coast

Five individuals of Lagocephalus sceleratus were caught by trammel and gill nets off Ain Al Ghazala, Libya (approximately 32°09'N − 23°15'E) between 15 and 25 m depth in September 2010. Our findings represent the first record of this toxic species from Libya and provide further evidence of its occurrence along North African coasts

Size and asymmetry of the reaction entrance channel: influence on the probability of neck production

The results of experiments performed to investigate the Ni+Al, Ni+Ni, Ni+Ag reactions at 30 MeV/nucleon are presented. From the study of dissipative midperipheral collisions, it has been possible to detect events in which Intermediate Mass Fragments (IMF) production takes place. The decay of a quasi-projectile has been identified; its excitation energy leads to a multifragmentation totally described in terms of a statistical disassembly of a thermalized system (T$\simeq$4 MeV, E$^*\simeq$4 MeV/nucleon). Moreover, for the systems Ni+Ni, Ni+Ag, in the same nuclear reaction, a source with velocity intermediate between that of the quasi-projectile and that of the quasi-target, emitting IMF, is observed. The fragments produced by this source are more neutron rich than the average matter of the overall system, and have a charge distribution different, with respect to those statistically emitted from the quasi-projectile. The above features can be considered as a signature of the dynamical origin of the midvelocity emission. The results of this analysis show that IMF can be produced via different mechanisms simultaneously present within the same collision. Moreover, once fixed the characteristics of the quasi-projectile in the three considered reactions (in size, excitation energy and temperature), one observes that the probability of a partner IMF production via dynamical mechanism has a threshold (not present in the Ni+Al case) and increases with the size of the target nucleus.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication on Nuclear Physics

Effects of ocean acidification on embryonic respiration and development of a temperate wrasse living along a natural CO2 gradient

Volcanic CO2 seeps provide opportunities to investigate the effects of ocean acidification on organisms in the wild. To understand the influence of increasing CO2 concentrations on the metabolic rate (oxygen consumption) and the development of ocellated wrasse early life stages, we ran two field experiments, collecting embryos from nesting sites with different partial pressures of CO2 [pCO2; ambient (~400 μatm) and high (800-1000 μatm)] and reciprocally transplanting embryos from ambient- to high-CO2 sites for 30 h. Ocellated wrasse offspring brooded in different CO2 conditions had similar responses, but after transplanting portions of nests to the high-CO2 site, embryos from parents that spawned in ambient conditions had higher metabolic rates. Although metabolic phenotypic plasticity may show a positive response to high CO2, it often comes at a cost, in this case as a smaller size at hatching. This can have adverse effects because smaller larvae often exhibit a lower survival in the wild. However, the adverse effects of increased CO2 on metabolism and development did not occur when embryos from the high-CO2 nesting site were exposed to ambient conditions, suggesting that offspring from the high-CO2 nesting site could be resilient to a wider range of pCO2 values than those belonging to the site with present-day pCO2 levels. Our study identifies a crucial need to increase the number of studies dealing with these processes under global change trajectories and to expand these to naturally high-CO2 environments, in order to assess further the adaptive plasticity mechanism that encompasses nongenetic inheritance (epigenetics) through parental exposure and other downstream consequences, such as survival of larvae

Modular Middleware for Gestural Data and Devices Management

In the last few years, the use of gestural data has become a key enabler for human-computer interaction (HCI) applications. The growing diffusion of low-cost acquisition devices has thus led to the development of a class of middleware aimed at ensuring a fast and easy integration of such devices within the actual HCI applications. The purpose of this paper is to present a modular middleware for gestural data and devices management. First, we describe a brief review of the state of the art of similar middleware. Then, we discuss the proposed architecture and the motivation behind its design choices. Finally, we present a use case aimed at demonstrating the potential uses as well as the limitations of our middleware

Negative heat capacity in the critical region of nuclear fragmentation: an experimental evidence of the liquid-gas phase transition

An experimental indication of negative heat capacity in excited nuclear systems is inferred from the event by event study of energy fluctuations in $Au$ quasi-projectile sources formed in $Au+Au$ collisions at 35 A.MeV. The excited source configuration is reconstructed through a calorimetric analysis of its de-excitation products. Fragment partitions show signs of a critical behavior at about 5 A.MeV excitation energy. In the same energy range the heat capacity shows a negative branch providing a direct evidence of a first order liquid gas phase transition.Comment: 4 Postscript figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. on 14-apr-199

Drammaturgia musicale e altri studi

Numero monografico che raccoglie contributi di neolaureati e giovani studiosi dedicati all'attivit\ue0 musicale a Palermo tra Cinque e Settecento, con notizie inedite ricavate da fonti archivistiche

Dual Boundary Element Method for fatigue crack growth: implementation of the Richard\u2019s criterion

A new criterion for fatigue crack growth, whose accuracy was previously tested in the literature with the Finite Element Method, is here adopted with a Dual Boundary Element formulation. The fatigue crack growth of an elliptical inclined crack, embedded in a three dimensional cylindrical bar, is analyzed. In this way in addition to the propagation angle estimated by the Sih\u2019s criterion, it is possible to take into account a twist propagation angle. The two propagation criteria are compared in terms of shape of the propagated crack and in terms of SIFs along the crack front. The efficiency of the Dual Boundary Element Method in this study is highlighted

Diagnostic accuracy of sonohysterography vs hysteroscopy in benign uterine endocavitary findings

OBJECTIVE: To compare diagnostic accuracy of sonohysterography vs hysteroscopy in patients with benign uterine endocavitary findings. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective study evaluated 202 patients submitted to sonohysterography after transvaginal ultrasound examination suspicious for uterine endocavitary findings. Cytological sample was taken and analyzed from the fluid used to distend the uterine cavity. Of 202 patients enrolled for this study, 86 patients underwent gynaecological surgery, of whom 77 were treated with operative hysteroscopy and 9 with other gynaecological surgical techniques. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate diagnostic agreement between sonohysterography vs hysteroscopy and cytology vs histology. RESULTS: Diagnostic concordance between sonohysterography and hysteroscopy was significant (k value 0.87). The correlation between cytological and histological findings had a moderate level of concordance (k value 0.49).CONCLUSIONS: Sonohysterography provides a diagnostic accuracy as well as hysteroscopy, therefore, it could be considered an alternative procedure in the diagnosis of benign uterine endocavitary findings