Thermal and hygrometric properties of traditional calcarenite stones in the area of Palermo

Il contributo espone le misure di conducibilit\ue0 termica svolte su tre conci di calcarenite conchiliare e la caratterizzazione igrometrica di uno di essi. I risultati sono confrontati con i dati termici e igrometrici riportati dalle norme tecniche esistenti (UNI 10351, UNI EN ISO 10456, UNI EN 1745).The energy improvement of historic buildings requires detailed knowledge of the thermal and hygrometric properties of traditional materials and components. These data should be collected for specific local contexts, where the features of historic constructions are comparable. For the purpose of developing this tool for the architectural heritage of Palermo, this research focuses on calcarenite stones, the material traditionally used in the construction of the local historic masonry, and illustrates the thermal and hygrometric characterization of three calcarenite samples, taken from two historic buildings in the Sicilian city

Natural Infection of Southern Highbush Blueberry ( Vaccinium corymbosum Interspecific Hybrids) by Xylella fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa .

Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) is an emerging insect-vectored, xylem-limited bacterium that can cause disease on several economically important fruit and tree crops including almond, blueberry, citrus, grapevine, peach, and pecan. On blueberry, Xf causes bacterial leaf scorch (BLS), which is prevalent in the southeastern United States. This disease, previously reported to be caused by Xf subsp. multiplex (Xfm), can result in rapid plant decline and death of southern highbush (SHB) blueberry cultivars. In 2017, a survey of blueberry plantings in southern Georgia (U.S.A.) confirmed the presence of Xf-infected plants in eight of nine sites examined, and seven isolates were cultured from infected plants. Genetic characterization of these isolates through single-locus and multilocus sequence analysis revealed that three isolates from two sites belonged to Xf subsp. fastidiosa (Xff), with significant similarity to isolates from grapevine. After these three isolates were artificially inoculated onto greenhouse-grown SHB blueberries (cv. 'Rebel'), symptoms typical of BLS developed, and Xff infection was confirmed through genetic characterization and reisolation of the bacterium to fulfill Koch's postulates. Because all previously reported Xf isolates from blueberry have been characterized as Xfm, this is the first time that isolation of Xff has been reported from naturally infected blueberry plantings. The potential impact of Xff isolates on disease management in blueberry requires further exploration. Furthermore, given that isolates from both Xfm and Xff were obtained within a single naturally infected blueberry planting, blueberry in southern Georgia may provide opportunities for intersubspecific recombination between Xff and Xfm isolates

Long-term variability of CO2 and O in the Mars upper atmosphere from MRO radio science data

We estimate the annual variability of CO2 and O partial density using approximately 6years of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) radio science data from August 2006 to January 2012, which cover three full Martian years (from the northern hemisphere summer of 28 to the northern hemisphere summer of 31). These two elements are the dominant species at the MRO periapsis altitude, constituting about 70-80% of the total density. We report the recovered annual cycle of CO2 and the annual and seasonal cycle of O in the upper atmosphere. Although no other observations are available at those altitudes, our results are in good agreement with the density measurements of the Mars Express Spectroscopy for Investigation of Characteristics of the Atmosphere of Mars, which uses stellar occultations between 60 and 130km to determine the CO2 variability, and with the Mars Global Reference Atmospheric Model 2010 for the O annual and seasonal variabilities. Furthermore, the updated model provides more reasonable MRO drag coefficients (CD), which are estimated to absorb mismodeling in the atmospheric density prediction. The higher content of dust in the atmosphere due to dust storms increases the density, so the CDs should compensate for this effect. The correlation between the drag coefficient and the dust optical depth, measured by the Mars Odyssey Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) instrument, increases from 0.4 to 0.8 with the a priori and adjusted models, respectively. The trend of CDs not only confirms a substantial improvement in the prediction of the atmospheric density with the updated model but also provides useful information for local dust storms, near MRO periapsis, that cannot be measured by the opacity level since THEMIS does not always sample the southern hemisphere evenly

New Analysis of Mercury Laser Altimeter Crossovers to Improve Geodetic Constraints by MESSENGER

No abstract availabl

Text-based Editing of Talking-head Video

Editing talking-head video to change the speech content or to remove filler words is challenging. We propose a novel method to edit talking-head video based on its transcript to produce a realistic output video in which the dialogue of the speaker has been modified, while maintaining a seamless audio-visual flow (i.e. no jump cuts). Our method automatically annotates an input talking-head video with phonemes, visemes, 3D face pose and geometry, reflectance, expression and scene illumination per frame. To edit a video, the user has to only edit the transcript, and an optimization strategy then chooses segments of the input corpus as base material. The annotated parameters corresponding to the selected segments are seamlessly stitched together and used to produce an intermediate video representation in which the lower half of the face is rendered with a parametric face model. Finally, a recurrent video generation network transforms this representation to a photorealistic video that matches the edited transcript. We demonstrate a large variety of edits, such as the addition, removal, and alteration of words, as well as convincing language translation and full sentence synthesis

Il miglioramento energetico nel recupero degli edifici storici. Applicazione al patrimonio architettonico palermitano

L'architettura storica pu\uf2 assumere un ruolo rilevante nel raggiungimento degli obiettivi europei di efficienza energetica per il settore edile, obiettivi che, tuttavia, devono essere compatibili con la conservazione del patrimonio storico e del suo valore culturale. A tal fine \ue8 necessario far riferimento ai caratteri specifici dell'architettura storica e alla sua dimensione locale. La presente tesi, sulla base di tale assunto, esamina le prestazioni energetiche degli edifici storici e il loro potenziale miglioramento, concentrandosi sul patrimonio architettonico di Palermo, caso di studio significativo per l'area mediterranea. La ricerca, condotta con riferimento sia alla scala urbana sia a quella dell'edificio e dei suoi elementi tecnici, segue per la citt\ue0 siciliana una metodologia applicabile anche ad altri contesti. Attraverso la descrizione del suo centro storico mediante categorie edilizie, la simulazione termica (WUFI Plus) di alcuni edifici rappresentativi e la caratterizzazione termofisica di murature storiche e campioni di calcarenite, la tesi contribuisce a sviluppare un quadro di conoscenze che \ue8 la necessaria base su cui fondare strategie e criteri per un miglioramento energetico compatibile dell'architettura storica.\uadThe historic architecture can have a significant role in the achievement of the European targets about energy efficiency in the construction sector, but this purpose has to be compatible with the conservation of the built heritage and its cultural value. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the specific characters of the historic architecture and its local dimension. Based on this assumption, this thesis examines the energy performance of historic buildings and its potential improvement by focusing on the architectural heritage of Palermo, which is a signficant case study for the Mediterranean area. The research is conducted both at the urban scale and at the level of envelope components, following for Palermo a methodology adaptable to other contexts. Through a building categorisation of the town historic centre, the thermal simulation (WUFI Plus) of representative buildings and the thermophysical characterisation of historic stone walls and calcarenite specimens, this thesis contributes to develop a knowledge framework, which is the necessary basis of strategies and criteria for a compatible energy improvement of the historic architecture

Detailed study of the microwave emission of the supernova remnant 3C 396

We have observed the supernova remnant 3C~396 in the microwave region using the Parkes 64-m telescope. Observations have been made at 8.4 GHz, 13.5 GHz, and 18.6 GHz and in polarisation at 21.5 GHz. We have used data from several other observatories, including previously unpublished observations performed by the Green Bank Telescope at 31.2 GHz, to investigate the nature of the microwave emission of 3C 396. Results show a spectral energy distribution dominated by a single component power law emission with $\alpha=(-0.364 \pm 0.017)$. Data do not favour the presence of anomalous microwave emission coming from the source. Polarised emission at 21.5 GHz is consistent with synchrotron-dominated emission. We present microwave maps and correlate them with infrared (IR) maps in order to characterise the interplay between thermal dust and microwave emission. IR vs. microwave TT plots reveal poor correlation between mid-infrared and microwave emission from the core of the source. On the other hand, a correlation is detected in the tail emission of the outer shell of 3C 396, which could be ascribed to Galactic contamination.Comment: published in MNRA

New radio observations of anomalous microwave emission in the HII region RCW175

We have observed the HII region RCW175 with the 64m Parkes telescope at 8.4GHz and 13.5GHz in total intensity, and at 21.5GHz in both total intensity and polarization. High angular resolution, high sensitivity, and polarization capability enable us to perform a detailed study of the different constituents of the HII region. For the first time, we resolve three distinct regions at microwave frequencies, two of which are part of the same annular diffuse structure. Our observations enable us to confirm the presence of anomalous microwave emission (AME) from RCW175. Fitting the integrated flux density across the entire region with the currently available spinning dust models, using physically motivated assumptions, indicates the presence of at least two spinning dust components: a warm component with a relatively large hydrogen number density n_H=26.3/cm^3 and a cold component with a hydrogen number density of n_H=150/cm^3. The present study is an example highlighting the potential of using high angular-resolution microwave data to break model parameter degeneracies. Thanks to our spectral coverage and angular resolution, we have been able to derive one of the first AME maps, at 13.5GHz, showing clear evidence that the bulk of the AME arises in particular from one of the source components, with some additional contribution from the diffuse structure. A cross-correlation analysis with thermal dust emission has shown a high degree of correlation with one of the regions within RCW175. In the center of RCW175, we find an average polarized emission at 21.5GHz of 2.2\pm0.2(rand.)\pm0.3(sys.)% of the total emission, where we have included both systematic and statistical uncertainties at 68% CL. This polarized emission could be due to sub-dominant synchrotron emission from the region and is thus consistent with very faint or non-polarized emission associated with AME.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa