Recenti dati di scavo e prospettive di ricerca a Megara Hyblaea e nel suo comprensorio

L’article publie les découvertes réalisées entre 2006 et 2008 dans la rade d’Augusta. Outre la mise en lumière des modifications structurelles de la ligne de côte, les travaux sur l’île de Forte Vittoria et sur le site même de la future colonie mégarienne ont révélé des structures de stockage et des traces d’occupation préhistoriques qui datent du 2e millénaire av. J.-C. Sur le site même du phare de Mégara Hyblaea de nombreux trous de poteaux correspondent à des occupations d’époques diverses, non seulement préhistoriques, mais également de peu antérieures, voire contemporaines, à la phase initiale de la cité. L’auteur suggère alors, à partir des alignements de ces trous de poteaux, l’éventualité d’un temple proto-archaïque en bois, comme on en connaît ailleurs, notamment à Sélinonte, qui précéderait le temple C et serait peut-être dédié à Héra.This paper publishes the results of the excavations in Augusta Bay between 2006 and 2008. In addition to the structural evolution of the coast, work on the island of Forte Vittoria and on the future Megara site itself revealed storage structures and Prehistoric traces of occupation carried out during the second millenium B.C. On the lighthouse site, the Author found different types of post holes that attest a Prehistoric occupation and even the probable remains of a wooden Protoarchaic temple, a type known elsewhere, notably at Selinus, which may announce the later temple C and could be dedicated to Hera

LE TOMBE FEMMINILI NELLA NECROPOLI DI VIALE SANTA PANAGIA A SIRACUSA (VI-IV SEC. A.C.)

This paper analyses a series of female tombs recently excavated in Syracuse, associated with funerary contexts typical of the passage from the 1st to the 2nd Iron Age on the island of Sicily within the Greek sphere, and which represent a review of concepts of iidentity and gender within the field of the archaeology of death in protohistory.La presente contribución analiza una serie de tumbas femeninas recientemente excavadas en Siracusa, asociadas a contextos funerarios típicos del paso de la I a la II Edad del Hierro en la isla de Sicilia en ámbito griego, y que representan una revisión del concepto de identidad y de género en el ámbito de la arqueología de la muerte en la Protohistoria.La presente contribución analiza una serie de tumbas femeninas recientemente excavadas en Siracusa, asociadas a contextos funerarios típicos del paso de la I a la II Edad del Hierro en la isla de Sicilia en ámbito griego, y que representan una revisión del concepto de identidad y de género en el ámbito de la arqueología de la muerte en la Protohistoria

Sessile droplet with negative line tension

Abstract: We study the local stability of a sessile droplet with non-vanishing line tension along the contact line, where three phases are in equilibrium. We confirm Widom\u27s results (B. Widom, Line tension and the shape of a sessile drop. J. Chem. Phys. 99 (1995), 2803-2806.) on the local stability of a droplet with positive line tension in a larger class of perturbations. When the line tension is negative, although equilibria would be unstable against modes that make the contact line wigglier and wigglier, the length over which the oscillations of destabilizing modes are effective can become too short compared ti the natural cut-off length given by the ratio between the line and the surface tensions of the droplet. Thus, provided that the line tension strength is not too large, conditionally stable equilibria exist, even when the line tension is negative

Brain PET imaging in obesity and food addiction: current evidence and hypothesis.

The ongoing epidemics of obesity is one main health concern of the present time. Overeating in some obese individuals shares similarities with the loss of control and compulsive behavior observed in drug-addicted subjects, suggesting that obesity may involve food addiction. Here, we review the contributions provided by the use of positron emission tomography to the current understanding of the cerebral control of obesity and food intake in humans. The available studies have shown that multiple areas in the brain are involved with the reward properties of food, such as prefrontal, orbitofrontal, somatosensory cortices, insula, thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, and others. This review summarizes the current evidence, supporting the concepts that i) regions involved in the somatosensory response to food sight, taste, and smell are activated by palatable foods and may be hyperresponsive in obese individuals, ii) areas controlling executive drive seem to overreact to the anticipation of pleasure during cue exposure, and iii) those involved in cognitive control and inhibitory behavior may be resistant to the perception of reward after food exposure in obese subjects. All of these features may stimulate, for different reasons, ingestion of highly palatable and energy-rich foods. Though these same regions are similarly involved in drug abusers and game-addicted individuals, any direct resemblance may be an oversimplification, especially as the heterogeneities between studies and the prevalent exclusion of sensitive groups still limit a coherent interpretation of the findings. Further work is required to comprehensively tackle the multifaceted phenotype of obesity and identify the role of food dependency in its pathophysiology

Effect Of The Refrigerant Charge On The System Performance And Mass Distribution In Air-To-Water Heat Pumps

Recent regulations in the matter of climate change and environmental protection are pushing to reduce the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The overall environmental impact of a refrigeration system can be reduced by optimizing and possibly minimizing the amount of refrigerant charge in the system. Even in the case of natural and low-GWP synthetic refrigerants, due to the well-known problems with toxicity and flammability, it is required to minimize the amount of refrigerant charged into the system to reduce the associated risks. The charge minimization process requires to know the refrigerant distribution to identify and redesign the critical components in terms of charge retention. This paper analyses numerically the influence of the refrigerant charge on the system performance and on the mass distribution in an air-to-water reversible heat pump working with R32. A mathematical model has been developed to simulate the unit during the cooling mode operation. The model uses the finite volume method to predict the refrigerant charge within the heat exchangers; the amount of refrigerant dissolved in the compressor oil is also accounted for. The results show that most of the charge is stored into the condenser and highlight the existence of an optimum charge that maximizes the system COP. The same model allows to compare various refrigerants in terms of direct and indirect impact on the greenhouse effect

Sobre una clase de fórmulas de cubicación encajadas en el simplex

In this paper we investigate a class of embedded cubature formulae on the simplex announced in [1]. Here we recall the class of formulae, we introduce the remainder and we give an estimation of this, we also investigate the convergence. Some numerical examples are given.Mathematical subject classification: Primary: 65D32En este trabajo se investiga una clase de fórmulas de cubicación encajados en el símplex anunciado en [1]. Aquí recordamos la clase de fórmulas, se introduce el resto y damos un estimado de lo mencionado y también investigamos la convergencia. Se dan algunos ejemplos numéricos

Preliminary Analysis of the Effects of Ad26.COV2.S Vaccination on CT Findings and High Intensive Care Admission Rates of COVID-19 Patients

On 27 February 2021, the Food and Drug Administration(FDA) authorized the administration of the adenovirus-based Ad26.COV2-S vaccine (J&J-Janssen) for the prevention of COVID-19, a viral pandemic that, to date, has killed more than 5.5 million people. Performed during the early phase of the COVID-19 4th wave, this retrospective observational study aims to report the computerized tomography (CT) findings and intensive care unit admission rates of Ad26.COV2-S-vaccinated vs. unvaccinated COVID-19 patients. From the 1st to the 23rd of December 2021, all confirmed COVID-19 patients that had been subjected to chest non-contrast CT scan analysis were enrolled in the study. These were divided into Ad26.COV2.S-vaccinated (group 1) and unvaccinated patients (group 2). The RSNA severity score was calculated for each patient and correlated to CT findings and type of admission to a healthcare setting after CT-i.e., home care, ordinary hospitalization, sub-intensive care, and intensive care. Descriptive and inference statistical analyses were performed by comparing the data from the two groups. Data from a total of 71 patients were collected: 10 patients in group 1 (4M, 6F, mean age 63.5 years, SD ± 4.2) and 61 patients in group 2 (32M, 29F, mean age 64.7 years, SD ± 3.7). Statistical analysis showed lower values of RSNA severity in group 1 compared to group 2 (mean value 14.1 vs. 15.7, p = 0.009, respectively). Furthermore, vaccinated patients were less frequently admitted to both sub-intensive and high-intensive care units than group 2, with an odds ratio of 0.45 [95%CI (0.01; 3.92)]. Ad26.COV2.S vaccination protects from severe COVID-19 based on CT severity scores. As a result, Ad26.COV2.S-vaccinated COVID-19 patients are more frequently admitted to home in comparison with unvaccinated patients

Efficacy and Safety of Axiostat® Hemostatic Dressing in Aiding Manual Compression Closure of the Femoral Arterial Access Site in Patients Undergoing Endovascular Treatments: A Preliminary Clinical Experience in Two Centers

Background: Hemostasis of the femoral arterial access site by manual compression or a vascular closure device is critical to the safe completion of any endovascular procedure. Previous investigations evaluated the hemostatic efficacy at the radial access site of some chitosan-based hemostatic pads. This study aims to assess the efficacy and safety of a new chitosan-based hemostatic dressing, namely Axiostat®, in aiding manual compression closure of the femoral arterial access site in patients undergoing endovascular treatments. Furthermore, the outcomes were compared with evidence on manual compression alone and vascular closure devices. Methods: This investigation is a two-center retrospective analysis of 120 consecutive patients who had undergone, from July 2022 to February 2023, manual compression closure of the femoral arterial access site aided by the Axiostat® hemostatic dressing. Endovascular procedures performed with introducer sheaths ranging from 4 Fr to 8 Fr were evaluated. Results: Primary technical success was achieved in 110 (91.7%) patients, with adequate hemostasis obtained in all cases of prolonged manual compression requirements. The mean time-to-hemostasis and time-to-ambulation were 8.9 (±3.9) and 462 (±199) minutes, respectively. Clinical success was achieved in 113 (94.2%) patients, with bleeding-related complications noted in 7 (5.8%) patients. Conclusions: Manual compression aided by the Axiostat® hemostatic dressing is effective and safe in achieving hemostasis of the femoral arterial access site in patients undergoing endovascular treatment with a 4–8 Fr introducer sheath