10,788 research outputs found
Suitable classification of mortars from ancient roman and renaissance frescoes using thermal analysis and chemometrics
Background
Literature on mortars has mainly focused on the identification and characterization of their components in order to assign them to a specific historical period, after accurate classification. For this purpose, different analytical techniques have been proposed. Aim of the present study was to verify whether the combination of thermal analysis and chemometric methods could be used to obtain a fast but correct classification of ancient mortar samples of different ages (Roman era and Renaissance).
Results
Ancient Roman frescoes from Museo Nazionale Romano (Terme di Diocleziano, Rome, Italy) and Renaissance frescoes from Sistine Chapel and Old Vatican Rooms (Vatican City) were analyzed by thermogravimetry (TG) and differential thermal analysis (DTA). Principal Component analysis (PCA) on the main thermal data evidenced the presence of two clusters, ascribable to the two different ages. Inspection of the loadings allowed to interpret the observed differences in terms of the experimental variables.
Conclusions
PCA allowed differentiating the two kinds of mortars (Roman and Renaissance frescoes), and evidenced how the ancient Roman samples are richer in binder (calcium carbonate) and contain less filler (aggregate) than the Renaissance ones. It was also demonstrated how the coupling of thermoanalytical techniques and chemometric processing proves to be particularly advantageous when a rapid and correct differentiation and classification of cultural heritage samples of various kinds or ages has to be carried out
Mechanical behaviour with temperatures of aluminum matrix composites with CNTs
Aluminum is a very useful structural metal employed in different industrial sectors, in particular it is used in
large quantities in automotive, aeronautic and nautical industries. The main reasons of its wide use are: a very
good oxidation resistance, excellent ductility, low melting temperature (660 °C) and low density (2.71 g/cm3).
However, in order to reduce the emissions and fuel consumption is necessary to reduce the overall weight of
vehicles by increasing mechanical properties of the structural material. The improvement of mechanical
properties is normally achieved through use of reinforcement in materials, used like matrix, in order to improve
some specific characteristics.
In this work composites of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) dispersed in aluminum were made. The most difficulties
in the preparation of this type of composite are represented by the low wettability between metallic matrix and
fillers and the possibility of the oxidation of metal during melting with consequent decreasing of mechanical
proprieties. The composite was obtained by three consecutive step: the first one is the functionalization of
fillers surface to improve the fillers dispersion, the second one is the dispersion of fillers in the matrix by
powder mixing and the third one is the melting and casting of the mix prepared.
In particular, fillers used are multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with functionalized surface by
treatment with a solfonitric solution. Melting and casting are carried out with the aid of an induction furnace
with a controlled atmosphere system and centrifugal casting. Argon is the inert gas used to prevent the
oxidation of aluminium during fusion. Young’s modulus was evaluated at different temperature and correlated
with the different CNTs percentage. The dispersion rate of fillers and the microstructure of the sample were
evaluated by FESEM micrograph
AGB and SAGB stars: modelling dust production at solar metallicity
We present dust yields for asymptotic giant branch (AGB) and
super--asymptotic giant branch (SAGB) stars of solar metallicity. Stars with
initial mass reach the carbon
star stage during the AGB phase and produce mainly solid carbon and SiC. The
size and the amount of the carbon particles formed follows a positive trend
with themass of the star; the carbon grains with the largest size (m) are produced by AGB stars with ,
as these stars are those achieving the largest enrichment of carbon in the
surface regions. The size of SiC grains, being sensitive to the surface silicon
abundance, keeps around m. The mass of carbonaceous
dust formed is in the range , whereas the
amount of SiC produced is . Massive
AGB/SAGB stars with experience HBB, that inhibits
formation of carbon stars. The most relevant dust species formed in these stars
are silicates and alumina dust, with grain sizes in the range m and m, respectively. The
mass of silicates produced spans the interval and increases with the initial
mass of the star.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
Po River Plume Influence on Marine Biochemical Properties along the Western Adriatic Coast
An international research program was devoted to understanding the dynamic properties of the mesoscale circulation in the Adriatic Sea such as fronts, eddies, coastal filaments, river inflow and study the effects of forcing by winds and river run-offs. The present work focuses specifically on the impact of the Po river outflow on the biochemical properties along the western Adriatic coast under different conditions of river discharge and wind stress in winter and spring. In the winter cruise, the satellite images show a strong front in the northern part of the Adriatic extending from the Italian coast to the Istrian Peninsula. In situ measures showed that the northern water mass was characterized by low temperature and salinity, and high nutrient and chlorophyll concentrations due to a strong Bora event which expanded the Po River plume towards the Istrian Peninsula instead of southwards in the West Adriatic Current. During the spring cruise, wind forcing was quite weak and the volume flux from the Po River was about one third of its mean discharge for this period of the year. Off the Po River, the water column was characterized by a surface layer with low salinity and high dissolved inorganic nitrogen and chlorophyll. This water mass did not extend as far eastwards as in winter because the wind forcing was not nearly as important and the alongshore plume extended southward along the Italian Coast
Congenital metabolic bone disorders as a cause of bone fragility
Bone fragility is a pathological condition caused by altered homeostasis of the mineralized bone mass with deterioration of the microarchitecture of the bone tissue, which results in a reduction of bone strength and an increased risk of fracture, even in the absence of high-impact trauma. The most common cause of bone fragility is primary osteoporosis in the elderly. However, bone fragility can manifest at any age, within the context of a wide spectrum of congenital rare bone metabolic diseases in which the inherited genetic defect alters correct bone modeling and remodeling at different points and aspects of bone synthesis and/or bone resorption, leading to defective bone tissue highly prone to long bone bowing, stress fractures and pseudofractures, and/or fragility fractures. To date, over 100 different Mendelian-inherited metabolic bone disorders have been identified and included in the OMIM database, associated with germinal heterozygote, compound heterozygote, or homozygote mutations, affecting over 80 different genes involved in the regulation of bone and mineral metabolism. This manuscript reviews clinical bone phenotypes, and the associated bone fragility in rare congenital metabolic bone disorders, following a disease taxonomic classification based on deranged bone metabolic activity
Parathyroid tumors: Molecular signatures
Parathyroid tumors are rare endocrine neoplasms affecting 0.1–0.3% of the general population, including benign parathyroid adenomas (PAs; about 98% of cases), intermediate atypical parathyroid adenomas (aPAs; 1.2–1.3% of cases) and malignant metastatic parathyroid carcinomas (PCs; less than 1% of cases). These tumors are characterized by a variable spectrum of clinical phenotypes and an elevated cellular, histological and molecular heterogeneity that make it difficult to pre-operatively distinguish PAs, aPAs and PCs. Thorough knowledge of genetic, epigenetic, and molecular signatures, which characterize different parathyroid tumor subtypes and drive different tumorigeneses, is a key step to identify potential diagnostic biomarkers able to distinguish among different parathyroid neoplastic types, as well as provide novel therapeutic targets and strategies for these rare neoplasms, which are still a clinical and therapeutic challenge. Here, we review the current knowledge on gene mutations and epigenetic changes that have been associated with the development of different clinical types of parathyroid tumors, both in familial and sporadic forms of these endocrine neoplasms
Interface pinning and slow ordering kinetics on infinitely ramified fractal structures
We investigate the time dependent Ginzburg-Landau (TDGL) equation for a non
conserved order parameter on an infinitely ramified (deterministic) fractal
lattice employing two alternative methods: the auxiliary field approach and a
numerical method of integration of the equations of evolution. In the first
case the domain size evolves with time as , where is
the anomalous random walk exponent associated with the fractal and differs from
the normal value 2, which characterizes all Euclidean lattices. Such a power
law growth is identical to the one observed in the study of the spherical model
on the same lattice, but fails to describe the asymptotic behavior of the
numerical solutions of the TDGL equation for a scalar order parameter. In fact,
the simulations performed on a two dimensional Sierpinski Carpet indicate that,
after an initial stage dominated by a curvature reduction mechanism \`a la
Allen-Cahn, the system enters in a regime where the domain walls between
competing phases are pinned by lattice defects.
The lack of translational invariance determines a rough free energy
landscape, the existence of many metastable minima and the suppression of the
marginally stable modes, which in translationally invariant systems lead to
power law growth and self similar patterns. On fractal structures as the
temperature vanishes the evolution is frozen, since only thermally activated
processes can sustain the growth of pinned domains.Comment: 16 pages+14 figure
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