Piazza Ferrari a Rimini: il mosaico del triclinio nella "Domus del Chirurgo". Un intervento tra restauro e manutenzione

On the occasion of the opening to the public of the Roman "Domus del Chirurgo" in the centre of Rimini a new conservation intervention was carried out on the floor mosaic of the Triclinium room, previously subjected to different and often bad restoration interventions. The conservation works were supported by the characterization, by means different analytical techniques, both of the original mosaic materials (tesserae and mortars) and of the restoration products used in the past. The deterioration processes of these ancient and modern materials were also identified. In the new restoration intervention the unfit and not compatible mortars used in the past were removed and restoration mortars with a composition similar to the original ones were prepared and applied. Finally a long and careful microclimatic study was also performed and a programme of maintenance was planne

Mineralogical study of historical bricks from the Great Palace of the Byzantine Emperors in Istanbul based on powder X-ray diffraction data

This study concerns the Quantitative Phase Analysis (QPA) of historical bricks coming from the complex of the Great Palace of the Byzantine Emperors in Istanbul. The studied samples are characterised by different chemical compositions (low and high calcium content), variable firing temperatures and different amounts of soluble salts as damage products. In the low-Ca samples, the decrease of the phyllosilicate content (from 23.4 to 6.9 wt%) is associated to the increase of the amorphous fraction (from 24 to 48 %). This clear negative correlation between the phyllosilicate content and the amorphous fraction indicates that in low-Ca systems vitrification processes are overwhelming with respect to nucleation and recrystallisation processes. By contrast, high-Ca samples present newly formed Ca(Mg) silicates (diopside from 5.7 to 27.2 %; anorthite from 1.4 to 8.7 %) and aluminium silicates (gehlenite only in two samples, 6.2 and 7.7 %) associated to the decrease of quartz (from 27.7 to 11.5 %), phyllosilicate (from 6.5 % until complete break down) and amorphous (from 30 to 14 %) phase fractions. These findings support the role played by the CaO(MgO) content deriving from carbonates decomposition which reacts with A12O3 and SiO2 oxides from dehydroxylated clay minerals and quartz grains. The above results have been obtained by X-ray powder diffraction data using the combined Rietveld refinement-internal standard method in order to estimate both the crystalline and the amorphous phase fractions. In addition, the coexistence of two distinct plagioclases in high-Ca samples was modelled as follows: a primary albite, which tends to incorporate Ca during the firing process as demonstrated by the increasing of γ crystallographic angle, and a newly formed anorthite. Finally, by difference between the X-ray fluorescence data and the chemical compositions inferred by QPA, it proved possible to roughly estimate the residual chemical composition attributable to the amorphous fraction. On the basis of our data, we believe that Rietveld refinement combined with the internal standard method represent a powerful tool to better characterise complex polycrystalline and amorphous mixture as in the case of historical bricks. © 2005 E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung

Early evidences of vitreous materials in Roman mosaics from Italy: An archaeological and archaeometric integrated study

This work displays the lines of a project about vitreous materials used in Roman Republican Age opus vermiculatum mosaics from Italy. This mosaic technique, originated in Egypt and Greece during the Hellenistic Age, testifies the fist evidences of vitreous materials used in mosaics: faience and glasses. The use of these materials in vermiculata mosaics from Italy was almost unknown when this research was started, so it was necessary to map and characterize the whole mosaic production. After a survey operated by a portable digital microscope, a reduced number of samples were collected to perform a laboratory characterization (OM, SEM–EDS, XRD). Data have been completed by an isotope ratio characterization (SIMS) to investigate the glasses raw materials provenance

Analisi di materiali musivi della Basilica Teodoriana di Aquileia

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Biblioteca Centrale - P.le Aldo Moro, 7, Rome / CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle RichercheSIGLEITItal

Counseling, quality of life, and acute postoperative pain in elderly patients with hip fracture

INTRODUCTION: Hip fractures represent one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality in elderly people. Anxiety and depression affect their quality of life and increase pain severity, and have adverse effects on functional recovery. Recent World Health Organization guidelines emphasize that therapeutic regimes need to be individualized and combined with psychological support. This study was launched with the primary endpoint of assessing if and to what extent client-centered therapy affects the perception of pain, reduces anxiety and depression, and increases the quality of life of elderly patients with hip fracture. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty patients were admitted to the Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery ward for hip fracture. Patients were randomly divided into two subgroups: (1) case (group C), had to receive patient-centered counseling throughout the hospitalization; and (2) control (group NC), receiving the analgesic treatment without receiving counseling. Short Form-36-item Health Survey Questionnaire, State–Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression scores were recorded before any treatment, at discharge, and after 30 days. Pain levels were evaluated by means of Visual Analog Scale every 12 hours during the hospitalization from the day of surgery until day 5. RESULTS: The hierarchical clustering analysis identified before any treatment were two clusters based on different physical functioning perceptions and role limitations, which were due to physical and emotional problems. Counseling did have a positive impact on quality of life on all patients, but in a more relevant way if patients were low functioning upon admittance to the ward. Anxiety and depression decreased in patients undergoing counseling, and their pain levels were lower than among patients not receiving it. CONCLUSION: This study reveals that hip fracture patients can be clustered on the basis of Short Form-36 baseline scores. Counseling affects the evolution of mental and physical status in these patients, and the major benefit is reported in patients whose quality of life perception is worse after the trauma. Decreasing anxiety and depression levels, as well as more satisfying pain management, assessed by means of specific tests, confirm the effectiveness of counseling in elderly patients with hip fracture