Integrated surveying for the archaeological documentation of a neolithic site

It has been tested the applicability of integrated surveys (remote sensing, digital photogrammetry and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS)) in order to verify, through gradual and successive steps, how geomatic techniques can get 3D results with metric value combined with a quality content for an archaeological site. In particular, the data have been collected during the excavation campaign of Neolithic archaeological site in Taranto. The possibilities to scan articulated forms, in the presence of curve, concavity and convexity, and jutting parts rotate, characterized by alterations, through the acquisition of a dense points cloud makes the technique TLS needed in archaeology. Through the photogrammetric technique the laser data has been integrated concerning some details found on the site for which it has been required a higher degree of detail. The photogrammetric data has been acquired with the calibrated camera. The processing of the acquired data and their integration has been made possible to study an important archeological site, in its totality, from small scale (general site framework) to large scale (3D model with a high degree of detail) and to structure a multi-temporal database for simplified data management

Integrated survey for the reconstruction of the Papal Basilica and the Sacred Convent of St. Francis in Assisi, Italy

The Papal Basilica and the Sacred Convent of Saint Francis in Assisi in Italy are characterized by unique and composite particularities that need an exhaustive knowledge of the sites themselves to guarantee visitor's security and safety, considering all the people and personnel normally present in the site, visitors with disabilities and finally the needs for cultural heritage preservation and protection. This aim can be reached using integrated systems and innovative technologies, such as Internet of Everything (IoE), which can connect people, things (smart sensors, devices and actuators; mobile terminals; wearable devices; etc.), data/information/knowledge and processes to reach the wanted objectives. The IoE system must implement and support an Integrated Multidisciplinary Model for Security and Safety Management (IMMSSM) for the specific context, using a multidisciplinary approach. The purpose of the paper is to illustrate the integrated survey for the reconstruction of the considered site that was necessary to obtain all the necessary information to start to set up the considered IMMSSM and the related IoE based technological system

Knowing the past for managing the present: A comparison between historical cartography and satellite images for the study of Rome's city centre

The idea of this paper, develops from the consideration that, since the second half of the XXth century, urban planning of Italian historical centers seems constrained by the fear of compromising the architectures of the past. Rome's city centre, today UNESCO site, gathers a built up heritage that witness its long and unique existence. The missing industrialization phase that, during the XIXth century, determined the urban transformation of the great European capital cities, has permitted to a large area characterized by highly stratified urban tissue to survive. The aim of this project is to exploit the geometric precision and descriptive detail, characterizing the "Nuova pianta di Roma", published in 1748 by Giovanni Battista Nolli, fot studying the urban transformations at housing block level. The rigorous georeferencing of the historical cartography, allows for the spatial comparison with actual cartographies and with very high resolution satellite images, and the consequent analysis of the urban structure and its formal and functional contents

Historic cartography of L'Aquila city as a support to the study of earthquake damaged buildings

The city-center of L'Aquila suffered big damages from the main seismic event (6th April 2009, 3:32 a.m., local time; Ml=5.8, Mw= 6.2) of the seismic sequence that included hundreds of aftershocks (more than 30 of them 3.5<5.0) (INGV, 2009). Causes and modality of the collapse of some buildings are still under investigation. A 1:2000 map representing the center of L'Aquila city at the beginning of twentieth century was recently found and the comparison of this map with contemporary ones can help the study of the causes of the different response to seismic stress to different aged buildings. This study represents the first step to build a database of historic buildings in L'Aquila to test a potential correlation between the anti-earthquake regulations adopted over the years and the resulting damages. A comparison with post earthquakes damage map and the map of seismic zoning was performer to find all the possible combination of other parameters that together with building age can help to evaluate building vulnerability

Giant excitonic absorption and emission in two-dimensional group-III nitrides

Absorption and emission of pristine-like semiconducting monolayers of BN, AlN, GaN, and InN are here systematically studied by ab-initio methods. We calculate the absorption spectra for in-plane and out-of-plane light polarization including quasiparticle and excitonic effects. Chemical trends with the cation of the absorption edge and the exciton binding are discussed in terms of the band structures. Exciton binding energies and localization radii are explained within the Keldysh model for excitons in two dimensions. The strong excitonic effects are due to the interplay of low dimensionality, confinement effects, and reduced screening. We find exciton radiative lifetimes ranging from tenths of picoseconds (BN) to tenths of nanoseconds (InN) at room temperature, thus making 2D nitrides, especially InN, promising materials for light-emitting diodes and high-performance solar cells

Mindfulness Based Education per la consapevolezza emotiva e la prevenzione della sindrome da burn-out: un’esperienza educativa con gli insegnanti dalla scuola dell’Infanzia alla scuola superiore di Secondo grado

Mindfulness is the interconnection between the ability to direct attention to the present moment (self-regulation of attention) and the attitude connected to this moment, characterized by curiosity, openness and acceptance. Clinical efficacy of  indfulness has been demonstrated over the past two decades. Its potential within both nursing contests and formal learning for adult education has recently been investigated. Aims of the research: to evaluate and describe the effects of a professional training for teachers of all levels, examining the pedagogical implications, in terms of personal transformation and in the professional context. Methodology: the research presents and discusses - through the data emerging from a questionnaire - the professional training of n. 57 teachers entitled «Take the Next Step - Conscious Learning». The course was structured inspired by the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program and the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn and Saki Santorelli of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society University of Massachusetts (USA). Results: the data showed that the teachers participating in the training course understood its meaning, usefulness and the importance of the experiential and reflective-transformative nature of the tools presented. Conclusions: the possible implications of the results of this study concern the ability to use and promote the mindfulness techniques beyond clinical effectiveness, as important tools for growth and development within formal learning contexts. La mindfulness è l’interconnessione tra la capacità di dirigere l’attenzione sul momento presente (autoregolazione dell’attenzione) e l’atteggiamento  a esso connesso, caratterizzato da curiosità, apertura e accettazione. Negli ultimi decenni è stata dimostrata l’efficacia clinica della mindfulness e recentemente è stato studiato il suo potenziale all’interno sia dei contesti di cura sia di apprendimento formale per la formazione degli adulti. Finalità della ricerca: valutare e descrivere gli effetti di un percorso di formazione professionale dei docenti di ogni ordine e grado, esaminando le implicazioni pedagogiche, in termini di trasformazione personale e nel contesto professionale. Metodologia: la ricerca presenta e discute - attraverso i dati emersi da un questionario - il percorso formativo di n. 57 docenti che hanno partecipato al corso di formazione dal titolo «Fai il passo successivo – Apprendimento consapevole». Il corso è stato stato strutturato ispirandosi al programma Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) e al lavoro di Jon Kabat-Zinn e Saki Santorelli del Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society University of Massachusetts (USA). Risultati: i dati hanno mostrato che i docenti partecipanti al percorso formativo hanno compreso il suo significato e utilità, nonché l’importanza della natura esperienziale e riflessivo-trasformativa degli strumenti presentati. Conclusioni: le possibili implicazioni dei risultati di questo studio riguardano la capacità di utilizzare e promuovere l’uso delle tecniche di mindfulness oltre l’efficacia clinica, come strumenti importanti per la crescita e lo sviluppo all’interno di contesti di apprendimento formale. &nbsp

Unveiling the folding mechanism of the bromodomains

Bromodomains (BRDs) are small protein domains often present in large multidomain proteins involved in transcriptional regulation in eukaryotic cells. They currently represent valuable targets for the development of inhibitors of aberrant transcriptional processes in a variety of human diseases. Here we report urea-induced equilibrium unfolding experiments monitored by circular dichroism (CD) and fluorescence on two structurally similar BRDs: BRD2(2) and BRD4(1), showing that BRD4(1) is more stable than BRD2(2). Moreover, we report a description of their kinetic folding mechanism, as obtained by careful analysis of stopped-flow and temperature-jump data. The presence of a high energy intermediate for both proteins, suggested by the non-linear dependence of the folding rate on denaturant concentration in the millisec time regime, has been experimentally observed by temperature-jump experiments. Quantitative global analysis of all the rate constants obtained over a wide range of urea concentrations, allowed us to propose a common, three-state, folding mechanism for these two BRDs. Interestingly, the intermediate of BRD4(1) appears to be more stable and structurally native-like than that populated by BRD2(2). Our results underscore the role played by structural topology and sequence in determining and tuning the folding mechanism