Museums and the making of textile histories: Past, present, and future

Many different types of museums collect, document, and preserve textiles, interpreting them through temporary and semi-permanent exhibitions, publications, and web- site interventions – sometimes independently, sometimes as part of a broader histo- ry of art and design, science and technology, social history and anthropology, local history or world cultures (for example, see the range and approaches in major fash- ion capitals such as London, Paris, Milan, New York with a long tradition of textile production as well as consumption, and in manufacturing cities such as Krefeld, Lyon, Manchester). Nonetheless, textile-focused events seldom receive great public attention or crit- ical acclaim, with the possible exceptions of innovative temporary exhibitions such as Jean-Paul Leclercq, “Jouer la Lumière” (Paris, Les Arts Décoratifs, 2001); Thomas P. Campbell, “Tapestry in the Renaissance: Art and Magnificence” (New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002); Amelia Peck et al., “Interwoven Globe. The Worldwide Textile Trade, 1500-1800” (New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2013-2014); John Styles, “Threads of Feeling” (London, The Foundling Hospital, 2010-2011; Colonial Williamsburg, 2014).1 The aims of this debate are to draw on the different cultural experiences and disciplinary backgrounds of participants: – To generate discussion over the role of museums in making and representing tex- tile histories. Museums are not only depositories of textile objects, but also write or make both public and academic history through displays and publications. But how does their work relate to university research and dissemination, feed such research, or react to it? How might interactions between museums and universities in different regions and cultures be developed in the future? – To consider where innovative museum work is being undertaken (locally, region- ally, nationally, internationally), wherein lies its innovation, and how it might suggest directions for the future (in collecting, interpretation, etc.). By interpreta- tion, I mean any analogue or digital explanation that contextualizes the objects on display. – To suggest that the most dynamic study of objects from 1500 to the present is no longer limited to art historians – indeed, that the focus in art history on textiles that belong within a well-established tradition of connoisseurship (in which tap- estries and high-end commissions for wall-hangings dominate) is being challenged by the adoption of a more inclusive approach among historians, design historians, and historians of material culture. [Lesley Miller] EAN: 978-2-917902-31-

Photometric metallicity for 694233 Galactic giant stars from Gaia DR3 synthetic Stromgren photometry. Metallicity distribution functions of halo sub-structures

We use the calibrations by Calamida et al. and by Hilker et al., and the standardised synthetic photometry in the v, b, and y Stromgren passbands from Gaia DR3 BP/RP spectra, to obtain photometric metallicities for a selected sample of 694233 old Galactic giant stars having |b|>20.0 and parallax uncertainties lower than 10%. The zero point of both sets of photometric metallicities has been shifted to to ensure optimal match with the spectroscopic [Fe/H] values for 44785 stars in common with APOGEE DR17, focusing on the metallicity range where they provide the highest accuracy. The metallicities derived in this way from the Calamida et al. calibration display a typical accuracy of ~0.1 dex and 1 sigma precision ~0.2 dex in the range -2.2 <=[Fe/H]<= -0.4, while they show a systematic trend with [Fe/H] at higher metallicity, beyond the applicability range of the relation. Those derived from the Hilker et al. calibration display, in general, worse precision, and lower accuracy in the metal-poor regime, but have a median accuracy < 0.05 dex for [Fe/H]>= -0.8. These results are confirmed and, consequently, the metallicities validated, by comparison with large sets of spectroscopic metallicities from various surveys. The newly obtained metallicities are used to derive metallicity distributions for several previously identified sub-structures in the Galactic halo with an unprecedented number of stars. The catalogue including both sets of metallicities and the associated uncertainties is made publicly available.Comment: Accepted for publication by Astronomy & Astrophysics. Latex. 20 pages, 21 color figures. The catalogue will be publicly available at CDS. In the meanwhile it is available upon request to the first autho

Wustite as a new precursor of industrial ammonia synthesis catalysts

Contradictory results about the best oxidic precursor of Fe ammonia synthesis catalyst prompted the present comparative investigation on wustite- and magnetite-based catalysts. Many physical (density, porous texture, crystalline phases, reduction rate, metal surface, abrasion loss) and catalytic (kinetic constants, thermoresistancy) properties have been determined on both catalysts. The wustite-based catalyst proved to be much more active, especially at lower temperatures, approaching the performances of Ru/C catalyst, except at high conversion. Possible reasons for such a behavior of the wustite-based catalyst are discussed, suggesting that a reconsideration of the present consolidated knowledge on Fe ammonia synthesis catalyst might be convenien

Modification of Amorphous Mesoporous Zirconia Nanoparticles with Bisphosphonic Acids: A Straightforward Approach for Tailoring the Surface Properties of the Nanoparticles

The use of readily prepared bisphosphonic acids obtained in few steps through a thio-Michael addition of commercially available thiols on tetraethyl vinylidenebisphosphonate enables the straightforward surface modification of amorphous mesoporous zirconia nanoparticles. Simple stirring of the zirconia nanoparticles in a buffered aqueous solution of the proper bisphosphonic acid leads to the surface functionalization of the nanoparticles with different kinds of functional groups, charge and hydrophobic properties. Formation of both chemisorbed and physisorbed layers of the bisphosphonic acid take place, observing after extensive washing a grafting density of 1.1 molecules/nm2 with negligible release in neutral or acidic pH conditions, demonstrating stronger loading compared to monophosphonate derivatives. The modified nanoparticles were characterized by IR, XPS, ζ-potential analysis to investigate the loading of the bisphosphonic acid, FE-SEM to investigate the size and morphologies of the nanoparticles and 31P and 1H MAS NMR to investigate the coordination motif of the phosphonate units on the surface. All these analytical techniques demonstrated the strong affinity of the bisphosphonic moiety for the Zr(IV) metal centers. The functionalization with bisphosphonic acids represents a straightforward covalent approach for tailoring the superficial properties of zirconia nanoparticles, much straightforward compared the classic use of trisalkoxysilane or trichlorosilane reagents typically employed for the functionalization of silica and metal oxide nanoparticles. Extension of the use of bisphosphonates to other metal oxide nanoparticles is advisable

Nanoscale effects on the ionic conductivity of highly doped bulk nanometric cerium oxide

Nanometric ceria powders doped with 30 mol % samaria are consolidated by a high-pressure spark plasma sintering (HP-SPS) method to form > 99 % dense samples with a crystallite size as small as 16.5 nm. A conductivity dependence on grain size was noted: when the grain size was less than 20 nm, only one semicircle in the AC impedance spectra was observed and was attributed to bulk conductivity. In contrast to previous observations on pure ceria, the disappearance of the grain-boundary blocking effect is not associated with mixed conductivity. With annealing and concomitant grain growth, the samples show the presence of a grain-boundary effect

X-ray powder diffraction quantitative analysis of anamorphous SiO2–poly(methyl methacrylate) nanocomposite

Quantification of individual phases within a multiphase amorphous material has been achieved using a newly developed technique based on X-ray powder diffraction. The quantification method was developed during a study of an amorphous silica-poly(methyl methacrylate) (SiO2-PMMA) hybrid nanocomposite. The efficiency of the method as a quantifying tool for individual phases was demonstrated for samples of SiO2-PMMA prepared either by polymerization of methyl methacrylate in the presence of amorphous SiO2 or by mechanically mixing known quantities of the individual and pre-prepared SiO2 and PMMA materials. The weight percentages of amorphous SiO2 in the nanocomposites as determined by application of the new technique were analogously found to be 29%, a result that was supported by thermogravimetric analysis and helium picnometry measurements

Pulsating star research and the Gaia revolution

In this article we present an overview of the ESA Gaia mission and of the unprecedented impact that Gaia will have on the field of variable star research. We summarise the contents and impact of the first Gaia data release on the description of variability phenomena, with particular emphasis on pulsating star research. The Tycho-Gaia astrometric solution, although limited to 2.1 million stars, has been used in many studies related to pulsating stars. Furthermore a set of 3,194 Cepheids and RR Lyrae stars with their times series have been released. Finally we present the plans for the ongoing study of variable phenomena with Gaia and highlight some of the possible impacts of the second data release on variable, and specifically, pulsating stars.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, proceedings for the 22nd Los Alamos Stellar Pulsation Conference Series Meeting "Wide field variability surveys: a 21st-century perspective", held in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile, Nov. 28 - Dec. 2, 201