Nuove specie minerali al Somma-Vesuvio: fluoro-edenite

Despite the impossibility to make mineralogical researches on the field, the volcanic complex of Monte Somma-Vesuvius keeps surprising with new findings of mineral species for that locality. In an “old” sample belonging to Domenico Preite, picked up at Le Novelle quarry, Ercolano, Napoli, thanks to EDX and micro- FTIR analysis the fluoro-edenite was identified. This is the second Italian finding for the species after the one of the Etnean type locality of Monte Calvario, Biancavilla, Catania (Gianfagna & Oberti, 2001)

Recombination Line vs. Forbidden Line Abundances in Planetary Nebulae

Recombination lines (RLs) of C II, N II, and O II in planetary nebulae (PNs) have been found to give abundances that are much larger in some cases than abundances from collisionally-excited forbidden lines (CELs). The origins of this abundance discrepancy are highly debated. We present new spectroscopic observations of O II and C II recombination lines for six planetary nebulae. With these data we compare the abundances derived from the optical recombination lines with those determined from collisionally-excited lines. Combining our new data with published results on RLs in other PNs, we examine the discrepancy in abundances derived from RLs and CELs. We find that there is a wide range in the measured abundance discrepancy Delta(O+2) = log O+2(RL) - log O+2(CEL), ranging from approximately 0.1 dex up to 1.4 dex. Most RLs yield similar abundances, with the notable exception of O II multiplet V15, known to arise primarily from dielectronic recombination, which gives abundances averaging 0.6 dex higher than other O II RLs. We compare Delta(O+2) against a variety of physical properties of the PNs to look for clues as to the mechanism responsible for the abundance discrepancy. The strongest correlations are found with the nebula diameter and the Balmer surface brightness. An inverse correlation of Delta(O+2) with nebular density is also seen. Similar results are found for carbon in comparing C II RL abundances with ultraviolet measurements of C III].Comment: 48 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Supplemen

Automated detection of lung nodules in low-dose computed tomography

A computer-aided detection (CAD) system for the identification of pulmonary nodules in low-dose multi-detector computed-tomography (CT) images has been developed in the framework of the MAGIC-5 Italian project. One of the main goals of this project is to build a distributed database of lung CT scans in order to enable automated image analysis through a data and cpu GRID infrastructure. The basic modules of our lung-CAD system, consisting in a 3D dot-enhancement filter for nodule detection and a neural classifier for false-positive finding reduction, are described. The system was designed and tested for both internal and sub-pleural nodules. The database used in this study consists of 17 low-dose CT scans reconstructed with thin slice thickness (~300 slices/scan). The preliminary results are shown in terms of the FROC analysis reporting a good sensitivity (85% range) for both internal and sub-pleural nodules at an acceptable level of false positive findings (1-9 FP/scan); the sensitivity value remains very high (75% range) even at 1-6 FP/scanComment: 4 pages, 2 figures: Proceedings of the Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery, 21th International Congress and Exhibition, Berlin, Volume 2, Supplement 1, June 2007, pp 357-35

Filaments as Possible Signatures of Magnetic Field Structure in Planetary Nebulae

We draw attention to the extreme filamentary structures seen in high-resolution optical images of certain planetary nebulae. We determine the physical properties of the filaments in the nebulae IC 418, NGC 3132, and NGC 6537, and based on their large length-to-width ratios, longitudinal coherence, and morphology, we suggest that they may be signatures of the underlying magnetic field. The fields needed for the coherence of the filaments are probably consistent with those measured in the precursor circumstellar envelopes. The filaments suggest that magnetic fields in planetary nebulae may have a localized and thread-like geometry.Comment: 26 pages with 7 figures. To be published in PASP. For full resolution images see http://physics.nyu.edu/~pjh

UV (IUE) spectra of the central stars of high latitude planetary nebulae Hb7 and Sp3

We present an analysis of the UV (IUE) spectra of the central stars of Hb7 and Sp3. Comparison with the IUE spectrum of the standard star HD 93205 leads to a spectral classification of O3V for these stars, with an effective temperature of 50,000 K. From the P-Cygni profiles of CIV (1550 A), we derive stellar wind velocities and mass loss rates of -1317 km/s +/- 300 km/s and 2.9X10^{-8} solar mass yr^{-1} and -1603 km/s +/- 400 km/s and 7X10^{-9} solar mass yr^{-1} for Hb7 and Sp3 respectively. From all the available data, we reconstruct the spectral energy distribution of Hb7 and Sp3.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, latex, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Multi-scale analysis of lung computed tomography images

A computer-aided detection (CAD) system for the identification of lung internal nodules in low-dose multi-detector helical Computed Tomography (CT) images was developed in the framework of the MAGIC-5 project. The three modules of our lung CAD system, a segmentation algorithm for lung internal region identification, a multi-scale dot-enhancement filter for nodule candidate selection and a multi-scale neural technique for false positive finding reduction, are described. The results obtained on a dataset of low-dose and thin-slice CT scans are shown in terms of free response receiver operating characteristic (FROC) curves and discussed.Comment: 18 pages, 12 low-resolution figure

GD (Generative design) applied to a plastics recovery drone (PRD) using IDeS (industrial design structure)

The evolution of innovative and systematic design methodologies over time has widened the design concept involvement from the product development phase, which also includes the production and start-up phases. Literature findings have presented to accomplish a Generative Design (GD) approach through the application of an innovative method called Industrial Structure Design (IDeS), a systematic design method able to discover the customer’s needs and the fundamental technical solutions to obtain a good innovative product, involving the whole organization for this achievement. Nevertheless, there is a social demand for solutions to the dramatic and growing problem of marine pollution from plastic materials, encouraging the designers to conceive a new innovative drone for waste collection at sea. Therefore, this study aims to merge all the most advanced design technologies with IDeS in an integrated way, by generating a structure that can also be adopted to plan the organization of a production company. The approach is validated with the design of the Recovery Plastic Drone (RPD) obtained with the IDeS methodology, combining Design and Product development phases, leading to a better and innovative solution for the market

IVOA Recommendation: Vocabularies in the Virtual Observatory Version 1.19

This document specifies a standard format for vocabularies based on the W3C's Resource Description Framework (RDF) and Simple Knowledge Organization System (SKOS). By adopting a standard and simple format, the IVOA will permit different groups to create and maintain their own specialised vocabularies while letting the rest of the astronomical community access, use, and combine them. The use of current, open standards ensures that VO applications will be able to tap into resources of the growing semantic web. The document provides several examples of useful astronomical vocabularies

Lung Nodule Detection in Screening Computed Tomography

A computer-aided detection (CAD) system for the identification of pulmonary nodules in low-dose multi-detector helical Computed Tomography (CT) images with 1.25 mm slice thickness is presented. The basic modules of our lung-CAD system, a dot-enhancement filter for nodule candidate selection and a neural classifier for false-positive finding reduction, are described. The results obtained on the collected database of lung CT scans are discussed.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures; Proceedings of the IEEE NNS and MIC Conference, Oct. 29 - Nov. 4, 2006, San Diego, Californi

Variability of Hot Supergiant IRAS 19336-0400 in the Early Phase of its Planetary Nebula Ionization

We present photoelectric and spectral observations of a hot candidate proto-planetary nebula - early B-type supergiant with emission lines in spectrum - IRAS 19336-0400. The light and color curves display fast irregular brightness variations with maximum amplitudes Delta V=0.30 mag, Delta B=0.35 mag, Delta U=0.40 mag and color-brightness correlations. By the variability characteristics IRAS 19336-0400 appears similar to other hot proto-planetary nebulae. Based on low-resolution spectra in the range lambda 4000-7500 A we have derived absolute intensities of the emission lines H_alpha, H_beta, H_gamma, [SII], [NII], physical conditions in gaseous nebula: n_e=10^4 cm^{-3}, T_e=7000 \pm 1000 K. The emission line H_alpha, H_beta equivalent widths are found to be considerably variable and related to light changes. By UBV-photometry and spectroscopy the color excess has been estimated: E_{B-V}=0.50-0.54. Joint photometric and spectral data analysis allows us to assume that the star variability is caused by stellar wind variations.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in Pis'ma Astron. Zh. (Astronomy Letters