PHOTOGRAMMETRIC UNDERWATER AND UAS SURVEYS OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES: THE CASE STUDY OF THE ROMAN SHIPWRECK OF TORRE SANTA SABINA

The 2020 underwater archaeological research in the inlet of Torre Santa Sabina – Baia dei Camerini (Municipality of Carovigno, Brindisi, Italy) represented the first phase of the pilot intervention of the Interreg Italia-Croatia UnderwaterMuse project. The project aims to enhance and make accessible the vast underwater heritage of the areas involved; this will be done by creating submerged archaeological parks and using virtual reality's narrative and communicative tools and platforms. During the 2020 campaign, different survey activities were carried out using several techniques and methodology to produce the area's multi-scale documentation. First of all, the entire stretch of coast was mapped with UASs (Uncrewed Aerial Systems) flights to reconstruct the coastal landscape in various phases. Furthermore, an underwater photogrammetric survey carried out by expert scuba divers has been achieved in the wreck's aft area (the site analyzed during the 2020 excavation activities). The fruitful synergy between the various actors involved and the support of the territory and the community has allowed the achievement of this campaign's objectives, preliminary to the broader and more articulated intervention foreseen for the following year

Photogrammetric underwater and UAS surveys of archaeological sites: the case study of the Roman shipwreck of Torre Santa Sabina

The 2020 underwater archaeological research in the inlet of Torre Santa Sabina - Baia dei Camerini (Municipality of Carovigno, Brindisi, Italy) represented the first phase of the pilot intervention of the Interreg Italia-Croatia UnderwaterMuse project. The project aims to enhance and make accessible the vast underwater heritage of the areas involved; this will be done by creating submerged archaeological parks and using virtual reality's narrative and communicative tools and platforms. During the 2020 campaign, different survey activities were carried out using several techniques and methodology to produce the area's multi-scale documentation. First of all, the entire stretch of coast was mapped with UASs (Uncrewed Aerial Systems) flights to reconstruct the coastal landscape in various phases. Furthermore, an underwater photogrammetric survey carried out by expert scuba divers has been achieved in the wreck's aft area (the site analyzed during the 2020 excavation activities). The fruitful synergy between the various actors involved and the support of the territory and the community has allowed the achievement of this campaign's objectives, preliminary to the broader and more articulated intervention foreseen for the following year

Genetic and Phenotypic Analysis of Meat Quality Traits in Buffalo Beef and Correlations to Carcass Composition

Abstract: Meat quality traits in buffalo beef were examined and their genetic parameters and genetic correlations to carcass composition were estimated. Dissection was performed on 40 buffalo beef carcasses and all traits recorded for each animal, as well as the weight on muscle lungissimus dorsi (LD). The temperature and pH were recorded at 1 and 48h post-slaughter. Intramuscular fat, protein, dry matter, meat colour (redness, a*, yellowness b* and lightness L*) were recorded. Hereditability estimates ranged from 0.12 and 0.99 for dissection traits and 0.61 and 0.68 for meat quality traits, which was significant for all traits except for ultimate pH and b*. Genetic correlation with L* were negative for a* and high and positive for b*. Intramuscular fat was moderate to highly genetically correlated to the a*, b* and half hot carcass weight. The not significant genetic correlation found between several of the meat quality traits, and between meat quality traits and carcasses composition traits, suggests that the meat quality traits analyzed should be implemented into breeding programme with care since their full effect on the other traits under selection cannot be accurately estimated. For more accurate estimates, further studies that especially include a large number of records for colour meat measures are needed

Use of mixed study techniques in the evaluation of coastline dynamics - the “Porto Cesareo” MPA case of study

In recent decades, the much-discussed climate changes with the consequent variations in sea and weather conditions and the rise of the mean sea level are causing an indisputable set of negative actions on the entire coastal system mainly due to the increase of the erosive phenomenon along the shorelines. These critical scenarios have a major impact even on a local scale, and because of that, we decided to study a well knows tract of rocky/sandy mixed coast, in a highly anthropized area, even if located inside the “Porto Cesareo” Marine Protected Area (MPA) (Ionian Sea, Gulf of Taranto, Puglia Region, Italy). The high naturalistic and archaeological value of this area calls for a greater institutional effort in the study of erosional phenomena. Several historical documents from other studies point out that this coastal area is an ideal place for this kind of research. The effects of coastal erosion and anthropic pressures along this tract of coast require adequate efforts for a consistent and rapid evaluation of the coastal dynamics. The methodologies proposed in this work are based on mixed techniques from different fields of study, integrating recent aero photogrammetry surveys with drones, aerial images acquired by the Italian Military Geographic Institute (IGM), elaboration of paleoshorelines related by underwater archaeological markers and their dating, and finally on the elaboration of satellite products useful for the study of vast areas. The monitoring of coastal areas and the evaluation of shoreline dynamics are core topics in the implementation of managing actions of decision makers on a local, regional, national, and international scale, above all in places like the chosen one, inside an MPA. Remote sensing through the use of RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems or Drones) has proved to be very useful for identifying phenomena that act on a small spatial scale and in supporting and implementing protective measures according to the adaptive management approach, through multi-year surveys on habitats of conservation interest [18]. For the implementation of fine-scale monitoring actions, we have chosen products from the Sentinel satellite of the Copernicus constellation (European Space Agency - ESA). In this context, the use of satellite products provides a recurrent view of the ground, useful in the short and long-term monitoring of changes in wide coastal areas, and in particular, offers a coastline positioning evaluation in near real-time. Local monitoring actions performed in recent years have already shown an erosive trend in the past decades, and even, negative forecasts for the next decade, so further surveys with mixed methodologies could be crucial in the evaluation of the evolution of this particular coastal area by local authorities

Faint, Evolving Radio AGN in SDSS Luminous Red Galaxies

We detect and study the properties of faint radio AGN in Luminous Red Galaxies (LRGs). The LRG sample comprises 760,000 objects from a catalog of LRG photometric redshifts constructed from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) imaging data, and 65,000 LRGs from the SDSS spectroscopic sample. These galaxies have typical 1.4 GHz flux densities in the 10s-100s of microJy, with the contribution from a low-luminosity AGN dominating any contribution from star formation. To probe the radio properties of such faint objects, we employ a stacking technique whereby FIRST survey image cutouts at each optical LRG position are sorted by the parameter of interest and median-combined within bins. We find that median radio luminosity scales with optical luminosity (L_opt) as L_1.4 GHz ~ L_opt^(beta), where beta appears to decrease from beta ~ 1 at z = 0.4 to beta ~ 0 at z = 0.7, a result which could be indicative of AGN cosmic downsizing. We also find that the overall LRG population, which is dominated by low-luminosity AGN, experiences significant cosmic evolution between z = 0.2 and z = 0.7. This implies a considerable increase in total AGN heating for these massive ellipticals with redshift. By matching against the FIRST catalog, we investigate the incidence and properties of LRGs associated with double-lobed (FR I/II) radio galaxies. (Abridged)Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, Accepted by A

Gpr investigation at the archaeological site of le cesine, lecce, italy

In this contribution, we present some results achieved in the archaeological site of Le Cesine, close to Lecce, in southern Italy. The investigations have been performed in a site close to the Adriatic Sea, only slightly explored up to now, and where the presence of an ancient Roman harbour is alleged on the basis of remains visible above all under the current sea level. This measurement campaign has been performed in the framework of a short-term scientific mission (STSM) performed in the framework of the European Cost Action 17131 (acronym SAGA), and has been aimed to identify possible points where future localized excavation might and hopefully will be performed in the next few years. Both a traditional elaboration and an innovative data processing based on a linear inverse scattering model have been performed on the data

Prognostic value of diabetes and metformin use in a real-life population of head and neck cancer patients

Introduction: Head and neck carcinoma (HNC) is a disease with a poor prognosis despite currently available treatments. The management of patients with this tumor is often complicated by several comorbidities. Among these, diabetes is the second most frequent and its influence on the prognosis is not known.Methods: In this work, we collected data on progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of one hundred twenty-three patients with HNC who received biweekly cetuximab maintenance treatment after first-line chemotherapy. We then compared the survival of nondiabetic patients versus diabetics' one.Results: Surprisingly, both PFS (4 vs. 5 months, HR 2.297, p < 0.0001) and OS (7 vs. 10 months, HR 3.138, p < 0.0001) were in favor of diabetic patients, even after excluding other clinical confounding factors. In addition, we also studied survivals in patients taking metformin, a widely used oral antidiabetic drug that has demonstrated antitumor efficacy in some cancers. Indeed, diabetic patients taking metformin had better PFS and OS than those not taking it, 7 vs. 5 months (HR 0.56, p = 0.0187) and 11 vs. 8.5 months (HR 0.53, p = 0.017), respectively.Discussion: In conclusion, real-world outcomes of biweekly cetuximab maintenance remain comparable to clinical trials. The prognostic role of diabetes and metformin was confirmed to be significant in our series, but further prospective studies are needed for a definitive evaluation