Exposure-Tolerant Imaging Solution forCultural Heritage Monitoring

This paper describes a simple and cheap solution specifically designed for monitoring the degradation of thin coatings employed for metal protection. The proposed solution employs a commercial photocamera and a frequency-domain-based approach that is capable of highlighting the surface uniformity changes due to initial corrosion. Even though the proposed solution is specifically designed to monitor the long-time performance of protective coatings employed for the restoration of silver artifacts, it can be successfully used also for assessing the conservation state of other ancient metallic works of art. The proposed solution is made tolerant to exposure changes by using a procedure for sensor nonlinearity identification and correction, does not require a precise lighting control, and employs only free open-source software, so that its overall cost is very low and can be used also by not specifically trained operator

An Optical Sampling System for Distributed Atmospheric Particulate Matter

The atmospheric particulate matter is considered one of the most dangerous pollutants because of its effects on the climate and human health. Particulate concentration changes largely with spatial position and time, and thus, a distributed real-time monitoring would be mandatory, especially in densely populated areas. The proposed optical sampling system has a negligible cost with respect to the already available instruments and can be used for deploying a capillary particulate monitoring network thanks to its wireless capability based on the LoRa protocol. The proposed solution employs an optical method for the atmospheric particulate detection and the estimation of its concentration and size distribution. The air is sampled by a small pump which forces a known flux through a commercial glass-fiber filter, where the particulate is captured. A low-cost digital camera coupled with a multi-wavelength lighting system takes periodical photographs of the filter surface, and a small PC-on-single-board processes the acquired images in order to identify the particles and to estimate their size. The system can work unattended for a long time and transmit remotely measurement data with a typical range of few kilometers

Handheld-Impedance-Measurement System with seven-decade capability and potentiostatic function

This paper describes design and test of a new impedance-measurement system for nonlinear devices that exhibits a seven-decade range and works down to a frequency of 0.01 Hz. The system is specifically designed for electrochemical measurements, but the proposed architecture can be employed in many other fields where flexible signal generation and analysis are required. The system employs an unconventional signal generator based on two pulsewidth modulation (PWM) oscillators and an autocalibration system that allows uncertainties of less than 3% to be obtained over a range of 1 kΩ to 100 GΩ. A synchronous demodulation processing allows the noise superimposed to the low-amplitude input signals to be made negligibl

Body temperature measurement from the 17th century to the present days

One of the first measurements in the health sector was probably the body temperature, whose increase, the so-called fever, was related to an illness condition. A fever develops as the body’s natural way of reacting to and fighting infection. Attempts to standardized temperature measurements were developed in the 17 th century when physicians started to think of measuring this parameter and to develop new devices for assessing the body temperature. This scientific field has its origins in the works by Florentine scientists in the 1600s, meanwhile the development of today’s thermometers and temperature scales began in the early 18th century. This paper describes an invention of the Grand Duke Ferdinand II de’ Medici on display in the Galileo Museum in Florence, the clinical frog thermometer,tied to the wrist or the arm of the patient with the head of the frog facing upward. The performances of this device based on the Galilean thermometer principles, are compared with today’s mercury and infrared thermometers

GH and IGF System: The Regulatory Role of miRNAs and lncRNAs in Cancer

Growth hormone (GH) and the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system are involved in many biological processes and have growth-promoting actions regulating cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and angiogenesis. A recent chapter in epigenetics is represented by microRNAs (miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) which regulate gene expression. Dysregulated miRNAs and lncRNAs have been associated with several diseases including cancer. Herein we report the most recent findings concerning miRNAs and lncRNAs regulating GH and the IGF system in the context of pituitary adenomas, osteosarcoma and colorectal cancer, shedding light on new possible therapeutic targets. Pituitary adenomas are increasingly common intracranial tumors and somatotroph adenomas determine supra-physiological GH secretion and cause acromegaly. Osteosarcoma is the most frequent bone tumor in children and adolescents and was reported in adults who were treated with GH in childhood. Colorectal cancer is the third cancer in the world and has a higher prevalence in acromegalic patients

An optical sensing system for atmospheric particulate matter

Atmospheric particulate is one of the main responsible for the environmental pollution of highly populated cities. The particulate matter can be considered an aerosol of many particles, with different shapes, morphologies and sizes down to few micrometers. These small particles are responsible for climate changes and, when inhaled, can reach the lungs causing respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Usually commercial sensors are based on passive filters and are designed to measure only particles whose size is below a certain value. Therefore, a measuring system capable of assessing the quality of air and evaluating not only the amount of particles, but also the size distribution of the particulate matter in urban atmospheres could be extremely helpful. This paper describes a simple and cheap optical solution, which is able to detect the total amount of solid pollution particles and classify them according to their average size, giving a fast response to the users

A metrological approach for multispectral photogrammetry

This paper presents the design and development of a three-dimensional reference object for the metrological quality assessment of photogrammetry-based techniques, for application in the cultural heritage field. The reference object was 3D printed, with nominal manufacturing uncertainty of the order of 0.01 mm. The object has been realized as a dodecahedron, and in each face, a different pictorial preparation has been inserted. The preparations include several pigments, binders, and varnishes, to be representative of the materials and techniques used historically by artists. Since the reference object’s shape, size and uncertainty are known, it is possible to use this object as a reference to evaluate the quality of a 3D model from the metric point of view. In particular, verification of dimensional precision and accuracy are performed using the standard deviation on measurements acquired on the reference object and the final 3D model. In addition, the object can be used as a reference for UV-induced Visible Luminescence (UVL) acquisition, being the materials employed UV-fluorescent. Results obtained with visible-reflected and UVL images are presented and discussed

The inhibition of biodegradation on building limestone by plasma etching

Plasma etching is an innovative technique that has been recently applied in the cleaning of soiled archaeological objects. This research investigated the use of low-pressure plasma etching in cleaning microbial contaminations on an oolitic limestone from an UNESCO World Heritage listed monument: the Batalha Monastery in Central Portugal. The cleaning effect was assessed by FTIR, SEM, optical microscope, and cell viability index measurement. Experimental work suggests that plasma discharge can cause rupture in the microbial cell structures and is helpful in removing microorganisms from the surface of the stone. At the macroscopic level, detachment of microbial crust was also observed in plasma etched bio-deteriorated limestone surfaces. Furthermore, plasma etching can inhibit the microbial growth by decomposing and eliminating the sugar-containing compounds on the limestones, thus eliminating a major nutrient supply for microbial metabolism and reproduction. Plasma etching can therefore be regarded as a fast and eco-friendly conservation tool for stone heritage architecture to prevent/reduce the onset of bio-colonization and biodegradation.European Commission H2020-MSCA-ITN-EJD, GA 76631

The inhibition of biodegradation on building limestone by plasma etching

Plasma etching is an innovative technique that has been recently applied in the cleaning of soiled archaeological objects. This research investigated the use of low-pressure plasma etching in cleaning microbial contaminations on an oolitic limestone from an UNESCO World Heritage listed monument: the Batalha Monastery in Central Portugal. The cleaning effect was assessed by FTIR, SEM, optical microscope, and cell viability index measurement. Experimental work suggests that plasma discharge can cause rupture in the microbial cell structures and is helpful in removing microorganisms from the surface of the stone. At the macroscopic level, detachment of microbial crust was also observed in plasma etched bio-deteriorated limestone surfaces. Furthermore, plasma etching can inhibit the microbial growth by decomposing and eliminating the sugar-containing compounds on the limestones, thus eliminating a major nutrient supply for microbial metabolism and reproduction. Plasma etching can therefore be regarded as a fast and eco-friendly conservation tool for stone heritage architecture to prevent/reduce the onset of bio-colonization and biodegradation