Sperimentazione del sistema ministeriale SICaR w/b per la gestione e la consultazione informatizzata dei dati sulla policromia

The need for integration and sharing of data on ancient polychromies requires shared working methods and tools. This paper illustrates a first effort in the direction of testing the web-based Information System documentation for the Restoration of Yards (SICaR) of Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Tourism (MiBACT). This test activity suggested some changes that have been subsequently implemented in order to record archaeological and scientific information and manage standardized data on ancient polychromy in cultural heritage documentation

Association of kidney disease measures with risk of renal function worsening in patients with type 1 diabetes

Background: Albuminuria has been classically considered a marker of kidney damage progression in diabetic patients and it is routinely assessed to monitor kidney function. However, the role of a mild GFR reduction on the development of stage 653 CKD has been less explored in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients. Aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic role of kidney disease measures, namely albuminuria and reduced GFR, on the development of stage 653 CKD in a large cohort of patients affected by T1DM. Methods: A total of 4284 patients affected by T1DM followed-up at 76 diabetes centers participating to the Italian Association of Clinical Diabetologists (Associazione Medici Diabetologi, AMD) initiative constitutes the study population. Urinary albumin excretion (ACR) and estimated GFR (eGFR) were retrieved and analyzed. The incidence of stage 653 CKD (eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) or eGFR reduction > 30% from baseline was evaluated. Results: The mean estimated GFR was 98 \ub1 17 mL/min/1.73m2 and the proportion of patients with albuminuria was 15.3% (n = 654) at baseline. About 8% (n = 337) of patients developed one of the two renal endpoints during the 4-year follow-up period. Age, albuminuria (micro or macro) and baseline eGFR < 90 ml/min/m2 were independent risk factors for stage 653 CKD and renal function worsening. When compared to patients with eGFR > 90 ml/min/1.73m2 and normoalbuminuria, those with albuminuria at baseline had a 1.69 greater risk of reaching stage 3 CKD, while patients with mild eGFR reduction (i.e. eGFR between 90 and 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) show a 3.81 greater risk that rose to 8.24 for those patients with albuminuria and mild eGFR reduction at baseline. Conclusions: Albuminuria and eGFR reduction represent independent risk factors for incident stage 653 CKD in T1DM patients. The simultaneous occurrence of reduced eGFR and albuminuria have a synergistic effect on renal function worsening

3D texture modeling of an important cycle of Renaissance frescoes in Italy

The paper describes the steps of the 3D texture modeling of an important cycle of Renaissance frescoes located in the Church of Saint Anthony Abbot in San Daniele del Friuli (Italy). Starting from surveying data acquired by means of a laser scanning and photogrammetric integrated system, a detailed photorealistic 3D model has been obtained. The construction and the optimization of the surfaces from the point cloud were the first fundamental steps of the data processing, making so possible the geometrical modeling of the frescoes. Successively, the acquired digital images were photogrammetrically projected onto such mesh surfaces. Afterwards, the textured model has been imported in the computer vision immersive VRML/X3D environment. This virtual model is a tool useful both to experts and to real or virtual visitor, since the model will be accessible by web. It allows a 3D exploration following a free trajectory defined by the user and/or following some thematic routes. Furthermore, the frescoes subjects have been linked with the corresponding card of the web databases of the historical artistic and archaeological heritage of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region

3D Modeling of the St.Anthony Abbot Church in S.Daniele Del Friuli (I): from Laser Scanning and Photogrammetry to VRML/X3D Model

The paper describes the steps of the 3D modeling of the Church of Saint Anthony Abbot in San Daniele del Friuli (I), from the laser scanning and photogrammetric integrated surveying to the final VRML/X3D photorealistic model. This church keeps the most beautiful and harmonious cycle of Renaissance frescoes of the region, painted by Pellegrino da San Daniele: the virtual model is intended also as an instrument to help visitors or studious to better understand the narration meaning hidden in the fresco episodes. For the inner and outer surveying of the church, the Riegl Z390I system integrated with a Nikon D200 photogrammetric camera was employed: 18 different point clouds for about 33 millions of points and 163 digital images were automatically collected. Data processing carried out by RiSCAN PRO\uae software (Riegl) allowed the scan registration, the 3D surface reconstruction and the image texturing with satisfactory results. Particular attentions have been given to the 3D surface of the interior of the church, before in its construction by partial Delaunay triangulations and later in its smoothing and decimation for an efficient management of a 3D model with \u201cfew\u201d (hundreds of thousands!) triangles but anyway preserving a high geometric detail. New images have been later acquired with the metric camera without laser scanning system, to substitute the original ones having illumination troubles: these new images have been externally oriented by natural points on the surface and then textured onto it. The 3D model and the image textures have been imported in the VRML/X3D space, where six thematic tours will be available. The model is structured in different LoD (Levels of Detail) for the model geometry and textures resolution, and each frescoes scene and figure is linked by means an Anchor with the corresponding card of the web Regional Information System of the Cultural Heritage

Deformation analysis of Leonardo da Vinci's “Adorazione dei Magi” through temporal unrelated 3D digitization

3D scanning is an effective technology for dealing at different levels the state of conservation/deformation of a panel painting, from the micro-geometry of the craquelure to the macro-geometry of the supported used. Unfortunately, the current solutions used to analyze multiple 3D scans acquired over time are based on very controlled acquisition procedures, such as the use of target reference points that are stationary over time and fixed to the artwork, or on complex hardware setups to keep the acquisition device fixed to the artwork. These procedures are challenging when a long monitoring period is involved or during restoration when the painting may be moved several times. This paper presents a new and robust approach to observe and quantify the panel deformations of artworks by comparing 3D models acquired with different scanning devices at different times. The procedure is based on a non-rigid registration algorithm that deforms one 3D model over the other in a controlled way, extracting the real deformation field. We apply the method to the 3D scanning data of the unfinished panel painting “Adorazione dei Magi” by Leonardo da Vinci. The data were acquired in 2002 and 2015. First, we analyze the two 3D models with the classical distance from the ideal flat plane of the painting. Then we study the type of deformation of each plank of the support by fitting a quadric surface. Finally, we compare the models before and after the deformation computed by a non-rigid registration algorithm. This last comparison enables the panel deformation to be separated from the structural changes (e.g. the structural restorations on the back and the missing pieces) of the artwork in a more robust way

A High-Level Tool for Curators of 3D Virtual Visits and its Application to a Virtual Exhibition of Renaissance Frescoes

This paper presents a high-level tool to build 3D virtual exhibitions from pre-existing 3D models and design virtual visits. Our tool exploits AI techniques and careful interaction design to require minimal technical knowledge by a curator, and allows one to: (i) easily arrange 3D models (e.g. of artworks) in a virtual space; (ii) find, through an assisted procedure, interesting points of view in the virtual exhibition, and add multimedia information to them; (iii) design virtual visits that connect those points of view to form interactive tours with various levels of navigation assistance for the visitor. Moreover, we show how the tool has been used to build the virtual visit of a church with important Renaissance frescoe

Measurements of serum non-ceruloplasmin copper by a direct fluorescent methodspecific to Cu(II)

Meta-analyses show that serum copper non-bound-to-ceruloplasmin (non-Cp-Cu) is higher in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). ATP7B gene variants associate with AD, modulating the size of non-Cp-Cu pool. However, a dedicated genetic study comparing AD patients after stratification for a copper biomarker to demonstrate the existence of a copper subtype of AD has not yet been carried out. An independent patient sample of 287 AD patients was assessed for non-Cp-Cu serum concentrations, rs1801243, rs1061472, and rs732774 ATP7B genetic variants and the APOE4 genotype. Patients were stratified into two groups based on a non-Cp-Cu cutoff (1.9 μM). Single-locus and haplotype-group analyses were performed to define their frequencies in dependence of the non-Cp-Cu group. The two AD subgroups did not differ regarding age, sex, MMSE score, or APOE4 frequency allele, while they did differ regarding non-Cp-Cu concentrations in serum, allele, genotype, and haplotype frequencies of rs1061472 A > G and rs732774 C > T after multiple testing corrections. AD patients with a GG genotype had a 1.76-fold higher risk of having a non-Cp-Cu higher than 1.9 μmol/L (p = 0.029), and those with a TT genotype for rs732774 C > T of 1.8-fold (p = 0.018). After 100,000 permutations for multiple testing corrections, the haplotype containing the AC alleles appeared more frequently in AD patients with normal non-Cp-Cu [43 vs. 33 %; Pm = 0.03], while the haplotype containing the GT risk alleles appeared more frequently in the higher non-Cp-Cu AD (66 vs. 55 %; Pm = 0.01). Genetic heterogeneity sustains a copper AD metabolic subtype; non-Cp-Cu is a marker of this copper AD

Gray-scale and color Doppler sonographic findings in a case of mesenteric Castleman's disease

We report a case of localized Castleman’s disease of mesentery, studied with sonography, that was incidentally detected as an abdominal mass in a patient with Graves’ disease. Its lymphatic nature and mesenteric origin was indicated preoperatively on the basis of gray-scale and color Doppler sonographic features