Investigating the construction methods of an opus vermiculatum mosaic panel

From the third century BC to the second century AD small detailed central panels (emblemata) made using the opus vermiculatum technique were used as focal points in larger mosaic pavements. They were custom made in stone or terracotta trays to facilitate their transport and placement. Although mosaic panels in opus vermiculatum have been discovered throughout the Hellenistic and Roman Mediterranean, the location of the workshops specialising in the production of the finely worked panels is still unclear. Their association with named artists, for example Dioskourides of Samos, and the locations of finds (such as the fragments of the floor by Hephaistion at Pergamon) point to workshops in the eastern Mediterranean. A large unidentified fragment of an emblema, still in its terracotta tray, from the collections of the Department of Greece and Rome in the British Museum was the subject of analytical examination. These investigations of the tesserae (glass cubes), traces of pigments and mortar aimed to determine the raw materials and manufacturing processes for the mosaic and to characterise the nature of the application of paint to the mortar. Egyptian blue pigment and traces of hematite and carbon suggest that a fully coloured drawing was executed on the fresh mortar to guide the positioning of the tesserae. In addition, samples from the terracotta tray were taken in an attempt to identify its provenance. This contribution describes how the results of these investigations have been used to provide a deeper understanding of opus vermiculatum construction methods

9 THC content in illicit cannabis products over the period 1997-2004 (first four months)

The aim of this study is to determine delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol (delta9 THC) content in 5227 seizures of cannabis products over the period 1997-2004 (first four months). The products were seized in Modena country (Italy). The samples were classified as marijuana and hashish and divided into subgroups. The following results show an increase in the potency (concentration of delta9 THC) of these products

Two Short Essays by Árni Magnússon on the Origins of the Icelandic Language

This article presents two essays by the renowned Icelandic manuscript collector Árni Magnússon (1663 ‒ 1730): De gothicæ lingvæ nomine [On the expression ‘the Gothic language’] and Annotationes aliqvot de lingvis et migrationibus gentium septentrionalium [Some notes on the languages and migrations of the northern peoples]. The two essays are here edited and published in their original language, Latin. Moreover, an English translation is also presented for ease of access. After a short introduction (§ 1), a historical overview of the academic strife between Denmark and Sweden is given (§ 2). Subsequently (§ 3), Árni Magnússon’s life and work are presented. In the following section (§ 4), the manuscript containing the two essays, AM 436 4to, is described. The two essays are then edited and translated in section 5. In the last section (§ 6), the two works are commented and Árni Magnússon’s scholarly thought evaluated.Peer Reviewe

Architecture and Intermodality. Guidelines for the architecture of the intermodal hub at the FVG Airport Ronchi dei Legionari

The research addresses the topic of intermodality in terms of technical, typological, and architectural response of infrastructure systems, considering their relationship with the territory and the landscape. The study starts from the hypothesis of the development of a comprehensive intermodal hub in the Ronchi dei Legionari Airport (Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trieste, Italy), integrated with the network of local public transport and railway infrastructure, considered in a scenario of sustainability over the medium term and updated with respect to the current economic situation. The first phase of the research focused on the definition of the guidelines for the design of the intermodal hub. Subsequently, the study verified the hypothesis by modeling some alternative scenarios, whose results led to the identification of a highly comprehensive set of data, consistent with the financial framework. Lastly, urban verification: the identified scenarios constitute a framework of alternative options corresponding to the minimum, optimal and critical conditions of the system as a whole. The possible alternatives prove the degree of versatility of the proposed layout which provides, as a whole, the possibility of opting for one of the proposed scenarios or for a more complex combination of the proposed solutions

A meteo-hydrological modelling system for the reconstruction of river runoff: the case of the Ofanto river catchment

Abstract. A meteo-hydrological modelling system has been designed for the reconstruction of long time series of rainfall and river runoff events. The modelling chain consists of the mesoscale meteorological model of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF), the land surface model NOAH-MP and the hydrology–hydraulics model WRF-Hydro. Two 3-month periods are reconstructed for winter 2011 and autumn 2013, containing heavy rainfall and river flooding events. Several sensitivity tests were performed along with an assessment of which tunable parameters, numerical choices and forcing data most impacted on the modelling performance.The calibration of the experiments highlighted that the infiltration and aquifer coefficients should be considered as seasonally dependent.The WRF precipitation was validated by a comparison with rain gauges in the Ofanto basin. The WRF model was demonstrated to be sensitive to the initialization time and a spin-up of about 1.5 days was needed before the start of the major rainfall events in order to improve the accuracy of the reconstruction. However, this was not sufficient and an optimal interpolation method was developed to correct the precipitation simulation. It is based on an objective analysis (OA) and a least square (LS) melding scheme, collectively named OA+LS. We demonstrated that the OA+LS method is a powerful tool to reduce the precipitation uncertainties and produce a lower error precipitation reconstruction that itself generates a better river discharge time series. The validation of the river streamflow showed promising statistical indices.The final set-up of our meteo-hydrological modelling system was able to realistically reconstruct the local rainfall and the Ofanto hydrograph

A meteo-hydrological modelling system for the reconstruction of river runoff: the case of the Ofanto river catchment

A meteo-hydrological modelling system has been designed for the reconstruction of long time series of rainfall and river runoff events. The modelling chain consists of the mesoscale meteorological model of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF), the land surface model NOAH-MP and the hydrology-hydraulics model WRF-Hydro. Two 3-month periods are reconstructed for winter 2011 and autumn 2013, containing heavy rainfall and river flooding events. Several sensitivity tests were performed along with an assessment of which tunable parameters, numerical choices and forcing data most impacted on the modelling performance. The calibration of the experiments highlighted that the infiltration and aquifer coefficients should be considered as seasonally dependent. The WRF precipitation was validated by a comparison with rain gauges in the Ofanto basin. The WRF model was demonstrated to be sensitive to the initialization time and a spin-up of about 1.5 days was needed before the start of the major rainfall events in order to improve the accuracy of the reconstruction. However, this was not sufficient and an optimal interpolation method was developed to correct the precipitation simulation. It is based on an objective analysis (OA) and a least square (LS) melding scheme, collectively named OA+LS. We demonstrated that the OA+LS method is a powerful tool to reduce the precipitation uncertainties and produce a lower error precipitation reconstruction that itself generates a better river discharge time series. The validation of the river streamflow showed promising statistical indices. The final set-up of our meteo-hydrological modelling system was able to realistically reconstruct the local rainfall and the Ofanto hydrograph

A box model to represent estuarine dynamics in mesoscale resolution ocean models

Representing the net freshwater flux at river mouths is challenging for global and regional scale ocean modelling. Although rivers are well known to affect both the coastal and basin-wide circulation and dynamics, coarse resolution ocean models cannot resolve the estuarine dynamics and are usually forced at river outlets in a simplistic way, with climatological runoff and zero or constant salinity values. The aim of this study is to provide a more realistic representation of the estuarine water inputs to a coarse but eddy-resolving regional model. First, the river volume transport and salinity values at the outlets are modelled with three different Estuary Box Models (EBMs) for stratified estuaries: the Knudsen relations model, a published EBM, called UCONN-NCAR EBM, which parameterizes the tidal inflow and mixing inside the estuary, and a new model, called CMCC-EBM. The CMCC EBM has been conceived to represent the estuarine processes coupled to a mesoscale resolving hydrodynamic model that resolves the entering flow field at the estuary mouth and it offers a new representation of the tidal inflow and a new salinity tidal mixing parameterization via horizontal diffusive processes. The Ofanto and Po rivers flowing into the Adriatic Sea (northern part of the central Mediterranean Sea) are selected as case studies. The coupling of the eddy resolving ocean model to the CMCC EBM is found to outperform the one with the UCONN-NCAR EBM in the region of freshwater influence on the shelf area

Investigations of a Gandharan stucco head of the Buddha at the Victoria and Albert Museum (IM.3-1931)

This study presents the results of a technical and art historical study of an important Gandharan head from the Victoria and Albert Museum. For several years, the head has played an important role in the history of Gandharan art, because of its high aesthetic qualities. However, the head has received limited scholarly attention since its first display in the 1930s. This study reviewed the head’s physical, curatorial and conservation history and determined its construction using non-invasive and non-contact investigative techniques (technical imaging, FTIR, XRF and FORS). The support consists of several layers of a lime- and gypsum-based plaster (gauging plaster) and only salient elements of the face (e.g. lips, eyes and hairline) and the hair were painted, with a high-quality red ochre and with an unidentified black pigment, respectively. A careful examination of the construction of the head allowed to determine that it probably belonged to an iconic representation of the Buddha, as opposed to a narrative scene