CONODONT BIOSTRATIGRAPHY OF THE S.CASSIANO FORMATION SURROUNDING THE SELLA MASSIF (DOLOMITES, ITALY): IMPLICATIONS FOR SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHIC MODELS OF THE TRIASSIC OF THE SOUTHERN ALP

The stratigraphy and age of the S.Cassiano Formation outcropping around the Sella Massif (Dolomites, Northern Italy) were investigated. The unit interfingers with slope deposits pertaining to the Cassian carbonate platform of the Sella Massif. Several stratigraphic sections were analyzed from a sedimentologic and biostratigraphic perspective.Three section (Sella Pass Ia and Ib,Gardena Pass) yielded stratigraphically significant conodont faunas referable to the diebeli Assemblage Zone sensu Krystyn (1983) of latest Ladinian age. Therefore, the Sella Cassian Platform traditionally regarded as a typical Carnian buildup, is also latest Ladinian age. The occurrence of the post-volcanic carbonate platforms older (e.g.Denti di Terra Rossa) and younger (e.g.,the Nuvolau and Lagazuoi platform) than the Sella Platform,suggest that :a) the post-volcanic and Cassian succession of the Dolomites is fare more complex than traditionally thought and b) a sequence stratigraphic model of the Middle-Upper Triassic of the Dolomites based on two generations of Cassian platforms is clearly inadequate to describe the actual succession. &nbsp

On the heating of source of the Orion KL hot core

We present images of the J=10-9 rotational lines of HC3N in the vibrationally excited levels 1v7, 1v6 and 1v5 of the hot core (HC) in Orion KL. The images show that the spatial distribution and the size emission from the 1v7 and 1v5 levels are different. While the J=10-9 1v7 line has a size of 4''x 6'' and peaks 1.1'' NE of the 3 mm continuum peak, the J=10--9 1v5 line emission is unresolved (<3'') and peaks 1.3'' south of the 3 mm peak. This is a clear indication that the HC is composed of condensations with very different temperatures (170 K for the 1v7 peak and $>230$ K for the 1v5 peak). The temperature derived from the 1v7 and 1v5 lines increases with the projected distance to the suspected main heating source I. Projection effects along the line of sight could explain the temperature gradient as produced by source I. However, the large luminosity required for source I, >5 10^5 Lsolar, to explain the 1v5 line suggests that external heating by this source may not dominate the heating of the HC. Simple model calculations of the vibrationally excited emission indicate that the HC can be internally heated by a source with a luminosity of 10^5 Lsolar, located 1.2'' SW of the 1v5 line peak (1.8'' south of source I). We also report the first detection of high-velocity gas from vibrationally excited HC3N emission. Based on excitation arguments we conclude that the main heating source is also driving the molecular outflow. We speculate that all the data presented in this letter and the IR images are consistent with a young massive protostar embedded in an edge-on disk.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, To be published in Ap.J. Letter

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

«In the minds of men»: il Manifesto UNESCO sulla biblioteca pubblica del 1949

The first UNESCO Public Library Manifesto, entitled The public library, a living force for popular education, dates back to 1949. In its thematic composition, the Manifesto reflects the co-presence of different librarianship traditions (far beyond the Anglo-American vision) and a synthesis of the humanism of knowledge and education which is UNESCO’s distinctive trait. The foundations of this new humanism consist above all in the connection among world citizenship, cosmopolitanism and the search for educational and cultural cooperation beyond national boundaries. It is an original charter of values, which consists in the globalization of the idea of public library, in a perspective whose stakeholders are above all librarians, educators and citizens. At the beginning of the 1950s – in the context of the Cold War and of the Decolonization processes – a transition took place from a cultural and participatory approach, inspired by cultural and professional multilateralism, to a more markedly institutional vision. The values ​​of the Manifesto were reinterpreted by the French intellectual André Maurois in Public libraries and their mission (UNESCO, 1961). Every public library «is a center for international understanding», they are the institutions best suited for this role precisely because they are «free from propaganda and prejudice». Library rights guarantee rights, freedom and democracy for readers: they contribute to founding that dual membership, both local and global, which is one of the main features of the 1949 Manifesto. Community service is a non-local perspective. Public libraries are destined to evolving in the context of the new States resulting from the decolonization process: culture and knowledge build a bridge between past and future.Il primo Manifesto UNESCO sulla biblioteca pubblica, dal titolo The public library, a living force for popular education, risale al 1949. Il Manifesto riflette nella sua composizione tematica la compresenza di diverse tradizioni biblioteconomiche (ben oltre quella angloamericana) e una sintesi dell’umanesimo della conoscenza e dell’educazione che è il tratto peculiare dell’UNESCO. I fondamenti di questo nuovo umanesimo consistono innanzitutto nella connessione fra cittadinanza mondiale, cosmopolitismo e ricerca di una cooperazione educativa e culturale oltre le frontiere nazionali. È una originale carta dei valori che consiste nella globalizzazione di un’idea di biblioteca, in una prospettiva i cui interlocutori sono anzitutto gli operatori del mondo delle biblioteche, dell’educazione e della cultura e i cittadini. Con l’inizio degli anni Cinquanta si apre – nel contesto della Guerra fredda e dei processi di decolonizzazione – una transizione da un approccio culturale e partecipativo, ispirato a un multilateralismo culturale e professionale, a un orizzonte più marcatamente istituzionale. I valori del Manifesto sono reinterpretati da André Maurois in Public libraries and their mission (UNESCO, 1961). Ogni biblioteca pubblica «is a centre for international understanding», e sono le istituzioni più adatte a farlo proprio perché «free from propaganda and prejudice». I diritti della biblioteca sono garanzie di diritti, libertà e democrazia per i lettori: essi contribuiscono a fondare quella doppia appartenenza, locale/comunitaria e mondiale, che è uno dei tratti del Manifesto 1949. Il servizio alla comunità è una prospettiva non localistica. Le biblioteche pubbliche sono destinate a evolvere nel contesto dei nuovi stati successivi al processo di decolonizzazione: la cultura e la conoscenza come un ponte fra il passato e il futuro

L'audacia e la lentezza

A partire dalle categorie non necessariamente oppositive di ‘audacia’ e di ‘lentezza’ e facendo riferimento alle parole di poeti (Thomas S. Eliot), storici (Fernand Braudel), bibliografi (Donald McKenzie), sociologi (Niklas Luhmann) e bibliotecari (Shiyali R. Ranganathan) del Novecento, il contributo propone una riflessione sulla dimensione del tempo nella vita delle biblioteche e delle istituzioni culturali.This paper, starting from not necessarily oppositive categories such as ‘boldness’ and ‘graduality’ and with references to twentieth-century poets (Thomas S. Eliot), historians (Fernand Braudel), bibliographers (Donald McKenzie), sociologists (Niklas Luhmann) and librarians (Shiyali R. Ranganathan), suggests reflections on the intersection of different time structures and dimensions in the life of libraries and cultural institutions

CONODONT BIOSTRATIGRAPHY OF THE LATE TRIASSIC SEQUENCE OF MONTE COCUZZO (CATENA COSTIERA, CALABRIA, ITALY)

Preliminary results are reported from an investigation of the conodont associations found in the Late Triassic carbonate succession of the so-called "Catena Costiera Calabrese" that crops out in the tectonic window of Monte Cocuzzo. The succession of Colle del Crapio consists of alternating carbonate mud, breccia and calciturbidites deposited in a toe-of-slope to basin setting and contains rich and well-preserved conodont faunas pertaining to two biozones. The lower zone is characterised by the occurrence of Epigondolella slovakensis and may be referred to the Late Norian (Sevatian). The upper zone is characterised by Misikella hernsteini associated with M. posthernsteini. The chronostratigraphic setting of the latter zone is more controversial, as it may be regarded as latest Sevatian (Upper Norian) according to Krystyn (1990) and Golebiowski (1990), while according to the zonation of Kozur &amp; Mock (1991) the first occurrence of M. posthernsteini marks the beginning of the Rhaetian stage.&nbsp; &nbsp

The effect of heterogeneity on invasion in spatial epidemics: from theory to experimental evidence in a model system

Heterogeneity in host populations is an important factor affecting the ability of a pathogen to invade, yet the quantitative investigation of its effects on epidemic spread is still an open problem. In this paper, we test recent theoretical results, which extend the established “percolation paradigm” to the spread of a pathogen in discrete heterogeneous host populations. In particular, we test the hypothesis that the probability of epidemic invasion decreases when host heterogeneity is increased. We use replicated experimental microcosms, in which the ubiquitous pathogenic fungus Rhizoctonia solani grows through a population of discrete nutrient sites on a lattice, with nutrient sites representing hosts. The degree of host heterogeneity within different populations is adjusted by changing the proportion and the nutrient concentration of nutrient sites. The experimental data are analysed via Bayesian inference methods, estimating pathogen transmission parameters for each individual population. We find a significant, negative correlation between heterogeneity and the probability of pathogen invasion, thereby validating the theory. The value of the correlation is also in remarkably good agreement with the theoretical predictions. We briefly discuss how our results can be exploited in the design and implementation of disease control strategies

Complexity and anisotropy in host morphology make populations safer against epidemic outbreaks

One of the challenges in epidemiology is to account for the complex morphological structure of hosts such as plant roots, crop fields, farms, cells, animal habitats and social networks, when the transmission of infection occurs between contiguous hosts. Morphological complexity brings an inherent heterogeneity in populations and affects the dynamics of pathogen spread in such systems. We have analysed the influence of realistically complex host morphology on the threshold for invasion and epidemic outbreak in an SIR (susceptible-infected-recovered) epidemiological model. We show that disorder expressed in the host morphology and anisotropy reduces the probability of epidemic outbreak and thus makes the system more resistant to epidemic outbreaks. We obtain general analytical estimates for minimally safe bounds for an invasion threshold and then illustrate their validity by considering an example of host data for branching hosts (salamander retinal ganglion cells). Several spatial arrangements of hosts with different degrees of heterogeneity have been considered in order to analyse separately the role of shape complexity and anisotropy in the host population. The estimates for invasion threshold are linked to morphological characteristics of the hosts that can be used for determining the threshold for invasion in practical applications.Comment: 21 pages, 8 figure