Monedas chinas en el Museo Cerralbo

Este trabajo presenta la colección de moneda china del Museo Cerralbo, compuesta por veinticinco piezas emitidas durante la dinastía Qing (1644-1911). Las monedas orientales son infrecuentes en España, lo que aporta un especial valor a esta pequeña colección. Cinco de los diez emperadores Qing están representados en el conjunto, y las piezas corresponden a siete cecas diferentes, lo que permite ofrecer un panorama bastante completo de las emisiones de la última dinastía china, así como una aproximación general a los tipos monetales del Extremo Oriente.This essay presents the Chinese coin collection at the Cerralbo Museum (Madrid, Spain). The collection consists of 25 coins from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Small though it may be, the Cerralbo collection is actually quite remarkable, as Far East coins are rare in Spanish Museums. Five of the ten Qing Emperors are represented in the collection, and coins belong to seven different mints, which provides a rather complete view on Qing Dynasty emissions, as well as allowing a general approach to Far East numismatic

L'infinito in Aristotele fra fisica, matematica e metafisica

Only recently scholars focus their attention on "Physics"’ Gamma - which deals with the treatment of movement and infinity. In the second half of the twentieth century, there has been a growing interest in the Aristotelian infinity, and therefore in "Physics": is Aristotle's infinity a reality of the noetic sphere, or is it a reality external to thought, belonging to the sphere of experience? Is Aristotelian infinity mere potentiality and negativity, or can we see a certain "actuality" in its existence? In my investigation, I focus not only on an ontological perspective: rather, I will try to highlight how to achieve an adequate understanding of infinity by taking into account physical-cosmological, mathematical-geometric and also metaphysical problems. However, this perspective on the problem of infinity does not suggest that for Aristotle there are three different infinities, but one and the same infinite: the infinite presented in "Phys." Γ and the one presented in "Phys." Θ are not in a contradictory relationship with each other, but they complete and explain each other. Finally, Aristotle's ἄπειρον must be conceived as the result of the intertwining of the three different theoretical dimensions of physics, mathematics and metaphysics, all of which are not in a relationship of strong separation, but in a fluid and interconnected relationship

Detection of a novel bacterium of the genus Midichloria (family Midichloriaceae) in avian-borne Hyalomma marginatum ticks and their trans-Saharan migratory hosts

Introduction: Ticks are haematophagous ectoparasites of vertebrates habitually parasitizing avian species, which may contribute to tick dispersal across continents during migrations (Hasle 2013; Altizer et al., 2011). Midichloria bacteria can be transmitted to the vertebrate host during the tick bite (Bazzocchi et al., 2013; Serra et al., 2018). Although many avian species are common hosts of ticks harbouring Midichloria (e.g. Ixodes, Hyalomma), the circulation of this bacterium in birds has never been investigated. The aims of this study are: 1) evaluate the presence of Midichloria DNA in H. marginatum ticks and blood collected from trans-Saharan migratory birds; 2) quantify Midichloria bacteria in ticks through a novel quantitative PCR (qPCR).Material and methods: A total of 256 H. marginatum ticks and 97 blood samples were collected from three different migratory species (Phoenicurus phoenicurus, Saxicola rubetra and Sylvia communis) on Ventotene Island (Central Italy) and DNAs were extracted. A nested-PCR targeting the 16S rRNA gene of Midichloria was used to detect bacterial presence. Subsequently, primers targeting the gyrB gene of Midichloria and the cal gene of H. marginatum were designed and used in a qPCR for Midichloria quantification. Results were expressed as gyrB/cal copy numbers ratio.Results and discussion: 94% of Hyalomma ticks harbored DNA of Midichloria belonging to the monophylum associated with ticks, while the bacterial DNA was detected in 44.3% of blood samples. Furthermore, engorged ticks showed significantly higher bacteria load than unengorged ticks (Table 1; Wilcoxon sum-rank test: z=3.14; p=0.0017), similarly to what has been observed for M. mitochondrii in I. ricinus ticks.Conclusions: This work provides evidence for the presence of circulating Midichloria DNA in long-distance migratory birds, suggesting an enhanced worldwide spread of these bacteria across haematophagous ectoparasite populations. Future studies are necessary to increase the knowledge of Midichloria role in the biology of this tick species

Experimental Correlation-Boosted Quantum Engine

We design and experimentally implement a two-qubit quantum correlated SWAP heat engine that allows to achieve an efficiency above the standard Carnot limit, and to boost the amount of extractable work, in a wider qubit energy-gap ratio window, with respect to engine's cycle in the absence of initial qubit correlations. The boosted efficiency arises from a trade-off between the entropy production and the consumption of quantum correlations during the full thermodynamic cycle. We derive a generalized second-law limit and experimentally demonstrate the engine efficiency enhancement by tailoring the qubits effective energy gap and temperature, using an IBM quantum processor