Creativity at its best: making science by making art

Creativity and vision capability are common to many disciplines and are involved in artistic and scientific thinking and activities. Scientists and artists are often asked to see and think beyond the perceivable reality, to imagine aspects of things and events, which can be better seen from an unusual perspective. Developing such a open-wide perspective to foster the spread of scientific knowledge in high-school is one of the key ingredient of "Art & Science across Italy", a European science communication project led by the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) in collaboration with CERN. The main idea is to put in practice the basic concept of the STEAM field in which neither STEM nor arts are privileged over the other, but both are equally in play and engaging high school students with science using artistic languages, regardless of student's specific skills or level of knowledge. During the project, high-school students attend scientific seminars and then, inspired by science, create their own artworks. The latter are shown in local and national art shows. The project is now running the third edition (2020 2022). Here we will describe the project and the methodology used, and some results obtained in the first two editions in which more than 7.500 students coming from about 200 Italian high schools participated

Comparing the body mass variations in endemic insular species of the Genus Prolagus (Ochotonidae, Lagomorpha) in the pleistocene of Sardinia (Italy)

Prolagus figaro and P. sardus are part of an endemic insular anagenetic lineage that populated Sardinia since the earliest Late Pliocene to Holocene. BM of some populations of these two species was calculated using regression models. The best BM proxies for Prolagus are: femur length, zeugopod measurements and distal humerus diameter. The anagenetic lineage shows a BM increase of ca 20% from the populations of P. figaro (398-436 g) to P. sardus (504-525 g). The trend shown by the size of lower third premolar, even if not directly comparable with BM, is opposite (ca -30% at the transition P. figaro-P. sardus). Compared to P. cf. calpensis, a continental species of similar age, BM of P. figaro is ca +25%. The comparison with the insular endemic P. apricenicus evidenced differences in BM range and timespan required to attain it, due to the different size and palaeogeographical situation of the islands. Insular endemic Prolagus follow the small mammal pattern of Island Rule. Mein's (1983) biphasic model seems applicable to the evolution of P. figaro. A tachytelic phase followed by a bradytelic one seems to characterize also the appearance of P. sardus, at least for dental traits, a process probably triggered by important variations of abiotic and biotic traits of the environment, as indicated by the turnover that marks the onset of the Dragonara subcomplex. The prediction of life history traits and other biological attributes of Sardinian Prolagus using BM should be considered with caution due to the complexity of ecological selective regimes of Sardinia

Online learning of physics during a pandemic: A report from an academic experience in Italy

The arrival of the Sars-Cov II has opened a new window on teaching physics in academia. Frontal lectures have left space for online teaching, teachers have been faced with a new way of spreading knowledge, adapting contents and modalities of their courses. Students have faced up with a new way of learning physics, which relies on free access to materials and their informatics knowledge. We decided to investigate how online didactics has influenced students’ assessments, motivation, and satisfaction in learning physics during the pandemic in 2020. The research has involved bachelor (n = 53) and master (n = 27) students of the Physics Department at the University of Cagliari (N = 80, 47 male; 33 female). The MANOVA supported significant mean differences about gender and university level with higher values for girls and master students in almost all variables investigated. The path analysis showed that student-student, student-teacher interaction, and the organization of the courses significantly influenced satisfaction and motivation in learning physics. The results of this study can be used to improve the standards of teaching in physics at the University of Cagliar

A wireless sensors network for monitoring the Carasau bread manufacturing process

This work copes with the design and implementation of a wireless sensors network architecture to automatically and continuously monitor, for the first time, the manufacturing process of Sardinian Carasau bread. The case of a traditional bakery company facing the challenge of the Food-Industry 4.0 competitiveness is investigated. The process was analyzed to identify the most relevant variables to be monitored during the product manufacturing. Then, a heterogeneous, multi-tier wireless sensors network was designed and realized to allow the real-time control and the data collection during the critical steps of dough production, sheeting, cutting and leavening. Commercial on-the-shelf and cost-effective integrated electronics were employed, making the proposed approach of interest for many practical cases. Finally, a user-friendly interface was provided to enhance the understanding, control and to favor the process monitoring. With the wireless senors network (WSN) we designed, it is possible to monitor environmental parameters (temperature, relative humidity, gas concentrations); cinematic quantities of the belts; and, through a dedicated image processing system, the morphological characteristics of the bread before the baking. The functioning of the WSN was demonstrated and a statistical analysis was performed on the variables monitored during different seasons

Multimodal-based Diversified Summarization in Social Image Retrieval

In this paper, we describe our approach and its results for the MediaEval 2015 Retrieving Diverse Social Images task. The main strength of the proposed approach is its flexibility that permits to filter out irrelevant images, and to obtain a reli- able set of diverse and relevant images. This is done by first clustering similar images according to their textual descrip- tions and their visual content, and then extracting images from different clusters according to a measure of user’s cred- ibility. Experimental results shown that it is stable and has little fluctuation in both single-concept and multi-concept queries

Increase in 20–50 Hz (gamma frequencies) power spectrum and synchronization after chronic vagal nerve stimulation

Objective: Though vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an important option in pharmacoresistant epilepsy, its mechanism of action remains unclear. The observation that VNS desynchronised the EEG activity in animals suggested that this mechanism could be involved in VNS antiepileptic effects in humans. Indeed VNS decreases spiking bursts, whereas its effects on the EEG background remain uncertain. The objective of the present study is to investigate how VNS affects local and inter regional syncronization in different frequencies in pharmacoresistent partial epilepsy. Methods: Digital recordings acquired in 11 epileptic subjects 1 year and 1 week before VNS surgery were compared with that obtained 1 month and 1 year after VNS activation. Power spectrum and synchronization were then analyzed and compared with an epileptic group of 10 patients treated with AEDs only and with 9 non-epileptic patients. Results: VNS decreases the synchronization of theta frequencies (P!0.01), whereas it increases gamma power spectrum and synchronization (!0.001 and 0.01, respectively). Conclusions: The reduction of theta frequencies and the increase in power spectrum and synchronization of gamma bands can be related to VNS anticonvulsant mechanism. In addition, gamma modulation could also play a seizure-independent role in improving attentional performances. Significance: These results suggest that some antiepileptic mechanisms affected by VNS can be modulated by or be the reflection of EEG changes.2026-2036Pubblicat

Promoting the learning of modern and contemporary physics in high schools in informal and non-formal contexts

In this paper, we introduce active learning strategies developed by the Educational Division of the Physics Department of the University of Cagliari to promote the learning of modern and contemporary physics (e.g., general relativity, particle physics, cosmology, and related topics) in high schools in informal and nonformal contexts. We discuss their features and potential role in facilitating science and physics instruction by integrating pedagogical theory and education research. We illustrate our theoretical framework and the methodologies we implemented to design specific educational strategies —and the evaluation of their effectiveness— to improve motivation, curiosity, and interest in modern and contemporary physics, as well as bring these topics more extensively to high schools. Finally, examples of the proposed educational activities are presented and their implications in informal and non-formal contexts are discussed

Rapid In Situ Detection of THC and CBD in Cannabis sativa L. by 1064 nm Raman Spectroscopy

The need to find a rapid and worthwhile technique for the in situ detection of the content of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) in Cannabis sativa L. is an ever-increasing problem in the forensic field. Among all the techniques for the detection of cannabinoids, Raman spectroscopy can be identified as the most cost-effective, fast, noninvasive, and nondestructive. In this study, 42 different samples were analyzed using Raman spectroscopy with 1064 nm excitation wavelength. The use of an IR wavelength laser showed the possibility to clearly identify THC and CBD in fresh samples, without any further processing, knocking out the contribution of the fluorescence generated by visible and near-IR sources. The results allow assigning all the Raman features in THC- and CBD-rich natural samples. The multivariate analysis underlines the high reproducibility of the spectra and the possibility to distinguish immediately the Raman spectra of the two cannabinoid species. Furthermore, the ratio between the Raman bands at 1295/1440 and 1623/1663 cm-1 is identified as an immediate test parameter to evaluate the THC content in the samples

Radiation Pressure Acceleration by Ultraintense Laser Pulses

The future applications of the short-duration, multi-MeV ion beams produced in the interaction of high-intensity laser pulses with solid targets will require improvements in the conversion efficiency, peak ion energy, beam monochromaticity, and collimation. Regimes based on Radiation Pressure Acceleration (RPA) might be the dominant ones at ultrahigh intensities and be most suitable for specific applications. This regime may be reached already with present-day intensities using circularly polarized (CP) pulses thanks to the suppression of fast electron generation, so that RPA dominates over sheath acceleration at any intensity. We present a brief review of previous work on RPA with CP pulses and a few recent results. Parametric studies in one dimension were performed to identify the optimal thickness of foil targets for RPA and to study the effect of a short-scalelength preplasma. Three-dimensional simulations showed the importance of ``flat-top'' radial intensity profiles to minimise the rarefaction of thin targets and to address the issue of angular momentum conservation and absorption.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication to the special issue "EPS 2008" of PPC

Non-invasive Coronary Flow Velocity Reserve Assessment Predicts Adverse Outcome In Women With unstable angina Without Obstructive Coronary Artery Stenosis

Background: Evaluation of coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR) is the physiological approach to assess the severity of coronary stenosis and microvascular dysfunction. Impaired CFVR occurs frequently in women with suspected or known coronary artery disease . The aim of this study was to assess the role of CFVR to predict long-term cardiovascular event rate in women with unstable angina (UA) without obstructive coronary artery stenosis. Methods: CFVR in left anterior descending coronary artery was assessed by adenosine transthoracic echocardiograhy in 161 women admitted at our Department with UA and without obstructive coronary artery disease. Results: During a mean FU of 32.5 ±19.6 months, 53 cardiac events occurred: 6 nonfatal acute myocardial infarction , 22 UA, 7 coronary revascularization by percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, 1 coronary bypass surgery, 3 ischemic stroke and 8 episodes of congestive heart failure with preserved ejection fraction and 6 cardiac deaths. Using a ROC curve analysis, CFVR 2.14 was the best predictor of cardiac events and was considered as abnormal CFVR. Abnormal CFVR was associated with lower cardiac event-free survival (30% vs 80%, p<0.0001). During FU, 70% of women with reduced CFVR had cardiac events whereas only 20% with normal CFVR (p=0.0001). At multivariate Cox analysis, smoke habitus (p=0.003), metabolic syndrome (p=0.01), and CFVR (p<0.0001) were significantly associated with cardiac events at FU. Conclusion: Noninvasive CFVR provides an independent predictor of cardiovascular prognosis information in women with UA without obstructive coronary artery disease whereas, impaired CFVR seems to be associated with higher CV events at FU