THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK OF NAVELLI (ITALY) IN THE RECONSTRUCTION PLAN: HYPOTHESIS OF ADAPTIVE REUSE

Abstract. This study is aimed at identifying adaptive design strategies applied to the particular contexts of the Abruzzo Region during the post-earthquake reconstruction. The area affected by the calamitous event present material and immaterial issues to be interpreted and managed according to integrated and interdisciplinary intervention methods. In this context, the Reconstruction Plans (PdR) provide the guidelines for a coherent territorial development, proposing design solutions that call for sustainability and resilience. The village of Navelli, which 10 years after the earthquake is still in a serious state of damage and abandonment, is identified in the 2013 PdR as an area to be converted into an archaeological park. The Plan prescribes by specifications on the basis of identifying values of the area whilst inspections carried out reveal a stratified, vast and remarkably heterogeneous building fabric both as regards to the level of damage and the values to be protected. From the analyzes carried out, the case study provides the opportunity for an ad hoc design methodology, identified by specific interventions that are at the same time inter-dependent and included in a complex project. The work highlights how the overall design of a public space can find an easier resolution in the integration of adaptive and reversible technologies, coherent with the sustainable development suggested by the PdR

VERSATIL TOOLS: DIGITAL SURVEY AND VIRTUAL REALITY FOR DOCUMENTATION, ANALYSIS AND FRUITION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE IN SEISMIC AREAS

Abstract. The paper deals with an interdisciplinary research activity aiming at developing a digital and integrated tool able to collect several data concerning the cultural heritage, and to manage and communicate them to a wide community. The small church of San Menna, located in the hamlet with same name in the municipality of Lucoli not so far from L'Aquila city, was the object of the research. The church has been chosen for its historical significance, its architectural peculiarity and for the valuable artworks that it preserves. Based on a photogrammetric model of the church, also used for the remote analysis of cultural asset (planimetric and evolutionary hypotheses, three-dimensional stratigraphic analysis, etc.) a virtual word usable in Virtual Reality (VR) has been developed. The VR setting allows the accessibility of a digital semantic model with information that can be activated with special interactive hotspots (images, texts and audio), which are able to provide an immersive and all-encompassing experience to the tourist. The potentialities of the same tool in the context of diagnosis and conservation process related to cultural heritage in seismic areas, such as those of the Abruzzi Apennines, have also been investigated through the integration of forms concerning the significant features of the artistic assets surveyed in the construction

EXPERIENCING THE INACCESSIBLE. A FRAMEWORK FOR VIRTUAL INTERPRETATION AND VISUALIZATION OF REMOTE, RISKY OR RESTRICTED ACCESS HERITAGE PLACES

Abstract. In order to be properly handed down, especially in particular conditions with a high rate of vulnerability, cultural heritage requires documentation and enhancement strategies. The case study presented in this paper is particularly critical not only for the conservation conditions, but especially for the environmental conditions: the Catacombs of San Vittorino have complex conditions of recovery, because of the nature of the artefact and because of the poor lighting of the main environments. For this particularity, a workflow was developed that, in order to achieve the creation of an immersive device navigable by digital viewers such as Oculus Rift or similar, required the start-up of shooting by laser scanning, and then treat the point cloud with different software, in order to obtain a satisfactory result that, in other contexts, could have started easily from a photogrammetric shooting.</p

THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF MASONRY FOR THE RESTORATION PROJECT IN HBIM

The experience described in this paper concerns a research activity carried out by a multidisciplinary team. The research is aimed to increase the in-depth knowledge of the castle of Fossa (L'Aquila), part of a small fortified medieval village, seriously damaged by the earthquake in 2009, and currently unusable due to partial collapses of some vertical structures, small portions of buildings and roofs. The investigative path planned by the team, composed of archaeologists, architects and engineers, started from the architectural survey (direct and indirect) of the artefact, from the collection and cataloguing of the published and archive documents, to arrive at an archaeological analysis of the structure and the creation of a parametric digital model of the object of the study with multiple levels of information. The aim of the research is the consideration of the asset in its entirety, that will be interpreted in its restoration project, in order to restore the correct and original architectural interpretations of its constructive style. The project has also presented the opportunity to experiment, in the form of a research laboratory, how well coordinated multidisciplinary contributions can achieve objectives of protection, conservation and use of the asset. In this regard, the HBIM model has constituted a tool for the convergence of the objectives, skills and the different viewpoints of the multidisciplinary team

Retracing the history and planning the future of the red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) in Ireland using non-invasive genetics

The Eurasian red squirrel’s (Sciurus vulgaris) history in Ireland is largely unknown, but the original population is thought to have been driven to extinction by humans in the 17th Century, and multiple records exist for its subsequent reintroduction in the 19th 4 Century. However, it is currently unknown how these reintroductions affect the red squirrel population today, or may do so in the future. In this study, we report on the development of a DNA toolkit for the non-invasive genetic study of the red squirrel. Non-invasively collected red squirrel samples were combined with other samples collected throughout Ireland and previously published mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) data from Ireland, Great Britain and continental Europe to give an insight into population genetics and historical introductions of the red squirrel in Ireland. Our findings demonstrate that the Irish red squirrel population is on a national scale quite genetically diverse, but at a local level contains relatively low levels of genetic diversity and evidence of genetic structure. This is likely an artefact of the introduction of a small number of genetically similar animals to specific sites. A lack of continuous woodland cover in Ireland has prevented further mixing with animals of different origins that may have been introduced even to neighbouring sites. Consequently, some of these genetically isolated populations are or may in the future be at risk of extinction. The Irish red squirrel population contains mtDNA haplotypes of both a British and Continental European origin, the former of which are now extinct or simply not recorded in contemporary Great Britain. The Irish population is therefore important in terms of red squirrel conservation not only in Ireland, but also for Great Britain, and should be appropriately managed

Polyclonal rabbit anti-murine plasmacytoma cell globulins induce myeloma cells apoptosis and inhibit tumour growth in mice

Multiple myelomas (MMs) are etiologically heterogeneous and there are limited treatment options; indeed, current monoclonal antibody therapies have had limited success, so more effective antibodies are urgently needed. Polyclonal antibodies are a possible alternative because they target multiple antigens simultaneously. In this study, we produced polyclonal rabbit anti-murine plasmacytoma cell immunoglobulin (PAb) by immunizing rabbits with the murine plasmacytoma cell line MPC-11. The isolated PAb bound to plasma surface antigens in several MM cell lines, inhibited their proliferation as revealed by MTT assay, and induce apoptosis as indicated by flow cytometry, microscopic observation of apoptotic changes in morphology, and DNA fragmentation on agarose gels. The cytotoxicity of PAb on MPC-11 cell lines was both dose-dependent and time-dependent; PAb exerted a 50% inhibitory effect on MPC-11 cell viability at a concentration of 200 µg/ml in 48 h. Flow cytometry demonstrated that PAb treatment significantly increased the number of apoptotic cells (48.1%) compared with control IgG (8.3%). Apoptosis triggered by PAb was confirmed by activation of caspase-3, -8, and -9. Serial intravenous or intraperitoneal injections of PAb inhibited tumour growth and prolonged survival in mice bearing murine plasmacytoma, while TUNEL assay demonstrated that PAb induced statistically significant apoptosis (P < 0.05) compared to control treatments. We conclude that PAb is an effective agent for in vitro and in vivo induction of apoptosis in multiple myeloma and that exploratory clinical trials may be warranted

Integrated Operational Taxonomic Units (IOTUs) in Echolocating Bats: A Bridge between Molecular and Traditional Taxonomy

Background: Nowadays, molecular techniques are widespread tools for the identification of biological entities. However, until very few years ago, their application to taxonomy provoked intense debates between traditional and molecular taxonomists. To prevent every kind of disagreement, it is essential to standardize taxonomic definitions. Along these lines, we introduced the concept of Integrated Operational Taxonomic Unit (IOTU). IOTUs come from the concept of Operational Taxonomic Unit (OTU) and paralleled the Molecular Operational Taxonomic Unit (MOTU). The latter is largely used as a standard in many molecular-based works (even if not always explicitly formalized). However, while MOTUs are assigned solely on molecular variation criteria, IOTUs are identified from patterns of molecular variation that are supported by at least one more taxonomic characteristic. Methodology/Principal Findings: We tested the use of IOTUs on the widest DNA barcoding dataset of Italian echolocating bats species ever assembled (i.e. 31 species, 209 samples). We identified 31 molecular entities, 26 of which corresponded to the morphologically assigned species, two MOTUs and three IOTUs. Interestingly, we found three IOTUs in Myotis nattereri, one of which is a newly described lineage found only in central and southern Italy. In addition, we found a level of molecular variability within four vespertilionid species deserving further analyses. According to our scheme two of them (i.e. M. bechsteinii and Plecotus auritus) should be ranked as unconfirmed candidate species (UCS). Conclusions/Significance: From a systematic point of view, IOTUs are more informative than the general concept of OTUs and the more recent MOTUs. According to information content, IOTUs are closer to species, although it is important to underline that IOTUs are not species. Overall, the use of a more precise panel of taxonomic entities increases the clarity in the systematic field and has the potential to fill the gaps between modern and traditional taxonomy

Understanding Scientific Practices: The Role of Robustness Notions

This article explores the role of `robustness-notions¿ in an account of the engineering sciences. The engineering sciences aim at technological production of, and intervention with phenomena relevant to the (dis-)functioning of materials and technological devices, by means of scientific understanding thereof. It is proposed that different kinds of robustness-notions enable and guide scientific research: (1) Robustness is as a metaphysical belief that we have about the physical world ¿ i.e., we believe that the world is robust in the sense that the same physical conditions will always produce the same effects. (2) `Same conditions ¿ same effects¿ functions as a regulative principle that enables and guides scientific research because it points to, and justifies methodological notions. (3) Repetition, variance and multiple-determination function as methodological criteria for scientific methods that justify the acceptance of epistemological and ontological results. (4) Reproducibility and stability function as ontological criteria for the acceptance of phenomena described by A¿B. (5) Reliability functions as an epistemological criterion for the acceptance of epistemological results, in particular law¿like knowledge of a conditional form: ¿A¿B, provided Cdevice, and unless other known and/or unknown causally relevant conditions.¿ The crucial question is how different kinds of robustness¿notions are related and how they play their part in the production and acceptance of scientific results. Focus is on production and acceptance of physical phenomena and the rule-like knowledge thereof. Based on an analysis of how philosoophy of science tradtionally justified scientific knowledge, I propose a general schema that specifies how inferences to the claim that a scientific result has a certain epistem ological property (such as truth) are justified by scientific methods that meet specific methodological criteria. It is proposed that `same conditions ¿ same effects¿ as a regulative criterion justifies `repetition, variation and ultiple¿determination¿ as methodological criteria for the production and acceptance of (ontological and epistemological) scientific result

INTEGRATION OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL DIGITAL MODELS AND 3D GIS: THE DOCUMENTATION OF THE MEDIEVAL BURIALS OF AMITERNUM (L’AQUILA, ITALY)

This paper illustrates the results of an experimentation carried out by a multi-disciplinary research group made up of researchers from ITC-CNR of L'Aquila and of archaeologists of the University of L'Aquila. The research project carried out by the team is based on the analysis of the archaeological heritage (in particular, the documentation of some burials found in the medieval site of Amiternum, near L'Aquila). This starts from methods based on digital photogrammetric restitution, based on Structure from Motion (SfM) algorithms, and the generation of photorealistic textures in order to manage, in a 3D GIS environment, complex archaeological and anthropological data. The choice of technology to use is often determined by the specific needs of the survey, the purpose of the project, the budget and experience of the researchers, and the geometric characteristics of the assets, rather than the precision to be achieved. For the survey of the archaeological excavation of the medieval site of Amiternum, it was decided to use digital photogrammetry given that the objective was to document, with a rapid survey compatible with the times of an archaeological excavation the phases of image acquisition, processing and post processing of the site model. Furthermore, thanks to the integration of two technologies, digital photogrammetry and GIS, and the undisputed improvement in the management of 3D data by the GIS, three-dimensionality, in archeology in general, has become an indispensable component for site interpretation and for the documentation of the data