La ricerca tecnico-scientifica come supporto dello studio storico-artistico nell’attribuzione delle opere d’arte

The present work underlines the importance of an objective evaluation in the study of constituent materials and execution techniques, as well as an examination of the state of conservation of some paintings, performed during the corresponding restoration procedures. These observations, supported by analytical tests and art-historical evaluations, constitute an essential phase of the interdisciplinary research aimed at determining the attribution of a work of art. The study revolves around Pietro Novelli, the leading figurative artist of the 1600s in Sicily, who stood out amongst his peers and experienced growing fame in the centuries to follow. The interest in Monrealese is triggered by the current lack of research into recognizing his characteristic traits, accompanied by the existence of a relevant number of paintings of uncertain attribution and artifacts made by his followers or copyists. The research consists in the application of a technological investigative methodology on two examples of paintings from the 1600s, featuring David with the Head of Goliath and Our Lady of Sorrows. During their recent restoration, a study was conducted of the techniques used for their execution, accompanied by appropriate comparisons with artifacts of certain attribution. In both cases, it was possible to relate them directly to Novelli and identify the works of art respectively as replica and attributed.Il lavoro presentato sottolinea l’importanza della valutazione oggettiva e soggettiva nello studio dei materiali costitutivi e delle tecniche esecutive nonché dello stato di conservazione di alcuni dipinti effettuato nell’ambito dei corrispondenti interventi di restauro. Tali osservazioni, supportate da indagini analitiche e da valutazioni storico-artistiche, si configurano come una fase imprescindibile di una ricerca interdisciplinare mirata all’attribuzione di un’opera d’arte. Lo studio è incentrato su Pietro Novelli, il massimo esponente dell’arte figurativa del Seicento in Sicilia con un significativo riscontro tra i suoi contemporanei ed una fortuna perpetuata anche nei secoli successivi. L’interesse nei confronti del Monrealese scaturisce dall’attuale mancanza di ricerche mirate al riconoscimento dei tratti caratterizzanti, che si accompagna all’esistenza di un numero rilevante di dipinti di incerta attribuzione e di manufatti eseguiti da seguaci e copisti. La ricerca consiste nell’applicazione di una metodologia di indagine di carattere tecnico e mostra due esempi di dipinti seicenteschi raffiguranti Davide con la testa di Golia e la Madonna Addolorata. In occasione dei recenti restauri è stato condotto uno studio delle procedure esecutive affiancato da opportuni raffronti con manufatti di sicura attribuzione: in entrambi i casi è stata possibile un’assegnazione diretta al Novelli ed un’identificazione delle opere rispettivamente come replica e attribuita

L’ODIGITRIA DETTA ‘DI GUGLIELMO II’ DELLA CATTEDRALE DI MONREALE

Il volume affronta lo studio storico-artistico e tecnico-scientifico di un antico dipinto su tavola della Cattedrale di Monreale rappresentante la Madonna col Bambino nell'iconografia dell'Odigitria. Tradizionalmente datato al XII o addirittura all'XI secolo e collegato al re Guglielmo II "il buono", grazie ai risultati del recente restauro scientifico si è invece spostata la datazione alla metà del XIII secolo, come prodotto della cosiddetta 'maniera cypria' diffusa in Italia meridionale e nell'area mediterranea, dovuto piuttosto alla committenza di un abate-arcivescovo di Monreale.The book deals with the historical-artistic and technical-scientific study of an ancient painting on wood of the Cathedral of Monreale representing the Madonna and Child in the iconography of Odigitria. Traditionally dated to the twelfth or even eleventh century and linked to King William II "the good", thanks to the results of recent scientific restoration has instead moved the dating to the mid-thirteenth century, as a product of the so-called 'maniera cypria' diffused in southern Italy and the Mediterranean area, due to the patronage of an abbot-archbishop of Monreale

Limitis in the Restoration of Historical Organs

The present case study aimed at understanding musical heritage, examines the problematics involved in the restoration and conservation of pipe organs. Attention is particularly focused on the great number of organs in Sicily and the ensuing problems due to a lack of clear legislation able to protect their authenticity and artistic value. The success of organ activity also in the south of Italy is made evident in the evolution of its form and the progress made in its sound system. However,prompt historical and artistic research is required to assess the size of this heritage and programme its proper recovery.Besides the methodological difficulties involving direct intervention on the organs, there are also problems related to the writing up of the documentation concerning the restoration work carried out. This is due to the fact that there is no uniformity in the compilation of these documents, preventing the issue of correct information regarding the technical characteristics and artistic features of these instruments

Estimation of Ground NO2 Measurements from Sentinel-5P Tropospheric Data through Categorical Boosting

Atmospheric pollution has been largely considered by the scientific community as a primary threat to human health and ecosystems, above all for its impact on climate change. Therefore, its containment and reduction are gaining interest and commitment from institutions and researchers, although the solutions are not immediate. It becomes of primary importance to identify the distribution of air pollutants and evaluate their concentration levels in order to activate the right countermeasures. Among other tools, satellite-based measurements have been used for monitoring and obtaining information on air pollutants, and over the years their performance has increased in terms of both resolution and data reliability. This study aims to analyze the NO2 pollution in the Emilia Romagna Region (Northern Italy) during 2019, with the help of satellite retrievals from the {\nobreak Sentinel\nobreak-5P} mission of the European Copernicus Programme and ground-based measurements, obtained from the ARPA site (Regional Agency for the Protection of the Environment). The final goal is the estimation of ground NO2 measurements when only satellite data are available. For this task, we used a Machine Learning (ML) model, Categorical Boosting, which was demonstrated to work quite well and allowed us to achieve a Root-Mean-Square Error (RMSE) of 0.0242 over the 43 stations utilized to get the Ground Truth values. This procedure, applicable to other areas of Italy and the world and on longer timelines, represents the starting point to understand which other actions must be taken to improve its final performance

A Machine Learning Approach to Long-Term Drought Prediction using Normalized Difference Indices Computed on a Spatiotemporal Dataset

Climate change and increases in drought conditions affect the lives of many and are closely tied to global agricultural output and livestock production. This research presents a novel approach utilizing machine learning frameworks for drought prediction around water basins. Our method focuses on the next-frame prediction of the Normalized Difference Drought Index (NDDI) by leveraging the recently developed SEN2DWATER database. We propose and compare two prediction methods for estimating NDDI values over a specific land area. Our work makes possible proactive measures that can ensure adequate water access for drought-affected communities and sustainable agriculture practices by implementing a proof-of-concept of short and long-term drought prediction of changes in water resources.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, IEEE IGARSS 2023 Conferenc

Using Multi-Temporal Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data for water bodies mapping

Climate change is intensifying extreme weather events, causing both water scarcity and severe rainfall unpredictability, and posing threats to sustainable development, biodiversity, and access to water and sanitation. This paper aims to provide valuable insights for comprehensive water resource monitoring under diverse meteorological conditions. An extension of the SEN2DWATER dataset is proposed to enhance its capabilities for water basin segmentation. Through the integration of temporally and spatially aligned radar information from Sentinel-1 data with the existing multispectral Sentinel-2 data, a novel multisource and multitemporal dataset is generated. Benchmarking the enhanced dataset involves the application of indices such as the Soil Water Index (SWI) and Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), along with an unsupervised Machine Learning (ML) classifier (k-means clustering). Promising results are obtained and potential future developments and applications arising from this research are also explored

New Applications in the Use of Cellulose Pulp for the Integration of Wooden Supports

Cellulose pulp, mainly utilized as a support for cleaning stone material, in this study, is proposed as a filler for wooden supports. In the last 10 years, pulp has been used in many restoration works carried out in the laboratory of the Diocesan Museum (MDP) in Palermo, including both wooden sculptures and panel paintings. These artworks, exhibited in the MDP, are constantly monitored in order to evaluate the effectiveness of cellulose pulp as a filler, assessing its durability and bio-receptivity. In particular, structural characteristics, drying time, shrinkage, loss in weight, affinity to the pigments, etc., were simultaneously evaluated. Tests were also carried out on artificially aged cellulose pulp samples, in order to appraise if cellulose could be a source of nourishment for microbial growth.Il presente studio propone l’analisi e l’approfondimento di un materiale già noto nel campo del restauro: la polpa di cellulosa, utilizzata da sempre come supportante per impacchi di pulitura su materiale lapideo, qui analizzata in veste di stucco per supporti lignei. Il materiale è stato utilizzato in alcuni interventi di restauro eseguiti nel laboratorio del Museo Diocesano di Palermo nel corso degli ultimi 10 anni su sculture lignee e dipinti su tavola. Le opere conservate in sale espositive costantemente monitorate hanno permesso, fino ad oggi, di valutare l’efficacia dell’intervento. Lo studio propone alcuni test eseguiti su campioni di stucco di cellulosa realizzati con leganti di origine diversa, valutando le caratteristiche di ciascuna tipologia, i tempi di essiccamento, ritiro, perdita in peso, affinità al colore, etc. Inoltre sono stati effettuati test d’invecchiamento, reversibilità e test microbiologici per determinare la resa della cellulosa all’invecchiamento e valutare se il substrato in cellulosa possa costituire un supporto alla colonizzazione microbica

Tolterodine extended release in the treatment of male oab/storage luts: A systematic review

Overactive bladder (OAB)/ storage lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) have a high prevalence affecting up to 90\% of men over 80 years. The role of sufficient therapies appears crucial. In the present review, we analyzed the mechanism of action of tolterodine extended-release (ER) with the aim to clarify its efficacy and safety profile, as compared to other active treatments of OAB/storage LUTS.A wide Medline search was performed including the combination of following words: "LUTS", "BPH", "OAB", "antimuscarinic", "tolterodine", "tolterodine ER". IPSS, IPSS storage sub-score and IPSS QoL (International Prostate Symptom Score) were the validated efficacy outcomes. In addition, the numbers of urgency episodes/24 h, urgency incontinence episodes/24 h, incontinence episodes/24 h and pad use were considered. We also evaluated the most common adverse events (AEs) reported for tolterodine ER.Of 128 retrieved articles, 109 were excluded. The efficacy and tolerability of tolterodine ER Vs. tolterodine IR have been evaluated in a multicenter, double-blind, randomized placebo controlled study in 1529 patients with OAB. A 71\% mean reduction in urgency incontinence episodes was found in the tolterodine ER group compared to a 60\% reduction in the tolterodine IR (p 29 cc) only the combination therapy significantly reduced 24-h voiding frequency (2.8 vs. 1.7 with tamsulosin, 1.4 with tolterodine, or 1.6 with placebo). A recent meta-analysis evaluating tolterodine in comparison with other antimuscarinic drugs demonstrated that tolterodine ER was significantly more effective than placebo in reducing micturition/24 h, urinary leakage episodes/24 h, urgency episodes/24 h, and urgency incontinence episodes/24 h. With regard to adverse events, tolterodine ER was associated with a good adverse event profile resulting in the third most favorable antimuscarinic. Antimuscarinic drugs are the mainstay of pharmacological therapy for OAB / storage LUTS; several studies have demonstrated that tolterodine ER is an effective and well tolerated formulation of this class of treatment.Tolterodine ER resulted effective in reducing frequency urgency and nocturia and urinary leakage in male patients with OAB/storage LUTS. Dry mouth and constipation are the most frequently reported adverse events