The VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey: the evolution of type-1 AGN

Quasars and AGN play an important role in many aspects of the modern cosmology. Of particular interest is the issue of the interplay between AGN activity and formation and evolution of galaxies and structures. Studies on nearby galaxies revealed that most (and possibly all) galaxy nuclei contain a super-massive black hole (SMBH) and that between a third and half of them are showing some evidence of activity (Kormendy and Richstone, 1995). The discovery of a tight relation between black holes mass and velocity dispersion of their host galaxy suggests that the evolution of the growth of SMBH and their host galaxy are linked together. In this context, studying the evolution of AGN, through the luminosity function (LF), is fundamental to constrain the theories of galaxy and SMBH formation and evolution. Recently, many theories have been developed to describe physical processes possibly responsible of a common formation scenario for galaxies and their central black hole (Volonteri et al., 2003; Springel et al., 2005a; Vittorini et al., 2005; Hopkins et al., 2006a) and an increasing number of observations in different bands are focused on collecting larger and larger quasar samples. Many issues remain however not yet fully understood. In the context of the VVDS (VIMOS-VLT Deep Survey), we collected and studied an unbiased sample of spectroscopically selected faint type-1 AGN with a unique and straightforward selection function. Indeed, the VVDS is a large, purely magnitude limited spectroscopic survey of faint objects, free of any morphological and/or color preselection. We studied the statistical properties of this sample and its evolution up to redshift z 4. Because of the contamination of the AGN light by their host galaxies at the faint magnitudes explored by our sample, we observed that a significant fraction of AGN in our sample would be missed by the UV excess and morphological criteria usually adopted for the pre-selection of optical QSO candidates. If not properly taken into account, this failure in selecting particular sub-classes of AGN could, in principle, affect some of the conclusions drawn from samples of AGN based on these selection criteria. The absence of any pre-selection in the VVDS leads us to have a very complete sample of AGN, including also objects with unusual colors and continuum shape. The VVDS AGN sample shows in fact redder colors than those expected by comparing it, for example, with the color track derived from the SDSS composite spectrum. In particular, the faintest objects have on average redder colors than the brightest ones. This can be attributed to both a large fraction of dust-reddened objects and a significant contamination from the host galaxy. We have tested these possibilities by examining the global spectral energy distribution of each object using, in addition to the U, B, V, R and I-band magnitudes, also the UV-Galex and the IR-Spitzer bands, and fitting it with a combination of AGN and galaxy emission, allowing also for the possibility of extinction of the AGN flux. We found that for 44% of our objects the contamination from the host galaxy is not negligible and this fraction decreases to 21% if we restrict the analysis to a bright subsample (M1450 <-22.15). Our estimated integral surface density at IAB < 24.0 is 500 AGN per square degree, which represents the highest surface density of a spectroscopically confirmed sample of optically selected AGN. We derived the luminosity function in B-band for 1.0 < z < 3.6 using the 1/Vmax estimator. Our data, more than one magnitude fainter than previous optical surveys, allow us to constrain the faint part of the luminosity function up to high redshift. A comparison of our data with the 2dF sample at low redshift (1 < z < 2.1) shows that the VDDS data can not be well fitted with the pure luminosity evolution (PLE) models derived by previous optically selected samples. Qualitatively, this appears to be due to the fact that our data suggest the presence of an excess of faint objects at low redshift (1.0 < z < 1.5) with respect to these models. By combining our faint VVDS sample with the large sample of bright AGN extracted from the SDSS DR3 (Richards et al., 2006b) and testing a number of different evolutionary models, we find that the model which better represents the combined luminosity functions, over a wide range of redshift and luminosity, is a luminosity dependent density evolution (LDDE) model, similar to those derived from the major Xsurveys. Such a parameterization allows the redshift of the AGN density peak to change as a function of luminosity, thus fitting the excess of faint AGN that we find at 1.0 < z < 1.5. On the basis of this model we find, for the first time from the analysis of optically selected samples, that the peak of the AGN space density shifts significantly towards lower redshift going to lower luminosity objects. The position of this peak moves from z 2.0 for MB <-26.0 to z 0.65 for -22< MB <-20. This result, already found in a number of X-ray selected samples of AGN, is consistent with a scenario of “AGN cosmic downsizing”, in which the density of more luminous AGN, possibly associated to more massive black holes, peaks earlier in the history of the Universe (i.e. at higher redshift), than that of low luminosity ones, which reaches its maximum later (i.e. at lower redshift). This behavior has since long been claimed to be present in elliptical galaxies and it is not easy to reproduce it in the hierarchical cosmogonic scenario, where more massive Dark Matter Halos (DMH) form on average later by merging of less massive halos.

An experimental and theoretical approach to correct for the scattered radiation in an X-ray computer tomography system for industrial applications

The main problem connected to cone beam computed tomography (CT) systems for industrial applications employing 450 kV X-ray tubes is the high amount of scattered radiation which is added to the primary radiation (signal). This stray radiation leads to a significant degradation of the image quality. A better understanding of the scattering and methods to reduce its effects are therefore necessary to improve the image quality. Several studies have been carried out in the medical field at lower energies, whereas studies in industrial CT, especially for energies up to 450 kV, are lacking. Moreover, the studies reported in literature do not consider the scattered radiation generated by the CT system structure and the walls of the X-ray room (environmental scatter). In order to investigate the scattering on CT projections a GEANT4-based Monte Carlo (MC) model was developed. The model, which has been validated against experimental data, has enabled the calculation of the scattering including the environmental scatter, the optimization of an anti-scatter grid suitable for the CT system, and the optimization of the hardware components of the CT system. The investigation of multiple scattering in the CT projections showed that its contribution is 2.3 times the one of primary radiation for certain objects. The results of the environmental scatter showed that it is the major component of the scattering for aluminum box objects of front size 70 x 70 mm2 and that it strongly depends on the thickness of the object and therefore on the projection. For that reason, its correction is one of the key factors for achieving high quality images. The anti-scatter grid optimized by means of the developed MC model was found to reduce the scatter-toprimary ratio in the reconstructed images by 20 %. The object and environmental scatter calculated by means of the simulation were used to improve the scatter correction algorithm which could be patented by Empa. The results showed that the cupping effect in the corrected image is strongly reduced. The developed CT simulation is a powerful tool to optimize the design of the CT system and to evaluate the contribution of the scattered radiation to the image. Besides, it has offered a basis for a new scatter correction approach by which it has been possible to achieve images with the same spatial resolution as state-of-the-art well collimated fan-beam CT with a gain in the reconstruction time of a factor 10. This result has a high economic impact in non-destructive testing and evaluation, and reverse engineering.

L'a(rche)tipico Brian O'Nolan. Comico e riso dalla tradizione al post-

This study aims at analysing Brian O'Nolans literary production in the light of a reconsideration of the role played by his two most famous pseudonyms ,Flann Brien and Myles na Gopaleen, behind which he was active both as a novelist and as a journalist. We tried to establish a new kind of relationship between them and their empirical author following recent cultural and scientific surveys in the field of Humour Studies, Psychology, and Sociology: taking as a starting point the appreciation of the comic attitude in nature and in cultural history, we progressed through a short history of laughter and derision, followed by an overview on humour theories. After having established such a frame, we considered an integration of scientific studies in the field of laughter and humour as a base for our study scheme, in order to come to a definition of the comic author as a recognised, powerful and authoritative social figure who acts as a critic of conventions. The history of laughter and comic we briefly summarized, based on the one related by the French scholar Georges Minois in his work (Minois 2004), has been taken into account in the view that humorous attitude is one of man’s characteristic traits always present and witnessed throughout the ages, though subject in most cases to repression by cultural and political conservative power. This sort of Super-Ego notwithstanding, or perhaps because of that, comic impulse proved irreducible exactly in its influence on the current cultural debates. Basing mainly on Robert R. Provine’s (Provine 2001), Fabio Ceccarelli’s (Ceccarelli 1988), Arthur Koestler’s (Koestler 1975) and Peter L. Berger’s (Berger 1995) scientific essays on the actual occurrence of laughter and smile in complex social situations, we underlined the many evidences for how the use of comic, humour and wit (in a Freudian sense) could be best comprehended if seen as a common mind process designed for the improvement of knowledge, in which we traced a strict relation with the play-element the Dutch historian Huizinga highlighted in his famous essay, Homo Ludens (Huizinga 1955). We considered comic and humour/wit as different sides of the same coin, and showed how the demonstrations scientists provided on this particular subject are not conclusive, given that the mental processes could not still be irrefutably shown to be separated as regards graduations in comic expression and reception: in fact, different outputs in expressions might lead back to one and the same production process, following the general ‘Economy Rule’ of evolution; man is the only animal who lies, meaning with this that one feeling is not necessarily biuniquely associated with one and the same outward display, so human expressions are not validation proofs for feelings. Considering societies, we found that in nature they are all organized in more or less the same way, that is, in élites who govern over a community who, in turn, recognizes them as legitimate delegates for that task; we inferred from this the epistemological possibility for the existence of an added ruling figure alongside those political and religious: this figure being the comic, who is the person in charge of expressing true feelings towards given subjects of contention. Any community owns one, and his very peculiar status is validated by the fact that his place is within the community, living in it and speaking to it, but at the same time is outside it in the sense that his action focuses mainly on shedding light on ideas and objects placed out-side the boundaries of social convention: taboos, fears, sacred objects and finally culture are the favourite targets of the comic person’s arrow. This is the reason for the word a(rche)typical as applied to the comic figure in society: atypical in a sense, because unconventional and disrespectful of traditions, critical and never at ease with unblinkered respect of canons; archetypical, because the “village fool”, buffoon, jester or anyone in any kind of society who plays such roles, is an archetype in the Jungian sense, i.e. a personification of an irreducible side of human nature that everybody instinctively knows: a beginner of a tradition, the perfect type, what is most conventional of all and therefore the exact opposite of an atypical. There is an intrinsic necessity, we think, of such figures in societies, just like politicians and priests, who should play an elitist role in order to guide and rule not for their own benefit but for the good of the community. We are not naïve and do know that actual owners of power always tend to keep it indefinitely: the ‘social comic’ as a role of power has nonetheless the distinctive feature of being the only job whose tension is not towards stability. It has got in itself the rewarding permission of contradiction, for the very reason we exposed before that the comic must cast an eye both inside and outside society and his vision may be perforce not consistent, then it is satisfactory for the popularity that gives amongst readers and audience. Finally, the difference between governors, priests and comic figures is the seriousness of the first two (fundamentally monologic) and the merry contradiction of the third (essentially dialogic). MPs, mayors, bishops and pastors should always console, comfort and soothe popular mood in respect of the public convention; the comic has the opposite task of provoking, urging and irritating, accomplishing at the same time a sort of control of the soothing powers of society, keepers of the righteousness. In this view, the comic person assumes a paramount importance in the counterbalancing of power administration, whether in form of acting in public places or in written pieces which could circulate for private reading. At this point comes into question our Irish writer Brian O'Nolan(1911-1966), real name that stood behind the more famous masks of Flann O'Brien, novelist, author of At Swim-Two-Birds (1939), The Hard Life (1961), The Dalkey Archive (1964) and, posthumously, The Third Policeman (1967); and of Myles na Gopaleen, journalist, keeper for more than 25 years of the Cruiskeen Lawn column on The Irish Times (1940-1966), and author of the famous book-parody in Irish An Béal Bocht (1941), later translated in English as The Poor Mouth (1973). Brian O'Nolan, professional senior civil servant of the Republic, has never seen recognized his authorship in literary studies, since all of them concentrated on his alter egos Flann, Myles and some others he used for minor contributions. So far as we are concerned, we think this is the first study which places the real name in the title, this way acknowledging him an unity of intents that no-one before did. And this choice in titling is not a mere mark of distinction for the sake of it, but also a wilful sign of how his opus should now be reconsidered. In effect, the aim of this study is exactly that of demonstrating how the empirical author Brian O'Nolan was the real Deus in machina, the master of puppets who skilfully directed all of his identities in planned directions, so as to completely fulfil the role of the comic figure we explained before. Flann O'Brien and Myles na Gopaleen were personae and not persons, but the impression one gets from the critical studies on them is the exact opposite. Literary consideration, that came only after O'Nolans death, began with Anne Clissmann’s work, Flann O'Brien: A Critical Introduction to His Writings (Clissmann 1975), while the most recent book is Keith Donohue’s The Irish Anatomist: A Study of Flann O'Brien (Donohue 2002); passing through M.Keith Booker’s Flann O'Brien, Bakhtin and Menippean Satire (Booker 1995), Keith Hopper’s Flann O'Brien: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Post-Modernist (Hopper 1995) and Monique Gallagher’s Flann O'Brien, Myles et les autres (Gallagher 1998). There have also been a couple of biographies, which incidentally somehow try to explain critical points his literary production, while many critical studies do the same on the opposite side, trying to found critical points of view on the author’s restless life and habits. At this stage, we attempted to merge into O'Nolan's corpus the journalistic articles he wrote, more than 4,200, for roughly two million words in the 26-year-old running of the column. To justify this, we appealed to several considerations about the figure O'Nolan used as writer: Myles na Gopaleen (later simplified in na Gopaleen), who was the equivalent of the street artist or storyteller, speaking to his imaginary public and trying to involve it in his stories, quarrels and debates of all kinds. First of all, he relied much on language for the reactions he would obtain, playing on, and with, words so as to ironically unmask untrue relationships between words and things. Secondly, he pushed to the limit the convention of addressing to spectators and listeners usually employed in live performing, stretching its role in the written discourse to come to a greater effect of involvement of readers. Lastly, he profited much from what we labelled his “specific weight”, i.e. the potential influence in society given by his recognised authority in determined matters, a position from which he could launch deeper attacks on conventional beliefs, so complying with the duty of a comic we hypothesised before: that of criticising society even in threat of losing the benefits the post guarantees. That seemingly masochistic tendency has its rationale. Every representative has many privileges on the assumption that he, or she, has great responsibilities in administrating. The higher those responsibilities are, the higher is the reward but also the severer is the punishment for the misfits done while in charge. But we all know that not everybody accepts the rules and many try to use their power for their personal benefit and do not want to undergo law’s penalties. The comic, showing in this case more civic sense than others, helped very much in this by the non-accessibility to the use of public force, finds in the role of the scapegoat the right accomplishment of his task, accepting the punishment when his breaking of the conventions is too stark to be forgiven. As Ceccarelli demonstrated, the role of the object of laughter (comic, ridicule) has its very own positive side: there is freedom of expression for the person, and at the same time integration in the society, even though at low levels. Then the banishment of a ‘social’ comic can never get to total extirpation from society, revealing how the scope of the comic lies on an entirely fictional layer, bearing no relation with facts, nor real consequences in terms of physical health. Myles na Gopaleen, mastering these three characteristics we postulated in the highest way, can be considered an author worth noting; and the oeuvre he wrote, the whole collection of Cruiskeen Lawn articles, is rightfully a novel because respects the canons of it especially regarding the authorial figure and his relationship with the readers. In addition, his work can be studied even if we cannot conduct our research on the whole of it, this proceeding being justified exactly because of the resemblances to the real figure of the storyteller: its ‘chapters’ —the daily articles— had a format that even the distracted reader could follow, even one who did not read each and every article before. So we can critically consider also a good part of them, as collected in the seven volumes published so far, with the addition of some others outside the collections, because completeness in this case is not at all a guarantee of a better precision in the assessment; on the contrary: examination of the totality of articles might let us consider him as a person and not a persona. Once cleared these points, we proceeded further in considering tout court the works of Brian O'Nolan as the works of a unique author, rather than complicating the references with many names which are none other than well-wrought sides of the same personality. By putting O'Nolan as the correct object of our research, empirical author of the works of the personae Flann O'Brien and Myles na Gopaleen, there comes out a clearer literary landscape: the comic author Brian O'Nolan, self-conscious of his paramount role in society as both a guide and a scourge, in a word as an a(rche)typical, intentionally chose to differentiate his personalities so as to create different perspectives in different fields of knowledge by using, in addition, different means of communication: novels and journalism. We finally compared the newly assessed author Brian O'Nolan with other great Irish comic writers in English, such as James Joyce (the one everybody named as the master in the field), Samuel Beckett, and Jonathan Swift. This comparison showed once more how O'Nolan is in no way inferior to these authors who, greatly celebrated by critics, have nonetheless failed to achieve that great public recognition O’Nolan received alias Myles, awarded by the daily audience he reached and influenced with his Cruiskeen Lawn column. For this reason, we believe him to be representative of the comic figure’s function as a social regulator and as a builder of solidarity, such as that Raymond Williams spoke of in his work (Williams 1982), with in mind the aim of building a ‘culture in common’. There is no way for a ‘culture in common’ to be acquired if we do not accept the fact that even the most functional society rests on conventions, and in a world more and more ‘connected’ we need someone to help everybody negotiate with different cultures and persons. The comic gives us a worldly perspective which is at the same time comfortable and distressing but in the end not harmful as the one furnished by politicians could be: he lets us peep into parallel worlds without moving too far from our armchair and, as a consequence, is the one who does his best for the improvement of our understanding of things.

La governance dei rifiuti in Europa. Territori, conflitti e partecipazione

I rifiuti come oggetti impegnano tutte le istituzioni umane in una lotta di definizione del posto che occupano e quindi del valore che assumono. In tale dinamica la gestione dei rifiuti diventa un fatto sociale totale che coinvolge tutte le istituzioni umane in una lotta di definizione territorializzata. La storia del movimento ambientalista ci mostra come partendo dal disagio nei confronti dell’oggetto si è passati ad un disagio nei confronti delle idee che lo generano. Modernizzazione ecologica e modernizzazione democratica sembrano andare per un certo periodo d’accordo. Nei casi di conflittualità recente, e nello studio di caso approfondito di un piano provinciale della gestione rifiuti, il carattere anticipatore dell’attivismo ambientalista, sta rendendo sempre più costosi e incerti, investimenti e risultati strategici . Anche i principi delle politiche sono messi in discussione. La sostenibilità è da ricercare in una relativizzazione dei principi di policy e degli strumenti tecnici di valutazione (e.g. LCA) verso una maggiore partecipazione di tutti gli attori. Si propone un modello di governance che parta da un coordinamento amministrativo territoriale sulle reti logistiche, quindi un adeguamento geografico degli ATO, e un loro maggior ruolo nella gestione del processo di coordinamento e pianificazione. Azioni queste che devono a loro volta aprirsi ai flussi (ecologici ed economici) e ai loro attori di riferimento: dalle aziende multiutility agli ambientalisti. Infine è necessario un momento di controllo democratico che può avere una funzione arbitrale nei conflitti tra gli attori o di verifica. La ricerca si muove tra la storia e la filosofia, la ricerca empirica e la riflessione teorica. Sono state utilizzate anche tecniche di indagine attiva, come il focus group e l’intervista.

Biomimetic Materials for Biomedical Applications

Objects with complex shape and functions have always attracted attention and interest. The morphological diversity and complexity of naturally occurring forms and patterns have been a motivation for humans to copy and adopt ideas from Nature to achieve functional, aesthetic and social value. Biomimetics is addressed to the design and development of new synthetic materials using strategies adopted by living organisms to produce biological materials. In particular, biomineralized tissues are often sophisticate composite materials, in which the components and the interfaces between them have been defined and optimized, and that present unusual and optimal chemical-physical, morphological and mechanical properties. Moreover, biominerals are generally produced by easily traceable raw materials, in aqueous media and at room pressure and temperature, that is through cheap process and materials. Thus, it is not surprising that the idea to mimic those strategies proper of Nature has been employed in several areas of applied sciences, such as for the preparation of liquid crystals, ceramic thin films computer switches and many other advanced materials. On this basis, this PhD thesis is focused on the investigation of the interaction of biologically active ions and molecules with calcium phosphates with the aim to develop new materials for the substitution and repair of skeletal tissue, according to the following lines: I. Modified calcium phosphates. A relevant part of this PhD thesis has been addressed to study the interaction of Strontium with calcium phosphates. It was demonstrated that strontium ion can substitute for calcium into hydroxyapatite, causing appreciable structural and morphological modifications. The detailed structural analysis carried out on the nanocrystals at different strontium content provided new insight into its interaction with the structure of hydroxyapatite. At variance with the behaviour of Sr towards HA, it was found that this ion inhibits the synthesis of octacalcium phosphate. However, it can substitute for calcium in this structure up to 15 atom %, in agreement with the increase of the cell parameters observed on increasing ion concentration. A similar behaviour was found for Magnesium ion, whereas Manganese inhibits the synthesis of octacalcium phosphate and it promotes the precipitation of dicalcium phosphate dehydrate. It was also found that Strontium affects the kinetics of the reaction of hydrolysis of α-TCP. It inhibits the conversion from α-TCP to hydroxyapatite. However, the resulting apatitic phase contains significant amounts of Sr2+ suggesting that the addition of Sr2+ to the composition of α-TCP bone cements could be successfully exploited for its local delivery in bone defects. The hydrolysis of α-TCP has been investigated also in the presence of increasing amounts of gelatin: the results indicated that this biopolymer accelerates the hydrolysis reaction and promotes the conversion of α-TCP into OCP, suggesting that its addition in the composition of calcium phosphate cements can be employed to modulate the OCP/HA ratio, and as a consequence the solubility, of the set cement. II. Deposition of modified calcium phosphates on metallic substrates. Coating with a thin film of calcium phosphates is frequently applied on the surface of metallic implants in order to combine the high mechanical strength of the metal with the excellent bioactivity of the calcium phosphates surface layers. During this PhD thesis, thank to the collaboration with prof. I.N. Mihailescu, head of the Laser-Surface-Plasma Interactions Laboratory (National Institute for Lasers, Plasma and Radiation Physics – Laser Department, Bucharest) Pulsed Laser Deposition has been successfully applied to deposit thin films of Sr substituted HA on Titanium substrates. The synthesized coatings displayed a uniform Sr distribution, a granular surface and a good degree of crystallinity which slightly decreased on increasing Sr content. The results of in vitro tests carried out on osteoblast-like and osteoclast cells suggested that the presence of Sr in HA thin films can enhance the positive effect of HA coatings on osteointegration and bone regeneration, and prevent undesirable bone resorption. The possibility to introduce an active molecule in the implant site was explored using Matrix Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation to deposit hydroxyapatite nanocrystals at different content of alendronate, a bisphosphonate widely employed in the treatments of pathological diseases associated to bone loss. The coatings displayed a good degree of crystallinity, and the results of in vitro tests indicated that alendronate promotes proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts even when incorporated into hydroxyapatite. III. Synthesis of drug carriers with a delayed release modulated by a calcium phosphate coating. A core-shell system for modulated drug delivery and release has been developed through optimization of the experimental conditions to cover gelatin microspheres with a uniform layer of calcium phosphate. The kinetics of the release from uncoated and coated microspheres was investigated using aspirin as a model drug. It was shown that the presence of the calcium phosphate shell delays the release of aspirin and allows to modulate its action.

Language and Embodiment: sensory-motor and linguistic-social experience. Evidence on sentence comprehension

In this work I address the study of language comprehension in an “embodied” framework. Firstly I show behavioral evidence supporting the idea that language modulates the motor system in a specific way, both at a proximal level (sensibility to the effectors) and at the distal level (sensibility to the goal of the action in which the single motor acts are inserted). I will present two studies in which the method is basically the same: we manipulated the linguistic stimuli (the kind of sentence: hand action vs. foot action vs. mouth action) and the effector by which participants had to respond (hand vs. foot vs. mouth; dominant hand vs. non-dominant hand). Response times analyses showed a specific modulation depending on the kind of sentence: participants were facilitated in the task execution (sentence sensibility judgment) when the effector they had to use to respond was the same to which the sentences referred. Namely, during language comprehension a pre-activation of the motor system seems to take place. This activation is analogous (even if less intense) to the one detectable when we practically execute the action described by the sentence. Beyond this effector specific modulation, we also found an effect of the goal suggested by the sentence. That is, the hand effector was pre-activated not only by hand-action-related sentences, but also by sentences describing mouth actions, consistently with the fact that to execute an action on an object with the mouth we firstly have to bring it to the mouth with the hand. After reviewing the evidence on simulation specificity directly referring to the body (for instance, the kind of the effector activated by the language), I focus on the specific properties of the object to which the words refer, particularly on the weight. In this case the hypothesis to test was if both lifting movement perception and lifting movement execution are modulated by language comprehension. We used behavioral and kinematics methods, and we manipulated the linguistic stimuli (the kind of sentence: the lifting of heavy objects vs. the lifting of light objects). To study the movement perception we measured the correlations between the weight of the objects lifted by an actor (heavy objects vs. light objects) and the esteems provided by the participants. To study the movement execution we measured kinematics parameters variance (velocity, acceleration, time to the first peak of velocity) during the actual lifting of objects (heavy objects vs. light objects). Both kinds of measures revealed that language had a specific effect on the motor system, both at a perceptive and at a motoric level. Finally, I address the issue of the abstract words. Different studies in the “embodied” framework tried to explain the meaning of abstract words The limit of these works is that they account only for subsets of phenomena, so results are difficult to generalize. We tried to circumvent this problem by contrasting transitive verbs (abstract and concrete) and nouns (abstract and concrete) in different combinations. The behavioral study was conducted both with German and Italian participants, as the two languages are syntactically different. We found that response times were faster for both the compatible pairs (concrete verb + concrete noun; abstract verb + abstract noun) than for the mixed ones. Interestingly, for the mixed combinations analyses showed a modulation due to the specific language (German vs. Italian): when the concrete word precedes the abstract one responses were faster, regardless of the word grammatical class. Results are discussed in the framework of current views on abstract words. They highlight the important role of developmental and social aspects of language use, and confirm theories assigning a crucial role to both sensorimotor and linguistic experience for abstract words.

Trasmission and Reflection (ATR)Far-Infrared Spectroscopy Applied in the Analysis of Cultural Heritage Materials

FIR spectroscopy is an alternative way of collecting spectra of many inorganic pigments and corrosion products found on art objects, which is not normally observed in the MIR region. Most FIR spectra are traditionally collected in transmission mode but as a real novelty it is now also possible to record FIR spectra in ATR (Attenuated Total Reflectance) mode. In FIR transmission we employ polyethylene (PE) for preparation of pellets by embedding the sample in PE. Unfortunately, the preparation requires heating of the PE in order to produces at transparent pellet. This will affect compounds with low melting points, especially those with structurally incorporated water. Another option in FIR transmission is the use of thin films. We test the use of polyethylene thin film (PETF), both commercial and laboratory-made PETF. ATR collection of samples is possible in both the MIR and FIR region on solid, powdery or liquid samples. Changing from the MIR to the FIR region is easy as it simply requires the change of detector and beamsplitter (which can be performed within a few minutes). No preparation of the sample is necessary, which is a huge advantage over the PE transmission method. The most obvious difference, when comparing transmission with ATR, is the distortion of band shape (which appears asymmetrical in the lower wavenumber region) and intensity differences. However, the biggest difference can be the shift of strong absorbing bands moving to lower wavenumbers in ATR mode. The sometimes huge band shift necessitates the collection of standard library spectra in both FIR transmission and ATR modes, provided these two methods of collecting are to be employed for analyses of unknown samples. Standard samples of 150 pigment and corrosion compounds are thus collected in both FIR transmission and ATR mode in order to build up a digital library of spectra for comparison with unknown samples. XRD, XRF and Raman spectroscopy assists us in confirming the purity or impurity of our standard samples. 24 didactic test tables, with known pigment and binder painted on the surface of a limestone tablet, are used for testing the established library and different ways of collecting in ATR and transmission mode. In ATR, micro samples are scratched from the surface and examined in both the MIR and FIR region. Additionally, direct surface contact of the didactic tablets with the ATR crystal are tested together with water enhanced surface contact. In FIR transmission we compare the powder from our test tablet on the laboratory PETF and embedded in PE. We also compare the PE pellets collected using a 4x beam condenser, focusing the IR beam area from 8 mm to 2 mm. A few samples collected from a mural painting in a Nepalese temple, corrosion products collected from archaeological Chinese bronze objects and samples from a mural paintings in an Italian abbey, are examined by ATR or transmission spectroscopy.

Archeologia e storia del Fayyum durante il Nuovo Regno

La presente ricerca prende in esame le dinamiche archeologiche e storiche della regione egiziana del Fayyum durante il Nuovo Regno (1552 – 1069 a.C.). L’elaborato è suddiviso in quattro parti: la prima analizza tutti i contesti archeologici che hanno restituito materiale databile al Bronzo Tardo, la seconda riguarda, invece, la catalogazione di tutti i documenti iscritti provenienti dalla regione e databili al medesimo periodo. La terza parte rappresenta la sintesi dei dati acquisiti nelle due precedenti sezioni e descrive il divenire storico regionale tra XVIII, XIX e XX dinastia, mentre la quarta parte, un’appendice prosopografica, chiude l’intero studio. I contesti archeologici fayyumici che hanno restituito materiale databile al Bronzo Tardo sono solamente sette: Gurob, el-Lahun, Haraga, Hawara, Medinet Madi, Shedet e Tebtynis. La distribuzione della documentazione tende a concentrarsi, dal punto di vista territoriale nell’area d’ingresso della regione, mentre dal punto di vista cronologico sono molto ben attestate la seconda metà dell’epoca thutmoside, l’età amarniana e la prima parte dell’epoca ramesside. Per quanto la documentazione regionale pertinente al Nuovo Regno sia estremamente rarefatta, soprattutto se paragonata a quella contestualizzabile cronologicamente ad altri periodi storici, un’attenta analisi delle testimonianze porta a collocare il Fayyum in una fitta trama di rapporti politici, economici e militari non solo con il resto del Paese ma anche con altre aree geografiche, esterne all’Egitto.

Celti e Reti tra V e I sec. a.C. Oggetti tipo LaTène all'interno della cerchia culturale Fritzens-Sanzeno (arco alpino centro-orientale)

The study of the objects LaTène type found in middle-eastern alpine region (Trentino Alto Adige-Südtirol, Engadina, North Tirol, Voralberg and Villach basin) is aimed to a better comprehension of the complex net of relationships established among the Celts, settled both in the central Europe territories and, since the IV century b.C., in the Po Plain, and the local populations. The ancient authors, who called the inhabitants of this area Raeti, propose for this territory the usual pattern according to which, the population of a region was formed consequently to a migration or was caused by the hunting of pre-existing peoples. The archaeologists, in the last thirty years, recognized a cultural facies typical of the middle-eastern alpine territory during the second Iron Age, and defined that as Fritzens-Sanzeno culture (from the sites of Fritzens, Inn valley, and Sanzeno, Non Valley). The so-called Fritzens-Sanzeno culture spread out without breaks from the material culture of the final Bronze Age and the first Iron Age. This local substratum, characterized by a ceramic repertoire strongly standardized, by peculiar architectural solutions and by a particular typology of rural sacred places (Brandopferplätze), accepted, above all during the second Iron Age, the strong influences coming from the Etruscan world and from the Celtic one (evident in the presence of objects of ornament, of glass artefacts, of elements of the weaponry and of coins). The objects LaTène type become, with different degrees of reliability, important markers of the relationships existing between the Celts and the Raeti, although the ways of interaction (cultural influence, people's movements, commercial exchanges, gifts among élites etc.) is not still clear. The revision of published data and the study of unpublished materials allows to define a rich and articulated picture both to chronological level and to territorial one.

Origin and Nature of Radio-Loud Broad Absorption Line Quasars

The origin of Broad Absorption Line Quasars (BAL QSOs) is still an open issue. Accounting for ~20% of the QSO population, these objects present broad absorption lines in their optical spectra generated from outflows with velocities up to 0.2 c. Nowadays, the hypotheses about their nature are principally related to orientation or evolutionary scenarios. In the first one, absorption lines are produced by outflows originated by the accretion disk, basically present in all QSOs, but seen only when they intercept the line of sight. In the second hypothesis, BAL QSOs would be young or recently re-fueled QSOs, still ejecting their dust cocoon. In this case orientation would not play a role, since the absorption features would be produced by spherically ejected matter. In this work we present the results of a multi-frequency study of a Radio-Loud BAL QSO sample, and a comparison sample of Radio-Loud non-BAL QSOs. We performed observations from radio to Near-Infrared, aiming at collecting useful informations about the orientation, the age, and the morphologies of these objects. Various techniques have been applied, including local and continental radio interferometry, single dish observations and spectroscopy. The comparison with the non-BAL QSO sample allows us to conclude that no particular orientation is present in BAL QSOs. Moreover, various morphologies and ages can be found, analogously to "normal" QSOs. Thus, the solution to this astrophysical problem seems not to reside in a peculiarity of the BAL QSO subclass with respect to non-BAL QSOs, since both the studied models do not completely explain the observed characteristics. Further experiments with future instrumentation will allow us to underline useful differences and test the physical conditions in BAL QSOs.

Technologies for Ambient intelligence: from Smart Objects to Sensor Networks

n the last few years, the vision of our connected and intelligent information society has evolved to embrace novel technological and research trends. The diffusion of ubiquitous mobile connectivity and advanced handheld portable devices, amplified the importance of the Internet as the communication backbone for the fruition of services and data. The diffusion of mobile and pervasive computing devices, featuring advanced sensing technologies and processing capabilities, triggered the adoption of innovative interaction paradigms: touch responsive surfaces, tangible interfaces and gesture or voice recognition are finally entering our homes and workplaces. We are experiencing the proliferation of smart objects and sensor networks, embedded in our daily living and interconnected through the Internet. This ubiquitous network of always available interconnected devices is enabling new applications and services, ranging from enhancements to home and office environments, to remote healthcare assistance and the birth of a smart environment. This work will present some evolutions in the hardware and software development of embedded systems and sensor networks. Different hardware solutions will be introduced, ranging from smart objects for interaction to advanced inertial sensor nodes for motion tracking, focusing on system-level design. They will be accompanied by the study of innovative data processing algorithms developed and optimized to run on-board of the embedded devices. Gesture recognition, orientation estimation and data reconstruction techniques for sensor networks will be introduced and implemented, with the goal to maximize the tradeoff between performance and energy efficiency. Experimental results will provide an evaluation of the accuracy of the presented methods and validate the efficiency of the proposed embedded systems.

Plasticity in body and peripersonal space representations

A successful interaction with objects in the environment requires integrating information concerning object-location with the shape, dimension and position of body parts in space. The former information is coded in a multisensory representation of the space around the body, i.e. peripersonal space (PPS), whereas the latter is enabled by an online, constantly updated, action-orientated multisensory representation of the body (BR) that is critical for action. One of the critical features of these representations is that both PPS and BR are not fixed, but they dynamically change depending on different types of experience. In a series of experiment, I studied plastic properties of PPS and BR in humans. I have developed a series of methods to measure the boundaries of PPS representation (Chapter 4), to study its neural correlates (Chapter 3) and to assess BRs. These tasks have been used to study changes in PPS and BR following tool-use (Chapter 5), multisensory stimulation (Chapter 6), amputation and prosthesis implantation (Chapter 7) or social interaction (Chapter 8). I found that changes in the function (tool-use) and the structure (amputation and prosthesis implantation) of the physical body elongate or shrink both PPS and BR. Social context and social interaction also shape PPS representation. Such high degree of plasticity suggests that our sense of body in space is not given at once, but it is constantly constructed and adapted through experience.

L’instrumentum fittile inscriptum della colonia romana di Mutina e del suo territorio

Il presente lavoro è incentrato sulla raccolta e l’analisi dell’instrumentum fittile inscriptum – in particolare laterizi, dolia, lucerne, ceramica fine da mensa, anfore e tappi d’anfora - rinvenuto a Modena e nel suo territorio. L’attenzione è stata concentrata sul materiale bollato e, per quanto riguarda le anfore, anche sullo studio degli esemplari recanti tituli picti. Si è proceduto ad una raccolta di tutto il materiale edito, a cui si è aggiunto lo studio di un’ingente quantità di reperti provenienti da due recenti scavi suburbani: quello presso il Parco Novi Sad, che si segnala soprattutto per la ricchezza del materiale anforico, e quello di Viale Reiter, ove sono venuti alla luce numerosi scarti di cottura di lucerne a canale recanti le firme di alcuni dei più noti produttori di tali oggetti nel mondo romano. A ciascuna categoria di instrumentum è stato dedicato un capitolo, corredato di tabelle in cui è stato raccolto tutto il materiale considerato; inoltre, per i reperti del Parco Novi Sad e di Viale Reiter, è stato realizzato un catalogo corredato di riproduzioni grafiche e fotografiche. Per quanto concerne le iscrizioni dipinte, un capitolo è stato dedicato a quelle presenti sulle anforette adriatiche da pesce; quanto ai tituli picti su anfore di morfologia betica per il trasporto di salse di pesce è stato effettuato un confronto con esemplari rinvenuti in due scavi inediti a Parma, che presentano significative analogie col materiale modenese. Dall’analisi dell’instrumentum inscriptum di Mutina, pur consapevoli dei limiti insiti in una ricerca incentrata unicamente su tale tipo di materiale, è emersa un’immagine della colonia, tra la tarda età repubblicana ed il I sec. d.C., congruente con quella delineata dalle fonti letterarie, dall’epigrafia lapidaria e dai rinvenimenti archeologici, ossia di una città di notevole importanza e ricchezza.