Thermographic Imaging in Cultural Heritage: A Short Review.

Over the recent period, there has been an increasing interest in the use of pulsed infrared thermography (PT) for the non-destructive evaluation of Cultural Heritage (CH). Unlike other techniques that are commonly employed in the same field, PT enables the depth-resolved detection of different kinds of subsurface features, thus providing helpful information for both scholars and restorers. Due to this reason, several research activities are currently underway to further improve the PT effectiveness. In this manuscript, the specific use of PT for the analysis of three different types of CH, namely documentary materials, panel paintings-marquetery, and mosaics, will be reviewed. In the latter case, i.e., mosaics, passive thermography combined with ground penetrating radar (GPR) and digital microscopy (DM) have also been deepened, considering their suitability in the open field. Such items have been selected because they are characterized by quite distinct physical and structural properties and, therefore, different PT (and, in some cases, verification) approaches have been employed for their investigations.

Receiving Notification of Unexpected and Violent Death: A Qualitative Study of Italian Survivors.

(1) Background: The loss of a significant person can be especially traumatic when death comes without warning and is due to causes such as suicide, murder and accidents. The way an individual is informed about the loss can affect the way of adapting to the loss and the quality of life of survivors. Communication modalities of the notifier may deeply influence the bereavement process. Aim: The present investigation aimed to explore the experience of those who received communication of such a type of death by a professional figure. (2) Method: Snowball sampling was used to recruit the participants to this qualitative study. Social networks, word of mouth and researchers' acquaintances were used, including clients of the NGO De Leo Fund. A total of 52 Italian people (eight males and forty four females, mean age = 49.44; SD = 14.23) who received notification of the death of a loved one by police officers or by health professionals participated in the study. Deaths involved cases of suicide, murder, road accident and mountain accident. (3) Results: The following four key themes were identified: (a) how the communication took place; (b) reactions; (c) support; and (d) coping strategies. Only 22 participants reported having received clear information about the dynamics of what happened; the rest of the sample obtained only poor or ambiguous information. The majority of participants sought or received informal support from family and friends immediately after notification; however, some participants experienced a total lack of support. The opportunity to see the body of the loved one for the last farewell, when denied, caused discomfort in recipients of the news. (4) Conclusions: Even the impactful notification of a traumatic death such as suicide or road accident can be mitigated by the appropriate behaviour and attitude of notifiers, who should always avoid providing generic or ambiguous information about what happened. The notification process should not end with the simple transmission of the communication, but should also look at the following phases by including referral to supportive networks or bereavement services, aimed at assisting individuals in the immediate aftermath but also in the long term.

Communicating Unexpected and Violent Death: The Experiences of Police Officers and Health Care Professionals.

BACKGROUND: The notification of unexpected and violent death represents a challenging experience for police officers and health workers. These professionals are exposed to very intense emotions during this task. AIM: We aimed to investigate the degree of preparation, and the emotions and attitudes of police officers and health professionals while communicating such a death. METHOD: An ad hoc online questionnaire was created and disseminated through Qualtrics software. The participants were recruited through the institutional channels of Police, the College of Physicians, the ONG De Leo Fund and the Department of General Psychology of the University of Padua. In this qualitative study, thematic content analysis was used to examine the responses. RESULTS: A total of 155 individuals participated in the study (44 females, 111 males): 102 individuals were police officers, 23 were doctors and were 30 nurses. Five main themes were identified: (1) how the communication took place; (2) the experiences during the communication; (3) the difficulties encountered; (4) coping strategies, and (5) forms of support. Most communications were performed in person, and most represented an intense emotional experience for the notifiers. There is a generalised lack of specific preparation and training for this practice. The recipient's characteristics (culture of origin, language, age, health conditions, psychological vulnerability) may add to the difficulties of the notification process. Professionals unload their tension by practicing sport, relying on their hobbies or interacting socially. The presence of other colleagues during and after the death notification is usually able to alleviate the burden of the communication. CONCLUSIONS: Communication modalities can have a profound impact on the recipients and intensify the trauma of the loss; however, they also have the possibility of mitigating it. The notification of a violent and unexpected death remains a difficult and challenging task for the notifier, which is potentially stressful and emotionally charged. The topic is of great relevance and more research should be promoted in this area.

In-Plane Thermal Diffusivity Measurements of Polyethersulfone Woven Textiles by Infrared Thermography.

Lock-in thermography was applied to the measurement of the in-plane thermal diffusivity of three polyethersulfone (PES) textiles characterized by different weaving pattern as well as different mass density of interlacing fibers. The experimental results showed that the in-plane thermal diffusivity in each direction decreased with the increase of the fibers' linear mass density, thus leading to an anisotropic behavior of the thermal diffusivity in the specimen where PES fibers with different density were interlaced. A new theoretical model for the study of the heat diffusion in textiles was specifically developed and, thereafter, employed for the analysis of the experimental results. As such, our textile model approach, shedding light on the role of different textile and fibers parameters on the resulting thermal diffusivity, paves the way for the development and design of textiles with tailored thermal behavior.

Effect of heating/cooling dynamics in the hysteresis loop and tunable IR emissivity of VO2 thin films.

We experimentally investigate the semiconductor-to-metal transition (SMT) in vanadium dioxide thin films using an infrared thermographic technique. During the semiconductor to metal phase change process, VO2 optical properties dynamically change and infrared emission undergoes a hysteresis loop due to differences between heating and cooling stages. The shape of the hysteresis loop was accurately monitored under different dynamic heating/cooling rates. In order to quantify and understand the effects of different rates, we used a numerical modelling approach in which a VO2 thin layer was modeled as metamaterial. The main experimental findings are interpreted assuming that both the rate of formation and shape of metallic inclusions are tuned with the heating/cooling rate. The structural transition from monoclinic to tetragonal phases is the main mechanism for controlling the global properties of the phase transition. However, our experimental results reveal that the dynamics of the heating/cooling process can become a useful parameter for further tuning options and lays out a macroscopic optical sensing scheme for the microscopic phase change dynamics of VO2. Our study sheds light on phase-transition dynamics and their effect on the infrared emission spectra of VO2 thin films, therefore enabling the heating/cooling rate to be an additional parameter to control infrared emission characteristics of thermal emitters. The hysteresis loop represents the phase coexistence region, thus being of fundamental importance for several applications, such as the operation of radiative thermal logic elements based on phase transition materials. For such applications, the phase transition region is shifted for heating and cooling processes. We also show that, depending on the way the phase change elements are heated, the temperature operation range will be slightly modified.

Sensitivity to Heavy-Metal Ions of Unfolded Fullerene Quantum Dots.

A novel type of graphene-like quantum dots, synthesized by oxidation and cage-opening of C60 buckminsterfullerene, has been studied as a fluorescent and absorptive probe for heavy-metal ions. The lattice structure of such unfolded fullerene quantum dots (UFQDs) is distinct from that of graphene since it includes both carbon hexagons and pentagons. The basic optical properties, however, are similar to those of regular graphene oxide quantum dots. On the other hand, UFQDs behave quite differently in the presence of heavy-metal ions, in that multiple sensitivity to Cu2+, Pb2+ and As(III) was observed through comparable quenching of the fluorescent emission and different variations of the transmittance spectrum. By dynamic light scattering measurements and transmission electron microscope (TEM) images we confirmed, for the first time in metal sensing, that this response is due to multiple complexation and subsequent aggregation of UFQDs. Nonetheless, the explanation of the distinct behaviour of transmittance in the presence of As(III) and the formation of precipitate with Pb2+ require further studies. These differences, however, also make it possible to discriminate between the three metal ions in view of the implementation of a selective multiple sensor.