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23 pages, 1886 KB

Open AccessArticle

The Importance of Literary Sources in the Pictorial Tradition of the Beatus Manuscripts: The Case of Percussion Musical Instruments

by José María Diago Jiménez

Religions 2024, 15(1), 40; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15010040 - 26 Dec 2023

Viewed by 1805

Abstract

This work carries out a detailed analysis of the context and the reasons that led the illustrators of the Beatus manuscripts to select and represent the two percussion instruments that appear in the illustration of Visio III of the Commentary on the Book of Daniel by Jerome transmitted in some manuscripts since the number of percussion instruments drawn and their typology do not correspond to what can be read in Jerome’s text, in the biblical text, and in the existing bibliography on the subject. This fact cannot be explained solely on the basis of the preceding pictorial tradition or the organological reality of the time, as the absence of sources does not allow for this. However, the literary sources of that period may have influenced the illustrators of this scene to draw these two percussion instruments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ideas and Images Serving Christianity: Words Illustrated by Forms and Forms Explained by Words)

10 pages, 359 KB

Open AccessArticle

An Iterative Guidance and Navigation Algorithm for Orbit Rendezvous of Cooperating CubeSats

by Simone Battistini, Giulio De Angelis, Mauro Pontani and Filippo Graziani

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(18), 9250; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12189250 - 15 Sep 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2646

Abstract

Modern space missions often require satellites to perform guidance, navigation, and control tasks autonomously. Despite their limited resources, small satellites are also involved in this trend, as in-orbit rendezvous and docking maneuvers and formation flying have become common requirements in their operational scenarios. A critical aspect of these tasks is that these algorithms are very much intertwined with each other, although they are often designed completely independently of one another. This paper describes the design and simulation of a guidance and relative navigation architecture for the rendezvous of two cooperating CubeSats. The integration of the two algorithms provides robustness to the solution, by simulating realistic levels of noise and uncertainty in the guidance law implementation. The proposed guidance law is derived based on the linearized equations of orbital motion, written in terms of spherical coordinates. The trajectory is iteratively corrected at a fixed time step, so that errors from the navigation and the initial orbital condition can be recovered. The navigation algorithm processes the bearing and range measurements from a camera and an intersatellite link through an unscented filter to provide the information required from the guidance law. A Monte Carlo campaign based on a 3-DOF simulation demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed solution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Small Satellites Missions and Applications)

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11 pages, 1030 KB

Open AccessArticle

Anethole Stability in Aniseed Spirits: Storage Condition Repercussions on Commercial Products

by Veronica Vendramin, Antonio Pesce and Simone Vincenzi

Beverages 2021, 7(4), 73; https://doi.org/10.3390/beverages7040073 - 30 Oct 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 6041

Abstract

Background: trans-anethole is the main component of anise, and its flavor is characteristic of all the aniseed spirits. It is known that trans-anethole oil/ethanol/water solution could result in the undesirable emulsion effect called the “ouzo effect”. Moreover, trans-anethole can undergo chemical decay, producing unhealthy compounds, mainly cis-anethole and para-anisaldehyde. In this work, the trans-anethole stability was challenged simulating commercial products’ long-term storage. Methods: Anethole standard solutions and two Italian aniseed spirits, namely Sambuca and Mistrà, were used to evaluate the trans-anethole response to light (both ultraviolet and visible) and its stability under thermal stress. Anethole decay was monitored by trans-anethole quantification using an HPLC method. Results: Light and high-temperature exposure affect the trans-anethole content of aniseed spirits during the storage, but sucrose revealed a role in the trans-anethole protection. Conclusions: as transport and storage are involved in the anethole decay, the Regulations on the minimum of the anethole that must be a guarantee in the aniseed spirits should be revised. Full article

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10 pages, 2073 KB

Open AccessArticle

Brassica tardarae (Brassicaceae), a New Species from a Noteworthy Biotope of South-Western Sicily (Italy)

by Vincenzo Ilardi, Angelo Troia and Anna Geraci

Plants 2020, 9(8), 947; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9080947 - 27 Jul 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4043

Abstract

A new species of Brassica sect. Brassica is described here from Sicily (Italy), which is known to be one of the centers of the diversification of wild taxa of this group. The new species (named Brassica tardarae) is restricted to the carbonate cliffs in the Tardara Gorges between Menfi and Sambuca di Sicilia (Agrigento province), an area with a peculiar geological history and where another strictly endemic species was recently described. The morphological relationships between the new species and other similar taxa are discussed, and an analytical key to the Sicilian taxa belonging to the genus Brassica sect. Brassica is also provided. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Taxonomy)

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