Although HRV ( Heart Rate Variability) analyses have been carried out for several decades, several limiting factors still make these analyses useless from a clinical point of view. The present paper aims at overcoming some of these limits by introducing the "Life Potential" (BMP), a new mathematical algorithm which seems to exhibit surprising cognitive and predictive capabilities. BMP is defined as a linear combination of five HRV Non-Linear Variables, in turn derived from the thermodynamic formalism of chaotic dynamic systems. The paper presents experimental measurements of BMP (Average Values and Standard Deviations) derived from 1048 Holter tests, matched in age and gender , including a control group of 356 healthy subjects. The main results are: (a) BMP always decreases when the age increases, and its dependence on age and gender is well established; (b) the shape of the age dependence within "healthy people" is different from that found in the general group: this behavior provides evidence of possible illness, and seems to justify the attribute of "life potential". A simplified "standard" procedure is then supplied to compute BMP values for a given subject, whereas BMP dependence on clinical status is now under investigation to make BMP a useful clinical tool.

This work reports the results of the archaeometrical investigation performed on twenty glass tesserae collected in 2018, during the restoration of the Four Seasons mosaic, which dates between the second and the third century AD, in the archaeological area of the S. Aloe quarter in Vibo Valentia (Calabria, Italy). The coloured glass tesserae were analysed through a micro-analytical approach using an Electron Probe Micro Analyser with Wavelength-Dispersive Spectroscopy (EPMA-WDS) and Laser Ablation with Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). The aims of the study were (1) the determination of the chemical composition and the technology of glass mosaic tesserae production; (2) the individuation of colouring and opacifying agents used for the production of the glass tesserae. The glasses show the typical soda–lime–silica composition. EPMA-WDS results prove the use of Sn–Pb antimonates to create yellow glass, and of cuprite to obtain the red colour. Copper and cobalt were employed in both green and blue glasses to produce different shades of colour (grey, tints of green, dark and light blue).

The Archaeological Museum of Palermo (Sicily) has recently presented the results of the restoration of three wall paintings coming from the House of the Masks of Solunto archaeological site. These precious paintings, dating back to the first century BC, are the most considerable examples of Pompeian style discovered in Sicily until today. The whole unearthed cycle of frescoes is the better preserved and complete example of wall painting dated to Republican Roman period in Sicily. This house was a luxurious private residence built on two floors and articulated around a peristyle. These frescoes cycle embellished the walls of a banquet room (oecus) discovered during an archaeological excavation carried out by Giovanni Patricolo in 1869. The definition House of the Masks was suggested by Salemi Pace in 1872 when he published the discovery of those frescoes with colourful garlands and theatrical masks. In 1874, only five panels were detached from the walls and moved to the National Museum of Palermo for conservative purposes. The recent careful cleaning of the pictorial surfaces and the new archaeological and archaeometric researches revealed unusual details on the pictorial technique and newly painted subjects. The scientific investigation has been preliminary based on a non-destructive approach, performed in situ by portable equipment and subsequently, a further deepening on a micro fragment by the micro-destructive investigation. In particular, X-Ray fluorescence analyses have been carried out to identify the original pictorial palette and Electron Microprobe analyses coupled with Energy-Dispersive Spectrometry allowed to define the chromatic alteration products. Finally, the infrared imaging technique provided new data about the pictorial technique and iconography readability. The new archaeometric evidences light on these rare examples of Roman wall painting of the Sicilian Roman province until today not systematically studied from the point of view of materials and execution techniques, confirming the dating and the connection with contemporary workshops active in other Roman provinces.

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