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We present the results of observations performed with the Sardinia Radio Telescope (SRT) at 1.3–1.8 GHz of the galaxy cluster CL 0217 + 70 and a |$3^\circ \times 3^\circ$| region around it. We combine the SRT data with archival Very Large Array (VLA) data to obtain images having the VLA angular resolution, but sensitive up to largest scales. The SRT + VLA combination allows us to derive a cluster radio halo flux density higher by |$\sim 14{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$| compared to the VLA-only data, although consistent within |$1\sigma$|⁠. We derive a spectral index map between 140 MHz and 1.4 GHz, finding an extended region with spectral index |$\alpha \sim 0.6$| on the external part of the south-eastern candidate relic, questioning the real nature of this relic. Moreover, we detect an extended emission outside the cluster in the south-eastern area, having an angular extension of |$\sim 50$| arcmin on the longer side, which would correspond to |$\sim 10$| Mpc at the cluster distance; the emissivity that this region would have if located at the cluster distance is in line with the one estimated in candidate filaments of the cosmic web; however, the peculiar orientation of this region, not pointed towards the cluster, and the low Galactic latitude of this cluster suggest that its origin can be due to a foreground emission originating in our Galaxy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of South-Central Minzu University (Natural Science Edition) is the property of Journal of South-Central Minzu University (Natural Science Edition) Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The mega-parsec scale radio relics at the galaxy cluster periphery are intriguing structures. While textbook examples of relics posit arc-like elongated structures at the clusters' peripheries, several relics display more complex structures deviating from the conventional type. Abell 115 is a galaxy cluster hosting an atypical radio relic at its northern periphery. Despite the multi-wavelength study of the cluster over the last decades, the origin of the radio relic is still unclear. In this paper, we present a multi-frequency radio study of the cluster to infer the possible mechanism behind the formation of the radio relic. We used new 400 MHz observations with the uGMRT, archival VLA 1.5 GHz observations, and archival LOFAR 144 MHz observations. Our analysis supports the previous theory on the relic's origin from the passage of a shock front due to an off-axis merger, where the old population of particles from the radio galaxies at the relic location has been re-energized to illuminate the 2 Mpc radio relic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has become a powerful tool for rapidly detecting and analyzing textile cultural relics due to its ability to provide chemical information with single‐molecule sensitivity. However, preserving a high level of detection sensitivity while avoiding sample damage remains a persistent challenge. In this work, we developed a SERS approach with both microextraction and detection functions. The alcohol–water droplet with iodide‐modified Au nanoparticles (AuIMNPs) is directly dropped on the textile, where dyes strongly bound on textiles can be extracted by ethanol (EtOH). As a result, the sample can be well preserved from being damaged. In particular, the volatility of EtOH allows the molecules to be captured in the hot spots through the capillary effect during droplet evaporation, resulting in a dramatic increase in Raman signal intensity. This highly sensitive strategy can be used to measure dyes in plant extracts and mock‐up textiles. Furthermore, the capability of SERS to provide fingerprint information allows us to distinguish different dyes in overdyeing textiles. Eventually, this approach is successfully applied to identify dyes of authentic ancient Chinese textiles. This rapid, universal, and negligibly invasive approach provides a powerful way to study textile cultural relics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between March 2018 and May 2019, the archaeological team of the Xi'an Institute of Cultural Relics Protection and Archaeology excavated a Western Han tomb complex near Bailuyuan. This paper focuses on a bronze xuan with human-shaped feet discovered at tomb M21 of the complex, offering a foundation for further comparative analysis. According to the archaeological report, the Bailuyuan tomb complex, to which tomb M21 belongs, is of high status, indicating that the occupant of the main tomb held a rank no lower than a feudal lord, while the occupants of the other tombs were also likely members of the elite class. This tomb complex may belong to the accompanying tombs of the Ba Mausoleum, as it is located less than four kilometers from the mausoleum and the main tomb M1 within the complex yielded jade burial suit fragments and bronze chime bells. The central argument of this paper posits that the unusual human-shaped decoration on this xuan provides a new perspective on the significance of human-like imagery in bronzes from this and earlier periods. Such human-shaped decorations serve not only ornamental purposes but also carry symbolic meanings on cultural and religious levels, elevating them beyond mere functionality. Findings of this paper reflect that the unusual imagery in this xuan casts new light on the meaning of human-like figures in contemporaneous and even earlier bronzes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we have studied the vector scotogenic model in the context of the dark matter problem. Due to unitarity considerations, we have focused on the scenario with fermion dark matter, finding out that co-annihilations play a fundamental role in achieving dark matter relic abundance. Moreover, the coannihilation effects allow to separate the parameter space into two regions with different phenomenology. In addition, we have studied the detection prospects of these regions separately, focusing on signatures that can appear in lepton flavor violating decays, indirect and direct searches, and the production of these new particles at collider facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous evaluation models for cultural relic buildings in relation to fire risk fail to consider the necessity for effective firefighting and rescue capabilities in complex forest environments. This paper incorporates variables, including those pertaining to forest fires and climatic conditions, into the assessment index system. The hierarchical analysis method and the local punishment-incentive variable weighting method are employed to introduce a compensation coefficient score. A model for the evaluation of firefighting and rescue capability in a continuous area of cultural relic buildings in conjunction with the surrounding forest environment has been developed. The firefighting and rescue capability of the Yuelu Mountain scenic spot was evaluated at 73.91 (level III) using the fixed weight method and 69.52 (level IV) using the variable weight method. The variable weight method proved to be a more accurate approach for evaluating the status and importance of dynamic targets, thus enabling a more precise evaluation of the comprehensive evaluation area. The evaluation results inform the formulation of targeted improvement measures for enhancing the firefighting and rescue capabilities of cultural relic buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The woodblock prints of the "Naxi Pictographs and Geba Script Comparative Lexicon" collected by the Lijiang Museum are the only existing woodblock prints of the Naxi script, and are classified as national third-class cultural relics. These prints bear witness to a Naxi script unification movement initiated by Dongba ritualists in the Lijiang Basin during the first half of the 20th century, holding significant historical importance in the development of Naxi script. This article describes the features and contents of these woodblocks; through an investigation of the historical events related to the script unification, it corrects the dating of the woodblocks and analyzes the cultural background and deeper reasons for the interruption of this Naxi script unification movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Demonstrate the feasibility of optical pulsed thermography for crack detection in Tang murals. • Propose a novel attention U-Net that combines an attention and a U-Net for enhanced crack feature extraction. • Evaluate attention U-Net's effectiveness and generalizability compared to wavelet edge detection and traditional U-Net. Ancient mural degradation and destruction may result from various natural causes, resulting in cracks, peeling, or bulging. As such, regular testing and evaluation of ancient murals are indispensable for protecting and preserving cultural relics. In many scenarios, the acquisition of detection data can be expedited through the use of mechanical arms and imaging equipment. However, the subsequent data analysis relies on experienced human inspectors, resulting in a laborious and time-consuming process. This study focuses on automated analysis of cracks in ancient murals using optical pulsed thermography. A technique that combines an attention mechanism and the U-Net neural network is proposed for refined crack feature extraction. Concerning the identification of ancient mural cracks based on limited training data, U-Net with the attention mechanism demonstrates superior performance over both the conventional U-Net and a traditional image segmentation algorithm. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wanderings of an Elizabethan stonebow are traced from its discovery at Bosworth field in the eighteenth century and originally thought to be mediaeval relic of the famous battle. It passed through the museum of Richard Greene at Lichfield, and the Liverpool Museum of William Bullock and now lies at Browsholme Hall, Lancs. Acquired by Abraham Kirkmann, a lawyer, he bequeathed it to Richard Goulbourne Parker of Browsholme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper takes all the administrative units through which the Yellow River flows as the research unit and 2078 national key cultural relic protection units (hereinafter referred to as "cultural relic protection units") as the research object, and uses the methods of geographic concentration, imbalance index and hotspot analysis to analyze the spatial differences of cultural relic protection units at the provincial and city scales. In addition, this paper also analyzes the spatial relationship of those cultural relic protection units with natural and human geography environment. The results showed that: (1) From the perspective of spatial aggregation characteristics, the distribution of cultural relic protection units in the Yellow River Basin shows a concentrated pattern at both provincial and city scales, and the concentration at city scale is higher than that at provincial scale. (2) In terms of hotspot distribution, the spatial characteristics of cultural relic protection units at the provincial scale show "south high and north low", and at the city scale show "center and edge". (3) In terms of the relationship with the natural environment, the distribution of cultural relic protection units has significant features of low altitude, high accumulated temperature (AAT10) and close to rivers. In addition, cultural relic protection units are mainly distributed in areas with slope less than 2° and annual precipitation in the range of 400- 800mm. The land surface vegetation (NDVI) did not have a significant impact on the spatial distribution of cultural relic protection units. (4) In terms of the relationship with the human environment, although GDP and highway mileage have certain effects on the distribution of cultural relic protection units, there is no linear regression relationship between them. Cultural relic protection units show a strong correlation with population size and cultural investment expenditure. In addition, cultural relic protection units show certain spatial coupling with A-level scenic spots and intangible heritage projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The metamorphic history of the Getic Crystalline in the Central South Carpathians (Sebeș-Cibin Massif) is related to two medium-grade regional metamorphism events, the first syn-collisional, M1 (Cadomian), and the second synchronous with the postcollisional uplift, M2 (Hercynian) The structure of the metamorphic pile is tabular and subhorizontal, consistent with the S2 flattening foliation, resulting from the vertical compressive stress associated with the post-collisional uplift. In the Eastern South Carpathians (Făgăraș Massif) the metamorphic pile is partially affected by Alpine retromorphism (M3) and partially restructured according to the associated axial plane foliation (S3). In this regional framework, relict structures and lithologies (pre-M1) locally occur, suggesting the existence of a pre-collisional metamorphic episode M0 (Precambrian). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital technology has become crucial for the protection of cultural relics, enabling their acquisition, preservation, exhibition, and dissemination in a non-contact manner.At present, the three-dimensional(3D) visualization technology of cultural relics focuses on the research of non-true 3D visualization, which cannot provide continuous viewing angle and takes a long time to render. This paper focuses on the acquisition and reproduction of digital information related to cultural relics, and proposes to achieve the true 3D display of cultural relics from a continuous perspective based on integrated imaging(InIm). Building up on traditional InIm, an Element image array (EIA) generation algorithm based on local depth template matching is designed by using spatial geometry relation. Experimental results show that the algorithm not only enables naked-eye 3D visualization of cultural relics, but also the generation speed is more than twice that of the compared 3D display data source generation algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In his famous 1543 Treatise on Relics, Jean Calvin complained that if one were to gather all the purported pieces of the True Cross from the churches and cathedrals of Europe, it would ‘form a whole ship's cargo’. This comment not only highlights the questionable authenticity of relics, but also alludes to their inherent mobility. Indeed, as portable religious objects, relics played an essential role in the drive to export Christianity across the globe. Bound as it was to contemporary mercantile and colonial politics, Christian proselytization was imbricated with the circulation of material goods. Objects crafted in far off regions, such as Gujarat and Nagasaki, gained new life in European liturgical contexts. This essay examines imported caskets crafted from mother‐of‐pearl, tortoiseshell, and lacquer that were transformed into reliquaries on the Iberian Peninsula arguing that such reliquaries harnessed the established potency of the itinerant relic, while simultaneously inventing a new visual idiom that spoke to the precarity of the Catholic faith as it traversed great transoceanic distances. In so doing, it demonstrates the active role played by technologies of transit in the shaping of material and devotional culture in the early modern era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore the freeze-in production of dark matter in the singlet–doublet model where the dark matter is the lightest admixture of the neutral components of S U (2) L vector doublet and singlet fermion. Here, the scalar sector is extended by a MeV scalar mediating the self-interaction of the fermion dark matter, which solves the small-scale anomaly of the Universe. The scalar particle is stable and contributes to the relic density of the dark matter. Self-interacting dark matter scenario demands large interaction between the dark particles, which makes this sector strongly coupled. In this case, thermal equilibrium occurs in the dark sector after the freeze-in, and the relic abundance of the fermion dark matter gets suppressed in the radiation-dominated early Universe. However, the non-standard cosmological evolution in the early Universe helped the fermion dark matter to achieve almost whole contribution towards the observed relic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paper-based cultural relics inevitably face a variety of diseases such as acidification, yellowing, and strength loss during long-term preservation, where weakly alkaline inorganic materials play an important role in their deacidification treatments. In this work, by simply adjusting the supersaturation of crystal growing solution without the use of any organic additives, one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) weakly alkaline materials—magnesium carbonate hydrates (MCHs)—were controllably synthesized. It is worth noting that the coatings of 1D/2D MCHs not only cause little change in chromatic aberration and water wettability, but also ensure their safety for alkali-sensitive pigments. Meanwhile, the deacidification, anti-aging, strength-enhancing, and flame-retardant effects of these materials have been tested on ancient book papers, all of which achieved good protective effects. In contrast, 1D MCH materials brought about significant enhancement in both mechanical strengths and flame-retardant effects, and the related effects were investigated. Based on this facile micromorphology control strategy, more low-dimensional nanomaterials are expected to be synthesized by design for the protection of paper-based relics, which will expand our knowledge on functional deacidification and protection mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the concept of the church as the house of God, where Metropolitan Athanasius of Limassol discusses the interpretation of the Divine Liturgy text. The article clarifies that God dwells in the church through His uncreated grace, and that the church is consecrated through special rituals that include the consecration of the holy altar. It also reviews the history of Christian worship, starting from ancient times up to the establishment of churches over the graves of martyrs after the end of persecutions. The article also points to the importance of sacred relics in churches and how they are used in rituals, in addition to the role of the indult as an alternative for celebrating the liturgy in the absence of a consecrated church. [Extracted from the article]

This article presents a new, RELIC (Real Love In Context) theory of love. The theory contains three subtheories. Two of them constitute an endosystem, or inner system of love. The triangular theory, an interpersonal theory, describes love in term of the intimacy, passion, and commitment one feels toward another person. The theory of love as a story, an intrapersonal theory, describes stories that characterize one's ideal depiction of what love should and potentially could be. The third, extrapersonal subtheory constitutes an ecosystem, or outer system of love. Drawing on the work of Urie Bronfenbrenner, it describes five hierarchically nested environmental systems (microsystem, mesosystem, exosytem, macrosystem, chronosystem) in which love is embedded and that continually affect the love one feels for another. The forces of the ecosystem act upon the endosystem in ways that can bring couples (or larger groups) together or drive them apart. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which editor discusses various articles within the issue on topics including Apostles cabinet in Jane Eyre; precious archive of relics and popular exhibition of Charlotte's clothing.

This paper contributes to the existing scholarship on letters as material culture and relic culture in the nineteenth century and in Charlotte Brontë's Villette (1853). In the novel, Lucy collects and preserves letters from absent loved ones to maintain a sense of connection to others in a life that she seems destined to live alone. In this article, I argue that her letters serve as relics of her past relationships and dead love as she desperately clings to tangible objects that bind her to other people. While scholars have concentrated on letters in Villette as material symbols of the corporeal body and romantic love, I argue that Lucy's letters form a collection that acts as a substitute for personal relationships. To borrow a term from Deborah Lutz (2017), I assert that Lucy's collection of letters function as a 'personal museum' of relics of dead love, which she carefully collects to preserve past relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines three debates over the nature of human specimens: anatomical dissection in Victorian Britain the question of ownership over Henrietta Lacks's cells and recent debates over how to treat remnants of abortion. These cases reveal that specimens are deeply connected to human persons and should be considered with a particular kind of care. The author uses Andrew Solomon's concept of horizontal kinship to support reframing medical waste as "relics"—objects of veneration interpreted as revealing truth about the human experience. Envisioning medical waste as relics allows us to wonder at the ability of the body to provide transformative knowledge which leads to practices of appreciation to honor the sacrifices of the body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of China Pulp & Paper is the property of China Pulp & Paper Magazines Publisher and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of China Pulp & Paper is the property of China Pulp & Paper Magazines Publisher and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of China Pulp & Paper is the property of China Pulp & Paper Magazines Publisher and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Beijing University of Technology is the property of Journal of Beijing University of Technology, Editorial Department and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Transition economies, on the one hand, grapple with a communist legacy; on the other hand, they seek the optimal institutionalization for knowledge generation, dissemination, and commercialization to compete globally. However, the incumbent knowledge of certain aspects of their innovation systems remains very limited. In particular, intra-organizational cultural relics of the past and their inter-organizational and, consequently, systemic implications require research. This study examines how interaction barriers among universities, industry, and government, stemming from intra-organizational cultures, impact structural change in the innovation system of Azerbaijan. Utilizing the TH model, interviews with 59 participants revealed that a "Statist" TH model in Azerbaijan hinders organic cultural development within organizations, leading to interaction issues among TH actors. Moreover, problems in inter-organizational communication pave the way for a systemic failure that necessitates government intervention, strengthening the "Statist" TH model. The findings increase the context sensitivity of the TH framework by exploring an understudied context and provide valuable insights relevant to other transition economies facing similar institutional legacies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional digital modeling at actual scales is essential for digitally preserving cultural relics. While 3D reconstruction using a monocular camera offers a cost-effective solution, the lack of scale information in the resulting models limits their suitability for geometric measurements. Objects with monotonous textures, such as batteries, pose additional challenges due to insufficient feature points, increasing positional uncertainty. This article proposes a method incorporating point and line features to address the scale ambiguity in multi-view 3D reconstruction using monocular cameras. By pre-measuring the lengths of multiple sets of real line segments, building a lookup table, and associating the line features in different images, the table was input into the improved reconstruction algorithm to further optimize the scale information. Experimental results on real datasets showed that the proposed method outperformed the COLMAP method by 70.82% in reconstruction accuracy, with a scale recovery reaching millimeter-level accuracy. This method is highly generalizable, cost-effective, and supports lightweight computation, making it suitable for real-time operation on a CPU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paper‐based cultural relics are of great value and have been facing irreversible damage caused by multiple factors, among which acid hydrolysis and ultraviolet photodegradation are the main processes leading to paper deterioration. Paper protection highly relies on a limited range of materials with single functions, and the design of new materials that ensure long‐term safety and efficiency by simultaneously addressing the issues of acidification and UV degradation in paper is highly desired. In this study, the introduction of carbon dots (CDs)‐enhanced layered double hydroxides (LDH) 0D/2D nanohybrids (CDs/Mg‐Al LDH) is proposed as novel dual‐functional materials for paper protection against UV degradation and acidification. Through a CDs‐assisted in situ growth strategy, CDs/Mg‐Al LDH with ultrathin thickness (≈9.1 nm) and CDs‐intercalated structure are achieved. The CDs/Mg‐Al LDH nanohybrids demonstrate high dispersibility, strong UV absorption, and remarkable photostability, resulting in protected‐paper with decelerated acidification, oxidation, and yellowing degradation processes under both accelerated UV‐aging and dry‐heat conditions. Additionally, the protected‐paper can emit uniform blue light under 365 nm UV excitation allows for easy identification of the distributed CDs/Mg‐Al LDH within the paper, marking a unique and practical feature. This research paces a new direction for the protection of paper‐based relics with emerging carbon dots‐based 0D/2D nanomaterials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying pigments from colored relics is essential for their color restoration and for facsimile creation. A workflow for identifying pigment information is constructed based on visible spectral imaging technology, aligned with the drawing process of colored relics. This workflow includes three steps: boundary extraction, material identification and prediction of mixture proportions. The methods for segmenting visible spectral images, identifying chemical compositions, and predicting mixture proportions of pigments are extensively reviewed. Future research trends of these methods are also analyzed. The influence of the pigment particle size is currently underexplored but can be accomplished by multidisciplinary research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Daitokuji Old Collection's 500 Luohans Paintings 五百羅漢圖, painted by Southern Song Mingzhou 明州 artists Lin Tinggui 林庭珪 and Zhou Jichang 周季常, have become a focal point in recent studies on the Chinese Buddhist material culture of the Song Dynasty. Among the 500 Luohans series, five paintings are related to the ancient Indian legend of Emperor Aśoka's creation of 84,000 stupas. These paintings include "Building a Stupa" (No.78), "King Aśoka Stupa Emitting Light" (No.79), "Precious Stupa on the Rock" (No.80), and "Miracle of Light-Emitting Relics" (No.81), which are currently housed in the Daitokuji 大德寺 in Kyoto, Japan, and "Luohans Watching the Relics' Light" (B5), which is housed in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the US. However, the way in which the "King Aśoka Stupa" 阿育王塔 and "Relics' Light" 舍利光 series were integrated into the overall visual narrative of the 500 Luohans in the Daitokuji and Boston collections, as well as the profound meanings and social-cultural contexts embedded in these images, have been rarely studied in depth. The introduction of the miraculous relics theme into the Daitokuji Old Collection's 500 Luohans Paintings originates from an earlier version by the monk Fa Neng. However, Fa Neng's version recorded by the Northern Song literati Qin Guan 秦觀 does not mention the King Aśoka Stupa. The artists had considerable freedom in depicting miraculous relic phenomena and King Aśoka Stupa. The specific details of King Aśoka Stupa's background in Tiantai Mountain 天台山, such as rock bridges, waterfalls, and rock caves, as well as the craftsmanship of King Aśoka Stupa, reflect particular contemporary ideas. The vivid depictions of the "King Aśoka Stupa" and "Relics' Light" in the Daitokuji Present Collection and the Boston Collection of the 500 Luohans may indicate a close connection between the creation of these images and the fervent Relics Worship at King Aśoka Temple 阿育王寺 in Mingzhou during Southern Song. This paper synthesizes these images, ancient Chinese and Japanese manuscripts, and fieldwork insights to interpret the sources and significance of these images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article revisits one of the texts associated with the fourteenth-century spread of Franciscan mission across Eurasia, the account of the travels of Odoric of Pordenone (d.1331). Odoric's text is often mined for what it might reveal about Latin Christian perceptions of East Asia. This article argues that the local rather than the global aspects of the text should be given prominence in our assessment of his work, and greater attention paid to the process of composition and likely audience. Odoric worked with a co-author and addressed a specifically Franciscan audience in the early fourteenth-century Veneto. The central priority of the text was to convey the 'reality' of a distant martyrdom, in Tana, India, in the absence of tangible relics to demonstrate the truth of that martyrdom. The account highlights some of the intellectual tensions produced as a narrative of universal mission – and martyrdom – became increasingly central to Franciscan identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Made in the midst of the Sasanid period, Sasanid silver vessels are one of the most important relics of the period that along with abundant archaeological data, convey valuable insights into the cultural past of Sasanid society, the people and their beliefs. The artworks carved on these vessels, besides their aesthetic features, cover a wide range of subjects in the political, social, religious, and cultural spheres. Although the Sasanid silver vessels have been the subject of many pieces of research, what is less noticed, is the iconographical analysis of dancers and their garments. The present study, which is based on the theory of Erwin Panofsky, examine the attires of dancers carved on four Sasanid silver vessels from the perspective of religious tendencies of Sasanid society. The results show that due to the religious nature of the Sasanid rituals, the dancers and the costumes they wore were closely connected to the religious beliefs of the Zoroastrians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the limitations of a priori knowledge and convolution operation, the existing image restoration techniques cannot be directly applied to the cultural relics mural restoration, in order to more accurately restore the original appearance of the cultural relics mural images, an image restoration based on the denoising diffusion probability model (Denoising Diffusion Probability Model (DDPM)) and the Transformer method. The process involves two steps: in the first step, the damaged mural image is firstly utilized as the condition to generate the noise image, using the time, condition and noise image patch as the inputs to the noise prediction network, capturing the global dependencies in the input sequence through the multi-attention mechanism of the input sequence and feed-forward neural network processing, and designing a long skip connection between the shallow and deep layers in the Transformer blocks between the shallow and deep layers using long skip connections to fuse the feature information of global and local outputs to maintain the overall consistency of the restoration results; In the second step, taking the noisy image as a condition to direct the diffusion model to back sample to generate the restored image. Experiment results show that the PSNR and SSIM of the proposed method are improved by 2% to 9% and 1% to 3.3%, respectively, which are compared to the comparison methods. This study proposed synthesizes the advantages of the diffusion model and deep learning model to make the mural restoration results more accurate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a father's decision to instill a strong work ethic in his sons by moving the family from the suburbs to a pecan farm in Georgia. Topics include the challenges and rewards of farm life, the discovery of Native American relics on the farm, and the eventual growth of the author's lifelong interest in archaeology and relic collecting.

In recent years, with the development of 3D digitization of cultural relics, most cultural sites contain a large number of fine 3D data of cultural relics, especially complex geometric objects such as painted cultural relics. At present, how to automatically extract surface damage information from the fine 3D color model of painted cultural relics and avoid the loss of accuracy caused by reducing the dimension using conventional methods is an urgentproblem. In view of the above issues, this paper proposes an automatic and high-precision extraction method for cultural relics surface shedding diseases based on 3D fine data. First, this paper designs a 2D and 3D integrated data conversion model based on OpenSceneGraph, a 3D engine, which performs mutual conversion between 3D color model textures and 2D images. Second, this paper proposes a simple linear iterative clustering segmentation algorithm with an adaptive k value, which solves the problem of setting the superpixel k value and improves the accuracy of image segmentation. Finally, through the 2D and 3D integrated models, the disease is statistically analyzed and labeled on the 3D model. Experiments show that for painted plastic objects with complex surfaces, the disease extraction method based on the 3D fine model proposed in this paper has improved geometric accuracy compared with the current popular orthophoto extraction method, and the disease investigation is more comprehensive. Compared with the current 3D manual extraction method in commercial software, this method greatly improves the efficiency of disease extraction while ensuring extraction accuracy. The research method of this paper activates many existing 3D fine data of cultural protection units and converts conventional 2D data mining and analysis into 3D, which is more in line with the scientific utilization of data in terms of accuracy and efficiency and has certain scientific research value, leading value and practical significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Contested heritage' and 'cancel culture' have specific meanings and points of reference in our culture today, but these are by no means new phenomena in the life of cathedrals. At the time of the Reformation and the Civil War, all evidence of traditional Catholic culture was considered fair game for iconoclasts, who systematically destroyed saints' shrines and tombs with their relics. In recent years, in association with the revival of the practice of pilgrimage and in unstated rejection of Reformation tradition, shrines of saints in many cathedrals have been restored, some including relics. It is unsurprising that saints and their shrines can be controversial, since saints themselves are 'signs of contradiction', those whose lives lived according to the standards of the kingdom of heaven challenge the values of earthly kingdoms and cultures. Norwich Cathedral is unusual among the ancient cathedrals of England in never having had a great saint enshrined within it. This study will consider the cases of two figures locally revered as martyrs, William of Norwich and Edith Cavell, whose lives and witness have been causes of international controversy and yet who still merit commemoration by Christians today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1606 Henry Garnet, provincial of the English Jesuits and purported co-conspirator in the Gunpowder Plot against James I, was executed at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Following his death, accounts of miracles occurring at his execution began to spread throughout England, including an account of a relic bearing his miraculous image. While Catholic writers promoted these accounts as evidence of Garnet's innocence, Protestant contemporaries argued that Garnet was an illegitimate martyr and that his commemoration was evidence of Catholic support for regicide. This article demonstrates how London Protestant writers and publishers utilized anti-hagiographical arguments to intervene in attempts to promote Garnet's sainthood, counter claims about the veracity of his relic, and shape his legacy in the decades following his execution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bronze artifacts often suffer from "bronze disease" due to the presence of chloride ions, which result from copper chlorides forming on their surfaces during storage. Therefore, reinforced protection is essential for these unearthed cultural artifacts, and new materials for the reinforced protection of fragile bronzes are urgently needed. In this study, cuprammonium solvent and nanocellulose (CNC) were utilized as reinforcement materials to protect fragile bronzes. The chemical and aesthetic properties before and after reinforcement were analyzed using ultra-depth field microscopes, SEM-EDX, XRD, and Raman spectroscopy. The results indicated that at a nano-cuprammonium reinforcer concentration of 2.5 mol/L, the optimal reinforcement effect on simulated bronze powdery rust samples was achieved.Mechanical strength increased by an average of 77.59%. The mass growth rate reached 84.8%, while the color difference Δ E remained below 4.0. Additionally, aging resistance significantly improved, aligning with cultural artifact protection standards.Meanwhile, a compact and stable protective membrane formed on the surface of the bronzes, isolating the bronze matrix from direct contact with the external environment, which delayed bronze corrosion and contributed to long-term stable preservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The museum system is exposed to a high risk of seismic hazards. However, it is difficult to carry out seismic hazard prevention to protect cultural relics in collections due to the lack of real data and diverse types of seismic hazards. To address this problem, we developed a deep-learning-based multi-source feature-fusion method to assess the data on seismic damage caused by collected cultural relics. Firstly, a multi-source data-processing strategy was developed according to the needs of seismic impact analysis of the cultural relics in the collection, and a seismic event-ontology model of cultural relics was constructed. Additionally, a seismic damage data-classification acquisition method and empirical calculation model were designed. Secondly, we proposed a deep learning-based multi-source feature-fusion matching method for cultural relics. By constructing a damage state assessment model of cultural relics using superpixel map convolutional fusion and an automatic data-matching model, the quality and processing efficiency of seismic damage data of the cultural relics in the collection were improved. Finally, we formed a dataset oriented to the seismic damage risk analysis of the cultural relics in the collection. The experimental results show that the accuracy of this method reaches 93.6%, and the accuracy of cultural relics label matching is as high as 82.6% compared with many kinds of earthquake damage state assessment models. This method can provide more accurate and efficient data support, along with a scientific basis for subsequent research on the impact analysis of seismic damage to cultural relics in collections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The comparison with the Far East led to a Conservative discussion in Nara in 1994 which produced the document on Authenticity, considered to be composed of substance, form, technique, function and tradition, that is, both material and immaterial values. On this topic, I organized, in Reggio Calabria in 2003, the conference The philosophy of conservation at different latitudes, which saw a comparison between countries with different cultural characteristics and religious traditions. We discussed the pluralistic philosophy of conservative restoration with the major Italian representatives of restoration and with the foreign guests representing ICOMOS (Europe, Japan, the Middle East, Israel, Africa), on the different approaches to the problem of preserving the historical heritage of countries significant in the world. Andrzej Tomaszewskj linked this diversity to different religions, exemplifying extreme attitudes with the cult of relics, Western, and the belief in reincarnation, Eastern. The area of Saharan Africa has instead created the art of worship, treating heritage according to symbolic categories, independent of material form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, also known as the ‘Síndone’ or ‘Holy Shroud’, faces significant doubt based on scientific evidence. Carbon‐14 testing conducted decades ago placed its origin in the Middle Ages, raising questions about its connection to Jesus Christ. This article highlights an anatomical anomaly: the hand placement covering the genitals appears inconsistent with human proportions, suggesting a possible artistic intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the historical and spiritual significance of early Roman Christian martyrs, emphasizing their role in the development of Christian relic veneration and the impact of their physical remains on subsequent generations. Topics discussed include the discovery and veneration of early Christian catacombs, the historical journey of St. Gordianus' relics, and the enduring relevance of martyrdom in contemporary discussions of religious intolerance.

This essay examines two shoe soles cut from a Torah scroll which British historian and collector of Judaica Cecil Roth collected in Greece in 1946. As Holocaust relics, the Torah scroll shoe soles are, in turn, sacred and sacrilegious, texts and objects, Greek Jewish and non-Jewish Greek artifacts. Roth's recovery of the shoe soles is compromised by occurring under the auspices of the British Army during the Greek Civil War and in the controversial climate of collecting Judaica displaced by the Holocaust. I discuss the ongoing story of the shoe soles: their separation, their use, and their best location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the author's journey to photograph forgotten vintage cars as a way to combine his passion for cars and photography while coping with Parkinson's disease. Topics include the personal connection between cars and memories of the 1950s and '60s, the challenges faced during a photography expedition across the Canadian prairies, and the inspiration behind the "Vanishing Wheels" project to preserve automotive relics and raise awareness for Parkinson's.

We present the serendipitous discovery of (1) a large double radio relic associated with the galaxy cluster PSZ2 G277.93 + 12.34 and (2) a new odd radio circle, ORC J1027–4422, both found in the same deep MeerKAT 1.3 GHz wide-band radio continuum image. The angular separation of the two arc-shaped cluster relics is ∼16 arcmin or ∼2.6 Mpc for a cluster redshift of z ≈ 0.158. The thin southern relic, which shows several ridges/shocks including one possibly moving inwards, has a linear extent of ∼1.64 Mpc. In contrast, the northern relic is about twice as wide, twice as bright, but only has a largest linear size of ∼0.66 Mpc. Complementary SRG/eROSITA X-ray images reveal extended emission from hot intracluster gas between the two relics and around the narrow-angle tail (NAT) radio galaxy PMN J1033–4335 (z ≈ 0.153) located just east of the northern relic. The radio morphologies of the NAT galaxy and the northern relic, which are also detected with the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) at 888 MHz, suggest both are moving in the same outward direction. The discovery of ORC J1027–4422 in a different part of the same MeerKAT image makes it the fourth known single ORC. It has a diameter of ∼90 arcsec corresponding to 400 kpc at a tentative redshift of z ≈ 0.3 and remains undetected in X-ray emission. Supported by simulations, we discuss similarities between outward moving galaxy and cluster merger shocks as the formation mechanisms for ORCs and radio relics, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Islamic art is a product of a religious and social environment that emerged with the advent of Islam. It is distinguished by various characteristics that set it apart from other art forms, such as abstraction, aversion to depicting human and animal figures, diversity, and plurality. Muslim artists utilized Arabic script in its various forms and types to decorate their subjects, incorporating symbolic themes, especially geometric and astronomical ones like stars, crescents, and the palm of the hand, with the addition of colors used symbolically or to mimic the original model, highlighting its nature and size, in addition to depicting reality as it is. All these elements fall within the realm of Islamic art and its special symbolism in artifacts and relics, whether fixed or movable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]