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Fundamental contribution to filling out the condition reports of the work of arts involved in temporary exhibitions is provided by non-invasive investigation techniques. Investigation, carried out before and after the movement, allow to collect objective data to monitoring the surface or structural alterations and defining the state of conservation, representing an important moment of deepening of knowledge. Generally, these aspects often are left to photographic documentation and observations by conservators and curators. An example of good practice is represented by the case of the Saint Gregory Polyptych (Antonello da Messina, 1473) belonging to the Regional Museum of Messina (Italy). This artwork, constituting by five wooden panels [Madonna and Child, 129×77 cm; San Gregorio and San Benedetto, both 125×63 cm; Announcing Angel 65 × 62 cm, and Announced Virgin, 65 × 55 cm] has recently undergone to non-invasive investigations aimed to evaluate the conservation state of the wooden support and the pictorial layers before the moving to the temporary exhibition “Antonello da Messina” (Palazzo Abatellis, 14 December 2018 - 10 February 2019). This exhibition was the largest dedicated to the painter Antonello da Messina containing half of his existing works. Specifically, Raman and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy investigation was carried out in situ with the aim to identify the molecular species, organic and inorganic respectively, present in the pictorial layer both in the pigment and binder form. In situ XRR (X-Ray Radiography imaging) was carried out to move the precious panels, through a conservative actions.

Many surgical approaches have been described for hip hemiarthroplasty (HHA) treating femur neck fractures (FNFs). Direct lateral approach (DLA) is one of the most used. Today, the direct anterior approach (DAA) has become very attractive, but it seems to involve more intra-operative fractures. Our main endpoint was to demonstrate that the DAA may be a valid alternative comparing to the DLA.Patients affected by FNFs and treated with HHA between the years 2016 and 2020 were studied. We divided the treatment of the fractures according to the surgical approach. The analysis was focused on perioperative complications and radiological outcomes.There were a total of 166 patients. The DLA group included patients with an average age of 83.5 years and the DAA group of 83 years. We found similar surgical times (DLA 67 min vs DAA 61 min; p = 0,55), number of transfusions (DLA 3/person vs DAA 4/person; p = 0,91), perioperative complications (fractures: DLA 0 vs DAA 0 - dislocations: DLA 2,50% vs DAA 0) and functional outcomes (HHS: DLA 83 points vs DAA 87 points; p = 0,71). There were no statistical differences comparing diaphyseal filling (Canal Fill Index at the proximal third: DLA 0,79 vs DAA 0,78; p= 0,24), bone loss (Paprosky I: DLA 96,25% vs DAA 91,86%; p = 0,47) and prevalence of heterotopic ossification (Broker low degree: DLA 93,75% vs 95, 34%; p = 0,87).Analysing perioperative complications and studying post-operative radiographic evolution, our results suggest that the DAA is a valid alternative to the DLA in HHA treating FNFs.

Due to their intrinsic value, ancient silver objects have often arrived at museums throughout the world with provenance other than that of regular excavations, and therefore much data regarding the context and the production process in the workshops of origin, as well as the circulation of such objects, is missing. The discovery of silver objects, in fact, is derived from what one may define as non-productive hoarding – archaeological collections created through the formal burial or the furtive hiding in a moment of danger of objects that were never recovered – circumstances that limit the possibility of knowing the primary use of the object in antiquity, in the manner that we can determine much more easily for other classes of materials. The high artistic level of Macedonian silver objects has led scholars to believe that similar objects of the same period (fourth-third centuries B.C.) found elsewhere came from Macedonian workshops, as well, but it is likely that there once were workshops specialized in this craft not only in Macedonia, but also in Thrace, where the production of silver vessels begins in the fifth century B.C., at Pergamon, in Syria and in southern Italy and Sicily. The existence of silver production at Syracuse is suggested by several ancient literary sources that refer to the period of Hieron II, but unfortunately very little remains of this output, to which we may attribute only two hoards, which nonetheless are of great importance: the silver from Paterno’ and the silver from Morgantina. In view of the upcoming loan of the silver vessel from Morgantina to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, a campaign of indirect materials analysis was conducted on these objects at the Museo Archeologico di Aidone (Regione Siciliana), and a database in three dimensions with file resolution up to 0.1 millimeters was created for each. Non-invasive 3D scanning techniques of diagnostic investigation, including radiography, ultraviolet fluorescence, and ultra-sound have yielded information that is extremely useful for an in-depth understanding of the technology of production and the establishment a unique compositional profile for each object examined. We used a 3D portable scanning system with structured light flash bulb (Artec Spider) in order to create the digital models. These investigations constitute a kind of reverse engineering that helps us to evaluate the state of material preservation of the external and internal portions of the object and permit, each time the collection is moved to a new location, the registration of anomalies and stresses to the object through a systematic program of monitoring.