1,720,961 research outputs found
MONITORING OF CIMEX LECTULARIUS IN PISA AREA DURING THE PERIOD 2006-2013
No full textINTRODUCTION:
Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius and Cimex hemipterus) are blood-sucking insects that readily bite humans. Infestations of this insect are
rapidly increasing worldwide. Health consequences include nuisance biting and cutaneous and systemic reactions (Giorda et al., 2013,
Veterinaria Italiana, 49(4): 335-40; Dogget et al, 2012, Clin Microbiol Rev, 25(1): 164-92).
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
From 2006 the presence of bed bugs in the area of Pisa was monitored by Entomox (Company of disinfestation and rat extermination).
The specific identification of arthropods was conducted in the Department of Veterinary Science of Pisa following the identification
keys of Chinery (Field guide insects of Britain and Northern Europe. 1993, 3rd ed. London: Harper Collins Publisher).
RESULTS:
From 2006 up to the present 64 calls for bed bugs have been received with a total of 173 interventions with disinfestation’s treatments:
4 infestations in 2006, 5 in 2007, 2 in 2008, 5 in 2009, 7 in 2010, 14 in 2011, 13 infestations in 2012, 14 in 2013. All collected specimens
were identified as C. lectularius. The samples were collected mainly during spring and summer and for each infestation occurred
2 or more interventions for eradicate the insect. The principal calls were by private citizens that reported bites and dermatological
reactions, hotels, motels and bed and breakfast. Bed bugs were found in most of the cases in the bedroom.
CONCLUSIONS:
As clearly evidenced in this study in the last three years it has been an increase of calls and of disinfestation’s treatments. This trend
could be due primarily to the increase of international travels since bed bugs can be passively transported over long distances by
clothing and luggage (Delaunay et al., 2011, Clin Infect Dis, 52:200-10). Furthermore second-hand furniture can be an easy way
to transfer bed bugs (Romero et al., 2007, J Med Entomol, 44:175-8). The widespread use of air conditioning, which uniforms the
temperature and avoids extreme variations (Doggett et al., 2004, Environ Health, 4: 30-8), creates ideal conditions for the bug
development. Bed bugs resurgence should be considered an emerging public health problem. Adequate surveillance of bed bug
populations is important for future monitoring and control
Procedimento per la Produzione di un Materiale Polimerico Composito a Base di PVC Intercalato su un'argilla Organofila e Materiale Polimerico Così Ottenuto
No full textLong-term effects of FYM and sewage sludge on some soil biochemical characteristics
No full textChanges in some soil biochemical properties were investigated following repeated applications of aerobically digested sewage sludge (SS) under field conditions over 12 years, and compared with those of an adjacent soil cultivated and amended with 5 t ha-1 year-1 (dry weight) farmyard manure (FYM) for at least 40 years, as well as with those of an adjacent uncultivated soil, in order to ascertain changes in soil quality. A short-term aerobic incubation was used to determine the potential of the samples to mineralize the organic C supplied. Results indicated that cultivation caused a reduction in total, humified and potentially mineralizable organic C, total N, light-fraction (LF) C, total and water-soluble carbohydrates, phenolic compounds, cation-exchange capacity (CEC), microbial biomass C, specific respiration, hydrolytic and urease activities, and an increase in the heavy metal content. Total and water-soluble carbohydrates and phenolic compounds expressed as a percentage of total organic C (TOC) were similar in the differently managed plots. Of the two amendments, FYM treatments showed higher amounts of TOC and N, LF-C, total and water-soluble carbohydrates, phenolic substances, CEC, specific respiration of biomass, hydrolytic and urease activities, similar amounts and characteristics of humified organic matter and lower concentrations of Cu, Zn and Cr. Both FYM and SS were inadequate treatments for the restoration of soil organic matter lost as a consequence of cultivation
Decomposition of a winery-sludge as affected by soil characteristics: a laboratory trial
No full textCarbon mineralization of a winery-sludge added to various soils was monitored over 60 days in a laboratory incubation experiment; the rate and extent of decomposition varied greatly among the soils and were found to be affected by the following soil properties: C/N, cation and anion exchange capacities, total microbial activity (F.D.A), Some kinetic models were evaluated for their suitability in describing the decomposition process; the "Power function" model best described carbon mineralization of winery-sludge organic matter in soil
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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