1,721,209 research outputs found
Implementation of an Instrumental Odour Monitoring System (IOMS) with variable thresholds to predict citizens' odour perceptions
No full textThe use of Instrumental Odour Monitoring Systems (IOMS) to monitor odours at plant fencelines is becoming more and more interesting. Indeed, in Italy, IOMS are currently frequently prescribed at waste treatment facilities with the purpose of continuously monitoring odour emission and produce alarms when a given threshold is exceeded. In this context, a possible improvement concerns the implementation of variable alarm thresholds, which change as a function of the local meteorological conditions, and result in a better correlation with odour perceptions at receptors. This paper presents the implementation of such a monitoring system applied to a landfill, proving its capability to increase the correspondence between threshold exceedances and odour events at receptors, thus paving the way for the development of a system capable in assisting plant managers to promptly identify critical situations and plan immediate interventions to reduce odour impacts
Introduction: Thinking Community Today
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209219.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access
Real-time monitoring of odour concentration at a landfill fenceline: Performance verification in the field
Full text linkAn emerging application of electronic noses in the environmental field concerns the real-time measurement of odour concentration at plants fencelines. One advantage related to the continuous monitoring of odour emissions from the plant, is that the setting of "warning"thresholds for the odour concentration offers useful indications for the plant management: the real-time signaling of the threshold exceedance enables the instantaneous identification of plant malfunctions, thereby allowing rapid intervention and thus preventing odour events at receptors. In Italy, there is an increasing number of new and existing plants for which the IOMS installation at plant fenceline is prescribed in the permits. Thus, the need arises to have specific quality programs capable to ensure the reliability of IOMS outcomes. In this context, this paper presents a case study, in which a procedure for the verification of IOMS quantification capability was applied in the field
Odour impact assessment by Instrumental Odour Monitoring Systems: A case study focusing on the differentiation of different odour sources and performance testing
No full textThe assessment of the odour impact associated to industrial activities represent one of the most interesting applications of Instrumental Odour Monitoring Systems (IOMS). Thanks to their capability of qualifying ambient air, IOMS can be effectively applied for the air quality monitoring directly where citizens complain about the presence of odours, i.e., the receptor. This paper describes the IOMS monitoring of a complex plant comprising a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and a plant for the storage, selection and pre-treatment of municipal and special wastes (WTP), focusing on the procedure used to train the IOMS and validate its detections
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
The interaction of the Bax C-terminal domain with membranes is influenced by the presence of negatively charged phospholipids
No full textAbstractThe C-terminal domain of the pro-apoptotic protein Bax (Bax-C) is supposed to act as a membrane anchor motif when Bax is activated leading to programmed cell death. A synthetic peptide which imitates this domain has been used to study the mechanism of peptide–phospholipid interaction. We have used static and MAS-NMR techniques to show that the interaction of Bax-C with membranes is modulated by the presence of a negatively charged phospholipid like phosphatidylglycerol. Bax-C slightly shifted upfield the 31P resonances coming from phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylcholine. However the width of the resonance peaks was considerably higher when phosphatidylglycerol was present. Bax-C substantially decreased the T1 relaxation times of phosphatidylglycerol and those of phosphatidylcholine when mixtured with phosphatidylglycerol, but T1 values were not decreased when phosphatidylcholine was the only phospholipid present in the membrane. 13C-MAS-NMR showed that T1 values were decreased when Bax-C was incorporated into the lipid vesicles and this reduction affected similarly to carbons located in different regions of the membrane when the only phospholipid present was phosphatidylcholine. However, when phosphatidylglycerol was also present, the decrease in T1 affected considerably more to some carbons in the polar region. These results indicate that Bax-C interacts differently with the polar part of the membrane depending on whether phosphatidylglycerol is present or not, suggesting that an electrostatic interaction of Bax-C with the membrane determines the location of this domain. Fluorescence spectroscopy showed that the Trp residues of Bax-C were placed in a microenvironment more hydrophobic and less accessible to quenching by acrylamide when phosphatidylglycerol was present
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
Optimization of training and measurement protocol for eNose analysis of urine headspace aimed at prostate cancer diagnosis
Full text linkMore than one million new cases of prostate cancer (PCa) were reported worldwide in 2020, and a significant increase of PCa incidence up to 2040 is estimated. Despite potential treatability in early stages, PCa diagnosis is challenging because of late symptoms’ onset and limits of current screening procedures. It has been now accepted that cell transformation leads to release of volatile organic compounds in biologic fluids, including urine. Thus, several studies proposed the possibility to develop new diagnostic tools based on urine analysis. Among these, electronic noses (eNoses) represent one of the most promising devices, because of their potential to provide a non-invasive diagnosis. Here we describe the approach aimed at defining the experimental protocol for eNose application for PCa diagnosis. Our research investigates effects of sample preparation and analysis on eNose responses and repeatability. The dependence of eNose diagnostic performance on urine portion analysed, techniques involved for extracting urine volatiles and conditioning temperature were analysed. 192 subjects (132 PCa patients and 60 controls) were involved. The developed experimental protocol has resulted in accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of 83% (CI95% 77–89), 82% (CI95% 73–88) and 87% (CI95% 75–94), respectively. Our findings define eNoses as valuable diagnostic tool allowing rapid and non-invasive PCa diagnosis
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