1,721,137 research outputs found
Habits Do Not Die Easily: The Economics of Table Soccer
No full textWe attempt to test the importance of rules and cultural sedimentation on performance by analyzing what occurs in a niche sport, table soccer and inferring by extension the weight of habit formation in a more general productivity setting. This matters since firms increasingly employ workers of different cultural backgrounds, whose interplay may have an impact on performance. Our idea is to examine the differences that exist between local and international rules in a country such as Italy and find out whether athletes' performance is affected when they compete at international level. Adapting models adopted by the literature to forecast the success in soccer and Olympic games, we study the performances of Italians and Non-Italians athletes in the International Table Soccer World Cup. We also apply an Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition to account for explained and un-explained gaps in mean values. The results seem to confirm that globalization does not affect cultural sedimentation: local habits persist and hamper the performance of top players. Local habits matter, and habits do not die easily, even in the twenty-first century
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
Kinetics and mechanism of hydrolysis of phenylureas
No full textThe hydrolysis of phenylureas has been found to be affected by temperature, pH and buffer concentration. Kinetic evidence suggests that the formation of phenylisocyanate, the initial product in the title reaction, occurs via an intermediate zwitterion. Depending on pH and buffer concentrations, the zwitterion can be produced through three parallel routes: at low pH, specific acid-general base catalysis, followed by slow deprotonation of a nitrogen atom by a general base; at high pH, specific basic-general acid catalysis, followed by slow protonation of a N atom by a general acid; at intermediate pH the reaction proceeds through a proton switch promoted by buffers. Bifunctional acid-base buffers such as HCO3-/CO32-, H2PO4-/HPO42- and CH3COOH/CH3COO- are very efficient catalysts. At high buffer concentration, as well as at pH 12, the breakdown of the zwitterion is rate-determining. The results are discussed in relation to recently published papers reporting different pathways
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
Effect of lysine residues on the deamidation reaction of asparagine side chains
No full textThe effect of lysine residues on the deamidation reaction of the asparagine side chain has been studied on the peptide and on its lysine-acetylated derivative in a wide range of pH values. The amino acid sequence of these peptides is similar to the local sequence flanking the labile Asn-67 in RNAse A. The experimental data show that Lys influences both the deamidation rate and the relative yield of the two reaction products, i.e., the aspartic acid and beta-aspartic acid containing peptide. These effects are pH dependent and can be rationalized based on the mechanism previously proposed for the deamidation reaction via succinimide derivative
Catalytic effect of dissolved humic acids on the chemical degradation of phenylurea herbicides
No full textBACKGROUND: Although biodegradation seems to be the main cause of herbicide degradation, abiotic degradation can also be important for chemicals such as phenylureas, which are subject to catalysed soil reactions. The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of dissolved humic acids (HAs), normally present in natural waters, on the hydrolysis of phenylurea herbicides, and it presents a kinetic model that takes into account the role of adsorption. RESULTS: The linearity of the adsorption isotherms indicates that phenylurea-humic acid interaction can be considered in terms of a repartition-like equilibrium of phenylurea between water and HAs. Kinetic experiments show that the degradation rates of phenylureas increase with HA concentration. CONCLUSION: The kinetic equation adopted adequately describes the experimental data trend, allowing the evaluation of the catalytic effect of HAs on the chemical degradation of phenylureas. Carboxyl groups of HAs seem to play a leading role in the catalysis. The kinetic equation derived in this work could be helpful in predicting the persistence of phenylureas and of related compounds in natural water. © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry
Background atmospheric levels of aldehydes, BTEX and PM10 pollutants in a medium-sized city of southern Italy
No full textBackground atmospheric levels of aldehydes, BTEX and PM10 pollutants were measured in the suburb of Caserta (Italy), 75 thousands inhabitants, 41° 04' N. on rainless weekdays and weekends during 2005. On weekdays the average daily concentrations (μg m-3) were 41.6 PM10, 8.6 benzene. 25.2 toluene, 6.3 ethylbenzene, 14.0 (m+p)-xylene, 11.7 o-xylene, 6.5 formaldehyde, 3.3 acetaldehyde. All the pollutant concentrations were strictly correlated (mean correlation coefficients = 0.90). At weekends the concentrations were lower by about 1.6 times. Both on weekdays and at weekends the PM10 and benzene levels exceeded the limits set by the EU Directive 30/1999 and 69/2000, respectively
Determination of the microscopic rate constants for the hydrolysis of diuron in soil/water mixture
No full textA kinetic equation for the analysis of the degradation reaction of xenobiotic molecules in the soil/water mixture has been derived. By means of this equation we have evaluated the microscopic rate constant for the abiotic hydrolysis of the herbicide diuron in the water phase of a soil/water mixture assuming that the reaction occurs only in the water phase and that diuron is reversibly adsorbed by the soil with a higher rate. The soil catalytic capacity on the hydrolysis of diuron was evaluated. © 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
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