1,720,996 research outputs found
May continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment be detrimental in obstructive sleep apnea?
Full text linkN.A
TFA and HS based homogenization techniques for nonlinear composites
No full textThe paper presents two reduced order homogenization techniques for studying the response of nonlinear composite materials. The first approach is based on Transformation Field Analysis, which considers the presence of eigenstrains to account for inelastic strains, while the second approach is derived from Hashin–Shtrikman variational principle, which introduces eigenstresses, namely polarization stresses, on a homogeneous elastic reference material to account for the heterogeneity and the inelastic response. In particular, the case of elasto-plastic periodic composites is investigated. A Unit Cell is identified and divided in subsets. In each subset, the eigenstrains or eigenstresses are assumed uniform. A very effective technique is derived for the Hashin–Shtrikman approach updating the elastic reference material properties during the inelastic strain evolution. Numerical procedures are implemented to derive the nonlinear response of composites with plastic constituents. Several numerical applications are carried out to assess the effectiveness of the two presented reduced order models. A deep investigation on the differences and similarities of the two approaches is presented, proving their equivalence under particular circumstances. Simple and complex loading histories are considered, comparing the results with a finite element solution, considered as the reference solution
DO CONSUMERS PERCEIVE A GREEN COUNTRY IMAGE OF A COUNTRY? ATTITUDINAL ANTECEDENTS AND IMPACT ON WILLINGNESS TO BUY
Full text linkContext: Consumers are becoming increasingly concerned with sustainable issues: not only
products and suppliers but even countries have started to be perceived in terms of their level of
green image. This acknowledgement calls for a revision of traditional international marketing
models aimed at investigating the impact of a specific country image on consumer behavior,
considering also the effect of the image of sustainability possessed by that country.
Purpose: This work aims to exploring the connection between the Green Country of Origin Image
(GCoI) of a country and the Willingness to Buy (WTB) by the consumers of another country. This
is done by assessing their Attitude Towards Green Products (GATT), considered as a mediating
construct impacted by Environmental Concern (EC) and Perceived Consumer Effectiveness (PCE).
Data: Primary research data were gathered through a survey based on the administration of an
online questionnaire targeting a convenient sample of Indian consumers, applying structural
equation modelling to assess the GCoI of Made in Italy food products.
Results: Findings evidenced the goodness of the proposed model: EC and PCE are positively
related with GATT, which, in turn, positively affect GCoI. Finally, GCoI has a positive and
significant effect on the WTB.
Originality: GCoI has been poorly investigated. This study enriches the current body of knowledge
concerning country image determinants in relation to sustainable consumption, contributing to the
international marketing and consumer behavior literature in a sustainable perspective.
Implications: This research holds pragmatic significance for policy makers and scholars alike, and
marketers striving to advocate national offerings on international markets through the added value
of sustainable food perceptions and practices. It also deeps the comprehension of consumer
behavior within the realm of sustainable consumption for stimulating eco-conscious decisions
Obstructive sleep apnea and cancer: epidemiology, pathophysiology, and clinical aspects
No full textIn recent years, the relationship between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and cancer has emerged as a new field of investigation. Animal studies on OSA and cancer have been performed more than 10 years ago, while clinical studies are more recent. The current state of knowledge is steadily growing, but several topics still represent areas of uncertainty, including the mechanisms specific for each cancer type, and the epidemiological aspects of the OSA-cancer association. To date, melanoma is the cancer type better characterized from both the biological and the clinical points of view. This updated narrative review summarizes the results of experimental studies on the biology of OSA and cancer, the clinical studies on cancer incidence in OSA patients, and the potential negative effects of OSA in patients with head and neck cancer and lung cancer. The few studies on the effects of positive airway pressure treatment on cancer incidence and aggressiveness or mortality are critically examined, including the potential effects of particles and volatile organic compounds released by PAP devices. Finally, future perspectives are briefly outlined. In conclusion, the relationship between OSA and cancer is complex, and still insufficiently studied. While experimental data indicate biological plausibility of intermittent hypoxia and sleep fragmentation as potential risk factors for cancer in OSA patients, clinical data are too few to draw conclusions, and the question of a possible protective effect of OSA treatment on cancer risk remains unanswered
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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