1,721,129 research outputs found
Subjective Well-Being in Italian Regions
No full textThis study presents a comparative analysis of subjective well-being in the Italian regions (NUTS2) by synthesizing several ordinal indicators. In recent decades, the use of subjective indicators, i.e. information collected at individual level, has become widespread in official statistics. This article refers, in particular, to those subjective indicators that detect perceptions, points of view and emotional states. The data source is the ad-hoc module on subjective well-being of the European Union Survey on Income and Living Conditions, one of the harmonised European official statistical surveys. In synthesizing the information, the study applies the Partially Ordered Set methodology. The purpose is to safeguard the multidimensionality of the phenomenon and the ordinal nature of the items. The study synthesizes the dimension of subjective well-being at micro level, i.e. at individual level, and reports the individual condition of subjective well-being at regional level. In doing so, it explores the informative potential of the ad-hoc module on subjective well-being, which seems not yet fully exploited
Study of Absorbance and Fluorescence Properties of Laccase and Catechol Solutions in the UV Range †
No full textLaccase is an enzyme belonging to the oxidoreductase class and has copper atoms in the catalytic centre. The catalytic property of this enzyme consists of the enzymatic oxidation of the phenolic compounds, in the corresponding quinones, with the concomitant reduction of molecular oxygen to water. There is growing interest in developing innovative sensing methods for detecting phenolic substrates, such as catechol. Preliminary absorption and fluorescence measurements were carried out in the UV-visible range to evaluate the possibility of using the variations produced in the spectra of laccase and/or catechol to monitor the presence of this substrate. The absorption and fluorescence emission increase upon UV excitation was detected. By monitoring the time course of the fluorescence signal, an evident increase in the signal detected in the UV range is observed until a saturation level is reached. The observed variations in the spectra, in the presence of the catechol, are discussed also in terms of the interactions between the enzyme and the phenolic compound. The results are very promising for the design of new optical detection methods for polyphenol pollutants
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
Th17 effector cells support B bell responses outside of germinal centres
Full text linkTh17 cells are pro-inflammatory CD4+T cells, which are important in immune responses against fungal pathogens and extracellular bacteria and have also been implicated in various autoimmune syndromes. However, their role in supporting B cell responses in these scenarios remains unclear, representing a significant lapse in our understanding of the role Th17 play in vaccine responses and the regulation of autoimmunity. We employed T cell and B cell receptor transgenic mice specific for model antigens, and adoptive transfer approaches that allowed the tracking of cognate B and T cells in situ and ex vivo using immunological methods. We have found that T cells activated under Th17 polarising conditions have a greater capacity to provide cognate B cell help compared with Th1 polarised populations, supporting higher expansion of antigen specific B cells and enhanced antibody titres. This advantage is associated with the increased persistence of Th17 polarised cells in areas of the lymph nodes where they can provide help (i.e. the B cell follicles). Also the Th17 cells are characterised by their higher expression of ICOS, a costimulatory molecule important for B cell help. Surprisingly, contrary to published reports, Th17 cells were not detected inside germinal centres, although they were found in close proximity to cognate B cells in the follicle early in the genesis of the humoral immune response. These data indicate that, Th17 cells have a more significant role earlier in the initiation/development of the germinal centre response and/or germinal centre-independent events, consistent with their early effector status
The Quality of Life in the Historic Centre of Naples: The Use of PLSPM Models to Measure the Well-Being of the Citizens of Naples
No full textHow do the citizens of the historic centre of a city perceive the quality of their living conditions? The objective of this research has been to identify a series of indicators focused on the crucial aspects that, directly or indirectly, influence and determine the level of well-being of individuals and local communities in the city of Naples, describing and measuring specific social and local phenomena. In the survey, the same dimensions of the BES (Benessere Equo Sostenibile – Equitable and Sustainable Well-being) have been considered, together with others added ad hoc, relating to topics such as tourism and district, factors closely related to the character of the city’s historic centre. In this paper we propose the use of Structural Equation Models, estimated using the Partial Least Squares-Path Modeling method, to measure the perception of the quality of life and to identify the weights of its dimensions and items
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