124,729 research outputs found
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe 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
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe 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
Pragmatic Case Studies as a Source of Unity in Applied Psychology
No full textTo unify or not to unify applied psychology: that is the question. In this article we review pendulum swings in the historical efforts to answer this question—from a comprehensive, positivist, “top-down,” deductive yes between the 1930s and the early 60s, to a postmodern no since then. A rationale and proposal for a limited, “bottom-up,” inductive yes in applied psychology is then presented, employing a case-based paradigm that integrates both positivist and postmodern themes and components. This paradigm is labeled “pragmatic psychology” and, its specific use of case studies, the “Pragmatic Case Study Method” (“PCS Method”). We call for the creation of peer-reviewed journal-databases of pragmatic case studies as a foundational source of unifying applied knowledge in our discipline. As one example, the potential of the PCS Method for unifying different angles of theoretical regard is illustrated in an area of applied psychology, psychotherapy, via the case of Mrs. B. The article then turns to the broader historical and epistemological arguments for the unifying nature of the PCS Method in both applied and basic psychology.Peer reviewe
Dr. Edwin Wright Collection: Author Unknown
No full textNotes - The author relates several short stories about his neighbours including Alex McDonell, homesteading and life around Meanook and Athabasca (1 page
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
No full textWe 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
Thermalization dynamics in a pulsed microwave plasma-enhanced laminar flame
No full textEnergy transfer in a pulsed-microwave enhanced flame is investigated using hybrid fs/ps coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) to monitor both vibrational and rotational temperatures of nitrogen in an atmospheric pressure laminar premixed natural gas/air stagnation flame. Temperatures were measured throughout the laminar flame structure following a 30-kW peak power, 2 s duration, 3 GHz microwave pulse in a resonant waveguide cavity. CARS measurements show a delayed increase in vibrational temperature, indicating energy loading via electron impact and subsequent energy cascade. Vibrational energy thermalization was observed over timescales faster than transport through the flame zone, but slower than predicted by known vibrational-translational rates, suggesting a long-lived pathway for increased vibrational temperature. Peak vibrational temperature increases of 100 K were observed and thermalize over 100s of microseconds, resulting in a measurable increase in the rotational temperature over the same time interval. The magnitude of vibrational excitation and rate of thermalization in such plasma-assisted combustion environments is critical for applications including combustion ignition and control, and hybrid fs/ps CARS measurements provide the necessary detail on vibrational-translational relaxation processes of ground state nitrogen.This is a manuscript of an article published as Dedic, Chloe E., and James B. Michael. "Thermalization dynamics in a pulsed microwave plasma-enhanced laminar flame." Combustion and Flame 227 (2021): 322-334. DOI: 10.1016/j.combustflame.2021.01.006. Posted with permission.</p
Measurement of the ratio of branching fractions B(B0→K∗0γ )/B(B0s→φγ ) and the directCP asymmetry inB 0→K∗0γ
No full textThe ratio of branching fractions of the radiative B decays B0→K⁎0γ and B0s→ϕγ has been measured using an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb−1 of pp collision data collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of s√=7TeV. The value obtained is
B(B0→K⁎0γ)B(B0s→ϕγ)=1.23±0.06(stat.)±0.04(syst.)±0.10(fs/fd),
where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second is the experimental systematic uncertainty and the third is associated with the ratio of fragmentation fractions fs/fd. Using the world average value for B(B0→K⁎0γ), the branching fraction B(B0s→ϕγ) is measured to be (3.5±0.4)×10−5.
The direct CP asymmetry in B0→K⁎0γ decays has also been measured with the same data and found to be
ACP(B0→K⁎0γ)=(0.8±1.7(stat.)±0.9(syst.))%.
Both measurements are the most precise to date and are in agreement with the previous experimental results and theoretical expectations
The construction of Karen Karnak: The multi-author-function
No full textThis thesis is situated within the comparatively recent developments of Web 2.0 and the emergence of interactive WikiMedia, and explores the mode of authorship within a Read/Write culture compared to that of a Read/Only tradition. The hypothesis of this study is that the role of the audience has become merged with the author, and as such, represents new functions and attributes, distinct from a more conventional concept of authorship, in which the roles of audience and author are more separate. Read/Write and participatory culture, as defined by this study, is focused on collaboration, and includes the influences of D.I.Y. culture, Open-Source practices and the production of text by multiple authors. Multi-authorship presents a re-thinking of several concepts which support the notion of the individual author, since the focus of multi-authorship is not on attribution and ownership of a finished text, but on the continued malleability of a text. Modes of multi-authorship, demonstrated in the use of the pseudonyms Alan Smithee and Karen Eliot, represent declarative authors whose names signify multiple origins, whilst concurrently indicating a distinct body of work. The function of these names form an important context to this study, since primary research involves the construction of an experimental mode of multi-authorship utilising WikiMedia technology and the interaction of thirty nine participants, who are invited to create a body of work under the collective pseudonym Karen Karnak. The data generated by this experiment is analysed using aspects of Michel Foucault's author-function to identify and determine power structures inherent in the WikiMedia context. The interplay of power structures, including concepts such as identity, ownership and the body of work, affect the resulting mode of authorship and contribute to the construction of Karen Karnak, suggesting further areas of research into the emerging multi-author
Branching fraction and CP asymmetry of the decays B+→K0Sπ+ and B+→K0SK+
No full textAn analysis of B+ → K0
Sπ+ and B+ → K0
S K+ decays is performed with the LHCb experiment. The pp
collision data used correspond to integrated luminosities of 1 fb−1 and 2 fb−1 collected at centre-ofmass
energies of
√
s = 7 TeV and
√
s = 8 TeV, respectively. The ratio of branching fractions and the
direct CP asymmetries are measured to be B(B+ → K0
S K+
)/B(B+ → K0
Sπ+
) = 0.064 ± 0.009 (stat.) ±
0.004 (syst.), ACP(B+ → K0
Sπ+
) = −0.022 ± 0.025 (stat.) ± 0.010 (syst.) and ACP(B+ → K0
S K+
) =
−0.21 ± 0.14 (stat.) ± 0.01 (syst.). The data sample taken at
√
s = 7 TeV is used to search for
B+
c
→ K0
S K+ decays and results in the upper limit ( fc · B(B+
c
→ K0
S K+
))/( fu · B(B+ → K0
Sπ+
)) <
5.8 × 10−2 at 90% confidence level, where fc and fu denote the hadronisation fractions of a ¯b
quark
into a B+
c or a B+ meson, respectively
The role of the insulin receptor in mature human adipocytes
No full textObesity is a global health crisis, affecting millions of individuals worldwide and imposing substantial burdens on healthcare systems. The prevalence of obesity has reached epidemic proportions, with roughly 12.5% of adults worldwide classified as obese. Obesity is closely linked to the development of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes (T2D) and other metabolic disorders. While adipose tissue plays a crucial role in metabolic homeostasis, the precise molecular mechanisms underlying insulin resistance in adipocytes remain incompletely understood. This thesis presents three interconnected studies that provide new insights into adipocyte biology, with a focus on developing advanced methodologies to investigate insulin receptor (INSR) dynamics in the context of obesity and metabolic dysfunction.(I) The first study introduces a novel approach for detecting cellular senescence using reflected light microscopy. Senescence is an important cellular program involved in development, tissue repair, cancer and aging. More recently, a premature, metabolically induced senescence has been described in multiple tissues and is associated with obesity and T2D. However, characterizing and quantifying senescent cells at the single-cell level has been challenging, particularly in large primary cells like human adipocytes. This study introduces a technique that utilizes reflected light for accurate senescence-associated beta- galactosidase (SABG) staining measurements in adipocytes. By leveraging confocal microscopy to detect X-gal crystals using reflected light, this approach achieves superior sensitivity over traditional brightfield techniques. It allows for the capture of all X-gal precipitates in SABG-stained samples and can detect diverse staining patterns. The method can be integrated with immunofluorescence and is compatible with primary mature adipocytes from both human and mouse, as well as differentiated 3T3-L1 cells. Importantly, this technique outperforms western blot analysis for detecting and quantifying senescence in mature human adipocytes. This methodological advancement provides a powerful tool for investigating the role of cellular senescence, or other metabolic phenotypes, in adipose tissue dysfunction at a single-cell level.(II) The second study addresses methodological challenges in protein quantification using western blotting, a crucial technique for analyzing protein expression in adipocyte research. This study investigates the robustness of housekeeping proteins and total protein (TP) as normalization references for western blotting in primary mature human adipocytes. TP exhibited the lowest variance among technical replicates and was superior as a normalization reference for glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4), a key protein involved in insulin- stimulated glucose uptake. TP also demonstrated the closest alignment with expected values when loaded as a protein gradient and showed lower intra- and inter-patient variability compared to housekeeping proteins across metabolically similar patients. The study concludes that TP normalization is the preferred method for reliable protein expression analysis in primary mature human adipocytes. This methodological improvement enhances the accuracy of protein quantification in adipocyte research, which is crucial for understanding the nuanced molecular changes associated with obesity and insulin resistance.(III) These two methodological advancements (I, II) serve as foundational tools for the third and principal study, which investigates INSR and insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R) expression and dynamics in primary mature human adipocytes from individuals with various metabolic profiles. By leveraging the high-precision confocal imaging technique (I), plasma membrane INSR negative (INSR-) adipocytes were observed primarily in obese hyperinsulinemic (OB/HI) males at a single-cell resolution. Further analysis of protein lysates using the optimized western blot technique (II) revealed that although total INSR levels remained unchanged, phosphorylated INSR and the activation of downstream signaling pathways were elevated in OB/HI males compared to non-obese (NOB) male controls. Notably, these patterns were sex-specific, with significant correlations between the fraction of INSR+ adipocytes and markers of insulinemia observed exclusively in obese males. In vitro differentiated adipocytes partially recapitulated the INSR- phenotype, and subsequent mass spectrometry indicated alterations in the endosomal trafficking proteins, providing a potential mechanistic explanation for the observed INSR- adipocytes.Together, these three studies advance our understanding of adipocyte biology and explore the molecular mechanisms underlying obesity-associated metabolic dysfunction. The novel senescence method and improved western blotting normalization strategy serve as powerful tools for investigating adipocyte biology with enhanced precision and accuracy, enabling the exploration of INSR dynamics and revealing a potential new mechanism of insulin resistance in mature human adipocytes. These insights open new avenues for targeted therapies, and future research based on these methodological and mechanistic advances may improve strategies for preventing and treating obesity-related metabolic dysfunction in adipose tissue. Moreover, the techniques developed here may find broader application in studying other aspects of adipocyte biology and disease mechanisms beyond insulin resistance, T2D, and obesity.List of scientific papersI. Dedic, B., Westerberg, L., Mosqueda Solís, A., Dumont, K. D., Ruas, J. L., Thorell, A., Näslund, E., & Spalding, K. L. (2024). Senescence detection using reflected light. Aging cell,23(11), e14295. https://doi.org/10.1111/acel.14295II. Westerberg, L. J. S., Dedic, B., Näslund, E., Thorell, A., & Spalding, K. L. (2025). Superior normalization using total protein for western blot analysis of human adipocytes. PloS one, 20(7), e0328136. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0328136III. Dedic, B., Westerberg, L. J. S., Cutler, H. B., Thorell, A., James, D. E., & Spalding, K. L. Plasma Membrane Insulin Receptor-Negative Adipocytes in Hyperinsulinemic Males Exhibit Persistent Metabolic Activation. [Manuscript]</p
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