1,720,991 research outputs found

    An EPR method for discriminating radiation beams in ammonium tartrate and tooth enamel

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    The radiation linear energy transfer (LET), which is the energy released by ionizing radiation per path unit, arouses great scientific interest because the biological damage produced by ionizing radiation in tissues is strictly related to LET. Radiation beams with different LETs will cause different spatial energy distribution and therefore different effects inside matter. In the last twenty years the EPR spectroscopy has become a valuable dosimetric tool. This technique allows absorbed dose measurements through the detection of free radicals produced by ionizing radiation in organic and/or inorganic compounds. In this work we have analyzed the possibility of using the acquisition of two components (first harmonic in-phase, FH-0, and second harmonic out-of-phase, SH-90, components with respect to the modulation field) of EPR signal to discriminate the radiation quality. Studies have shown that the second harmonic absorption signal detection out-of-phase of the tooth samples could be promising for the enhancement of the tooth EPR signal [1]. In fact, the tooth EPR signal due to irradiation has large relaxation times and the SH-90 detection is very sensitive to this kind of signals. In particular, in this work we have performed a study of the dependence of the two components of the EPR signal on microwave power in order to achieve information on quality beam and on the effective radiation LET. Actually, for different LET beams the different spatial distributions of the free radicals brings about differences in the relaxation times T1 and T2 (longitudinal and transversal, respectively). These differences involve differences in the relative intensities of the two components analyzed. The analyses were carried out on samples of ammonium tartrate which is a promising compound for the measurement of the absorbed ionizing radiation dose, as it shows suitable features, such as high efficiency of radiation-matter energy transfer, and a linear relation between radiation dose [2, 3] and on tooth samples. In particular, ammonium tartrate samples were exposed to 21 MeV protons, 60Co γ-photons and thermal neutrons as radiation beams with different LET. On the other hand, the tooth samples were irradiated to UV and gamma radiation. References [1] V. E. Galtsev, E.V. Galtseva,Ya. S. Lebedev 1996 47, 1311-1315 [2] S. K. Olsson, S. Bagherian, E. Lund, G. A. Carlsson, A. Lund, Appl. Radiat. Isot. 1999, 50, 95565. [3] M. Marrale, M. Brai, A. Triolo, A. Bartolotta, M. C. DOca, 2006. Radiat. Res. 166, 802809

    Dissociation of the proximal His-Fe bond upon NO binding to ferrous zebrafish nitrobindin

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    : Nitrobindins (Nbs) are all-β-barrel heme-proteins present in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Although the physiological role(s) of Nbs are still unclear, it has been postulated that they are involved in the NO/O2 metabolism, which is particularly relevant in fishes for the oxygen supply. Here, the reactivity of ferrous Danio rerio Nb (Dr-Nb(II)) towards NO has been investigated from the spectroscopic and kinetic viewpoints and compared with those of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Nb, Arabidopsis thaliana Nb, Homo sapiens Nb, and Equus ferus caballus myoglobin. Between pH 5.5 and 9.1 at 22.0 °C, Dr-Nb(II) nitrosylation is a monophasic process; values of the second-order rate constant for Dr-Nb(II) nitrosylation and of the first-order rate constant for Dr-Nb(II)-NO denitrosylation are pH-independent ranging between 1.6 × 106 M-1 s-1 and 2.3 × 106 M-1 s-1 and between 5.3 × 10-2 s-1 and 8.2 × 10-2 s-1, respectively. Interestingly, both UV-Vis and EPR spectroscopies indicate that the heme-Fe(II) atom of Dr-Nb(II)-NO is five-coordinated. Kinetics of Dr-Nb(II) nitrosylation may reflect the ligand accessibility to the metal center, which is likely impaired by the crowded network of water molecules which shields the heme pocket from the bulk solvent. On the other hand, kinetics of Dr-Nb(II)-NO denitrosylation may reflect an easy pathway for the ligand escape into the outer solvent

    Insights into the LiI Redox Mediation in Aprotic Li–O2 Batteries: Solvation Effects and Singlet Oxygen Evolution

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    Lithium−oxygen aprotic batteries (aLOBs) are highly promising next-generation secondary batteries due to their high theoretical energy density. However, the practical implementation of these batteries is hindered by parasitic reactions that negatively impact their reversibility and cycle life. One of the challenges lies in the oxidation of Li2O2, which requires large overpotentials if not catalyzed. To address this issue, redox mediators (RMs) have been proposed to reduce the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) over- potentials. In this study, we focus on a lithium iodide RM and investigate its role on the degradation chemistry and the release of singlet oxygen in aLOBs, in different solvent environments. Specifically, we compare the impact of a polar solvent, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and a low polarity solvent, tetraglyme (G4). We demonstrate a strong interplay between solvation, degradation, and redox mediation in OER by LiI in aLOBs. The results show that LiI in DMSO-based electrolytes leads to extensive degradation and to 1O2 release, affecting the cell performance, while in G4- based electrolytes, the release of 1O2 appears to be suppressed, resulting in better cyclability

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The 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

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    “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

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    We 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

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    We 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

    Author Index

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    koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist

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    We have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
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