1,720,978 research outputs found
On the identification and characterization of outdoor thermo-hygrometric stress events
Full text linkHuman thermal sensations are not controlled merely by the ambient temperature, but also by other biometeorological variables and personal factors. Therefore, thermo-hygrometric stress events need to be identified and monitored in addition to heat waves. The purpose of the present article is proposing a method for detection and characterization of thermo-hygrometric stress events, based on the rearrangement of heat waves indices and on new quantities. The Mediterranean Outdoor Thermal Comfort Index (MOCI) is used as a reference variable instead of the air temperature. The method is applied to Milan (Italy) for the 2022 summer, which: i) is the hottest in the period 1991–2020 with a temperature anomaly of 3.17 ◦C and ii) presents higher minimum temperatures (1.5 times higher) than those of the control period. The analysis of daytime values of MOCI demonstrates a cumulative MOCI higher than zero only in 2022. Hence, the lower fraction of data in the cold range determines a significant increase in the cumulative MOCI. The metrics on severe MOCI events in 2022 confirm the key-role of extreme temperatures. The proposed method is effective and, in this case, reveals the relevance of the cumulative thermal and thermo-hygrometric loads also in the absence of critical heating conditions
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
On the mitigation potential of higher urban albedo in a temperate oceanic metropolis
No full textThe urban overheating calls for the implementation of mitigation actions. The article aims at demonstrating the advantages and the risks associated with the increase of the city albedo in Melbourne (Australia), through high resolution numerical analyses based on a detailed urban land use. The Weather Research and Forecasting model was used to calculate the spatial and temporal local climate change for three increased albedo scenarios and three different urban densities. In the scenario with highest albedo, the ambient temperature decreases of about 1.6°C in the middle and high density zones and 0.9°C in the low density zones. The sea breeze extends the thermal benefit due to the albedo increase to non-urban areas, despite it is slightly weakened by the diminished land-sea temperature contrast. The pollutant levels are expected to increase, due to a combination of slower winds (drops up to 0.19 ms−1) and decreased planetary boundary layer heights (drops from 175 m up to 291 m). High and low density classes have the highest and lowest risk of stagnation, respectively. Due to the contrasting results in terms of thermal mitigation and pollution risks, the study calls for the identification of comprehensive metrics to asses optimal values of urban albedo
Impact of Highly Reflective Materials on Meteorology, PM10 and Ozone in Urban Areas: A Modeling Study with WRF-CHIMERE at High Resolution over Milan (Italy)
Full text linkThe Urban Heat Island (UHI) is a well-known phenomenon concerning an increasing percentage of the world’s population due to the growth rates of metropolitan areas. Given the health and economic implications of UHIs, several mitigation techniques are being evaluated and tested. In this study, we consider the use of highly reflective materials for urban surfaces, and we carried out numerical experiments using the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with the CHIMERE model in order to investigate the effects of these materials on the meteorology and air quality in the urban area of Milan (Italy). Results show that an increase in albedo from 0.2 to 0.7 for urban roofs, walls and streets leads to a decrease in UHI intensity by up to 2–3 °C and of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) height of about 500 m. However, the difference of PM10 and ozone between urban and surrounding areas increases by a factor of about 2, attributable to the reduction of PBL height and wind speed and to the increased reflected solar radiation that may enhance photochemical production during the daytime. Therefore, if anthropogenic emissions are held at the same levels, the potential benefit to the UHI in terms of thermal discomfort may have negative repercussions on air quality
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
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe 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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