1,721,079 research outputs found
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
Proposing Chitosan/Snail Slime Blended Films As Sustainable Functional Masks/Patches for Cosmetics and Biomedical Applications
No full textenvironmental impact is needed worldwide in different fields, particularly in cosmetics and biomedicine. For this purpose, our research focused the attention on realizing Chitosan-based films blended with Snail Slime to develop facial beauty masks or functional patches for potential cosmetics and biomedical applications. After preliminarily investigating their morphology, a physical and chemical characterization was also performed by attaining SEM, UV-Vis, ATR-FTIR, profilometer analyses, and Water Vapor Transmission Rate measurements, evidencing a quite uniform distribution of the snail mucus inside the chitosan films. As a result, compacted and strongly cross-linked structures were observed. XRD analyses demonstrated their amorphous nature. For assessing their stability in water medium, the swelling measurements were acquired, showing the effect of pH, ionic strength, and temperature. The antioxidant features were finally investigated by means of the ABTS assay, resulting in a boosted activity when the snail slime added amount was increased, occurring to be as dose dependent. [1] For further confirming these findings, the oxidation of a sulphur nucleoside, the 4-thiotymidine, was monitored overtime; as a result, its H2O2-induced degradation was prevented when increasing the Snail Slime amount. Work is in progress for testing in-vitro Chitosan-based blended films’ antioxidant, as well as anti-inflammatory properties, with the aim also to assess their potential effect on improving wound healing, thanks to the snail slime components content. [1, 2] Furthermore, Chitosan/Snail Slime blended films’ sunscreen, moisturizing, and skin-lightening properties will be explored, for making them suitable also as potential cosmetic multifunctional formulations. [3
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
Food Wastes As Adsorbent Materials for Water Decontamination: The Use of Kiwi Peels To Remove Emerging Pollutants and Textile Dyes
No full textThe high rate of resource consumption and large amounts of produced wastes have been reported to drive towards an
ecological collapse. Interestingly, a circular economy approach could reduce this environmental concern avoiding the waste
management, and all outputs (products, by-products, wastes) would become inputs (material and energy) to other processes.
When the model is based on the production of renewable biological resources, and these resources are converted into value added products, the concept of bio-circular economy take place. [1,2] It means to develop an economy plan based on the
production from biological resources with a sustainable transformation of wastes, offering alternatives to their dumping,
burning, composting etc. About this purpose, the use of fruit Peels as food/agricultural wastes have attained interest, as
adsorbent materials for water purification, avoiding their disposal according to the principles of Green Chemistry and
Sustainable Development.[3] For this purpose, this work proposes, among wastes, the use of Kiwi Peels to remove emerging
pollutants (not regulated substances that could affect both human health, and the whole environment, causing severe
problems [1,2]) and textile dyes from water. Indeed, among the explored wastes, Kiwi Peels removed the largest number of
contaminants. Kiwi Peels were characterized by adopting in synergy FTIR-ATR, TG and SEM analyses, before and after
their use, and as result they are proposed as recyclable adsorbent. To infer information about the behaviour of Kiwi Peels
during water treatments, model contaminants were selected and investigated (Ciprofloxacin, CIP, and Direct Blue 78, DB);
so, the role of several parameters affecting the process was assessed. The thermodynamic, the adsorption isotherms and
kinetics were also studied. Finally, to extend the lifetime of Kiwi Peels, desorption experiments were carried out by using
hot water or salt solutions. 10 cycles of adsorption/desorption were studied, evidencing the recycling of both pollutants and
Kiwi Peels (Figure 1). Moreover, another aspect investigated in this work regards the possibility of using Advance Oxidation
Processes (AOPs) to induce the pollutants solid-state photodegradation as an alternative approach for adsorbent regeneration.
Also, in this case, FTIR-ATR, SEM, and TG analyses were used in synergy for investigating the adsorbent features after the
AOPs’ application. If, on the one hand, the SEM and FTIR-ATR results revealed the absence of important post-treatment
changes, on the other hand, the TGA suggested some modifications. Finally, mixtures of pollutants were also studied and in
the case of dyes, dyeing experiments were also performed, evidencing the dye ability to colour cotton fibers after the colour
recycling (Figure 2). Particularly, the experiments of dyeing were executed during the Kiwi Peels desorption in hot water at
323 K, without further additive
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
Spectroscopic and electrochemical study of Rose Bengal in aqueous solutions of cyclodextrins
No full textThe interaction of Rose Bengal (RB) in aqueous solution of LiClO4 0.1 M with a-cyclodextrin (a-CD), hydroxypropyl-h-cyclodextrins
(HP-h-CD) and hydroxypropyl-g-cyclodextrins (HP-g-CD) were studied by spectrophotometric measurements. The presence of Induced
Circular Signals and the results of the analysis of the modifications in the absorbance spectra of RB produced by the presence of CDs in
solution indicate that RB forms inclusion complexes only with HP-h-CD and with HP-g-CD
Kiwi peel waste as a recyclable adsorbent to remove textile dyes from water: Direct Blue 78 removal and recovery
No full textAccording to circular bioeconomy principles, the use of kiwi peels to remove Direct Blue 78 (DB) from water is investigated during this work, proposing food waste as a recyclable adsorbent substrate. Direct Blue 78 (DB) was adopted as a model pollutant, employing its visible spectrum to monitor its adsorption. The adsorption process was thus fully characterized, investigating the roles of ionic strength, pH values, adsorbent/pollutant amounts, and temperature. The thermodynamics, kinetics, and adsorption isotherms were also studied. To extend the kiwi peels' lifetime, quite complete desorption was obtained by adopting hot water as a safe and eco-friendly strategy. Despite the relatively low kiwi peels' maximum adsorption capacity (6 mg g-1) for DB when adsorbed in the presence of NaCl, 10 cycles of adsorption/desorption were attempted, proposing the recycling of both the dye and kiwi peels as dictated by circular economy principles. Dyeing experiments were also performed, evidencing the dye's ability to color cotton fabrics after its recycling. Finally, the removal of other textile dyes, Direct Red 83 : 1 and Direct Yellow 86, was demonstrated in a mixture with DB. A preliminary investigation was performed to find the best working conditions for inducing the solid-state dye photodegradation, proposing a possible alternative for the adsorbent regeneration.According to circular bioeconomy principles, the use of kiwi peels to remove Direct Blue 78 (DB) from water is investigated during this work, proposing food waste as a recyclable adsorbent substrate
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