1,722,434 research outputs found
Il Gallo forcello in ambiente alpino
No full textIn light of rapidly decreasing biodiversity, conservation efforts aimed at the sustainable management of animal species and their habitats is becoming increasingly relevant. The black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix) is listed as ‘Least Concern’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. However, at the southern edges of its range, this species is often fragmented, and some populations are classified as threatened. Importantly for conservation actions, the genetic ‘health’ of this elusive species in these regions is poorly understood. Here we have applied a Genotyping by Sequencing (GBS) approach to identify thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) across the genome of the black grouse over its Alpine range, where it is of conservation concern. These numerous markers are then used to investigate spatial and temporal patterns of genetic variation and population structure, which in turn help to discern the natural and anthropogenic factors affecting these patterns in the black grouse. Knowledge of the impact of these factors allow us to suggest conservation actions. In total, 400 tissue samples were collected from hunting bags across the Italian Alps (from Liguria to Friuli- Venezia Giulia) over a 20-year period. Overall, we found that the black grouse is currently a panmictic population across the Italian Alps; that is, gene flow is high between neighbouring areas. In addition, levels of genetic variability are good and have not decreased over the last 20 years, suggesting that current management practices (including limited hunting of male black grouse) are suitable for maintaining genetic diversity. However, the data suggest that the black grouse populations east and west of Lake Como and Val Chiavenna have diverged, possibly as a result of unfavourable reproductive conditions, such as the higher level of rainfall in this area compared to the rest of the southern Alps. In addition, this species may not disperse willingly over the large expanse of Lake Como, which is also flanked by busy highways. In general, our study results suggest that the maintenance of suitable continuous habitat (or habitat corridors where this is not possible) would facilitate the dispersal of these shy grouse and prevent population isolation in the future. For this reason, we also suggest that the number and distribution of hunted animals should be re-assessed not only according to demographic criteria, but also by identifying and preserving key areas where dispersal and gene flow takes place. In fact, although our data did not reveal any genetic isolation, fragmentation of suitable habitats and subdivision into a large number of differently connected subpopulations with highly variable population densities, remain among the main threats to conservation of the black grouse
An investigation of the medical use of thermo-mineral springs found in Misasa (Japan) and Jáchymov (Czech Republic)
Full text linkThis thesis presents an analysis of the beliefs and practices surrounding balneotherapy, a technique that uses waters of natural mineral springs for healing. Balneotherapy as employed in the treatment of mainly chronic, incurable and painful disorders will be used as a tool for revealing the pluralistic medical belief systems in the two cultures chosen for this study, the cultures of Japan and the Czech Republic. This is an ethnographic study based on fieldwork which was carried out in two locations - Misasa Onsen in Japan and Jáchymov in the Czech Republic. Linked by the presence of natural mineral springs with similar properties, by historical connections and by the existence of medical establishments practicing balneotherapy these spas made suitable locations for the study of medical practices and beliefs in different cultural systems of medicine. The two countries support a pluralistic cultural system of medical care into which both cosmopolitan and ethnomedical sets of values are incorporated. While the involvement of cosmopolitan medicine showed great similarities between the two cultures the patients’ constructed experience of illness showed many differences.
This thesis argues that these differences are due to cultural factors belonging to the domain of active response to illness acquired during acculturation and deeply embedded sets of cultural notions of illness, health and healthcare. The thesis investigates these cultural factors and sets them in the frameworks of several cultural constructs some of which are common to both cultures but most of which are unique. The practice of balneotherapy in the two countries has developed and changed since the adoption of its theory in the nineteenth century. What has emerged in both cases is a complex method of holistic healing comprising both physiological and psychological elements. It is hoped that this study added to the knowledge of the meanings contained within the medical cultural systems of Japan and Czech Republic
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
Uncover genetic interactions in Caenorhabditis elegans by RNA interference
No full textRNA-mediated interference (RNAi) has emerged recently as one of the most powerful functional genomics tools. RNAi has been particularly effective in the nematode worm C. elegans where RNAi has been used to analyse the loss-of-function phenotypes of almost all predicted genes. In this review, we illustrate how RNAi has been used to analyse gene function in C. elegans as well as pointing to some future directions for using RNAi to examine genetic interactions in a systematic manner. © 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc
- …
