1,720,958 research outputs found
Evaluating the value of entomotoxicology in forensic toxicology casework using the first minipig model
Abstract Purpose A principal objective of forensic entomotoxicology is to apply insect specimens for post-mortem toxicological analysis. Successful identification of drugs in necrophagous insects may depend on pharmacokinetic processes occurring in larvae. We thus applied a model system involving Lucilia sericata (Meigen, 1826) (Diptera, Calliphoridae) to investigate pharmacokinetics of diazepam in larvae in vitro, followed by a field experiment with Göttingen Minipigs. Methods Lucilia sericata larvae were fed one of four diazepam concentrations at constant temperature, sampled regularly, and analysed for diazepam and metabolites by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). Two Göttingen Minipigs of 60 kg each were euthanised one hour after oral administration of 25 mg/kg diazepam and placed outdoors. While available, samples of peripheral blood, cardiac blood, liver, and fly larvae were collected over 70 days. Extracts from porcine samples and larvae were analysed by LC–MS/MS. Some larvae were bred to adulthood and identified morphologically together with 718 larvae. Results Oxazepam was a primary metabolite of diazepam in L. sericata larvae. The most prevalent fly species on minipig carcasses were Lucilia caesar (Linnaeus, 1758) (Diptera, Calliphoridae) and Lucilia illustris (Meigen, 1826) (Diptera, Calliphoridae). Diazepam and metabolites were detected in all larval samples, even weeks after porcine samples were unacquirable due to post-mortem decomposition. Ratios of oxazepam and nordazepam to diazepam concentrations in larvae were significantly higher than in associated porcine samples, confirming metabolism in larvae. Conclusion These findings are relevant to forensic casework, as there is potential for misinterpreting that the deceased consumed oxazepam or nordazepam rather than diazepam. This caution may also apply to other drugs that can form through metabolism in larvae.Bavarian Gender Equality GrantEllegaard Göttingen Minipigs Research FoundationMunich University SocietyLudwig-Maximilians-Universität München http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/50110000572
A revised and annotated checklist of the hawkmoths (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) of the Dominican Republic, with new records and distribution maps of chosen species
This study presents a revised and annotated checklist of the hawkmoths (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) of the Dominican Republic, building on extensive fieldwork from 2007 to 2024, with additional data from iNaturalist. In total, we document 51 species in 21 genera, including two species newly recorded for the country: Pachylia syces insularis and Aellopos tantalus zonata. Distribution maps are provided for selected taxa of particular conservation or biogeographic interest (e.g., endemic species). Given that certain species remain known from only a few specimens, the results underscore the significance of continued surveys. Hawkmoths play essential ecological roles as pollinators in both natural and agricultural settings, and understanding their diversity and habitat requirements is vital to safeguarding these insects and the ecosystems they support
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
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
“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
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
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
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
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
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
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