1,721,184 research outputs found
Barrier effect of hydrolyzed collagen: characterization and chemical-physical behavior
Full text linkThis thesis concerns hydrolyzed collagen, also called gelatin, widely used in pharmaceutical
industry both for its nutritional properties, in order to correct the deficiency arising from its
insufficient dietary intake, and for its protective action towards aggressive agents, mainly
used by topical route. Chemical composition, molecular structure and medical uses of
collagen are described together with its metabolism in human body, with particular reference
to hydrolyzed collagen.
With the above premise, the research was focused on:
a) the chemical-physical characterization of the barrier effect of collagen, measuring it
towards the erosive action of hydrochloric acid;
b) the influence of the aminoacidic composition and degree of hydrolysis on the barrier
effect.
c) the effectiveness of hydrolyzed collagen and different antacidsin controlling acidity levels
in vitro.
On the basis of these experimental results a food supplement, based on hydrolyzed collagen
and tricalcium phosphate, was developed. Its efficacy and safety were tested by a clinical
trial in patients affected from functional dyspepsia.
These preliminary findings require validation with additional data from further
investigations, including a double-blinded and randomized clinical trial. It is of note,
however, that the present study deals with magnitudes in the order of 100 per cent. Their
statistical confrontation provides the so called “factual” evidence, which is different from
the “experimental” one. Moreover, the present study involved patients that did not respond
to current treatments. Therefore, this food supplement should be evaluated from the point of
view of “experimental therapy”, rather than “experimental research”
Development and Validation of the Climate Change-Related Reproductive Concerns Scale (CCRCS)
Full text linkIntroduction: As global concerns about climate change intensify, emerging research
reveals a link between climate change anxiety and individuals' decisions regarding
parenthood. More people are choosing not to have children due to worries about their carbon footprint or the future implications of climate change on their offspring. This trend emphasizes the critical necessity for a nuanced comprehension of how environmental concerns intertwine with reproductive intentions. To address this imperative, our study develops the Climate Change-Related Reproductive Concerns Scale (CCRCS) and evaluates its psychometric properties.
Methods: CCRCS was developed and validated in a sample of 206 Italian adults aged
19 to 51. Ten items were created to evaluate climate change-related reproductive attitudes: 5 anti-reproductive items and 5 pro-reproductive, with their responses reversed for consistency in interpretation.
Results: Exploratory factor analysis revealed a single-factor structure, explaining
63.82% of the variance, with the scale demonstrating good internal consistency (α = 0.85). The factor structure was replicated, and the scale's validity was examined through correlations with measures of eco-paralysis and climate change anxiety, with significant correlations supporting construct validity. Furthermore, the relationship between climate change-related reproductive concerns and adaptation responses was explored, assessing the impact of framing on CCRCS scores.
Conclusion: the CCRCS provides a reliable and valid measure of these concerns,
highlighting the psychological impact of climate change anxiety on reproductive decisionmaking and emphasizing the need for nuanced understanding in this area
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
How Does Climate Change Worry Influence the Relationship between Climate Change Anxiety and Eco-Paralysis? A Moderation Study
Full text linkClimate change (CC) has a significant impact on human health, resulting in both physical and mental illnesses. Eco-anxiety-the excessive and pervasive fear about the consequences of CC-is the most studied psychoterratic state. This study presents the validation of Italian versions of Hogg's Eco-Anxiety Scale (HEAS) and the Eco-Paralysis Scale. It also investigates the effects of worry on eco-anxiety and eco-paralysis. The study was conducted on 150 Italian individuals who responded to the two scales and to other questionnaires to make comparisons with the two above. Internal consistency and factorial structure were assessed through Cronbach's alpha, Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Exploratory Factor Analysis. A median regression was used to assess the association between the EPS and the HEAS and Climate Change Worry Scale (CCWS) and their interaction. HEAS and EPS showed good psychometric properties: HEAS resulted in good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.986), and the Eco-Paralysis scale had good test-retest reliability (r = 0.988). In both cases, a one-factor structure was suggested to be retained. The interaction terms between HEAS and CCWS (beta = -0.02; 95% CI: -0.03, -0.01; p < 0.001) and between HEAS and education (beta = -0.05; 95% CI: -0.08, -0.02; p < 0.001) were significant. Therefore, the feeling of worry seems to act as a moderator between climate change anxiety and eco-paralysis since it may appear to influence individuals and their ability to transform anxiety into action. Education plays a role in reducing the risk of Eco-Paralysis in subjects affected by climate change anxiety. Thus, data suggest that working on reinforcing a more cognitive concern might result in more problem-solving-focused strategies to face climate change anxiety and eco-paralysis
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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