1,720,963 research outputs found
Thermovalorization: new technologies, impacts and mitigation strategies [Termovalorizzatori: analisi e confronto tra nuove tecnologie, impatti e strategie di mitigazione]
No full textIn recent decades the quantity (in weight and volume) of solid waste is grown so rapidly to become a real problem especially in densely urbanized areas. The disposal of Municipal Solid Waste by incineration with energy recovery (WtE) is recognized as the most suitable system to process non-recyclable waste. However in several countries there are still concerns from experts and local communities about the environmental impact of incinerators. Epidemiological studies, developed since the 80s, are still the subject of controversial discussion because the results of research often refer to old incinerators--built a few decades ago--and therefore more impactful. In fact inadequate levels of gas cleaning and combustion process control in these facilities tended to risk the health of plant workers and local environment. This situation furthermore contributes to increase public risk perception and the spread of the NIMBY (not in my backyard) syndrome while siting this unwanted but necessary facilities. Actually, new strategies as advances in emission control designs and very stringent new governmental regulations, have resulted in large reductions in the amount of emissions. So the first aim of this work has been to understand if these high perception of risk have a reason to exist also in modern and new municipal waste incinerators. The second aim is to discover if the law, the new technologies and the mitigation strategies can really set a limit on the negative impacts on human health and on environment and if is it possible to improve or increase these strategies. Work has been divided into two parts. The first part focuses on analysis of waste environmental impact regulations, of plant operation systems and of epidemiological studies results. The second part involves the examination of the actual use of regulatory instruments, the most advanced technologies and the strategies for mitigation in the most effective new concept incinerators plants. For this verification has been analyzed in detail some different incineration plants recently created or rehabilitated in the last decade. The case-studies showed that the preliminary evaluation tools and the constant control of the waste incinerator are very effective. Moreover the comparison between the maximum emission limits, the BAT and the analysis of the actual emission of the cases study has shown the effectiveness of the depuration systems currently used. The emissions are in fact much lower than these limits. By the comparison we also identified the most efficient strategies and the best policies to inform and to involve people. Success in siting an unwanted but needed facility requires that authorities fully involve the public with openness and integrity in all aspects of the planning process. Starting from these result and in order to exploit what is already effective, some proposals where outlined and aim to be the basis for further approaches to design waste disposal plants
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
Espansione cutanea in eta' pediatrica: studio retrospettivo delle implicazioni psicologiche
No full textStructure-activity relationships of flurbiprofen analogues as stabilizers of the amyloidogenic protein transthyretin
No full textThe inherent amyloidogenic potential of wild type transthyretin (TTR) is enhanced by a large number of point
mutations, which destabilize the TTR tetramer, thereby promoting its disassembly and pathological aggregation
responsible for TTR-related amyloidosis. TTR stabilizers are able to interact with the thyroxine-binding sites of
TTR, stabilizing its tetrameric native state and inhibiting amyloidogenesis. Herein, we report on in vitro, ex vivo,
and X-ray analyses to assess the TTR structural stabilization by analogues of flurbiprofen, a non-steroidal antiinflammatory
drug (NSAID). Overall, considering together binding selectivity and protective effects on TTR
native structure by flurbiprofen analogues in the presence of plasma proteins, as determined by Western Blot, the
aforementioned properties of analyzed compounds appear to be better (CHF5075 and CHF4802) or similar
(CHF4795) or worse (CHF5074, also known as CSP-1103) as compared to those of diflunisal, used as a reference
TTR stabilizer. Molecular details of the determinants affecting the interactions of CHF5075, CHF4802, and
CHF4795 with wild type TTR and of CHF5074 with the amyloidogenic A25T TTR variant have been elucidated
by X-ray analysis. Distinct interactions with TTR appear to characterize flurbiprofen analogues and the NSAID
diflunisal and its analogues as TTR stabilizers. Relationships between stabilizing effect on TTR by flurbiprofen
analogues determined experimentally and molecular details of their interactions with TTR have been established,
providing the rationale for their protective effects on the native protein structure
Interactions of tolcapone analogues as stabilizers of the amyloidogenic protein transthyretin
No full textTransthyretin (TTR) is an amyloidogenic homotetramer involved in the transport of thyroxine and retinol in blood and cerebrospinal fluid. TTR stabilizers, such as tolcapone, an FDA approved drug for Parkinson's disease, are able to interact with residues of the thyroxine-binding sites of TTR, both wild type and pathogenic mutant forms, thereby stabilizing its tetrameric native state and inhibiting amyloidogenesis. Herein, we report on the synthesis of 3-deoxytolcapone, a novel stabilizer of TTR. The high-resolution X-ray analyses of the interactions of 3-O-methyltolcapone and 3-deoxytolcapone with TTR were performed. In the two TTR−ligand complexes the tolcapone analogues establish mainly H-bond and hydrophobic interactions with residues of the thyroxine-binding site of the TTR tetramer. Both compounds are capable of high and selective stabilization of TTR in the presence of plasma proteins, despite their markedly different ‘forward’ and ‘reverse’ binding mode, respectively. In fact, the loss or the weakening of stabilizing interactions with protein residues of 3-deoxytolcapone in comparison with tolcapone and 3-O-methyltolcapone is compensated by new interactions established at the dimer-dimer interface. Our data, coupled with previously reported data on the pharmacokinetics properties in humans of tolcapone and 3-O-methyltolcapone, further support the relevance of the latter tolcapone analogue as TTR stabilizer
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
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