1,721,557 research outputs found
Insights into Germline Development and Differentiation in Molluscs and Reptiles: The Use of Molecular Markers in the Study of Non-model Animals
No full textWhen shifting research focus from model to non-model species, many differences in the working approach should be taken into account and usually methodological modifications are required because of the lack of genetics/genomics and developmental information for the vast majority of organisms. This lack of data accounts for the largely incomplete understanding of how the two components-genes and developmental programs-are intermingled in the process of evolution. A deeper level of knowledge was reached for a few model animals, making it possible to understand some of the processes that guide developmental changes during evolutionary time. However, it is often difficult to transfer the obtained information to other, even closely related, animals. In this chapter, we present and discuss some examples, such as the choice of molecular markers to be used to characterize differentiation and developmental processes. The chosen examples pertain to the study of germline in molluscs, reptiles, and other non-model animals
Assessing the Effects of Donkey-Assisted Therapy on Adults with Intellectual Disabilities Using the ICF Framework
No full textThe aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of nine weekly sessions of Donkey-
Assisted Therapy (DAT) on the functional status of 37 adults with an intellectual
disability (ID) and to analyze the moderator role of the duration of sessions on the
expected positive outcomes. A new tool based on the International Classification of
Functioning Disability and Health (ICF) was employed to measure functional changes
in subjects undergoing DAT. The tool was administered at three different times (T0, T1,
T2) by health care professionals and instructors who rated participants’ performance
during DAT. Findings showed a significant improvement in the psycho-social functioning
of patients undergoing DAT, especially for participants provided with longer sessions.
The results of this study provide further evidence that DAT may be considered as
a suitable therapeutic option for people with ID
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
Cloud attenuation stochastic characterization from ground-based microwave radiometric data at Ka-band
No full textThis work aims at characterizing the behavior of suspended clouds in terms of atmospheric path attenuation. Well-known radiative models are adopted to provide an estimate of the equivalent clear-air path attenuation contribution, exploiting surface weather measurements and making several assumptions on their vertical stratification over the troposphere. However, the attenuation contribution due to non-precipitating clouds cannot be easily modelled by only using in-situ measurements, i.e., surface boundaries are not able to provide enough information about the whole atmospheric status for a given instant. A stochastic approach is used to model the time evolution of the cloud contribution. Both the probability density function and the power spectral density are retrieved by exploiting measurements from the RPG-HATPRO radiometer installed in Cebreros, Spain at the European Space Agency's Deep Space Antenna site. Physically-based prediction models for all-weather path attenuation estimation at 32 GHz are applied to the measured radiometric brightness temperatures. The cloud contribution is then extrapolated and modelled as a log-normal stochastic process as a result of a detailed analysis in both amplitude and time domains. Observation continuity is the key to improve the long-term statistical characterization of the atmospheric behavior and such modelling has proved to be crucial in assessing and completing attenuation estimate datasets, whenever solid path attenuation estimates were not available for relatively long periods
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