1,721,385 research outputs found
Attualità delle strategie di impiego dei feromoni. Atti XXI Congresso Nazionale Italiano di Entomologia, Campobasso giugno 2007: 166
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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
Stain Color Adaptive Normalization (SCAN) algorithm: Separation and standardization of histological stains in digital pathology
Full text linkBackground and objective: The diagnosis of histopathological images is based on the visual analysis of tissue slices under a light microscope. However, the histological tissue appearance may assume different color intensities depending on the staining process, operator ability and scanner specifications. This stain variability affects the diagnosis of the pathologist and decreases the accuracy of computer-aided diagnosis systems. In this context, the stain normalization process has proved to be a powerful tool to cope with this issue, allowing to standardize the stain color appearance of a source image respect to a reference image. Methods: In this paper, novel fully automated stain separation and normalization approaches for hematoxylin and eosin stained histological slides are presented. The proposed algorithm, named SCAN (Stain Color Adaptive Normalization), is based on segmentation and clustering strategies for cellular structures detection. The SCAN algorithm is able to improve the contrast between histological tissue and background and preserve local structures without changing the color of the lumen and the background. Results: Both stain separation and normalization techniques were qualitatively and quantitively validated on a multi-tissue and multiscale dataset, with highly satisfactory results, outperforming the state-of-the-art approaches. SCAN was also tested on whole-slide images with high performances and low computational times. Conclusions: The potential contribution of the proposed standardization approach is twofold: the improvement of visual diagnosis in digital histopathology and the development of powerful pre-processing strategies to automated classification techniques for cancer detection
Innovazione place-based: il caso delle social street
No full textStarting from the evidence that places, namely urban places, are more and more showing up as innovation drivers, which are able to connect, activate and put in synergy spontaneous citizen initiatives, this paper describes the phenomenon of 'social streets', analysing three Italian examples in the light of four interpretative components of the place-based innovation concept, and also discussing some aspects related to the emerging governance structures, as well as the profiles of similarity with the so-called Urban Living Labs (ulls). The conclusion is that the social street experiences can actually contribute to place-based innovation, intended as improving localized social relations
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
Il Pleistocene superiore in una sequenza pollinica della pianura ferrarese: un'applicazione della palinologia nel quadro degli studi sulle riserve idriche padane
No full textMolecular control of neuromuscular junction development
Full text linkSkeletal muscle innervation is a multi-step process leading to the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) apparatus formation. The transmission of the signal from nerve to muscle occurs at the NMJ level. The molecular mechanism that orchestrates the organization and functioning of synapses is highly complex, and it has not been completely elucidated so far. Neuromuscular junctions are assembled on the muscle fibers at very precise locations called end plates (EP). Acetylcholine receptor (AChR) clusterization at the end plates is required for an accurate synaptic transmission. This review will focus on some mechanisms responsible for accomplishing the correct distribution of AChRs at the synapses. Recent evidences support the concept that a dual transcriptional control of AChR genes in subsynaptic and extrasynaptic nuclei is crucial for AChR clusterization. Moreover, new players have been discovered in the agrin-MuSK pathway, the master organizer of postsynaptical differentiation. Mutations in this pathway cause neuromuscular congenital disorders. Alterations of the postynaptic apparatus are also present in physiological conditions characterized by skeletal muscle wasting. Indeed, recent evidences demonstrate how NMJ misfunctioning has a crucial role at the onset of age-associated sarcopenia
Whole-Cell Bioconversion of Renewable Biomasses-Related Aromatics to cis,cis-Muconic Acid
Full text linkLignin and wheat bran represent renewable feedstocks for generation of useful and value-added compounds such as vanillin (a popular flavoring agent) and cis,cis-muconic acid (ccMA, a building block for the synthesis of plastic materials). In the present work, we report on the setup of an efficient and green process for producing such valuable compounds based on (a) the optimization of the extraction procedures for vanillin from lignin and ferulic acid from wheat bran and (b) the genetic engineering of an Escherichia coli strain with up to three plasmids differing in copy numbers to modulate the expression of up to seven recombinant enzymes. In detail, we used two sequential reactions catalyzed by the decarboxylase Fdc and the dioxygenase Ado to convert wheat bran-derived ferulic acid into vanillin: nature-identical vanillin was produced in one pot with a >85% yield in 20 h. Next, the dehydrogenase LigV, the demethylase VanAB, the decarboxylase AroY, and the dioxygenase C12O converted lignin-derived vanillin into ccMA with a >95% conversion yield and a productivity of 4.2 mg of ccMA/g of Kraft lignin in 30 min. Finally, when the optimized E. coli strain expressing all the abovementioned enzymes was used, ccMA was produced with a >95% conversion yield starting from ferulic acid in 10 h following product isolation, corresponding to 0.73 g of ccMA/g of ferulic acid, 1.4 g of ccMA/L, and 2.2 g of ccMA/g of wheat bran biomass. The optimized whole-cell system represents a sustainable and cost-competitive process for producing high value-added products from renewable resources
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