1,720,974 research outputs found
Landfill and natural soils on the Somma-Vesuvius volcanic complex, Italy: Differences and similarities in soil morphology and properties
No full textThe aims of this investigation were to study the modifications induced by a landfill activity on native soil morphology and properties, and to highlight the critical environmental issues related to this activity in a volcanic environment. We studied the soils from a solid waste disposal activity on Somma-Vesuvius volcanic complex. The disposal site was in operation for about 50 yr, and was recently dismantled. Adjacent natural soils were also selected and investigated. The natural soils were derived from superimposition of pyroclastics deposited by the volcanoes Somma-Vesuvius and Phlegrean Fields. In these soils, andic soil properties were mainly detected in the subsoils, while vitrandic characteristics distinguished the upper soils. Little or no pedogenetic development characterized the human-influenced soils that consisted of chaotic masses of Vesuvian earthy materials and sparse or interbedded garbic material. The earthy materials had physical and chemical characteristics similar to those of the natural upper soil horizons, lacked andic soil properties, and had a sand mineralogy similar to that of natural upper soils. Environmental concerns came out of the presence of garbage in coarse textured and weakly developed soil materials overlaying the permeable aquifer characterizing the studied area. The studied human-influenced soils were arranged using U.S. soil taxonomy into the Vitrandic subgroup of Xerorthents, that also identified the natural soils. This class was inadequate for interpreting the soil morphology and properties of soils from the solid waste disposal site, and the related environmental issues. Therefore, the suitability of adopting Garb-classes is discussed. Copyright © 2005 by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc
Vertic soils in alluvion-reclaimed areas, Volturno River Plain, Italy
No full textReclamation activities in alluvial depressions in Volturno River Plain resulted in the occurrence of soils with vertic characteristics and properties. We studied the genesis and properties of soils in alluvial areas known to be reclaimed by the alluvion system about 100 yr ago, and compared these soils with natural, adjacent alluvial soils. Soils in the reclaimed areas were characterized by cracks, slickensides, and high clay contents. Soils were satisfactorily classified within the existing Vertisol order of U. S. soil taxonomy. Soils with similar vertic morphology and properties also occurred in nonreclaimed adjacent alluvial areas, where they were associated with coarser textured Entisols. Since no important morphological evidence for the reclamation activity was identified in the soils in the reclaimed areas, the anthropogenic origin of such soils only emerged from historical records. The introduction of relational properties such as historical records is currently suggested to interpret and classify soils of various proposed taxonomic classes at different categorical levels. Therefore we discuss some critical aspects of the use of the historical records for classifying the soils in the reclaimed areas into genetic and technical soil categories that are currently being defined by the International Committee on Anthropogenic Soils (ICOMANTH)
Heavy metals in contaminated soils of the Rio Sitzerri floodplain (Sardinia, Italy): characterization and impact on pedodiversity
No full textFour representative soils located in areas of the Rio Sitzerri floodplain (Sardinia, Italy), which were flooded and covered by materials coming
from the metalliferous mine of Montevecchio, were studied to define the total content and the geochemical forms of heavy metals and to discuss
their impact on pedodiversity. The significance of heavy metal concentrations in the contaminated soils was assessed by the comparison
with data coming from three selected reference soils representative for non-contaminated areas. Most soils are deep or very deep and consist
of a sequence resulting from different sedimentary cycles. The soils located in areas that were flooded and covered by materials coming from
the Mine are characterised by the presence of buried horizons and are mainly contaminated by Zn, Ni, Pb, and Cd and, to some extent, by
Cr and Cu. The sequential extractions indicated the presence of reactive forms in all the soils and for all contaminating metals, whose mobility
risk is increased by the generally very strongly acid to slightly acid soil reaction values. As regards pedodiversity, the heavy metal contamination
clearly influenced quantity, quality and function of the soils. The morphological diversity of pedons, the taxonomic and functional
pedodiversity and the soilscape pattern were all strongly affected, causing irreparable damage to the local economy and to the environment.
This study highlights the need for the planning of remediation actions focused on the correct disposal and management of the mining residues
at Montevecchio and can contribute in a significant way to set future environmental regulations
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
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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