1,721,074 research outputs found
Safety characteristics of the monolithic \CFC\ divertor
No full textThe main distinguishing feature of the monolithic \CFC\ divertor is the use of a single material, a carbon fibre reinforced carbon, for the protective armour, the heat sink and the cooling channels. This removes joint interface problems which are one of the most important concerns related to the reference solutions of the \ITER\ \CDA\ divertor. An activation analysis of the different coolant options for this concept is presented. It turns out that neither short-term nor long-term activation are a concern for any coolants investigated. Therefore the proposed concept proves to be attractive from a safety stand-point also
Randomized-controlled study assessing the effect of milking permission settings and concentrate supplementation on milking frequency and milk yield in a pasture-based automatic milking system
Full text linkThis study aimed to verify the effect of milking permission (MPE) and concentrate supplementation (CS) on milking frequency (milkings per cow per day) and milk yield (kilograms per cow per day) in a farm using a pasture-based automatic milking system (AMS). Sixty-eight cows milked using this AMS unit were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups homogeneous for parity, DIM, and milk yield. Treatments used were frequent or restricted MPE, that granted cows permission to milk after 6 to 8 h or 9.6 to 14 h of the previous milking, respectively; and low (LC) or high (HC) CS of 0.5 kg or 3.5 kg/cow per day, respectively. The combination of the 2 levels of MPE and the 2 levels of CS resulted in the 4 treatment combinations (frequent HC [FHC], restricted HC [RHC], frequent LC [FLC], and restricted LC [RLC]). This study was designed as a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with treatment crossover: each of the 4 cow groups was randomly assigned to 1 of the 4 treatment combinations for a 5-wk experimental period (1 pretreatment week and 4 treatment weeks), and after each 5-wk period groups crossed over to another treatment combination until they experienced all. Statistical analysis assessed the effect of MPE, CS, and their interaction on milk yield, milking frequency, box time, milking time, and average milk-flow rate. This was done using a mixed model analysis with repeated measures to account for repeated observations on the experimental unit (cow). Milk yield per cow per day and milkings per cow per day were significantly higher with the frequent compared with the restricted MPE (1.5 kg and 0.65 milkings, respectively). Milk yield per cow per day and milkings per cow per day were significantly higher with the HC compared with the LC CS (3.1 kg and 0.25 milkings, respectively). Additionally, milk yield per cow per day was affected by the interaction of MPE and CS and it was highest with the FHC (20.1 kg) treatment combination, followed by RHC (18.2 kg) treatment combination. The number of milkings per cow per day were also affected by the interaction of MPE and CS. The highest estimated number of milkings per cow per day was recorded for the FHC (2.12) and the FLC (1.77) treatment combinations, followed by the RHC (1.38) and RLC (1.23) treatment combinations. Similarly, milking interval was 2.5 h longer for the RLC treatment combination compared with RHC. The shortest milking interval was observed for the FHC (11 h) and FLC (12.8 h) treatment combinations. In conclusion, the study showed that allowing access to the robot between 6 to 8 h after the previous milking was sufficient (even with a minimal level of CS) to achieve acceptable milk production and milking performance in a pasture-based AMS
Plant Essential Oils as Healthy Functional Ingredients of Nutraceuticals and Diet Supplements: A Review
Full text linkEssential oils (EOs) are mixtures of volatile molecules endowed with health-promoting biological activities that go beyond their role as aromas and natural preservatives and can be exploited to develop functional foods and diet supplements. Their composition is briefly addressed along with regulatory aspects. The potential health benefit of human diet supplementation with EOs is outlined through a review of the recent literature on available clinical trials and preclinical research concerning EOs activity towards: (1) irritable bowel syndrome; (2) inflammatory bowel disease; (3) regulation of microbiota; (4) gastroprotection; (5) hepatoprotection; (6) protection of the urinary tract and diuresis; (7) management of metabolic disorders including hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia; (8) anti-inflammatory and pain control; (9) immunomodulation and protection from influenza; and (10) neuroprotection and modulation of mood and cognitive performance. The emerging potential in such activities of selected EOs is given focus, particularly green and black cumin, bergamot, orange, myrtle, peppermint, sage, eucalyptus, lavender, thyme, lemon balm, ginger, and garlic
Safety and environmental advantages of breeding blanketless fusion reactors
No full textNext-step reactors will use DT cycle. However, environmental advantage will be the main chance for fusion to compete with other energy sources. The environmental problems of DT cycle due to tritium and neutron activation, are examined. Fusion commercial reactors could be based on alternative fuel cycles like D-He3. Advantages and disadvantages of this fuel cycle are outlined. All the technologies related with the self-breeding of tritium and the concept of breeding blanket itself may be not reactor relevant. In the frame of the Next-step studies, the potential advantages of intermediate DT devices without breeding blanket are discussed. Simplified design, lower cost, higher safety are the main ones. The problem of the source of tritium is examine
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
A feasibility study of a PMUT-based wearable sensor for the automatic monitoring of carotid artery parameters
No full textThe measurement of hemodynamic and morphological parameters in carotid artery like the peak blood velocity, the wall distensibility, the blood volume flow, the pulsatility index, and others, is of high medical interest. These indexes are routinely acquired during ultrasound examinations of patients. Unfortunately, at present, there is no possibility of a mid- or long- term continuous monitoring of such parameters in a non-clinical environment, like it is, for example, for basic cardiac parameters acquired through an Holter monitor. A wearable ultrasound device capable of continuous and automatic monitoring of carotid parameters needs a suitable sensor and a method for the automatic localization of the vessel, which compensates for patient's movements. In this work we present a pilot study based on a 16-element Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers (PMUT) array. It is shown that the PMUT, connected to the ULA-OP research scanner, produced B-mode phased-images of a vessel phantom where the vessel position was automatically tracked. The vessel was correctly located with accuracy better than 1 mm in more than 90% of the images
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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