1,720,958 research outputs found
Gaseous Elemental Mercury Level and Distribution in a Heavily Contaminated Site: the Ex-chlor Alkali Plant in Torviscosa (Northern Italy)
No full textMercury (Hg) poses environmental and health risks due to its global distribution and high toxicity exhibited in some of its chemical forms. Although Hg is naturally present in the environment, human activities
have increased its cycling among the land, atmosphere and ocean by a factor of three to five comparing the pre-industrial period to the present day. The Torviscosa chlor-alkali plant (CAP), which operated
since the beginning of twentieth century, was one of the most important Cl2 production capacity in the Northern Italy and was responsible for an uncontrolled discharge of Hg in the surrounding area. Previous studies reported the high degree of Hg pollution in soils, river sediments and surface waters of the area, but the Hg level in the atmospheric media was never taken into consideration. In this work, an integrated approach was applied with the aim to assess the level, distribution and dispersion of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) close to the CAP area. GEM levels were monitored by means of four surveys conducted from September 2014 to July 2015, at fixed locations and covering an area of about 10 km2 (including CAP area, Torviscosa village and reclaimed land), accomplished to Hg bioaccumulation measurements in selected lichens. The results indicate that the CAP area currently represents the main source of GEM in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region. The highest levels were found close to the old factory’s buildings (more than 5000 ng m−3), whereas other sites are less impacted. The emission of GEM is not clearly related to the intensity of solar radiation (temperature) at the soil level; however, this latter influences the release
from the old buildings employed in the past for the production activities. The most important factor driving the GEM dispersion is the wind, as confirmed by the map of lichens bioaccumulation. In this context, the
GEM plume partially affects the nearby village of Torviscosa (about 1 km), but the values found were always well below the international thresholds for residential areas, thus excluding the risk of inhalation for
local inhabitants
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
Annual characterization of the nutrients and trophic state in a Mediterranean coastal lagoon: The Marano and Grado Lagoon (northern Adriatic Sea)
No full textA 1-year cycle of physico-chemical measurements was conducted in the Marano and Grado Lagoon (Adriatic Sea, Italy) with the aim to assess its trophic state. Some selected variables (nutrients, chlorophyll a, dissolved oxygen, temperature and salinity) were used to describe the system within the application of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and to compare it with other Mediterranean environments. From an ecological point of view the Marano and Grado Lagoon is one of the best conserved wetlands in the whole Mediterranean area and is protected by several European environmental pieces of legislation. However, the neighbouring mainland hosts several socio-economic activities which can affect its water quality. The results obtained in this work highlighted considerable spatial and temporal variability of physico-chemical parameters. Specifically, a large amount of anthropogenic nutrients, mainly in form of nitrogen (N), was carried from inland through river discharges in the Marano basin (western sector). However, these inputs were offset by the water exchange with the adjacent open sea, which exerted a dynamic dilution effect, and induced low water residence time thus limiting nutrients enrichment and their accumulation for long time periods. The Molar Redfield ratio (DIN/SRP) was always higher than the optimum value of 16 (in some cases it was up to 2000), thus suggesting that the system is phosphorus (P) limited, as confirmed by low chlorophyll a content, rare algal blooms and good water oxygenation. Trophic state indices and threshold values (EEA method, Carlson Trophic Index, TRIX and ASSETS) were applied. A broad range of classes was found (from oligotrophic to hypertrophic depending on water bodies, method applied and period of the year), thus suggesting that an over simplification of this complex ecosystem should be avoided. Further studies will be conducted in order to define the Lagoon's ecological status sensu WFD and the adequate management implications
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
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
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