1,721,004 research outputs found
The water supply of Rome: an “almost” unique case
No full textThe trace element composition of water intended for human consumption plays an important role for
public health. Water is a significant source of potentially
toxic and essential elements; it can provide the body by
both direct recruitment and/or influencing the element
concentration in agriculture, livestock products and food
industry. The present study examines the concentrations of
a great number of elements in the drinking waters distributed in the territory of Rome, whose water supply
mainly comes from spring waters. 20 samples drawn from
municipal potable facilities in Rome were analyzed by
Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis. The neutron
irradiations were performed in the pneumatic channel and
in the rotating rack of ENEA’s Triga Mark II reactor at
1.3 9 1013 and 2.6 9 1012 n cm-2 s
-1
, respectively. In
total, 38 elements were determined in each sample. The
results evidence that all the studied elements for all the
aqueducts resulted well below the limits posed by the
regulations on water for human consumption. Besides,
considering the elements not regulated, the monitored
waters resulted safe from a toxicological point of view, and
adequate from nutritional aims. In addition, it was also
evidenced that the elemental composition resulted quite
similar to that of uncontaminated natural water. Finally, a
statistical approach evidences that the elemental behavior
of the monitored waters is mainly determined by geochemical factor
Tocols and fatty acids as markers of the origin of vegetable oils and fats in bakery products
No full textThis study reports an approach combining the use of tocols and fatty acids as variables to separate different bakery products with respect to the oil/fat used as ingredients. The tocol and fatty acid profiles were investigated in 12 biscuits prepared with different fats/oils. Based on different profiles, principal component analysis (PCA) was used to classify samples according to their fat/oil ingredients. The PCA found three components that are able to explain approximately 71% of total variance, and it proved useful in characterizing products. The tested approach was validated on 33 commercial bakery products prepared with different fats/oils to verify the information mentioned
on food labels
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
Development of analytical methods for reliable determinations in environmental food
No full textLa presenza di sostanze tossiche nei prodotti alimentari è stato da sempre un problema di grande rilevanza e influenza sociale sia per la natura sia per l’uomo. Nel corso degli anni sono state studiate e caratterizzate diverse sostanze presenti nell’ambiente, molte catalogate come tossiche, derivanti sia da fonti naturali sia da fonti industriali. Alcune di queste sostanze sono state ritenute particolarmente pericolose e quindi è nata l’esigenza di monitorarle e/o di cercare di limitarne il più possibile la concentrazione. In questo lavoro sono stati analizzati due composti classificati come probabili cancerogeni: gli ftalati nei vini e l’acrilammide nei cibi cotti. Lo studio sugli ftalati è stato messo a punto e validato utilizzando un metodo di arricchimento e preconcentrazione, che sfrutta la tecnica della SPE (Solid Phase Extraction) e utilizza come fase adsorbente il “carbograph 1”. Le analisi degli ftalati sono state condotte utilizzando tecniche cromatografiche, in primis con un sistema GC-FID e successivamente confermate con un sistema GC-MS (Ion Trap). La determinazione dell’acrilammide è stata effettuata adottando una tecnica di derivatizzazione con un agente derivatizzante alogenato, l’anidride tri-fluoro acetica (TFAA). La presenza di alogeni rende il derivato dell’acrilammide rivelabile con rivelatori ECD. Successivamente, il derivato dell’acrilammide è stato studiato e caratterizzato con il sistema GC-MS (Ion Trap). In entrambe le metodiche si rende necessario l’utilizzo del sistema GC-MS per dare conferma e aumentare la sensibilità del metodo. Inoltre entrambi i metodi risultano semplici, affidabili, riproducibili, poco costosi.The presence of toxic substances in food is a current problem of great concern and of social influence, both for nature and human beings. Over the years many new substances present in the environment, derived from industrial processes and from natural sources, have been studied, characterized and the majority of them are listed as toxic compounds. Some of them are considered particularly dangerous, hence the need of monitoring them with the aim of reducing their concentration in the environment. In this work, two compounds classified as potential carcinogens have been analysed: phthalates in the wines and acrylamide in the cooked food. The study on phthalates has been developed and validated using a method of enrichment and preconcentration, with solid-phase extraction (SPE) system and using like adsorbent phase “carbobraph 1”. Analyses of phthalates were conducted using chromatographic techniques like Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID) systems and compounds confirmed by Gas Chromatography-Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry (GC-IT/MS) method. The determination of acrylamide was carried out by technique of derivatization with halogenated agent like trifluoro-acetic anhydride (TFAA). The presence of halogens makes the derivative of acrylamide identifiable with ECD detector. Then the derivate of acrylamide was studied and characterized with IT-GC/MS system. It was necessary the use of IT-GC/MS system to increase the sensitivity of the method and to confirm the compounds. Furthermore both methods are simple, reliable, reproducible and not expensive.Dottorato di ricerca in Biochimica e Chimica Applicate (XXII ciclo
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