1,721,174 research outputs found

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The 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

    SERS characterization of self-assembling oligopeptides for tissue engineering

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    Eight alternating polar/non-polar peptides derived from the self-assembling peptide EAK-16 (Ac- AEAEAKAKAEAEAKAK-NH2) were examined in comparison with the EAK-16 parent form (peptide 1), both as-synthesized and after gamma-radiation treatment in oxidative environment (formation of ∙OH radical), to mimic the inflammation process occurring during the first phases of implantation. The peptides were studied for their possible use as biomimetic materials [1] due to their self-assembling properties and to the presence, in two of them, of the RGD sequence, an active modulator of cell adhesion. Previous investigations on titanium surfaces [2] demonstrated that some oligopeptides, i.e. EAK16 (peptide 1), peptide 3 (obtained by K→Orn substitution), peptide 5 (A→Abu substitution), peptide 7 (insertion at the N-terminus of the RGD sequence), and peptide 8 (RGD insertion and “scrambling” of the sequence) were not severely affected by the treatment and retained their prevalent structure. The other peptides, i.e. peptide 2 (obtained by E→D substitution), peptide 4 (E→D and K→Orn substitutions) and peptide 6 (A→Y substitution), underwent significant conformational changes (i.e. increase in the á-helix content). Interestingly, these same last 3 peptides were severely affected also by the radical attack induced by irradiation [3], changing their secondary structure and lateral chains interactions. To better investigate the interaction between peptides and metallic surfaces, we carried out SERS experiments on silver nanoparticles. As regards the as-synthesized peptides, all of them interacted with the Ag colloid by the COO- lateral groups of aspartic or glutamic acid residues. Other observed interaction sites were: - NH2/NH3+ of basic aminoacidic residues (lysine and/or ornithine) in peptides 3, 4 and 7; - amide group in peptides 1, 2, 4 and 8; - the aromatic ring of Tyr side chains in peptide 6. As regards the peptides after irradiation, they still interact through the before-mentioned groups; however, those undergoing conformational changes showed differences in band intensities and positions (see Fig.1) References [1] A. Tinti, M. Di Foggia, P. Taddei, A. Torreggiani, M. Dettin, C. Fagnano, J. Raman Spetrosc. 39, 250 (2008) [2] M. Di Foggia, P. Taddei, A. Torreggiani, M. Dettin, A. Tinti, J. Raman Spetrosc. 42, 276 (2011) [3] M. Di Foggia, P. Taddei, A. Torreggiani, M. Dettin, A. Tinti, J. Raman Spetrosc. 44, 1446 (2013

    Variations on the Author

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    “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

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    We 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

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    We 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

    Author Index

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    koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist

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    We 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

    Composting of solid and sludge residues from agricultural and food industries. Bioindicators of monitoring and compost maturity

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    A study to monitor the composting process, to evaluate the effec tiveness of bioindicators for the quality and maturity of cured compost obtained by a mixture of winery residues, sludges from dairies and solid residues from food processing (grape-stalks, grape-dregs, rice husks), was conducted. Composting process lasting five months was monitored by chemico-physical, spectroscopic (FTIR, DTG and DSC), microbiological and enzymatic analyses. Biological activities (ATP, DHA contents and several enzymatic activities), impedance variations (DT) of mixed cultures during growth and potential pathogens (E. coli and Salmonella sp.), were determined. The phytotoxicity tests gave a germination index higher than 90% and no significant genotoxic differences between controls and the compost samples were evidenced. Pathogens were not found on the cured compost that can therefore be satisfactorily used as amendment for agricultural crops. However, no single measurement of a composting process factor, biological, chemical or physical, gave a comprehensive view of the quality of a specific composting. We proposed a tool of bioindicators of potential activity and markers in combination for integrated evaluation of monitoring of composting process and compost quality. The responses of several enzymatic activities were positive and indicative of their favorable use capable to reveal even very small changes within microbial population and activity in test and monitoring of compost programmes
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