186,290 research outputs found
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
No full textThe 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
Influence of soybean meal dietary levels on growth, feed utilization and gut histology of Egyptian sole (Solea aegyptiaca) juveniles
No full textThe present study was undertaken in order to determine the effect of a dietary incorporation of soy bean meal (SBM, trypsin inhibitor activity 1.6 mg/g) on growth performance, nutrient utilization and gut histology of Egyptian sole Solea aegyptiaca. This species, which is genetically and morphologically close to Solea solea, is currently present in the Mediterranean Sea and reared in some Italian farms, using the same techniques for Solea solea production and it could represent a promising new species for Mediterranean aquaculture.
Three isoproteic and isolipidic extruded diets (crude protein, 47%, crude fat, 20%) were formulated containing 0 (diet 1), 18 (diet 2) and 30% SBM (diet 3). 540 juveniles (initial body weight of 6.9±0.2g) were equally distributed into nine 150 litres squared tanks (bottom surface: 520 cm2) connected with a recirculation system (temperature 20±1 °C and dissolved oxygen above 5 ppm). Animals have been hand-fed twice a day (at 9.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m.) at a daily ratio of 1.5% body weight-1. Diets were tested in triplicate for 87 days. The fish were weighed at days 28, 57 and 87, and they were sampled at days 0, 57 and 87 for nutrient retention determination. One-way ANOVA with Newmann – Keuls’ post test were used to analyze data (P≤0.05).
No differences in terms of palatability were observed and any diet has been consumed completely all through the experiment. At day 57, fish fed diet 2 (18%SBM) showed a statistically higher growth and nutrient utilization and a lower feed conversion rate than fish fed the diet 1 (fish meal based diet) and the diet 3 (30%SBM). At day 87, fish fed diet 1, 2 and 3 reached weights of 25.8±0.8g, 27.5±0.9g and 26.1±1.5g, respectively and no differences in performances or nutrient retention were found.
Histopathological gut examinations have revealed no noticeable differences in the appearances of the intestines between any of diet groups. Intestinal mucosal cells presented well vacuolated upper, with well defined microvillar brush borders.
On the basis of the results of this trial, SBM seems to be a good protein source for Egyptian sole and can be added in the diet up to 30% without any reduction in growth rate and minimal effect on gut histology
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
No full textWe 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
Concanavalin A-Rose Bengal bioconjugate for targeted Gram-negative antimicrobial photodynamic therapy
No full textPhotodynamic therapy (PDT) is considered a very promising therapeutic modality for antimicrobial therapy. Although several studies have demonstrated that Gram-positive bacteria are very sensitive to PDT, Gram-negative bacteria are more resistant to photodynamic action. This difference is due to a different cell wall structure. Gram-negative bacteria have an outer cell membrane containing lipopolysaccharides (LPS) that hinder the binding of photosensitizer molecules, protecting the bacterial cells from chemical attacks. Combination of the lipopolysaccharides-binding activity of Concanavalin A (ConA) with the photodynamic properties of Rose Bengal (RB) holds the potential of an innovative protein platform for targeted photodynamic therapy against Gram-negative bacteria. A ConA-RB bioconjugate was synthesized and characterized. Approximately 2.4 RB molecules were conjugated per ConA monomer. The conjugation of RB to ConA determines a decrease of the singlet oxygen generation and an increase of superoxide and peroxide production. The photokilling efficacy of the ConA-RB bioconjugate was demonstrated in a planktonic culture of E. coli. Irradiation with white light from a LED lamp produced a dose-dependent photokilling of bacteria. ConA-RB conjugates exhibited a consistent improvement over RB (up to 117-fold). The improved uptake of the photosensitizer explains the enhanced PDT effect accompanying increased membrane damages induced by the ConA-RB conjugate. The approach can be readily generalized (i) using different photo/sonosensitizers, (ii) to target other pathogens characterized by cell membranes containing lipopolysaccharides (LPS)
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
No full textWe 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
Dr. Edward P. Wimberly, ITC, July 2011
No full textThis video is a conversation with Dr. Edward P. Wimberly. Dr. Wimberly talks about his book, "No Shame in Wesley's Gospel: A Twenty-First Century Pastoral Gospel". Brad Ost, AUC Woodruff Library, is the interviewer
IgA nephropathy with severe chronic renal failure: A randomized controlled trial of corticosteroids and azathioprine
No full textBackground: Therapeutic nihilism is common in IgA nephropathy (IgAN) and renal insufficiency.
Methods: In a randomized controlled trial comparing steroids alone or combined with azathioprine in 253 IgAN patients, we used a separate randomization list for patients with creatinine >2.0 mg/dL. Twenty patients (group 1) were randomized to 3 intravenous pulses of methylprednisolone 1 g at months 1, 3 and 5, and oral prednisone 0.5 mg/kg every other day plus azathioprine 1.5 mg/kg/day for 6 months, followed by oral prednisone 0.2 mg/kg every other day plus azathioprine 50 mg/day for a further 6 months; 26 patients (group 2) received steroids alone. The primary outcome was renal survival (50% increase in plasma creatinine from baseline); secondary outcomes were proteinuria over time and adverse events.
Results: Six-year renal survival was not different between the 2 groups (50% vs. 57%; log-rank p=0.34). Median proteinuria decreased during follow-up in the whole population (from 2.45 g/day [interquartile range (IQR) 1.50-3.78] to 1.09 g/day [IQR 0.56-2.46]; p<0.001), with no between-group difference. Multivariate predictors associated with renal survival were sex of patient, proteinuria during follow-up, number of antihypertensive drugs, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and treatment including azathioprine. Six patients in group 1 (30%) and 4 in group 2 (15%) did not complete the therapy, because of side effects (p=0.406).
Conclusions: Six-year renal survival was similar in the 2 groups. At Cox analysis the addition of azathioprine may be slightly more effective than corticosteroids alone in patients with chronic renal insufficiency, although with an increase of side effects
DESIGN AND OPTIMIZATION OF A HIGH TEMPERATURE THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE WITH DIRECT ELECTRIC CHARGING AND CONVECTIVE DISCHARGING
No full textHigh-temperature thermal energy storage (TES) has been widely used in concentrated solar thermal power generation systems and today it is considered one of the most promising technologies for grid-scale electricity storage. In a conventional TES system, the charging and discharging processes are carried out in an indirect contact heat exchanger, which involves transportation losses. Therefore, a high temperature TES that is charged with high-voltage electrical power and discharged with the working fluid of the power cycle is proposed in the present study. A modular design has been developed, which can be extended to any scale. This involves a set of elements made up of an electric heater surrounded by a matrix of ceramic material, which works as storage medium, and air as working fluid for the discharge. The geometry is optimized to have high energy storage density, high air outlet temperature, and minimum pressure drop. Different cross sections, sizes, and void fractions are investigated. The results showed that the elliptical cross section provides the best performance in terms of pressure drops. Moreover, with the elliptical cross section the heat exchange between air and solid material is 2 times more efficient compared to circular and hexagonal elements. Using smaller electric heaters, but larger in number, improves the air heating rate through the reservoir. Increasing the air velocity by 10 times (from 0.1 to 1 m s-1), the heat exchange decreases by 60 to 70% for all the considered cases. Doubling the void fraction from 0.3 to 0.6 causes a reduction in the air heating rate of 35-50%. According to the boundary conditions, the optimal layout of the TES is 10m × 9.6m × 20m. With an air velocity of 0.3 m s-1 and a void fraction of 40%, pressure drop with elliptical elements is 1.8 Pa · m-1. Using magnesium oxide as thermal storage medium, the energy density of the proposed thermal storage design results in 390 kWhth m-
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