1,721,000 research outputs found
Comparison between two methods of estimation of chilling and heat requirements for flowering in almond
No full textA precise determination of thermic requirements (chilling and heat) for breaking dormancy is quite difficult under field conditions. However, quantification under laboratory conditions should be considered with caution and it is costly and time consuming when analyzing a large number of genotypes. For this reason, statistical models based on the analysis of historical blooming dates have been developed to fit the responses of tree species to local weather conditions. Chilling and heat requirements for breaking dormancy and flowering were studied in five local almond cultivars with a widespread time of full bloom (‘Pizzuta d’Avola’, the earliest, ‘Tribuzio’, ‘Tuono’, ‘Cristomorto’ and ‘Rana Gentile’, the latest) in Apulia region (southern Italy). The chilling portions (CP), determined by dynamic model, and the growing degree hours by Richardson model (GDH) were used to determine chilling and heat accumulations, respectively. Using both full bloom dates and temperatures of previous seasons for nine years, two methods for estimating thermic requirements were compared: the Ashcroft method (AM), and a new version (Ashcroft method modified, AMM) that takes into account in a higher extent the GDH accumulation in comparison with AM, and allows selecting the optimal requirements when alternative choices are possible. The two methods generally underestimated the blooming date, but with a difference from the real one within 5 days for most of the cases studied. AMM resulted more effective than the original method in Apulian semi-arid conditions. The estimation of thermic requirements using temperature data and full bloom dates seemed to be useful, easy and not too expensive to be implemented for a wide number of cultivars
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
Sustainable agriculture and soil conservation
Full text linkSoil degradation is one of the most topical environmental threats. A number of processes causing soil degradation, specifically erosion, compaction, salinization, pollution, and loss of both organic matter and soil biodiversity, are also strictly connected to agricultural activity and its intensification. The development and adoption of sustainable agronomic practices able to preserve and enhance the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils and improve agroecosystem functions is a challenge for both scientists and farmers. This Special Issue collects 12 original contributions addressing the state of the art of sustainable agriculture and soil conservation. The papers cover a wide range of topics, including organic agriculture, soil amendment and soil organic carbon (SOC) management, the impact of SOC on soil water repellency, the effects of soil tillage on the quantity of SOC associated with several fractions of soil particles and depth, and SOC prediction, using visible and near-infrared spectra and multivariate modeling. Moreover, the effects of some soil contaminants (e.g., crude oil, tungsten, copper, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) are discussed or reviewed in light of the recent literature. The collection of the manuscripts presented in this Special Issue provides a relevant knowledge contribution for improving our understanding on sustainable agriculture and soil conservation, thus stimulating new views on this main topic
The use of a nutrient quality score is effective to assess the overall nutritional value of three brassica microgreens
Get PDFMicrogreens have immense potential for improving dietary patterns, but little information is available regarding their overall nutritional value. We evaluated the nutritional traits of three hydroponically grown Brassica microgreens by using a Nutrient Quality Score. Micro cauliflower, micro broccoli and micro broccoli raab were grown using nutrient solutions with three different NH4:NO3 molar ratios (5:95, 15:85, and 25:75). Protein, dietary fiber, β-carotene, α-tocopherol and mineral elements (Ca, K, Mg, Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, and Na) were analyzed. We developed the Nutrient Quality Score (NQS 11.1) on the basis of 11 desirable nutrients and 1 nutrient (sodium) to be limited. All Brassica microgreens are an excellent source of Vitamins A and E (more than 20% of the daily reference value-DRV), as well as a good source of calcium and manganese (10-19% of the DRV). Micro cauliflower showed a NQS 11.1 at 47% higher than micro broccoli raab and micro broccoli. Using NH4:NO3 25:75 molar ratio, the average score was 27% higher than other molar ratios. In all cases, the microgreens in the present study showed a higher NQS 11.1 than their mature counterpart (on the basis of data from the United States Department of Agriculture), highlighting that the score of micro cauliflower was about six-fold higher than mature cauliflower. In conclusion, the NQS 11.1 was useful for assessing the overall nutritional quality of the three Brassica microgreens, instead of simply quantifying nutrient content, in order to compare a single nutrient among different genotypes. Furthermore, the results highlight that the micro broccoli raab, micro broccoli and micro cauliflower in this study can be considered nutrient-rich vegetables that are able to improve dietary patterns more effectively than their mature counterparts
A fatal drowning filmed in a private pool: Analysis of the sequences of submersion
Full text linkInvestigating a body found in water, without eyewitnesses, to determine the cause and manner of death is often difficult. Video recorded by a surveillance camera can document events and provide useful data for case assessment. The authors report the case of a 26-year-old man found dead in a swimming pool. The images taken by the surveillance camera are useful for reconstructing what happened: to confirm the autopsy by attributing the cause of death by drowning, without the interference of extrinsic factors. The sequence of events related to the submergence of the body, as seen from the video surveillance recording, does not seem to differ much from that described in the experiments reported in the literature even if it presents some discrepancies on the times of death, having been able to precisely control the times of death by acquiring the video surveillance. Reporting this drowning in a swimming pool has yet to be considered an isolated important case study for the study of the drowning process in humans
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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