1,721,007 research outputs found
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
Approccio multidisciplinare per la valutazione dello stato di salute delle coste flegree
Full text linkLa Campania è la regione italiana con la percentuale più alta di coste inquinate, su 512 km di litorali, circa 80 risultano fortemente degradati e con livelli di inquinamento tali da rendere i parametri delle acque inadatti alla balneazione e ad altre attività economiche. La caratterizzazione dei sedimenti può giocare un ruolo importante nella valutazione dello stato di alterazione di un sistema complesso come quello costiero. Viene qui utilizzato un approccio multidisciplinare che ha interessato sedimenti marini del litorale di Pozzuoli associando alle analisi chimiche ed ecotossicologiche lo studio tassonomico ed ecologico di due gruppi sistematici della bentofauna presente: gli ostracodi (Crustacea) e i foraminiferi bentonici (Protista). I test ecotossicologici sono stati effettuati utilizzando tre diversi bioindicatori: Vibrio fischeri (Bacteria), Dunaliella tertiolecta (Clorophyta) e Artemia salina (Crustacea). Le analisi chimiche sono state mirate alla determinazione della concentrazione di IPA (Idrocarburi Policiclici Aromatici) e degli elementi presenti in tracce. L’integrazione dei dati, acquisiti con le diverse metodologie, ha permesso di ottenere una visione più completa dell’impatto delle attività antropiche su di un sistema naturale
Sediment contamination by heavy metals and ecological risk assessment: The case of Gulf of Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy
No full textHeavy metal concentrations in sediments of the Gulf of Pozzuoli, GoP, and northwest of the Gulf beyond Monte di Procida, MdP, were determined. The enrichment factor, EF, revealed in GoP strong pollution with peaks for Cr and Cu of 61.1 and 96.9. High EF Cr, Cu, and Ni values were observed for MDP. Geoaccumulation index, Igeo, rates GoP extremely polluted by Cr and Cu, Igeo > 5, and MdP heavily polluted by Cr, moderately to heavily polluted by Cu, and heavily to extremely polluted by Ni. Contamination factor, Cf, was high in GoP and varied: Cu > Cr > Ni > Cd > Hg > Zn > Pb > As, and those of Cr, Cu and Ni largely surpassed the thresholds in MdP. The ecological and comprehensive ecological risk placed Cr, Cu, Hg and Ni at high or serious risk level in the Gulf, with a peak of 465 for Cu and at a moderate level in MdP except for a very high risk for Ni
Infralittoral ostracoda and benthic foraminifera of the Gulf of Pozzuoli (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy)
No full textThe shallow water benthic foraminiferal and ostracod assemblages of the Gulf of Pozzuoli, located in the central Tyrrhenian Sea, were studied to investigate the relationship between calcareous meiofaunas and contaminant concentrations in bottom sediments exposed to prolonged industrial pollution. Both benthic foraminifers and ostracods displayed high-diversity and low-dominance, unusual features in highly contaminated environments. High-diversity values were possibly linked to the oligotrophic, well-oxygenated, and CaCO3-supersaturated coastal Mediterranean waters. The comparison with historical data suggested that assemblage composition changed in the last decades, with an increase in the relative abundance of benthic foraminiferal (Quinqueloculina seminulum, Bulimina elongata) and ostracod (Xestoleberis, Loxoconcha, Semicytherura rarecostata) taxa. They probably represent organisms tolerant to the environmental variations in the last decades. The relationships between granulometry and diversity indices, high correlation values between Quinqueloculina lata and heavy metal pollution, and the preference of the ostracod genera Urocythereis and Paracytheridea for very shallow marine waters were highlighted
Exploring avoided environmental impacts aswell as energy and resource recovery from microbial desalination cell treatment of brine
No full textSeawater represents a potential resource to ensure sustainable availability of water for population and irrigation purposes, especially in some areas of the world. Desalination processes allow the production of fresh water, but they generate also brine as waste product. Sustainable brine management should be identified to ensure proper disposal and potentially resource recovery. This experimental study showed that emerging technologies such as Microbial Desalination Cells (MDCs) may provide a valuable contribution to the sustainability of the seawater desalination sector. In this paper, we report results on lab-scale desalination brine treatments applying MDCs, which allow energy savings, resource recovery, environmental impact minimization, and reduction of the organic load in municipal wastewater. Our results showed that MDCs’ treatment allows the removal of approximately 33 g of salts (62% of the total)-including chlorides, bromides, and sulphates- from 20 mL of brine within 96 h. The MDCs, according to the source of energy and the presence of mature biofilm at the anode, spent 7.2 J, 7.9 J, and 9.6 J in the desalination process, with the higher amount of energy required by the abiotic system and the lesser by the MDCs fed with just wastewater. Our approach also showed environmental and energy reductions because of potential metal recovery instead of returning them into marine environment. We quantified the avoided life cycle of human and marine eco-toxicity impacts as well as the reduction of cumulative energy demand of recovered metals. The main benefit in terms of avoided toxicity would arise from the mercury and copper recovery, while potential economic advantages would derive from the recovered cobalt that represents a strategic resource for many products such as battery storage systems
Aging-related disorders and mitochondrial dysfunction: A critical review for prospect mitoprotective strategies based on mitochondrial nutrient mixtures
No full textA number of aging-related disorders (ARD) have been related to oxidative stress (OS) and mitochondrial dysfunction (MDF) in a well-established body of literature. Most studies focused on cardiovascular disorders (CVD), type 2 diabetes (T2D), and neurodegenerative disorders. Counteracting OS and MDF has been envisaged to improve the clinical management of ARD, and major roles have been assigned to three mitochondrial cofactors, also termed mitochondrial nutrients (MNs), i.e., α-lipoic acid (ALA), Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), and carnitine (CARN). These cofactors exert essential–and distinct—roles in mitochondrial machineries, along with strong antioxidant properties. Clinical trials have mostly relied on the use of only one MN to ARD-affected patients as, e.g., in the case of CoQ10 in CVD, or of ALA in T2D, possibly with the addition of other antioxidants. Only a few clinical and pre-clinical studies reported on the administration of two MNs, with beneficial outcomes, while no available studies reported on the combined administration of three MNs. Based on the literature also from pre-clinical studies, the present review is to recommend the design of clinical trials based on combinations of the three MNs
Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) remediation activity of marine sediments sampled at a dismissed industrial site: What opportunities?
No full textMicrobial Fuel Cells (MFCs) remedial technology was used for the degradation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in marine sediments taken in front of the brownfleld steelwork facility of Bagnoli, Gulf of Pozzuoli, South Western Italy. PAHs levels were quite high and up to 30 mu g/g for fluoranthene and 0.21 mu g/g d.w. L of sediments for acenaphthene. Heavy PAHs prevailed vs light PAHs in the sediment samples before, during and after the treatment by MFCs. Different degradation rates were measured according to the complexity of each PAH, as expected. Among all PAHs, naphthalene showed after four weeks the highest degradation rate (86%), while just the 10% of Indenol[1,2,3-c,d]pyrene was degraded. MFCs achieved their highest performance in terms of Power Density (PD) after two weeks, with values ranging between 20.4 mW/m(2) and 3.17 mW/m(2) of anodic surface. CD values were normalized to the anodic surface as well, falling within a maximum of 204.8 mA/m(2) and a minimum of 9.5 mA/m(2). Even though the dynamics of PAHs degradation in MFCs and the influence of other pollutants (like metals) on MFCs performance as well as the potential mobilization of pollutants in consequence of microbial activity have to be ascertained, our preliminary results prove the high potentialities of MFCs for in-situ marine sediments remediation. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Efficiency Measures of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Bioremediation Process through Ecotoxicological Tests
No full textAn ecotoxicological approach is used to assess the efficiency of an in-batch
bioremediation process in reducing environmental toxicity of a soil polluted with
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). Microbial strains, able to use PAHs as a sole
source of carbon, were added to a soil artificially contaminated with naphthalene,
anthracene, phenanthrene, pyrene, and benzo[a]pyrene, with concentrations ranging from
0.4 to 0.1 mg/g. A phytoxicity test (Lepidium sativum) a chronic assay (Ceriodaphnia
dubia) and acute assays (Daphnia magna, Artemia salina and Ceriodaphnia dubia) were
performed after by incubating soil spiked with selected microbial strains and PHAs for 2
months. PAHs concentration was measured monthly by High Pressure Liquid
Cromatography. A decrement of PHAs was observed as result of microbial metabolism.
The obtained data showed a positive correlation with the decrement of PAHs for acute
and phytotoxicity tests, while an opposite result was observed for chronic assays. The
opportunity to implement eco
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
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