1,720,970 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
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
Hermetia illucens-Derived Chitosan: A Promising Immunomodulatory Agent for Applications in Biomedical Fields
No full textChitosan, renowned for its important biological properties, is a valuable pharmaceutical excipient for different therapeutic approaches. Currently, the demand for the biopolymer on the market is growing, and, for this reason, it is important to biologically characterize the biopolymer produced from an alternative source to crustaceans, specifically the bioconverter insect Hermetia illucens. In this work, insect chitosan, yielded via heterogeneous and homogeneous deacetylation from larvae, pupal exuviae, and adults, was studied as an immunomodulatory agent. The inflammatory response of immortalized human keratinocyte cells was induced by Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium lipopolysaccharide. After that, the ability of the biopolymer to reduce the expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-8, IL-1α, and TNF-α was tested after 6 and 24 h of treatment. Insect chitosan samples effectively downregulated cytokine expression, with improved activity obtained from heterogeneous chitosan treatments
Insect Chitin-Based Nanomaterials for Innovative Cosmetics and Cosmeceuticals. Cosmetics
Full text linkChitin and its derivatives are attracting great interest in cosmetic and cosmeceutical fields, thanks to their antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, as well as their biocompatibility and biodegradability. The classical source of chitin, crustacean waste, is no longer sustainable and fungi, a possible alternative, have not been exploited at an industrial scale yet. On the contrary, the breeding of bioconverting insects, especially of the Diptera Hermetia illucens, is becoming increasingly popular worldwide. Therefore, their exoskeletons, consisting of chitin as a major component, represent a waste stream of facilities that could be exploited for many applications. Insect chitin, indeed, suggests its application in the same fields as the crustacean biopolymer, because of its comparable commercial characteristics. This review reports several cosmetic and cosmeceutical applications based on chitin and its derivatives. In this context, chitin nanofibers and nanofibrils, produced from crustacean waste, have proved to be excellent cosmeceutical active compounds and carriers of active ingredients in personal care. Consequently, the insect-based chitin, its derivatives and their complexes with hyaluronic acid and lignin, as well as with other chitin-derived compounds, may be considered a new appropriate potential polymer to be used in cosmetic and cosmeceutical fields. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland
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
L’insetto Hermetia illucens: una fonte sostenibile di molecole di elevato valore biologico ed economico
No full textAd oggi, la crescente domanda mondiale di fonti proteiche per l'allevamento di animali non può più essere
soddisfatta dalla pesca intensiva per la produzione di farine di pesce ad alto contenuto proteico, né dall'uso
intensivo di terreni per colture proteiche (soia). Le proteine di insetto svolgono un ruolo importante nella
sostituzione progressiva della soia e della farina di pesce e, in prospettiva, nella progressiva integrazione
come nuovo alimento. Allevare insetti determina minori emissioni di gas serra e minore impronta idrica per
grammo di proteine prodotte rispetto a qualsiasi altro allevamento convenzionale. Inoltre, alcuni insetti si
nutrono di scarti organici. È il caso del dittero Hermetia illucens, un insetto saprofago in grado di bioconvertire
scarti organici e sottoprodotti di origine vegetale, le cui larve e farine e proteine animali trasformate possono
essere impiegate nella mangimistica per acquacoltura (Reg. EU 893/2017). Il processo di bioconversione,
legato alla valorizzazione degli scarti agroalimentari, consente anche di ottenere prodotti secondari di
elevato valore biologico ed economico, tra i quali lipidi e chitina. Le larve di H. illucens hanno un contenuto
in lipidi pari a circa il 39% della biomassa larvale, ma è variabile in relazione al substarto alimentare. Per la
loro composizione (acidi grassi saturi: acido laurico, miristico, palmitico e stearico, e insaturi: esadecenoico e
ottadecenoico) i lipidi derivanti da H. illucens trovano impiego tal quali in mangimistica e opportunamente
funzionalizzati per la produzione di biodiesel, additivi vegetali delle plastiche e per la formulazione di prodotti
adatti alla cura personale (saponi, detergenti, shampoo). La chitina e i suoi derivati per le loro proprietà,
come biodegradabilità, biocompatibilità, non tossicità, adsorbimento, trovano molte applicazioni in campo
industriale e biomedico. Inoltre, grazie alle loro interessanti attività biologiche (antifungine, antibatteriche,
antitumorali, immunoadiuvanti, antitrombogenici, anticolesterolemici) e alla bioadesività, sono ampiamente
utilizzati come promotori dell'assorbimento ed agenti idratanti, nonché per la produzione di film e per la
guarigione delle ferite. La chitina può essere trasformata, a seconda dell'applicazione prevista, in diverse
conformazioni come nanofibrille, polveri, pellicole, gel e capsule. Le loro applicazioni includono usi in una
varietà di settori, come l'industria alimentare, il trattamento delle acque reflue, l'agricoltura, l'ingegneria dei
tessuti, i cosmetici, le applicazioni farmaceutiche e mediche, la produzione di carta e tessuti. Il processo di
bioconversione dei sottoprodotti dell’agroalimentare mediato da H. illucens è uno strumento valido per la
valorizzazione degli scarti e per la produzione sostenibile di proteine animali alternative e innovative da
utilizzare come novel feed e, in prospettiva, novel food, e per la produzione di molecole (lipidi e chitina) di
elevato valore economico, in ottica di economia circolar
- …
