1,720,955 research outputs found
Effects of different storage and measuring methods on larval length values for the blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) Lucilia sericata and Calliphora vicina
No full textIn forensic entomology, the methods of sampling, killing, and storing entomological samples can affect larval age estimation, and, hence, the estimation of the minimum post-mortem interval. In the existing manuals, there is a certain amount of heterogeneity regarding methods and the recommendations for best practice in forensic entomology are insufficiently validated. This study evaluated three different length-measurement methods for larval stages and examined the influence of different killing and storing methods on the larval length of two forensically important blow flies, Lucilia sericata and Calliphora vicina.
The three different measuring methods were a) a ruler with a 0.1 mm scale, b) a geometrical micrometer, and c) a computer-aided stereomicroscope. They were used to measure the length of L1 –L 3 C. vicina larvae and detect no significant differences. This supports the view that a simple tool like a geometrical micrometer can produce reliable results in forensic entomology.
Newly hatched larvae of L. sericata and C. vicina were killed with hot water (HW) and divided into two equal subsamples. Lengths of all larvae were measured immediately after killing, then every 24 h until day 4, and once more after 7 days of storage in ≥70%-ethanol.
L. sericata larvae only showed significant changes in length in the HW group stored at room temperature. After 4 and 7 days of storage, these 24-h- and 72-h-old larvae showed a significant decrease in length compared with those in a fridge at 6 °C. This decrease can, however, be considered a negligible natural variation without forensically relevant consequences for larval age estimation of L. sericata samples.
For C. vicina, an increase in length was observed over time. This was significant only for younger larvae (24-48 h old) stored in 70%-ethanol. This variance in length can lead to a wrong estimation of age; however, only for larvae stored in 70%-ethanol, not for those stored in 96%-ethanol.
Novelty statement: We examined the influence of different killing and storing methods on two forensically important blow flies, Lucilia sericata and Calliphora vicina. For the latter species we additionally were evaluating three different length measurement methods. The results of both experiments suggest that it is possible to kill and store fly larvae directly in (not hot) ≥70%-ethanol. This simplifies the sampling and storing of fly evidence at the crime scene. We also compared the influence of three different measuring methods for estimating the length of L1–L3 C. vicina larvae by using a) a ruler with a 0,1 mm scaling, b) a geometrical micrometer and c) a computer-aided stereomicroscope. No significant differences were detected, supporting the view, that a simple tool like a geometrical micrometer can produce reliable results. This study helps to simplify the sampling and evaluation of entomological evidence and to backup or questioning existing guidelines and best practice recommendations
Effects of different storage and measuring methods on larval length values for the blow flies (Diptera: calliphoridae) Lucilia sericata and Calliphora vicina
No full textIn forensic entomology, the methods of sampling, killing, and storing entomological samples can affect larval age estimation, and, hence, the estimation of the minimum post-mortem interval. In the existing manuals, there is a certain amount of heterogeneity regarding methods and the recommendations for best practice in forensic ento- mology are insufficiently validated. This study evaluated three different length-measurement methods for larval stages and examined the influence of different killing and storing methods on the larval length of two forensically important blow flies, Lucilia sericata and Calliphora vicina.
The three different measuring methods were a) a ruler with a 0.1 mm scale, b) a geometrical micrometer, and c) a computer-aided stereomicroscope. They were used to measure the length of L1–L3 C. vicina larvae and detect no significant differences. This supports the view that a simple tool like a geometrical micrometer can produce reli- able results in forensic entomology.
Newly hatched larvae of L. sericata and C. vicina were killed with hot water (HW) and divided into two equal sub- samples. Lengths of all larvae were measured immediately after killing, then every 24 h until day 4, and once more after 7 days of storage in ≥70%-ethanol.
L. sericata larvae only showed significant changes in length in the HW group stored at room temperature. After 4 and 7 days of storage, these 24-h- and 72-h-old larvae showed a significant decrease in length compared with those in a fridge at 6 °C. This decrease can, however, be considered a negligible natural variation without foren- sically relevant consequences for larval age estimation of L. sericata samples.
For C. vicina, an increase in length was observed over time. This was significant only for younger larvae (24-48 h old) stored in 70%-ethanol. This variance in length can lead to a wrong estimation of age; however, only for larvae stored in 70%-ethanol, not for those stored in 96%-ethanol.
Novelty statement: We examined the influence of different killing and storing methods on two forensically impor- tant blow flies, Lucilia sericata and Calliphora vicina. For the latter species we additionally were evaluating three different length measurement methods. The results of both experiments suggest that it is possible to kill and store fly larvae directly in (not hot) ≥70%-ethanol. This simplifies the sampling and storing of fly evidence at the crime scene. We also compared the influence of three different measuring methods for estimating the length of L1–L3 C. vicina larvae by using a) a ruler with a 0,1 mm scaling, b) a geometrical micrometer and c) a comput- er-aided stereomicroscope. No significant differences were detected, supporting the view, that a simple tool like a geometrical micrometer can produce reliable results. This study helps to simplify the sampling and evaluation of entomological evidence and to backup or questioning existing guidelines and best practice recommendations
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
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
Author-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.
No full textAuthor-wise bibliometric analysis based on entropy.</p
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