1,721,087 research outputs found
First report of exocrine epithelial glands in oestroid flies: the tachinid sexual patches (Diptera: Calyptratae: Oestroidea: Tachinidae)
No full textCerretti, P., Di Giulio, A., Romani, R., Inclan, D.J., Whitmore, D., Di Giovanni, F.,
Scalici, M. andMinelli, A. 2014. First report of exocrine epithelial glands in oestroid
flies: The tachinid sexual patches (Diptera: Oestroidea: Tachinidae).—Acta Zoologica
(Stockholm) 00: 000–000.
Sexual patches are abdominal areas identifiable by modified setation, present in
the males of several groups of Tachinidae (Diptera). We comparatively studied
more than 40 species belonging to 24 genera representative of subfamilies known
to bear these organs, using light microscopy and scanning (SEM) and transmission
(TEM) electron microscopy. We provide a detailed characterization of the
fine structure of the setae and microtrichia composing these sexual patches and
of the underlying epithelium. Study of abdominal sections showed that, close to
the patch area, the epidermis forms a thick layer composed of numerous secretory
units of strictly associated cells, ending at the level of cuticular pores at the
base of the setae. We hypothesize a secretory function of these structures. The
segmental pattern of the sexual patches across the Tachinidae is defined and
predictable.We note that almost all the segmental patterns share the presence of
sexual patches on abdominal tergite 4, underscoring the diversity of male sexual
specializations that occur on the fourth abdominal segment of muscomorph flies
A New, Non-Invasive Methodology for the Molecular Identification of Adult Sarcophagidae from Collections
No full textCorrect species identification is the cornerstone of all scientific studies that involve insects. Alongside traditional morphological identification techniques, molecular identification based on the characterization and analysis of specific mitochondrial or nuclear gene regions is becoming commonplace. Despite the good results that can be achieved, DNA extraction usually involves invasive techniques that lead to the partial or total destruction of specimens. In this work, a non-invasive DNA extraction technique is described. The technique was tested on the abdomens of dry-preserved Sarcophagidae (Diptera) specimens collected between 1889 and 2015. This allowed for the correct identification of species without impairing diagnostic morphological structures useful for further studies
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
Are megaprojects ready for the Fourth Industrial Revolution?
No full textComplex projects and megaprojects are increasingly shaped by new enabling technologies and new demands from businesses, including how people are treated when working on these endeavours. This is often referred to as the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Project leaders and practitioners are not fully leveraging the opportunities unlocked by the 4IR, and project performance shows little sign of improvement despite the highly innovative and collaborative environment that the 4IR stimulates. This paper discusses this challenge and concludes that a significant reason why these benefits are not being realised is because there is a competence gap in both the project leader and practitioner communities. These communities are attempting to deal with twenty-first-century issues using competences, toolsets and a mindset created 100 years ago. Significant developments in competences associated with the 4IR in general are required. In this paper, specific competences are proposed and justified: collaborative working including people, process and digital components; lean six sigma; and agile. Success will be to empower the people who deliver megaprojects such that they are able to deliver the planned social value to all stakeholders involved
New and confirmed records of fruit flies (Diptera, Tephritidae) from Italy
Full text linkBackground
Prior to this study, 141 species of Tephritidae were known to occur in Italy.
New information
Italian records of nine species of the family Tephritidae (Diptera) are provided. Five species, Eurasimona stigma (Loew, 1840), Noeeta bisetosa Merz, 1992, Campiglossa doronici (Loew, 1856), Xyphosia laticauda (Meigen, 1826) and Rhagoletis berberidis Jermy, 1961 are recorded from Italy for the first time, whereas four species, Inuromaesa maura (Frauenfeld, 1857), Urophora cuspidata (Meigen, 1826), Tephritis conyzifoliae Merz, 1992 and T. mutabilis Merz, 1992, previously recorded in the Fauna Europaea database without reference to collection material, are confirmed and supplemented with host plant data and other collection data
First case report of traumatic myiasis due to association of Sarcophaga tibialis (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) and Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae).
No full textVariations 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
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