Gender Balance in Construction Material Research: The Analysis of Alkali-Activated Materials by a Bibliometric Study Using Scopus Database

Research in alkali-activated materials (AAMs) is an innovative and dynamic material science topic. This is due to the relevant performances in terms of physico-mechanical properties comparable to traditional construction materials (e.g., ordinary Portland cement). The sustainability of AAMs is often highlighted since they can be developed by using many natural or industrial by-products–based precursors. This leads to challenges with the optimization of AAM production due to their different performances, availability, and costs. However, they are flexible and locally adapted materials. The research interest in AAMs has rapidly increased in the early 2000s. In recent years, about 1,000 international articles have been published each year. This study aims at assessing the gender balance of this specific research topic to investigate the relevance of women’s participation. Author lists of the published articles were analyzed throughout the Scopus database, applying “alkali-activated material” and “geopolymers” as keywords in the titles, abstracts, and keywords search. The last 10 years (2009–2019) were taken into account. The gender of the most prolific authors was analyzed, and a focus of European authors on this topic was considered, as more than 25% of the research in AAMs have been carried out in Europe. The analysis of 5,900 publications in the last decade shows that there is currently a shift toward men in the gender balance in this specific research, and female authors only covered 22% of the most productive authors worldwide. Considering European authors, a more equal gender distribution is reached, when the first author is considered, with a concentration of women in the range of 36–56%, recorded over 1,396 articles

Elliptic CMB Sky

The ellipticity of the anisotropy spots of the Cosmic Microwave Background measured by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) has been studied. We find an average ellipticity of about 2, confirming with a far larger statistics similar results found first for the COBE-DMR CMB maps, and then for the BOOMERanG CMB maps. There are no preferred directions for the obliquity of the anisotropy spots. The average ellipticity is independent of temperature threshold and is present on scales both smaller and larger than the horizon at the last scattering. The measured ellipticity characteristics are consistent with being the effect of geodesics mixing occurring in an hyperbolic Universe, and can mark the emergence of CMB ellipticity as a new observable constant describing the Universe. There is no way of simulating this effect. Therefore we cannot exclude that the observed behavior of the measured ellipticity can result from a trivial topology in the popular flat $\Lambda$-CDM model, or from a non-trivial topology.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, the version to appear in Mod.Phys.Lett.

Networks of plants: How to measure similarity in vegetable species

Despite the common misconception of nearly static organisms, plants do interact continuously with the environment and with each other. It is fair to assume that during their evolution they developed particular features to overcome similar problems and to exploit possibilities from environment. In this paper we introduce various quantitative measures based on recent advancements in complex network theory that allow to measure the effective similarities of various species. By using this approach on the similarity in fruit-Typology ecological traits we obtain a clear plant classification in a way similar to traditional taxonomic classification. This result is not trivial, since a similar analysis done on the basis of diaspore morphological properties do not provide any clear parameter to classify plants species. Complex network theory can then be used in order to determine which feature amongst many can be used to distinguish scope and possibly evolution of plants. Future uses of this approach range from functional classification to quantitative determination of plant communities in nature

The network of plants volatile organic compounds

Plants emission of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) is involved in a wide class of ecological functions, as VOCs play a crucial role in plants interactions with biotic and abiotic factors. Accordingly, they vary widely across species and underpin differences in ecological strategy. In this paper, VOCs spontaneously emitted by 109 plant species (belonging to 56 different families) have been qualitatively and quantitatively analysed in order to provide an alternative classification of plants species. In particular, by using bipartite networks methodology from Complex Network Theory, and through the application of community detection algorithms, we show that is possible to classify species according to chemical classes such as terpenes and sulfur compounds. Such complex network analysis allows to uncover hidden plants relationships related to their evolutionary and adaptation to the environment story

Auditory time thresholds in the range of milliseconds but not seconds are impaired in ADHD

The literature on time perception in individuals with ADHD is extensive but inconsistent, probably reflecting the use of different tasks and performances indexes. A sample of 40 children/adolescents (20 with ADHD, 20 neurotypical) was engaged in two identical psychophysical tasks measuring auditory time thresholds in the milliseconds (0.25–1 s) and seconds (0.75–3 s) ranges. Results showed a severe impairment in ADHD for milliseconds thresholds (Log10BF = 1.9). The deficit remained strong even when non-verbal IQ was regressed out and correlation with age suggests a developmental delay. In the seconds range, thresholds were indistinguishable between the two groups (Log10BF = − 0.5) and not correlated with milliseconds thresholds. Our results largely confirm previous evidence suggesting partially separate mechanisms for time perception in the ranges of milliseconds and seconds. Moreover, since the evidence suggests that time perception of milliseconds stimuli might load relatively less on cognitive control and working memory, compared to longer durations, the current results are consistent with a pure timing deficit in individuals with ADHD

Hubungan Dismenore Dengan Aktivitas Belajar Remaja Putri Di SMA Kristen I Tomohon

: One of the menstrual disturbance that cause discomfort physical is dysmenorrhea. Dysmenorrhea is menstrual pain that is felt in the lower abdomen and radiates up into the pelvis that can interfere with daily activities. One of the activities that can be interrupted is a learning activity. Dysmenorrhea is often experienced by young women who are in the productive age. The research ever conducted shows that dysmenorrhea can lower a woman's quality of life for example, students who experience dysmenorrhea decreased concentration will study due to menstrual pain that is felt (Ningsih, 2011). Purpose. This research conducted to determine The Relation Of Dysmenorrhea With Learning Activities Teen Daughter At Christian High School Tomohon. Research methods is survey analytic by design research cross sectional. Population. The captured population is teen daughters at christian high school I Tomohon with total sample 132 people, determination samples with purposive sampling techniques. Data obtained through questionnaire is a conecction between dysmenorrhea with learning activities teen daughter At Christian High School Tomohon. Results of statistical tests using the test initially chi square with boundaries that have been prepared. This research in using analysis test statistic chi square and obtained value p = 0,000 < alpha = 0,005, which means Ho rejected. But because requirements test chi square unfulfilled and test used is test the alternative is fisher and obtained value p = 0,000 < alpha = 0,005 which means Ho rejected. The conclusions of this research are a relation of dysmenorrhea with learning activities teen daughter at Christian High School Tomohon

Optical mapping of neuronal activity during seizures in zebrafish

Mapping neuronal activity during the onset and propagation of epileptic seizures can provide a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying this pathology and improve our approaches to the development of new drugs. Recently, zebrafish has become an important model for studying epilepsy both in basic research and in drug discovery. Here, we employed a transgenic line with pan-neuronal expression of the genetically-encoded calcium indicator GCaMP6s to measure neuronal activity in zebrafish larvae during seizures induced by pentylenetretrazole (PTZ). With this approach, we mapped neuronal activity in different areas of the larval brain, demonstrating the high sensitivity of this method to different levels of alteration, as induced by increasing PTZ concentrations, and the rescuing effect of an anti-epileptic drug. We also present simultaneous measurements of brain and locomotor activity, as well as a high-throughput assay, demonstrating that GCaMP measurements can complement behavioural assays for the detection of subclinical epileptic seizures, thus enabling future investigations on human hypomorphic mutations and more effective drug screening methods. Notably, the methodology described here can be easily applied to the study of many human neuropathologies modelled in zebrafish, allowing a simple and yet detailed investigation of brain activity alterations associated with the pathological phenotype