Citations of the Top 100 Most-cited Papers of the Journal Scientometrics in Web of Science and its Association and Correlation with Scopus and Google Scholar Citations

This study is conducted to analyse the citations of the top 100 most-cited papers of the journal Scientometrics in Web of Science (WoS) and its association and correlation with corresponding citations in Scopus and Google Scholar (GS). Chi-square and Spearman’s rank rho are used to ascertain the association and correlation among these citations in different platforms. GS citations for the papers are comparatively higher than the citations in the other two databases. Scopus citations are slightly higher than WoS citations. The study found that there is significant association among level of citations of top 100 cited papers of the journal Scientometrics in WoS and its corresponding level of citations in Scopus and Google Scholar and also high positive correlation among citations in the three databases

Citations of the Top 100 Most-cited Papers of the Journal Scientometrics in Web of Science and its Association and Correlation with Scopus and Google Scholar Citations

This study is conducted to analyse the citations of the top 100 most-cited papers of the journal Scientometrics in Web of Science (WoS) and its association and correlation with corresponding citations in Scopus and Google Scholar (GS). Chi-square and Spearman’s rank rho are used to ascertain the association and correlation among these citations in different platforms. GS citations for the papers are comparatively higher than the citations in the other two databases. Scopus citations are slightly higher than WoS citations. The study found that there is significant association among level of citations of top 100 cited papers of the journal Scientometrics in WoS and its corresponding level of citations in Scopus and Google Scholar and also high positive correlation among citations in the three databases

Meteorite impact craters as hotspots for mineral resources and energy fuels: A global review

The ever-increasing recovery rate of natural resources from terrestrial impact craters over the last few decades across the globe offers new avenues for further exploration of mineral and hydrocarbon resources in such settings. As of today, 60 of the 208 terrestrial craters have been identified to host diverse resources such as hydrocarbons, metals and construction materials. The potential of craters as plausible resource contributors to the energy sector is therefore, worthy of consideration, as 42 (70%) of the 60 craters host energy resources such as oil, gas, coal, uranium, mercury, critical and major minerals as well as hydropower resources. Among others, 19 craters are of well-developed hydrocarbon reserves. Mineral deposits associated with craters are also classified similar to other mineral resources such as progenetic, syngenetic and epigenetic sources. Of these, the progenetic and syngenetic mineralization are confined to the early and late excavation stage of impact crater evolution, respectively, whereas epigenetic deposits are formed during and after the modification stage of crater formation. Thus, progenetic and syngenetic mineral deposits (like Fe, Ni, Pb, Zn and Cu) associated with craters are formed as a direct result of the impact event, whereas epigenetic deposits (e.g. hydrocarbon) are hosted by the impact structure and result from post-impact processes. In the progenetic and syngenetic deposits, the shock-wave induced fracturing and melting aid the formation of deposits, whereas in the epigenetic deposits, the highly fractured lithostratigraphic units of higher porosity and permeability, like the central elevated area (CEA) or the rim, act as traps. In this review, we provide a holistic view of the mineral and energy resources associated with impact craters, and use some of the remote sensing techniques to identify the mineral deposits as supplemented by a schematic model of the types of deposits formed during cratering process

The Tertiary sequence of Varkala coastal cliffs, southwestern India: An ideal site for Global Geopark

Varkala, along the southwestern coast of Peninsular India, has a unique place in Indian geology and geomorphology due to the presence of coastal lateritic cliffs, which exposes the entire Mio-Pliocene sequence of Warkalli Formation, and is declared as the type area. Stratigraphically, this formation exposes carbonaceous clay with lenses of lignite and sticks of marcasite, followed by variegated clays and sandstone. The presence of variegated lithounits endows beauty to these cliffs. Varkala cliffs, edging the Arabian Sea, run for a length of 7.5 km. These cliffs, together with confined beaches, made Varkala a popular tourist destination. Several geodiversity spots within the Varkala Cliff geoheritage site make Varkala geologically unique, just like the vestiges of the last separation of Indian subcontinent from the Mascarene Plateau; showcasing lateritization and distribution of beach placers, and jarosite, formed as a diagenetic replacement mineral from marcasite and considered as a Martian analog, are distinctiveness of the cliff. Additionally, Varkala is an internationally acclaimed beach tourist destination. Furthermore, there are several geoheritage sites as well as socio-cultural-historical sites in the hinterland of Varkala Cliff geoheritage site, which are within the proposed Varkala Global Geopark jurisdiction. Thus, this area fulfills all the criteria to be a Global Geopark. The socio-economic-environmental analysis showcases the changes that have occurred in these 3-end members. When the economic sphere was unaffected, the social scenario was slightly affected (25%) whereas the environmental aspect then drastically deteriorated by 75%. But, the SWOT analysis still elects Varkala as a potential Global Geopark. The concept of geopark contributes to at least one of the 17 goals in Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations (UN). Consequently, this work also aims at propagating, not only the need for converting the geologically prominent areas to a geopark, but also attaining SDG, whatever is possible through geoparks

MENCA experiment aboard India’s Mars Orbiter Mission

The Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser (MENCA) aboard the Indian Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) is a quadrupole mass spectrometer-based experiment. Making use of the highly elliptical and low inclination (~150°) orbit of MOM, MENCA will conduct in situ measurements of the composition and radial distribution of the Martian neutral exosphere in the 1–300 amu mass range in the equatorial and low latitudes of Mars. The functionality of MENCA has been tested during the Earth-bound and heliocentric phases of MOM before its operation in the Martian orbit. This article describes the scientific objectives, instrument details, design and development, test and evaluation, and calibration of the MENCA instrument

Tracing the evolution and charting the future of geothermal energy research and development

The gamut of geothermal energy research encompasses the studies aimed at harnessing the abundant and inexhaustible thermal energy within the Earth, and it ranges from heat transfer to the activity of thermophilic microorganisms, 3D printing, and additive manufacturing and impacts the NET ZERO endeavour of humanity. In this paper, computational social network analysis has been employed to discover the subfield clusters of geothermal energy research and further trace the key evolutionary routes from the research corpus. The development, limitations, and opportunities of each cluster are examined, and it becomes evident that the focus of research ranges from geothermal evaluation, long-term effects of borehole heat exchangers, shallow systems that employ urbanisation's ground heating, enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) for district heating, combined and hybridised geothermal power generating models, including multi-generation and poly-generation, geothermal fluids, reinjection and their dual nature, environmental effects in geothermal water and mineral scaling, enhanced geothermal systems aiming to increase permeability without causing seismicity, and finally to social acceptability. We address significant questions, such as whether the waste heat is compatible with the idea of green geothermal heat and the elimination of pollutants and find that further R&D and technological advancements are required for this ubiquitous clean energy to get wider acceptance and employment. The future of this energy depends on the rational and scientifically sound exploration and use of the resources, just as in the case of fossil fuels, and thus precludes geothermal energy as a win-all solution to the energy needs of the whole world

Reactivity-Dependent PCR: Direct, Solution-Phase in Vitro Selection for Bond Formation

In vitro selection is a key component of efforts to discover functional nucleic acids and small molecules from libraries of DNA, RNA, and DNA-encoded small molecules. Such selections have been widely used to evolve RNA and DNA catalysts and, more recently, to discover new reactions from DNA-encoded libraries of potential substrates. While effective, current strategies for selections of bond-forming and bond-cleaving reactivity are generally indirect, require the synthesis of biotin-linked substrates, and involve multiple solution-phase and solid-phase manipulations. In this work we report the successful development and validation of reactivity-dependent PCR (RDPCR), a new method that more directly links bond formation or bond cleavage with the amplification of desired sequences and that obviates the need for solid-phase capture, washing, and elution steps. We show that RDPCR can be used to select for bond formation in the context of reaction discovery and for bond cleavage in the context of protease activity profiling.Chemistry and Chemical Biolog

The SCIDOTS Project: Evidence of benefits of an integrated tobacco cessation intervention in tuberculosis care on treatment outcomes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is substantial evidence to support the association between tuberculosis (TB) and tobacco smoking and that the smoking-related immunological abnormalities in TB are reversible within six weeks of cessation. Therefore, connecting TB and tobacco cessation interventions may produce significant benefits and positively impact TB treatment outcomes. However, no study has extensively documented the evidence of benefits of such integration. SCIDOTS Project is a study from the context of a developing nation aimed to determine this.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>An integrated TB-tobacco intervention was provided by trained TB directly observed therapy short-course (DOTS) providers at five chest clinics in Malaysia. The study was a prospective non-randomized controlled intervention using quasi-experimental design. Using Transtheoretical Model approach, 120 eligible participants who were current smokers at the time of TB diagnosis were assigned to either of two treatment groups: conventional TB DOTS plus smoking cessation intervention (integrated intervention or SCIDOTS group) or conventional TB DOTS alone (comparison or DOTS group). At baseline, newly diagnosed TB patients considering quitting smoking within the next 30 days were placed in the integrated intervention group, while those who were contemplating quitting were assigned to the comparison group. Eleven sessions of individualized cognitive behavioral therapy with or without nicotine replacement therapy were provided to each participant in the integrated intervention group. The impacts of the novel approach on biochemically validated smoking cessation and TB treatment outcomes were measured periodically as appropriate.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A linear effect on both 7-day point prevalence abstinence and continuous abstinence was observed over time in the intervention group. At the end of 6 months, patients who received the integrated intervention had significantly higher rate of success in quitting smoking when compared with those who received the conventional TB treatment alone (77.5% vs. 8.7%; p < 0.001). Furthermore, at the end of TB treatment (6 months or later), there were significantly higher rates of treatment default (15.2% vs. 2.5%; p = 0.019) and treatment failure (6.5% vs. 0%; p = 0.019) in the DOTS group than in the SCIDOTS group.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study provides evidence that connecting TB-tobacco treatment strategy is significant among TB patients who are smokers. The findings suggest that the integrated approach may be beneficial and confer advantages on short-term outcomes and possibly on future lung health of TB patients who quit smoking. This study may have important implications on health policy and clinical practice related to TB management among tobacco users.</p

New Frontiers-class Uranus Orbiter: Exploring the feasibility of achieving multidisciplinary science with a mid-scale mission

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