Universality of citation distributions revisited

Radicchi, Fortunato, and Castellano [arXiv:0806.0974, PNAS 105(45), 17268] claim that, apart from a scaling factor, all fields of science are characterized by the same citation distribution. We present a large-scale validation study of this universality-of-citation-distributions claim. Our analysis shows that claiming citation distributions to be universal for all fields of science is not warranted. Although many fields indeed seem to have fairly similar citation distributions, there are quite some exceptions as well. We also briefly discuss the consequences of our findings for the measurement of scientific impact using citation-based bibliometric indicators

Limits to the critical current in Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3Ox tape conductors: The parallel path model

An extensive overview of a model that describes current flow and dissipation in high-quality Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3Ox superconducting tapes is provided. The parallel path model is based on a superconducting current running in two distinct parallel paths. One of the current paths is formed by grains that are connected at angles below 4°. Dissipation in this strongly linked backbone occurs within the grains and is well described by classical flux-creep theory. The other current path, the weakly linked network, is formed by superconducting grains that are connected at intermediate angles (4°–8°) where dissipation occurs at the grain boundaries. However, grain boundary dissipation in this weakly linked current path does not occur through Josephson weak links, but just as in the strongly linked backbone, is well described by classical flux creep. The results of several experiments on Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3Ox tapes and single-grained powders that strongly support the parallel path model are presented. The critical current density of Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3Ox tapes can be scaled as a function of magnetic field angle over the temperature range from 15 K to 77 K. Expressions based on classical flux creep are introduced to describe the dependence of the critical current density of Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3Ox tapes on the magnetic field and temperature

Concerning satellite S66

Laser tracking device problem, directional adjustment, electronics, and reflector data for S-66 ionosphere beacon satellit

Comparing powder magnetization and transport critical current of Bi,Pb(2223) tapes

The magnetic field dependence of the critical current in (Bi,Pb)/sub 2/Sr/sub 2/Ca/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 10+x/ tapes is compared with the magnetization response of isolated grains extracted from the tapes. Special attention is paid to the low-field behavior. The goal of the experiment is to test the widely-used hypothesis that current paths in these tapes contain both weak- and strong- linked branches, which in low field act in parallel. The data agree with this hypothesis; at temperatures above 50 K the powder magnetization drops off exponentially from the self-field to the irreversibility field, while the transport and magnetization currents in the intact tapes show an extra low-field component. Below 50 K the powder behavior becomes less straightforward, but the parallel-path picture in the tapes still holds

Citation analysis may severely underestimate the impact of clinical research as compared to basic research

Background: Citation analysis has become an important tool for research performance assessment in the medical sciences. However, different areas of medical research may have considerably different citation practices, even within the same medical field. Because of this, it is unclear to what extent citation-based bibliometric indicators allow for valid comparisons between research units active in different areas of medical research. Methodology: A visualization methodology is introduced that reveals differences in citation practices between medical research areas. The methodology extracts terms from the titles and abstracts of a large collection of publications and uses these terms to visualize the structure of a medical field and to indicate how research areas within this field differ from each other in their average citation impact. Results: Visualizations are provided for 32 medical fields, defined based on journal subject categories in the Web of Science database. The analysis focuses on three fields. In each of these fields, there turn out to be large differences in citation practices between research areas. Low-impact research areas tend to focus on clinical intervention research, while high-impact research areas are often more oriented on basic and diagnostic research. Conclusions: Popular bibliometric indicators, such as the h-index and the impact factor, do not correct for differences in citation practices between medical fields. These indicators therefore cannot be used to make accurate between-field comparisons. More sophisticated bibliometric indicators do correct for field differences but still fail to take into account within-field heterogeneity in citation practices. As a consequence, the citation impact of clinical intervention research may be substantially underestimated in comparison with basic and diagnostic research

Rivals for the crown: Reply to Opthof and Leydesdorff

We reply to the criticism of Opthof and Leydesdorff [arXiv:1002.2769] on the way in which our institute applies journal and field normalizations to citation counts. We point out why we believe most of the criticism is unjustified, but we also indicate where we think Opthof and Leydesdorff raise a valid point

Discovery and Selection of Certified Web Services Through Registry-Based Testing and Verification

Reliability and trust are fundamental prerequisites for the establishment of functional relationships among peers in a Collaborative Networked Organisation (CNO), especially in the context of Virtual Enterprises where economic benefits can be directly at stake. This paper presents a novel approach towards effective service discovery and selection that is no longer based on informal, ambiguous and potentially unreliable service descriptions, but on formal specifications that can be used to verify and certify the actual Web service implementations. We propose the use of Stream X-machines (SXMs) as a powerful modelling formalism for constructing the behavioural specification of a Web service, for performing verification through the generation of exhaustive test cases, and for performing validation through animation or model checking during service selection

Towards a new crown indicator: Some theoretical considerations

The crown indicator is a well-known bibliometric indicator of research performance developed by our institute. The indicator aims to normalize citation counts for differences among fields. We critically examine the theoretical basis of the normalization mechanism applied in the crown indicator. We also make a comparison with an alternative normalization mechanism. The alternative mechanism turns out to have more satisfactory properties than the mechanism applied in the crown indicator. In particular, the alternative mechanism has a so-called consistency property. The mechanism applied in the crown indicator lacks this important property. As a consequence of our findings, we are currently moving towards a new crown indicator, which relies on the alternative normalization mechanism

Barium & related stars and their white-dwarf companions I. Giant stars

This paper provides long-period and revised orbits for barium and S stars adding to previously published ones. The sample of barium stars with strong anomalies comprise all such stars present in the Lu et al. catalogue. We find orbital motion for all barium and extrinsic S stars monitored. We obtain the longest period known so far for a spectroscopic binary involving an S star, namely 57 Peg with a period of the order of 100 - 500 yr. We present the mass distribution for the barium stars, which ranges from 1 to 3 Msun, with a tail extending up to 5 Msun in the case of mild barium stars. This high-mass tail comprises mostly high-metallicity objects ([Fe/H] >= -0.1). Mass functions are compatible with WD companions and we derive their mass distribution which ranges from 0.5 to 1 Msun. Using the initial - final mass relationship established for field WDs, we derived the distribution of the mass ratio q' = MAGB,ini / MBa (where MAGB, ini is the WD progenitor initial mass, i.e., the mass of the system former primary component) which is a proxy for the initial mass ratio. It appears that the distribution of q' is highly non uniform, and significantly different for mild and strong barium stars, the latter being characterized by values mostly in excess of 1.4, whereas mild barium stars occupy the range 1 - 1.4. We investigate as well the correlation between abundances, orbital periods, metallicities, and masses (barium star and WD companion). The 105 orbits of post-mass-transfer systems presented in this paper pave the way for a comparison with binary-evolution models.Comment: This version 2 is the one accepted by A&A, after language edition. Paper II about dwarf-Ba and subgiant-CH orbits by Escorza et al. is arXiv:1904.0409