The influence of Elfreda Chatman’s theories: a citation context analysis

The range of theoretical frameworks currently being used by researchers into information behaviour is abundant and diverse. We need to examine thoroughly the contribution of theories and models to further research, as this would help to improve future investigations in the field. This paper adopts this approach, by thoroughly examining the influence that Elfreda Chatman’s three middle-range theories have had on subsequent research. A citation context analysis was carried out on the basis of those received by Information poverty theory, life in the round theory and normative behaviour theory. Analysis covered the year of publication, the type of work and the subject-matter of the citing documents. The cites in context or theoretical incidents were analysed for frequency of citation in citing documents, the content of Chatman’s work being cited, the context co-citation analysis, the citation style and the citation location. The analysis of citation in context has allowed us to draw a distinction between the author and her work, while verifying that not all cites are the same. These differences reflect the unequal relevance of these theories to subsequent research.

     

Thorium sorption onto magnetite and ferrihydrite in acidic conditions

Sorption of Th(IV) onto two-line ferrihydrite and magnetite in NaClO₄ solutions has been studied as a function of pH and ionic strength revealing that sorption onto both solids increases with pH while it is independent on ionic strength. Sorption capacity of both solids is high, the maximum sorption (almost 100% of Th(IV)) occurs at pH higher than 3.5 for ferrihydrite, and higher than 3.0 for magnetite. Sorption variation with pH was modeled with three different models using the FITEQL 4.0 code: non-electrostatic model, constant capacitance model, and diffuse-double layer model. In all cases, good fit to the experimental data is obtained with one-species: a corner-sharing bidentate-mononuclear surface complex, (FeO)₂Th²⁺, which coincides with the surface complex postulated on these solids surface in previous spectroscopic studies; however, the monodentate species FeOThOH²⁺ also gives a satisfactory fit. Under the experimental conditions of the present study, any effect of possible thorium colloid formation is negligible.     

First data from the EGLE experiment onboard the ISS

EGLE is a wide frequency band search- coil magnetometer designed and built at the Roma Tre University. It has been installed onboard the ISS by the Italian astronaut Roberto Vittori on April 25, 2005 within the LAZIO- EGLE experiment carried out during the ENEIDE Soyuz mission. The scope of the experiment is to test EGLE in space and to investigate geomagnetic field variations. The main applications of EGLE are the study of electromagnetic environment inside the ISS, the correlation of magnetic field data with particle fluxes detected by LAZIO particle detector, and the monitoring of ionospheric perturbations possibly caused by Earth seismic activity. Since continuous electromagnetic field measurements on board the ISS are important for diverse space applications, a magnetometer with a suitable design is requested. Appropriate solutions for these applications, which have been adopted by EGLE, are in particular the use of 1- Wire technology and the possibility to detect by means of a search- coil magnetometer a large portion of the ULF frequency band, usually measured by flux- gate probes. To investigate the topside ionosphere electromagnetic environment and stability of Van Allen radiation belts in relation with seismic and anthropogenic electromagnetic emissions, a specific satellite mission (the ESPERIA project) has been designed for the Italian Space Agency (ASI), and up to now a few instruments of its payload have been built and tested in space. One of them is exactly the EGLE search- coil magnetometer. The first magnetic observations performed by this instrument reveal to be promising and demand for a further and deeper analysis based on a longer time series of data.     

Solar drying of sawn lumber in Spain

A solar heated experimental drying kiln was installed in Madrid (INIA-Forest Industries Department) to study the efficiency of solar drying of sawn lumber in Spain, as compared with normal air drying. The kiln has been designed as a low cost semi-greenhouse type, but was equipped with a semi-automated control of the drying schedules. The performance of the solar kiln has been studied during ten test runs over a period of two years particularly with respect to drying rate, initial and final wood MC, reliability and efficiency. The results have proven that the solar kiln is capable of drying (economically) from an initial moisture content of 70 to 80%, to a final MC of 8 to 10% up to 3.5 times faster than air drying. With respect to checks, splits and internal stresses, the final wood quality is mostly better, not only compared to normal air drying but also to conventional kiln drying.     

Preparation of a New Oligomeric Surfactant: N,N,N′,N″,N″-Pentamethyl Diethyleneamine—N,N″-Di-[Tetradecylammonium Bromide] and the Study of its Thermodynamic Properties

A new oligomeric surfactant: N,N,N′,N″,N″- pentamethyl diethyleneamine—N,N″-di-[tetradecylammonium bromide] referred to as 14-2-N(CH₃)-2-14 was synthesized, purified and characterized by Elemental Analysis, ¹H and ¹³C NMR and Electrospray. The micellar properties of this compound were determined by electrical conductivity and surface tension methods. Optical microscopy was also employed to study the behavior of anhydrous surfactant and the binary water/surfactant system as a function of temperature. The critical micellar concentration (cmc), degree of counterion binding and thermodynamic parameters of micellization (standard molar Gibbs energy, enthalpy and entropy of micellization) were determined by electrical conductivity measurements in the temperature range [24–54 °C]. Surface tension measurements also provide information about the dependence of the surface tension at the cmc (γ_cmc), pC₂₀ (negative logarithm of the surfactant’s molar concentration C₂₀, required to reduce the surface tension by 20 mN/m, the surface excess (Γ_max) at air/solution interface, the minimum area per surfactant molecule at the air/solution interface (Amin), surface pressure at the cmc (П_cmc), critical packing parameter(CPP) and the standard free energies of micellization ( \Updelta G_m⁰\Updelta G_{m}^{0}) and of adsorption ( \Updelta G_\textads⁰ \Updelta G_{\text{ads}}^{0} ).     

Fermentation and elutriation of primary sludge: effect of SRT on process performance

A primary sludge fermentation-elutriation pilot plant was operated using in-line and side-stream schemes. The influence of solids retention time, recirculation sludge flow-rate and solids concentration on the fermentation-elutriation process performance has been assessed in this paper. The use of high elutriation flows (12% of influent flow) improved the volatile fatty acids (VFA) concentration in the effluent stream. Suspended solids removal efficiency decreased in the primary settler when the solids retention time (SRT) was increased from 4 to 8 days. Disintegration step during hydrolysis process was pointed out as the main reason for that decrease. Maximum VFA productions were achieved at SRT between 6 and 8 days at the highest elutriation flow tested for both configurations. Propionic, butyric and valeric volatile fatty acids percentage increased when total solids sludge concentrations above 23,000mgl(-1) were used. Hydrogen accumulation, causing acetogenic bacteria inhibition, was indicated as the reason for C(3)-C(5) fatty acids accumulation.