China Scientific and Technical Papers and Citations (CSTPC): History,impact and outlook

This paper traces the history of China Scientific and Technical Papers and Citations database (CSTPC) since its founding in 1988. The fact that most Chinese scientists publish their research results in Chinese journals requires that China establish SCI counterparts dedicated to domestic S & T journals. The article describes the selection criteria for source journals, the approach used to adjust the structure of source journals, the criteria for selecting items to be included in the database, and the indexing method. Then it discusses the impact upon government R & D administration agencies and the science community in general by both CSTPC team and CSTPC database. Finally, the article analyzes the main factors that lead to the primary success of CSTPD. The authors encourages information workers in other non-English developing countries to build up similar databases. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Determining the core of journals of a research centre: The example of researchers from the Department of Rural Economy and Sociology of the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique,France

This paper analyses the determination of visibility of journals in which researchers of INRA (National Institute for Agricultural Research) publish. The corpus is comprised of 671 articles published over a period of four years in 258 journals. The advantage of the method applied for determining the visibility of journals is that it combines two approaches: a) bibliometric indicators (coverage by the ISI-publications and by two specific French databases) and b) experts' opinions (10 economists and sociologists). The main results are: a) There is a convergence between the opinion of the experts and «visibility» in the databases, b) The impact factor confirms the main opinions of the experts. The first journals ranked by the experts and JCR Social Sciences are the same but represent only 40 per cent of the total journals analysed. The other journals were revealed by the experts and French databases.«Whoever seeks to pass a balanced but lucid judgement on the general trends of the activity carried out by the profession to which he belongs, is liable to say either banalities or to hurt his colleagues»The notion which we retain of core is that which is successively and conjointly validated by the experts and by the major databases representative of the field.This study was financed by the Department of Rural Economy and Sociology of INRA.     

A technique for the fabrication of fully dense Ca-rich plagioclase (An70-An100) samples suitable for studying the plastic rheology of bytownite (An80)

Two different types of solid samples of bytownite (Ca_0.7Na_0.3Al₂Si₂O₈ to Ca_0.9Na_0.1Al₂Si₂O₈) composition were fabricated from synthetic crystal and glass powders. The crystal and the glass powders were produced by crystallisation or melting of a gel of bytownite composition. Cold pressing under vacuum followed by hot isostatic pressing (hip) of the powders produced fully dense samples composed either of 100% bytownite crystals or of 90% bytownite crystals and 10% bytownite glass. The cold-pressed samples were composed of a matrix of nanometer sized bytownite needles and larger crystals of up to 3 m in size. During hot pressing the grain sizes in the matrix increased slightly while larger crystals increased to close to 4 m. The rheological behaviour of the hot isostaticly pressed samples for cases of tri axial compression and torsion was tested in a gas confining deformation apparatus at high temperature and confining pressure. Grain growth was observed during the deformation experiments. The maximum flow stress was typically less than 200 MPa and was attained by sample strain of 10% during axial compression and a shear strain of 1.0 during torsion. The resulting microstructures were dominated by fibrous grains for the compressive deformation and by more round-shaped grain boundaries during torsion. Both type of experiments induced a preferred shape and crystallographic orientation.     

Conservation en congélation et réfrigération de la viande hachée de boeuf et de porc: évolution de la flore microbienne et des propriétés physico-chimiques en cours de stockageFrozen and chilled minced meat (beef and pork): microbiol and physico-chemical evolution during storage

The minced meat market in Belgium is growing steadily; its share of the market has increased from 10 to 30% in three years. However, the mincing of meat can produce intense microbiol proliferation and thus cause food putrification.

Any changes occurring in meat, especially minced meat, are essentially of microbial origin, hence refrigeration is particularly important. With chilling, minimum temperatures must be maintained (0±1°C), since only temperatures below +3°C avoid any health risk linked with the growth of pathogens and production of toxins. Under chilled conditions the storage use of minced meat is four to five days. With freezing, temperatures of about - 18°C are needed to avoid the growth of bacteria, yeasts and mould. At this temperature micro-organisms are progressively rendered inactive, but destruction is never total. The kinetics of reducing micro-organism populations depends on the nature of the micro-organisms, the storage temperature (reduction is more intense at − 12°C that at − 18°C or at − 30°C) and the freezing rate (micro-organisms are better able to resist rapid freezing than slow freezing). One years storage at − 18°C will destroy 90 to 99% of the micro-organisms which were initially present in the product. Nevertheless, the chilled storage (+4°C) of thawed minced meat must not exceed three days.

The physico-chemical evolution of cold stored minced meat is explained. In chilled storage, the onset of flavour defects can be related to the measurement of volatile nitrogen. In frozen storage, the crystallisation of the water causes cellular breakdown. The role of packaging is important in avoiding superficial freeze-drying which is accompanied by browning. In addition, fatty matter can deteriorate by oxidation even at freezing temperatures. The degree of alteration of fats can be appreciated by the acidity index and peroxide index (showing that it is undesirable to store minced pork at − 18°C for more than nine months).

Use of a partial vacuum or modified atmosphere in combination with impermeable packaging will prolong the storage life of minced meat provided that the initial contamination is as low as possible and the maintenance of the cold chain is strictly respected.

Résumé

Le marché de la viande hachée progresse en Europe, du fait de plusieurs facteurs socio-économiques. Le hachage diminue considérablement la durée de conservation de la viande; sa consommation peut être dangereuse.

L'article analyse les points suivants: emballage, réfrigération et congélation (notamment vitesse de congélation), température et durée de conservation, atmosphères modifiées et leur influence sur les propriétés physico-chimiques de la viande et sur le comportement microbien.     

Scientific and technological performance evaluation of the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) in the field of Biotechnology

An evaluation of the Spanish CSIC performance in Biotechnology, as compared with those of the French CNRS and the Italian CNR, has been carried out to determine the balance between the generation of scientific knowledge and the transfer of technology. This study shows a high scientific productivity mostly in journals with moderate impact factor, a low generation of patents and an insufficient transfer of knowledge to the Spanish companies. Other indicators confirm the existence of competitive human resources in biotechnological research producing scientific knowledge of interest for the development of patents and that cooperates successfully at European level.     

Atomic layer deposition (ALD): A versatile technique for plasmonics and nanobiotechnology

While atomic layer deposition (ALD) has been used for many years as an industrial manufacturing method for microprocessors and displays, this versatile technique is finding increased use in the emerging fields of plasmonics and nanobiotechnology. In particular, ALD coatings can modify metallic surfaces to tune their optical and plasmonic properties, to protect them against unwanted oxidation and contamination, or to create biocompatible surfaces. Furthermore, ALD is unique among thin-film deposition techniques in its ability to meet the processing demands for engineering nanoplasmonic devices, offering conformal deposition of dense and ultra-thin films on high-aspect-ratio nanostructures at temperatures below 100 °C. In this review, we present key features of ALD and describe how it could benefit future applications in plasmonics, nanosciences, and biotechnology.     

Poly(acrylamide) functionalized chitosan: An efficient adsorbent for azo dyes from aqueous solutions

In the present communication we report on the optimization of persulfate/ascorbic acid initiated synthesis of chitosan-graft-poly(acrylamide) (Ch-g-PAM) and its application in the removal of azo dyes. The optimum yield of the copolymer was obtained using 16 × 10⁻² M acrylamide, 3.0 × 10⁻² M ascorbic acid, 2.4 × 10⁻³ M K₂S₂O₈ and 0.1 g chitosan in 25 mL of 5% aqueous formic acid at 45 ± 0.2 °C. Ch-g-PAM remained water insoluble even under highly acidic conditions and could efficiently remove Remazol violet and Procion yellow dyes from the aqueous solutions over a pH range of 3–8 in contrast to chitosan (Ch) which showed pH dependent adsorption. The adsorption data of the Ch-g-PAM and Ch for both the dyes were modeled by Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms where the data fitted better to Langmuir isotherms. To understand the adsorption behavior of Ch-g-PAM, adsorption of Remazol violet on to the copolymer was optimized and the kinetic and thermodynamic studies were carried out taking Ch as reference. Both Ch-g-PAM and Ch followed pseudo-second-order adsorption kinetics. The thermodynamic study revealed a positive heat of adsorption (ΔH°), a positive ΔS° and a negative ΔG°, indicating spontaneous and endothermic nature of the adsorption of RV dye on to the Ch-g-PAM. The Ch-g-PAM was found to be very efficient in removing color from real industrial wastewater as well, though the interfering ions present in the wastewater slightly hindered its adsorption capacity. The data from regeneration efficiencies for ten cycles evidenced the high reusability of the copolymer in the treatment of waste water laden with even high concentrations of dye.     

How Demand Sophistication (De‐)limits Economic Upgrading: Comparing the Film Industries of South Africa and Nigeria (Nollywood)

More sophisticated demand is typically seen as an enabler of economic upgrading. This study questions this linearity and extends demand theory through a case analysis of the film industry in two developing countries. When unsophisticated local demand results in well‐matched supply‐ and demand‐side elements, benefits do accrue. Low exposure to technically superior products in Nigeria allowed a fully fledged film value chain to develop, as consumers were willing to support lower quality output. Although the industry is too weak to seriously threaten incumbents from the developed world on the global stage, it has substantial impact in its home country. In contrast, if demand is far more sophisticated than supply, local industry will struggle to respond to broad‐based demand signals and will achieve accelerated learning only in niche areas. South Africa has become a niche producer in the global film industry rather than film producer in its own right partly because the widespread demand for Hollywood‐quality products could not be met by local supply capabilities.     

Charge Trapping-Based Electricity Generator (CTEG): An Ultrarobust and High Efficiency Nanogenerator for Energy Harvesting from Water Droplets

Strategies toward harvesting energy from water movements are proposed in recent years. Reverse electrowetting allows high efficiency energy generation, but requires external electric field. Triboelectric nanogenerators, as passive energy harvesting devices, are limited by the unstable and low density of tribo-charges. Here, a charge trapping-based electricity generator (CTEG) is proposed for passive energy harvesting from water droplets with high efficiency. The hydrophobic fluoropolymer films utilized in CTEG are pre-charged by a homogeneous electrowetting-assisted charge injection (h-EWCI) method, allowing an ultrahigh negative charge density of 1.8 mC m⁻². By utilizing a dedicated designed circuit to connect the bottom electrode and top electrode of a Pt wire, instantaneous currents beyond 2 mA, power density above 160 W m⁻², and energy harvesting efficiency over 11% are achieved from continuously falling water droplets. CTEG devices show excellent robustness for energy harvesting from water drops, without appreciable degradation for intermittent testing during 100 days. These results exceed previously reported values by far. The approach is not only applicable for energy harvesting from water droplets or wave-like oscillatory fluid motion, but also opens up avenues toward other applications requiring passive electric responses, such as diverse sensors and wearable devices.