Citation advantage of COVID-19 related publications

With the global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists from various disciplines responded quickly to this historical public health emergency. The sudden boom of COVID-19 related papers in a short period of time may bring unexpected influence to some commonly used bibliometric indicators. By a large-scale investigation using Science Citation Index Expanded and Social Sciences Citation Index, this brief communication confirms the citation advantage of COVID-19 related papers empirically through the lens of Essential Science Indicators' highly cited paper. More than 8% of COVID-19 related papers published during 2020 and 2021 were selected as Essential Science Indicators highly cited papers, which was much higher than the set global benchmark value of 1%. The citation advantage of COVID-19 related papers for different Web of Science categories/countries/journal impact factor quartiles were also demonstrated. The distortions of COVID-19 related papers' citation advantage to some bibliometric indicators such as journal impact factor were discussed at the end of this brief communication.Comment: Journal of Information Science (2023

INSPIRE : Vol 5, Issue 9

Message from the Chair Medicine at National and International Forums AKU – Flood Relief Task force DoM Grand Rounds – Dr Tazeen Jafar 2nd AKU Inter-professional certificate course in liver disease In-depth featuring Assistant Professor Endocrinology section Dr Sarah Nadeem Poem Section What are Academics Around the World Reading This Month? Publicationshttps://ecommons.aku.edu/inspire/1066/thumbnail.jp

The effect of the rapid growth of covid-19 publications on citation indicators

A concern has been raised that "covidization" of research would cause an overemphasizes on covid-19 and pandemics at the expense of other research. The rapid growth of publications related to the Covid-19 pandemic renders a vast amount of citations from this literature. This growth may affect bibliometric indicators. In this paper I explored how the growth of covid-19 publications influences bibliometric indicators commonly used in university rankings, research evaluation and research allocation, namely the field normalized citation score and the journal impact factor. I found that the burst of publications in the early stage of the covid-19 pandemic affects field-normalized citation scores and will affect the journal impact factor. Publications unrelated to covid-19 are also heavily affected. I conclude that there is a considerable risk to draw misleading conclusions from citation indicators spanning over the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, in particular when time series are used and when the biomedical literature is assessed

Too Big to Ignore : Global Risk Perception Gaps Between Scientists and Business Leaders

Two major reports assessing global systemic risks have been published recently, presenting large-scale panel data on the risk perceptions of different key communities, most notably business leaders and global change scientists. While both of these global communities agree on ranking environmental risks the highest, followed by societal, geopolitical, technological, and economic risks, business leaders perceive the likelihood of most risks as lower than scientists. This gap implies vexing questions in relation to building a shared sense of urgency and facilitating collective action. These questions need to be addressed through new ways of co-creating risk assessments and strategic futures analysis

O PERFIL EPIDEMIOLÓGICO DAS ARBOVIROSES NO BRASIL DE 2017 A 2022: UMA ANÁLISE DO IMPACTO DA PANDEMIA DE COVID-19

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the landscape of Brazilian public health, which was marked by arboviral diseases such as Dengue, Zika, Chikungunya, and Yellow Fever. The sudden need for a reorganization of the healthcare system and the fear of contracting COVID-19 contributed to the modification of the epidemiological profile of various diseases, potentially impacting the distribution of arboviruses. Objectives: This study aims to conduct an analysis of the epidemiological profile of arboviral diseases between the years 2017 and 2022, seeking to understand how the distribution of these diseases occurred before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional, analytical, descriptive, and quantitative study that aims to conduct a retrospective epidemiological investigation. It used data made available by the Department of Informatics of the Unified Health System (DATASUS) of the Ministry of Health. The data used pertained to the main arboviral diseases affecting Brazil, covering the years 2017 to 2022. Results: According to the present study, in Brazil, between 2017 and 2022, the year with the highest notification of arboviral diseases was 2019. Meanwhile, the years 2017 and 2018 had the lowest notification of cases of these diseases. Additionally, the notification of arboviral diseases was concentrated in the Southeast region, the most affected age group was 20 to 39 years, and there was a prevalence of cases in female individuals. Conclusions: The reduction in cases in 2020 and 2021, compared to 2019 and 2022, is noteworthy. As several studies suggest, this reduction may be due to possible underreporting. However, new studies should be conducted to develop and subsequently test the most plausible hypotheses regarding the transmission of arboviral diseases during the pandemic period to arrive at a plausible conclusion on this topic.  Introdução: A pandemia da COVID-19 mudou o cenário da saúde pública brasileira, que era marcado pelas arboviroses Dengue, Zika, Chikungunya e Febre Amarela. A necessidade de uma reorganização repentina do sistema de saúde e o medo de contrair a COVID-19 contribuíram para a modificação do perfil epidemiológico de diversas doenças, tendo um possível impacto na distribuição dos arbovírus. Objetivos: Esse estudo busca realizar uma análise do perfil epidemiológico das arboviroses entre os anos de 2017 e 2022, visando entender como ocorreu a distribuição dessas doenças antes e durante a pandemia de Covid-19. Materiais e métodos: Trata-se de um estudo de caráter transversal, analítico, descritivo e quantitativo, que almeja realizar uma investigação epidemiológica retrospectiva, o qual utilizou dados disponibilizados pelo Departamento de Informática do Sistema Único de Saúde (DATASUS) do Ministério da Saúde. Os dados utilizados foram acerca das principais arboviroses que acometem o Brasil. A pesquisa abrange os anos de 2017 a 2022. Resultados: Segundo o presente estudo, no Brasil, entre 2017 e 2022, o ano com maior notificação das arboviroses foi o de 2019. Enquanto isso, os anos de 2017 e 2018 apresentaram a menor notificação de casos dessas doenças. Além disso, a notificação das arboviroses concentrou-se na região Sudeste, a faixa etária mais afetada foi relativa a 20 a 39 anos e houve prevalência de casos em indivíduos do sexo feminino. Conclusões: Destaca-se a redução dos casos nos anos de 2020 e 2021, quando comparados com 2019 e 2022. Essa redução, como diversos estudos apontam, deve-se a uma possível subnotificação. Porém, novos estudos devem ser realizados para elaboração e, consequentemente, teste das hipóteses mais plausíveis acerca da transmissão das arboviroses no período pandêmico para que se efetive uma conclusão plausível a respeito deste tópico

Statistical reproducibility of meta-analysis research claims for medical mask use in community settings to prevent COVID infection

The coronavirus pandemic (COVID) has been an exceptional test of current scientific evidence that inform and shape policy. Many US states, cities, and counties implemented public orders for mask use on the notion that this intervention would delay and flatten the epidemic peak and largely benefit public health outcomes. P-value plotting was used to evaluate statistical reproducibility of meta-analysis research claims of a benefit for medical (surgical) mask use in community settings to prevent COVID infection. Eight studies (seven meta-analyses, one systematic review) published between 1 January 2020 and 7 December 2022 were evaluated. Base studies were randomized control trials with outcomes of medical diagnosis or laboratory-confirmed diagnosis of viral (Influenza or COVID) illness. Self-reported viral illness outcomes were excluded because of awareness bias. No evidence was observed for a medical mask use benefit to prevent viral infections in six p-value plots (five meta-analyses and one systematic review). Research claims of no benefit in three meta-analyses and the systematic review were reproduced in p-value plots. Research claims of a benefit in two meta-analyses were not reproduced in p-value plots. Insufficient data were available to construct p-value plots for two meta-analyses because of overreliance on self-reported outcomes. These findings suggest a benefit for medical mask use in community settings to prevent viral, including COVID infection, is unproven.Comment: 21 pages, 100 references, 3 appendice