The impact of COVID-19 on global health journals: An analysis of impact factor and publication trends

Background COVID-19 has affected research productivity across all areas of knowledge. Current evidence suggests that COVID-19 has had a blockbuster effect on journal impact factors (JIFs) and publication trends, while little is known on global health journals. Methods Twenty global health journals were included to analyse the impact of COVID-19 on their JIFs and publication trends. Indicator data, including numbers of publications, citations, articles with different types, etc, were extracted from journal websites and Web of Science Core Collection database. The JIFs from 2019 to 2021 were simulated for longitudinal and cross-sectional analyses. Interrupted time-series analysis and non-parametric tests were applied to assess whether COVID-19 had decreased non-COVID-19 publications from January 2018 to June 2022. Results In 2020, 615 out of 3223 publications were COVID-19 related, accounting for 19.08%. The simulated JIFs of 17 out of 20 journals in 2021 were higher than those in 2019 and 2020. Notably, 18 out of 20 journals had a decrease in their simulated JIFs after excluding COVID-19-related publications. Moreover, 10 out of 20 journals decreased their monthly numbers of non-COVID-19 publications after the COVID-19 outbreak. For all the 20 journals as a whole, after the COVID-19 outbreak in February 2020, the total number of non-COVID-19 publications significantly decreased by 14.2 compared with the previous month (p=0.013), and since then, on average, the publications had decreased by 0.6 per month until June 2022 (p<0.001). Conclusions COVID-19 has impacted the structure of COVID-19-related publications, the JIFs of global health journals and their numbers of non-COVID-19 publications. Although journals may benefit from increased JIFs, global health journals should avoid relying on a single metric. More follow-up studies including more years of data with a combination of metrics should be conducted to generate more robust evidence

Beclin-1 Expression is a Predictor of Clinical Outcome in Patients with Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Correlated to Hypoxia-Inducible Factor (HIF)-1α Expression

In the present study, we examined the relationship between Beclin-1 expression and HIF-1α expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma(ESCC). There was a loss of Beclin-1 protein expression in 33% of ESCCs. Beclin-1 expression significantly correlated with depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis and clinical stage. Among the 54 patients, The survival rate of the Beclin-1-positive group was better than that of the Beclin-1-negative group. Twenty-five of the 54 (46%) tumor specimens showed high levels of HIF-1α immunoreactivity. Beclin-1 expression was associated with HIF-1α expression. The survival rate of patients with Beclin-1-positive and HIF-1α-low tumors was significantly higher than that of the other groups. These results suggest that Beclin-1 and HIF-1α expression are important determinants of survival in ESCCs

Comparative effectiveness and safety of DOACs vs. VKAs in treatment of left ventricular thrombus- a meta-analysis update

Abstract Background and objective Left ventricular thrombus (LVT) formation in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) or cardiomyopathies is not uncommon. The optimal oral anticoagulation therapy for resolving LVT has been under intense debate. Vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) remain the anticoagulant of choice for this condition, according to practice guidelines. Evidence supporting the use of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in the management of LVT continues to grow. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the efficacy and safety of DOACs versus VKAs. Methods A comprehensive literature search was carried out in PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Embase, and Scopus databases in July 2023. The efficacy outcomes of this study were thrombus resolution, ischemic stroke, systemic embolism, stroke/systemic embolism, all-cause mortality, and adverse cardiovascular events. The safety outcomes were any bleeding, major bleeding, and intracranial hemorrhage. A total of twenty-seven eligible studies were included in the meta-analysis. Data were analyzed utilizing Stata software version 15.1. Results There was no significant difference between DOACs and VKAs with regard to LVT resolution (RR = 1.00, 95% CI 0.95–1.05, P = 0.99). In the overall analysis, DOACs significantly reduced the risk of stroke (RR = 0.74, 95% CI 0.57–0.96, P = 0.021), all-cause mortality (RR = 0.70, 95% CI 0.57–0.86, P = 0.001), any bleeding (RR = 0.75, 95% CI 0.61–0.92, P = 0.006) and major bleeding (RR = 0.67, 95% CI 0.52–0.85, P = 0.001) when compared to VKAs. Meanwhile, in the sub-analysis examining randomized controlled trials (RCTs), the aforementioned outcomes no longer differed significantly between the DOACs and VKAs groups. The incidences of systemic embolism (RR = 0.81, 95% CI 0.54–1.22, P = 0.32), stroke/systemic embolism (RR = 0.85, 95% CI 0.72–1.00, P = 0.056), intracranial hemorrhage (RR = 0.59, 95% CI 0.23–1.54, P = 0.28), and adverse cardiovascular events (RR = 0.99, 95% CI 0.63–1.56, P = 0.92) were comparable between the DOACs and VKAs groups. A subgroup analysis showed that patients treated with rivaroxaban had a significantly lower risk of stroke (RR = 0.24, 95% CI 0.08–0.72, P = 0.011) than those in the VKAs group. Conclusion With non-inferior efficacy and superior safety, DOACs are promising therapeutic alternatives to VKAs in the treatment of LVT. Further robust investigations are warranted to confirm our findings

Bioinspired Adhesive Manufactured by Projection Microstereolithography 3D Printing Technology and Its Application

Abstract Many methods are used to manufacture bioinspired adhesive arrays such as photolithography and nanoimprinting methods, which are very high cost and time‐consuming. In this manuscript, projection microstereolithography 3D printing method is firstly adopted to prepare the bioinspired dry adhesive in several micrometers, which is low cost, time saving, convenient and can realize rapid, large‐scale, high‐precision, and controllable complex structure manufacture. The morphology and adhesive properties of four kinds of adhesive with flat punch, mushroom‐shaped, suction cup‐shaped, and titled micropillar structures are investigated. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation shows that the very regular pattern of the adhesive is generated and no collapse phenomenon is observed. The adhesion test results show the mushroom‐shaped adhesive reach the maximum adhesion of 15 KPa, which can be maintained after repeated uses. The contact angle of the adhesive is 143.7°, showing the good self‐cleaning ability. The mushroom‐shaped adhesive exhibits excellent adhesion property, high repeatability, and good self‐cleaning ability, which is further applied in grasping and transferring various surfaces such as solar panels, printed circuit board, flanges, and so on

Scalable Low-Band-Gap Sb2Se3 Thin-Film Photocathodes for Efficient Visible-Near-Infrared Solar Hydrogen Evolution

A highly efficient low-band-gap (1.2-0.8 eV) photoelectrode is critical for accomplishing efficient conversion of visible-near-infrared sunlight into storable hydrogen. Herein, we report an Sb2Se3 polycrystalline thin-film photocathode having a low band gap (1.2-1.1 eV) for efficient hydrogen evolution for wide solar-spectrum utilization. The photocathode was fabricated by a facile thermal evaporation of a single Sb2Se3 powder source onto the Mo-coated soda-lime glass substrate, followed by annealing under Se vapor and surface modification with an antiphotocorrosive CdS/TiO2 bilayer and Pt catalyst. The fabricated Sb2Se3(Se-annealed)/CdS/TiO2/Pt photocathode achieves a photocurrent density of ca. 8.6 mA cm(-2) at 0 V-RHE, an onset potential of ca. 0.43 V-RHE, a stable photocurrent for over 10 h, and a significant photoresponse up to the near-infrared region (ca. 1040 nm) in near-neutral pH buffered solution (pH 6.5) under AM 1.5G simulated sunlight. The obtained photoelectrochemical performance is attributed to the reliable synthesis of a micrometer-sized Sb2Se3 (Se-annealed) thin film as photoabsorber and the successful construction of an appropriate p-n heterojunction at the electrode liquid interface for effective charge separation. The demonstration of a low-band-gap and high-performance Sb2Se3 photocathode with facile fabrication might facilitate the development of cost-effective PEC devices for wide solar spectrum utilization

Additional file 1 of Comparative effectiveness and safety of DOACs vs. VKAs in treatment of left ventricular thrombus- a meta-analysis update

Additional file 1: Supplementary Table 1. The detailed search strategy of databases. Supplementary Table 2. Quality assessment of included observational studies using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Supplementary Figure 1. Quality assessment of the included randomized controlled trials. Supplementary Figure 2. Forest plot comparing the efficacy of DOACs and VKA in the treatment of LVT. (A) after 3 months of treatment. (B) after 6 months of treatment. Supplementary Figure 3. Forest plot to compare apixaban with VKAs in outcomes including (A) LVT resolution, (B) stoke/systemic embolism, (C) any bleeding. Supplementary Figure 4. Forest plot to compare rivaroxaban with VKAs in outcomes including (A) LVT resolution. (B) stroke. (C) stroke/systemic embolism. (D) major bleeding. (E) any bleeding. Supplementary Figure 5. The funnel plots based on the outcomes. (A) funnel plot for LVT resolution. (B) funnel plot for stroke. (C) funnel plot for systemic embolism. (D) funnel plot for stroke/systemic embolism. (E) funnel plot for all-cause mortality. (F) funnel plot for any bleeding. (G)funnel plot for major bleeding events. Supplementary Figure 6. Results of sensitivity analyses. (A) LVT resolution. (B) ischemic stroke. (C) systemic embolism. (D) stroke/systemic embolism. (E) any bleeding. (F) major bleeding. (G) intracranial hemorrhage. (H) all-cause mortality. (I) adverse cardiovascular events

Gemini surfactant: A novel flotation collector for harvesting of microalgae by froth flotation

Froth flotation has been proved to be a promising approach for commercial scale harvesting of microalgae. However, all the surfactants used in the microalgae flotation harvesting process are conventional monomeric surfactants contain a single similar hydrophobic group in the molecule, which results in a low harvesting efficiency. In this work, a novel Gemini surfactant, N,N′-bis(cetyldimethyl)-1,4-butane diammonium dibromide (BCBD) was prepared, and originally recommended as a collector for froth flotation harvesting of Chlorella vulgaris from culture medium. The performance of BCBD was compared with the results acquired using its conventional monomeric surfactant cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB). The bench-scale flotation results showed that BCBD had excellent collecting power for Chlorella vulgaris. Achieving the obviously superior flotation harvesting performance (flotation recovery increased by 21.4% and enrichment ratio increased by 22.9), the dosage of Gemini type BCBD collector is five times less than that of monomeric CTAB collector

Chiral Supramolecular Hydrogel Loaded with Dimethyloxalyglycine to Accelerate Chronic Diabetic Wound Healing by Promoting Cell Proliferation and Angiogenesis

Chronic refractory wounds are one of the most serious complications of diabetes, and the effects of common treatments are limited. Chiral hydrogel combined with dimethyloxalyglycine (DMOG) as a dressing is a promising strategy for the treatment of chronic wounds. In this research, we have developed a DMOG-loaded supramolecular chiral amino-acid-derivative hydrogel for wound dressings for full-thickness skin regeneration of chronic wounds. The properties of the materials, the ability of sustained release drugs, and the ability to promote angiogenesis were tested in vitro, and the regeneration rate and repair ability of full-thickness skin were tested in vivo. The chiral hydrogel had the ability to release drugs slowly. It can effectively promote cell migration and angiogenesis in vitro, and promote full-thickness skin regeneration and angiogenesis in vivo. This work offers a new approach for repairing chronic wounds completely through a supramolecular chiral hydrogel loaded with DMOG