Scientometric analysis of the world-wide research efforts concerning Leishmaniasis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Leishmaniasis is a chronic disease that is found in various countries of the world. The aim of the current study was to investigate the impact of leishmaniasis on the world's research output. The present study assessed benchmarking of research output for the period between 1957 and 2006. Using large database analyses, research in the field of leishmaniasis was evaluated. Furthermore, cooperation between different countries was identified.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The number of publications increased with time. Most publications came from Western countries such as the US, UK or Germany. Interestingly, countries like Brazil and India had a high research output. We found a substantial amount of cooperation between countries.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Although leishmaniasis is of limited geographic distribution it attracts a wide research interest. The central hub of research cooperation is the USA.</p

The IgCAM CLMP regulates expression of Connexin43 and Connexin45 in intestinal and ureteral smooth muscle contraction in mice

CAR-like membrane protein (CLMP), an immunoglobulin cell adhesion molecule (IgCAM), has been implicated in congenital short-bowel syndrome in humans, a condition with high mortality for which there is currently no cure. We therefore studied the function of CLMP in a Clmp-deficient mouse model. Although we found that the levels of mRNAs encoding Connexin43 or Connexin45 were not or were only marginally affected, respectively, by Clmp deficiency, the absence of CLMP caused a severe reduction of both proteins in smooth muscle cells of the intestine and of Connexin43 in the ureter. Analysis of calcium signaling revealed a disordered cell-cell communication between smooth muscle cells, which in turn induced an impaired and uncoordinated motility of the intestine and the ureter. Consequently, insufficient transport of chyme and urine caused a fatal delay to thrive, a high rate of mortality, and provoked a severe hydronephrosis in CLMP knockouts. Neurotransmission and the capability of smooth muscle cells to contract in ring preparations of the intestine were not altered. Physical obstructions were not detectable and an overall normal histology in the intestine as well as in the ureter was observed, except for a slight hypertrophy of smooth muscle layers. Deletion of Clmp did not lead to a reduced length of the intestine as shown for the human CLMP gene but resulted in gut malrotations. In sum, the absence of CLMP caused functional obstructions in the intestinal tract and ureter by impaired peristaltic contractions most likely due to a lack of gap-junctional communication between smooth muscle cells

Effects of climatic factors on diarrheal diseases among children below 5 years of age at national and subnational levels in Nepal: an ecological study

INTRODUCTION: The incidence of diarrhea, a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in low-income countries such as Nepal, is temperature-sensitive, suggesting it could be associated with climate change. With climate change fueled increases in the mean and variability of temperature and precipitation, the incidence of water and food-borne diseases are increasing, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. This national-level ecological study was undertaken to provide evidence linking weather and climate with diarrhea incidence in Nepal. METHOD: We analyzed monthly diarrheal disease count and meteorological data from all districts, spanning 15 eco-development regions of Nepal. Meteorological data and monthly data on diarrheal disease were sourced, respectively, from the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology and Health Management Information System (HMIS) of the Government of Nepal for the period from 2002 to 2014. Time-series log-linear regression models assessed the relationship between maximum temperature, minimum temperature, rainfall, relative humidity, and diarrhea burden. Predictors with p-values < 0.25 were retained in the fitted models. RESULTS: Overall, diarrheal disease incidence in Nepal significantly increased with 1 degrees C increase in mean temperature (4.4%; 95% CI: 3.95, 4.85) and 1 cm increase in rainfall (0.28%; 95% CI: 0.15, 0.41). Seasonal variation of diarrheal incidence was prominent at the national level (11.63% rise in diarrheal cases in summer (95% CI: 4.17, 19.61) and 14.5% decrease in spring (95% CI: -18.81, -10.02) compared to winter season). Moreover, the effects of temperature and rainfall were highest in the mountain region compared to other ecological regions of Nepal. CONCLUSION: Our study provides empirical evidence linking weather factors and diarrheal disease burden in Nepal. This evidence suggests that additional climate change could increase diarrheal disease incidence across the nation. Mountainous regions are more sensitive to climate variability and consequently the burden of diarrheal diseases. These findings can be utilized to allocate necessary resources and envision a weather-based early warning system for the prevention and control of diarrheal diseases in Nepal

Scientometric Analysis and Combined Density-Equalizing Mapping of Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) Research

Background: Passive exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is estimated to exert a major burden of disease. Currently, numerous countries have taken legal actions to protect the population against ETS. Numerous studies have been conducted in this field. Therefore, scientometric methods should be used to analyze the accumulated data since there is no such approach available so far. Methods and Results: A combination of scientometric methods and novel visualizing procedures were used, including density-equalizing mapping and radar charting techniques. 6,580 ETS-related studies published between 1900 and 2008 were identified in the ISI database. Using different scientometric approaches, a continuous increase of both quantitative and qualitative parameters was found. The combination with density-equalizing calculations demonstrated a leading position of the United States (2,959 items published) in terms of quantitative research activities. Charting techniques demonstrated that there are numerous bi- and multilateral networks between different countries and institutions in this field. Again, a leading position of American institutions was found. Conclusions: This is the first comprehensive scientometric analysis of data on global scientific activities in the field o

Spatial modelling of malaria cases associated with environmental factors in South Sumatra, Indonesia.

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.BACKGROUND: Malaria, a parasitic infection, is a life-threatening disease in South Sumatra Province, Indonesia. This study aimed to investigate the spatial association between malaria occurrence and environmental risk factors. METHODS: The number of confirmed malaria cases was analysed for the year 2013 from the routine reporting of the Provincial Health Office of South Sumatra. The cases were spread over 436 out of 1613 villages. Six potential ecological predictors of malaria cases were analysed in the different regions using ordinary least square (OLS) and geographically weighted regression (GWR). The global pattern and spatial variability of associations between malaria cases and the selected potential ecological predictors was explored. RESULTS: The importance of different environmental and geographic parameters for malaria was shown at global and village-level in South Sumatra, Indonesia. The independent variables altitude, distance from forest, and rainfall in global OLS were significantly associated with malaria cases. However, as shown by GWR model and in line with recent reviews, the relationship between malaria and environmental factors in South Sumatra strongly varied spatially in different regions. CONCLUSIONS: A more in-depth understanding of local ecological factors influencing malaria disease as shown in present study may not only be useful for developing sustainable regional malaria control programmes, but can also benefit malaria elimination efforts at village level.We express our gratitude to the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education of the Republic of Indonesia for supporting the first author (HH) with a Ph. D. scholarship in the context of the cooperation between Sriwijaya University and Goethe University

Prevalence and risk factors associated with chronic kidney disease in Nepal: evidence from a nationally representative population-based cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine population-based prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and its associated factors in Nepal. STUDY DESIGN: The study was a nationwide population-based cross-sectional study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional survey conducted in a nationally representative sample of 12 109 Nepalese adult from 2016 to 2018 on selected chronic non-communicable diseases was examined. Multistage cluster sampling with a mix of probability proportionate to size and systematic random sampling was used for the selection of individuals aged 20 years and above. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcome in this study was population-based prevalence of CKD in Nepal. A participant was considered to have CKD if the urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio was greater than or equal to 30 mg/g and/or estimated glomerular filtration rate is less than 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 at baseline and in follow-up using modification of diet in renal disease study equations. The secondary outcome measure was factors associated with CKD in Nepal. The covariate adjusted association of risk factors and CKD was calculated using multivariable binary logistic regression. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of CKD in Nepal was 6.0% (95% CI 5.5 to 6.6). Factors independently associated with CKD included older age (adjusted OR (AOR) 2.6, 95% CI 1.9 to 3.6), Dalit caste (AOR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.3), hypertension (AOR 2.4, 95% CI 2.0 to 3.0), diabetes mellitus (AOR 3.2, 95% CI 2.5 to 4.1), raised total cholesterol (AOR 1.3, 95% CI 1.0 to 1.6) and increased waist-to-hip ratio (AOR 1.6, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.3). CONCLUSION: This nationally representative study shows that the prevalence of CKD in the adult population of Nepal is substantial, and it is independently associated with several cardiometabolic traits. These findings warrant longitudinal studies to identify the causes of CKD in Nepal and effective strategies to prevent it

Molecular mechanisms of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a new infectious disease caused by a novel coronavirus that leads to deleterious pulmonary pathological features. Due to its high morbidity and mortality and widespread occurrence, SARS has evolved as an important respiratory disease which may be encountered everywhere in the world. The virus was identified as the causative agent of SARS due to the efforts of a WHO-led laboratory network. The potential mutability of the SARS-CoV genome may lead to new SARS outbreaks and several regions of the viral genomes open reading frames have been identified which may contribute to the severe virulence of the virus. With regard to the pathogenesis of SARS, several mechanisms involving both direct effects on target cells and indirect effects via the immune system may exist. Vaccination would offer the most attractive approach to prevent new epidemics of SARS, but the development of vaccines is difficult due to missing data on the role of immune system-virus interactions and the potential mutability of the virus. Even in a situation of no new infections, SARS remains a major health hazard, as new epidemics may arise. Therefore, further experimental and clinical research is required to control the disease

Models of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major global health problem and is predicted to become the third most common cause of death by 2020. Apart from the important preventive steps of smoking cessation, there are no other specific treatments for COPD that are as effective in reversing the condition, and therefore there is a need to understand the pathophysiological mechanisms that could lead to new therapeutic strategies. The development of experimental models will help to dissect these mechanisms at the cellular and molecular level. COPD is a disease characterized by progressive airflow obstruction of the peripheral airways, associated with lung inflammation, emphysema and mucus hypersecretion. Different approaches to mimic COPD have been developed but are limited in comparison to models of allergic asthma. COPD models usually do not mimic the major features of human COPD and are commonly based on the induction of COPD-like lesions in the lungs and airways using noxious inhalants such as tobacco smoke, nitrogen dioxide, or sulfur dioxide. Depending on the duration and intensity of exposure, these noxious stimuli induce signs of chronic inflammation and airway remodelling. Emphysema can be achieved by combining such exposure with instillation of tissue-degrading enzymes. Other approaches are based on genetically-targeted mice which develop COPD-like lesions with emphysema, and such mice provide deep insights into pathophysiological mechanisms. Future approaches should aim to mimic irreversible airflow obstruction, associated with cough and sputum production, with the possibility of inducing exacerbations

Association between co-authorship network and scientific productivity and impact indicators in academic medical research centers: A case study in Iran

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We aimed to examine the co-authorship networks in three successful Iranian academic research centers, in order to find the association between the scientific productivity and impact indicators with network features in a case study.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We searched for English articles of the three research centers. We drew co-authorship maps of each center and calculated social network measures.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The collaboration networks in centers shared many structural features, including a "star-like" pattern of relations. Centers with more successful scientific profile showed denser and more cooperative networks. Key figures in each center were interviewed for their understandings of the reasons for the emergence of these patterns.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Star shape network structure and dependency on a single big member is a common feature observed in our case study. Scientific output measures correlate with the network structure of research centers. Network analysis seems a useful method to explore the subtle scientific contexts in research organizations.</p