Societal output and use of research performed by health research groups

The last decade has seen the evaluation of health research pay more and more attention to societal use and benefits of research in addition to scientific quality, both in qualitative and quantitative ways. This paper elaborates primarily on a quantitative approach to assess societal output and use of research performed by health research groups (societal quality of research). For this reason, one of the Dutch university medical centres (i.e. the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC)) was chosen as the subject of a pilot study, because of its mission to integrate top patient care with medical, biomedical and healthcare research and education. All research departments were used as units of evaluation within this university medical centre

Works on Paper by Sculptors

Group exhibition of sculptors drawings selected by Alison Wilding

Nicht alle Zeitschriften haben das gleiche Gewicht Der harte Kern der Wissenschaftskommunikation

'Zeitschriften spielen eine herausragende Rolle in der wissenschaftlichen Kommunikation. Bibliometrische Analysen von wissenschaftlichen Zeitschriften umfassen sowohl die Beschreibung und Bewertung einzelner Zeitschriften als auch statistische Analysen von Ensembles wissenschaftlicher Zeitschriften. Beispiele fuer einfache bibliometrische Indikatoren auf Zeitschriftenebene sind die Groesse einer Zeitschrift (Anzahl der Publikationen) und die Anzahl der Zitierungen. Der bekannteste daraus abgeleitete Indikator ist der 'Journalimpaktfaktor' als durchschnittliche Zitationsrate eines Artikels in der entsprechenden Zeitschrift. Dieser Indikator wird haeufig zur Bewertung einer Zeitschrift herangezogen. Der Impaktfaktor steht fuer die Wahrnehmung einer Zeitschrift im Raum wissenschaftlicher Kommunikation. Diese wird letztlich von der Qualitaet der in der Zeitschrift erscheinenden Artikel bestimmt. Statistische Analysen von Zeitschriftengruppen fuehren in der Regel auf schiefe Verteilungen bibliometrischer Indikatoren, z. B. das Bradford'sche Gesetz. Die vorliegende Arbeit behandelt das Phaenomen der Verteilung von Zitierungen, die eine Zeitschrift erhaelt, auf die Laender, die in dieser Zeitschrift publizieren. Die unterschiedliche Teilhabe von Laendern an dem Renommee einer Zeitschrift wird durch einen neuen Indikator - die Anzahl der Matthaeus-Zitierungen -charakterisiert. Im ersten Teil der Arbeit wird in die neue Untersuchungsmethodik didaktisch eingefuehrt. In einem zweiten Teil werden empirische Analysen vorgestellt. Dabei wird die Verteilung des neuen Indikators innerhalb eines umfangreichen Zeitschriftenensembles analysiert und anderen Indikatoren gegenuebergestellt. Die Autoren halten die Anzahl der Matthaeus-Zitierungen in einer Zeitschrift fuer einen Ausdruck des Wettbewerbs von Laendern um Wahrnehmung in der internationalen wissenschaftlichen Kommunikation. Die empirische Analyse zeigt, dass dieser Wettbewerb sich vorrangig in einer relativ kleinen Gruppe von Zeitschriften, den Matthaeus- Kernzeitschriften, vollzieht. Diese Zeitschriften nehmen eine besondere Stellung in der internationalen Wissenschaftskommunikation ein.' (Autorenreferat)'Journals play an outstanding role in scientific communication. Bibliometric analyses of scientific journals cover both the description and evaluation of certain journals and statistical analyses of ensembles of scientific journals. Examples of simple bibliometric indicators on the journal level are the size of a journal (number of publications) and the number of citations. The most well-known indicator is the 'journal impact factor' as the average citation rate of an article in a certain journal. This indicator is used frequently for the evaluation of a journal as well as for the evaluation of institutions or countries my means of their publications in a certain journal. The impact factor stands for the perception of a scientific journal in the area of scientific communication. This is determined finally by the quality of the articles appearing in the journal. Statistic analyses of groups of journals lead usually to so-called skew distributions of bibliometric indicators, e.g. the Bradford law. This paper examines the phenomenon of the distribution of citations which a journal receives in the countries that publish in it. The different share that countries have in the reputation of a journal can be characterized by a new indicator, namely, the number of Matthew citations. The first part of this paper introduces the new methodological approach didactically. The second part presents empirical analyses. The distribution of the new indicator is analyzed within a large journal ensemble and then compared to other journal indicators. We regard the number of Matthew citations in a journal as an expression of the competition among countries over how they are perceived in international scientific communication. The empirical analysis shows that this competition occurs mainly within a relatively small group of journals, which we called Matthew Core Journals. These journals take a special position in the international scientific communication.' (author's abstract)SIGLEAvailable from http://skylla.wz-berlin.de/pdf/2001/ii01-307.pdf / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman

Risk factors associated with sustained circulation of six zoonotic arboviruses: a systematic review for selection of surveillance sites in non-endemic areas

Abstract Arboviruses represent a significant burden to public health and local economies due to their ability to cause unpredictable and widespread epidemics. To maximize early detection of arbovirus emergence in non-endemic areas, surveillance efforts should target areas where circulation is most likely. However, identifying such hotspots of potential emergence is a major challenge. The ecological conditions leading to arbovirus outbreaks are shaped by complex interactions between the virus, its vertebrate hosts, arthropod vector, and abiotic environment that are often poorly understood. Here, we systematically review the ecological risk factors associated with the circulation of six arboviruses that are of considerable concern to northwestern Europe. These include three mosquito-borne viruses (Japanese encephalitis virus, West Nile virus, Rift Valley fever virus) and three tick-borne viruses (Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, tick-borne encephalitis virus, and louping-ill virus). We consider both intrinsic (e.g. vector and reservoir host competence) and extrinsic (e.g. temperature, precipitation, host densities, land use) risk factors, identify current knowledge gaps, and discuss future directions. Our systematic review provides baseline information for the identification of regions and habitats that have suitable ecological conditions for endemic circulation, and therefore may be used to target early warning surveillance programs aimed at detecting multi-virus and/or arbovirus emergence

Transcription profiling by array of mouse heart with microRNA knock down of mmu-miR-155 in mice with actual viral myocarditis

For microRNA knockdown in vivo, a 15-mer LNA-antimiR oligonucleotide targeting mmu-miR-155 or an LNA control was administered to male 4-week-old C3H mice intravenously at a dose of 25 mg/kg per injection at days 1, 4 and 6 post-CVB3 infection. Samples were taken at 6 days post infection