Scoliosis : density-equalizing mapping and scientometric analysis

Background: Publications related to scoliosis have increased enormously. A differentiation between publications of major and minor importance has become difficult even for experts. Scientometric data on developments and tendencies in scoliosis research has not been available to date. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the scientific efforts of scoliosis research both quantitatively and qualitatively. Methods: Large-scale data analysis, density-equalizing algorithms and scientometric methods were used to evaluate both the quantity and quality of research achievements of scientists studying scoliosis. Density-equalizing algorithms were applied to data retrieved from ISI-Web. Results: From 1904 to 2007, 8,186 items pertaining to scoliosis were published and included in the database. The studies were published in 76 countries: the USA, the U.K. and Canada being the most productive centers. The Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri) was identified as the most prolific institution during that period, and orthopedics represented by far the most productive medical discipline. "BRADFORD, DS" is the most productive author (146 items), and "DANSEREAU, J" is the author with the highest scientific impact (h-index of 27). Conclusion: Our results suggest that currently established measures of research output (i.e. impact factor, h-index) should be evaluated critically because phenomena, such as self-citation and co-authorship, distort the results and limit the value of the conclusions that may be drawn from these measures. Qualitative statements are just tractable by the comparison of the parameters with respect to multiple linkages. In order to obtain more objective evaluation tools, new measurements need to be developed

Air pollution research: visualization of research activity using density-equalizing mapping and scientometric benchmarking procedures

Background: Due to constantly rising air pollution levels as well as an increasing awareness of the hazardousness of air pollutants, new laws and rules have recently been passed. Although there has been a large amount of research on this topic, bibliometric data is still to be collected. Thus this study provides a scientometric approach to the material published on this subject so far. Methods: For this purpose, data retrieved from the "Web of Science" provided by the Thomson Scientific Institute was analyzed and visualized both with density-equalizing methods and classic data-processing methods such as tables and charts. Results: For the time span between 1955 and 2006, 26,253 items were listed and related to the topic of air pollution, published by 124 countries in 24 different languages. General citation activity has been constantly increasing since the beginning of the examined period. However, beginning with the year 1991, citation levels have been rising exponentially each year, reaching 39,220 citations in the year 2006. The United States, the UK and Germany were the three most productive countries in the area, with English and German ranked first and second in publishing languages, followed by French. An article published by Dockery, Pope, Xu et al. was both the most cited in total numbers and in average citation rate. J. Schwartz was able to claim the highest total number of citations on his publications, while D.W. Dockery has the highest citation rate per publication. As to the subject areas the items are assigned with, the most item were published in Environmental Sciences, followed by Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences and Public, Environmental & Occupational Health. Nine out of the ten publishing journals with more than 300 entries dealt with environmental interests and one dealt with epidemiology. Conclusions: Using the method of density-equalizing mapping and further common data processing procedures, it can be concluded that scientific work concerning air pollution and related topics enjoys unbrokenly growing scientific interest. This can be observed both in publication numbers and in citation activity

The Role of Endocarditis, Myocarditis and Pericarditis in Qualitative and Quantitative Data Analysis

The current study is the first scientometric analysis of research activity and output in the field of inflammatory disorders of the heart (endo-, myo- and pericarditis). Scientometric methods are used to compare scientific performance on national and on international scale to identify single areas of research interest. Interest and research productivity in inflammatory diseases of the heart have increased since 1990. The majority of publications about inflammatory heart disorders were published in Western Europe and North America. The United States of America had a leading position in terms of research productivity and quality; half of the most productive authors in this study came from American institutions. The analysis of international cooperation revealed research activity in countries that are less established in the field of inflammatory heart disorder research, such as Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia. These results indicate that future research of heart inflammation may no longer be influenced predominantly by a small number of countries. Furthermore, this study revealed weaknesses in currently established scientometric parameters (i.e., h-index, impact factor) that limit their suitability as measures of research quality. In this respect, self-citations should be generally excluded from calculations of h-index and impact factor

Scoliosis: density-equalizing mapping and scientometric analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Publications related to scoliosis have increased enormously. A differentiation between publications of major and minor importance has become difficult even for experts. Scientometric data on developments and tendencies in scoliosis research has not been available to date. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the scientific efforts of scoliosis research both quantitatively and qualitatively.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Large-scale data analysis, density-equalizing algorithms and scientometric methods were used to evaluate both the quantity and quality of research achievements of scientists studying scoliosis. Density-equalizing algorithms were applied to data retrieved from ISI-Web.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>From 1904 to 2007, 8,186 items pertaining to scoliosis were published and included in the database. The studies were published in 76 countries: the USA, the U.K. and Canada being the most productive centers. The Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri) was identified as the most prolific institution during that period, and orthopedics represented by far the most productive medical discipline. "BRADFORD, DS" is the most productive author (146 items), and "DANSEREAU, J" is the author with the highest scientific impact (h-index of 27).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest that currently established measures of research output (i.e. impact factor, h-index) should be evaluated critically because phenomena, such as self-citation and co-authorship, distort the results and limit the value of the conclusions that may be drawn from these measures. Qualitative statements are just tractable by the comparison of the parameters with respect to multiple linkages. In order to obtain more objective evaluation tools, new measurements need to be developed.</p

Mobile Air Quality Studies (MAQS) - an international project

Due to an increasing awareness of the potential hazardousness of air pollutants, new laws, rules and guidelines have recently been implemented globally. In this respect, numerous studies have addressed traffic-related exposure to particulate matter using stationary technology so far. By contrast, only few studies used the advanced technology of mobile exposure analysis. The Mobile Air Quality Study (MAQS) addresses the issue of air pollutant exposure by combining advanced high-granularity spatial-temporal analysis with vehicle-mounted, person-mounted and roadside sensors. The MAQS-platform will be used by international collaborators in order 1) to assess air pollutant exposure in relation to road structure, 2) to assess air pollutant exposure in relation to traffic density, 3) to assess air pollutant exposure in relation to weather conditions, 4) to compare exposure within vehicles between front and back seat (children) positions, and 5) to evaluate "traffic zone"- exposure in relation to non-"traffic zone"-exposure. Primarily, the MAQS-platform will focus on particulate matter. With the establishment of advanced mobile analysis tools, it is planed to extend the analysis to other pollutants including including NO2, SO2, nanoparticles, and ozone

Does type of hospital ownership influence physicians' daily work schedules? An observational real-time study in German hospital departments

Background: During the last two decades the German hospital sector has been engaged in a constant process of transformation. One obvious sign of this is the growing amount of hospital privatization. To date, most research studies have focused on the effects of privatization regarding financial outcomes and quality of care, leaving important organizational issues unexplored. Yet little attention has been devoted to the effects of privatization on physicians' working routines. The aim of this observational real-time study is to deliver exact data about physicians' work at hospitals of different ownership. By analysing working hours, further impacts of hospital privatization can be assessed and areas of improvement identified. Methods: Observations were made by shadowing 100 physicians working in private, for-profit or non-profit as well as public hospital departments individually during whole weekday shifts in urban German settings. A total of 300 days of observations were conducted. All working activities were recorded, accurate to the second, by using a mobile personal computer. Results: Results have shown significant differences in physicians' working activities, depending on hospital ownership, concerning working hours and time spent on direct and indirect patient care. Conclusion: This is the first real-time analysis on differences in work activities depending on hospital ownership. The study provides an objective insight into physicians' daily work routines at hospitals of different ownership, with additional information on effects of hospital privatization

The Role of Endocarditis, Myocarditis and Pericarditis in Qualitative and Quantitative Data Analysis

The current study is the first scientometric analysis of research activity and output in the field of inflammatory disorders of the heart (endo-, myo- and pericarditis). Scientometric methods are used to compare scientific performance on national and on international scale to identify single areas of research interest. Interest and research productivity in inflammatory diseases of the heart have increased since 1990. The majority of publications about inflammatory heart disorders were published in Western Europe and North America. The United States of America had a leading position in terms of research productivity and quality; half of the most productive authors in this study came from American institutions. The analysis of international cooperation revealed research activity in countries that are less established in the field of inflammatory heart disorder research, such as Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia. These results indicate that future research of heart inflammation may no longer be influenced predominantly by a small number of countries. Furthermore, this study revealed weaknesses in currently established scientometric parameters (i.e., h-index, impact factor) that limit their suitability as measures of research quality. In this respect, self-citations should be generally excluded from calculations of h-index and impact factor

qualitative and quantitative scientometric analysis

Erythropoietin (EPO), ein Glykoproteinhormon mit einer Masse von 30,4 kDa, ist bekannt als der Regulator der Produktion von roten Blutkörperchen. EPO erhöht die Masse an roten Blutkörperchen, welche maßgeblich die Sauerstofftransportkapazität des Blutes bestimmt. EPO wird deshalb zur Behandlung von Anämien wie sie im Rahmen von Krebserkrankungen und chronischen Niereninsuffizienzen auftreten eingesetzt, um die Oxygenierung des Gewebes zu verbessern. Die Forschung der letzten Jahre hat jedoch gezeigt, dass EPO nicht nur der Blutbildung dient, sondern dass der EPO-Rezeptor auch auf nicht hämatopoetischen Geweben vorkommt und dort mit Funktionen wie der Regulierung der Angiogenese, der Chemotaxis, der Apoptosehemmung, der Mitose und der Aktivierung von intrazellulärem Calzium assoziiert ist. Veränderungen in den Publikationsmethoden (z.B. vereinfachte Übersendung mit Internet oder die Verwendung von Zitierungsprogrammen) haben seit 1990 zu einem starken Anstieg der Publikationszahlen geführt. Für einen Wissenschaftler wird es deshalb immer schwieriger sich in einer Thematik einen Überblick zu verschaffen. Die Szientometrie ist eine relativ neue Methode mit der sowohl quantitative (z.B. die produktivsten Autoren) als auch qualitative Aspekte (z.B. die wissenschaftliche Bedeutung von Publikationen) betrachtet werden können. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit bestand darin die qualitativen und quantitativen Aspekte der Forschung zum Thema EPO in den letzten 50 Jahren nach szientometrischen Aspekten zu analysieren. Mittels der Datenbanken Pubmed und ISI-Web wurden alle Artikel ermittelt, die sich mit der Thematik “Erythropoietin” im Zeitraum von 1955 bis 2006 beschäftigen. Die weitere Suche und Analyse wurde erweitert durch den Gebrauch des „Zitierungsreportes“ und die „Analysefunktion“, welche vom ISI-Web zur Verfügung gestellt werden. Kartenanamorphoten wurden auf der Basis der Kalkulationen von Gastner und Newman erstellt. Für die Darstellung der internationalen Kooperationen wurden die Referenzen aller Publikationen als „plain text files“ von ISI-Web akquiriert und die Ergebnisse in Form eines Kreisdiagramms dargestellt. 20922 Publikationen sind in ISI-Web zum Thema “Erythropoietin” für den Zeitraum von 1955-2006 verzeichnet. Von den 101 Ländern, die zur Thematik publiziert haben, sind die USA, Japan und Deutschland mit einem Anteil von 55,8 % an allen Publikationen die produktivsten Länder. In Gegensatz dazu vereinen Georgien (mit 128), Litauen (mit 55) und Gabun (mit 33) die höchste durchschnittliche Anzahl von Zitierungen je Publikation. Im Bezug auf die Anzahl der Publikationen dieser Länder fiel auf, dass Länder mit einer geringen Anzahl an Publikationen eine hohe Zitationsrate haben. Die Zeitschrift „Blood“ konnte als das bedeutendste Journal ermittelt werden (Impact-Factor 10,1). “Fisher, JW” kann als der produktivste Autor bezeichnet werden (213 Publikationen), während “GOLDWASSER, E“ den höchsten h-index (46) auf sich vereint. Die vergleichende Analyse zwischen der der Gesamtzahl der Publikationen und der Anzahl an Publikationen der 10 produktivsten Zeitschriften zum Thema EPO im Zeitraum 1985-2006 zeigt einen Anstieg der jährlichen Publikationszahlen bis zum Jahr 1994 mit einem stärkeren Anstieg der Gesamtpublikationszahlen. Im Gegensatz dazu fällt die Anzahl der jährlichen Publikationszahlen der 10 produktivsten Zeitschriften im Zeitraum von 2000-2006, während die Anzahl der Publikationen zum Thema insgesamt steigen. In diesem Zusammenhang kann man davon ausgehen, dass ein hohes Interesse and neuen und alternativen Gebrauch von EPO und seinen Analoga auf nicht-blutbildenden Geweben besteht. Die vorliegende Arbeit verdeutlicht somit, dass die Forschung zum Thema EPO in den letzten 50 Jahren, vor allem in den letzten 20 Jahren, große Fortschritte gemacht hat.Erythropoietin (EPO), a 30.4 kDa glycoprotein hormone, is generally known as the principle regulator of red blood cell production. EPO leads to an increase in red blood cell mass which promotes O2 transport capacity. Therefore it is used for treatment of anemia according to malignancies and chronic renal failure to increase tissue oxygenation. Further research was carried out in the last years after detecting EPO-R in non-hematopoietic tissues. In these tissues erythropoietin is associated with angiogenesis, chemotaxis, inhibition of apoptosis, mitosis and activation of intracellular calcium. Research regarding “Erythropoietin” is of increasing interest. Changes in publication methods (e.g., simplified online submission and use of citation programs) resulted in an enormous increase of scientific data since 1990. In this respect, it is difficult for a scientist to obtain an overview of a topic he/she is interested in. Scientometrics is a relatively new method to establish distributional aspects of publications (e.g., the most productive author) as well as the qualitative impact of scientific publications. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine quality and quantity of research productivity in the field of erythropoietin over the last five decades. Using the databases PubMed and Web of Science we retrieved articles with the subject “erythropoietin” in the period 1955 to 2006. Further search was refined by using the average “citation report” and the “analyze” function. Density equalizing mapping was used according to specific calculations based on Gastner and Newman’s. In brief, territories were resized to a particular variable, i.e. the number of published items related to the area of each country. To visualize the international cooperation data were retrieved as plain text files and arranged in a circle diagram. 20,922 filed items were included in “ISI-Web“ dealing with the topic “erythropoietin“ during the period 1955 to 2006. 101 countries dealing with the topic demonstrating the U.S., Japan and Germany being the most productive suppliers, representing 55.8 % of all published items. In contrast Georgia (128), Lithuana (55) and Gabun (33) combine the highest average citations rate in a country specific manner. Regarding the number of published items of these countries, data reveal the tendency that the average citation rate of countries with a relatively small amount of items appears disproportional high. Analysis of assigned journals and authors revealed “Blood“ as the most prolific journal with an Impact- Factor of 10.1. “Fisher, JW” is the most productive author with (213 items). In contrast “GOLDWASSER, E“ has the highest h-Index (46). Analysis of the overall number of publications of the ten most productive journals during the period 1985-2006 reveal increase of the number of publications until 1994 with a steeper increase of the overall number of publications. In contrast, there is a major difference for the period 2000 – 2006 with a general decrease for the 10 most productive journals and a general increase of overall numbers of published items. The present study represents the first scientometric analysis of the role and impact of erythropoietin in science. In this respect it can be assumed that there is an increase interest in results for new and alternative usage of erythropoietin and analogues on non-hematopoietic tissues. Our data suggest that scientific research focusing on erythropoietin as a subject has made significant progress in the last five decades with a strong progress in the last 20 years

Gendermetrics.NET : a novel software for analyzing the gender representation in scientific authoring

Background: Imbalances in female career promotion are believed to be strong in the field of academic science. A primary parameter to analyze gender inequalities is the gender authoring in scientific publications. Since the presently available data on gender distribution is largely limited to underpowered studies, we here develop a new approach to analyze authors’ genders in large bibliometric databases. Results: A SQL-Server based multiuser software suite was developed that serves as an integrative tool for analyzing bibliometric data with a special emphasis on gender and topographical analysis. The presented system allows seamless integration, inspection, modification, evaluation and visualization of bibliometric data. By providing an adaptive and almost fully automatic integration and analysis process, the inter-individual variability of analysis is kept at a low level. Depending on the scientific question, the system enables the user to perform a scientometric analysis including its visualization within a short period of time. Conclusion: In summary, a new software suite for analyzing gender representations in scientific articles was established. The system is suitable for the comparative analysis of scientific structures on the level of continents, countries, cities, city regions, institutions, research fields and journals

Gendermetrics of cancer research : results from a global analysis on lung cancer

Background: Cancer research is critically dependent on a continuous recruitment of junior research staff that devotes its academic life not only to clinical duties but also to basic and translational research. The present study aims to elucidate the success concerning gender equality in cancer research in the last decade (from 2008 to 2016) with lung cancer as the target parameter. Materials and Methods: On the basis of the Gendermetrics Platform, a total of 19,724 articles related to lung cancer research were analyzed. The key method was the combined analysis of the proportion of female authorships and the female-to-male odds ratio for first, co- and last authorships. The distribution of prestigious authorships was measured by the Prestige Index. Results: 31.3% of all authorships and 35.2% of the first, 32.2% of the co- and 22.1% of the last authorships were held by women. The corresponding female-to-male odds ratio is 1.22 (CI: 1.18–1.27) for first, 1.19 (CI: 1.16–1.23) for co- and 0.59 (CI: 0.57–0.61) for last authorships. Women are underrepresented at prestigious authorships compared to men (Prestige Index = −0.22). The female underrepresentation accentuates in articles with many authors that attract the highest citation rates. Conclusions: While the current system promotes early career promotion of women, men still outnumber women in leadership positions. However, this male-female career dichotomy has been narrowed in the last decade and will likely be further reduced in the next decade