A bibliometric analysis of the Journal of Molecular Graphics and Modelling

This paper reviews the articles published in Volumes 2-24 of the Journal of Molecular Graphics and Modelling (formerly the Journal of Molecular Graphics), focusing on the changes that have occurred in the subject over the years, and on the most productive and most cited authors and institutions. The most cited papers are those describing systems or algorithms, but the proportion of these types of article is decreasing as more applications of molecular graphics and molecular modelling are reported

Multivariate brain-cognition associations in euthymic bipolar disorder

Background: People with bipolar disorder (BD) tend to show widespread cognitive impairment compared to healthy controls. Impairments in processing speed (PS), attention, and executive function (EF) may represent 'core' impairments that have a role in wider cognitive dysfunction. Cognitive impairments appear to relate to structural brain abnormalities in BD, but whether core deficits are related to particular brain regions is unclear and much of the research on brain-cognition associations is limited by univariate analysis and small samples. Methods: Euthymic BD patients (n=56) and matched healthy controls (n=26) underwent T1-weighted MRI scans and completed neuropsychological tests of PS, attention, and EF. We utilised public datasets to develop a normative model of cortical thickness (n=5,977) to generate robust estimations of cortical abnormalities in patients. Canonical correlation analysis was used to assess multivariate brain-cognition associations in BD, controlling for age, sex, and premorbid IQ. Results: BD showed impairments on tests of PS, attention, and EF, and abnormal cortical thickness in several brain regions compared to healthy controls. Impairments in tests of PS and EF were most strongly associated with cortical thickness in left inferior temporal, right entorhinal, and right temporal pole areas. Conclusion: Impairments in PS, attention, and EF can be observed in euthymic BD and may be related to abnormal cortical thickness in temporal regions. Future research should continue to leverage multivariate methods to examine complex brain-cognition associations in BD. Future research may benefit from exploring covariance between traditional brain structural morphological metrics such as cortical thickness, cortical volume, and surface area

Web manifestations of knowledge-based innovation systems in the UK

Innovation is widely recognised as essential to the modern economy. The term knowledgebased innovation system has been used to refer to innovation systems which recognise the importance of an economy’s knowledge base and the efficient interactions between important actors from the different sectors of society. Such interactions are thought to enable greater innovation by the system as a whole. Whilst it may not be possible to fully understand all the complex relationships involved within knowledge-based innovation systems, within the field of informetrics bibliometric methodologies have emerged that allows us to analyse some of the relationships that contribute to the innovation process. However, due to the limitations in traditional bibliometric sources it is important to investigate new potential sources of information. The web is one such source. This thesis documents an investigation into the potential of the web to provide information about knowledge-based innovation systems in the United Kingdom. Within this thesis the link analysis methodologies that have previously been successfully applied to investigations of the academic community (Thelwall, 2004a) are applied to organisations from different sections of society to determine whether link analysis of the web can provide a new source of information about knowledge-based innovation systems in the UK. This study makes the case that data may be collected ethically to provide information about the interconnections between web sites of various different sizes and from within different sectors of society, that there are significant differences in the linking practices of web sites within different sectors, and that reciprocal links provide a better indication of collaboration than uni-directional web links. Most importantly the study shows that the web provides new information about the relationships between organisations, rather than just a repetition of the same information from an alternative source. Whilst the study has shown that there is a lot of potential for the web as a source of information on knowledge-based innovation systems, the same richness that makes it such a potentially useful source makes applications of large scale studies very labour intensive.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

The effect of magnetic resonance imaging on mercury release from dental amalgam at 3T and 7T

Objectives To measure mercury release from standardised hydroxyapatite/amalgam constructs during MRI scanning and investigate the impact of static field strength and radiofrequency (RF) power on mercury release. Methods Amalgam was placed into 140 hydroxyapatite disks and matured for 14-days in artificial saliva. The solution was replaced, and samples split into five groups of 28 immediately prior to MRI. One group had no exposure, and the remainder were exposed to either a 3T or 7T MRI scanner, each at high and low RF power. Mercury concentration was measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Groups were compared using one-way ANOVA, and two-way ANOVA for main effects/ interaction of field strength/ RF power. Results Mercury concentration was increased in the 7T groups (high/ low: 15.43/ 11.33 ng mL−1) and 3T high group (3.59) compared to control (2.44). MRI field strength significantly increased mercury release (p < .001) as did RF power (p = .030). At 3T, mercury release was 20.3 times lower than during maturation of dental amalgam, and for the average person an estimated 1.50 ng kg−1 of mercury might be released during one 3T investigation; this is substantially lower than the tolerable weekly intake of 4,000 ng kg−1. Conclusion Mercury release from amalgam shows a measurable increase following MRI, and the magnitude changes with magnetic field strength and RF power. The amount of mercury released is small compared to release during amalgam maturation. Amalgam mercury release during MRI is unlikely to be clinically meaningful and highly likely to remain below safe levels

Emotions in context: examining pervasive affective sensing systems, applications, and analyses

Pervasive sensing has opened up new opportunities for measuring our feelings and understanding our behavior by monitoring our affective states while mobile. This review paper surveys pervasive affect sensing by examining and considering three major elements of affective pervasive systems, namely; “sensing”, “analysis”, and “application”. Sensing investigates the different sensing modalities that are used in existing real-time affective applications, Analysis explores different approaches to emotion recognition and visualization based on different types of collected data, and Application investigates different leading areas of affective applications. For each of the three aspects, the paper includes an extensive survey of the literature and finally outlines some of challenges and future research opportunities of affective sensing in the context of pervasive computing

3D 7Li magnetic resonance imaging of brain lithium distribution in bipolar disorder

Lithium is a major treatment for bipolar disorder and the likelihood of a favourable response may be determined by its distribution in the brain. Lithium can be directly detected by magnetic resonance (MR), but previous 7Li MR spectroscopy studies have demonstrated that this is challenging compared to conventional 1H MR imaging due to the MR properties of the lithium nucleus and its low concentration in brain tissue, as dictated by therapeutic dose. We have tested and implemented a highly efficient balanced steady-state free precession 7Li-MRI method to address these challenges and enable MRI of brain lithium in a short duration scan. We report a 3D 7Li-MRI acquisition with 25 mm isotropic resolution in an 8-min scan that demonstrates heterogeneity in lithium concentration within the brain in subjects with bipolar disorder. This represents the direct imaging of a pharmaceutical agent in its target organ and notably expands the repertoire of techniques available to investigate the effects of lithium in man

In Vivo Magnetic Resonance Studies of Glycine and Glutathione Metabolism in a Rat Mammary Tumor

The metabolism of glycine into glutathione was monitored noninvasively in vivo in intact R3230Ac rat tumors by magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy. Metabolism was tracked by following the isotope label from intravenously infused [2-13C]-glycine into the glycinyl residue of glutathione. Signals from [2-13C]-glycine and γ-glutamylcysteinyl-[2-13C]-glycine (13C-glutathione) were detected by nonlocalized 13C spectroscopy as these resonances are distinct from background signals. In addition, using spectroscopic imaging methods, heterogeneity in the in vivo tumor distribution of glutathione was observed. In vivo spectroscopy also detected isotope incorporation from [2-13C]-glycine into both the 2- and 3-carbons of serine. Analyses of tumor tissue extracts show single and multiple label incorporation from [2-13C]-glycine into serine from metabolism through the serine hydroxymethyltransferase and glycine cleavage system pathways. Mass spectrometric analysis of extracts also shows that isotope-labeled serine is further metabolized via the transsulfuration pathway as the 13C-isotope labels appear in both the glycinyl- and the cysteinyl-residue of glutathione. Our studies demonstrate the use of magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy for monitoring tumor metabolic processes central to oxidative stress defense

A standardised protocol for assessment of relative SARS-CoV-2 variant severity, with application to severity risk for COVID-19 cases infected with Omicron BA.1 compared to Delta variants in six European countries

Several SARS-CoV-2 variants that evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic have appeared to differ in severity, based on analyses of single-country datasets. With decreased SARS-CoV-2 testing and sequencing, international collaborative studies will become increasingly important for timely assessment of the severity of newly emerged variants. The Joint WHO Regional Office for Europe and ECDC Infection Severity Working Group was formed to produce and pilot a standardised study protocol to estimate relative variant case-severity in settings with individual-level SARS-CoV-2 testing and COVID-19 outcome data during periods when two variants were co-circulating. To assess feasibility, the study protocol and its associated statistical analysis code was applied by local investigators in Denmark, England, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal and Scotland to assess the case-severity of Omicron BA.1 relative to Delta cases. After pooling estimates using meta-analysis methods (random effects estimates), the risk of hospital admission (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR]=0.41, 95% CI 0.31-0.54), ICU admission (aHR=0.12, 95% CI 0.05-0.27), and death (aHR=0.31, 95% CI 0.28-0.35) was lower for Omicron BA.1 compared to Delta cases. The aHRs varied by age group and vaccination status. In conclusion, this study has demonstrated the feasibility of conducting variant severity analyses in a multinational collaborative framework. The results add further evidence for the reduced severity of the Omicron BA.1 variant.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures (excluding supplementary material

Indicators for the Data Usage Index (DUI): an incentive for publishing primary biodiversity data through global information infrastructure

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A professional recognition mechanism is required to encourage expedited publishing of an adequate volume of 'fit-for-use' biodiversity data. As a component of such a recognition mechanism, we propose the development of the Data Usage Index (DUI) to demonstrate to data publishers that their efforts of creating biodiversity datasets have impact by being accessed and used by a wide spectrum of user communities.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>We propose and give examples of a range of 14 absolute and normalized biodiversity dataset usage indicators for the development of a DUI based on search events and dataset download instances. The DUI is proposed to include relative as well as species profile weighted comparative indicators.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We believe that in addition to the recognition to the data publisher and all players involved in the data life cycle, a DUI will also provide much needed yet novel insight into how users use primary biodiversity data. A DUI consisting of a range of usage indicators obtained from the GBIF network and other relevant access points is within reach. The usage of biodiversity datasets leads to the development of a family of indicators in line with well known citation-based measurements of recognition.</p