Bibliometric Analysis of Female Authorship Trends and Collaboration Dynamics Over JBMR's 30-Year History

In academia, authorship is considered a currency and is important for career advancement. As the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research (JBMR) is the highest-ranked journal in the field of bone, muscle, and mineral metabolism and is the official publication of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, we sought to examine authorship changes over JBMR's 30-year history. Two bibliometric methods were used to collect the data. The “decade method” included all published manuscripts throughout 1 year in each decade over the past 30 years starting with the inaugural year, yielding 746 manuscripts for analysis. The “random method” examined 10% of published manuscripts from each of the 30 years, yielding 652 manuscripts for analysis. Using both methods, the average number of authors per manuscript, numerical location of the corresponding author, number of collaborating institutions, number of collaborating countries, number of printed manuscript pages, and the number of times each manuscript was cited all significantly increased between 1986 and 2015 (p < 10−4). Using the decade method, there was a significant increase in the percentage of female first authors over time from 35.8% in 1986 to 47.7% in 2015 (p = 0.02), and this trend was confirmed using the random method. The highest percentage of female first authors in 2015 was in Europe (60.0%), and Europe also had the most dramatic increase in female first authors over time (more than double in 2015 compared with 1986). Likewise, the overall number of female corresponding authors significantly increased during the past 30 years. With the increasing demands of publishing in academic medicine, understanding changes in publishing characteristics over time and by geographical region is important. These findings highlight JBMR's authorship trends over the past 30 years and demonstrate those countries having the most changes and where challenges still exist

The chaperone protein clusterin may serve as a cerebrospinal fluid biomarker for chronic spinal cord disorders in the dog

Chronic spinal cord dysfunction occurs in dogs as a consequence of diverse aetiologies, including long-standing spinal cord compression and insidious neurodegenerative conditions. One such neurodegenerative condition is canine degenerative myelopathy (DM), which clinically is a challenge to differentiate from other chronic spinal cord conditions. Although the clinical diagnosis of DM can be strengthened by the identification of the Sod1 mutations that are observed in affected dogs, genetic analysis alone is insufficient to provide a definitive diagnosis. There is a requirement to identify biomarkers that can differentiate conditions with a similar clinical presentation, thus facilitating patient diagnostic and management strategies. A comparison of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein gel electrophoresis profile between idiopathic epilepsy (IE) and DM identified a protein band that was more prominent in DM. This band was subsequently found to contain a multifunctional protein clusterin (apolipoprotein J) that is protective against endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-mediated apoptosis, oxidative stress, and also serves as an extracellular chaperone influencing protein aggregation. Western blot analysis of CSF clusterin confirmed elevated levels in DM compared to IE (p &#60; 0.05). Analysis of spinal cord tissue from DM and control material found that clusterin expression was evident in neurons and that the clusterin mRNA levels from tissue extracts were elevated in DM compared to the control. The plasma clusterin levels was comparable between these groups. However, a comparison of clusterin CSF levels in a number of neurological conditions found that clusterin was elevated in both DM and chronic intervertebral disc disease (cIVDD) but not in meningoencephalitis and IE. These findings indicate that clusterin may potentially serve as a marker for chronic spinal cord disease in the dog; however, additional markers are required to differentiate DM from a concurrent condition such as cIVDD

Evaluation of physical activity programmes for the elderly - exploring the lessons from other sectors and examining the general characteristics of the programmes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In Portugal, there are several physical activity (PA) programmes for elderly people developed by the local government. The importance of these programmes has been increasing since the evidence has shown that this type of health promotion interventions may reduce the deleterious effects of the ageing process. However, no study has already identified the general characteristics of these programmes nor if they use any scheme to assess the quality of the service provided. A widely-used scheme is the EFQM Excellence Model, which will be in the core of our present work. Thus, the main aims of this preliminary study were 1) to identify the general characteristics of the PA programmes developed by the Portuguese Local Public Administration 2) to determine the extent of implementation of quality initiatives in these programmes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data were collected by an on-line questionnaire sent to all Continental Municipalities (n = 278). Categorical data were expressed as absolute counts and percentages. Continuous data were expressed as the mean and SD. An open-ended question was analysed using qualitative content analysis with QSR NVivo software. Associations between categorical variables were tested by the use of contingency tables and the calculation of chi-square tests. Significance level was set at p ≤ 0.05.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Results showed: i) a total of 125 PA programmes were identified in the 18 districts of the Portugal mainland; ii) the main goal of the majority (95.2%) was the participants' health promotion; iii) different characteristics of the programmes were found according to different regions of the country; iv) certain characteristics of the programmes were associated to the existence of other features; v) only one PA programme developed quality initiatives.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In conclusion, although there are many PA programmes for elderly people spread throughout the country, aiming at improving the health of participants, the overwhelming majority does not adopt quality control initiatives. Considering that the quality of a service increases customer satisfaction, the continuous quality improvement of the PA programmes for elderly people should therefore be implemented since they can be useful and critical for elderly satisfaction and adherence.</p

Generation and Characterization of a Bivalent HIV-1 Subtype C gp120 Protein Boost for Proof-of-Concept HIV Vaccine Efficacy Trials in Southern Africa.

The viral envelope glycoprotein (Env) is the major target for antibody (Ab)-mediated vaccine development against the Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV-1). Although several recombinant Env antigens have been evaluated in clinical trials, only the surface glycoprotein, gp120, (from HIV-1 subtype B, MN, and subtype CRF_01AE, A244) used in the ALVAC prime-AIDSVAX gp120 boost RV144 Phase III HIV vaccine trial was shown to contribute to protective efficacy, although modest and short-lived. Hence, for clinical trials in southern Africa, a bivalent protein boost of HIV-1 subtype C gp120 antigens composed of two complementary gp120s, from the TV1.C (chronic) and 1086.C (transmitted founder) HIV-1 strains, was selected. Stable Chinese Hamster Cell (CHO) cell lines expressing these gp120s were generated, scalable purification methods were developed, and a detailed analytical analysis of the purified proteins was conducted that showed differences and complementarity in the antigenicity, glycan occupancy, and glycan content of the two gp120 molecules. Moreover, mass spectrometry revealed some disulfide heterogeneity in the expressed proteins, particularly in V1V2-C1 region and most prominently in the TV1 gp120 dimers. These dimers not only lacked binding to certain key CD4 binding site (CD4bs) and V1V2 epitope-directed ligands but also elicited reduced Ab responses directed to those epitopes, in contrast to monomeric gp120, following immunization of rabbits. Both monomeric and dimeric gp120s elicited similarly high titer Tier 1 neutralizing Abs as measured in standard virus neutralization assays. These results provide support for clinical evaluations of bivalent preparations of purified monomeric TV1.C and 1086.C gp120 proteins

Giant Cell Arteritis (Horton's Disease) of the Axillary Artery--Case Reports

The authors recently observed 2 elderly female patients with ischemic pain of the upper extremity as the first manifestation of giant cell arteritis. They presented with rest pain of both upper extremities and even gangrene of the thumb in 1 case. Subclavian and radial pulses were absent while peripheral pulses in the lower limbs were preserved. The angiography was so typical that the diagnosis of inflammatory arteritis was made, despite negative temporal artery biopsy. The patient with thumb gangrene was successfully operated on, the occlusive axillary lesions being bypassed by a long venous carotid humeral bypass graft. A biopsy of the axillary artery showed a granulomatous lymphoplasmocellular infiltration. A high-dose corticotherapy (24 mg daily) was begun in both cases, with dramatic improvements of general state, lowering of the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and even reapparition of a reduced radial pulse in 1 patient. The authors discuss the incidence, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of systemic giant cell arteritis, with special attention to extracranial involvement. These case reports may broaden the knowledge of the diverse manifestations of giant cell arteritis and of its systemic character with widespread vascular involvement