bims-evares Biomed News
on Evaluation of research
Issue of 2020–08–23
39 papers selected by
Thomas Krichel, Open Library Society



  1. Photodiagnosis Photodyn Ther. 2020 Aug 14. pii: S1572-1000(20)30281-7. [Epub ahead of print] 101927
       BACKGROUND: The aim of the article was to identify the top 50 cited articles in the journal of Photodiagnosis and Photodynamic Therapy during 2004-2019.
    METHODS: The online search was conducted on Scopus database to retrieve all the articles published during 2004-2019 in the journal of Photodiagnosis and Photodynamic Therapy. The papers were identified and ranked as per the citation counts >42. Additionally the authors; institute and country of origin; type of study and availability of funding in these highly cited articles was identified. VOS viewer software was used to analyze the occurrence of most commonly used keywords by the authors.
    RESULTS: Majority of the highly cited studies published during last 15 years were literature reviews (n = 34) followed by the qualitative/quantitative studies (n = 15). The largest number of articles published were single nations without any collaborations (n = 45). The institutes publishing highest number of top cited articles included Massachusetts General Hospital, East Carolina University, 21 st Century Oncology, The Norwegian Radium Hospital and Trinity College Dublin. The country with largest number of top cited articles was USA. The keyword most commonly associated with the 50 top cited articles was 'Photodynamic therapy'.
    CONCLUSION: Extensively, various specialties of medicine and dentistry have been explored in the last 15 years in journal of Photodiagnosis and Photodynamic Therapy, only there were few highly cited topics which can be considered as classic research.
    Keywords:  Bibliometrics; Citations; Impact factor; Photodiagnosis and photodynamic therapy
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pdpdt.2020.101927
  2. Childs Nerv Syst. 2020 Aug 17.
       PURPOSE: Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (ATRT) is a highly malignant embryonal tumor of the central nervous system (CNS) that occurs predominantly in children. More is being discovered about this disease to improve understanding and outcomes. The aim of this analysis was to evaluate citation and other bibliometric characteristics of the 50 most cited articles in the contemporary literature in order to better model the trajectory of our current efforts.
    METHODS: Elsevier's Scopus database was searched for the 50 most cited articles about ATRT. To look for trends, earliest 25 articles were separated from the latest 25 articles and then were compared. Various bibliometric parameters were summarized and compared using Pearson's chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests.
    RESULTS: The 50 most cited articles were published between 1990 and 2016, from 5 unique countries in 29 unique journals, with genetic and retrospective observational cohort studies the most common design (n = 11 each). Overall median values were as follows: citation count, 145.4 citations (range, 67-626); citation rate per year, 11.7 (range, 3.5-51.4); number of authors 12 (range, 1-95); with 32 (64%) originating from the USA. Compared with older articles, newer articles had statistically lower citation counts (101.8 vs 189.0; P < 0.01), higher number of authors (17.3 vs 6.6; P < 0.01), and were less likely published from the USA (40% vs 88%; P < 0.01) CONCLUSIONS: The 50 most cited articles about ATRT were characterized in this analysis. There was a distinct focus in these studies on the genetic composition and consequences of these tumors. Trends over time suggest greater impact will be had in highly collaborative efforts worldwide. Moving forward, it will be of great interest to see how the findings of these basic science finding will translate into future clinical studies.
    Keywords:  ATRT; Atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors; Bibliometric; Brain cancer; Most cited; Pediatric
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-020-04863-5
  3. J Pain Res. 2020 ;13 1901-1913
       Background: Acupuncture has been widely applied to relieve knee osteoarthritis (KOA) in many countries. However, the bibliometric analysis of the global use of acupuncture on KOA is largely unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the current status and trends of the global use of acupuncture on KOA in recent 10 years by using CiteSpace (5.6.R3).
    Methods: Publications regarding acupuncture therapy for treating KOA between 2010 and 2019 were extracted from the Web of Science database. CiteSpace was used to analyze the number of publications, countries, institutions, journals, authors, cited references and keywords by using standard bibliometric indicators.
    Results: A total of 343 publications were retrieved from 2010 to 2019. The total number of publications continually increased over the past four years, and the most active journals, countries, institutions and authors in the field of acupuncture therapy on patients with KOA were identified. The Evid Based Complement Alternat Med (28) was the most prolific journal, and the Ann Intern Med (202) was the most cited journal. The most productive country and institution in this field was China (115) and University of York (18), respectively. Hugh Macpherson (18) was the most prolific author and Witt C ranked the first in the cited authors. In the ranking of frequency in cited reference, the first article was published by Scharf HP (54). The keyword of 'randomized controlled trial' ranked first for research developments with the highest citation burst (3.9486). Besides, there were three main frontiers in keywords for KOA research, including 'research method, 'age' and 'measure of intervention'.
    Conclusion: The findings from this bibliometric study provide current status and trends in clinical research of acupuncture therapy on patients with KOA over the past ten years, which may help researchers identify hot topics and explore new directions for future research in this field.
    Keywords:  CiteSpace; acupuncture; bibliometric analysis; knee osteoarthritis
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.2147/JPR.S258739
  4. J Neurosurg Spine. 2020 Aug 21. pii: 2020.5.SPINE20466. [Epub ahead of print] 1-8
       OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the publication rate of abstracts presented at the annual meetings of the AANS/CNS Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves (Spine Summit).
    METHODS: The authors used a search algorithm in PubMed to determine the publication rate of abstracts presented at the Spine Summit from 2007 to 2012. The variables assessed were presentation modality, topic, meeting year, publication year, destiny journal and its 5-year impact factor (IF), country, and citation count (retrieved from the Scopus database).
    RESULTS: One thousand four hundred thirty-six abstracts were analyzed; 502 were oral presentations and 934 were digital poster presentations. The publication rate was 53.97% (775/1436). The mean time from presentation to publication was 1.35 ± 1.97 years (95% CI 1.21-1.49 years). The mean citation count of published articles was 40.55 ± 55.21 (95% CI 36.66-44.44). Oral presentations had a higher publication rate (71.51%, 359/502) than digital posters (44.54%, 416/934; OR 3.13, 95% CI 2.48-3.95, p < 0.001). Oral presentations had a higher number of citations (55.51 ± 69.00, 95% CI 48.35-62.67) than digital posters (27.64 ± 34.88, 95% CI 24.28-31.00, p < 0.001). The mean IF of published articles was 3.48 ± 2.91 (95% CI 3.27-3.70). JNS: Spine (191/775, 24.64%), Spine (103/775, 13.29%), and Neurosurgery (56/775, 7.23%) had the greatest number of published articles. The US represented the highest number of published articles (616/775, 79.48%).
    CONCLUSIONS: The publication rate of the Spine Summit is among the highest compared to other spine meetings. Many of the abstracts initially presented at the meeting are further published in high-IF journals and had a high citation count. Therefore, the Spine Summit maintains its high standards of scientific papers, which reflects the high quality of the research performed in the spine surgery field in North America.
    Keywords:  CSRS = Cervical Spine Research Society; CSRS-E = CSRS–European Section; CSS = Canadian Spine Society; IF = impact factor; ISSLS = International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine; JCR = Journal Citation Reports; JNS = Journal of Neurosurgery; LSRS = Lumbar Spine Research Society; NASS = North American Spine Society; congresses as topics; oral presentation; orthopedic surgery; posters
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3171/2020.5.SPINE20466
  5. Arch Osteoporos. 2020 Aug 17. 15(1): 130
      Asian countries have made great progress in the osteoporosis research over the past 20 years. Mainland China has a significant increase in the number of articles. The scientific influence of Japan ranked by citations was leading in Asia. Indian researchers published fewer articles on osteoporosis, but the overall citation was quite well.
    PURPOSE: To analyze the quantity and quality of literature regarding osteoporosis from the Asian countries/regions.
    METHODS: Data were obtained from the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection on May 4, 2020. Qualitative and quantitative analysis was conducted based on WoS. Keywords analysis was performed using VosView software.
    RESULTS: The core countries/regions in Asia in the osteoporosis research included the Mainland China (MC), Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Taiwan, India, and Iran. The core countries/regions published 4798 papers, which accounted for 33.8% of the total globally. The MC with 2242 literature and Japan with 971 were ranked second and fourth worldwide. Over the past decade, MC has published the most articles and increased dramatically. Japan had the highest mean citations and the highest mean citation density. The country with the most publications in the top ten popular osteoporosis-related journals was Japan. The top institutional from the MC, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan published the most articles. The top authors with the most articles were from Japan and MC. Top institutions and authors from Japan, MC, and India led the way in citations. The core countries/regions had more frequent cooperation with the USA, the UK, and Canada compared with the limited cooperation among Asian countries. Osteoporosis research in Asia relies heavily on public funding and pharmaceutical companies. Keywords for these studies have changed over the past 20 years.
    CONCLUSIONS: Asian countries have made progress in the osteoporosis research over the past 20 years. The MC has a significant increase in the number of articles. The scientific influence of Japan ranked by citations was leading in Asia. Indian researchers published fewer articles on osteoporosis, but the overall quality was quite well. The core Asian countries/regions should strengthen in-depth cooperation in the future.
    Keywords:  Asian; Bibliometric analysis; Osteoporosis
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s11657-020-00795-4
  6. J Orthop Surg (Hong Kong). 2020 Sep-Dec;28(3):28(3): 2309499020947286
       INTRODUCTION: Meniscus has always been the focus of sport medicine with thousands of articles published annually. Few study has tried to analyze these papers with bibliometric methods. The purpose of this study is to statistically analyze the output of meniscus research and determine emerging research trends and hot spots.
    METHODS: Papers related to the meniscus published from 2010 to 2019 were downloaded from the Web of Science Core Collection. Information about annual publications and journal distribution was analyzed by Excel 2016. Co-occurrence analysis of the countries/regions, institutions, authors, and keywords were performed with CiteSpace V, which was also used to perform a co-cited analysis of the references and generate corresponding knowledge maps as well as detect burst keywords.
    RESULTS: A total of 10,066 articles regarding meniscus were published between 2010 and 2019. The number of articles annual about meniscus increased from 786 to 1300. Knee Surgery Sports Traumatology Arthroscopy, the United States, University of Pittsburgh, and LaPrade RF were journal, country, institution, and author with the most publications, respectively. Makris EA et al. in 2011 was the most cited articles, with a citation of 198. Osteoarthritis, tear repair, anterior cruciate ligament, and articular cartilage were keywords with occurrence of more than 500. Meniscal extrusion, scaffold, and tissue engineering were terms with most burst strength.
    CONCLUSIONS: Meniscus-related publications showed a gradual rising trend from 2010 to 2019. Osteoarthritis, tear repairs, and the anterior cruciate ligament are the current research hot spots. Extrusion and scaffolds may be the frontiers of meniscus research in the next few years.
    LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV.
    Keywords:  CiteSpace V; bibliometrics; hot spots; meniscus
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1177/2309499020947286
  7. Int J Nanomedicine. 2020 ;15 5503-5516
       Objective: To comprehensively analyze the global scientific outputs of nanoparticles in pancreatic cancer research.
    Methods: Publications regarding the nanoparticles in pancreatic cancer research published from 1986 to 2019 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). Highly frequent keywords, publication years, journals, cited papers, cited journals and cited authors were identified using BICOMB software, and then a binary matrix and a co-word matrix were constructed. gCLUTO was used for double clustering of highly frequent journals. Co-citation analysis was performed using CiteSpace V software, including keywords, references, journals author or institution cooperation network.
    Results: A total of 1171 publications were included in this study. Publications mainly came from 10 countries, led by the US (n=470) and China (n=349). Among the top 20 journals ranked by the number of citations, nanoscience nanotechnology was the leader with 300. Cluster analysis of citation network identified 12 co-citation clusters, headed by "stromal barrier" and "emerging inorganic nanomaterial".
    Conclusion: Our findings reveal the research performance and intellectual structure of the nanoparticles in pancreatic cancer research, which may help researchers understand the research trends and hotspots in this field.
    Keywords:  CiteSpace; Web of Science; co-citation analysis; co-word analysis; nanoparticles; pancreatic cancer
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S253599
  8. J Adv Nurs. 2020 Aug 21.
       AIMS: To explore the intellectual landscape of care-giving studies and identify research trends and hotspots in this field.
    DESIGN: A bibliometric and scientometric analysis of care-giving literature was undertaken from January - February 2020.
    METHODS: CiteSpace was used to analyse research published between 1900 - 2019. A references-based co-citation analysis was used to identify the intellectual landscape of care-giving research. A keywords-based co-occurrence analysis with citation bursts was used to explore research hotspots and frontiers. Lastly, a co-authorship network analysis was used to identify co-operation among authors, countries, and institutions.
    RESULTS: There has been an increasing trend in the number of publications on care-giving research with light fluctuations. Relevant literature mainly focused on the fields of oncology and psychiatry. The keywords-based analysis indicated that the main research targets had previously been informal caregivers of patients with stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and schizophrenia. In recent years, focus has shifted onto informal caregivers of patients with cancer, heart failure, and those at end-of-life.
    CONCLUSION: This bibliometric and scientometric analysis helps us understand the current state of caregiver research and its recent developments.
    IMPACT: Caregivers' mental health and care experience have become research hotspots. WHERE AND ON WHOM WILL THE RESEARCH HAVE AN IMPACT?: This research allows the development of future research on care-giving. Future researchers should explore effective interventions for the health of patient-caregiver dyads.
    Keywords:  Web of Science; bibliometric analysis; caregiver; journals; nursing; scientometric analysis
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.14489
  9. Dermatol Online J. 2020 Jun 15. pii: 13030/qt8jn6w2tf. [Epub ahead of print]26(6):
       BACKGROUND: Journal impact factor (JIF) is a bibliometric proxy of relative journal importance. Mean dermatology JIF has nearly doubled since 1997. The reasons behind the increase have not been previously explored.
    OBJECTIVE: To assess factors contributing to rising dermatology JIF.
    METHODS: This bibliometric study utilized publicly-available citation and JIF data from the Thomson-Reuters InCites Journal Citation Reports "Dermatology and Venereology" category, from 1997-2017.
    RESULTS: From 1997-2017, aggregate dermatology JIF increased by 70%, associated with a 64% increase in JIF numerator (total journal citations) and a 3% decrease in JIF denominator (total journal articles and reviews). In the four highest-JIF journals (JAAD, JAMA Dermatology/Archives of Dermatology, JID, and BJD), there was an increase in citations coming from non-dermatology specialty journals, including oncology, rheumatology, and multidisciplinary sciences. Journal impact factor was positively correlated with five JIF alternatives. Immediacy Index, a reflection of how fast dermatology journals are cited, increased four-fold (P&lt;0.001).
    LIMITATIONS: Impact factor numerator/denominator data were not available before 1999.
    CONCLUSIONS: The nearly two-fold rise in dermatology JIF from 1997-2017 was associated with increased citations, an increasing proportion of which came from non-dermatology journals. This may reflect growing influence of dermatology research within both dermatology and other fields of medicine.
  10. Gynecol Endocrinol. 2020 Aug 19. 1-5
      Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common reproductive and endocrine disease. However, there have not been any bibliometric studies on the latest scientific results and research trends of PCOS. This study aimed to review the state of research in PCOS worldwide. Publications on PCOS from 2009 to 2019 were identified and evaluated from the database Web of Science. A total of 7814 articles were retrieved. Shanghai Jiao Tong University published the most articles, with 218 publications. Gynecol Endocrinol had the greatest number of publications (n = 541). J Clin Endocr Metab was cited the most, with a total of 32,207 times. An article written by March et al. in 2010 had the most global citations (737 times) and local citations (463 times). From 2009 to 2019, the number of PCOS global publications gradually increased. Gynecol Endocrinol and Endocr Metab were popular journals for PCOS research. Research trends gradually shifted from treatment and methodology to genetics and basic research. The terms 'microrna,' 'rt qpcr,' 'lncrna,' and 'histological examination' may be hotspots that should be focused on in PCOS research.
    Keywords:  Polycystic ovary syndrome; bibliometric; citation analysis; global publications; hotspots
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/09513590.2020.1807501
  11. Gastroenterol Hepatol Bed Bench. 2020 ;13(3): 258-263
       Aim: The present study aims at teaching the right citation models in scientific publications by top authors from Iranian universities of medical sciences in 2017, considering the relationship between moral development and self-control variables and model of "citation to multi-authored papers" in these articles.
    Background: Multi-authorship increases the amount of self-citation and also increases the likelihood of being cited by others.
    Methods: This study is of the applied scientometrics and correlation (model presentation) studies type. The research population in the first part of this study includes all the authors who had an H-index of 10 or more in the scientific databases of 2017. The sample size at this stage was 110, selected by systematic random sampling. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 16.0.
    Results: The results of regression analysis based on the concurrent method indicated that the regression model is significant. The coefficient of determination is 0.096 and the F ratio is 5.650, which are significant at the level of p <0.001. In this regression model, the variables of the level of moral development (β = -5.801, p <0.001) and self-control (p < 0.001, β = -0.253) have significant predictive power and can be considered as predictors of behavioral modeling in citing "multi-authored papers".
    Conclusion: Based on the results, teaching how to avoid blindly citing the "multi-authored papers", which is regarded as a kind of "citation deviation", can, to some extent, lead to strengthening citation indexes.
    Keywords:  Citation behavior; Moral development; Multi-authorship; Self-Control
  12. Int J Pharm Pract. 2020 Aug 19.
       OBJECTIVES: The objective of this work was to compare bibliometrics based on doctoral degrees within United States colleges of pharmacy to understand productivity differences. Secondary objectives were to provide quantitative data based on degree that could be utilized by individual faculty, administration and other key stakeholders in academic pharmacy.
    METHODS: Bibliometric indices were obtained from Scopus and Web of Science for faculty from research-intensive United States pharmacy schools. Scholarly metrics that included publication number, total citations, highest cited article and H-index were compared between degrees using multivariate regression adjusted for academic rank and years since first publication. A correction for multiple testing was applied.
    KEY FINDINGS: All collected scholarly metrics were higher for Ph.D.-only and Pharm.D./Ph.D. faculty when compared to Pharm.D.-only faculty. Ph.D.-only faculty significantly differed compared to Pharm.D./Ph.D. faculty for Web of Science average citations per document.
    CONCLUSIONS: Differences are apparent between the major doctoral degrees at research-intensive, federally funded colleges of pharmacy; however, these differences were primarily identified for Pharm.D.-only compared to the other doctoral degree types Future work should analyse the potential variables that explain the scholarly metrics differences between degrees and aim to analyse other areas of faculty impact beyond scholarly metrics.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1111/ijpp.12667
  13. Acta Stomatol Croat. 2020 Jun;54(2): 186-193
       Objective: To analyze a bibliometric profile of scientific production published in Acta Stomatologica Croatica (ASCRO).
    Material and methods: Scientific papers published from March 2009 to December 2018 were analyzed. Information on the year of publication was collected by four trained examiners. Dentistry area, study type and design, data analysis method, presence of randomization, number of authors and corresponding author affiliation were investigated. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.
    Results: A total of 328 articles were evaluated, with a predominance of research in the field of Dental Materials (16.5%), with original article being the most frequent (74.1%). Observational studies accounted for 52.4%, using inferential statistics (83.2%) and non-randomized experimental studies (66.1%). Cross-sectional studies were more common in areas of Behavioral, Epidemiologic & Health Services Research (86.3%), case reports in Craniofacial Biology (54.0%) and Oral Health Research (53.1%), while in vitro studies were more common in the areas of Dental Materials (90.7%), Microbiology / Immunology (70.0%) and Cariology Research (66.7%). Most articles were written by four authors (24.1%), while foreign affiliation was observed in 53.0% of studies.
    Conclusion: The profile of ASCRO scientific production shows a predominance of original studies carried out in the areas of Dental Materials and Behavioral, Epidemiologic & Health Services Research, with growing participation of foreign researchers.
    Keywords:  Bibliometrics; Dental Journalism; Journal Article; Publications
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.15644/asc54/2/9
  14. Acad Med. 2020 Aug 18.
      In 2013 Academic Medicine introduced a new article type, Innovation Reports, with the intent to promote innovation by providing a forum for publishing promising new ideas at an early stage of development. In this article, the authors examine Innovation Reports as a means for promoting innovation within the medical education community.The authors undertook a 2-part analysis. In July 2018 they examined submission data, Altmetric scores, and citations for the first 5 years of the feature. To explore authors' perceptions of the impact of publishing an Innovation Report, in October 2018 they conducted a web-based survey of corresponding authors.Between October 2013 and May 2018, 920 manuscripts were submitted under the Innovation Report category, of which 335 were sent for review and 151 were published (16% overall acceptance rate). The mean citation rate for the published Innovation Reports was 4.3 (range 0-47). The mean Altmetric Attention Score was 14.3 (range 0-441). An Altmetric score of 14 places an article in the top 20% of articles published in Academic Medicine.The 151 published Innovation Reports had 148 unique corresponding authors, of whom 85 (57%) responded to the survey. Almost all respondents (n = 82; 96%) reported that publishing an Innovation Report promoted their individual career growth. For many corresponding authors, the publication of early ideas in an Innovation Report appeared to be an endpoint rather than a springboard for further development and innovation, as only 14 (16%) reported publication of a subsequent related study.Reflecting on the successes and limitations of Innovation Reports over the first 5 years, the authors suggest that soliciting input from more stakeholders and being explicit about the goals of this article type would help inform how Innovation Reports should evolve in the future so they can better launch creative thought and spur innovation.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000003677
  15. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2020 Aug 13.
       BACKGROUND: As the foot and ankle subspecialty continues to grow in orthopaedics, trends in published literature provide valuable insights to help understand and strengthen the field. The current study evaluates the changes in the characteristics of foot and ankle articles in The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery (American Volume) (JBJS-A) from 2004 to 2018.
    METHODS: Foot and ankle-related articles in JBJS-A from 2004 to 2018 were identified and categorized by type of study, level of evidence, number of authors, academic degree(s) of the first and last authors, male and female authorship, number of citations, number of references, region of publication, and use of patient-reported outcomes (PROs).
    RESULTS: A total of 336 foot and ankle articles from 2004 to 2018 were reviewed. The type of study published has changed over time, with more clinical therapeutic evidence and less case reports. The level of evidence grades, as rated by JBJS-A and objective evaluators, have increased over the past 15 years. The total number of authors per article has increased, and female authorship has increased significantly. The number of references per article has increased, and the number of citations per year has decreased. The field of foot and ankle surgery has seen an increase in global publications.
    CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that the foot and ankle literature that has been published in JBJS-A has continued to increase in quality and diversity over the past 15 years.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.2106/JBJS.20.00367
  16. JACC Clin Electrophysiol. 2020 Aug;pii: S2405-500X(20)30381-9. [Epub ahead of print]6(8): 1008-1018
       OBJECTIVES: This study sought to determine the quantity and quality of publications in AF research using large-scale scientometric data analyses.
    BACKGROUND: Research in atrial fibrillation (AF) has increased over time. The increasing number of research papers makes it harder to identify relevant research work.
    METHODS: All 21,603 publications from 1945 to 2018 were retrieved from Web of Science and analyzed regarding geographical distribution of scientific output and international research cooperation.
    RESULTS: The total number of AF publications has significantly increased since the millennium change, from 3,063 (14.2%) in 1945 to 1999 to 18,540 (85.8%) publications in 2000 to 2018. AF research grew 10-fold compared with overall medical research since 1990 (ratio of AF publications to all publications: 0.02% (n = 99 of 410,701) in 1990 vs. 0.2% (n = 1,967 of 1,172,649) in 2018; p < 0.05). Quantitatively, the United States contributed 25.9% of AF research, followed by Japan (8.0%), Germany (7.8%), China (7.3%), and the United Kingdom (5.9%). In the all-time modified h-index, the United States ranked first (13.3% of all nations), followed by Canada (8.5%) and the United Kingdom (6.3%). In relation to population, Denmark was the best-rated nation, with the lowest number of inhabitants per publication (11,457), followed by Sweden (18,426) and the Netherlands (25,749), and per modified h-index (90,746), followed by Sweden (170,602) and the Netherlands (218,203). Measuring publications per research institute, Denmark again ranked first, with 19.2 publications per institute, followed by Italy (14.9) and Sweden (13.8). An intensive cooperation between nations was apparent.
    CONCLUSIONS: This study showed an increase in publication activity in AF research. The United States was the leading country in quantity of research efforts. Related to population and research institutes, Denmark ranked first.
    Keywords:  atrial fibrillation; bibliometrics; citation analysis; milestones; scientometrics; scientometry
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacep.2020.05.010
  17. Integr Med Res. 2020 Sep;9(3): 100490
       Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused a worldwide pandemic, and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has played an important role in response. We aimed to analyze the published literature on TCM for COVID-19, and provide reference for later research.
    Methods: This study searched the CBM, CNKI, PubMed, and EMBASE from its establishment to March 11, 2020. VOSviewer 1.6.11 and gCLUTO 2.0 software were used to visually analyze the included studies.
    Results: A total of 309 studies were included, including 61 journals, 1441 authors, 277 institutions, and 27 provinces. Research collaborations among regions were among those close in geographical distance. The collaborations of institutions and authors were more likely to be restricted to the same region. Among the authors with frequency greater than two (65 authors), only 19 authors had connection with others. More than 70% (358/491) of keywords were only presented once, and 20 keywords were shown more than 10 times. Five research topics were identified: Data mining method based analysis on the medication law of Chinese medicine in prevention and management of COVID-19; exploration of active compounds of Chinese medicine for COVID-19 treatment based on network pharmacology and molecular docking; expert consensus and interpretation of COVID-19 treatment; research on the etiology and pathogenesis of COVID-19; and clinical research of TCM for COVID-19 treatment.
    Conclusion: The research hotspots were scattered, and the collaboration between authors and institutions needed to be further strengthened. To improve the quality and efficiency of research output, the integration of scientific research and resources, as well as scientific collaboration are needed.
    Keywords:  Bibliometrics; COVID-19; Traditional Chinese medicine; Visual analysis
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.imr.2020.100490
  18. BMC Public Health. 2020 Aug 17. 20(1): 1252
       BACKGROUND: Vaccine hesitancy is a growing threat to national and global health security. The current study was undertaken to provide insights into the global scientific literature on vaccine hesitancy in peer-reviewed journals.
    METHOD: The current study was a descriptive bibliometric study. A validated search strategy on vaccine hesitancy was implemented using SciVerse Scopus. Bibliometric indicators such as (1) annual growth of publications, (2) key players, (3) research themes, (4) pathogens/diseases encountered, (5) top-cited documents, and (6) annual growth of publications stratified by world region and by age category were presented. The study period was from 1990 to 2019.
    RESULTS: Search strategy found 2791 documents. The h-index of the retrieved literature was 89. The leading journal was Vaccine (369; 13.2%%) followed by Human Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics (129; 4.6%). Authors from the USA led with 1125 (40.3%) followed by authors from Italy (234; 8.4%) and the UK (204; 7.3%). The US CDC led with 140 (5.0%) documents followed by Emory University (USA) (81, 2.9%). The list of active authors included six from the USA while the remaining were from France, Australia, and Canada. Research themes in the retrieved literature focused on influenza, human papillomavirus, and the role of parents in immunization of their children. The region of the Americas and the European region had the greatest share of publications and showed steep growth of publications lately. Vaccine hesitancy research on adolescents was most noticed after 2007 while that on children was present all the time but escalated lately. Titles/abstracts analysis indicated that 621(22.3%) documents focused on influenza, 392 (14.0%) focused on Human papillomavirus, and 292 (10.5%) focused on measles. The top-cited documents in literature published after 2015 focused on the definition and strategies to overcome vaccine hesitancy.
    CONCLUSION: The last decade witnessed a noticeable increase in the number of publications. Influenza vaccine and parental concerns about the human papillomavirus vaccine were the main focus of the retrieved literature. Information on vaccine hesitancy needs to be collected from all countries to build a better coalition against the anti-vaccination groups. Re-building trust in vaccines requires targeting parents by providing adequate information on the vaccines.
    Keywords:  Bibliometric analysis; HPV vaccine; Influenza vaccines; Vaccine hesitancy
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09368-z
  19. Acad Radiol. 2020 Aug 14. pii: S1076-6332(20)30417-7. [Epub ahead of print]
       RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Although metrics-based systems may incentivize academic output, no prior studies have evaluated the impact on publication metrics in academic radiology. This study presents a metrics-based system of awarding research protected time, and retrospectively evaluates its 9-year impact on publication productivity and impact factor.
    MATERIALS AND METHODS: Based on a metrics-based algorithm to award department funded Research Protected Time (RPT), metrics pre-RPT (2003-2009) and during the RPT period (2010-2018) from an academic radiology department were retrospectively analyzed to test the hypothesis that the RPT program resulted in higher publication productivity and journal impact factor at the departmental level and for faculty members receiving the award. Comparison was made between (1) pre-RPT and RPT periods and (2) during the RPT period, between RPT and non-RPT faculty members, for annual publication productivity normalized to faculty count (Student's t test) and median impact factor (Wilcoxon rank sum test).
    RESULTS: For the evaluation period of 2003-2018, 724 unique publications were identified: 15% (107/724) pre-RPT period and 85% (617/724) RPT period. Normalized annual publication productivity was higher during the RPT period compared to the Pre-RPT period (1.2 vs. 0.3, p = 0.002), and within the RPT period, higher among faculty who received RPT vs. non-RPT faculty (3.5 vs. 0.4, p = 0.002). Median impact factor was higher during the RPT period compared to pre-RPT period (2.843 vs. 2.322, p = 0.044), and within the RPT period, higher in RPT vs. non-RPT faculty (3.016 vs. 2.346, p < 0.001).
    CONCLUSION: The implementation of a metrics-based system of funded, research protected time, was associated with increased publication productivity and increased impact factor.
    Keywords:  Academic radiology; Impact Factor; Metrics; Publications; Research productivity
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acra.2020.06.036
  20. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Aug 17. pii: E5956. [Epub ahead of print]17(16):
      Aging poses a big challenge in all aspects of social governance in China. A coherent and focused aging policy response that spans multiple sectors of government has been undertaken to achieve the goal of "Healthy Aging". From an historical perspective, this paper uses a bibliometric analysis method to probe into the evolution of Chinese aging policies from 1978 to 2019, and the roles of core government agencies in policy-making. We obtained 226 Chinese aging policies from the PKULaw Database and the websites of the government departments. Co-word analyses and network analyses were applied in mapping the topics of aging policies and collaboration among the agencies. Gephi software was used to visualize the most frequently used keywords and their network graphs. Findings are as follows. Firstly, the development of the aging policy system in China has undergone two phases, from focusing on basic security to emphasizing the rights and health of the elderly. Secondly, the network structure of aging policy-making departments presents a distinct edge-core layer. More and more government agencies have become involved in the formulation of aging policies. But collaboration among the agencies is insufficient. Thirdly, pilot promotion is the main tool for implementing aging policies.
    Keywords:  aging; bibliometric analysis; policy evolution
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17165956
  21. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2020 Aug 18.
       OBJECTIVE: In academic medicine, journal article authorship is central to career advancement and promotion. This study aimed to examine the contemporary representation of women as first and senior authors of rheumatology original research articles.
    METHODS: The gender of first and senior author, disease category, research design and funding source were extracted from rheumatology original research articles published in high impact rheumatology and general medical journals between 2015 and 2019.
    RESULTS: 7,651 original research articles were included in the analysis. In total, there were 51.5% [95% CI 50.4%, 52.6%] articles with women first authors and 35.3% [95% CI 34.2%, 36.4%] with women senior authors. Women were significantly less likely to be first and senior authors of articles reporting randomized controlled trials compared with other clinical research designs (P<0.001), and of articles reporting industry-funded/industry-initiated studies compared with studies not funded by industry (P≤0.01). For articles reporting industry-funded/industry-initiated randomized controlled trials, women were first authors in 18.5% [95% CI 13.8%, 24.0%] and senior authors in 23.9% [95% CI 18.6%, 29.8%].
    CONCLUSION: In rheumatology research articles, there is gender parity for first authorship, but women are under-represented in senior authorship positions. Under-representation of women in authorship is particularly apparent in articles reporting randomized controlled trials, and especially those that are initiated by industry.
    Keywords:  authorship; disparities; gender; rheumatology
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/art.41490
  22. Med J Aust. 2020 Aug 18.
      
    Keywords:  Cultural competency; Education, public health; Ethics; Ethics, professional; Ethics, research; History of science; Library, medical; Medical errors; Medical misconduct; Medicine in literature; Public policy; Publishing
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.5694/mja2.50738
  23. Arthroscopy. 2020 Aug 13. pii: S0749-8063(20)30680-0. [Epub ahead of print]
       PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the 50 most cited articles in rotator cuff tear and their characteristics.
    METHODS: Thomson ISI Web of Science was searched for the following search terms "rotator cuff" and "tear". The following characteristics were determined for each article: author(s), year of publication, source journal, geographic origin, article type (and subtype), and level of evidence for clinical articles.
    RESULTS: The number of citations ranged from 1558 to 253. The 50 most often cited articles were published in 7 journals. The majority of the articles (n = 46) were clinical, with the remaining representing some type of basic science research. Among clinical articles, the case series (n = 23) was the most common article subtype. Nine articles were methodologic in that they proposed a new classification/scoring system or technique. The most common level of evidence was Level IV (n = 31).
    CONCLUSION: This article provides clinicians, researchers, and trainees with a group of articles that should be taken into consideration as building blocks in the treatment of rotator cuff tears.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arthro.2020.07.044
  24. Int Orthop. 2020 Aug 19.
       PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to determine whether opinion leaders in the medical community attract more attention than randomized controlled trials (RCT) in shoulder surgery.
    METHODS: A PubMed search to retrieve all therapeutic and diagnosis RCT shoulder studies was carried out. Three opinion leaders were chosen from among the last ten presidents of the European Shoulder and Elbow Society based on the number of publications. Their studies were also retrieved from PubMed. The metrics of the studies were determined through ResearchGate and Web of Science. The year of publication, impact factor of the journal, level of evidence, number of citations, number of reads, research interest, and reported conflicts of interest were recorded for every study.
    RESULTS: Two-hundred forty-five shoulder RCTs and 236 opinion leader studies met the inclusion criteria. The opinion leader studies were read significantly more times than the RCTs (p = 0.04). The mean impact factor for RCT studies was 2.84 (SD 3.9) while it was of 1.99 (SD1.14) in the opinion leader group (p < 0.001). Most of the studies of the opinion leaders were level IV (73.3%), while only 6.3% of their papers were categorized as levels I-II. Conflict of interest was present in 19.6% of the RCTs and in 32.2% of the opinion leader studies (p < 0.001).
    CONCLUSION: The medical community pays more attention to opinion leader studies in shoulder surgery than to RCT studies even though RCTs are published in higher impact factor journals and opinion leader studies are mainly level IV evidence studies.
    Keywords:  Citations; Conflicts of interest; Impact factor; Opinion leaders; Randomized control trials
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00264-020-04775-8
  25. BMJ Open. 2020 Aug 20. 10(8): e037744
       OBJECTIVE: To empirically explore the level of agreement of the treatment hierarchies from different ranking metrics in network meta-analysis (NMA) and to investigate how network characteristics influence the agreement.
    DESIGN: Empirical evaluation from re-analysis of NMA.
    DATA: 232 networks of four or more interventions from randomised controlled trials, published between 1999 and 2015.
    METHODS: We calculated treatment hierarchies from several ranking metrics: relative treatment effects, probability of producing the best value [Formula: see text] and the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA). We estimated the level of agreement between the treatment hierarchies using different measures: Kendall's τ and Spearman's ρ correlation; and the Yilmaz [Formula: see text] and Average Overlap, to give more weight to the top of the rankings. Finally, we assessed how the amount of the information present in a network affects the agreement between treatment hierarchies, using the average variance, the relative range of variance and the total sample size over the number of interventions of a network.
    RESULTS: Overall, the pairwise agreement was high for all treatment hierarchies obtained by the different ranking metrics. The highest agreement was observed between SUCRA and the relative treatment effect for both correlation and top-weighted measures whose medians were all equal to 1. The agreement between rankings decreased for networks with less precise estimates and the hierarchies obtained from [Formula: see text] appeared to be the most sensitive to large differences in the variance estimates. However, such large differences were rare.
    CONCLUSIONS: Different ranking metrics address different treatment hierarchy problems, however they produced similar rankings in the published networks. Researchers reporting NMA results can use the ranking metric they prefer, unless there are imprecise estimates or large imbalances in the variance estimates. In this case treatment hierarchies based on both probabilistic and non-probabilistic ranking metrics should be presented.
    Keywords:  epidemiology; public health; statistics & research methods
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037744
  26. Acupunct Med. 2020 Aug 18. 964528420946043
       OBJECTIVE: To assess the use and reporting of risk of bias (RoB) tools in systematic reviews (SRs) of acupuncture.
    STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: We extracted and analyzed information relating to RoB in acupuncture SRs via Medline, Embase and the Chinese CNKI (Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure), WanFang and VIP databases from their inception to 24 November 2017. Three subgroup analyses were used to check the influence of language, journal type and impact factor, following which we used descriptive analysis.
    RESULTS: We included 825 acupuncture SRs, of which 48% used the Cochrane RoB tool. Only 36% used the latest version of the Cochrane Handbook (version 5.1.0 at time of writing) with higher proportions among Cochrane SRs (65%) versus non-Cochrane SRs (34%), and high impact factor journals (58%) versus low or no impact factor journals (28% and 38%, respectively). In the last decade, there were notable increases in the use of the Cochrane RoB tool and Cochrane Handbook version 5.1.0, of 43% and 19%, respectively. Chinese-language SRs demonstrated proportionally higher tendencies to report an incorrect Cochrane Handbook version, increasing by 14% in the last 5 years. Additionally, 7% SRs did not report any results, and only 10% reported relatively complete and adequate RoB assessment. Cochrane SRs reported more complete assessments than Chinese-language or non-Cochrane English-language SRs.
    CONCLUSION: Use and reporting of RoB tools were suboptimal. Proportionally, use of the Cochrane RoB tool and Cochrane Handbook version 5.1.0 was low but rising. Our results highlight the prevalence and concerns of using unsuitable tools and the issue of incomplete RoB reporting. RoB tool application requires further improvement.
    Keywords:  acupuncture; meta-analysis; methodological quality; reporting; risk of bias; systematic review
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1177/0964528420946043
  27. Pathology. 2020 Aug 16. pii: S0031-3025(20)30881-3. [Epub ahead of print]
      
    Keywords:  CiteScore; Impact Factor; publication metrics
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pathol.2020.07.002
  28. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2020 Aug 21.
      To accelerate the transformation and application of basic research results, the Chinese government has repeatedly mentioned in a government work report that it is necessary to support research and innovation collaborations between knowledge research institutions and enterprises. However, few studies have focused on the evolution of collaborations between these organizations and the impact of collaborations on innovation performance (IP) in the field of renewable energy under the background of government-funded support (GFS). Based on scientific publications, we construct a GFS collaboration network in the wind power field to investigate the evolution of network structure characteristics, attribute proximity variables, and applied research collaboration (ARC), and we study the impact of network evolution on the IP of actors. The results show that the focal actor of the collaboration network prefers to engage in ARC with partners who are familiar and have the same knowledge base in different provinces. This collaboration tendency will reduce geographical proximity and increase the direct ties, indirect ties, technological proximity, and ARC of the ego network. Among them, direct ties have an inverted U-shaped effect on IP, geographical proximity has a significantly negative impact on IP, and the remaining variables have positive impacts on IP. Taken together, when the direct ties is within a certain range, these collaboration tendencies in a GFS collaboration network positively affect the IP of research institutions and enterprises.
    Keywords:  Applied research collaboration; Attribute proximity; Collaboration network; Innovation performance; Network structure; Wind power
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10528-2
  29. Value Health Reg Issues. 2020 Aug 18. pii: S2212-1099(20)30626-9. [Epub ahead of print]22 99-107
       OBJECTIVES: To describe South African-specific, multi-attribute, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) research within a national health technology assessment (HTA) context and make recommendations to strengthen the field for capacity building and healthcare priority setting.
    METHODS: A systematic review was conducted using the Web of Science (WoS) platform, and the Cochrane Library. No time restrictions were applied, but only English and Afrikaans language papers were included. Duplicate records were removed before first- and second-pass screening by two reviewers working independently. Bibliometric analyses were conducted in VOSviewer®, the WoS platform, and Microsoft Excel®.
    RESULTS: The study identified 123 publications authored by 388 researchers at 163 organizations in 31 countries since the first article was published in 1996. Three-quarters of the publications were from the last decade. South African institutions produced the most publications (n = 110), but their influence was below that of most other countries, and there were very few connections among the 68 identified author clusters. South African universities were the most productive institutions, with limited involvement by the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Funding was mostly from domestic sources, with some international contribution.
    CONCLUSION: There was an increasing trend in South African-specific HRQoL data, with a strong contribution by South African-based academic researchers. A multidisciplinary approach and more cross-country collaboration with organizations in countries with experience in economic evaluations for HTA would aid research capacity building supportive of healthcare policy and priority setting in South Africa.
    Keywords:  South Africa; bibliometric; health technology assessment; health-related quality of life; systematic review
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vhri.2020.07.574
  30. Ann Plast Surg. 2020 Aug 11.
       INTRODUCTION: The Doximity Residency Navigator is currently the only resource that ranks plastic surgery residency programs. Given the paucity of objective program rankings, in this study, we devised a new algorithm to rank plastic surgery programs based on academic achievement of faculty members.
    METHODS: The Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database was used to obtain the following information on plastic surgery programs: the amount of 2017 National Institute of Health and Veterans Administration funding, lifetime and 5-year faculty h-indices, and the number of faculty on editorial boards of journals. Based on all of this information, an overall ranking of the top 25 plastic surgery programs was created.
    RESULTS: The top program for annual National Institutes of Health and Veteran Affairs funding was the University of Southern California (integrated and independent). The top programs for faculty lifetime h-index were the University of Michigan (integrated) and New York University (independent). The top program for faculty 5-year h-index was the University of Pennsylvania (integrated and independent). The top program for the number of faculty members who are on the editorial boards of major journals was Harvard University (integrated and independent). The top program overall was Harvard University (integrated and independent).
    CONCLUSION: We ranked plastic surgery residency programs based on objective data related to faculty academic achievement. Academic achievement rankings are just one of numerous other factors that medical students should synthesize when making informed decisions when applying to residency.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1097/SAP.0000000000002513
  31. J Hosp Med. 2020 Aug;15(8): 475-478
      Authors of clinical reasoning exercises analyze diagnostic dilemmas and serve as role models of clinical excellence. We investigated the percentage of women authors in the clinical problem-solving series of three general medicine journals from the inaugural article in each series until July 2019. Women were underrepresented among first, last, and all authors. While the percentage of women among first and all authors has increased, women still constituted <40% of all authors and ≤25% of last authors, and there have been no significant increases in women last authors in any of the three journals. Including more women in clinical reasoning exercises is an opportunity to amplify the voices of women as master clinicians.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.12788/jhm.3465
  32. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Aug 18. pii: E5986. [Epub ahead of print]17(16):
      With the rapid development of society and technology, personal adaptability is becoming more and more important. Learning how to adapt to a changing world is becoming one of the necessary conditions for success. Career adaptability can help individuals to smoothly adapt to changes when coping with their career roles, and maintain their ability to balance their career roles, which will affect their important psychological resources for career development and achieve more meaning in life. In recent years, career adaptability has gradually attracted the attention of researchers. Therefore, in order to explore the main factors, such as research focus, the main researchers, its evolution, and the important results of career adaptability in the last ten years, this study used the scientific knowledge mapping software CiteSpace as a research tool, and select related articles from the Web of Science between 2010 to 2020 under the theme of "career adaptability" for data analysis, which can help future researchers to understand current and future career adaptability research and control the research direction of career adaptability. The results of this research indicate that there are direct or indirect connections between different themes, such as the career adaptability scale, career construction, positive personalities, and so on, but few articles integrate multiple research topics. At the same time, the main researchers, research frontiers and network relationships were also obtained. Based on the above findings, the correlative main concept, theoretical structure, evolution, and research progress of career adaptability in the past ten years are discussed.
    Keywords:  CiteSpace; career adaptability; literature review; scientific knowledge mapping
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17165986
  33. Future Sci OA. 2020 Apr 15. 6(7): FSO475
      Investment in biomedical research is believed to drive economic growth and increase human capital, leading to increased productivity and sustainability. Unfortunately, such positive impacts are not palpable among the resource-poor countries. This can be attributed to the poor quality of research findings and the reliability of findings, which often are rarely translated to impactful products or decisions. While the Nigerian governments are making considerable efforts to improve the quality of research through increased funding, as well as sponsorship and training of scholars in technologically advanced institutions. This is in order for the transfer of knowledge to improve the livelihood of its citizens. However, there is still need for the private multinational organizations to support this course.
    Keywords:  Nigeria; biomedical research; human capital development; innovation; international funding; low-income countries; misconceptions; research collaboration; research impact; research institutes
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.2144/fsoa-2019-0157
  34. Yearb Med Inform. 2020 Aug;29(1): 99-103
    Section Editors for the IMIA Yearbook Section on Human Factors and Organizational Issues
       OBJECTIVE: To select the best papers that made original and high impact contributions in the area of human factors and organizational issues in biomedical informatics in 2019.
    METHODS: A rigorous extraction process based on queries from Web of Science® and PubMed/Medline was conducted to identify the scientific contributions published in 2019 that address human factors and organizational issues in biomedical informatics. The screening of papers on titles and abstracts independently by the two editors led to a total of 30 papers. These papers were discussed for a selection of 15 finalist papers, which were then reviewed by the two editors and by three external reviewers from internationally renowned research teams.
    RESULTS: The query process resulted in 626 papers that reveal interesting and rigorous methods and important studies in human factors that move the field forward, particularly in clinical informatics and emerging technologies such as brain-computer interfaces. This year three papers were clearly outstanding and help advance the field. They provide examples of applying existing frameworks together in novel and highly illuminating ways, showing the value of theory development in human factors.
    CONCLUSION: The selected papers make important contributions to human factors and organizational issues, expanding and deepening our knowledge of how to apply theory and applications of new technologies in health.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0040-1702012
  35. Vet Comp Orthop Traumatol. 2020 Aug 16.
       OBJECTIVES:  Scientific abstracts are a common method for disseminating new research. There is no information on the publication rate of orthopaedic surgery abstracts presented at the annual Veterinary Orthopedic Society (VOS) Conference. The objectives of this study were to document the publication rate, the publication timeline and the level of evidence (LoE) of abstracts presented at an annual orthopaedic meeting.
    STUDY DESIGN:  All conference abstracts from the 2001 to 2014 annual VOS meeting were reviewed, and final publication was determined through a comprehensive bibliographic search.
    RESULTS:  Over 14 conferences, 1,112 scientific abstracts were presented with an overall publication rate of 47%. The majority of abstracts had low LoE scores, and those abstracts were published less timely than ones with higher LoE scores. Once presented, most abstracts took 1 year to be submitted and 2 years to be published. Dog (45%) and ex vivo (19%) studies were the most common. Publication occurred most frequently in Veterinary Surgery (40%), Veterinary and Comparative Orthopaedics and Traumatology (17%) and the American Journal of Veterinary Research (12%).
    CONCLUSION:  The publication rate for abstracts presented at the annual VOS meeting is lower than those from a more generalized veterinary surgery conference. Publication occurs most frequently in a select group of journals, and the subject matter is limited in scope with a focus on dog and ex vivo studies. Overall, most abstracts presented at VOS contain a lower LoE.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0040-1714417
  36. J Surg Res. 2020 Aug 17. pii: S0022-4804(20)30518-7. [Epub ahead of print]257 128-134
       BACKGROUND: Despite increasing the number of women and ethnic minority groups in surgery, the academic advancement of such individuals within surgical fields lags behind Caucasian men. We sought to identify gender and ethnic inequalities in the receipt of surgical society research grants for young faculty investigators and compare the scholarly productivity of these groups.
    MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional and retrospective study, the gender and race of surgical society grant recipients were determined from surgical society Web sites. Surgical society grants aimed at providing research grants for junior faculty investigators were analyzed. Using the Scopus database, each recipient's scholarly productivity was determined by means of h-index, a standardized measure of the quantity and impact of an individual's published articles. We generated descriptive statistics to compare the gender, race, and h-index of grant recipients in the years 2006-2008 and 2016-2018.
    RESULTS: Between 2006 and 2008, there were 68 research grant recipients. Of these recipients, 79% were men and 21% were women. The racial breakdown was 54% Caucasian men, 22% Asian men, 1.4% African American men, 1.4% Hispanic men, 12% Caucasian women, 7% Asian Women, and 1.4% African American women. The average h-index of the male and female recipients is 25 (±14) and 24 (±14), respectively (P = 0.81). Between 2016 and 2018, there were 113 research grant recipients. Of these recipients, 66% were men and 34% were women. The racial breakdown was 47% Caucasian men, 16% Asian men, 3.5% African American men, 1% Hispanic men, 26% Caucasian women, 3.5% Asian women, and 3.5% African American women. The average h-index of the male and female recipients is 12 (±8) and 9 (±6), respectively (P = 0.046). Caucasian women had the only statistically significant change in the proportion of grant recipients from 2006-2008 to 2016-2018, with an increase from 12% to 26% (P = 0.02).
    CONCLUSIONS: Most surgical society research grants for young investigators continue to be awarded to Caucasian men, with Caucasian women earning a distant second in the 2016-2018 cohort. Ethnic minorities continue to be awarded less research grants than Caucasian recipients. Overall, the average h-index of women was less than men. This study highlights the persistent need for surgical societies to consider gender and ethnic disparities when awarding junior investigator grants, including barriers minority groups may face in achieving the same h-index as Caucasian men.
    Keywords:  Academic surgery; Diversity; Gender equity; Inclusion; Surgical society
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2020.07.057