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Introduction: While there are no widely accepted diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) metrics for journals, geographic and sex diversity across a journal's editorial board may provide a surrogate measure of its commitment to DEI. We explored the association between journal quality and DEI metrics for cardiothoracic surgery (CTS) journals and investigated whether editorial diversity correlates with diversity across published articles., Methods: We collected the following data for 30 CTS journals: country of publication (categorized by income level), journal quality metrics (citation-based metrics, e.g., impact factor (IF) or H-index), and sex and geographic representation across editorial boards and published articles. Bivariate correlations between numeric variables were assessed using Spearman's correlation., Results: Female representation across editorial boards was 12.1%. Most editorial board members belonged to the United States (35.2%), with only 7.4% from the lower-middle-income countries and 0% from low-income countries. IF showed a strong positive correlation with female editorial representation (r = 0.70) but an inverse correlation with low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) editorial representation (r = -0.45). Female editorial representation demonstrated a significant positive correlation with female first authorship (r = 0.45), whereas LMIC editorial representation correlated strongly with LMIC corresponding authorship (r = 0.85)., Conclusion: Women and researchers from LMICs are in the minority across editorial boards of CTS journals. However, a strong correlation between journal H-index and female editorial representation indicates that top-ranked journals are spearheading efforts to improve equitable sex-based and gender representations. Similar efforts are required to ensure more global geographic representation across editorial boards and top-ranked CTS journals are the best placed to lead by example., (© 2024 International Society of Surgery/Société Internationale de Chirurgie (ISS/SIC).)

Against the backdrop of global climate change and the "dual carbon" target, cities have a significant responsibility to achieve carbon reduction targets. As a crucial urban agglomeration in northern China, effectively balancing economic growth with CO 2 emission reduction to achieve high-quality economic development remains a significant challenge that the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region should address both presently and in the future. The objective of this study is to utilize nighttime lighting data and energy consumption information to quantify the CO 2 emissions of diverse cities within the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region spanning from 2006 to 2020. The research aims to analyze the spatial progression patterns of CO 2 emissions across these urban centers, identify key determinants and their interrelations, and delve into the underlying mechanisms pivotal for advancing carbon mitigation strategies within urban agglomerations. The results indicate that: with an exception in Beijing where CO 2 emissions slightly decreased compared to 2006, CO 2 emissions increased across cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region by 2020. High-value CO 2 emission areas are primarily concentrated in central of the study area, exhibiting negative spatial correlation characteristics. Based on its urban development positioning, it is imperative for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration to formulate and implement carbon reduction strategies on innovative development, industrial upgrading, and ecological protection among other aspects towards coordinated low-carbon development., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: International English language publication activities in orthopaedic surgery comparing the years 2008/09 to 2018/19 were analyzed., Methods: 20 international journals listed on PubMed were examined. The impact factor (IF) for each journal was determined using the InCites Journal Citation Report., Results: 9,205 publications in 2008/09 and 15,549 in 2018/19 with 21,435 cumulative IF (CIF) in 2008/09 and 50,552 in 2018/19 were registered. Most publications consisted of narrative reviews (42.0%), followed by clinical studies (22.0%), experimental investigations (16.9%), randomized controlled trials (6.0%), and meta-analyses (5.6%). The highest increase in publications was observed for narrative reviews from 33.5% in 2008/09 to 41.1% in 2018/19. The USA had the highest number of publications (2,981 and 4,796), followed by UK (806 and 879) and Germany (606 and 922) in 2008/09 and 2018/19, resp. Per 1 Mio inhabitants, Switzerland (13.6 and 28.4), Sweden (10.9 and 18.1), the Netherlands (9.6 and 15.4), and Denmark (9.0 and 21.8) were the most productive countries in 2008/09 and 2018/19, resp., Conclusions: International publishing activity in orthopaedic surgery has increased substantially over the last 10 years. The quality of the published articles has not increased in the same way, as evidenced by the disproportionate rise in narrative reviews. Over the entire period, the US were the leader with respect to number of publications and CIF. In terms of population, however, smaller countries such as Switzerland and Sweden were much more active., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

As economic development advances, there is an increasing focus on improving health conditions, making healthcare expenditure a critical issue worldwide. In China, healthcare spending has shown a marked upward trend, highlighting the importance of understanding its underlying determinants to guide effective policy-making. This study introduces the application of an SV-TVP-FAVAR model to examine the drivers of healthcare expenditure in China from 2007 to 2022. The analysis reveals that economic factors, demographic composition, and policy interventions significantly influence healthcare spending dynamics. Economic growth is strongly linked to increased healthcare expenditure, with economic factors having a particularly pronounced impact during periods of prosperity. Although an aging population drives greater demand for healthcare, the growth rate of healthcare spending has not kept pace with demographic aging, especially following China's economic slowdown. Policy variables present a dual-edged impact: while increased fiscal outlays contribute to budget deficits, limiting the fiscal space for healthcare investment, government emphasis on scientific and technological progress tends to enhance healthcare spending, indicating a synergistic relationship between these areas. Furthermore, the study identifies a prolonged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare expenditure, which continues to interact with other driving factors over an extended period. The empirical findings from this research provide crucial evidence to support the development of informed healthcare policies., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Ge, Cai and Hu.)

Conservation literature addresses a broad spectrum of interdisciplinary questions and benefits. Conservation science benefits most when a diverse range of authors are represented, particularly those from countries where much conservation work is focused. In other disciplines, it is well known that barriers and biases exist in the academic publishing sphere, which can affect research dissemination and an author's career development. We used a discrete choice experiment to determine how 7 journal attributes affect authors' choices of where to publish in conservation. We targeted authors directly by contacting authors published in 18 target journals and indirectly via communication channels for conservation organizations. We only included respondents who had previously published in a conservation-related journal. We used a multinomial logit model and a latent class model to investigate preferences for all respondents and distinct subpopulations. We identified 3 demographic groups across 1038 respondents (older authors from predominantly middle-income countries, younger authors from predominantly middle-income countries, and younger authors from high-income countries) who had published in conservation journals. Each group exhibited different publishing preferences. Only 2 attributes showed a consistent response across groups: cost to publish negatively affected journal choice, including authors in high-income countries, and authors had a consistent preference for double-blind review. Authors from middle-income countries were willing to pay more for society-owned journals, unlike authors from high-income countries. Journals with a broad geographical scope that were open access and that had relatively high impact factors were preferred by 2 of the 3 demographic groups. However, journal scope and open access were more important in dictating journal choice than impact factor. Overall, different demographics had different preferences for journals and were limited in their selection based on attributes such as open access policy. However, the scarcity of respondents from low-income countries (2% of respondents) highlights the pervasive barriers to representation in conservation research. We recommend journals offer double-blind review, reduce or remove open access fees, investigate options for free editorial support, and better acknowledge the value of local-scale single-species studies. Academic societies in particular must reflect on how their journals support conservation and conservation professionals., (© 2024 The Author(s). Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.)

Although publication in scholarly peer-reviewed journals remains the gold standard for communication of findings in the life sciences, the gold has been debased in the digital age by various impurities, including (a) reviewer fatigue, (b) fraud, paper mills, and the perils of artificial intelligence, (c) predatory journals, (d) the ongoing use of journal impact factor as a proxy for individual article quality, and (e) salami-slicing and other unethical practices. In this article, I present a detailed overview of these problems, as well as solutions proposed and implemented to counter them. Finally, I suggest that these are all symptomatic of a wider problem, namely the culture of 'publish or perish' and ongoing issues with how researcher performance is evaluated for grant, hiring, and promotion decisions. Only by working towards a global shift in the way scientists view the purpose of publication can we finally remove the impurities and refine the gold., (© 2024 Federation of European Biochemical Societies.)

Purpose: Our study aimed to determine the current percentage of gender and sex equity promoting (GSEP) radiology journals, defined as satisfying at least one criterion of the Sex and Gender Equity in Research (SAGER) checklist, published by the European Association of Science Editors (EASE). A secondary objective was to compare characteristics of GSEP and non-GSEP journals., Methods: A cross-sectional analysis between June 24 and July 3, 2023, was conducted. The author submission guidelines of radiology journals with a 2021 Journal Impact Factor (JIF) were assessed according to the SAGER checklist. GSEP journals were defined as satisfying one or more SAGER checklist criteria in their research instructions. Bibliometric data and journal information were collected from the Journal Citation Reports and National Library of Medicine catalogue., Results: Only 39.7 % (52) of 132 journals satisfied at least one SAGER checklist criterion. Median 2021 JIFs were higher in GSEP journals (4.62, IQR: 3.73 - 5.21) than non-GSEP journals (2.70, IQR: 2.32) (p = 0.00). Median 2021 Journal Citation Index (JCI) scores were higher in GSEP (0.64, 0.56 - 0.73) than non-GSEP journals (0.97, 0.83 - 1.10) (p = 0.00). Cited half-life was shorter for GSEP (5.40, 4.80 - 6.50) than non-GSEP journals (6.70, 5.70 - 7.40) (p = 0.05). Elsevier published 33 of 52 of GSEP journals., Conclusion: 60.3% of radiology journals with a 2021 JIF do not meet a single SAGER checklist criterion in their author submission guidelines. GSEP journals had higher impact and source metrics and a shorter cited half-life. Publishers may play a significant role in promoting endorsement of the SAGER checklist in the author submission guidelines of radiology journals., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Journal selection is very important for any researcher in every field. Publication in a reputable journal not only has a higher reach among a greater number of people but also sets a benchmark for significance and quality. This primer aims to guide researchers in the field of cardiothoracic research, including medicine, surgery, and imaging, to assist in journal selection for their respective articles. Journal selection depends on a variety of factors, such as impact factors, publication charges, review processes, article types that a journal accepts, and indexing. This primer highlights all these factors in detail that are essential for the selection of a suitable journal. The article emphasizes the importance of these factors in making a reasoned decision about journal selection. This article also focuses on different types of publication models and their implications, including hybrid open access, gold open access, and diamond open access. In conclusion, this primer aims to provide insights to researchers in the fields of cardiothoracic surgery, medicine, and imaging about the publication landscapes and guide them to strategically plan their submissions., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024, Grewal et al.)

Objective: The values of a field are reflected in the science it publishes. The goal of this study was to present a historical analysis of the extent to which the field of clinical neuropsychology publishes journals with titles that address culture in the context of brain function and behavior between 2010 and 2020., Methods: Titles from articles published in 13 neuropsychology journals from 2010-2020 were collected and coded with regard to culture and multicultural content. The aims of the study were to (1) determine how often cultural or multicultural topics were represented in journal titles, (2) determine if cultural or multicultural content in neuropsychology journal publication titles increased over time, and (3) to explore other neuropsychological content that was most and least likely to appear in publications pertaining to culture or multicultural issues., Results: Results indicated that titles for publications in clinical neuropsychology journals with content relevant to cultural or multicultural neuropsychology represented 1.1% to 13.4% of titles across the 13 journals. The number of cultural/multicultural titles increased over time. The number of cultural/multicultural titles per journal was not significantly correlated with the journal impact factor. Normative data were addressed significantly more often in cultural/multicultural titles versus non-cultural/multicultural titles, whereas psychiatric issues were addressed significantly less often., Conclusions: There are many actions that clinical neuropsychologists can take to increase the field's attention to the effects of culture on brain function and behavior. It is vital to update our data from 2021 to the present, given the substantial increase in awareness of social justice issues that occurred since 2020.

This study examines the influence of National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding on the publication choices of dermatologists, particularly in terms of journal tiers and pay-to-publish (P2P) versus free-to-publish (F2P) models. Utilizing k-means clustering for journal ranking based on SCImago Journal Rank, h-index, and Impact Factor, journals were categorized into three tiers and 54,530 dermatology publications from 2021 to 2023 were analyzed. Authors were classified as Top NIH Funded or Non-Top NIH Funded according to Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research rankings. The study finds significant differences in publication patterns, with Top NIH Funded researchers in Tier I journals demonstrating a balanced use of P2P and F2P models, while they preferred F2P models in Tier II and III journals. Non-Top NIH Funded authors, however, opted for P2P models more frequently across all tiers. These data suggest NIH funding allows researchers greater flexibility to publish in higher-tier journals despite publication fees, while prioritizing F2P models in lower-tier journals. Such a pattern indicates that funding status plays a critical role in strategic publication decisions, potentially impacting research visibility and subsequent funding. The study's dermatology focus limits broader applicability, warranting further research to explore additional factors like geographic location, author gender, and research design., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

The article analyzes publications considering motivation of plasma donors by factors related to ethical and socio-economic aspects. Their detailed analysis and systematical consideration in the work contributes into more effective informing of new potential donors, improving recruitment and retention of donors. The detailed analysis established among causes of negative beliefs and negative experiences regarding donorship such factors as increased risk of infectious diseases, decreased vitality, vaso-vagal reactions and reduced iron content. It is demonstrated that experienced plasma donors try to maintain practice of donorship in conditions of intensive life activity, often applying flexible approach to frequency of plasma donation. Their knowledge about contribution that their donation makes is key factor in continuing donation. However, the COVID-19 pandemic developed additional obstacles to donorship due to state preventive measures and increased personal health risks. In order to develop donorship policy during pandemic in the future, it is important to study changes in motivation of donors during pandemic.

This study investigates the impact of Free-to-Publish (F2P) versus Pay-to-Publish (P2P) models in dermatology journals, focusing on their differences in terms of journal metrics, Article Processing Charges (APCs), and Open Access (OA) status. Utilizing k-means clustering, the research evaluates dermatology journals based on SCImago Journal Rankings (SJR), H-Index, and Impact Factor (IF), and examines the correlation between these metrics, APCs, and OA status (Full or Hybrid). Data from the SCImago Journal Rank and Journal Citation Report databases were used, and metrics from 106 journals were normalized and grouped into three tiers.The study reveals a higher proportion of F2P journals, especially in higher-tier journals, indicating a preference for quality-driven research acceptance. Conversely, a rising proportion of P2P journals in lower tiers suggests potential bias towards the ability to pay. This disparity poses challenges for researchers from less-funded institutions or those early in their careers. The study also finds significant differences in APCs between F2P and P2P journals, with hybrid OA being more common in F2P.Conclusively, the study highlights the disparities in dermatology journals between F2P and P2P models and underscores the need for further research into authorship demographics and institutional affiliations in these journals. It also establishes the effectiveness of k-means clustering as a standardized method for assessing journal quality, which can reduce reliance on potentially biased individual metrics., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

A whole-year investigation of full-scale integrated subsurface-constructed wetlands (ISCWs) was carried out to purify the tail water from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) for wastewater reclamation under four plant species, four hydraulic loading rates (HLRs), and four seasons. The results showed that ISCWs were effective for the purification of WWTP discharge, with the average removal efficiencies of COD, NH 4 + -N, TN, and TP being 48%, 49%, 9%, and 30%, respectively. Typical pollutant concentrations in the treated effluent of ISCWs were 8.19 mg/L COD, 1.76 mg/L NH 4 + -N, 11.57 mg/L TN, and 0.36 mg/L TP, which met most of the water quality standards for reusing recycling water. Emergent plants with well-developed root systems may be capable of promoting the decontamination of ISCWs. Seasonal change played an important role in the treatment process: the removal of phosphorus by plant uptake and microbial utilization was more active in the warm season and the co-occurrence of organic degradation and nitrification, whereas the cold season is conducive to exothermic adsorption process of pollutants to substrates. Properly increasing the HLRs may improve the availability of ISCWs according to the requirement of effluent quality. Furthermore, the C/N ratio might be the key factor for the purification effect of ISCWs, because the COD level of WWTP discharge may change the process of NH 4 + -N biotransformation.

Purpose: Surveys generate valuable data in epidemiologic and qualitative clinical research. The quality of a survey depends on its design, the number of responses it receives, and the reporting of the results. In this study, we aimed to assess the quality of surveys in neurosurgery., Methods: Neurosurgical surveys published between 2000 and 2020 (inclusive) were identified from PubMed. Various datapoints regarding the surveys were collated. The number of citations received by the papers was determined from Google Scholar. A 6-dimensional quality assessment tool was applied to the surveys. Parameters from this tool were combined with the number of responses received to create the survey quality score (SQS)., Results: A total of 618 surveys were included for analysis. The target sample size correlated with the number of responses received. The response rate correlated positively with the target sample size and the number of reminders sent and negatively with the number of questions in the survey. The median number of authors on neurosurgery survey papers was 6. The number of authors correlated with the SQS and the number of citations received by published survey papers. The median normalized SQS for neurosurgical surveys was 65%. The nSQS independently predicted the citations received per year by surveys., Conclusions: The modifiable factors that correlated with improvements in survey design were optimizing the number of questions, maximizing the target sample size, and incorporating reminders in the survey design. Increasing the number of contributing authors led to improvements in survey quality. The SQS was validated and correlated well with the citations received by surveys., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature.)

Timely and accurate implementation of carbon emissions (CE) analysis and evaluation is necessary for policymaking and management. However, previous inventories, most of which are yearly, provincial or city, and incomplete, have failed to reflect the spatial variations and monthly trends of CE. Based on nighttime light (NTL) data, statistical data, and land use data, in this study, a high-resolution (1 km × 1 km) monthly inventory of CE was developed using back propagation neural network, and the spatiotemporal variations and impact factors of CE at multiple administrative levels was evaluated using spatial autocorrelation model and spatial econometric model. As a large province in terms of both economy and population, Guangdong is facing the severe emission reduction challenges. Therefore, in this study, Guangdong was taken as a case study to explain the method. The results revealed that CE increased unsteadily in Guangdong from 2013 to 2022. Spatially, the high CE areas were distributed in the Pearl River Delta region such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Dongguan, while the low CE areas were distributed in West and East Guangdong. The Global Moran's I decreased from 2013 to 2022 at the city and county levels, suggesting that the inequality of CE in Guangdong steadily decreased at these two administrative levels. Specifically, at the city level, the Global Moran's I gradually decreased from 0.4067 in 2013 to 0.3531 in 2022. In comparison, at the county level, the trend exhibited a slower decline, from 0.3647 in 2013 to 0.3454 in 2022. Furthermore, the analysis of the impact factors revealed that the relationship between CE and gross domestic product was an inverted U-shaped, suggesting the existence of the inverted U-shaped Environmental Kuznets Curve for CE in Guangdong. In addition, the industrial structure had larger positive impact on CE at the different levels. The method developed in this study provides a perspective for establishing high spatiotemporal resolution CE evaluation through NTL data, and the improved inventory of CE could help understand the spatial-temporal variations of CE and formulate regional-monthly-specific emission reduction policies., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Bibliometrics evaluates the quality of biomedical journals. The aim of this study has been to compare the main bibliometric indexes of the official journals of scientific societies of Internal Medicine in Europe., Material and Methods: Bibliometric information was obtained from the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus databases. Both impact metrics (Journal Impact Factor [JIF], CiteScore) and normalized metrics (Journal Citation Indicator [JCI], Normalized Eigenfactor, Source Normalized Impact per Paper [SNIP] and SCImago Journal Rank [SJR]) of the journals for the year 2022 were analyzed, and their evolution over the last decade was described., Results: Twenty-three official journals from 33 scientific societies were evaluated. Eight journals were included in WoS and 11 in Scopus. The best positioned journals in 2022 were: 1) European Journal of Internal Medicine, which ranked in the first quartile (Q1) for JIF, CiteScore and JCI metrics, exceeding values of 1 in Normalized Eigenfactor and SNIP metrics; 2) Internal and Emergency Medicine, with Q1 for CiteScore and JCI metrics, and with values >1 in Normalized EigenFactor and SNIP metrics; 3) Polish Archives of Internal Medicine, with Q1 for JCI metrics; 4) Revista Clínica Española, with Q2 for JIF, CiteScore and JCI metrics; and 5) Acta Medica Belgica, with Q2 for CiteScore and JCI metrics. These journals increased their impact metrics in the last 3 years, in parallel with the COVID pandemic., Conclusions: Five official journals of European Internal Medicine societies, including Revista Clínica Española, meet high quality standards., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Medicina Interna (SEMI). All rights reserved.)

Objectives: As the volume of research publications in the field of otolaryngology has increased, so has the need to qualify articles through bibliometric analyses to identify the most important and impactful work in the field. Herein, we aim to identify the 100 most disruptive articles in ENT over a 60-year period and examine how disruption index (DI) compares with other bibliometrics in identifying impactful works in the field., Methods: In this cross-sectional bibliometric analysis, articles published between 1954 and 2014 in commonly referenced otolaryngology-head and neck surgery (OHNS) journals were queried in PubMed. Publications were characterized by DI, journal, subspecialty discipline, and status as an impactful article in the field as determined by other bibliometrics such as citation count, the "Sleeping Beauty Index," and those derived by the modified Delphi process., Results: Of the 122,094 articles queried, 67,561 (55.3%) had available citation count as well as disruption score data, meeting inclusion criteria. The most represented subspecialty disciplines within the top 100 most disruptive articles were Otology/Neurotology (28%), General (Comprehensive) (27%), Head and Neck Surgery (12%), and Laryngology (11%). Fifty percent of articles identified as Sleeping Beauties and impactful via modified Delphi approach had scores in the top 86th percentile., Conclusion: DI in otolaryngology can be appreciated as an added dimension to existing indices and can unearth seminal research, which serve as early foundations of evidence-based management in the field of OHNS today., Level of Evidence: NA Laryngoscope, 134:629-636, 2024., (© 2023 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.)

Purpose: In academic publishing, research metrics play a crucial role in assessing the scientific impact and performance of the published literature, as well as of the journals in which they are published. Several journal-level metrics (JLM) such as the h-index of the analysed journals, total citations, total documents, citable documents, references and external citations per document are considered crucial indicators of the importance and reputation of the journals. We hypothesize that journals in the field of Medicine receive more citations than those in Surgical journals like Orthopaedic surgery, and hence have better JLM. This study aims to to assess and compare the JLM of Medical and Surgical journals between two time zones 2017-2019 vs. 2020-2022, i.e., pre and post-COVID-19 pandemic period., Methods: A cross-sectional bibliometric analysis of the top-ranked Orthopaedic, Medical, and Surgical journals was undertaken based on traditional JLM, using the SCImago database from 2017 to 2022. Our analysis focused on identifying trends in the h-index of the analysed journals, total citations, total documents, citable documents, references and external citations per document., Results: Overall Medical journals were found to have higher JLM than the Surgical and Orthopaedic journals. The h-index of Surgical journals, Medical journals and Orthopaedic journals were comparable between the two periods (pre and -post-COVID-19 pandemic); Total Cites (3 years), total documents (2017), total documents (3 years), total references, and citable documents (3 years) of Surgical journals, Medical journals and Orthopaedic journals were significantly higher in the period 2020-2022., Conclusion: There has been a steady increase in the number of publications from post COVID-19 period. Medical journals have higher JLM than Surgical and Orthopaedic journals. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (Am), Annals of Surgery and Diabetes Care were the most published journals in Orthopaedics, General Surgery and Medicine-related topics respectively., (© 2023. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to SICOT aisbl.)

Purpose: Each year, the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) selects several abstracts for podium presentations during a "Best Papers" session. We examined these papers to better understand their characteristics and impact on the field of hand surgery., Methods: "Best Papers" from the 2010 to 2020 ASSH Annual Meetings were reviewed. Online databases were searched to find matching publications. Descriptive data were collected from the publications. The Hirsch index value for each corresponding author and the number of citations for each publication were recorded. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data., Results: Fifty-nine "Best Papers" were awarded during the study period. Forty-nine (83%) were clinical and 10 were basic science studies. A total of 39 observational studies, 11 human trials, 8 experimental studies, and 1 case series were present. Fifty-four (91.5%) were published at the time of our review. Twenty-six of those (48%) were multicenter studies, and the remaining 28 were from a single institution. The average time from presentation to publication was 16 months. The top three journals of publication were the Journal of Hand Surgery (33%), the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (9%), and the Journal of Hand Surgery, European (7%). The median level of evidence for all "Best Papers" was 3, with a trend toward a higher level of evidence during the study period. The average h-index value of all corresponding authors was 27.3. The average number of citations per publication was 37., Conclusions: The ASSH "Best Papers" were primarily clinical studies with an increasingly strong level of evidence and were likely led by an author with a history of research productivity. Selection as a "Best Paper" at ASSH Annual Meetings is a strong predictor of future publication and impact., Clinical Relevance: This study evaluates the "value" of the best paper designation at the ASSH annual meeting., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Background: The purposes of this study were to analyze the trends in Oxford level of evidence (LOE), LOE of most-cited articles, and association between LOE and journal impact factor (IF) and SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) over a 10-year period (2009-2018) in 3 prominent hand surgery journals, specifically HAND, Journal of Hand Surgery ( American Volume ) ( JHS ), and Journal of Hand Surgery ( European Volume ) ( JHSE )., Methods: All articles published from 2009 to 2018 in HAND, JHS , and JHSE were reviewed for assigned or available LOE. Data were pooled and analyzed for trends in LOE; relationship among IF, SJR, and LOE; and citation density., Results: A total of 3921 total publications were tabulated from 2009 to 2018, with the majority of studies being level V (1700, 43%) and fewer studies being level I (146, 4%). Over the 10-year study period, there was no significant change in frequency of level I studies for any journal. HAND trended significantly toward higher LOE, JHS trended toward higher LOE, and JHSE trended toward decreased LOE without significance. Among all journals, the annual number of articles and the average LOE were independent significant predictors of IF and SJR. Statistically significant correlations were found between citation density and LOE for JHS and HAND ., Conclusions: Higher quality evidence is becoming more prevalent in the hand surgery literature over the past 10 years. Annual articles, average LOE, and level I and II and level IV articles were significant predictors of increasing IF and SJR., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

The Anais Brasileiros de Dermatologia, published since 1925, is the most influential dermatological journal in Latin America, indexed in the main international bibliographic databases, and occupies the 50th position among the 70 dermatological journals indexed in the Journal of Citations Reports, in 2022. In this article, the authors present a critical analysis of its trajectory in the last decade and compare its main bibliometric indices with Brazilian medical and international dermatological journals. The journal showed consistent growth in different bibliometric indices, which indicates a successful editorial policy and greater visibility in the international scientific community, attracting foreign authors. The increases in citations received (4.1×) and in the Article Influence Score (2.9×) were more prominent than those of the main Brazilian medical and international dermatological journals. The success of Anais Brasileiros de Dermatologia in the international scientific scenario depends on an assertive editorial policy, on promptly publication of high-quality articles, and on institutional stimulus to encourage clinical research in dermatology., (Copyright © 2023 Sociedade Brasileira de Dermatologia. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Quantitative bibliometric indicators are widely used and widely misused for research assessments. Some metrics have acquired major importance in shaping and rewarding the careers of millions of scientists. Given their perceived prestige, they may be widely gamed in the current "publish or perish" or "get cited or perish" environment. This review examines several gaming practices, including authorship-based, citation-based, editorial-based, and journal-based gaming as well as gaming with outright fabrication. Different patterns are discussed, including massive authorship of papers without meriting credit (gift authorship), team work with over-attribution of authorship to too many people (salami slicing of credit), massive self-citations, citation farms, H-index gaming, journalistic (editorial) nepotism, journal impact factor gaming, paper mills and spurious content papers, and spurious massive publications for studies with demanding designs. For all of those gaming practices, quantitative metrics and analyses may be able to help in their detection and in placing them into perspective. A portfolio of quantitative metrics may also include indicators of best research practices (e.g., data sharing, code sharing, protocol registration, and replications) and poor research practices (e.g., signs of image manipulation). Rigorous, reproducible, transparent quantitative metrics that also inform about gaming may strengthen the legacy and practices of quantitative appraisals of scientific work., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Objective: To review the research progress of rapid surgery for hip fracture in elderly patients., Methods: The published studies, expert consensus, and guidelines at home and abroad were systematically summarized from the aspects of the characteristics of aging population, the benefits of rapid surgery, the disadvantages of delayed surgery, and the recommendations of current guidelines, so as to further guide clinical practice., Results: Hip fracture is a common fracture type in the elderly population. As elderly patients generally have poor physique and often have a variety of underlying diseases, such as hypostatic pneumonia, bedsore, lower limb vein thrombosis, and other complications in conservative treatment, its disability rate and mortality are high, so surgical treatment is the first choice. At present, most relevant studies and expert consensus and guidelines at home and abroad support rapid surgery, that is, preoperative examination should be started immediately after admission, and adverse factors such as taking anticoagulant drugs, serious cardiovascular diseases, and severe anemia should be clearly and actively corrected, and surgery should be completed within 48 hours after admission as far as possible. Rapid surgery can not only significantly reduce the mortality of patients, but also reduce the length of hospital stay and the incidence of perioperative cognitive impairment, which is conducive to the recovery of patients with pain during hospitalization and postoperative function, and improve the prognosis of patients., Conclusion: In order to avoid many problems caused by delayed surgery, the elderly patients with hip fracture should be operated as soon as possible under the condition of actively correcting the adverse factors. Comprehensive evaluation and preparation, the development of an individualized surgical plan, and the formation of a multidisciplinary medical team can reduce surgical risks and improve effectiveness.

Lakes on the Inner Mongolia Plateau, located in the ecologically fragile area of the northern border of China, play a very important role in regulating the regional climate and ecological environment and maintaining biodiversity. Owing to the dual influence of natural factors and human factors, the lake water environment in Inner Mongolia is facing challenges. To clarify the overall water quality of lakes in Inner Mongolia, based on the water quality data of typical lakes in Inner Mongolia in autumn 2019(October-November) and summer 2021(July-August), the temporal and spatial variation in water quality was discussed, and the influence of different indexes on lake water quality was analyzed, and the key factors affecting lake water quality were identified. The results showed as follows:① the spatiotemporal distribution of multiple physicochemical indices of typical lakes in Inner Mongolia were different in the two seasons. On the time scale, the concentration of ammonia nitrogen(NH 4 + -N) and nitrite nitrogen(NO 2 - -N) were lower in autumn than that in summer, whereas dissolved oxygen(DO) was higher in autumn than that in summer. On the spatial scale, the concentrations of total phosphorus(TP), total nitrogen(TN), chemical oxygen demand(COD), and salinity(Sal) and other indicators in the southwest lakes of Inner Mongolia were higher than those of lakes in the northeast, but the DO index showed the opposite trend. ② Dissolved total solids(TDS) was the main characteristic factor of water quality of typical lakes in Inner Mongolia. ③ The spatiotemporal distribution of lake water quality index(WQI) was significantly different. The lake water quality level decreased with the increase in TDS, and the lake water quality was better in autumn than that in summer.

Background: Cochlear implantation (CI) outcomes in patients with auditory neuropathy (AN) are variable, which hampers patients' decisions on CI., Objective: This study aims to assess the outcomes of CI in individuals diagnosed with AN and to examine the various factors that may influence the effectiveness of this intervention., Methods: A total of 75 patients diagnosed with AN were included in the study. The hearing threshold, the score of categories of auditory performance (CAP), speech intelligibility rating (SIR), and speech audiometry were tested. Genetic testing was conducted by medical exome sequencing in 46 patients., Results: After CI, the average aided hearing threshold for patients with prelingual and post-lingual onset was 38.25 ± 6.63 dB and 32.58 ± 9.26 dB, respectively; CAP score improved to 5.52 ± 1.64 ( p  < 0.001) and 6.00 ± 0.96 ( p  < 0.001), respectively; SIR score increased to 3.57 ± 1.22 ( p  < 0.001) and 4.15 ± 0.95 ( p  < 0.001), respectively. Maximum speech recognition ranged from 58 to 93% for prelingual onset patients and 43 to 98% for those with post-lingual onset. Speech outcomes of CI in cases with cochlear nerve (CN) deficiency were significantly poorer ( p  = 0.008). Molecular etiologies, including TWIST1 , ACTG1 , m. A7445G , and a copy-number variant (CNV) carrying ACTB, were related to AN here., Conclusion: CI is a viable therapy option for patients with AN; CN deficiency might impact outcomes of CI., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Wu, Chen, Ding, Fan, Wang, Dai and Han.)

Objectives: To investigate intra-specialty citation patterns of radiology articles, compared with another medical specialty: gastroenterology/hepatology. Methods: Four radiology journals ( Radiology , European Radiology , Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging , Canadian Association of Radiologists Journal ) and four gastroenterology/hepatology journals ( Journal of Hepatology, Journal of Gastroenterology, World Journal of Gastroenterology, Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology ) with similar Web of Science in-category 2020 IF ranking were selected. The original research, review, letter, and editorial articles published in these journals in 2021 were identified. The average number of intra-specialty citations per article (intra-specialty citation count ) and percentage of intra-specialty citations out of total citations per article (intra-specialty citation rate ) were compared between radiology and gastroenterology/hepatology articles using Student's t -test. Results: The radiology articles demonstrated a lower total citation count per article (radiology: 29.7 ± .4 (mean ± SEM), n = 2063; gastroenterology/hepatology: 50.1 ± 1.4, n = 1335). The intra-specialty citation count was also lower in radiology articles than gastroenterology/hepatology articles (radiology: 12.9 ± .2, gastroenterology/hepatology: 19.6 ± .7; P < .001), both overall and in all article types. Additionally, the overall intra-specialty citation rate was not significantly different between the two specialties (radiology: 48.8% ± .5%; gastroenterology/hepatology: 47.1 ± .8%; P = .057), although the intra-specialty citation rates were higher in radiology original research and editorial article types. Conclusions: The significantly lower per-article intra-specialty citation counts in all radiology article types, a measurement that directly links to specialty IFs, may contribute to the lower impact factors of radiology journals compared with gastroenterology/hepatology ones., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Formaldehyde (HCHO) is an air pollutant that has a detrimental effect on human health and atmospheric environment. Until now, satellite observation has been increasingly a valuable source for monitoring the unconventional atmospheric pollutants due to the limited availability of ground-based HCHO data. Here, we used Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and the weather research and forecasting with chemistry (WRF-Chem) model to synergistically analyze the spatiotemporal variations of tropospheric HCHO in Beijing during 2009-2020, and the response of O 3 to HCHO and NO 2 in hotspots. We also discuss the multiple factors influencing the variation of HCHO and identify potential source area. The results indicated that HCHO column concentration is higher in eastern Beijing, and peaking in 2018 (16.68 × 10 15  mol/cm 2 ). O 3 shows a good response to HCHO, with higher HCHO and NO 2 photolysis leading to O 3 increase in summer. In winter, decreasing HCHO and increasing NO 2 inhibits the formation of O 3 . Transportation emissions contributed the most to HCHO, followed by the industrial sector, while residential sources have long-term effects. Isoprene produced by plants is one of the main sources of HCHO, whereas meteorological conditions can affect production efficiency. Biomass burning contributes less. Moreover, HCHO in Beijing is affected by the combined effects of local emission and external transport, and Hebei is the potential source area. This study reveals HCHO has a great accumulation potential in cities and highlights the dominant role of anthropogenic emissions, but also need to consider the influence of natural factors and regional transport., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: In recent years, conventional thoracoscopic surgery has been accepted as the traditional treatment method in the non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). VATS and RATS, which are the techniques of this surgical method, have been increasing their effectiveness and applicability of late years. The aim of this bibliometric analysis is to evaluate the importance and efficiency of articles comparing VATS and RATS techniques., Materials and Methods: Studies comparing VATS and RATS published between 1997 and 2021 were identified in the Web of Science database (accessed on 31. 12. 2021). The 40 most cited studies were analyzed in terms of publication years, country of study, authors, institutions that the authors were affiliated with, journal, journal address and impact factor., Results: While an article was cited a maximum of 187 times when the citations made by the authors were excluded from the analysis, it was observed that all publications were cited a total of 1946 times. It was seen that an average of 51. 30 ± 47. 73 (8-187) articles were cited. In the 25-year, the highest number of publications was reached in 2019, while eight articles were published this year. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery (n = 13, 32. 5 %) was the journal in which the articles in the list were published the most. Most of the articles in our study (n = 31, 77.5 %) were published in US journals. While many studies presented more than one topic and analysis, the topic of most interest in 19 (47.5 %) studies was postoperative complications., Conclusion: This bibliometric analysis reflects important and qualified articles comparing VATS and RATS technique in thoracic surgery, but it can also be used to explain or explain the performance and results of these techniques, their positive and negative aspects, and their superiority over each other., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Introduction: Onychomycosis represents half of nail disorders seen in clinical practice. Despite its high prevalence, a bibliometric analysis has not been performed. We aimed to identify the top 100 highly cited onychomycosis publications over the last 50 years to better understand research trends., Methods: SCOPUS was searched for onychomycosis publications, using "onychomycosis" and "nail fungus" 1/1/1972-12/31/22 on 3/25/23. Top 100 highly cited publications were recorded and ranked by total citation count., Results: Total citation count was 13,456, with the top 10 articles with highest citation count/year having average 28.7 citations/year. Most articles were published in high IF journals. From 1982 to 2011 (no treatment articles - 1972-1981), there was an 8.6% increase in articles discussing treatment. Overall, 42% of first authors were female., Conclusion: We found an overall increase in articles discussing onychomycosis therapies over time, with the majority published in high IF journals. We also found a relatively greater percentage of female first authors compared to studies on other dermatologic topics. While total citation count remains a widely used metric of impact in bibliometric studies, average citation count/year may be a better measure of impact and should be considered in future studies., Competing Interests: Ms. Albucker has no relevant conflicts of interest to disclose. Dr. Lipner has served as a consultant for Ortho Dermatologics, Hoth Therapeutics, BelleTorus Corporation, and Moberg Pharmaceuticals., (© 2023 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Agricultural production, urbanization, and other anthropogenic activities, the major causes of surface water pollution in China, have dramatically altered hydrological processes and nutrient cycles. Identifying and quantifying the key factors affecting water quality are essential for the better prevention and management of water pollution. However, due to the limitations of traditional statistical analysis methods, it is difficult to evaluate the spatial changes and interactions of influencing factors on water quality. In addition, research on a national scale is difficult, as it involves large-scale and long-term water quality monitoring work. In this study, we collected and collated the monthly average concentrations of four water quality parameters, dissolved oxygen, ammonia nitrogen, chemical oxygen demand, and total phosphorous, based on data from 1547 water quality monitoring stations in China. The combined pollution level of the water quality was assessed using the water quality index. Based on the water quality characteristics, water quality monitoring sites in the dry and wet seasons were grouped using k-means clustering. Eleven environmental factors were evaluated using geodetector software, including six human factors and five natural factors. The results showed that there are high-risk areas for water quality pollution in the eastern and southeastern coastal regions of China in both the dry and wet seasons and that surface water pollution in China is highly spatial heterogenous in both the dry and wet seasons. Among the anthropogenic factors, urban land area is the main factor of water quality pollution in the dry season, and the explanation rate of spatial heterogeneity of integrated water quality pollution index is 20.3%. The number of poultry farms and the area of farmland explained 12.4% and 12.1% of the integrated water quality pollution index in the wet season. The nonlinear relationship between these three anthropogenic and natural factors and their interaction exacerbated water quality pollution. Based on this analysis, we identified the key factors affecting surface water quality in China during the dry and wet seasons, evaluated the achievements of the water environmental protection policies in China in recent years, and proposed future management measures for the effective prevention and control of water quality pollution in high-risk areas., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Objective: The role of self-citation has not been discussed in the neurosurgery literature, although citations, citation indices, and impact of research may enhance funding opportunities, academic positions, fellowship opportunities, employment, and professional identity development. We sought to assess the magnitude and role of self-citation in academic neurosurgery., Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of the citation and self-citation rates of articles published in 2001-2020 in 7 major neurosurgery journals: Acta Neurochirurgica, Journal of Neurosurgery, Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics, Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine, Neurosurgery, Neurosurgical Review, and World Neurosurgery., Results: The total number of citations was highest for Journal of Neurosurgery and lowest for Neurosurgical Review. Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine had the highest average number of citations per article, followed closely by Journal of Neurosurgery. The self-citation rate increased for all journals over the time period 2001-2020. The highest number of self-citations per article during 2016-2020 was seen in Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics and World Neurosurgery. Neurosurgical Review had the lowest number of self-citations per article., Conclusions: Academic neurosurgeons must understand the ecosystem around self-citation. In our study, we found overall low levels of self-citations in neurosurgery journals with a few outliers. We have, however, noticed an increasing trend in self-citation rates. Self-citation rates should be considered while evaluating the impact of an author and research productivity. Contrary to popular belief, self-citation is not always unethical and must be understood within its circumstances., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Digital transformation of healthcare systems should rely on decentralized computer networks and take advantage of the unique characteristics of blockchain technology. Decentralization ensures process transparency and data transparency for all relevant stakeholders. These values are essential in the realms of populations' healthcare information communications and processing, control and tracking of medical logistics supply chains, clinical research management, and control of certified healthcare services organizations. Mounting decentralized processes onto a blockchain-based computerized network will endow the values of immutability, improved cybersecurity, and potential for incentivizing stakeholders for relevant, pre-determined activities. One of the most relevant processes that would benefit from a decentralized, blockchain-based architecture is the submission, review, and publishing of scientific manuscripts. Current structures and processes in this world are non-transparent, poorly incentivizing significant stakeholders such as manuscripts' reviewers, and many are potentially corrupted. In this review, we suggest a blockchain-based architecture for such systems and advocate further research and development in several domains of modern healthcare systems-offering medicine to become "the new guy on the block (chain).", Competing Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2023.)

Purpose: To examine a series of papers from top ranked orthopaedic journals with respect to the number of citations over a 10-year observation period to identify factors that lead to high citation rates., Methods: The Web of Science database was consulted to identify all published papers from the first-year term of 2010 (January-May) from four top orthopaedic journals: AJSM, Arthroscopy, JBJS Am and KSSTA. The database was used to analyze and compare the papers with respect to their characteristics and citations up to 2019. Basic information for each paper was collected including the author, country, study type and average citations per year (ACY). The most (Top20%) and least (Bottom20%) frequently cited papers were identified and differences were extracted., Results: Five hundred sixteen papers were included with a total of 19,261 citations. Most of the published papers were from the United States (n = 245). On average, a paper received 37.3 citations over the 10-year observation period. The most cited paper was cited 322 times. The most cited study type was randomized controlled trial (RCT) (Ø80.8). The Top20% papers were cited 37 times more often than the Bottom20%. Among the Top20%, the largest group was cohort study (n = 20) followed by case series (n = 19). Among others, the number of authors, the number of keywords and the number of references significantly correlated with the number of citations (p < 0.001)., Conclusions: Factors influencing citation frequency were identified., (© 2023. European Society of Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery, Arthroscopy (ESSKA).)

Background: The use of social media assists in the distribution of information about COVID-19 to the general public and health professionals. Alternative-level metrics (ie, Altmetrics) is an alternative method to traditional bibliometrics that assess the extent of dissemination of a scientific article on social media platforms., Objective: Our study objective was to characterize and compare traditional bibliometrics (citation count) with newer metrics (Altmetric Attention Score [AAS]) of the top 100 Altmetric-scored articles on COVID-19., Methods: The top 100 articles with the highest AAS were identified using the Altmetric explorer in May 2020. AAS, journal name, and mentions from various social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Wikipedia, Reddit, Mendeley, and Dimension) were collected for each article. Citation counts were collected from the Scopus database., Results: The median AAS and citation count were 4922.50 and 24.00, respectively. TheNew England Journal of Medicine published the most articles (18/100, 18%). Twitter was the most frequently used social media platform with 985,429 of 1,022,975 (96.3%) mentions. Positive correlations were observed between AAS and citation count (r 2 =0.0973; P=.002)., Conclusions: Our research characterized the top 100 COVID-19-related articles by AAS in the Altmetric database. Altmetrics could complement traditional citation count when assessing the dissemination of an article regarding COVID-19., International Registered Report Identifier (irrid): RR2-10.2196/21408., (©Haley Tornberg, Carine Moezinia, Chapman Wei, Simone A Bernstein, Chaplin Wei, Refka Al-Beyati, Theodore Quan, David J Diemert. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 12.07.2023.)