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Operation management, which has always been a hot topic in management research for seeking to increase the efficiency of the system using scientific methods. We use the Web of Science database to select the pertinent literature data from 2012 to 2022 with a focus on 10 significant international journals to perform the scoped literature on operation management in this paper. It then conducts a bibliometric analysis of operation management from two perspectives—main direction and development trend—using CiteSpace and VOSviewer. The analysis discovered that between 2012 and 2022, 22952 papers on operation management were published in significant international journals. Of these, 4398 were written by Chinese academics, making up 19.16% of the total. International Journal of Production Research, European Journal of Operational Research, and International Journal of Production Economics were the main venues for Chinese academics' publications. The National Natural Science Foundation of China supported 3446 papers in these journals, or 15.01% of all papers published. A variety of research hotspots are revealed by keyword analysis. The research's findings provide an excellent framework for describing the traits and developments in operation management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from wetlands have exacerbated global warming, attracting worldwide attention. However, the research process and development trends in this field remain unknown. Herein, 1865 papers related to wetlands GHG emissions published from January 2000 to December 2023 were selected, and CiteSpace and VOSviewer were used for bibliometric analysis to visually analyze the publications distribution, research authors, organizations and countries, core journal and keywords, and discussed the research progress, trends and hotspots in the fields. Over the past 24 years, the research has gone through three phases: the "embryonic" stage (2000–2006), the accumulation stage (2007–2014), and the acceleration stage (2015–2023). China has played a pivotal role in this domain, publishing the most papers and working closely with the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and Australia. In addition, this study synthesized 311 field observations from 123 publications to analyze the variability in GHG emissions and their driving factors in four different types of natural wetlands. The results suggested that the average carbon dioxide (CO 2), methane (CH 4), and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) fluxes in different wetlands were significantly different. River wetlands exhibited the highest GHG fluxes, while marsh wetlands demonstrated greater global warming potential (GWP). The average CO 2 , CH 4 and N 2 O fluxes were 60.41 mg m−2·h−1, 2.52 mg m−2·h−1 and 0.05 mg m−2·h−1, respectively. The GWP of Chinese natural wetlands was estimated as 648.72 Tg·CO 2 -eq·yr−1, and CH 4 contributed the largest warming effect, accounting for 57.43%. Correlation analysis showed that geographical location, climate factors, and soil conditions collectively regulated GHG emissions from wetlands. The findings provide a new perspective on sustainable wetland management and reducing GHG emissions. [Display omitted] • A 24-year bibliometric analysis of GHG emissions from wetlands was conducted. • The historical evolution and future trends in the field were summarized. • River wetlands exhibited the highest GHG fluxes. • GWP of China's wetlands was estimated to be 648.72 Tg·CO 2 -eq·yr−1. • CH 4 emissions contribute 57.43% to the GWP value in China's wetlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Freshwater resources are scarce globally, and the increase in carbon dioxide (CO 2) concentration leads to both a decrease in soil moisture and arid climate, further limiting agricultural production. Therefore, it is critical to achieve water efficiency in agriculture under elevated CO 2 concentration. A comprehensive analysis was conducted on the research topic of efficient agricultural water under elevated CO 2 concentration using bibliometric methods. The results show that the number of papers on this research has changed from an accumulation phase (1992–2005, 395) to a growth phase (2006–2023, 963). "Carbon dioxide", "water-stress", "growth", "photosynthesis", "yield", and other keywords have been the focus of past research in this area. Kimball BA and Ainsworth EA are the most influential authors in this area. Leakey's (2009) paper in "Experimental Botany" was the most contributing study, summarizing six lessons about the effects of CO 2 enrichment on the relationship among carbon, nitrogen, and water in plants. The United States and China were the most influential countries. Over time, research has shifted from an early focus on atmospheric CO 2 change itself to the response of crops to elevated CO 2 in agricultural production. The efficient crop production strategy under the interaction of environmental factors is becoming a hot spot for future research, and the emission and use of greenhouse gases, the improvement of crop quality, and the efficient guidance of models are also worth exploring. Overall, this study presents a quantitative analysis and comprehensive review of past research conducted on the effect of water and fertilizer on agricultural production under CO 2 enrichment. It also offers suggestions and expectations for future research on the hot spot direction of efficient crop production under climate change. • The continuous research attention is closely related to climate change caused by CO 2 enrichment. • The main research fields included CO 2 enrichment, water stress, crop growth and photosynthesis. • The co-citation analysis reveals broad research clusters in the literature. • The new research focus will be interactive climatic factors, greenhouse gas recycling, and modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Study analyzes 1374 papers on sensitivity analysis in Scopus. • RStudio, CiteSpace, and VOSviewer are used. • China has most articles published; India leads in international cooperation. • Top three cited journals: J. Clean. Prod., Expert Syst. Appl., and Comput. Ind. Eng. • Most cited authors are Pamučar D, Kahraman C, and Zavadskas EK. In the present era, the implementation of scientifically grounded Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) has emerged as a pivotal solution to diverse decision-making challenges across various domains. Although a substantial body of exploratory, conceptual, and experimental studies exists, only 9.457% studies have incorporated sensitivity analyses to assess the robustness of MCDM methods. An exhaustive scientific exploration of sensitivity analysis within the scope of MCDM is thus lacking. This research aims to address this gap through Bibliometric Analysis while examining 1374 articles published between January 2000 and March 2023 from the Scopus database. Using RStudio (Biblioshiny), CiteSpace, and VOSviewer software, the study constructs a visual representation of the most prolific countries, institutions, and authors. Impressively, China takes the lead in article publications, while India excels in international collaboration. "An extended TODIM multi-criteria group decision-making method for green supplier selection in an interval type-2 fuzzy environment," featured in the Journal of Environmental Management, emerges as the most cited paper with a total citation of 455. The study also identifies the top three most cited journals, namely "Journal of Cleaner Production," "Expert Systems With Applications," and "Computers and Industrial Engineering." "North China Electric Power University" is the leading institute with the highest research outputs. "Pamučar D" is the most cited author, with 2594 citations and 39 articles, followed by "Kahraman C" and "Zavadskas EK. This study sheds light on trends in scientific developments and collaborations, providing a model for the application of sensitivity analysis in MCDM research and highlighting global trends. An understanding of the current state of sensitivity analysis research can assist researchers working in the entire domain of MCDM. Additionally, the visualization provides prescriptive data for future work and applications related to sensitivity analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wood vinegar, a valuable byproduct of biomass pyrolysis, has gained increasing attention due to its potential applications in agriculture, forestry, environmental sectors and other fields. This study presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of research conducted in the field of wood vinegar during the period 2002–2022. The aim is to explore research productivity, collaboration patterns, and publication trends in this domain. A systematic search of the Scopus database yielded 460 scientific articles from journal sources. The collected data were analyzed using bibliometric techniques, including co-authorship analysis, citation analysis, and keyword co-occurrence analysis. The results reveal a steady growth in the number of publications on wood vinegar over the years, indicating a growing research interest in the field. The number of papers published each year increased from 7 in 2002–79 in 2022. The growth increase in 2022 versus 2019 was + 170%. Analysis of authorship patterns highlighted key contributors and collaborative networks within the research community. The most productive country was China with 191 papers. Citation analysis provided insights into influential studies and the impact of research in the field. Through keyword co-occurrence analysis, the study identified prominent research themes and emerging topics within wood vinegar research. This bibliometric analysis offers a comprehensive overview of the research landscape in the field of wood vinegar, facilitating a better understanding of its progress, impact, and potential avenues for future research. [Display omitted] • A bibliometric study was conducted on 460 papers covering the year range 2002–2022. • Research performance and trends over the last four years were further analyzed in SciVal. • Wood vinegar showed a diverse range of applications and potential research trends. • China was the most productive country. • Wood vinegar is and will still being a research trend in the coming years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional patent statistics cannot accurately reflect the real development level of technology. In order to overcome this deficiency, this study adopts quantitative research methods to conduct empirical research on global artificial intelligence technology-related patent applications, and on this basis, provides suggestions for the government and enterprises on how to improve my country's innovation capabilities in the field of artificial intelligence. First, this paper analyzes patent application trends, technology application areas and innovation trends using the incoPat patent search database and information visualization tools. On this basis, the Herfindahl-Hirschman index is further used to measure and analyze the patent concentration of artificial intelligence technology patent applicants in various regions of my country. The analysis results show that my country has the largest number of patent applications in the area of artificial intelligence technology, but the proportion of high-value patents is relatively low, which needs to be further improved. Patents in the eastern region are relatively scattered, while patents in the western region are relatively concentrated. The government should introduce policies according to local conditions to avoid excessive concentration and dispersion of patents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Scientometric analysis of MPs in soil ecosystems was performed. • A total of 2210 articles on MPs from 2012 to 2022 were analyzed. • Knowledge bases, trends, and hotspots in MP research were identified. • China was the top country in terms of publications and funding. • The migration of MPs from terrestrial to aquatic systems should be considered in the future. Soil microplastic (MP) pollution is a growing global environmental issue leading to a series of ecosystem problems and functional losses. However, understanding the advances and trends in soil MP pollution research proved to be difficult based on individual studies. Herein, CiteSpace visualization analysis software was used to sort the literature obtained on soil MP research from the Web of Science (WoS) TM core collection database, and bibliometric analysis of publication volume, country/region, keywords and other information was conducted. Results showed that soil microplastics (MP) research had much lower publication volume than hydrological system MP research, and was still in its developing stage. However, the number of research hotspots in soil MP research increased continuously since 2018. Countries such as China, the United States, the Netherlands and Australia have published more papers in this field than other countries, and collaboration among research institutions is strong. The source, pollution status, analysis methods and toxic effects of MPs in soils are current research hotspots. In the future, the focus of MP research in terrestrial ecosystems should shift from ecotoxicology to the impact of MPs on ecosystems and earth system feedback. The bibliometric analysis results of this study can serve as a reference for in-depth studies of the pollution status of MPs in soils. For MP soil pollution research, cross-background, cross-institution, cross-country cooperation and cross-disciplinary roles should be encouraged to accelerate the growth and diversification of the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on artificial intelligence for brain injury is currently a prominent area of scientific research. A significant amount of related literature has been accumulated in this field. This study aims to identify hotspots and clarify research resources by conducting literature metrology visualization analysis, providing valuable ideas and references for related fields. The research object of this paper consists of 3000 articles cited in the core database of Web of Science from 1998 to 2023. These articles are visualized and analyzed using VOSviewer and CiteSpace. The bibliometric analysis reveals a continuous increase in the number of articles published on this topic, particularly since 2016, indicating significant growth. The United States stands out as the leading country in artificial intelligence for brain injury, followed by China, which tends to catch up. The core research institutions are primarily universities in developed countries, but there is a lack of cooperation and communication between research groups. With the development of computer technology, the research in this field has shown strong wave characteristics, experiencing the early stage of applied research based on expert systems, the middle stage of prediction research based on machine learning, and the current phase of diversified research focused on deep learning. Artificial intelligence has innovative development prospects in brain injury, providing a new orientation for the treatment and auxiliary diagnosis in this field. • Bibliometric analysis of research on artificial intelligence(AI) in brain injury. • Describe the spatial and temporal distribution of research resources of brain injury. • Result shows the research topic of AI in brain injury is divided into three stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Constructing an eco-civilization is crucial in achieving green, low-carbon development, and thus bridging the gap between theory and practice is imperative to better promote urban ecological transformation. At present, there are inconsistencies and imbalances between theoretical research and practical efforts to achieve an eco-civilization. This paper uses bibliometric analysis and Latent Dirichlet Allocation to analyze China's progress towards an eco-civilization at the theoretical and practical levels. The 'theory' is analyzed using 632 articles, while the 'practice' is analyzed using 100 eco-civilization pilot zone reports. The two are compared, with results showing: from 2015 onwards, the theory is moving in an interdisciplinary direction, with seven themes focusing on macro topics. eco-civilization construction projects have multiple overlapping themes, and the growing connection between energy consumption, economic growth and environmental impacts driven by significant projects is the key to improving the level of regional ecological development. the theory and practice are similar in that both are concerned with environmental protection, ecological education, and ecotourism. However, eco-civilization construction projects lack forward-looking and dynamic development tracking of low-carbon research. the paper proposes that dynamic evaluation and project tracking methods should be applied to monitor critical indicators to achieve a solid link between the theory and practice during eco-construction projects. This paper also proposes academia should do more research on townships and other micro level phenomena to promote climate change and energy revolution in the construction of a Chinese eco-civilization. • Analysis of the similarities and differences between theoretical research and practical measures of eco-civilization. • Academic research focuses on sustainability, while practical activities lack attention to climate change. • Optimizing the energy-economy-environment integration project is the key to improving China's ecology. • Environmental protection, eco-civilization education, and eco-tourism are common concerns in the theory and practice. • Suggestions include focusing on crucial indicators and micro-level activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A scientometric approach is utilized to investigate the dynamic maps of relationships among researchers, institutes, and countries in the field of Artificial Intelligence for Fluid-flow and Heat-transfer (AIFH). The Web of Science database was searched for related publications during the last 40 years (1982 and 2022). A total of 6151 articles were discovered, which were analyzed in detail. Using a bibliometric analysis, the most relevant and most cited sources of publications were identified. The most active researchers, institutions, and countries leading AIFH were reported. Then, the worldwide dynamic collaboration maps and coupling maps of relationships were reported. The Islamic Azad University (1893 T.C.), the Chinese Academy of Sciences (1374 T.C.), and Beihang University (1266 T.C.) were the most influential institutes in AIFH. The most influential countries were China, the USA, and Iran. The dynamic map of collaborations shows a good worldwide collaboration distribution. The USA and China established the most connection with the rest of the world. ANNs are the most studied topic (19.5% of publications), followed by Machine Learning (17.9%) and Neural Networks (15.4%). Support Vector Machines lag behind at 1.4%. ANNs boast the highest total citations (17,064) and H-index (63). Most ANIF papers were published by Medical Physics (119 T.P.). Half of the articles in AIFH were published by five journals of Medical Physics, Neurocomputing, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics, and IEEE Access. The International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer received the most citations in AIFH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

D number theory is a relatively new uncertainty reasoning approach and its application has been gaining momentum due to its distinctive features and potential advantages. This theory aims to generalize Dempster-Shafer theory with two properties such that the elements in discernment frame do not require being mutually exclusive and the completeness constraint is also relaxed. Due to these properties, D number theory has found a wide application range, particularly in handling the vagueness nature of linguistic assessment. We aim to provide a systematic review of the application of D numbers since the inception in 2012 in the field of operations research and management science. By searching the term "D numbers" in the title, abstract and keywords of publications, the raw data has been collected on 30th December 2022 from Scopus and Web of Science. To ensure the quality of research, we only focus on the journal articles written in English from peer-reviewed journals with impact factor ≥1.5 located in the first or second SJR quartile. This filtering yields a final set of 72 articles from 40 international journals. The findings of this review indicate that the number of articles on D numbers has been increasing and have attracted cross-disciplinary attention. But it can be realized that there are very challenging tasks such as combination rule, integration function, belief and plausibility functions, distance function and uncertainty/reliability measure which have been far less studied and the lack of attention given to them can dramatically hinder the development of D number theory. The most popular research direction has been "decision making under uncertainty". "Expert Systems with Applications" is the most prominent journal with most publications and the largest number of influential articles and " China" with the highest number of publications is the traditional leader in this field. Although 20 countries contribute to this study, D numbers research has not attracted widespread attention around the globe and the lack of literature from many countries with high academic influence is clear. Considering the fact that the research on D number theory is still evolving, this work has important guiding significance for the later research. The findings are expected to provide researchers with a comprehensive understanding of research trends of D numbers and promote further and deeper studies in this context. [Display omitted] • This paper provides a systematic review of D numbers and its applications. • Bibliometric analysis is conducted to provide insights into the research theme. • Research gaps and future research direction are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the massive use of antibiotics, antibiotics resistance genes (ARGs) are widely present in organic solid wastes (OSWs) such as livestock manure and sludge. As a common recycling technology, composting is often used to eliminate ARGs from OSWs. However, there is no bibliometric perspective on the fate of ARGs during OSWs composting to reveal the current state and future directions in this field. In this study, CiteSpace and VOSviewer were applied to count the available data from 2000 to 2021 in Web of Science to review the development and characteristics of relevant research. The results showed that the number of relevant papers and citations has increased consistently, with institutions and authors from China being the main contributors. The research belongs to the multidisciplinary with a focus on the environmental sciences ecology, and the results were mainly published in Bioresource Technology. Moreover, crucial literatures were screened to explore the framework within which the subject was constructed. Based on keyword analysis, the bacterial community was highlighted, and the research hotspots were revealed on the occurrence, affect factors including physicochemical properties, microbial community, MGEs, antibiotic, and heavy metal, and reduction strategies including exogenous additive, microbial inoculant, and improved process, as well as the spread of ARGs in soil. This study provides the first review and summary of the hotspots, current challenges, and future directions of the fate of ARGs during OSWs composting based on bibliometric analysis, which could provide significant insights for effective control of the spread of ARGs from OSWs. • First bibliometric analysis of the fate of ARGs during composting. • Relevant research burst in recent years, with China being the main contributor. • Bacterial community is the keywords most closely related to ARGs in composts. • Review the hotspots of research on the fate of ARGs during composting. • Propose the current challenges and future directions in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The past 30-year history of China Sport Science (CSS for short) is also the rise and development history of the subject of physical education in China. Based on the bibliography source from CSSCI (2001 - 2010), this paper does some research about the journal in terms of their authors and topics, as a review and forecast for this journal.SPSS17.0 and ROST CM are used. The result shows that: there is a decline trend about the quantity of published articles on the journal after 2005.The rate of CSS papers sponsored by fund is far more than that of similar journals; It has a stable high-level authors. What''s more, an article published on the journal often has more than one author, they may come from the same agencies or different agencies, and the number is more or less. “sports training”, “animal experiments”, “sports medicine”, “sports economy” and “physical education” are the most hot topics of the journal. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Energy is important for China and for the whole world. Previously, the huge investment in energy-related research and commercialisation made it possible for China to cooperate with its international partners in various channels, and programs involving international cooperation and co-published papers increased annually. In this paper, through the review of intergovernmental cooperation programs and bibliometric analysis of the top energy journals, it was found that: (1) intergovernmental cooperation and non-governmental cooperation are two effective channels for energy R&D. (2) In these two channels, most participants of international cooperation are universities and institutes, and the most important partner countries are the US, Japan, and European Countries. (3) Industries began to be involved in international cooperation gradually. (4) For different areas, the degree of cooperation is not the same. Some areas have been more fruitful in cooperation, some are just beginning hydrogen energy, fuel energy and applied energy are the main co-publication areas with Chinese involvement; while wind energy, solar energy, fuel cells and bio-energy are new areas for China and there has not been so much co-publication until now. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Ventilation rate and arrangement are crucial to prevent airborne disease in healthcare facilities. • Local ventilation is practical for supply fresh air and diluting contaminants in high-risk areas. • Microplastics emerged as potential virus carriers in indoor environments, warrant further investigations. The prevalence and transmission of airborne infections pose significant challenges to public health, leading to consequential negative impacts. Ventilation strategies are crucial in mitigating airborne infections in healthcare settings, preventing the spread of infectious diseases, thus protecting patients and healthcare workers. While individual studies have explored various aspects of ventilation in healthcare settings, a synthesized overview of the current state of knowledge is lacking. Therefore, this study attempts to bridge the gap by conducting a review and bibliometric analysis based on 198 papers published within the recent decades (1993–2022). The findings will provide a holistic understanding on the innovative interventions and identify areas for future research, thereby contributing to the development of effective guidelines for controlling airborne infections. The co-authorship analysis revealed that China emerged as the main contributor in the current research field due to the keen interest of researchers and the substantial financial support provided by funding agencies. The keyword co-occurrence analysis identified three primary research hotspots within the field, (i) the optimized ventilation strategies for combating airborne infection, (ii) the transition towards the application of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in analyzing airflow patterns, and, (iii) the characteristics of airborne particles and their impact on infection transmission. The present review highlights the significance of local ventilation as an additional measure to the main ventilation system for enhanced dilution of contaminants in high-risk areas. The transition towards dynamic airflow analysis considered human movement's effect, allowing for more precise assessments and tailored ventilation strategies optimization. The review also underscores the emerging concern of microplastic as an indoor contaminant with potential implications as a virus carrier, emphasizing further research on its behavior and impact on airborne infection transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological research on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP) has become a hotspot in recent years, and a great number of related research papers have been published. Here, a bibliometrics method was utilized to analyze 4315 papers from the Web of Science published from 1990 to 2019, and a comprehensive overview based on metrics, including the publication growth, first author' institutions and countries, research areas, international cooperation, high-impact journals and papers, and research hotspots and topics, is presented. The results revealed the following: (1) The number of published papers has grown exponentially, with China and India being the main research countries. However, China and the USA have the greatest weights in country cooperation. The Chinese Academy of Sciences has a relatively strong influence and plays the leading role in institutional cooperation. Wang Shiping, Zhang Zhenhua, Luo Caiyun, and seven other authors are highly influential. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY is the scientific journal that has published the greatest number of papers on the subject, and 'Environmental Sciences & Ecology' is the key research area; (2) Grazing, Precipitation, Soil moisture, Aboveground biomass, and Temperature are the top five core keywords. The research hotspots were mainly ecosystem services, biodiversity research, forest protection, and ecological adaptation under the background of climate change; and (3) Both new and old research topics appear in the periods 1990–1999, 2000–2009, 2010–2014, and 2015–2019, but all the periods focused on the impacts of rising temperature on natural elements, such as soil, forests, rivers, and lakes. Many recent also focused on the harmonious coexistence of human beings and nature. On the basis of these findings, some research suggestions and agendas are proposed for future research on the QTP. This is the first visualization and analysis of the hotspots and trends in ecological research on the QTP. • The method based on bibliometrics and text mining is effective in the discovery of natural science topics. • Research hotspots are focused on research around ecosystem services, biodiversity research, forest protection and ecological adaptation under the background of climate change. • More and more studies have paid attention to the harmonious coexistence of human beings and nature in recent years. • This is the first visualization and analysis of the hotspots and new trends in ecological research on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of household carbon emissions (HCEs) has become one of the most important topics in sustainability research due to the growing awareness of its significances in responding to global warming. This paper aims to identify the trends and characteristics of HCEs research for the period 1993–2019 through the bibliometric analysis approach. The impacts of most productive journals, countries, institutions and authors are evaluated by citation analysis, while the co-authorship network between various countries, institutions as well as the co-occurrence among different keywords are presented. The results of this paper provide a detailed picture on HCEs-related articles from 1993 to 2019. Both the number of publications on HCEs and the cooperation among countries and institutions have increased during the period. Keyword analysis suggests that the revelation of current status of HCEs and corresponding influencing factors are the main lines of HCEs research, and the prediction of HCEs should become the focus of future research. The valuable results obtained from this study can help the academic professionals keep informed of the latest developments in the HCEs-related field. • We employed bibliometric analysis to examine the evolution in HCEs Research. • HCEs research is at its rapid growth stage of development. • USA and China are the most active countries in HCEs research. • The quantification of HCEs and corresponding influencing factors are the main line. • The evolution trend of HCEs should be the focus of future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Reviewing the intellectual structure of discipline is an important issue in scientometrics. Traditionally, the intellectual structure is described based on the journal article, which is falling behind the research activity. This paper uses the funded project data to generate the intellectual structure of a discipline. The results can reflect the research activity timely. The geology discipline in China is selected as the empirical object. The 7619 funded projects during 2006 to 2017about geology from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) are collected. The empirical results indicate that the number and fund amount of projects has grown rapidly. Engineering geology is the largest sub-discipline. The China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), the Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the China University of Geosciences (Beijing) are the top 3 institutes. The numerical simulation, Tibet plateau, and South China are the top 3 frequent keywords. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the foreseeable future, industrial water demand will grow much faster than agriculture. The demand together with the urgency of wastewater treatment, will pose big challenges for most developing countries. We applied the bibliometric analysis combined with social network analysis and S-curve technique to quantitatively analyze 9413 publications related to industrial wastewater treatment in the Scientific Citation Index (SCI) and Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) databases from 1998 to 2019. The results showed that: (1) Publications on industrial wastewater treatment have increased from 120 in 1998 to 895 in 2019 with a steady annual increment rate, and researchers have focused more on the application and optimization of existing technologies. (2) China had the highest number of publications (n = 1651, 19.66% of global output) and was a core country in the international cooperation network, whereas the United States and European countries produced higher quality papers. (3) By analyzing the co-occurrence and clusters of keywords and comparing three wastewater treatment categories (physical, chemical, biological), adsorption (n = 1277), oxidation (n = 1085) and activated sludge process (n = 1288) were the top three techniques. Researchers have shifted their focus to treatment technologies for specific wastewater type, such as textile wastewater, pulp and paper wastewater, and pharmaceutical wastewater. The S-curve from articles indicates that physical and chemical treatment technologies are attached with great potential in the near future, especially adsorption and advanced oxidation, while the biological treatment technologies are approaching to the saturation stage. Different pattern is observed for the S-curve derived from patents, which stressed the limited achievement until now and further exploration in the field application for the three treatment categories. Our analysis provides information of technology development landscape and future opportunities, which is useful for decision makers and researchers who are interested in this area. Image 1 • The data resources include research papers and patents. • S-curve technique is applied to simulate future trends of technology development. • China became the largest research output country since 2010. • Adsorption, oxidation and activated sludge have received high attention. • Physical and chemical treatment technologies are potential in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is actively promoting low-carbon city development. Understanding the perception of a low-carbon city by the entire society is vital for effective policy implementation. However, the essence of a “Low Carbon City” is not consistently understood by the society. In this article, big data mining and a bibliometric approach were adopted to establish several indicators so that scholars (based on literature) and the public (based on social network) perceptions on low carbon cities can be uncovered. The major findings are as follows: The numbers of literature and social networking posts with “low carbon” & “city” as key words have increased during the period 2010–2016 and reached a peak in 2013. The literature mainly defines low-carbon cities from a macro-economic aspect. However, the public express their concerns with respect to the quality of life or how their behaviors could be affected. Cities with high PPI (Publication Popularity Indicator) or WPI (Weibo Popularity Indicator) values are mainly clustered in the three Chinese main economic regions (Jing-Jin-Ji region, Yangtze River delta region and Pearl River delta region). Cities with high CPII (Comprehensive Popularity Intensity Indicator) values are not always clustered in the three main economic regions but are located dispersedly. This implies that cities can make great progresses in low carbon development irrespective of their economic levels and spatial locations. Three cities (Shuangyashan, Chongzuo and Guyuan) had zero PPI , WPI and CPII values, reflecting that they have not been considered for low carbon development by the scientific community or the public. It is obvious that some cities have been ignored in the context of low carbon development or they have not taken any initiatives with respect to low carbon development. The CPII used in this paper could be a useful indicator for monitoring and evaluating the perception of low carbon development at the city level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental concern has been on the rise in recent years and a proposal for a circular economy (CE) as a tool for sustainable development has received attention from governments, practitioners, and academics. In this sense, the literature on the topic has grown from 12 scientific articles published in 2008 to 2355 in 2020, which represents an almost two hundredfold increase in around a decade. However, CE is a relatively new subject, and much research remains to be conducted; it is therefore important to gain an adequate understanding of the subject to address more specific, related issues. The purpose of this review is to identify the main trends in CE and their evolution. It presents an advanced bibliometric method consisting of a combination of co-word analysis and social network analysis developed to identify the main topics and trends in this field. The results show the evolution of research, frequency, and relevance of the terms studied, links between them, and their density and network visualisation. Bibliometric tools have further been applied to obtain the research outputs of the main journals, as well as the authors and research topics that have been addressed during this period. New directions for future research lines are also proposed. • Exponential rise in Circular Economy research: 12 papers in 2008 and 2300 in 2020 • Split of research in two main areas: conceptualisation and more technical issues • Electronic equipment waste and water issues, as most recurrent research topics • 'Recycle', the most quoted R and 'reuse', the R with the most room for improvement • Change in leading role on Circular Economy research from China to European Union [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aggregation operators consist of mathematical functions that enable the combining and processing of different types of information. The aim of this work is to present the main contributions in this field by a bibliometric review approach. The paper employs an extensive range of bibliometric indicators using the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection and Scopus datasets. The work considers leading journals, articles, authors, institutions countries and patterns. This paper highlights that Xu is the most productive author and Yager is the most influential author in the field. Likewise, China is leading the field with many new researchers who have entered the field in recent years. This discipline has been strengthening to create a unique theory and will continue to expand with many new theoretical developments and applications. • Overview of the aggregation operators. • Bibliometric analysis. • VOS viewer visualization. • Web of Science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, emerging contaminants have been found in the wastewater, surface water, and even drinking water, which should be treated to ensure the safety of our living environment. In this study, we provide a comprehensive summary of wastewater treatment and emerging contaminants research from 1998 to 2021 by using the bibliometric analysis. This study is conducted based on the Web of Science Core Collection Database. The bibliometix R-package, VOSviewer and CiteSpace software are used for bibliometric analysis and science mapping. A dataset of 10, 605 publications has been retrieved. The analysis results show that China has produced the most publications. China and the United States have the closest cooperation. Analysis of the most cited papers reveals that the purification or removal techniques such as ozonation or membrane filtration can effectively remove pharmaceutical compounds from the water environment. We also found that the efficient detection of emerging contaminants and the optimization of removal methods are current challenges. Finally, future research directions are discussed. Co-occurrence network of keywords. [Display omitted] • 10,605 publications of wastewater treatment and emerging contaminants were analyzed. • China and the United States have the closest cooperation. • China, United States, and Spain have the most documents. • The publication published by Heberer (2002) receives the most citations. • Removal is a popular keyword in this research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the efficiency of natural gas utilization and stimulate the innovation and vitality of the natural gas market, China is vigorously promoting marketization reform of the natural gas industry. A marketization index is an important tool to evaluate such reform. Using bibliometric analysis, this study establishes a marketization index of China's natural gas industry based on five factors: the relationship between the government and the market, the development of a non-state-owned economy, the degree of upstream market development, the degree of downstream market development, and the development of market intermediary organizations and the legal system. Based on the created index, this study further quantifies the current state of reform and the results show that China's natural gas industry steadily marketized between 2005 and 2018, including two rapid improvements from 2009 to 2011 and again from 2014 to 2016. Consequently, this paper offers some suggestions for market-oriented reform of China's natural gas industry, so as to promote further development of its natural gas market. This study contributes to the literature not only by establishing a new method of constructing a marketization index, but also by addressing a gap in the quantitative research on natural gas marketization, thus providing a standard reference for the future natural gas marketization reform process. [Display omitted] • A marketization index for evaluating China's natural gas industry is established. • A bibliometric method is applied to the construction of marketization index. • The index contains 5 first-level, 14 s-level and 23 third-level indicators. • Marketization level of natural gas industry has risen steadily from 2005 to 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Chinese environmental flows research was characterized based on bibliometric analysis for the period 1967–2019. • This body of research was compared to e-flows research trends within and outside of China. • Prominent Chinese authors and important ideas in e-flows research were identified. • This body of work helps identify prevailing trends in Chinese e-flows research. Advances in water resources research in China has blossomed in recent decades. Although historically many Chinese scientific publications had been limited to regional, language-specific outlets, the more recent emergence of Chinese scholarship in water resources sustainability and engineering suggests that broader recognition within the scientific community is needed. In this study, we explore the recent evolution of Chinese environmental flows research through the bibliometric analysis of two prominent databases. This paper highlights trends in environmental flow publication rates, emerging areas of research, and citation networks for prominent authors in the Chinese context as compared to the global network of environmental flows research. Results indicate that China's environmental flows research developed rapidly over the past two decades (2005–2019) and that Chinese authors are among the most productive in the field (60% of the top 20 authors). However, based on the number of citations, few Chinese articles are among the most highly cited (5 out of 800). The field of environmental flows research has identified the need to minimize parochial boundaries, and this analysis suggests a rich, yet untapped, literature to promote scientific integration. Differences in journal selection, keyword choice, and lesser-known authors to readers outside of China were identified as potential limitations to broader global integration. This approach to systematic bibliometric analysis can be used to identify prominent authors and important studies such that new ideas in environmental flows research can flow across continental boundaries, from East to West, to accelerate global understanding of prevailing trends and best practices in river management [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The HKH is the water tower of Asia providing ES to half of the humanity. • First review showed increasing trend with 62% papers published in last 5 years. • There has been strong collaboration with 57 countries for research in the HKH. • Research is skewed to eastern part mainly focusing on biophysical aspects. • Holistic analysis needed considering both services and disservices at scales. The study presents the first comprehensive overview of ecosystem services (ES) research from the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), a region often referred to as the 'water tower of Asia'. Through a systematic literature search, we consolidated 439 peer-reviewed journal articles related to ecosystem services in the HKH. A bibliometric analysis was carried out to examine the temporal trend, geographical distribution, journal coverage, keywords used, authorship patterns, and collaboration networks in ES research on the region. The results showed an increasing trend in the publication of ecosystem services research on the HKH, with nearly 62 per cent of the journal articles being published in just the last five years. Most of the research has been carried out in China, followed by Nepal and India. Among the 166 scholarly journals publishing ecosystem services research on the HKH, Ecosystem Services and Sustainability are the most-used, followed by Science of the Total Environment. The keywords analysis identified a total of 1,460 keywords used in the articles on ES. Among them, 'ecosystem services' is the most commonly used, followed by 'China', 'Nepal', conservation', and 'biodiversity.' The authorship analysis revealed that of the total of 1,386 authors, 1,000 co-authored ES publications. The top publishing authors are from the region; however, they are either affiliated with an international organization or based in developed countries. Research institutions from 56 countries have networked to conduct collaborative ES research in the HKH, so far. Although China has the highest number of publications, Nepal was identified as a principal collaborator with the widest country network. The existing research focuses on biophysical elements of ecosystem services, with very few published studies covering its social and political aspects and the management of ecosystem services. As the HKH is a contiguous ecosystem shared by eight countries, there is a need for regional analyses of ecosystem services. Our study concludes that ecosystem services being a multidisciplinary concept, research into it requires regional collaboration between multiple actors from varied disciplines, with a greater emphasis on social and political science, together with the biophysical sciences, for a more holistic understanding. Furthermore, it is important that ES research include the local context and issues to avoid the dominance of international perspectives and the marginalization of local concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]