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Evaluative processes struggle with the notion of diversity of a scientific workforce. Despite overwhelming evidence on the need for diverse teams in terms of division of labor, ethnic mix or gender among others, bibliometric methods have traditionally been focused on the development of impact and productivity indicators. In this paper we attempt at reviewing recent advances in the development of novel informetric approaches and methods to study diversity in science. Specifically, we focus on those related to the scientific workforce. We first review the changes with regard to data sources which have made possible such approaches. Then we revise the different proposals made by organizing these approaches into three groups: 1) informetric methods related to individuals’ characteristics (e..g, gender, age, mobility); 2) methods related to individuals’ context (e.g., career trajectory, social engagement); and 3) approaches related to team dynamics (e.g., author position, contribution statements). We then conclude by identifying the main gaps in the literature and pointing towards potential areas to explore.

This paper focuses on systematic errors and propose how these can be measured and reported when informing and offering bibliometric data for policy purposes. We analysed differences in the calculation of impact indicators, when different 23 different classification schemes derived from Clarivate’s InCites suite are used, specifically on five indicators: the Category Normalized Citation Indicator, the total number of citations, the H-index, the 1% of most cited articles, and the 10% of most cited articles. Findings show that citation counts are quite stable, with a difference of 13%. However, proportional indicators, such as top 1% and top 10% most cited articles, tend to vary more between universities, although on average they are lower than in the previous case. The results of this study can be used in estimating the error level in the research assessment of countries, institutions, and individuals.

Marine diazotrophs convert dinitrogen (N2) gas into bioavailable nitrogen (N), supporting life in the global ocean. In 2012, the first version of the global oceanic diazotroph database (version 1) was published. Here, we present an updated version of the database (version 2), significantly increasing the number of in situ diazotrophic measurements from 13 565 to 55 286. Data points for N2 fixation rates, diazotrophic cell abundance, and nifH gene copy abundance have increased by 184 %, 86 %, and 809 %, respectively. Version 2 includes two new data sheets for the nifH gene copy abundance of non-cyanobacterial diazotrophs and cell-specific N2 fixation rates. The measurements of N2 fixation rates approximately follow a log-normal distribution in both version 1 and version 2. However, version 2 considerably extends both the left and right tails of the distribution. Consequently, when estimating global oceanic N2 fixation rates using the geometric means of different ocean basins, version 1 and version 2 yield similar rates (43–57 versus 45–63 Tg N yr−1; ranges based on one geometric standard error). In contrast, when using arithmetic means, version 2 suggests a significantly higher rate of 223 ± 30 Tg N yr−1 (mean ± standard error; same hereafter) compared to version 1 (74 ± 7 Tg N yr−1). Specifically, substantial rate increases are estimated for the South Pacific Ocean (88 ± 23 versus 20 ± 2 Tg N yr−1), primarily driven by measurements in the southwestern subtropics, and for the North Atlantic Ocean (40 ± 9 versus 10 ± 2 Tg N yr−1). Moreover, version 2 estimates the N2 fixation rate in the Indian Ocean to be 35 ± 14 Tg N yr−1, which could not be estimated using version 1 due to limited data availability. Furthermore, a comparison of N2 fixation rates obtained through different measurement methods at the same months, locations, and depths reveals that the conventional 15N2 bubble method yields lower rates in 69 % cases compared to the new 15N2 dissolution method. This up

In recent years, we have studied by immunohistochemistry, intracellular recording, and western blotting the role of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs; M1, M2, and M4 subtypes) in the mammalian neuromuscular junction (NMJ) during development and in the adult. Here, we evaluate our published data to emphasize the mAChRs’ relevance in developmental synaptic elimination and their crosstalk with other metabotropic receptors, downstream kinases, and voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs). The presence of mAChRs in the presynaptic membrane of motor nerve terminals allows an autocrine mechanism in which the secreted acetylcholine influences the cell itself in feedback. mAChR subtypes are coupled to different downstream pathways, so their feedback can move in a broad range between positive and negative. Moreover, mAChRs allow direct activity-dependent interaction through ACh release between the multiple competing axons during development. Additional regulation from pre- and postsynaptic sites (including neurotrophic retrograde control), the agonistic and antagonistic contributions of adenosine receptors (AR; A1 and A2A), and the tropomyosin-related kinase B receptor (TrkB) cooperate with mAChRs in the axonal competitive interactions which lead to supernumerary synapse elimination that achieves the optimized monoinnervation of musculoskeletal cells. The metabotropic receptor-driven balance between downstream PKA and PKC activities, coupled to developmentally regulated VGCC, explains much of how nerve terminals with different activities finally progress to their withdrawal or strengthening.

Bundled interventions usually reduce surgical site infection (SSI) when implemented at single hospitals, but the feasibility of their implementation at nationwide level and their clinical results are not well established.Pragmatic interventional study to analyse the implementation and outcomes of a colorectal surgery care bundle within a nationwide quality improvement program. The bundle consisted of: antibiotic prophylaxis, oral antibiotic prophylaxis (OAP), mechanical bowel preparation (MBP), laparoscopy, normothermia, and a wound retractor. Control (CG) and Intervention (IG) groups were compared. Overall SSI, superficial (S-SSI), deep (D-SSI) and organ/space (O/S-SSI) rates were analysed. Secondary endpoints included microbiology, 30-day mortality and hospital stay (LOS).A total of 37,849 procedures were included, 19,655 in the CG and 18,194 in the IG. In all, 5,462 SSIs (14.43%) were detected: 1,767 S-SSI (4.67%), 847 D-SSI (2.24%) and 2,838 O/S-SSI (7.5%). Overall SSI fell from 18.38% (CG) to 10.17% (IG), OR 0.503, [0.473-0.524]. O/S-SSI rates were 9.15% (CG) and 5.72% (IG), OR 0.602, [0.556-0.652]. The overall SSI rate was 16.71% when no measure was applied and 6.23% when all six were used. Bundle implementation reduced the probability of overall SSI (OR 0.331; CI95 0.242, 0.453), and also O/S-SSI rate (OR 0.643; CI95 0.416, 0.919). In the univariate analysis, all measures except normothermia were associated with a reduction in overall SSI, while only laparoscopy, OAP, and MBP were related with a decrease in O/S-SSI. Laparoscopy, wound retractor and OAP decreased overall SSI and O/S-SSI in the multivariate analysis.In this cohort study, the application of a specific care bundle within a nationwide nosocomial infection surveillance system proved feasible, and resul