Analyzing the research in Integrative & Complementary Medicine by means of science mapping

Analysis of cognitive framework and biomedical translation of tissue engineering in otolaryngology

Tissue engineering is a relatively recent research area aimed at developing artificial tissues that can restore, maintain, or even improve the anatomical and/or functional integrity of injured tissues. Otolaryngology, as a leading surgical specialty in head and neck surgery, is a candidate for the use of these advanced therapies and medicinal products developed. Nevertheless, a knowledge-based analysis of both areas together is still needed. The dataset was retrieved from the Web of Science database from 1900 to 2020. SciMAT software was used to perform the science mapping analysis and the data for the biomedical translation identification was obtained from the iCite platform. Regarding the analysis of the cognitive structure, we find consolidated research lines, such as the generation of cartilage for use as a graft in reconstructive surgery, reconstruction of microtia, or the closure of perforations of the tympanic membrane. This last research area occupies the most relevant clinical translation with the rest of the areas presenting a lower translational level. In conclusion, Tissue engineering is still in an early translational stage in otolaryngology, otology being the field where most advances have been achieved. Therefore, although otolaryngologists should play an active role in translational research in tissue engineering, greater multidisciplinary efforts are required to promote and encourage the translation of potential clinical applications of tissue engineering for routine clinical use.

Emerging Trends and Thematic Evolution of Breast Cancer: Knowledge Mapping and Co-Word Analysis

BACKGROUND

One of the requirements for scientists and researchers to enter any field of science is to have a comprehensive and accurate understanding of that discipline.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to draw a science map, provide structural analysis, explore the evolution, and determine new trends in research articles published in the field of breast cancer.

METHODS

This study comprised a descriptive survey with a scientometric approach. Data were collected from MEDLINE using a search strategy based on Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) terms. This study used science mapping, which provides a visual representation and a longitudinal evolution of possible interrelations between scientific areas, documents, or authors, thus reflecting the cognitive architecture of science mapping. For this scientometric evaluation of the topic of breast cancer research, a very long period was considered for data collection. Moreover, due to the availability of numerous publications in the database, the assessment was divided into three different periods ranging from 1988 to 2020.

RESULTS

A total of 12,577 records related to scientometric studies were extracted. The field of breast cancer research demonstrated three diagrams containing the most relevant themes for the three chronological periods evaluated. Each diagram was plotted based on the centrality and density linked to each research topic. The research output in the field was observed to revolve around 8 areas or themes: radiation injury, cardiovascular disease, fibroadenoma, antineoplastic agent, estrogen antagonistic, immunohistochemistry, soybean, and epitopes, each represented with different colors.

CONCLUSIONS

In the strategic diagrams, the themes were both well developed and important for the structuring of a research field. The first quadrant comprised motor themes of the specialty, which present strong centrality and high density (eg, corticosteroid antineoplastic age, stem cell, T-lymphocyte, protein tyrosine kinase, dietary, and phosphatidyl inositol-3-kinase). In the second quadrant of diagram, themes have well-developed internal ties but unimportant external ties, as they are of only marginal importance for the field. These themes are very specialized and peripheral (eg, DNA-binding). In the third quadrant, themes are both weakly developed and marginal. The themes in this quadrant have low density and centrality and mainly represent either emerging or declining themes (eg, ovarian neoplasm). Themes in the fourth quadrant of the strategic diagram are considered important for a research field but are not fully developed. This quadrant contains transversal and general, basic themes (eg, immunohistochemistry). Scientometric analysis of breast cancer research can be regarded as a roadmap for future research and policymaking for this important field.

Práticas Integrativas e Complementares em saúde na formação em Educação Física: avanços, desafios, velhos e novos embates

Resumo A entrada das Práticas Integrativas e Complementares (PICS) nos currículos da área de saúde tem se dado de maneira insatisfatória, e na Educação Física não é diferente. Esse estudo se propõe a analisar a presença dessa temática atualmente na formação superior em Educação Física das universidades públicas federais e estaduais brasileiras, na perspectiva de elucidar quais os desafios, lacunas e avanços que a área enfrenta. Para isso, foi realizada a análise de 172 grades curriculares de graduações na área, os programas de 52 disciplinas em PICS encontradas e as linhas de pesquisa em Programas de Pós-Graduação e Grupos de Pesquisa liderados por profissionais da área. Os resultados evidenciam pouca inserção do tema nos currículos de graduação e, quando presente, se dão através de ofertas majoritariamente optativas, tecnicista e sem diálogos com o Sistema Único de Saúde. Ainda foi encontrada uma pouca participação da área na produção científica e pós-graduação em PICS.

Publications in Integrative and Complementary Medicine: A Ten-Year Bibliometric Survey in the Field of ICM

Background

This article aims to analyze the research status of integrative complementary medicine (ICM) and features of highly cited papers in the field to provide reference of the future development of ICM.

Methods

Publications in the field of ICM from 2009 to 2018 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. The top 20 countries/territories, institutions, journals, keywords of highly cited and noncited papers, and characteristics of essential science indicator (ESI) papers, as well as open access (OA) and non-OA papers, were analyzed.

Results

Mainland China had the largest number of ICM publications. The top 20 journals published a total of 31667 papers in 2009–2018, which represented 92.9% of all publications. Keywords of highly cited and noncited papers point to different research directions. 48 ESI highly cited/hot papers were identified, most of which are related to phytochemistry. Furthermore, the average citation rate (percentage of publications that have been cited one or more times) of OA papers was lower than that of total papers and non-OA papers.

Conclusions

China leads in number of publications; however, publication quality in ICM field requires improvement. A few journals accounted for more than half of number of publications and citations, which are important for the development of ICM. Many of the keywords in ICM noncited publications pointed towards broad meaning that poorly reflect the exact research content. Most highly cited ICM studies focused on the identification and evaluation of plant active components. OA may not be an effective approach to increase paper citations in the field of ICM.

Identification of Cognitive and Social Framework of Tissue Engineering by Science Mapping Analysis

IMPACT STATEMENT

This study evaluates the cognitive structure and social behavior of tissue engineering (TE) based on a science mapping analysis. Understanding the terms and topics that play a key role in the development of TE can help administrative authorities to better plan funding. Moreover, a better knowledge of collaborative networks in TE and the identification of potential new opportunities for collaboration may enhance synergies in scientific activities to implement future approaches to therapy.

Scandinavian research on complementary and alternative medicine: A bibliometric study

Aim: The aim of this study is to analyse the development of Scandinavian research on complementary and alternative medicine in terms of publication pattern and general content. Furthermore we will map research networks. Methods and data: This study is based on bibliometric methods. The dataset consists of 1441 publications with at least one author with a Scandinavian address and/or organisational affiliation, from 2005-2017, in Medline and Web of Science. Results and conclusions: Complementary and alternative medicine is a small and moderately growing research field in Scandinavia, with an average of 120 publications per year. The largest sub-term is integrative and complementary medicine, but the majority of documents are classified as other medical sub-fields. A similar pattern is found regarding the sources. The Medical Subject Heading classifications of the documents and the author keywords indicate that much of the relevant research takes a general focus on complementary and alternative medicine. Regarding specific therapies, mind-body and sensory art therapies are particularly prominent in the material. Various aspects of pain, mental health and gynaecology are recurrent health issues. In total, 31.5% of the publications are classified as clinical trials. The organisations referenced most frequently in the material are Karolinska Institutet and UiT Tromsö and it is clear the research is based at large universities and university hospitals. The research networks have relatively different profiles and collaborate with both Scandinavian and international organisations.

Production Trends, Collaboration, and Main Topics of the Integrative and Complementary Oncology Research Area: A Bibliometric Analysis

BACKGROUND

The prevalence of cancer has increased over time worldwide. Nevertheless, the number of deaths has been reduced during the past 2 decades. Thus, one-third of the cancer patients are users of complementary and alternative therapies, looking for other types of interventions. The main aim of the present study is to understand the current status of the research in integrative and complementary oncology. Three different aspects were analyzed: production trends, country collaboration, and leading research topics.

METHODS

The dataset was obtained from the documents indexed under the Integrative and Complementary Medicine category of the Web of Science database from 1976 to 2017. VOSviewer and SciMAT software were employed to perform the bibliometric analysis.

RESULTS

The Journal of Ethnopharmacology, China Medical University and the People's Republic of China are the leading producers in the field. Regarding the collaboration, the United States and China present a close connection. The scientific community is focused on the following topics: apoptosis, breast cancer, oxidative stress, chemotherapy, and nuclear factor-Kappa-B (NF-Kappa-B).

CONCLUSIONS

The present article shows potentially important information that allows understanding of the past, present, and future of research in integrative and complementary oncology. It is a useful evidence-based framework on which to base future research actions and academic directions.

Thematic Trends in Complementary and Alternative Medicine Applied in Cancer-Related Symptoms

Purpose

The main goal of this study is to discover the scientific evolution of Cancer-Related Symptoms in Complementary and Alternative Medicine research area, analyzing the articles indexed in the Web of Science database from 1980 to 2013.

Design/Methodology/Approach

A co-word science mapping analysis is performed under a longitudinal framework (1980 to 2013). The documental corpus is divided into two subperiods, 1980–2008 and 2009–2013. Thus, the performance and impact rates, and conceptual evolution of the research field are shown.

Findings

According to the results, the co-word analysis allows us to identify 12 main thematic areas in this emerging research field: anxiety, survivors and palliative care, meditation, treatment, symptoms and cancer types, postmenopause, cancer pain, low back pain, herbal medicine, children, depression and insomnia, inflammation mediators, and lymphedema. The different research lines are identified according to the main thematic areas, centered fundamentally on anxiety and suffering prevention. The scientific community can use this information to identify where the interest is focused and make decisions in different ways.

Research limitation

Several limitations can be addressed: 1) some of the Complementary and Alternative Medicine therapies may not have been included; 2) only the documents indexed in Web of Science are analyzed; and 3) the thematic areas detected could change if another dataset was considered.

Practical implications

The results obtained in the present study could be considered as an evidence-based framework in which future studies could be built.

Originality/value

Currently, there are no studies that show the thematic evolution of this research area.

Limitations of Western Medicine and Models of Integration Between Medical Systems

This article analyzes two major limitations of Western medicine: maturity and incompleteness. From this viewpoint, Western medicine is considered an incomplete system for the explanation of living matter. Therefore, through appropriate integration with other medical systems, in particular nonconventional approaches, its knowledge base and interpretations may be widened. This article presents possible models of integration of Western medicine with homeopathy, the latter being viewed as representative of all complementary and alternative medicine. To compare the two, a medical system was classified into three levels through which it is possible to distinguish between different medical systems: epistemological (first level), theoretical (second level), and operational (third level). These levels are based on the characterization of any medical system according to, respectively, a reference paradigm, a theory on the functioning of living matter, and clinical practice. The three levels are consistent and closely consequential in the sense that from epistemology derives theory, and from theory derives clinical practice. Within operational integration, four models were identified: contemporary, alternative, sequential, and opportunistic. Theoretical integration involves an explanation of living systems covering simultaneously the molecular and physical mechanisms of functioning living matter. Epistemological integration provides a more thorough and comprehensive explanation of the epistemic concepts of indeterminism, holism, and vitalism to complement the reductionist approach of Western medicine; concepts much discussed by Western medicine while lacking the epistemologic basis for their emplacement. Epistemologic integration could be reached with or without a true paradigm shift and, in the latter, through a model of fusion or subsumption.

Ethnobotany and herbal medicine in modern complementary and alternative medicine: An overview of publications in the field of I&C medicine 2001-2013

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Ethnobotanical knowledge and traditional medicinal practices from different parts of the world are of global importance and documentation of ethnobotanical, and ethnopharmacological data is a key prerequisite for further research in the area of herbal medicine and its implementation in clinical practice.

AIMS

An attempt was made to evaluate the scientific output of research related to ethnobotany and herbal medicine in journals indexed in the subject area "Integrative and Complementary Medicine" in the period 2001-2013, in order to ascertain research trends in both subdisciplines.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

All articles related to ethnobotany and herbal medicine, extracted from journals included in the field of I&C Medicine and published in the period 2001-2013, have been analyzed for general bibliometric data, and specific data: ethnobotanical data (geographic, floristic, pharmacological, sociological and other relevant data) and phytotherapeutic data (type of applied herbal medicine, plant species studied, pharmacological activity of studied plant species and disease and disorder type studied on a particular model).

RESULTS

In the studied period, the number of articles dealing with ethnobotany and herbal medicine increased 6.3-fold. Articles related to ethnobotanical studies documented medicinal flora from 81 countries, either giving an overview of overall medicinal flora, or presenting the ethnomedicinal aspect of the use of plants for the treatment of ailments typical to the studied area. Additionally, the authors provided significant information on the methods of use and herbal preparations. In herbal medicine studies, plants, traditional plant remedies, herbal medicinal products and active herbal compounds were tested for many of pharmacological activities (146), with the curative activity emerging as most frequently tested. Out of 39 model systems, most of the studies were carried out under controlled in vitro conditions (4589 articles), followed by rat in vivo (2320), human in vivo (1285), mouse in vivo (955), and on agents of pathogenic diseases (887); more than 800 medical disorders were treated.

CONCLUSIONS

The study revealed the regions most studied for new records of floristic and ethnomedicinal diversity, the most frequently studied plant species, and the most promising therapeutic indications for the integration of herbal remedies in the curative process, as ascertained from the selected bibliographic databases.

mDurance: A Novel Mobile Health System to Support Trunk Endurance Assessment

Low back pain is the most prevalent musculoskeletal condition. This disorder constitutes one of the most common causes of disability worldwide, and as a result, it has a severe socioeconomic impact. Endurance tests are normally considered in low back pain rehabilitation practice to assess the muscle status. However, traditional procedures to evaluate these tests suffer from practical limitations, which potentially lead to inaccurate diagnoses. The use of digital technologies is considered here to facilitate the task of the expert and to increase the reliability and interpretability of the endurance tests. This work presents mDurance, a novel mobile health system aimed at supporting specialists in the functional assessment of trunk endurance by using wearable and mobile devices. The system employs a wearable inertial sensor to track the patient trunk posture, while portable electromyography sensors are used to seamlessly measure the electrical activity produced by the trunk muscles. The information registered by the sensors is processed and managed by a mobile application that facilitates the expert's normal routine, while reducing the impact of human errors and expediting the analysis of the test results. In order to show the potential of the mDurance system, a case study has been conducted. The results of this study prove the reliability of mDurance and further demonstrate that practitioners are certainly interested in the regular use of a system of this nature.