Global diabetic kidney disease research from 2000 to 2017: A bibliometric analysis

Current trends and hotspots of depressive disorders with colorectal cancer: A bibliometric and visual study

BACKGROUND

Depression is strongly associated with colorectal cancer (CRC). Few bibliometric analyses have systematically summarized the research focus and recent progress in this field.

AIM

To determine the research status and hotspots by bibliometric analysis of relevant publications on the relationship between CRC and depression.

METHODS

Articles on depression in CRC patients were collected from the Web of Science Core Collection. CiteSpace and VOSviewer software were used to visualize bibliometric networks.

RESULTS

From 2001 to 2022, Supportive Care in Cancer, the United States, Tilburg University, and Mols were the most productive and influential journal, country, institution, and author name. Co-occurrence cluster analysis of keywords placed quality of life, anxiety, and psychological stress in the center of the visual network diagram. Further clustering was performed for the clusters with studies of the relevant mechanism of action, which showed that: (1) Cytokines have a role essential for the occurrence and development of depressive disorders in CRC; (2) MicroRNAs have a role essential for the development of depressive disorders in CRC; (3) Some anticancer drugs have pro-depressant activity; and (4) Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have both antitumor and antidepressant activity.

CONCLUSION

Life quality and psychological nursing of the cancer population were key topics. The roles of cytokines and microRNAs, the pro-depression activity of anticancer drugs and their antitumor properties deserve in-depth study.

Bibliometric analysis of childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus from 2000 to 2022

BACKGROUND

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic, multisystem autoimmune disorder. When SLE occurs in individuals under the age of 18, it is referred to as childhood-onset SLE (cSLE). Currently, there is a dearth of bibliometric research pertaining to cSLE.

METHOD

Relevant studies in the field of cSLE from 2000 to 2022 were screened from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). CiteSpace and VOSviewer software were used to visualize the annual publications, countries, institutions, authors, journals, keywords, and references, after which the authors conducted the scientific analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 2857 articles were included in this study, and the number of articles published in the past 20 years showed an overall upwards trend. The most prolific countries are the United States, China, and Brazil; however, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom are clearly superior in terms of literary influence, and there is more cooperation between them and their institutions. LUPUS (n = 389) contributed the most to the variance. Brunner, HI's contribution in the field of cSLE is outstanding. The words related to 'lupus nephritis' and 'antibodies' are important words reflected in the keyword network diagram. The keywords included 'evidence-based recommendation', 'validation', 'diagnosis' and 'adult' from 2019, and 'continuous bursts' to the present.

CONCLUSION

This study examined the research status of cSLE patients, discussed and analysed the research hotspots and trends in this field, and provided a reference for further research in this field to promote the development of cSLE research.

Bibliometric analysis of global literature productivity in systemic lupus erythematosus from 2013 to 2022

BACKGROUND

Bibliometric analysis is a mature method for quantitative evaluation of academic productivity. In view of the rapid development of research in the field of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in the past decade, we used bibliometric methods to comprehensively analyze the literature in the field of SLE from 2013 to 2022.

METHODS

The relevant literature in the field of SLE from 2013 to 2022 was screened in the Web of Science Core Collection database. After obtaining and sorting out the data, CiteSpace and VOSviewer software were used to visualize the relevant data, and SPSS software was used for scientific statistics.

RESULTS

A total of 18,450 publications were included in this study. The number of articles published over the past 10 years has generally shown an upward trend, while Altmetric attention scores have also shown a clear upward trend in general and in most countries. Citation analysis and Altmetric analysis can mutually prove and supplement the influence of papers. The USA, China, Japan, Italy, and the UK are the most productive countries, but China and Japan are significantly inferior to other countries in terms of research influence. Four of the top ten authors are at the center of the collaboration network. LUPUS is the most contributing journal. The theme of systemic lupus erythematosus research mainly focuses on the pathogenesis, treatment, and management of SLE, and the emerging trend is related research on machine learning and immune cells.

CONCLUSION

This study shows the research status of SLE, clarifies the main contributors in this field, discusses and analyzes the research hotspots and trends in this field, and provides reference for further research in this field to promote the development of SLE research. Key Points • Through bibliometric analysis, Altmetric analysis, and visual analysis, we reveal the global productivity characteristics of SLE-related papers in the past 10 years. • The number of global SLE-related studies has shown a significant increase, indicating that SLE is still a hot topic and deserves further study. • Citation analysis and Altmetric analysis can mutually prove and supplement the influence of papers, and the attention of related literature among non-professional researchers is increasing. • The theme of SLE research mainly focuses on the pathogenesis, treatment, and management of SLE. The emerging trend is machine learning and immune cells, which may provide new strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of SLE in the future.

Mapping research trends of transarterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma from 2012 to 2021: A bibliometric analysis

BACKGROUND

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer worldwide and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is a therapy where drugs aimed to slow or halt tumor development are injected into the artery supplying for HCC tissues. A comprehensive analysis of all the articles on TACE for HCC can give us a general understanding of the progress in this field and provide guidance for future research.

AIM

To analyze and visualize scientific results and research trends in TACE treatment for HCC.

METHODS

The "Web of Science" database was used to identify articles regarding TACE for the treatment of HCC from 2012 to 2021. VOSviewer and CiteSpace were used to analyze the publications trends, collaboration between countries/insti-tutions/authors, and the co-occurrence of keywords, keyword bursts, and references.

RESULTS

A total of 5728 original articles on TACE for HCC were retrieved. Regarding the volume of publications, the total number of yearly publications showed a generally increasing trend. China had the highest number of articles, while the United States achieved the highest Hirsch index and highest number of citations. The Sun Yat-sen University in China was most prolific institution. The most active author was Park, J.W from South Korea. The Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology (234 articles) was the most productive journal. There is a growing trend toward international collaboration in TACE for HCC. Cluster networks of co-cited references suggested that practice guidelines and targeted therapies are an essential theme in this field. In addition, cluster analysis based on keyword co-occurrence identified the research topic "prediction of TACE treatment" as a hotspot, and propensity score matching can be used to help investigators conduct innovative studies in the future.

CONCLUSION

The results of our bibliometric analysis provide the latest trends and hot topics in TACE therapy for HCC.

A bibliometric perspective to the most cited diabetes articles

Aim

This bibliometric analysis aims to evaluate the characteristics and impact of the top 100 cited articles published under the title of diabetes mellitus.

Metods

We performed to define the most cited articles in diabetes research by using the Web of Science. The papers were analyzed in terms of their year of publication, journal of publication, authors, impact factor (IF), total citations number, the average number of citations per year, studies topic, and type.

Results

The number of citations ranged from 1519 to 17.298. They were published from 1987 to 2018. The most cited articles were published in the New England Journal of Medicine (n = 26), followed by Diabetes Care (n = 17) and Lancet (n = 9). The original scientific paper was the most popular article type (46%), followed by review article (36%). The generality studies' subject was about treatment (n = 22), followed by pathogenesis (n = 19), etiology and risk factors (n = 16), diagnosis, screening, classification (n = 15), epidemiology (n = 11), prevention (n = 11) and complications (n = 6). There was a correlation between the average number of citations per year (ACpY) and IF (p = < 0.010, r = 0.259), citations and ACpY (p = < 0.001, r = 0.646), citations and time (p = 0.008, r = 0.266).

Conclusion

This study showed that original scientific papers were the most-cited and more articles were published in influential journals. Articles on diabetes treatment and pathogenesis were popular topics. Future interventions should focus on the management and prevention of diabetes.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40200-023-01199-0.

The 100 most-cited articles published in the Veterinary Ophthalmology journal between 1998 and 2022: A bibliometric study

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to bibliometrically analyze the 100 most-cited articles published in the Veterinary Ophthalmology (VO) journal.

METHODS

Web of Science was searched for citations of VO articles published in 1998-2022. Tissue and species studied, and first and last author domicile and affiliation were recorded for the 100 most-cited articles and descriptively analyzed.

RESULTS

Altogether, the 100 most-cited VO articles have cited a total of 5483 times. Most commonly, these were devoted to the cornea (23%), multiple tissues (19%), and glaucoma (16%). Studies on dogs (36%), horses (17%), and multiple species (15%) were most often cited. Most first/last authors were from the USA (n = 113), Brazil (n = 13), and France and Germany (n = 7 each), and most frequently affiliated with the University of Florida (n = 36), University of Wisconsin-Madison (n = 15), and Animal Health Trust, North Carolina State University, and Ohio State University (n = 6 each). KN Gelatt (n = 9), DE Brooks (n = 6), and FJ Ollivier and EO MacKay (n = 5 each) were the most frequent first or last authors. The greatest number of citations was for articles with KN Gelatt (n = 555), FJ Ollivier (n = 411), and DE Brooks (n = 372) as first or last authors. "The comparative morphology of the tapetum lucidum" by FJ Ollivier et al. (2002) is the most frequently cited article in VO history (n = 178).

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides insight into the impact of publishing in VO and a more comprehensive understanding of trends and the most influential contributions to VO.

Study on positive psychology from 1999 to 2021: A bibliometric analysis

Objective

Positive psychology is a revolution in the science of psychology as well as a new milestone in the development of human society. The purpose of the study was to use bibliometrics and visual analysis to assess the current state and trends in positive psychology research.

Methods

The Web of Science Core Collection was searched for 4,378 papers on positive psychology between 1999 and 2021. The features of positive psychology research were analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2013, VOSviewer (1.6.17), and CiteSpace (5.8.R1).

Results

The findings demonstrate a steady growth in positive psychology publications from 1999 to 2021. The United States (1,780) and Harvard University (104), respectively, were the most productive nations and organizations in this subject. Frontiers in Psychology was the most productive journal (288), while the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology had the most co-citations (8,469). Seligman was the most influential author, with 3,350 citations and 5,020 co-citations. The top ten co-cited references, in terms of citation explosion, suggesting that these papers provide the foundation for the growth of this discipline. The systematic review, character strengths, positive psychology intervention, language pleasure, and the COVID-19 pandemic are the focal points of research and development developments in this discipline.

Conclusion

These findings have helped researchers in positive psychology find new ways to collaborate with partners, hot topics, and research frontiers.

Status and Trends of the Association Between Diabetic Nephropathy and Diabetic Retinopathy From 2000 to 2021: Bibliometric and Visual Analysis

Background: Diabetic nephropathy (DN) and diabetic retinopathy (DR) are microvascular complications of diabetes that share a similar pathogenesis and clinical relevance. The study aimed to visually analyze the research status and development trend of the relationship between DN and DR by means of bibliometrics and knowledge mapping.

Methods: Publications were collected from the Science Citation Index-Expanded of the Web of Science Core Collection between 2000 and 2021. CiteSpace, Alluvial Generator, and Microsoft Excel were used to analyze and present the data.

Results: A total of 3,348 publications were retrieved and 3,285 were included in the analysis after deduplication. The publications demonstrated an annually increasing trend. The results of the collaborative network analysis showed that the United States, Steno Diabetes Center, and Tien Y. Wong were the most influential country, institution and author, in this field of research, respectively. The analysis of references and keywords showed that the pathogenesis of DN and DR and their relationship with cardiovascular disease are research hotspots. The clinical relevance and drug therapy for DN and DR will become frontiers of future research in this field.

Conclusion: This study is the first to visualize the correlation between DN and DR using a bibliometric approach. This study provides a reference of research trends for scholars.

Global Scientific Research Landscape on Medical Informatics From 2011 to 2020: Bibliometric Analysis

Background

With the emerging information and communication technology, the field of medical informatics has dramatically evolved in health care and medicine. Thus, it is crucial to explore the global scientific research landscape on medical informatics.

Objective

This study aims to present a visual form to clarify the overall scientific research trends of medical informatics in the past decade.

Methods

A bibliometric analysis of data retrieved and extracted from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database was performed to analyze global scientific research trends on medical informatics, including publication year, journals, authors, institutions, countries/regions, references, and keywords, from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2020.

Results

The data set recorded 34,742 articles related to medical informatics from WoSCC between 2011 and 2020. The annual global publications increased by 193.86% from 1987 in 2011 to 5839 in 2020. Journal of Medical Internet Research (3600 publications and 63,932 citations) was the most productive and most highly cited journal in the field of medical informatics. David W Bates (99 publications), Harvard University (1161 publications), and the United States (12,927 publications) were the most productive author, institution, and country, respectively. The co-occurrence cluster analysis of high-frequency author keywords formed 4 clusters: (1) artificial intelligence in health care and medicine; (2) mobile health; (3) implementation and evaluation of electronic health records; (4) medical informatics technology application in public health. COVID-19, which ranked third in 2020, was the emerging theme of medical informatics.

Conclusions

We summarize the recent advances in medical informatics in the past decade and shed light on their publication trends, influential journals, global collaboration patterns, basic knowledge, research hotspots, and theme evolution through bibliometric analysis and visualization maps. These findings will accurately and quickly grasp the research trends and provide valuable guidance for future medical informatics research.

Global trends of indocyanine green fluorescence navigation in laparoscopic cholecystectomy: bibliometrics and knowledge atlas analysis

BACKGROUND

Indocyanine green fluorescence cholangiography is a new type of cholangiography that has emerged in recent years. It has many advantages, such as simplicity, safety, and efficiency, and is expected to become a routine procedure for intraoperative cholangiography in the future. However, there is no bibliometric analysis of horizontal generalization in this field. Therefore, this study aims to assess the current research status and developmental trends in this field from a global perspective and to help guide the focus of future research.

METHODS

This study was conducted by retrieving the literature related to ICG fluorescence cholangiography published in English from 2000 to 2021 from Web of Science. The Histcite. Pro tool was used to analyze the bibliometric indicators, and VOSviewer was used to visualize the research trends and hotspots in this field.

RESULTS

192 related studies were finally included. For the past 20 years, the number of related publications in this field have increased yearly, with 2010 being a breakthrough point for research in this field. Research has developed rapidly since 2013 and may continue to expand in the next several years. The USA and Japan play leading roles in this field. "SURG ENDOSC", "SURG INNOV", and "J LAPAROENDOSC ADV S" are core journals that publish high-quality literature and the latest developments in this field. Some authors who have a large number of high-quality publications include Ishizawa T and Kokudo N. The current research hotspots in this field are focused on exploring the factors that affect ICG cholangiography and optimization measures.

CONCLUSIONS

In general, the number of documents related to ICG fluorescence cholangiography is growing rapidly, with the USA and Japan being influential countries and China being one of the major producers of these documents. The optimization of this new technology will affect key developments in future research.

Research trends in forensic anthropology: A bibliometric analysis

This paper aims to examine the worldwide research development and trends in forensic anthropology by using bibliometric analysis. Scopus database was used to identify published papers on forensic anthropology from 1948 to 2020. A total of 4,499 records were analyzed for yearly publication productivity, authorship and citation pattern, types of documents, most productive journals, organizations, authors, and countries, frequently cited papers, most used keywords, countries of collaboration, and three-field plot analysis in the domain of forensic anthropology. The results indicated that the highest grand total publications were between the years 2016 and 2019, while the highest multi-authored publications were in the year 2018. The most productive journal, author, organization, and country were the 'Journal of Forensic Sciences' with grand total publications of 934, 'Cattaneo, C.' with 97 publications, 'Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique' with 130 publications, and the United States with 1020 total cited papers, respectively. The document with the highest number of citations was 'Buckberry and Chamberlain, 2002, Am J Phys Anthropol' with a total of 387. Three-field plot analysis regarding the most outstanding keyword-source-country was "Forensic anthropology"- "Journal of Forensic Sciences" and "Forensic Science International"- "USA", "France", and "UK". The predomination of certain countries over others in the field of forensic anthropology limits its prosperity as ethnic variety is of important regard. Research collaborations were mainly observed between the United States and European countries, which highlights the need for strengthening collaborations between developed and developing nations.

The Trends of Uveal Melanoma Research in the Past Two Decades and Future Perspectives

Evaluation of the research trends in uveal melanoma in the past two decades. Data were extracted from the Web of Science database website. VOSviewer and Citespace software were used to analyze the retrieved data. The leading country in terms of output and international collaboration is the USA. Research interest in genetic mutations, molecular pathways, and immunotherapy was remarkable in recent years. Most of the top ten journals are specialized in ophthalmology. In recent years, the hotspots include future perspectives, BAP1 mutation, therapeutic target, and systematic reviews. The keywords with the strongest citation bursts are immunotherapy, outcome, and in situ hybridization. The output of uveal melanoma research increased during the past two decades. Before 2015, the main focus of the research was to facilitate prognostication and metastatic risk stratification. Recently, research has moved to examine the metastatic microenvironment. Future research foci may include exploring the role of different mutations, immunotherapy, molecular alterations, and finding ideal clinical biomarkers.

Evolving Trends and Research Hotspots in Disaster Epidemiology From 1985 to 2020: A Bibliometric Analysis

Background: Disaster epidemiology has not attracted enough attention in the past few decades and still faces significant challenges. This study aimed to systematically analyze the evolving trends and research hotspots in disaster epidemiology and provide insights into disaster epidemiology.

Methods: We searched the Scopus and Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) databases between 1985 and 2020 to identify relevant literature on disaster epidemiology. The retrieval strategies were TITLE-ABS-KEY (disaster epidemiology) and TS = (disaster AND epidemiology). Bibliometrix, VOSviewer 1.6.6 and SigmaPlot 12.5 were used to analyze the key bibliometric indicators, including trends and annual publications, the contributions of countries, institutions, journals and authors, and research hotspots.

Results: A total of 1,975 publications were included. There was an increasing trend in publications over the past 35 years. The USA was the most productive country. The most frequent institutions and journals were Fukushima Medical University and Prehospital and Disaster Medicine. Galea S made significant contributions to this field. “Epidemiology” was the highest-frequency keyword. COVID-19 was highly cited after 2019. Three research hotspots were identified: (i) the short- and long-term adverse health effects of disasters on the population; (ii) COVID-19 pandemic and emergency preparedness; and (iii) disaster management.

Conclusions: In recent decades, the USA was a global leader in disaster epidemiology. Disaster management, the short- and long-term health effects of disasters, and the COVID-19 pandemic reflected the research focuses. Our results suggest that these directions will remain research hotspots in the future. International collaboration is also expected to widen and deepen in the field of disaster epidemiology.

Theme Trends and Knowledge-Relationship in Lifestyle Research: A Bibliometric Analysis

Healthy living habits (healthy eating, regular physical activity, abstinence from smoking, restrictions on alcohol consumption, and stress management) can help prevent a significant number of diseases. The purpose of this study is to use a bibliometric analysis to analyze the relationships between countries, institutions and authors through lifestyle studies from 2016 to 2020 to find out the latest research trends. This study utilized bibliometric data collected through Scopus including thesis titles, authors, agencies, countries/regions, publication years, and keywords. Data were analyzed using the VOS viewer (Vers. 1.6.13; Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands) and the findings were used to visualize similarity mapping techniques. Publication of lifestyle-related research papers has steadily increased between 2016 and 2020. The country/region most actively conducting such research was the United States, also home to the majority of institutions conducting work in the field. PloS ONE published the most lifestyle-related research under the field of Medicine. Identified keywords were related to risk measures, psychosocial factors, prevention, health promotion, and risk factors. Lifestyle research is a promising field of research worldwide and has great potential to improve human health, the environment, and quality of life. The findings are expected to promote future research and give direction to the advancement of the field of research by comprehensively analyzing and summarizing lifestyle research trends.

The 100 top-cited articles in diabetic kidney disease: a bibliometric analysis

Background

Tremendous scientific researches have been conducted in the field of diabetic kidney disease (DKD), while few bibliometric analyses have been performed. We aim to identify 100 top-cited published articles about DKD and analyze their main characteristics quantitatively.

Methods

Web of Science was searched with the term ‘diabetic kidney disease’ OR ‘diabetic nephropathy’ to identify the top 100 most cited articles. For articles meeting the predefined criteria, the following data were extracted and analyzed: citation ranking, publication year, publication journal, journal impact factor, country and institution, authors, study type, and keywords.

Results

The highest number of citations was 4753 times. The median average citations per year was 21.8 (IQR, 16.6–33.0). Most articles focused on the pathogenesis and treatment. These articles were published in 25 different journals and the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology published the greatest number (20%). Forty-three articles (43%) originated from the United States. The University of Groningen was the leading institute, contributing five top-cited articles. The most frequent first author was de Zeeuw (n = 4), followed by Parving (n = 3). There was no correlation between the average citations and the number of authors, the number of institutes, or the number of funds, respectively. Experimental animal study was the research type most frequently conducted (n = 30), followed by observational study (n = 24). Keyword analysis revealed transforming growth factor-β, oxidative stress, proteinuria, and renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system interruption are classic research topics. Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors, glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists, and anti-inflammatory agents are the emerging trends of DKD.

Conclusions

This bibliometric analysis helps in identifying the milestones, inadequacies, classic hotspots, and emerging trends of DKD. Pathogenesis and treatment are core themes in DKD research, while high-quality articles on the prediction and biomarker are insufficient. New analyzing metrics are needed to assess the actual impact of these top-cited articles on clinical practice.

The evolution and future of diabetic kidney disease research: a bibliometric analysis

BACKGROUND

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is one of the most important complications of diabetic mellitus. It is essential for nephrologists to understand the evolution and development trends of DKD.

METHODS

Based on the total cited numbers in the Web of Science Core Collection, which was searched through September 28th, 2020, we performed a bibliometric analysis of the top 100 most cited full-length original articles on the subject of DKD. The timespans, authors, contributions, subcategories, and topics of those 100 articles were analysed. In addition, the evolution of topics in DKD research was investigated.

RESULTS

There were 23,968 items under the subject of DKD in the Web of Science Core Collection. The top 100 cited articles, published from 1999 to 2017, were cited 38,855 times in total. Researchers from the USA contributed the most publications. The number of articles included in 'Experimental studies (EG)', 'Clinical studies (CS)', 'Epidemiological studies (ES)', and 'Pathological and pathophysiological studies (PP)' were 65, 26, 7, and 2, respectively. Among the 15 topics, the most popular topic is the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), occurring in 26 articles, including 6 of the top 10 most cited articles. The evolution of topics reveals that the role of RAAS inhibitor is a continuous hotspot, and sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitor and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) agonist are two renoprotective agents which represent novel therapeutic methods in DKD. In addition, the 26 clinical studies among the top 100 most cited articles were highlighted, as they help guide clinical practice to better serve patients.

CONCLUSIONS

This bibliometric analysis of the top 100 most cited articles revealed important studies, popular topics, and trends in DKD research to assist researchers in further understanding the subject.

Network Pharmacology Analysis of ZiShenWan for Diabetic Nephropathy and Experimental Verification of Its Anti-Inflammatory Mechanism

Background

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The inflammatory response plays a critical role in DN. ZiShenWan (ZSW) is a classical Chinese medicinal formula with remarkable clinical therapeutic effects on DN, but its pharmacological action mechanisms remain unclear.

Aim

In this study, a network pharmacology approach was applied to investigate the pharmacological mechanisms of ZSW in DN therapy. Based on the results of network analysis, the core targets and signaling pathways related to anti-inflammatory effect were verified via experiments in vivo.

Methods

The candidate chemical ingredients of ZSW as well as its putative targets and known therapeutic targets of DN were acquired from appropriate databases. The “herb-ingredient-target” network for ZSW in DN treatment was established. The protein–protein interaction (PPI) network of potential targets was constructed to screen the core targets. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were performed. In addition to biochemical and pathological indicators, the core targets and signaling pathways associated with inflammation were partially validated in db/db mice at molecular level.

Results

A total of 56 active ingredients in ZSW and 166 DN-related targets were selected from databases. A high proportion of core targets and top signaling pathways participate in inflammation. ZSW markedly alleviated renal injuries pathologically and regulated related biomarkers. In particular, ZSW significantly inhibited the exaggerated release of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNF)-ɑ, and monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1 as well as regulating p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)–protein kinase B (Akt) signaling pathways in db/db mice.

Conclusion

This study first comprehensively investigated the active ingredients, potential targets, and molecular mechanism of ZSW as a therapy for DN. ZSW achieved renoprotective effects in DN via regulation of multiple targets and signaling pathways, especially by alleviating inflammation. Results indicate that ZSW is a promising multi-target therapeutic approach for DN treatment.

Thyroid Diseases During Pregnancy: Bibliometric Analysis of Scientific Publications

BACKGROUND

Bibliometric analysis can analyze development trends and predict research hotspots. We used these analyses to better understand pregnancy-related implications of thyroid diseases.

METHODS

Publications on thyroid diseases during pregnancy from 1926 to hitherto were retrieved based on the Web of Science database. The publications and references, the institutions and countries, the journals, the keywords and citations, were analyzed by utilizing VOSviewer, CiteSpace and CitNetExplorer.

RESULTS

A total of 3310 publications were retrieved and were cited 87913 times. The United States took the dominant position in outputs and collaborations. Harvard University had the most articles 86, which also had the highest h-index 30. Thyroid ranked first with 201 publications and Journal of Clinical Endocrinology Metabolism had the highest h-index 67. Among the 49 burst keywords, "antibody" had the longest burst period from 1991 to 2012, "thyroxine" had the strongest burst strength 16.7026, "hypothyroxinemia" appeared most recently in 2018. The most frequent keyword was "pregnancy" occurred 1324 times. All the top 98 frequent keywords were clustered into 4 clusters. The citation network visualization was grouped into 8 groups.

CONCLUSION

The research focus of thyroid diseases in pregnancy ranged from clinical thyroid dysfunction to milder thyroid dysfunction. Guidelines published by the American Thyroid Association enacted a crucial purpose in the treatment and development of thyroid diseases during pregnancy. Some randomized controlled studies of unresolved problems and long-term follow-up of offspring may be the direction of future research. In the meantime, bibliometric methods can help scholars choose journals, track research hotspots, and identify the direction or focus of future research.

Current Challenges and Future Perspectives of Renal Tubular Dysfunction in Diabetic Kidney Disease

Over decades, substantial progress has been achieved in understanding the pathogenesis of proteinuria in diabetic kidney disease (DKD), biomarkers for DKD screening, diagnosis, and prognosis, as well as novel hypoglycemia agents in clinical trials, thereby rendering more attention focused on the role of renal tubules in DKD. Previous studies have demonstrated that morphological and functional changes in renal tubules are highly involved in the occurrence and development of DKD. Novel tubular biomarkers have shown some clinical importance. However, there are many challenges to transition into personalized diagnosis and guidance for individual therapy in clinical practice. Large-scale clinical trials suggested the clinical relevance of increased proximal reabsorption and hyperfiltration by sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) to improve renal outcomes in patients with diabetes, further promoting the emergence of renal tubulocentric research. Therefore, this review summarized the recent progress in the pathophysiology associated with involved mechanisms of renal tubules, potential tubular biomarkers with clinical application, and renal tubular factors in DKD management. The mechanism of kidney protection and impressive results from clinical trials of SGLT2 inhibitors were summarized and discussed, offering a comprehensive update on therapeutic strategies targeting renal tubules.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus management in patients with chronic kidney disease: an update

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic multisystem disease. Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of its significant microvascular complications, associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The aim of this article is to review the literature regarding the latest advances in the management of type 2 DM (T2DM) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We initially refer to the screening guidelines, the diagnostic tests used, the need for novel biomarkers in DN, the recent advances in high-risk patient identification, the recommended glycemic targets, and concerns regarding the accuracy of HbA1c in these patients. Then, a detailed explanation of the appropriate medical management based on evidence from recent trials is presented, analyzed, and discussed. All patients with T2DM should be screened for albuminuria at initial diagnosis and annually thereafter. Proteomics and metabolomics today represent promising diagnostic tools. Optimal glycemic control, with individualized HbA1c targets, is fundamental for reduced onset or delayed progression of DN and microvascular complications, in general. This can be enhanced by lifestyle modifications and pharmacological interventions when needed. Metformin represents the first pharmacological step, with, recently, a broadened indication for patients with impaired renal function. If HbA1c remains above the target in patients with established CKD, SGLT2i or GLP-1 RA are the preferred second-line agents, as introduced in all new guidelines. This change was the result of recent landmark trials that highlighted the superiority of the two aforementioned medication categories in terms of both renal and cardiovascular outcomes.

Protective Effects of Grape Seed Proanthocyanidins on the Kidneys of Diabetic Rats through the Nrf2 Signalling Pathway

Background

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is the most common cause of end-stage renal failure. Grape seed proanthocyanidin extract (GSPE) is a powerful antioxidant that is believed to protect the kidney through antioxidant action. However, the underlying mechanism of GSPE protection against DN remains unclear.

Objective

To explore if GSPE can improve DN by activating nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) antioxidant response element signalling and to clarify its possible mechanism. Materials and methods. Ten healthy Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly selected as controls. Rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes were randomly divided into three groups (10 animals/group): type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) group (untreated), L-GSPE group (treated with 125-mg/kg/day GSPE for 8 weeks), and H-GSPE group (treated with 250 mg/kg/day GSPE for 8 weeks).

Results

Renal histopathological results indicated limited pathological damage in GSPE-treated groups. Compared with the T2DM group, the H-GSPE group had significantly reduced kidney weight and renal index. Similarly, the levels of fasting blood glucose, serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, uric acid, urinary albumin, and renal malondialdehyde (p < 0.05) were also significantly decreased. In addition, GSPE significantly increased the levels of superoxide dismutase, total antioxidative capability, and glutathione (p < 0.05) as well as the protein levels of Nrf2, HO-1, glutathione S-transferase, and NAD (P)H quinone oxidoreductase 1 (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

The results indicate that GSPE reduced renal damage in rats with diabetes by activating the Nrf2 signalling pathway, which consequently increased the antioxidant capacity of the tissue. Therefore, GSPE is a potential natural agent for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy.

Theme Trends and Knowledge Structure on Mobile Health Apps: Bibliometric Analysis

Background

Due to the widespread and unprecedented popularity of mobile phones, the use of digital medicine and mobile health apps has seen significant growth. Mobile health apps have tremendous potential for monitoring and treating diseases, improving patient care, and promoting health.

Objective

This paper aims to explore research trends, coauthorship networks, and the research hot spots of mobile health app research.

Methods

Publications related to mobile health apps were retrieved and extracted from the Web of Science database with no language restrictions. Bibliographic Item Co-Occurrence Matrix Builder was employed to extract bibliographic information (publication year and journal source) and perform a descriptive analysis. We then used the VOSviewer (Leiden University) tool to construct and visualize the co-occurrence networks of researchers, research institutions, countries/regions, citations, and keywords.

Results

We retrieved 2802 research papers on mobile health apps published from 2000 to 2019. The number of annual publications increased over the past 19 years. JMIR mHealth and uHealth (323/2802, 11.53%), Journal of Medical Internet Research (106/2802, 3.78%), and JMIR Research Protocols (82/2802, 2.93%) were the most common journals for these publications. The United States (1186/2802, 42.33%), England (235/2802, 8.39%), Australia (215/2802, 7.67%), and Canada (112/2802, 4.00%) were the most productive countries of origin. The University of California San Francisco, the University of Washington, and the University of Toronto were the most productive institutions. As for the authors’ contributions, Schnall R, Kuhn E, Lopez-Coronado M, and Kim J were the most active researchers. The co-occurrence cluster analysis of the top 100 keywords forms 5 clusters: (1) the technology and system development of mobile health apps; (2) mobile health apps for mental health; (3) mobile health apps in telemedicine, chronic disease, and medication adherence management; (4) mobile health apps in health behavior and health promotion; and (5) mobile health apps in disease prevention via the internet.

Conclusions

We summarize the recent advances in mobile health app research and shed light on their research frontier, trends, and hot topics through bibliometric analysis and network visualization. These findings may provide valuable guidance on future research directions and perspectives in this rapidly developing field.

Evaluating the research domain and achievement for a productive researcher who published 114 sole-author articles: A bibliometric analysis

BACKGROUND

Team science research includes authors from various fields collaborating to publish their work on certain topics. Despite the numerous papers that discussed the ordering of author names and the contributions of authors to an article, no paper evaluatedIn addition, few researchers publish academic articles without co-author collaboration. Whether the bibliometric indexes (eg, h-/x-index) of sole-author researchers are higher than those of other types of multiple authors is required for comparison. We aimed to evaluate a productive author who published 114 sole-author articles with exceptional RA and RD in academics.

METHODS

By searching the PubMed database (Pubmed.com), we used the keyword of (Taiwan[affiliation]) from 2016 to 2017 and downloaded 29,356 articles. One physician (Dr. Tseng from the field of Internal Medicine) who published 12 articles as a single author was selected. His articles and citations were searched in PubMed. A comparison of various types of author ordering placements was conducted using sensitivity analysis to inspect whether this sole author earns the highest metrics in RA. Social network analysis (SNA), Gini coefficient (GC), pyramid plot, and the Kano diagram were applied to gather the following data for visualization: RESULTS:: We observed that CONCLUSIONS:: The metrics on RA are high for the sole author studied. The author's RD can be denoted by the MeSH terms and measured by the GC. The author-weighted scheme is required for quantifying author credits in an article to evaluate the author's RA. Social network analysis incorporating the Kano diagrams provided insights into the relationships between actors (eg, coauthors, MeSH terms, or journals). The methods used in this study can be replicated to evaluate other productive studies on RA and RD in the future.

Whether article types of a scholarly journal are different in cited metrics using cluster analysis of MeSH terms to display: A bibliometric analysis

BACKGROUND

Many authors are concerned which types of peer-review articles can be cited most in academics and who were the highest-cited authors in a scientific discipline. The prerequisites are determined by: (1) classifying article types; and (2) quantifying co-author contributions. We aimed to apply Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) with social network analysis (SNA) and an authorship-weighted scheme (AWS) to meet the prerequisites above and then demonstrate the applications for scholars.

METHODS

By searching the PubMed database (pubmed.com), we used the keyword "Medicine" [journal] and downloaded 5,636 articles published from 2012 to 2016. A total number of 9,758 were cited in Pubmed Central (PMC). Ten MeSH terms were separated to represent the journal types of clusters using SNA to compare the difference in bibliometric indices, that is, h, g, and x as well as author impact factor(AIF). The methods of Kendall coefficient of concordance (W) and one-way ANOVA were performed to verify the internal consistency of indices and the difference across MeSH clusters. Visual representations with dashboards were shown on Google Maps.

RESULTS

We found that Kendall W is 0.97 (χ = 26.22, df = 9, P < .001) congruent with internal consistency on metrics across MeSH clusters. Both article types of methods and therapeutic use show higher frequencies than other 8 counterparts. The author Klaus Lechner (Austria) earns the highest research achievement(the mean of core articles on g = Ag = 15.35, AIF = 21, x = 3.92, h = 1) with one paper (PMID: 22732949, 2012), which was cited 23 times in 2017 and the preceding 5 years.

CONCLUSION

Publishing article type with study methodology and design might lead to a higher IF. Both classifying article types and quantifying co-author contributions can be accommodated to other scientific disciplines. As such, which type of articles and who contributes most to a specific journal can be evaluated in the future.

Choropleth map legend design for visualizing the most influential areas in article citation disparities: A bibliometric study

BACKGROUND

Disparities in health outcomes across countries/areas are a central concern in public health and epidemiology. However, few authors have discussed legends that can be complemental to choropleth maps (CMs) and merely linked differences in outcomes to other factors like density in areas. Thus, whether health outcome rates on CMs showing the geographical distribution can be applied to publication citations in bibliometric analyses requires further study. The legends for visualizing the most influential areas in article citation disparities should have sophisticated designs. This paper illustrates the use of cumulative frequency (CF) map legends along with Lorenz curves and Gini coefficients (GC) to characterize the disparity of article citations in areas on CMs, based on the quantile classification method for classes.

METHODS

By searching the PubMed database (pubmed.com), we used the keyword "Medicine" [journal] and downloaded 7042 articles published from 1945 to 2016. A total number of 41,628 articles were cited in Pubmed Central (PMC). The publication outputs based on the author's x-index were applied to plot CM about research contributions. The approach uses two methods (i.e., quantiles and equal total values for each class) with CF legends, in order to highlight the difference in x-indices across geographical areas on CMs. GC was applied to observe the x-index disparities in areas. Microsoft Excel Visual Basic for Application (VBA) was used for creating the CMs.

RESULTS

Results showed that the most productive and cited countries in Medicine (Baltimore) were China and the US. The most-cited states and cities were Maryland (the US) and Beijing (China). Taiwan (x-index = 24.38) ranked behind Maryland (25.97), but ahead of Beijing (16.9). China earned lower disparity (0.42) than the US (0.49) and the rest of the world (0.53) when the GCs were applied.

CONCLUSION

CF legends, particularly using the quantile classification for classes, can be useful to complement CMs. They also contain more information than those in standard CM legends that are commonly used with other classification methods. The steps of creating CM legends are described and introduced. Bibliometric analysts on CM can be replicated in the future.