Particulate matter and atherosclerosis: a bibliometric analysis of original research articles published in 1973-2014

Bibliometric study and review of Klotho research: global characteristics and trends from 2000 to 2023

BACKGROUND

Although Klotho-related research has seen a significant upsurge, the field lacks comprehensive analytical representation and in-depth exploration of pertinent areas such as prevailing research trends and key focus areas.

METHOD

This review presents a bibliometric analysis of literature data gathered from the Web of Science Core Collection databases from January 1, 2000, to April 30, 2023. Parameters such as co-authorship, co-citation, co-occurrence, and the emergence of publications, countries, categories, references, and keywords were scrutinized predominantly using Citespace software.

RESULTS

Our investigation amassed a total of 3548 papers, with the United States leading in the quantity of publications (1175, accounting for 33.12%), followed by China (867, representing 24.44%), and Japan (439, accounting for 12.37%). While the United States is preeminent in the overall volume of publications, Scotland holds prominence in terms of centrality. Out of a total of 96 subject categories, urology and nephrology (573), and endocrinology and metabolism (542) were the two leading domains of Klotho-related publications. The 2011 paper titled "FGF23 induces left ventricular hypertrophy" by Faul C et al. holds the distinction of being the most frequently cited. The keywords "fibroblast growth factor 23," "phosphate homeostasis," and "functional variants" demonstrated the highest intensity, underscoring the potential of these research areas.

CONCLUSION

As the volume of literature grows, the role of Klotho in disease management and its applicability as a marker in disease progression warrant vigilant tracking and study.

An overview of air pollution research in Chile: Bibliometric analysis and scoping review, challenger and future directions

This study provides a comprehensive overview and bibliometric analysis of air pollution research in Chile from 1980 to 2022. The analysis reveals a significant increase in scientific production, a 9.2 annual growth rate, and an H-index of 60. The research spans 33 countries and is influenced by environmental sciences, meteorology, and atmospheric sciences journals. The top ten authors account for 33.49 % of all publications, with local institutions contributing more than 35 %. The University of Chile and the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile are significant contributors. The most cited articles focus on health impacts and various pollutant sources, emphasizing air pollution as a critical public health concern. The study also emphasizes environmental science, meteorology, and atmospheric science, focusing on topics such as air pollution and health, pollutants, models, sources and chemistry, and social sciences. The findings are affirmed through rigorous discussion and review, providing a roadmap for future research, guiding decision-making processes, and expanding the knowledge frontier in the field.

A Knowledge Map of the Relationship between Diabetes and Stroke: A Bibliometric Analysis Study

INTRODUCTION

The correlation between diabetes and stroke has been studied extensively in epidemiological research. Here, we used bibliometric software to visualize and analyze the literature related to diabetic stroke to provide an overview of the current state of research, hotspots, and future trends in the field.

METHODS

Based on the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database, we collected studies related to diabetic stroke from 2007 to December 2022. We used CiteSpace (version 6.1.R5), VOSviewer, and Scimago Graphica to create knowledge maps and conduct visual analyses on authors, countries, institutions, cited references, and keywords, and Origin for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

We included a total of 5,171 papers on diabetic stroke from the WoSCC database. Overall, there was a steady increase in the number of publications, with a high number of emerging scientists. The USA was the most productive and influential country, which dominated national collaborations. The most common subject category was "neurology." In total, 12 major clusters were generated from the cited references. Keyword analysis showed that keywords related to poststroke injury and treatment are those with the highest burst intensity and latest burst time.

CONCLUSIONS

Individual disease treatment remains a hot topic, and how to balance acute stroke treatment and glycemic control is currently a difficult clinical problem. At the same time, the mechanism of their interaction and the prevention and treatment of related causative factors remain a hot topic of current and future research.

Status and frontier analysis of indoor PM2.5-related health effects: a bibliometric analysis

Epidemiological data indicate atmospheric particulate matter, especially fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), has many negative effects on human health. Of note, people spend about 90% of their time indoors. More importantly, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) statistics, indoor air pollution causes nearly 1.6 million deaths each year, and it is considered as one of the major health risk factors. In order to obtain a deeper understanding of the harmful effects of indoor PM_2.5 on human health, we used bibliometric software to summarize articles in this field. In conclusion, since 2000, the annual publication volume has increased year by year. America topped the list for the number of articles, and Professor Petros Koutrakis and Harvard University were the author and institution with the most published in this research area, respectively. Over the past decade, scholars gradually paid attention to molecular mechanisms, therefore, the toxicity can be better explored. Particularly, apart from timely intervention and treatment for adverse consequences, it is necessary to effectively reduce indoor PM_2.5 through technologies. In addition, the trend and keywords analysis are favorable ways to find out future research hotspots. Hopefully, various countries and regions strengthen academic cooperation and integration of multi-disciplinary.

Global research trends in atherosclerosis: A bibliometric and visualized study

Background

Increasing evidence has spurred a considerable evolution of concepts related to atherosclerosis, prompting the need to provide a comprehensive view of the growing literature. By retrieving publications in the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) of Clarivate Analytics, we conducted a bibliometric analysis of the scientific literature on atherosclerosis to describe the research landscape.

Methods

A search was conducted of the WoSCC for articles and reviews serving exclusively as a source of information on atherosclerosis published between 2012 and 2022. Microsoft Excel 2019 was used to chart the annual productivity of research relevant to atherosclerosis. Through CiteSpace and VOSviewer, the most prolific countries or regions, authors, journals, and resource-, intellectual-, and knowledge-sharing in atherosclerosis research, as well as co-citation analysis of references and keywords, were analyzed.

Results

A total of 20,014 publications were retrieved. In terms of publications, the United States remains the most productive country (6,390, 31,93%). The most publications have been contributed by Johns Hopkins Univ (730, 3.65%). ALVARO ALONSO produced the most published works (171, 0.85%). With a betweenness centrality of 0.17, ERIN D MICHOS was the most influential author. The most prolific journal was identified as Atherosclerosis (893, 4.46%). Circulation received the most co-citations (14,939, 2.79%). Keywords with the ongoing strong citation bursts were “nucleotide-binding oligomerization (NOD), Leucine-rich repeat (LRR)-containing protein (NLRP3) inflammasome,” “short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs),” “exosome,” and “homeostasis,” etc.

Conclusion

The research on atherosclerosis is driven mostly by North America and Europe. Intensive research has focused on the link between inflammation and atherosclerosis, as well as its complications. Specifically, the NLRP3 inflammasome, interleukin-1β, gut microbiota and SCFAs, exosome, long non-coding RNAs, autophagy, and cellular senescence were described to be hot issues in the field.

Physical Exercise in the Context of Air Pollution: An Emerging Research Topic

Physical exercise (PE) brings physiological benefits to human health; paradoxically, exposure to air pollution (AP) is harmful. Hence, the combined effects of AP and PE are interesting issues worth exploring. The objective of this study is to review literature involved in AP-PE fields to perform a knowledge-map analysis and explore the collaborations, current hotspots, physiological applications, and future perspectives. Herein, cluster, co-citation, and co-occurrence analysis were applied using CiteSpace and VOSviewer software. The results demonstrated that AP-PE domains have been springing up and in rapid growth since the 21st century. Subsequently, active countries and institutions were identified, and the productive institutions were mainly located in USA, China, UK, Spain, and Canada. Developed countries seemed to be the major promoters. Additionally, subject analysis found that environmental science, public health, and sports medicine were the core subjects, and multidimensional communications were forming. Thereafter, a holistic presentation of reference co-citation clusters was conducted to discover the research topics and trace the development focuses. Youth, elite athletes, and rural population were regarded as the noteworthy subjects. Commuter exposure and moderate aerobic exercise represented the common research context and exercise strategy, respectively. Simultaneously, the research hotspots and application fields were elaborated by keyword co-occurrence distribution. It was noted that physiological adaptations including respiratory, cardiovascular, metabolic, and mental health were the major themes; oxidative stress and inflammatory response were the mostly referred mechanisms. Finally, several challenges were proposed, which are beneficial to promote the development of the research field. Molecular mechanisms and specific pathways are still unknown and the equilibrium points and dose-effect relationships remain to be further explored. We are highly confident that this study provides a unique perspective to systematically and comprehensively review the pieces of AP-PE research and its related physiological mechanisms for future investigations.

Air pollutants disrupt iron homeostasis to impact oxidant generation, biological effects, and tissue injury

Air pollutants cause changes in iron homeostasis through: 1) a capacity of the pollutant, or a metabolite(s), to complex/chelate iron from pivotal sites in the cell or 2) an ability of the pollutant to displace iron from pivotal sites in the cell. Through either pathway of disruption in iron homeostasis, metal previously employed in essential cell processes is sequestered after air pollutant exposure. An absolute or functional cell iron deficiency results. If enough iron is lost or is otherwise not available within the cell, cell death ensues. However, prior to death, exposed cells will attempt to reverse the loss of requisite metal. This response of the cell includes increased expression of metal importers (e.g. divalent metal transporter 1). Oxidant generation after exposure to air pollutants includes superoxide production which functions in ferrireduction necessary for cell iron import. Activation of kinases and phosphatases and transcription factors and increased release of pro-inflammatory mediators also result from a cell iron deficiency, absolute or functional, after exposure to air pollutants. Finally, air pollutant exposure culminates in the development of inflammation and fibrosis which is a tissue response to the iron deficiency challenging cell survival. Following the response of increased expression of importers and ferrireduction, activation of kinases and phosphatases and transcription factors, release of pro-inflammatory mediators, and inflammation and fibrosis, cell iron is altered, and a new metal homeostasis is established. This new metal homeostasis includes increased total iron concentrations in cells with metal now at levels sufficient to meet requirements for continued function.

Bibliometric analysis of cardiometabolic disorders studies involving NO2, PM2.5 and noise exposure

BACKGROUND

This study uses bibliometric analysis to describe the state of research about the association of NO2, PM2.5 and noise exposures - three traffic-related pollutants - with cardiometabolic disorders.

METHODS

We retrieved references published 1994-2017 from Scopus and classified references with respect to exposure, health outcome and study design using index keywords. Temporal trend, top cited references, used index keywords and the number of hypothesis testing and non-hypothesis testing study design for each group were identified.

RESULTS

Results show PM2.5 is the most frequently studied exposure (47%), followed by both NO2 and PM2.5 exposure (29%). Only 3% of references considered multiple exposures between NO2 and/or PM2.5 and noise, and these were published after 2008. While we observed a growing trend in studies with NO2 and/or PM2.5 and noise and diabetes in the last decade, there is a diminishing trend in studies with noise and diabetes. Different patterns of study designs were found through H/NH ratio, the number of references classified as having a hypothesis (H)-testing design relative to the number of references classified as having a non-hypothesis (NH)-testing design. Studies with NO2 and/or PM2.5 exposure are more likely to have a H-testing design, while those with noise exposure are more likely to have a NH-testing design, such as cross-sectional study design.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude with three themes about research trends. First, the study of simultaneous exposures to multiple pollutants is a current trend, and likely to continue. Second, the association between traffic-related pollutants and diabetes and metabolic symptoms is an area for growth in research. Third, the transition to the use of H-testing study designs to explore associations between noise and cardiometabolic outcomes may be supported by improved understanding of the mechanism of action, and/or improvements to the accuracy and precision of air pollution and noise exposure assessments for environmental health research.

The toxicology of air pollution predicts its epidemiology

The epidemiologic investigation has successively delineated associations of air pollution exposure with non-malignant and malignant lung disease, cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, pregnancy outcomes, perinatal effects and other extra-pulmonary disease including diabetes. Defining these relationships between air pollution exposure and human health closely parallels results of an earlier epidemiologic investigation into cigarette smoking and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), two other particle-related exposures. Humic-like substances (HULIS) have been identified as a chemical component common to cigarette smoke and air pollution particles. Toxicology studies provide evidence that a disruption of iron homeostasis with sequestration of host metal by HULIS is a fundamental mechanistic pathway through which biological effects are initiated by cigarette smoke and air pollution particles. As a result of a common chemical component and a shared mechanistic pathway, it should be possible to extrapolate from the epidemiology of cigarette smoking and ETS to predict associations of air pollution exposure with human disease, which are currently unrecognized. Accordingly, it is anticipated that the forthcoming epidemiologic investigation will demonstrate relationships of air pollution with COPD causation, peripheral vascular disease, hypertension, renal disease, digestive disease, loss of bone mass/risk of fractures, dental disease, eye disease, fertility problems, and extrapulmonary malignancies.

Early life stress, air pollution, inflammation, and disease: An integrative review and immunologic model of social-environmental adversity and lifespan health

Socially disadvantaged individuals are at greater risk for simultaneously being exposed to adverse social and environmental conditions. Although the mechanisms underlying joint effects remain unclear, one hypothesis is that toxic social and environmental exposures have synergistic effects on inflammatory processes that underlie the development of chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression, and certain types of cancer. In the present review, we examine how exposure to two risk factors that commonly occur with social disadvantage-early life stress and air pollution-affect health. Specifically, we identify neuroimmunologic pathways that could link early life stress, inflammation, air pollution, and poor health, and use this information to propose an integrated, multi-level model that describes how these factors may interact and cause health disparity across individuals based on social disadvantage. This model highlights the importance of interdisciplinary research considering multiple exposures across domains and the potential for synergistic, cross-domain effects on health, and may help identify factors that could potentially be targeted to reduce disease risk and improve lifespan health.

Main components of PM10 in an area influenced by a cement plant in Catalonia, Spain: Seasonal and daily variations

Particulate matter (PM) composition has a key role in a wide range of health outcomes, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, and death, among others. Montcada i Reixac, a municipality located in the Barcelona metropolitan area (Catalonia, Spain), for its location and orography, is an interesting case- study to investigate air pollution. The area is also characterized by the presence of different industrial emission sources, including a cement factory and a large waste management plant, as well as an intense traffic. In this study, PM₁₀ levels, trace elements, ions, and carbonaceous particles were determined for a long time period (2013-2016) in this highly polluted area. PM₁₀ samples were collected during six consecutive days in two campaigns (cold and warm) per year. A number of elements (As, Ba, Be, Bi, Ca, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Dy, Er, Eu, Fe, Ga, Gd, Ge, Hf, Hg, Ho, K, La, Li, Hg, Mg, Mn, Mo, Nb, Nd, Ni, Pb, Pr, Rb, Sb, Sc, Se, Sm, Sn, Sr, Tb, Th, Ti, Tl, U, V, W, Y, Yb, and Zr), ions (Cl^-, SO₄^2-, NO₃^-, and NH₄⁺), and carbonaceous content (total carbon, organic plus elemental carbon, and CO₃^2-), were analysed. These data were used to identify the PM₁₀ main components: mineral matter, sea spray, secondary inorganic aerosols, organic matter plus elemental carbon, trace elements or indeterminate fraction. Although a clear seasonality (cold vs. warm periods) was found, there were no differences between working days and weekends. Obviously, the cement plant influences the surrounding environment. However, no differences in trace elements related with the cement plant activity (Al, Ca, Ni and V) between weekdays and weekends were noted. However, some traffic-related elements (i.e., Co, Cr, Mn, and Sb) showed significantly higher concentrations in weekdays.

Publication trends and knowledge mapping in 3D printing in orthopaedics

PURPOSE

Three dimensional (3D) printing, also called 'rapid prototyping' and 'additive manufacturing' is considered as a "second industrial revolution." With this rapidly emerging technology, CT or MR images are used for the creation of graspable objects from 3D reconstituted images. Patient-specific anatomical models can be, therefore, manufactured efficiently. These can enhance surgeon's understanding of their patients' patho-anatomy and also help in precise preoperative planning. The 3D printed patient-specific guides can also help in achieving accurate bony cuts, precise implant placement, and nice surgical results. Customized implants, casts, orthoses and prosthetics can be created to match an individual patient's anatomy. The 3D printing of individualized artificial cartilage scaffolds and 3D bioprinting are some other areas of growing interest. We aim to study the publication trends in 3D printing as applied to the field of orthopaedics.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A literature search was performed to extract all papers related to 3D printing applications in orthopaedics and allied sciences on the Pubmed, Web of Science and SCOPUS databases. Suitable keywords and boolean operators ("3D Printing" OR "3-dimensional printing" OR "3D printed" OR "additive manufacturing" OR "rapid prototyping") AND (''Orthopaedics" OR "Orthopaedics'') were used, in May 2018. Search was attempted in Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Database of Abstracts of Review of Effectiveness (DARE) databases, using keywords 3d printing orthopaedics. A similar search was repeated in pubmed and SCOPUS to get more specific papers.No limits were set on the period or evidence level, as 3D printing in orthopaedics is relatively new and evidence available is usually limited to low-level studies. Trends in a publication on these topics were analyzed, focussing on publications, type of research (basic science or clinical), type of publication, authors, institution, and country. Some citations received by these papers were also analyzed in SCOPUS and Web of Science. MS Excel (2008 - Mac version) and VOS Viewer1.6.8 (2018- Mac version) software were used to analyze the search results and for citation mapping respectively. We also identified top 10 most cited articles in the field.

RESULTS

An increasing trend in publications in 3D printing-related work in orthopedic surgery and related fields was observed in the recent past. A search on Pubmed using the above strategy revealed 389 documents. A similar search revealed 653 documents on SCOPUS, many (314) of which were from an engineering background and only 271 were related to medicine. No papers were found in the Cochrane database. Search on TRIP database revealed 195 papers. A similar search revealed 237 papers on orthopedic applications on Pubmed and 269 documents on SCOPUS, whereas a search on Web of Science revealed only 23 papers. Publication trends were then analyzed on data derived from SCOPUS database. Overall, most papers were published from China, followed by United States, United Kingdom, and India.

CONCLUSION

There has been an upsurge of interest in 3D printing in orthopedic surgery, as is evident by an increasing trend in research and publications in this area in the recent years. Presently, 3D printing is in a primitive stage in the field of orthopedic surgery as our knowledge is still insufficient, and costs and learning curve are somewhat high. However, looking at latest publication trends, we are enthusiastic that it holds the key to future in orthopaedics and trauma cases.

Outdoor air pollution and respiratory health: a bibliometric analysis of publications in peer-reviewed journals (1900 - 2017)

BACKGROUND

Outdoor air pollution is a major threat to global public health that needs responsible participation of researchers at all levels. Assessing research output is an important step in highlighting national and international contribution and collaboration in a certain field. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze globally-published literature in outdoor air pollution - related respiratory health.

METHOD

Outdoor air pollution documents related to respiratory health were retrieved from Scopus database. The study period was up to 2017. Mapping of author keywords was carried out using VOSviewer 1.6.6.

RESULTS

Search query yielded 3635 documents with an h-index of 137. There was a dramatic increase in the number of publications in the last decade of the study period. The most frequently encountered author keywords were: air pollution (835 occurrences), asthma (502 occurrences), particulate matter (198 occurrences), and children (203 occurrences). The United States of America ranked first (1082; 29.8%) followed by the United Kingdom (279; 7.7%) and Italy (198; 5.4%). Annual research productivity stratified by income and population size indicated that China ranked first (22.2) followed by the USA (18.8). Analysis of regional distribution of publications indicated that the Mediterranean, African, and South-East Asia regions had the least contribution. Harvard University (92; 2.5%) was the most active institution/organization followed the US Environmental Protection Agency (89; 2.4%). International collaboration was restricted to three regions: Northern America, Europe, and Asia. The top ten preferred journals were in the field of environmental health and respiratory health. Environmental Health Perspective was the most preferred journal for publishing documents in outdoor pollution in relation to respiratory health.

CONCLUSION

Research on the impact of outdoor air pollution on respiratory health had accelerated lately and is receiving a lot of interest. Global research networks that include countries with high level of pollution and limited resources are highly needed to create public opinion in favor of minimizing outdoor air pollution and investing in green technologies.

Research development, current hotspots, and future directions of water research based on MODIS images: a critical review with a bibliometric analysis

Water is essential for life as it provides drinking water and food for humans and animals. Additionally, the water environment provides habitats for numerous species and plays an important role in hydrological, nutrient, and carbon cycles. Among the existing natural resources on Earth's surface, water is the most extensive as it covers more than 70% of the Earth. To gather a comprehensive understanding of the focus of past, present, and future directions of remote sensing water research, we provide an alternative perspective on water research using moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) imagery by conducting a comparative quantitative and qualitative analysis of research development, current hotspots, and future directions using a bibliometric analysis. Our study suggests that there has been a rapid growth in the scientific outputs of water research using MODIS imagery over the past 15 years compared to other popular satellites around the world. The analysis indicated that Remote Sensing of Environment was the most active journal, and "remote sensing," "imaging science photographic technology," "environmental sciences ecology," "meteorology atmospheric sciences," and "geology" are the top 5 most popular subject categories. The Chinese Academy of Sciences was the most productive institution with a total of 477 papers, and Hu CM (Chinese) was the most productive author with 76 papers. A keyword analysis indicated that "vegetation index," "evapotranspiration," and "phytoplankton" were the most active research topics throughout the study period. In addition, it is predicted that more attention will be paid to research on climate change and phenology in the future. Based on the keyword analysis and in consideration of current environmental problems, more studies should focus on the following three aspects: (1) develop methods suitable for data assimilation to fully explain climate or phenological phenomena at continental or global scales rather than at local scales; (2) accurately predict the effect of global change and human activities on evapotranspiration and the water cycle; and (3) determine the evolutionary process of the water environment (i.e., water quality, macrophytes, cyanobacteria, etc.), ascertaining its dominant factors and driving mechanisms. By focusing on these three aspects, researchers will be able to provide timely monitoring and evaluation of water quality and its response to global change and human activities.

Global cocaine intoxication research trends during 1975-2015: a bibliometric analysis of Web of Science publications

BACKGROUND

Cocaine is subject to recreational abuse as a stimulant and psychoactive agent, which poses a major worldwide health problem. The aim of the present study was to perform a bibliometric analysis of publication related to cocaine intoxication an insight of the research trends at a global level to enable recommendations for future research strategies in this field.

METHODS

Publications about cocaine intoxication were retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection database on December 28, 2016, and analysed regarding the following bibliometric indicators: research trends, document types, languages, countries/territories with their h-index, collaboration patterns, journals with their impact factors (IF), and institutions.

RESULTS

In total, 2,902 scientific publications from 1975 to 2015 were retrieved from the WoS database. The annual number of publications related to cocaine toxicity increased slightly after 1990 and reached a peak of 148 in 1992, with an average of 103 publications per year. The USA outranked other countries/territories with 2,089 publications, of which 1,927 arose exclusively from the USA and 162 involved international collaborations. The h-index for all publications related to cocaine was 212, and the h-index for all publications related to cocaine intoxication was 99. Moreover, the USA had the highest h-index of 95, followed by Spain with h-index of 24, and Canada with h-index of 24. The main research topics were consistently reproductive toxicity, clinical management of acute cocaine exposure, laboratory methods for detection of exposure to cocaine, cocaine metabolism, and cocaine toxicity in animals.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first bibliometric approach to examining research related to cocaine toxicity and shows that research activity has become more global and extensive since 1990. The USA remains the leading country regarding published literature, the highest h-index, and greatest role in international collaborations.

The Cold Dusty Harmattan: A Season of Anguish for Cardiologists and Patients

Human health and disease often demonstrate seasonal patterns. Knowledge of these aspects aids anticipation and planning. Numerous studies have shown that hypertension and cardiovascular diseases demonstrate a seasonal pattern. The Harmattan, the cold dusty season in Sub-Saharan Africa, is the season of greatest concern in this regard. In this commentary, the author draws on his and other researchers' studies to explain the grounds for onset and worsening of existing cardiovascular diseases. As implied in the title, it is a season that puts great strain on the cardiologist and the health system, as well as greater disease burden on the patient. This should be taken into consideration in planning and pooling of resources for effective patient management and mitigation of impact of disease.