Global research output and highly-cited publications on prosthetic joint infections: A bibliometric analysis (2003-2022)

Backgroundand aims

Prosthetic Joint Infection (PJI) is a serious clinical problem after Arthroplasty. The research field on PJI is emerging, but there is a paucity of information on the most impactful publications on it. This prompted us to conduct a bibliometric analysis of the global research output, from 2003 to 2022, to identify the growth of publications, the key players in this research field and to evaluate the characteristics of highly-cited publications (HCPs) on the PJI.

Methods

Publications related to PJI research were identified globally from the Scopus database, using specific keywords, covering the literature from 2003 to 2022. The HCPs were considered those with 100 or more citations. Information on publication year, citation count, funding sources, title, author, journal, country, institution, research area, and strategic keywords were collected from these HCPs. Publication data was imported into Microsoft Excel and analyzed further using VOSviewer and R software.

Results

There were 182 HCPs (3.12%), which received a total citation of 124701 (average CPP of 21.41), with the citation range from 100 to 1921. Research articles were the most predominant publications (69.2%), but their average citations per paper (CPP) of 189.78 was lower than that of Review articles (average CPP: 253.17). The USA has been the leading country in terms of total publications (31.58%), and HCPs (36.99%), followed by Switzerland, Spain, UK and China. There were no HCPs from developing countries. J. Parvizi of Thomas Jefferson University, USA (with a total publications of 31 and an average CPP of 315.7), and W. Zimmerli of Basel University, Switzerland (with a TP of 11 and an average CPP of 341.9), were the most productive and impactful authors in PJI global research output.

Conclusion

This bibliometric analysis identified the most productive and impactful authors, organizations, countries, and journals in the research of PJI, of the last two decades.

Top 100 highly cited papers from India on COVID-19 research: A bibliometric analysis of the core literature

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

This study aimed to assess the current status of India's COVID-19 research from the top 100 most cited papers, using bibliometrics methods and indicators and suggest strengths and weaknesses.

METHODOLOGY

Publications on COVID-19 research from India between December 2019 and 22 August 2023 were retrieved from the Scopus database. From 37101 studies retrieved, the first top 100 Highly Cited Papers (HCPs) having received 270 to 2931 citations, were identified.

RESULTS

The top 100 most cited Indian papers were published from 2020 to 2023, with the majority (75) in the year 2021, followed by 24 in 2022. They were cited a total of 56661 times (average - 566.61 times). The 242 authors of these HCPs were from 159 Indian organizations, and the articles were published in 60 journals. 29 % and 59 % of these HCPs received external funding support and were involved in international collaborations, respectively. There was poor collaboration among Indian research institutions and a dearth of funding from India. None of the Indian HCPs figured in the global 100 HCPs.

CONCLUSIONS

Although citations of research papers published from India increased during COVID-19, limited collaboration, inadequate funding, and subpar publications hindered Indian scientists. To enhance India's research landscape, we propose dismantling barriers, nurturing collaboration, and encouraging knowledge exchange among domestic institutions.

Scientometric analysis of highly cited papers on avascular necrosis of the femoral head from 1991 to 2022

INTRODUCTION

A highly cited paper (HCP) is considered a landmark that can influence both research and clinical practice. The characteristics of HCPs in avascular necrosis of the femoral head (AVNFH) were identified and the research status was explored in a scientometric analysis.

METHODS

The present bibliometric analysis were based on the Scopus database from 1991 to 2021. Microsoft Excel and VOSviewer were used for co-authorship, co-citation, and co-occurrence analysis. From 8496 papers, only 2.9% (244) were HCPs, with 200.8 citations registered per article.

RESULTS

Of the HCPs, 11.9% and 12.3% were externally funded and had international collaboration, respectively. These were published in 84 journals by 1625 authors from 425 organizations of 33 countries. The USA, Japan, Switzerland, and Israel were the leading countries.The lead research organizations were Sinai Hospital and John Hopkins University (USA). The most impactful organizations were University of Arkansas for Medical Science, and Good Samaritan Hospital (USA). R.A. Mont (USA) and K.H. Koo (South Korea) were the most prolific contributing authors, while R. Ganz (Switzerland) and R.S. Weinstein (USA) registered the most impactful contributions. The most prolific publishing journal was the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.

CONCLUSION

The HCPs contributed to the knowledge of AVNFH by examining research perspectives and identifying important subareas through keyword analysis.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Not applicable.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Not applicable.

Stem cell therapy for type 1 diabetes: a scientometric assessment of global research during the twenty-first century

Purpose

We aimed to provide a scientometric assessment of global research in stem cell therapy (SCT) for type 1 diabetes (T1D) during 1999-2020.

Methods

The published data on SCT in T1D were retrieved from Elsevier's Scopus database and analyzed using select bibliometric tools. We used VOSviewer software and the Biblioshiny app to construct and visualize bibliometric networks.

Results

The global yield totaled 1806 publications in the 22-year study period, registering a 17.7% annual growth peaking at 196.9% in the last 11 years. The average citations per publication (CPP) decreased from 62.0 during 1999-2009 to 24.3 during 2010-2020. The funded publications were 727 (40.2%). Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were only 2.4% (45). Amongst 70 participating countries, the USA led with a 38.6% share. Of the 388 global organizations, Harvard Medical School, USA, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Italy, and the University of Florida, USA were the topmost contributors. Florina, Couri, and Trucco were the top productive authors, whereas Melton, Abdi, and Simoes were the most impactful. Only 129 (3.1%) publications were highly-cited; their total and average CPP were 31,228 and 214.0 (range 101-1841), respectively.

Conclusions

The quantity of research in SCT for T1D has increased during the last two decades while the quality has dipped. The research landscape is dominated by high-income North-American and Western-European countries. There is a need for conducting large-scale RCTs and promoting research collaborations between high- and low-income countries for long-term sustainability and global impact.

Scientometric analysis of Indian Orthopaedic Research in the last two decades

PURPOSE

This study aimed to examine India's orthopaedic research output during 2002-2021 to analyze the research characteristics and publication performances of leading organizations, authors, and cities, the core journals publishing research, broad subject areas, sub-specialties, and the classification by anatomical location, the subject areas of research using major keywords and the sources of funding and the extent of international collaboration.

METHODS

India's orthopaedic publications data was identified and downloaded from the Scopus database ( https://www.scopus.com ) using a well-defined search strategy and keywords.

RESULTS

India's 4606 publications grew at a 20.8% annual growth rate and averaged 11.3 citations per paper. The 10.4% and 16.3% share of India's papers received external funded support and were involved in international collaboration. The USA and UK (31.8% and 21.3%) represent the highest collaborative share in India's international collaborative publications. AIIMS-New Delhi and PGIMER-Chandigarh produced a larger proportion of articles (5.2% and 4.3%) among contributing organizations. In terms of authors, R. Vaishya and S. Rajasekaran are the most productive ones, contributing 1.6% and 1.1% share respectively. Clinical studies, paediatric sub-specialty, and knee & leg anatomical location accounted for the largest share of papers (32.2%, 10.8%, and 7.5%).The most frequent keywords co-occurrences were "Orthopaedic Surgery," "Hydroxyapatite," "Biocompatibility," "Orthopaedic Procedures," "Bone," "Surgical Techniques," "Biomaterials," and "Osteosynthesis."

CONCLUSION

This study revealed the characteristics and trends of research and core publications from Indian authors and organizations identified in the last two decades. This research should provide useful insights into the research hotspots of India in the present, past, and future.

A scientometric analysis of India's publications in arthroplasty in the last two decades from the SCOPUS database

Objectives

This study evaluates the publication output of the Indian authors on the topic of Arthroplasty research from 2002 to 2021, using bibliometric methods.

Methods

The Indian publications as listed in the Scopus database were identified by using "Arthroplasty" or "Joint Replacement" in the keyword ("Key") tag.

Results

India contributed 872 publications on Arthroplasty research, constituting a 1.36% share of global output, in the last two decades. Knee Arthroplasty accounted for the largest share (52.4%) in India's output, followed by Hip (35.7%) and others. 841 authors from 413 organizations participated unevenly in the research on this topic, with IISc-Bangalore contributing the largest number of publications (97), followed by Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals (46), Breach Candy Hospital, Bombay(40), and PGIMER, Chandigarh(38). R. Malhotra contributed the largest number of publications (55), followed by R. Vaishya (35 papers) and G.M. Shetty (23 papers). S. Bhan (31.0 and 3.17), A.B. Mullaji (30,13 and 3.08), N.P. Jain (25.75 and 2.63) and H.Pandit (21.88 and 2.24) registered the highest CPP & RCI. The journals which published the highest number of Arthroplasty articles were the Journal of Arthroplasty (123), followed by the Journal of Clinical Orthopaedics & Trauma (50) and International Orthopaedics (32).

Conclusion

India's contribution in the field of Arthroplasty-related publication is still low on a global platform, however, has shown a positive and increasing trend in the last two decades. The maximum publications were related to knee and hip arthroplasty and were from institutions in the major Indian cities of Delhi and Mumbai. More international and multicentric collaboration and external funding may help improve the number of arthroplasty publications in the future.

Global research in sarcopenia: High-cited papers, research institutions, funding agencies and collaborations, 1993-2022

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

This bibliometric analysis aims to analyze the high-cited papers (HCPs), those which have received >100 citations) on Sarcopenia to provide insight into publication performances and research characteristics of the literature.

METHODS

Global HCPs on Sarcopenia research were identified from the Scopus database from January 1993 to August 2022. VOSviewer, and Biblioshiny software were used to visualize the collaborative interaction among most productive countries, organizations, authors, and keywords. Select bibliometric measures were applied to evaluate the publication productivity and their influence in this area.

RESULTS

Out of 6219 publications on Sarcopenia only 398 were HCPs. These HCPs received an average of 271.7 citations per publication (CPP). The most productive organizations were the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy, and Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Center on Aging, USA. The most impactful organizations in terms of CPP and relative citation index were CHU de Toulouse, France, and Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy. The most productive authors were Landi F and Morley JE, and Anker SD from Italy and Germany respectively. The most impactful authors were: Cederholm T (Sweden), Cruz JAJ (Spain) and Rolland Y (France). There were few/no HCPs from South America, Africa, South Asia, and USSR.

CONCLUSION

Sarcopenia research has been predominantly done in USA, Europe, and China, and rarely from low and middle-income countries. Further focus of research should be on its etiopathogenesis (especially at the molecular level), prevalence in different communities, methods to diagnose it in early stages, and its cost-effective management.

Global research on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and related disorders: A scientometric assessment of global research during 2002-2021

OBJECTIVES

to examine the global publication output on Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) during the last 20 years using bibliometric methods.

METHODS

The quantitative and qualitative analysis of global publications was performed for all the publications in Scopus database by using "OCD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, other related disorders" as keyword in "Title" tag.

RESULTS

10,365 publications on OCD and related disorders were indexed in Scopus international database in the last 20 years and these publications were cited 241,962 times, averaging 23.34 citations per paper (CPP). About 24.91% share of global publication output received funding support and registered a CPP of 36.57. Among various countries, authors from USA, U.K., and Germany contributed the largest number of publications (3585, 965, and 836 publications), and publications arising from Netherlands (36.79 and 1.58), U.K. (32.65 and 1.40), and USA (32.43 and 1.39) registered the highest CPP and relative citation index (RCI). The organizations that produced the highest number of publications were Harvard Medical School, USA (487 papers), Massachusetts General Hospital, USA (454 papers), and King's College London, U.K. (297 papers). The authors who published highest number of papers were E.A. Storch (254 papers), D. Mataix-Cols (178 papers), and D.J. Stein (178 papers). The authors whose publications had highest CPP and RCI were B.D. Greenberg (USA) (73.76 and 3.16), and S.A. Rasmussen (USA) (63.36 and 2.71).

CONCLUSIONS

This study reveals that majority of the research on OCD and related disorders is from the developed countries and compared to disorders like schizophrenia, OCD has received less research attention.

A scientometric study of publications on delirium from 2001 to 2020

AIM

This study aims to evaluate the publications on delirium by using bibliometric analysis.

METHODOLOGY

The Scopus database was evaluated for publications on delirium, during the period of 2001-20. The search results were analyzed for the origin of country, origin of institution, authorship, collaborations, type of article, source of funding, and number of citations.

RESULTS

The searches of Scopus database yielded 22,941 publications, originating from 139 countries. Compared to the decade of 2001-2010, the number of publications on delirium doubled in the decade of 2011-2020. The majority of the papers were research articles (58.26%), and the papers were cited for mean number of 20.53 times. Only a small proportion of the papers were based on funding (13.14%). Maximum number of papers emerged from United States of America. In terms of institutional affiliations, among the authors from top 20 institutes, 15 were from United States, 2 from Netherlands and 1 each from Canada, Germany and United Kingdom. In terms of authors, the research productivity of the top 20 most productive authors varied from 172 to 612 publications with 12 authors belonging to United States, 2 from Italy and 1 each from Canada, Greece, India, Ireland, Netherland and the United Kingdom. The maximum number of papers were published in Journal of the American Geriatric Society and based on the number of citations the New England Journal of Medicine was the most impactful journal.

CONCLUSION

Over the years number of publications on delirium have increased, majority of the publications have emerged from United States.

COVID-19 and suicidal behavior: A bibliometric assessment

The paper examines the global research output on suicidal behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Scopus database was used to identify the publications on suicidal behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic from the beginning of the pandemic to up to 17th May 2021. The 686 publications emerging from 78 countries were found on the topic. These publications received 7970 citations, with an average of 11.62 citations per paper. About one-sixth (16.33%) of the total publications were funded, and these publications averaged 17.24 citations per paper. The publications from the top 10 most productive countries accounted for 92.71% of all publications. The highest number of publications emerged from United States, United Kingdom, and India. However, the relative citation index was highest for publications arising from France, Bangladesh, and Germany. The total number of organizations and authors involved in these publications were 286 and 290, respectively. The top 20 most productive organizations and authors contributed to 35.13% and 17.64% of publications and 79.15% and 58.61% global citations share, respectively. The maximum number of papers were published in the Asian Journal of Psychiatry, followed by Psychiatry Research and Lancet Psychiatry. This study suggests that suicidal behavior has received considerable attention during the ongoing COIVD-19 pandemic.

Schizophrenia research in India: A scientometric assessmentof India's publications during 1990-2019

The present study examined India's publications (2803) on schizophrenia, using various bibliometric indicators during 1990-2019. The study focuses on the number of publications, and citations received by the papers on schizophrenia, published by authors affiliated to Indian institutes by using Scopus data base. Additionally, an attempt was made to evaluate the performance of India's leading organizations and authors, and inter-collaborative linkages between them. Scopus database include publications of Indian Journal of Psychiatry and Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine from 2009 and 2011. Accordingly, the publications in these journals were included after these years. Analysis of the publications showed that India is globally ranked at 13^th position in number of publications on schizophrenia with 2.04 % global share, depicting 14.21 % annual growth, with 22.8 % of publications having international collaboration. Publications from India published during the period of 1990-2019, registered a citation impact per paper (CPP) of 13.3. National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore (671 papers), Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh (271 papers) and Central Instittue of Psychiatry, Ranchi (136 papers) were the most productive institutes. However, the most impactful organizations in terms of citation per paper (CPP) and relative citation index (RCI), Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (77.27 CPP and 5.78 RCI), Schizophrenia Research Foundation, Chennai (31.16 CPP and 2.55 RCI) and Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi (29.21 CPP and 2.18 RCI) were at the top. In terms of Individual authors, G. Venkatasubramanian (180 papers), and B.N. Gangadhar (162 papers) were the most productive authors and R.Thara (31.87 CPP and 2.38 RCI), B.K. Thelma (24.0 CPP and 1.8 RCI), M.S. Keshavan (23.91 CPP and 1.79 RCI) were the most impactful authors, among the top 15 authors. The journals which reported comparatively higher productivity for Indian publications included Indian Journal of Psychiatry (242 papers), followed by Asian Journal of Psychiatry (214 papers) and Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine (103 papers). In terms of most impactful Indian publications, these were published in The Lancet (97.7), Progress in Neuro Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry (50) and Schizophrenia Bulletin (44.67).

Research on bipolar disorder from India: A bibliometric analysis of papers published during 2000-19

The paper examines 1037 publications on bipolar disorder (BD) during the years 2000-19 from India, as listed in the Scopus database. India's publications constituted 2.27 % share of global output (45,624 publications) in the study period of 20 years. India does not figure in the top 10 countries in terms of research output on BD. The number of publications on BD from India increased from 13 in 2000 to 107 in 2019, registering 14.44 % annual average growth, higher than world's growth of 6.02 %. India's 10-year cumulative publications increased from 264 during 2000-09 to 773 during 2010-19, registering 192.8 % absolute growth, much higher than world cumulative growth of 63.27 %. India's publications on BD averaged citation impact per paper of 14.24, which decreased from 25.38 to 10.43 from 2000-09 to 2010-19. Maximum numbers of papers from India on BD were published by researchers from National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore (222 papers),Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh(118 papers), and AII India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (79 papers). Lady Harding Medical College, New Delhi (36.20 and 2.54), Schizophrenia Research Foundation, Chennai (27.45 and 1.93), and King George's Medical University, Lucknow (25.21 and 1.77) were the most significant organizations in terms of citation per paper and relative citation index. Maximum number of papers were published in Indian Journal of Psychiatry (101 papers), followed by Asian Journal of Psychiatry (88 papers) and Indian Journal of Psychology Medicine (34 papers).

A Scientometric Assessment of Global Publications in E Learning Research during 2003 to 18

The paper provides quantitative and qualitative assessment of global publications output in the domain of e-learning research (1809 publications). The data was sourced from Scopus database during 2003-18. The study finds that global e-learning research registered 18.92 per cent annual average growth, averaged 6.90 citations per paper in a 16-year window. The distribution of global research in the subject is highly skewed as 10 out of 94 participating countries account for 62.58 per cent global publications share. A total of 449 authors from 387 organisations contributed to global e-learning research. The top 15 organisations collectively contributed 14.81 per cent global publication share and 24.52 per cent global citation share respectively. The top 15 authors contributed 7.89 per cent global publication share and and 33.45 per cent global citation share respectively during the period. Carnegie Mellon University, USA (49 papers) is the most productive organisations in the world, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan (23.29 and 3.37) is the most cited organisation. M. Vivou (24 papers) is most prolific author in the world and C.M. Chen (103.0 and 14.93) the most cited author in the subject. Computers and Education and Computers in Human Behavior (20 papers) were the leading journals publishing on this theme.

Global Research Studies on Electronic Journals A Scientometric Study during 1990 2017

This paper presents a quantitative and qualitative description of global research in the field “electronic journals”. The study is based on global publications data (1747 publications) on the subject sourced from SCOPUS database covering the period 1990-2017. The study analyzes the data on a series of measures, like average annual growth, citations per paper, international collaborative papers, relative citation index, and activity index. Global research in the subject registered 18.46% growth, research impact of 5.28 citations per paper, and contributed barely 26 highly cited papers within a long span of 28 years. The USA has emerged as the world leader in electronic journals research accounting for 45.28% global publications share, followed by U.K. (12.18%), India (5.49%), etc. Top 20 organizations and authors in the subject contributed 16.58% and 11.15% global publications share respectively and 37.72% and 43.92% global citations share respectively during the period.

Machine Translation Research A Scientometric Assessment of Global Publications Output during 2007 16

The present study provides a quantitative and qualitative description of global machine translation research published during 2007-16 and as indexed in Scopus database. The study profiles research in the field on a series of measures, such as publications growth rate, global share, citation impact, share of international collaborative papers and distribution of publications by sub-areas. The study also profiles top contributing countries, organisations and authors in machine translation research on a series of bibliometric indicators. The study further reports characteristics of highly cited papers in the field.

Artificial Intelligence Research in India: A Scientometric Assessment of Publications Output during 2007-16

<div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span>The paper examines the world output in artificial intelligence research, a total of 1,52,655 publications, as seen from Scopus database, covering the period during 2007-16. The top 10 countries of the world in artificial </span><span>intelligence research accounted for 74.32 per cent global publication share. Individually their global share varied from 3.68 per cent to 19.46 per cent, with China accounting for 19.46 per cent global share, followed by the USA (17.96 </span><span>%), India (6.37 %), and the U.K. (6.33 %), etc. The paper also examines publications output by India in artificial </span><span>intelligence research. India cumulated a total of 9730 publications in 10 years during 2007-16, registered an annual </span><span>average growth rate of 27.45 per cent, averaged citation impact to 2.76 citations per paper, and contributed 10.34 </span><span>per cent share of its total country output as international collaborative publications during 2007-16. Computer science </span><span>accounted for the largest publication share (86.99 %), followed by engineering (30.69 %), mathematics (15.95 %), </span><span>biochemistry, genetics &amp; molecular biology (4.66 %), and several other disciplines. The top 10 organizations and 10 authors together accounted for 19.31 per cent and 2.71 per cent national publications share respectively and 29.78 </span><span>per cent share and 6.85 per cent national citation share respectively during 2007-16. Top 10 journals accounted for 15.45 per cent share of the country output appearing in journal medium (1650 papers). India accounted for 24 </span><span>highly cited papers, averaging to 162.46 citations per paper. These 24 highly cited papers involved the participation </span><span>of 109 authors from 70 organizations, published in 15 journals. </span></p></div></div></div>

3D Printing: A Scientometric Assessment of Global Publications Output during 2007-16

<div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span>The papers provides quantitative and qualitative description of three dimensional (3D) printing research based </span><span>on global publications output (7309 publications) in the field as indexed in Scopus database covering the 10-year </span><span>period 2007-2016. 3D printing research registered 54.61 per cent growth per annum and averaged 10.59 citations per </span><span>papers in 10 years, and bulk of global output (93.79 %) in the field emanates from just top 16 countries. The papers further provides an insight into qualitative performance of 3D printing research in terms of relative citation index, citations per papers, highly cited papers, top 25 global organisations and authors in the field, most favoured subjects in the field, and most favoured materials, technologies, and applications used in the field. The study concludes that 3D printing is the next revolution in industrial manufacturing led by USA and China. Asian and Pacific countries </span><span>should take initiatives to support 3D printing research through appropriate policy and funding mechanisms as well as encourage research teams to collaborate with leading international hubs in 3D printing research. </span></p></div></div></div>

Mobile Commerce Global Publications: A Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment during 2007-16

<p>The paper provides quantitative and qualitative description of mobile commerce research, as covered in Scopus database during 2007-16. Mobile commerce research registered 7.29 per cent growth, and averaged 3.78 citations per paper. The global output in mobile commerce research in 10 years was 4803 publications but just top 10 countries contributed bulk of (80.66 %) global publications share and 90.39 per cent global citations share during the period. China (with 30.0 per cent global publications share) is the world leader in mobile commerce research, followed by USA (15.59 % share) and others. The paper also provide information on their relative citation index, their international collaborative publications share, activity index of sub-fields in mobile commerce research and bibliographic characteristics of 25 highly cited papers. The paper also reports on top 20 most productive global organisations and authors in mobile commerce research and describes their characteristics on a series of parameters. The study concludes that mobile commerce research is still in its early stages of growth and development and not growing fast, as fast as mobile penetration. There is a need to provide institutional funding and policy support to R&amp;D institutions to accelerate research growth, build and strengthen their research capacities, and encourage national and international research collaboration in this important area.</p>

Mobile Research in India : A Scientometric Assessment of Publications Output during 2007-16

The paper examines 13021 Indian publications on mobile research during 2007-16,as covered in Scopus database. The Indian publications were downloaded using a search strategy which uses the search term ‘mobile*’ in the two tags, namely ‘keyword tag’ and ‘Article Title tag’ and restricting it to the India in ‘country tag’ and period 2007-16 in ‘date range tag’. The Indian mobile research output experiencing an annual average growth rate of 22.64 per cent, global share of 5.88 per cent, citation impact of 2.11 and international collaborative publication share of 11.28 per cent during 2007-16. Computer Science, among subjects, contributed the largest publication share (74.61), engineering (38.32%), mathematics and social sciences (6.94% and 6.54), etc. during 2007-16. Amongst14 subfields identified in India’s mobile research, mobile networks contributed the largest publication share (53.19%), followed by mobile telecommunication systems (35.09%), Mobile communication (29.22%), mobile ad hoc networks (26.86%), mobile security (20.62%), etc. The most productive 20 Indian organisations and authors together contributed 25.64 per cent and 5.11 per cent share to the overall publications output of India in mobile research during 2007-16.The top 20 journals contributed 23.0 per cent share to the Indian journal output during 2007-16. Only 14 publications have registered citations from 109 to 548 and these together received3259 citations, with 232.79 citations per paper. Conclude that India is still not a leading country in the world on mobile research both in terms of quantity and quality of research. In view of strategic and global importance and to increase the research output and quality, the Indian Government needs to identify this area as one of the national priority area, involving much larger R&amp;D investments and trained manpower and also increase international collaboration with leading mobile research hubs.

Efficacy and safety of escitalopram versus desvenlafaxine in the treatment of major depression: A preliminary 1-year prospective randomized open label comparative trial

Aim and Objective:

To compare efficacy and safety of escitalopram with desvenlafaxine in the treatment of major depression.

Materials and Methods:

A total of 60 patients of depression were randomized into two groups after meeting inclusion criterion. In the first 3 weeks, escitalopram 10 mg/day was given and then 20 mg/day for the next 3 weeks in group 1 (n = 30). Desvenlafaxine in the first 3 weeks was given 50 mg/day and 100 mg/day for the next 3 weeks in group 2 (n = 30). The parameters evaluated during the study were efficacy assessments byHamilton Scale of Rating Depression (HAM-D), Hamilton Rating Scale of Anxiety (HAM-A), and Clinical Global Impression (CGI). Safety assessments were done by UKU-scale.

Results:

Escitalopram and desvenlafaxine significantly (P < 0.001), reduced HAM-D, HAM-A, and CGI scores from their respective base lines. However, on comparison failed show any statistical difference at 3 and 6 weeks of treatment. Escitalopram and desvenlafaxine were both found to be safe and well-tolerated and there was not much difference between the two groups as evident from UKU Scale and their effect on various biochemical parameters.

Conclusion:

The present study demonstrated similar efficacy and safety in reducing depression and anxiety with both escitalopram and desvenlafaxine, but clinical superiority of one drug over the other cannot be concluded due to limitations of the small sample size.

A scientometrics approach to schizophrenia research in India: an analysis of publications output during 2002-11

OBJECTIVES

This study analyses the research output of India in schizophrenia research during 2002-11 on several parameters including the growth, rank and global publications share, citation impact, share of international collaborative papers, contribution of major collaborative partner countries, contribution of various subject-fields, contribution and impact of most productive institutions and authors, media of communication and characteristics of high cited papers.

METHODS

The Scopus Citation Database has been used to retrieve the data for 10 years (2002-11) by searching the keywords schizophrenia research in the combined Title, Abstract and Keywords fields.

RESULTS

Among the top 20 most productive countries in schizophrenia research, India ranks at 15th position (with 882 papers) with a global publication share of 1.58% and an annual average publication growth rate of 21.80% during 2002-11. Its citation impact per paper was 3.60 international collaborative publications share was 26.98% during 2002-11.

CONCLUSIONS

Concludes that India needs to increase both the quantity and quality of research and also increase the international collaborative research, besides strengthening and modernizing its research infrastructure. There is need to treat schizophrenia as a priority area in the current and future national S & T plans of India.

A scientometric analysis of Indian research output in medicine during 1999-2008

Objective:

This study analyzes the research activities of India in medicine during 1999–2008, based on the total publication output, its growth rate, quality of papers published and rank of India in the global context. Patterns of international collaborative research output and the major partner countries of India are also discussed. This study also evaluates the research performance of different types of Indian medical colleges, hospitals, research institutes, universities and research foundations and the characteristics of published literature in Indian and foreign journals. It also analyzes the medical research output by disease and organs.

Materials and Methods:

The publication data on medicine has been retrieved by using SCOPUS database.

Results:

India holds 12th rank among the productive countries in medicine research consisting of 65,745 papers with a global publication share of 1.59% and registering a growth rate of 76.68% for the papers published during 1999–2003 to 2004–2008.

Conclusion:

High quality research in India is grossly inadequate and requires strategic planning, investment and resource support. There is also a need to improve the existing medical education system, which should foster research culture.

A bibliometric analysis of malaria research in India during 1998-2009

OBJECTIVE

This study analyses the research output of India in malaria research in national and global context, as reflected in its publications output during 1998-2009.

METHODS

SCOPUS Citation database has been used to retrieve the publication data, which has been further analysed on several parameters including its growth, rank and global publications share, citation impact, overall share of international collaborative papers and share of major collaborative partners and patterns of research communication in most productive journals. The publications output, impact and collaborative publication share of India is also compared with South Africa, Brazil and China.

RESULTS

Indian scientists together have published 2786 papers in malaria research during 1998-2009 and registered an average citation per paper of 3.49. The country ranks 4th among the top 20 most productive countries in malaria research with its global publications share of 6.47% during 1998-2009.

CONCLUSION

Quantum of Indian research output in malaria research is high but its citations per paper is low compared to select developing countries, which can be improved by investing more funds in international and national collaborative research projects, as well as increasing the participation of researchers in such projects.

Mapping of Indian neuroscience research: a scientometric analysis of research output during 1999-2008

OBJECTIVE

This study analyses the research output in India in neurosciences during the period 1999-2008 and the analyses included research growth, rank, global publications' share, citation impact, share of international collaborative papers and major collaborative partner countries and patterns of research communication in most productive journals. It also analyses the characteristics of most productive institutions, authors and high-cited papers. The publication output and impact of India is also compared with China, Brazil and South Korea.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Scopus Citation database was used for retrieving the publications' output of India and other countries in neurosciences during 1999-2008.

RESULTS

India's global publications' share in neurosciences during the study period was 0.99% (with 4503 papers) and it ranked 21 st among the top 26 countries in neurosciences. The average annual publication growth rate was 11.37%, shared 17.34% of international collaborative papers and the average citation per paper was 4.21. India was far behind China, Brazil and South Korea in terms of publication output, citation quality and share of international collaborative papers in neurosciences.

CONCLUSION

India is far behind in terms of publication output, citation quality and share of international collaborative papers in neurosciences when compared to other countries with an emerging economy. There is an urgent need to substantially increase the research activities in the field of neurosciences in India.

Protective effect of fungal growth product (6MFA), assessed therapeutically against Ehrlich's ascites tumor in Swiss mice

6MFA is a growth product of the fungus Aspergillus ochraceus (ATCC 28706) obtained by fermentation in stationary culture. It has both interferon inducing and antiviral properties, in vivo and in vitro, with a relatively high margin of safety (9, 17, 18). Ehrlich's ascites tumor bearing Swiss albino male mice were treated with 0.5 ml of acqueous preparation of 6MFA (0.75 mg total solids) i.p. in a therapeutic regimen schedule; the sham treated mice received only PBS. 6MFA treatment produced an increase in mean survival time over the untreated controls, restricted the body weight increase due to ascites and decreased the rate of mortality. As much as 100% of survival response was obtained in the group treated with 0.5 ml of 6MFA at the rate of one inoculation per week for 5 weeks. In general a dose-dependent response was seen in the antitumor effect of 6MFA against Ehrlich's ascites tumor in Swiss mice. Delay in administration of 6MFA to tumor bearing mice affected the survival rate.

Sixth mycelial fraction acetone (6-MFA), an interferon inducer modulates acrylamide neurotoxicity

A single i.p. administration of an immunomodulatory agent 6-MFA (a biological response modifier and antiviral agent of fungal origin, 10 mg/100g b.wt.), on 5th day of repeated acrylamide (ACR, 50 mg/kg b.wt.) treatment significantly protected rats against its specific neurotoxic effects. Corpus striatal 3H-spiperone binding elevated (24%) while glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activity decreased (33%) in ACR group but values were markedly restored in 6-MFA alone and co-exposed group. Development of hind limb paralysis was also protected by 6-MFA. Results warrant the possible involvement of immune mechanisms and certain other factors such as lymphokines, hormones and microglia at the target site, which in turn facilitate the repair mechanism suggesting a therapeutic role of 6-MFA in clinical cases of toxic neuropathies in future.

Protective effect of 6-MFA, an interferon inducer against acrylamide neurotoxicity

Protective effect of 6-MFA, an interferon inducer and antiviral agent of fungal origin, was investigated against the neurotoxic effects induced by acrylamide in rats. Animals of 6-MFA (2.5, 5, 10 mg/100 gm, i.p.) pretreated plus acrylamide (ACR) group exhibited a reduction in development of hind limb paralysis which was 34, 25 and 20 (%) with increasing doses of 6-MFA respectively. Corpus striatal dopamine binding was significantly raised in the ACR treated rats while 6-MFA (10 mg) plus ACR group showed no significant change, in comparison to respective controls. Increased binding in the 6-MFA (2.5, 5 mg) pretreated plus ACR group was also evident. Glutathione-s-transferase (GST) activity was markedly reduced (66%) in ACR alone rats while no change was noted in rats pretreated with either dose of 6-MFA alone. However, a significant reversal was noted in animals of 6-MFA plus ACR group in a dose related manner. Conservation of glutathione levels and involvement of microglia, gamma-interferon and other lymphokines has been suggested for the observed protective effect of 6-MFA against neurotoxicity of ACR.