Research productivity in neurosurgery: trends in globalization, scientific focus, and funding

2011 ◽  
Vol 115 (6) ◽  
pp. 1262-1272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason S. Hauptman ◽  
Daniel S. Chow ◽  
Neil A. Martin ◽  
Michael W. Itagaki

Object While research is important for the survival, growth, and expansion of neurosurgery, little work has been done to quantify the status and trends of neurosurgical publications. The purpose of this bibliometric study was to quantitatively analyze trends in neurosurgical publications, including changes in worldwide productivity, study methodology, subspecialty topic, and funding. Methods This was a retrospective bibliometric study using MEDLINE to record all publications between 1996 and 2009 by first authors affiliated with neurosurgical departments. Country of origin, MEDLINE-defined methodology, study topic, and funding sources (for US articles) were recorded. Linear regression was used to derive growth rates. Results Total articles numbered 53,425 during the study period, with leading global contributors including the US with 16,943 articles (31.7%) and Japan with 10,802 articles (20.2%). Countries demonstrating rapid growth in productivity included China (121.9 ± 9.98%/year, p < 0.001), South Korea (50.5 ± 4.7%/year, p < 0.001), India (19.4 ± 1.8%/year, p < 0.001), and Turkey (25.3 ± 2.8%/year, p < 0.001). While general research articles, case reports, and review articles have shown steady growth since 1996, clinical trials and randomized controlled trials have declined to 2004 levels. The greatest overall subspecialty growth was seen in spine surgery. Regarding funding, relative contribution of National Institutes of Health (NIH)–funded publications decreased from 30.2% (290 of 959) to 22.5% (356 of 1229) between 1996 and 2009. Conclusions Neurosurgical publications demonstrate continued increases in productivity as well as in global expansion, although US contributions remain dominant. Two challenges that the neurosurgical community is facing include the preponderance of case reports and review articles and the relative decline in NIH funding for US neurosurgical publications, as productivity has outpaced government financial support.

2021 ◽  
pp. 263300242110100
Author(s):  
Andrew H. Kydd

The attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 was the result of a perception of relative decline on the part of American conservatives and their simultaneous radicalization. Relative decline and radicalization are both potent causes of violence. When a formerly dominant group is in decline, it may fear that in the future it will lack the bargaining power to maintain the status quo, and so resort to violence to prevent decline, or lock in present advantages. Radicalization increases the perceived stakes of power transitions; if the opponent is dangerous, all means are justified in preventing their accession to power. Conservative radicalization was driven by partisan polarization, media polarization, the emergence of social media and associated conspiracy theories, and the formation of armed right-wing groups. The structural conditions generating the attack are unlikely to ameliorate, so the potential for political violence will remain.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-79
Author(s):  
Abdulghani Alsamarai

Introduction   The International Journal of Medical Sciences [IJMS], ISSN 2522-7386, is a peer-reviewed, 3 issues published annually. Authors are invited to submit for publication articles with a wide spectrum of coverage reporting original work, in the fields of medicine, nursery, dentistry, and pharmacy sciences. Review articles are usually by invitation only. However, Review articles of current interest and high standard will be considered. Prospective work should not be back dated. There are also sections for Case Reports, Brief Communication, correspondence and medical news items. Authors should read the editorial policy and publication ethics before submitting their manuscripts. Authors should also use the appropriate reporting guidelines in preparing their manuscripts


1984 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-52
Author(s):  
Mahmud A. Faksh

I.Since the end of World War 11, approximately eighty new states havebeen established. Only two, Pakistan and Cyprus, have undergone theagony of dismemberment when Bangladesh broke off in 1973 and theTurkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was declared in 1983. The worldmay now be witnessing the possible breakup of yet a third state:Lebanon, whose disintegration has been accelerated since the June 1982Israeli invasion.Shortly after the invasion began, Henry Kissinger assessed itsconsequence for Lebanon’s future, concluding, “It is neither desirablenor possible to return to the status quo ante in Lebanon.” One possibleoutcome was that some Syrian and Israeli forces would remain in thenorthern and southern ends, respectively, and the central government’sauthority would ostensibly cover the rest of the country. Implicit in theKissinger diagnosis is the possibility of eventual partition.Though the gloomy assessment by the “wizard” of US. foreign policyshould by no means be construed as a portent of an official shift awayfrom the publicly stated US. support of “Lebanon’s sovereignty andterritorial integrity,” a shadow was cast on the country’s prospects.Subsequent developments have seemed to indicate that Lebanon’sdemise looms larger than at any time since the beginning of the civil warin 1975-76.For over a year and a half national fragmentation has proceededinexorably. What many people once could imagine only with difficulty,they now acknowledge: in reality, Lebanon is facing possible death. TheSouth (35 percent of the land area) is occupied by Israel; the North andthe Biqa’ (45 percent) are controlled by Syria; Kasrawan (15 percent) iscontrolled by the Christian Maronite forces (the Lebanese Front forces),which are not subject to the government’s authority. The rest of thecountry-beleaguered Beirut and environs-was until the February1984 breakdown under the government’s shaky control supported bysymbolic US., French, Italian, and British units. The Multi-NationalForce (MNF) was subject to increasing attacks by Muslim leftist factions,as witnessed in the October 23 bombing of the quarters of U.S.Marines and French troops. Thus, instead of keeping peace, the MNFbecame ,a partisan force trying to protect itself. The US. and Frenchforces in particular seemed to have outlived their usefulness as“peacekeepers.” Recurrent fighting in southern Beirut and in theadjacent Chouf mountains, that pitted Christian Maronites and armyunits against Shi‘ite and Druse Muslims constantly threatened theexistence of President Amin Gemayel’s government and consequently arenewal of the civil war. This situation culminated in February 1984 inthe resignation of the Shafiq al-Wazzan’s cabinet, the loss ofgovernment’s control of West Beirut to Muslim-leftist militias, and theimminent collapse of Amin Gemayel’s presidency ...


Author(s):  
Rosamond C. Rodman

Expanding beyond the text of the Bible, this chapter explores instead a piece of political scripture, namely the Second Amendment of the US Constitution. Over the last half-decade, the Second Amendment has come to enjoy the status of a kind of scripture-within-scripture. Vaulted to a much more prominent status than it had held in the first 150 years or so of its existence, and having undergone a remarkable shift in what most Americans think it means, the Second Amendment provides an opportunity to examine the linguistic, racial, and gendered modes by which these changes were effected, paying particular attention to the ways in which white children and white women were conscripted into the role of the masculine, frontier-defending US citizen.


Author(s):  
Patrick Sze-lok Leung ◽  
Anthony Carty

Okinawa is now considered as Japanese territory, without challenge from most world powers. However, this is debatable from a historical viewpoint. The Ryukyu Kingdom which dominated the islands was integrated into Japan in 1879. The transformation is seen by Wang Hui as a process of modernization. This chapter argues the issue from an international law perspective. It shows that Ryukyu was an independent State as demonstrated by the 1854 Ryukyu–US Treaty, although it sent regular tributes to China. The Japanese integration by coercion is not justifiable. The people of Ryukyu were willing to continue being a tributary State rather than part of Japan. Britain, as the greatest colonial power, did not object. China and the US attempted to intervene in this affair, but no treaty has so far been concluded. Therefore, the status of Ryukyu/Okinawa remains unresolved and may need to be revisited, while putting the history context into consideration.


Pathogens ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 1073
Author(s):  
Juan-Carlos Saiz

West Nile virus (WNV) is a widely distributed enveloped flavivirus transmitted by mosquitoes, which main hosts are birds. The virus sporadically infects equids and humans with serious economic and health consequences, as infected individuals can develop a severe neuroinvasive disease that can even lead to death. Nowadays, no WNV-specific therapy is available and vaccines are only licensed for use in horses but not for humans. While several methodologies for WNV vaccine development have been successfully applied and have contributed to significantly reducing its incidence in horses in the US, none have progressed to phase III clinical trials in humans. This review addresses the status of WNV vaccines for horses, birds, and humans, summarizing and discussing the challenges they face for their clinical advance and their introduction to the market.


Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Vivek Khanal ◽  
Harrington Wells ◽  
Akhtar Ali

Field information about viruses infecting crops is fundamental for understanding the severity of the effects they cause in plants. To determine the status of cucurbit viruses, surveys were conducted for three consecutive years (2016–2018) in different agricultural districts of Oklahoma. A total of 1331 leaf samples from >90 fields were randomly collected from both symptomatic and asymptomatic cucurbit plants across 11 counties. All samples were tested with the dot-immunobinding assay (DIBA) against the antisera of 10 known viruses. Samples infected with papaya ringspot virus (PRSV-W), watermelon mosaic virus (WMV), zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV), and cucurbit aphid-borne-yellows virus (CABYV) were also tested by RT-PCR. Of the 10 viruses, PRSV-W was the most widespread, with an overall prevalence of 59.1%, present in all 11 counties, followed by ZYMV (27.6%), in 10 counties, and WMV (20.7%), in seven counties, while the remaining viruses were present sporadically with low incidence. Approximately 42% of the infected samples were positive, with more than one virus indicating a high proportion of mixed infections. CABYV was detected for the first time in Oklahoma, and the phylogenetic analysis of the first complete genome sequence of a CABYV isolate (BL-4) from the US showed a close relationship with Asian isolates.


2021 ◽  
pp. 026327642199944
Author(s):  
Quinn Slobodian

This article recounts the backlash against the neoliberal constitutionalism that locked in free trade and capital rights through the multilateral treaty organizations of the 1990s. It argues that we can find important forces in the disruption of the status quo among the elite losers of the 1990s settlement. Undercut by competition from China, the US steel industry, in particular, became a vocal opponent of unconditional free trade and a red thread linking all of Trump’s primary advisers on matters of trade. Steel lobbyists themselves helped frame a critique of actually existing neoliberal globalism, which Trump both adopted and acted on as part of his trade war. By searching for the contemporary attack on neoliberal constitutionalism among the disgruntled corporate elite, we find that our current crisis must be framed as a backlash from above as well as one from below.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaia Balp

This article outlines potential pros and cons of a future European regulation of proxy advisory firms, as set forth in the Commission’s Proposal for a Directive amending Directive 2007/36/EC. After summarizing criticisms concerning the proxy advisory industry, and findings regarding its de facto influence on investors’ voting conduct both in the US and in the European context, the article adverts to why the power of proxy advisors appears to be overestimated. Uncertainty on the status quo of the industry’s actual impact on key decisions in listed companies, as well as costs associated with a regulation, need to be considered for assessing the suitability of the rules drafted to ensure adequate levels of independence and quality of voting recommendations. While transparency rules may be preferred to stricter legal constraints or requirements in a first stage, possible shortcomings of the Draft Directive exist that may undermine its effectiveness. Analyzing the amendments to the Proposal adopted by the European Parliament, and the Council’s Presidency compromise text, may suggest a preferable approach as regards single rules still making their way through the European legislative process.


2020 ◽  
pp. 194277862097931
Author(s):  
Halley L. Glier ◽  
Temperance Staples ◽  
Megan Martínez ◽  
Anita Fábos ◽  
S.E.D. Mitchell ◽  
...  

This paper draws on observational research conducted in McAllen, Texas, during the summer of 2019, of three major stakeholder groups involved in asylum management: Catholic Charities Humanitarian Respite Center (HRC); federal government agencies; and the McAllen community. Each group holds a unique, pluralistic perspective on migration, informing intra-group relations and exposing uneven power dynamics between them. Our analysis is contextualized by a local voice, a former long-term volunteer at the HRC, who speaks of the evolution of the McAllen border in her lifetime, as well as federal authority over McAllen and the HRC to process asylees. We dissect how this power dynamic produces a highly violent, detention-dominant immigration landscape in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV), antithetical to the practiced intersectional culture of voces locales. We reimagine how the US responds to asylum seekers by offering a community action-based framework, where these pluralistic perspectives are equitably valued. Based on interactions and conversations had with each group, we advocate a paradigm shift reflective of La Frontera’s (The Border’s) intersectional identity. This can be achieved by prioritizing voces locales and building capacity for the humanitarian sector, which is already doing critical work at the southern border. We look to contemporary movements like “Defund the Police” as examples, where divesting from the status-quo system of oppression can nurture reparative justice and empowerment to the RGV. In reimagining a more adaptive, asylum justice-oriented paradigm shift, we also recognize the need to abandon the government-controlled deterrence paradigm, which repeatedly causes tremendous harm.


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