SHIP-MR and Radiology: 12 Years of Whole-Body Magnetic Resonance Imaging in a Single Center

The Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP), a population-based study from a rural state in northeastern Germany with a relatively poor life expectancy, supplemented its comprehensive examination program in 2008 with whole-body MR imaging at 1.5 T (SHIP-MR). We reviewed more than 100 publications that used the SHIP-MR data and analyzed which sequences already produced fruitful scientific outputs and which manuscripts have been referenced frequently. Upon reviewing the publications about imaging sequences, those that used T1-weighted structured imaging of the brain and a gradient-echo sequence for R2* mapping obtained the highest scientific output; regarding specific body parts examined, most scientific publications focused on MR sequences involving the brain and the (upper) abdomen. We conclude that population-based MR imaging in cohort studies should define more precise goals when allocating imaging time. In addition, quality control measures might include recording the number and impact of published work, preferably on a bi-annual basis and starting 2 years after initiation of the study. Structured teaching courses may enhance the desired output in areas that appear underrepresented.

Taxonomic and geographic bias in 50 years of research on the behaviour and ecology of galagids

Identifying knowledge gaps and taxonomic and geographic bias in the literature is invaluable for guiding research towards a more representative understanding of animal groups. Galagids are nocturnal African primates and, for many species, detailed information on their behaviour and ecology is unavailable. To identify gaps and bias in the literature we reviewed published peer-reviewed research articles on galagid behaviour and ecology over a 50-year period from January 1971 to December 2020. Using the Web of Science and Google Scholar databases, we identified 758 articles, assessed 339 full texts for eligibility and included 211 in the review. Species of Otolemur have been extensively researched in comparison to other genera (78.2% of studies; Euoticus: 13.3% of studies; Galago: 66.4% of studies; Galagoides: 20.9% of studies; Paragalago: 22.3% of studies; Sciurocheirus: 15.2% of studies). The most common category of research was physiology (55.0% of studies), followed by behavioural ecology (47.4% of studies), and fewer studies were on genetics and taxonomy (16.1% of studies) and habitat and distribution (14.2% of studies). Text mining revealed that the word ‘behaviour’ was the most common word used in abstracts and keywords, and few words were related to ecology. Negative binomial regression revealed that mean body mass and geographic range size were significant positive predictors of the total number of scientific outputs on each species. Research on wild populations was carried out in only 24 (60%) of the 40 countries galagids are thought to inhabit. Studies were undertaken in locations with lower mean annual temperatures and higher human population densities over warmer and less populated areas. We encourage a more equal sampling effort both taxonomically and geographically that in particular addresses the paucity of research on smaller species and those with restricted ranges. Research on in situ populations, especially in warmer and remote areas, is urgently needed, particularly in West, Central and some Southern African countries.

COVID-19 and the scientific publishing system: Growth, open access and scientific fields

We model the growth of scientific literature related to COVID-19 and forecast the expected growth from 1 June 2021. Considering the significant scientific and financial efforts made by the research community to find solutions to end the COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented volume of scientific outputs is being produced. This questions the capacity of scientists, politicians and citizens to maintain infrastructure, digest content and take scientifically informed decisions. A crucial aspect is to make predictions to prepare for such a large corpus of scientific literature. Here we base our predictions on the ARIMA and exponential smoothing models and use two different data sources: the Dimensions and World Health Organization COVID-19 databases. These two sources have the particularity of including in the metadata information on the date in which papers were indexed. We present global predictions, plus predictions in three specific settings: by type of access (Open Access), by NLM source (PubMed and PMC), and by domain-specific repository (SSRN and MedRxiv). We conclude by discussing our findings.

The file drawer effect – a long-lasting issue in science

Most of the scientific outputs produced by researchers are inaccessible since they are not published in scientific journals: they remain in the researchers' drawers, forming what we call the Dark Science. This is a long-standing issue in research, creating a misleading view of the scientific facts. Contrary to the current literature overfed with positive findings, the Dark Science is nurtured with null findings, replications, flawed experimental designs and other research outputs. Publishers, researchers, institutions and funders all play an important role in the accumulation of those unpublished works, but it is only once we understand the reasons and the benefits of publishing all the scientific findings that we can collectively act to solve the Dark Science problem. In this article, we discuss the causes and consequences of the Dark Science expansion, arguing that science and scientists would benefit from getting all their findings to the light of publication.

Bibliometric Insights in Advances of Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer: Research Landscapes, Turning Points, and Global Trends

BackgroundThyroid cancers are the most common endocrine malignancies with a dramatic increase in incidences. Anaplastic thyroid cancer is a rare but deadly form among thyroid cancers. To better understand of this field, we assessed the global scientific outputs and tried to depict its overview via bibliometric methods.MethodsApproximately 1,492 science publications published between 1997 and 2020 were included by systematic retrieval in the WoS database. The general information of them was characterized, and the developmental skeleton and research frontiers were explored.ResultsThe article number in this field has been increasing in the past 24 years. North America, East Asia, and Western Europe have reached remarkable achievements. Mutations of BARF and TERT and their downstream pathways have attracted researchers’ attention, where genetic diagnosis provides new clinical insight and several targeted therapeutic approaches have been on the clinical trial.ConclusionsNumerous efforts have been made to figure out gene expression reprogramming of anaplastic thyroid cancer and key mechanism in driving its dedifferentiation, invasion and migration process. Targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and systematic combination therapy are the recent current research hotspots. These results provide insightful clues for the funding direction and the potential breakthrough direction of the anaplastic thyroid cancer study.

Has China Caught up in the Global Innovation Race?

This chapter shows how much China caught up in the global innovation race, using international indices of innovation performance, and data on R&D expenditures, higher education, scientific outputs, and patents. Frameworks such as ‘windows of opportunity’ are used to explore how China catches up in innovation and is changing policies from importing innovation to developing ‘indigenous innovation’. The bottlenecks confronting China’s catch-up and leadership are examined using the case of semiconductors, Huawei, and 5G, and the chapter poses the question whether the country can overcome such bottlenecks in core technologies. To do so, it is argued that greater investment is needed in basic research, especially by enterprises.

Big data and analytics in hospitality and tourism: a systematic literature review

Purpose The purpose of this work is to survey the body of research revolving around big data (BD) and analytics in hospitality and tourism, by detecting macro topical areas, research streams and gaps and to develop an agenda for future research. Design/methodology/approach This research is based on a systematic literature review of academic papers indexed in the Scopus and Web of Science databases published up to 31 December 2020. The outputs were analyzed using bibliometric techniques, network analysis and topic modeling. Findings The number of scientific outputs in research with hospitality and tourism settings has been expanding over the period 2015–2020, with a substantial stability of the areas examined. The vast majority are published in academic journals where the main reference area is neither hospitality nor tourism. The body of research is rather fragmented and studies on relevant aspects, such as BD analytics capabilities, are virtually missing. Most of the outputs are empirical. Moreover, many of the articles collected relatively small quantities of records and, regardless of the time period considered, only a handful of articles mix a number of different techniques. Originality/value This work sheds new light on the emergence of a body of research at the intersection of hospitality and tourism management and data science. It enriches and complements extant literature reviews on BD and analytics, combining these two interconnected topics.

Engaging with stakeholders to produce actionable science: a framework and guidance

Natural and cultural resource managers are increasingly working with the scientific community to create information on how best to adapt to the current and projected impacts of climate change. Engaging with these managers is a strategy that researchers can use to ensure that scientific outputs and findings are actionable (or useful and usable). In this article, the authors adapt Davidson’s wheel of participation to characterize and describe common stakeholder engagement strategies across the spectrum of Inform, Consult, Participate, and Empower. This adapted framework provides researchers with a standardized vocabulary for describing their engagement approach, guidance on how to select an approach, methods for implementing engagement, and potential barriers to overcome. While there is often no one “best” approach to engaging with stakeholders, researchers can use the objectives of their project and the decision context in which their stakeholders operate to guide their selection. Researchers can also revisit this framework over time as their project objectives shift and their stakeholder relationships evolve.

Social Effectiveness and Human-Wildlife Conflict: Linking the Ecological Effectiveness and Social Acceptability of Livestock Protection Tools

Human-wildlife interactions are embedded within socio-ecological systems (SES), in which animal behavior and human decision-making reciprocally interact. While a growing body of research addresses specific social and ecological elements of human-wildlife interactions, including conflicts, integrating these approaches is essential for identifying practical and effective solutions. Carnivore predation on livestock can threaten human livelihoods, weaken relationships among stakeholders, and precipitate carnivore declines. As carnivores have received greater protection in recent decades, researchers and managers have sought non-lethal tools to reduce predation and promote coexistence between livestock producers and carnivores. For these tools to be successful, they must effectively deter carnivores, and they must also be adopted by producers. Relatively few studies examine the practical and context-specific effectiveness of non-lethal tools, and even fewer simultaneously consider their social acceptability among producers. To address this gap, we suggest that a tool's ecological effectiveness and social acceptability be analyzed concurrently to determine its social effectiveness. We thus paired an experimental study of a carnivore predation deterrent called Foxlights® with qualitative interviews of livestock producers in Northern California. We placed camera traps in sheep pastures to measure the response of coyotes (Canis latrans) to experimentally deployed Foxlights and interviewed livestock producers before and after the experiment. Our experiment revealed weak evidence for reducing coyote activity with Foxlights, but interviews revealed that the potential adoption of tools had as much to do with their social acceptability and implementation feasibility as with evidence-based measurements of tool effectiveness. Interviewees viewed Foxlights as potentially effective components of husbandry systems, despite the data suggesting otherwise, demonstrating that scientific reductionism may lag behind producer practices of systems-thinking and that isolated demonstrations of a tool's ecological effectiveness do not drive tool adoption. Future empirical tests of non-lethal tools should better consider producers' perspectives and acknowledge that data-based tests of ecological effectiveness alone have a limited place in producer decision-making. Iteratively working with producers can build trust in scientific outputs through the research process itself.