Tracking direct and indirect impact on technology and policy of transformative research via ego citation network

Purpose:The disseminating of academic knowledge to nonacademic audiences partly relies on the transition of subsequent citing papers.This study aims to investigate direct and indirect impact on technology and policy originating from transformative research based on ego citation network.Design/methodology/approach:Key Nobel Prize-winning publications(NPs)in fields of gene engineering and astrophysics are regarded as a proxy for transformative research.In this contribution,we introduce a network-structural indicator of citing patents to measure technological impact of a target article and use policy citations as a preliminary tool for policy impact.Findings:The results show that the impact on technology and policy of NPs are higher than that of their subsequent citation generations in gene engineering but not in astrophysics.Research limitations:The selection of Nobel Prizes is not balanced and the database used in this study,Dimensions,suffers from incompleteness and inaccuracy of citation links.Practical implications:Our findings provide useful clues to better understand the characteristics of transformative research in technological and policy impact.Originality/value:This study proposes a new framework to explore the direct and indirect impact on technology and policy originating from transformative research.

Features of colorectal cancer in China stratified by anatomic sites:A hospital-based study conducted in university-affiliated hospitals from 2014 to 2018

Objective:The clinical and biological characteristics of colorectal cancer have been found to differ depending on the anatomic site of the cancer.However,for Chinese patients,there is limited information on the proportion of cases at each site and the related features.In this study,we explored the location,distribution and other features of colorectal cancers at each anatomic site in Chinese patients.Methods:We conducted a hospital-based study using hospitalization summary reports from 10 Peking University-affiliated hospitals from 2014 to 2018;the reports covered a total of 2,097,347 hospitalizations.Incident cases were chosen as the study population,and their epidemiological features were further analyzed.Results:A total of 20,739 colorectal cancer patients were identified.Rectum was the most common location(48.3%)of the cancer,whereas the proportions of patients with distal and proximal colon cancer were 24.5%and18.6%,respectively.Patients with rectal cancer were predominantly male and were the youngest for all anatomical sites(each P<0.001).The highest proportion of emergency admissions,the longest hospital stays and the highest hospitalization costs were found in patients with proximal colon cancer(each P<0.001).The proximal colon cancer subgroup included the highest proportions of patients with medical histories of cholecystectomy,cholecystolithiasis and/or gallbladder polyps and appendectomy(P=0.009,P<0.001 and P<0.001,respectively).The distal colon cancer subgroup included the highest proportions of patients with medical histories of diabetes and hypertension(P<0.001,respectively).Conclusions:The patterns of colorectal cancer observed in this study differ from those reported for Western patients and show a significantly higher proportion of patients with rectal cancer.Different epidemiological features were also found based on anatomic sites.Further studies based on tumor location should be conducted to facilitate more accurate screening and treatment.

Recent advances in basic and clinical aspects of inflammatory bowel disease: Which steps in the mucosal inflammation should we block for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease?

There are four steps in the interaction between intestinal microbes and mucosal inflammation in genetically predisposed individuals from the viewpoints of basic and clinical aspects of inflammatory bowel disease （IBD）. The first step is an interaction between intestinal microbes or their components and intestinal epithelial cells via receptors, the second step an interaction between macrophages and dendritic cells and mucosal lymphocytes, the third step an interaction between lymphocytes and vascular endothelial cells, and the fourth step an interaction between lymphocytes and granulocytes producing proinflammatory cytokines or free radicals and mucosal damage and repair. Recent therapeutic approaches for IBD aim to block these four steps in the intestinal inflammation of patients with IBD.

Progress and Knowledge Transfer from Science to Technology in the Research Frontier of CRISPR Based on the LDA Model

Purpose:This study explores the underlying research topics regarding CRISPR based on the LDA model and figures out trends in knowledge transfer from science to technology in this area over the latest 10 years.Design/methodology/approach:We collected publications on CRISPR between 2011 and2020 from the Web of Science,and traced all the patents citing them from lens.org.15,904 articles and 18,985 patents in total are downloaded and analyzed.The LDA model was applied to identify underlying research topics in related research.In addition,some indicators were introduced to measure the knowledge transfer from research topics of scientific publications to IPC-4 classes of patents.Findings:The emerging research topics on CRISPR were identified and their evolution over time displayed.Furthermore,a big picture of knowledge transition from research topics to technological classes of patents was presented.We found that for all topics on CRISPR,the average first transition year,the ratio of articles cited by patents,the NPR transition rate are respectively 1.08,15.57%,and 1.19,extremely shorter and more intensive than those of general fields.Moreover,the transition patterns are different among research topics.Research limitations:Our research is limited to publications retrieved from the Web of Science and their citing patents indexed in lens.org.A limitation inherent with LDA analysis is in the manual interpretation and labeling of"topics".Practical implications:Our study provides good references for policy-makers on allocating scientific resources and regulating financial budgets to face challenges related to the transformative technology of CRISPR.Originality/value:The LDA model here is applied to topic identification in the area of transformative researches for the first time,as exemplified on CRISPR.Additionally,the dataset of all citing patents in this area helps to provide a full picture to detect the knowledge transition between S&T.

Data Envelopment Analysis on Evaluating the Efficiency of Public Hospitals in Tianjin,China

Public hospitals are the most important components of health systems and account for a large proportion of health resources in China. However, few researches on the efficiency assessment of public hospitals have been conducted in Tianjin, China. On the basis of the data of annual health service report in 2013 from the Ministry of Health, we measured the relative efficiency of the tertiary general public hospitals in Tianjin and estimated the magnitudes of output increase and/or input reduction by using data envelopment analysis to improve hospital efficiency. The main findings of this study indicate that more than half of the sample hospitals operate at a technical and scale efficiency, and the prevalent scale inefficiency is increasing returns to scale. Moreover, it is a prominent issue that health resource constraint and resource waste coexist. Health policy-makers and hospital administrators would need to address these problems by taking comprehensive measures such as optimizing the allocation of health resources, implementing hierarchical diagnosis and treatment, as well as innovating medical-service operating mechanism of public hospital to improve the people's wellbeing.

“Sparking”and“Igniting”Key Publications of 2020 Nobel Prize Laureates

Purpose:This article aims to determine the percentage of"Sparking"articles among the work of this year’s Nobel Prize winners in medicine,physics,and chemistry.Design/methodology/approach:We focus on under-cited influential research among the key publications as mentioned by the Nobel Prize Committee for the 2020 Noble Prize laureates.Specifically,we extracted data from the Web of Science,and calculated the Sparking Indices using the formulas as proposed by Hu and Rousseau in 2016 and 2017.In addition,we identified another type of igniting articles based on the notion in 2017.Findings:In the fields of medicine and physics,the proportions of articles with sparking characteristics share 78.571%and 68.75%respectively,yet,in chemistry 90%articles characterized by"igniting".Moreover,the two types of articles share more than 93%in the work of the Nobel Prize included in this study.Research limitations:Our research did not cover the impact of topic,socio-political,and author’s reputation on the Sparking Indices.Practical implications:Our study shows that the Sparking Indices truly reflect influence of the best research work,so it can be used to detect under-cited influential articles,as well as identifying fundamental work.Originality/value:Our findings suggest that the Sparking Indices have good applicability for research evaluation.

Describing Citations as a Function of Time

Purpose:Providing an overview of types of citation curves.Design/methodology/approach:The terms citation curves or citation graphs are made explicit.Findings:A framework for the study of diachronous(and synchronous)citation curves is proposed.Research limitations:No new practical applications are given.Practical implications:This short note about citation curves will help readers to make the optimal choice for their applications.Originality/value:A new scheme for the meaning of the term"citation curve"is designed.

Gauging a Firm's Innovative Performance Using an Integrated Structural Index for Patents

Purpose： In this contribution we try to find new indicators to measure characteristics of a finn＇s patents and their influence on a company＇s profits. Design/methodology/approach： We realize that patentevaluation and influence on a company＇s profits is a complicated issue requiring different perspectives. For this reason we design two types of structural h-indices, derived from the International Patent Classification （IPC）. In a case study we apply not only basic statistics but also a nested case-control methodology. Findings： The resulting indicator values based on a large dataset （19,080 patents in total） from the pharmaceutical industry show that the new structural indices are significantly correlated with a firm＇s profits. Research limitations： The new structural index and the synthetic structural index have just been applied in one case study in the pharmaceutical industry. Practical implications： Our study suggests useful implications for patentometric studies and leads to suggestions for different sized firms to include a healthy research and development （R＆D） policy management. The structural h-index can be used to gauge the profits resulting from the innovative performance of a firm＇s patent portfolio. Originality/value： Traditionally, the breadth and depth of patents of a firm and their citations are considered separately. This approach, however, does not provide an integrated insight in the major characteristics of a firm＇s patents. The Sh（Y） index, proposed in our investigation, can reflect a firm＇s innovation activities, its technological breadth, and its influence in an integrated way.

The Study on the Process and Impact of External-Care-Seeking Behavior in Shanghai

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of external-care-seeking, explore the framework to regulate patients’ seeking doctor behavior and to promote better medical resources allocation. Methods: Obtaining data from regular reports from public medical institutions in Shanghai, comparing patients who seek doctors from out-of-Shanghai residence and local patients with insurance in terms of the quantity of service, types of diseases, medical expenses, etc. Results: External-care-seeking has a large quantity, especially in hospitalization. In 2012, the number of discharged population from out-of-Shanghai accounted for 22.74% of the total discharged number, the proportion even higher than 30% in tertiary hospitals. Tertiary hospitals have a significant attraction effect, concentrating 59.42% of the outpatient and emergency visits and 71.82% of the amount of hospitalization, with corresponding cost of 75.86% and 82.56%. The top three divisions in tertiary hospitals for external-care-seeking were surgical, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine. Based on the interview, admitting out-of-shanghai patients is conducive to the improvement of the technical level of hospitals, and to the enhancement of the utilization efficiency of health resource. However, the local residents may have less accessibility of high quality of medical service. The average expense of external-care-seeking is higher than that of local patients happened in the same level of hospitals. Conclusions: External-care-seeking will have a more far-reaching impact on the health care system in Shanghai;some interventions might be necessary, such as rationally allocating medical resources based on the estimates of external-care-seeking and establishing a medical service supervision mechanism.

Associations between parental adherence to healthy lifestyles and cognitive performance in offspring:A prospective cohort study in China

Background:Previous studies have reported associations of specific maternal and paternal lifestyle factors with offspring’s cognitive development during early childhood.This study aimed to investigate the prospective associations between overall parental lifestyle and offspring’s cognitive performance during adolescence and young adulthood in China.Methods:We included 2531 adolescents aged 10-15 years at baseline in 2010 from the China Family Panel Studies.A healthy parental lifestyle score(ranged 0-5)was constructed based on the following five modifiable lifestyle factors:Smoking,drinking,exercise,sleep,and diet.Generalized estimating equation models were used to examine the association between baseline parental healthy lifestyle scores and offspring’s fluid and crystallized intelligence in subsequent years(2012,2014,2016,and 2018).Results:Offspring in the top tertile of parental healthy lifestyle scores performed better in overall fluid intelligence(multivariable-adjusted β=0.53,95%confidence interval[CI]:0.29-0.77)and overall crystallized intelligence(multivariable-adjusted β=0.35,95%CI:0.16-0.54)than those in the bottom tertile of parental healthy lifestyle scores.The results were similar after further adjustment for the offspring’s healthy lifestyle scores and persisted across the subgroups of parental socioeconomic status.Additionally,maternal and paternal healthy lifestyle scores were independently associated with better offspring’s cognitive performance,with significant contribution observed for paternal never-smoking,weekly exercise,and diversified diet.When both parents and offspring adhered to a healthier lifestyle,we observed the highest level of the offspring’s overall crystallized intelligence.Conclusions:Our study indicates that parental adherence to a healthier lifestyle is associated with significantly better offspring’s cognitive performance during adolescence and early adulthood,regardless of socioeconomic status.These findings highlight the potential cognitive benefits of promoting healthy lifestyles among parents of adolescents.

Length of stay and inpatient charges of total knee arthroplasty in China:analysis of a national database

Background:There are limited data on the resource utilization of total knee arthroplasty(TKA)in China.This study aimed to examine the length of stay(LOS)and inpatient charges of TKA in China,and to investigate their determinants.Methods:We included patients undergoing primary TKA in the Hospital Quality Monitoring System in China between 2013 and 2019.LOS and inpatient charges were obtained,and their associated factors were further assessed using multivariable linear regression.Results:A total of 184,363 TKAs were included.The LOS decreased from 10.8 days in 2013 to 9.3 days in 2019.The admission-to-surgery interval decreased from 4.6 to 4.2 days.The mean inpatient charges were 61,208.3 Chinese Yuan.Inpatient charges reached a peak in 2016,after which a gradual decrease was observed.Implant and material charges accounted for a dominating percentage,but they exhibited a downward trend,whereas labor-related charges gradually increased.Single marital status,non-osteoarthritis indication,and comorbidity were associated with longer LOS and higher inpatient charges.Female sex and younger age were associated with higher inpatient charges.There were apparent varieties of LOS and inpatient charges among provincial or non-provincial hospitals,hospitals with various TKA volume,or in different geographic regions.Conclusions:The LOS following TKA in China appeared to be long,but it was shortened during the time period of 2013 to 2019.The inpatient charges dominated by implant and material charges exhibited a downward trend.However,there were apparent sociodemographic and hospital-related discrepancies of resource utilization.The observed statistics can lead to more efficient resource utilization of TKA in China.

The Incidence of Moderate and Severe Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome in Hospitalized Patients in China

Background:Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome(OHSS)occurs in women receiving fertility treatments.Moderate and severe OHSS cases are required to be admitted to hospital for treatment.The incidence of moderate and severe OHSS and the characteristics of these cases are unknown in China.We aimed to assess the incidence of moderate and severe OHSS in national databases from China between 2013 and 2017.Methods:We extracted moderate and severe OHSS cases from the Hospital Quality Monitoring System,the nationwide inpatient data collection system.We used ovum pick-up(OPUbaidu)cycle data from the annual report of China’s National Health Commission,developed on the basis of OPU data collected by National ART Management Information System.Overall incidence of moderate and severe OHSS(women aged 20 to 50 years)and year-specific incidence by each calendar year in China were calculated.We also investigated the age distribution in OHSS and OHSS with different comorbidities.Results:We extracted 18,022 eligible patients with moderate or severe OHSS and 1,581,703 OPU cycles.The overall incidence of moderate and severe OHSS between 2013 and 2017 was 1.14%.The year-specific moderate and severe OHSS incidence was 1.1%in 2013,1.4%in 2014,1.4%in 2015,1.1%in 2016,0.9%in 2017,respectively.Women aged 26 to 30 years accounted for 48.4%of OHSS cases,followed by women aged 31 to 35 years(30%)and 20 to 25 years(14.2%).The age distribution pattern was consistent across OHSS with different comorbidities.Conclusions:This study reported the incidence of moderate and severe OHSS in China using nationwide data for the first time.Our findings support that women aged under 35 years receiving assisted reproductive technology need more attention than other age groups in terms of OHSS risk control.

Prognostic Factors Related to In-hospital Death in Children with Biliary Atresia:Analysis of a Nationwide Inpatient Database

Background and Aims:Patients with biliary atresia(BA)are prone to hepatic decompensation,which might eventually lead to death.This study aimed to identify the possible risk factors affecting in-hospital death in BA patients in China.Methods:We collected data from the Hospital Quality Monitoring System,a national inpatient database.All patients aged up to 2 years old with a diagnosis of BA were included.The subjects were divided to three groups,including Kasai portoenterostomy(KP),liver transplantation(LT),and no surgery.Logistic regression with Firth’s method was performed to identify potential influencing variables associated with in-hospital death.Results:During the year 2013 to 2017,there were 14,038 pediatric admissions with a diagnosis of BA.The proportion of in-hospital death in pediatric BA admissions was 1.08%.Compared with patients under six months,there was a higher risk of in-hospital death for children aged six months to 1 year and 1–2 years old.Clinical signs,including cirrhosis,variceal bleeding,and hepatic encephalopathy,were significantly associated with the risk of in-hospital death.In no surgery group,compared to those in Beijing and Shanghai,BA patients admitted in other districts had a lower risk of in-hospital death(OR=0.39,95%CI:0.21,0.70).However,in the LT group,patients admitted in other districts had a higher risk of in-hospital death(OR=9.13,95%CI:3.99,20.87).Conclusions:In-hospital survival remains unsatisfactory for pediatric BA patients with severe complications.Furthermore,more resources and training for BA treatment,especially LT,are essential for districts with poor medical care in the future.

Traditional Chinese Medicine for the treatment of influenza: a systematic review and Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

OBJECTIVE: To justify the clinical use of Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) in the treatment of influenza.METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, China Science and Technology Journal Database, Wanfang Database and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched from thedate of inception until January 1,2013, for the literature on treatment of influenza with TCM.RESULTS: A total of 7 randomized controlled trials were identified and reviewed. Of these trials, 2 compared a(modified) prescription of TCM with oseltamivir and 5 compared a patent traditional Chinese drug with oseltamivir. Based on the Meta-analysis,compared to oseltamivir, the(modified) prescription had similar effect in defervescence [WMD=5.66, 95% CI(﹣32.02, 43.35), P=0.77] and viral shedding [WMD=﹣ 6.21, 95% CI(﹣84.19, 71.76), P=0.88], and the patent traditional Chinese drug also had similar effect in viral shedding [WMD=﹣ 0.24,95% CI(﹣4.79, 4.31), P=0.92] but more effective in defervescence [WMD=﹣4.65, 95%CI(﹣8.91, ﹣0.38),P=0.03].CONCLUSION: TCM has potential positive effects in the treatment of influenza.

Urodynamic assessment of bladder storage function after radical hysterectomy for cervical cancer

Background:After radical hysterectomy for cervical cancer,the most common complication is lower urinary tract symptoms.Post-operatively,bladder capacity can alter bladder function for a prolonged period.This study aimed to identify factors affecting bladder storage function.Methods:A multicenter,retrospective cohort study was conducted.Information of patients with stages IA2 to IIB cervical cancer with urodynamic study results were retrospectively collected from nine hospitals between June 2013 and June 2018 according to the inclusion criteria.Demographic,surgical,and oncological data were collected.The univariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to identify clinical factors associated with bladder storage function.Results:Two hundred and three patients with cervical cancer had urodynamic testing post-operatively.Ninety-five(46.8%)patients were diagnosed with stress urinary incontinence(SUI).The incidence of low bladder compliance(LBC)was 23.2%.Twenty-seven(13.3%)patients showed detrusor overactivity(DO).Fifty-seven patients(28.1%)presented with a decreased maximum cystometric capacity(DMCC).The probability of composite bladder storage dysfunction was 68.0%.Multivariate analysis confirmed that laparoscopy represents a protective factor for SUI with an odds ratio of 0.498(P=0.034).Patients who underwent a nerve-sparing procedure were less odds to experience SUI(P=0.014).A significant positive correlation between LBC and DO was observed(P<0.001).A greater length of the resected vagina and chemoradiotherapy were common risk factors for LBC and DO,while radiotherapy exerted a stronger effect than chemotherapy.Additionally,patients who received chemoradiotherapy frequently developed a DMCC.The follow-up time was not correlated with bladder storage function.Conclusion:A nerve-sparing procedure without longer resected vagina is recommended for protecting the bladder storage function.

Analysis of couples who have second children in Shanghai

The relaxation of fertility policy in China makes it possible to observe and under-stand the patterns of childbearing behavior in low fertility settings.This paper takes Shanghai,a city with ultra-low fertility over the long term,as an example to analyze families who have had a second child since the adjustment of China’s fertility policy.The paper reports the major results of a survey of couples with Shanghai house-hold registration(hukou)who have had a second child,and makes comparisons with other relevant survey.It seeks to answer the question"Who are the couples giving birth to second child?"The results show that most of the women who have had a second child after implementation of the Selective Two-child Policy in 2014 were born in the late 1970s and 1980s.Couples who had higher education levels and higher incomes,and in which the woman worked as a full-time housewife or worked in a less intense job with scheduling flexibility were more likely to have a second child.The ability of a couple to get help from their own parents for childcare,and the gender of the first child also affected the decision to have a second child.This study reveals that couples who have a second child tend to be those with better than average childcare resources.This suggests that formulating reasonable public poli-cies aimed at reducing the cost of childbearing and childrearing would be an effec-tive way to further release fertility potential.

cFos-ANAB:A cFos-based Web Tool for Exploring Activated Neurons and Associated Behaviors

cFos is one of the most widely-studied genes in the field of neuroscience.Currently,there is no systematic database focusing on cFos in neuroscience.We developed a curated database-cFos-ANAB-a cFos-based web tool for exploring activated neurons and associated behaviors in rats and mice,comprising 398 brain nuclei and sub-nuclei,and five associated behaviors:pain,fear,feeding,aggression,and sexual behavior.Direct relationships among behaviors and nuclei(even cell types)under specific stimulating conditions were constructed based on cFos expression profiles extracted from original publications.Moreover,overlapping nuclei and sub-nuclei with potentially complex functions among different associated behaviors were emphasized,leading to results serving as important clues to the development of valid hypotheses for exploring as yet unknown circuits.Using the analysis function of cFos-ANAB,multi-layered pictures of networks and their relationships can quickly be explored depending on users’purposes.These features provide a useful tool and good reference for early exploration in neuroscience.The cFos-ANAB database is available at www.cfos-db.net.

Understanding more about non-patent references

Non-patent references(NPRs)play an important role in the interaction between science and technology.In this contribution,we compare the characteristics of NPRs traced from patents on"metabolic engineering"to those received by the 10%most-cited articles(cited in scientific publications and excluding NPRs)in the same field.We observe that there is a low rate of co-citing articles between the two groups,and many NPRs have a better citation performance than TOP 10%articles.Our results provide preliminary clues to discover new characteristics of NPRs and to better understand the interface between science and technology.