The validity of publication and citation counts for Sociology and other selected disciplines

The use of bibliometric data is a means of comparing. research productivity and scholarly. impact for individuals, work groups, institutions and nations within and between disciplines. Central to this debate is the notion that disciplines differ in the ways in which,they exchange ideas and disseminate information and therefore have diverse publishing and citation patterns. In this article we use two different approaches to compiling bibliometric data to compare publishing patterns of five different disciplines that encompass Molecular Biology; Administration/Political Science, Psychology,. Philosophy and Sociology/Anthropology. We find that the social sciences differ from each other as well as from the physical sciences in their publication and citation patterns. Further, while the different ways of organizing the data produce somewhat different results, the substantive findings for the general patterning of publications and citations of disciplines are consistent for both data sets. Sociology/Anthropology, when compared with the other disciplines, shows substantial differences across universities.

A rapid and sensitive microscale HPLC method for the determination of indomethacin in plasma of premature neonates with patent ductus arteriousus

Indomethacin (IND) is the drug of choice for the closure of a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in neonates. This paper describes a simple, sensitive, accurate and precise microscale HPLC method suitable for the analysis of IND in plasma of premature neonates. Samples were prepared by plasma protein precipitation with acetonitrile containing the methyl ester of IND as the internal standard (IS). Chromatography was performed on a Hypersil C-18 column. The mobile phase of methanol, water and orthophosphoric acid (70:29.5:0.5, v/v, respectively), was delivered at 1.5 mL/min and monitored at 270 nm. IND and the IS were eluted at 2.9 and 4.3 min, respectively. Calibrations were linear (r > 0.999) from 25 to 2500 mu g/L. The inter- and intra-day assay imprecision was less than 4.3% at 400-2000 mu g/L, and less than 22.1% at 35 mu g/L. Inaccuracy ranged from -6.0% to +1.0% from 35 to 2000 mu g/L. The absolute recovery of IND over this range was 93.0-113.3%. The IS was stable for at least 36 h when added to plasma at ambient temperature. This method is suitable for pharmacokinetic studies of IND and has potential for monitoring therapy in infants with PDA when a target therapeutic range for IND has been validated. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A bibliographic snapshot of the telemedicine citation literature

There appear to have been no previous literature-based or literature-oriented studies in telemedicine which have analysed raw citation data. Using a simple search strategy, the Web of Science was analysed up to the end of 2005 to give a snapshot of the field, and to identify matters which would need to be considered in larger scale bibliometric studies. Of the 3673 telemedicine documents retrieved, 2213 (60%) had been cited. Of 56,875 citation records, 32,460 unique citation formats were found. The most-cited paper, and the paper with the greatest annual citation rate, was Perednia and Allen's review article in JAMA, 1995. The two specialist telemedicine journals published 40% of all papers retrieved. In the general literature (i.e. excluding the two specialist journals) there were 1556 citations to their 1374 'citable' articles, apportioned in the ratio 76:24, almost exactly in accordance with the distribution of the articles themselves. However, each of the two specialist telemedicine journals cited itself in a proportion higher than its share of original articles, with an 'excess' of self-citations of 14% in the journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, and 19% in the Telemedicine journal and E-Health. Despite certain technical difficulties, there is considerable scope for bibliometric research in telemedicine.

Novel vascular graft grown within recipient's own peritoneal cavity

A method by which to overcome the clinical symptoms of atherosclerosis is the insertion of a graft to bypass an artery blocked or impeded by plaque. However, there may be insufficient autologous mammary artery for multiple or repeat bypass, saphenous vein may have varicose degenerative alterations that can lead to aneurysm in high-pressure sites, and small-caliber synthetic grafts are prone to thrombus induction and occlusion. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to develop an artificial blood conduit of any required length and diameter from the cells of the host for autologous transplantation. Silastic tubing, of variable length and diameter, was inserted into the peritoneal cavity of rats or rabbits. By 2 weeks, it had become covered by several layers of myofibroblasts, collagen matrix, and a single layer of mesothelium. The Silastic tubing was removed from the harvested implants, and the tube of living tissue was everted such that it now resembled a blood vessel with an inner lining of nonthrombotic mesothelial cells (the intima), with a media of smooth muscle-like cells (myofibroblasts), collagen, and elastin, and with an outer collagenous adventitia. The tube of tissue (10 to 20 mm long) was successfully grafted by end-to-end anastomoses into the severed carotid artery or abdominal aorta of the same animal in which they were grown. The transplant remained patent for at least 4 months and developed structures resembling elastic lamellae. The myofibroblasts gained a higher volume fraction of myofilaments and became responsive to contractile agonists, similar to the vessel into which they had been grafted. It is suggested that these nonthrombogenic tubes of living tissue, grown in the peritoneal cavity of the host, may be developed as autologous coronary artery bypass grafts or as arteriovenous access fistulae for hemodialysis patients.

Whispered voice test for screening for hearing impairment in adults and children: systematic review

Objective To determine the accuracy of the whispered voice test in detecting hearing impairment in adults and children. Design Systematic review of studies of test accuracy. Data sources Medline, Embase, Science Citation Index, unpublished theses, manual searching of bibliographies of known primary and review articles, and contact with authors. Study selection Two reviewers independently selected and extracted data on study characteristics, quality, and accuracy of studies. Studies were included if they had cross sectional designs, at least one of the index tests was the whispered voice test, and the reference test (audiometry) was performed on at least 80% of the participants. Data extraction Data were used to form 2x2 contingency tables with hearing impairment by audiometry as the reference standard. Data synthesis The eight studies that were found used six different techniques. The sensitivity in the four adult studies was 90% or 100% and the specificity was 70% to 87%. The sensitivity in the four childhood studies ranged from 80% to 96% and specificity ranged from 90% to 98%. Conclusion The whispered voice test is a simple and accurate test for detecting hearing impairment. There is some concern regarding the lower sensitivity in children and the overall reproducibility of the test, particularly in primary care settings. Further studies should be conducted in primary care settings to explore the influence of components of the testing procedure to optimise test sensitivity and to promote standardisation of the testing procedure.