Information Science Research Articles

Is the scientific impact of the LIS themes gender-biased? A bibliometric analysis of the evolution, scientific impact, and relative contribution by gender from 2007 to 2022

AbstractGender equity remains a challenge both globally and within academia, despite recent efforts to change it. Moreover, beyond the authors’ productivity, studies have reported that women often achieve lower scientific impact than their peers. To shed light on this complex relationship between the scientific impact and the themes addressed, this study conducts a comprehensive analysis of Library and Information Science field from 2007 to 2022 in four consecutive slides, identifying the principal themes covered in the field, analyzing the relative gender contribution rate, employing strategic diagrams, and assessing impact metrics, such as mean normalized citation score, 1% of most cited papers, and H-Classic. We employed science mapping analysis to explore a core of 45,650 documents from the Web of Science, with gender identification in 94.25% of cases. Our findings revealed a slight increase in the percentage of women authors within the field across the time, and a decline during the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating consistency in the themes addressed over the years. Women were overrepresented in the classic themes of LIS, human, and health-related fields, with these themes displaying lower performance rates. In contrast, men authors were overrepresented in STEM-related fields and innovation themes, associated with higher metric values. Our findings underlined the potential association between research themes and scientific performance, and provide societal and structural explanations for these observations. This study contributes valuable insights into the relationship between research themes and the scientific impact achieved by researchers in LIS, highlighting the importance of encouraging women’s participation in diverse knowledge domains and challenging prevailing stereotypes within academic and professional spheres.

Exploring the Limits of Artificial Intelligence for Referencing Scientific Articles.

To evaluate the reliability of three artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots (ChatGPT, Google Bard, and Chatsonic) in generating accurate references from existing obstetric literature. Between mid-March and late April 2023, ChatGPT, Google Bard, and Chatsonic were prompted to provide references for specific obstetrical randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in 2020. RCTs were considered for inclusion if they were mentioned in a previous article that primarily evaluated RCTs published by the top medical and obstetrics and gynecology journals with the highest impact factors in 2020 as well as RCTs published in a new journal focused on publishing obstetric RCTs. The selection of the three AI models was based on their popularity, performance in natural language processing, and public availability. Data collection involved prompting the AI chatbots to provide references according to a standardized protocol. The primary evaluation metric was the accuracy of each AI model in correctly citing references, including authors, publication title, journal name, and digital object identifier (DOI). Statistical analysis was performed using a permutation test to compare the performance of the AI models. Among the 44 RCTs analyzed, Google Bard demonstrated the highest accuracy, correctly citing 13.6% of the requested RCTs, whereas ChatGPT and Chatsonic exhibited lower accuracy rates of 2.4 and 0%, respectively. Google Bard often substantially outperformed Chatsonic and ChatGPT in correctly citing the studied reference components. The majority of references from all AI models studied were noted to provide DOIs for unrelated studies or DOIs that do not exist. To ensure the reliability of scientific information being disseminated, authors must exercise caution when utilizing AI for scientific writing and literature search. However, despite their limitations, collaborative partnerships between AI systems and researchers have the potential to drive synergistic advancements, leading to improved patient care and outcomes. · AI chatbots often cite scientific articles incorrectly.. · AI chatbots can create false references.. · Responsible AI use in research is vital..

Developing the general intertheory of documentology

The author examines the current status of documentology. The difference between documentary, ontological and theoretical knowledge is explained as related to the sciences of documentary information, and development of documentology is discussed through the lens of the theory of the structure of scientific knowledge. Based on the logical typology of cognition objects as subjects of thought, the just identifications of subjects of thought and concepts related to information units denoted by the term “document” and related terms, are offered. The author analyzes several popular interpretations of various information units. The need for the common intertheory of documentology addressing the phenomena, processes, info units within the documentation activities and provision of socially significant information to the society, is substantiated.

Eriocitrin in the Treatment of Diabetic Nephropathy: Amelioration Against Oxidative Burst and Inflammation Approach

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) induces hyperglycemia and oxidative stress in the kidneys and may cause kidney dysfunction. Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a prolonged problem of DM with limited treatment. Purpose: In this work, we planned to investigate the beneficial effects of eriocitrin, a natural flavanol found in citrus fruits, against DM-induced DN in rats. Materials and methods: For the induction of DN, animals were fed a high-fat diet and were administered with streptozotocin (35 mg/kg). After induction, eriocitrin (50 or 100 mg/kg) was administered to the DM rats, and their changes in feed intake, body weight, blood glucose levels, and blood samples were monitored on a daily basis. The oxidative stress markers were estimated by using standard protocols. The renal function markers such as the activity of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen levels were investigated by using kits. The kidney injury molecule (KIM-1) and pro-inflammatory markers were determined by using commercial kits. The kidney tissues were studied histopathologically. Results: Eriocitrin considerably reduced the body weight and food consumption in DM-induced rats. Furthermore, eriocitrin restored the values of biochemical parameters such as glucose, glycated hemoglobin, urea, creatinine, LDH, serum cholesterol, and triglycerides to near-normal levels. Moreover, the antioxidant properties of eriocitrin markedly suppressed the oxidative and inflammatory markers by continuing the antioxidant/reactive oxygen species balance. Furthermore, the biochemical parameters are well correlated with histopathological examination. Conclusion: Our results provide valuable scientific information, that supports the therapeutic role of eriocitrin and its protective effects in DM and its complications (DN).

A Novel Address-Matching Framework Based on Region Proposal

Geocoding is a fundamental component of geographic information science that plays a crucial role in various geographical studies and applications involving text data. Current mainstream geocoding methods fall into two categories: geodesic-grid prediction and address matching. However, the geodesic-grid-prediction method’s localization accuracy is hindered by the density of grid partitioning, struggling to strike a balance between prediction accuracy and grid density. Address-matching methods mainly focus on the semantics of query text. However, they tend to ignore keyword information that can be used to distinguish candidates and introduce potential interference, which reduces matching accuracy. Inspired by the human map-usage process, we propose a two-stage address-matching approach that integrates geodesic-grid prediction and text-matching models. Initially, a multi-level text-classification model is used to generate a retrieval region proposal for an input query text. Subsequently, we search for the most relevant point of interest (POI) within the region-proposal area using a semantics-based text-retrieval model. We evaluated the proposed method using POI data from the Beijing Chaoyang District. The experimental results indicate that the proposed method provides high address-matching accuracy, increasing Recall@1 by 0.55 to 1.56 percentage points and MRR@5 by 0.54 to 1.68 percentage points.

Bias-corrected NESM3 global dataset for dynamical downscaling under 1.5 °C and 2 °C global warming scenarios

Dynamical downscaling is vital for generating finer-scale climate projections. Recently, a set of simulations under four types of 1.5/2 °C global warming scenarios are available with Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology Earth System Model (NESM). However, NESM3’s bias in large-scale driving variables would degrade downscaled simulations. We corrected NESM3 bias in terms of climate mean and inter-annual variance against ERA5 using a novel bias correction method and then produced a set of bias-corrected datasets for dynamical downscaling. The bias-corrected NESM3 spans the historical period for 1979–2014 and four future scenarios (i.e., 1.5 °C overshoot for 2070–2100, stabilized 1.5/2 °C for 2070–2100, and transient 2 °C for 2031–2061) with 1.25° × 1.25° horizontal resolution at six-hourly intervals. Our evaluation suggests that bias-corrected NESM3 outperforms the original NESM3 in the climatological mean of seasonal mean and variability, as well as climate extreme events during the historical period. This bias-corrected dataset is expected to generate more reliable projections for regional climate and environment under 1.5/2 °C global warming.

Moving forward on the science of informatics and predictive analytics.

Moving forward on the science of informatics and predictive analytics.

Deterministic All-Optical Continuous-Variable Quantum Telecloning.

Quantum telecloning, a pivotal multiuser quantum communication protocol in the realm of quantum information science, facilitates the copy of a quantum state across M distinct locations through teleportation technique. In the continuous-variable regime, the implementation of quantum telecloning necessitates the distribution of multipartite entanglement among the sender and M receiver parties. Following this, the sender carries out optic-electro conversion and transmits information via classical channel to M spatially separated receivers simultaneously. To successfully reconstruct the input state, electro-optic conversion needs to be employed by each receiver. However, due to these conversions, the bandwidth of the optical mode in this process is largely constrained. In this Letter, we present an all-optical version of the 1→2 continuous-variable quantum telecloning scheme, wherein both optic-electro and electro-optic conversions are replaced by optical components. Our scheme allows the two receivers to achieve input state reconstruction solely by utilizing beam splitters, significantly simplifying its complexity. We experimentally demonstrate all-optical 1→2 quantum telecloning of coherent state and achieve the fidelities of 58.6%±1.0% and 58.6%±1.1% for two clones, exceeding the corresponding classical limits (51.9%±0.5% and 51.9%±0.6%). Our results establish a platform for constructing a flexible all-optical multiuser quantum network and promote the field of all-optical quantum information processing.

In defense of information literacy across the disciplines

Information literacy, coined in the 1970s, covers a wide range of skills needed to navigate the information landscape to find relevant and useful information to solve problems. The teaching of information literacy is inconsistent across state standards, and West Virginia students entering college are often ill-equipped to find credible, useful information. Information literacy’s core skills include identifying individual information needs, finding relevant sources to solve those needs, and evaluating those sources for credibility. In the pre-Internet, mass media age, it was necessary primarily to evaluate and consider the bias of sources when assessing credibility. Then, mass disinformation/misinformation became a critical issue for information literacy, particularly in the mid 2010s. In the last two years, the now wide scale availability of generative AI tools now requires an even more substantial toolbox for information literacy. Unfortunately, discussions around equipping users with the appropriate skills have become increasingly siloed, with parallel developments in news literacy, digital literacy, media literacy, AI literacy, and reappropriation of science literacy to effectively encompass the same skill set. Here, I show the cross-disciplinary nature and value of information literacy, arguing for its superseding nature against these other literacies, and give recommendations for greater integration of information literacy instruction across college curriculum. Solutions for ILI implementation are readily found in the library and information science literature, and professional staff and faculty are in many institutions prepared or trainable to deliver ILI in both generalized and discipline-specific contexts to empower users to be more information literate and capable of navigating increasingly complex information landscapes.

Effects of tire wear particles on the water retention of soils with different textures in the full moisture range

Tire wear particles (TWPs) are significant contributors to microplastic pollution in the environment, yet there is limited scientific information concerning their impact on soil hydraulic properties. This study aimed to investigate the impact of TWPs at different concentrations (1, 4, 8, and 16% of the air-dried mass of packed soil samples, w/w) on the water retention curves (WRC) of southern California soils with five different textures (clay, clay loam, silt loam, sandy loam, and loamy sand). The concentrations of 8% and 16% were selected to represent extreme pollution scenarios that might occur near highway corridors. High-resolution water retention data, spanning from saturation to oven dryness, were generated using HYPROP™ and WP4C dew point meter instruments. We also developed WRC scaling equations based on the quantity of TWPs. The bulk density of the samples decreased as the TWP concentration in soils increased. The inclusion of very high concentrations of TWPs (8% and 16% w/w) led to a significant reduction in soil moisture content in the intermediate and dry ranges across various soil textures. However, at the same moisture range, adding 1% TWPs had a minimal impact on soil moisture reduction, while the influence of the 4% TWPs concentration treatment was noticeable only in loamy sand and partially in clay loam soils. Additionally, the overall plant available water decreased with increasing TWP concentrations, except for the clay soil. The texture-specific scaling models exhibited promising performance, with RMSE values ranging from 0.0061 to 0.0120 cm3 cm−3. When bulk density was included as an additional input predictor to construct a single scaling model for all textures, the RMSE increased. Nevertheless, it still indicated a good fit ranging from 0.007 to 0.024 cm3 cm−3, highlighting the suitability of simple scaling for identifying WRC in TWPs-polluted soils, particularly for practical purposes. The findings of this study can contribute to a better understanding and quantification of the impact of TWPs on soil hydrology.

Features of digitalization of scientific, technological and economic information in modern conditions of instrumentation

Features of digitalization of scientific, technological and economic information in modern conditions of instrumentation

Ultrafast photoluminescence and multiscale light amplification in nanoplasmonic cavity glass.

Interactions between plasmons and exciton nanoemitters in plexcitonic systems lead to fast and intense luminescence, desirable in optoelectonic devices, ultrafast optical switches and quantum information science. While luminescence enhancement through exciton-plasmon coupling has thus far been mostly demonstrated in micro- and nanoscale structures, analogous demonstrations in bulk materials have been largely neglected. Here we present a bulk nanocomposite glass doped with cadmium telluride quantum dots (CdTe QDs) and silver nanoparticles, nAg, which act as exciton and plasmon sources, respectively. This glass exhibits ultranarrow, FWHM = 13 nm, and ultrafast, 90 ps, amplified photoluminescence (PL), λem≅503 nm, at room temperature under continuous-wave excitation, λexc = 405 nm. Numerical simulations confirm that the observed improvement in emission is a result of a multiscale light enhancement owing to the ensemble of QD-populated plasmonic nanocavities in the material. Power-dependent measurements indicate that >100 mW coherent light amplification occurs. These types of bulk plasmon-exciton composites could be designed comprising a plethora of components/functionalities, including emitters (QDs, rare earth and transition metal ions) and nanoplasmonic elements (Ag/Au/TCO, spherical/anisotropic/miscellaneous), to achieve targeted applications.

LIS Educators’ Perception Towards the Adoption of AI Tools in Nigerian Library Schools

The incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into education marks a significant shift in how students learn, teachers teach, and educational institutions operate. This research delved into the knowledge and views of Library and Information Science (LIS) educators regarding the use of AI in library schools in Rivers State. The study employed a survey approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methods. A total of 44 LIS educators from various institutions in Rivers State participated, selected through random sampling, and data were collected using an online survey. The study found that while many LIS educators are aware of AI and have integrated it into their teaching and research, there remains a considerable gap in formal training and professional development in this area. Despite this, there is a clear understanding among educators of the value of AI in library and information science education, in line with broader trends in education and industry. The research also identified positive attitudes towards AI as a tool to enhance education quality and prepare students for careers in librarianship and information science. However, several barriers hinder the integration of AI into curricula and practices, including lecturer attitudes, credibility of information sources, internet connectivity, negative institutional perceptions, and low lecturer competency in AI. To address these challenges, the study recommends that Nigerian library schools fully implement AI technologies like chatbots, barcodes, RFIDs, and robotics to enhance teaching activities. It also suggests that higher education institutions develop specialized training programs and workshops on AI for library schools, covering both basic and advanced concepts. This would enable educators to effectively integrate AI into their teaching and research practices.

Prompt engineering – a disruption in information seeking?

Purpose The purpose of this column is to inform librarians and other information professionals about prompt engineering (PE) and to challenge them to consider how it relates to the work that they are doing and consider if it might enhance their current ability to serve users. Design/methodology/approach PE is a new job category in the fields of technology and artificial intelligence. Prompt engineers use various approaches to elicit the best possible outputs from large language module technologies such as ChatGPT. This column examines the various elements present in effective prompts and how the skills, knowledge and abilities relate to the work that librarians already do, where there are disruptions and how the field of library and information science may approach studying the emergence and effectiveness of PE in resolving information needs. Findings While PE shares many of the goals, procedures and skillsets that librarians already know and use, it is a disruption in information-seeking processes. It is a highly complex undertaking that requires a mix of knowledge, skills and abilities. If done well, PE will allow information seekers to achieve a whole new level of results both in terms of the information retrieved and the content that is produced based on that information. Originality/value Librarians are currently generally not considered to be prime candidates for PE positions. However, this column introduces the idea that many librarians already have the knowledge, skills, abilities and aptitude to do PE. This may be as prompt engineers or by integrating PE into their existing professional practice.

Multi-messenger prospects for black hole -- neutron star mergers in the O4 and O5 runs

The existence of merging black hole-neutron star (BHNS) binaries has been ascertained through the observation of their gravitational wave (GW) signals. However, to date, no definitive electromagnetic (EM) emission has been confidently associated with these mergers. Such an association could help unravel crucial information on these systems, for example, their BH spin distribution, the equation of state (EoS) of the neutron star and the rate of heavy element production. We modeled the multi-messenger (MM) emission from BHNS mergers detectable during the fourth (O4) and fifth (O5) observing runs of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA (LVK) GW detector network in order to provide detailed predictions that can help enhance the effectiveness of observational efforts and extract the highest possible scientific information from such remarkable events. Our methodology is based on a population synthesis approach, which includes the modeling of the signal-to-noise ratio of the GW signal in the detectors, the GW-inferred sky localization of the source, the kilonova (KN) optical and near-infrared light curves, the relativistic jet gamma-ray burst (GRB) prompt emission peak photon flux, and the GRB afterglow light curves in the radio, optical, and X-ray bands. The resulting prospects for BHNS MM detections during O4 are not promising, with an LVK GW detection rate of $, but joint MM rates of $ $ yr$^ $ for the KN and $ $ yr$^ $ for the jet-related emission. In O5, we found an overall increase in expected detection rates by around an order of magnitude, owing to both the enhanced sensitivity of the GW detector network and the coming online of future EM facilities. Considering variations in the NS EoS and BH spin distribution, we find that the detection rates can increase further by up to a factor of several tens. Finally, we discuss direct searches for the GRB radio afterglow with large field-of-view instruments during O5 and beyond as a new possible follow-up strategy in the context of ever-dimming prospects for KN detection due to the recession of the GW horizon.

Characteristics of the existing methods for obtaining carotenes from carotenoid concentrates

Carotenes, which simultaneously have the properties of natural dyes and biologically active substances that have a positive effect on human health and life expectancy, are becoming increasingly widespread in the food, pharmacological and cosmetic industries. This necessitates an increase in the production of carotenes on an industrial scale. For use in food technologies, an encapsulated form of carotenes is recommended, which requires their high purity. The purpose of this study is to analyze domestic and foreign scientific, technical and patent information on existing methods for obtaining carotenes from carotenoid concentrates to determine the direction of research for the development of technology for the production of carotenes, in particular lycopene, ensuring the production of high purity lycopene from carotenoid concentrates, as well as increasing release of lycopene. The issues of using chromatographic methods for isolating lycopene, their advantages and disadvantages, as well as the use of non-polar and low-polar organic solvents for isolating lycopene from carotenoid concentrate are considered. The promising direction of research on the use of adsorption resins in the isolation of lycopene from carotenoid concentrates is noted.It has been concluded that the currently existing methods for obtaining carotenes from carotenoid concentrates, in particular lycopene, are quite technically complex and time-consuming. Some of the mallow the production of high purity lycopene, but the yield of lycopene is so low that their industrial scaling seems impractical. Taking this into account, research is being updated in the field of developing a technology for producing lycopene from a carotenoid concentrate, providing a high yield of high purity lycopene, with the possibility of its implementation on an industrial scale.

APRD: action partnership research design: reimagining the role of the user in library and information science research

PurposeResponding to the continuing separation of participants and researchers in LIS participatory research, a new methodology is proposed: action partnership research design (APRD). It is asserted that APRD can mitigate or remove the hierarchical structures often inherent in the research process, thus allowing for equal contribution from all.Design/methodology/approachBuilding on the bonded design (BD) methodology and informed by a scoping literature review conducted by the same authors, APRD is a human-centered research approach with the goal of empowering and valuing community partnerships. APRD originates from research investigating the use of participatory design methods to foster collaboration between two potentially disparate groups, firstly with adult researchers/designers and elementary school children, and secondly with university faculty and IT professionals.FindingsTo achieve this goal, in addition to BD techniques, APRD draws inspiration from elements of indigenous and decolonization research methodologies, particularly those with an emphasis on destabilizing power hierarchies and involving research participants as full partners.Originality/value APRD, which emerged from findings from previous participatory design studies, especially those of BD, is based on the premise of partnership, recognizing that each member of a design team, whether researcher or participant/user, has unique expertise to contribute. By considering participants/users as full research partners, APRD aims to flatten the hierarchies exhibited in some LIS participatory research methodologies, where participants are treated more like research subjects than partners.

Nutrition Today: Nutrition/Health Communications: Teaching Sourcing, Vetting, Discerning

Nutrition and food science and other health science communicators have faced a number of significant challenges over the past several decades, as the information landscape has evolved. The growth of Web-based science communication sources and, especially, social media’s impact on information dissemination have thoroughly transformed what was once strictly the purview of science and health journals. To meet the changing challenges, the present authors have published a series of articles presenting guidance for communicators in navigating the evolving information environment. In response to a number of questions from colleagues about how to seek and evaluate sound scientific information and to address the growing online repository of dubious food and health recommendations, the authors are addressing in the present article some modern themes. In particular, the article focuses on communicators’ evolving needs: where to go for accurate science-based information—how to guide the public to sound health and nutrition information and also how consumers might vet information sites online and how the public can be encouraged to develop new critical science-consumption skills and practical skepticism in the face of competing “information” claims.

Does disseminating scientific information on social media promote public health during the COVID‐19 pandemic?

AbstractCountries worldwide are transitioning their emergency response activities into long‐term management of COVID‐19. One promising strategy to mitigate the pandemic is combining the widespread use of social media with the potential impact of scientists on science education to create healthier information ecosystems. This study analyzed data from 189 online polls involving 1,391,706 participants who are either Sina Weibo or Tencent WeChat users to explore the impact of scientific information disseminated on social media on public health. This study aimed to address the following questions: (1) Does scientific information disseminated on social media help its audiences avoid becoming infected with COVID‐19? (2) To what extent does scientific information make a difference in the infection rate of its audiences? Our study found that the COVID‐19 un‐infection rate of the audiences receiving scientific information is significantly higher than that of the general social media users. There is a significant and lasting positive correlation between the dissemination of scientific information and the un‐infection rate of its audiences. We suggest that creating healthier information ecosystems should be integrated into the long‐term management of COVID‐19, as updating the public's beliefs about the pandemic is fundamental to mitigating the ongoing threat of the COVID‐19 pandemic.

Envisioning Information Access Systems: What Makes for Good Tools and a Healthy Web?

We observe a recent trend toward applying large language models (LLMs) in search and positioning them as effective information access systems. While the interfaces may look appealing and the apparent breadth of applicability is exciting, we are concerned that the field is rushing ahead with a technology without sufficient study of the uses it is meant to serve, how it would be used, and what its use would mean. We argue that it is important to reassert the central research focus of the field of information retrieval, because information access is not merely an application to be solved by the so-called ‘AI’ techniques du jour. Rather, it is a key human activity, with impacts on both individuals and society. As information scientists, we should be asking what do people and society want and need from information access systems and how do we design and build systems to meet those needs? With that goal, in this conceptual article we investigate fundamental questions concerning information access from user and societal viewpoints. We revisit foundational work related to information behavior, information seeking, information retrieval, information filtering, and information access to resurface what we know about these fundamental questions and what may be missing. We then provide our conceptual framing about how we could fill this gap, focusing on methods as well as experimental and evaluation frameworks. We consider the Web as an information ecosystem and explore the ways in which synthetic media, produced by LLMs and otherwise, endangers that ecosystem. The primary goal of this conceptual article is to shed light on what we still do not know about the potential impacts of LLM-based information access systems, how to advance our understanding of user behaviors, and where the next generations of students, scholars, and developers could fruitfully invest their energies.