Inter-country Collaboration Research Articles

Over two decades of scientific misconduct in India: Retraction reasons and journal quality among inter-country and intra-country institutional collaboration

Over two decades of scientific misconduct in India: Retraction reasons and journal quality among inter-country and intra-country institutional collaboration

A Decade of Eco-Friendly Active and Intelligent Food Packaging Research: A Quantitative Review

The thrust for active and intelligent food packaging systems utilizing sustainable biopolymer resources has gained significant momentum in recent years as the global food industry seeks innovative solutions to enhance product freshness and safety while reducing environmental impact. Active packaging aims to extend the shelf life of packaged foods through the incorporation of substances. Intelligent packaging, on the other hand, is intended to offer up-to-date data on the quality, freshness, or safety of packaged foods by integrating various indicators into the packaging film that displays variations in storage conditions, gas levels, pH, and other factors. The present quantitative review is targeted to investigate quantitatively the research activity in the biodegradable multifunctional packaging utilizing the Web of Science database data. The top ten authors, countries, and journals associated with the present topic have been analyzed using the Bibliometrix-Biblioshiny package of R. This software package also utilizes the thematic evolution in terms of trend topic analysis. In addition, the VOS viewer software package has been used to predict inter-country collaboration, as well as, collaboration between authors. This software package also predicts co-occurrences and the evolution of keywords. Such an extensive computational approach thus expected to predict the grey areas in eco-friendly active and smart food packaging research both in terms of synthesis and properties.

A Bibliometric Review of Innovations in Sustainable Tourism Research: Current Trends and Future Research Agenda

This bibliometric review explores the existing publications regarding innovations in sustainable tourism. The aim of the review was to determine the existing research trends in the field of innovations in sustainable tourism by mapping the research on the innovations and “smart” aspects in sustainable tourism and contributing to the field by outlining the recent research trends, identifying the general topics and subtopics, and thus guiding future researchers in choosing an attractive research direction. The bibliometric analysis based on the PRISMA guidelines was provided to extract 179 all-open-access documents (articles, research papers, conference papers, and book chapters) from the Scopus database. As the research field was found to be expanding (thirty-eight documents were dated 2023 compared to one dated 2010), its attractiveness was confirmed. The analysis of the most-cited publications showed the existence of three research trends: (1) management-focused, (2) sustainability-focused, and (3) smart/ITCs-focused. Moreover, the analysis of the author keywords enabled outlining the main future research themes, namely tourism, sustainability, management, scope, innovation, smart, and method, and providing considerations for the future. For a broader dissemination of their findings, authors are encouraged to pay greater attention to these factors: inter-country collaboration, leading institution, journal choice, and topic choice.

A spatial scientometric analysis of urban planning publications from 2010–2020: geographic disparities in urban planning knowledge production

PurposeThis paper analyzes and illustrates the spatial distribution of publications in international urban planning journals from 2010 to 2020.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs the Biblioshiny bibliometrix package in R to analyze 44,123 articles from 95 international planning journals. To conduct the spatial scientometric analysis, we adopted the United Nations’ geoscheme focusing on three geographical scales: country, subregion, and region. Collaboration patterns at the country and subregional levels were examined using the VOSviewer tool.FindingsThe study found evidence of a spatial polarization of urban planning scholarly knowledge production. Scholars based in the United States and the United Kingdom consistently published at higher rates than any other country in our data set. The region producing the largest number of publications was Europe, consisting of 39.92% of the total publication count. However, urban planning scholars from the Global South authored only 20.96% of planning publications from 2010–2020. Centralization of planning research is also evident within each region and subregion. As such, both the Global North and the Global South should not be framed as homogenous entities and spatial patterns of knowledge production should not be generalized. The analysis also established the emerging role of Northern America as a major collaborator in inter-country and inter-subregional research collaborations. Co-authorship patterns indicate low intra-regional collaboration in planning research, except for Europe.Originality/valueThis article argues that a culture of exclusivity may be occurring in urban planning publication production. By highlighting the spatial disparities in knowledge production, we emphasize the need to examine the structural and institutional barriers that exclude urban planning knowledge emerging from the peripheries in international planning journals.

Dust exposure linkages among Asian countries

Dust events have far-reaching and detrimental effects on the environment and human populations, often crossing international borders and spanning vast distances. However, a comprehensive assessment of their transboundary linkages is lacking. In this study, we integrated dust emissions with dust transport in Asia to investigate the dust exposure linkages among Asian countries. Our findings indicate a significant correlation between dust transport and dust exposure in various countries, which is stronger than that between dust emission and dust exposure. Our results reveal the origins of dust exposure in countries distant from dust sources, as well as the destinations of dust from dust source countries. For instance, 65.16% of dust exposure in Japanese cities originates from Mongolian dust emissions, while dust emissions from China account for 57.14% of dust exposure in Chinese cities. This information is instrumental in effectively addressing the impact of dust events under the Policy Advocacy Framework to combat Sand and Dust Storms. This research provides insights for developing policies that leverage intercountry communication and collaboration to alleviate the threats of dust events at the regional and local levels.

Malaria elimination and the need for intensive inter-country cooperation: a critical evaluation of regional technical co-operation in Southern Africa

BackgroundMalaria elimination requires closely co-ordinated action between neighbouring countries. In Southern Africa several countries have reduced malaria to low levels, but the goal of elimination has eluded them thus far. The Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Malaria Elimination Eight (E8) initiative was established in 2009 between Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe to coordinate malaria interventions aiming to eliminate malaria by 2030. Cross-border coordination is important in malaria elimination settings as it strengthens surveillance, joint planning and implementation, knowledge exchange and optimal use of resources. This paper describes how this collaboration is realized in practice, its achievements and challenges, and its significance for malaria elimination prospects.MethodsThe ministers of health of the E8 countries oversee an intergovernmental technical committee supported by specialist working groups consisting of technical personnel from member countries and partner institutions. These technical working groups are responsible for malaria elimination initiatives in key focus areas such as surveillance, vector control, diagnosis, case management, behaviour change and applied research. The technical working groups have initiated and guided several collaborative projects which lay essential groundwork for malaria elimination.ResultsThe E8 collaboration has yielded achievements in the following key areas. (1) Establishment and evaluation of malaria border health posts to improve malaria services in border areas and reduce malaria among resident and, mobile and migrant populations. (2) The development of a regional malaria microscopy slide bank providing materials for diagnostic training and proficiency testing. (3) A facility for regional external competency assessment and training of malaria microscopy trainers in collaboration with the World Health Organization. (4) Entomology fellowships that improved capacity in entomological surveillance; an indoor residual spraying (IRS) training of trainers’ scheme to enhance the quality of this core intervention in the region. (5) Capacity development for regional malaria parasite genomic surveillance. (6) A mechanism for early detection of malaria outbreak through near real time reporting and a quarterly bulletins of malaria incidence in border districts.ConclusionsThe E8 technical working groups system embodies inter-country collaboration of malaria control and elimination activities. It facilitates sustained interaction between countries through a regional approach. The groundwork for elimination has been laid, but the challenge will be to maintain funding for collaboration at this level whilst reducing reliance on international donors and to build capacities necessary to prepare for malaria elimination.

A bibliometric analysis of research trends for missing persons globally and in East Asia from 2000 to 2021.

The strengths and weaknesses of current research on missing persons in East Asia were identified by comparing the respective literatures on missing persons and related topics in East Asia and worldwide during the period 2000-2021.Bibliometric analysis was performed using CiteSpace visual charts to explore keywords, authorship and co-authorship, intercountry collaboration, and other relevant co-citationities.Insights were obtained on current research breakthroughs relating to the topic of missing persons, and cutting-edge social science research on this topic was identified.

Socio-economic Effect of COVID-19 on the Global Economy

Epidemics and pandemics have been part of human existence since time immemorial. Although the foregoing terms are often used interchangeably, they have distinctive meanings in the scientific world. The world has been plagued with a significant number of epidemics and pandemics in prior and recent years. Earlier news on the outbreak of COVID-19 was received with scepticism by leaders and citizens of several advanced, emerging and developing economies around the world. Most global leaders doubted the exponential effect of COVID-19 on their respective countries and on the global economy as a whole. The purpose of this research was to examine the impact of COVID-19 on global economic activities and output. The research relied on the quantitative approach to scientific inquiry. Specifically, a cross-sectional design was adapted and used in the study. This enabled the researchers to gather relevant research data over a specific period of time. Data required for the conduct of the study were obtained mainly from secondary sources. These included peer-reviewed articles published in journals, research papers, textbooks, and newspaper publications; Google Search Engine including Worldometers.info, Africanews.com, and Weforum.org; financial websites such as Tradingeconomics.com; and electronic databases of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and World Economic Outlook, among other significant sources. Annual data on global gross domestic products from 1990 through 2019, data on the top twenty global economies from 2019 through 2021 and available data on the COVID-19 pandemic as of 20th April 2020 were used in the study. Regression models and descriptive statistics were used to describe the research variables; and to evaluate their behaviour over the stated time frame on the global economy. Findings from the research revealed a positive but non-significant relationship between fiscal year and global GDP (p = 1.12239, p > 0.05). The results suggested that the fiscal year alone has no significant influence on global GDP. Rather, internal and external environmental factors in a given financial year, such as Tsunamis, tornadoes, earthquakes, bushfires, hurricanes, and pandemic outbreaks (such as COVID-19), influence global GDP and its attendant growth. The findings revealed Ghana’s estimated economic losses from COVID-19 (GH¢15 billion) are equivalent to 4.27% of projected GDP (GH¢351.19 billion) for 2020 and equivalent to 4.34% of GDP (GH¢346 billion) for 2019, while estimated global economic losses from the pandemic (US$2.7 trillion) ranged from 3.05% to 3.06% of projected global GDP (US$88.574 trillion or US$88.312 trillion) for 2020. Almost all African economies are struggling to patch the economic holes created by the menacing COVID-19 pandemic. Since the non-occurrence of a similar or higher magnitude pandemic in the near and distant future cannot be guaranteed, the researchers recommended the need for leaders of various economies to put the necessary contingency measures and structures in place to avert devastating effects, should any pandemic occur. Experiences from the Ebola and Coronavirus outbreaks are expected to serve as strong practical case studies for the Africa Centre for Disease Control (ACDC) to improve its response rate to epidemic and pandemic outbreaks on the continent. The ACDC should be able to advise member countries on the state-of-the-art medical facilities required to facilitate treatments for epidemic and pandemic outbreaks. There is a need for inter-country collaboration. That is, African countries that are “handicapped” in medical facilities and equipment should collaborate with those that are endowed with and also share expertise to save the continent from socio-economic dissipation. The World Health Organisation (WHO) must continue to monitor health conditions and situations in countries and territories and provide early signals to enhance the preparedness and responsiveness of various economies. Member countries must provide the necessary logistics and technological assistance so WHO could improve on its existing structures and mechanisms for “systematic disease surveillance and reporting.”

Intercountry Interactions to Reduce the Endemic Burden of Oral Cancer: An Exploratory Observership Model in India

Background: Lip and oral cavity cancers are the second most common cancers in India and Sri Lanka. Hence, there is a need to enhance partnership among countries and institutions to develop the capacity to ameliorate the huge burden of oral cancer in the SEAR region. Methods: An observership model was field tested with the inter-country collaboration from India and Sri Lanka in December 2018 on seven Sri Lankan dentists from National Cancer Control Program participated in the observership model conducted in India. Results: This model covered all the components of oral cancer prevention including awareness on oral cancer and oral potentially malignant disorder management training. Conclusions: This model emphasized the significance of inter-country handholding and strengthening of the existing cancer prevention activities.

A bibliometric review of positive psychology and well-being research in Africa.

Positive Psychology rapidly developed into an influential field of study and intervention, initially situated in Psychology, and later becoming multidisciplinary. Research interest in the study of (psychological) well-being has gained global popularity, with increasing salience in Africa. Although the global trends of these developments are relatively well-known, a bibliometric analysis of positive psychology research in Africa was necessary to shed light on the present hotspots and trends and future trajectories in this region of the world. The data source of the present bibliometric analysis study was Scopus, from which Positive Psychology and well-being research literature from Africa between 1983 and 2023 were searched. Using biblioshiny and VOSviewer, the 622 extracted articles were analysed, from which findings about the current condition, research hotspots, and thematic developmental patterns could be made. Africa experienced an initial slow growth period from 1983 until 2005, after which a rapid growth in research productivity, relevance and impact was experienced. In this regard, the results show that the focal point of scientific productivity is South Africa, with the dominance of South African institutions, particularly the North-West University, from where most positive psychology research is produced and cited. Even with potential access to international journal, African researchers seem to prefer to place their publications in the regional journals such as Journal of Psychology in Africa and South African Journal of Psychology. The research reviewed tends to be characterised by more dominant thematic clusters of positive psychology, psychological well-being, and subjective well-being, with a focus on human individuals. An increasing concern for contextual factors and potential antecedents and dynamics of well-being is also observed. The findings provide a good map from which identification of future research priorities can be deduced. As such, we speculate that future positive psychology research in Africa ought to be concerned with the following: greater distribution and intercountry collaborations across the continent, questions of conceptual clarity of terms, better understanding of contextual factors which influence well-being, and well-being research embracing the complexity of bio-psycho-social-ecological well-being, and science concerned with health-promotion interventions.

Bibliometric Analysis on Wildfires and Protected Areas

Wildfire are increasingly frequent events on a planet undergoing climate change. With more favourable climate conditions for their occurrence, like prolonged periods of drought, the frequency and intensity of these catastrophes continue to increase. Protected areas are important territories for conserving ecosystems and biodiversity around the world and serve as a key management tool in national environmental policies. Many studies have been developed around the world to assess the conditions, frequency, and intensity of fires, and, on the other hand, protected areas are intensively studied to understand whether conservation actions are effective in keeping the ecosystem balanced. However, there are few studies that contemplate these two themes together. Consequently, this study offers a bibliometric analysis of the wildfires and its occurrence in protected areas, aiming to understand the spatial and temporal relation between them, characteristics of the research studies, and trending issues to be worked on. We used the Bibliometrix package in R language, which provides the option of different methods for analysing bibliometric data to understand the temporal evolution of the published documents about wildfires and protected areas. In total, 1116 publications were analysed, ranging from 1970 to 2022. The findings show that the terms “fires” (185 occurrences), “fire” (117), “wildfire” (101), and “forest fire” (92) are more frequently used and associated with studies on topics including biodiversity (304), conservation (221), environmental protection (188), deforestation (148), ecosystems (138), forestry (133), and climate change (126) as well as protected areas (399). The highest growth of research has been registered since 2002. The majority of the publications were published by authors from universities in the USA (77), South Africa (72), the United Kingdom (22), and Brazil (19). The USA leads all other countries with 7 of the top 10 international collaborations, followed by Brazil, Australia, and South Africa. However, only the United Kingdom continues to maintain an increased number of external (inter-country) collaborations, whereas the other nine continue to maintain an increased number of internal (intra-country). Considering the top 10 authors in terms of production, only 1 was active from 1999 to 2019, and the other 9 only have been active since 2009. The topics that stand out were subjected to a coupling analysis, which revealed that environmental protection is a motor theme, endangered species, Australia, and savannah are niche themes, and protected area, biodiversity, and fire management are basic themes.

Preface

The emerging pest and disease incursions in coconut growing countries result in great economic yield losses and negative impact to the industry, biodiversity loss, and disrupted native and agricultural system.Repeated use of the same active ingredient of pesticide to control pests and diseases could lead to pest and disease resistance. The inevitable effect of climate change, other environmental factors, and the destruction of natural enemies could trigger the incursion and migration of devastating pests and diseases. The massive planting and replanting could create homogeneity in coconut farms, predisposing these to disease infection and pest infestation. The concurrent reported outbreaks of Brontispa in Southeast Asia, Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle, Guam type (CRB-G) in Guam, and Asia-Pacic countries, Coconut Scale Insect in the Philippines, Lethal Yellowing in Jamaica, and Mexico, Bogia Coconut Syndrome in Papua New Guinea, Sexava, Rhyncophorus in Indonesia, and the recognition of the need to develop international biosecurity protocols for safe germplasm exchange have prompted the International Coconut Community (ICC) to hold the 1st IPM symposium.We know that pests and diseases reduced the ability of the industry to fully benefit from the market opportunities. In the face of this situation ICC Sessions and Ministerial meetings as the highest authority and the ICC recommended the ICC Secretariat to convene an IPM symposium to help countries overcome low coconut production due to pests and diseases.The general objective of the symposium is to establish an international IPM network system and synergy to protect the coconut producers & industries and conserve the coconut genetic resources and diversity from the adverse impact of pests and diseases through expertise and experience sharing.The specific objectives of the symposium are:1. To bring together key members of the scientific community for an interactive discussion on emerging issues and advances related to IPM, that will help enhance and develop IPM extension and research on invasive coconut pests and diseases2. To craft ecologically sound, science-based, and sustainable pest and disease management approaches based on IPM practices across countries.3. To create an international platform/network among coconut growing countries to strengthen the development of IPM strategies, pest and disease risk assessment, and inter-country collaborations that will address the research gaps and challenges of managing invasive pests/diseases losses and negative impact on the industry, biodiversity loss, and disrupted native and agricultural system.List of Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, Associate Editor, Scientific Committee of IPM Symposium Proceedings are available in this Pdf.

An appraisal of peer-reviewed published literature on Influenza, 2000-2021 from countries in South-East Asia Region.

Influenza poses a major public health challenge in South-East Asia Region (SEAR). To address the challenge, there is a need to generate contextual evidence that could inform policy makers and program managers for response preparedness and impact mitigation. The World Health Organization has identified priority areas across five streams for research evidence generation at a global level (WHO Public Health Research Agenda). Stream 1 focuses on research for reducing the risk of emergence, Stream 2 on limiting the spread, Stream 3 on minimizing the impact, Stream 4 on optimizing the treatment and Stream 5 on promoting public health tools and technologies for Influenza. However, evidence generation from SEAR has been arguably low and needs a relook for alignment with priorities. This study aimed to undertake a bibliometric analysis of medical literature on Influenza over the past 21 years to identify gaps in research evidence and for identifying major areas for focusing with a view to provide recommendations to member states and SEAR office for prioritizing avenues for future research. We searched Scopus, PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases in August 2021. We identified studies on influenza published from the 11 countries in WHO SEAR in the date range of 1 January 2000-31 December 2021. Data was retrieved, tagged and analyzed based on the WHO priority streams for Influenza, member states, study design and type of research. Bibliometric analysis was done on Vosviewer. We included a total of 1,641 articles (Stream 1: n = 307; Stream 2: n = 516; Stream 3: n = 470; Stream 4: n = 309; Stream 5: n = 227). Maximum number of publications were seen in Stream 2, i.e., limiting the spread of pandemic, zoonotic, and seasonal epidemic influenza which majorly included transmission, spread of virus at global and local levels and public health measures to limit the transmission. The highest number of publications was from India (n = 524) followed by Thailand (n = 407), Indonesia (n = 214) and Bangladesh (n = 158). Bhutan (n = 10), Maldives (n = 1), Democratic People's Republic of Korea (n = 1), and Timor-Leste (n = 3) had the least contribution in Influenza research. The top-most journal was PloS One which had the maximum number of influenza articles (n = 94) published from SEAR countries. Research that generated actionable evidence, i.e., implementation and intervention related topics were less common. Similarly, research on pharmaceutical interventions and on innovations was low. SEAR member states had inconsistent output across the five priority research streams, and there was a much higher scope and need for collaborative research. Basic science research showed declining trends and needed reprioritization. While a priority research agenda has been set for influenza at the global level through the WHO Global Influenza Program since 2009, and subsequently revisited in 2011 and again in 2016-2017, a structured contextualized approach to guide actionable evidence generation activities in SEAR has been lacking. In the backset of the Global Influenza Strategy 2019-2030 and the COVID-19 pandemic, attuning research endeavors in SEAR could help in improved pandemic influenza preparedness planning. There is a need to prioritize contextually relevant research themes within priority streams. Member states must inculcate a culture of within and inter-country collaboration to produce evidence that has regional as well as global value.

Malaria outbreak along the India-Bhutan border town of Saralpara, Assam, India.

A remarkable progress is being made in the South-East Asia region in reducing the burden of malaria. While all countries are committed to malaria elimination, continued transmission at and across international borders poses a threat to achieving this goal. We investigated an outbreak of malaria in the India-Bhutan border area in a district of Assam state, India. A line listing of cases occurring during the outbreak period was made and a house-to-house survey was carried out to identify additional cases in the community. Entomological investigation consisted of light trap collection of vectors. Patients and health workers were interviewed to obtain information on the possible mode of transmission and ongoing inter-country collaboration across the border. Between October 21 to November 18 2022, 37 cases of malaria (all Plasmodium vivax), were diagnosed in Saralpara area of Kokrajhar district of Assam, bordering Bhutan. Of these four were diagnosed in Sarpang hospital, Bhutan. Median age was 20 years (range 3 to 70 years). Male to female ratio was 1:1.2. In addition, 6 individuals with asymptomatic malaria were detected in the community through an active case finding campaign. No cases were however reported on Bhutan side of the border. Anopheles culicifacies and An. annularis were identified from light trap collection. Saralpara is a remote and forested area where most of the residents are poor and engaged predominantly in farming activities. Being a harvesting season, they tend to stay overnight to protect their harvest from elephants. The health authorities in India and Bhutan exchanged information regularly at district-to-district level on the outbreak including through available and easy modes such as WhatsApp, telephone as well as electronic mail and collaborated in coherently implementing preventive measures on both sides and in managing the cases. The outbreak of malaria in Saralpara demonstrates the risk of malaria outbreak in remote and forested areas, with possibility of spill over to the other side of the border. The fact that two countries had excellent inter-country cross-border collaboration and prior commitment thereby preventing further transmission of malaria to Bhutan can serve as a best practice for cross-border control of malaria and other communicable diseases.

Current Research Trends, Hotspots, and Frontiers of Physical Activity during Pregnancy: A Bibliometric Analysis.

Physical activity (PA) during pregnancy has been proven beneficial to pregnant women, with a significant effect on ameliorating many severe gestational complications. This work aimed to reveal current research trends, hotspots, and future frontiers in PA during pregnancy. Software CiteSpace was used to perform a bibliometric analysis with 1415 publications in the Web of Science Core Collection. the number of published papers on PA during pregnancy has increased gradually by year. The United States has made the most significant contribution to the research on this topic, ranking first in the world in both the number and centrality of research. A total of 54 articles (3.8%) were published in 2022. A majority of publications were research articles (n = 1176, 78.9%). The authors and institutions of the research published have more inter-country collaborations. Different patterns of PA, prevention, and amelioration of pregnancy complications are major research hotspots. Improvement of sedentary behaviour, lifestyle intervention through leisure-time PA, and preterm care are major research frontiers and have received extensive attention in recent years. The current scientometric study presents an overview of PA during pregnancy research conducted throughout the preceding decades. The conclusions of this work might serve as a reference for researchers who are interested in this field.

Bibliometric Analysis of Academic Journal Articles Reporting Results of Psychedelic Clinical Studies

ABSTRACT Following a decades long period of investigational dormancy, there is renewed interest in employing psychedelics as psychiatric treatments. The academic journals, institutions, and countries that have helped sustain clinical psychedelic research and the evolution of the literature on clinical studies of psychedelics have only recently begun to be investigated. To expand upon this work, we conducted a bibliometric analysis of clinical studies of 5-methoxy-N, N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT), ayahuasca, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), ibogaine, mescaline, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), and psilocybin published from 1965–2021. Our search revealed 394 relevant articles. After a lull from the 1970s-1990s, publications in this area have resurged. Studies most frequently focused on MDMA (49%), LSD (19%), psilocybin (18%), and ayahuasca (7%). A subanalysis of studies from 1965 to 2009 (“Older cohort”) compared to 2010–2021 (“Recent cohort”) revealed that the Recent cohort had a higher proportion of studies investigating psychedelics’ therapeutic applications and a lower proportion of studies investigating the effects of psychedelics on people using them in non-research settings. Compared to the Older cohort, psilocybin studies increased proportionally in the Recent cohort, while DMT and mescaline studies decreased. Network analyses of inter-country collaborations suggested that psychedelic researchers in the United Kingdom have the most diverse international collaborations.

Inequalities in COVID-19 inequalities research: Who had the capacity to respond?

The COVID-19 pandemic has been testing countries’ capacities and scientific preparedness to actively respond and collaborate on a common global threat. It has also heightened awareness of the urgent need to empirically describe and analyze health inequalities to be able to act effectively. In turn, this raises several important questions that need answering: What is known about the rapidly emerging COVID-19 inequalities research field? Which countries and world regions have been able to rapidly produce research on this topic? What research patterns and trends have emerged, and how to these compared to the (pre-COVID-19) global health inequalities research field? Which countries have been scientifically collaborating on this important topic? Where are the scientific knowledge gaps, and indirectly where might research capacities need to be strengthened? In order to answer these queries, we analyzed the global scientific production (2020–2021) on COVID-19 associated inequalities by conducting bibliometric and network analyses using the Scopus database. Specifically, we analyzed the volume of scientific production per country (via author affiliations), its distribution by country income groups and world regions, as well as the inter-country collaborations within this production. Our results indicate that the COVID-19 inequalities research field has been highly collaborative; however, a number of significant inequitable research practices exist. When compared to the (pre-COVID-19) global health inequalities research field, similar inequalities were identified, however, several new dynamics and partnerships have also emerged that warrant further in-depth exploration. To ensure preparedness for future crises, and effective strategies to tackle growing social inequalities in health, investment in global health inequalities research capacities must be a priority for all.

Pandemic and containment policies in open economy

This paper analyzes the economic and epidemiological externalities of containment policies in an open-economy setting with firm entry and exit, SIR virus transmission, and a production network. Motivated by empirical evidence that non-pharmaceutical intervention policies (such as workplace closure or social distancing) are substitutes for medication-related policies (healthcare facilities and vaccine development), we incorporated four types of containment policies into our model. We find the workplace closure policy is the most effective in pandemic management, and social distance is a beggar-thy-neighbor strategy. Furthermore, we evaluate the efficacy of existing policy combinations and compare them to the optimal policy choice in the cooperative and Nash equilibrium, and a “prepare-for-worst” situation. Inter-country policy collaboration allows each country to specialize in different policies while also improving overall welfare. Real-world policies differ from optimum policies in the cooperative and Nash equilibrium, but they are closer to the second-best policies in the “prepare-for-worst” scenario, in which the U.S. policies cannot be predicted.

Fifty Years of Cervical Myelopathy Research: Results from a Bibliometric Analysis.

We performed bibliometric analysis of the research papers published on clinical cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) in the last 50 years. We extracted bibliometric data from Scopus and PubMed from 1970 to 2020 pertaining to clinical studies of CSM. The predominant journals, top cited articles, authors, and countries were identified using performance analysis. Science mapping was also performed to reveal the emerging trends, and conceptual and social structures of the authors and countries. Bibliometrix R-package was deployed for the study. The total numbers of clinical studies available in PubMed and Scopus were 1,302 and 3,470, respectively. The most cited article was published by Hilibrand AS, as observed in Scopus. Regarding the conceptual structure of the research, two main research themes were identified, one involving symptomatology, scientific-scale-based objective evaluation of symptoms, and surgical removal of the offending culprit, while the other was based on patho-etiology, relevant diagnostic modalities, and the surgery commonly performed for CSM. In terms of emerging trends, in recent times there is an increasing trend of scale-based objective evaluations, along with investigations of advanced nonoperative management. The United States is the most productive country, whereas Canada tops the list for inter-country collaboration. The trend of research showed a shift toward noninvasive procedures.

"What's Keeping Me Up at Night?" Reflections on the COVID-19 Pandemic in Asia.

The 2021 Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi) Asia Policy Forum (APF) aimed to explore the challenges and opportunities presented by the global COVID-19 pandemic for health systems and industry in the Asia region, to discuss how HTA changed during the pandemic, and what its role may be moving forward into a postpandemic era. Discussions during the virtual 2021 APF, informed by a premeeting survey of HTA agencies and industry attendees from the region describing their experience during the pandemic, form the basis of this paper. During the pandemic, regulatory approval for COVID-related technologies was fast-tracked with fewer evidentiary requirements, and little or no HTA being conducted before these technologies were implemented in health systems in the region. "Living HTA" incorporating real-world evidence (RWE) as it was generated became part of the HTA landscape. In comparison, non-COVID technologies experienced regulatory approval and HTA delays. A major concern of APF members was future pandemic preparedness, and to ensure that lessons are learned from COVID-19. Governments need to continue to invest in innovation and allow early regulatory approvals with the increased use of RWE. Capacity building was identified as a key investment, including capacity in HTA, modeling, as well as local production of necessary supplies and equipment. Finally, collaboration at all levels of the health system was viewed as vital. Post-COVID, different forms of HTA must be embraced as part of the new HTA landscape in addition to increased intra- and intercountry collaboration across all sectors of the health system, including regulatory bodies.