Number Of Articles Research Articles

Growth and challenges in biomedical scientific publishing: the phenomenon of mega-journals

Abstract The landscape of academic scientific publishing has seen relentless growth, with the number of articles published and indexed on Web of Science exceeding three million in 2023 alone. This increase in both the number of publications and authors has significantly impacted scientific research, enhancing our collective knowledge. In response to the surge in authorship and the shift towards open-access publishing-where authors bear the cost of publication-information has become more accessible to researchers, educators, and policymakers, fueling a lucrative global industry with annual revenues estimated at 30 billion euros. However, the system faces challenges, such as slow peer review times, potential biases towards significant findings, and issues with reviewer recruitment and compensation. Mega-journals like PLOS One and Scientific Reports have emerged in the early 2000s and 2010s, respectively, focusing on methodological rigor over novelty, publishing high volumes of articles. In 2022, mega-journals published a quarter of all biomedical literature, reflecting a shift towards specific publication scopes and capturing larger market shares. These journals charge authors publication fees in return for open access, benefiting from minimal operational costs as they do not produce in-house materials or print editions. Recent concerns include vulnerabilities to poor scientific conduct and potential biases in publication practices. Some sectorial mega-journals offer faster, often perceived as less rigorous, peer review processes. Notably, the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health was removed by Clarivate from the Web of Science Core Collection database, with potential wide ranging impact, especially for authors who have published in these journals (e.g., loss of the impact factor, less visibility) explored in the following presentation.

Gastric Cancer associated with the use of Omeprazole in Adults

Introduction: proton pump inhibitors constitute a group of drugs used to suppress stomach acid secretion and whose consumption has intensified worldwide due to their consideration as the most effective gastric protectors, omeprazole being one of the most widely used. Objectives: to analyze the existence of gastric cancer risk due to long-term use of omeprazole in adults.Methods: a search for information was carried out in PubMed and Google Scholar. Search formulas were used by combining the terms: “Omeprazole”, “Cancer Gastric”, “Omeprazole and Adverse effects”, “Omeprazole and Helicobacter Pylori”. From the total number of articles identified, after the screening process, 8 articles were chosen for the present study.Results: Prolonged treatment with omeprazole can induce histological changes in the gastric mucosa, including hyperplasia, increased gastrin-producing cells, atrophic gastritis and increased colonization of Helicobacter pylori. A rebound acid hypersecretion has been observed after discontinuation of treatment, persisting for at least two months. Endocrine hyperplasia may result from suppression of acid secretion, causing hypergastrinemia and increasing the risk of malignant lesions.Conclusions: information has been compiled on the effects of prolonged use of omeprazole and its relationship with gastric carcinoma. This use is becoming more frequent, which underlines the need to investigate its long-term effects, since it may alter gastric histoarchitecture and predispose to cancer

Bibliometric and Content Analysis of Articles on Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

The use of artificial intelligence in the healthcare sector is becoming widespread for reasons such as analyzing digital patient data, including it in decision-making processes, improving the quality of healthcare services, and providing cost, time, and access advantages. This study aims to evaluate published articles on bibliometric indicators and the use of artificial intelligence in the healthcare sector and examine the content of the most cited articles. Articles about artificial intelligence in the health sector in the Web of Science database were included in the study using the criteria of “keyword, publication year, and publication language”. The research covers 2,680 articles published in English by 14,195 authors from 106 countries in 1084 journals between 2020-2024. 4,671 different keywords were used in the published articles. The country that published the most was “USA”, the journal was “Journal of Medical Internet Research”, the author was “Meng Ji”, and the most cited author was “Weihua Li”. The 55 most cited (≥50) articles focused on themes related to “diagnosis of COVID-19 disease”, “diagnosis of diseases”, “detection and classification of cancerous cells”, “identification of disease risk factors and disease prediction”, “prediction of treatment outcomes”, “prediction of disease course”, “personalized treatment recommendations”, “decision-making processes”, “ethical considerations, risks, and responsibilities”. With the COVID-19 pandemic, it is seen that the number of articles on artificial intelligence in the healthcare sector has increased exponentially. In the research, articles related to artificial intelligence in the health sector were examined, and a framework was created for researchers by revealing the most publishing countries, journals, authors, most cited authors, and keywords that were used the most.

Scientific production on robotic metabolic and bariatric surgery: a comprehensive bibliometric analysis on its current world status.

Robotic metabolic and bariatric surgery (RMBS) has emerged as an innovative approach in the treatment of severe obesity by combining the ergonomic precision of robotic technology and instrumentation with the established benefits of weight loss surgery. This study employs a bibliometric approach to identify local research trends and worldwide patterns in RMBS. The research methodology used "robotic" and "metabolic" or "bariatric surgery" to search Web of Science. Articles that were published prior to December 31st, 2023, were included. The analyses were developed using the Rayyan and Bibliometric, in R Studio. 265 articles from 51 different journals were included. Scientific production of RMBS experienced a significant annual growth rate of 21.96% from 2003 to 2023, resulting in an average of 12.6 papers published per year. A high correlation (R2 = 0.94) was found between the year and number of articles. The mean number of citations per document was 13.25. Approximately 90% of the journals were classified as zone 3, according to the Bradford categorization. International collaboration was identified in 10.57% of cases, with the University of California and the University of Illinois being the most common organizations. The countries with the highest number of corresponding authors, in descending order, were the United States of America, China, and Switzerland. Scientific production in RMBS has experienced sustained growth since the first original publications in 2003. While it has not yet reached the volume, impact, and international collaboration seen in studies related to non-robotic metabolic and bariatric surgery, RBMS holds potential that remains to be explored.

Handbook of the circular economy: Transitions and transformation : Book review

[Alexander, A., Pascucci, S. & Charnley, F. (eds., 2023). Handbook of the circular economy: Transitions and transformation. De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston. 504 pp. ISBN 978-3-11-072322-9] Since the term “circular economy” emerged in the economic and environ-mental literature at the beginning of the 2010’s, an ever-growing number of articles, papers, reports and books have been published on this new concept that aims at the ending of the so-called linear economy and ushering into a new economic paradigm. The circular economy’s foundations lay on several schools of thought of the past almost sixty years which pro-mote closed-loop systems and nature-inspired metabolisms in the econ-omy, starting from Boulding’s seminal work “The Economics of the Com-ing Spaceship Earth” (1966) through Stahel’s “Product-Life Factor” (1982) and Pearce and Turner’s “Economics of Natural Resources and the Environment” (1994), until McDonough and Braungart’s „Cradle to Cradle” (2002) or Gradel and Allenby’s “Industrial Ecology” (2003) – just to name a few. Since the term “circular economy” was born in the past dec-ade, this concept has been a popular subject of the economic, business, environmental, technical and even popular literature (Freed & Ritchie, 2021).

Bibliometric analysis of orexin: A promising neuropeptide.

Orexin is an excitatory neuropeptide produced in the lateral hypothalamus, playing a role in various physiological functions in humans. There is a growing body of literature on orexins. This paper utilizes CiteSpace software to organize and analyze a significant number of articles on orexin, providing readers with an intuitive overview of research trends and emerging hot topics in this field. The electronic database, Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC), was searched for publications related to orexins. Annual publications, countries/regions, institutions, authors and keywords were analyzed, and the results were visualized via CiteSpace software. A total of 5486 publications were included, with articles making up 85.30% and reviews 14.70%. The top 3 countries publishing the most papers on orexins were the United States (2057 papers), Japan (778), and China (556). The leading institutions included Research Libraries UK (278), Harvard University (250), and Stanford University (221). The most prolific authors in the field were Yves Dauvilliers (69), Abbas Haghparast (67), and Takeshi Sakurai (66). The most frequently used keywords were "neurons" (981), followed by "sleep" (824), "food intake" (612), "receptors" (547), and "neuropathology" (535). Recent research hotspots include melanin-concentrating hormone neurons, Alzheimer disease, gamma-aminobutyric acid neurons, oxidative stress, suvorexant, the orexin system, prevalence, and stress. Based on keyword clustering analysis, the top 5 research hotspots from 2003 to 2022 were: the effects of orexins on sleep and metabolism, potential pathways of orexin signaling, the relationship between orexin and immunity, new findings on depression and hypertension related to orexin, and possible targets for neurodegenerative diseases. Orexin, a neuropeptide linked to various physiological and pathological processes, plays a crucial role in sleep/wakefulness, reward mechanisms, stress responses, and neurodegenerative diseases. Its significant research value and potential medical applications are underscored by the rapid expansion of studies, particularly in the USA and Japan. However, the lack of collaboration among researchers highlights the need for enhanced academic exchange and cooperation to further advance the field of orexin research.

Mapping Muslim Chaplaincy: An Analytic Review of Publications between 1989 and 2023

Abstract This article analyses the emergent field of Muslim chaplaincy research by reviewing English-language publications in this growing area of professional religious work, especially in Europe and the United States. After presenting the method of our enquiry, we provide a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the literature reviewed. We then focus on three key topics in Muslim Chaplaincy Studies that derive from our quantitative and qualitative research. These are: the training of Muslim chaplains, which is strongly linked to professionalisation, the vocabulary and sources that underpin Muslim chaplaincy and, finally, the significance of the increasing involvement of Muslim women in this area of professional religious work and leadership. Having identified exactly 100 publications related to the development of Muslim chaplaincy, many of them arising from empirical research, serious practitioner reflections located in peer-review publications, and a small number of articles that are explicitly devoted to methodological considerations, we are suggesting in this article that a distinctive sub-field of Muslim Chaplaincy Studies can now be identified.

A Systematic Investigation of Tobacco Industry Sourced Data Relating to Illicit Tobacco Trade Featured in Pakistan's Media Coverage (2015-2020).

Previous evidence suggests the tobacco industry uses media to disseminate misleading narratives relating to illicit tobacco trade (ITT) as part of efforts to influence policy outcomes. Such evidence is largely high-income countries (HIC) focused, resulting in a literature gap for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Pakistan and its annual budget cycle are used as a case study for addressing this gap. Electronic English-language articles from newspapers in Pakistan (328) were sourced from LexisNexis and a sub-sample of Urdu-language electronic articles (12) were identified through internet searches. The articles were published between 2015 and 2020 and included claims/estimates relating to ITT, which were coded to identify cited data sources. Changes in media coverage before and after Pakistan's annual budget announcements were explored via Wilcoxon signed rank and Poisson regression tests. Of the 357 claims/estimates analyzed, 66 (20%) were industry-funded. The most prevalent sources were national government bodies (36.6%) and tobacco companies or their representatives (15.1%). Wilcoxon signed-rank and Poisson regression tests on the frequency of English-language articles both created a p-value of < .05 for the frequency of relevant articles between the months of April and May, compared to the other months, indicating statistical significance. There was a statistically significant increase in the number of English-language articles featuring claims/estimates relating to Pakistan's ITT in the months leading up to the annual budget each year. The government should consider measures to improve transparency standards within media coverage and promote factcheck journalism to safeguard against industry tactics to manipulate public discourses. This paper is, to the best of our knowledge, the largest exploration of the use of data sourced from the tobacco industry within a country's media that has been undertaken to date, utilizing a team of seven coders across the United Kingdom and Pakistan. Our findings reveal weaknesses within media coverage of ITT in Pakistan, both in English and Urdu language publications. We encourage the government to consider new standards to enhance transparency and promote factcheck journalism within media coverage in the country.

Key aspects in the development of gender identity and sexual orientation according to trans and gender diverse people: a qualitative approach.

For decades, the sexuality of trans and gender diverse people has been researched from a pathologising and medical perspective. This approach makes assumptions about the experiences of trans people, limiting concern for unique and individual experiences, especially for those with non-binary or gender diverse identities. A growing number of articles however are beginning to take the viewpoints of trans people seriously, taking into consideration their unique experiences and insights within the context of sexual and romantic relationships. This study examines the development of gender identity and sexual orientation of a group of trans individuals in Spain. Thirteen self-identified trans participants were interviewed about their sexual orientation, gender identity and the interplay between both those aspects. A constructivist grounded theory methodology was employed to analyse the data. Five major categories were identified: reinterpreting experiences through identification with gender identity and sexual orientation; questioning gender identity and sexual orientation norms; understanding the interplay between gender identity and sexual orientation; developing as a couple; and building a community. Findings highlight the dynamic and relational nature of gender identity and sexual orientation and provide further insight into the interaction of these aspects in the development of trans and gender diverse identities.

Well-Being and Tourism: A Systematic Literature Review

In recent decades, the concept of well-being has often been the subject of psychological studies. The current study examines how tourism relates to well-being from the perspective of tourists/visitors, through the study of the older and more recent literature. Especially when it comes to the complex and multifaceted issue of well-being, in relation to the also complex and sensitive sectors of tourism, the specificity of this relationship is reflected in the evidence and the growing number of articles published in mainstream and reliable journals. By using the PRISMA framework, this article compares and evaluates published papers on the study of well-being and tourist behavior to guide and direct future research. It has been found that the relationship between well-being and tourism, especially after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been significantly strengthened. This study highlights the need to adopt a holistic approach that considers all the connections between well-being and tourism.

THE GLOBAL RESEARCH TRENDS ON THE EARLY LITERACY IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

This study examines global trends in early literacy articles published in the Web of Science (WoS) database. Using a descriptive survey model and bibliometric analysis, 2879 articles from 1985 to 2023 were analyzed. According to the results, the number of articles and citations has increased significantly since 2005. The Journal of Early Childhood Literacy is the most prolific journal in this field. Most studies originate from developed countries, notably the USA, Canada, and Australia, with English being the predominant language. Key contributing institutions include the State University System of Florida and Florida State University. The author Justice, L.M., is a leading contributor with 42 articles. The most cited article, by Sénéchal &amp; LeFevre, at 2002 has 1044 citations. The 'Education &amp; Educational Research' category leads with 1751 articles, covering topics like education, psychology, and language and linguistics. Literacy, emergent literacy, phonological awareness, reading are the prominent keywords and recent trends include topics such as literacy environments and dual language learners. Researchers from the USA, Canada, and Australia are prominent in collaborative efforts. This study analyzes global trends and key contributors in early literacy research, providing valuable insights for researchers and decision-makers about future directions and research gaps in the field.

Reflecting on a Decade of Evolution: MapReduce‐Based Advances in Partitioning‐Based, Hierarchical‐Based, and Density‐Based Clustering (2013–2023)

ABSTRACTThe traditional clustering algorithms are not appropriate for large real‐world datasets or big data, which is attributable to computational expensiveness and scalability issues. As a solution, the last decade's research headed towards distributed clustering using the MapReduce framework. This study conducts a bibliometric review to assess, establish, and measure the patterns and trends of the MapReduce‐based partitioning, hierarchical, and density clustering algorithms over the past decade (2013–2023). A digital text‐mining‐based comprehensive search technique with multiple field‐specific keywords, inclusion measures, and exclusion criteria is employed to obtain the research landscape from the Scopus database. The Scopus‐obtained data is analyzed using the VOSViewer software tool and coded using the R statistical analysis tool. The analysis identifies the numbers of scholarly articles, diversities of article sources, their impact and growth patterns, details of most influential authors and co‐authors, most cited articles, most contributing affiliations and countries, and their collaborations, use of different keywords and their impact, and so forth. The study further explores the articles and reports the methodologies employed for designing MapReduce‐based counterparts of traditional partitioning, hierarchical, and density clustering algorithms and their optimizations and hybridizations. Finally, the study lists the main research challenges encountered in the past decade for MapReduce‐based partitioning, hierarchical, and density clustering. It suggests possible areas for future research to contribute further in this field.

Bibliometric analysis of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy

Objective: Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy refers to the genetic material with specific antigen recognition domain and T cell activation signal is transferred into T cells through gene modification technology. By engineering T-cells to specifically target and eliminate tumor cells, CAR-T therapy has shown remarkable efficacy in treating certain hematological malignancies. Understanding its advancements helps optimize therapeutic strategies, enhance patient outcomes, and guide future innovations in immunotherapy. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the progress of CAR-T therapy by bibliometrics. Methods: By using the keywords of “CAR-T therapy” and “immune cells”, all relevant literature were comprehensively searched from the Web of Science. Research trends in related field were analyzed by using VOSviewer, Pajek, Microsoft Excel and Endnote software, to explore research hotspots, development trends, and future directions for CAR-T therapy. Results: The United States emerges as the most productive country in related field, and the institutions with the highest number of publications is the University of Pennsylvania. As for journals, Frontiers in Immunology appears to be one of the most productive journals. Notably, Gottschalk Stephen publishes the largest number of articles. Keyword cluster analysis shows that the current research trend is more focused on immune cell, so as to explore the mechanisms and modalities of CAR-T therapy. Conclusion: This study provides a comprehensive summary and analysis of global research trends in CAR-T therapy. In the past 5 years, the number of high-quality papers in this field has increased significantly. CAR-T therapy has emerged as a beacon of hope for tumor treatment, representing a significant advancement in healthcare for a wide range of patients, including those with major diseases and suboptimal health conditions.

Science Mapping of Open-Access Articles on Data Visualisation: A Scopus-based Analysis

The prime objective of the present study is to analyze the impact of open-access publishing on research publications in data visualization journal research papers using scientometric indicators and science mapping techniques. A total of 9,018 publication records were extracted from the Scopus database for five years, from 2018 to 2022. The parameters used for the present study are open-access publication trends and their impact on the number of publications and citations, most prolific authors, organizations, countries, journals, etc. The study results indicate that 60.55% of articles on data visualization were published as open access, and the trend of open-access publication has grown exponentially. The study further found that open-access articles have a better academic impact than overall articles published. Huamin Qu of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has contributed the highest number (22) of open-access articles on data visualization; the authors affiliated with the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Paris, have contributed the highest (116) OA articles; and the United States was the topmost productive country with the highest (1,809) OA articles. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics was the most preferred journal among researchers on data visualization to publish their research as open-access articles.

The negative effects of long COVID-19 on cardiovascular health and implications for the presurgical examination.

In 2019, emergence of the novel and communicable severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection took scientific communities by surprise and imposed significant burden on healthcare systems globally. Although the advent of this disease piqued the interest of academic centers, healthcare systems, and the general public, there is still much yet to be elucidated regarding epidemiology, pathophysiology, and long-term impacts of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). It has been established that long COVID-19 can impact multiple organ systems, including the cardiovascular system, unfavorably. Although the pathophysiology of this damage is not well understood, adverse sequelae may range from chest pain and arrhythmias to heart failure (HF), myocardial infarction, or sudden cardiac death. For any postacute COVID-19 patient requiring a surgical procedure, the potential for cardiac injury secondary to long COVID-19 must be considered in the preoperative cardiac examination. This literature review serves to add to the growing body of literature exploring postacute cardiovascular outcomes of COVID-19, with a focus on presurgical cardiac clearance in the adult patient. Specifically, this review studies the prevalence of cardiovascular symptomatology including chest pain, arrhythmias, blood pressure changes, myo-/pericarditis, HF, cardiomyopathy, orthostatic intolerance, and thromboembolism. Although current evidence is scarce in both quality and quantity, it is the goal that this review will highlight the negative impacts of long COVID-19 on cardiovascular health and encourage providers to be cognizant of potential sequelae in the context of the presurgical examination. For this study, peer-reviewed and journal-published articles were selected based on established inclusion and exclusion criteria to address the question "How does long COVID-19 impact the presurgical cardiac examination of an adult scheduled to undergo a noncardiac procedure?" Inclusion criteria included human studies conducted in adult patients and published in peer-reviewed journals up until May 2024 examining the effects of long-COVID-19 infection on the cardiovascular system. Exclusion criteria eliminated unpublished reports, preprints, duplicate articles, literature regarding coronavirus strains other than COVID-19, studies regarding post-COVID-19 vaccination complications, animal studies, and studies conducted in people younger than 18 years of age. A total of 6,675 studies were retrieved from PubMed and Google Scholar. Following screening, 60 studies were included in final consideration. Cardiovascular symptoms of postacute COVID-19 infection were encountered with the following percentages prevalence (total numbers of articles mentioning symptom/total number of articles [60]): chest pain (83.3), arrhythmias (88.3), hypertension (40.0), hypotension (16.7), myocarditis (80.0), pericarditis (51.7), HF (70.0), cardiomyopathy (55.0), orthostatic intolerance (56.7), and thromboembolic events (85.0). The presence of persisting COVID symptoms may negatively impact the patient's physical examination, blood tests, electrocardiogram (ECG), imaging, and/or echocardiogram. Cardiac conditions associated with long COVID require special attention in the context of the presurgical candidate due to an increased risk of sudden cardiac death, myocarditis, stroke, and myocardial infarction- even in those who were healthy prior to acute COVID-19 infection. Until more specific scientific evidence comes to light, care of these patients should be viewed through the prism of the best practices already in use and clinicians should maintain a low threshold to pursue more extensive cardiac workup prior to surgery.

Progress in physical activity research, policy, and surveillance in Canada: The global observatory for physical activity – GoPA!

BackgroundThe purpose of this paper is to examine the evolution of physical activity research and the comprehensiveness of national physical activity policies and surveillance systems in Canada.MethodsA systematic review was conducted by the Global Observatory for Physical Activity (GoPA! ) on physical activity and health publications between 1950 and 2019. Findings from Canada were extracted and included in the present analysis. The number of articles published, female researcher involvement in authorship, author institution affiliations, and publication themes were examined. Policies were evaluated by determining if there was a standalone physical activity plan and if national guidelines existed. Surveillance systems were assessed for periodicity, instruments used, and age inclusivity.ResultsOut of 23,000 + publications analyzed worldwide; 1,962 included data collected in Canada. Physical activity research in Canada increased considerably from the 2000s to 2010s (543 articles vs. 1,288 articles), but an apparent stabilization has been observed more recently. Most physical activity publications in Canada focused on surveillance (37%), with fewer articles on policy (8%) and interventions (7%). The proportion of female first authors increased from 38% in the 1980s to 60% in the last decade. However, females remain the minority for senior authors. With respect to policy, “A Common Vision” is Canada’s national plan, which has a singular policy focus on physical activity. National surveillance data is collected regularly with both the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) and the Canadian Community Health Survey. In addition to self-report, the CHMS also collects accelerometer data from participants.ConclusionThrough collaborative and coordinated action, Canada remains well equipped to tackle physical inactivity. Continued efforts are needed to enhance sustained awareness of existing physical activity promotion resources to increase physical activity.

Research trends and mapping knowledge for maxillary sinus augmentation in oral and maxillofacial surgery

BackgroundThe method most frequently employed to alleviate the deficiency of vertical bone volume in the maxillary posterior region is maxillary sinus augmentation. Given its importance in the field of dental implants and its possible impact on implant survival, it is crucial to assess the caliber and bibliometric characteristics of research related to maxillary sinus augmentation. This study aimed to understand the development and trends of studies and guide future studies by performing a bibliometric analysis of research related to maxillary sinus augmentation. MethodsThe Web of Science database was searched on 29.05.2024 with the developed search strategy. Articles were listed in descending order according to the number of citations and analyzed using the Bibliometrix program prepared in R base. The articles were analyzed in four sections: performance analysis, word analysis, collaboration analysis, and thematic analysis. ResultsWang HL is the most frequently listed author on this topic with 24 h-indexes and 1686 total citations. The highest number of articles were published in 2017, with 102 articles with an average of 2.7 citations. The most popular keyword was "dental implants." with 426 usages. Italy and the USA are the countries that have published the most collaborative papers. Clinical Oral Implants Research comes at the top when evaluating the journals that publish on maxillary sinus augmentation based on the h-index. Basic research and technical-oriented studies between 1999 and 2005 have given way to more clinical and patient-oriented research. ConclusionThis bibliometric study will serve as a guide for future research by illustrating the existing state of knowledge and limitations regarding the development of sinus lifting methods, given the constantly growing demand for implant therapy.

Forensic Diatom Analysis: Where Do We Stand and What Are the Latest Diagnostic Advances?

Background: diatoms are unicellular algae that have been used for more than a century for forensic purposes to diagnose drowning, with more or less success depending on the historical era. Although many years have passed, scientific research on diatoms has never ceased, which testifies to their enduring allure in forensics. Of course, diatom research has evolved and expanded over time, changing with the availability of new techniques and technologies. The volume of articles and their production over a period of many years has resulted in old, current, and new knowledge on diatoms being scattered over a large number of books and articles. Objectives: the purpose of this narrative literature review is, therefore, to summarize all this information and bring it together in a single work that can be useful for those who are studying diatoms and their usefulness for forensics for the first time, for those who are looking for proven methods of analysis, and finally for those who are interested in exploring new frontiers of research. Methods: a comprehensive literature search that included all studies dealing with the applications of diatoms in forensic science was performed in the most popular electronic databases. Results: traditional methods have been complemented by molecular and imaging methods and, more recently, by artificial intelligence. In addition, new biological substrates have been found for the analysis of diatoms. Conclusions: all this has led, on the one hand, to the consolidation of a whole body of knowledge on diatoms, on which this forensic analysis is still based, and, on the other hand, has opened up numerous new research directions.

Impact of Obesity, Menopause, and Depression in Women's Health: An Attempt to Decipher the Complex Relationship.

Menopause symptoms may be distressing, especially when they appear at a time when women are expected to play significant responsibilities in society. Numerous biological systems are influenced by the hormonal changes that start during the menopausal transition. This review attempts to decipher the complex relationship between obesity, menopause, and depression, citing some recent longitudinal and cross-sectional studies. Additionally, this study provides a summary of the different phytoestrogens, their sources, and probable mechanisms of action in addition to available therapeutic alternatives. For this review purpose, the authors have gone through a vast number of articles from various scientific databases like PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science. It is becoming clear that the physiological basis for these menopausal symptoms is complicated and connected to estrogen deficiency, but not alone. Other hormones like FSH, LH, progesterone, and inhibin B are the major ones that are both directly and indirectly responsible for most of the menopausal symptoms. Numerous longitudinal and cross-sectional studies have found a direct relationship between the incidence of menopause and depression as well as obesity. Phytoestrogens like stilbene, lignans, isoflavone, and coumestan have been reported to be the alternatives to synthetic estrogen with lesser side effects, as reported in various studies. The complex relationship between depression, menopause, and obesity presents a complex obstacle to women's health and overall well-being. There might be a lot of promising prospects for revolutionary advancements in women's health during the menopausal stage in the future. Promising drug development that targets not just one but also the three conditions -obesity, menopause, and depression - as well as more thorough research are needed to improve the healthcare system for women who suffer from these conditions.

Charting the Research Status for Bamboo Resources and Bamboo as a Sustainable Plastic Alternative: A Bibliometric Review

With the increasing pollution caused by plastic products, people’s awareness of environmental protection has gradually increased. Based on the advantages of China’s bamboo resources and bamboo industry, the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan launched the ‘Utilizing bamboo as a sustainable alternative to plastic’ initiative in November 2022 to accelerate the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This initiative provides a nature-based solution for global sustainable development, which will have a profound impact on promoting global green development, industrial science and technology, social services, cultural exchanges, and other fields. It has a huge market capacity and application potential. This study aims to understand the research status, hotspots, development trends, and prospects of this initiative. WoS and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) were searched for the relevant literature on ‘utilizing bamboo as a sustainable alternative to plastic bamboo as plastic’ and ‘bamboo resources’ from the establishment of the database to 2024. Bibliometric methods and VOSviewer were used to analyze 1855 literatures with the above two keywords published in the Web of Science core set database from 2000 to 2024. A visual analysis was performed on the number of publications, national research institutions, researchers, number of citations, and research topics of the literature. For example, China, the United States, and India ranked in the top three in terms of the number of articles published, with 1103, 267, and 167, respectively. China had the highest number of citations, reaching 26,607. At the same time, the literature with ‘bamboo’ as the keyword in CNKI was analyzed to understand the species of bamboo currently studied. A literature investigation was carried out around the resource cultivation of the bamboo industry in our country, and it was found that the research on ‘use bamboo as plastic’ and ‘bamboo resources’ had been valued by scholars at home and abroad, and had formed a relatively stable research group. Using scientific and technological innovation to improve the product quality of ‘bamboo instead of plastic’, expanding its application scope and market demand, and realizeing the sustainable industry development of ‘bamboo instead of plastic’ is the current research hotspot and the future development direction.