The story behind Oncotarget? A bibliometric analysis

Being the most proliferative journal of oncology a cancer research of the past decade, the Open Access journal Oncotarget had reached more than 20,000 publications and a relatively high impact factor score in the past years. In 2018, the journal citation report decided to withdraw the status of an impact factor journal. Since there was a large discussion in the scientific community and specific reasons for the withdrawal were not stated, this bibliometric analysis was performed to assess if Oncotarget exhibits any differences in its bibliometric structure compared to other journals. For this purpose, we used the “New Quality and Quantity Indices in Sciences” platform and analyzed 20,000 Oncotarget articles. Density equalizing mapping technique helps to construct maps of cancer research in Oncotarget and shows that it has led to a unique global landscape which is not asymmetrically dominated by the Western hemisphere but exhibits a publishing architecture with a pronounced emphasis on Chinese articles.

     

Fifteen years after September 11: Where is the medical research heading? A scientometric analysis

The attacks of 9-11 have been not only the cause of the deaths of thousands of people but have also had an enormous impact on the health of the survivors, the rescue workers, the fire fighters and many more people worldwide. This study aims to depict a representative global picture of the research output of 15 years after the attacks of 9-11 by analyzing the bibliometric data of the overall publications with particular focus on medical topics. This study subsequently deepens the scientometric approach of the overall terrorism research of Magnone in 2014, also published in Scientometrics. The USA has published the most by far, taking the absolute numbers into account. When evaluating citation or socio-economic ratios, Israel takes first place. The main collaborating partner of the USA is the UK, followed by Canada. The share of European countries is rising over time, linked with the terror attacks in European cities. There are only a few other countries involved. Prospective study approaches should be concentrated on international performances as a contribution in dealing with terrorism, its causes and its consequences. The improved access and involvement of other countries’ scientists in the research and publication processes by a greater network would be an important component in facing international terrorism.     

New quality and quantity indices in science (NewQIS): results of the first decade—project progress review

Scientometrics - Strategies employing information science and scientometric approaches were introduced to science policy and management over the past decades. As a rapidly evolving field, new...     

N-Hydroxysuccinimide-Modified Ethynylphosphonamidates Enable the Synthesis of Configurationally Defined Protein Conjugates

Herein, the application of N-hydroxysuccinimide-modified phosphonamidate building blocks for the incorporation of cysteine-selective ethynylphosphonamidates into lysine residues of proteins, followed by thiol addition with small molecules and proteins, is reported. It is demonstrated that the building blocks significantly lower undesired homo-crosslinking side products that can occur with commonly applied succinimidyl 4-(N-maleimidomethyl)cyclohexane-1-carboxylate (SMCC) under physiological pH. The previously demonstrated stability of the phosphonamidate moiety additionally solves the problem of premature maleimide hydrolysis, which can hamper the efficiency of subsequent thiol addition. Furthermore, a method to separate the phosphonamidate enantiomers to be able to synthesize protein conjugates in a defined configuration has been developed. Finally, the building blocks are applied to the construction of functional antibody–drug conjugates, analogously to FDA-approved, SMCC-linked Kadcyla, and to the synthesis of a functional antibody–protein conjugate.     

The Role of Immunogenetics in COVID-19

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is induced by SARS-CoV-2 and may arise as a variety of clinical manifestations, ranging from an asymptomatic condition to a life-threatening disease associated with cytokine storm, multiorgan and respiratory failure. The molecular mechanism behind such variability is still under investigation. Several pieces of experimental evidence suggest that genetic variants influencing the onset, maintenance and resolution of the immune response may be fundamental in predicting the evolution of the disease. The identification of genetic variants behind immune system reactivity and function in COVID-19 may help in the elaboration of personalized therapeutic strategies. In the frenetic look for universally shared treatment plans, those genetic variants that are common to other diseases/models may also help in addressing future research in terms of drug repurposing. In this paper, we discuss the most recent updates about the role of immunogenetics in determining the susceptibility to and the history of SARS-CoV-2 infection. We propose a narrative review of available data, speculating about lessons that we have learnt from other viral infections and immunosenescence, and discussing what kind of aspects of research should be deepened in order to improve our knowledge of how host genetic variability impacts the outcome for COVID-19 patients.