Tracing the scientific outputs in the field of Ebola research based on publications in the Web of Science.

BACKGROUND: Ebola virus disease (hereafter EVD or Ebola) has a high fatality rate. The devastating effects of the current epidemic of Ebola in West Africa have put the global health response in acute focus. In response, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the Ebola outbreak in West Africa as a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern". A small proportion of scientific literature is dedicated to Ebola research. METHODS: To identify global research trends in Ebola research, the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Web of Science™ database was used to search for data, which encompassed original articles published from 1900 to 2013. The keyword "Ebola" was used to identify articles for the purposes of this review. In order to include all published items, the database was searched using the Basic Search method. RESULTS: The earliest record of literature about Ebola indexed in the Web of Science is from 1977. A total of 2477 publications on Ebola, published between 1977 and 2014 (with the number of publications increasing annually), were retrieved from the database. Original research articles (n = 1623, 65.5%) were the most common type of publication. Almost all (96.5%) of the literature in this field was in English. The USA had the highest scientific output and greatest number of funding agencies. Journal of Virology published 239 papers on Ebola, followed by Journal of Infectious Diseases and Virology, which published 113 and 99 papers, respectively. A total of 1911 papers on Ebola were cited 61,477 times. CONCLUSION: This analysis identified the current state of research and trends in studies about Ebola between 1977 and 2014. Our bibliometric analysis provides a historical perspective on the progress in Ebola research.

[Analysis on Research Projects Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China at the National Institute of Parasitic Diseases during 2003-2013].

The data of the National Natural Science Foundation (NSFC) projests obtained by the National Institute of Parasitic Diseases (NIPD), Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) during 2003-2013 were collected from internet-based science information system of NSFC, and NSFC search tool of Dingxiang Garden (http://nsfc.biomart.cn/). The number of funded projects, their subject classification and approved amount were analyzed, and compared with the other institutes of China CDC. Furthermore, the rationalization proposals were given in order to enhance the level of foundation management in the future.

[Analysis of citing journals and cited journals of 3 core parasitological journals].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the achievement exchange and interpenetration situation between parasitological journals and the journals of other disciplines. METHODS: The citing journals and cited journals of Chinese parasitological journals were analyzed. Three Chinese core journals, namely Chinese Journal of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Journal of Schistosomiasis Control, and Chinese Journal of Zoonoses, were selected as the study objects. The number and citation times of citing and cited journals from 2002 to 2012 were collected from CNKI. These journals were classified according to China Journal Citation Reports-Expand (2013), and analyzed by the method of bibliometrics. RESULTS: The number of published papers in Chinese Journal of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Journal of Schistosomiasis Control, and Chinese Journal of Zoonoses were 1 160, 1 541 and 2 494 from 2002 to 2012, respectively. The numbers of citing journals of the 3 above journals included by the citation reports were 496, 547 and 592, respectively, the total citation frequencies were 4 778, 9 547 and 8 301, and the average citation frequencies per paper were 4.12, 6.20 and 3.33, respectively. The numbers of the cited journals were 532, 407 and 659, respectively, the total citation frequencies were 4 470, 7 206 and 7 885, and the average citation frequencies per paper were 3.85, 4.68 and 3.16, respectively. The top three disciplines of the citing journals and cited journals were medical and health, basic science, and agricultural sciences, and the top three secondary disciplines belonged to medical and health were general medical and health, preventive medicine and hygiene, and clinical medicine. CONCLUSION: There is an extensive exchange between parasitology journals and other journals, which promotes the exchange between parasitology and other relevant disciplines.

[An analysis on funded theses in the Chinese Journal of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases in 2009-2012].

The published articles of the Chinese Journal of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases in 2009-2012 (including original articles, experimental researches, field researches and clinical researches) were statistically analyzed. Together 258 research papers were published in the 4 years, and funded papers occupied 82.2% (212/258). The number of papers funded by 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 foundations projects was 116, 58, 29, 7 and 2, respectively. 61.8% (131/212) of the foundations projects were at the national level; 28.3% (60/212) were at provincial and ministerial level. The papers supported by academy and international agencies accounted for 7.1% (15/212), 2.8% (6/212), respectively. The funded thesis mainly referred to schistosomiasis (35, 16.5%), cystic echinococcosis (29, 13.7%), malaria (24, 11.3%), toxoplasmosis (22, 10.4%), and cysticercosis (9, 4.2%). Five fields covered in these papers were as follows: epidemiology (29, 13.7%), immunology and diagnosis (53, 25%), molecular biology (75, 35.4%), etiology (28,13.2%), and pharmacology (24, 11.3%). The ratio of founded paper was 0.70, 0.67, 0.74, and 0.65 during 2009-2012, respectively. The high ratio of founded paper indicated that this journal is with domestic and abroad importance in the field of parasitology.

[Analysis on theses of the Chinese Journal of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases in 2009-2012].

The published articles at the Chinese Journal of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases in 2009-2012 were statistically analyzed. Among 547 papers published in the four years, original articles occupied 45.3% (248/547). The number of authors was 2712, with an average cooperation degree of 5.0, and the co-authorship accounted for 95.4% of the papers. Authors were mainly from colleges/universities (51.9%, 284/547), institutions for disease control (34.4%, 188/547) and hospitals health centers (13.7%, 75/547). The average publishing delay was 212, 141, 191 and 207 d in 2009-2012. Statistical analysis reflected the characteristics and academic level for improving the quality of the journal, and revealed the latest development and trends.