Applying clustering coefficient to the pattern of international author collaboration in neuroimmunology and neuroinflammation

摘要

Aim: To apply cluster coefficient (CC) to the pattern of international author collaborations in neuroimmunology and neuroinflammation using data from Medline and to visualize results using Google maps and social network analysis (SNA). Methods: Selecting 2799 abstracts, author names, countries, and keywords on January 22, 2018 from Medline based on keyword neuroimmunology (or neuroinflammation) within the article title since 1982, we reported following features: (1) nation distribution for the 1st author's nationality; (2) eminent journals and authors in the field of neuroimmunology and neuroinflammation; (3) notable keywords defined by authors representing both neuroimmunology and neuroinflammation; and (4) CCs in networks. We programmed Microsoft Excel VBA routines to extract data from Medline and used Google Maps and SNA Pajek software to display graphical representations with an easy-to-read feature for readers. Results: We found that: (1) the most number of papers in neuroimmunology and neuroinflammation are from the USA (902, 32.23％) and China (363, 12.97％); (2) the productive journals and authors in neuroimmunology and neuroinflammation are J Neuroinflammation and PLoS One, and Michael T. Heneka (Germany) and Richard M. Ransohoff (USA); (3) the most linked keywords are interleukin (IL), IL-1beta, and blood brain barrier; (4) author networks present higher CC than those nation networks. Conclusion: SNA provides wide and deep insight into the relationships among nations in co-author collaboration. The results can help readers in future submission to a journal in neuroimmunology and neuroinflammation.