Biology subjects

Boccia, S.

Publications and source records attributed to Boccia, S..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Gender imbalances of retraction prevalence among highly cited authors and among all authors

BackgroundScientific retractions remain rare but have become increasingly common. We have previously incorporated retraction data into Scopus-based databases of top-cited (top 2%) scientists to facilitate linkage of retractions with impact metrics at the individual scientist level. Here, we set out to explore whether gender disparities in the likelihood of having retractions exist, both among highly-cited authors and among all authors with [≥]5 publications. MethodsWe conducted a descriptive cross-sectional bibliometric analysis of a Scopus-based authors database. We used NamSor to assign gender, retaining only results with a confidence >85%. We examined the demographics of scientists with and without retractions among highly cited authors (career-long impact: n = 217,097) and among all other authors (n = 10,361,367). We stratified by publication age, field, country income level, and publication volume, and calculated gender-specific retraction rates and the prevalence ratio (R) of women versus men to have at least one retraction. Multivariable logistic regression were fitted to estimate adjusted associations, reported as odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). ResultsGender could be classified for 8,267,888 scientists. Among highly cited authors, 3.3% of men and 2.9% of women had at least one retraction; among all authors, the rate was 0.7% for both genders. Differences varied by field: womens rates were at least one-third lower than mens (R < 0.7) in Biology, Biomedical Research, and Psychology (RD D1.3) in Economics, Engineering, and Information and Communication Technologies. Among highly cited authors, younger cohorts showed increasingly higher rates among men (4.2% men vs. 3.0% women in those starting to publish in 2002-2011; 8.7% men vs. 4.9% women in those starting post-2011). Country-level differences among highly cited authors were pronounced in some countries, as in Pakistan (28.7% men vs. 14.3% women). In multivariable analyses, differences were minimal, if any, for women versus men in having [≥]1 retraction (among all authors OR:D0.96, 95% CI: 0.94-0.97) among highly cited authors OR:D0.96, 95% CI: 0.89-1.03), while there were very strong associations of retractions with career age, country income, publication volume, and specific disciplines. ConclusionOur analysis shows no major gender differences in retraction rates overall, but field-specific differences may exist. Field, career age, country, and publication volume are stronger correlates of retraction. Structural and contextual factors likely drive retraction patterns and warrant further investigation.

scientific communication and education↗

bioRxiv2024

Updated science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators including retraction data

Citation metrics are widely used in research appraisal, but they provide incomplete views of scientists impact and research track record. Other indicators of research practices should be linked to citation data. We have updated a Scopus-based database of highly-cited scientists (top-2% in each scientific subfield according to a composite citation indicator) to incorporate retraction data. Using data from the Retraction Watch database (RWDB), retraction records were linked to Scopus citation data. Of 55,237 items in RWDB as of August 15, 2024, we excluded non-retractions, retractions clearly not due to any author error, retractions where the paper had been republished, and items not linkable to Scopus records. Eventually 39,468 eligible retractions were linked to Scopus. Among 217,097 top-cited scientists in career-long impact and 223,152 in single recent year (2023) impact, 7,083 (3.3%) and 8,747 (4.0%), respectively, had at least one retraction. Scientists with retracted publications had younger publication age, higher self-citation rates, and larger publication volume than those without any retracted publications. Retractions were more common in the life sciences and rare or nonexistent in several other disciplines. In several developing countries, very high proportions of top-cited scientists had retractions (highest in Senegal (66.7%), Ecuador (28.6%) and Pakistan (27.8%) in career-long citation impact lists). Variability in retraction rates across fields and countries suggests differences in research practices, scrutiny, and ease of retraction. Addition of retraction data enhances the granularity of top-cited scientists profiles, aiding in responsible research evaluation. However, caution is needed when interpreting retractions, as they do not always signify misconduct; further analysis on a case-by-case basis is essential. The database should hopefully provide a resource for meta-research and deeper insights into scientific practices.

scientific communication and education↗

bioRxiv2022

Brain-muscle connectivity during gait: corticomuscular coherence as quantification of the cognitive reserve

A detailed comprehension of the central and peripheral processes underlying walking is essential to develop effective therapeutic interventions to slow down gait decline with age, and rehabilitation strategies to maximize motor recovery for patients with damages at the central nervous system. The combined use of electromyography (EMG) and electroencephalography (EEG), in the framework of coherence analysis, has recently established for neuromotor integrity/impairment assessment. In this study, we propose corticomuscular (EEG-EMG) and inter/intramuscular (EMG-EMG) coherences as measures of the cognitive reserve, i.e., the process whereby a wider repertoire of cognitive strategies, as well as more flexible and efficient strategies, can moderate the manifestation of brain disease/damage. We recorded EEG signals from the main brain source locations and superficial EMG signals from the main leg muscles involved in gait in 16 healthy young adults (age [≤]30 years) and 13 healthy elderly (age [≥]65 years) during three different overground walking conditions (i.e., spontaneous walking, walking with cognitive dual-task, and walking with targets drawn on the floor). In all conditions, we calculated corticomuscular and inter/intramuscular coherences. We observed higher corticomuscular and inter/intramuscular coherences during targeted walking compared to spontaneous walking in both groups, even if the increase was greater in young people. Considering dual-task walking compared to spontaneous walking, only corticomuscular coherence in the elderly increased. These results suggest age-related differences in cognitive reserve that reflect different abilities to perform complex cognitive or motor tasks during gait. This study demonstrates the feasibility, repeatability, and effectiveness of the proposed method to investigate brain-to-muscle connectivity during different gait conditions, to study the related changes with age, and to quantify the cognitive reserve.

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2018

Shared heritability and functional enrichment across six solid cancers

Quantifying the genetic correlation between cancers can provide important insights into the mechanisms driving cancer etiology. Using genome-wide association study summary statistics across six cancer types based on a total of 296,215 cases and 301,319 controls of European ancestry, we estimate the pair-wise genetic correlations between breast, colorectal, head/neck, lung, ovary and prostate cancer, and between cancers and 38 other diseases. We observed statistically significant genetic correlations between lung and head/neck cancer (rg=0.57, p=4.6x10-8), breast and ovarian cancer (rg=0.24, p=7x10-5), breast and lung cancer (rg=0.18, p=1.5x10-6) and breast and colorectal cancer (rg=0.15, p=1.1x10-4). We also found that multiple cancers are genetically correlated with non-cancer traits including smoking, psychiatric diseases and metabolic characteristics. Functional enrichment analysis revealed a significant excess contribution of conserved and regulatory regions to cancer heritability. Our comprehensive analysis of cross-cancer heritability suggests that solid tumors arising across tissues share in part a common germline genetic basis.

genomics↗