Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are a novel class of
chemicals, synthesized in large quantities for use as flame
retardants in plastics and textiles, and present in everything from
computers and televisions to carpets, sealants, adhesives, and
coatings. Since the late 1980s, they have been identified as
persistent and perhaps ubiquitous global contaminants. With PBDE
levels increasing in humans and other animals, researchers have
struggled to get a handle on the extent of the contamination, the
behavior of PBDEs in the environment, their modes of release, and
potential toxicity in living creatures.
Our Special Topics ranking of the most-cited PDBE research over
the past decade is dominated by studies of temporal and geographical
distribution of PBDEs: among the highest-cited articles are studies
of PBDEs in human milk and blood, in fish, and in river sediments
and biota. Other influential papers look at PBDE levels in the air
of an electronic recycling plant and in the Canadian arctic, while
others examine the potential toxic and in vivo effects of
PBDEs in humans.
The most-cited papers from the past two years examine similar
themes as the 10-year list, although now a new theme, discussed in
three papers, is the possible role of house dust as an exposure
pathway for PBDEs in humans. Other papers examine the presence of
PBDEs in predators of the Norwegian arctic, in dolphins and
porpoises, and in sediment cores from the Great Lakes, the San
Francisco estuary, Singapore’s coastal region, and the South China
Sea. Surprisingly, only one article on this list looks specifically
at the question of toxicity, an examination of the effects on male
fertility and neurobehavior in rat offspring exposed to PBDEs during
development, while the second-most-cited study of the past two years
suggests that one of the most abundant PBDEs found in nature is
indeed a naturally occurring one.
Methodology
To construct this database,
papers were extracted based on topic-supplied keywords for
Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers. The keywords used were as follows:
polybrominated
diphenyl ether* OR PBDE* OR brominated organic micropollut* OR
brominated flame retard* OR biphenyl ether* OR organobromine*
The baseline time span for this database
is 1997-April 30, 2007 (second bimonthly period of 2007). The resulting database contained
1,105 (10 years)
and 564 (2 years) papers; 2,704 authors;
57 countries; 234 journals; and 908 institutions.
Rankings
Once the database was in place,
it was used to generate the lists of top 20 papers (two- and ten-year
periods), authors, journals,
institutions, and nations, covering a time span of 1997-April 30, 2007, a 10-year plus
4-month period).
The top 20 papers are ranked
according to total cites. Rankings for author, journal, institution,
and country are listed in three ways: according to total cites, total
papers, and total cites/paper. The paper thresholds and corresponding
percentages used to determine
scientist, institution, country, and journal rankings according to
total cites/paper, and total papers respectively are as follows:
| Entity: |
Scientists |
Institutions |
Countries |
Journals |
| Thresholds: |
12 |
6 |
8 |
7 |
| Percentage: |
1% |
1% |
50% |
10% |
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