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ObjectiveTo investigate gender difference patterns in article citations, by first and last authors, in four radiology journals.Materials and methodsArticles by authors published in four major radiology journals from 1984, 1994, 2004, and 2014 were categorized into 12 subspecialties. The number of citations, references used, co-authors, and length of the article (number of pages) were documented. The genders of first/last authors were determined. Data were analyzed using chi-square and logistic regression.ResultsThe gender of the first author was determined in 2679 articles and that of the last author in 2717 articles. Over the selected years, 1984 to 2014, female first authorship grew from 13.0% to 31.5% (p<0.001), and female last authorship grew from 9.3% to 22.1% (p<0.001). Primary female authorship papers were cited less often as compared to males (OR 0.9972, 95% CI: 0.9948-0.9996, p=0.021), after adjusting for publication year and subspecialty. Across most subspecialties, female first authorship received fewer citations. In 1984, primary female authorship papers received on average 28.9 citations versus males at 39.1; in 1994, 50.4 versus 60.8; in 2004, 41.5 versus 44.4; and in 2014, 7.0 versus 7.8. The mean difference in the number of citations received by male and female first authors decreased from 10.47±6.09 in 1984 and 9.49±7.12 in 1994 to 1.93±5.63 in 2004 and 0.79±0.39 in 2014. However, there was no statistical difference demonstrated in article citations between male and female last authorship (OR 0.9990, 95% CI: 0.9966-1.0013, p=0.392).ConclusionsPrimary female authorship garnered fewer citations than men, despite the increasing frequency of authorships. However, this differential in the number of citations is narrowing.

Treatment of malignant biliary obstruction (MBO) requires the coordination of multiple specialties, including oncologists, surgeons, gastroenterologists, and interventional radiologists. If the tumor is resectable, surgical candidates can usually proceed to surgery without preoperative biliary drainage. For patients who undergo biliary drainage, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography (PTC) combined with biliary stenting are techniques with comparable technical success and mortality, each with distinct advantages and risks. Advances in endoscopic ultrasound allow drainage in patients with challenging anatomy. There are a multitude of devices used for biliary decompression. Self-expanding metal stents (SEMS), with longer patency rates, are in most instances preferred over plastic stents for MBO, especially in patients with life expectancy more than 3 to 4 months. Advantages of covered SEMS versus uncovered SEMS remain controversial as covered stents can prevent tumor ingrowth but at the expense of potential increase in stent migrations. Extra-anatomic biliary drainage using lumen-apposing metal stents is an emerging technique which shows promise when conventional ERCP fails. It is imperative to understand these techniques when tailoring a treatment strategy. The goal of this article is to discuss a multidisciplinary approach for MBO to promote comprehensive care using case examples to highlight essential principles.

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The present editorial 2020 continues the series of status reports in Environmental Earth Sciences (EES) in previous years 2017 and 2019 (Kolditz et al. in Environ Earth Sci 77: 8, 2018, Kolditz et al. in Environ Earth Sci 79: 11, 2020). The year 2020 coming to an end was heavily influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic affecting all areas of life including research work and, therefore, scientific publishing as well (“Introduction”). One bright spot which shows longevity of journals that produce a quality product is that Environmental Earth Sciences (EES) is celebrating its 45th anniversary of publication. To this extent EES continues the tradition to honor the most cited papers contributing to the 2020 Impact Factor (IF) (“Highly and most cited topics”) and provide information on the current status of EES as well as an outlook to 2021 (“Progress report”)

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The Daegu-Gyeongbuk region in Korea suffered from water contamination during the modern industrialization period (1960-1990s) of Korean history. This was the result of large industrial complexes having been built along the Nakdong River, which today is the main water source of approximately 10 million people living in the southeastern part of the Korean Peninsula. Local and central governments have undertaken many measures to develop sustainable supplies of clean, safe water while developing appropriate and/or innovative water technologies. Currently, the Korean government is constructing a National Water Industry Cluster (NWIC) center in Daegu to share lessons learned from Korea's many long difficulties in water development and to aid in resolving water issues and crises. The NWIC is addressing these concerns not only for Korea but also for developing countries and other corners of the globe in need. Under these circumstances, the International Water Industry Conference (IWIC) was launched in 2015 following the 7th World Water Forum in Korea. It has been held annually in Daegu and satellite cities of Korea since its inception. The 3rd IWIC in 2017 was a successful forum for water professionals, scholars, researchers, engineers, and policymakers to meet and discuss intelligent solutions in water sustainability for current and future generations.More specifically, the theme of the 3rd IWIC covered the following six topics: (1) innovative technologies for the water industry including the water-energy nexus, energysaving technologies, and nutrient and hazardous substance control; (2) laboratory and field case studies and troubleshooting in water and wastewater management; (3) appropriate water and wastewater technologies for developing countries; (4) green technologies for sustainable water and wastewater management with a focus on renewable and valuable resources recovery and utilization as well as the transformation of wastewater and waste to energy; (5) water resources management and quality; and (6) policy and economic assessment in the water industry. Research articles included in this thematic issue addressed many interesting aspects of the aforementioned topics. New materials for capacitive deionization, arsenic and nitrogen removal, and electrochemical oxidation were demonstrated. Hybrid membrane processes combined with photocatalysis or anaerobic biological treatments were introduced including novel attempts to reduce membrane fouling as well as enhance treatment performance. Recent trends in de-ammonification technology were presented with an in-depth discussion of various topics, including bio-carrier development, anammox bacteria enrichment, etc. Water resource diversification, including rainwater harvesting and water reuse, was discussed and the monitoring of emerging contaminants and improvement of monitoring tools were also presented.