Advancing Knowledge
Advancing knowledge indicators include measures of research quality, activity, outreach and structure. SHRF collects and presents data on a number of publications, citations and collaborations in the medical sciences. See below for detailed graphs, indicator definitions and sources of data.
Definition: Number of Papers - The number of scientific papers by author in specific geographic areas, based on author addresses (e.g., countries, states, or provinces) or organizational entities (e.g., government departments, research centres, or private firms).
Source: Calculated by Observatoire des sciences et des technologies (OST) and Science Metrix using Thompson Scientific data
Definition: Average of relative citations (ARC) - This is an indicator of the scientific impact of papers produced by a given entity (e.g., a country, an institution) that considers citations in papers published in peer reviewed journals. When the ARC is above 1, an entity (e.g., country, institution, researcher) scores better than the world; when it is below 1, an entity publishes papers that are cited less often than the world average.
Source: Calculated by Observatoire des sciences et des technologies (OST) and Science Metrix using Thompson Scientific data
Definition: Specialization index (SI) - This is an indicator of the intensity of research of a given geographic or organizational entity (e.g., a country) in a given research area (domain, field) relative to the intensity of the reference entity (e.g., the world) in the same research area. An index value above 1 means that a given entity is specialized relative to the reference entity, while an index value below 1 means the opposite.
Source: Calculated by Observatoire des sciences et des technologies (OST) and Science Metrix using Thompson Scientific data
Story
Dr. Adam Baxter-Jones
Feeling it in our Bones
We’ve heard it all before: proper diet and regular exercise lead to longer, healthier lives.
So what’s stopping us? What’s stopping our kids?
“Technology has overtaken us,” says Dr. Adam Baxter-Jones, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Saskatchewan.
Technology, from computers to video games, has led to less active children and adults. And while poor diets are due to a many factors, the proliferation of fast foods as well as foods high in sugar, fat, and salt, have made poor eating commonplace. It’s a lifestyle that may have serious consequences to our health and future health of our children – right down to their very bones.
Baxter-Jones, together with about 20 colleagues at the University of Saskatchewan and University of Regina, has formed the Bone and Joint Imaging Group (BIG) to examine these challenges. Funded through the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF) and the University of Saskatchewan, BIG includes experts from across the academic spectrum— kinesiology, archaeology and engineering – brought together with practitioners from medicine and dentistry.
“Individually we’ve been working in silos studying various aspects of bone health,” Baxter-Jones says. “Now we’re looking at how we can work together. It’s a great opportunity to move bone research forward.”
Originally from the United Kingdom, Baxter-Jones and others in the BIG group were drawn to Saskatoon because of two growth and development studies conducted here with school children from 1964 to 1973 and another from 1991 to 1998 and 2002 to 2007. Each measured physical activity and other lifestyle areas, including diet. A significant number of participants from both groups are returning for further study in the fall of 2009. These studies have shed valuable light on bone health as we age.
“We have a window of opportunity from birth to about age 20 to build our bones,” Baxter-Jones says. “Maximum bone building happens during the maximum growth spurt, with about 40 per cent occurring during four years.”
Having test results from these groups when they were in the bone building stage, Baxter-Jones is now seeing them as they are losing bone strength, which occurs naturally with aging.
“We start losing bone strength in our 30s, which is the age of the 1991 group. The 1963 group are now in their 50s.”
So, is there any way to stop bone loss? BIG researcher Dr. Saija Kontulainen, an assistant professor in the U of S College of Kinesiology, is using advanced computerized tomography imaging to study how activity affects bone density and strength. What she has found is that exercise doesn’t have to be long or strenuous to improve or maintain bone strength—a little can go a long way.
“We are looking at gymnasts who are three to nine years old and are training one to two hours a week. We are seeing a difference in bone strength,” she says. “All types of activities are helpful, especially if they improve muscles and coordination,” she states. “If you build up the structure to be stronger, it seems less activity may be needed to maintain it.”
And while a healthy diet that includes lots of fruits and vegetable and sufficient levels of calcium is important, Baxter-Jones says diet alone won’t build and maintain strong bones in a couch potato kid – or an adult for that matter.
“Kids who are the most active have stronger bones,” he says. “And 10 years later they have stronger bones than their peers.”
Kontulainen is working with Baxter-Jones on the follow up with the 1960s group. Information gleaned will be invaluable in helping determine how much and what type of activity may be most helpful in building and maintaining our bones.
But Baxter-Jones says current bone density testing doesn’t tell researchers enough about bone strength.
This is the province of BIG researcher Dr. Sheldon Wiebe, assistant professor in the U of S College of Medicine and a paediatric radiologist. He has seen many advances in medical imaging in the past 15 years—from digital X-rays to CT scans. Now, he is exploring the next frontier: using the Canadian Light Source synchrotron in Saskatoon to work on world-leading imaging technology able to see right into the interior of bones.
Wiebe believes the extremely detailed synchrotron images will eventually allow researchers to identify tiny microstructures within bone and cartilage—improving their ability to determine both bone density and strength.
Baxter-Jones says assembling the diverse expertise and interests available from the members of BIG provides a tremendous creative environment.
“Put all these great minds into a room and great ideas will come out,” he says.
For now, their message is a simple: “It’s never too late to change your diet and add physical activity to your life. What you do will have a major impact on your bone health.”
