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Fig. 8.7
The modularity of the network dropped considerably in 2007 and even more in 2009,
suggesting that some major structural changes took place in these 2 years in particular
Figure
8.7
shows the change of modularity of networks over time. Each network
is constructed based on a 2-year sliding window. The number of publications per
year increased considerably. It is noticeable that the modularity dipped in 2007 and
bounced back to the previous level before it dropped even deeper in 2009. Based
on this observation, it is plausible that groundbreaking works appeared in 2007 and
2009. We will therefore specifically investigate potential emerging trends in these
2 years.
Which publications in 2007 would explain the significant decrease of the
modularity of the network formed based on publications prior to 2007? If a 2007
publication has a subsequent citation burst, then we expect that this publication
played an important role in changing the overall intellectual structure. Eleven
publications in 2007 are found to have subsequent citation bursts (Table
8.7
).
Notably, Takahashi 2007 and Yu 2007 top the list. Both of them represent pioneering
investigations of reprogramming human body cells to iPSCs. Both of them have
current citation bursts since 2009. Other articles on the list address the pluripotency
of stem cells related to human cancer, including colon cancer and pancreatic cancer.
Two review articles on regenerative medicine and tissue repair are published in 2007
with citation bursts since 2010. These observations suggest that the modularity
change in 2007 is an indication of an emerging trend in the human induced
pluripotent stem cells research. The trend is current and active as shown by the
number of citation bursts associated with publications in 2007 alone.
If the modularity change in 2007 indicates an emerging trend in human iPSCs
research, what caused the even more profound modularity change in 2009? The
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