Over the past 5 y, the impact factors for Comparative Medicine (CM) and the Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (JAALAS) have remained relatively constant, with perhaps a slight upward trend for both journals, as have the journals’ rankings in comparison with other journals (Figure 1). Yearly impact factors for journals are calculated as the following ratio: total number of citations in a given year (for example, 2011) to articles published in the previous 2 y (for example, 2009 and 2010), divided by the total number of citable items published in the cited years (2009 and 2010). In CM, for example, the 115 articles that were published in 2009 and 2010 garnered 121 citations in 2011, resulting in an impact factor of 121/115, or 1.052. Thus, the yearly impact factor reflects only citations of relatively recent work.
Figure 1.
Impact factors and percentile rank of AALAS journals, 2004 through 2011.
The impact factor for CM for 2011 is substantially above the median for all journals in the Veterinary Science classification and is near the median for all classified journals, whereas JAALAS ranks near the median for veterinary science journals. Similarly, CM ranks nears the 50th percentile among all journals and near the 30th percentile for veterinary journals, ranking better than JAALAS in both categories. This difference between CM and JAALAS likely reflects size of the audience for articles published in CM compared with JAALAS. Whereas CM incorporates animal models of disease, which are likely to interest readers in addition to those the laboratory animal science community, articles in JAALAS focus on the interests of the latter. This idea is supported by the recent membership survey, in which respondents generally view JAALAS as more applicable to their on-the-job needs and find CM to be less relevant.1 Also consistent with this interpretation, CM articles appear to garner more citations in general than do JAALAS articles, indicating appeal and utility to a broader audience (tbl1tbl2Tables 1 and 2).
Table 1.
Top 10 cited articles in Comparative Medicine*
| Article | Publication year | Number of citations |
| Mansfield K. 2003. Marmoset models commonly used in biomedical research. Comp Med 53:383–392. | 2003 | 58 |
| Dyson MC, Alloosh M, Vuchetich JP, Mokelke EA, Sturek M. 2006. Components of metabolic syndrome and coronary artery disease in female Ossabaw swine fed excess atherogenic diet. Comp Med 56:35–45. | 2006 | 56 |
| Parker JM, Mikaelian I, Hahn N, Diggs HE. 2002. Clinical diagnosis and treatment of epidermal chytridiomycosis in African clawed frogs (Xenopus tropicalis). Comp Med 52:265–268. | 2002 | 54 |
| Abbott DH, Barnett DK, Colman RJ, Yamamoto ME, Schultz-Darken NJ. 2003. Aspects of common marmoset basic biology and life history important for biomedical research. Comp Med 53:339–350. | 2003 | 53 |
| Garner JP, Weisker SM, Dufour B, Mench JA. 2004. Barbering (fur and whisker trimming) by laboratory mice as a model of human trichotillomania and obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders. Comp Med 54:216–224. | 2004 | 50 |
| Hsu CC, Riley LK, Wills HM, Livingston RS. 2006. Persistent infection with and serologic cross-reactivity of three novel murine noroviruses. Comp Med 56:247–251. | 2006 | 50 |
| Kobaek-Larsen M, Thorup I, Diederichsen A, Fenger C, Hoitinga MR. 2000. Review of colorectal cancer and its metastases in rodent models: comparative aspects with those in humans. Comp Med 50:16–26. | 2000 | 48 |
| Besselsen DG, Wagner AM, Loganbill JK. 2000. Effect of mouse strain and age on detection of mouse parvovirus 1 by use of serologic testing and polymerase chain reaction analysis. Comp Med 50:498–502. | 2000 | 47 |
| Arras M, Autenried P, Rettich A, Spaeni D, Rülicke T. 2001. Optimization of intraperitoneal injection anesthesia in mice: drugs, dosages, adverse effects, and anesthesia depth. Comp Med 51:443–456. | 2001 | 46 |
| Whary MT, Fox JG. 2004. Natural and experimental Helicobacter infections. Comp Med 54:128–158. | 2004 | 46 |
Data collected from Web of Knowledge on 14 July 2012.
Table 2.
Top 9 cited articles in JAALAS*
| Article | Publication year | Number of citations |
| Portfors CV. 2007. Types and functions of ultrasonic vocalizations in laboratory rats and mice. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 46:28–34. | 2007 | 65 |
| Perdue KA, Green KY, Copeland M, Barron E, Mandel M, Faucette LJ, Williams EM, Sosnovtsev SV, Elkins WR, Ward JM. 2007. Naturally occurring murine norovirus infection in a large research institution. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 46:39–45. | 2007 | 20 |
| Turner JG, Bauer CA, Rybak LP. 2007. Noise in animal facilities: why it matters. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 46:10–13. | 2007 | 13 |
| Probst RJ, Lim JM, Bird DN, Pole GL, Sato AK, Claybaugh JR. 2006. Gender differences in the blood volume of conscious Sprague–Dawley rats. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 45:49–52. | 2006 | 13 |
| Coleman K, Pranger L, Adriane M, Lambeth SP, Perlman JE, Thiele E, Schapiro SJ. 2008. Training rhesus macaques for venipuncture using positive reinforcement techniques: a comparison with chimpanzees J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 47:37–41. | 2008 | 13 |
| Saha DC, Saha AC, Malik G, Astiz ME, Rackow EC. 2007. Comparison of cardiovascular effects of tiletamine-zolazepam, pentobarbital, and ketamine-xylazine in male rats. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 46:74–80. | 2007 | 13 |
| Altholtz LY, Fowler KA, Badura LL, Kovacs MS. 2006. Comparison of the stress response in rats to repeated isoflurane or CO2:O2 anesthesia used for restraint during serial blood collection via the jugular vein. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 45:17–22. | 2006 | 12 |
| Reid H, Hydock, DS. 2007. Doxorubicin cardiotoxicity in the rat: an in vivo characterization J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 46:20–32. | 2007 | 12 |
| Abatan OI, Welch KB, Nemzek JA. 2008. Evaluation of saphenous venipuncture and modified tail-clip blood collection in mice. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 47:8–15. | 2008 | 12 |
Data collected from Web of Knowledge on 14 July 2012.
Raising the impact factor is particularly difficult for journals with a focused readership, many of whom do not themselves engage in related research or publication. The limited focus of the journals is reflected in tbl3Table 3, which shows that many of the citations in and by the AALAS journals were self-citations, citations to the other AALAS journal, or citations to or by other journals focused on laboratory animals. The impact factor of the journals is probably also negatively affected by inclusion of case reports in both journals. These articles, despite potential interest and value to our field, are generally unusual occurrences or reflect specific situations and hence case reports are not often cited. Publication of case reports benefits the AALAS membership, yet also increases the denominator disproportionally in the impact factor calculation. Thus, the most highly cited articles in the journals tend to be overviews or applied science (Tables 1 and 2).
Table 3.
Top journals in 2011 that
| Cited Comp Med manuscripts | Were cited in Comp Med | Cited JAALAS manuscripts | Were cited in JAALAS | |
| 1 | JAALAS | Comp Med | JAALAS | Lab Animal-UK |
| 2 | PLoS One | J Virology | Comp Med | JAALAS |
| 3 | Comp Med | Lab Anim Sci | PLoS One | Comp Med |
| 4 | J Med Primatology * Lab Animal* | JAALAS | J Med Primatology | Lab Anim Sci |
| 5 | Vet Pathology | Bone | Lab Anim-UK* Lab Animal*Behav Brain Res* | CTLAS |
| 6 | J Appl Physiol | J Periodontology | Methods Cell Biol | JAVMA |
| 7 | Lab Animal-UK* Brain Res* | Vet Pathology* J Med Primatology* | Appl Anim Behav Sci | Anesth Analges |
| 8 | Immunogenetics | Physiol Behav |
, tied
As opposed to impact factor, a more relevant indicator of the value of the AALAS publications is perhaps how useful the publications are to the community. A potential measure of both interest and perhaps utility is the number of times publications are downloaded. As can be seen from tbl4tbl5Tables 4 and 5, numerous articles in both CM and JAALAS were downloaded from PubMed hundreds of times in 2011. These numbers are particularly impressive in that many of the articles listed were published in 2009 or earlier, documenting durable interest in this work. Because we cannot obtain similar data for other journals, the relative magnitude of this number of downloads is hard to assess. Nonetheless, this apparently large number of downloads suggests widespread interest in and sustained value of many of the manuscripts published in the AALAS journals. The ability of interested AALAS members to have rapid access to articles in the journals is being bolstered by making pdf files of accepted articles available to members ahead of print. This new benefit has already been implemented for CM and implementation is in process for JAALAS. Furthermore, at 6 mo after publication, all articles published in the AALAS journals can be freely downloaded by the public from PubMed. In addition, we now send a final pdf of each article to the authors, who can then distribute copies at their discretion. Providing easy access to the information we publish is a key component of the scientific, educational, and public outreach goals of both the journals and the AALAS organization.
Table 4.
Top 10 Comparative Medicine Articles downloaded from PubMed Central in 2011
| Article | Live in PMC | Downloads in 2011 |
| Novak MA, Meyer JS. 2009. Alopecia: possible causes and treatments, particularly in captive nonhuman primates. Comp Med 59:18–26. | 8/1/2009 | 2681 |
| Lelovas PP, Xanthos TT, Thoma SE, Lyritis GP, Dontas IA. 2008. The laboratory rat as an animal model for osteoporosis research. Comp Med 58:424–430. | 7/17/2009 | 1821 |
| Cray C, Zaias J, Altman NH. 2009. Acute phase response in animals: a review. Comp Med 59:517–526. | 6/1/2010 | 1807 |
| Li G, Liu X, Zhu H, Huang L, Liu Y, Ma C, Qin C. 2009. Insulin resistance in insulin-resistant and diabetic hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) is associated with abnormal hepatic expression of genes involved in lipid and glucose metabolism. Comp Med 59:449–458. | 4/1/2010 | 1397 |
| Elmore D, Eberle R. 2008. Monkey B virus (Cercopithecine herpesvirus 1). Comp Med 58:11–21. | 7/17/2009 | 1324 |
| Karmarkar SW, Bottum KM, Tischkau SA. 2010. Considerations for the use of anesthetics in neurotoxicity studies. Comp Med 60:256–262. | 2/1/2011 | 1294 |
| Lynch WJ, Nicholson KL, Dance ME, Morgan RW, Foley PL. 2010. Animal models of substance abuse and addiction: implications for science, animal welfare, and society. Comp Med 60:177–188. | 12/1/2010 | 1195 |
| Pacharinsak C, Beitz A. 2008. Animal models of cancer pain. Comp Med 58:220–233. | 7/17/2009 | 1105 |
| Sager M, Herten M, Ruchay S, Assheuer J, Kramer M, Jger M. 2009. The anatomy of the glenoid labrum: a comparison between human and dog. Comp Med 59:465–475. | 4/1/2010 | 961 |
| Kodama Y, Matsuura M, Sano T, Nakahara Y, Ozaki K, Narama I, Matsuura T. 2011. Diabetes enhances dental caries and apical periodontitis in caries-susceptible WBN/KobSlc rats. Comp Med 61:53–59. | 8/1/2011 | 834 |
Table 5.
Top 10 JAALAS Articles Downloaded from PubMed Central in 2011
| Article | Live in PMC | Downloads in 2011 |
| Duran-Struuck R, Dysko RC. 2009. Principles of bone marrow transplantation (BMT): providing optimal veterinary and husbandry care to irradiated mice in BMT studies. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 48:11–22. | 7/1/2009 | 2349 |
| Cray C, Rodriguez M, Zaias J, Altman NH. 2009. Effects of storage temperature and time on clinical biochemical parameters from rat serum. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 48:202–204. | 9/1/2009 | 1938 |
| Fernandez I, Pea A, Del Teso N, Prez V, Rodriguez-Cuesta J. 2009. Clinical biochemistry parameters in C57BL/6J mice after blood collection from the submandibular vein and retroorbital plexus. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 49:202–206. | 9/1/2010 | 1903 |
| Syversen E, Pineda FJ, Watson J. 2008. Temperature variations recorded during interinstitutional air shipments of laboratory mice. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 47:31–36. | 6/12/2009 | 1546 |
| Taylor DK, Mook DM. 2009. Isoflurane waste anesthetic gas concentrations associated with the open-drop method. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 48:61–64. | 7/1/2009 | 1471 |
| Atcha Z, Rourke C, Neo AHP, Goh CWH, Lim JSK, Aw CC, Browne ER, Pemberton DJ. 2010. Alternative method of oral dosing for rats. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 49:335–343. | 11/1/2010 | 1315 |
| He S, Atkinson C, Qiao F, Chen X, Tomlinson S. 2010. Ketamine–xylazine–acepromazine compared with isoflurane for anesthesia during liver transplantation in rodents. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 49:45–51. | 7/1/2010 | 1295 |
| Mook DM, Benjamin KA. 2008. Use of selamectin and moxidectin in the treatment of mouse fur mites. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 47:20–24. | 6/12/2009 | 1269 |
| Rosenbaum MD, VandeWoude S, Johnson TE. 2009. Effects of cage-change frequency and bedding volume on mice and their microenvironment. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 48:763–773. | 5/1/2010 | 1232 |
| Conroy CJ, Papenfuss T, Parker J, Hahn NE. Use of tricaine methanesulfonate (MS222) for euthanasia of reptiles. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci 48:28–32 | 7/1/2009 | 1211 |
As always, we welcome any comments or suggestions regarding the journals and their continued development and improvement.
Reference
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