Can a bibliometric indicator predict the success of an analgesic?

In the assessment of success of new analgesic drugs over the past 50 years (Kissin, Anesth Analg 110:780–789, 2010) we observed a difference in the publication response to a new drug between biomedical journals in general and top journals: number of published articles on a drug increased (and declined) more rapidly in the top journals. Based on this phenomenon we present a new publication indicator—the Top Journal Selectivity Index (TJSI). It represents the ratio between the number of all types of articles in the top 20 biomedical journals and the number of articles in all (>5,000) journals covered by Medline, over 5 years after a drug’s introduction. Ten analgesics developed during the period 1986–2009 were selected for analysis. Three publication indices were used for assessment: the number of all types of articles presented in Medline, the number of articles covering only randomized controlled trials (RCT), and the Top Journal Selectivity Index. We also assessed the success score in the development of these analgesics based on the following criteria: novelty of molecular target, analgesic efficacy, and response by the pharmaceutical market. The relationships between the publication indices and analgesic’s success score were determined with the use of the Pearson correlation coefficient. Positive relationship was found only with the Top Journal Selectivity Index (r = 0.876, p < 0.001). We suggest that this index can predict success in drug development at least in the field of analgesics.     

Electrophoretic deposition of poly[3-(3-N,N-diethylaminopropoxy)thiophene] and composite films

Poly[3-(3-N,N-diethylaminopropoxy)thiophene] (PDAOT) was prepared by oxidative polymerization and investigated by ultraviolet (UV), Raman and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopies. Protonated PDAOT was dissolved in water or ethanol/water mixtures and deposited by cathodic electrophoretic deposition (EPD) on conductive substrates. Film thickness was varied in the range of 0–5 μm by controlling the deposition voltage and deposition time. PDAOT was found to form strong supramolecular interactions with single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs), allowing the formation of stable and concentrated nanotube dispersions, which were used for the formation of composite PDAOT–SWNT films by EPD. Furthermore, introduction of ZnO particles to the PDAOT solutions also allowed the formation of PDAOT–ZnO composite films by EPD. The composition of the films was varied by changing the concentration of SWNTs and ZnO in the suspensions. The dispersion of ZnO particles was improved using protonated dopamine (DA) as a dispersant. The deposits were studied by X-ray analysis (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).     

Cross-Property Connection between Work-Hardening Coefficient and Electrical Resistivity of Stainless Steel During Plastic Deformation

Present paper focuses on the cross-property connection between the changes in electrical resistivity and work hardening coefficient in the process of plastic deformation. The possibility of the cross-property connection is provided by the fact that both quantities are governed by the same parameter - growth of the dislocation density caused by the applied stresses. Experimental measurements on stainless steel 304 are in a good agreement with analytical estimates.     

Experimental Study of Film Condensation of FC-72 Vapour on Disk-Shaped Fin

The results of activity made in the framework of preparation of the experiment SAFIR (Single fin condensAtion: FIlm local measuRements) of European Space Agency are presented. First prototype of the test cell has been developed and tested. Confocal technique has been adopted for condensate film thickness measurements. Experiments on condensation of the liquid FC-72 have been carried out. Average heat transfer coefficient has been measured in the range of 880–1440 W/m² K and compared to the Nusselt theory.     

Experimental Study of Laminar Convective Condensation of Pure Vapor Inside an Inclined Circular Tube

Convective condensation of pure ethanol vapor inside a smooth tube of inner diameter 4.8 mm and of length 200 mm is studied. The experiments have been carried out at temperature 58°C corresponding to the pressure of 440 mbar, the vapor mass velocity varying from 0.24 to 2.04 kg/(m² s). The dependency of the Heat Transfer Coefficient (HTC) is investigated experimentally both subject to the temperature difference between the saturated vapor and the wall and subject to the condenser inclination. The results show that the HTC reduces with growth of the temperature difference. The dependency of the HTC on inclination has a maximum in the range 15°–35° due to the complex gravity drainage mechanism of the condensed liquid. The results could be useful for development of compact effective cooling systems for space and ground application.     

A novel clipping technique for filtering FM signals embedded in intensive noise

A novel adaptive clipping technique for filtering a constant amplitude frequency modulated (FM) signal embedded in non-Gaussian noise is proposed. It is based on the analysis and processing of the estimate of probability density function of a FM signal realization. As a result, modifications of two robust estimators of FM signal amplitude are proposed. It is shown that these estimators can be used for Gaussian and non-Gaussian heavy-tail environments. The proposed clipping technique can exploit one or another obtained robust estimate of the signal amplitude for adaptive setting a threshold. Analysis of signal estimate accuracy for different noise environments is carried out. Comparative analysis of the obtained methods and known approaches based on scanning window nonlinear filtering and optimal robust L-DFT form is performed. It is demonstrated that the usage of clipping-based technique leads to the considerable improvement of the FM signal filtering efficiency in comparison to the aforementioned known approaches for different noise environments and a wide range of input SNR values.