Analysis of sex and gender-specific research reveals a common increase in publications and marked differences between disciplines

Oertelt-Prigione S, Parol R, Krohn S, Preißner R, Regitz-Zagrosek V. Analysis of sex and gender-specific research reveals a common increase in publications and marked differences between disciplines. BMC Medicine. 2010;8(1): 70.© 2010 Oertelt-Prigione et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the CreativeCommons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Comparison of 2D similarity and 3D superposition. application to searching a conformational drug database

In a database of about 2000 approved drugs, represented by 10 5 structural conformers, we have performed 2D comparisons (Tanimoto coefficients) and 3D superpositions. For one class of drugs the correlation between structural resemblance and similar action was analysed in detail. In general Tanimoto coefficients and 3D scores give similar results, but we find that 2D similarity measures neglect important structural/funtional features. Examples for both over – and underestimation of similarity by 2D metrics are discussed. The required additional effort for 3D superpositions is assessed by implementation of a fast algorithm with a processing time below 0.01 seconds and a more sophisticated approach (0.5 seconds per superposition). According to the improvement of similarity detection compared to 2D screening and the pleasant rapidity on a desktop PC, full–atom 3D superposition will be an upcoming method of choice for library prioritization or similarity screening approaches

Analysis of sex and gender-specific research reveals a common increase in publications and marked differences between disciplines

Abstract Background The incorporation of sex and gender-specific analysis in medical research is increasing due to pressure from public agencies, funding bodies, and the clinical and research community. However, generations of knowledge and publication trends in this discipline are currently spread over distinct specialties and are difficult to analyze comparatively. Methods Using a text-mining approach, we have analysed sex and gender aspects in research within nine clinical subspecialties - Cardiology, Pulmonology, Nephrology, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Haematology, Oncology, Rheumatology, Neurology - using six paradigmatic diseases in each one. Articles have been classified into five pre-determined research categories - Epidemiology, Pathophysiology, Clinical research, Management and Outcomes. Additional information has been collected on the type of study (human/animal) and the number of subjects included. Of the 8,836 articles initially retrieved, 3,466 (39%) included sex and gender-specific research and have been further analysed. Results Literature incorporating sex/gender analysis increased over time and displays a stronger trend if compared to overall publication increase. All disciplines, but cardiology (22%), demonstrated an underrepresentation of research about gender differences in management, which ranges from 3 to 14%. While the use of animal models for identification of sex differences in basic research varies greatly among disciplines, studies involving human subjects are frequently conducted in large cohorts with more than 1,000 patients (24% of all human studies). Conclusions Heterogeneity characterizes sex and gender-specific research. Although large cohorts are often analysed, sex and gender differences in clinical management are insufficiently investigated leading to potential inequalities in health provision and outcomes.</p