SOUTHERN JOURNAL OF SCIENCES

ATR 2023. SOUTHERN JOURNAL OF SCIENCES ANNUAL TRANSPARENCY REPORT.

Background: Drug repurposing offers potential advantages for cancer therapy development, particularly when utilizing medications with established safety profiles and expired patents. While individual repurposed medications have been investigated for oncological applications, comprehensive comparative analyses of research distribution patterns across multiple therapeutic candidates appear limited in the literature. Understanding these patterns may provide insights into research priorities and potential knowledge gaps. Aim: This exploratory study was designed to quantify and compare the volume of scientific literature examining the anticancer potential of eleven selected off-patent medications across different pharmacological classes. Methods: Bibliometric searches were conducted across five databases (Google Scholar, BVS, PubMed, NIH, and Science.gov) using standardized search terms combining each medication name with "cancer" and "cancer treatment." The selected medications included ivermectin, fenbendazole, mebendazole, albendazole, metformin, propranolol, disulfiram, valproic acid, thalidomide, dexamethasone, and hydroxychloroquine. Basic statistical analyses were performed to examine the distribution patterns and correlations within the database. Results: The search yielded 3,226,066 total publications with considerable variation in distribution patterns. Dexamethasone accounted for the largest proportion (1,538,058 publications, 47.68%), followed by metformin (697,172 publications, 21.61%). Some medications with smaller overall publication volumes demonstrated higher proportions of treatment-specific research, such as fenbendazole (87.82%), disulfiram with copper (86.54%), and hydroxychloroquine with zinc (75.21%). The Herfindahl Index indicated a high concentration of research attention (0.2870). Discussion: The findings suggest substantial variation in research attention across the selected medications. While some medications dominate the literature, others with focused treatment-specific research may warrant further investigation. The inverse relationship observed between total publication volume and treatment specificity suggests that research patterns in this field may be more complex than absolute publication counts indicate. Conclusions: This preliminary bibliometric assessment reveals an uneven distribution of research attention among repurposed medications being investigated for cancer applications. These patterns may inform future research prioritization, though further qualitative analysis would be valuable to assess the clinical significance of these quantitative observations.

Background: Determining chlorine in water ensures safety. Among other methods, the DPD colorimetric method is used. The DPD Method relies on colorimetric reactions to measure free and total chlorine concentration in water samples with pink compound formation. Aims: To perform a comparative chlorine analysis using DPD, assessing reagents from 3 makers and 2 Hach instruments to identify disparities and propose adjustments for more accurate measurements. Methods: Hach High-Range and Low-Range Free chlorine determination procedures were followed. DR300 and POCKET Colorimeter II spectrophotometers were used. Tests were conducted for each DPD manufacturer in low/high ranges and in two HACH devices to determine the chlorine concentrations. Hach was used as the reference; LaMotte and PoliControl compared against it. Statistical analyses were compiled using MS Excel. Results: The tests findings were gathered in Tables 1-5. JavaScript and HTML scripts were created to convert LaMotte and PoliControl outcomes into values equivalent to those of HACH through linear interpolation. Discussion: Various DPD reagents and equipment provided slightly different readings, prompting empirical evaluation of these differences. Adjusting the results to Hach's results was selected as both the reagent and spectrophotometer were from the same brand. Differences in spectrophotometer readings were more pronounced in high-range tests nearing the upper limit of the test. Conclusions: Equipment variations caused minor result differences; DPD reagents are not interchangeable without correlation. The Open-source code developed aided in reducing reading disparities.