Synergizing quantum techniques with machine learning for advancing drug discovery challenge.

The Quantum Computing for Drug Discovery Challenge, held at the 42nd International Conference on Computer-Aided Design (ICCAD) in 2023, was a multi-month, research-intensive competition. Over 70 teams from more than 65 organizations from 12 different countries registered, focusing on the use of quantum computing for drug discovery. The challenge centered on designing algorithms to accurately estimate the ground state energy of molecules, specifically OH+, using quantum computing techniques.

Active plasma sterilizer for planetary protection and contamination control for space missions.

This paper introduces a novel, compact plasma sterilization system, the Active Plasma Sterilizer (APS), for planetary protection space missions. The development of the APS system is done through iterative testing and design modifications aimed at addressing decontamination modalities for time and temperature, cleaning adhesive surfaces, and cleaning protocols beyond alcohol and bleach. Decontamination testing of Deinococcus radiodurans, Geobacillus stearothermophilus (spore forming bacteria), and Aspergillus fumigatus (fungi) was verified for the APS on relevant materials of 4 to 5 log reduction up to complete killing in 45 min or less.

Multi-Energy Evaluation of Image Quality in Spectral CT Pulmonary Angiography Using Different Strength Deep Learning Spectral Reconstructions.

Rationale And Objectives: To evaluate and compare image quality of different energy levels of virtual monochromatic images (VMIs) using standard versus strong deep learning spectral reconstruction (DLSR) on dual-energy CT pulmonary angiogram (DECT-PA).

Materials And Methods: A retrospective study was performed on 70 patients who underwent DECT-PA (15 PE present; 55 PE absent) scans. VMIs were reconstructed at different energy levels ranging from 35 to 200 keV using standard and strong levels with deep learning spectral reconstruction.

Harvey Cushing: France Military Hospital Surgical Unit Head and World War I United States Army Medical Corps Commissioner.

Background: This historical account reviews the course and lasting impact of Dr. Harvey Cushing (1869-1939) in neurosurgery.

Methods: The writing of this project was sparked by the discovery of original scientific and bibliographical information about Cushing.

Electromagnetic Radiation and Biophoton Emission in Neuronal Communication and Neurodegenerative Diseases.

The intersection of electromagnetic radiation and neuronal communication, focusing on the potential role of biophoton emission in brain function and neurodegenerative diseases is an emerging research area. Traditionally, it is believed that neurons encode and communicate information via electrochemical impulses, generating electromagnetic fields detectable by EEG and MEG. Recent discoveries indicate that neurons may also emit biophotons, suggesting an additional communication channel alongside the regular synaptic interactions.

Predictors of Mortality for Upper Extremity Penetrating Vascular Injuries (UEPVI).

Objectives: Our objective was to determine risk factors and operative outcomes for patients with upper extremity penetrating vascular injuries(UEPVI).

Methods: A retrospective review was performed of all adult UEPVI patients presenting to a level I trauma center between 1986 and 2019. Statistical analyses were performed to determine the independent predictors of mortality and hospital length of stay(LOS) among patients who underwent operative repair.

Neurotyping depression using multiple event-related potentials (ERPs): Leveraging task-based variation to predict remission in depression.

Aims: Depression is a prevalent, burdensome, and difficult mental health disorder to treat. Significant heterogeneity in clinical characteristics and course of depression hinders treatment success. Efforts to identify more homogeneous subgroups of depression could reduce heterogeneity of depression and therefore improve treatment development and randomized clinical trial outcomes.

Evidence for the replication of a plant rhabdovirus in its arthropod mite vector.

Transmission of plant viruses that replicate in the insect vector is known as persistent-propagative manner. However, it remains unclear whether such virus-vector relationships also occur between plant viruses and other biological vectors such as arthropod mites. In this study, we investigated the possible replication of orchid fleck virus (OFV), a segmented plant rhabdovirus, within its mite vector (Brevipalpus californicus s.

Generalized measures of population synchrony.

Synchronized behavior among individuals, broadly defined, is a ubiquitous feature of populations. Understanding mechanisms of (de)synchronization demands meaningful, interpretable, computable quantifications of synchrony, relevant to measurements that can be made of complex, dynamic populations. Despite the importance to analyzing and modeling populations, existing notions of synchrony often lack rigorous definitions, may be specialized to a particular experimental system and/or measurement, or may have undesirable properties that limit their utility.

Looking at the albumin-drug binding via partitioning in aqueous two-phase system.

The partition coefficient of human serum albumin (HSA) was analyzed in the PEG600-Dex70, 0.15 M NaCl/KCl in 0.01 M Na/K phosphate buffer, pH 7.

[Translation and validation of the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) into Spanish in Chile].

Introduction: The assessment of frailty is crucial for the management and care of older adults. The Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) has been proposed as a useful and practical tool for this assessment, but its implementation requires translation and validation to the specific cultural context.

Methods: A standardized process of translation and cultural adaptation of the CFS in its second version was carried out.

The pharmacist will see you now: Pharmacist prescribed contraceptives and fertility rates.

Policies that increase contraceptive access for young women and their partners are a potentially low-cost way of reducing unintended pregnancies and improving later life outcomes. Several states have recently implemented laws that allow pharmacists to prescribe contraceptives to women without the need to see a physician. We study the effect of these state laws on fertility rates.

Bone Health ECHO Case Report: Significant Elevation in Bone Turnover Markers and Progression of Vertebral Fractures After Denosumab Discontinuation Followed by a PTH-Analog.

Bone Health ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) is a virtual community of practice, where healthcare professionals have met via videoconferencing weekly since 2015. This model of learning is focused on short didactics and the presentation of real but de-identified patient cases followed by highly interactive discussions. These are often clinical situations with diagnostic and therapeutic dilemmas that are not readily addressed by randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials and clinical practice guidelines.

Longitudinal determinants of thriving in Puerto Rican climate crisis migrants on the U.S. mainland: A structural equation model.

Climate-related disasters pose significant risks to mental health and well-being globally. Individuals from disaster-prone regions, such as Puerto Rico, are at even greater risk. The devastating effects of recurrent hurricanes, compounded with pre-existing structural disparities (e.

Unveiling root nodulation in Tribulus terrestris and Roystonea regia via metagenomics analysis.

Root nodule symbiosis is traditionally recognized in the Fabales, Fagales, Cucurbitales, and Rosales orders within the Rosid I clade of angiosperms. However, ambiguous root nodule formation has been reported in Zygophyllaceae and Roystonea regia (Arecaceae), although a detailed analysis has yet to be conducted. We aimed to perform morphological analyses of root structures in these plants and utilize metagenomic techniques to identify and characterize the bacterial populations within the nodule-like structures.

Community health promotion and disaster recovery: a PhotoVoice project in Comerío, Puerto Rico.

Background: PhotoVoice - a series of workshops involving participatory photography and narrative-building - was employed in the rural town of Comerío, Puerto Rico (PR) to describe disaster recovery in a rural setting and foster policy dialogue.

Methods: Using PhotoVoice workshops and ethnographic observations, the project describes how women affiliated with a local community-based organization described the priorities for disaster recovery in visual images and narratives. We draw analytically upon theories of intersectionality and coloniality to describe socio-structural and community factors that shape community health in the context of ongoing disasters.

Videodermoscopy as a Diagnostic Tool for Pili Trianguli and Canaliculi Syndrome.

Pili trianguli et canaliculi syndrome is a rare hair shaft disorder characterized by frizzy hair that cannot be smoothed flat. Affected hair shafts are triangular or kidney-shaped with longitudinal grooving. Diagnosis typically requires electron microscopy, which may be cost-prohibitive, or alternatively, the distinctive features of hair shafts can be identified through histological examination of cross sections, that is time-consuming.

The Chronic Headache Self-Efficacy Scale: Development and assessment of measurement properties.

Objective: To develop and assess the psychometrics of the Chronic Headache Self-Efficacy Scale (CHASE).

Background: Existing scales assess self-efficacy in coping strategies and management of symptoms and triggers but do not measure other important self-efficacy domains, such as performing daily activities and socializing in patients with chronic daily headache (CDH).

Methods: The study had two phases: (i) Development of the 14-item CHASE, with items derived from patients with CDH and a multidisciplinary healthcare team; (ii) longitudinal observational study for psychometric evaluation.

Disease Progression Mathematical Modeling With a Case Study on Hepatitis B Virus Infection.

Chronic Hepatitis B presents a significant health and socioeconomic burden. The risk of hepatocellular carcinoma remains elevated although treatments are available. Achieving an optimal treatment regimen necessitates a deep comprehension of the dynamic relationship between the virus and its host across disease states.

Adaptive or non-adaptive? Cranial evolution in a radiation of miniaturized day geckos.

Lygodactylus geckos represent a well-documented radiation of miniaturized lizards with diverse life-history traits that are widely distributed in Africa, Madagascar, and South America. The group has diversified into numerous species with high levels of morphological similarity. The evolutionary processes underlying such diversification remain enigmatic, because species live in different ecological biomes, ecoregions and microhabitats, while suggesting strikingly high levels of homoplasy.

Challenges and opportunities of acquiring cortical recordings for chronic adaptive deep brain stimulation.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS), a proven treatment for movement disorders, also holds promise for the treatment of psychiatric and cognitive conditions. However, for DBS to be clinically effective, it may require DBS technology that can alter or trigger stimulation in response to changes in biomarkers sensed from the patient's brain. A growing body of evidence suggests that such adaptive DBS is feasible, it might achieve clinical effects that are not possible with standard continuous DBS and that some of the best biomarkers are signals from the cerebral cortex.

Spatial-temporal analysis of groundwater well features from neural network prediction of hexavalent chromium concentration.

Groundwater monitoring is a crucial part of groundwater remediation that produces data from various strategically placed wells to maintain a water quality standard. Using the United States Department of Energy's Hanford 100-HRD area well data, recurrent neural networks are trained in the form of one-dimensional Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) networks, and Dual-stage Attention-based LSTM (DA-LSTM) networks to reduce monitoring costs and increase data sampling responsiveness that is subject to laboratory analysis delays, with the best network being DA-LSTM achieving an R score of 0.82.

Genetic factors regulating Plasmodium falciparum gametocytogenesis identified by phenotypic screens.

Successful transmission of Plasmodium falciparum from one person to another relies on the complete intraerythrocytic development of non-pathogenic sexual gametocytes infectious for anopheline mosquitoes. Understanding the genetic factors that regulate gametocyte development is vital for identifying transmission-blocking targets in the malaria parasite life cycle. Toward this end, we conducted a forward genetic study to characterize the development of gametocytes from sexual commitment to mature stage V.