Euro-American discussion document on entry and advanced level practice in nuclear medicine

The European Association of Nuclear Medicine Technologist Committee (EANMTC) and the Society of Nuclear Medicine Technologist Section (SNMTS) meet biannually to consider matters of mutual importance. These meetings are held during the SNM and EANM annual conferences. For several years, within these meetings, EANMTC and SNMTS have considered the value of having a Euro-American initiative in defining entry-level and advanced practice competencies for nuclear medicine radiographers (NMRs) and nuclear medicine technologists (NMTs). In June 2009, during the SNM annual conference in Toronto, it was agreed that a Euro-American working party would be established to consider advanced practice. It was recognized that any consideration of a definition for advanced practice would be predicated on an understanding or definition of entry-level practice. As a result, both types of practice would have to be considered. This discussion document outlines some of the background issues associated with advanced practice generally and specifically within nuclear medicine. The primary purpose of this document is to stimulate debate, on a Euro-American level, about the perceived value of advanced practice for NMRs and NMTs within nuclear medicine and to develop an internationally accepted list of entry-level competencies and scope of practice for NMRs and NMTs within nuclear medicine

FeAs-based superconductivity: a case study of the effects of transition metal doping on BaFe2As2

The recently discovered FeAs-based superconductors are a new, promising set of materials for both technological as well as basic research. They offer transition temperatures as high as 55 K as well as essentially isotropic and extremely large upper, superconducting critical fields in excess of 40 T at 20 K. In addition they may well provide insight into exotic superconductivity that extends beyond just FeAs-based superconductivity, perhaps even shedding light on the still perplexing CuO-based high-Tc materials. Whereas superconductivity can be induced in the RFeAsO (R = rare earth) and AEFe2As2 (AE = Ba, Sr, Ca)) families by a number of means, transition metal doping of BaFe2As2, e.g. Ba(Fe1-xTMx)2As2, offers the easiest experimental access to a wide set of materials. In this review we present an overview and summary of the effect of TM doping (TM = Co, Ni, Cu, Pd, and Rh) on BaFe2As2. The resulting phase diagrams reveal the nature of the interaction between the structural, magnetic and superconducting phase transitions in these compounds and delineate a region of phase space that allows for the stabilization of superconductivity.Comment: edited and shortened version is accepted to AR:Condensed Matter Physic

Ecopharmacognosy: Exploring The Chemical And Biological Potential Of Nature For Human Health

“Why didn’t they develop natural product drugs in a sustainable manner at the beginning of this century?â€Â  In 2035, when about 10.0 billion will inhabit Earth, will this be our legacy as the world contemplates the costs and availability of synthetic and gene-based products for primary health care?  Acknowledging the recent history of the relationship between humankind and the Earth, it is essential that the health care issues being left for our descendants be considered in terms of resources. For most people in the world, there are two vast health care “gapsâ€, access to quality drugs and the development of drugs for major global and local diseases.  Consequently for all of these people, plants, in their various forms, remain a primary source of health care.  In the developed countries, natural products derived from plants assume a relatively minor role in health care, as prescription and over-the-counter products, even with the widespread use of phytotherapeutical preparations.  Significantly, pharmaceutical companies have retrenched substantially in their disease areas of focus.  These research areas do not include the prevalent diseases of the middle- and lower-income countries, and important diseases of the developed world, such as drug resistance. What then is the vision for natural product research to maintain the choices of drug discovery and pharmaceutical development for future generations?  In this discussion some facets of how natural products must be involved globally, in a sustainable manner, for improving health care will be examined within the framework of the new term “ecopharmacognosyâ€, which invokes sustainability as the basis for research on biologically active natural products.  Access to the biome, the acquisition, analysis and dissemination of plant knowledge, natural product structure diversification, biotechnology development, strategies for natural product drug discovery, and aspects of multitarget therapy and synergy research will be discussed.  Options for the future will be presented which may be significant as countries decide how to develop approaches to relieve their own disease burden, and the needs of their population for improved access to medicinal agents

Good Computational Practice in the Assignment of Absolute Configurations by TDDFT Calculations of ECD Spectra

Quantum-mechanical calculations of chiroptical properties have rapidly become the most popular method for assigning absolute configurations (AC) of organic compounds, including natural products. Black-box time-dependent Density Functional Theory (TDDFT) calculations of electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra are nowadays readily accessible to nonexperts. However, an uncritical attitude may easily deliver a wrong answer. We present to the Chirality Forum a discussion on what can be called good computational practice in running TDDFT ECD calculations, highlighting the most crucial points with several examples from the recent literature

SELFIES and the future of molecular string representations

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are expanding in popularity for broad applications to challenging tasks in chemistry and materials science. Examples include the prediction of properties, the discovery of new reaction pathways, or the design of new molecules. The machine needs to read and write fluently in a chemical language for each of these tasks. Strings are a common tool to represent molecular graphs, and the most popular molecular string representation, Smiles, has powered cheminformatics since the late 1980s. However, in the context of AI and ML in chemistry, Smiles has several shortcomings—most pertinently, most combinations of symbols lead to invalid results with no valid chemical interpretation. To overcome this issue, a new language for molecules was introduced in 2020 that guarantees 100% robustness: SELF-referencing embedded string (Selfies). Selfies has since simplified and enabled numerous new applications in chemistry. In this perspective, we look to the future and discuss molecular string representations, along with their respective opportunities and challenges. We propose 16 concrete future projects for robust molecular representations. These involve the extension toward new chemical domains, exciting questions at the interface of AI and robust languages, and interpretability for both humans and machines. We hope that these proposals will inspire several follow-up works exploiting the full potential of molecular string representations for the future of AI in chemistry and materials science

SELFIES and the future of molecular string representations

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are expanding in popularity for broad applications to challenging tasks in chemistry and materials science. Examples include the prediction of properties, the discovery of new reaction pathways, or the design of new molecules. The machine needs to read and write fluently in a chemical language for each of these tasks. Strings are a common tool to represent molecular graphs, and the most popular molecular string representation, Smiles, has powered cheminformatics since the late 1980s. However, in the context of AI and ML in chemistry, Smiles has several shortcomings—most pertinently, most combinations of symbols lead to invalid results with no valid chemical interpretation. To overcome this issue, a new language for molecules was introduced in 2020 that guarantees 100% robustness: SELF-referencing embedded string (Selfies). Selfies has since simplified and enabled numerous new applications in chemistry. In this perspective, we look to the future and discuss molecular string representations, along with their respective opportunities and challenges. We propose 16 concrete future projects for robust molecular representations. These involve the extension toward new chemical domains, exciting questions at the interface of AI and robust languages, and interpretability for both humans and machines. We hope that these proposals will inspire several follow-up works exploiting the full potential of molecular string representations for the future of AI in chemistry and materials science

Identification Of Metabolite Biomarkers In Epilepsy Using 1h Mrs

Epilepsy is a serious neurological disorder that affects 1% percent of the global population. Despite its status as one of the oldest neurological disorders known to man, its mechanisms remain poorly understood. Available medications are not curative but provide symptomatic management and do not work for well for more than 30 percent of patients. Because it is nearly impossible to predict on an individual level who will eventually develop epilepsy, it is also a disorder that can only be diagnosed after the patient has experienced established seizure activity, eliminating any possibility of stopping the disorder in its prodromal phase, before the patients are symptomatic. Availability of a reliable and non-invasive biomarker tool that can predict and identify the development of epilepsy would dramatically change how the disorder is detected, monitored, managed, and treated. In this project, we tested the potential of 1H MRS to provide metabolite biomarkers of epilepsy and epileptogenesis, both in human neocortical tissue obtained from intractable epilepsy patients who underwent resective surgery and also in a longitudinal rat model of epileptogenesis, using interictal epileptiform discharges as a surrogate indicator of disease progression. Using 1H MRS, we found unique metabolite differences that are highly predictive of epileptic and non-epileptic neocortex in humans that also partially overlaps with findings from our rat model. These findings provide evidence that 1H MRS is capable of identifying metabolite changes specific to epilepsy and may lead to reliable and non-invasive biomarkers of epilepsy and epileptogenesis in the future

Integration of Scale-themed Instruction Across the General Chemistry Curriculum and Selected In-depth Studies

In 1982, in response to a growing demand for a scientifically literate population, two organizations, the AAAS and NCISE published reports that proposed using themes to bridge scientific disciplines1,2. The NCISE report identified “9 explanatory concepts” which included organization, cause and effect, systems, scale, models, change, structure or function, discontinuous and continuous properties, and diversity. The AAAS report, as part of Project 2061, identified 4 themes that define science literacy which included systems, models, constancy and change, and scale. In 1993, the AAAS released the Benchmarks for Science Literacy3 which outlined what all students should know or be able to do related to each common theme by the end of grades 2, 5, 8, and 12. However, prior to the release of the Framework for K-12 Science Education in 2012, and subsequent release of the Next Generation Science Standards in 2013, scale was not included in any national science education standards4,5. Now incorporated as one of seven crosscutting concepts, “scale, proportion, and quantity”, little is known regarding the degree to which scale is incorporated into instruction. In disciplines like chemistry, undergraduate students are routinely confronted with concepts of scale and consistently demonstrate underdeveloped skills in understanding and applying concepts of scale. Previous research in this field led to the development of two assessments, the Scale Literacy Skills Test and Scale Concept Inventory6, for measuring student scale literacy. Using these assessments, scale literacy was found to better predict student success in general chemistry than other traditional predictors of student success such as ACT and placement test scores. Expanding upon the work of Gerlach and co-workers, the work described here outlines the development and systematic integration of a scale-themed curriculum in both general chemistry I and II courses. Throughout 10 semesters of testing, supplemental instruction, laboratory experiments, and lecture instructional materials were developed and adapted to feature explicit themes of scale and implemented into both courses. When all three instructional methodologies are simultaneously administered, consistent positive conceptual learning gains are observed over repeated semesters of testing in general chemistry I. References 1. National Center for Improving, Science Education; Science and technology education for the elementary years: frameworks for curriculum and instruction; Washington, D.C., 1989. 2. American Association for the Advancement of Science, Project 2061; Science for all Americans: a project 2061 report on literacy goals in science, mathematics, and technology; Washington, D.C., 1989. 3. American Association for the Advancement of Science, Project 2061; Benchmarks for science literacy; New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. 4. National Research Council; A framework for K-12 science education: practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas; Washington, D.C., The National Academies Press: 2012. 5. National Research Council; Next Generation Science Standards: for states, by states; Washington, D.C., National Academies Press: Washington, D.C., 2013. 6. Gerlach, K.; Trate, J.; Blecking, A.; Geissinger, P.; Murphy, K., Valid and Reliable Assessments to Measure Scale Literacy of Students in Introductory College Chemistry Courses. Journal of Chemical Education. 2014, 91, 1538-1545

Autobiographical Sketches (2021)

Klaus Möbius gives a selection of his biographical experiences which have shaped his academic and personal life