AI is a viable alternative to high throughput screening: a 318-target study

: High throughput screening (HTS) is routinely used to identify bioactive small molecules. This requires physical compounds, which limits coverage of accessible chemical space. Computational approaches combined with vast on-demand chemical libraries can access far greater chemical space, provided that the predictive accuracy is sufficient to identify useful molecules. Through the largest and most diverse virtual HTS campaign reported to date, comprising 318 individual projects, we demonstrate that our AtomNet® convolutional neural network successfully finds novel hits across every major therapeutic area and protein class. We address historical limitations of computational screening by demonstrating success for target proteins without known binders, high-quality X-ray crystal structures, or manual cherry-picking of compounds. We show that the molecules selected by the AtomNet® model are novel drug-like scaffolds rather than minor modifications to known bioactive compounds. Our empirical results suggest that computational methods can substantially replace HTS as the first step of small-molecule drug discovery

Cultural Issues of Co-Sleeping in Korea

Co-sleeping is a natural part of parenting in the Eastern culture; however, it may seem strange and possibly even dangerous to Western cultures. In the West, parental age, race, marital status, and house income may influence co-sleeping, while co-sleeping, especially bed-sharing, is usually considered to increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome. In Korea, however, people usually believe that a baby must not sleep alone in an empty room. The differences in the prevalence of co-sleeping between Eastern and Western society may be rooted in differences in child-care philosophies, sleeping habits, and home architecture. In this article, the hazards and benefits of bed-sharing will be reviewed, and differences in co-sleeping will be addressed from a cultural viewpoint

The Effect of Non-Pharmacological Treatment for Psychophysiological Insomnia on Cardiovascular Autonomic Regulation Assessed Using Heart Rate Variability

Background and Objective Cardiac autonomic regulation is altered in psychophysiological insomnia. We evaluated whether successful non-pharmacological treatment for psychophysiological insomnia could stabilize cardiac autonomic regulation. Methods Subjects were 26 patients with psychophysiological insomnia who underwent four sessions of non-pharmacological treatment. We measured subjects’ heart rate variability (HRV) at baseline and post-treatment. Based on the post-treatment Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) score, we categorized subjects into responder (n = 16, post-ISI < 8) and non-responder (n = 10) groups. Results At baseline, we found no significant differences between responder and non-responder groups in age, sex, body mass index, insomnia severity, and features of HRV time and frequency domains. In the responders group, we observed significant increases in the standard deviation of the normal sinus to normal sinus interval (SDNN) (p = 0.02), the proportion of the number of interval differences of successive normal sinus to normal sinus intervals greater than 50 ms by the total number of normal sinus to normal sinus intervals (pNN50) (p = 0.02), total power (p < 0.01), and very low frequency (p = 0.02) and a significant decrease in low frequency (p = 0.04) after successful non-pharmacological treatment for insomnia. However, in the non-responders group, there were no significant changes in HRV features after treatment. Conclusions The successful non-pharmacological treatment of insomnia may reduce the risk of cardiovascular complications in patients with psychophysiological insomnia

The Sleeping Habits of Preschool Children Are Related to Temperament, Behavior, and Social Responsiveness

Background and Objective Children’s sleep habits are important for their health and development. Here, we investigated the relationship between sleep habits, behavior, personality, and social responsiveness in children. Methods A total of 38 preschool children were assessed using the Korean Child Behavior Checklist (K-CBCL), Junior Temperament and Character Inventory (JTCI), Children’s Sleep Habit Questionnaire (CSHQ), and Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS). Results Harm avoidance according to JTCI was positively correlated with bedtime resistance (r = 0.34; p = 0.04) and sleep anxiety on the CSHQ (r = 0.43; p < 0.01). Emotional lability on the K-CBCL was significantly associated with parasomnias (r = 0.38; p = 0.02), while lower social cognition and social communication scores on the SRS were associated with sleep anxiety (r = −0.34; p = 0.03) and parasomnias (r = −0.38; p = 0.01). Path analysis showed that among the JTCI subscales, both harm avoidance and persistence were significantly associated with social cognition. Conclusions Clinicians should pay particular attention to psychological components as potential contributors to sleep habits when managing sleep problems in preschool children

What is the impact of one’s chronic illness on his or her spouse’s future chronic illness: a community-based prospective cohort study

Abstract Background Integrating a joint approach to chronic disease management within the context of a couple has immense potential as a valuable strategy for both prevention and treatment. Although spousal concordance has been reported in specific chronic illnesses, the impact they cumulatively exert on a spouse in a longitudinal setting has not been investigated. We aimed to determine whether one’s cumulative illness burden has a longitudinal impact on that of their spouse. Methods Data was acquired from a community-based prospective cohort that included Koreans aged 60 years and over, randomly sampled from 13 districts nationwide. Data from the baseline assessment (conducted from November 2010 to October 2012) up to the 8-year follow-up assessment was analyzed from October 2021 to November 2022. At the last assessment, partners of the index participants were invited, and we included 814 couples in the analysis after excluding 51 with incomplete variables. Chronic illness burden of the participants was measured by the Cumulative Illness Rating Scale (CIRS). Multivariable linear regression and causal mediation analysis were used to examine the longitudinal effects of index chronic illness burden at baseline and its change during follow-up on future index and spouse CIRS scores. Results Index participants were divided based on baseline CIRS scores (CIRS < 6 points, n = 555, mean [SD] age 66.3 [4.79] years, 43% women; CIRS ≥ 6 points, n = 259, mean [SD] age 67.7 [4.76] years, 36% women). The baseline index CIRS scores and change in index CIRS scores during follow-up were associated with the spouse CIRS scores (β = 0.154 [SE: 0.039], p < 0.001 for baseline index CIRS; β = 0.126 [SE: 0.041], p = 0.002 for change in index CIRS) at the 8-year follow-up assessment. Subgroup analysis found similar results only in the high CIRS group. The baseline index CIRS scores and change in index CIRS scores during follow-up had both direct and indirect effects on the spouse CIRS scores at the 8-year follow-up assessment. Conclusions The severity and course of one’s chronic illnesses had a significant effect on their spouse’s future chronic illness particularly when it was severe. Management strategies for chronic diseases that are centered on couples may be more effective