Convergence of Quantum Annealing with Real-Time Schrodinger Dynamics

Convergence conditions for quantum annealing are derived for optimization problems represented by the Ising model of a general form. Quantum fluctuations are introduced as a transverse field and/or transverse ferromagnetic interactions, and the time evolution follows the real-time Schrodinger equation. It is shown that the system stays arbitrarily close to the instantaneous ground state, finally reaching the target optimal state, if the strength of quantum fluctuations decreases sufficiently slowly, in particular inversely proportionally to the power of time in the asymptotic region. This is the same condition as the other implementations of quantum annealing, quantum Monte Carlo and Green's function Monte Carlo simulations, in spite of the essential difference in the type of dynamics. The method of analysis is an application of the adiabatic theorem in conjunction with an estimate of a lower bound of the energy gap based on the recently proposed idea of Somma et. al. for the analysis of classical simulated annealing using a classical-quantum correspondence.Comment: 6 pages, minor correction

Determining collagen distribution in articular cartilage using contrast-enhanced micro-computed tomography

Objective: Collagen distribution within articular cartilage (AC) is typically evaluated from histological sections, e.g., using collagen staining and light microscopy (LM). Unfortunately, all techniques based on histological sections are time-consuming, destructive, and without extraordinary effort, limited to two dimensions. This study investigates whether phosphotungstic acid (PTA) and phosphomolybdic acid (PMA), two collagen-specific markers and X-ray absorbers, could (1) produce contrast for AC X-ray imaging or (2) be used to detect collagen distribution within AC. Method: We labeled equine AC samples with PTA or PMA and imaged them with micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) at pre-defined time points 0, 18, 36, 54, 72, 90, 180, 270 h during staining. The micro-CT image intensity was compared with collagen distributions obtained with a reference technique, i.e., Fourier-transform infrared imaging (FTIRI). The labeling time and contrast agent producing highest association (Pearson correlation, BlandeAltman analysis) between FTIRI collagen distribution and micro-CT -determined PTA distribution was selected for human AC. Results: Both, PTA and PMA labeling permitted visualization of AC features using micro-CT in non-calcified cartilage. After labeling the samples for 36 h in PTA, the spatial distribution of X-ray attenuation correlated highly with the collagen distribution determined by FTIRI in both equine (mean +/- S.D. of the Pearson correlation coefficients, r = 0.96 +/- 0.03, n = 12) and human AC (r = 0.82 +/- 0.15, n = 4). Conclusions: PTA-induced X-ray attenuation is a potential marker for non-destructive detection of AC collagen distributions in 3D. This approach opens new possibilities in development of non-destructive 3D histopathological techniques for characterization of OA. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd and Osteoarthritis Research Society International.Peer reviewe

Neurology

Contains reports on eleven research projects.U.S. Air Force (AF49(638)-1130)Army Chemical Corps (DA-18-108-405-Cml-942)U.S. Public Health Service (B-3055)National Science Foundation (Grant G-16526)U.S. Public Health Service (B-3090)U.S. Air Force (AF33(616)-7588)Office of Naval Research (Nonr-1841(70)

Global Optimization by Basin-Hopping and the Lowest Energy Structures of Lennard-Jones Clusters Containing up to 110 Atoms

We describe a global optimization technique using `basin-hopping' in which the potential energy surface is transformed into a collection of interpenetrating staircases. This method has been designed to exploit the features which recent work suggests must be present in an energy landscape for efficient relaxation to the global minimum. The transformation associates any point in configuration space with the local minimum obtained by a geometry optimization started from that point, effectively removing transition state regions from the problem. However, unlike other methods based upon hypersurface deformation, this transformation does not change the global minimum. The lowest known structures are located for all Lennard-Jones clusters up to 110 atoms, including a number that have never been found before in unbiased searches.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, revte

Neurology

Contains research objectives and reports on six research projects.U.S. Public Health Service (B-3055)U.S. Public Health Service (B-3090)Office of Naval Research (Nonr-1841 (70))Air Force (AF33(616)-7588)Air Force (AFAFOSR-155-63)Air Force (AFAFOSR-155-63)Army Chemical Corps (DA-18-108-405-Cml-942)National Science Foundation (Grant G-16526

Sequences From First Settlers Reveal Rapid Evolution in Icelandic mtDNA Pool

A major task in human genetics is to understand the nature of the evolutionary processes that have shaped the gene pools of contemporary populations. Ancient DNA studies have great potential to shed light on the evolution of populations because they provide the opportunity to sample from the same population at different points in time. Here, we show that a sample of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region sequences from 68 early medieval Icelandic skeletal remains is more closely related to sequences from contemporary inhabitants of Scotland, Ireland, and Scandinavia than to those from the modern Icelandic population. Due to a faster rate of genetic drift in the Icelandic mtDNA pool during the last 1,100 years, the sequences carried by the first settlers were better preserved in their ancestral gene pools than among their descendants in Iceland. These results demonstrate the inferential power gained in ancient DNA studies through the application of population genetics analyses to relatively large samples

A new approach to comprehensively evaluate the morphological properties of the human femoral head : example of application to osteoarthritic joint

Osteoarthritis affects the morphological properties of the femoral head. The goal of this study was to develop a method to elucidate whether these changes are localised to discrete regions, or if the reported trends in microstructural changes may be identified throughout the subchondral bone of the human femoral head. Whole femoral heads extracted from osteoarthritic (n = 5) and healthy controls (n = 5) underwent microCT imaging 39 μm voxel size. The subchondral bone plate was virtually isolated to evaluate the plate thickness and plate porosity. The trabecular bone region was divided into 37 volumes of interest spatially distributed in the femoral head, and bone morphometric properties were determined in each region. The study showed how the developed approach can be used to study the heterogeneous properties of the human femoral head affected by a disease such as osteoarthritis. As example, in the superior femoral head osteoarthritic specimens exhibited a more heterogeneous micro-architecture, with trends towards thicker cortical bone plate, higher trabecular connectivity density, higher trabecular bone density and thicker structures, something that could only be observed with the newly developed approach. Bone cysts were mostly confined to the postero-lateral quadrants extending from the subchondral region into the mid trabecular region. Nevertheless, in order to generalise these findings, a larger sample size should be analysed in the future. This novel method allowed a comprehensive evaluation of the heterogeneous micro-architectural properties of the human femoral head, highlighting effects of OA in the superior subchondral cortical and trabecular bone. Further investigations on different stages of OA would be needed to identify early changes in the bone

3D morphometric analysis of calcified cartilage properties using micro-computed tomography

OBJECTIVE: Our aim is to establish methods for quantifying morphometric properties of calcified cartilage (CC) from micro-computed tomography (muCT). Furthermore, we evaluated the feasibility of these methods in investigating relationships between osteoarthritis (OA), tidemark surface morphology and open subchondral channels (OSCCs). METHOD: Samples (n = 15) used in this study were harvested from human lateral tibial plateau (n = 8). Conventional roughness and parameters assessing local 3-dimensional (3D) surface variations were used to quantify the surface morphology of the CC. Subchondral channel properties (percentage, density, size) were also calculated. As a reference, histological sections were evaluated using Histopathological osteoarthritis grading (OARSI) and thickness of CC and subchondral bone (SCB) was quantified. RESULTS: OARSI grade correlated with a decrease in local 3D variations of the tidemark surface (amount of different surface patterns (rs = -0.600, P = 0.018), entropy of patterns (EP) (rs = -0.648, P = 0.018), homogeneity index (HI) (rs = 0.555, P = 0.032)) and tidemark roughness (TMR) (rs = -0.579, P = 0.024). Amount of different patterns (ADP) and EP associated with channel area fraction (CAF) (rp = 0.876, P < 0.0001; rp = 0.665, P = 0.007, respectively) and channel density (CD) (rp = 0.680, P = 0.011; rp = 0.582, P = 0.023, respectively). TMR was associated with CAF (rp = 0.926, P < 0.0001) and average channel size (rp = 0.574, P = 0.025). CC topography differed statistically significantly in early OA vs healthy samples. CONCLUSION: We introduced a mu-CT image method to quantify 3D CC topography and perforations through CC. CC topography was associated with OARSI grade and OSCC properties; this suggests that the established methods can detect topographical changes in tidemark and CC perforations associated with OA

Limited clinical relevance of mitochondrial DNA mutation and gene expression analyses in ovarian cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In recent years, numerous studies have investigated somatic mutations in mitochondrial DNA in various tumours. The observed high mutation rates might reflect mitochondrial deregulation; consequently, mutation analyses could be clinically relevant. The purpose of this study was to determine if mutations in the mitochondrial D-loop region and/or the level of mitochondrial gene expression could influence the clinical course of human ovarian carcinomas.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We sequenced a 1320-base-pair DNA fragment of the mitochondrial genome (position 16,000-750) in 54 cancer samples and in 44 corresponding germline control samples. In addition, six transcripts (<it>MT-ATP6, MT-CO1, MT-CYB, MT-ND1</it>, <it>MT-ND6</it>, and <it>MT-RNR1</it>) were quantified in 62 cancer tissues by real-time RT-PCR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Somatic mutations in the D-loop sequence were found in 57% of ovarian cancers. Univariate analysis showed no association between mitochondrial DNA mutation status or mitochondrial gene expression and any of the examined clinicopathologic parameters. A multivariate logistic regression model revealed that the expression of the mitochondrial gene <it>RNR1 </it>might be used as a predictor of tumour sensitivity to chemotherapy.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In contrast to many previously published papers, our study indicates rather limited clinical relevance of mitochondrial molecular analyses in ovarian carcinomas. These discrepancies in the clinical utility of mitochondrial molecular tests in ovarian cancer require additional large, well-designed validation studies.</p

Mitochondrial Disease in Autism Spectrum Disorder Patients: A Cohort Analysis

Previous reports indicate an association between autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and disorders of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. One study suggested that children with both diagnoses are clinically indistinguishable from children with idiopathic autism. There are, however, no detailed analyses of the clinical and laboratory findings in a large cohort of these children. Therefore, we undertook a comprehensive review of patients with ASD and a mitochondrial disorder.We reviewed medical records of 25 patients with a primary diagnosis of ASD by DSM-IV-TR criteria, later determined to have enzyme- or mutation-defined mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) dysfunction. Twenty-four of 25 patients had one or more major clinical abnormalities uncommon in idiopathic autism. Twenty-one patients had histories of significant non-neurological medical problems. Nineteen patients exhibited constitutional symptoms, especially excessive fatigability. Fifteen patients had abnormal neurological findings. Unusual developmental phenotypes included marked delay in early gross motor milestones (32%) and unusual patterns of regression (40%). Levels of blood lactate, plasma alanine, and serum ALT and/or AST were increased at least once in 76%, 36%, and 52% of patients, respectively. The most common ETC disorders were deficiencies of complex I (64%) and complex III (20%). Two patients had rare mtDNA mutations of likely pathogenicity.Although all patients' initial diagnosis was idiopathic autism, careful clinical and biochemical assessment identified clinical findings that differentiated them from children with idiopathic autism. These and prior data suggest a disturbance of mitochondrial energy production as an underlying pathophysiological mechanism in a subset of individuals with autism