Many bioinformatics programming tasks can be automated with ChatGPT

Computer programming is a fundamental tool for life scientists, allowing them to carry out many essential research tasks. However, despite a variety of educational efforts, learning to write code can be a challenging endeavor for both researchers and students in life science disciplines. Recent advances in artificial intelligence have made it possible to translate human-language prompts to functional code, raising questions about whether these technologies can aid (or replace) life scientists' efforts to write code. Using 184 programming exercises from an introductory-bioinformatics course, we evaluated the extent to which one such model -- OpenAI's ChatGPT -- can successfully complete basic- to moderate-level programming tasks. On its first attempt, ChatGPT solved 139 (75.5%) of the exercises. For the remaining exercises, we provided natural-language feedback to the model, prompting it to try different approaches. Within 7 or fewer attempts, ChatGPT solved 179 (97.3%) of the exercises. These findings have important implications for life-sciences research and education. For many programming tasks, researchers no longer need to write code from scratch. Instead, machine-learning models may produce usable solutions. Instructors may need to adapt their pedagogical approaches and assessment techniques to account for these new capabilities that are available to the general public.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, to be submitted for publicatio

Relationships Effecting College Students’ Perception of Family Influence Impacting their Health and Lifestyle

The purpose of this cross-sectional, nonexperimental descriptive design study was to determine college students’ perception of family influence impacting their health and lifestyle. The sample included 120 college students in a faithbased institution and each student completed a Likert-type survey (4-point agreement scale) that investigated their perception of health, and the degree of influence peers and family had on their health. This second data analysis reports correlations between variables and group differences related to health perceptions and behaviours. The strongest correlation is between ‘family demonstration of positive health habits’ and ‘personal health practices being like my families’ (r = 0.671, p \u3c 0.01), a moderate relationship supported by other weaker positive correlations to specific health outcomes. Negative correlations between ‘my friends display more positive health habits than family’ and both ‘family has influenced my idea of health’ and ‘my health practices are similar to my family’ indicate the potential for other contextual factors to effect family impact. While differences relating to health influence and outcomes between groups formed by age, gender, ethnicity, family structure and religion were found, the variable related to most healthy lifestyle transmission elements was ‘My family demonstrates positive health habits’. Recommendations supporting improved societal health are offered, together with suggestions for further research. Group classifications that are fixed but might inform interactions with elements of cohorts are identified, together with group memberships which might be changed to enhance health options. Caution in the generalisation of these findings is advised due to the explained limitations of this study

Improving Biopharmaceutical Properties of Vinpocetine Through Cocrystallization

Vinpocetine is a poorly water soluble weakly basic drug (pKa \ubc 7.1) used for the treatment of several cerebrovascular and cognitive disorders. Because existing formulations exhibit poor bioavailability and scarce absorption, a dosage form with improved pharmacokinetic properties is highly desirable. Cocrystallization represents a promising approach to generate diverse novel crystal forms and to improve the aqueous solubility and in turn the oral bioavailability. In this article, a novel ionic cocrystal of vinpocetine is described, using boric acid as a coformer, and fully characterized (by means of differential scanning calorimetry, solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance, powder and singlecrystal X-ray diffraction, and powder dissolution test). Pharmacokinetic performance was also tested in a human pilot study. This pharmaceutical ionic cocrystal exhibits superior solubilization kinetics and modulates important pharmacokinetic values such as maximum concentration in plasma (Cmax), time to maximum concentration (tmax), and area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) of the poorly soluble vinpocetine and it therefore offers an innovative approach to improve its bioavailability

Facet-resolved electrochemistry of polycrystalline boron-doped diamond electrodes : microscopic factors determining the aqueous solvent window in aqueous potassium chloride solutions

A systematic examination of the microscopic factors affecting the aqueous solvent (electrolyte) window of polycrystalline (p) boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes in chloride-containing salt solutions is undertaken using scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM), in conjunction with electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and Raman microscopy. A major focus is to determine the effect of local boron doping level, within the same orientation grains, on the solvent window response. EBSD is used to select the predominant (110) orientated areas of the surface with different boron-doped facets, thereby eliminating crystallographic effects from the electrochemical response. Voltammetric SECCM is employed, whereby a cyclic voltammogram (CV) is recorded at each pixel mapped by the meniscus-contact SECCM cell. The data obtained can be played as an electrochemical movie of potential-resolved current maps of the surface to reveal spatial variations of electroactivity, over a wide potential range, including the solvent (electrolyte) window. Local heterogeneities are observed, indicating that the solvent window is mainly linked to local dopant levels, with lower dopant levels leading to a wider window, i.e. slower electrode kinetics for solvent/electrolyte electrolysis. Furthermore, the effects of O- and H-surface termination of the BDD surface are investigated, for the same electrode (in the same area). The surface termination is a particularly important factor: the solvent window of an H-terminated surface is wider than for O-termination for similar boron dopant levels. Further, the anodic potential window of the O-terminated surface is greatly diminished due to chloride electro-oxidation. These studies provide new perspectives on the local electrochemical properties of BDD and highlight the importance of probing the electrochemistry of BDD at the level of a single crystalline grain (facet) in order to unravel the factors that control the solvent (aqueous) window of these complex heterogeneous electrodes

Chemically Diverse Helix-Constrained Peptides Using Selenocysteine Crosslinking

The use of selenocysteines and various cross-linkers to induce helicity in a bioactive peptide is described. The higher reactivity of selenocysteine, relative to cysteine, facilitates rapid cross-linking within unprotected linear peptides under mild aqueous conditions. Alkylating agents of variable topology and electrophilicity were used to link pairs of selenocysteines within a p53 peptide. Facile selenoether formation enables diverse tailoring of the helical peptide structure

Antenatal atazanavir: a retrospective analysis of pregnancies exposed to atazanavir.

INTRODUCTION: There are few data regarding the tolerability, safety, or efficacy of antenatal atazanavir. We report our clinical experience of atazanavir use in pregnancy. METHODS: A retrospective medical records review of atazanavir-exposed pregnancies in 12 London centres between 2004 and 2010. RESULTS: There were 145 pregnancies in 135 women: 89 conceived whilst taking atazanavir-based combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), "preconception" atazanavir exposure; 27 started atazanavir-based cART as "first-line" during the pregnancy; and 29 "switched" to an atazanavir-based regimen from another cART regimen during pregnancy. Gastrointestinal intolerance requiring atazanavir cessation occurred in five pregnancies. Self-limiting, new-onset transaminitis was most common in first-line use, occurring in 11.0%. Atazanavir was commenced in five switch pregnancies in the presence of transaminitis, two of which discontinued atazanavir with persistent transaminitis. HIV-VL < 50 copies/mL was achieved in 89.3% preconception, 56.5% first-line, and 72.0% switch exposures. Singleton preterm delivery (<37 weeks) occurred in 11.7% preconception, 9.1% first-line, and 7.7% switch exposures. Four infants required phototherapy. There was one mother-to-child transmission in a poorly adherent woman. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that atazanavir is well tolerated and can be safely prescribed as a component of combination antiretroviral therapy in pregnancy

Kepler-432: a red giant interacting with one of its two long period giant planets

We report the discovery of Kepler-432b, a giant planet ($M_b = 5.41^{+0.32}_{-0.18} M_{\rm Jup}, R_b = 1.145^{+0.036}_{-0.039} R_{\rm Jup}$) transiting an evolved star $(M_\star = 1.32^{+0.10}_{-0.07} M_\odot, R_\star = 4.06^{+0.12}_{-0.08} R_\odot)$ with an orbital period of $P_b = 52.501129^{+0.000067}_{-0.000053}$ days. Radial velocities (RVs) reveal that Kepler-432b orbits its parent star with an eccentricity of $e = 0.5134^{+0.0098}_{-0.0089}$, which we also measure independently with asterodensity profiling (AP; $e=0.507^{+0.039}_{-0.114}$), thereby confirming the validity of AP on this particular evolved star. The well-determined planetary properties and unusually large mass also make this planet an important benchmark for theoretical models of super-Jupiter formation. Long-term RV monitoring detected the presence of a non-transiting outer planet (Kepler-432c; $M_c \sin{i_c} = 2.43^{+0.22}_{-0.24} M_{\rm Jup}, P_c = 406.2^{+3.9}_{-2.5}$ days), and adaptive optics imaging revealed a nearby (0\farcs87), faint companion (Kepler-432B) that is a physically bound M dwarf. The host star exhibits high signal-to-noise asteroseismic oscillations, which enable precise measurements of the stellar mass, radius and age. Analysis of the rotational splitting of the oscillation modes additionally reveals the stellar spin axis to be nearly edge-on, which suggests that the stellar spin is likely well-aligned with the orbit of the transiting planet. Despite its long period, the obliquity of the 52.5-day orbit may have been shaped by star-planet interaction in a manner similar to hot Jupiter systems, and we present observational and theoretical evidence to support this scenario. Finally, as a short-period outlier among giant planets orbiting giant stars, study of Kepler-432b may help explain the distribution of massive planets orbiting giant stars interior to 1 AU.Comment: 22 pages, 19 figures, 5 tables. Accepted to ApJ on Jan 24, 2015 (submitted Nov 11, 2014). Updated with minor changes to match published versio

Aerosol meteorology of Maritime Continent for the 2012 7SEAS southwest monsoon intensive study - Part 2: Philippine receptor observations of fine-scale aerosol behavior

Abstract. The largest 7 Southeast Asian Studies (7SEAS) operations period within the Maritime Continent (MC) occurred in the August–September 2012 biomass burning season. Data included were observations aboard the M/Y Vasco, dispatched to the Palawan Archipelago and Sulu Sea of the Philippines for September 2012. At these locations, the Vasco observed MC smoke and pollution entering the southwest monsoon (SWM) monsoonal trough. Here we describe the research cruise findings and the finer-scale aerosol meteorology of this convectively active region. This 2012 cruise complemented a 2-week cruise in 2011 and was generally consistent with previous findings in terms of how smoke emission and transport related to monsoonal flows, tropical cyclones (TC), and the covariance between smoke transport events and the atmosphere's thermodynamic structure. Biomass burning plumes were usually mixed with significant amounts of anthropogenic pollution. Also key to aerosol behavior were squall lines and cold pools propagating across the South China Sea (SCS) and scavenging aerosol particles in their path. However, the 2012 cruise showed much higher modulation in aerosol frequency than its 2011 counterpart. Whereas in 2011 large synoptic-scale aerosol events transported high concentrations of smoke into the Philippines over days, in 2012 measured aerosol events exhibited a much shorter-term variation, sometimes only 3–12 h. Strong monsoonal flow reversals were also experienced in 2012. Nucleation events in cleaner and polluted conditions, as well as in urban plumes, were observed. Perhaps most interestingly, several cases of squall lines preceding major aerosol events were observed, as opposed to 2011 observations where these lines largely scavenged aerosol particles from the marine boundary layer. Combined, these observations indicate pockets of high and low particle counts that are not uncommon in the region. These perturbations are difficult to observe by satellite and very difficult to model. Indeed, the Navy Aerosol Analysis and Prediction System (NAAPS) simulations captured longer period aerosol events quite well but largely failed to capture the timing of high-frequency phenomena. Ultimately, the research findings of these cruises demonstrate the real world challenges of satellite-based missions, significant aerosol life cycle questions such as those the future Aerosol/Clouds/Ecosystems (ACE) will investigate, and the importance of small-scale phenomena such as sea breezes, squall lines, and nucleation events embedded within SWM patterns in dominating aerosol life cycle and potential relationships to clouds

Qatar-2: A K dwarf orbited by a transiting hot Jupiter and a more massive companion in an outer orbit

We report the discovery and initial characterization of Qatar-2b, a hot Jupiter transiting a V = 13.3 mag K dwarf in a circular orbit with a short period, P_ b = 1.34 days. The mass and radius of Qatar-2b are M_p = 2.49 M_j and R_p = 1.14 R_j, respectively. Radial-velocity monitoring of Qatar-2 over a span of 153 days revealed the presence of a second companion in an outer orbit. The Systemic Console yielded plausible orbits for the outer companion, with periods on the order of a year and a companion mass of at least several M_j. Thus Qatar-2 joins the short but growing list of systems with a transiting hot Jupiter and an outer companion with a much longer period. This system architecture is in sharp contrast to that found by Kepler for multi-transiting systems, which are dominated by objects smaller than Neptune, usually with tightly spaced orbits that must be nearly coplanar