Quantum Annealing in the Transverse Ising Model

We introduce quantum fluctuations into the simulated annealing process of optimization problems, aiming at faster convergence to the optimal state. Quantum fluctuations cause transitions between states and thus play the same role as thermal fluctuations in the conventional approach. The idea is tested by the transverse Ising model, in which the transverse field is a function of time similar to the temperature in the conventional method. The goal is to find the ground state of the diagonal part of the Hamiltonian with high accuracy as quickly as possible. We have solved the time-dependent Schr\"odinger equation numerically for small size systems with various exchange interactions. Comparison with the results of the corresponding classical (thermal) method reveals that the quantum annealing leads to the ground state with much larger probability in almost all cases if we use the same annealing schedule.Comment: 15 pages, RevTeX, 8 figure

Ecological processes associated with different animal taxa in urban environments

Urbanization is increasing globally with wide-ranging consequences for biodiversity and the ecological processes it performs. Yet knowledge of the range of ecological processes supported by biodiversity in urban environments, and the different taxa that perform these processes is poorly understood. We used a text-analysis approach to identify the research trends and gaps in knowledge in the literature on ecological processes provided by animals in urban environments. We found a divide in urban ecological processes research that grouped studies into those with an explicit link to ecological processes and those that focused on biodiversity and made an implicit link to ecological processes. We also found that the dominant taxa in urban ecological processes research were insects, which has more than twice as many studies as birds or mammals, potentially due to their recognized and explicit link to key processes and services (e.g., pollination, pollution biomonitoring) and disservices (e.g., pests, disease transmission). We found a further split between terrestrial and aquatic studies, with urban aquatic studies also declining in relative prevalence over the last 20 yr. To consolidate and advance research on ecological processes in urban environments, we suggest it will be important to bridge the divide between studies on explicit services and others on more general biodiversity. This might be achieved by placing greater focus on the processes provided by non-insect taxa, and by integrating aquatic and terrestrial perspectives. © 2021 The Authors

AlzPathway: a comprehensive map of signaling pathways of Alzheimer’s disease

BACKGROUND: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia among the elderly. To clarify pathogenesis of AD, thousands of reports have been accumulating. However, knowledge of signaling pathways in the field of AD has not been compiled as a database before. DESCRIPTION: Here, we have constructed a publicly available pathway map called “AlzPathway” that comprehensively catalogs signaling pathways in the field of AD. We have collected and manually curated over 100 review articles related to AD, and have built an AD pathway map using CellDesigner. AlzPathway is currently composed of 1347 molecules and 1070 reactions in neuron, brain blood barrier, presynaptic, postsynaptic, astrocyte, and microglial cells and their cellular localizations. AlzPathway is available as both the SBML (Systems Biology Markup Language) map for CellDesigner and the high resolution image map. AlzPathway is also available as a web service (online map) based on Payao system, a community-based, collaborative web service platform for pathway model curation, enabling continuous updates by AD researchers. CONCLUSIONS: AlzPathway is the first comprehensive map of intra, inter and extra cellular AD signaling pathways which can enable mechanistic deciphering of AD pathogenesis. The AlzPathway map is accessible at http://alzpathway.org/

Q fever in acute upper respiratory tract infection

We examined whether or not acute upper respiratory tract infection is associated with Q fever (Coxiella burnetii infection). The subjects consisted of 124 patients with acute upper respiratory tract infection. At initial medical consultation, the presence or absence of serum C. burnetii was examined by nested PCR method. Of the 124 patients, no patients (0 percent) were positive for C. burnetii in serum. These results suggested that the involvement of Q fever in acute upper respiratory tract infection is extremely low

Clinical effect of 3g/day administration of meropenem on severe pneumonia

We examined the clinical effect of Meropenem (MEPM) on severe pneumonia. We administered 3g of Meropenem daily to 20 patients with severe pneumonia: 8 communityacquired pneumonia patients, 9 nursing and healthcare-associated pneumonia patients, and 3 hospital-acquired pneumonia patients. It was effective in 15 of the 20 patients (75%): 8 of 8 community-acquired pneumonia patients (100%), 6 of 9 nursing and healthcare-associated pneumonia patients (66.6%), and 1 of 3 hospital-acquired pneumonia patients (33.3%). Bacteriologically, 9 of a total of 10 strains (90%) were eradicated: 4 of 4 Streptococcus pneumoniae strains, 2 of 2 methicillin-sensitive Staphlococcus aureus strains, 1 of 2 Enterococcus faecalis strains, 1 of 1 Klebsiella pneumoniae strain, and 1 of 1 Escherichia coli strain. Hepatic dysfunction was observed as a side effect in 8 patients (40%). Based on the above, administration of MEPM daily 3 g is extremely effective for community-acquired pneumonia, while it appears ineffective in many cases of nursing and healthcare-associated pneumonia or hospital-acquired pneumonia, and results in hepatic dysfunction at a high frequency

Association between ImmunoCard Mycoplasma test and particle agglutination (PA) method in Mycoplasma pneumonia diagnosis

We examined the association between ImmunoCard Mycoplasma test and particle agglutination (PA) method in Mycoplasma pneumonia diagnosis. Subjects were 105 pneumonia patients who were positive for ImmunoCard Mycoplasma test at initial consultation and followed up by PA method using paired sera. The coincidence rates of positive cases of ImmunoCard Mycoplasma test and positive cases of PA method were examined by generation. The results showed that the coincidence rate was 87.5% in aged less than 19 years, 48.8% in aged 20-39 years, 36.4% in aged 40-59 years, 21.1% in aged 60-79 years, and 25.0% in aged 80 or greater, for a total of 44.8% (47 of 105 patients). The results suggested that a positive result for ImmunoCard Mycoplasma test may be due to acute infection in patients aged 19 years or less; however, 50% or more of patients aged 20 years or greater were false positive, which may reflect the presence of past infection

Clinical effect of sulbactam/ampicillin on community-acquired pneumonia with positive Streptococcus pneumoniae urinary antigen test

We investigated the efficacy of intravenous penicillin (sulbactam/ampicillin: SBT/ABPC) in adult patients with positive Streptococcus pneumoniae urinary antigen test requiring hospitalization. We administered 3g of SBT/ABPC intravenously in the morning and evening for 7-14 days to 32 adult community-acquired pneumonia patients with positive Binax NOW(R) S. pneumoniae urinary antigen. Clinical efficacy, bacteriological efficacy, and side effects of these patients were prospectively examined. We observed clinical efficacy in a total of 28 of 32 patients (87.5%); 24 of 26 moderate patients (92.3%), and four of six severe patients (66.7%). Side effects were drug eruption, increased GOT, increased AMY, and decreased WBC, observed in one patient each; however, all were mild. SBT/ABPC is extremely useful in patients with positive S. pneumoniae urinary antigen test requiring hospitalizatio