Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for providing mental health intervention using a virtual environment. A spoken communication from a first user is conveyed to a second user in a virtual environment. Data about the first user is collected as the first user interacts with the second user. The collected data includes tone information from the spoken communication. A clinical parameter representing a mental state of the first user is determined from the collected data at a machine learning model. A prompt is provided to the second user, representing one of a suggested phrase, a suggested sentence, and a suggested topic of conversation, according to the determined clinical parameter.

Abstract: A method for constructing a metabolic profile of a mammalian (such as a human) subject from one of more urine samples from the subject uses magnetic resonance mass spectrometry (MRMS) for the rapid and inexpensive quantitative measurement of at least 4,000 urinary chemical substances in a single analysis. The method for metabolic profiling measures thousands of urinary substances in a urine sample from a mammalian subject in a single assay. Many of these substances can be of mammalian metabolic origin. The measurements of types and amounts of urinary substances can be correlated to assessments of present or future health of the subject.

Abstract: Experiments that quantitatively determine the sequence dependence of deamidation and three-dimensional structure observations have been carried out. These experiments and theoretical computation methods based upon them, allow the invention of techniques for engineering of deamidation rates for amides in peptides, hormones and proteins as well as peptide-like, hormone-like and protein-like molecules. Modification of the amide, the residues or residue-like structures on either side of the amide or of other structural parameters can be carried out. This allows the stabilization of amides, the destabilization of amides, or the setting of amides to specific rates for use in engineering of molecules for pharmaceutical, industrial or other purposes. This work is also applied to the isomerization and racemization of carboxylic acids in similar ways.

Abstract: A method that quantitatively explains the primary sequence dependence of deamidation has been invented on the basis of a simple steric and catalytic model. Application of this method to the known deamidation rates of peptides has produced a table of coefficients that permits prediction of primary sequence deamidation rates and provides that ability to engineer amides with specific rates. This work permits a better understanding of deamidation, provides a prediction procedure for protein engineering, and will allow improved computation of peptide and protein primary, secondary, and tertiary structure deamidation rates. Not only can this method be used for engineering amides, but it should also work for isomerization and racemization of carboxylic acids.