Realizing large-scale quantum advantage requires architectures that scale beyond the physical limits of monolithic processors. Chip-to-chip coupler-connected modular quantum systems offer a compelling path forward by linking multiple high-fidelity Quantum Processing Units (QPUs) through fixed inter-chip couplers. However, effectively exploiting these architectures demands compilation strategies that explicitly account for the sharp fidelity asymmetry between low-error intra-chip gates and high-error inter-chip coupler operations, a distinction that existing compilers designed for monolithic architecture ignore. We present CCMap (Coupler-Connected Mapping), a hardware-aware compilation framework for coupler-connected modular quantum systems. CCMap constructs a System Topology that unifies intra-chip heavy-hex lattice structures with inter-chip coupler links, weighting each edge by real-time calibration metrics. Leveraging this topology, CCMap performs coupler-aware circuit partitioning to minimize inter-chip gate usage, followed by a coupler-aligned global mapping that penalizes high-error inter-chip operations during routing. Crucially, CCMap operates as a modular optimization layer on top of existing single-QPU compilers (Qiskit, MQT QMAP, UCC, TKET, and Cirq) without requiring circuit reconstruction. Evaluated on IBM-Q noisy emulators calibrated from real hardware, CCMap achieves up to 30.0% improvement in circuit fidelity, reduces total compilation cost by up to 76.1%, and delivers up to 35.3 & times; speedup in compiler runtime compared to five state-of-the-art baselines across circuits ranging from 22 to 600 qubits on systems of 2-4 chips. These results establish hardware-aware, topology-guided compilation as essential for high-fidelity execution on near-term modular quantum hardware.
This editorial introduces the Circle of Strength framework to move beyond an individual-deficit view of vulnerability toward understanding the circumstances in which customers experience susceptibility to harm. Traditional approaches often focus on individual traits, risking customer responsibilization by expecting individuals to overcome systemic adversity alone. To address this theoretical problem, we refine the strengths-based definition of customer vulnerability to account for the role of marketplace and systemic conditions. The framework introduces a triadic model in which individuals, organizations, and communities co-create strength through two interdependent mechanisms: recognition and enhancement. Through reinforcing feedback loops, these mechanisms validate and amplify distributed assets and collective knowledge, fostering inclusion and long-term well-being. Finally, we synthesize 15 special issue articles across diverse vulnerability contexts.
Abstract This study examined the relationship between personality, college adjustment, and student outcomes among undergraduate engineering students. Specifically, we investigated whether general personality traits based on the Big Five model, vocational personality types, and students’ adjustment to college predicted academic achievement and engineering identity. College adjustment was measured using the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ). Engineering identity was measured using engineering identity measure (EIM).Academic achievement was measured by cumulative grade point average (CGPA). We recruited 115 college students from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, all of whom were enrolled in the civil engineering program at a private university in a metropolitan area in the US. Participants were classified into either above-average or below-average groups based on their CGPA and EIM scores. Five machine learning models were trained and evaluated using nested 10-fold cross-validation. Feature importance was examined using Shapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) to identify the variables that contributed most strongly to academic achievement and engineering identity. The findings suggest that personality characteristics and college adjustment play important roles in college engineering students’ academic performance and engineering identity. Academic adjustment emerged as the strongest positive predictor of both CGPA and engineering identity, whereas neuroticism and extraversion were associated with lower academic achievement. Future researchers should examine factors affecting academic achievement, engineering identity, and adjustment to college among students from diverse backgrounds.
Sex and gender are fundamental determinants of health, disease risk, and treatment responses, yet they remain inconsistently and inadequately integrated into biomedical research. Despite major funding and regulatory policies over the past two decades, sex and gender continue to be treated primarily as descriptive variables rather than drivers of discovery. As the Organization for the Study of Sex Differences (OSSD) marks twenty years of leadership in this field, this policy statement articulates OSSD’s position on best practices for the integration of sex and gender in health research. Drawing on empirical evidence, landmark policies, and persistent gaps in implementation, this statement provides clear guidance for researchers, funders, and journals. OSSD explicitly recommends prespecified sex- and gender-responsive questions, appropriate study design and statistical power, transparent analysis and reporting, and accountability mechanisms to translate into practice. Adoption of these standards is essential to improving scientific rigor, reproducibility, and clinical relevance.
Cases in which a costly helping act by a benefactor can greatly improve the outcomes of a beneficiary abound. Such help conforms with prevalent social norms and can increase collective welfare. We study how the surplus created through such help is shared by the benefactor and the beneficiary. We hypothesized that aspects of the situation, such as relative wealth, social distance, whether the help increased gains or prevented losses, and perspective may result in variations in this division. In two experiments, we compare participants' judgments (N = 695) and participants' bargaining choices (N = 617 dyads). In both tasks, the proposed compensation for the cost incurred, while the benefits of helping exceeded the cost and was affected similarly by the manipulated factors. We observed pro-social equalizing of outcomes, less indebtedness to family benefactors than to commercial ones, and sensitivity to the fact that help-seeker was suffering a loss. However, whereas the judgments allocated to the beneficiary about 80% of the surplus generated, in (consequential) minimal bargaining, the surplus was split more equally, as expected by economic theory. This gap raises doubts about the validity of using nonconsequential measures.
