Conversational agents cannot yet express empathy in nuanced ways that account for the unique circumstances of the user. Agents that possess this faculty could be used to enhance digital mental health ...interventions.
We sought to design a conversational agent that could express empathic support in ways that might approach, or even match, human capabilities. Another aim was to assess how users might appraise such a system.
Our system used a corpus-based approach to simulate expressed empathy. Responses from an existing pool of online peer support data were repurposed by the agent and presented to the user. Information retrieval techniques and word embeddings were used to select historical responses that best matched a user's concerns. We collected ratings from 37,169 users to evaluate the system. Additionally, we conducted a controlled experiment (N=1284) to test whether the alleged source of a response (human or machine) might change user perceptions.
The majority of responses created by the agent (2986/3770, 79.20%) were deemed acceptable by users. However, users significantly preferred the efforts of their peers (P<.001). This effect was maintained in a controlled study (P=.02), even when the only difference in responses was whether they were framed as coming from a human or a machine.
Our system illustrates a novel way for machines to construct nuanced and personalized empathic utterances. However, the design had significant limitations and further research is needed to make this approach viable. Our controlled study suggests that even in ideal conditions, nonhuman agents may struggle to express empathy as well as humans. The ethical implications of empathic agents, as well as their potential iatrogenic effects, are also discussed.
Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides are considered to be promising candidates for flexible and transparent optoelectronics applications due to their direct bandgap and strong light-matter ...interactions. Although several monolayer-based photodetectors have been demonstrated, single-layered optical memory devices suitable for high-quality image sensing have received little attention. Here we report a concept for monolayer MoS
optoelectronic memory devices using artificially-structured charge trap layers through the functionalization of the monolayer/dielectric interfaces, leading to localized electronic states that serve as a basis for electrically-induced charge trapping and optically-mediated charge release. Our devices exhibit excellent photo-responsive memory characteristics with a large linear dynamic range of ∼4,700 (73.4 dB) coupled with a low OFF-state current (<4 pA), and a long storage lifetime of over 10
s. In addition, the multi-level detection of up to 8 optical states is successfully demonstrated. These results represent a significant step toward the development of future monolayer optoelectronic memory devices.
In recent years the study of resting state brain networks (RSNs) has become an important area of neuroimaging. The majority of studies have used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to ...measure temporal correlation between blood-oxygenation-level–dependent (BOLD) signals from different brain areas. However, BOLD is an indirect measure related to hemodynamics, and the electrophysiological basis of connectivity between spatially separate network nodes cannot be comprehensively assessed using this technique. In this paper we describe a means to characterize resting state brain networks independently using magnetoencephalography (MEG), a neuroimaging modality that bypasses the hemodynamic response and measures the magnetic fields associated with electrophysiological brain activity. The MEG data are analyzed using a unique combination of beamformer spatial filtering and independent component analysis (ICA) and require no prior assumptions about the spatial locations or patterns of the networks. This method results in RSNs with significant similarity in their spatial structure compared with RSNs derived independently using fMRI. This outcome confirms the neural basis of hemodynamic networks and demonstrates the potential of MEG as a tool for understanding the mechanisms that underlie RSNs and the nature of connectivity that binds network nodes.
A general strategy for the in‐plane structuring of organic–inorganic perovskite films is presented. The method is used to fabricate an industrially relevant distributed feedback (DFB) cavity, which ...is a critical step toward all‐electrially pumped injection laser diodes. This approach opens the prospects of perovskite materials for much improved optical control in LEDs, solar cells, and also toward applications as optical devices.
Anti–tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapies are the most widely used biologic drugs for treating immune-mediated diseases, but repeated administration can induce the formation of anti-drug ...antibodies. The ability to identify patients at increased risk for development of anti-drug antibodies would facilitate selection of therapy and use of preventative strategies.
We performed a genome-wide association study to identify variants associated with time to development of anti-drug antibodies in a discovery cohort of 1240 biologic-naïve patients with Crohn’s disease starting infliximab or adalimumab therapy. Immunogenicity was defined as an anti-drug antibody titer ≥10 AU/mL using a drug-tolerant enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Significant association signals were confirmed in a replication cohort of 178 patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
The HLA-DQA1*05 allele, carried by approximately 40% of Europeans, significantly increased the rate of immunogenicity (hazard ratio HR, 1.90; 95% confidence interval CI, 1.60–2.25; P = 5.88 × 10–13). The highest rates of immunogenicity, 92% at 1 year, were observed in patients treated with infliximab monotherapy who carried HLA-DQA1*05; conversely the lowest rates of immunogenicity, 10% at 1 year, were observed in patients treated with adalimumab combination therapy who did not carry HLA-DQA1*05. We confirmed this finding in the replication cohort (HR, 2.00; 95% CI, 1.35–2.98; P = 6.60 × 10–4). This association was consistent for patients treated with adalimumab (HR, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.32–2.70) or infliximab (HR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.57–2.33), and for patients treated with anti-TNF therapy alone (HR, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.37–2.22) or in combination with an immunomodulator (HR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.57–2.58).
In an observational study, we found a genome-wide significant association between HLA-DQA1*05 and the development of antibodies against anti-TNF agents. A randomized controlled biomarker trial is required to determine whether pretreatment testing for HLA-DQA1*05 improves patient outcomes by helping physicians select anti-TNF and combination therapies. ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03088449.
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Neuroanatomically precise, genome-wide maps of transcript distributions are critical resources to complement genomic sequence data and to correlate functional and genetic brain architecture. Here we ...describe the generation and analysis of a transcriptional atlas of the adult human brain, comprising extensive histological analysis and comprehensive microarray profiling of ∼900 neuroanatomically precise subdivisions in two individuals. Transcriptional regulation varies enormously by anatomical location, with different regions and their constituent cell types displaying robust molecular signatures that are highly conserved between individuals. Analysis of differential gene expression and gene co-expression relationships demonstrates that brain-wide variation strongly reflects the distributions of major cell classes such as neurons, oligodendrocytes, astrocytes and microglia. Local neighbourhood relationships between fine anatomical subdivisions are associated with discrete neuronal subtypes and genes involved with synaptic transmission. The neocortex displays a relatively homogeneous transcriptional pattern, but with distinct features associated selectively with primary sensorimotor cortices and with enriched frontal lobe expression. Notably, the spatial topography of the neocortex is strongly reflected in its molecular topography-the closer two cortical regions, the more similar their transcriptomes. This freely accessible online data resource forms a high-resolution transcriptional baseline for neurogenetic studies of normal and abnormal human brain function.
In this article, Schueller and Morris discuss the recent advances made from large language models (LLMs) and generative artificial intelligence (AI). These advances include supporting humans to ...provide better interventions, understanding processes in clinical interventions, and providing ethical considerations for the use of generative AI in clinical research and practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
Self-guided, Web-based interventions for depression show promising results but suffer from high attrition and low user engagement. Online peer support networks can be highly engaging, but they show ...mixed results and lack evidence-based content.
Our aim was to introduce and evaluate a novel Web-based, peer-to-peer cognitive reappraisal platform designed to promote evidence-based techniques, with the hypotheses that (1) repeated use of the platform increases reappraisal and reduces depression and (2) that the social, crowdsourced interactions enhance engagement.
Participants aged 18-35 were recruited online and were randomly assigned to the treatment group, "Panoply" (n=84), or an active control group, online expressive writing (n=82). Both are fully automated Web-based platforms. Participants were asked to use their assigned platform for a minimum of 25 minutes per week for 3 weeks. Both platforms involved posting descriptions of stressful thoughts and situations. Participants on the Panoply platform additionally received crowdsourced reappraisal support immediately after submitting a post (median response time=9 minutes). Panoply participants could also practice reappraising stressful situations submitted by other users. Online questionnaires administered at baseline and 3 weeks assessed depression symptoms, reappraisal, and perseverative thinking. Engagement was assessed through self-report measures, session data, and activity levels.
The Panoply platform produced significant improvements from pre to post for depression (P=.001), reappraisal (P<.001), and perseverative thinking (P<.001). The expressive writing platform yielded significant pre to post improvements for depression (P=.02) and perseverative thinking (P<.001), but not reappraisal (P=.45). The two groups did not diverge significantly at post-test on measures of depression or perseverative thinking, though Panoply users had significantly higher reappraisal scores (P=.02) than expressive writing. We also found significant group by treatment interactions. Individuals with elevated depression symptoms showed greater comparative benefit from Panoply for depression (P=.02) and perseverative thinking (P=.008). Individuals with baseline reappraisal deficits showed greater comparative benefit from Panoply for depression (P=.002) and perseverative thinking (P=.002). Changes in reappraisal mediated the effects of Panoply, but not the expressive writing platform, for both outcomes of depression (ab=-1.04, SE 0.58, 95% CI -2.67 to -.12) and perseverative thinking (ab=-1.02, SE 0.61, 95% CI -2.88 to -.20). Dropout rates were similar for the two platforms; however, Panoply yielded significantly more usage activity (P<.001) and significantly greater user experience scores (P<.001).
Panoply engaged its users and was especially helpful for depressed individuals and for those who might ordinarily underutilize reappraisal techniques. Further investigation is needed to examine the long-term effects of such a platform and whether the benefits generalize to a more diverse population of users.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02302248; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02302248 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6Wtkj6CXU).
Topological defects are a consequence of broken symmetry in ordered systems and are important for understanding a wide variety of phenomena in physics. In liquid crystals (LCs), defects exist as ...points of discontinuous order in the vector field that describes the average orientation of the molecules in space and are crucial for explaining the fundamental behaviour and properties of these mesophases. Recently, LC defects have also been explored from the perspective of technological applications including self-assembly of nanomaterials, optical-vortex generation and in tunable plasmonic metamaterials. Here, we demonstrate the fabrication and stabilisation of electrically-tunable defects in an LC device using two-photon polymerisation and explore the dynamic behaviour of defects when confined by polymer structures laser-written in topologically discontinuous states. We anticipate that our defect fabrication technique will enable the realisation of tunable, 3D, reconfigurable LC templates towards nanoparticle self-assembly, tunable metamaterials and next-generation spatial light modulators for light-shaping.
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