Technology-based interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are frequently justified on the grounds that digital tools “increase engagement” and “enhance motivation.” However, across domains such as robot-assisted therapy, immersive environments (virtual and augmented reality), and ICT-based educational applications, outcomes labeled as engagement are often derived from observable indicators including gaze, time-on-task, interaction duration, task adherence, […]
The MediVoice implementation journey: ambient artificial intelligence for clinical documentation
Healthcare systems are increasingly turning to ambient Artificial Intelligence (AI) scribes to reduce documentation burden and lighten clinicians’ cognitive load. In this brief research report, we introduce MediVoice, an ambient AI scribe developed and implemented within the National University Health System, Singapore. MediVoice was piloted across multiple clinical settings and rapidly evaluated through Plan–Do–Study–Act cycles. […]
Multimodal AI-based systems in major depressive disorder: a review of clinical and translational applications
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is one of the most prevalent and disabling psychiatric conditions worldwide, involving alterations in mood regulation, cognitive function, sleep, and physiological systems. Traditional diagnostic approaches often rely on time-consuming interviews and questionnaires, which are largely based on subjective clinical judgment, and may contribute to misdiagnosis or suboptimal treatment selection. Artificial Intelligence […]
Hippocampal representations differentiate reactive and anticipatory responses during foraging under threat
Adaptive behavior under threat requires balancing reward pursuit against the risk of harm. During approach-avoidance conflict, animals often pause at decision points, but whether these pauses reflect a unified process or distinct decision states remains unclear. Here, we replicate and extend findings from Calvin et al.1 by analyzing hippocampal activity in rats performing a predator-based […]
DOME Copilot: Making transparency and reproducibility for artificial intelligence methods simple
Unprecedented breakthroughs are being made in life science research through the application of artificial intelligence (AI). However, adherence to method reporting guidelines is necessary to support their reusability and reproducibility. The DOME Copilot solution extracts structured reports of AI methods using a large language model to help interpret manuscripts. It is a fast and efficient […]
Can coastal plantation forests substitute for natural coastal forests as bird and plant habitat? A test across coastal zonation
Natural forests are increasingly being replaced by plantation forests, highlighting an urgent need to reconcile forest use and biodiversity conservation. Coastal forests serve as refugia for species of conservation concern, but they have been globally replaced by plantations, and conversion remains ongoing. As natural coastal forests become increasingly scarce, opportunities for direct biodiversity comparisons with […]
Drought disrupts volatile-mediated predator foraging and oviposition, weakening trait-mediated top-down control
1. Drought is a major abiotic stressor that can restructure trophic interactions by limiting herbivore success and disrupting chemical signaling between plants and natural enemies. In tritrophic systems, plant volatiles guide natural enemy foraging and reproductive investment, often scaling with herbivore density; however, it is unclear whether drought alters this relationship and weakens top-down control. […]
Systemic injection of metabotropic glutamate 2/3 receptor antagonist LY341495 disrupts reward-related behaviors in mice.
Metabotropic glutamate 2/3 receptors (mGluR2/3) have been implicated in depression, anxiety, learning, and memory. However, their causal role in reward-related behaviors remains unclear. Here, we examined the effects of intraperitoneal administration of LY341495, a selective mGluR2/3 antagonist, on reward-related behaviors in mice. In a head-fixed temporal conditioning task, mice received a 10% sucrose solution every […]
Adaptation to free-living drives loss of beneficial endosymbiosis through metabolic trade-offs
Symbioses are widespread (1) and underpin the function of diverse ecosystems (2-6), but their evolutionary stability is challenging to explain (7,8). Fitness trade-offs between con-trasting intracellular and extracellular niches could act to stabilise endosymbioses because adaptation to either niche is predicted to reduce fitness in the alternate niche, thus reinforcing symbiosis (8,9). Here, we experimentally […]
Adaptation to free-living drives loss of beneficial endosymbiosis through metabolic trade-offs
Symbioses are widespread (1) and underpin the function of diverse ecosystems (2-6), but their evolutionary stability is challenging to explain (7,8). Fitness trade-offs between con-trasting intracellular and extracellular niches could act to stabilise endosymbioses because adaptation to either niche is predicted to reduce fitness in the alternate niche, thus reinforcing symbiosis (8,9). Here, we experimentally […]
Gradient-specified optimization based on muscle surface mesh and moment arm as an effect-oriented approach of automated musculotendon path modeling
There is more to musculotendon path modeling than aligning a cable to reflect the geometric features of a muscle-tendon unit. From the perspective of simulation accuracy, the key is to replicate the length- and moment arm-joint angle relations of the target muscle. In this study, we propose an effect-oriented approach of automated path modeling, via […]
Hippocampal representations differentiate reactive and anticipatory responses during foraging under threat
Adaptive behavior under threat requires balancing reward pursuit against the risk of harm. During approach-avoidance conflict, animals often pause at decision points, but whether these pauses reflect a unified process or distinct decision states remains unclear. Here, we replicate and extend findings from Calvin et al.1 by analyzing hippocampal activity in rats performing a predator-based […]