Search

BackgroundOver the past decade, there has been an increase in the use of information technologies to educate and support people with dementia and their family caregivers. At the same time, chatbot technologies have become increasingly popular for use by the public and have been identified as having benefits for health care delivery. However, little is known about how chatbot technologies may benefit people with dementia and their caregivers. ObjectiveThis study aims to identify the types of current commercially available chatbots that are designed for use by people with dementia and their caregivers and to assess their quality in terms of features and content. MethodsChatbots were identified through a systematic search on Google Play Store, Apple App Store, Alexa Skills, and the internet. An evidence-based assessment tool was used to evaluate the features and content of the identified apps. The assessment was conducted through interrater agreement among 4 separate reviewers. ResultsOf the 505 initial chatbots identified, 6 were included in the review. The chatbots assessed varied significantly in terms of content and scope. Although the chatbots were generally found to be easy to use, some limitations were noted regarding their performance and programmed content for dialog. ConclusionsAlthough chatbot technologies are well established and commonly used by the public, their development for people with dementia and their caregivers is in its infancy. Given the successful use of chatbots in other health care settings and for other applications, there are opportunities to integrate this technology into dementia care. However, more evidence-based chatbots that have undergone end user evaluation are needed to evaluate their potential to adequately educate and support these populations.

BackgroundAs a critical driving power to promote health care, the health care–related artificial intelligence (AI) literature is growing rapidly. ObjectiveThe purpose of this analysis is to provide a dynamic and longitudinal bibliometric analysis of health care–related AI publications. MethodsThe Web of Science (Clarivate PLC) was searched to retrieve all existing and highly cited AI-related health care research papers published in English up to December 2019. Based on bibliometric indicators, a search strategy was developed to screen the title for eligibility, using the abstract and full text where needed. The growth rate of publications, characteristics of research activities, publication patterns, and research hotspot tendencies were computed using the HistCite software. ResultsThe search identified 5235 hits, of which 1473 publications were included in the analyses. Publication output increased an average of 17.02% per year since 1995, but the growth rate of research papers significantly increased to 45.15% from 2014 to 2019. The major health problems studied in AI research are cancer, depression, Alzheimer disease, heart failure, and diabetes. Artificial neural networks, support vector machines, and convolutional neural networks have the highest impact on health care. Nucleosides, convolutional neural networks, and tumor markers have remained research hotspots through 2019. ConclusionsThis analysis provides a comprehensive overview of the AI-related research conducted in the field of health care, which helps researchers, policy makers, and practitioners better understand the development of health care–related AI research and possible practice implications. Future AI research should be dedicated to filling in the gaps between AI health care research and clinical applications.

Programmed cell death (PCD) is common in plant growth and development, such as xylem development, organ senescence, and abscission. Calyx abscission in Korla fragrant pear contributes to fruit quality, while it was not clear whether PCD occurred during calyx abscission and which signals regulated the process. Therefore, it is imperative to clarify the process of PCD in the process of calyx abscission in Korla fragrant pear under natural conditions to enrich the mechanism of calyx abscission. The results showed that the total time of calyx abscission of Korla fragrant pear began from 6 days after pollination (DAP) to 13 DAP, and the peak of calyx abscission occurred 10 DAP. During the whole process of calyx abscission, PCD started 6 DAP. At 9 DAP, the degree of PCD deepened. At 12 DAP, the cells in the abscission zone showed asymmetry on both sides, the organelles in the distal cells of the abscission zone degraded into apoptotic fragments, and the protective layer of the normal development of cells located at the proximal end of the abscission zone region ended the PCD process. ETH concentrations in the abscission zone of the decalyx fruit were significantly higher than those of the persistent calyx fruits in each period during calyx abscission, and high levels of ethylene and hydrogen peroxide and low contents of the GA3, ZT, and hydroxyl radicals promoted calyx abscission before the formation of the abscission zone. At 3 DAP, the ethylene concentration (43.97 ppm) and H2O2 content (8.49 μmol/g) of decalyx fruit in the abscission zone were significantly higher than those of persistent calyx fruit by 67.69% and 27.86%, respectively; however, the GA3, ZT, and hydroxyl radicals showed the opposite. Overall, PCD in the abscission zone of decalyx fruits did occur during the calyx abscission of Korla fragrant pear, and ethylene and H2O2 might play major roles in initiating the PCD process during Korla fragrant pear calyx abscission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal-free catalytic conversion of CO2 is expected to achieve carbon neutrality. However, non-metallic catalytic sites for highly selective and efficient conversion of CO2 to ethanol are challenging. Here, a metal-free catalyst (B4@g-C3N4) has been reported for the first time for the efficient reduction of CO to ethanol. Utilizing electron "accept-donation" analysis, we show that the binding of tri-coordinated B atoms to CO is very mild compared to metal sites and bi-coordinated B atoms. The B4@g-C3N4 catalyst effectively reduced the free energy barrier for direct dimerization of CO to 0.18 eV. The limiting voltage in the entire reduction of CO to CH3HC2OH is −0.19 V, which is better than that of other catalysts, including four-atom metal clusters Cu4–C5N2H2 (−0.50 V) and Cu2Zn2–C5N2H2 (−0.46 V) just proposed (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 7030–7039). The metal-free electrocatalyst has an absolute selectivity advantage since the molar ratio of the C2 product CH3CH2OH to the C1 product CH4 is 2.55 × 105 : 1. Moreover, due to its extremely high stability, the catalyst designed in this paper holds great promise for synthesis. The above analysis shows that the B4@g-C3N4 catalyst constructed under the new concept proposed by us can achieve the goal of electrocatalytic CO reduction to ethanol. Our work reports the first metal-free electrocatalyst to date for the reduction of CO to ethanol, providing a theoretical basis for promoting the achievement of sustainable carbon neutrality goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A promising pathway for carbon usage and energy storage is electrocatalytic reduction of CO to form high-value multi-carbon products. Herein, the d–p coupled triatomic catalyst CuB2@g-C3N4 with significant activity and selectivity for ethanol is presented for the first time. Density functional theory calculations elucidate that these spatially confined triatomic centers are capable of immobilizing multiple CO molecules, providing an exclusive reaction channel for direct C–C coupling. The CuB2@g-C3N4 catalyst can effectively reduce the energy barrier of CO dimerization to 0.46 eV. The limiting potential is only −0.19 V, which is much smaller than that of other Cu-based catalysts. Additionally, the CuB2@g-C3N4 catalyst can effectively inhibit the generation of competing C1 products and hydrogen evolution reactions. Excitingly, CuB2 loading makes g-C3N4 more optically active in visible and even infrared light. This work provides important ideas for the atomically precise design of novel d–p coupled catalysts for the direct conversion of CO2/CO into energetic fuels and high-value chemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]