Combining behavioral insights with artificial intelligence: New perspectives for technology assessment

Policy decisions concerning technology applications can have far-reaching societal consequences. Rationality-enhancing procedures are thus essential to ensure that such decisions are in the best interest of society. We propose a novel framework addressing this challenge. It combines a structured approach to decision-making, the mediating assessments protocol (MAP), with artificial intelligence (AI) methods to mitigate human bias and handle uncertainty in a normative manner. We introduce the steps for implementing MAP and discuss how it can be complemented and improved by AI methods such as dynamic programming, reinforcement learning and natural language processing. As a potential practical application, we consider the construction of a new wind park in a community and highlight critical aspects warranting special caution.Politische Entscheidungen in Bezug auf Technikanwendungen können weitreichende gesellschaftliche Folgen haben. Rationalitätsfördernde Verfahren sind daher unerlässlich, um sicherzustellen, dass die Entscheidungen im Interesse der Gesellschaft getroffen werden. Wir stellen hier eine neue Methode für ein solches Verfahren vor. Unser Ansatz kombiniert ein strukturiertes Verfahren zur Entscheidungsfindung, das sogenannte Mediating Assessments Protocol (MAP), mit Methoden der künstlichen Intelligenz (KI), um den Einfluss menschlicher Voreingenommenheit zu reduzieren und Unsicherheiten normativ zu handhaben. Wir beschreiben die Implementierung von MAP und erörtern, wie dieses von KI‑Methoden wie der dynamischen Programmierung, verstärkendem Lernen und der automatischen Verarbeitung natürlicher Sprache profitiert. Anhand eines Beispiels zur Errichtung eines Windparks in einer Kommune veranschaulichen wir unseren Ansatz und zeigen kritische Aspekte auf, bei denen besondere Vorsicht geboten ist

Antibiotic-induced release of small extracellular vesicles (exosomes) with surface-associated DNA

Recently, biological roles of extracellular vesicles (which include among others exosomes, microvesicles and apoptotic bodies) have attracted substantial attention in various fields of biomedicine. Here we investigated the impact of sustained exposure of cells to the fluoroquinolone antibiotic ciprofloxacin on the released extracellular vesicles. Ciprofloxacin is widely used in humans against bacterial infections as well as in cell cultures against Mycoplasma contamination. However, ciprofloxacin is an inducer of oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction of mammalian cells. Unexpectedly, here we found that ciprofloxacin induced the release of both DNA (mitochondrial and chromosomal sequences) and DNA-binding proteins on the exofacial surfaces of small extracellular vesicles referred to in this paper as exosomes. Furthermore, a label-free optical biosensor analysis revealed DNA-dependent binding of exosomes to fibronectin. DNA release on the surface of exosomes was not affected any further by cellular activation or apoptosis induction. Our results reveal for the first time that prolonged low-dose ciprofloxacin exposure leads to the release of DNA associated with the external surface of exosomes

Clinically relevant subgroups in COPD and asthma

As knowledge of airways disease has grown, it has become apparent that neither chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) nor asthma is a simple, easily defined disease. In the past, treatment options for both diseases were limited; thus, there was less need to define subgroups. As treatment options have grown, so has our need to predict who will respond to new drugs. To date, identifying subgroups has been largely reported by detailed clinical characterisation or differences in pathobiology. These subgroups are commonly called "phenotypes"; however, the problem of defining what constitutes a phenotype, whether this should include comorbid diseases and how to handle changes over time has led to the term being used loosely. In this review, we describe subgroups of COPD and asthma patients whose clinical characteristics we believe have therapeutic or major prognostic implications specific to the lung, and whether these subgroups are constant over time. Finally, we will discuss whether the subgroups we describe are common to both asthma and COPD, and give some examples of how treatment might be tailored in patients where the subgroup is clear, but the label of asthma or COPD is not

Komputationale Charakterisierung humaner sequentieller Entscheidungsfindung unter Unsicherheit

In life, many decision-making problems are complicated because agents - biological and artificial alike - typically can not directly observe all aspects of their environments. Moreover, consequences of the agents’ actions in terms of reward gain typically unfold over time. The aim of this dissertation is to computationally characterize how humans tackle such problems from two perspectives. The first perspective is to identify if decisions are governed in a model-free or a model-based fashion; while for model-free strategies it is sufficient to have access to some instantaneous reward-related information or the reward history, model-based strategies require representations of the statistical regularities of the environment. The second perspective is to identify if decisions are governed in a purely exploitative or a combined exploitative-explorative fashion; while purely exploitative strategies only seek to harness the knowledge about the environment, combined explorative-exploitative strategies also seek to accumulate knowledge about the environment. In Chapter 1 of this dissertation, I present an agent-based modeling framework suitable to decompose correlates of human sequential decision making under uncertainty with respect to both perspectives. This framework capitalizes on partially observable Markov decision processes terminology, heuristics, belief states and dynamic programming, as well as standard statistical inference approaches to connect models and data. In Chapters 2 and 3, I put the agent-based modeling framework into use and investigate human participants’ strategies in novel bandit and multistep tasks, respectively. In both tasks, I provide behavioral evidence for model-based strategies. Further, I demonstrate that the model-based strategy conforms to a combined explorative-exploitative agenda in the bandit task. By contrast, I show that in the multistep task, the model-based strategy conforms to a purely exploitative agenda, which is neurally enabled by the orchestrated activity in a distributed network of cortical and subcortical brain regions. In Chapter 4, I embed these findings within the broader discussion they contribute to, outline how the arbitration between different strategies could be organized and describe possible extensions of the agent-based modeling framework. In summary, by adopting an agent-based modeling framework, this dissertation provides evidence for a predominantly model-based nature of human sequential decision making under uncertainty. In addition, by showing that exploitation is not always complemented by exploration, this dissertation highlights that humans can flexibly adjust their strategies, thereby meeting the ever-changing demands of life.Viele Entscheidungsprobleme im Leben sind dadurch kompliziert, dass sowohl biologische als auch künstliche Agenten typischerweise nicht alle Aspekte der Umgebung unmittelbar observieren können. Zudem entfalten sich die Konsequenzen von Aktionen hinsichtlich des Belohnungsgewinns erst im Laufe der Zeit. Das Ziel dieser Dissertation ist es aus zwei Blickwinkeln komputational zu erfassen, wie Menschen solche Probleme angehen. Der erste Blickwinkel versucht zu identifizieren, ob Entscheidungen auf Basis einer modellfreien oder modellbasierten Art getroffen werden; während es für modellfreie Strategien ausreichend ist Zugang zu momentanen belohnungsbezogenen Informationen oder zur Belohnungsgeschichte zu haben, benötigen modellbasierte Strategien Repräsentationen von den statistischen Regelmäßigkeiten der Umgebung. Der zweite Blickwinkel versucht zu identifizieren, ob Entscheidungen auf Basis einer rein exploitativen oder kombiniert exploitativ-explorativen Art getroffen werden; während rein exploitative Strategien nur darauf abzielen, sich das Wissen über die Umgebung zu Nutze zu machen, zielen kombinierte explorativ-exploitative Strategien auch darauf ab, Wissen über die Umgebung anzusammeln. In Kapitel 1 dieser Dissertation stelle ich ein agentenbasiertes Modellierungsframework vor, das ermöglicht, Korrelate humaner sequentieller Entscheidungsfindung unter Unsicherheit in Bezug auf beide Blickwinkel zu zerlegen. Dieses Framework basiert auf der Terminologie partiell-observierbarer Markov Entscheidungsprozesse, Heuristiken, Bayes’scher Zustandsrepräsentation und dynamischer Programmierung sowie klassischen statistischen Inferenzansätzen um Modelle und Daten zu verknüpfen. In Kapiteln 2 und 3 setze ich das agentenbasierte Modellierungsframework ein um die Strategien humaner Teilnehmer in neuartigen Bandit- beziehungsweise Mehrschritt-Aufgaben zu untersuchen. In beiden Aufgaben erbringe ich Nachweise für den Einsatz modellbasierte Strategien auf der Verhaltensebene. Des Weiteren demonstriere ich, dass die modellbasierte Strategie in der Bandit-Aufgabe einer kombinierten explorativ-exploitativen Agenda entspricht. Im Gegensatz dazu zeige ich, dass die modellbasierte Strategie in der Mehrschritt-Aufgabe einer rein exploitativen Agenda entspricht, die neuronal durch die orchestrierte Aktivität eines verteilten Netzwerks kortikaler und subkortikaler Hirnregionen unterstützt wird. In Kapitel 4 bette ich diese Ergebnisse in die breitere Diskussion ein, stelle dar, wie eine Auswahl verschiedener Strategien erfolgen könnte und beschreibe mögliche Erweiterungen des agentenbasierten Modellierungsframeworks. Zusammenfassend zeigt diese Dissertation durch die Anwendung eines agentenbasierten Modellierungsframeworks, dass die sequentielle Entscheidungsfindung unter Unsicherheit bei Menschen vorwiegend modellbasierter Natur ist. Durch den Nachweis, dass exploitative Strategien nicht immer durch explorative Strategien ergänzt werden, hebt die Dissertation darüber hinaus hervor, dass Menschen ihre Strategien flexibel anpassen können, um den sich ständig ändernden Anforderungen des Lebens gerecht zu werden

N-Alkyl-2- [4- (trifluormethyl) benzoyl] hydrazin-1-karboxamidy a jejich analogy: Syntéza a vícebarevná biologická aktivita

Based on the isosterism concept, we have designed and synthesized homologous N-alkyl-2-[4-(trifluoromethyl)benzoyl]hydrazine-1-carboxamides (from C-1 to C-18) as potential antimicrobial agents and enzyme inhibitors. They were obtained from 4-(trifluoromethyl)benzohydrazide by three synthetic approaches and characterized by spectral methods. The derivatives were screened for their inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) via Ellman's method. All the hydrazinecarboxamides revealed a moderate inhibition of both AChE and BuChE, with IC50 values of 27.04-106.75 mu M and 58.01-277.48 mu M, respectively. Some compounds exhibited lower IC50 for AChE than the clinically used drug rivastigmine. N-Tridecyl/pentadecyl-2-[4-(trifluoromethyl)benzoyl]hydrazine-1-carboxamides were identified as the most potent and selective inhibitors of AChE. For inhibition of BuChE, alkyl chain lengths from C-5 to C-7 are optimal substituents. Based on molecular docking study, the compounds may work as non-covalent inhibitors that are placed in a close proximity to the active site triad. The compounds were evaluated against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H(37)Rv and nontuberculous mycobacteria (M. avium, M. kansasii). Reflecting these results, we prepared additional analogues of the most active carboxamide (n-hexyl derivative 2f). N-Hexyl-5-[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-amine (4) exhibited the lowest minimum inhibitory concentrations within this study (MIC >= 62.5 mu M), however, this activity is mild. All the compounds avoided cytostatic properties on two eukaryotic cell lines (HepG2, MonoMac6).Na základě konceptu isosterismu jsme navrhli a syntetizovali homologní N-alkyl-2- [4- (trifluormethyl) benzoyl] hydrazin-1-karboxamidy (od C-1 do C-18) jako potenciální antimikrobiální látky a inhibitory enzymů. Byly získány z 4- (trifluormethyl) benzohydrazidu třemi syntetickými přístupy a charakterizovány spektrálními metodami. U derivátů se pomocí Ellmanovy metody zkoumala jejich inhibice acetylcholinesterázy (AChE) a butyrylcholinesterázy (BuChE). Všechny hydrazinkarboxamidy odhalily mírnou inhibici jak AChE, tak BuChE, s hodnotami IC50 27,04 - 106,75 uM a 58,01 - 277,48 uM. Některé sloučeniny vykazovaly nižší IC50 pro AChE než klinicky používané léčivo rivastigmin. Jako nejúčinnější a nejselektivnější inhibitory AChE byly identifikovány N-tridecyl / pentadecyl-2- [4- (trifluormethyl) benzoyl] hydrazin-1-karboxamidy. Pro inhibici BuChE jsou optimálními substituenty délky alkylového řetězce od C-5 do C-7. Na základě studie molekulárního dokování mohou sloučeniny fungovat jako nekovalentní inhibitory, které jsou umístěny v těsné blízkosti triády aktivního místa. Sloučeniny byly hodnoceny proti Mycobacterium tuberculosis H (37) Rv a proti netuberkulózním mykobakteriím (M. avium, M. kansasii). Na základě těchto výsledků jsme připravili další analogy nejaktivnějšího karboxamidu (n-hexyl derivát 2f). N-Hexyl-5- [4- (trifluormethyl) fenyl] -1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-amin (4) vykazoval nejnižší minimální inhibiční koncentrace v rámci této studie (MIC> = 62,5 uM), nicméně toto aktivita je mírná. Všechny sloučeniny se vyhýbaly cytostatickým vlastnostem na dvou eukaryotických buněčných liniích (HepG2, MonoMac6)

The Association of Internet Addiction with Burnout, Depression, Insomnia, and Quality of Life among Hungarian High School Teachers

The extensive availability of Internet has led to the recognition of problematic Internet use (so called Internet addiction, IA) mostly involving adolescents. There are limited data about the prevalence and consequences of IA in adults especially among high school teachers. Here, we present a cross-sectional prospective study focusing on the association of Internet addiction with burnout, depression, insomnia, and lower quality of life among high school teachers taking many co-variates into account. Overall, 623 males (34.3%) and 1194 females (65.7%) participated in our study. Internet addiction was detected in 5.2% (95/1817) based on the Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire. Internet addiction was associated with severe burnout (10.5 vs. 2.7%, p < 0.001), moderate (36.8 vs. 1.7%, p < 0.001), and severe (6.3 vs. 0.1%, p < 0.001) depression, insomnia (23.1 vs. 11.4%, p < 0.001), and severe sleep disturbance (severe insomnia, 27.4 vs. 3.8%, p < 0.001) and lower quality of life in all domains (p < 0.001). There was also a significant correlation of the severity of the above-mentioned parameters and the severity of IA (overall scores, p < 0.001 in all cases). In a multivariate analysis including demographic criteria, risk factors medical conditions and the above-mentioned parameters as co-variates internet addiction was significantly associated with depression (OR = 3.836, CI: 2.92–5.44, p = 0.03), and insomnia (OR: 3.932, CI: 3.6–5.69, p = 0.002). This is the first study from Hungary and is one of the first studies showing the association of IA with mental issues, burnout, and lower quality of life among adults. It underlines the clinical importance of problematic Internet use among adults

Prevalence and Risk Factors of Problematic Internet Use among Hungarian Adult Recreational Esports Players

Background: Esports are highly prevalent in modern culture, particularly among young people, and are a healthy hobby for the majority of users. However, there is a possible link between video gaming (including esports) and problematic internet use (so-called internet addiction, IA), mostly involving adolescents. Methods: Here we present an online survey focusing on the prevalence and risk factors of internet addiction among adult esports players. Demographics included age, gender, family type, type of work, working years and daily internet use. Medical conditions associated with IA such as smoking, alcohol and drug intake, hypertension, diabetes, ischemic heart disease, musculoskeletal pain and history of depression were also recorded. Results: Overall, 2313 players including 176 females (7.6%) and 2137 males (92.4%) participated in our online survey. Age distribution was the following: 18–25 years 90.3% (2088/2313), 26–35 years 7.95% (184/2313), 36–45 years 0.86% (20/2313), 46–55 years 0.82% (19/2313), 56–62 years 0.04% (1/2313) and 62 years or older 0.04% (1/2313). Internet addiction was detected in 19.9% of players (461/2313) based on the Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire. In a multivariate analysis internet addiction was significantly associated with age between 18 and 25 (OR: 1.675, p = 0.002), being single (OR = 1.505, p = 0.014), internet use > 6 h daily (OR = 4.338, p < 0.001), having < 3 children (OR: 2.037, p = 0.023) and having secondary employment (OR = 1.789, p = 0.037). Regular alcohol intake (OR = 18.357, p < 0.001) and history of depression (OR= 5.361, p = 0.032) were also strongly correlated with IA. Conclusion: This is the first study from Hungary investigating the prevalence and risk factors of internet addiction among adult esports players. One out of five adult gamers suffered from IA. Our study also draws attention to increased risk within this group and risk factors such as younger age, family status and type of employment

The prevalence and risk factors of burnout and its association with mental issues and quality of life among hungarian postal workers: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Burnout is one of the most extensively studied phenomena of the twenty-first century; which has been extensively studied among helping professions, although it can be broadened to several other types of occupation. Based on our knowledge and literature search, no similar studies have been carried out among postal workes to date. Methods This cross-sectional questionnaire-based epidemiological study was carried out between May 2021 and January 2022 in five counties in Hungary with the recruitment of postal delivery workers focusing on (1) the prevalence of burnout among postal delivery workers; (2) including the role of demographic parameters, duration of employment as well as the presence of secondary employment; (3) and also analyzed the role of several risk factors and medical conditions; (4) and we also examined the possible association between depression, insomnia and quality of life and burnout. Results Overall 1300 questionnaires were successfully delivered and 1034 responses received (response rate of 79.5%). Three hundred sixty-eight males (35.6%) and six hundred sixty-six females (64.4%) participated in our study. The prevalence of burnout was 50.8% (525/1034) in this study population (mean score 2.74 ± 0.33). Logistic regression analysis showed that female gender [OR = 2.380, 95% CI: 1.731 to 2.554], first workplace [OR = 1.891, 95% CI: 1.582 to 2.162] and working more than 30 years [OR = 1.901, 95% CI: 1.608 to 2.326] have significantly increased the likelyhood of burnout as well as the history of muscoskeletal pain [OR = 1.156, 95% CI: 1.009 to1.342], current quality of life [OR = 1.602, 95% CI: 1.473 to 1.669] and the presence of sleep disturbance [OR = 1.289, 95% CI: 1.066 to 1.716]. Conclusion This is the first study in Hungary to investigate the prevalence of burnout among postal workers and to explore the relationship between burnout and mental health problems. Our study underlines the clinical importance of burnout and draws attention to the need for appropriate prevention and treatment strategies