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  • Biomarker could detect Alzheimer’s years before symptoms appear, study finds

    Biomarker could detect Alzheimer’s years before symptoms appear, study finds

    MIAMI, Sept. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — TSPO, a key biomarker of brain inflammation, could help detect Alzheimer’s disease years before memory loss and other symptoms set in – potentially leading to advances in how the disease is diagnosed and treated, according to a study published in Acta Neuropathologica.

    “This is the first study to really examine how early this biomarker increases and where it begins rising in the brain,” said Tomás R. Guilarte, lead researcher and dean of FIU’s Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work. “If we can use this information to help delay Alzheimer’s progression by even five years, it can drastically improve patients’ lives and reduce disease prevalence.”

    Guilarte, an internationally established expert on TSPO (or translocator protein 18 kDa) has studied the protein for more than three decades. His work helped establish it as a reliable imaging biomarker used in diagnosing neuroinflammation in various neurodegenerative, neurological and psychiatric disorders.

    For this study, Guilarte and his team used advanced imaging software to track TSPO levels in genetically engineered mouse models of familial Alzheimer’s and confirmed their findings using human brain tissue donated by members of the world’s largest group of individuals with early-onset familial Alzheimer’s, located in Antioquia, Colombia.

    These families carry the “paisa” mutation, identified by the late Dr. Francisco Lopera, one of the authors of the study, who remained dedicated to finding ways to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. For carriers of this mutation, symptoms typically begin in their 30s to 40s; they die in their 50s.

    In the mouse model, researchers detected elevated TSPO levels in the subiculum – a critical part of the hippocampus – as early as six weeks of age, roughly equivalent to age 18–20 in humans. Microglia, the brain’s main immune cells, specifically those clustered around amyloid plaques, had the highest levels of TSPO. Notably, female mice had higher TSPO levels, mirroring real-world statistics: two-thirds of Alzheimer’s patients are women.

    The brain tissue samples from the Colombian patients with the paisa mutation showed the same pattern. Even in late-stage Alzheimer’s, TSPO remained high in microglia near plaques. These results raise new questions about TSPO’s function – whether it contributes to damage or protects the brain – and whether blocking or enhancing it could halt disease progression.

    The team is now working with a specially developed Alzheimer’s mouse model lacking TSPO to explore these questions further. They’re also expanding the study to include sporadic, late-onset Alzheimer’s cases, the form that accounts for over 90% of all diagnoses.

    “The more we understand these processes,” said Daniel Martínez Pérez, first author and Ph.D. candidate in Guilarte’s lab, “the closer we get to tailoring treatments that can truly help – before it’s too late.”

    Multimedia assets, including photos for media use, are available here.

    For more information about this study, please visit https://go.fiu.edu/alzheimers. -FIU-

    About FIU:
    Florida International University is a Top 50, preeminent public research university with 55,000 students from all 50 states and more than 140 countries, as well as an alumni network of more than 340,000. Located in the global city of Miami, the university offers more than 200 degree programs at the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels, including medicine and law. FIU faculty are leaders in their fields and include National Academy members, Fulbright Scholars, and MacArthur Genius Fellows. A Carnegie R1 institution, FIU drives impactful research in environmental resilience, health, and technology and innovation. Home to the Wall of Wind and Institute of Environment, FIU stands at the forefront of discovery and innovation. With a focus on student success, economic mobility and community engagement, FIU is redefining what it means to be a public research university.

    Media Contact:
    Jonathan Ruadez
    305-348-8448
    [email protected]
    news.fiu.edu 
    @FIU

    SOURCE Florida International University

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  • Elaine Wynn’s Francis Bacon Heads to LACMA, 20 Works Go to Christie’s

    Elaine Wynn’s Francis Bacon Heads to LACMA, 20 Works Go to Christie’s

    The estate of top collector and casino magnate Elaine Wynn, who died this past April, has made decisions about the future of famed art holdings, with several works heading to auction in November and one heading to a museum next year.

    Wynn appeared on ARTnews’s annual Top 200 Collectors list several times, both individually and with her former husband Steve Wynn. She was known for her blue-chip collection that included major names from the 19th century onward, including Pablo Picasso, Édouard Manet, Joan Mitchell, Lucian Freud, and Francis Bacon.

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    “My mother celebrated every piece that she collected,” Gillian Wynn, one of her two daughters, said in a statement. “She felt privileged to live with each and every one, but always understood that she was merely a temporary custodian. Good art moves and provokes us and then must live on to do the same for others.”

    The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, where Wynn was board cochair from 2015 until her death, will receive Francis Bacon’s Three Studies of Lucian Freud (1969), for which Wynn paid $142.2 million at a Christie’s auction in 2013. At the time, the painting broke the record for the most expensive artwork to ever sell at auction.

    It is the first Bacon work to enter LACMA’s collection, and it will go view as part of the opening of LACMA’s forthcoming new building, called the David Geffen Galleries, when it opens next year. Wynn previously donated $50 million to the capital campaign to fund the Peter Zumthor–designed structure.

    In a statement, LACMA director Michael Govan said, “Elaine was among the most generous and supportive leaders in LACMA’s entire history. She was our biggest champion, and was as passionate about accessibility to art as she was about works of art. Thanks to Elaine’s incredible generosity, Bacon’s masterpiece will belong to LACMA and the public.”

    A triptych showing three distorted portraits of artist Lucian Freud in a wooden chair, depicted in Francis Bacon's typical style.

    Francis Bacon, Three Studies of Lucian Freud, 1969.

    ©The Estate of Francis Bacon/Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Gift of Elaine P. Wynn

    Christie’s also announced that it will sell 20 works from Wynn’s collection as part of “Elaine: The Collection of Elaine Wynn,” which will be spread across three sales during the house’s marquee fall sales in New York. Nine will feature in 20th-century evening sale, two in the 21st-century evening sale, and nine in postwar and contemporary day sale. The lots are expected to achieve at least $75 million.

    Among the highlights from Wynn’s collection, which once hung in her Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and New York residences, are Richard Diebenkorn’s Ocean Park #40 (1971) and Lucian Freud’s The Painter Surprised by a Naked Admirer (2004–05), both of which are expected to sell for between $15 million and $25 million.

    Additionally, Christie’s will sell Joan Mitchell’s 1969 Sunflower V (carrying an estimate of $12 million–$18 million), J.M.W. Turner’s Ehrenbreitstein, or The Bright Stone of Honour and the Tomb of Marceau, from Byron’s Childe Harold ($12 million–$18 million), Fernand Léger’s 1921 Les Confidences (Les deux femmes au bouquet) ($6 million–$8 million), and Wayne Thiebaud’s 2000 painting River Stretch ($3 million–$5 million). The Turner work is the oldest one to be offered as part of the sale, having been first exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1835.

    A pastoral scene showing figures in a landscape by Turner.

    J.M.W. Turner’s Ehrenbreitstein, or The Bright Stone of Honour and the Tomb of Marceau, from Byron’s Childe Harold, which was first exhibited in 1835, is expected to sell for between $12 million and $18 million.

    Courtesy Christie’s

    “Elaine Wynn’s collecting was guided by the same curiosity, passion and style that marked her profound legacies in business and philanthropy,” Max Carter, Christie’s vice chairman of 20th- and 21st-century art, said in statement. “Her interests spanned over 150 years, from Turner’s poetic masterpiece, Ehrenbreitstein, to Freud’s culminant self-portrait; from Seurat’s exquisite Parisian view to perhaps Richard Diebenkorn’s most beautiful Ocean Park #40; from Joan Mitchell’s breathtaking Sunflower V to Olga de Amaral. Ms. Wynn was one-of-a-kind and we could not be more honored to work with her family and to celebrate her collection and example this fall at Christie’s.”

    The collection is the second and, so far, the most high-profile one announced for sale in New York this fall amid a shaky international art market. About a week ago, Christie’s announced that it had also secured the collection of Robert F. Weis and Patricia G. Ross Weis, which comprises 80 lots and has a valuation of $180 million. In contrast to Wynn, Weis, the former chairman of Weis Markets, was more private about his collecting; most of the works to be offered were rarely loaned to museums.

    An abstract painting showing various lines and shapes in turquoise, pale orange, cream, green, and white, and more.

    Richard Diebenkorn’s Ocean Park #40 (1971) is expected to sell for between $15 million and $25 million.

    Courtesy Christie’s

    Several of Wynn’s works are being offered at prices below what the collector originally paid for them, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news. She paid $23.9 million for the Turner in 2017 and $27.3 million for the Diebenkorn, which Wynn purchased from Anne Marion’s single-owner sale at Sotheby’s in 2021. Additionally, a 2010 Adrian Ghenie will also be part of the upcoming Christie’s sale; Wynn paid $6.3 million for it in 2018, and it now carries a low estimate of $2.5 million. On the other hand, Wynn acquired the Mitchell painting in 2005 for $1.5 million, with its low estimate being eight times that figure.

    Kevyn Wynn, Elaine’s daughter, added in a statement, “Our mother lived a life filled with passion, conviction and grace. She had uncompromising standards and we have every confidence that Christie’s will uphold her vision and legacy.”

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  • Introducing AirPods Pro 3, the ultimate audio experience

    Introducing AirPods Pro 3, the ultimate audio experience

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  • David F. Sandberg To Direct Reimagining For Amazon MGM

    David F. Sandberg To Direct Reimagining For Amazon MGM

    EXCLUSIVE: Following his work on the Screen Gems video game adaptation Until Dawn, David F. Sandberg has inked a deal to tackle another beloved genre property, as director of a new Amityville Horror movie in development at Amazon MGM Studios.

    Fresh off the success of The Conjuring: Last Rites, which was released in theaters this past weekend and has already earned $187 million global, Ian Goldberg & Richard Naing have been tapped to write the script, described as a reimagining of the original horror classic. Further specifics as to the story here are under wraps. The Safran Company’s Peter Safran and John Rickard will produce alongside Sandberg, with The Safran Company’s Natalia Safran being joined as executive producer by Lotta Losten.

    Sandberg comes to the project after collaborating with The Safran Company on projects like Annabelle: Creation, which grossed over $300 million at the worldwide box office, and Shazam!.

    Dating back to the late ’70s, The Amityville Horror franchise originated with a Stuart Rosenberg film, starring James Brolin, Margot Kidder, and Rod Steiger, which adapted both the Jay Anson 1977 book of the same name, as well as the paranormal legend at its center. That tale is set in motion in 1974, when Ronald DeFeo Jr. murders his parents and four siblings in their home at 112 Ocean in Amityville, New York. A year or so after the horrific crime, George and Kathy Lutz, along with their three children, move into the house, unaware of its dark past. And shortly after settling in, they claim to experience a series of unsettling paranormal phenomena.

    Clearly, there’s great interest in Amityville right now as a jumping-off point for new feature stories. Only a couple of months ago, we reported exclusively that BoulderLight Pictures and Divide/Conquer — the producers of Weapons and Heart Eyes, respectively — are developing a new Amityville project set apart from the film canon, with roots in the public domain folk tale. Joseph and Vanessa Winter, the married writer-director duo behind the SXSW found footage horror movie Deadstream, will direct that one from their own script.

    Word of the Amityville projects comes at an opportune time, as it’s been a while since we’ve seen a real breakout entry in the franchise. The most recent, semi-notable installment came last year with Amityville: Where the Echo Lives, a Lionsgate title with a no-name cast that went straight to Max. Prior to that, Dimension Films and Blumhouse were among the producers of Amityville: The Awakening, a title released through RADiUS-TWC that had a decent cast in Bella Thorne, Cameron Monaghan, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mckenna Grace and Thomas Mann, but grossed just a little over $8 million.

    In addition to Until Dawn and Annabelle: Creation, Sandberg is known for his work on the horror pic Lights Out, as well as both Shazam! films. He is repped by CAA, Gotham Group, and Jackoway Austen Tyerman.

    Goldberg and Naing are writer-producers who have previously worked together on projects like The Nun II, Fear the Walking Dead and The Autopsy of Jane Doe. Naing is repped by Independent Artist Group, Circle Management + Production, and Del Shaw Moonves; Goldberg by WME, New Wave Entertainment, and Del Shaw Moonves.

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  • Google decision demonstrates need to overhaul competition policy for AI era

    Google decision demonstrates need to overhaul competition policy for AI era

    “Google Ruling Shows Antitrust Is Dead,” a Barron’s headline trumpeted. Perhaps a bit hyperbolic, it nonetheless reflects the inadequacy—especially in the dynamic artificial intelligence age—of relying on antitrust policies designed for the relatively static industrial age.   

    The court’s recent decision in United States of America et al v. Google LLC highlights the need for Congress to step up to its responsibility to define the relationship between AI and a competitive marketplace—quickly.  

    The background of the Google case 

    The U.S. Department of Justice, joined by a bipartisan group of 11 state attorneys general, filed suit in 2020 alleging that Google search was a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. After a 10-week trial, U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta ruled in 2024 that “Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly.” The case then proceeded to its second stage, where the court considered how best to remedy this situation.    

    The Department of Justice argued in favor of structural solutions, a traditional antitrust remedy. To stop the perpetuation of monopoly, the government proposed restructuring Google’s activities. This included undoing the defaults that make Google the search engine of choice for most browsers, including the purchase of exclusivity on devices, such as the 2022 payment of approximately $20 billion to Apple to make Google the default on iPhone. The Justice Department also raised the possibility of making the market more competitive by divesting Google-owned feeders to search, such as the Chrome browser or the Android mobile operating system.   

    Instead, the court imposed what Barron’s described as “almost a best-case scenario for parent Alphabet.” Rather than the requested structural solutions, the decision called for a series of behavioral requirements for Google. These included banning exclusive search deals for default placement (although allowing payments for non-exclusivity to remain) and requiring Google to share with rivals on “commercially reasonable terms” some, but not all, of the search results data that powers Google. To assist the Department of Justice in overseeing compliance, the court ordered Google to establish an independent technical committee.    

    The CEO of rival search engine DuckDuckGo, Gabriel Weinberg, called the court’s decision a “nothingburger.”   

    AI changed the game 

    The emergence of generative AI “changed the course of this case,” the judge wrote.  

    Between the time the lawsuit was originally filed and the judge’s decision, large language models (LLMs) moved out of the laboratory and became broadly accessible. It was a development that had a significant impact on the judge’s remedies ruling.   

    Thanks to AI, the court found online search had become competitive seemingly overnight. AI companies are now in a better position “to compete with Google than any traditional search company developer has been in decades,” he ruled.   

    What is the search market? 

    The arrival of AI has fractured online search into at least three identifiable markets. First is the traditional search market, where the user enters a query and receives a list of websites. As of August 2025, Google search had an 89.89% market share of the worldwide search engine market. Microsoft’s Bing was second with 3.92%. Both levels have been stable over the preceding 12 months.  

    The second category is AI search, where the query returns a summarized answer drawing from the top links. Such services include Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity AI, and Bing Copilot. A December 2024 study found Gemini and ChatGPT capturing 78% of all AI search traffic. OpenAI’s filing with the court suggested its AI search activities slightly exceeded those of Google’s overviews. 

    The third category is what apparently caught most of Judge Mehta’s attention: GenAI search. Such conversational agent-like dialog tools include ChatGPT, Claude, and Google’s Astra. A June 2025 study found that GenAI traffic was growing 165 times faster than organic search, yet it still accounted for less than 1% of total website traffic.  Another study found Google search grew by over 20% in 2024, handling over 5 trillion searches—approximately 14 billion per day—a total that is 373 times bigger than ChatGPT search.  

    Gazing into a crystal ball 

    “[U]nlike the typical case where the court’s job is to resolve a dispute based on historic facts, here the court is asked to gaze into a crystal ball and look to the future,” Judge Mehta wrote. 

    Whether access to a limited amount of Google’s search data will make traditional search competitive is indeed a crystal ball issue. It is not difficult, for instance, to imagine Google prevaricating and procrastinating over just what data is covered; after all, each day of delay delivers not only the benefits of 14 billion more searches, but also the ability to use Google’s dominance to disadvantage competition in AI search and GenAI.   

    Judge Mehta’s ruling walked a tightrope between Google’s behavior in the past and the potential impact of a new technology on its future behavior. It is the essence of the competition policy challenge in an era of rapid-paced, AI-driven change. As well-intended as Judge Mehta’s decision may be, it is the reason why there is a need to move beyond trying to use antitrust litigation for behavioral outcomes.  

    The competitive dynamic of AI is beyond the vision of anyone’s crystal ball. The vagaries of such crystal ball forecasting emphasize the need for clearly delineated AI competition policy that is broader and more instructive than antitrust policy—and the reason why there is a need for risk-based and agile behavioral standards to promote and protect a competitive AI marketplace.  

    Antitrust enforcement is important but inadequate 

    Antitrust is an important tool in protecting a competitive marketplace. In the AI era, however, it cannot be relied upon as the only tool.   

    As Judge Mehta wisely and humbly observed, keeping pace with technological change and its impact on the market is “not exactly a judge’s forte.” The complexities of antitrust cases, in fact, are exceedingly rare in a federal judge’s career. A 2012 study estimated that, “[i]n each of the past five years, antitrust cases accounted for less than half of one percent” of all civil filings. Combining this relative lack of experience for even the most talented jurist with the economic and technological complexity of the issues in such cases ensures that decisions are inherently uncertain.    

    Antitrust cases are also reliably lengthy, as the Google case itself exemplifies. The case was filed in October 2020, challenging two decades of alleged bad behavior by Google. The court issued its monopoly decision almost four years later in August 2024. The remedies decision required another year. Four years from filing to an initial decision, followed by an additional year for the remedies ruling, is not a criticism of Judge Mehta, but a recognition of the complexity of such litigation.   

    And this isn’t the end of the process; subsequent appeals all the way up to the Supreme Court of the United States, where antitrust law is ultimately made, probably mean there will be no final decision until possibly 2027 or 2028. Such delay is an eternity in the exponential pace of digital technology, as new technologies change the landscape of the marketplace, including the potential of making the initial complaint moot.  

    Antitrust law, by design, is an after-the-fact review of past actions. The Sherman Act, which Google was found guilty of violating, was designed to be backward-looking. Section 2 of the act makes it illegal to “monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, or combine or conspire…to monopolize any part of…trade or commerce.”  When the court found Google “has violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act,” it was a decision about Google’s past practices. Then the court rejected the government’s recommended remedies on the grounds that they “overreached  in seeking forced divestiture of these key assets, which Google did not use to effect any illegal restraints.”   

    The problem with relying solely on antitrust enforcement to address the competitive challenges of the AI era is directional. While antitrust is designed to eliminate illegal past practices, as Judge Mehta’s opinion demonstrates, it is not a vehicle for the promotion of competition going forward. 

    The need for forward-looking AI competition policy   

    The week before arguments began in the remedies portion of the case, Google began to reposition the scope of the discussion from looking at past activity to looking toward the future. In an April 20 blog, Google described the lawsuit as “a backwards-looking case at a time of intense competition and unprecedented innovation” that would “hurt America’s consumers, economy, and technological leadership.”   

    There is, however, no established forward-looking competition policy for the AI marketplace. Continued reliance on antitrust statutes means continued reliance on the mitigation of already existing harms rather than the establishment of policies that would encourage innovation through the protection and promotion of competition going forward.  

    Competition policy is about more than anti-monopoly. A goal of public policy should be the ex ante promotion of competitive behavior, not just the ex post redress of its absence. This means augmenting antitrust’s backward-looking, company-specific, and behavior-specific litigation with forward-looking regulatory oversight broadly applicable to the dominant providers of services.   

    The companies seeking to avoid such oversight frequently claim that regulation hurts innovation and investment. They are correct—except that they are referencing old-style industrial micromanagement rather than a new form of oversight for a new era. The 21st-century regulatory model must be one of protecting the public interest while promoting the expansion of innovative advancements.   

    In place of top-down regulatory micromanagement of old utility-style regulation, the AI era requires agile risk management. This means replacing utility-style regulatory mandates with a new oversight model that focuses on competitive market outcomes using risk-based and agile oversight of expectations, not the regulatory dictation of management practices.    

    In this regard, Judge Mehta’s decision was directionally on course for as far as he thought the law would let him go. His effort was to fundamentally alter competitive market dynamics by addressing the behavior of the dominant company regarding its control of an asset necessary for rivals to compete. But addressing a behavior from 2020 by embracing something that didn’t exist at the time begs the question as to a going-forward solution for protecting that forecasted AI competition.   

    The court did very little to assure that GenAI would itself remain a competitive marketplace capable of providing its hoped-for solution.   

    What is needed for there to be a competitive AI marketplace is a similar—but forward-looking—behavior-oriented set of expectations for the essential assets of AI. The data that populates LLMs is, of course, one of those assets—but the ruling does little to overcome the control of this essential asset by the dominant AI companies. So is access to another essential AI input: computing power. It is no accident that the Big AI companies, such as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, are also the three largest cloud computing platforms.   

    Perhaps Judge Mehta’s decision will fundamentally alter the competitive landscape for search. For it to be successful, however, requires there to be a competitive GenAI marketplace. For that market to exist requires a forward-looking policy establishing the expectation of open and fair access to the inputs necessary for AI innovation and diffusion. To ensure that the court’s decision will not just kick the competition can down the road requires acting today to establish policy that protects AI competition going forward.   

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  • Sigourney Weaver on being ‘Alien’ icon, killer ‘Dust Bunny’ heels

    Sigourney Weaver on being ‘Alien’ icon, killer ‘Dust Bunny’ heels

    TORONTO – You might have heard of killer shoes before. Sigourney Weaver’s new movie heels take that to another level.

    Weaver, a pop-culture icon who’s appeared in everything from “Alien” to “Avatar,” stars in director Bryan Fuller’s upcoming family horror film “Dust Bunny” (in theaters Dec. 5). She plays Laverne, a mysterious associate to a hitman (Mads Mikkelsen) whose young neighbor Aurora (Sophie Sloan) would like him to take out the monster under her bed.

    A bunch of oddball weirdos get involved in the chaos, as does Laverne, and she does not mess around: At one point in the movie, she enters a room wearing shoes with heels that are literal guns. She takes them off, wielding them in a full-on firefight.

    Weaver compares her shoot-‘em-up pumps to a piece of art because “they’re so beautifully designed,” the 75-year-old actress says, sitting down for an interview with Fuller a few hours before a “Dust Bunny” midnight screening at Toronto Film Festival. The shoes did require some practice, though, as Weaver not only had to learn to walk in them but also how to shoot them.

    “They were so ingenious, like everything in this movie,” Weaver says. “It’s a malevolent, terrible thing that makes perfect sense for Laverne. She’s used them before. She’s going to use them again.”

    Fuller says the pistol heels were nearly 4 inches, and Weaver notes they’re “the tallest I’ve ever been on. Certainly since COVID.”

    Still, they were not as troublesome to wear as her wool spacesuit in 1999’s “Galaxy Quest.” 

    “Wool is great. It keeps its shape,” Weaver says. “But then we went out to the desert in Utah, and we were still in wool. I mean, God knows they looked perfect, but boy, it took a lot of maintenance to keep us from looking like we were melting.”

    Fuller calls “Galaxy Quest” the “best ‘Star Trek’ movie” but was a fan of many Weaver films when he was younger, including “Aliens” and “Ghostbusters” as well as “Gorillas in the Mist,” “Working Girl” and “The Year of Living Dangerously.”

    “Growing up as a queer kid, I didn’t identify with the straight guys. I identified with the strong women,” said Fuller, counting Weaver’s Ripley in that group as well as Wonder Woman and Princess Leia. “People who represented a feminine power that was free of male toxicity allowed a clearer expression of self that we as men are often prevented from accessing. 

    A lot of fans respond to Sigourney’s roles “because there is a strength and a lighthouse that we flock to because we want a little bit of that power and that shine. And we can’t always give it to ourselves without seeing it in something else. That’s the power of all of these wonderful performances, smart women doing smart things. You rarely played an idiot,” Fuller adds, complimenting Weaver.

    “I always felt that Ripley and some of these other characters, we didn’t feel we had the power,” Weaver acknowledges. “We had to convince ourselves as we’re in the moment to just forget about all that and do what had to be done.

    “It’s very touching to me that you didn’t see. In a way, you were inspired by the result, but my process as the character was exactly the same, which was this power that I want to have doesn’t exist in this world. I’m not allowed to have this power, but goddammit, I’ve got to take it because it’s the only way I’ll get out of here.“

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  • Validation Of The Asthma Self-Management Questionnaire For The Brazili

    Validation Of The Asthma Self-Management Questionnaire For The Brazili

    Introduction

    Individual’s ability to manage continuous care regarding several diseases, such as asthma, can be characterized as self-management. In the health context, this term involves acquiring or improving patients’ skills to handle biopsychosocial issues.1 Therefore, it is expected that individuals with asthma develop these skills to reduce exacerbation episodes and fatal outcomes.2

    An individual with asthma should have knowledge about their own health condition and be able to manage the characteristic signs and symptoms of the disease, as well as triggering factors, in order to control it through proper adherence to the therapeutic plan, which includes physical exercises, environmental control and medication, among others.3

    The literature reveals that asthma self-management has become a fundamental resource in the treatment of chronic diseases, including asthma, which require a proactive approach from patients.4 This process helps optimize the use of healthcare resources and prevents the need for more complex care.2

    Various instruments have been developed to assess self-management performance in the context of chronic diseases such as COPD, Diabetes Mellitus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis, and others4–7 However, only two instruments with the same purpose were found to promote asthma self-management: the Perceived Control of Asthma Questionnaire (PCAQ)8 which later had its validity potentially compromised and was retracted by its authors,8 and the Asthma Self-Management Questionnaire (ASMQ).9

    The ASMQ was developed in English in the USA in 2009 and aims to measure the management ability of adult individuals with this condition. The tool is a self-administered questionnaire consisting of 16 items, with a scoring system calculated by summing the correctly marked assertions, which is then divided by the total number of questions (16) and multiplied by 100 to generate a score range from 0 to 100 points. The interpretation of the score is not clearly established; however, it can be inferred that the higher the score, the better the asthma self-management.9

    Given the importance of self-management in the context of chronic diseases such as asthma, and the absence of a validated instrument for the Brazilian population, the aim of this study was to validate the ASMQ cross-culturally for the Brazilian population.

    Materials and Methods

    Study Design

    The research is characterized as a methodological, exploratory, and descriptive study, in which the translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the ASMQ for the Brazilian population were conducted.

    Ethical Aspects

    This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) – Faculty of Health Sciences of Trairí (FACISA), under the approval number 6.062.022 and Certificate of Presentation of Ethical Review (CAAE) under the approval number 68511723.1.0000.5568. All participants were informed about the study aim and signed the Informed Consent Form (ICF). Furthermore, this study followed the Declaration of Helsinki by the World Medical Association.10

    Linguistic Validation Protocol: Validation of the ASMQ Instrument

    The study followed the recommendations of Beaton11 and the Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN),12 to ensure better selection of health tools based on scientific evidence.13 Figure 1 presents the study stages.

    Figure 1 Flowchart of the validation protocol of ASMQ-Brazil for the Brazilian population. Image source: own authorship.

    Initial Translation – First Stage

    Two native Portuguese speakers fluent in English translated the instrument independently into Brazilian Portuguese using easy-to-understand language.

    Synthesis of Translations – Second Stage

    The two translations were synthesized into a single document. The reviewing committee, composed of two lead researchers, reviewed, adjusted, and recorded the changes, resulting in the final translated version to Brazilian Portuguese.

    Back Translation – Third Stage

    Two native English speakers fluent in Portuguese, carried out the back translation independently, without any access to the original version.

    Synthesis of Back Translations – Fourth Stage

    The reviewing committee compared the two back translations, and after reviewing them, consolidated them into a single version in English to match with the original version.

    Review by the Multidisciplinary Expert Committee – Fifth Stage

    The Expert Panel technique was used to ensure the validation of the instrument. The panel, composed of specialists from various fields, had a total of six participants. Using the Delphi Technique via Google Forms®, experts performed individual and confidential analyses to assess the equivalences of the evaluated items. This evaluation was conducted through an electronic document provided by the researchers for Equivalence Assessment.

    The results were evaluated quantitatively using a numerical scale structured as follows: 1 – totally agree, 2 – partially agree, 3 – partially disagree, and 4 – totally disagree. The evaluators rated each item and provided justification, considering objectivity, efficiency, and cultural appropriateness. The Content Validity Index (CVI), considering values >0.80, was used to assess items validity. Items with CVI ≤0.80 were reanalyzed until an agreement was reached.

    Pre-Test – Sixth Stage

    Participants with confirmed diagnosis of asthma were recruited via Instagram, WhatsApp, email, and “buzz marketing”. Participants who agreed to participate signed the ICF before completing the form. ICF and the instrument were assessed through a link or QR code.

    They all received a link or QR code to access the form at their convenience. Each participant was instructed on the aim of the pre-test and encouraged to suggest changes to improve the clarity of the items. To assess the items comprehension, instructions were detailed in the form. A Pre-Test Record Instrument was applied using a Comprehension Rating Score, composed of three items: 0 – not clear, 1 – somewhat clear, and 2 – clear. This was administered through a guide table embedded in the form and for each item of the ASMQ. A Content Validity Index (CVI) above 80% was considered satisfactory.

    After the pre-test, the final version was sent to the original author for approval.

    Study Framework

    This validation study was conducted digitally using the Google Forms® online platform for data collection. The study followed the steps described by Beaton et al11 and the COSMIN guidelines.12

    Population and Sample

    For the translation and back-translation stages, participants fluent in both Portuguese and English were included. The Expert Committee was composed of six members: two respiratory therapists, two physicians, one expert in validation studies, and one linguistics expert. The pre-test group included adults aged 18 to 75 years, of both sexes, with a confirmed asthma diagnosis through lung function tests and/or medical reports, prescriptions, or photos of medication used for asthma treatment, according to the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11 – J45).14

    Inclusion Criteria

    Individuals with a confirmed diagnosis of asthma according to the ICD-11 – J45,14 aged between 18 and 75 years, whether under treatment or not for asthma, and regardless of the severity of the disease, were included.

    Exclusion Criteria

    Individuals with diseases and/or cognitive impairments that make them unable to understand and/or limit their participation in the study, such as dementia, delirium, or intellectual disability, were excluded, as these conditions would prevent them from being evaluated by the instrument under development.

    Selection of Subjects

    Location, Recruitment, and Selection of Participants

    The study was carried out using digital means, utilizing an online platform, Google Forms®. Invitations to participate in the research were made through prior contact established by the researchers, with the support of volunteer collaborators in dissemination efforts. Various channels were employed, including social media, emails, and face-to-face approaches, targeting healthcare professionals, researchers, and individuals diagnosed with asthma or those who knew someone with the condition.

    The dissemination was conducted extensively across all regions of the country through infographics created by the study’s researchers. These materials were distributed in hospitals, clinics, universities, public and private companies, and online platforms. Additionally, communication and press agencies supported the dissemination of the study without any financial compensation or other forms of reward.

    Furthermore, the sample was selected based on convenience through self-reporting and/or third-party reporting, with confirmation of the asthma diagnosis, regardless of gender, while considering the age and nationality of the individuals. After this initial selection, participants were included or excluded based on a systematic evaluation grounded in the eligibility criteria.

    Measurement Instruments and Procedures

    The ASMQ9 and a structured form developed by the researchers, containing questions regarding sociodemographic and clinical data, were applied through Google Forms®. Data collection occurred differently depending on the current stage of the process. The translation and back-translation phases used a free translation approach, which allows more flexibility to capture not just the direct meaning of words but also the cultural context and nuances of the original text. This method facilitates comprehension and ensures translation effectiveness.

    In the fifth and sixth stages, a structured form containing sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and clinical-epidemiological data, as well as an Equivalence Assessment Form, was used. In the Expert Committee stage, the assessment was carried out through an Item Rating Score, and in the Pre-Test stage, through the Comprehension Rating Score. All collected data were recorded and stored in a database by the researchers.

    Data Analysis

    For data analysis, the statistical software SPSS version 22.0 for Windows (IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA) was used, with a significance level of 5%. To assess data normality, the Shapiro–Wilk test was applied during the Expert Committee stage, and the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test was used during the Pre-Test stage. Continuous variables with parametric distribution were represented as mean and standard deviation, while non-parametric variables were represented as median and interquartile range. Categorical variables were presented as absolute and relative frequency.

    Results

    During the translation and back-translation stages, four translators fluent in both Portuguese and English languages were included. The translated versions were reviewed and analyzed by the review committee, leading to the final descriptive version of the Asthma Self-Management Questionnaire (ASMQ), which was used in the Expert Committee and pre-test stages.

    Evaluation by the Multidisciplinary Expert Committee

    Six participants were included, consisting of two respiratory therapists, two physician’s experts in intensive care, one expert in instrument validation, and one linguist expert in Brazilian Portuguese. During this phase, two physicians were excluded due to lack of participation. A new participant with experience in intensive care was invited, and after its inclusion, the study continued with five experts,15 as recommended for content validity assessment when adapting health measurement instruments.16

    The mean age of the expert committee was 37.6 ± 8.82 years, and 80% (n=4) were females. Furthermore, 60% (n=3) self-identified as white. The average time of professional experience was 12.8 ± 8.58 years, and 60% (n=3) held a PhD degree. Among the participants, 60% (n=3) reported previous experience with this type of study.

    The Expert Panel technique was used to assess the Content Validity Index (CVI). In this phase, three rounds were necessary to achieve a CVI greater than 0.80 for all items of the instrument. In the first round, only items 1, 2, 4, and 11 showed CVI scores below 0.80. The subtitle and items 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 15 achieved a CVI of 0.83. The title and items 12, 13, 14, and 16 achieved a CVI of 1.0. However, all items of the instrument, except for the title, received modification suggestions, which were accepted by the review committee after discussion.

    In the second round, all items of the instrument, except the title, were evaluated. Regarding the values found in the experts’ evaluation, all items obtained a CVI of 1.0, except for item 2. Additionally, items 2, 4, 5, 10, and 11 were revised according to the suggested modifications made by the Expert Committee. Finally, all items assessed in the third round obtained a CVI of 1.0, concluding this phase. Table 1 presents the suggestions made by the Expert Committee.

    Table 1 Description of the Suggestions Made by the Multidisciplinary Expert Committee During the Validation of the Asthma Self-Management Questionnaire

    Pre-Test Evaluation

    After completing the electronic form, 37 participants were recruited. Of these, five participants were excluded due to eligibility criteria, resulting in a final sample of 32 participants. The sample consisted of 18 female participants (56.3%) with a mean age of 34.93 ± 11.17 years, and white ethnicity (68.8%; n=22) predominantly.

    Additionally, 100% of the participants were residents of the Northeast region of Brazil. Regarding educational level, 65.6% (n=21) had higher education, such as undergraduate or postgraduate degrees. In terms of professional profile, it was observed that 12.5% (n=4) were unemployed at the time of data collection, 12.5% (n=4) were students, 9.4% (n=3) were public employees, 9.4% (n=3) were physiotherapists/respiratory therapists, and 56.2% (n=18) had another occupancy.

    Furthermore, 68.8% (n=22) of the sample reported not having been hospitalized during the last 12 months due to asthma exacerbation. In addition, 84.4% (n=27) do not smoke, and 53.2% (n=17) do not consume alcohol or are former consumers. Regarding lifestyle habits, 68.8% (n=22) reported engaging in physical exercise with a homogeneous frequency variance. It is also worth noting that 75% (n=24) of the sample reported experiencing shortness of breath during or after physical exercise, and 78.1% (n=25) do not feel that asthma affects their family relationships, as shown in Table 2.

    Table 2 Clinical-Epidemiological Profile of Participants in the Pre-Test Stage

    In the pre-test group, two rounds were necessary to achieve a CVI greater than 0.80 for all items of the instrument. In the first round, only item 2 scored a CVI lower than 0.80 (CVI = 0.78). However, the subtitle and items 1, 2, 3, 8, and 14 received suggestions. Of these, only items 2, 3, and 14 had their suggestions accepted by the review committee as the suggestions may change the original meaning of the question. Additionally, the statement and/or the alternatives for items 6, 10, and 11 were modified.

    In the second round, all items scored above 0.80. Table 3 presents the findings described above.

    Table 3 Description of CVI Values and Suggestions Received for Each Item During the First and second Rounds of the Pre-Test Stage

    After completing all the stages and receiving approval from the original author, the validated ASMQ-Brazil version was generated, as shown in the supplementary file 1.

    Discussion

    Considering the aims of the study, it was possible to complete the validation process of the ASMQ-Brazil. Thus, after the evaluation by the expert committee and the pre-test group, all items achieved a Content Validity Index (CVI) higher than 0.80 as recommended by the literature.17.

    Several asthma self-management models promote different levels of adherence among users. According to a systematic review,2 regular self-management interventions with supervision and/or follow-up by multidisciplinary teams result in significant reductions in healthcare use and improvements in quality of life, regardless of disease severity. In this way, self-management tools produce statistically and clinically significant impacts on asthma knowledge,18 directly reflecting on disease control and the quality of life of affected individuals.

    In this context, the ASMQ9 was developed to assess patients’ ability to independently manage asthma. In addition to being a simple and self-administered tool, the ASMQ also promotes autonomy and provides healthcare professionals with personalized data that can optimize treatment. Despite the advantages of the ASMQ-Brazil, there are challenges regarding patients’ comprehension accuracy and sincerity in answering.

    Several studies19,20 have explored the use of the ASMQ in clinical and research contexts. In a study conducted in Vietnam,20 the translation of the ASMQ followed the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO),21 involving direct translation, back-translation by a panel of experts, pre-testing, cognitive interviewing, and the development of the final version. However, the guidelines and translation stages followed differ from those adopted in our research. Moreover, we have not performed a cognitive interview. However, most of the sample included in our study showed good comprehension and education.

    In contrast, in our study, in addition to the mentioned stages, we performed back-translation and a review by a Multidisciplinary Expert Committee. It is important to note, however, that the absence of these stages in the process may affect the accuracy of the translation and the cultural equivalence of the instrument, which should be considered in future validations.

    A recent cohort study conducted in Pakistan used the ASMQ to assess patients’ asthma management.22. In it, two items related to peak flow were omitted, justified by the fact that this equipment is rarely used in developing countries. Similarly, our study found borderline CVI results for one item (item 11) that discusses the same equipment. Therefore, it is possible to assume that the result found is related to the lack of knowledge about this resource, combined with the lack of instruction and recommendation by healthcare professionals on its importance in daily evaluations to predict the risk of exacerbations.

    The adequate results of the IVC values for all items of the ASMQ supported the decision not to exclude any item from the questionnaire in this research. Furthermore, a psychometric study would be more appropriate to make an informed decision about excluding items, which did not occur in studies similar to ours22 that excluded items from the questionnaire.

    Furthermore, the ASMQ was translated and cross-culturally adapted in Saudi Arabia.23 However, the sensitivity of the study cannot be fully confirmed due to the sample limitation, which consisted exclusively of participants from a single specialized clinic. The pilot study sample, consisting of only 10 participants, was below the number recommended by the guidelines, and the research restriction to a single clinic compromised the validity of the procedures and the generalization of the results.

    Besides these limitations, it is important to highlight that the lack of tools for assessing asthma self-management significantly contributes to the challenges faced,23 as in our study. Currently, there is no official categorization regarding the ASMQ score results. Although a study20 classified the transformed score as good (ASMQ > 75), adequate (ASMQ between 50–75), and poor (ASMQ < 50), the original author of the questionnaire does not provide specific recommendations, only indicating that higher scores reflect higher levels of self-management without, however, establishing an objective cut-off point for interpretation.24

    In addition to the lack of tools for assessing asthma self-management, another challenge is the scarcity of instruments that address knowledge about the disease. In 2014, a Brazilian group developed a specific questionnaire to measure asthma knowledgment,25 which, although not directly focused on self-management, addresses relevant aspects that are also covered by the ASMQ-Brazil. Thus, although there are some initiatives in the area, the absence of comprehensive and validated instruments for self-management remains a significant barrier to clinical practice and research.

    Thus, the limitations found in this research should be considered, and they are related to the fact that the pre-test sample consisted only of participants from a single region of Brazil, not representing the entirety of the Brazilian population. Although the sample comes from a single region of the country, Brazil’s continental dimensions make it challenging to cover all regions but also allow the analysis of participants from a region rich in cultural and linguistic diversity.

    Additionally, the study was conducted exclusively in a virtual environment, which results in the exclusion of patients without access to electronic devices with internet connectivity or low representation from populations where technological accessibility is limited. On the other hand, the virtual environment allows participation by individuals who might not have access to in-person studies.

    Another important aspect to consider is the potential response bias related to participants’ varying levels of education, which may influence the answers provided. Several studies26–28 indicate that health self-management is directly associated with educational level. Patients with higher education levels tend to score higher on the ASMQ compared to groups with lower education levels.20 This difference may be attributed to the greater capacity of these individuals to integrate the information presented, as well as a better understanding of the instructions conveyed through asthma education and communication.

    In our study, 65.6% of the sample consisted of participants with undergraduate or postgraduate education. This proportion may indicate that the participants have a higher capacity to understand and interpret the questionnaire information. This characteristic of the sample enriches the validation of this instrument and contributes to confidence in the results obtained, as it suggests that participants are more able to provide relevant and constructive feedback during the questionnaire validation process.

    Finally, it is important to highlight the vast cultural and linguistic diversity of Brazil. Even within the same region, there are significant variations that can affect the understanding and suitability of the questionnaire for the Brazilian population in general. This diversity may lead to varied interpretations of the questionnaire items, thus influencing the consistency and accuracy of the answers. These factors contribute to fostering deeper discussions about the questionnaire’s suitability for the diversity of the Brazilian population.

    Conclusion

    The final version ensures the successful validation of the ASMQ-Brazil, with a CVI greater than 0.8, and the suitability of the tool for use in the Brazilian population diagnosed with asthma. To ensure that the instrument provides reliable and valid measures for this target population, further studies evaluating its measurement properties are necessary.

    Abbreviations

    ASMQ, Asthma Self-Management Questionnaire; ASMQ-Brazil, Asthma Self-Management Questionnaire for the Brazilian population; CAAE, Certificate of Presentation of Ethical Review; CAPES, Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel; REC, Research Ethics Committee; ICD-11, 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases; COSMIN, Consensus-based Standards for the Selection of Health Measurement Instruments; FACISA, Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde do Trairí; PCAQ, Perceived Control of Asthma Questionnaire; WHO, World Health Organization; ICF, Informed Consent Form; UFRN, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte.

    Data Sharing Statement

    We declare that the data supporting this study are explicitly detailed in the text, and additional data were not included in this article due to space limitations. However, should they be requested, they will be made available.

    Ethical Approval and Informed Consent

    This research was submitted to the Research Ethics Committee (REC) of UFRN/FACISA and approved under protocol number 6.062.022, following the recommendations for studies of this nature.29,30 Data collection was conducted after REC approval, and all participants were informed about the structure and nature of the research, including its importance, objectives, risks and benefits, procedures, and the rights of the volunteers who agreed to participate in the study.

    Acknowledgments

    We would like to thank all collaborators who participated directly or indirectly in this work. Special thanks go to the original author of the ASMQ, Carol Mancuso, as well as the participants in the translation, back-translation, review stages, the Multidisciplinary Expert Committee, and the pre-test. The invaluable participation of everyone allowed us to achieve the results presented here.

    Author Contributions

    All authors made a significant contribution to the work reported, whether that is in the conception, study design, execution, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation, or in all these areas; took part in drafting, revising or critically reviewing the article; gave final approval of the version to be published; have agreed on the journal to which the article has been submitted; and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

    Consent for Publication

    The original author of the ASMQ, Carol Mancuso, was contacted prior to the beginning of this research. With her consent and deliberation on the copyright of the translated version, all stages of this study were carried out with her approval.

    In addition to the previously mentioned consents, we affirm that all statistical data, ICF, figures, tables, and charts are available for authorial verification.

    Funding

    This study was partly financed by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES). Finance Code 001.

    Disclosure

    The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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  • Psychologist urges caution when turning to AI for emotional support

    Psychologist urges caution when turning to AI for emotional support

    Artificial intelligence is becoming an increasingly popular tool that can help with many areas of life — from solving work-related issues to assisting with research and everyday decision-making.

    Its conversational style of communicating has also led some to turn to it for emotional support, with potentially dangerous consequences, as recent news stories have reported.

    To understand the complexities around this topic, ASU News spoke with a psychologist at Arizona State University about the use of AI tools, such as ChatGPT, to navigate personal challenges.

    While they are accessible and affordable, Clinical Associate Professor Matthew Meier says they shouldn’t completely replace professional psychotherapy.

    Matthew Meier

    Question: Are there any scientific studies or data tracking how many people are turning to ChatGPT or AI tools for emotional support or therapeutic conversations?

    Answer: A number of surveys have examined the use of Large Language Models (LLMs), also referred to as chatbots or just AI, for psychological support. The largest study was conducted in 2025 by Kantar, a marketing data business, which surveyed 10,000 global AI users and found that just over half of the sample have used AI at least once for emotional or mental well-being. A recent study in the U.S. also found that nearly 50% have tried AI for psychological support.

    AI use is more common among younger people. More than 70% of teens have used AI chatbots and more than 50% use AI regularly for emotional support.

    Q: In what kinds of personal or emotional situations can AI reasonably offer support or guidance? What are some of the potential benefits of using AI to help navigate personal problems?

    A: I think the biggest benefit is increased access to potential help. A chatbot is available 24 hours a day, at a moment’s notice and in any location that has internet access. And, at least for now, it’s free. Even the most expensive plans for paid access to AIs are cheaper than weekly psychotherapy sessions.

    When used in conjunction with psychotherapy, chatbots can substantially increase the amount of work that occurs outside of therapy sessions. Chatbots can provide support for homework completion, encourage the use of new coping skills, assess symptoms and severity on an ongoing basis and be a source of support.

    Whether someone is using a chatbot for emotional support and therapy or as an adjunct to formal psychotherapy, I would encourage people to use chatbots designed for mental health purposes, rather than generic AI platforms such as ChatGPT. Examples of mental health-related AIs include Earkick, Koko, Therabot, Youper and Wysa. However, the available research indicates that these chatbots are not yet sufficient to replace therapy from licensed professionals.

    Q: What kinds of personal or psychological issues should only be handled by trained professionals? What are the risks in people turning to AI for help with deeper or more serious problems like trauma, for example?

    A: Psychotherapy is a legally-protected term and a therapist must be licensed to provide psychotherapy. The purpose of licensure is to protect the public from harm by requiring a minimum standard of care for mental health services, by assuring that therapists have the level of training and experience necessary to safely provide psychological help to others. There is no such licensing process for AI chatbots, nor any standards to assure that psychological interventions are provided ethically or competently.

    There are multiple pending lawsuits alleging harm from chatbots, including exposure to hypersexualized interactions, encouragement of violence toward parents and wrongful death by suicide. Almost 10% of chatbot users report receiving harmful or inappropriate responses. In February 2025, the American Psychological Association urged federal legislators and the Federal Trade Commission to regulate the use of AI for mental health support. At this time, no AI chatbot has been FDA-approved to diagnose or treat mental disorders.

    Until there are safeguards in place, I do not recommend the use of AI chatbots as an alternative to human-provided therapy. However, as a component of mental health treatment from a licensed professional, chatbots can be helpful. I encourage my clients to use chatbots to help with problem-solving skills, work through negative thoughts, practice social skills, provide reminders and monitor symptoms. However, I also work with clients to not become overly reliant on a chatbot at the expense of human relationships and to have a safety plan to address crises.

    Q: Given the barriers that often prevent people from seeking traditional therapy — like cost, access or stigma — could turning to ChatGPT still be better than nothing at all in helping people with painful struggles?

    A: Much of the time, some help is better than no help, but this isn’t always the case. In some situations, especially involving trauma, the wrong intervention can make things worse. Or, bad or even unhelpful advice can be detrimental when in a crisis.

    On the other hand, using AI isn’t really any different than using self-help books or talking to nonprofessionals. The important thing to keep in mind is to not solely rely on a chatbot for help. If someone is feeling overwhelmed or suicidal, professional help is available. Anyone can call 988, the suicide and crisis lifeline. Locally, the ASU Clinical Psychology Center offers in-person and telehealth psychology services on a sliding fee scale.

    Q: There was a time when forming a relationship with a machine was considered the stuff of science fiction, yet today it is becoming surprisingly normalized. What are the concerns or consequences of people believing that robots are a normal and sufficient substitute for human connection?

    A: I think people will increasingly turn to chatbots for emotional help, especially as AI becomes more sophisticated and is better able to mimic empathy and emotional connectedness.

    What I am concerned about is when people choose to cut off human relationships and become overly reliant on a chatbot that is designed to collect personal information for profit. Right now, 30% of teens find AI conversations as satisfying or more satisfying than human conversations, and 6% spend more time with chatbots than with friends. These numbers are going to increase as chatbots become more sophisticated, and we need to protect children, teens and vulnerable adults from losing connections with people in the real world.

    Q: Looking ahead, do you think AI will reshape the field of mental health and counseling, the same way it’s transforming so many other industries? Could it become part of mainstream therapy practice — or even possibly challenge or replace it?

    A: AI is going to reshape most fields, including mental health. AI is relatively new, and with any new technology, we have to learn how to use it effectively and how to minimize negative consequences. Unfortunately, AI is advancing at such a fast pace that the field of psychology needs to dedicate significant effort to catch up. We need to determine how to protect people from the harmful aspects and establish standards of care, which will likely require mental health chatbots to become registered as medical devices. Once the guardrails are in place, I definitely think AI will become very integrated in clinical practice. I don’t think AI will replace therapists, but chatbots will increase access to mental health and could serve as an initial, frontline option to improve mental health.

    Ways ChatGPT can help

    ASU psychologist Matthew Meier says chatbots can provide support for homework completion and encourage the use of new coping skills, among other helpful tasks. 

    Here’s an example using a real-life conversation with ChatGPT on July 29 about final exams.

    Student: I have finals coming up and am really stressed out about them. What can I do?

    ChatGPT: Totally understandable — finals can feel like a mental marathon with a fog machine. Here are practical, low-stress strategies to help you get through them without burning out:

    1. Use a 3-part plan: Focus, rest, reset

    FOCUS:
    Make a short, realistic plan for each day (one to two subjects max). Use Pomodoro (25 min study/five min break) to avoid fatigue.Start with a topic you sort of understand — it’s motivating. 

    REST:
    Sleep is not optional — even six and a half to eight hours helps with memory. Take guilt-free 20–30 min walks or naps. Don’t cram before bed — you’re just stressing your brain out.

    RESET:
    Stuck? Switch subjects or teach it to your pet (or a wall). Do a one-minute reset: Close your eyes, slow your breath, unclench jaw. Even five deep breaths can help you feel less panicked.

    2. Study smarter, not harder
    Practice tests — rereading. Actively retrieving helps memory stick. Use flashcards, voice memos or even doodles if you’re visual. Teach it to someone else — you’ll quickly see what you know verses what you don’t.

    3. Talk to yourself (nicely)
    Stress thrives on inner trash talk. Replace “I’m going to fail” with “I’ve done hard things before. This is just another one.”

    Bonus tip: Take a break before you break
    Fifteen minutes of doing literally nothing productive (watching a silly video, lying on the floor) is not slacking — it’s stress relief. If you want, I can give you a daily study planner or a calming playlist. You’ve got this. You don’t need to be perfect — you just need to make steady progress.

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  • NEPRA reduces electricity tariff by Rs1.78 per unit for consumers – Samaa TV

    1. NEPRA reduces electricity tariff by Rs1.78 per unit for consumers  Samaa TV
    2. Nepra announces Rs1.79 per unit refund to consumers for July  Dawn
    3. Nepra reduces electricity rates by Rs1.79 per unit  Dunya News
    4. NEPRA cuts power tariff by Rs1.78 per unit  The Express Tribune
    5. Nepra cuts power tariff by Rs1.79 per unit under July fuel adjustment  The Nation (Pakistan )

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  • Jason Bateman makes rare appearance with daughters at TIFF premiere

    Jason Bateman makes rare appearance with daughters at TIFF premiere

    Jason Bateman is making film festival season a family affair.

    The “Arrested Development” star, 56, stepped out for a rare joint appearance Sept. 7 with his two daughters, Francesca, 18, and Maple, 13, at the Toronto International Film Festival, or TIFF, as it’s popularly dubbed.

    Bateman’s children, whom he shares with wife Amanda Anka, were there to celebrate the premiere of his newest project, “Black Rabbit.” The whole family opted for demure attire, with Bateman layering a chocolate brown button-down shirt over a black T-shirt, and Anka pairing a chic black vest with a slip skirt.

    Maple and Francesca each opted for dresses, with the former donning a semi-sheer black number and the latter choosing a silky brown slip dress matching her father’s color palette.

    “Black Rabbit,” a dramatic miniseries slated to hit Netflix Sept. 18, sees Bateman as the troubled brother of a New York City restaurant owner played by Jude Law. Bateman’s character, Vince Friedken, battles a gambling addiction in a trailer for the crime thriller, as Law’s Jake Friedken celebrates the growing success of his buzzy establishment.

    Bateman, who has remained relatively mum about his private life, gushed about his family in 2019 after winning the best actor in a drama series award at the year’s SAG Awards.

    “I would like to say specifically though to my wife, my two daughters – Amanda, Franny and Maple – without you, none of it would be enjoyable and it probably wouldn’t be possible,” he said while accepting the honor. “I love you more than I even tell you I do. And I’ll be home for kisses so don’t go to bed. Amanda, pop a mint, I’m going to come give you yours in about five minutes.”

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