Facial artificial intelligence in ophthalmology and medicine: fundamental and transformative applications.

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, particularly in the domain of facial processing tasks, has witnessed substantial growth in the 21st century. However, this requires sufficient appraisal for clinicians and researchers to adequately understand nomenclature and key concepts commonly used in this field. This article aims to elucidate the diverse applications of facial processing tasks, such as facial landmark extraction, face detection, face tracking, facial expression recognition and action unit detection, and their relevance to ophthalmology and other medical specialties.

Prevalence of autism in first-episode psychosis in two Hong Kong teaching hospitals.

Autistic features are commonly observed in children and adolescents with first-episode psychosis, but they are sometimes overlooked by clinicians and caregivers. By comprehensively examining the clinical profiles of 103 children and adolescents (below 18 years old) with first-episode psychosis and conducting the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (the 'gold standard' autism diagnostic tool) with their primary caregivers, we showed that around 28% of patients with first-episode psychosis had a comorbid autism diagnosis, and boys were 3.57 times more likely to have first-episode psychosis-autism spectrum disorder comorbidity than girls.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) exon 3 variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) 2-repeat allele.

To investigate the association of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with the 48-base pair (bp) variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) in exon 3 of the dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) gene, we genotyped 240 ADHD patients and their parents from Hong Kong. The 4R allele was most common, followed by 2R. We examined association between the 2R allele (relative to 4R) and ADHD by Transmission Disequilibrium Test (TDT).

Enhancing emotion recognition in young autistic children with or without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in Hong Kong using a Chinese App version of .

Trial Registration: This study was registered with the German Clinical Trials Register - Deutschen Register Klinischer Studien (DRKS) on 23 December 2018. The Trial Registration Number (TRN) is DRKS00016506.

Lay Abstract: App is an intervention programme with 15 animated episodes that teach emotion recognition skills to autistic children between 4 and 6 years of age.

Online social media poses opportunities and risks in autistic youth: implications for services from a qualitative study.

Background: Autistic people are vulnerable to developing mental health problems due to their difficulties in managing social situations and interpersonal relationships. The popular online social media (OSM) can be a potential solution to these concerns for their social lives as it allows non-face-to-face social interactions, however it remained unclear how this group is using these online platforms. This study explored their experiences of using online social media, and their perceived benefits and risks associated with this use.

Video feedback to update negative self-perceptions in social anxiety disorder: A comparison of internet-delivered vs face-to-face cognitive therapy formats.

Background: Video feedback is a technique used in cognitive therapy for social anxiety disorder (CT-SAD) to update patients' negative self-perceptions of how they appear to others. Clients are supported to watch video of themselves engaging in social interactions. While typically undertaken in session with a therapist, this study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of remotely delivered video feedback embedded within an Internet-based cognitive therapy program (iCT-SAD).

18-month trajectories of delusional dimensions in young adults: Relationship with reasoning biases and worry.

Background: It has been argued that what differentiates delusional ideation from full-blown delusions (indicating need for care) is not the number of beliefs, but the experiential dimensions such as conviction, distress, and preoccupation. However, how these dimensions evolve over time and affect outcomes is under-researched. While delusional conviction and distress are associated with reasoning biases and worry respectively in clinical samples, how these processes predict trajectories of delusional dimensions in the general population remains unclear.

Can the UK AQ-10 be applicable to Chinese samples with autism spectrum disorder in Hong Kong? Cross-cultural similarities and differences.

The current study aimed at testing and developing alternative short versions of autism spectrum quotient (AQ-10) (adult [self-report], adult [parent-report], adolescent, and child versions) for use in Hong Kong. First, the various versions of AQ-10 developed in the United Kingdom (the AQ-10-UK) were applied to Hong Kong Chinese samples and demonstrated satisfactory discriminative power (AUCs 0.77-0.

The co-occurrence of multidimensional loneliness with depression, social anxiety and paranoia in non-clinical young adults: A latent profile analysis.

Introduction: Loneliness is a negative experience arising from a mismatch between perceived and actual social relationships. Several dimensions of loneliness have been suggested, namely intimate, relational and collective loneliness. Loneliness has been linked to poorer mental health, with its co-occurrence with depression, social anxiety, and paranoia most widely reported.

School-Based Mental Health Initiative: Potentials and Challenges for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

School-based mental health support services allow children and adolescents easy access to services without requirement of traveling to clinics and hospitals. We describe a School Mental Health Support Scheme (SMHSS) piloted in Hong Kong and discuss the challenges and learnings from the experience. This conceptual paper argues that accessibility is not the only advantage of such services.

Disentangling the relationship of gut microbiota, functional gastrointestinal disorders and autism: a case-control study on prepubertal Chinese boys.

Emerging evidence of an altered gut microbiome in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) suggests a pathomechanism through the gut-brain axis despite the inconsistent microbiome profile reported across studies. One of the knowledge gaps in the existing ASD microbiota studies is the lack of systematic exploration of the role of comorbid functional gastrointestinal disorder (FGID) in the association of ASD and altered gut microbiome. Consequently, 92 ASD and 112 age-matched typically developing (TD) boys were profiled on general psychopathology, FGID status by Rome IV classification, and gut microbiota using 16S ribosomal RNA amplicon sequencing at the V4 hypervariable region.

A network analysis on the relationship between loneliness and schizotypy.

Background: Schizotypy is a multidimensional personality trait related to the heightened risk for the development of schizophrenia spectrum disorders. While it has been suggested that loneliness may be associated with schizotypy in general, whether it relates to the specific schizotypal traits differentially remains unknown. Besides, as loneliness often co-occurs with depression and anxiety, it is important to delineate its relationship with schizotypy in consideration of these co-occurring emotional disturbances.

Internet-delivered cognitive therapy for social anxiety disorder in Hong Kong: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Research is needed to determine the extent to which internet-delivered psychological therapies are effective when delivered in countries and cultures outside of where they were developed.

Objective: This waitlist-controlled study evaluated the efficacy of a UK-developed, therapist-guided internet Cognitive Therapy programme for Social Anxiety Disorder (iCT-SAD) when delivered in Hong Kong by local therapists.

Methods: Patients were randomized to iCT-SAD (n = 22) or a waitlist control group (n = 22).

Longitudinal bifactor modeling of anxiety, depression and schizotypy - The role of rumination as a shared mechanism.

A bifactor model with a general (p) factor reflecting shared variance and specific factors reflecting additional variance in individual symptoms has been introduced to explain common co-occurrence among anxiety, depression and schizotypy. However, longitudinal evidence is lacking and the validity of bifactor modeling is debatable. The current study aimed to examine the presence of the p factor together with specific factors in accounting for relationships between anxiety, depression and schizotypy both cross-sectionally and longitudinally, and to investigate the relationship between these factors and rumination.

Youth psychopathology: Universal or culture-specific? Testing the syndrome models of youth self-report in Chinese population.

Problem: The debate on whether psychiatric symptoms are universal and to what extent they are affected by culture is generally divided between the universalist and relativist approaches.

Methods: This study compared Achenbach/Rescorla's model and Weisz's model of youth self-report in 2521 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 12 years). Indigenous exploratory factor analyses were conducted to explore the factor structure of youth self-report (YSR), and the derived models were tested with confirmatory factor analysis.

Effectiveness of Using Mobile Technology to Improve Cognitive and Social Skills Among Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Systematic Literature Review.

Background: Mobile technology has become a necessity in the lives of people in many countries. Its characteristics and advantages also make it a potential medium of intervention for people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Objective: The objective of this review was to evaluate previous evidence, obtained in randomized controlled trials (RCTs), on the effectiveness of using mobile devices as the medium of intervention targeting social and cognitive skills among individuals with ASD.

An elevated anxiety level among prepubertal autistic boys with non-treatment-seeking functional gastrointestinal disorders: A case-control study.

Children with autism commonly suffer from comorbid functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID) and anxiety. The raised prevalence of both conditions in autism suggests complex reciprocal relationships, which are seldom explored in non-treatment-seeking FGID. The relationships between subtypes of FGID and anxiety are also unclear.

Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised Within DSM-5 Framework: Test of Reliability and Validity in Chinese Children.

This study examines the psychometric properties of the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) in the context of DSM-5 in a sample of Chinese children. Using re-mapped ADI-R items and algorithms matched to DSM-5 criteria, and administering to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with and without intellectual disability, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and typically developing, it evidenced high sensitivity and specificity. However, similar to DSM-IV algorithm, the DSM-5 algorithms were better at classifying ASD among children with intellectual disability than among those without intellectual disability.

Autism-Spectrum Quotient-Child and Autism-Spectrum Quotient-Adolescent in Chinese population: Screening autism spectrum disorder against attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and typically developing peers.

The Autism-Spectrum Quotient is a 50-item questionnaire developed to assess autistic symptoms in adults, adolescents and children. Its original version and others in different countries are known to be effective tools in identifying individuals with autism spectrum disorder. This study examined whether the Hong Kong Chinese versions of the Autism-Spectrum Quotient-Child and Autism-Spectrum Quotient-Adolescent were effective in identifying autism spectrum disorder children and adolescents.

Altered cortico-striatal functional connectivity in people with high levels of schizotypy: A longitudinal resting-state study.

Purpose Of The Research: Cortico-striatal functional connectivity has been implicated in the neuropathology of schizophrenia. However, the longitudinal relationship between the cortico-striatal connectivity and schizotypy remains unknown. We examined the resting-state fMRI connectivity in 27 individuals with a high level of schizotypy and 20 individuals with a low level of schizotypy at baseline and 18 months later.