Acoustic Characteristics of Voice and Speech in Post-COVID-19.

Background/objectives: The aim of this paper was to compare voice and speech characteristics between post-COVID-19 and control subjects. The hypothesis was that acoustic parameters of voice and speech may differentiate subjects infected by COVID-19 from control subjects. Additionally, we expected to observe the persistence of symptoms in women.

Complete blood count-based inflammation indexes and symptom severity in people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders: An analysis based on structural equation modelling.

Introduction: Schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs) are associated with immune-inflammatory activation. Recently, complete blood count (CBC)-based inflammation indexes such as the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), the monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), and the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) have emerged as reproducible and cost-effective inflammation markers in mental disorders. In this study, we aimed at investigating the relationship of NLR, MLR, and PLR with symptom severity in people with SSDs, testing interactions with relevant clinical variables.

Natural language processing in the classification of radiology reports in benign gallbladder diseases.

Objective: To develop a natural language processing application capable of automatically identifying benign gallbladder diseases that require surgery, from radiology reports.

Materials And Methods: We developed a text classifier to classify reports as describing benign diseases of the gallbladder that do or do not require surgery. We randomly selected 1,200 reports describing the gallbladder from our database, including different modalities.

Prevalence and correlates of manic/hypomanic and depressive predominant polarity in bipolar disorder: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Identification of the predominant polarity, i.e. hypomanic/manic (mPP) or depressive predominant polarity (dPP), might help clinicians to improve personalised management of bipolar disorder.

Highly stretchable and customizable microneedle electrode arrays for intramuscular electromyography.

Stretchable three-dimensional (3D) penetrating microelectrode arrays have potential utility in various fields, including neuroscience, tissue engineering, and wearable bioelectronics. These 3D microelectrode arrays can penetrate and conform to dynamically deforming tissues, thereby facilitating targeted sensing and stimulation of interior regions in a minimally invasive manner. However, fabricating custom stretchable 3D microelectrode arrays presents material integration and patterning challenges.

Neuronal innervation regulates the secretion of neurotrophic myokines and exosomes from skeletal muscle.

Myokines and exosomes, originating from skeletal muscle, are shown to play a significant role in maintaining brain homeostasis. While exercise has been reported to promote muscle secretion, little is known about the effects of neuronal innervation and activity on the yield and molecular composition of biologically active molecules from muscle. As neuromuscular diseases and disabilities associated with denervation impact muscle metabolism, we hypothesize that neuronal innervation and firing may play a pivotal role in regulating secretion activities of skeletal muscles.

On the mechanical origins of waving, coiling and skewing in roots.

By masterfully balancing directed growth and passive mechanics, plant roots are remarkably capable of navigating complex heterogeneous environments to find resources. Here, we present a theoretical and numerical framework which allows us to interrogate and simulate the mechanical impact of solid interfaces on the growth pattern of plant organs. We focus on the well-known waving, coiling, and skewing patterns exhibited by roots of when grown on inclined surfaces, serving as a minimal model of the intricate interplay with solid substrates.

Geometry for low-inertia aerosol capture: Lessons from fog-basking beetles.

Water in the form of windborne fog droplets supports life in many coastal arid regions, where natural selection has driven nontrivial physical adaptation toward its separation and collection. For two species of Namib desert beetle whose body geometry makes for a poor filter, subtle modifications in shape and texture have been previously associated with improved performance by facilitating water drainage from its collecting surface. However, little is known about the relevance of these modifications to the flow physics that underlies droplets' impaction in the first place.

Exploring depression in people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders: A cross-sectional analysis of the clinical relationship with Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale dimensions.

Objective: Evidence on the relationship between depression and clinical dimensions of schizophrenia remains limited. This cross-sectional study investigated the association between depression and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) dimensions in people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Methods: Trained assessors administered the PANSS to measure symptoms of schizophrenia and the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia to measure depression.

Mind In Vitro Platforms: Versatile, Scalable, Robust, and Open Solutions to Interfacing with Living Neurons.

Motivated by the unexplored potential of in vitro neural systems for computing and by the corresponding need of versatile, scalable interfaces for multimodal interaction, an accurate, modular, fully customizable, and portable recording/stimulation solution that can be easily fabricated, robustly operated, and broadly disseminated is presented. This approach entails a reconfigurable platform that works across multiple industry standards and that enables a complete signal chain, from neural substrates sampled through micro-electrode arrays (MEAs) to data acquisition, downstream analysis, and cloud storage. Built-in modularity supports the seamless integration of electrical/optical stimulation and fluidic interfaces.

Unlocking the Complexity of Neuromuscular Diseases: Insights from Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Neuromuscular Junctions.

Over the past 20 years, the use of pluripotent stem cells to mimic the complexities of the human neuromuscular junction has received much attention. Deciphering the key mechanisms underlying the establishment and maturation of this complex synapse has been driven by the dual goals of addressing developmental questions and gaining insight into neuromuscular disorders. This review aims to summarise the evolution and sophistication of in vitro neuromuscular junction models developed from the first differentiation of human embryonic stem cells into motor neurons to recent neuromuscular organoids.

The impact of body image dissatisfaction on psychological distress and health-related quality of life among patients in methadone treatment.

Background And Objectives: Minimal research has examined body image dissatisfaction (BID) among patients receiving methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). We tested associations between BID and MMT quality indicators (psychological distress, mental and physical health-related quality of life [HRQoL]) and whether these associations varied by gender.

Methods: One hundred and sixty-four participants (n = 164) in MMT completed self-report measures of body mass index (BMI), BID, and MMT quality indicators.

Remote control of muscle-driven miniature robots with battery-free wireless optoelectronics.

Bioengineering approaches that combine living cellular components with three-dimensional scaffolds to generate motion can be used to develop a new generation of miniature robots. Integrating on-board electronics and remote control in these biological machines will enable various applications across engineering, biology, and medicine. Here, we present hybrid bioelectronic robots equipped with battery-free and microinorganic light-emitting diodes for wireless control and real-time communication.

Microtubules self-repair in living cells.

Microtubule self-repair has been studied both in vitro and in vivo as an underlying mechanism of microtubule stability. The turnover of tubulin dimers along the microtubule has challenged the pre-existing dogma that only growing ends are dynamic. However, although there is clear evidence of tubulin incorporation into the shaft of polymerized microtubules in vitro, the possibility of such events occurring in living cells remains uncertain.

What's in a Name? Terminology Preferences Among Patients Receiving Methadone Treatment.

Background: Despite recognition of the importance of substance use disorder (SUD) terminology, few studies examine terminology preferences among patients with SUDs.

Objective: To examine preferences of patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) concerning the terminology used by addiction counselors.

Design: From January 1, 2019, to February 28, 2020, participants were recruited consecutively from 30-day treatment review sessions at outpatient methadone treatment programs in the Northeastern United States to complete a cross-sectional survey.

Multicurvature viscous streaming: Flow topology and particle manipulation.

Viscous streaming refers to the rectified, steady flows that emerge when a liquid oscillates around an immersed microfeature. Relevant to microfluidics, the resulting local, strong inertial effects allow manipulation of fluid and particles effectively, within short time scales and compact footprints. Nonetheless, practically, viscous streaming has been stymied by a narrow set of achievable flow topologies, limiting scope and application.

A Student Walks into Class … Vignettes to Identify Substance Use Disorder Models of Illness among College Students.

Introduction: Illness models, including illness recognition, perceived severity, and perceived nature can affect treatment-seeking behaviors. Vignettes are a leading approach to examine models of illness but are understudied for substance use disorders (SUDs). We created vignettes for multiple common DSM-5 SUDs and assessed SUD illness models among college students.

Micromechanical Origin of Plasticity and Hysteresis in Nestlike Packings.

Disordered packings of unbonded, semiflexible fibers represent a class of materials spanning contexts and scales. From twig-based bird nests to unwoven textiles, bulk mechanics of disparate systems emerge from the bending of constituent slender elements about impermanent contacts. In experimental and computational packings of wooden sticks, we identify prominent features of their response to cyclic oedometric compression: nonlinear stiffness, transient plasticity, and eventually repeatable velocity-independent hysteresis.

Physical properties of the cytoplasm modulate the rates of microtubule polymerization and depolymerization.

The cytoplasm is a crowded, visco-elastic environment whose physical properties change according to physiological or developmental states. How the physical properties of the cytoplasm impact cellular functions in vivo remains poorly understood. Here, we probe the effects of cytoplasmic concentration on microtubules by applying osmotic shifts to fission yeast, moss, and mammalian cells.

Genotyping Analysis by RAD-Seq Reads Is Useful to Assess the Genetic Identity and Relationships of Breeding Lines in Lavender Species Aimed at Managing Plant Variety Protection.

Lavender species are widely distributed in their wild forms around the Mediterranean Basin and they are also cultivated worldwide as improved and registered clonal varieties. The economic interest of the species belonging to the genus is determined by their use as ornamental plants and important source of essential oils that are destinated to the production of cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and foodstuffs. Because of the increasing number of cases of illegal commercialization of selected varieties, the protection of plant breeders' rights has become of main relevance for the recognition of breeding companies' royalties.

Developing and Testing Molecular Markers in (Hemp) for Their Use in Variety and Dioecy Assessments.

(2 = 2 = 20) is a popular species belonging to the Cannabaceae family. Despite its use for medical, recreational, and industrial purposes as well as its long history, the genetic research on this species is in its infancy due to the legal implications and the prohibition campaigns. The recent legalization of in many countries along with the use of genomics boosted the approaches aimed at marker-assisted selection, germplasm management, genetic discrimination, and authentication of cultivars.

Friction modulation in limbless, three-dimensional gaits and heterogeneous terrains.

Motivated by a possible convergence of terrestrial limbless locomotion strategies ultimately determined by interfacial effects, we show how both 3D gait alterations and locomotory adaptations to heterogeneous terrains can be understood through the lens of local friction modulation. Via an effective-friction modeling approach, compounded by 3D simulations, the emergence and disappearance of a range of locomotory behaviors observed in nature is systematically explained in relation to inhabited environments. Our approach also simplifies the treatment of terrain heterogeneity, whereby even solid obstacles may be seen as high friction regions, which we confirm against experiments of snakes 'diffracting' while traversing rows of posts, similar to optical waves.

An unrecognized inertial force induced by flow curvature in microfluidics.

Modern inertial microfluidics routinely employs oscillatory flows around localized solid features or microbubbles for controlled, specific manipulation of particles, droplets, and cells. It is shown that theories of inertial effects that have been state of the art for decades miss major contributions and strongly underestimate forces on small suspended objects in a range of practically relevant conditions. An analytical approach is presented that derives a complete set of inertial forces and quantifies them in closed form as easy-to-use equations of motion, spanning the entire range from viscous to inviscid flows.