A new force profile signal for a convex solution of muscle force estimation from electromyographic signals.

High-Density Surface Electromyography (HD-sEMG) is a non-invasive technique for measuring the electrical activity of a muscle with multiple, closely spaced electrodes. Estimation of muscle force is one of the applications of HD-sEMG. Usually, validating different EMG-Force models entails simple movements limited to laboratory settings.

Automatic Classification Between COVID-19 and Non-COVID-19 Pneumonia Using Symptoms, Comorbidities, and Laboratory Findings: The Khorshid COVID Cohort Study.

Coronavirus disease-2019, also known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was a disaster in 2020. Accurate and early diagnosis of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is still essential for health policymaking. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) has been performed as the operational gold standard for COVID-19 diagnosis.

Rigorous performance assessment of the algorithms for resolving motor unit action potential superpositions.

It is necessary to decompose the intra-muscular EMG signal to extract motor unit action potential (MUAP) waveforms and firing times. Some algorithms were proposed in the literature to resolve superimposed MUAPs, including Peel-Off (PO), branch and bound (BB), genetic algorithm (GA), and particle swarm optimization (PSO). This study aimed to compare these algorithms in terms of overall accuracy and running time.

Non-invasive Decoding of the Motoneurons: A Guided Source Separation Method Based on Convolution Kernel Compensation With Clustered Initial Points.

Despite the progress in understanding of neural codes, the studies of the cortico-muscular coupling still largely rely on interferential electromyographic (EMG) signal or its rectification for the assessment of motor neuron pool behavior. This assessment is non-trivial and should be used with precaution. Direct analysis of neural codes by decomposing the EMG, also known as neural decoding, is an alternative to EMG amplitude estimation.

Correction: PARS risk charts: A 10-year study of risk assessment for cardiovascular diseases in Eastern Mediterranean Region.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

PARS risk charts: A 10-year study of risk assessment for cardiovascular diseases in Eastern Mediterranean Region.

This study was designed to develop a risk assessment chart for the clinical management and prevention of the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Iranian population, which is vital for developing national prevention programs. The Isfahan Cohort Study (ICS) is a population-based prospective study of 6504 Iranian adults ≥35 years old, followed-up for ten years, from 2001 to 2010. Behavioral and cardiometabolic risk factors were examined every five years, while biennial follow-ups for the occurrence of the events was performed by phone calls or by verbal autopsy.

Neurophysiological evidence of impaired self-monitoring in schizotypal personality disorder and its reversal by dopaminergic antagonism.

Background: Schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) is a schizophrenia-spectrum disorder characterized by odd or bizarre behavior, strange speech, magical thinking, unusual perceptual experiences, and social anhedonia. Schizophrenia proper has been associated with anomalies in dopaminergic neurotransmission and deficits in neurophysiological markers of self-monitoring, such as low amplitude in cognitive event-related brain potentials (ERPs) like the error-related negativity (ERN), and the error positivity (Pe). These components occur after performance errors, rely on adequate fronto-striatal function, and are sensitive to dopaminergic modulation.

Inhibition of alpha oscillations through serotonin-2A receptor activation underlies the visual effects of ayahuasca in humans.

Ayahuasca is an Amazonian psychotropic plant tea typically obtained from two plants, Banisteriopsis caapi and Psychotria viridis. It contains the psychedelic 5-HT2A and sigma-1 agonist N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) plus β-carboline alkaloids with monoamine-oxidase (MAO)-inhibiting properties. Although the psychoactive effects of ayahuasca have commonly been attributed solely to agonism at the 5-HT2A receptor, the molecular target of classical psychedelics, this has not been tested experimentally.

Neurophysiological Evidence of Compensatory Brain Mechanisms in Early-Stage Multiple Sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic central nervous system disorder characterized by white matter inflammation, demyelination and neurodegeneration. Although cognitive dysfunction is a common manifestation, it may go unnoticed in recently-diagnosed patients. Prior studies suggest MS patients develop compensatory mechanisms potentially involving enhanced performance monitoring.

Serotonergic psychedelics temporarily modify information transfer in humans.

Background: Psychedelics induce intense modifications in the sensorium, the sense of "self," and the experience of reality. Despite advances in our understanding of the molecular and cellular level mechanisms of these drugs, knowledge of their actions on global brain dynamics is still incomplete. Recent imaging studies have found changes in functional coupling between frontal and parietal brain structures, suggesting a modification in information flow between brain regions during acute effects.

Apathy in Parkinson's disease: neurophysiological evidence of impaired incentive processing.

Apathy is one of the most common and debilitating nonmotor manifestations of Parkinson's disease (PD) and is characterized by diminished motivation, decreased goal-directed behavior, and flattened affect. Despite its high prevalence, its underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood, having been associated with executive dysfunction, and impaired emotional processing and decision making. Apathy, as a syndrome, has recently been associated with reduced activation in the ventral striatum, suggesting that early- to middle-stage Parkinson's disease patients with this manifestation may have a compromised mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic pathway and impaired incentive processing.