Facial and Vocal Markers of Schizophrenia Measured Using Remote Smartphone Assessments: Observational Study

Background

Machine learning–based facial and vocal measurements have demonstrated relationships with schizophrenia diagnosis and severity. Demonstrating utility and validity of remote and automated assessments conducted outside of controlled experimental or clinical settings can facilitate scaling such measurement tools to aid in risk assessment and tracking of treatment response in populations that are difficult to engage.

Objective

This study aimed to determine the accuracy of machine learning–based facial and vocal measurements acquired through automated assessments conducted remotely through smartphones.

Methods

Measurements of facial and vocal characteristics including facial expressivity, vocal acoustics, and speech prevalence were assessed in 20 patients with schizophrenia over the course of 2 weeks in response to two classes of prompts previously utilized in experimental laboratory assessments: evoked prompts, where subjects are guided to produce specific facial expressions and speech; and spontaneous prompts, where subjects are presented stimuli in the form of emotionally evocative imagery and asked to freely respond. Facial and vocal measurements were assessed in relation to schizophrenia symptom severity using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale.

Results

Vocal markers including speech prevalence, vocal jitter, fundamental frequency, and vocal intensity demonstrated specificity as markers of negative symptom severity, while measurement of facial expressivity demonstrated itself as a robust marker of overall schizophrenia symptom severity.

Conclusions

Established facial and vocal measurements, collected remotely in schizophrenia patients via smartphones in response to automated task prompts, demonstrated accuracy as markers of schizophrenia symptom severity. Clinical implications are discussed.

Sharing Spaces and Entanglements With Big Cats: The Warli and Their Waghoba in Maharashtra, India

Long histories of sharing space and resources have built complex, robust, and enduring relationships between humans and wildlife in many communities across the world. In order to understand what makes it possible for humans and wildlife to share space, we have to look beyond the ecological and socio-economic study of damages caused by human-wildlife conflict and explore the cultural and societal context within which co-existence is embedded. We conducted an exploratory study on the institution of Waghoba, a big cat deity worshiped by the Indigenous Warli community in Maharashtra, India. Through our research, we found that the worship of Waghoba is highly prevalent, with 150 shrines dedicated to this deity across our study site. We also learnt that the Warlis believe in a reciprocal relationship, where Waghoba will protect them from the negative impacts of sharing spaces with big cats if the people worship the deity and conduct the required rituals, especially the annual festival of Waghbaras. We propose that such relationships facilitate the sharing spaces between humans and leopards that live in the landscape. The study also revealed the ways in which the range of institutions and stakeholders in the landscape shape the institution of Waghoba and thereby contribute to the human-leopard relationship in the landscape. This is relevant for present-day wildlife conservation because such traditional institutions are likely to act as tolerance-building mechanisms embedded within the local cosmology. Further, it is vital that the dominant stakeholders outside of the Warli community (such as the Forest Department, conservation biologists, and other non-Warli residents who interact with leopards) are informed about and sensitive to these cultural representations because it is not just the biological animal that the Warlis predominantly deal with.

Potential of NO donor furoxan as SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) inhibitors: in silico analysis

The sharp spurt in positive cases of novel coronavirus-19 (SARS-CoV-2) worldwide has created a big threat to human. In view to expedite new drug leads for COVID-19, Main Proteases (M^pro) of novel Coronavirus (SARS‐CoV‐2) has emerged as a crucial target for this virus. Nitric oxide (NO) inhibits the replication cycle of SARS-CoV. Inhalation of nitric oxide is used in the treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome. Herein, we evaluated the phenyl furoxan, a well-known exogenous NO donor to identify the possible potent inhibitors through in silico studies such as molecular docking as per target analysis for candidates bound to substrate binding pocket of SARS-COV-2 M^pro. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of most stable docked complexes (M^pro-22 and M^pro-26) helped to confirm the notable conformational stability of these docked complexes under dynamic state. Furthermore, Molecular mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann surface area (MM-PBSA) calculations revealed energetic contributions of key residues of M^pro in binding with potent furoxan derivatives 22, 26. In the present study to validate the molecular docking, MD simulation and MM-PBSA results, crystal structure of M^pro bound to experimentally known inhibitor X77 was used as control and the obtained results are presented herein. We envisaged that spiro-isoquinolino-piperidine-furoxan moieties can be used as effective ligand for SARS-CoV-2 M^pro inhibition due to the presence of key isoquinolino-piperidine skeleton with additional NO effect.

Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

An investigation of folic acid-protein association sites and the effect of this association on folic acid self-assembly

The contribution of folic acid (FA)-tryptophan interactions to FA-protein association was investigated in the context of using FA as a drug carrier in protein delivery systems. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) and indolicidin were used as model proteins in the study. The FA-BSA complex was characterized by using the Bradford reagent to identify the impact of FA-BSA association on BSA-dye reagent interactions. UV-visible spectroscopic analysis of the FA-BSA mixture showed that the absorbance maximum of BSA-dye reagent occurred at 595 nm, even after the association of FA with BSA. This confirms that protonated amino acid groups of the protein are not involved in FA-BSA association. Moreover, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation confirmed the presence of an associative interaction between aromatic moieties in FA and tryptophan moieties in the indolicidin molecule, which disrupted FA self-assembly. An X-ray diffraction (XRD) study showed that there was limited disruption of FA self-assembly after the addition of BSA or tryptophan. This suggests that FA and BSA are compatible and associate with each other. Graphical Abstract Mechanism of folic acid and protein association.

Women's acceptability and husband's support of rapid HIV testing of pregnant women in India

This study examined acceptability among pregnant women and their husbands for HIV testing within the antenatal clinic (ANC) and delivery room (DR) of a government hospital in Pune, India from September 2000 to November 2001. Acceptance of HIV counselling and testing was high with 83% of eligible women in the antenatal clinic (851 of 1025) and 68% of eligible women in the delivery room (417 of 613) getting tested on the same day. Structured interviews were conducted on 94 pregnant women in the ANC 50 women in the DR, and 100 husbands who accompanied their wives in the ANC. These data indicated that the majority of women agreed to be tested independently without the need for further consultation with family members, a view that was strongly supported in this sub-sample of accompanying husbands. For delivering women who were not progressing in their labour, counselling in the DR allowed for individual attention to questions and concerns thereby making counselling in the DR feasible.