Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

J Commun Disord 2021 Jun 1;93:106124. Epub 2021 Jun 1.

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Chapman University, Irvine, CA, United States. Electronic address:

Purpose: This study evaluated the potential benefit to graduate students' of participating in a service-learning program conducting a storybook reading program for children in a family homeless shelter.

Method: Ten graduate students in the second year of a two-year master's degree program in communication science and disorders participated in the storybook reading program. The graduate students engaged in reflective writing about their experiences and completed self-ratings of confidence in preliteracy skills before and after program participation. Read More

Travel Med Infect Dis 2021 Jun 12:102117. Epub 2021 Jun 12.

Department of Linguistics, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Background: Drugs used in curative and prophylactic antimalarial treatment may be ototoxic and lead to permanent hearing loss, but there is no consensus regarding prevalence and permanence of ototoxic hearing loss caused by antimalarials. The purpose of this systematic narrative review was to synthesize current evidence on antimalarial ototoxicity in human populations.

Method: Studies published between 2005 and 2018 that reported prevalence of post-treatment hearing loss in individuals treated for malaria. Read More

Cell 2021 Jun 9. Epub 2021 Jun 9.

Oral Immunity and Inflammation Section, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Electronic address:

The oral mucosa remains an understudied barrier tissue. This is a site of rich exposure to antigens and commensals, and a tissue susceptible to one of the most prevalent human inflammatory diseases, periodontitis. To aid in understanding tissue-specific pathophysiology, we compile a single-cell transcriptome atlas of human oral mucosa in healthy individuals and patients with periodontitis. Read More

J Autism Dev Disord 2021 Jun 15. Epub 2021 Jun 15.

Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, USA.

This study examined differences in mother-child relationship quality and parent-rated child behavior problems based on child verbal status (i.e., minimally verbal versus verbal) in mothers and their adolescent and adult children with autism spectrum disorder (n = 219 dyads; child M = 25. Read More

Z Kinder Jugendpsychiatr Psychother 2021 Sep 15:1-16. Epub 2021 Sep 15.

Klinik für Psychiatrie, Psychosomatik und Psychotherapie des Kindes- und Jugendalters, Universitätsklinikum Frankfurt, Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main.

Genetic risk factors and their influence on neural development in autism spectrum disorders Abstract. Autism spectrum disorders are etiologically based on genetic and specific gene x biologically relevant environmental risk factors. They are diagnosed based on behavioral characteristics, such as impaired social communication and stereotyped, repetitive behavior and sensory as well as special interests. Read More

Int Q Community Health Educ 2021 Jun 15:272684X211025438. Epub 2021 Jun 15.

Research Center for Environmental Determinants of Health, Health Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Iran.

Background: In recent years, Internet and social media technology use have emerged as an integral tool of human society, and the evolution of technological integration, cyberspace, and web-technology has become a common practice in educational institutions. Internet usage among students has played an indispensable role in learning behavior; however, the excessive usage of the internet and social media leads to internet addiction. This original study has performed a focalized scrutiny on revealing relationships between internet addiction and associated factors among the students of medicine, dentistry, and pharmaceutical departments. Read More

Autism 2021 Jun 15:13623613211024795. Epub 2021 Jun 15.

University of Minnesota, USA.

Lay Abstract: Preschool special educators' are more likely to choose an educational practice to teach a young child with autism a social communication skill if they have positive beliefs about it. We asked preschool special educators to read a description of an autistic student and their social communication goal and imagine they were the student's teacher. We then asked them to pick one of five practices to teach the student. Read More

Cancer Med 2021 Jun 15. Epub 2021 Jun 15.

Cancer and Blood Disease Institute, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Background: Sexual health (SH) is an important concern for adolescents and young adults (AYAs). This study determined current SH communication practices, barriers, and additional resources needed among pediatric oncology clinicians who treat AYAs.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was developed by the Children's Oncology Group (COG) AYA Committee and sent to pediatric oncologists (n = 1,987; 85. Read More

Neuropsychopharmacology 2021 Jun 14. Epub 2021 Jun 14.

Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

Recent evidence has demonstrated that the gut microbiome has marked effects on neuronal function and behavior. Disturbances to microbial populations within the gut have been linked to myriad models of neuropsychiatric disorders. However, the role of the microbiome in substance use disorders remains understudied. Read More

CNS Spectr 2021 Apr;26(2):152

Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc., San Diego, CA, USA.

Objective: Drug-induced movement disorders (DIMDs) may occur in patients treated with antipsychotics. The CommonGround Program supports the recovery and healing of psychiatric outpatients through tools which facilitate better patient-doctor communication regarding psychiatric symptoms, DIMDs, and the effectiveness of treatment.

Methods: Patients responses to CommonGround's web-based waiting-room questionnaire were analyzed in patients who responded yes to having concerns about developing DIMDs (MD-YES) and those who responded no to this question (MD-NO). Read More

Int J Ment Health Syst 2021 Jun 14;15(1):60. Epub 2021 Jun 14.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Department of Global Health and Development, 15-17 Tavistock Place, London, WC1H 9SH, UK.

Background: Since 2011, a large influx of asylum-seekers and refugees has put pressure on the UK's under-resourced national health services and mental health services. Asylum-seekers and refugees (ASR) may experience traumatic events pre-departure, life-threating circumstances on their journeys, and difficulties integrating into host countries related to immigration policies, social isolation, poor living conditions, and unemployment, all of which can significantly affect their mental health. This topic is increasingly important due to the numbers of people seeking asylum and growing concern for their mental health on resettlement. Read More

Complement Ther Clin Pract 2021 May 29;44:101422. Epub 2021 May 29.

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Georgia State University, United States; Department of Learning Sciences, Georgia State University, United States. Electronic address:

Background And Purpose: Naming impairments are often found in aphasia. Combining mHealth technology with mental imagery may offer new insights into novel approaches to naming interventions in persons with aphasia. The aims of this study are to (1) explore whether mental imagery can improve performance during a naming task in adults with aphasia; and, (2) demonstrate the use of app-based data collection for research in aphasia rehabilitation through utilization of an app designed specifically for this study. Read More

Brain Behav Immun 2021 Jun 11. Epub 2021 Jun 11.

University of Delaware, Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, 108 Wolf Hall, Newark, DE, 19716, USA. Electronic address:

Many neurodevelopmental disorders and associated learning deficits have been linked to early-life immune activation or ongoing immune dysregulation (Laskaris et al., 2016; O'Connor et al., 2014; Frick et al. Read More

J Cell Commun Signal 2021 Jun 14. Epub 2021 Jun 14.

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Dentistry, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Kita-ku, Okayama, 700-8525, Japan.

Cellular communication network factor (CCN) 3 is one of the classical members of the CCN family, which are characterized by common molecular structures and multiple functionalities. Although this protein was discovered as a gene product overexpressed in a truncated form in nephroblastoma, recent studies have revealed its physiological roles in the development and homeostasis of mammalian species, in addition to its pathological association with a number of diseases. Cartilage is a tissue that creates most of the bony parts and cartilaginous tissues that constitute the human skeleton, in which CCN3 is also differentially produced to exert its molecular missions therein. Read More

Psychol Aging 2021 Jun 24;36(4):531-542. Epub 2021 May 24.

Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders, University of Iowa.

Increased predictability effects in older compared to younger adults have been mostly observed in late eye-movement measures during reading. However, it is unclear whether and how these effects may be related to verbal ability, which typically improves with age. Past studies have shown that verbal abilities modulate the predictability effect. Read More

Front Surg 2021 28;8:662919. Epub 2021 May 28.

Department of Industrial Engineering, Alma Mater Studiorum, Universita di Bologna, Bologna, Italy.

The number of patients with iatrogenic spinal deformities is increasing due to the increase in instrumented spinal surgeries globally. Correcting a deformity could be challenging due to the complex anatomical and geometrical irregularities caused by previous surgeries and spine degeneration. Virtual and 3D printed models have the potential to illuminate the unique and complex anatomical-geometrical problems found in these patients. Read More

Front Psychol 2021 28;12:673535. Epub 2021 May 28.

Department of Learning Disabilities, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.

We investigated cross-language influences from the first (L1) and second (L2) languages in third (L3) language processing, to examine how order of acquisition and proficiency modulate the degree of cross-language influences, and whether these cross-language influences manifest differently in online and offline measures of L3 processing. The study focused on morpho-syntactic processing of English as an L3 among Arabic-Hebrew-English university student trilinguals ( = 44). Importantly, both L1 (Arabic) and L2 (Hebrew) of participants are typologically distant from L3 (English), which allows overcoming confounds of previous research. Read More

Front Psychol 2021 28;12:651506. Epub 2021 May 28.

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States.

The present study examined the costs and benefits of native language similarity for non-native vocabulary learning. Because learning a second language (L2) is difficult, many learners start with easy words that look like their native language (L1) to jumpstart their vocabulary. However, this approach may not be the most effective strategy in the long-term, compared to introducing difficult L2 vocabulary early on. Read More

Front Hum Neurosci 2021 28;15:660948. Epub 2021 May 28.

Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders, New York University, New York City, NY, United States.

Several studies have demonstrated that individuals' ability to perceive a speech sound contrast is related to the production of that contrast in their native language. The theoretical account for this relationship is that speech perception and production have a shared multimodal representation in relevant sensory spaces (e.g. Read More

Saudi J Biol Sci 2021 Jun 17;28(6):3607-3615. Epub 2021 Mar 17.

Unit of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, AIMST University, Semeling, Bedong, Kedah, Malaysia.

Background: Exosomes are nano-sized membrane vesicles, secreted by different types of cells into the body's biological fluids. They are found in abundance in semen as compared to other fluids. Exosomes contain a cargo of lipid molecules, proteins, phospholipids, cholesterol, mRNAs, and miRNAs. Read More

J Autism Dev Disord 2021 Jun 13. Epub 2021 Jun 13.

Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Centre for Autism Research in Africa (CARA), University of Cape Town, 46 Sawkins Road, Rondebosch, 7700, Cape Town, South Africa.

Digital technologies have the potential to empower individuals with autism and their families. The COVID-19 pandemic emphasized and accelerated the drive towards technology for information, communication, training, clinical care and research, also in the autism community. However, 95% of individuals with autism live in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) where access to electricity, internet and the ever-increasing range of digital devices may be highly limited. Read More

Work 2021 Jun 6. Epub 2021 Jun 6.

Changshu Institute of Technology, Changshu, Jiangsu, China.

Background: College students are a high-risk subpopulation of psychological disorders. The problem of various adverse phenomena and consequences caused by excessive pressure on college students has gradually become the focus of social and psychological academic circles. However, studies related to individual self-concept and psychological pressure are rare. Read More

Work 2021 Jun 6. Epub 2021 Jun 6.

School of Marxism, Wuhan University of Technology, Hubei, Wuhan, China.

Background: interpersonal communication in workplace is a problem that is faced by every employee. It is common in all industries and increasingly lethal. When they are unable to bear such overload of psychological pressure, they tend to suffer from anxiety, irritability, depression, and other psychological disorders and even mental diseases. Read More

Int J Audiol 2021 Jun 13:1-7. Epub 2021 Jun 13.

eMoyo Research Centre, eMoyo Technologies, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Objective: Two consecutive studies sought to determine the (1) Equivalent Threshold Sound Pressure Levels (ETSPLs) and, (2) real ear attenuation thresholds (REAT) for the KUDUwave earcup configured with an insert earphone using a typical immittance probe tip (TPT).

Design: (1) Hearing thresholds were measured for frequencies 125 to 8000 Hz using the TPT. ETSPLs were calculated in an IEC 60318-4 occluded ear simulator. Read More

Autism 2021 Jun 12:13623613211024096. Epub 2021 Jun 12.

University of California, Los Angeles, USA.

Lay Abstract: Siblings have the potential to shape the developmental trajectories of individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Having siblings has been associated with better social communication skills, less severe non-verbal communication deficits, and improved theory of mind abilities in autism spectrum disorder. This study examined the influence of the presence of a sibling, participant's position in the birth order, gender of the closest-age sibling, and gender match of the sibling dyad on the rate of growth in adaptive skills from ages 9 to 26 years among individuals with autism spectrum disorder and individuals with a history of non-spectrum developmental disorders. Read More

Ann Geriatr Med Res 2021 Jun 14. Epub 2021 Jun 14.

Geriatrics and Palliative Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital, Brunei Darussalam.

The increasing survival rate from the intensive care unit (ICU) has led to the recognition that survivors may develop long-term impairments in terms of cognitive, psychiatric and physical domains. This post-ICU syndrome (PICS) as well as the debilitating effects on family members (PICS-F) is usually under-recognised by clinicians. In this paper, two cases of PICS illustrate the different impairments that may occur in ICU survivors. Read More

Neurogastroenterol Motil 2021 Jun 13:e14191. Epub 2021 Jun 13.

Johns Hopkins University Department of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Background: Past research suggests that patient-provider relationships play a crucial role in patient satisfaction with their medical care. However, the essential relationship elements responsible for this effect have not been elucidated and were examined in this study.

Methods: Patients in six gastroenterology clinics at a major medical center completed an anonymous, secure Internet survey about their medical care after a clinic visit. Read More

Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2021 Jun 4;147:110788. Epub 2021 Jun 4.

Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Division of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Cape Town, South Africa.

Background: In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where universal newborn hearing screening programmes are often not available, school entry hearing screening programmes serve as a safeguard for early detection and intervention for hearing loss in school learners.

Objective: To determine a contextually appropriate school entry hearing screening protocol for LMICs.

Methods: A scoping review was utilised to comprehensively search for relevant publications in the following electronic databases: Africa-Wide Information, CINAHL, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition, Cochrane Library, Pubmed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Read More

Pharmacol Res 2021 Jun 10:105729. Epub 2021 Jun 10.

Deakin University, IMPACT - the Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, School of Medicine, Barwon Health, Geelong, Australia; Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, CAMH, 33 Ursula Franklin Street, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. Electronic address:

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) comprises two cognate endocannabinoid receptors referred to as CB1R and CB2R ECS dysregulation is apparent in neurodegenerative/neuro-psychiatric disorders including but not limited to schizophrenia, major depressive disorder and potentially bipolar disorder. The aim of this paper is to review mechanisms whereby both receptors may interact with neuro-immune and neuro-oxidative pathways, which play a pathophysiological role in these disorders. CB1R is located in the presynaptic terminals of GABAergic, glutamatergic, cholinergic, noradrenergic and serotonergic neurons where it regulates the retrograde suppression of neurotransmission. Read More

Brain Cogn 2021 Jun 9;152:105759. Epub 2021 Jun 9.

Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, United States; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, United States; Department of Cognitive Science, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, United States.

Affective prosody, or the changes in rate, rhythm, pitch, and loudness that convey emotion, has long been implicated as a function of the right hemisphere (RH), yet there is a dearth of literature identifying the specific neural regions associated with its processing. The current systematic review aimed to evaluate the evidence on affective prosody localization in the RH. One hundred and ninety articles from 1970 to February 2020 investigating affective prosody comprehension and production in patients with focal brain damage were identified via database searches. Read More