Exploring a multimodal approach for utilizing digital biomarkers for childhood mental health screening.

Background: Depression and anxiety are prevalent mental health concerns among children and adolescents. The application of conventional assessment methods, such as survey questionnaires to children, may lead to self-reporting issues. Digital biomarkers provide extensive data, reducing bias in mental health self-reporting, and significantly influence patient screening. Our primary objectives were to accurately assess children's mental health and to investigate the feasibility of using various digital biomarkers. Methods: This study included a total of 54 boys and girls aged between 7 to 11 years. Each participant's mental state was assessed using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale. Subsequently, the subjects participated in digital biomarker collection tasks. Heart rate variability (HRV) data were collected using a camera sensor. Eye-tracking data were collected through tasks displaying emotion-face stimuli. Voice data were obtained by recording the participants' voices while they engaged in free speech and description tasks. Results: Depressive symptoms were positively correlated with low frequency (LF, 0.04-0.15 Hz of HRV) in HRV and negatively associated with eye-tracking variables. Anxiety symptoms had a negative correlation with high frequency (HF, 0.15-0.40 Hz of HRV) in HRV and a positive association with LF/HF. Regarding stress, eye-tracking variables indicated a positive correlation, while pNN50, which represents the proportion of NN50 (the number of pairs of successive R-R intervals differing by more than 50 milliseconds) divided by the total number of NN (R-R) intervals, exhibited a negative association. Variables identified for childhood depression included LF and the total time spent looking at a sad face. Those variables recognized for anxiety were LF/HF, heart rate (HR), and pNN50. For childhood stress, HF, LF, and Jitter showed different correlation patterns between the two grade groups. Discussion: We examined the potential of multimodal biomarkers in children, identifying features linked to childhood depression, particularly LF and the Sad.TF:time. Anxiety was most effectively explained by HRV features. To explore reasons for non-replication of previous studies, we categorized participants by elementary school grades into lower grades (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and upper grades (4th, 5th, 6th). Conclusion: This study confirmed the potential use of multimodal digital biomarkers for children's mental health screening, serving as foundational research.

Novel Sarcoscypha Species from National Parks in Korea: Sarcoscypha humida sp. nov.

Sarcoscypha (Sarcoscyphaceae, Pezizales) is a saprobic fungus characterized by the cup or disc-shaped blight red apothecium and oblong to ellipsoid ascospores. The 18 species of Sarcoscypha were known to occur in Europe, North America, and tropical Asia. However, up to date, only two Sarcoscypha species have been reported in Korea. In this study, novel Sarcoscypha specimens were collected from Juwangsan, Odaesan, and Taebaeksan National Parks from September to October in Korea. This species is well distinguished from other Sarcoscypha species according to the molecular and phylogenetic analysis based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. Here, we provided detailed descriptions with illustrations and a phylogenetic tree to report our specimens as novel Sarcoscypha species.

Notes of Five Wood-Decaying Fungi from Juwangsan National Park in Korea.

Wood-decaying fungi are essential decomposers in forest ecosystems. They decompose wood substrates by producing various lignocellulolytic enzymes, which have significant industrial and medical applications. A survey was conducted at the Juwangsan National Park from 2018 to 2019 to determine the diversity of macrofungi in Korea. Five previously unrecorded wood-decaying polyporoid and corticioid fungi were identified among the collected specimens: Eichleriella sinensis, Hymenochaete anomala, Hyphoderma subsetigerum, Lyomyces orientalis, and Pseudowrightoporia crassihypha. These species were identified based on morphological, molecular, and phylogenetic analyses of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and nuclear large subunit rDNA (nLSU) region. In this study, we provide detailed macro- and micro-morphological figures with phylogenetic trees to support the discovery of five new species in Korea.

Diversity of the Bambusicolous Fungus Apiospora in Korea: Discovery of New Apiospora Species.

Many Apiospora species have been isolated from bamboo plants - to date, 34 bambusicolous Apiospora species have been recorded. They are known as saprophytes, endophytes, and plant pathogens. In this study, 242 bambusicolous Apiospora were isolated from various bamboo materials (branches, culms, leaves, roots, and shoots) and examined using DNA sequence similarity based on the internal transcribed spacer, 28S large subunit ribosomal RNA gene, translation elongation factor 1-alpha, and beta-tubulin regions. Nine Apiospora species (Ap. arundinis, Ap. camelliae-sinensis, Ap. hysterina, Ap. lageniformis sp. nov., Ap. paraphaeosperma, Ap. pseudohyphopodii sp. nov., Ap. rasikravindrae, Ap. saccharicola, and Ap. sargassi) were identified via molecular analysis. Moreover, the highest diversity of Apiospora was found in culms, and the most abundant species was Ap. arundinis. Among the nine Apiospora species, two (Ap. hysterina and Ap. paraphaeosperma) were unrecorded in Korea, and the other two species (Ap. lageniformis sp. nov. and Ap. pseudohyphopodii sp. nov.) were potentially novel species. Here, we describe the diversity of bambusicolous Apiospora species in bamboo organs, construct a multi-locus phylogenetic tree, and delineate morphological features of new bambusicolous Apiospora in Korea.

Seven Unrecorded Indigenous Fungi from Mudeungsan National Park in Korea.

Fungi act as important decomposers in the forest environment. They recycle essential nutrients, promote plant growth through mycorrhizal relationships, and act as food for small animals. Samples of 265 indigenous fungal species were collected from Mudeungsan National Park in 2020. These species were identified based on morphological, molecular, and phylogenetic analyses using the internal transcribed spacer (ITS), nuclear large subunit rRNA (LSU), and RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (rpb2) regions. Subsequently, seven species were identified as unrecorded species in Korea: Cordyceps cicadae, Dentocorticium bicolor, Hymenochaete nanospora, Physisporinus crataegi, Rigidoporus piceicola, Russula raoultii, and Scutellinia crinita. This study reveals their detailed macro- and microscopic morphological characteristics with phylogenetic trees to report them as unrecorded species in Korea.

Two Unrecorded Apiospora Species Isolated from Marine Substrates in Korea with Eight New Combinations (A. piptatheri and A. rasikravindrae).

Although Apiospora Sacc. has previously been considered a sexual morph of Arthrinium species on the basis of phylogenetic, morphological, and ecological diagnoses, a recent study delimited these as different species. Recently, 14 species, including eight new species, of marine Arthrinium have been reported from Korea. Six known species have previously been renamed as species in the genus Apiospora (A. arundinis, A. marii, A. piptatheri, A. rasikravindrae, A. sacchari, and A. saccharicola). However, the eight new species of marine Arthrinium (Ar. agari, Ar. arctoscopi, Ar. fermenti, Ar. koreanum, Ar. marinum, Ar. pusillispermum, Ar. sargassi, and Ar. taeanense) are yet to be studied, and thus the taxonomic status of these species remains to be clarified. In this study, we conducted phylogenetic analyses using the internal transcribed spacer, 28S large subunit ribosomal RNA gene, translation elongation factor 1-alpha, and beta-tubulin regions to confirm the phylogenetic position of these eight species. Based on these analyses, we re-identified the eight Arthrinium species as new combinations in Apiospora. Additionally, among the six known Apiospora species, two (A. piptatheri and A. rasikravindrae) have not previously been recorded in Korea. On the basis of morphological and molecular analyses, we report these as new species in Korea. Herein, we present scanning electron micrographs detailing the morphologies of these species, along with phylogenetic trees and detailed descriptions.