Objective: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) had lower vitamin D3 levels than neurotypical (NT)

children, as well as de cits in language, social, and ne motor abilities. Nanotechnology has appeared as a

suitable answer to absorption and bioavailability problems related to vitamin D3. This study aims to investigate

the in uence of vitamin D3-loaded nanoemulsion supplementation on adaptive behavior and language perfor-

mance in children with ASD compared to the in uence of the marketed product of vitamin D3.

Methods: Supplementation of ASD children with an oral vitamin D3-loaded nanoemulsion was performed in group

I while the marketed product of the oral vitamin D3 was used in group II for 6 months. Evaluation of their abilities

and measuring the plasma levels of 2 types of vitamin D3 were performed using ultra-performance liquid chro-

matography before and after supplementation.

Results: Supplementation in group I (n ¼ 40) has led to an elevation of levels of 25 (OH) and 1, 25 (OH)2 forms of

vitamin D3 (P < 0.000,1), to behavioral improvement in the form of a reduction in ASD severity, and to a rise in

the social IQ and total language age of ASD children (P¼ 0.000,2, 0.04, 0.000,9, respectively). On the other hand,

group II (n ¼ 40) did not show adaptive behavioral improvements.

Conclusions: The vitamin D3-loaded nanoemulsion provided better vitamin D3 bioavailability and a true in uence

on severity, adaptive behavior, ne motor abilities, and language performance, re ecting the desired bene ts of

the rise of vitamin D3 levels in the blood.

In a discovery that deepens our understanding of animal social bonds, a study led by University of Oxford researchers in collaboration with the University of Leeds has demonstrated that wild great tits exhibit clear behaviours signalling ‘divorce’ long before the breeding season. The findings, published today (30 /29 July) in Royal Society Proceedings B, provide valuable new insights into how animals navigate complex social decisions.

A new analysis suggests that posts in hate speech communities on the social media website Reddit share speech-pattern similarities with posts in Reddit communities for certain psychiatric disorders. Dr. Andrew William Alexander and Dr. Hongbin Wang of Texas A&M University, U.S., present these findings July 29^th in the open-access journal PLOS Digital Health.

In JASA Express Letters, researchers find that it is easier to understand twangy female voices when surrounded by noise. They recruited four male and four female participants to record twangy speech samples, which they then used to create a text-to-speech system. The generated speech samples were then played over noisy environment sounds. Participants listened to both male and female twangy speakers and neutral speakers, and the researchers found that in general, twangy voices were understood more than neutral voices, but participants had the easiest time understanding twangy female voices.