Biology subjects

Oren, L.

Publications and source records attributed to Oren, L..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Multidimensional Electroglottographic Characterization of Immediate Responses to Straw Phonation: A Pilot Methodological Study in Singers

Semi-occluded vocal tract (SOVT) exercises are widely used in voice training and therapy, but their immediate electroglottographic (EGG) effects remain incompletely characterized. In this pilot methodological study, six female community singers completed a no-straw baseline recording and then 1-min straw-phonation exercises with four straws (Household metal, Metal VoiceStraw, plastic, and paper), each followed by a no-straw EGG recording. Thirty 1s recordings were analyzed with a standardized pipeline including contact quotient (CQ), waveform skewness, contact-phase rise/fall timing, temporal skewness (s_t), a normalized derivative asymmetry index (NDAI), average-cycle morphology, and EGG spectral descriptors. Relative to baseline, group-mean CQ was higher after all four straws (by 0.027-0.058), waveform skewness and NDAI were lower, and the EGG spectral centroid was lower (by 9.6-15.3%). Contact-phase timing asymmetry did not change consistently: s_t exceeded baseline after three straws and fell below it after one, and the rise/fall ratio decreased in three to five of six participants depending on the straw. Four participants ranked the Metal VoiceStraw first and two ranked paper first. Because every straw condition followed the baseline, warm-up and order effects cannot be separated from straw effects. These hypothesis-generating results identify CQ, waveform skewness, and EGG spectral centroid as candidate endpoints for a larger controlled study

physiology↗

bioRxiv2026

Characterization of a major thrashabilly locus in tetraploid wheat

The transition from hulled to free-threshing grain was a pivotal event in wheat domestication, enabling efficient harvesting and processing. Threshability in tetraploid wheat is controlled primarily by the Q locus and two Tenacious glume (Tg) loci on chromosomes 2A and 2B, yet the molecular basis of the major Tg1-B locus remains incompletely characterized. Here, we phenotyped a durum wheat x wild emmer wheat (WEW) recombinant inbred line (RIL) population across two field environments and performed QTL analysis for glume tenacity (TG), threshability ratio (THRR), and seed number per spike (SDNPS). A total of 19 significant QTLs were detected across six chromosomes. The largest-effect loci for both TG and THRR co-localized on chromosome 2B, with LOD scores up to 14.22 and phenotypic variance explained up to 31.2%, corresponding to the previously described Tg1-B locus. To validate this QTL, the donor RIL was backcrossed three times to Svevo to generate a near-isogenic line, NIL-65 (BC3F5), confirmed by whole-genome skim sequencing to carry a homozygous WEW introgression at Tg1-B. A segregating BC4F2 population derived from NIL-65 confirmed that plants homozygous for the dominant Tg1-B allele displayed significantly higher glume tenacity and intact glume morphology compared to tg1-B sister lines, which exhibited basal glume cracking characteristic of the free-threshing phenotype. Genotyping-by-sequencing delimited the causal interval to an approximately 11 Mb introgression on chromosome 2B. These results confirm the major role of Tg1-B in determining glume tenacity in tetraploid wheat, provide a validated near-isogenic germplasm resource, and lay the foundation for fine-mapping and functional characterization of the underlying gene(s).

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2026

Computational and Experimental Evaluation of a Flow-Conditioning Anastomotic Device for Arteriovenous Fistula Maturation

The arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is the preferred method of vascular access for hemodialysis; however, 30-50% of AVFs undergo primary failure and are unsuitable for clinical use. As disturbed hemodynamics initiate endothelial injury and intimal hyperplasia, we designed an endovascular flow-conditioning anastomotic device (FCAD) to directly improve AVF hemodynamics and protect the anastomotic region. Using computational fluid dynamics, we characterized the flow field and wall shear stress (WSS) profiles in idealized AVF models with and without the FCAD. Incorporation of the FCAD into a brachiocephalic AVF model reduced regions of oscillatory WSS and generated a symmetrical flow profile in the draining vein compared to a reference AVF. Parametric studies also identified an FCAD geometry with a tab angle, height, and aspect ratio of 30{degrees}, 0.1 diameters, and 1.0 restored time-averaged WSS along the inner venous wall, achieving a physiological level without inducing regions of oscillatory flow throughout the cardiac cycle. Similar findings were observed with an in vitro model using particle imaging velocimetry. This study demonstrates the feasibility of the FCAD to normalize venous flow and WSS while imposing minimal resistance to blood flow. Restoring physiological WSS levels on the venous wall is expected to preserve endothelial function and improve AVF maturation.

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2018

Genome based QTL and meta-QTL analyses of thousand-kernel weight in tetraploid wheat

The domestication and subsequent genetic improvement of wheat led to the development of large-seeded cultivated wheat species relative to their smaller-seeded wild progenitors. While increased grain weight (GW) continues to be an important goal of many wheat breeding programs, few genes underlying this trait have been identified despite an abundance of studies reporting quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for GW. Here we perform a QTL analysis for GW using a population of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from the cross between wild emmer wheat accession Zavitan and durum wheat variety Svevo. Identified QTLs in this population were anchored to the recent Zavitan reference genome, along with previously published QTLs for GW in tetraploid wheat. This genome-based, meta-QTL analysis enabled the identification of a locus on chromosome 6A whose introgression from wild wheat positively affects GW. The locus was validated using an introgression line carrying the 6A GW QTL region from Zavitan in a Svevo background, resulting in >8% increase in GW compared to Svevo. Using the reference sequence for the 6A QTL region, we identified a wheat ortholog to OsGRF4, a rice gene previously associated with GW. The coding sequence of this gene (TtGRF4-A) contains four SNPs between Zavitan and Svevo, one of which reveals the Zavitan allele to be rare in a core collection of wild emmer and completely absent from the domesticated emmer genepool. Similarly, another wild emmer accession (G18-16) was found to carry a rare allele of TtGRF4-A that also positively affects GW and is characterized by a unique SNP absent from the entire core collection. These results exemplify the rich genetic diversity of wild wheat, posit TtGRF4-A as a candidate gene underlying the 6A GW QTL, and suggest that the natural Zavitan and G18-16 alleles of TtGRF4-A have potential to increase wheat yields in breeding programs.

plant biology↗