Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the risks in confronting the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the ongoing lockdown effectiveness in each of Italy, Germany, Spain, France, and the United States using China’s lockdown model simulation, and cases forecast until the plateau phase.Methods: Quantitative and qualitative historical data analysis. Total Risk Assessment (TRA) evaluation tool was used to assess the pre-pandemic stage risks, pandemic threshold fast responsiveness, and the ongoing performance until plateau. The Infected Patient Ratio (IPR) tool was developed to measure the number of patients resulting from 1 infector during the incubation period. Both IPR and TRA were used together to forecast inflection points, plateau phases, intensive care units’ and ventilators’ breakpoints, and the Total Fatality Ratio.Results: In Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and the United States, an inflection point is predicted within the first 15 d of April, to arrive at a plateau after another 30 to 80 d. Variations in IPR drop are expected due to variations in lockdown timing by each country, the extent of adherence to it, and the number of performed tests in each.Conclusions: Both qualitative (TRA) and quantitative (IPR) tools can be used together for assessing and minimizing the pandemic risks and for more precise forecasting.

Music and sounds activate numerous physiological effects associated with the functioning of the autonomic nervous system and involved in the maintenance of homeostasis. As such, sound interventions can play an important role in supporting human wellbeing. Physiological responses are dependent on the sound type and frequency, as well as the spatial conditions and the presence of the subject in the acoustic environment. To arrive at a more articulate understanding of these dependencies, response of subjects (n=44) to sound reproduction of two different singing bowls with fundamental frequencies at 73 Hz and 110 Hz in spatial projection of nine different geometric shapes were monitored by acoustic and physiological measurement. Contrary to other studies, we find no discrete effects related to the sound type or frequency. Observed effects indicating focused attention, relaxation and improved homeostasis were consistently dependent on the combination of sound frequency and spatial condition. Notably, we observe that the 73 Hz stimulus induced significant changes in the Gamma band of Electroencephalography (EEG) in projection of a Tetrahedron and Cube, while the 110 Hz stimulus induced significant changes in the Theta and Beta bands for the same shapes. Discrete effects of spatial shapes were observed in the Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) of subjects. Arousal was significantly decreased during projection of a Cube, Icosahedron and Dodecahedron and significantly increased during Pyramid, Tetrahedron and Sphere, regardless of the frequency. Discrete effects of stimulus duration were observed in GSR and Electromyography (EMG) of subjects, regardless of the frequency and spatial condition. Arousal and muscle tension were significantly increased during the first 15 minutes and decreased until 40 minutes of exposure. We observe highly significant deviations in projected sound waves in the presence of a subject. The localized amplitude difference of sound waves was highly correlated to localization and power of significant changes in brain activity of subjects, while the phase shift of sound wave frequency was predictive of the frequency of brain activity. Significant expressions of Heart Rate (HR) and Heart Rate Variability (HRV) of subjects were highly correlated to the mean, variability and standard deviation of amplitude difference and phase shift of the fundamental frequency and the average across frequencies. We present a model in the form of a transfer function that accurately predicts various physiological expressions in response to sound stimuli on the basis of observed sound wave deviations. We discuss the benefits of such a model and the future work necessary to develop the model to its full predictive capacity.

Sound reproduction is the electro-mechanical re-creation of sound waves using analogue and digital audio equipment. Although sound reproduction implies that repeated acoustical events are close to identical, numerous fixed and variable conditions affect the acoustic result. To arrive at a better understanding of the magnitude of deviations in sound reproduction, amplitude deviation and phase distortion of a sound signal were measured at various reproduction stages and compared under a set of controlled acoustical conditions, one condition being the presence of a human subject in the acoustic test environment. Deviations in electroacoustic reproduction were smaller than ±0.2 dB amplitude and ±3 degrees phase shift when comparing trials recorded on the same day (Δt < 8 h, mean uncertainty $u$ = 1.58%). Deviations increased significantly with greater than two times the amplitude and three times the phase shift when comparing trials recorded on different days (Δt > 16 h, $u$ = 4.63%). Deviations further increased significantly with greater than 15 times the amplitude and the phase shift when a human subject was present in the acoustic environment ($u$ = 24.64%). For the first time, this study shows that the human body does not merely absorb but can also cause amplification of sound energy. The degree of attenuation or amplification per frequency shows complex variance depending on the type of reproduction and the subject, indicating a nonlinear dynamic interaction. The findings of this study may serve as a reference to update acoustical standards and improve accuracy and reliability of sound reproduction and its application in measurements, diagnostics and therapeutic methods.

Gestures are movements we make with our hands and bodies to help us talk and share ideas. This article explains how gestures can make it easier for people to understand and remember concepts. We discuss how gestures can help kids both with and without autism communicate better, especially when finding the right words is tough. Gestures can also make learning new languages more fun and easier by showing how words sound and what they mean. Different types of gestures can make conversation and learning clearer and more exciting. This article shows why using gestures is a smart way to teach and talk with others.

Sound waves are known to be affected by the presence of a human subject in the acoustic environment. Deviations in sound waves are dependent on the position, posture and body mass of the subject, and show consistent variance dependent on the subject and the sound stimulus. To arrive at a better understanding of the nature of this dependency, deviations in sound waves in the presence of a human subject were measured in an acoustic test environment, in conjunction with measurements reporting the physiological and psychological state of subjects in response to a sound stimulus projected in three different room sizes. We find that the absorption or amplification of sound waves in response to the subject is directly proportional to the amplitude of brain activity of the subject, where the amplification of both sound waves and brain activity is associated with an increase in positive valence and decrease in negative valence experienced by the subject. Increased Theta activity corresponded to a strong increase in harmonic power of low sound frequencies in the medium room size, while increased Gamma activity observed in the right parietal lobe indicates an enhanced spatial perception of subjects in this projection. We discuss the potential of these findings for future research and applications.