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Making an impression : Participant-led voice synthesis reveals the acoustic signatures of trait impressions
No full textListeners rapidly form trait impressions from voices, inferring multiple person characteristics within milliseconds. We employed a novel method, Self-Steered Sound Synthesis (S4), to identify and compare the acoustic signatures underlying these impressions. Participants interactively used S4 to synthesise voices expressing six person characteristics - age, masculinity, health, attractiveness, dominance, and trustworthiness - by manipulating four perceptually salient acoustic dimensions: mean pitch, pitch excursion, breathiness, and formant spacing. Masculinity, older age, and dominance were conveyed by lowering mean pitch and formant spacing, consistent with projecting the impression of a large person, and by flattening the intonation. Physical health, attractiveness, and trustworthiness were conveyed by choosing less extreme and more “typical” acoustic properties. A second perceptual experiment confirmed that the synthesised voices from Experiment 1 indeed conveyed the intended person characteristics to an independent sample of listeners, and that listeners relied on similar acoustic cues for their evaluations. From a methodological perspective, we demonstrate the robustness of S4 and present convergent evidence from two drastically different approaches, thus providing a comprehensive account of impression formation that bridges voice production (or synthesis) and perception. From a theoretical perspective, our findings agree with the hypothesis that trait impressions occur within a continuous “trait space”, highlighting the graded and intercorrelated nature of different person characteristics on a perceptual and conceptual level. We extend this framework by showing that not only perceptual judgements, but also the acoustic signatures of person characteristics show intercorrelations, thus integrating acoustic cues into perceptual models of voice perception
Genetic risk factors and clinical manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus : Large-scale analysis of genetic predisposition and disease subtypes
No full textBackground: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with a heterogenous clinical picture. This study aimed to link genetic SLE predisposition with relevant clinical manifestations. Method: Datasets best corresponding to the 11 American College of Rheumatology 1982 (ACR-82) classification criteria for SLE in a large, public database (FinnGen consortium, >218,000 individuals) were identified. Mendelian randomization analysis was conducted to evaluate the effect of a high genetic SLE predisposition on each manifestation. Next, validation was conducted in a clinical SLE cohort comprising 1487 genotyped Scandinavian patients with detailed clinical data. Based on the public datasets, genetic risk scores (GRSs) for each relevant manifestation were constructed for each patient. Associations between each GRS and the corresponding ACR-82 criterion were evaluated using logistic regression. Results: In the FinnGen biobank, the cumulative effect of the 57 SLE risk SNPs was associated with an increased risk of rosacea, OR 1.09 (1.03–1.16), polyarthropathies, OR 1.10 (1.06–1.14), pleural effusions, OR 1.09 (1.04–1.14), and hemolytic anemia, OR 1.32 (1.10–1.58). In the clinical cohort, 5 of the 11 GRSs generated from the public datasets were associated with their corresponding ACR-82 criterion: arthritis, OR 1.15 (1.02–1.31), renal disorder, OR 1.15 (1.04–1.29), neurologic disorder, OR 1.24 (1.04–1.47), hematologic disorder, OR 1.12 (1.00–1.24), and immunologic disorder, OR 1.37 (1.22–1.56). Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that known SLE risk gene variants play a role in the development of at least half of the ACR-82 criteria for SLE, indicating a future possibility of using genetics to predict a variety of disease sub-phenotypes in SLE
Institutional logics of the smart city and the emergence of new configurations of local governance
No full textThe smart city is a prominent urban development discourse that has been applied to urban policies and programs around the world. To date, there are limited empirical insights on how smart city policies and programs are leading to institutional change in urban local governance. Recent scholarship has mobilized the notion of institutional logics to unpack how the broader smart city discourse shapes local governance landscapes. We contribute to this scholarship by exploring how institutional logics of the smart city come together in context-specific configurations. To do so, we draw upon empirical findings from an in-depth qualitative case study of Kochi, one of the first 20 cities to win funding from India's Smart Cities Mission. The study findings show how institutional logics of the smart city shape the structure and functioning of the new organisation – the smart city special purpose vehicle (SPV) - set up to implement smart city projects. A hybridisation of corporate and technocratic logics shapes the governance structure of the SPV as a corporate organisation with a company board staffed by licenced professions hired from the private sector. Tensions among collaboration, innovation, and bureaucratic logics shape and limit the functioning of the SPV as various smart city experiments face resistance from bureaucratic logics of the state government actors involved. A hybridisation of branding and market logics connects the city to global smart city trends and enhances the reputation of Kochi through marketing and boosterism. The study provides new insights on how smart city policies and programmes are resulting in institutional changes at the local level
Pesticides and habitat loss additively reduce wild bees in crop fields
No full textPesticide use and habitat loss are major anthropogenic drivers of bee decline, raising global concerns about impaired crop pollination. However, the relative importance of these stressors and their combined impact on bee assemblages comprising species with different traits, such as body size or nesting strategy, remains unknown. Here we addressed these key knowledge gaps in a global quantitative synthesis analysing bee assemblage data from 681 crop fields across three continents. We found that both local pesticide hazards and decreasing proportions of semi-natural habitats in surrounding landscapes negatively affected wild bee abundance and species richness in crop fields, while pesticides additionally reduced functional and phylogenetic diversity. Semi-natural habitat availability did not buffer against these negative pesticide effects, nor did we identify any specific traits rending bees more vulnerable to one of the two drivers. Our findings highlight the pressing need to reduce non-target effects of pesticide use and emphasize that conservation and restoration of semi-natural habitats successfully promote wild bees, but are insufficient strategies to mitigate pesticide-driven losses of wild bee pollinators from crop fields
Contesting the policy proposal to raise the statutory retirement age in an online community of mainly young users
No full textChina’s September 2024 proposal to raise the statutory retirement age prompted online debate over its implications. This study examines how the policy proposal was discussed and framed on Zhihu, a Chinese question-and-answer online community primarily composed of young users (a relevant but underexamined group whose contributions to the pension system and perspectives may shape policy legitimacy and feasibility). 1,298 posts were collected over the six days following the proposal announcement and analyzed using thematic and framing analysis. Five key themes emerged from the posts: barriers to extending working life (e.g., ageism), reduced autonomy in everyday life (e.g., unmet family caregiving duties), structural disparities in pension schemes (e.g., occupation- and gender-based differences), rationales for the policy proposal, and intergenerational tensions. Five frames were identified: risk, inequality, compromised well-being, conflict, and opportunity. The findings suggest that the online discourse is predominantly critical and grievance-laden and is intertwined with broader societal and institutional issues. Multiple coexisting frames articulate the diverse experiences and structural conditions of different social groups across age, gender, occupation, and other intersecting identities. The findings suggest that policymakers in labor, health, and social welfare should engage more cautiously with issues raised within the online community, particularly concerns about structural inequalities and disadvantages affecting different social groups
Why Are Iranians Chanting for Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi?
No full textChants for Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during Iran’s nationwide protests are not expressions of nostalgia but demands for political legitimacy and continuity. As Iran’s opposition remains fragmented and burdened by past violence, many Iranians increasingly look to institutional legitimacy rather than ideology. The article argues that legitimacy will be the decisive factor shaping Iran’s potential transition and its regional consequences
Flame soot characterization using combined multi-wavelength thermo-optical analysis and Raman spectroscopy
No full textMulti-wavelength thermo-optical analysis (MW-TOA) and Raman spectroscopy are commonly used methods to study soot sampled on filters, in terms of carbon content, nanostructure, and absorption properties. In this work, these techniques were combined to study how these characteristic properties of soot change in premixed flames, 1) at various flame heights during soot maturation and 2) as a result of potassium addition to the fuel. It was found from MW-TOA that sampled soot showed decreasing organic carbon (OC) fraction and increasing elemental carbon (EC) fraction with flame height. During heat treatment, light absorption increased significantly in the immature sampled soot. Soot from all sampling heights reached similar MAC values at the end of the inert heating stage. In the immature soot, the initially high absorption Ångström exponent (AAE) decreased significantly during heat treatment in MW-TOA due to evaporation of volatile OC and through carbonization, while in the mature soot the initially low AAE changed negligibly during heat treatment. Potassium (K) addition to the fuel/air-mixture resulted in lower soot absorption, lower EC fraction, a strong reduction of the nucleation size mode and a shift of the accumulation size mode toward smaller sizes. Despite the clear changes in soot properties from MW-TOA, Raman spectroscopic analysis showed relatively small differences with K addition
The Travel Agency is on Fire : Concert with Ensemble PHACE, Wiener Konzerhaus, Wien
No full textPerformance featuring spherical amplification.Zyklus #2 “The Travel Agency is on Fire” Berio Saal, Wiener Konzerthaus, Wien (AT)Ensemble PHACE 23/01/2026PHACE Michael Krenn, saxophone Manuel Alcaraz Clemente, percussion Francesco Palmieri, electric guitar Roland Schueler, electric violoncello Mathilde Housiangou, synthesizeSarah Maria Sun, voiceProgram:Lang, Bernhard (*1957) – The Travel Agency is on Fire (for voice, five instruments, playback and video) [2020
What do we mean with integrated risk management? : A research profiling comparing DRM and other fields of risk management
No full textThe concept of integrated risk management (IRM) has developed as a response to more interconnected and complex contexts. To investigate how the concept is used and what is meant with integration in the scientific literature, a research profiling was carried out across all kinds of risk management applications. 1094 publications from scientific journals, conference proceedings, and books were included. The study period of 21 years showed a steady increase in the use of IRM, especially for risk management in the private sector and for natural hazard risks. 634 of the publications were published in 331 different journals, representing a large range of scientific disciplines. Only 30 % of the publications were connected by internal referencing. 86 different specific risks were identified and clustered into seven risk clusters. Two major types of integration were identified: firstly, of different aspects of the risk itself or within the risk management process, and secondly, between the risk management process and a wider context of other objectives and processes related to business, society, or ecosystems. The integration of natural hazard risks mainly was in relation to societal processes and ecosystems, whereas integration of business-related risks took place mainly within the business sector. Overall, the literature on IRM is fragmented, with a few exceptions where discourses have developed around certain risks like flood risk and enterprise risk. The development of a more general understanding of integration across different fields of risk management would benefit analyses and decision-making in an increasingly interconnected world