Contact Index Research Articles

Uncovering Gender-Specific and Cross-Gender Features in Mandarin Deception: An Acoustic and Electroglottographic Approach.

This study aimed to investigate the acoustic and electroglottographic (EGG) profiles of Mandarin deception, including global characteristics and the influence of gender. Thirty-six Mandarin speakers participated in an interactive interview game in which they provided both deceptive and truthful answers to 14 biographical questions. Acoustic and EGG signals of the participants' responses were simultaneously recorded; 20 acoustic and 14 EGG features were analyzed using binary logistic regression models. Increases in fundamental frequency (F0) mean, intensity mean, first formant (F1), fifth formant (F5), contact quotient (CQ), decontacting-time quotient (DTQ), and contact index (CI) as well as decreases in jitter, shimmer, harmonics-to-noise ratio (HNR), and fourth formant (F4) were significantly correlated with global deception. Cross-gender features included increases in intensity mean and F5 and decreases in jitter, HNR, and F4, whereas gender-specific features encompassed increases in F0 mean, shimmer, F1, third formant, and DTQ, as well as decreases in F0 maximum and CQ for female deception, and increases in CQ and CI and decreases in shimmer for male deception. The results suggest that Mandarin deception could be tied to underlying pragmatic functions, emotional arousal, decreased glottal contact skewness, and more pressed phonation. Disparities in gender-specific features lend support to differences in the use of pragmatics, levels of deception-induced emotional arousal, skewness of glottal contact patterns, and phonation types.

The impact of sharing a home with a pet on the physiological state of the human microbiome: a comprehensive study on the Czech population with a focus on filamentous fungi

Czechs commonly share their homes with pet animals. However, the likelihood of transmission of filamentous fungi (FF) between the pet and the owner is not well known. The aim of this study was to define the frequency of such transmission. At the same time, the degree of closeness of owner-animal cohabitation, the effect on the spectrum of shared FF and health risk assessment were defined. The effect of previous antibiotic therapy on fungal flora was also assessed. In total, 150 pet owners and 135 pet animals from 125 households provided 911 samples; 80 non-owners provided 320 samples. All owners completed a questionnaire focusing on the level of contact with the pet and information on previous antibiotic treatment. The relationship between the contact index (CI) and the effect of previous antibiotic treatment on the number of FF species shared was quantified. Results were compared with those of non-owners. The CI was very close (CI > 4) in 131 owners (87.3%). A total of 110 FF were isolated. Common FF were found in 42 households (33.6%); 65 FF were identified in the non-owners. In the last year, 46 pets, 43 owners and 25 non-owners used antimicrobial agents. Aspergillus niger was most prevalent in owners and pets and Alternaria alternata in non-owners. The degree of contact intimacy did not seem to have any effect on the joint abundance of FF, but antibiotic treatment had a significant effect on FF abundance in non-owners. This effect was not significant in either owners or pets.

Predicting the SARS-CoV-2 effective reproduction number using bulk contact data from mobile phones

Over the last months, cases of SARS-CoV-2 surged repeatedly in many countries but could often be controlled with nonpharmaceutical interventions including social distancing. We analyzed deidentified Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking data from 1.15 to 1.4 million cell phones in Germany per day between March and November 2020 to identify encounters between individuals and statistically evaluate contact behavior. Using graph sampling theory, we estimated the contact index (CX), a metric for number and heterogeneity of contacts. We found that CX, and not the total number of contacts, is an accurate predictor for the effective reproduction number R derived from case numbers. A high correlation between CX and R recorded more than 2 wk later allows assessment of social behavior well before changes in case numbers become detectable. By construction, the CX quantifies the role of superspreading and permits assigning risks to specific contact behavior. We provide a critical CX value beyond which R is expected to rise above 1 and propose to use that value to leverage the social-distancing interventions for the coming months.

Quantifying the evolution of soil fabric during shearing using scalar parameters

The packing density of a soil is typically described in terms of the scalar parameters void ratio, specific volume or porosity. Within a critical-state soil mechanics framework, the response of a sand is considered to depend on its ‘state', that is, the combination of void ratio and effective stress. When soil is considered from a particle-scale perspective, the packing density is often described using the coordination number (CN), that is, the average number of contacts per particle. Using particles with simple geometries, discrete-element method (DEM) simulations, photoelastic tests and experiments on analogue soils (e.g. glass ballotini) have all demonstrated a correlation between CN and mechanical response. This study investigates whether these correlations apply to real soils using direct measurement of the fabric via micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). A variety of scalar fabric descriptors was measured during the triaxial compression of both intact and reconstituted Reigate sand samples. While each of the parameters considered provides useful information, the contact index (CI), a parameter that takes the contact area into account, was found to be a more sensitive metric in assessing the effects of fabric than coordination number, branch vector length or void size.

Electroglottographic Parameterization of the Effects of Gender, Vowel and Phonatory Registers on Vocal Fold Vibratory Patterns: An Indian Perspective

In-depth study on laryngeal biomechanics and vocal fold vibratory patterns reveal that a single vibratory cycle can be divided into two major phases, the closed and open phase, which is subdivided into opening and closing phases. Studies reveal that the relative time course of abduction and adduction, which in turn is dependent on the relative relaxing and tensing of the vocal fold cover and body, to be the determining factor in production of a particular vocal register like the modal (or chest), falsetto, glottal fry registers. Studies further point out Electroglottography to be particularly suitable for the study of vocal vibratory patterns during register changes. However, to date, there has been limited study on quantitative parameterization of EGG wave form in vocal fry register. Moreover, contradictory findings abound in literature regarding effects of gender and vowel types on vocal vibratory patterns, especially during phonation at different registers. The present study endeavors to find out the effects of vowel and gender differences on the vocal fold vibratory patterns in different registers and how these would be reflected in standard EGG parameters of Contact Quotient (CQ) and Contact Index (CI), taking into consideration the Indian sociolinguistic context. Electroglottographic recordings of 10 young adults (5 males and 5 females) were taken while the subjects phonated the three vowels /a/,/i/,/u/ each in two vocal registers, modal and vocal fry. Obtained raw EGG were further normalized using the Derived EGG algorithm and theCQ and CI values were derived. Obtained data were subject to statistical analysis using the 3-way ANOVA with gender, vowel and vocal register as the three variables. Post-hoc Dunnett C multiple comparison analysis were also performed. Results reveal that CQ values are significantly higher in vocal fry than modal phonation for both males and females, indicating a relatively hyperconstricted vocal system during vocal fry. The males have significantly greater CQ values than females both at modal and vocal fry phonations which indicate that the males are predisposed to greater vocal fold constriction. Females demonstrated no significant increase in CI values in vocal fry state; and in some cases actually decrease in the CI values which suggest an inherently distinct vocal fold physiological adjustment from that in males. No vowel effects were found in any conditions. Perturbation values (CQP and CIP) are significantly more in vocal fry register than in modal register, and the increase was more in case of females than males. The findings give strong evidence to certain hypotheses in literature regarding effects of vowel, gender and phonatory register on vocal fold vibratory patterns.