Sex-specific fundamental and formant frequency patterns in a cross-sectional study

An extensive developmental acoustic study of the speech patterns of children and adults was reported by Lee and colleagues [Lee et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 105, 1455-1468 (1999)]. This paper presents a reexamination of selected fundamental frequency and formant frequency data presented in their report for 10 monophthongs by investigating sex-specific and developmental patterns using two different approaches. The first of these includes the investigation of age- and sex-specific formant frequency patterns in the monophthongs. The second, the investigation of fundamental frequency and formant frequency data using the critical band rate (bark) scale and a number of acoustic-phonetic dimensions of the monophthongs from an age- and sex-specific perspective. These acoustic-phonetic dimensions include: vowel spaces and distances from speaker centroids; frequency differences between the formant frequencies of males and females; vowel openness/closeness and frontness/backness; the degree of vocal effort; and formant frequency ranges. Both approaches reveal both age- and sex-specific development patterns which also appear to be dependent on whether vowels are peripheral or non-peripheral. The developmental emergence of these sex-specific differences are discussed with reference to anatomical, physiological, sociophonetic and culturally determined factors. Some directions for further investigation into the age-linked sex differences in speech across the lifespan are also proposed

Meinungsfreiheit an der Universität

In unserer Antwort gehen wir auf einige Kritikpunkte an unserer Studie „Is Free Speech in Danger on University Campus?“ ein, die uns wiederholt und in ähnlicher Form in Diskussionen begegnen. Diese betreffen unsere Fallauswahl, unser Verständnis und unsere Operationalisierung von Toleranz und Meinungsfreiheit sowie nicht zuletzt unsere „Positionalität“. Wie wir darlegen, beruht diese Kritik vornehmlich auf einer verzerrten Rezeption unserer Befunde und auf uns zugeschriebenen Argumentationen, die wir nicht getätigt haben. Wir bekräftigen noch einmal die Relevanz, sich sozialwissenschaftlich mit der Frage nach der Meinungsfreiheit an der Universität auseinanderzusetzen

Solar PV nowcasting based on skycamera observations

In recent years the installation of PV systems has increased dramatically in many countries. Annual global installed power has already reached more than 400&thinsp;GW in 2017. A major challenge for operators is that PV system output is highly fluctuating due to cloud movements and other atmospheric influences. Forecasting of solar irradiation and PV power on different time scales will, therefore, become more and more important for different users. As part of the Austrian PV-go-Smart project, several skycameras have been installed in the region of Upper Austria. In this paper we show differences and advantages of two skycams and their image qualities. Algorithms for the detection of clouds, cloud movement, and GHI forecasting have been developed and validated with ground observation at the Wels site. This work focusses on image quality issues related to short-term irradiance forecasting using all-sky cameras, in particular the influence on raindrops on forecast performance.</p

Optimizing Nervous System-Specific Gene Targeting with Cre Driver Lines: Prevalence of Germline Recombination and Influencing Factors.

The Cre-loxP system is invaluable for spatial and temporal control of gene knockout, knockin, and reporter expression in the mouse nervous system. However, we report varying probabilities of unexpected germline recombination in distinct Cre driver lines designed for nervous system-specific recombination. Selective maternal or paternal germline recombination is showcased with sample Cre lines. Collated data reveal germline recombination in over half of 64 commonly used Cre driver lines, in most cases with a parental sex bias related to Cre expression in sperm or oocytes. Slight differences among Cre driver lines utilizing common transcriptional control elements affect germline recombination rates. Specific target loci demonstrated differential recombination; thus, reporters are not reliable proxies for another locus of interest. Similar principles apply to other recombinase systems and other genetically targeted organisms. We hereby draw attention to the prevalence of germline recombination and provide guidelines to inform future research for the neuroscience and broader molecular genetics communities