A new study published in the journal Scientific Reports now finds that physical responses -- including heart rate, breathing and the electrical conductivity of skin -- synchronize between audience members at classical concerts.

Individuals who rated more highly for personality traits such as openness were more likely to synchronize, while those with neurotic dispositions were less likely to align.

"When we talk about very abstract things such as aesthetic experiences, how you respond to art and to music, the body is always involved there," Wolfgang Tschacher, a psychologist at the University of Bern who led the research as part of the Experimental Concert Research project, told AFP.

This theory is known as "embodied cognition" -- the idea that the mind is not only connected to the body but that the body influences the mind -- which, while arguably intuitive to lay people, has been controversial in scientific circles.

To investigate, Tschacher and colleagues observed 132 audience members across three classical concerts.

All three played the same string quintet pieces: Ludwig van Beethoven's "Op. 104 in C minor," Johannes Brahms' "Op. 111 in G major," and "Epitaphs" by the contemporary composer Brett Dean.

The authors used overhead cameras and wearable sensors to monitor the participants, who filled in questionnaires about their personalities before the concert, and whether they enjoyed the performance and what their mood was afterward.

Overall, they found statistically significant synchronization on several measures -- people's hearts beat faster or slower during the same musical passages, as did their levels of "skin conductance."

Skin conductance is closely related to the body's flight or fight response. When it's high it indicates a state of arousal and can be linked to goosebumps on the skin; when it's low we are in a state of relaxation.

The cameras even caught alignment of body movements, which the authors wrote "appears noteworthy, as the audiences of all concerts were seated in dimmed lighting" and spread out due to the pandemic.

However, though people's breathing rates aligned, they did not actually inhale and exhale in unison.

- The power of music -

As one might expect, people whose personality types indicated, "a person who tends towards fearful behavior, warding off things, being more depressed," in Tschacher's words, were less likely to synchronize -- but so too were extroverts, which might seem counterintuitive.

"Extroverted people are very social, they tend to intermingle with people, they want to be in power, and they want to have a certain self-value," he said, adding he had seen this result in previous research too. While extroverts are outgoing, they focus less on the music.

For Tschacher, the findings are more evidence in favor of the "embodied cognition" theory and also help explain why public parades or military marches help build cohesion between participants.

And he expects the effects would be "even stronger" in other musical genres.

"There are additional reasons that people will synchronize in pop concerts, people move, they dance, and that's that is synchronized by the music and that would give even clearer results," he said.

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Here are some of the best known:

- Harold Pinter (2005) -

British playwright and political campaigner Harold Pinter, master of the pregnant pause, won in 2005 for what the Swedish Academy called his ability to get at the truth "under everyday prattle".

His more than 30 plays dealt with domination and submission, threat and injustice and gave rise to the adjective "pinteresque" -- used to describe the sense of menace running through a work and those silences that speak volumes.

Never afraid to speak his mind, Pinter called US President George W. Bush a "mass murderer" and British Prime Minister Tony Blair a "deluded idiot" for invading Iraq.

- Dario Fo (1997) -

Italian playwright, director and performer Dario Fo skewered people in power in a series of satires that were staged worldwide, the best known of which are "Accidental Death of an Anarchist" and "Mistero Buffo" ("Comic Mystery").

The "Accidental Death of an Anarchist" was based on the case of an Italian railroad worker who mysteriously falls out of a Milan police station window while being falsely accused of terrorism.

"Mistero Buffo" was his one-man political telling of the Passion of the Christ, which the Vatican denounced as "the most blasphemous show in the history of television".

- Samuel Beckett (1969) -

The avant-garde Irish playwright produced one of the 20th century's most popular plays, "Waiting for Godot", in which as one dubious Irish critic memorably put it, "nothing happens, twice".

Born a minority Protestant in a stifling censorious Catholic Ireland, he fled to Paris in the 1930s where he remained for the rest of his life, writing in both English and French.

"Godot" is the existential tale of two bickering tramps who wait in vain for someone called Godot who never shows up.

Literary critics have long argued over who or what Godot actually represents, with interpretations ranging from God to death.

- Eugene O'Neill (1936) -

The father of modern American theatre brought the grim dramas of everyday life to stages whose staple had previously been vaudeville.

Murder, suicide and insanity were recurring themes in his work, which included the autobiographical "Long Day's Journey into Night" and "The Iceman Cometh".

In his Nobel acceptance speech, O'Neill hailed the prize as "a symbol of the recognition by Europe of the coming-of-age of the American theatre...worthy at last to claim kinship with the modern drama of Europe."

- Luigi Pirandello (1934) -

This Italian playwright was chased out of a Rome theatre a century ago when he staged his absurdist masterpiece "Six Characters in Search of an Author" (1921), in which a group of characters bursts into a rehearsal and share their story with the actors.

The inventor of the "play within a play" only began writing for the stage in his 40s.

Drawing inspiration from his wife's mental illness, he pondered the meaning of objective truth in philosophical works that blurred the lines between reality and performance.

- George Bernard Shaw (1925) -

The Irish-born playwright, intellectual and socialist activist is one of the few people to have won both an Oscar and a Nobel.

He baulked at accepting the Nobel, declaring "I can forgive (Alfred) Nobel for inventing dynamite, but only a fiend in human form could have invented the Nobel Prize," but later relented.

He struggled to get published for many years before starting to write for the stage.

His most famous play is "Pygmalion", which was turned into the wildly successful Broadway musical and film "My Fair Lady" for which Shaw won the Oscar for best screenplay.

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"Guys have nice legs too. It's time to see their legs!" creative director Veronique Nichanian said backstage at the show.

It has been a menswear week with plenty of skin, and Hermes kept with the trend.

"I don't yet do skirts for men, but I like shorts and particularly short shorts," Nichanian said.

There were also some transparent fabrics -- another notable trend this week -- alongside ankle-length trousers and souped-up tank tops.

Nichanian said that as gender barriers break down in fashion, "it's especially the men that are coming to steal from women's wardrobes."

"And it's interesting to offer them materials they've never had. I'm delighted with this openness to a more feminine world. This widens the scope of the men's wardrobe and allows all men to express their personality, their desires," she said.

Contrasting with the bold colours of previous collections, this time the Hermes palette was "mineral" with shades of grey, beige and faded blue -- "a desire for a very light summer with a little breeze blowing", as Nichanian put it.

The sandals had openings on the sides but covered the toes, since "men, in general, do not like their feet," said the house's shoe designer, Pierre Hardy.

"Much of the collection is sporty and casual, and this sandal is a sort of alternative to the sneaker... an easy-to-wear casual shoe," he told AFP.

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Mohammed Ashi's haute couture show -- his first as part of the official roster after years of dressing top celebrities -- is "the peak of my career," he told AFP at a cocktail soiree at the Ritz Hotel in Paris this week, part of a lavish Saudi PR campaign throughout this fashion season.

Ashi forged his own path, having left the kingdom three decades ago, but his promotion to the top league is neatly timed as Riyadh announces its own fashion week in October and says new freedoms will create retail opportunities worth $32 billion a year.

Fashion is just one strand of a strategy that has seen de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman divert its oil wealth into movies, sports, video games and tourism, while overseeing dramatic social changes within the kingdom.

Many worried it was all just a smokescreen to defuse criticism of his human rights record, especially after the gruesome murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

But the changes ran further and deeper than almost anyone expected.

"For the first two years, I almost didn't believe it was real, but then I realised, wow, it IS real," said Yousef Akbar, 37, who began his eponymous fashion label in Australia in 2017 and has dressed the likes of Nicole Kidman and Rita Ora.

"I really never thought when I was growing up that this would happen. When I started my brand in Australia, I thought my whole life would be there since I'm a fashion designer," added Akbar, who now also runs his business from Jeddah.

- 'Big opportunities' -

The Saudi elite already spent vast sums on international luxury brands for events behind closed doors.

But the Saudi Fashion Commission claims new freedoms around public dress and a growing private sector will see retail sales surge by 48 percent to $32 billion between 2021 and 2025.

It wants a lot of this money to stay in the country, creating a Saudi 100 brands programme to incubate local designers.

CEO Burak Cakmak says there are stable foundations for a homegrown industry.

"Just because the country wasn't exposed to the rest of the world doesn't mean they are starting now," he told AFP in Paris. "I had an event for a brand this week that's been running since the 70s.'

While the queer community has heavily influenced the fashion industry around the world, LGBTQ people face severe repression in Saudi Arabia, which criminalises same-sex relations.

"(The authorities) are certainly aware that many couturiers and designers are gay," said Susanne Koelbl, author of "Behind the Kingdom's Veil".

Their approach is simply to "try to ignore it," she added, and the authorities are turning a blind eye to almost everything.

"Maybe you can't dance naked on the table, but almost anything else is possible now, as long as your family is OK with it and you are loyal to the ruler," Koelbl said.

Having repressed practically all opposition to his rule and stripped clerics of their power, there are few obstacles in Prince Mohammed's path.

"It's a well-planned, long-scheduled reform process which is about to change the society completely," said Koelbl.

"The Saudi people don't tend to be revolutionary and for the vast majority there are indeed new and big opportunities now, especially for women."

The excitement is certainly genuine for those who are benefitting.

"It sounds cliched, but seeing something happen that we all thought was impossible is very inspiring for my own business," said Akbar.

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What they do not know is that the waste will become part of a synthetic plastic fibre used to make blue denim cloth to create a dress for the eco-friendly fashion label Outa.

The pair are among around 15 "barbeshas", or informal rubbish collectors, taking part in the Kerkennah Plastic Free programme, backed by the European Union.

This aims to recover the 7,000 tonnes of plastic waste each year that end up littering beaches on the Kerkennah Islands 20 kilometres (12 miles) off the port city of Sfax.

Jean-Paul Pelissier, of the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM), is coordinating the EU-funded project.

He told AFP that on the archipelago, "we have an exciting environment in terms of nature and tranquillity. It's ideal for green tourism".

Pelissier said the islands were a passage point for migratory birds, and that its waters were abundant in Posidonia oceanica seagrass, or Neptune grass.

"But there's one thing you never see in the pictures -- the plastic," he said. Marine currents carry the waste from Europe into the Gulf of Gabes, and there it washes up to be collected by the barbeshas.

They take their daily harvest to a sorter which passes it on to a collection company and then it is fed into a crusher to be baled.

A partnership has been established with Seaqual Initiative, an international consortium which buys the marine plastic "at a remunerative and stable price all year round", Pelissier said.

- New opportunities -

The initiative's website says it "works with ocean clean-ups around the world to bring value to the waste that they recover".

Omar Kcharem is the boss of Kerkennah Plast, which compacts and crushes plastic, and he said working with Seaqual has created new opportunities, since marine plastic "does not have much value and does not bring in any money".

The plastic granules recovered after grinding the waste are transformed into "Seaqual Yarn" nylon fibre in Portugal, in one of just four factories in the world equipped with the technology.

"This is innovative," said Pelissier. "Four or five years ago, you couldn't recycle marine plastic because of its lengthy exposure to salt water and the sun."

He said Seaqual Yarn comprises around 10 percent of recycled marine plastic, but the aim is to increase this.

Apart from the Portugal side of the operation, the rest is definitely "Made in Tunisia".

In the coastal town of Ksar Hellal southeast of Monastir, a huge machine in the ultra-modern Sitex plant makes an infernal racket as it transforms the Seaqual Yarn into denim.

Sitex is a denim specialist that has supplied brands such as Hugo Boss, Zara and Diesel. Now Anis Montacer, founder of the Tunisian fabric and fashion brand Outa, has entered into a partnership with it.

He chose Sitex "for its sensitivity to the environment, because in 2022, 70 percent of their manufacturing was based on recycled fibres".

"We worked together to determine the proper yarn strength and the right indigo dye," he told AFP, adding that their collaboration will continue to expand Outa's colour range to include natural dyes.

- Higher costs -

"The entire process takes place in Tunisia, from the denim transformed in Ksar Hellal to the Tunisian seamstresses who work on the tailoring" for Outa, Montacer said.

Production costs are 20 percent higher, though, than for denim without the marine plastic content.

Despite this, Montacer believes he can "bring together other entrepreneurs and inspire designers to produce eco-responsible collections".

He called on renowned French designer Maud Beneteau, formerly of Hedi Slimane, to design Outa's first haute couture collection.

"We chose a high value collection because the production cost is higher than with normal thread to create denim fabric," Montacer said.

Outa creations first graced the catwalk during Tunis Fashion Week in June.

Beneteau saw the first Outa collection as "a challenge, a human dimension in this wonderful project that aligns with the idea of saving the planet".

She does say there were some difficulties working with a fabric that was "a little thick and stiff, originally designed for sportswear and ready-to-wear, rather than haute couture".

More used to fine silks, linen and cotton, she admits having some qualms working with the new fibre, even though like her peers in the fashion industry she tries to recycle and buy back unsold stocks in the fight against overconsumption.

But "when you think that this is recycled and ecological, that jobs have been created, people who pick up the plastic... it's a whole interesting chain," Beneteau said.

It's also a great yarn. Plastic fantastic: from sea waste to see waist, you might say...

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More than half of all adults in Brazil are overweight, but Momente is part of a growing movement of entrepreneurs, activists and models who are fed up with a fashion industry they say fails to fit their needs and shames them for their bodies.

"Society judged me based on one thing, so I took that thing and used it... to launch my business," says Momente, 34, dressed in a sheer black bodysuit created by Wondersize, the company she founded in 2017.

The former real-estate agent, who sports a pink mohawk and multiple tattoos, got the idea after feeling uncomfortable at the gym in clothes she says were too tight, turned transparent when stretched or bunched up around her thighs.

She decided to find a seamstress to help her make her own workout outfit.

It turned out so well she quit her day job and plunged headfirst into the fashion world, she says.

The rise of colorful, stylish clothes for Brazilians with large bodies is part of a broader international trend rejecting unrealistic standards of beauty, especially for women.

"The fashion industry needs to fit our bodies, not the other way around," says Momente.

- 'Identity and dignity' -

Major brands tend to dedicate at most a small portion of their lines to clothing in larger sizes, leaving "repressed" demand, says Marcela Liz, head of the Brazil Plus Size Association.

The plus-size sector grew in Brazil more than 75 percent in the decade through 2021, reaching sales of 9.6 billion reais (about $1.9 billion) that year, according to the association.

It projects sales will hit 15 billion reais by 2027 in Latin America's biggest economy.

"Supply has improved, but we're still not meeting demand," says Liz.

The nascent industry sashayed through Sao Paulo this month at the Pop Plus fair, where indie designers showed off sparkling skirts, racy tops, T-shirts stamped with bold statements and other clothes in sizes ranging up to 70.

"The market saw fat people as people who didn't like fashion, who just wanted to hide their bodies," says Flavia Durante, the activist who founded the fair in 2012.

"We had clothes, not fashion," she told AFP.

"Fashion isn't just about consumption. It's about identity and dignity."

- More work to do -

TV presenter and plus-size model Letticia Munniz has strutted the runway at glitzy Sao Paulo fashion week, made the cover of glossy magazines and been the face of numerous ad campaigns.

But she says real inclusion remains a long way off for the overweight and obese in Brazil -- 57 percent and 23 percent of the adult population, respectively, in the country of 203 million people.

"Things have improved, but our work is still seen as just checking a quota box. We're not seen as real equals," she says.

The activist and influencer, who usually wears custom-made clothes, says she is glad to see more plus sizes on runways -- but adds that doesn't necessarily mean they are actually available in stores.

She encourages her more than one million followers on social media to love themselves as they are.

"When you find something made to exalt your body instead of hide it, it changes everything," she says in one post.

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Jasmine only issues its powerful scent when it blooms at night, and pickers must select only the ones yet to open.

"We know which one to pick," said Malarkodi, who gave only one name, as she snapped her fingers carefully to pluck the buds, tucking into her hair a few flowers that had already bloomed.

"There is no use of these... but I like the smell," she said.

Jasmine's fragrant flowers have been used for millennia in India to honour the gods, and the scent is a key part of world-famous perfumes.

In the ancient city of Madurai in southern India, jasmine is omnipresent -- attracting buyers from some of the world's most recognisable perfumes, including J'adore by Dior and Mon Guerlain by Guerlain.

"It is one of the most expensive oils in the world," said Raja Palaniswamy, a director of Jasmine Concrete, which squeezes vast quantities of jasmine to create a few precious drops of delicious-smelling essence.

The women picking the buds earn around $1.50 a day per day for about four to five kilograms -- with each kilogram made up of around 4,000 buds.

Once picked, the jasmine is rushed to market, selling for anything between 200 and 2,000 rupees ($2.40-$24) a kilogram on special days.

- 'Expression of love' -

The jasmine of Madurai, an Asian variety with the scientific name Jasminum sambac, was given a "geographical indication" tag from India in 2013, which noted its "deep fragrance".

"It is lush, it is rich, it is vibrant," said Thierry Wasser, perfumer and "nose" at French beauty house Guerlain, speaking to AFP while visiting the jasmine operators.

The jasmine in Madurai has a "smoothness... and something floral which is immutable," Wasser added. Wasser sources the jasmine oil he uses from Palaniswamy's company.

As well as Guerlain, Palaniswamy said his company sells jasmine oil to companies including Bulgari, Dior and Lush.

In Madurai, the bright, white flower can be found in the homes of the city's residents, as strings fastened by women to their hair -- and in the sprawling 14th-century complex of the Hindu goddess Meenakshi, considered the guardian of the city.

Meenakshi is depicted holding a parrot, a bird associated with love.

Every night, people surround a shrine of the goddess with fragrant jasmine flowers as she retires with her husband Shiva in a grand, symbolic ceremony.

"When you understand that the purpose of this flower is the celebration of love and brotherhood and family and friendship; when you smell it, it takes another dimension," Wasser said.

"And to me this flower is the expression of love. Period."

-'Real fragrance' -

The process to extract the oil requires long hours of labour.

The women who pluck the jasmine -- be it for their deity, weddings, funerals or expensive perfumes -– have no time to romance its appeal.

In a jasmine field on the outskirts of the ancient city, women tenderly move the branches of the bush, looking for the perfect bud.

The processing factory runs around the clock in harvest season, with workers raking out fresh-picked flowers and waiting for the oblong-shaped buds to bloom.

"The minute it starts blooming, it starts emitting its fragrance," Palaniswamy said.

Late in the night, as the jasmine's sweet scent fills the air, workers collect the blooms and load them into extractors.

The freshly picked jasmine is immersed in a solvent to absorb the fragrance molecules to give a waxy extract called concrete.

The concrete is further processed with alcohol to remove the waxes carefully, which then results in a potent absolute. This absolute becomes the ingredient in perfumes.

Around 700 kilograms of fresh jasmine is reduced to just one kilogram of oil, selling for around $4,200, Palaniswamy said.

But Amsavalli Karuppuswamy, who runs a stall outside the flower market where she threads flowers into garlands, said the fresh jasmine will always outweigh any oil.

"I will continue to do this job till I die... women like jasmine, so that is why we are doing this," she said.

"The scents are not worth as much as the original jasmine flowers -- nothing can match the real fragrance of the jasmine."

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AFP Sport picks out some of the highlights with two rounds of matches spread over six days.

A new coach for Italy

Reigning European champions Italy have a new coach after Roberto Mancini's resignation, with Luciano Spalletti hired as his replacement.

Mancini resigned in mid-August, saying his decision had "nothing to do" with a possible move to Saudi Arabia. Two weeks later he was named as the new Saudi coach on a four-year deal.

Spalletti, who left Napoli after leading them to the Serie A title last season, takes over a team that is third in qualifying Group C, with three points from two games.

Italy go to Skopje on Saturday to face North Macedonia, the team that knocked them out in a World Cup qualifying play-off last year. They then host Ukraine in Milan in a potentially vital encounter.

Pressure on Spain coach

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente will hope to turn the focus back to football after he faced criticism for applauding a controversial speech by the country's federation president Luis Rubiales last month.

Rubiales sparked worldwide outrage when he forcibly kissed Jenni Hermoso after Spain beat England in the Women's World Cup final in Sydney on August 20.

He provoked further ire with a defiant speech at an emergency meeting in which he refused to resign despite mounting pressure and instead railed against "false feminism", as De la Fuente applauded.

De la Fuente was an eyebrow-raising appointment when he replaced Luis Enrique after the World Cup. La Roja began Euro qualifying in stuttering fashion and lost to Scotland in March. However, they won the UEFA Nations League in June, beating Croatia on penalties in the final.

They will now be expected to beat Georgia in Tbilisi and Cyprus in Granada, and De la Fuente could hand a debut to 16-year-old Barcelona starlet Lamine Yamal.

Strong Saudi-based contingent

Moving to the Saudi Pro League does not appear to have jeopardised the international prospects of European stars, not yet anyway.

Cristiano Ronaldo continues to be called up by Portugal at the age of 38 and having joined Al-Nassr in January. He has been joined in Roberto Martinez's latest Portuguese squad by two new arrivals to the Saudi league in Ruben Neves and Otavio.

"We will see what state the players coming from the Saudi league are in," Martinez told Portuguese media.

"It is a different situation, but that doesn't mean it has to be negative. We need to adapt to these new circumstances in football without making a big deal out of it."

Jordan Henderson is in the England squad despite joining Al-Ettifaq, while there are plenty of other examples, including Al-Nassr's Aymeric Laporte featuring for Spain.

France coach Didier Deschamps opted not to call up N'Golo Kante, now playing for Al-Ittihad, but did insist he was "available" for selection.

Portugal flying

Portugal are one of four teams with a maximum 12 points from four games, along with Scotland, France and England. But the Euro 2016 winners are the only ones among that quartet to have two qualifying matches this month and they can close in on securing a spot at the finals in Germany.

Roberto Martinez's team face Slovakia in Bratislava and Luxembourg in Faro in Group J. Two wins would leave them on the brink of qualification given that the top two progress from a group also containing Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

Could Kazakhstan qualify?

Expanding the Euros to 24 teams offers a greater chance for some of the continent's lesser lights to qualify and Kazakhstan have emerged as surprise contenders to do just that.

The vast nation of 19 million people is situated mainly in Central Asia but joined UEFA in 2002. They have never qualified for a Euro or World Cup, and have never really come close -- they failed to win a game in qualifying for last year's World Cup.

However, three straight wins in Group H, including at home to Denmark and away to Northern Ireland, have propelled them up to second place. They are behind only Finland, who they host on Thursday in Astana before then hosting Northern Ireland.

Two more victories and the dream really will be alive for a team ranked 104th in the world and whose players are almost all based domestically.

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One corner is peeling back and flaps uncertainly in the breeze but it doesn't change the message.

"Doesn't matter who you have in the front of you," it reads in Romanian. "It matters who you have next to you."

Togetherness, unity is the name of the game here as rugby attempts to rediscover the strength it held in Romania in the 1980s.

Back then, Romania was the sixth best side in Europe, ahead of Italy, and clocked up notable wins over Wales, Scotland and France, the country that nurtured the sport there in the early 20th century.

The 1989 revolution changed everything.

Florian Murariu, who had played in the inaugural World Cup two years earlier, became an emblem for the lost game when he was shot dead at a roadblock and the state money that propped up the game disappeared.

It has been a long and painful road back -- a 134-0 defeat by England in 2001 was ugly for all who watched -- but for youngsters like Cristina Stan, rugby represents a clear and positive future.

"I first started playing with the boys rugby team before CSM decided to found a girls' team," the 16-year-old centre told AFP.

"I would like to have a career in rugby, to reach a certain performance level, to play for the Romanian national team."

Cristina is on a mission. She trains three times a week at the stadium, which involves a two-hour round-trip from her village Ciorogarla, and every day at home, based on a personal plan developed by her coach.

"Next year I see myself in the national team," adds the ambitious teenager.

The women have yet to play at a full World Cup -- they are focussed on Sevens -- but the Stejarii (The Oaks) will be in France for this year's men's global showpiece which starts on September 8.

Up against Six Nations Grand Slam winners Ireland and defending champions South Africa, not to mention a hungry Scotland, Romania are unlikely to get close to the knockout phase.

They will, however, eye up their final match against Tonga in Lille as a chance to climb another rung on the ladder back towards the higher branches of the game.

++ Ahead of the Rugby World Cup in France, Agence France-Presse asked 20 aspiring photographers from each country qualified for the competition to show one aspect of the rugby union culture in their homeland, with the help of Canon cameras who are sponsoring the tournament. From Namibia to Fiji via Georgia and Scotland this photo essay gives us a glimpse of the core values of rugby on five continents.

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