Emotions evoked by the sound of music: Characterization, classification, and measurement.

One reason for the universal appeal of music lies in the emotional rewards that music offers to its listeners. But what makes these rewards so special? The authors addressed this question by progressively characterizing music-induced emotions in 4 interrelated studies. Studies 1 and 2 (n = 354) were conducted to compile a list of music-relevant emotion terms and to study the frequency of both felt and perceived emotions across 5 groups of listeners with distinct music preferences. Emotional responses varied greatly according to musical genre and type of response (felt vs. perceived). Study 3 (n = 801)--a field study carried out during a music festival--examined the structure of music-induced emotions via confirmatory factor analysis of emotion ratings, resulting in a 9-factorial model of music-induced emotions. Study 4 (n = 238) replicated this model and found that it accounted for music-elicited emotions better than the basic emotion and dimensional emotion models. A domain-specific device to measure musically induced emotions is introduced--the Geneva Emotional Music Scale. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Quorum Sensing and Quorum Quenching in the Phycosphere of Phytoplankton: a Case of Chemical Interactions in Ecology

The interactions between bacteria and phytoplankton regulate many important biogeochemical reactions in the marine environment, including those in the global carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycles. At the microscopic level, it is now well established that important consortia of bacteria colonize the phycosphere, the immediate environment of phytoplankton cells. In this microscale environment, abundant bacterial cells are organized in a structured biofilm, and exchange information through the diffusion of small molecules called semiochemicals. Among these processes, quorum sensing plays a particular role as, when a sufficient abundance of cells is reached, it allows bacteria to coordinate their gene expression and physiology at the population level. In contrast, quorum quenching mechanisms are employed by many different types of microorganisms that limit the coordination of antagonistic bacteria. This review synthesizes quorum sensing and quorum quenching mechanisms evidenced to date in the phycosphere, emphasizing the implications that these signaling systems have for the regulation of bacterial communities and their activities. The diversity of chemical compounds involved in these processes is examined. We further review the bacterial functions regulated in the phycosphere by quorum sensing, which include biofilm formation, nutrient acquisition, and emission of algaecides. We also discuss quorum quenching compounds as antagonists of quorum sensing, their function in the phycosphere, and their potential biotechnological applications. Overall, the current state of the art demonstrates that quorum sensing and quorum quenching regulate a balance between a symbiotic and a parasitic way of life between bacteria and their phytoplankton host.     

Application of Monte Carlo calculation and OEDIPE software for virtual calibration of an in vivo counting system

OEDIPE (a French acronym standing for 'Tool for Personalized Internal Dose Assessment'), developed by IRSN, is used to perform virtual calibration of a real in vivo counting system. The system, installed recently at Le Vésinet, consists of four Broad Energy germanium detectors. CT images of Livermore torso phantom are used to create a voxel phantom after segmentation using Dosigray software. Virtual calibration using the voxel phantom was validated by the comparison of peak efficiencies between Monte Carlo calculation and phantom experiments using lung sources 152Eu and 241Am at different chest wall thickness (CWT = 19, 25, 30, 43 mm). The comparison between virtual calibration and physical phantom experiments shows that the relative deviations are within +/- 10% in the energy range of 59.5-1408 keV, and within +/- 30% for 17.5 keV photons.     

Preheating Sensitization of a TATB Composition Part one: Chemical Evolution

We analyze the evolution of the sensitivity of a TATB composition after thermal cycles at elevated temperatures. Sensitization due to thermal cycles is of variable magnitude depending on the kind of the second stimulus (mechanical or thermal). In order to investigate the possible mechanisms which govern these phenomena, we perform an extensive study of the evolution of the chemistry and microstructure of our composition and we determine the sensitivity of our explosive to various stimuli after various temperature/duration cycles. This first paper is devoted to the study of TATB chemical evolutions. We present the results obtained for explosive decomposition, furazan generation, gas analyses and solid residue characterization.     

Efficient lipase-catalyzed production of tailor-made emulsifiers using solvent engineering coupled to extractive processing

Within the framework of enzymatic biosurfactant synthesis, the development of reaction processes leading to a selective and efficient production is of crucial interest. In this work, we proposed an enzymatic method for producing 1(3)-monooleoyl-rac-glycerol using a commercial immobilized lipase, the Lipozyme®. To avoid the blockage of the enzyme by the presence of insoluble glycerol, the latter was adsorbed onto dried silica gel. The selective monoester production (83%) was obtained using 2-methyl-2-butanol amended n-hexane (90:10, vol/vol) as reaction medium. The observed decrease in the substrate conversion, in a medium containing 2-methyl-2-butanol, was countered by coupling to the reaction an inline selective recovery method for the produced monoester by adsorption onto a silica gel column located at the outflow of the reaction vessel. This process leads to an efficient monooleoyl glycerol production with a high oleic acid conversion (71%) and to the recovery of a 100% pure monooleoyl glycerol.     

Fractionation at pilot-plant scale of an haemoglobin hydrolysate by strong anionic exchange chromatography Application to the preparation of an amphiphilic peptide

The development and the scale-up of high performance anion chromatography to obtain 1 milligram to 1 gram yields of a peptide fraction from a complex peptic haemoglobin hydrolysate is described here. The chromatographic conditions were developed using a 1 cm³ Mono Q analytical column and progressively scaled-up to a 6 dm³ Q Sepharose Fast Flow column. For easy recovery of peptide and easy adjustment of conditions for final purification, a volatile buffer, ethanolamine/HCl buffer 20 mmol dm⁻³, pH 10·5, was employed; desalting was carried out by a pilot-plant scale electrodialysis which permitted the elimination of 99% NaCl without important loss of peptide (less than 15%). A combination of these techniques with reverse phase HPLC proved a useful strategy for fractionation of a complex peptide mixture and enabled pure peptides to be obtained in sufficient quantities for further analyses and biological tests. The example of preparation and purification of an amphiphilic peptide is described. Its ability to solubilize an insoluble photosensitizer, protoporphyrin IX, was determined in order to study its utilization as a carrier for photochemotherapy. © 1998 SCI.     

Mass Spectrometry-Based Proteomics Reveal Alcohol Dehydrogenase 1B as a Blood Biomarker Candidate to Monitor Acetaminophen-Induced Liver Injury

Acute liver injury (ALI) is a severe disorder resulting from excessive hepatocyte cell death, and frequently caused by acetaminophen intoxication. Clinical management of ALI progression is hampered by the dearth of blood biomarkers available. In this study, a bioinformatics workflow was developed to screen omics databases and identify potential biomarkers for hepatocyte cell death. Then, discovery proteomics was harnessed to select from among these candidates those that were specifically detected in the blood of acetaminophen-induced ALI patients. Among these candidates, the isoenzyme alcohol dehydrogenase 1B (ADH1B) was massively leaked into the blood. To evaluate ADH1B, we developed a targeted proteomics assay and quantified ADH1B in serum samples collected at different times from 17 patients admitted for acetaminophen-induced ALI. Serum ADH1B concentrations increased markedly during the acute phase of the disease, and dropped to undetectable levels during recovery. In contrast to alanine aminotransferase activity, the rapid drop in circulating ADH1B concentrations was followed by an improvement in the international normalized ratio (INR) within 10–48 h, and was associated with favorable outcomes. In conclusion, the combination of omics data exploration and proteomics revealed ADH1B as a new blood biomarker candidate that could be useful for the monitoring of acetaminophen-induced ALI.     

Tuning Physicochemical Properties of a Macroporous Polysaccharide-Based Scaffold for 3D Neuronal Culture

Central nervous system (CNS) lesions are a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Three-dimensional neural cultures in biomaterials offer more physiologically relevant models for disease studies, toxicity screenings or in vivo transplantations. Herein, we describe the development and use of pullulan/dextran polysaccharide-based scaffolds for 3D neuronal culture. We first assessed scaffolding properties upon variation of the concentration (1%, 1.5%, 3% w/w) of the cross-linking agent, sodium trimetaphosphate (STMP). The lower STMP concentration (1%) allowed us to generate scaffolds with higher porosity (59.9 ± 4.6%), faster degradation rate (5.11 ± 0.14 mg/min) and lower elastic modulus (384 ± 26 Pa) compared with 3% STMP scaffolds (47 ± 2.1%, 1.39 ± 0.03 mg/min, 916 ± 44 Pa, respectively). Using primary cultures of embryonic neurons from PGK^Cre, Rosa26^tdTomato embryos, we observed that in 3D culture, embryonic neurons remained in aggregates within the scaffolds and did not attach, spread or differentiate. To enhance neuronal adhesion and neurite outgrowth, we then functionalized the 1% STMP scaffolds with laminin. We found that treatment of the scaffold with a 100 μg/mL solution of laminin, combined with a subsequent freeze-drying step, created a laminin mesh network that significantly enhanced embryonic neuron adhesion, neurite outgrowth and survival. Such scaffold therefore constitutes a promising neuron-compatible and biodegradable biomaterial.     

Large-scale production of a hypoallergenic preparation of F(ab′)2 fragments from bovine colostrum

A method for the production of bovine colostral F(ab′)₂ fragments at pilot-plant scale was developed. Optimum yield of immunoglobulins in colostral whey was obtained after rennet treatment of first milking colostrum. Pepsin digestion was carried out directly on the colostral whey at pH 3·8 for 4 h, which led to the complete digestion of immunoglobulins into F(ab′)₂ fragments. Elimination of β-lactoglobulin, the main immunogenic protein, was achieved by anion exchange on Duolite A560 at pH 6·0. The preparation was diafiltered with a 5000 Da membrane and the retentate spray-dried. The powder obtained contained approximately 34% F(ab′)₂ fragments, with an antibody activity three times higher than the initial colostrum.