Assessment of airborne virus contamination in wastewater treatment plants.

Occupational exposure to bioaerosols in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) and its consequence on workers' health are well documented. Most studies were devoted to enumerating and identifying cultivable bacteria and fungi, as well as measuring concentrations of airborne endotoxins, as these are the main health-related factors found in WWTP. Surprisingly, very few studies have investigated the presence and concentrations of airborne virus in WWTP. However, many enteric viruses are present in wastewater and, due to their small size, they should become aerosolized. Two in particular, the norovirus and the adenovirus, are extremely widespread and are the major causes of infectious gastrointestinal diseases reported around the world. The third one, hepatitis E virus, has an emerging status. This study׳s objectives were to detect and quantify the presence and concentrations of 3 different viruses (adenovirus, norovirus and the hepatitis E virus) in air samples from 31 WWTPs by using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) during two different seasons and two consecutive years. Adenovirus was present in 100% of summer WWTP samples and 97% of winter samples. The highest airborne concentration measured was 2.27 × 10(6) genome equivalent/m(3) and, on average, these were higher in summer than in winter. Norovirus was detected in only 3 of the 123 air samples, and the hepatitis E virus was not detected. Concentrations of potentially pathogenic viral particles in WWTP air are non-negligible and could partly explain the work-related gastrointestinal symptoms often reported in employees in this sector

Hot water extraction of Norway spruce (Picea abies [Karst.]) bark: analyses of the influence of bark aging and process parameters on the extract composition.

The hot water (HW) extraction of Norway spruce (Picea abies [Karst.]) delivers condensed tannins and considerable amounts of other compounds. Yield and composition of the HW extracts were investigated as a function of natural weathering for up to 15 months. Total phenol monomers and oligomers were detected by Folin-Ciocaltau assay after fractionation by solid phase extraction (SPE). Procyanidins (PC) were determined by HPLC-UV after acid thiolysis and carbohydrates by HPLC combined with acid hydrolysis. Topochemistry of the bark before and after extraction was investigated by UV- microspectrometry (UMSP) and non-extractable PC analyzed by direct thiolysis on the bark. The influence of the parameters on the yield and composition of the extracts were evaluated, such as the extraction temperature, time and the addition of sodium sulfate and urea. Prolonged weathering resulted in a considerable decrease of the total extraction yield, partly because of leaching of phenolic monomers, mono- and oligosaccharides. The yield of phenolic oligomers also decreased at a moderate rate, while the yield of polysaccharides (pectins) was almost stable. Nonextractable and non-leachable compounds deposited in the cell lumens represent the majority of the phenolic extractives in spruce bark. Sequential extractions performed at increasing temperature proved to be a suitable method for the recovery of tannin-rich extracts

Altering body perception and emotion in physically inactive people through movement sonification

Reino Unido. Cambridge (3-6 Septiembre 2019)Physical inactivity is an increasing problem. It has been linked to psychological and emotional barriers related to the perception of one's body, such as physical capabilities. It remains a challenge to design technologies to increase physical activity in inactive people. We propose the use of a sound interactive system where inputs from movement sensors integrated in shoes are transformed into sounds that evoke body sensations at a metaphorical level. Our user study investigates the effects of various gesture-sound mappings on the perception of one's body and its movement qualities (e.g. being flexible or agile), the related emotional state and movement patterns, when people performed two exercises, walking and thigh stretch. The results confirm the effect of the "metaphor" conditions vs. the control conditions in feelings of body weight; feeling less tired and more in control; or being more comfortable, motivated, and happier. These changes linked to changes in affective state and body movement. We discuss the results in terms of how acting upon body perception and affective states through sensory feedback may in turn enhance physical activity, and the opportunities opened by our findings for the design of wearable technologies and interventions in inactive populations.The work is supported by Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad of Spain Grants RYC-2014–15421 and PSI2016-79004-R (“MAGIC SHOES”; AEI/FEDER, UE) and doctoral training grant BES-2017-080471. FB was supported by the ELEMENT project (ANR-18-CE33-0002)

Characterization of Pinus nigra var. laricio Maire bark extracts at the analytical and pilot scale

Pinus nigra var. laricio bark and its hot-water extracts (HWE) obtained at an analytical and pilot plant scale have been characterized in terms of phenolic extractives, condensed tannins (CTs), carbohydrates and inorganic compounds. Analytical extractions with aqueous acetone were also performed for comparison with HWE. The bark contains 35.5 g kg−1 CT, and two-thirds of it could be extracted. Analytical HWE at 75°C led to a total yield of 56.4 g kg−1. The extracts are mainly composed of phenolic compounds (50.7%) and pectins (19.7%). CTs amount to 17.9% of the extracts and are procyanidins with a mean degree of polymerization (DP) of about 9. Non-tannin phenolic oligomers also occurred in the extracts, which could be identified by pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) as lignin fragments. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) revealed that the CT is a flavanol derivative in methylated form. Further characterization and tailoring of the HWE properties is needed in the context of their specific application

Effects of pitch and musical sounds on body-representations when moving with sound

The effects of music on bodily movement and feelings, such as when people are dancing or engaged in physical activity, are well-documented¿people may move in response to the sound cues, feel powerful, less tired. How sounds and bodily movements relate to create such effects? Here we deconstruct the problem and investigate how different auditory features affect people's body-representation and feelings even when paired with the same movement. In three experiments, participants executed a simple arm raise synchronised with changing pitch in simple tones (Experiment 1), rich musical sounds (Experiment 2) and within different frequency ranges (Experiment 3), while we recorded indirect and direct measures on their movement, body-representations and feelings. Changes in pitch influenced people's general emotional state as well as the various bodily dimensions investigated¿movement, proprioceptive awareness and feelings about one's body and movement. Adding harmonic content amplified the differences between ascending and descending sounds, while shifting the absolute frequency range had a general effect on movement amplitude, bodily feelings and emotional state. These results provide new insights in the role of auditory and musical features in dance and exercise, and have implications for the design of sound-based applications supporting movement expression, physical activity, or rehabilitation.We acknowledge funding by the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación (PID2019-105579RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) and the European Research Council Grant (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 101002711). JL is funded by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitivity of Spain (doctoral training Grant BES-2017-080471). OD is funded by the Volkswagen Foundation (Co-Sense grant). FB is partially funded by the ELEMENT project (ANR-18-CE33-0002)

Product Differentiation, Celebrity Endorsements and the Consumers Perception of Quality

In any market-driven Capitalistic economy it is the consumer that accounts for the vast majority of the output. Economists and Marketing scholars have long studied what motivates the consumer to demand, and eventually purchase, specific products.Depending on the type of product, the rational consumer will seek information about the quality and performance prior to purchase. Much of this information comes from advertising.Often times, seemingly similar products sell for different prices meaning that the utility maximizing consumer has differentiated the products and will pay different prices based on the perception of how well his needs will be satisfied by the product. Marketing scholars have researched this product and price differentiation phenomenon and have noted that symbolic differences exist which come mostly from information gathered through advertising. This information may have an affect on consumer tastes. Economists, on the other hand, have viewed advertising as primarily providing information for consumers, but have generally looked unfavorably on noninformative ads, noting that they have little value and are not able to change consumer tastes and preferences (Becker and Murphy 1993)..It is the objective of this thesis to show how the use of a properly matched product endorser in advertisements can have a significant impact on consumer tastes and preferences, by influencing the consumer's perception of product performance and quality. This is true for both search goods and credence goods. I will also attempt to bridge the gap that currently exists between the work of Marketing Scholars and Economists on the affect of advertising on consumers' tastes and preferences.Ph.D., Finance -- Drexel University, 200

Hot water extraction of Norway spruce (Picea abies [Karst.]) bark: analyses of the influence of bark aging and process parameters on the extract composition

The hot water (HW) extraction of Norway spruce (Picea abies [Karst.]) delivers condensed tannins and considerable amounts of other compounds. Yield and composition of the HW extracts were investigated as a function of natural weathering for up to 15 months. Total phenol monomers and oligomers were detected by Folin-Ciocaltau assay after fractionation by solid phase extraction (SPE). Procyanidins (PC) were determined by HPLC-UV after acid thiolysis and carbohydrates by HPLC combined with acid hydrolysis. Topochemistry of the bark before and after extraction was investigated by UV-microspectrometry (UMSP) and non-extractable PC analyzed by direct thiolysis on the bark. The influence of the parameters on the yield and composition of the extracts were evaluated, such as the extraction temperature, time and the addition of sodium sulfate and urea. Prolonged weathering resulted in a considerable decrease of the total extraction yield, partly because of leaching of phenolic monomers, mono- and oligosaccharides. The yield of phenolic oligomers also decreased at a moderate rate, while the yield of polysaccharides (pectins) was almost stable. Non-extractable and non-leachable compounds deposited in the cell lumens represent the majority of the phenolic extractives in spruce bark. Sequential extractions performed at increasing temperature proved to be a suitable method for the recovery of tannin-rich extracts

Simulation numérique de l'impact d'une goutte d'étain avec solidification

La fabrication de revêtements en céramique par projection thermique dépend des propriétés physiques des particules avant impact, des propriétés thermiques et de surface de la pièce à revêtir et des multiples interactions entre les particules et le substrat produisant une hétérogénéité de la microstructure du revêtement. Le but de ce travail est d’analyser la construction, la microstructure et donc les propriétés d’un revêtement de céramique par simulation numérique. Les modèles et les méthodes numériques utilisées seront tout d’abord présentés et validés. Le modèle tient compte de la compressibilité des fluides, des transferts thermiques et la présence d’une cible solide avec sa rugosité et les propriétés de mouillabilité. L’originalité principale de ce travail est de proposer une résolution des équations de conservation à petite échelle (de l’ordre du micromètre), avec une approche déterministe instationnaire, dans le cadre du procédé de projection plasma. Une méthode numérique originale a été développée, qui couple une résolution lagrangienne à une modélisation eulérienne, dans le but non seulement de capturer l’interface entre les phases liquides (gouttes) et le gaz, mais aussi l’interface liquide/solide de la goutte lors du changement d’état correspondant. Ces modèles et méthodes numériques sont mis en place pour simuler l’impact d’un jet de plasma Ar-H2 sur un substrat et l’impact de particules sur un substrat rugueux en prenant en compte les caractéristiques réelles du procédé de projection plasma. Les premières simulations de construction d’un dépôt par multi-impact de particules seront présentées

Forebrain Deletion of αGDI in Adult Mice Worsens the Pre-Synaptic Deficit at Cortico-Lateral Amygdala Synaptic Connections

The GDI1 gene encodes αGDI, which retrieves inactive GDP-bound RAB from membranes to form a cytosolic pool awaiting vesicular release. Mutations in GDI1 are responsible for X-linked Intellectual Disability. Characterization of the Gdi1-null mice has revealed alterations in the total number and distribution of hippocampal and cortical synaptic vesicles, hippocampal short-term synaptic plasticity and specific short-term memory deficits in adult mice, which are possibly caused by alterations of different synaptic vesicle recycling pathways controlled by several RAB GTPases. However, interpretation of these studies is complicated by the complete ablation of Gdi1 in all cells in the brain throughout development. In this study, we generated conditionally gene-targeted mice in which the knockout of Gdi1 is restricted to the forebrain, hippocampus, cortex and amygdala and occurs only during postnatal development. Adult mutant mice reproduce the short-term memory deficit previously reported in Gdi1-null mice. Surprisingly, the delayed ablation of Gdi1 worsens the pre-synaptic phenotype at cortico-amygdala synaptic connections compared to Gdi1-null mice. These results suggest a pivotal role of αGDI via specific RAB GTPases acting specifically in forebrain regions at the pre-synaptic sites involved in memory formation

Probing the spectral shape of dust emission with the DustPedia galaxy sample

The objective of this paper is to understand the variance of the far-infrared (FIR) spectral energy distribution (SED) of the DustPedia galaxies, and its link with the stellar and dust properties. An interesting aspect of the dust emission is the inferred FIR colours which could inform us about the dust content of galaxies, and how it varies with the physical conditions within galaxies. However, the inherent complexity of dust grains as well as the variety of physical properties depending on dust, hinder our ability to utilise their maximum potential. We use principal component analysis (PCA) to explore new hidden correlations with many relevant physical properties such as the dust luminosity, dust temperature, dust mass, bolometric luminosity, star-formation rate (SFR), stellar mass, specific SFR, dust-to-stellar mass ratio, the fraction of absorbed stellar luminosity by dust (f_abs), and metallicity. We find that 95% of the variance in our sample can be described by two principal components (PCs). The first component controls the wavelength of the peak of the SED, while the second characterises the width. The physical quantities that correlate better with the coefficients of the first two PCs, and thus control the shape of the FIR SED are: the dust temperature, the dust luminosity, the SFR, and f_abs. Finally, we find a weak tendency for low-metallicity galaxies to have warmer and broader SEDs, while on the other hand high-metallicity galaxies have FIR SEDs that are colder and narrower