Respiratory responses associated with affective processing of film stimuli

We investigated respiratory responses during film clip viewing and their relation to the affective dimensions of valence and arousal. Seventy-six subjects participated in a study using a between groups design. To begin with, all participants viewed an emotionally neutral film clip. Then, they were presented with one out of four emotional film clips: a positive high-arousal, a positive low-arousal, a negative high-arousal and a negative low-arousal clip. Respiration, skin conductance level, heart rate, corrugator activity and affective judgments were measured. Expiratory time was shorter and inspiratory duty cycle, mean expiratory flow and minute ventilation were larger during the high-arousal clips compared to the low-arousal clips. The pleasantness of the stimuli had no influence on any respiratory measure. These findings confirm the importance of arousal in respiratory responding but also evidence differences in comparison to previous studies using visual and auditory stimuli. [Authors]

A comparison of the performance of modern screen-film and digital mammography systems.

This work compares the detector performance and image quality of the new Kodak Min-R EV mammography screen-film system with the Fuji CR Profect detector and with other current mammography screen-film systems from Agfa, Fuji and Kodak. Basic image quality parameters (MTF, NPS, NEQ and DQE) were evaluated for a 28 kV Mo/Mo (HVL = 0.646 mm Al) beam using different mAs exposure settings. Compared with other screen-film systems, the new Kodak Min-R EV detector has the highest contrast and a low intrinsic noise level, giving better NEQ and DQE results, especially at high optical density. Thus, the properties of the new mammography film approach those of a fine mammography detector, especially at low frequency range. Screen-film systems provide the best resolution. The presampling MTF of the digital detector has a value of 15% at the Nyquist frequency and, due to the spread size of the laser beam, the use of a smaller pixel size would not permit a significant improvement of the detector resolution. The dual collection reading technology increases significantly the low frequency DQE of the Fuji CR system that can at present compete with the most efficient mammography screen-film systems.

Quand le film raconte l'image. Variations cinématographiques autour de La Cène de Léonard de Vinci

Partant de l'hypothèse qu'au cinéma, un plan travaillé à la manière d'un tableau engage non pas un arrêt du récit, mais un enrichissement de la logique narrative linéaire du film par une sémiotique tabulaire et des jeux de références intermédiales, cet article analyse le cas exemplaire et récurrent des plans qui reconstituent en « tableau vivant » La Cène de Léonard de Vinci. Christus (Giulio Antamoro, 1914-1916), Ben Hur, a tale of the Christ (Fred Niblo, 1925) ou Quo Vadis (Mervyn LeRoy, 1951) y sont explorés, ainsi que d'autres productions qui replacent la composition du Cenacolo à la fois en une « phase » et une « stase » dramatique et esthétique du récit christique. Des films tels que Viridiana (Luis Buñuel, 1961) sont aussi évoqués, qui font apparaître la composition comme une pause allégorique d'un récit contemporain, enrichi sur un plan énonciatif, symbolique et iconographique.

La pose au cinéma : film et tableau en corps-à-corps

Le motif de la pose et l'arrêt du mouvement qu'elle implique ont, le plus souvent, été rejetés par le médium cinématographique. Cependant certains cinéastes se sont attelés à représenter la pose, en en faisant un véritable lieu d'expérimentation de la mise en scène du corps et de la confrontation entre les codes des arts plastiques et les codes du cinéma. Cette communication montrera comment ces « corps-à-corps » esthétiques ont déterminé le traitement filmique de la pose - tant celle qui, dans l'atelier d'artiste, précède le tableau, que celle qui le rejoue dans l'exercice du tableau vivant -, depuis La Chute de la Maison Usher (Epstein, 1928) jusqu'à La Belle Noiseuse (Rivette, 1991), en passant par La Ricotta (Pasolini, 1962) et Passion (Godard, 1981).

A comparison of the imaging characteristics of the new Kodak Hyper Speed G film with the current T-MAT G/RA film and the CR 9000 system.

Three standard radiation qualities (RQA 3, RQA 5 and RQA 9) and two screens, Kodak Lanex Regular and Insight Skeletal, were used to compare the imaging performance and dose requirements of the new Kodak Hyper Speed G and the current Kodak T-MAT G/RA medical x-ray films. The noise equivalent quanta (NEQ) and detective quantum efficiencies (DQE) of the four screen-film combinations were measured at three gross optical densities and compared with the characteristics for the Kodak CR 9000 system with GP (general purpose) and HR (high resolution) phosphor plates. The new Hyper Speed G film has double the intrinsic sensitivity of the T-MAT G/RA film and a higher contrast in the high optical density range for comparable exposure latitude. By providing both high sensitivity and high spatial resolution, the new film significantly improves the compromise between dose and image quality. As expected, the new film has a higher noise level and a lower signal-to-noise ratio than the standard film, although in the high frequency range this is compensated for by a better resolution, giving better DQE results--especially at high optical density. Both screen-film systems outperform the phosphor plates in terms of MTF and DQE for standard imaging conditions (Regular screen at RQA 5 and RQA 9 beam qualities). At low energy (RQA 3), the CR system has a comparable low-frequency DQE to screen-film systems when used with a fine screen at low and middle optical densities, and a superior low-frequency DQE at high optical density.