Characterisation of genuine and derived cranberry proanthocyanidins by LC–ESI-MS

Cranberry proanthocyanidins (PACs) were characterised by HPLC (after thiolysis) and LC–ESI-MS analysis after fractionation by normal-phase chromatography. According to the HPLC retention time and mass spectra of compounds released after depolymerisation reaction, PACs are based on epicatechin and dimer A2 units along with catechin (minor component) and epigallocatechin (trace amounts). Fractionation at semi-preparative scale on normal phase allowed to remove other phenolic compounds than PACs (flavonols, phenolic acids and anthocyanins) and to separate the PACs according to their polymerisation degrees. Six fractions were eluted. PAC concentration, mean degree of polymerisation and percentage of A-type bonds were calculated for these six fractions by HPLC after thiolysis. Whereas the three first fractions contained phenolic acids and flavonols, the three latest fractions were enriched in PACs. Genuine PACs (A and B-types) from DP2 to DP16 were detected by LC–DAD-ESI-MS analysis. Fragmentation on ion trap spectrometer allowed us to determine the position of A-type bonds. Derived PACs were also observed: anthocyanin ethyl-bridged PACs (monomer to tetramer) in the three last fractions, flavonol-ethyl-PACs (monomer and dimer) in the third fraction and pyranoanthocyanin derivatives in the last fraction.     

Capture and corruption in public utilities: The cases of water and electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa

The paper focuses on public utilities services located in poor countries with a special attention to capture and corruption issues. It confronts the optimal policy of Auriol and Picard [Privatization in Developing Countries and the Government Budget Constraint, Nota di Lavoro 75.2002. Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, Milan, Italy] regarding private sector involvement in public utilities with empirical evidence on water and electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). As predicted by the theory, the participation of private unregulated firms in the supply of services for the middle class and poor people is fairly common in SSA. By contrast, services for rich people are provided by public utilities. Theory suggests that their prices should be high so that the public firms make a profit. Yet piped water and electricity are subsidized. This suggests that there is a problem of capture by the ruling elite. Since ruling elites design privatization programs, there is concern about their optimality. The paper shows that the social cost of corrupted privatization is non-monotone in the opportunity cost of public funds. Because of the fiscal loss it represents, privatizing profit centers of public firms entails huge social costs in very poor countries.     

Assessment of potential slope failure sites at Mt. Can-abag, Guinsaugon, Philippines, based on stratigraphy and rock strength

Geological mapping was undertaken to determine the stratigraphy and potential landslide sites along Mt. Can-abag in St. Bernard, Philippines, where a disastrous landslide occurred in February 2006. The area is underlain by a sequence of NW- to SW-dipping breccias, sandstones and mudstones, with andesite intrusions. The low permeability of the mudstones, which form an aquiclude and hence confined aquifers, results in the build-up of pore pressures. Although the strata dip into the hillside, the fault-created discontinuities mean that the NE-facing slope of Mt. Can-abag is prone to wedge failures.     

Possibilities and Limits of Application of Electrical Resistance Tomography in Hydrodynamics of Bubble Columns

Knowing the hydrodynamic regime in which is working a bubble column is of great importance because the regime affects strongly the mass transfer between the phases. To this end, we examine the potentialities of an Electrical Resistance Tomography (ERT) device. We analyse cross correlation of electrode pair measurements, of neighbouring pixels and power spectra of averaged pixels within a single plane as well as cross correlations of averaged pixels between two planes, without finding a clear signature of the churn turbulent flow. Variable gas flow rate inputs are used to determine the time resolution of the ERT.     

Characterization of conducting polymers by inverse gas chromatography Part II. Effect of dopant on the dispersive and specific properties of polypyrrole

A series of polypyrroles, synthesized using iron(III) oxidizing agent, was characterized by inverse gas chromatography (IGC). The dispersive component to the surface tension of these materials falls in the range 40–60 mJ/m² for Cl⁻- and NO₃⁻-doped polypyrroles, whereas that of Fe(CN)₆⁻ is extremely high (106 mJ/m²) when compared to a conventional polymer. These values rank conducting polypyrroles between conventional insulating polymers and high surface energy materials such as metals, metal oxides and graphite. In addition, all polymers exhibit strong specific adsorption of acidic and basic molecular probes, confirming the Lewis amphoteric behaviour of conducting polypyrroles. The hard and soft acids and bases (HSAB) concept is also emphasized in an original manner based on acidic and basic Lewis probes and in connection with the nature of the dopant. This IGC study shows that the dopant plays an important role in the surface thermodynamics of conducting polypyroles, as evidenced by the magnitude of the dispersive and acid-base properties.     

XV. Yeast sequencing reports. Sequence of a 10·27 kb segment on the left arm of chromosome XV from Saccharomyces cerevisiae includes part of the IRA2 gene and a putative new gene

A 10 270 bp fragment from the left arm of chromosome XV of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was sequenced and analysed. The sequence reveals the presence of two open reading frames (ORFs), one of them is the larger part of the previously sequenced gene IRA2 (YOL0951). The other ORF, YOL0950, has a length of 1245 nucleotides and exhibits no significant homology with any known gene, although there is some similarity of its upstream region to the corresponding region of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe cdr1/nim1 gene which is involved in the control of mitotic cell size. The sequence has been deposited in the EMBL data library under Accession Number X75449.     

Light induced degradation of testosterone in waters

The degradation of testosterone under simulated irradiations was studied in phosphate buffers and in natural waters at various excitation wavelengths. The quantum yield of photolysis was significantly lower at 313 nm (2.4 × 10^− 3) than at 254 nm (0.225). The formation of several photoproducts was observed, some of them being rapidly transformed in turn while others show higher stability towards subsequent irradiations. The nature of the main products was tentatively identified, both deduced from their spectral and spectrometric data and by comparison with synthesised standard compounds. Among the obtained photoproducts, the main one is possibly a spiro-compound, hydroxylated derivative of testosterone originating from the photohydratation of the enone group. The photodegradation pathway includes also photorearrangements. One of them leads to (1,5,10)-cyclopropyl-17β-hydroxyandrostane-2-one. The pH of the water does not seem to affect the rate of phototransformation and the nature of the by-products.     

Generalized cell formation: iterative versus simultaneous resolution with grouping genetic algorithm

For each industrial, lean manufacturing is “The method” to improve productivity and reduce cost. One of the tools for lean is cellular manufacturing. This technique reduces the factory to several small entities which are easier to manage. The algorithm proposed in this paper is based on a simultaneous resolution of two interdependent problems. These two problems emerge when the flexibility is used during the production process. This paper proves the efficiency of the simultaneous resolution comparing to the sequential resolution with iterations. To compare only the resolution method, a unique grouping genetic algorithm is adapted to be used in both cases.     

Toward an optimisation of the reactive resin transfer molding process: thermo-chemico-mechanical coupled simulations

In a view of reactive RTM process optimization, a numerical strategy is proposed to perform simulation of the filling stage of such a process, including the numerous thermo-chemico-mechanical couplings involved. Numerical simulations are then performed illustrating the capabilities of the strategy and underlying the numerical features that have to be taken into account. Finally, in order to build virtual charts for processability windows definition, the possibility to combine this numerical strategy with a multiparametric solver is addressed.