Diversité d’usages et Statut de conservation de Syzygium guineense (Willd.) DC. subsp. macrocarpum (Engl.) F. White (Myrtaceae) au Bénin

The objective of this study is to categorize the endogenous knowledge related to Syzygium guineense subsp. macrocarpum, a nectariferous plant in Benin, and to evaluate the impact of the use of different plant parts on its sustainability. The assessment of knowledge was based on the relative frequency of response, diversity index and equity index. In addition, the impact of different uses was measured by the degree of threat in the natural environment. Investigations identified many uses that have been categorized into 7 types, of which the most represented being energy (78%) and medicinal (51%). There is a significant variation in usage knowledge among ethnic groups (P-Value = 0.00). The degree of threat ranged from 15.17% to 46.39%. This study shows that S. guineense subsp. macrocarpum is a species for domestic, medicinal and oral use.     

Assessing impacts of summertime overheating: some adaptation strategies

The UK is predicted to experience warmer summers in the future, but the domestic building stock in England was not designed to cope with this change. The Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) 2009 is used to assess the current state of the English building stock in terms of its vulnerability to overheating. The English Housing Survey 2009 provided data for 16 150 dwellings which are weighted to represent the housing stock. SAP predicts 82% of dwellings are currently at ‘slight’ risk of overheating and 41% at medium to high risk. If summer temperatures become 1.4°C warmer, then 99% of properties are predicted to have a medium to high risk of overheating. Several potential adaptations to the housing stock were considered to reduce overheating. Although ventilation strategies had the largest positive effect, the use of solar shading and shutters which allow secure ventilation could reduce vulnerability to overheating in the current climate. In a warmer climate, although some dwellings would still be at slight risk, the results suggest that solar shading strategies could reduce the percentage of those at medium to high risk to 6%. Future energy efficiency programmes will need to include adaptation measures to prevent overheating.     

Performance-based assessment of durability and prediction of RC structure service life: transport properties as input data for physical models

This paper deals with an approach based on durability indicators (DIs), intended for the assessment of the durability and the prediction of the service life (SL) of reinforced concrete structures with respect to reinforcement corrosion. The methods of assessment of the DIs, more specifically of the transport properties effective chloride diffusion coefficient and “intrinsic” liquid water permeability, are first investigated. Direct experimental methods, indirect methods based on simple analytical formulas, as well as numerical inverse analysis which involves the same physical models as used for prediction, are compared. Very good agreement is pointed out between the results obtained by the various methods for a broad range of materials. The effect of SCM, as well as of accelerated carbonation in the case of permeability, is also investigated. 1-D numerical models of moisture or ionic isothermal transport are then introduced, where the selected DIs are the main input data. Simulations carried out with the moisture transport model are compared to moisture profiles measured by gamma-ray attenuation, in order to validate the model and the input data (permeability). With regard to chloride ingress, examples of application of the multispecies transport model (saturated conditions) are provided for concentration profile prediction, in lab and in field conditions, as well as SL prediction.     

A comparison of free-stall barns used by modernized Wisconsin dairies

A primary objective of the Wisconsin Dairy Modernization Survey was to compare features of free-stall barns available to dairy producers. This study used data from a large random sample of expanding dairy farms to determine whether the theoretical benefits of particular free-stall configurations bear out under on-farm conditions. Comparisons were made among herds using free-stall barns as their primary housing for new versus remodeled facilities, barn design, bedding used, feed-delivery design, manure removal strategies, animal restraint, maternity areas, overcrowding, and cooling methods. Producers who made the transition from tie-stall housing to free-stall housing were satisfied with this decision. New free-stall barns provided a more desirable environment for the herds than remodeled free-stall barns, although initial investments were higher. When new free-stall barns were compared, herds with four-row barns had higher production, lower somatic cell count, and higher stocking rates than herds with six-row barns. Respondents were more satisfied with four- and six-row barns than with two- and three-row barns. Respondents felt sand provided some advantages for cow comfort, while satisfaction with bedding cost and manure handling was higher with mattresses. Dairy Herd Improvement data showed no difference in milk production or somatic cell count for producers who chose sand or mattress-based free stalls. Respondents were more satisfied with the use of drive-through feeding than other feed-delivery designs. Most producers chose to use tractor scrapers to remove manure; however, producers who used automated systems were more satisfied with manure management. Few differences were observed when comparing self-locking head gates to palpation rails. Overcrowding did not have any adverse affect on production or user satisfaction with feed intake or cow comfort. Using supplemental cooling appeared to facilitate higher production.     

THE ULTRASTRUCTURE OF GERMINATING SORGHUM AND MILLET GRAINS

The parenchyma tissues of ungerminated and germinated sorghum and millet grains contain abundant fat and protein deposits, which undergo various metabolic changes during germination and seedling growth. The presence of these and other organelles which are characteristic of the mature plant cell was confirmed by a combination of light and electron microscopy. During the early period of the germination process in the millet scutellum, evidence of starch synthesis was apparent, suggesting that fat to starch conversion possibly occurred in the cells of this tissue. In the endosperm of 72 h germinated sorghum and millet grains, starch degradation occurred although such degradation was more extensive in sorghum than in millet.     

An overview of recent studies on the main traditional fermented milks and white cheeses in the Mediterranean region

Traditional dairy products have always been an important component of different communities’ diet, especially in Mediterranean rural areas, where people used to produce fermented milks and cheeses in order to preserve milk and prevent its spoilage. The aim of this article is to review the major traditional fermented milks, white brined cheeses, fresh cheeses, and varieties ripened in animal skin bag that are produced in the Mediterranean region. An update on the latest scientific developments concerning their manufacturing process, and some chemical and microbiological characteristics, is presented.     

The competitiveness of French protected designation of origin wines: a theoretical analysis of the role of proximity

The French model based upon the protected designation of origin (PDO) has been challenged since the beginning of the last decade by the one of ‘New World Wines'. Yet, not all PDO vineyards are equally affected, while some new world wines have in turn entered into crisis. We will consider the issue by comparing two French vineyards, Cahors and Chablis, according to the ‘economics of proximity' framework. We will first analyse the dynamics and strategies of the French wine industry according to the above-mentioned framework, detailing more precisely the terroir-based strategy. We will then apply it to our two case studies, in order to understand the challenges currently facing the French wine industry.     

IMPROVED MALTING PERFORMANCE OF FRESHLY HARVESTED BARLEY AFTER ABRASION

Abrasion improved the malting performance of dried, freshly-harvested barley and provided an alternative to storage. The maltability of undried, unstored barley was improved by abrasion, but the undried grain was more difficult to abrade than was dried grain. Unabraded barley required storage periods of at least 3 weeks before adequate extracts could be obtained. Although acidulation reduced the malting losses of dried grain, it only improved the yield of extract with barleys stored for at least 9 weeks before malting. The potential of dried freshly-harvested barley to produce α-amylase and endo-β-glucanase, as indicated by the response of endosperm slices to gibberellic acid, was initially low and increased gradually as the barley was stored. It is considered that the dominant factor in the accelerated malting of freshly-harvested barley is the improved distribution of enzymes in the endosperm which results from abrasion.     

First isolation of Brevibacterium sp. pigments in the rind of an industrial red‐smear‐ripened soft cheese

The smear‐ripened soft cheeses are characterised by a surface orange‐red‐brown colour, which has a microbial origin. For a long time, this colouration was mainly imputed to Brevibacterium linens. However, the latest published works, based on molecular biology, have shown a minor role for this bacterium. This study shows the results obtained with an industrial cheese named Vieux‐Pané, which is characterised by the presence of carotenoids from Brevibacterium linens group at its surface. This demonstrates that, under certain conditions, the Brevibacterium linens group (Brevibacterium linens and Brevibacterium aurantiacum sp. nov.) is able to produce pigments and to colour cheeses effectively.     

ULTRASTRUCTURE OF THE CELL WALLS OF THE TRANSPORT PATHWAY FOR GIBBERELLIC ACID IN BARLEY ALEURONE LAYER

Transmission and scanning electron microscopic studies of the scutellum-aleurone junction of barley suggest that, in the absence of plasmodesmata connections, the transport of gibberellic acid from the scutellum to the aleurone layer is effected by apoplastic transport across 3–4 μm thick cell walls. Transport of gibberellic acid along the aleurone could be apoplastic as well as symplastic because large numbers of plasmodesmata are present in the 4 μm thick cell walls, through which the hormone could pass from cell to cell. Structurally, the scutellum is separated from the starchy endosperm by a 30 μm thick layer of compressed cell wall material across which transfer of either gibberellic acid to the aleurone or small quantities of non-specific β-glucanase enzymes (E1) from the scutellum to the starchy endosperm would be restricted. No such barrier is present between the aleurone layer and the starchy endosperm, where cell wall thickness is about 4 μm, and the release of endosperm-degrading enzymes into the starchy endosperm is not restricted .