“ENERGY INDEPENDENCE”: PRESIDENT OBAMA’S RHETORIC OF A SUCCESS STORY

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Élelmiszerek ízoptimalizálása elektronikus nyelv segítségével = Optimizing the taste of food products using electronic tongue analyzer

Az élelmiszer- és italgyártó cégeknek gyorsan és folyamatosan újterm ékeket kell fejleszteniük, melyektől a fogyasztók elvárják, hogy táplálkozás-élettani szempontból kedvezőbbek legyenek, viszont ízükben, illatukban és az árban ne lehessen észrevenni ezeket a változásokat. A termékek érzékszervi jellemzőinek vizsgálatához az elektronikus érzékelési berendezések jól használhatóak. A cikkben az elektronikus nyelv három alkalmazását tekintettük át az érzékszervi profilalkotás és a termékfejlesztés során az íz nyomonkövetése és az ízt befolyásoló gyártási folyamat ellenőrzése területén. 14 ecetm inta összehasonlításánál megfigyelték, hogy a kereskedelmi márkák szignifikánsan különböztek a hagyományos termékektől. A hagyományos ecetek sós ízének intenzitása azonos volt, míg a kereskedelmi minták között a különbség jobban kirajzolódott. A legmagasabb minőségi kategóriához tartozó ecetminta esetében a savanyú és az umami íz alacsonyabb intenzitását figyelték meg. Egy narancsital kifejleszése során a prototípus terméket hasonlították össze két céltermékkel (a versenytermékkel és egy természetes narancslével). A vizsgálat alapján megállapították, hogy a prototípus term ék jobban hasonlított a versenytárs term ékhez, mint a fejlesztő jelenlegi termékéhez. Állományjavító adalékanyagok vizsgálata során megállapították, hogy az adalékanyagok nem befolyásolták a 3 vizsgált curry ízesítő ízét. A vizsgálathoz itt is elektronikus nyelvet alkalmaztak, hogy vizsgálhassák a term ékek ízét az adalékanyagok hozzáadása előtt és után is. A berendezés segítségével m egállapították, hogy a G reen curry termék ízében nem okozott szignifikáns változást az adalékanyagok hozzáadása, míg a Red és Masaman curry mintáknál érezhető volt az adalékanyagok módosító hatása. Food & Beverage companies need to design new products rapidly and constantly, having greater health benefits without changing taste or flavor nor increasing costs. To test sensory attributes, electronic sensory instruments can be used. This article presents 3 major applications of the electronic tongue in sensory profiling, taste benchmarking during product development and process monitoring based on taste. Over comparing 14 balsamic vinegars, it was observed that commercial brands were significantly different from traditional products. Traditional vinegars had equivalent saltiness whereas higher differences were perceptible between commercial products. The traditional vinegar with the highest level of quality showed lower sourness and umami taste. With the aim to re-develop an orange nectar, a prototype formulation was compared to two targets (competitive nectar and natural orange juice). This allowed to validate that the prototype better matched the competitive product than the current nectar of the supplier. To check that texture agents addition had no impact on the taste of 3 types of curry sauces, the electronic tongue was used to assess the products without and with additive. The instrument determined that on Green curry sauce, no significant taste change was observed, whereas for Red and Masaman curry, taste modification was perceptible

La marée noire vue du bureau ovale : processus rhétoriques pour conceptualiser la crise du golfe du Mexique (avril 2010)

Inscrit dans la lignée de trois travaux précédents (Bonnefille 2008, 2009 et 2011b), cet article propose une étude du discours prononcé par le Président Obama en juin 2010, suite à la marée noire qui s’est répandue dans le golfe du Mexique. L’application d’une sélection d’outils et de concepts issus de la linguistique cognitive et de la rhétorique permet de délimiter un cadre théorique nouveau, la rhétorique cognitive, et de mettre en lumière les processus de conceptualisation à l’œuvre lors de la pire marée noire que les États-Unis n’aient jamais connue.This paper follows on from the investigations conducted in three previous pieces of research (Bonnefille 2008, 2009 et 2011b). Based on a framework that was previously defined as cognitive rhetoric (i.e. a selected combination of tools coming from cognitive linguistics and rhetoric), the author analyzes the speech given by President Obama on the oil spill, which occurred in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The paper focuses on the processes of conceptualization at work during the worst oil spill in American history

Détermination du niveau de toxicité des sédiments de rivière par le test de bioluminescence bactérienne

A partir de références bibliographiques encore réduites, les auteurs ont mis au point un protocole expérimental d'évaluation de la toxicité des sédiments de rivière, après extraction au dichlorométhane et mesure de la toxicité par le lest de Bioluminescence Bactérienne.Ce protocole simple appliqué à quarante-trois prélèvements correspondant à des situations de pollution diversifiées, a permis d'établir et de proposer une typologie des sédiments en fonction de leur niveau de toxicité.Correspondant à une approche nouvelle (tests biologiques de toxicité sur sédiments), la méthodologie apparaît particulièrement intéressante pour la gestion patrimoniale des cours d'eau (réseaux de surveillance, mise en évidence de situations de pollutions), et devrait être intégrée dans les opérations de mesure de l'impact des pollutions toxiques sur les écosystèmes aquatiques.As toxic substances in river water are not easy to detect and to measure, sediments able to precipitate them have been userd, successfully, to quaintly metals and a limited number of organics. Actually, analytical determinations, very expansive, time consuming and never exhaustive, are not an adequate means for a general estimation of the presence of toxic organic substances.Another developing approach consists in determining effects not the substances themselves (contained in the sediments) but their toxic effects on biotests applied directly on all the sediments or on the extracts. This approach has been used by relatively few teams, principally in North-America and in The Netherlands, in limited areas, to evaluate the local impacts of industrial effluents on sea and-or river waters. On the contrary, the object of this work is to measure the interest of this kind of approach, at a large Water Basin, first to establish the toxic profiles of rivers with areas of pollution, and second to constitute a memorization, susceptible of being compared at regular intervals for an estimation of general depollution policies .Based on data taken from the literature, an organic extraction of sediments with dichloromethane as solvent (without pretreatment) and photobacterium phosphoreum luminescence inhibition test were chosen. Actually, according to the literature, dichloromethane is the must convenient solvant and toxic activities of extracts are well correlated with organic toxic contents in the few cases where, exceptionally, the two approaches have been carried out simultaneously. Similarly, the bacterial luminescence test, Microtox (commercial name), quick and inexpensive, is well correlated with results from other biotests when, occasionally, both were utilised. Moreover, Microtox was well tested in the Agence laboratory.Different conditions of extraction were carefully tested, before the adoption of the definite protocol : whole sediments (10-g) are mixed (slow agitation in rolling flasks) for 6 hours with dichloromethane (100-mL) and sodium sulphate (50 g). Dichloromethane is then eliminated and the remaining solid materials are washed twice with fresh dichloromethane (2 x 20 mi). Dichloromethane extract and washings are collected, dried over sodium sulphate and concentrated (below 40 °C) to 1 mL, further adjusted to 3 mL. A portion measured accurately of this concentrate is added to ethanol and concentrated to remove dichloromethane.Bacterial bioluminescence tests, in duplicate, are performed on ethanol extracts, diluted (1 %) in salified (sodium chloride 2 %) distilled water. Estimates of the EC 50 (concentration causing a 50 % reduction in bioluminescence) obtained using linear regression analysis are converted into Toxic Units and referred to the net organic weight, measured separately, at 550 °C. This expression of results is particularly relevant when sediments with different organic net weights are compared.The protocol has been applied to sediments collected at 43 sites in the principal rivers of Rhône Méditerranée Corse Basin and in special distant from significant domestic and industrial activities.The toxic amplitude observed (ratio of l/200 between lowest and highest toxic units obtained with the panel) and the good reproductibility of the whole process (10 % to 25 %) were consistent with a trial subdivision in 5 classes as follow :Class 1 : Out of pollution - Class 2 : Moderate toxicity - Class 3 : Important toxicity - Class 4 : Very important toxicity - Class 5 : Exceptional toxicity.The relevancy of this classification was estimated when sediments were classed according to their toxic content. The classification proves to be correct in must cases. Exceptionally toxic sediments were collected in sites affected by large industries and agglomerations as (CHASSE and SAINT-VALLIER) on River Rhone near Lyon and important chemical plants, or GIVORS, on the small River GIER, markedly affected by many various industries. On the contrary sediments of moderate toxicity corresponded to sites relatively far from sources of important pollutions, e.g., ARLES on the River RHONE near the sea and a number of sites on the River SAONE. Moreover, when repeated sampling was performed on the same sites, the results were consistent, belonging to the same class of toxicity.The general object of this work was not to determine a definite classification of sediment toxicities, but to assess the relevancy of this approach. In our opinion, it was proved that bioassays on sediment extracts, and specially the bacterial bioluminescence assay, are a valuable tool, before the material impossibility to determine the toxic substances content. Moreover this approach could be used at the Basin. More investigations are necessary to define more accurately the number and level of toxic classes and e.g. to establish correlations with perturbations of benthic communities living in the sediments. It is also a contribution to the general knowledge and action based on biotests performed on effluents and different compartments of rivers

A comparison of biomarker records of northeast African vegetation from lacustrine and marine sediments (ca. 3.40 Ma)

Author Posting. © Elsevier B.V., 2007. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Organic Geochemistry 38 (2007): 1607-1624, doi:10.1016/j.orggeochem.2007.06.008.Integrated terrestrial and marine records of northeast African vegetation are needed to provide long, high resolution records of environmental variability with established links to specific terrestrial environments. In this study, we compare records of terrestrial vegetation preserved in marine sediments in the Gulf of Aden (DSDP Site 231) and an outcrop of lacustrine sediments in the Turkana Basin, Kenya, part of the East African Rift System. We analyzed higher plant biomarkers in sediments from both deposits of known equivalent age, corresponding to a ca. 50 – 100 ka humid interval prior to the β-Tulu Bor eruption ca. 3.40 Ma, when the Lokochot Lake occupied part of the Turkana Basin. Molecular abundance distributions indicate that long chain n-alkanoic acids in marine sediments are the most reliable proxy for terrestrial vegetation (Carbon Preference Index, CPI, = 4.5), with more cautious interpretation needed for n-alkanes and lacustrine archives. Marine sediments record carbon isotopic variability in terrestrial biomarkers of 2 – 3‰, roughly equivalent to 20% variability in the C3/C4 vegetation contribution. The proportion of C4 vegetation apparently increased at times of low terrigenous dust input. Terrestrial sediments reveal much larger (2 – 10‰) shifts in n-alkanoic acid δ13C values. However, molecular abundance and isotopic composition suggest that microbial sources may also contribute fatty acids, contaminating the lacustrine sedimentary record of terrestrial vegetation.Funding was provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation HOMINID Grant 0218511

Three hundred eighty thousand year long stable isotope and faunal records from the Red Sea : influence of global sea level change on hydrography

Stable isotope and faunal records from the central Red Sea show high-amplitude oscillations for the past 380,000 years. Positive δ18O anomalies indicate periods of significant salt buildup during periods of lowered sea level when water mass exchange with the Arabian Sea was reduced due to a reduced geometry of the Bab el Mandeb Strait. Salinities as high as 53‰ and 55‰ are inferred from pteropod and benthic foraminifera δ18O, respectively, for the last glacial maximum. During this period all planktonic foraminifera vanished from this part of the Red Sea. Environmental conditions improved rapidly after 13 ka as salinities decreased due to rising sea level. The foraminiferal fauna started to reappear and was fully reestablished between 9 ka and 8 ka. Spectral analysis of the planktonic δ18O record documents highest variance in the orbital eccentricity, obliquity, and precession bands, indicating a dominant influence of climatically - driven sea level change on environmental conditions in the Red Sea. Variance in the precession band is enhanced compared to the global mean marine climate record (SPECMAP), suggesting an additional influence of the Indian monsoon system on Red Sea climates