Hydrological processes in a small humid savanna basin (Ivory Coast)

International audienc

The current and potential applications of Ambient Mass Spectrometry in detecting food fraud

AbstractThe adulteration of food has received substantial amounts of media attention in the last few years, with events such as the European horsemeat scandal in 2013 sending shockwaves through society. Almost all cases are motivated by the pursuit of profits and are often aided by long and complex supply chains. In the past few years, the rapid growth of ambient mass spectrometry (AMS) has been remarkable, with over thirty different ambient ionisation techniques available. Due to the increasing concerns of the food industry and regulators worldwide, AMS is now being utilised to investigate whether or not it can generate results which are faster yet comparable to those of conventional techniques. This article reviews some aspects of the adulteration of food and its impact on the economy and the public's health, the background to ambient mass spectrometry and the studies that have been undertaken to detect food adulteration using this technology

Tunable grating-assisted surface plasmon resonance by use of nano-polymer dispersed liquid crystal electro-optical material

This paper reports on the experimental observation of the displacement of a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) excited by a metallic diffraction grating. This effect is achieved by the use of an electro-optical material composed of nano-sized droplets of liquid crystals dispersed in a host polymer. The average refractive index of this material in the form of a thin film on the undulated metal surface can be modified with the application of an external electric field and to tune the wavelength at which the SPR excitation leads to a reflection minimum. The theoretical design and experimental demonstration of the principle of this component are described

Gender differences in children escorting practices among dual-earners families in the Paris Region

WIiT Paris 2014 : Women's Issues in Transportation - 5ème Conférence Internationale sur les Femmes et le Transport - Construire les ponts, PARIS , FRANCE, 14-/04/2014 - 16/04/2014The present article looks to pinpoint explanatory factors for the sharing of escorting of children in dual-earner families. It proposes a detailed analysis of inequalities and interactions in dual-earner families when it comes to escorting children by taking into account the characteristics of trips to and from school for children, the characteristics of the parents' occupations, and the characteristics of the household. Compared with earlier research, the model considers more detailed data about the escorts' jobs, such as specific working hours, which provide a better understanding of the constraints on parents and insight into the choices made when both parents are in a position to escort their children. The findings depart somewhat from those of earlier work on the question because more specific data are considered. They show a marked gender inequality in escorting because mothers in dual-earner families do more than two-thirds of the escorting. But the factors explaining the sharing of escorting act almost symmetrically for both parents, with the effect of work starting and finishing times being preponderant. These models confirm that the inequality kicks in ahead of this: mothers in dual-earner households are more often than fathers in jobs with shorter working hours and which are more compatible with escorting. Escorting; Chauffeuring Trips; Dual-earner Families; Parenting; Household Interactions; Household Travel Surve

A comprehensive strategy to detect the fraudulent adulteration of herbs: The oregano approach

AbstractFraud in the global food supply chain is becoming increasingly common due to the huge profits associated with this type of criminal activity. Food commodities and ingredients that are expensive and are part of complex supply chains are particularly vulnerable. Both herbs and spices fit these criteria perfectly and yet strategies to detect fraudulent adulteration are still far from robust. An FT-IR screening method coupled to data analysis using chemometrics and a second method using LC-HRMS were developed, with the latter detecting commonly used adulterants by biomarker identification. The two tier testing strategy was applied to 78 samples obtained from a variety of retail and on-line sources. There was 100% agreement between the two tests that over 24% of all samples tested had some form of adulterants present. The innovative strategy devised could potentially be used for testing the global supply chains for fraud in many different forms of herbs

Caractérisation des dommages au choc de composites stratifiés aéronautiques : application à la chute d'objets

International audienceCette étude porte sur la caractérisation des dommages de plaques stratifiées carbone/époxy suite à un impact basse vitesse. Les stratifiés étudiés sont constitués de nappes pré-imprégnées unidirectionnelles superposées de M21/T700GC. Les essais ont été réalisés en faisant varier masse de l'impacteur et hauteur de chute en conservant pour chaque essai, un niveau d'énergie identique recommandée par la norme aéronautique. L'instrumentation de l'essai ainsi que l'analyse multi physique réalisée sur les plaques impactées ont permis de mieux comprendre les mécanismes d'endommagements du matériau stratifié testé. En effet, ont été couplés accéléromètre, caméra rapide et jauges de déformations pour les mesures pendant l'essai. Une étude thermographique et une analyse aux ultrasons des plaques impactées ont révélés la localisation des endommagements dans les différents stratifiés testés. A niveau d'énergie initiale constante, les plaques testées avec la masse la plus importante sont très largement endommagées par rapport aux plaques impactées avec une faible masse