Fructo-oligosaccharides separation and purification by simulated moving bed chromatography

The interest on oligosaccharides such as fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) has strongly increased in recent years for food and pharmaceutical applications, mainly due to their improved technological and functional properties. FOS can be produced by fermentative processes from sucrose, and can be found in mixture with other mono- and di-saccharides and salts, at the end of the process [1]. Unlike FOS, the small saccharides (SGF), namely fructose, glucose and sucrose in the mixture, are known to be cariogenic, caloric and do not present prebiotic activity. The purification of FOS from the other sugars can represent and important increment on the economic value of the final product, which can be further used in diabetic and dietetic food [2]. Different strategies have been developed for this purpose, including microbial treatment [3], ultra and nano-filtration, activated charcoal systems [4], or ion-exchange chromatography [5]. Ion exchange resins may be then used in batch or continuous chromatographic processes, as Simulated Moving Bed (SMB) chromatography, to purify sugars. A screening of different commercial resins was previously done in order to select the most suitable to separate the oligosaccharides [5]. The resin Diaion 535Ca showed an increased recovery yield and purity of FOS (92 and 90%, respectively). In the present work, the separation process was implemented in the SMB, using the selected resin, namely. Equilibrium adsorption isotherms were determined by the Retention Time Method (RTM), for each single sugar. The resin was afterwards packed in eight SMB columns, and tested in the pilot plant. Different operation parameters, including switching time, extra time, internal flow-rates and operating pump flow-rates for feed, raffinate, desorbent, eluent and recycling streams, were tested in the plant. The separation of fructose from glucose and FOS from the SGF was evaluated. Firstly, the separation of a binary sugar mixture of fructose/sucrose (~ 50/50%) was performed followed by the separation of FOS from a fermentative broth. Fructose was purified from 53 to 76% and sucrose from 47 to 77%. FOS and SGF were purified from 50 to 67%. The implementation of UV detectors between the SMB columns allowed following the sugar concentration profile online during the separation process. The accurate selection of the operating parameters was made using the concentration signal obtained and showed to be a crucial step for an improved separation

Experimental study of the radiation emitted by 180-GeV/c electrons and positrons volume-reflected in a bent crystal

The radiation emitted by 180-GeV/c volume-reflected electrons and positrons impinging on a bent crystal has been measured by the H8RD22 Collaboration on the H8 beamline at the CERN SPS. A dedicated spectrometer has been developed to measure high-energy photon spectra (up to similar to 100 GeV) under volume reflection: photon and charged particle beams have been separated by a bending magnet and leptons were detected and tagged by microstrip silicon detectors and a Pb-scintillator sampling calorimeter. A comparison between the experimental and analytical data for the amorphous and volume-reflection cases is presented and the differences are discussed

Experimental study of the radiation emitted by 180-GeV/c electrons and positrons volume-reflected in a bent crystal

The radiation emitted by 180-GeV/c volume-reflected electrons and positrons impinging on a bent crystal has been measured by the H8RD22 Collaboration on the H8 beamline at the CERN SPS. A dedicated spectrometer has been developed to measure high-energy photon spectra (up to similar to 100 GeV) under volume reflection: photon and charged particle beams have been separated by a bending magnet and leptons were detected and tagged by microstrip silicon detectors and a Pb-scintillator sampling calorimeter. A comparison between the experimental and analytical data for the amorphous and volume-reflection cases is presented and the differences are discussed

EcoNum, a research unit devoted to marine environment monitoring

The monitoring of coastal environments remains a research domain of great interest and concern. Coastal ecosystems are threatened by natural and human-induced stressors and are, as transitional environments, particularly sensitive to disturbances. EcoNum first research thematic revolves around hermatypic corals, calcifying organisms, and their adaptation potentials to environmental changes including by using original and patented chemostats. The studied organisms are grown and maintained in artificial mesocosms that simulate environmental conditions of a natural system. This infrastructure allows to perform long-term experiments, giving time to organisms to adapt to the tested conditions (e.g., increased temperature or lowered pH). Longer-term studies have demonstrated that many organisms are more resistant to environmental stressors than previously observed on the short-term. EcoNum also studies coastal plankton abundance and diversity. Plankton is particularly sensitive to physicochemical changes of water bodies. The classification and the enumeration of planktonic organisms require specialized tools in order to analyse time series of multiple samples. EcoNum has developed a software for the semi-automatic classification of planktonic organisms called Zoo/PhytoImage. This software has been used to study a 10-year time series of coastal Mediterranean zooplankton samples. The concomitant analysis of environmental parameters registered at high frequency with specific statistical tools such as the R package pastecs allows to understand the processes governing the changes observed in plankton assemblages. The use and the development of statistical tools in R (e.g., Zoo/Phytoimage, pastecs) is a priority of EcoNum to favour open access knowledge and reproductive sciences. EcoNum research topics also focus on coastal ecotoxicology. Chemicals, including trace elements, remain contaminants of concern, mainly in coastal environments that are the final sink of inland pollution sources. The chemical integrity of coastal ecosystems thus has to be accurately monitored. The partitioning of chemicals between their dissolved, particulate and sedimentary phases does not provide information on their bioavailability. EcoNum thus monitors coastal waters using bioindicator species such as seagrasses, mussels or sand worms. A global map of the contamination of the Mediterranean by trace elements has been drawn using seagrasses has bioindicator species. EcoNum also studies trace element ecology and toxicology. For instance, it has demonstrated the toxicity of copper on the coral Seriatopora hystrix and it's symbiont's photosynthetic processes, or its bioaccumulation and basipetal translocation towards rhizomes in the seagrass Posidonia oceanica as reserve nutrient for subsequent leaf growth. Finally, coastal vegetated systems are potential carbon thinks (or sources) in the global carbon cycle. Therefore, EcoNum studies the primary productivity of seagrass meadows, from the individual to the community, with measuring techniques as diverse as PAM-fluorometry or biomass production determination. To conclude, EcoNum is a research unit devoted to marine environment monitoring. It develops research thematics on major coastal communities such as coral reefs, seagrass beds or plankton assemblages and studies their natural dynamics and the effects of stressors on their global functioning