On-farm influence of production patterns on total polyphenol content in peach

Peach production in France is constantly confronted with marketing problems due to a decrease in fruit consumption and increasing competition with neighbouring Mediterranean countries. The production of higher quality products using production methods such as organic farming (OF) appears to be a tangible way of differentiating and enhancing peach production. To test this hypothesis, an on-farm study was conducted in one of the major production areas in South-eastern France. Focussing on the peach cultivar, cv. Spring Lady®, paired comparisons were conducted between plots in OF and conventional farming (CF). Farmers' practices were identified and checked against crop measurements and performances (yield, sugar content, size classes) in 2004 (12 plots) and in 2005 (10 plots). Polyphenol contents were assessed as an additional component of fruit quality, using the Folin-Ciocalteu colorimetric method. Organic peaches have a higher polyphenol content at harvest. Contents were 4.8 times higher in 2004, whereas the same phenomenon was not observed in 2005. Levels of nitrogen, yield and tree vigour management appeared to be the key elements responsible for the synthesis of total polyphenols and sugar content This implies new opportunities for improving the nutritional quality of peaches, based on production methods

Theoretical model for ultracold molecule formation via adaptive feedback control

We investigate pump-dump photoassociation of ultracold molecules with amplitude- and phase-modulated femtosecond laser pulses. For this purpose a perturbative model for the light-matter interaction is developed and combined with a genetic algorithm for adaptive feedback control of the laser pulse shapes. The model is applied to the formation of 85Rb2 molecules in a magneto-optical trap. We find for optimized pulse shapes an improvement for the formation of ground state molecules by more than a factor of 10 compared to unshaped pulses at the same pump-dump delay time, and by 40% compared to unshaped pulses at the respective optimal pump-dump delay time. Since our model yields directly the spectral amplitudes and phases of the optimized pulses, the results are directly applicable in pulse shaping experiments

Photoassociation inside an optical dipole trap: absolute rate coefficients and Franck-Condon factors

We present quantitative measurements of the photoassociation of cesium molecules inside a far-detuned optical dipole trap. A model of the trap depletion dynamics is derived which allows to extract absolute photoassociation rate coefficients for the initial single-photon photoassociation step from measured trap-loss spectra. The sensitivity of this approach is demonstrated by measuring the Franck-Condon modulation of the weak photoassociation transitions into the low vibrational levels of the outer well of the 0g- state that correlates to the 6s+6p3/2 asymptote. The measurements are compared to theoretical predictions. In a magneto-optical trap these transitions have previously only been observed indirectly through ionization of ground state molecules

Shall We (Math and) Dance?

Can we use mathematics, and in particular the abstract branch of category theory, to describe some basics of dance, and to highlight structural similarities between music and dance? We first summarize recent studies between mathematics and dance, and between music and categories. Then, we extend this formalism and diagrammatic thinking style to dance.Comment: preprin

Global analysis of data on the spin-orbit coupled A1Σu+A^{1}\Sigma_{u}^{+} and b3Πub^{3}\Pi_{u} states of Cs2

We present experimentally derived potential curves and spin-orbit interaction functions for the strongly perturbed $A^{1}\Sigma_{u}^{+}$ and $b^{3}\Pi_{u}$ states of the cesium dimer. The results are based on data from several sources. Laser-induced fluorescence Fourier transform spectroscopy (LIF FTS) was used some time ago in the Laboratoire Aim\'{e} Cotton primarily to study the $X ^{1}\Sigma_{g}^{+}$ state. More recent work at Tsinghua University provides information from moderate resolution spectroscopy on the lowest levels of the $b^{3}\Pi_{0u}^{\pm}$ states as well as additional high resolution data. From Innsbruck University, we have precision data obtained with cold Cs$_{2}$ molecules. Recent data from Temple University was obtained using the optical-optical double resonance polarization spectroscopy technique, and finally, a group at the University of Latvia has added additional LIF FTS data. In the Hamiltonian matrix, we have used analytic potentials (the Expanded Morse Oscillator form) with both finite-difference (FD) coupled-channels and discrete variable representation (DVR) calculations of the term values. Fitted diagonal and off-diagonal spin-orbit functions are obtained and compared with {\it ab initio} results from Temple and Moscow State universities

Influence of Extraction Solvent on the Biological Properties of Maritime Pine Bark (Pinus pinaster)

Maritime pine bark (Pinus pinaster Aiton subsp. atlantica) is rich in polyphenols with known bioactive properties which are beneficial for human health. However, biological activities of bark extracts depend on the type of polyphenols extracted and the characteristics of these extractives depend on several factors such as the type of solvents used. The in uence of the extraction solvent on the composition and consequently on the properties of the extracts has been poorly described. Thus, in this study the in uence of the extraction solvent (water, ethanol and ethanol-water (50/50 v/v%)) on the antibacterial and anticancer properties of P. pinaster bark samples were evaluated. LC-DAD-MS profiling of the different extracts was also carried out to study their polyphenol composition. Results show that extraction solvent must be carefully chosen with respect to foreseeing use of bark extracts, since ethanolic and hydroethanolic extracts displayed the greatest antibacterial activity whereas water extracts showed increased anticancer properties. © 2022. International Journal of Food Studies.All Rights Reserve

Optimizing the photoassociation of cold atoms by use of chirped laser pulses

Photoassociation of ultracold atoms induced by chirped picosecond pulses is analyzed in a non-perturbative treatment by following the wavepackets dynamics on the ground and excited surfaces. The initial state is described by a Boltzmann distribution of continuum scattering states. The chosen example is photoassociation of cesium atoms at temperature T=54 $\mu K$ from the $a^3 \Sigma_u^+(6s,6s)$ continuum to bound levels in the external well of the $0_g^-(6s+6p_{3/2})$ potential. We study how the modification of the pulse characteristics (carrier frequency, duration, linear chirp rate and intensity) can enhance the number of photoassociated molecules and suggest ways of optimizing the production of stable molecules.Comment: 40 pages, 12 figures, submitted to Eur. Phys. J.