Contribution à la phytochimie du genre Gentiana. XXV. Etude des composés flavoniques et xanthoniques dans les feuilles de Gentiana X marcailhouana RY. Nouveaux cinnamoyl-C-glucosides flavoniques

Phytochemistry of genus Gentiana XXV: Study of the flavonic and xanthonic compounds in leaves of Gentiana X marcailhouana RY . New cinnamoyl-C-glucosyl-flavones Nine flavonic compounds: isoorientin ( 1 ), isovitexin ( 2 ), isoorientin-4′-O-β-D -glucoside ( 3 ), isovitexin-4′-O-β-D -glucoside ( 4 ), luteolin-7-O-β-D -glucoside ( 5 ), trans-cafeoyl-2′′-isoorientin ( 6 ), trans-feruloyl-2′′-isoorientin ( 7 ), trans-p-coumaroyl-2′′-isoorientin ( 8 ), p-O-β-D -glucosyl-trans-cafeoyl-2′′-isoorientin ( 9 ) and three xanthones: gentioside ( 10 ), isogentisine ( 11 ), mangiferin ( 12 ), have been identified from leaves of Gentiana X marcailhouana RY . Compounds 8 and 9 were described for the first time. The cyclitol L -(+)-bornesitol ( 13 ) has been also isolated.     

Regularity of weak solutions to rate‐independent systems in one‐dimension

We show that under some appropriate assumptions, every weak solution (e.g. energetic solution) to a given rate‐independent system is of class SBV, or has finite jumps, or is even piecewise C¹. Our assumption is essentially imposed on the energy functional, but not convexity is required.     

Synthesis of Jasminaldehyde by Solid-Liquid Phase Transfer Catalysis Without Solvent,Under Microwave Irradiation

α-n-amylcinnamaldehyde (jasminaldehyde) was obtained with 82 % yield by solid-liquid phase transfer catalysis without solvent within 3 days at room temperature. By use of domestic microwave irradiation, the same yield was obtained within 1 minute at a power of 600 W.     

Manufacture of Magnesium Oxide Nanoparticles Coated with Silica Shells

MgO@SiO₂ core–shell nanoparticles were manufactured, and a synthetic protocol was developed to prepare MgO nanoparticles where the SiO₂ shell thickness was less than 10 nm. The influence of synthesis parameters on the formation of MgO@SiO₂ nanoparticles was studied. The fact of a SiO₂ shell being formed on the MgO surface was established and the sizes of the thus-prepared MgO@SiO₂ nanoparticles were determined by TEM and Fourier-transform IR spectroscopy.     

Robust energy planning in buildings with energy and comfort costs

Energy management in buildings is addressed in this paper. The energetic impact of buildings in the current energetic context is first depicted. Then the studied optimization problem is defined as the optimal management of production and consumption activities in houses. A scheduling problem is identified to adjust the energy consumption to both the energy cost and the inhabitant’s comfort. The available flexibilities of the services provided by domestic appliances are used to compute optimal energy plans. These flexibilities are associated to time windows or heating storage abilities. A constraints formulation of the energy allocation problem is given. A derived mixed linear program is used to solve this problem. The energy consumption in houses is very dependent to uncertain data such as weather forecasts and inhabitants’ activities. Parametric uncertainties are introduced in the home energy management problem in order to provide robust energy allocation. Robust linear programming is implemented. Event related uncertainties are also addressed through stochastic programming in order to take into account the inhabitant’s activities. A scenario based approach is implemented to face this robust optimization problem.     

A Boat-Shaped Tetracationic Macrocycle with a Semiconducting Organic Framework

We report the synthesis of a tetracationic macrocycle which contains two N,N′-bis(methylene)naphthalenediimide units inserted in between the pyridinium rings of the bipyridinium units in cyclobis(paraquat-p-phenylene) (CBPQT⁴⁺ or “blue box”) and describe the investigation of its potential use in materials for organic electronics. The incorporation of the two naphthalenediimide (NDI) units into the constitution of CBPQT⁴⁺, not only changes the supramolecular properties of the tetracation in the solid state, but also has a profound influence on the electrochemical and electronic behavior of the resulting tetracationic macrocycle. In particular, the solid-state (super)structure, investigated by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, reveals the formation of a three-dimensional (3D) supramolecular framework with ca. 2.8 nm diameter one-dimensional (1D) hexagonal channels. Electrochemical studies on solid-state thin films of the macrocycle show that they exhibit semiconducting properties with a redox-conductivity of up to 7.6×10⁻⁴ S m⁻¹. Moreover, EPR and ENDOR spectroscopies show that charge is equally shared between the NDIs within the one-electron reduced state of the NDI-based macrocycle on the time scale of these techniques.     

A simulation-based genetic algorithm approach for reducing emissions from import container pick-up operation at container terminal

Emissions from idle truck engines are a main source of pollution at container terminals. In this study, we focus on reducing such emission from waiting trucks as well as the related crane operations with a new truck arrival control method that gives individual truck limited time slots for entry. We develop a method to optimize the time slot assignment for individual trucks, aiming at minimizing total emissions from trucks and cranes at import yards. The method applies discrete event simulation to estimate total truck waiting times and crane moving distance, and then applies a genetic algorithm to minimize the generated emissions from these trucks and cranes. The experiment result shows that the truck arrivals should be controlled based on the stacking of import containers, and that such control is necessary for reducing truck idling emissions at a congested container terminal.