Astringency Sensitivity to Tannic Acid: Effect of Ageing and Saliva

Astringency is an important sensory characteristic of food and beverages containing polyphenols. However, astringency perception in elderly people has not been previously documented. The aim of the present work was to evaluate sensitivity to astringency as a function of age, salivary flow and protein amount. Fifty-four panellists, including 30 elderly people (age = 75 ± 4.2 years) and 24 young people (age = 29.4 ± 3.8 years), participated in this study. Astringency sensitivity was evaluated by the 2-alternative forced choice (2-AFC) procedure using tannic acid solutions. Whole saliva was collected for 5 min before and after the sensory tests. The results showed that the astringency threshold was significantly higher in the elderly group than the young group. No correlation was observed between the salivary protein amount and threshold value. However, a negative correlation between salivary flow and threshold was observed in the young group only. These results showed a difference in oral astringency perception as a function of age. This difference can be linked to salivary properties that differ as a function of age.     

Spontaneous parametric down-conversion

Spontaneous Parametric Down-Conversion (SPDC), also known as parametric fluorescence, parametric noise, parametric scattering and all various combinations of the abbreviation SPDC, is a non-linear optical process where a photon spontaneously splits into two other photons of lower energies. One would think that this article is about particle physics and yet it is not, as this process can occur fairly easily on a day to day basis in an optics laboratory. Nowadays, SPDC is at the heart of many quantum optics experiments for applications in quantum cryptography, quantum simulation, quantum metrology but also for testing fundamentals laws of physics in quantum mechanics. In this article, we will focus on the physics of this process and highlight a few important properties of SPDC. There will be two parts: a first theoretical one showing the particular quantum nature of SPDC, and the second part, more experimental and in particular focusing on applications of parametric down-conversion. This is clearly a non-exhaustive article about parametric down-conversion as there is a tremendous literature on the subject, but it gives the necessary first elements needed for a novice student or researcher to work on SPDC sources of light.     

On the Capability of the Generalized Gamma Function to Represent Spray Drop‐Size Distribution

The three‐parameter, Generalized Gamma function solution of a recent MEF formulation used to derive liquid spray drop‐size distribution, is applied to sprays resulting from three different atomization processes. The objectives of these applications are to determine the sign of the parameters for which this function reports a more reliable fit and to further understand the parameter stability problem reported elsewhere. It is found that the lack of stability of the parameters is related to a characteristic feature of the mathematical function and appears for a series of spray drop‐size distributions with constant shape. For each situation analyzed in the present study, the Generalized Gamma function provides a very good fit with parameters that are either constant or correlated to the working conditions. As far as the sign of the parameters is concerned, the results show that the best formulation is a function of the spray and that it is impossible to know, a priori, which parameter sign will report the best fit. Finally, for one situation, it is found that the Generalized Gamma function allows extrapolation of drop sizes outside the measured values. All of the results converge to conclude that the three‐parameter Generalized Gamma function, which is identical to the well‐known Nukiyama‐Tanasawa distribution, accumulates valuable attributes to represent liquid spray drop‐size distributions.     

Computing the topological entropy of maps of the interval with three monotone pieces

An algorithm is presented for computing the topological entropy of a piecewise monotone map of the interval having three monotone pieces. The accuracy of the algorithm is discussed and some graphs of the topological entropy obtained using the algorithm are displayed. Some of the ideas behind the algorithm have application to piecewise monotone functions with more than three monotone pieces.     

Auger electron emission in proton-induced interactions in living matter: A TILDA-V Monte Carlo tracking

The present work focuses on studying the contribution of the Auger electron emission in proton-induced interactions in biological matter. The Monte Carlo track-structure code, TILDA-V, was then used for modeling the protons beams of 10 keV to 100 MeV in biological matter, namely, water vapor and hydrated DNA. The main ionizing processes are described by means of an extensive set of ab initio differential and total cross sections computed within a quantum-mechanical CDW-EIS approximation.     

Localization for a Random Walk in Slowly Decreasing Random Potential

We consider a continuous time random walk X in a random environment on ?⁺ such that its potential can be approximated by the function V:?⁺→? given by $V(x)=\sigma W(x) -\frac {b}{1-\alpha}x^{1-\alpha}$ where σW a Brownian motion with diffusion coefficient σ>0 and parameters b, α are such that b>0 and 0<α<1/2. We show that P-a.s. (where P is the averaged law) $\lim_{t\to\infty} \frac{X_{t}}{(C^{*}(\ln\ln t)^{-1}\ln t)^{\frac{1}{\alpha}}}=1$ with $C^{*}=\frac{2\alpha b}{\sigma^{2}(1-2\alpha)}$ . In fact, we prove that by showing that there is a trap located around $(C^{*}(\ln\ln t)^{-1}\ln t)^{\frac{1}{\alpha}}$ (with corrections of smaller order) where the particle typically stays up to time t. This is in sharp contrast to what happens in the “pure” Sinai’s regime, where the location of this trap is random on the scale ln² t.     

H2-broadening coefficients in the ν3 band of CH3D at low temperatures

Using a diode-laser spectrometer, we have measured H₂-broadening coefficients of CH₃D at low temperatures (153.5, 183.5, and 223.5 K) for four lines in the ν₃ band. The collisional widths are obtained by fitting each absorption line with three lineshape models: the Voigt, Rautian, and Galatry profiles. The broadening coefficients are also calculated on the basis of a semiclassical model of interacting linear molecules by considering an atom-atom Lennard-Jones potential in addition to electrostatic contributions. By comparing the broadening coefficients at room and low temperatures the temperature dependence of these broadenings has been determined both experimentally and theoretically.     

A note on the regularity of the holes for permeability property through a perforated domain for the 2D Euler equations Dedicated to Professor Jean-Yves Chemin on the Occasion of His 60th Birthday

For equations of order two with the Dirichlet boundary condition, as the Laplace problem, the Stokes and the Navier-Stokes systems, perforated domains were only studied when the distance between the holes d_ε is equal to or much larger than the size of the holes ε. Such a diluted porous medium is interesting because it contains some cases where we have a non-negligible effect on the solution when(ε, d_ε) →(0, 0).Smaller distances were avoided for mathematical reasons and for these large distances, the geometry of the holes does not affect or rarely affect the asymptotic result. Very recently, it was shown for the 2D-Euler equations that a porous medium is non-negligible only for inter-holes distances much smaller than the sizes of the holes.For this result, the boundary regularity of holes plays a crucial role, and the permeability criterion depends on the geometry of the lateral boundary. In this paper, we relax slightly the regularity condition, allowing a corner, and we note that a line of irregular obstacles cannot slow down a perfect fluid in any regime such thatε ln d_ε→ 0.     

Gadolinium chelate coated gold nanoparticles as contrast agents for both X-ray computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging

Functionalized gold nanoparticles were applied as contrast agents for both in vivo X-ray and magnetic resonance imaging. These particles were obtained by encapsulating gold cores within a multilayered organic shell which is composed of gadolinium chelates bound to each other through disulfide bonds. The contrast enhancement in MRI stems from the presence of gadolinium ions which are entrapped in the organic shell, whereas the gold core provides a strong X-ray absorption. This study revealed that these particles suited for dual modality imaging freely circulate in the blood vessels without undesirable accumulation in the lungs, spleen, and liver.