Sensory representation of typicality of Cabernet franc wines related to phenolic composition: Impact of ripening stage and maceration time

Phenolics are responsible for important sensory properties of red wines, including colour, astringency, and possibly bitterness. From a technical viewpoint, the harvest date and the maceration duration are critical decisions for producing red wine with a distinctive style. But little is known about the evolution of phenolics and of their extractability during ripening to predict the composition of the wine and related sensory properties. The aim of this study was to understand the relationship between the sensory profile of the wines and (i) the ripening stage of the berries (harvest date) and (ii) the extraction time (maceration duration).     

Deciphering the activation sequence of ferrociphenol anticancer drug candidates

The complete oxidation sequence of a model for ferrociphenols, a new class of anticancer drug candidate, is reported. Cyclic voltammetry was used to monitor the formation of oxidation intermediates on different timescales, thereby allowing the electrochemical characterization of both the short-lived and stable species obtained from the successive electron-transfer and deprotonation steps. The electrochemical preparation of the ferrocenium intermediate enabled a stepwise voltammetric determination of the stable oxidation compounds obtained upon addition of a base as well as the electron stoichiometry observed for the overall oxidation process. A mechanism has been established from the electrochemical data, which involves a base-promoted intramolecular electron transfer between the phenol and the ferrocenium cation. The resulting species is further oxidized then deprotonated to yield a stable quinone methide. To further characterize the transient species successively formed during the two-electron oxidation of the ferrociphenol to its quinone methide, EPR was used to monitor the fate of the paramagnetic species generated upon addition of imidazole to the electrogenerated ferrocenium. The study revealed the passage from an iron-centered to a carbon-centered radical, which is then oxidized to yield the quinone methide, namely, the species that interacts with proteins and so forth under biological conditions.     

Dendritic Carrier Based on PEG: Design and Degradation of Acid‐sensitive Dendrimer‐like Poly(ethylene oxide)s

Degradable dendrimer‐like PEOs were designed using an original ABC‐type branching agent featuring a cleavable ketal group, following an iterative divergent approach based on the anionic ring opening polymerization (AROP) of ethylene oxide and arborization of PEO chain ends. A seventh generation dendrimer‐like PEO carrying 192 peripheral hydroxyls and exhibiting a molar mass of 446 kg · mol⁻¹ was obtained in this way. The chemical degradation of these dendritic scaffolds was next successfully accomplished under acidic conditions, forming linear PEO chains of low molar mass (≈2 kg · mol⁻¹), as monitored by ¹H NMR, SEC, and MALDI‐TOF mass spectrometry as well as by AFM.

     

Chemistry and Physics of Molecular-Based Inorganic Compounds Exhibiting a Spontaneous Magnetization

One of the main challenges in the field of the molecular materials is the design of molecular-based ferromagnets. Our basic strategy along this line consists of assembling ferrimagnetic chains within the crystal lattice in a ferromagnetic fashion. This can be achieved owing to the (almost) limitless flexibility of the molecular chemistry. The chains may be either regular or alternating. Examples of both situations are presented. MnCu(pbaOH)(H₂O)₃ with pbaOH=2-hydroxy-1,3-propylenebis(oxamato) is a regular chain compound ordering ferromagnetically at T_C=4.6 K, and MnCu(obbz).1H₂O with obbz=oxamido-N,N′-bis(2-benzoato) is an alternating chain compound exhibiting a spontaneous magnetization below T_C=14 K. To get information on the mechanism of the magnetic ordering, a broad spectrum of physical techniques is utilized, including magnetic susceptibility and magnetization measurements, EPR spectroscopy and heat capacity data. The perspectives in this new field are outlined.     

Liquidity risks on power exchanges: a generalized Nash equilibrium model

The extreme volatility of electricity prices makes their financial derivatives important instruments for asset managers. Even if the volume of derivative contracts traded on Power Exchanges has been growing since the inception of the restructuring of the sector, electricity remains considerably less liquid than other commodity markets. This paper assesses the effect of limited liquidity in power exchanges using an equilibrium model where agents cannot hedge up to their desired level. Mathematically, the problem is formulated as a two stage stochastic Generalized Nash Equilibrium with possibly multiple equilibria. Computing a large panel of solutions, we show how the risk premium and players profits are affected by illiquidity. We also show that the illiquidity in the FTR market affects the trades in the electricity futures market.     

Uniqueness results for the Minkowski problem extended to hedgehogs

The classical Minkowski problem has a natural extension to hedgehogs, that is to Minkowski differences of closed convex hypersurfaces. This extended Minkowski problem is much more difficult since it essentially boils down to the question of solutions of certain Monge-Ampère equations of mixed type on the unit sphere \mathbbSⁿ \mathbb{S}^n of ℝ ⁿ⁺¹. In this paper, we mainly consider the uniqueness question and give first results.