The determination of the alcoholic strength in spirits and liqueurs is required to control the labelling of alcoholic beverages. The reference methodology prescribes a distillation step followed by densimetric measurement. The classic distillation using a Vigreux rectifying column and a West condenser is time consuming and error-prone, especially for liqueurs that may have problems with entrain...

Single-mode Ge28Sb12Se60 strip waveguides, fabricated with thermal evaporation and lift-off, were demonstrated at 1.03 μm. The linear and nonlinear optical properties of these waveguides were shown to be similar to bulk samples, with differences attributed to small variations in composition of ~4 atomic % or less. From z-scan measurements at 1.03 μm using circularly polarized, ~200 fs pulses at...

Esters of crotonic acid were brominated on a multigramme scale using a free radical procedure. A phase transfer catalysed fluorination transformed these species to the 4-fluorobut-2E-enoates reproducibly and at scale (48–53%, ca. 300 mmol). Asymmetric dihydroxylation reactions were then used to transform the butenoate, ultimately into all four diastereoisomers of a versatile fluorinated C4 buil...

The arazá (Eugenia stipitata McVaugh) is native from the Peruvian part of the Amazonian forest. The fruit is a sphere, characterized by its intense aroma and acid flavor and green to yellow peel at maturity. The edible part, a creamy-white pulp, is eaten fresh or is used to prepare juices, marmalades, ice creams and liquors. Volatile compounds were isolated from arazá by continuous liquid-liqui...