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Abstract: Normal maize starch and high amylose maize starch (HAS) either in native or thermally treated forms were used to investigate the effect of starch structure on the production of metabolites and gut microbiota profile using an anaerobic in vitro system. The changes in starch structure during fermentation were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR). The native normal starch showed a porous structure during fermentation, indicating it was quickly metabolized by gut bacteria, whereas the HAS showed a smooth structure, suggesting it was utilized gradually. HPLC chromatography showed that amylose fraction with low molecular weight (MW) had a higher resistance to be fermented by gut bacteria than other starch molecular fractions. Thermal treatment enhanced starch fermentation kinetics, especially for amylopectin and high MW amylose fractions. FTIR analysis suggests that the structure of the normal starch, either in native or thermally treated, was less organized compared to HAS, and this structural character led to the normal starch to be utilized more quickly by gut bacteria with a faster increase in the IR ratio 1047/1022 cm−1 (P < 0.01) during fermentation. The measurement of metabolic activity indicates that the normal starch with a less organized structure was utilized faster and generated more acetate and lactate during fermentation; HAS with a highly organized structure was more likely to produce butyrate, corresponding the significant increase (P < 0.001) in the populations of butyrate-producing strains (Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Eubacterium hallii) in the cultures. This study reveals that fermentation kinetics of starch substrate is one of important characteristics for manipulating gut microbiota fermentation behaviours. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The differences in the properties of residual cooking water and the textural profile of cooked rice grain following storage at 4°C and 37°C were examined. The higher temperature storage led to greater water uptake, reduced pH and turbidity of residual cooking liquid. The solids content in the residual cooking water also significantly (p <0.001) decreased following storage at 37°C compared to 4°C storage. Textural profile of the cooked rice grain also differed for rice grains under the two storage temperatures. Hardness increased (p <0.01) and adhesiveness reduced (p <0.01) following storage at 37°C compared to 4°C. Moreover, analysis of the hot-water soluble fraction suggested that storage at 37°C decreased the leaching of starch components, particularly amylose. The cooked rice grains were also visualized using scanning electron microscopy, and the cooked rice following storage at 4°C showed smoother surfaces than that of the cooked rice following storage at 37°C. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Phenolic acids were quantified in three cultivars of fresh and aged rice. High levels of ferulic acid (255–362 mg kg-1 grain) and p-coumaric acid (70–152 mg kg-1 grain) were found in brown rice with lower levels (e.g. ferulic acid 61–84 mg kg-1 grain) in milled rice. Bound phenolic acids comprised 80–90% of the total phenolic acids for brown rice and 53–74% for milled rice. Storage led to a decrease in total and bound phenolic acid contents in both brown and milled rice and the decline was greater at 37 °C than at 4 °C storage. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Introduction: There is still a lack of clinical evidence comprehensively evaluating the effectiveness of antiviral treatments for COVID‐19 hospitalized patients. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted at Beijing You'An Hospital, focusing on patients treated with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir or azvudine. The study employed a tripartite analysis—viral dynamics, survival curve analysis, and AI‐based radiological analysis of pulmonary CT images—aiming to assess the severity of pneumonia. Results: Of 370 patients treated with either nirmatrelvir/ritonavir or azvudine as monotherapy, those in the nirmatrelvir/ritonavir group experienced faster viral clearance than those treated with azvudine (5.4 days vs. 8.4 days, p < 0.001). No significant differences were observed in the survival curves between the two drug groups. AI‐based radiological analysis revealed that patients in the nirmatrelvir group had more severe pneumonia conditions (infection ratio is 11.1 vs. 5.35, p = 0.007). Patients with an infection ratio higher than 9.2 had nearly three times the mortality rate compared to those with an infection ratio lower than 9.2. Conclusions: Our study suggests that in real‐world studies regarding hospitalized patients with COVID‐19 pneumonia, the antiviral effect of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir is significantly superior to azvudine, but the choice of antiviral agents is not necessarily linked to clinical outcomes; the severity of pneumonia at admission is the most important factor to determine prognosis. Additionally, our findings indicate that pulmonary AI imaging analysis can be a powerful tool for predicting patient prognosis and guiding clinical decision‐making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crack is one of the main factors threatening the safety of the dam. Automatic image object detection is the main way of underwater dam crack detection. However, the traditional methods have problems with low crack detection speed, high false alarm rate, and poor robustness. In addition, the existing methods cannot get a satsifying detection result with a high detection speed. To solve these problems, we propose an efficient dam crack detection method for underwater scenes, called CrackYOLO. Firstly, to better integrate the multi-scale features without incurring excessive computational costs, we propose a feature fusion module in CrackYOLO. Next, we re-design the skip-connection in the network to get better features, compressing the overall model parameters. Then, we propose a feature extraction module called Res2C3, which combines semantic and location information. After that, we proposed a BCAtt to make features focus on both channel and location information. Finally, according to the characteristics of dam underwater crack images, we use a genetic algorithm to select the best value of hyperparameters of the model. The experimental results show that the proposed method detects underwater dam cracks robustly with less computational cost. Our CrackYOLO can get 94.3% mAP[0.5] and 151 FPS in underwater crack detection task which can achieve a real-time detection in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• GLT improved hepatocyte cellular and hippocampal neurons morphology of aged rats. • Expression of FOXO4 and SIRT1 genes was up-regulated by GLT intervention. • PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway activation was associated with reversed cognitive impairment. • Current results highlight potent roles of GLT on improving the aging status. This study investigated effects of triterpenoids derived from Ganoderma lucidum (GLT) on the ability to attenuate cognitive impairment and reduce oxidative stress and inflammation induced by D-galactose using an aged rats model. The data revealed that dietary GLT intervention improved the memory of aged rats in a water maze experiment. A reduction in inflammation was also achieved as GLT decreased the levels of MDA, AGEs, NO, TNF-α and AChE activity, and increased the activity of T-AOC, GSH-Px, T-SOD, CAT and IL-2 level in serum. The GLT intervention revised hepatocyte cellular arrangement and binucleation of the liver status, and even hippocampal neurons morphology. GLT upregulated the expression of FOXO4 , SIRT1 , and downregulated the expression of GFAP, iNOS , PI3K , AKT , mTOR and IL-6 with activation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. The current study highlights a promising dietary approach for prevention or alleviation of oxidative stress, inflammation and cognitive impairment induced by age-related conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a large number of lithium-ion batteries are retired from electric vehicles, their reuse is receiving more and more attention. However, a retired battery pack is not suitable for direct reuse due to the poor consistency of in-pack cells. In this paper, we propose an efficient screening method for retired cells based on support vector machine. Firstly, twelve retired LiFePO 4 battery modules are dissembled into 240 cells, and their capacity and resistance are measured and analyzed. Secondly, to improve screening efficiency for retired cells, an incremental capacity curve based on high charging current rate is used to rapidly extract their capacity feature and internal resistance. Subsequently, the multi-class model based on support vector machine is trained to classify the retired cells with good consistency. Finally, the retired cells are accurately divided into four classes by the trained model, and the classification accuracy can reach 96.8%. Compared with the traditional method, the time of feature extraction can be reduced by four fifths, and the screening efficiency is greatly improved. Additionally, a current test system is designed to compare the current differences in the new battery module regrouped in parallel by the screened cells. The experimental results show the current consistency is significantly improved compared to that in the original battery module, and the mean of standard deviation used to describe the current inconsistency drops by up to about 14 times. Image 1 • Capacity and resistance of 240 LiFePO 4 retired cells are measured and analyzed. • IC curve based on high charging rate is used to rapidly extract capacity feature. • Multi-class SVM model is trained to accurately classify retired cells. • Test system is designed to compare the current differences among the screened cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To take better advantage of buckwheat polyphenols, processings including extrusion, steam explosion, microwave, roasting, superheated steam, ultrasound and enzymolysis treatment were applied to buckwheat bran to release more bioactive polyphenols. Polyphenols were extracted and characterized, and rutin was identified as the predominant compound. To further improve the properties of buckwheat polyphenols, rutin was selected as the target polyphenol and a formation of its ionic cross-linking complex was proposed. Rutin was loaded on chitooligosaccharide as Rutin-COS with tripolyphosphate (TPP) as crosslinking agent, whose molecular structure and properties were investigated. Results showed that all processing significantly increased (p < 0.05) the content of buckwheat polyphenols, up to 1.83-fold increase. The composition of polyphenols was altered, and their antioxidant (up to 15% increase) and antibacterial activities were significantly enhanced (p < 0.05). Among all the processings, extrusion and superheated steam showed the best effect. For Rutin-COS complex, the encapsulation efficiency was as high as 74.77% with the mass ratio of rutin and COS at 1:8. The structure of Rutin-COS was stabilized by hydrogen bonding between aromatic rings of rutin and amino and hydroxy groups of COS in the network formed by COS and TPP. Compared to free rutin, Rutin-COS presented better thermal stability and water solubility. The antioxidant and antibacterial activities of Rutin-COS were also significantly improved (p < 0.05) due to the molecular interaction between rutin and COS. The combination of processing and complexation strategy for buckwheat polyphenols in this work provided new approaches to take better advantages of polyphenols of cereal foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Wheat bran is rich in dietary fiber (DF), particularly insoluble dietary fiber (IDF). Although the benefits for human health following the consumption of these DFs have been documented, the lower water retention capacity (WRC) and other properties still limit the applications of DF. Therefore, the current research investigated the impact of acetylation on the changes in the corresponding physicochemical and functional properties of DF. RESULTS: The current results indicated the acetylated group restricted the alignment of the molecular chains, which led to an increased amorphous phase in the fiber structure, followed by an enhanced thermal sensitivity and a reduced crystallinity as evidenced by X‐ray diffraction (XRD). Moreover, the acetylation of the IDFs enhanced the cholesterol absorption capacity, but the corresponding antioxidant capacity and cation exchange capacity were reduced, which might be due to the partial loss of the phenolic compounds onto the polysaccharides during the modification. Interestingly, a lower degree of substitution (DS) of the IDF achieved from water‐acetic anhydride modification led to a higher WRC and water swelling capacity (WSC). In contrast, a higher DS from acetic anhydride modification demonstrated a greatly improved in vitro hypoglycemic performance of the IDF, including α‐amylase inhibitory activity and glucose dialysis retardation index (GDRI), compared to the other samples. CONCLUSION: This study highlights a new approach to modify the functionality of IDFs via acetylation and the design of a novel IDF with hypoglycemic activity. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract For the safe operation of electric vehicles, it is of critical importance to quickly detect and accurately identify different types of faults in battery packs. However, the performance characteristics of many faults in the battery system are hidden and similar, therefore a false positive fault detection happens occasionally. This paper presents a multi-fault diagnostic strategy based on an interleaved voltage measurement topology and improved correlation coefficient method, which can diagnose several types of faults (i.e. the internal/external short circuit, sensor faults and connection faults). The proposed voltage measurement method can correlate each battery and contact resistance with two different sensors respectively, so as to accurately identify the location and type of the faults. In order to eliminate the effect of battery inconsistencies and measurement error, the improved correlation coefficient method is utilized to monitor fault signatures. The non-model method proposed in this paper can avoid the aliasing phenomenon and has high sensitivity and robustness. Both theoretical analysis and experimental results validate the feasibility and advantages of the multi-fault diagnostic method. Highlights • An interleaved voltage measurement topology for battery packs is proposed. • The recursive correlation coefficient calculation is adopted to detect fault signature. • Short circuit, sensor faults and connection faultsare comprehensively diagnosed. • The proposed method is robust to cell inconsistencies and measured noise. • Matrix interpretation and experiment demonstrate the feasibility and advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Ageing and associated cognitive impairments are becoming serious issues around the world. In this study, the physiological properties of three kinds of complexes of fatty acid (capric, stearic and oleic acid, respectively) and de‐branched starch molecules were investigated via a d‐galactose‐induced ageing model. This study revealed differences in the regulation of cognitive impairment and brain damage following intervention of different complexes, which might highlight a potent approach for the prevention of this chronic disease. RESULTS: Data indicated that three complexes improved response time and cognitive function and the bio‐parameter markers associated with oxidative stress in ageing rats. Among them, the complexes prepared from de‐branched starch–oleic acid showed a greater improvement compared to others. In addition, de‐branched starch–capric acid complex showed a higher improvement in the morphology of colon cells and hippocampal neuronal cells. The consumption of de‐branched starch–capric acid and –oleic acid complexes generated more short‐chain fatty acids in the gut. More importantly, the complexation of de‐branched starch with either caprate or stearate enhanced gut Akkermansia. Therefore, it was proposed that the richness in Akkermansia and gut metabolites might be associated with reduced damage of the hippocampal neuronal cells induced by the ageing progress. Moreover, the AMPK (AMP‐activated protein kinase) pathway was activated in liver in de‐branched starch–capric acid complex diet. In summary, de‐branched starch–capric acid complex exhibited a greater effect on the attenuation of ageing‐induced cognitive impairment. CONCLUSION: This study might highlight a new approach for intervening in the cognitive impairment during the ageing progress via a food supply. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autonomous localization and navigation, as an essential research area in robotics, has a broad scope of applications in various scenarios. To widen the utilization environment and augment domain expertise, simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) in underwater environments has recently become a popular topic for researchers. This paper examines the key SLAM technologies for underwater vehicles and provides an in-depth discussion on the research background, existing methods, challenges, application domains, and future trends of underwater SLAM. It is not only a comprehensive literature review on underwater SLAM, but also a systematic introduction to the theoretical framework of underwater SLAM. The aim of this paper is to assist researchers in gaining a better understanding of the system structure and development status of underwater SLAM, and to provide a feasible approach to tackle the underwater SLAM problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past 20 years, the global per capita protein demand has been increasing year by year, and thus the search for sustainable and healthier alternative proteins is the focus of current food research. Yeast proteins are of microbial origin with environmentally friendly advantages. They are high-quality proteins with high bioavailability and are expected to be used as novel alternative proteins for food applications. Although reports on yeast extracts continue to increase, studies on the composition, production methods, and functional properties of yeast proteins lack systematic reviews. In addition, the application of yeast proteins in the food industry has not been summarized previously. This paper reviews the composition of yeast proteins and the approaches for their isolation and extraction, and systematically introduces the functional properties and the wide applications in food fields. Future perspectives for yeast proteins to sustainably and healthily meet the world's growing protein demand are also elucidated. Yeast proteins have great application potential as alternative proteins with a reasonable proportion of amino acid composition. Yeast proteins can be hydrolyzed to produce yeast peptides and can also be used as protein supplements, fining agents, meat extenders, etc. Overcoming the limitations of high nucleic acid content and high cost, and improving the functional properties and sensory acceptability of yeast proteins will greatly promote their market applications. This review will provide ideas and guidance for the research and development of yeast proteins in food applications. Yeast proteins have high nutritional value with an ideal amino acid composition and a wealth of functions and properties. The excellent characteristics allow yeast proteins to be used as sustainable alternative proteins in food applications. [Display omitted] • The compositions and extraction approaches of yeast proteins are overviewed. • The functional properties of yeast proteins are summarized. • The applications of yeast proteins as alternative proteins in food are reviewed. • The strategies to improve the utilization of yeast proteins are emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This study analysed the factors for influencing the occurrence of water core in apples and proposed a potential metabolism following its post‐harvesting. By comparing the ordinary pulp and the region within the water core in different post‐harvesting stages of the Fuji apples, although the occurrence of water core did not significantly change the appearance of the apples, its interior firmness decreased with increased cell permeability. Furthermore, fructose content decreased, and sorbitol content increased rapidly accompanied by a reduction of sorbitol dehydrogenase activity at the site of water core. The cell morphology also demonstrated that the cells became denser and the blue aggregates formed. It indicated that the cell walls were saturated with locally highly accumulated sorbitol, followed by visualised transparent spots. In summary, the occurrence of water core during the post‐harvesting of Fuji apples was found to be related to the increased sorbitol content and the corresponding decreased dehydrogenase activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study applied 2-(4-methoxyphenoxy) propionic acid (HPMP) to prepare its alkylated and esterified derivatives and then investigated their corresponding sweetness inhibitory effect. The structure of these substituted derivatives were characterized by NMR and IR for ensuring their individual modification. The electronic tongue was used to predict the sweetness inhibitory effect of the derivatives, and a sweet prediction model was established via a three-dimensional measurement in term of sweetener type, sweetener and derivative concentrations. Furthermore, the interaction of sweetness inhibition with other taste properties was also studied. The current results indicated that, for alkylated derivatives, the sweetness inhibition rate of methyl-modified derivatives was higher than that of ethyl and propyl derivatives, and the inhibition rate of para-substituted derivatives was greater than that of ortho- and meta-positions. Interestingly, this study revealed that the esterification led to a minor sweetness inhibitory effect. Based on the current results, it is proposed that the ratio of hydrophobic and hydrophilic groups on the HPMP molecules plays the key role in regulating their corresponding sweetness inhibition via a binding capacity with the active site of sweet taste receptors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Cadmium is a non‐biodegradable heavy metal with a long biological half‐life. Although its negative impact on human health has been previously reported, the association of cadmium consumption overdose with changes in the gut microbiota and its corresponding metabolites has not been fully elucidated so far. RESULTS: Cadmium consumption overdose led to a reduced body weight gain accompanied by an enhanced level of the proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor‐α, interleukin‐6, and histamine in the serum of the rats in comparison with normal rats. Furthermore, hepatotoxicity was also observed to be induced by cadmium, which was consistent with abnormal hepatic activities of alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase and oxidative stress. In contrast, Lactobacillus rhamnosus‐fermented Ganoderma lucidum (FGL) slice supplementation improved the aforementioned physiological properties. More importantly, microbiome and metabolites analysis indicated cadmium exposure significantly reduced the generation of short‐chain fatty acids in the gut, particularly butyrate. However, rats in the FGL group had the highest level of butyrate in the feces, characterized with significantly enriched probiotics (Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium) and butyrate‐producing bacteria (Roseburia). CONCLUSION: The targeted regulation of the gut microbial community and its metabolites might be the essential association for attenuating body dysfunction induced by cadmium. The supplementation of FGL, as evidenced in this study, might highlight a novel approach to this field. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leguminous proteins are important nutritional components in leguminous plants, and they have different structures and functions depending on their sources. Due to their specific structures and physicochemical properties, leguminous proteins have received much attention in food and nutritional applications, and they can be applied as various carriers for binding/encapsulation and delivery of food bioactive compounds. In this review, we systematically summarize the different structures and functional properties of several leguminous proteins which can be classified as ferritin, trypsin inhibitor, β-conglycinin, glycinin, and various leguminous proteins isolates. Moreover, we review the development of leguminous proteins as carriers of food bioactive compounds, and emphasize the functions of leguminous protein-based binding/encapsulation and delivery in overcoming the low bioavailability, instability and low absorption efficiency of food bioactive compounds. The limitations and challenges of the utilization of leguminous proteins as carriers of food bioactive compounds are also discussed. Possible approaches to resolve the limitations of applying leguminous proteins such as instability of proteins and poor absorption of bioactive compounds are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurately estimating the capacity of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles (EVs) is critical for making correct management decisions. However, the randomness of the charging voltage range of EVs can lead to missing observations or reduced accuracy of capacity estimation methods. This article proposes an adaptive battery capacity estimation method suitable for arbitrary charging voltage range based on incremental capacity (IC) analysis and data-driven techniques. All charging conditions of EVs are divided into three categories according to the charging voltage range. Three data-driven estimation submethods with sequential application priority are designed for the three charging conditions separately, including back-propagation neural network with IC peak coordinates as input, ensemble learning with local high IC curve as input, and linear regression with ampere-hour coordinate transformation. The method is based on a priori knowledge to select a suitable estimation submethod under different charging conditions, so as to improve the adaptability. Experimental data is collected from eight commercial lithium-ion battery modules for model establishment and verification. Over 250 000 experimental samples at different states of health and random charging ranges show that the method can accurately estimate battery capacity under arbitrary charging conditions, with a maximum error of 2%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Propionylated potato starch (PPS) with different degrees of substitution (DS) was prepared from native potato starch (NPS) and their potential to encapsulate Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) was analyzed. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) showed a characteristic peak of propionyl groups, which appeared at 1746 cm−1, demonstrating that propionylation occurred. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results revealed that the characteristic diffraction peak intensity of PPS gradually disappeared with the increasing of the DS, which was related to the loss of the ordered crystalline structure of starch granules. Propionylation resulted in the starch to be more thermally stable than its native starch. Furthermore, the propionylated starch had a higher resistance to digestion and hydrophobicity. More importantly, the micro-capsulated LGG derived from propionylated starch could achieve a maximum embedding efficiency of 87.77% at starch DS = 1.54, and also demonstrated a higher resistance to a strong acidic condition and a greater storage stability at 4 °C. This study may highlight a novel approach for probiotic encapsulation using propionylated potato starch as an encapsulant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sialyltransferases are key enzymes for the production of sialosides. The versatility of Pasteurella multocida α2,3-sialyltransferase 1 (PmST1) causes difficulties in the efficient synthesis of α2,3-linked sialylatetd compounds, especial its α2,3-sialidase activity. In the current study, the α2,3-sialidase activity of PmST1 was further reduced by rational design-based protein engineering. Three double mutants PMG1 (M144D/R313Y), PMG2 (M144D/R313H) and PMG3 (M144D/R313N) were designed and constructed using M144D as the template and kinetically investigated. In comparison with M144D, the α2,3-sialyltransferase activity of PMG2 was enhanced by 1.4-fold, while its α2,3-sialidase activity was reduced by 4-fold. Two PMG2-based triple mutants PMG2-1 (M144D/R313H/T265S) and PMG2-2 (M144D/R313H/E271F) were then designed, generated and characterized. Compared with PMG2, triple mutants showed slightly improved α2,3-sialyltransferase activity, but their α2,3-sialidase activities were increased by 2.1–2.9 fold. In summary, PMG2 was used for preparative-scale production of 3′-SL (3′-sialyllactose) with a yield of >95%. These new PmST1 mutants could be potentially utilized for efficient synthesis of α2,3-linked sialosides. This work provides a guide to designing and constructing efficient sialyltransferases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction between acetylated starch (AS) and soy protein isolates (SPI) was investigated under different pH conditions, and their corresponding physicochemical properties of the complexes were investigated. This study found that, at pH9.0, the β-turn structure of the protein in the complexes changed into Random coil with the highest ratio, and the thermal stability of the complexes was found to be reduced, which was contributed to the destruction of the crystalline region to a large extent. Meanwhile, the confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) results showed that the complexes demonstrated a dispersed phase at pH5.0, and the SPI structure unfolded maximum at pH9.0. Following the determination of the changes in the rheological property under the existence of NaCl and urea, it was proposed that electrostatic interaction was the major interaction force for all the three complexes. However, hydrophobic and hydrogen bonding forces also seemed to play a more important role for AS/SPI-pH9 complexes than either AS/SPI-pH2 or AS/SPI-pH5 complexes. Complexation significantly increased encapsulation efficiency and loading capacity of curcumin compared to their corresponding individual polymer, followed by a reduced release kinetics at intestinal fluid but not at simulate gastric fluid stage via an in vitro digestion. [Display omitted] • Starch acetylation changed absorption intensity and wavelength of formed complexes. • Biggest zeta potential at pH9 indicated strongest interaction between two polymers. • Hydrophobic/hydrogen force of AS/SPI-pH9 was crucial, but not for other pH status. • A slow release of curcumin was achieved by encapsulation of polymers interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • CS-LA complexes had the highest complexing index, followed by CS-DA complexes. • Relative crystalline was positively related to complexed lipid content in complexes. • Complexes were characterized with helical conformations of mostly V6 or V7 by NMR. • CS-LA with highest RS indicated importance of chain length for V-amylose formation. Effect of complexation of three medium-chain fatty acids (octanoic, decylic and lauric acid, OA, DA and LA, respectively) on structural characteristics, physicochemical properties and digestion behaviors of cassava starch (CS) was investigated. Current study indicated that LA was more easily to combine with CS (complex index 88.9%), followed by DA (80.9%), which was also consistent with their corresponding complexed lipids content. Following the investigation of morphology, short-range ordered structure, helical structure, crystalline/amorphous region and fractal dimension of the various complexes, all cassava starch-fatty acids complexes (CS-FAs) were characterized with a flaked morphology rather than a round morphology in native starch (control CS). X-ray diffraction demonstrated that all CS-FAs had a V-type crystalline structure, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy confirmed that the complexes made from different fatty acids displayed similar V6 or V7 type polymorphs. Interestingly, small-angle X-ray scattering analysis revealed that α value became greater following increased carbon chain length of fatty acids, indicating the formation of a more ordered fractal structure in the aggregates. Changes in rheological parameters G′ and G′′ indicated that starch complexed with fatty acids was more likely to form a gel network, but difference among three CS-FAs complexes was significant, which might be contributed to their corresponding hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity raised from individual fatty acids. Importantly, digestion indicated that CS-LA complexes had the lowest hydrolysis degree, followed by the greatest RS content, indicating the importance of chain length of fatty acids for manipulating the fine structure and functionality of the complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • 91 bioactive peptides were identified from wheat bran (WB) by virtual screening. • WB peptides were rich in hydrophobic amino acids, leading to excellent bioactivity. • WB peptides showed high antioxidant activity against oxidative damage in HepG2 cells. • DLDW and DLGL with the highest binding capacity were promising Keap1-Nrf2 inhibitors. Bioactive peptide's development is facing two challenges in terms of its lower yield and limited understanding of structurally orientated functionality. Therefore, peptides were prepared from wheat bran via a cocktail enzyme for achieving a higher level of hydrophobic amino acids than traditional method. The obtained peptides exhibited great antioxidant activities against H 2 O 2 -induced oxidative stress in HepG2 cells. Among them, 91 bioactive peptides were selected through the virtual screening, and their N -terminal and C -terminal contained many hydrophobic amino acids. Then the peptides with capacity to interact with Keap1 were identified by in silico simulation, because Keap1 acts as a sensor of redox insults. The results revealed that peptides DLDW and DLGL demonstrated the highest binding affinities, and a bridge was formed between Asp of DLGL and Arg415 of Klech domain, contributing to interfering Keap1-Nrf2 interaction. These findings implied a potential application of wheat bran peptides as nutraceuticals and health-promoting ingredients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Thymol (Thy) is a natural bioactive agent which possesses various properties and has been widely used in medicine and food industries. However, its poor bioavailability can limit its application. RESULTS: In this study, Thy was interacted with chitooligosaccharide (COS) as Thy–COS complex via an ionic crosslinking method using sodium tripolyphosphate as a crosslinker. The characteristics and thermal stability of Thy–COS were evaluated by ultraviolet‐visible (UV‐vis), Fourier‐transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H‐NMR) and thermogravimetric analysis, and its antioxidant and antibacterial properties were also evaluated. The highest loading capacity of Thy (52.3%) in Thy–COS formed at mass ratio of 1:5. Results indicated the Thy–COS complex was formed mainly by hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds. Upon complexation, the thermal stability, antioxidant and antibacterial activity of Thy were significantly improved. Thy–COS complex was made into a coated film for Nanguo pears and greatly improved its storage quality. Thy–COS delayed the weight loss and softening of Nanguo pears and kept more vitamin‐C content (2.12 mg (100 g)−1). CONCLUSION: In conclusion, Thy–COS was successfully prepared and improved antioxidant and antibacterial properties of Thy, which has great potential in the food industry. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the variation of the diffusion character of the three anhydrides, ultrasonication was applied for investigating its impact on the reaction efficiency of the rice starch acylation from three short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). The current data indicated that the signal peak of the FTIR spectrum at 1720 cm−1 and additional resonances in the NMR confirmed the occurrence of the acylation reaction onto the starch molecules. More interestingly, this is the first study to reveal that a lower power density ultrasonication improved the reaction efficiencies of acetylation (19%), while a higher power density could lead to a reduced acylation reactivity of propionylation compared to the control one. On the contrary, the reaction efficiency of butyrylation (64%) was significantly enhanced by the ultrasound-assisted treatment with a greater association between reaction efficiency and ultrasonic power density, indicating the importance of the diffusion character for impacting the acylation reactivity among these three anhydrides. The ultrasonic-assisted SCFAs-modified rice starch has a lower peak viscosity and setback value, indicating that the replacement of the acyl groups for OH groups in the starch avoids starch molecules rearrangement. Meanwhile, the rheological properties exhibited that the starch achieved from ultrasonic-assistance significantly reduced the area of the hysteresis curve, suggesting a destroyed gel textural property. Thus, an appropriate ultrasonication but not all could effectively enhance the acylation efficiency and improve starch rheological property. • Reaction efficiency of propionylation was negatively by ultrasonication. • Butyrylation was significantly enhanced at higher power density in ultrasonication. • Replacement of acyl groups for OH in starch avoids starch molecules rearrangement. • Ultrasonication further inhibits the starch to form a continuous network structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the impact of acetylation on physicochemical, digestive behavior and fermentation characteristics of Cyperus esculentus polysaccharides (CEP) was investigated. Results indicated that the acetylation led the molecules to be more likely aggregated, followed by a higher crystallinity, a lower apparent viscosity and a higher ratio of G" to G' (tan δ). Importantly, the acetylated polysaccharides (ACEP) had a lower digestibility, but its molecular weight was lower than that of original polysaccharides (CEP) following a simulated saliva-gastrointestinal digestion. Gut microbiota fermentation indicated that both polysaccharides generated outstanding short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), in which the acetylated polysaccharides had a faster fermentation kinetics than the original one, followed by a quicker reduction of pH and a more accumulation of SCFAs, particularly butyrate. Fermentation of both polysaccharides promoted Akkermansia , followed by a reduced richness of Klebsiella. Importantly, the current study revealed that the fermentation of acetylated polysaccharides enriched Parabacteroides , while fermentation of original ones promoted Bifidobacterium , for indicating their individual fermentation characteristics and gut environmental benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new generation of food packaging films is gradually replacing traditional plastic packaging films because of their biodegradability, safety, and some functional properties such as anti-bacterial and oxidant resistance. In the present work, an antibacterial packing film based on amylose starch and 2-hydroxypropyl-trimethylammonium chloride chitosan (HTCC) was prepared for meat preservation. The interfacial bonding mechanism between amylose, HTCC, and glutaraldehyde (GA) was determined experimentally and through molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The macromolecular chains of amylose starch and HTCC became entangled via inter-molecular H-bonds and then cross-linked with GA via the Schiff base reaction. The interaction of amylose starch and HTCC improved the mechanical properties of the amylose films. Compared with the amylose films, the tensile strength and elongation at break of the optimal HTCC/amylose films reached to 16.13 MPa (an increase of 206.65 %) and 53.86 % (an increase of 109.49 %). The HTCC/amylose films were found to provide obvious bacteriostatic performance, a relatively low cytotoxicity, the lower transmittance in the UV region, and thus the ability to enhance the preservation of fresh meat. These excellent characteristics therefore suggest that HTCC/amylose films might be promising candidates for application in antibacterial food packaging films. • Preparation of quaternized amylose-based package film. • Stable interfacial structure • Good mechanical properties • Excellent antibacterial properties • Extending the shelf life of food [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aimed to prepare the complexes between debranched-waxy corn starch and chitosan polymers (DBS-CS), and then investigated their corresponding structural characteristics, rheological property and potent application in Pickering emulsion. The results indicated that the existence of chitosan significantly inhibited starch short-range molecular rearrangement for all DBS-CS samples, which was manipulated by both debranching treatment and chitosan content. Interestingly, this is the first study to reveal that the outstanding peak at 1.8 ppm in 1H NMR spectrum for sample DBS-CS was gradually shifted towards a lower-field region following an increased chitosan content. Moreover, the debranching treatment shifted the crystallinity pattern from A-type to B-type and the relative crystallinity of DBS-CS decreased gradually with the increased content of CS. All samples had a pseudoplastic fluid and shear-thinning behavior with an enhanced shear resistance following the complexation. The DBS-CS was applied in a Pickering emulsion for showing a greater emulsifying stability and a lower gel strength than native NS-CS prepared emulsion. Importantly, the encapsulation ability of curcumin in the DBS-CS emulsion was significantly improved, followed by an increase of 15.45% for its corresponding bioavailability compared to the control. Therefore, this study might highlight a potential carrier for delivering the bioactive substances in a green pattern. [Display omitted] • Complexation occurred between debranched starch & chitosan evidenced by FTIR & NMR. • Enhanced chitosan ratio inhibited formation of starch short-range molecular order. • Complexes exhibited a pseudoplastic and shear-thinning behavior. • Emulsion prepared by complexes was a novel delivery carrier for bioactive substance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium-ion batteries are widely used in cleaner productions such as electric vehicles and energy storage systems, but the frequent occurrence of battery safety accidents also restrict their large-scale promotion and application. Fault diagnosis is critical for the safe operations of lithium-ion batteries, which has become an important function for battery management systems. Many types of fault diagnosis methods have been proposed for lithium batteries, however, the differences in parameter dimension and diagnosis strategy among diagnosis methods make it difficult to compare, resulting in the inability to choose the appropriate method in real applications. This paper proposes a standardized fault feature comparison method to quantitatively study the sensitivity and robustness of different fault diagnostic methods for lithium-ion batteries under different failure degrees, ambient temperatures, state of charges, and aging levels. The diagnostic methods based on battery model, sample entropy and correlation coefficient are constructed. Different degrees of short-circuit experiments under dynamic current conditions are used to prove the effectiveness of three diagnostic methods. The standardized fault feature comparison method is utilized to dequantize and standardize the fault signals, and then the diagnostic performance of three diagnostic methods is intuitively compared. Furthermore, the comparative conclusions of sensitivity and robustness of different methods are obtained, which prove that the selection of parameters and diagnostic thresholds in battery fault diagnostic methods needs to fully consider environmental conditions and battery status. Some methods need to clarify the usable range or make improvements under low temperature or large inconsistencies. Image 1 • A generalized comparison scheme of battery diagnostic methods. • Implementation of three representative diagnostic methods. • Revealing impact of temperature and inconsistencies on diagnosis. • Analysis of the sensitivity and robustness of the diagnostic methods. • Guide to evaluate diagnostic methods to improve the performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An online non-model multi-fault diagnostic method for battery packs is developed. • A non-redundancy measurement topology for fault discrimination is proposed. • The correlation coefficient is improved to catch fault signatures. • The robustness to measurement errors and inconsistencies is demonstrated. • Basic framework of prediction strategy for internal short circuits is constructed. Rapid detection and accurate diagnosis of faults are essential to safe operation of battery packs in electric vehicles. However, the misdiagnosis happens occasionally because of similar signatures of cell faults, sensor faults and connection faults. In this paper, an online multi-fault diagnostic method is proposed based on a non-redundant crossed-style measurement circuit and improved correlation coefficient method. In the measurement circuit, each sensor measures the voltage sum of two neighboring cells and one connection part without increasing the hardware cost. The correlation coefficient method is used to catch fault signatures and assess the fault degree. By applying these two methods, the cell faults can be distinguished from other faults by identifying the correlation coefficient of neighboring voltages with fault flags. Furthermore, connection faults and voltage sensor faults are isolated by the correlation coefficient of the neighboring voltages difference and current. The multi-fault diagnostic method can avoid false fault detection among different faults, and ensure high robustness to normal measurement errors and battery inconsistencies of ambient temperature, state of charge, and state of health. The feasibility and advantage are validated by theoretical analysis and comparative study of experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insoluble dietary fibers (IDFs) demonstrate healthy benefits, while the impact of particle sizes on their properties is far from understood. This study investigated physicochemical and functional properties of IDFs derived from wheat bran with three different sizes. Results indicated that water-holding capacity, oil-holding capacity and α-amylase activity inhibition of IDF had a positive association with their corresponding size. Meanwhile, grinding progress also influenced particle antioxidant capacity, in which the IDFs with a medium size had the greatest antioxidant activity in term of DPPH, ABTS+ and FRAP, which might indicate the importance of appropriate processing for guaranteeing a greater exposure of functional groups. In contrast, extra grinding of IDF led to a lower antioxidant capacity, which might indicate the loss of functional groups on particle surface due to physical action. All IDFs promoted short-chain fatty acids production via gut microbiota fermentation associated with the alteration of gut microbiota. A clinical trial was further performed, and the results indicated that consumption of medium-size IDF increased D-alanyl- d -alanine and decreased kynurenic acid levels in feces, which was positively related to abundance of Romboutsia and NK4A214_group , respectively. This study may contribute to designing individual IDFs for meeting different functional criteria. [Display omitted] • Oil/water holding capacity of IDF was positively related to their individual size. • Extra grinding reduced antixodant capacity due to the loss of functional groups. • Medium-size IDFs decreased key metabolite kynurenic acid in human feces. • Size-dependent Romboutsia abundance revealed individual function of IDF in gut. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study applied dual-enzymatic treatment via alcalase and Bacillus velezensis hydrolase for enhancing extraction of proteins and polysaccharides from wheat bran and modifying their corresponding structure. Results indicated the aqueous extract by enzymatic pretreatment (referred as EHWB) had an increased content of soluble substance, in which 18.5 % increased for carbohydrates and 11.4 % increased for proteins in the extract compared to the aqueous extract without enzymes (labeled as AEWB). Furthermore, compositions with lower molecular weight of 130 kDa and < 21.1 kDa for polysaccharides and proteins, respectively, were found in EHWB. Interestingly, EHWB had a twice higher radicals scavenging than that of AEWB, and digestive property indicated EHWB had a greater peptides production although glucose release was lower in gastric phase. Importantly, this is the first study to reveal that gut microbiota fermentation of EHWB resulted in faster generation of short-chain fatty acids at initial fermentation stage (6 h), followed a higher generation of butyrate at final fermentation stage (24 h). This fermentation property might be associated with its presence of lower molecular weight substrates and even the changes in the molecular structure induced by the enzymes. This study highlights a novel approach for developing a value-added product from wheat bran. • Enzymatic pretreatment (EP) produced polysaccharides and proteins with a lower Mw. • Enzymatic pretreatment led to an enhanced antioxidant capacity of aqueous extracts. • Extracts by EP released less glucose in stomach and more peptides in whole digestion. • Extracts by EP generated a higher butyrate following gut microbiota fermentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • LAB-FWB reduced F/B ratio and returned HFD-dependent bacteria back to be normalized. • LAB-FWB significantly enriced lipid-related pathways in the liver, but not for WB. • All LAB-FWB treatment led to an enriched steroid hormone biosynthesis in liver. • Treatment with LGG-WB exerted the greatest function on alleviating obesity syndromes. Wheat bran (WB) was fermented by Lactobacillus rhamnosus , Lactobacillus plantarum , Lactobacillus brevis (LAB-FWB), respectively, and their corresponding mechanism of obesity alleviation via gut microbiota and lipid metabolism was investigated. Results indicated LAB-FWB reduced body weight and serum glucose, followed by an improved lipid profile in obese mice compared with WB. All LAB-FWB interventions led to an enriched steroid hormone biosynthesis. LGG-WB significantly up-regulated genes in arachidonic acid metabolism, bile secretion and linoleic acid metabolism. While LB-WB down-regulated genes in PPAR signaling pathway and LP-WB up-regulated genes in linoleic acid metabolism, indicate their different regulation patterns. Furthermore, LAB-FWB reduced Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio and returned HFD-dependent bacteria Colidextribacter and Erysipelatoclostridium to be normalized. Interestingly, LAB-FWB significantly enriched lipid-related pathways, benefiting xanthohumol, prostaglandin F2alpha, LPI 18:2 and lipoamide biosynthesis in lipid metabolic pathway, but not found in WB group. Among them, treatment with LGG-WB exerted the greatest function on alleviating obesity syndromes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Acetylated polysaccharide from Cyperus esculentus were prepared. • The main chain of polysaccharides included α -1,4-Glcp residues. • Polysaccharides showed excellent physicochemical properties and thermal stability. • Acetylated polysaccharides showed better antioxidant and immunomodulatory activities. This research was designed to characterize the structure of Cyperus esculentus polysaccharide (CEP) and its acetylated one (ACEP), and then investigated the effects of acetylation on the changes in physicochemical properties, thermal stability, antioxidant and immunomodulatory activities. Results showed that CEP and ACEP were heteropolysaccharides consisting of glucose, mannose, arabinose and xylose. The main chain of CEP included α -1,4-Glcp residues with the branching points at the O-6 position of the α -1,6-Manp residues. Acetyl groups were substituted at the O-2 and O-6 positions of some glucose residues. Meanwhile, the acetylation remarkably improved the polysaccharides thermal stability, and the ACEP exhibited a greater antioxidant activity. Furthermore, CEP and ACEP were proved to protect RAW 264.7 cells against LPS-induced inflammation by improving cellular morphology and decreasing reactive oxygen species secretion. This study may highlight a new approach for developing a high value-added ingredient from C. esculentus for functional food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although local stereo matching methods have attracted much attention for their promising performance in disparity estimation, the issue of edge-blurring remains a challenge for existing local methods. To address this issue, we propose a novel local stereo matching method based on side window filtering technique, namely LSMSW. In the proposed method, the multiple-window aggregation strategy is adopted, which can adaptively select the window type according to the different texture information. Compared to traditional local methods, our cost aggregation model shows the significant performance in terms of accuracy and computational efficiency, especially for images with complex edges. The experimental results on the Middlebury benchmark confirm our achievements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferritin is characterized by a shell-like structure and a reversible self-assembly property. In this study, atmospheric cold plasma (ACP) was applied to red bean seed ferritin (RBF) to prepare an ACP-treated RBF (ACPF). Results indicated that the ACP treatment retained the shell-like structure of ferritin but reduced the α-helix/β-sheet contents and thermal stability. Iron oxidative deposition and release activities were also markedly changed. The ACPF could be disassembled at pH 4.0 and then assembled into an intact ferritin cage when pH was increased to 7.0, which was a more benign transition condition than that of the traditional method (pH 2.0/7.0 transition). By using this assembly routine, curcumin was successfully encapsulated within the ACPF with a size distribution of 12 nm. Moreover, the encapsulation ratio of curcumin in the ACPF reached 12.7% (w/w). This finding can be used to expand the application of ACP and improve the functionalization of the ferritin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inner surface and outer surface of ferritin cage provide interfaces for the encapsulation and delivery of food nutrients. Traditional methods to fabricate ferritin-nutrients shell-core nanoparticle usually apply acid/alkaline pH transition, which may cause the activity loss of the food nutrients or the formation of insoluble aggregates. In attempt to tackle these limitations, a simple one-step method was utilized to prepare the red bean seed ferritin (RBF)-epigallocatechin (EGC)-chitosan nanoparticle (REC) by thermal treatment at 55 °C. Results indicated that the apoRBF was partially uncoiled with a decrease of 5.3% of α-helix content induced by 55 °C treatment, and the EGC molecules could spontaneously permeate into the inner cavity of the ferritin with an encapsulation ratio of 11.8% (w/w). Meanwhile, the thermal treatment facilitated the chitosan attaching onto the outer surface of the ferritin by electrostatic interactions with a binding constant of 4.7 × 10 5  M −1 . Transmission electron microscope and dynamic light scattering results indicated that the REC was mono-dispersedly distributed, with a diameter of 12 nm and a hydrodynamic radius (R H ) of 7.3 nm. In addition, the chitosan decorating onto the apoRBF improved the EGC stability by weakening the degradation of apoRBF against digestive enzymes in simulated gastrointestinal tract. This work is a novel attempt to fabricate shell-core nanoparticle in the encapsulation and delivery of functional molecules based on the ferritin cage in a benign condition without extreme pH changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, high amylose maize starch was mixed with different moisture contents, followed by high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) at 200, 400, 600, 800 and 1000 MP, respectively. Changes in starch physicochemical and digestion properties associated with HHP treatment were analyzed in terms of starch granular morphology, lamellar structures and crystalline characteristics. Results showed that, under the same pressure treatments, the starches with different moisture contents exhibited a similar pattern of the changes in the properties. The erosion of digestive enzymes on starch granules was enhanced with increased HPP pressures. Treatment with 200 and 400 MP led to a reduction of digestibility compared to its native one. However, digestion was gradually promoted when the treatment pressure reached up to 600 MP. Structural data acquired from SAXS and WAX indicated the treatment of HHP up to 600 MP partly destroyed the starch granules internally, resulting in a decreased degree of organized structure. These results may reveal the importance of starch lamellar structure and crystalline order as being the key structural parameters for influencing starch digestion properties. Changes in the electron density following the digestion indicated that digestion characteristics of the starch are highly related to the changes in its corresponding internal structure of amylopectin amorphous layer, amylose amorphous and amylopectin crystal layer caused by HPP. Further analysis of the changes in the relative crystallinity of the starch may suggest that starch digestion characteristics are highly related to lamellar structure but not relative crystallinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Extra hydrophobic group onto aromatic ring did not show impact on sweet inhibition. • Structured carbon chain between molecular ring and carboxylic group manipulated sweet inhibition. • Electronic tongue may highlight a potential to perceive sweetness inhibitory effect. Lactisole is a potent sweetness inhibitor for alleviating the over-sweet problem in food. For investigating the sweetness inhibition mechanism of lactisole, seven derivatives were synthesized and their structure was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry for confirming the modification on aromatic ring and carboxylic acid. An evaluation method for sweetness inhibition was developed using the electronic tongue, and the results revealed that the introduction of hydrophobic groups onto aromatic ring of lactisole did not improve the inhibitory activity. A certain branching and length of carbon chain between the aromatic ring and the carboxylic group were presumably important for inhibitory function. The plausible interpretation is that the structured carbon chain may influence the spatial position of carboxylic group during the interaction between the inhibitors and the receptor. A potent mechanism for regulating sweetness inhibition of the compounds based on their corresponding structural characteristics is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pickering emulsion was prepared by short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) esterified debranched starch. The microstructure, particle size distribution, rheological properties and stability of the emulsions showed that the introduction of acyl groups improved the ability of starch to stabilize the emulsions, in which the butyrylated starch with longer acyl side chains exhibited higher emulsifying ability compared to acetylated and propionylated starches. Pickering emulsions stabilized with butyrylated starch as stabilizer have better stability after 30 days of storage. The particle size distribution of SCFAs-esterified starch emulsions with enzymatic debranching pretreatment was more concentrated and the droplet size was further reduced, which improved the instability factors such as flocculation, agglomeration or Ostwald ripening of emulsions induced by conventional SCFAs-esterified emulsions and further improved the stability of SCFAs-esterified emulsions. More importantly, butyrylated starch (with or without debranched pretreatment) emulsions exhibited smaller and more uniform droplet shapes and higher curcumin encapsulation efficiency (EE%) in SCFAs-esterified starch emulsions, and the EE% of curcumin in debranched butyrylated starch emulsion increasing from 10.04 % in native starch emulsions to 50.70 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phycoerythrin (PE) is a kind of natural and nontoxic pigment protein with a distinctive phycobilin, and this pigment is easy to be destroyed in the process of food application, which makes its stability weak and application limited. In this work, PE was extracted by freeze-thaw method from Porphyra haitanensis , and the transglutaminase (10 U g−1 protein) was used to catalyze the glycosylation reaction between PE and oligochitosan with molar ratios of 1:1 to 4:1 (oligochitosan/PE) to obtain the oligochitosan-modified phycoerythrin complexes (OMPC). The glycosylation of oligochitosan to PE was proven by the polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and was evidenced by the glucosamine and free amino analysis. When the molar ratio of oligochitosan to PE was 3:1, the glucosamine content of OMPC was the highest, which was 31.403 ± 0.004 mg g−1 protein. The OMPC samples were studied by infrared spectrum, fluorescence spectrum, and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that the secondary structure and tertiary structure of glycosylated products changed, and a compact polymer appeared. In addition, compared with untreated PE, the surface hydrophobicity and emulsifying activity of OMPC decreased, while the solubility, emulsifying stability, thermal stability, photostability, and pH stability were significantly improved. This study reveals an innovative method to stabilize PE by a glycosylation approach, which will advance PE usage as a natural colorant in food applications. [Display omitted] • The oligochitosan-modified phycoerythrin complex (OMPC) is prepared by TGase. • Glycosylation alters the structure and physicochemical properties of phycoerythrin. • The OMPC shows high thermal, light, pH stabilities compared with phycoerythrin. • The study provides a scheme to stabilize phycoerythrin by a glycosylation approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although CNN-based optical flow methods have achieved remarkable performance in terms of computational accuracy and efficiency, the issue of edge-blurring caused by large displacements remains an open challenge. To address this problem, we propose a local criss-cross attention based optical flow estimation method using multi-scale image features and feature pyramid. First, we design an image pyramid-based feature extraction sub-network and then incorporate it into the feature pyramid network to construct a hybrid feature extraction module, which is able to extract multi-scale structural and semantic information from the input images. Second, we concatenate a local criss-cross attention module with the hybrid feature extraction module to build a global feature encoder. The global feature encoder further captures the long-range dependencies within the feature map to improve the large displacement estimation performance. Finally, we combine the global feature encoder with an iterative optical flow decoder, and thus propose a novel network named LCIF-Net. We demonstrate its significant performance benefits on MPI-Sintel and KITTI datasets. Compared with the existing optical flow estimation methods, our LCIF-Net remarkably improves the accuracy and robustness for the optical flow estimation, especially in the regions with large displacements and motion edges. • We design an image pyramid-based feature extraction sub-network, and incorporate it into the feature pyramid network to construct a hybrid feature extraction module. The presented feature extraction module combines both the semantic features and the textural and structural features to improve the accuracy of optical flow estimation, especially in the regions of image and motion boundaries. • We adopt the local criss-cross attention module to construct a global feature encoder network. The presented encoder network captures long-range dependencies from the long-distance pixels in the feature maps, which compensates the resulting optical flow and thus improves the overall performance in the regions of large displacements. • We evaluate our LCIF-Net method on MPI-Sintel and KITTI test datasets to conduct a comprehensive comparison with other state-of-the-art methods. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method performs competitive performance compared with the other methods, especially in regions of large displacements and motion boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulses are an important food source in many countries and also widely used as feed for livestock. Discovery of novel health benefits in pulses may contribute to improved diet and potential added value to crops. In this study, we examined the ability of extracts from faba bean, field pea and chickpea to inhibit the formation of fat droplets in an in vitro cell culture system that mimics the process of fat cell formation or adipogenesis. Both seed and hull extracts of all three pulses showed an inhibition of adipogenesis and the hull fraction and also contained higher levels of polyphenols compared with the seed extracts. At the molecular level, adipogenic inhibition was associated with a marked reduction in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma ( PPARG) gene expression. Furthermore, the field pea pulse extract was shown to inhibit pancreatic lipase activity at a similar level to the drug 'orlistat', which is commonly used to treat obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Acylated starch intervention improved glucose and lipids metabolisms. • T2D led to an reduced branched amino acids rather than acylated starch intervention. • Depression of SCFAs in the gut may further disorder the diabetic syndromes. • The anti-diabetic effect of HAMSA was greater than that of HAMSP and HAMSB. This study investigated correlations between gut microbiota and type 2 diabetic (T2D) indexes using either native resistant starch (RS, from high amylose maize starch, HAMS) or acylated starch via short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) acylation. Compared to HAMS, consumption of acylated starch achieved a greater impact on the improvement of T2D indexes in term of body weight loss, fasting blood glucose, serum insulin level and amino acid metabolism. Intervention with acylated starches alleviated metabolism disorders and modified the gut microbiota. This study found all the acylated starch significantly enhanced the growth of SCFAs-producing bacteria compared to its native HAMS, and this change was highly consistent with their corresponding SCFAs concentration both in serum and fecal samples. This is the first reported to reveal that propionylated HAMS promoted the abundance of Bifidobacterium , while acetylated and butylated HAMS benefited the enrichment of Coprococcus , Butyricimonas and Blautia , which may indicate their different intervention pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between starch structure characteristics and the degree of acetylation and further reveal the in vitro fecal fermentation characteristics of polycrystalline polymers. The current study indicated that potato starch (POS, B-type) and pea starch (PS, C-type) were more prone to be acetylated than rice starch (RS, A-type) under the same reaction conditions. The degree of substitution were 0.0513 (RS), 0.0993 (POS) and 0.0604 (PS), respectively. Consistently, acetylation led to B-type crystalline region to have a greatest damage followed by C and A-type starch, accompanied by a decrease in thermodynamic stability. Acetylation reduces the surface pore structure and more short-chain fatty acids content produced compared to the native starch granules following microbiome fermentation, suggesting that the introduced acetyl groups influenced the digestion and fermentation behavior of the starch granules. In addition, A-type starch was fermented at faster rate by the gut bacteria microbiota and acylated starch was more easily utilized by gut microbiota. We conclude that the type of polycrystalline polymer and the surface structure of the granules mainly affect the fecal fermentation rate and the spiral stacking mode is the key factor affecting the acetylation ability. [Display omitted] • B- and C-type starch was more vulnerable to acetylation than A-type starch granule. • A-type starch was fermented at faster rate by the gut bacteria microbiota. • Acetylated starch generated more SCFA than native starch by microbiota. • Acetylation changed microbiota binding characters onto the starch granules. • Crystalline and helical structure were related to acetylation and fermentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of acylation with various short-chain fatty acids on starch fine structure, digestion and gut microbiota fermentation property was investigated. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of acylated starch convinced the existence of acyl protons. Consistently, Fourier transform infrared spectra showed a carbonyl C O vibration at 1730 cm−1 due to the introduced acyl groups. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) studies revealed that the acylation destroyed the internal structure for providing a chance of rearrangement of starch molecules with the formation of a different fractal structures. More interestingly, compared with native starch, there were a higher Δρu and a lower Δρ for acylated starches, suggesting more ordered aggregation structures was formed inside the starch granules. Kinetics of in-vitro hydrolytic enzymatic model and Pearson correlation coefficients further confirmed the association between multi-scale structural order and digestion characters. Acyl groups introduced by acetylation, propionylation and butyrylation onto the starch molecules could be effectively released by the intestinal flora during the fermentation, specifically increasing their corresponding SCFAs production, respectively. The greater generation of the specific SCFA from the acylated starches following the microbiota fermentation may highlight their importance in the application in food and pharmaceutical industry. [Display omitted] • Starch integrity decreased significantly to form agglomerate following modification. • Surface hydrophobicity of starch granule was related to type of anhydride acids. • Association of starch structure and digestion was supported by Pearson coefficient. • Release of bound SCFA by microbiota was achieved for highlighting its functionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]