Impact of sourdough fermentation on nutrient transformations in cereal-based foods:Mechanisms,practical applications,and health implications

Sourdough is often considered a healthy choice and quality improver for use in cereal production due to its unique microbial composition and fermentation properties.During sourdough fermentation of cereals,biotransformation of nutrients occurs,resulting in notable changes to proteins,carbohydrates,fats,vitamins,and minerals.Each nutrient undergoes specific transformations,providing various advantages for human health.Proteins undergo hydrolysis to produce small molecular weight peptides and amino acids that are more easily digested and absorbed by the human body.Carbohydrates break down to improve the digestibility and absorption of cereals and lower the glycemic index.Fatty acids experience oxidation to produce new substances with health benefits.Additionally,the application of sourdough fermentation can enhance the texture,flavor,and nutritional value of cereal foods while also extending their shelf life and improving food safety.In conclusion,sourdough fermentation has a broad range of applications in cereal food processing.Further research is encouraged to investigate the mechanisms and processes of sourdough fermentation to develop even more nutritious,healthy,and flavorful cereal-based foods.

Starch-Based Adhesives for Wood/Wood Composite Bonding: Review

Increasing global energy crisis and scarcity of petroleum resources has shifted focus of chemical industries to look for alternative raw material resources. The main focus of raw materials in wood adhesives, such as petroleum and natural gas [1] [2], would be gradually replaced by renewable biopolymers. Starch is a relatively inexpensive and renewable product from abundant plants, easy processing and it has been extensively used as binders, sizing materials, glues and pastes [3], but its bonding capacity is not strong enough to glue wood [4]. Extensive research has been carried out on improving the cohesive properties, especially water resistance, of starch-based adhesives. In starch-based wood adhesive many new approaches have come forward for effective use it in wood/wood composite adhesive giving comparable performance as synthetic adhesives. This review of starch-based adhesives is made with the focus on starch modification methods for improving properties of starch-based adhesives.

Enhancing the Formation of Starch-based Hybrid Hydrogel by Incorporating Carboxyl Groups into Starch Chains

A novel starch-based hybrid hydrogel was formed by physical and mild steps. Firstly, aqueous solution of a mixture of starch maleic half-ester （SM） and poly（vinyl alcohol） （PVA） was subjected to freezing-thawing cycles to generate a physical functional SM/PVA hydrogel. Subsequently, the SM/PVA/ HA hybrid hydrogel was obtained through the alternate soaking process. The structure and morphology of the hydrogels were examined with Fourier transform infrared spectra （FTIR）, X-ray diffraction （XRD） analysis, thermogravimetric analysis （TGA） and scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. It was found that the existence of carboxylic groups on SM chains not only enabled SM/PVA hydrogel to be pH-sensitive, but also enhanced the formation of hydroxyapatite in the hydrogel via chelating calcium ions onto the matrix.

Progress in Researches on Biodegradable Starch-Based Materials

As one type of environment-friendly polymer, biodegradable starch-based materials have been widely explored in recent years and considered one of the most promising plastics in the future. Currently, either synthetic biodegradable aliphatic polyesters or certain natural polymers are usually blended with thermoplastic starch to enhance hydrophobicity and service performance of starch-based materials. The main deficiency lies in the low compatibility between starch and polyester phases. Therefore amphiphilic compatibilizers, such as hydroxyl functioned polyesters, need to be developed in the future. Moreover, multi-phase blending systems including two or more polyester phases are also supposed to be designed.

First-principles study of moderate phonon-mediated pairing in high-pressure monoclinic phase of BiS_(2)-based superconductors

Isotope effect on superconductive transition temperature(T_c)is an essential indicator to examine whether the mechanism of superconductors is conventional.Unconventional isotope effect of BiS_(2)-based superconductors has been previously reported in ambient-pressure tetragonal phase.However,to comprehensively ascertain the nature of superconductivity,the investigation of BiS_(2)-based system in high-pressure structure is highly desirable.In this work,we carried out the first-principles calculations of phonon spectra and superconductivity in high-pressure monoclinic phase of LaO_(0.5)F_(0.5)BiS_(2)with ^(32)S and ^(34)S,and observed that the corresponding isotope coefficient is 0.13≤α≤0.20.This value is much greater than that of BiS_(2)-based superconductors in ambient-pressure phase,but slightly smaller than that of conventional MgB_2.Taking into account the calculated T_(c) lower than experimental results,we finally conclude that the moderate phonon-mediated pairing plays a significant role in forming superconductivity of BiS_(2)-based system in high-pressure phase,moreover,the cooperative multiple paring interactions should also be considered.

A Review of the Design and Architecture of Starch-Based Dietary Foods

Carbohydrates,which are mostly present in sugar,starch,and fiber,are one of the main ingredients of food and the primary source of energy in the human diet.Among these three main sources,starch stands out as one of the most abundant reserves of carbohydrates.Investigating starch would not only enhance our understanding of the functionality of starch in the human body but also aid in the design of novel starch-based dietary foods.The present review first provides a state-of-the-art understanding of the various classifications of dietary starches,including rapidly digesting starch(RDS),slowly digesting starch(SDS),and resistant starch(RS).Moreover,both the in vivo and in vitro determination methods of the digestibility of starch-based dietary foods are discussed.Based on the current understanding,present research strategies to design novel starch-based dietary foods through either the direct addition of modified starch or the alteration of processing conditions are highlighted.Furthermore,certain perspectives related to the future research directions of starch-based foods are also included.

Rational design of MoS_(2)-based catalysts toward lignin hydrodeoxygenation:Interplay of structure,catalysis,and stability

The MoS_(2)-based materials are a vital class of heterogeneous catalysts for the hydrodeoxygenation of lignin and its model compounds to produce value-added chemicals especially because of their unique selectivity to aromatics.The rational design of MoS_(2)-based catalyst greatly depends on the comprehensive understanding of its structure-activity relationship.However,an intensive summary and critical analysis are still scarce to date.In this review,we attempt to provide an in-depth understanding of the interplay of structure,catalysis,and stability of MoS_(2)-based catalysts for lignin hydrodeoxygenation.The recognition of intrinsic active sites on MoS_(2) structure was firstly discussed,followed by the illustration of MoS_(2)-catalyzed hydrodeoxygenation structural models.Afterward,based on the studies on the MoS_(2)-catalyzed lignin model compounds hydrodeoxygenation,the current active site modification strategies including structural modification of monometallic MoS_(2) catalysts and collaborative modification were summarized and emphatically discussed,which aims to elucidate the structure-activity relationship at the atomic-level.The deactivation mechanism and stabilization strategies were also illustrated to provide instructive suggestion for the rational design of efficient and stable MoS_(2)-based catalysts.Finally,the real lignin depolymerization over MoS_(2)-based catalysts was summarized to point out the advantages and difficulties.This review attempts to highlight the remaining challenges and provide some perspectives for the future development of MoS_(2)-based catalysts for lignin hydrodeoxygenation.

Ferroelectricity of hafnium oxide-based materials:Current status and future prospects from physical mechanisms to device applications

The finding of the robust ferroelectricity in HfO_(2)-based thin films is fantastic from the view point of both the fundamentals and the applications.In this review article,the current research status of the future prospects for the ferroelectric HfO_(2)-based thin films and devices are presented from fundamentals to applications.The related issues are discussed,which include:1)The ferroelectric characteristics observed in HfO_(2)-based films and devices associated with the factors of dopant,strain,interface,thickness,defect,fabrication condition,and more;2)physical understanding on the observed ferroelectric behaviors by the density functional theory(DFT)-based theory calculations;3)the characterizations of microscopic and macroscopic features by transmission electron microscopes-based and electrical properties-based techniques;4)modeling and simulations,5)the performance optimizations,and 6)the applications of some ferroelectric-based devices such as ferroelectric random access memory,ferroelectric-based field effect transistors,and the ferroelectric tunnel junction for the novel information processing systems.

Silane Modification of Starch-Based Wood Adhesive: Review

Currently there has been a growing interest in substituting traditional synthetic polymers with biobased renewable polymers for adhesive applications. However, biobased renewable polymers such as starch suffer from few draw-backs like poor water resistance and mechanical strength. To become important potential alternatives of synthetic polymers, starch must have comparable physical, chemical, thermal and mechanical properties to that of synthetic polymers. To achieve this, starch has been modified by a series of crosslinkers like boric acid, citric acid, glyoxal, gluteraldehyde, etc. and silane modification. Silane modification by chloropropyl trimethoxysilane, γ-Methacryloxypropyl trimethoxy silane and vinyl trimethoxy silane is a suitable method to improve the performance in terms of mechanical and thermally. Silane forms covalent bonds with starch during starch modification resulted in enhanced shear strength and storage stability. A new research on biodegradable, renewable, environmentally friendly silane modification of starch-based wood adhesive that was prepared by reacting with various silanes. This paper, we reviewed silane as a modifying agent for starch-based wood adhesive.

Starch-based Surface-sizing Agents in Paper Industry:An Overview

Natural starch is an abundant and inexpensive polysaccharide biopolymer that is widely used as a surface-sizing agent in the paper industry.The surface sizing of paper improves its water and abrasion resistance,as well as its physical strength and printing adaptability.However,natural starch presents some disadvantages,such as high viscosity,poor fluidity,poor filmforming properties,and easy coagulation.Therefore,starch is usually modified and blended with various components to achieve better sizing performance.This article reviews approaches for the surface sizing of paper and modification of starch using enzymes or chemical methods,such as oxidation,cationization,and graft copolymerization.This article also discusses the application of starch-based multiphase systems(obtained by blending starch with various components)as surface-sizing agents.

Starch Grafted Water Resistant Polyvinyl Acetate-Based Wood Adhesive: A Review

Global energy issues and the reliance on hydrocarbon resources have resulted in the reduction of petroleum sources, and the focus of the chemical industries has shifted to substitute raw material sources. The major raw materials used in wood adhesives, such as hydrocarbons like polyvinyl acetate, would be gradually replaced by renewable natural polymers. Currently, polyvinyl alcohol has the limitation of petroleum origin, which is non-economical and it will be replaced by biopolymers. Conventionally available wood adhesive emulsions are colloid-like polyvinyl alcohol stabilized. Starch, being a naturally available polymer, has gained interest from researchers for replacing polyvinyl alcohol as a stabilizer. New research on sustainable, economical, biodegradable, renewable, and environmentally friendly starch grafted polyvinyl acetate emulsion that was synthesized by the graft polymerization of vinyl acetate monomer onto starch. However, starch grafted polyvinyl acetate emulsion-based adhesive’s properties, such as poor water resistance, weak adhesion, delayed drying rate and delayed setting speed, have resulted in limitations in its application as a wood adhesive. A detailed review of starch grafting on vinyl acetate and comonomers like acrylamides, and acrylic acid, and the addition of nano-fillers to enhance the water resistance and performance properties of sustainable adhesives has been explained.

A spawning particle filter for defocused moving target detection in GNSS-based passive radar

Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS)-based passive radar(GBPR)has been widely used in remote sensing applications.However,for moving target detection(MTD),the quadratic phase error(QPE)introduced by the non-cooperative target motion is usually difficult to be compensated,as the low power level of the GBPR echo signal renders the estimation of the Doppler rate less effective.Consequently,the moving target in GBPR image is usually defocused,which aggravates the difficulty of target detection even further.In this paper,a spawning particle filter(SPF)is proposed for defocused MTD.Firstly,the measurement model and the likelihood ratio function(LRF)of the defocused point-like target image are deduced.Then,a spawning particle set is generated for subsequent target detection,with reference to traditional particles in particle filter(PF)as their parent.After that,based on the PF estimator,the SPF algorithm and its sequential Monte Carlo(SMC)implementation are proposed with a novel amplitude estimation method to decrease the target state dimension.Finally,the effectiveness of the proposed SPF is demonstrated by numerical simulations and pre-liminary experimental results,showing that the target range and Doppler can be estimated accurately.

The cytosolic isoform of triosephosphate isomerase,ZmTPI4,is required for kernel development and starch synthesis in maize(Zea mays L.)

Triosephosphate isomerase(TPI)is an enzyme that functions in plant energy production,accumulation,and conversion.To understand its function in maize,we characterized a maize TPI mutant,zmtpi4.In comparison to the wild type,zmtpi4 mutants showed altered ear development,reduced kernel weight and starch content,modified starch granule morphology,and altered amylose and amylopectin content.Protein,ATP,and pyruvate contents were reduced,indicating ZmTPI4 was involved in glycolysis.Although subcellular localization confirmed ZmTPI4 as a cytosolic rather than a plastid isoform of TPI,the zmtpi4 mutant showed reduced leaf size and chlorophyll content.Overexpression of ZmTPI4 in Arabidopsis led to enlarged leaves and increased seed weight,suggesting a positive regulatory role of ZmTPI4 in kernel weight and starch content.We conclude that ZmTPI4 functions in maize kernel development,starch synthesis,glycolysis,and photosynthesis.

qSTA2-2,a novel QTL that contributes to seed starch synthesis in Zea mays L.

The seed storage materials accumulate during seed development,and are essential for seed germination and seedling establishment.Here we employed two bi-parental populations of an F2:3 population developed from a cross of improved 220(I220,small seeds with low starch)and PH4CV(large seeds with high starch),as well as recombinant-inbred lines(RILs)of X178(high starch)and its improved introgression line I178(low starch),to identify the genes that control seed storage materials.We identified a total of 12 QTLs for starch,protein and oil,which explained 3.44-10.79%of the phenotypic variances.Among them,qSTA2-1 identified in F2:3 and qSTA2-2 identified in the RILs partially overlapped at an interval of 7.314-9.554 Mb,and they explained 3.44-10.21%of the starch content variation,so they were selected for further study.Fine mapping of qSTA2-2 with the backcrossed populations of ^(I220)/PH4CV in each generation narrowed it down to a 199.7 kb interval that contains 14 open reading frames(ORFs).Transcriptomic analysis of developing seeds from the near-isogenic lines(NILs)of ^(I220)/PH4CV(BC_(5)F_(2))showed that only 11 ORFs were expressed in 20 days after pollination(DAP)seeds.Five of them were upregulated and six of them were downregulated in NIL^(I220),and the differentially expressed genes(DEGs)between NIL^(I220) and NIL^(PH4CV) were enriched in starch metabolism,hormone signal transduction and glycosaminoglycan degradation.Of the eleven NIL^(I220) differential expressed ORFs,ORF4(Zm00001d002260)and ORF5(Zm00001d002261)carry 75%protein sequence similarity,both encodes an glycolate oxidase,were the possible candidates of qSTA2-2.Further analysis and validation indicated that mutation of the qSTA2-2 locus resulted in the dysfunction of ABA accumulation,the embryo/endosperm ratio and the starch and hormone levels.

Night warming increases wheat yield by improving pre-anthesis plant growth and post-anthesis grain starch biosynthesis

Global climate change is characterized by asymmetric warming,i.e.,greater temperature increases in winter,spring,and nighttime than in summer,autumn,and daytime.Field experiments were conducted using four wheat cultivars,namely‘Yangmai 18’(YM18),‘Sumai 188’(SM188),‘Yannong 19’(YN19),and‘Annong 0711’(AN0711),in the two growing seasons of 2019-2020 and 2020-2021,with passive night warming during different periods in the early growth stage.The treatments were night warming during the tillering-jointing(NW_(T-J)),jointing-booting(NWJ-B),and booting-anthesis(NWB-A)stages,with ambient temperature(NN)as the control.The effects of night warming during different stages on wheat yield formation were investigated by determining the characteristics of dry matter accumulation and translocation,as well as sucrose and starch accumulation in wheat grains.The wheat yields of all four cultivars were significantly higher in NW_(T-J)than in NN in the 2-year experiment.The yield increases of semi-winter cultivars YN19 and AN0711 were greater than those of spring cultivars YM18 and SM188.Treatment NW_(T-J)increased wheat yield mainly by increasing the 1,000-grain weight and the number of fertile spikelets,and it increased dry matter accumulation in various organs of wheat at the anthesis and maturity stages by increasing the growth rate at the vegetative growth stage.The flag leaf and spike showed the largest increases in dry matter accumulation.NW_(T-J)also increased the grain sucrose and starch contents in the early and middle grain-filling stages,promoting yield formation.Overall,night warming between the tillering and jointing stages increased the pre-anthesis growth rate,and thus,wheat dry matter production,which contributed to an increase in wheat yield.

Alkali Tolerance of Concrete Internal Curing Agent Based on Sodium Carboxymethyl Starch

Internal curing agents (ICA) based on super absorbent polymer have poor alkali tolerance and reduce the early strength of concrete.An alkali tolerate internal curing agent (CAA-ICA) was designed and prepared by using sodium carboxymethyl starch (CMS) with high hydrophilicity,acrylic acid (AA) containing anionic carboxylic group and acrylamide (AM) containing non-ionic amide group as the main raw materials.The results show that the ratio of CAA-ICA alkali absorption solution is higher than that existing ICA,which solves the low water absorption ratio of the ICA in alkali environment.The water absorption ratio of CAA-ICA in saturated Ca(OH)_(2) solution is 95.8 g·g^(-1),and the alkali tolerance coefficient is 3.4.The application of CAA-ICA in cement-based materials can increase the internal relative humidity and miniaturize the pore structure.The compressive strength of mortar increases up to 12.95%at 28 d,which provids a solution to overcome the reduction of the early strength.

Rice Grains from Slightly Saline Field Exhibited Unchanged Starch Physicochemical Properties but Enhanced Nutritional Values

This study aims to investigate grain quality and nutritional values of rice(Pokkali,a salt-tolerant cultivar;RD73,a new cultivar improved from KDML105 introgressed with Saltol QTL from Pokkali,and KDML105,a moderately salt-susceptible cultivar)grown under non-saline(0.04–0.87 dS/m)and slightly saline(1.08–4.83 dS/m)field conditions.The results revealed that salinity caused significant reduction in grain size but significant increments in reducing sugar and total protein contents in the grains.Nevertheless,the amounts of starch in the grains of KDML105 and Pokkali rice genotypes were unaffected by the stress.The starch granule size distribution was also unaffected by salinity.Interestingly,only starch from Pokkali was significantly diminished in amylose content,from 19.18%to 16.99%.Accordingly,parameters relating to starch gelatinization,retrogradation,and pasting properties of KDML105 and RD73 were unaffected by salinity;only Pokkali showed a significant increase in percentage of retrogradation along with a significant reduction in gelatinization enthalpy.In the saline field,total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity in the grains of all rice cultivars tended to increase,particularly in Pokkali.On average,essential element contents in grains from the saline-treated plants showed a 33%,32%,32%,22%,20%,11%,and 10%increase in total P,N,K,Mg,Zn,Fe,and Ca content,respectively.Interestingly,total Fe content exhibited the greatest percentage of increments in KDML105(187%).Taken together,cultivation of rice in the slightly saline field did not alter its eating and cooking qualities,while enhanced some nutritional properties such as proteins,minerals,and secondary metabolites like phenolic compounds.

Irrigation regimes modulate non-structural carbohydrate remobilization and improve grain filling in rice(Oryza sativa L.)by regulating starch metabolism

Recently developed ‘super’ rice cultivars with greater yield potentials often suffer from the problem of poor grain filling, especially in inferior spikelets. Here, we studied the activities of enzymes related to starch metabolism in rice stems and grains, and the microstructures related to carbohydrate accumulation and transportation to investigate the effects of different water regimes on grain filling. Two ‘super’ rice cultivars were grown under two irrigation regimes of well-watered(WW) and alternate wetting and moderate soil drying(AWMD). Compared with the WW treatment,the activities of ADP glucose pyrophosphorylase(AGPase), starch synthase(StSase) and starch branching enzyme(SBE), and the accumulation of non-structural carbohydrates(NSCs) in the stems before heading were significantly improved, and more starch granules were stored in the stems in the AWMD treatment. After heading, the activities of α-amylase, β-amylase, sucrose phosphate synthase(SPS) and sucrose synthase in the synthetic direction(SSs)were increased in the stems to promote the remobilization of NSCs for grain filling under AWMD. During grain filling, the enzymatic activities of sucrose synthase in the cleavage direction(SSc), AGPase, StSase and SBE in the inferior spikelets were increased, which promoted grain filling, especially for the inferior spikelets under AWMD.However, there were no significant differences in vascular microstructures. The grain yield and grain weight could be improved by 13.1 and 7.5%, respectively, by optimizing of the irrigation regime. We concluded that the low activities of key enzymes in carbon metabolism is the key limitation for the poor grain filling, as opposed to the vascular microstructures, and AWMD can increase the amount of NSC accumulation in the stems before heading, improve the utilization rate of NSCs after heading, and increase the grain filling, especially in the inferior spikelets, by altering the activities of key enzymes in carbon metabolism.

Biomass-Based Composite Foam from Tapioca Starch/Octenyl Succinate Starch Blended with Alpha-Chitin

The research study properties of the starch-based foam from mixed between tapioca starch and octenyl succinate starch (OSA starch), have addition alpha-chitin prepared by hot compression molding method. Tapioca starch with 50% OSA starch was investigated. For composite foam tapioca starch mixed by adding alpha-chitin at 5% - 30% of starch weight, it was found that water absorption was reduced. The higher alpha-chitin content in blending foam, the denser of foam structure observed which resulted in increasing of the foam density. The maximum bending stress of composite starch was decreased, but increasing the maximum bending strain.

Differential roles of C-3 and C-6 phosphate monoesters in affecting potato starch properties

The effects of starch phosphate monoester content(SPC),namely C-3(C3P)and C-6 phosphate monoesters(C6P),on the starch properties were investigated using four potato starches with varied SPC/C3P/C6P and two nonphosphorylated maize starches with a similar range of amylose content(AC)as controls.The starch property results showed that a higher SPC is associated with lower turbidity,storage and loss modulus after storage,and water solubility,but higher swelling power(SP)and pasting viscosities.These findings suggested that SPC inhibited molecular rearrangement during storage and starch leaching during heating,and enhanced swelling and viscosities due to increased hydration and water uptake caused by the repulsion effect of phosphate groups and a less ordered crystalline structure.Increased SPC also resulted in lower resistant starch(RS)content in a native granular state but higher RS after retrogradation.Pearson correlations further indicated that SPC/C3P/C6P were positively correlated with peak(r^(2)=0.925,0.873 and 0.930,respectively),trough(r^(2)=0.994,0.968 and 0.988,respectively),and final viscosities(r^(2)=0.981,0.968 and 0.971,respectively).Notably,SPC,mainly C3P,exhibited a significantly positive correlation with SP(r^(2)=0.859)and setback viscosity(r^(2)=0.867),whereas SPC,mainly C6P,showed a weak positive correlation with RS after retrogradation(r^(2)=0.746).However,SPC had no significant correlations with water solubility,turbidity and rheology properties,which were more correlated with AC.These findings are helpful for the food industry to select potato starches with desired properties based on their contents of SPC,C3P,or C6P.