High temperature and humidity storage alter starch properties of faba (Vicia faba) and adzuki beans (Vigna angularis) associated with hard-to-cook quality.

Hard-to-cook (HTC) beans are characterised by extended cooking times. Although the changes in cell walls limiting hydration in HTC beans are widely investigated, the role of macro-molecules (starch and protein, which constitute >80 % of beans) are almost overlooked. This study investigates the structural changes in starch associated with the HTC quality in faba and adzuki beans stored at contrasting temperature and humidity regimes.

Inhibition of Human Salivary and Pancreatic α-Amylase by Resveratrol Oligomers.

A key strategy to mitigate postprandial hyperglycemia involves inhibiting α-amylases, which commence the starch digestion process in the gut. This study examined the inhibitory effects of resveratrol and stilbenoid tetramers, vaticanol B, (-)-hopeaphenol, and vatalbinoside A on human salivary and pancreatic α-amylases experimentally and through molecular docking studies. Vaticanol B demonstrated the most potent inhibition with IC values of 5.

Chromatographic analysis of branched and debranched starch structure: Variability of their results.

Starch structure determination is crucial for understanding its properties and applications. However, method-dependent variations in size determination can lead to ambiguous interpretations. This study investigates the ambiguities in starch structure determination by evaluating the variation in size of four commercial branched starches as determined by average molar mass, gyration radius, hydrodynamic radius, and chain-length distribution.

Effects of health education intervention on menstrual hygiene knowledge and practices among the adolescent girls of Pokhara Metropolitan, Nepal.

Background: Poor menstrual hygiene practices are one of the major public health problems in Nepal. Due to persistent taboos and socio-cultural constraints, adolescent girls are often unaware of scientific facts, knowledge, and practices related to menstrual hygiene. This paper aims to assess the effects of health education intervention on menstrual hygiene knowledge and practices among adolescent girls in Pokhara Metropolitan, Nepal.

Effectiveness of Social Media-Based Intervention in Intention Change of Adolescents for Promoting Sexual Health Behavior in Western Terai of Nepal.

Background: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in adolescents are among the major public health challenges that have to be prevented in time. Traditional education falls short of reach; social media offers accessible ways. However, there is no research on such an issue in Nepal.

Flaking of millets and its impact on bioactivity, pasting, digestibility, structural and thermal properties.

Five different millets (foxtail, little, barnyard, kodo and browntop) with and without sprouting were subjected to flaking. Phytic acid and phenolic content tends to decrease significantly, whereas antioxidant activity increased up to 77.32% on flaking of millets.

Structural changes and degradation mechanism of type 3 resistant starch during in vitro fecal fermentation.

The colonic fermentation metabolites of resistant starch (RS) are recognized to have various health benefits. However, the relationship between the structural variation of RS and the colonic fermentation properties, remains inadequately studied, especially for type 3 resistant starch. The in vitro fecal fermentation properties with multi-structure evolution of A- and B-type polymorphic resistant starch spherulites (RSS) were investigated.

The Role of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) Interventions on Health and Behavioral Outcomes during Humanitarian Crisis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: In humanitarian crises, water, sanitation and hygiene interventions are critical for the survival of people. However, strong evidence-based information is still limited. In order to describe the quantity and quality of current evidence, we conducted an evidence gap map provides a visual overview, highlighting areas lacking evidence.

Sonication-mediated modulation of macronutrient structure and digestibility in chickpea.

Ultrasound processing is an emerging green technology that has the potential for wider application in the food processing industry. While the effects of ultrasonication on isolated macromolecules such as protein and starch have been reported, the effects of physical barriers on sonication on these macro-molecules, for example inside whole seed, tissue or cotyledon cells, have mostly been overlooked. Intact chickpea cells were subjected to sonication with different ultrasound processing times, and the effects of sonication on the starch and protein structure and digestibility were studied.

Multi-level factors associated with utilization of water, sanitation and hygiene services by mothers in Nepal.

Background: Providing improved water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) at a household level remains one of the major public health challenges in Nepal. Household mothers are likely to have limited access to combined WASH services, this is influenced by individual, and community factors. Individual components of an improved water source, sanitary toilet, fixed place for handwashing, and availability of soap and water were merged into one and called combined WASH.

Culture-negative endocarditis with multifocal spread and flail mitral valve leaflet: a case report.

Introduction: Blood culture-negative infective endocarditis is the condition in which a causative organism cannot be identified after inoculation of at least three samples using standard blood-culture systems for 7 days. It has a low reported incidence of about 2.5-31%.

Leaching of Phytochemicals from Beans during Hydration, Kinetics, and Modeling.

In the current era, there is a growing emphasis on the circular economy and the valorization of waste products. Bean processing industries generate substantial nutrient-rich waste laden with valuable phytochemicals. Understanding the leaching patterns and kinetics of major phytochemicals is key to designing better processes leading to increased sustainability.

Gallic acid forms V-amylose complex structure with starch through hydrophobic interaction.

This study aimed to investigate the role of amylose and amylopectin in the formation of starch-polyphenol complex and elucidate the interaction mechanisms. Gallic acid (GA) was used to complex with maize starch with various amylose contents. Results showed GA formed V-type crystals with normal maize starch (NMS) and high amylose maize starch (HAMS), while higher relative crystallinity was exhibited in HAMS-GA complexes than NMS counterparts.

Characterization of outer membrane vesicles released by clinical isolates of Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

The sexually transmitted pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae releases membrane vesicles including outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) during infections. OMVs traffic outer membrane molecules, such as the porin PorB and lipo-oligosaccharide (LOS), into host innate immune cells, eliciting programmed cell death pathways, and inflammation. Little is known, however, about the proteome and LOS content of OMVs released by clinical strains isolated from different infection sites, and whether these vesicles similarly activate immune responses.

Enhancing enzymatic resistance of starch through strategic application of food physical processing technologies.

The demand for clean-label starch, perceived as environmentally friendly in terms of production and less hazardous to health, has driven the advancement of food physical processing technologies aimed at modifying starch. One of the key objectives of these modifications has been to reduce the glycaemic potency and increase resistant starch content of starch, as these properties have the potential to positively impact metabolic health. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent updates in typical physical processing techniques, including annealing, heat-moisture, microwave and ultrasonication, and a brief discussion of several promising recent-developed methods.

Quantitative Easing and bank risk-taking behavior.

In this paper, we examine the effect of reserve creation due to the Federal Reserve's Large-scale Asset Purchase programs on bank lending and risk-taking behavior. In particular, we test the existence of a risk-taking channel that induces banks with higher reserve accumulation due to the Fed's policy to increase the share of riskier loans. Exploiting the heterogeneity in the exposure to such asset purchase programs, as measured by relative mortgage-backed securities holdings in the banks' portfolios, we use difference-in-differences analysis to study the effect of the Fed's policies on the supply of total loans and the share of riskier loans such as real estate, commercial and industrial, and consumer loans.

Elastin stabilization prevents impaired biomechanics in human pulmonary arteries and pulmonary hypertension in rats with left heart disease.

Pulmonary hypertension worsens outcome in left heart disease. Stiffening of the pulmonary artery may drive this pathology by increasing right ventricular dysfunction and lung vascular remodeling. Here we show increased stiffness of pulmonary arteries from patients with left heart disease that correlates with impaired pulmonary hemodynamics.

Plant cell wall composition modulates the gut microbiota and metabolites in in-vitro fermentation.

This research investigated the effect of different types of plant cell wall fibres, including cereal (i.e., barley, sorghum, and rice), legume (i.

Degradation of starch in pasta induced by extrusion below gelatinization temperature.

The structural deformation of starch during pasta extrusion leads to varied effects on pasta quality. We investigated the impact of shearing force on the starch structure of pasta and pasta quality by varying the screw speed (100, 300, 500 and 600 rpm) with a temperature range of 25 to 50 ℃ in increments of 5 ℃, from the feeding zone to the die zone. The higher screw speeds were associated with more specific mechanical energy input (157, 319, 440, and 531 kJ/kg for pasta produced at 100, 300, 500 and 600 rpm, respectively), resulting in a lower pasting viscosity (1084, 813, 522 and 480 mPa·s for pasta produced at 100, 300, 500 and 600 rpm, respectively) in the pasta due to the loss of starch molecular order and crystallinity.

Synergistic soil, land use, and climate influences on wind erosion on the Colorado Plateau: Implications for management.

Two decades of drought in the southwestern USA are spurring concerns about increases in wind erosion, dust emissions, and associated impacts on ecosystems, agriculture, human health, and water supply. Different avenues of investigation into primary drivers of wind erosion and dust have yielded mixed results depending on the spatial and temporal sensitivity of the evidence. We monitored passive aeolian sediment traps from 2017 to 2020 across eighty-one sites near Moab, Utah to understand patterns of sediment flux.

Complexation of starch and phenolic compounds during food processing and impacts on the release of phenolic compounds.

Phenolic compounds can form complexes with starch during food processing, which can modulate the release of phenolic compounds in the gastrointestinal tract and regulate the bioaccessibility of phenolic compounds. The starch-phenolic complexation is determined by the structure of starch, phenolic compounds, and the food processing conditions. In this review, the complexation between starch and phenolic compounds during (hydro)thermal and nonthermal processing is reviewed.

-derived outer membrane vesicles package β-lactamases to promote antibiotic resistance.

causes the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhoea. The treatment of gonorrhoea is becoming increasingly challenging, as has developed resistance to antimicrobial agents routinely used in the clinic. Resistance to penicillin is wide-spread partly due to the acquisition of β-lactamase genes.

Polycythemia among Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Admitted to the Department of Medicine in a Tertiary Care Center: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a preventable and treatable disease marked by persistent airflow limitation. Abnormal rise of haemoglobin and/or hematocrit in peripheral blood is known as polycythemia which includes increased haemoglobin: greater than 16.5 g/dl in men or greater than 16.