We aimed to test whether ratjaku or predator activity at burrow entrances varied with cover and how ratjaku respond to predator presence. Using time‐lapse photography, we monitored ratjaku and predator activity at the largest entrance of 12 burrows ranging from high (>70%) to low (<50%) cover and at multiple entrances of two other burrows. Overall activity did not vary between burrows with high and low cover. Within burrow systems ratjaku were more active at sparsely vegetated entrances, often sitting wholly or partly inside the burrow. However, consistent between and within burrow systems, skinks spent proportionally more time fully outside where cover was higher. Predators—mostly native—were detected at most burrows, with no apparent relationship between predator activity and cover. Skinks also did not appear to modify their activity in response to predator visits. Our results indicate that ratjaku may spend more time outside burrow entrances when cover is higher but there was no direct evidence that this related to perceived or real predation risk. Differences in food availability, thermoregulatory opportunities and opportunities for ambush foraging associated with differences in vegetation cover or composition are other factors likely to be important in determining the activity of ratjaku at burrows. Our research demonstrates the usefulness of camera traps for behavioural studies of ectothermic burrowing animals. The complex relationships between ratjaku activity and vegetation cover thereby revealed, suggest outcomes of fire‐mediated habitat change on predator–prey interactions are not easily predictable.Increased predation where ground cover is reduced after severe wildfire is increasingly implicated as a factor causing decline of vulnerable prey populations. In arid central Australia, one species detrimentally affected by repeated wildfire is the great desert skink or  tjakura, desert‐dwelling communal burrowing skinks, spend more time fully outside their burrow where cover is higher and more time sitting just within burrow entrances where cover is lower. This behavioural response to proximate environmental features may reduce the predation risk for tjakura when fire or other disturbances remove cover.Loss of vegetation cover following fire may increase predation risk, even for prey that spend most of their time in burrows. We found  Of the skinks sampled, those from Uluru were the most genetically distinctive, leading to the recommendation that the population should be considered its own delineation for the purpose of conservation management  , over one active season. The ratjaku population is restricted to the sand plain areas of the park which are dominated by spinifex (Triodia spp.) and tussock grasses with a very sparse over‐storey of honey grevillea (Grevillea eriostachya) and desert oaks (Allocasuarina decaisneana) and contains a mosaic of vegetation with different fire histories.This study was conducted within Ulu2.1ratjaku burrows were chosen for monitoring out of a larger sample of 20 burrows that were being actively used by skinks at the time of our study. The 20 burrows were a subset of burrows that had previously been mapped and regularly monitored by the National Park rangers  for monitoring. The six burrows with the lowest vegetation cover  around the main entrance were classed as low cover. The six burrows with the highest vegetation cover  were classed as high cover. The three burrows with the lowest cover (26%–36%) were in areas that had been burnt 3 years previously in a 2012 wildfire, and the other three low cover burrows (41%–49% cover) had not been burnt for 12 years. High cover burrows were all in areas unburnt for at least 12 years. Burrows varied in size and number of entrances (Table 2.2raTjaku activity was monitored using 10 Reconyx HC600 and 2 Reconyx HC800 cameras. One camera was set up at each burrow at what appeared to be the main entrance. Every burrow had multiple entrances and the main entrance was determined as the biggest one associated with the biggest soil mound (a distinctive feature at burrow entrances created from excavated soil), where this was obvious. Another distinctive characteristic of ratjaku burrows is the presence of a ‘latrine’ or scat pile which is consistently used as a defecation site by burrow inhabitants. If there were two entrances and mounds of similar size within a burrow system, the entrance closest to the latrine or most centrally located among the other entrances was chosen.2 field of view centred on the burrow entrance. A small plywood shelter, attached directly above each camera, shaded it from the extreme heat typical of the central Australian summer.Cameras were installed 1 m from the burrow entrance, mounted on platforms angled downwards at 60° to the ground and screwed onto metal garden stakes, 60 cm above the ground. This setup produced a 1 mCameras were set to the time‐lapse mode to take one photo every minute for two 18‐day periods in early summer (from 12:00 midday 27 November to 12:00 midday 15 December 2014), and mid‐late summer (from 12:00 midday 24 January to 12:00 midday 11 February 2015). Batteries and SD cards in cameras were replaced every 5–6 days, but battery failure led to the loss of 8 h of data from one burrow and 12 h each from two other burrows.ratjaku visible as an index of their activity at the burrow entrance. Although we refer to these periods as ‘active’, most of the time when lizards were partially or fully emerged, they remained quite stationary (i.e. were in the same place in multiple consecutive images). When there were continuous periods (i.e. consecutive images) with ratjaku present, ‘active bouts’ was used to describe this activity. When there were no ratjaku visible on an image, we assumed the residents had either retreated inside the burrow or were actively foraging (or engaging in another activity) away from the burrow entrance.We used the number of images with 2.3ratjaku visible, other vertebrate species visible or no vertebrate visible. The images with skinks present were then divided into three position categories: fully inside the burrow entrance, half emerged with front legs visible or fully emerged from the burrow entrance, with hind legs visible outside , sub‐adult or adult. Where there were two or more ratjaku in the image, each was classified separately for size and position.The images were initially sorted into three categories: one or more e Figure . There wWe were not always able to distinguish among different individuals from the same burrow. However, obvious differences in size, colour, the presence of distinguishing features (e.g. part of the tail missing) or the presence of multiple individuals in single images allowed us to determine a minimum number of individuals present at each burrow during each recording period.2.4ratjaku activity at the main burrow entrance related to the minimum number of lizards occupying the burrow, the number of entrances in the burrow system and vegetation cover at the burrow.Repeated measures analysis of variance was used to determine whether the minimum number of individuals varied between the two recording periods (within subjects effect) or between burrows with high and low vegetation cover. We then used Pearson correlations to test how 2.5ratjaku were included in analyses. The number of discrete ‘visits’ by predators to burrows was determined based on the sequence of images. If the same predator was visible in consecutive images, this was counted as a single visit. We then tested for correlations between vegetation cover at burrows and the number of predator visits.All vertebrates known or suspected to be predators of ratjaku reduced their activity in response to predator visits, graphs were produced to show the timing of their active bouts in relation to predator visits. The activity of skinks before and after predator visits was compared based on (a) the time interval (min) between a ratjaku being visible and the arrival of a predator and the interval (min) between a predator leaving and a ratjaku becoming visible again, and (b) the number of active bouts by ratjaku in the 24 h prior to predator arrival and post‐predator departure. The null hypothesis (no effect of predators) was that there would be no difference in the 24 h before and after a predator visit in the time interval between ratjaku activity and predator activity or the number of ratjaku active bouts. Time data were log transformed prior to analyses.To determine whether 2.6ratjaku spent outside the burrow against the average activity of ratjaku in the early and late active season. The early active season was considered as the time between ratjaku first emerging during spring until end of December and the late active season as roughly January to March. We then split the data into dawn, day, dusk and night. Dawn and dusk were defined as an hour‐long period during which sunrise and sunset occurred. In late 2014 dawn fell approximately between 05:00 and 06:00 (sunrise range 5:47 a.m.–5:49 a.m.) and in early 2015 dawn fell between 06:00 and 07:00 (sunrise range: 6:15 a.m.–6:58 a.m.), and dusk in both years was approximately between 19:00 and 20:00  . We used a three‐factor repeated measures ANOVA with time (dawn/day/dusk/night) and vegetation (low/high) as the fixed factors and burrow site as a random factor nested within vegetation and Tukey's post‐hoc test was used for pair‐wise comparisons. To do this, we converted number of images to images per hour to account for the different lengths of each period.To investigate patterns in daily activity we plotted the time 2.72 quadrat centred over each entrance were measured and the main entrance was identified, according to previous protocols.Two additional burrows were selected from the remaining eight of the 20 active burrows; one (burrow A) with four entrances and one (burrow B) with seven entrances. Reconyx cameras were set up at every burrow entrance in the same way as described previously. Width, height, opening, diameter and height (cm) of the mound, as well as percentage cover of vegetation in a 1 mActivity at burrow entrances was recorded at all entrances simultaneously for 4 days in early February 2015. Cameras were set to time lapse taking one picture per minute. One camera  malfunctioned, and that entrance was excluded from all analyses. We used correlations to test whether the level of activity at burrow entrances was associated with burrow size, minimum number of individuals using the system, overall activity and vegetation cover at each entrance.33.1F1,10 = 0.46; p = .52). There were at least one to six different individuals in each burrow during each survey period , or mid‐late summer  survey period. There was, however, a significant effect of time on the minimum number of lizards recorded per burrow , with more individuals detected in the second survey period , nor any time × vegetation density interaction  on the minimum number of individuals at the burrow.There was no difference in the number of entrances of burrow systems with low vegetation cover  and high vegetation cover  at a burrow. More individuals resulted in more records of activity. Subsequent analyses using either absolute measures of activity, or activity per individual ratjaku showed identical trends, so we only report absolute values here.The was no correlation between the number of entrances to the burrow system and the total number of recorded images with lizards at the main entrance. However, there was a positive relationship between the total number of images with ratjaku images or images of ratjaku inside or outside the burrow, however, the proportion of time ratjaku spent outside of the burrow was positively correlated with higher vegetation cover at the burrow site .There were no significant correlations between vegetation cover and the total number of 3.2tinka in Pitjantjatjara; Varanus gouldii; 30 visits across all burrows), followed by the mulgara  and woma python   was only detected twice and was the only introduced predator observed.Four predator species and several unidentified species were detected at the burrow entrances. The most common predator species observed was the sand goanna . The same predators were detected at low and high cover burrows, except the fox which was only detected at low cover burrows.Predators were recorded at every burrow expect for H3 and H5, two of the high cover burrows. Despite this, overall there was no significant correlation between the number of predator visits at low and high vegetation cover burrows  on the length or the number of active bouts  as an index of activity, ratjaku in burrow systems with low vegetation cover were more active, with this activity more obvious during the late active season. Average activity at burrows with high cover did not increase noticeably between the early and late active periods whereas activity at burrows with low cover was notably higher in the late active season  and outside images per hour  and the post‐hoc tests showed total images and outside images differed significantly between day (when ratjaku were least active) and dusk (when ratjaku were most active) . raTjaku were moderately active at dawn and night, but activity  was highly variable at these times and did not differ significantly from dusk or day  = 7.183, T (day/dusk) = 8.004, T (night/dusk) = 8.862, p < .05).Time of day significantly affected total images per hour , with most activity detected at entrances with less cover , the proportion of time spent outside was positively correlated with vegetation cover  was strongly negatively correlated with vegetation cover , approximately 350 km north of Uluru, based on predator scat contents and the volume of predator tracks near burrows , exhibit somewhat comparable behaviour, spending less time foraging and basking in burnt areas , when ratjaku appear to be most active and burrows are most visible due to accumulated activity over the active season. Activity commences in spring, around September or October, and in the Newhaven population mating activity has been recorded in September with females giving birth approximately 10 or 11 weeks later  appears to rely on direct line of sight to forage effectively from burrow entrances  and motion triggered settings for similar studies in the future, as this would provide further opportunity to record mammalian and avian predators that may be active in the vicinity of the burrows.Our study demonstrates the value of camera trapping for monitoring the activity of ratjaku use multiple entrances within a burrow system. Based on available information, we assumed that the main burrow entrance, identified by mound size and the proximity of the latrine (scat pile), would also be the most used entrance and therefore the most useful to monitor. However, in one of the two burrows where we monitored all available entrances, the skinks were more active at other entrances. These preliminary results suggest identifying a main entrance a priori for the purpose of monitoring ratjaku activity could be unreliable. The use of burrow entrances is likely dynamic through time and may vary among individuals and depending on what the ratjaku is doing. For example, Slater's skinks, also obligate burrow dwellers and closely related to ratjaku, spend most of their time basking at a preferred (main) entrance of their burrows and use other entrances, which‐ever is in closest proximity, when returning from feeding or if the preferred entrance becomes shaded ; data curation (lead); formal analysis (lead); investigation (lead); methodology ; project administration (supporting); writing – original draft (lead); writing – review and editing . Christine A. Schlesinger: Conceptualization ; formal analysis (supporting); methodology ; project administration (lead); supervision (lead); writing – original draft (supporting); writing – review and editing .There was no external funding for this research. The research was supported financially by Charles Darwin University, including Honours student funding allocation.The authors declare no conflict of interest.


Co, JCm, μCo, Jmax, JRo, JRm, and Jr. At the same time, the rheological parameters λC and λR increased. The GSF addition did not affect dough homogeneity as may be seen from EFLM analysis. Regarding the quality of the bread, it may be concluded that a maximum of 15% GSF addition in wheat flour had a desirable effect on loaf volume, porosity, elasticity, and sensory properties of the bread. The bread samples with GSF additions showed a higher brightness and a less pronounced red and yellow tint. When the percentage of GSF in wheat flour increased, the value of the firmness parameter increased and the value of the gumminess, cohesiveness, and resilience parameters decreased. The addition of GSF had a desirable influence on the crumb structure of the bread samples. Thus, taking into account the results of the determinations outlined above, it can be stated that GSF addition in wheat flour leads to bread samples with good quality characteristics.This study analyzes the possibility of using soybeans as an addition to the main ingredients used to make bread, with the aim of improving its quality characteristics. To maximize the nutritional profile of soybeans they were subjected to the germination and lyophilization process before being used in bread making. The addition levels of 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% germinated soybean flour (GSF) on dough rheology and bread quality were used. From the rheology point of view, the GSF addition had the effect of decreasing the values of the creep and recovery parameters: J In today’s society, consumers are concerned about adopting a balanced lifestyle by limiting the use of food additives of chemical origin  and usinIn the modern era, increasing interest is being awarded to the consumption of vegetables such as legumes . This isNutritionally, soybeans contain a high amount of protein, essential vitamins and minerals, complex carbohydrates, and dietary fiber . Soybean2 volume production, the volume of the gas retained in the dough at the end of the test, dough tenacity, maximum gelatinization temperatures, and viscoelastic moduli [Over time, soybeans have grown popular on the consumer’s plate as a functional ingredient in various recipes for the preparation of food, resulting in nutritional improvement. However, studies have also closely followed the impact of their incorporation on the qualitative value of food products and from other points of view, not just nutritionally speaking. In the bakery industry, several studies have been conducted on the use of soybean flour in wheat flour dough and its addition to the finished products. Most studies consider the use of using soybean derivatives as an addition in the bread formula, such as soy protein isolate , hydrolyc moduli .The present study focuses on valuing the implications of the addition of germinated soybean flour, obtained using the lyophilization process to decrease the moisture content of the sprouts, from the point of view of the dough rheology, microstructure, and the qualitative value of the wheat bread. To our knowledge, there are no detailed studies that consider the use of germinated soybean flour as an addition in the bread making recipe, considering both dough microstructure and rheology and also from the bread quality point of view. The present study is welcome considering the superior nutritional quality of soybeans and the advantages brought by their germination, technologically speaking.Saccharomyces cerevisiae type, sodium chloride salt, and water. The purchase of white wheat flour was made from the company S.C. Dizing S.R.L., which is located in Brusturi, Neamț, Romania. Germinated soybean flour (GSF) was obtained by subjecting soybeans (Glycine max L.) to the germination and lyophilization process under controlled conditions. The soybeans were germinated respecting some specific conditions. The temperature of the germination process was 25 °C. The humidity during the whole process was 80%. Germination took place over 4 days in exclusive conditions of darkness. The seed germination is described in detail in a separate paper of ours [To conduct the present experimental study, the following materials were used: white wheat flour (type 650), germinated soybean flour, compressed yeast  of ours . At the To highlight the specific properties of the flours used and the bread chemical composition, the following determinations were made, taking into account the ICC standard methods : ash conTo highlight the impact of GSF supplementation on dough rheology, creep and recovery tests were undertaken. The two tests were performed using the HAAKE MARS 40 rheometer  at a temperature of 25 °C. A non-serrated parallel plate geometry was used. The diameter was 40 mm and the gap width was 2 mm. For preparation of the dough samples we took into account the optimum dough water absorption, which was determined with an Alveo Consistograph device. The dough samples did not contain yeast. The prepared samples were placed between the rheometer plates and were rested for 5 min. The determinations were performed in the range of linear viscoelasticity at constant stress of 50 Pa in a frequency sweep from 1 to 20 Hz. The creep and recovery tests had a time of 60 s and 120 s, respectively .The changes in the dough microstructure due to the addition of GSF were highlighted performing specific determinations. These were made with the help of a Motic AE 31 , which was equipped with LWD PH 203 catadioptric objectives (N.A. 0.4). For these determinations, after preparing the samples and considering the method detailed in our previous study , a doughSaccharomyces cerevisiae leavening agent (compressed yeast), and water, depending the optimum value of water absorption capacity of flour mixes (white wheat flour and germinated soybean flour). The amounts of water used were: 54.3% for control sample, 54.0% for GSF_5, 53.7% for GSF_10, 53.4% for GSF_15, and 52.5% for GSF_20. After dosing the ingredients, these were mixed for 15 min using a KitchenAid mixer. The samples of dough at 400 g each were then obtained, and these were fermented in a chamber for fermentation. The parameters for fermentation of the samples were: time of 60 min, relative humidity of 85%, and temperature of 30 °C. We used an electrical bakery oven with convection  to bake the samples, which was equipped with steam production, ventilation, and humidification systems. The baking parameters of the bread samples were: temperature of 220 °C and time of 30 min. During the first and last 2 min of baking, we used the steam system with which the oven was equipped [The process of bread making followed the main technological stages: proportioning of the raw materials, mixing them, division of the dough, fermenting it, and baking the samples. The ingredients used were: white wheat flour (type 650), GSF , 1.5% salt (NaCl), 3% equipped .For the determination of the specific volume of the bread samples we used the rapeseed displacement method (AACC Method 10–05.01) . In ordeL*), shade of blue/yellow (b*), and shade of red/green (a*) were determined. The calibration of the colorimeter was achieved by scanning the standard white surface calibration plate . For this, the standard illuminant D65 (working at daylight) and a 0° viewing angle was used. The determinations were made in the field of UV-VIS based on the CIE Lab* color system [We used a colorimeter to highlight the changes in the color of the bread crust and crumb after the addition of GSF . For this purpose, the darkness/brightness  was used. We cut 50 mm high slices from the bread for analysis. The texturometer was equipped with a 10-kg load cell. The slices of bread were compressed twice, up to 20% of their initial height. The trigger force used was 5 g, the speed was 1.0 mm/s, and the recovery period between compressions was 15 s .2 were considered because the human eye can perceive particles of approximately 0.1 mm [To observe the crumb structure of the bread, the Motic SMZ-140 stereo microscope  was used with a 20× objective . The imay 0.1 mm .For the organoleptic analysis test of the bread by the tasters participating in the tasting session, we used a 9-point hedonic scale from 1 to 9 . Twenty semi-trained individuals participated in the organoleptic analysis test by tasting the samples. The sensory analysis methodology used in this study was approved by the Bioethics Committee of our faculty department. The individuals who participated in this study were informed of the aims, protocols, and methodology of the study and gave their consent to participate.The statistical package for social science  was used for the statistical processing of the data. This package helped to establish the statistical significance of the data. All data were expressed as the mean ± standard deviation. A 1-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Tukey’s test were used at a level of 5% of significant differences .The characteristic properties for the basic ingredient, white wheat flour, were: 14.6% moisture, 12.3% protein, 0.66% ash content, 1.12% fat, and 30.4% wet gluten. The wheat flour also had a gluten deformation index of 3 mm and a falling number index of 356 s. Therefore, the wheat flour used in this study was of a strong quality for bread making and presents low α-amylase activity . Germina2 > 0.97) to the Burger’s model. As it may be seen from In the case of the creep phase, it was noticed that the data for creep compliance were well adjusted  due to supplementation with GSF in wheat flour. The parameter λC, retardation time, increased slightly. The values for creep compliance  registered a decreasing trend as the addition level of GSF in wheat flour increased. Furthermore, the µCo parameter, zero shear viscosity, decreased as the level of GSF addition in wheat flour increased [ncreased .Ro), retarded elastic compliance evaluated where dough recovery reached equilibrium (JRm), and recovery compliance evaluated where dough recovery reached equilibrium (Jr) decreased significantly (p < 0.05) as the proportion of GSF in wheat flour increased. In the case of the parameter of mean retardation time of recovery phases, λR, the GSF addition into the dough recipe increased significantly (p < 0.05). The Jr/Jmax ratio registered a slight increase in the case of the supplementation with 5% and 10% GSF and in the case of a GSF addition of 15% and 20%, respectively, and its value was lower compared with the control value.Regarding the recovery test, it can be observed that the parameters of instantaneous compliance . It presents the advantage to observe the changes that occur between dough compounds of a non-deformed sample, allowing for the selective staining of dough compounds. Although the magnification of the light microscopy is modest compared to scanning electron microscopy, it spans the most useful range for food products . Epifluop < 0.05) in the specific volume of the bread. At an addition of 20% GSF in the bread recipe, the loaf volume of the bread samples was lower than that of the sample without GSF addition. The same trend was observed in the case of the elasticity and porosity parameters. Thus, it can be noticed that these parameters improved in a significant manner (p < 0.05) in the case of the GSF additions of 5%, 10%, and 15%. Conversely, at a 20% GSF supplementation in wheat flour, the porosity and elasticity decreased.L* parameter significantly reduced (p < 0.05) in the case of the samples with GSF additions, which indicates that both the bread crumb and crust were darker in the the bread with GSF supplementation. The values of the a* parameter were significantly higher (p < 0.05) for the samples with GSF additions. This shows that the addition of GSF coincided with samples with a redder hue. Furthermore, the values of the parameter b* increased significantly (p < 0.05) as the level of GSF increased. Higher values of the parameter b* indicate a more intense yellow tint.p < 0.05) as the proportion of GSF in the bread recipe increased. At the maximum supplementation of 20% GSF in wheat flour, the value of firmness parameter exceeded twice the value in the control sample. The other textural parameters, gumminess, cohesiveness, and resilience, decreased significantly (p < 0.05) due to the addition of GSF.According to p < 0.05) lower pore density. Pore circularity did not change much. In contrast, the cell area fraction was influenced differently depending on the percentage of GSF addition in wheat flour.Compared with the control sample, the samples with the addition of GSF in wheat flour were characterized by a significantly (According to p < 0.05) the protein, fat, ash, and carbohydrate content of the bread. This may be explained by the fact that germinated soybean flour contains a higher amount of protein, ash, fat, and a lower amount of carbohydrates than white wheat flour.Co and JCm parameters decreased as the proportion of GSF supplementation in wheat flour increased, which shows that the dough resistance to deformation was improved [C (retardation time) indicates that a longer time was required for the viscoelastic deformation of the dough to occur [Co were recorded when the percentage of the GSF addition increased [max parameter values with increasing GSF addition levels indicates that dough deformation occurred more slowly [The values of the Jimproved . The datimproved ,40. Thisimproved . Increasto occur . Struck to occur  pointed ncreased . A decree slowly ,45, i.e.R. Increasing the value of the Jr/Jmax ratio means a correction of the elastic properties of the dough which was obtained for the samples with 5% and 10% GSF supplementation in wheat flour. In contrast, at 15% and 20% GSF additions, the value of the ratio was lower than that of the control. This indicates a decrease in dough elasticity.The instantaneous compliance of recovery phases decreased due to the GSF addition in wheat flour, which means that the elasticity of the dough decreased. This occurs because the amount of gluten in the dough matrix decreased, as it was replaced by the constituents from the GSF flour used as an addition . The decAccording to the EFLM images, the dough sample from 2 and, implicitly, a higher volume of the bread. The data from this study are in agreement with other studies in the field. For example, Heberle et al. [p < 0.05) than those for the samples without GSF addition, which means that a supplementation with high proportions of GSF resulted in a decrease in the dough capacity in retaining CO2 in the dough network because of the weakening process of the gluten matrix [The positive influence on the specific loaf volume of the bread samples due to the GSF addition in wheat flour may be due to the fact that while germination takes place, there is an increase in fermentable sugars due to the action of amylases on starch . Dextrine et al.  highlighe et al.  concludee et al. . The impe et al. . The fine et al. . Differee et al. . At an an matrix .p < 0.05) up to a proportion of 15% GSF supplementation in wheat flour. At 20% GSF addition, the porosity was significantly lower (p < 0.05) in comparison with the control without GSF addition. The influence of the bread porosity due to supplementation with GSF is explained by the fact that it increased the capacity of the dough network to produce CO2, but also to retain it in the dough system. According to our previous study, GSF addition in dough recipes leads to a significant decrease in the falling number value [Regarding the porosity of the bread crumb, supplementation with GSF caused a significant improvement in bread porosity  following the addition of 5%, 10%, and 15% germinated soybean flour in the bread recipe. The improvement in the elasticity of the crumb may be due to the α-amylase enzyme, whose activation occurs due to germination and has a positive effect on this bread quality parameter. High crumb elasticity was associated by consumers with high quality bread. The fact that enzymes generally improve bread elasticity has also been discussed in numerous other studies [2 in the dough system. Furthermore, other enzymes, such as xylanases, influence the elasticity of the gluten network and improve the quality of bread [According to our data, crumb elasticity improved in a significant manner  in the L* parameter for the crust and the crumb produced darker bread samples as the GSF proportion of addition in wheat flour increased. This occurs due to the increase in the amount of reducing sugars and amino acids due to germination, compounds that intensify the Maillard reactions that occur during the bread baking stage [p < 0.01) in the L* (brightness) index, both in the case of the crust and the bread crumb. Millar et al. [The significant decrease  in the a* parameter for the bread crumb and also for the bread crust. This indicates that the GSF incorporation resulted in an increase in the red tint of the bread samples. The intensification of the red coloration can be correlated with the Maillard and browning reactions that took place during the baking stage. At the same time, the GSF addition led to bread samples with significantly higher values (p < 0.05) of the b* parameter, which indicates an intensification of yellow coloration. The explanation behind this may be the presence of yellow pigments from the soybean compounds [The incorporation of GSF in white wheat bread recipes coincided with a significant increase (ompounds .p < 0.05) in the firmness parameter of the bread as the proportion of the GSF incorporation in wheat flour increased can be assigned to the high amount of soluble dietary fibers in GSF [The growth in a significant manner  by the addition of GSF in wheat flour. At a maximum level of 20% GSF addition in wheat flour, the proteins increased by 3.85% as the germinated soybean flour contains 27.9% more proteins than white wheat flour. Furthermore, the amount of fat increased significantly (p < 0.05) due to the GSF addition, i.e., by 2.52%, in the case of the maximum level of GSF incorporated in the bread recipe. This is explainable as germinated soybean flour contains 16.78% more fat. The amount of ash increased significantly (p < 0.05), being 0.55% higher in bread samples with 20% GSF. Conversely, the amount of carbohydrates decreased significantly (p < 0.05) by 7.01% in bread samples with 20% GSF. This may be due to the fact that the amount of refined wheat flour with a high starch content used in bread recipes decreased, and the amount of germinated soybean flour increased, which contains a lower amount of carbohydrates. Regarding the increase in the amount of protein, fat, and ash and the decrease in the amount of carbohydrates, similar results were recorded in a study that we carried out previously, in which we analyzed the influence of adding germinated bean flour to wheat flour on the bread quality [The nutritional value of the bread samples was significantly influenced  and higher values for the parameters a* (shade of red) and b* (shade of yellow), both from the point of view of the crust and bread crumb. The bread with the GSF addition was highlighted by a more pronounced firmness but had a lower gumminess, cohesiveness, and resilience values. The addition of GSF led to bread samples with a crumb structure characterized by smaller pores that were more evenly distributed. The panelists appreciated the bread sample with 15% GSF addition the most. The bread compositional values indicate a significant increase in protein, fat, and ash by GSF addition to the bread recipe. Taking into account the data presented above, it can be deduced that germinated soybean flour can be used as an incorporation in bread recipes to produce bakery products with an improved quality.GSF incorporation in wheat flour had a positive impact on the dough rheology and on bread quality properties. In terms of rheology, the addition of germinated soybean flour coincided with a decrease in the value of the parameters of instantaneous compliance of creep phases, retarded elastic compliance of creep phases, zero shear viscosity, maximum creep compliance obtained at the end of the creep test, instantaneous compliance of recovery phases, and retarded elastic compliance or viscoelastic compliance of recovery phases. This indicates the fact that the GSF addition improved the ability of the dough to resist to deformation. Furthermore, the elastic properties of the dough were improved when low proportions of GSF were added to the dough and decreased when 15% and 20% GSF were added to wheat flour. The dough microstructure obtained by EFLM indicated an increase in the amount of protein due to GSF addition. The specific volume, porosity, and elasticity of the bread with a maximum of 15% GSF incorporation were improved. The bread samples with GSF incorporation recorded lower values of the parameter


The current commentary is a plea to social and sustainability scientists, particularly to economists dealing with sustainable agri-food systems, to dig deeper into the notion of narratives to trigger societal dynamics that stir consumers toward more sufficient lifestyles. As dominant cultural narratives have a critical role in shaping shared meanings and acceptable behaviors, in the future they could guide dramatic changes in individuals’ conduct, triggering drastic modifications of current consumption patterns. Based on the power that concepts as the Circular Economy and the Anthropocene have had in the recent past, a future step to develop an ecological worldview across society, and nourish individual identities deeply committed with the preservation of natural ecosystems, is working on narratives based on the notion of human-nature interdependence Great Reset initiative https://www.weforum.org/great-reset/).The world is living an unprecedented and remarkable upheaval. The economic recession due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the energy crisis produced by the Russo-Ukrainian war have shown the fragility of global industries and supply chains. Besides rocking the assumption of limitless economic growth, these shocks are bringing out our dependence on constant and reliable flows of products and services, and the dramatic consequences of sudden interruptions of their supply. However, the socio-technical interpretation of current events may lead to consider this crisis as a window of opportunity , “Since the level of consumption determines total impacts, affluence needs to be addressed by reducing consumption, not just greening it”. It is no accident that a burgeoning area of scientific literature advocates a viewpoint for which sustainability goals should be pursued targeting a shift toward sufficiency, which focus on reducing absolute demand by redirecting consumption choices toward what is “enough” to satisfy human needs . These functions give people the opportunity to shape their identity and social personhood in line with a clear and organized cultural landscape, thus offering guidelines on how one should behave in each situation. By this logic, the relevance of effective sustainability narratives to change consumption behavior is that they would prepare people to make everyday choices in harmony with a certain “sustainability script”: doing differently would essentially violate their sense of being.Drawing from this argument, we make a plea to social and sustainability scientists to dig deeper into the notion of https://www.iass-potsdam.de/en/research/global-sustainability-strategy-forum)—a group of active sustainability experts—has recently recommended scientist, business, politics, and civil society to engage in the co-creation of narratives able to actually induce transformations toward sustainability.While recently the term “narrative” has entered international food policy agendas HLPE , scientiOne of the most pressing issues on this topic is identifying visionary narratives able to act as catalyst of sustainable individual behaviors, and even revert overconsumption. If the engagement in narratives co-creation started, identifying—and then generating—conditions conducive of transformative social change is not straightforward. What visionary narrative can effectively act as catalyst of sustainable individual behaviors, and even revert overconsumption? This commentary seeks to contribute to this debate making a plea for the development of narratives evoking human-nature interdependence.Coupled Human And Natural Systems (CHANS) . These groups share “visionary imaginaries of an ecological-oriented system framing which emphasizes environmental ethics, natural conservation and technology use to facilitate simple living” . Therefore, their ecotopian solutions aim to transitioning “toward greater social–ecological integrity through creating living spaces outside of conventional, state-led governance and support of narrative aligned belief systems and practices” .In line with Milkoreit and colleagues , we posii.e., microeconomic responses such as the rebound effect  narrative to a new scrutiny. With more than 18,000 records on Scopus and an annual average growth rate of published articles of about 33% in the last 10 years, CE has become the vehicle of meaning and purpose of much of present sustainability research effort. Some authors have criticized the CE concept for being vague and unorganized (Korhonen et al. Agri-food systems are remarkably fit to convey such kind of CE and human-nature interdependence narratives. Røpke , p. 2495The following scheme summarizes the content of this commentary. As behavioral approaches seem to have failed to date the goal to revert overconsumption, visionary sustainability narratives reconceptualizing humans as part of nature are needed. These narratives should guide interpretation and agency across complex socio-ecological systems, giving cultural and emotional resonance to individuals’ choices harming or preserving the environment. Interiorizing human-nature interdependence and coevolution in a coherent collection of assumptions to think about the world is the way toward an ecological worldview shaping decisions across society. This worldview would de-legitimize and de-normalize unsustainable consumption choices, potentially leading to more sufficient lifestyles.The socio-ecological challenges of the twenty-first century have found us unprepared. Current hegemonic sustainability discourses promise technical, organizational, and managerial solutions, optimistically assuming them as a panacea to deal with natural resource scarcity while driving economic growth in the next decades. More realistically, long-term sustainability goals will be achieved through dramatic changes in individuals’ behavior, entailing drastic modifications of current consumption patterns. A narrative approach may be the pathway to pursue such ambitious transformations. Based on the power that concepts as the Circular Economy and the Anthropocene have had in the recent past, a future step for sustainability scientists is working on narratives revolving around the notion of human-nature interdependence. The ambition is to nourish social identities deeply committed with the preservation of natural ecosystems, for which sufficient consumption may be the new normal.


Chirality or handedness of a material can be used as an order parameter to uncover the emergent electronic properties for quantum information science. Conventionally, chirality is found in naturally occurring biomolecules and magnetic materials. Chirality can be engineered in a topological polar vortex ferroelectric/dielectric system via atomic-scale symmetry-breaking operations. We use four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D-STEM) to map out the topology-driven three-dimensional domain walls, where the handedness of two neighbor topological domains change or remain the same. The nature of the domain walls is governed by the interplay of the local perpendicular  and parallel  polarization with respect to the tubular vortex structures. Unique symmetry-breaking operations and the finite nature of domain walls result in a triple point formation at the junction of chiral and achiral domain walls. The unconventional nature of the domain walls with triple point pairs may result in unique electrostatic and magnetic properties potentially useful for quantum sensing applications. 3/PbTiO3 superlattices can lead to the formation of the chiral and achiral domain walls, and subsequently the triple point topologies.The authors investigate how the disorder and the interplay of lateral and axial polarization of the polar vortex topology in SrTiO The symmetries in a chiral system are configured in such a way that its mirror image cannot be superimposed on itself, manifesting a handedness to the system as exemplified by screws and our own hands. Chirality also exists at the microscale/nanoscale level in inorganic and organic materials such as liquid crystals4, spin textures in ferromagnets6, amino acids, and D/L-glucose molecules1 with applications in spin selectivity-based quantum sensing7, non-linear optics8, and biosensing applications9. However, there are very a few examples of chiral inorganic ferroelectric crystals which could have fundamentally different domain textures13. Over the past few years, novel polarization textures in ferroelectrics such as merons14, polar flux-closure domains16, vortices17, bubble domains19, antivortex20, three-fold polar vertices21, super crystals23 and skyrmions24 have been engineered in oxide superlattices, emerging from the careful interplay of elastic, electrostatic and gradient energies of electric dipoles. The electric dipole arrangement and complex orbital hybridization in these systems have been probed by the X-ray scattering techniques25, scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM)17-electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS)26, phase-field simulations22 and atomistic first- and second-principles calculations25. Surprisingly, the presence of chirality has been observed in one such topological texture i.e., polar vortices in PbTiO3/SrTiO3 (PTO/STO) superlattices from resonant soft X-ray scattering (RXS)25, second harmonic generation (SHG) and second principles calculations27. The presence of chirality in polar vortices is an emergent phenomenon because none of the parent compounds such as STO or PTO are known to be chiral. It has been recently shown experimentally and theoretically that the presence of chirality in this system might be due to different sources. First factor, the strongest one, is the coexistence of vortices with an axial component of the polarization, perpendicular to the vortex plane28. The second factor is the buckling of the vortices  combined with different sizes of the up and down domains results in a chiral structure, although its strength is smaller in comparison to the first scenario. This last source of chirality can be reversed by the external electric fields. The first experimental demonstration was in refs. 29, where the chirality switches in a reversible, deterministic, and non-destructive fashion over mesoscale regions27.Chirality is a unique topological feature that drives many-body interactions in naturally occurring organic molecules and proteinsWithout any prior knowledge, one would expect the as-grown sample as a racemic mixture, i.e., equal amounts of left-handed and right-handed domain enantiomers, where the chirality within each domain comes from a combination of the two sources described above. To have a non-destructive switchable chirality, it is essential to understand the role of the domain walls separating the enantiomers. In other words, what local physical parameters play a role when the handedness in the neighboring domains change? This includes the offset between the centers of the core, the axial component at the centers of the clockwise/counterclockwise vortex, the sense of rotation of the vortices when they merge at the domain wall, the presence of dislocations, or the combined effect of all of them. A proper understanding of how the left/right-handed domains evolve at the nanoscale is crucial to design the new electrically switchable chiral devices that can be measured without scientifically sophisticated techniques. Indeed, a proper answer to this question will pave the way for the use of these chiral textures in next-generation technologies.32. This makes 4D-STEM a unique tool to probe polarization in three dimensions and understand emergent chirality in polarization vortices. In the current work, we have used 4D-STEM to probe three-dimensional domain walls in polar vortices in oxide superlattices and understand the nanoscale nature of chirality. We find that both achiral and chiral domain walls coexist in the same system. The chiral to achiral domain wall transition is driven by the change in the local axial and lateral polarization direction across the domain wall. We have discovered a new pair of triple points with the opposite/same sense of rotation at the junction of achiral and chiral domain walls. Finally, we unravel all the possible configurations of chiral and achiral domain walls in this system through different symmetry-breaking operations.Four-dimensional (4D)-STEM can precisely measure strain, and thus spontaneous polarization in ferroelectrics due to the violation of Friedel’s Law16/(PTO)16/(STO)16 were grown on orthorhombic DyScO3 (DSO) [110]o substrates with SrRuO3 as a buffer layer using reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED)-assisted pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) 30, merons33, and skyrmions24 than in other polarization textures such as flux closure domains16 where the curl vanished in the central regions with 1800 domain walls. In addition, we observe that the cores of the polarization curls (indicated as blue/red contrast) are not located exactly at the center of the PTO layer, but follow a zig-zag type pattern, giving rise to a net in-plane polarization rotation along [001]o  indicated as Px in Fig. 27.A direct way to measure the polar textures in vortex topologies is through electron microscopy using atomic resolution images. We have used different types of STEM and TEM techniques to characterize the exact positions of the vortex centers. Figure o, result in different types of domains walls at the mesoscale. We can visualize the mesoscale domain walls in these topological structures by imaging the vortices along the [110]o zone axis using weak beam dark field (WBDF) TEM  where polarization is suppressed under large tetragonality36. The (hkl) Friedel pairs were chosen along [001]o and o) and the axial 27.The various permutations and combinations of atomic scale symmetry-breaking operations such as, a non-zero curl of polarization together with the presence of an axial component, and the buckling of the vortices that yield a non-zero polarization component along [001]TEM Fig. . We can TEM Fig. . Unfortuxis Fig. . We usedα-domain wall (magenta line) where the lateral polarization shifts whereas the axial polarization remains the same, as shown in Fig. β-domain wall (green line), where the axial polarization shifts, but the lateral polarization remains the same. Finally, in Fig. γ-domain wall (black line) as well where both the lateral and the axial polarization shift. We verified this observation with the average line profiles across the domain walls  handedness can be associated with positive (negative) values of H. Assuming a vortex structure where the polarization lines in the plane defined by the vortices are closed, and that we can measure the axial and the lateral components of the polarization at the topmost PTO layer, then the previous equation can be estimated bylateral and paxial are polarization along lateral and axial directions  break the inversion symmetry across α, β or γ domains, we form a triple point pair with the opposite sense of rotation. If the inversion symmetry across α, β or γ domains is not broken, we form triple point pairs with the same sense of rotation. The origin of triple point pairs can be understood by the following hypothesis. Consider an example of the first triple point pair in Fig. β boundary would infinitely separate the positive and negative chirality regions. If β boundary is not infinite, then it has to meet an α boundary somewhere to continue separating the positive and negative chirality regions. Now, if a β boundary  meets an α boundary , a γ boundary appears . In such a scenario, we get another triple point in the vicinity of the first triple point thus explaining the origins behind the existance of pairs for the majority of cases. α/β boundary could be isolated only in very special circumstances when they are born/die at the surface or they are infinitely long.Whenever a pair of domain walls  Change in the lateral polarization direction, (2) Change in axial polarization direction, and (3) Change in the net lateral polarization due to the vortex core shifting away from the center. If we consider all three factors, then we expect to have six types of domain walls as shown in Fig. 39. The finite nature of the chiral and the achiral domain walls result in the formation of unique triple points whenever these domain walls intersect. The most probable existence of these points is in pairs with the same/different handedness, similar to multiferroic materials such as barium hexaferrite42 and BiFeO340. To our best understanding, such an unconventional scenario has not been seen yet in improper ferroics literature. We hope that our studies could inspire future experiments to understand the electronic and the magnetic transport at these triple points within the network of chiral and achiral domain walls in polar vortices oxide superlattices.We have unraveled the nanoscale three-dimensional domain wall network in topological polar vortices using quantitative 4D-STEM techniques. The polar vortex oxide superlattice has an emergent chirality through different symmetry-breaking operations in the non-zero curl of polarization along with the alternate axial polarization component and vortex buckling-induced net-in plane lateral polarization component. The interplay of these symmetry-breaking operations result in the formation of two types of chiral and an achiral domain wall within the tubular vortex topologies. Topology-driven domain wall existence in our work is unusual in comparison to other electrostatic conditions-driven domain walls in the ferroic materials16/(STO)16] trilayer with SrRuO3 buffer layer was synthesized on single-crystalline DyScO3 (011) substrates via reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED)-assisted pulsed-laser deposition (KrF laser). The PTO and the STO layers were grown at 610 °C in 100 mTorr oxygen pressure.[(PTO)16/(STO)16] trilayer grown on SrRuO3/DyScO3 substrate were mechanically polished using a 0.5° wedge in Allied Multiprep. The samples were subsequently Ar ion milled in a Gatan Precision Ion Milling System, starting from 3.5 keV at 4° down to 1 keV at 1° for the final polish. The HAADF-STEM images were acquired using double aberration corrected TEAM I microscope operated at 300 kV under non-monochromated mode.In-plane 0 and [110]0. The deviation in local A-displacement was found by taking the difference between the local A site displacement and the corresponding average displacement in the local zone axis plane. The displacement vectors were further interpolated into a grid Cartesian grid and then differentiated to obtain strain tensor maps. The infinestimal rotation or the curl of the displacement of vortices was calculated using the following equation:The vector mapping was performed via Gaussian fitting of A site atomic positions on the drift-corrected HR-STEM imagesThe color bar in the curl of displacement plot is plotted with respect to the mean intensities in the PTO layer.All 4D STEM experiments were carried out on TEAM I microscope (aberration-corrected Thermo Fisher Scientific Titan 80-300) using a Gatan K3 direct detection camera located at the end of a Gatan Continuum imaging filter. The microscope was operated at 300 kV with a probe current of 100 pA. The probe semi-angle used for the measurement was 2 mrad. Diffraction patterns were collected using a step size of 1 nm with 514 by 399 scan positions. The K3 camera was used in full-frame electron counting mode with a binning of 4 pixels by 4 pixels and a camera length of 1.05 mm. The exposure time for each diffraction pattern was 47 ms. The 4D STEM analysis was carried out using the py4DSTEM modules. Briefly, rotation calibration was performed between the diffraction and image plane to identify the right orientation of the zone axis. For that process, the defocused image in the Ronchigram was compared to the focused scan image and the relative orientation of the two images was compared. Once the zone axis was identified, all the disks in the diffraction pattern at each probe position were fitted using the disk fitting function. The so-called polarization maps were generated by taking the normalized intensity difference between the opposite Friedel pair disks. Subsequently, the signal-to-noise in these polarization maps was improved by using a combination of band pass Gaussian filters. By using a high-pass Gaussian filter, we also minimized the dominating thickness contrast.Supplementary InformationPeer Review File


Ruthenium (Ru) is a refractory metal that has applications in the semiconductor industry as a sputtering target material. However, conventional powder metallurgy methods cannot produce dense and fine-grained Ru targets with preferred orientation. Here, we present a novel method of hot-pressing deformation to fabricate Ru targets with high relative density (98.8%), small grain size (~4.4 μm) and strong (002) texture. We demonstrate that applying pressures of 30–40 MPa at 1400 °C transforms cylindrical Ru samples into disk-shaped targets with nearly full densification in the central region. We also show that the hardness and the (002)/(101) peak intensity ratio of the targets increase with the pressure, indicating enhanced mechanical and crystallographic properties. Our study reveals the mechanisms of densification and texture formation of Ru targets by hot-pressing deformation. Ruthenium thin films are widely used in applications such as integrated circuits and magnetic recording materials ,2,3,4,5.The achievement of high density while having a fine microstructure in sintered refractory metals, such as Ruthenium (Ru), poses a formidable challenge because of the high temperature of sintering and the trouble in distinguishing between densification and the kinetics of grain growth ,9,10,11.Refractory metal targets are commonly produced using powder metallurgy techniques. This manufacturing process can be categorized into two methods: “top-down” and “bottom-up” ,10,11,13Ruthenium, a brittle and hard-to-work metal, presents challenges in achieving high density through severe plastic deformation ,23,24. AIn this work, we adopt a new method to fabricate fine-grained and textured ruthenium targets, by applying hot-pressing deformation. This technique transformed cylindrical pre-sintered ruthenium bodies into disk-shaped targets with near-full densification in the central region. The targets’ density, hardness and (002) orientation increased with the deformation pressures. We achieved ruthenium targets with high relative density (98.8%), a small grain size (~4.4 μm) and strong (002) grain preferential orientation by hot-pressing deformation.−2 Pa for 0.5 h in a graphite mold, which had an inner diameter of 15 mm. The Ru targets were subsequently ground and polished for performance analysis. The preparation process of the Ru target is illustrated in The fabrication of ruthenium (Ru) targets was carried out using commercially available Ru powder  as the starting powder. The Ru powder was subjected to cold isostatic pressing (CIP) at a pressure of 250 MPa in a 6 mm diameter polyurethane mold. This process led to the formation of green bodies. These green bodies were pre-sintered at a temperature of 1100 °C for 0.5 h under a hydrogen atmosphere. Eventually, the Ru targets were obtained by hot press sintering the pre-sintered bodies at pressures of 5, 10, 20, 30 and 40 MPa and a temperature of 1400 °C, under a vacuum of 10The microstructure and morphology of Ruthenium (Ru) targets were analyzed using a field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), specifically Model JSM-7001F by Oxford Instruments HKL , operated at 15 kV. The Ru specimens were prepared following the standard metallographic sample preparation procedures. The corrosive liquid employed was a sodium hypochlorite solution. The phase composition of the Ru powder and targets was analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) using a Panalytical PW 3040/60  with nickel-filtered Cu Kα radiation and 40 kV and 200 mA operating conditions. The scanning range of 2θ is 30°–90° with a speed of 10° per minute. The density of the Ru targets was measured at room temperature using the Archimedes immersion method.The graphite mold used for hot-pressing deformation had an inner diameter of 15 mm, which was significantly larger than the diameter of the pre-sintered bodies. Therefore, during the hot-pressing sintering, deformation occurred under the applied hot-pressing pressure, due to the large difference between the sample diameter and the inside diameter of graphite mold. Hot-pressing deformation further densified the sample as a result of the simultaneous occurring of sintering and deformation. The resultant Ru target had a disk-like shape and showed a unique metallic luster due to high densification. When the hot-pressing pressure was increased from 5 MPa to 40 Mpa, the diameter of Ru target increased from 8.45 mm to 9.08 mm, while the height of Ru target declined from 1.04 mm to 0.76 mm. In addition, compared with the pre-sintered body, the diameter of the Ru target, deformed by hot pressing at 40 MPa, increased by 90%, while the height decreased by 80% .The relative density of samples significantly changed with the change in appearance, diameter and height. −2 Pa in a graphite mold for 0.5 h, with the hot-pressing pressure ranging from 5 MPa to 40 MPa. The high temperature of 1400 °C provides strong sintering driven force, while the pressure provides the deformation force to drive plastic deformation. The advantages of deformation include improving densification and grain refinement.Ruthenium is a refractory metal that is known for its high brittleness and poor workability, which makes it challenging to achieve full density by conventional powder metallurgy and severe plastic deformation (SPD) techniques ,23,24. HThe microstructure of the edge of Ru targets that underwent hot-pressing deformation at 5–40 MPa is presented in During the hot-pressing deformation process, cylindrical samples underwent a transformation from a cylindrical shape to a disk shape due to a decrease in height and an increase in diameter. This transformation resulted in the formation of distinct microstructures between the central and edge regions. The microstructure of the central region of Ru targets following hot-pressing deformation at 5–40 MPa is depicted in Hot-pressing deformation is a reliable technique for preventing rapid grain growth and achieving a refined microstructure. Based on the results presented above, it is evident that hot-pressing deformation at pressures exceeding 30 MPa is a highly effective method for achieving dense Ru targets with a fine-grained microstructure. The Ru targets that undergo hot-pressing deformation at pressures above 30 MPa achieve a density of over 97% and fine grains of around 4.4 μm with a nearly fully dense central microstructure. These results provide valuable insights into the densification and grain refinement of Ru targets.The effect of hot-pressing deformation pressures on the hardness of Ru targets was investigated. Textured microstructures can be induced in Ru targets by hot-pressing deformation, which cannot be achieved by conventional powder metallurgy. The crystal structure of Ru targets remained unaffected by hot-pressing deformation, retaining the hexagonal structure (PDF#06-0663). However, Ru targets after hot-pressing deformation at 5–40 MPa exhibited a similar texture. The relative peak intensities were strongly affected by the hot-pressing deformation pressures, with the 002)/(101) peak intensity ratios significantly increasing with the increase in hot-pressing deformation pressures . This re/(101) peFine-grained, highly dense and (002) textured Ru targets were fabricated by hot-pressing deformation at pressures above 30 MPa. The average grain size and relative density of the Ru targets were about 4.4 μm and over 97%, respectively. A nearly fully dense microstructure was observed in the central region of the targets. The hardness of the targets increased with the hot-pressing deformation pressure, reaching 553 HV and 571 HV at 30 MPa and 40 MPa, respectively. The (002) texture of the targets also enhanced with the hot-pressing deformation pressure, with a maximum (002)/(101) peak intensity ratio of 1.91 at 40 MPa. This study revealed new insights into the densification and texture formation of Ru targets and other refractory metals.


Protein-based foods based on sweet lupine are gaining the attention of industry and consumers on account of their being one of the legumes with the highest content of proteins (28–48%). Our objective was to study the thermal properties of two lupine flours (Misak and Rumbo) and the influence of different amounts of lupine flour  incorporations on the hydration and rheological properties of dough and bread quality. The thermograms of both lupine flours showed three peaks at 77–78 °C, 88–89 °C and 104–105 °C, corresponding to 2S, 7S and 11S globulins, respectively. For Misak flour, higher energy was needed to denature proteins in contrast to Rumbo flour, which may be due to its higher protein amount (50.7% vs. 34.2%). The water absorption of dough with 10% lupine flour was lower than the control, while higher values were obtained for dough with 20% and 30% lupine flour. In contrast, the hardness and adhesiveness of the dough were higher with 10 and 20% lupine flour, but for 30%, these values were lower than the control. However, no differences were observed for G′, G″ and tan δ parameters between dough. In breads, the protein content increased ~46% with the maximum level of lupine flour, from 7.27% in wheat bread to 13.55% in bread with 30% Rumbo flour. Analyzing texture parameters, the chewiness and firmness increased with incorporations of lupine flour with respect to the control sample while the elasticity decreased, and no differences were observed for specific volume. It can be concluded that breads of good technological quality and high protein content could be obtained by the inclusion of lupine flours in wheat flour. Therefore, our study highlights the great technological aptitude and the high nutritional value of lupine flours as ingredients for the breadmaking food industry. Lupinus albus L.) is a legume native to the Mediterranean region and North Africa [The white lupine   suitableLupinus albus L.) flour from the Portuguese cultivar, Misak, and the cultivar from Chile, Rumbo, were used.White lupine  in distiller water prepared 24 h before analysis was placed into aluminum capsules which were hermetically sealed and subjected to one heating cycle. Suspensions were heated from 5 °C to 140 °C at a rate of 5 °C/min [The thermal properties of the lupine flours (Misak and Rumbo) were determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) using a Q100 equipment . About 15 mg of flour suspension  of lupine Misak  or Rumbo  were prepared. A wheat sample without lupine flour was included as control (C) in both cases. Moreover, 2% of NaCl was added.Water absorption (Wabs), development time (td), stability (St) and softening degree (SD) of the different lupine wheat blends were determined using a 300 g-Brabender farinograph  according to AACC methods .Solid ingredients were mixed in a planetary small-scale kneader  for one minute at 50 rpm. Then water  was added to the solid blend. The mix was first kneaded at 50 rpm (speed 1) for 1 min; for the rest of the time, until reaching td, it was mixed at 90 rpm (speed 2). Final dough temperature was 24 ± 1 °C. Dough was laminated four times, rested 15 min at 25 °C, and covered with a plastic film for avoiding loss of water. Hydration and rheological trials on dough were performed without yeast. Doughs were performed by duplicate.n = 4).Moisture content of dough was determined according to AACC Method 44-19  by dehyd1H signals were recorded during time. Nuclei are excited for a few milliseconds and when the pulse stops, they return to the ground state emitting a signal. Relaxation curves of the proton (1H) signaling intensity versus time were fitted to a one-term exponential model according to Equation (1) and the 1H spin–spin relaxation times (λ) were determined using the Carr–Purcell–Meiboom–Gill pulse sequence according to Salinas et al. [1H signal intensity, t is the time, λ is the relaxation time (a constant parameter) and A is the signal intensity of protons at t = 0. Assays were performed in duplicate (n = 4).The molecular mobility of the different dough was determined through relaxation assays using NMR Brüker Minispec equipment . A portion of dough was placed in a glass tube  that was closed to avoid dehydration. Intensity of s et al. :I(t) = An = 15).Dough was laminated (thickness = 1 cm) before cutting. Cylindrical dough pieces (diameter = 3 cm) were cut with a cylindrical aluminum puncher. Dough texture was analyzed via a texture profile analysis using a TA.XT2i Texture Analyzer  with a load cell of 25 kg and a Texture Expert for Windows version 1.2 Software. Each disc of dough was subjected to two cycles of compression  with a cylindrical probe (P/75) [Measurements were performed in a HAAKE RheoStress 600  at 25 ± 0.1 °C, using a serrated surface plate–plate sensor system (35 mm diameter) with 1.5 mm gap between plates. The upper plate was lowered, and the excess of sample was trimmed off. The exposed surface was covered with a thin layer of semisolid silicone to prevent moisture loss during the assay. Before testing, the samples were left for relaxation for 15 min. Shear stress sweep tests were previously performed to determine the linear viscoelastic range. Frequency sweeps (from 0.005 to 100 Hz) at constant stress (5 Pa), within the linear viscoelastic range, were performed [Mechanical spectra were obtained by recording the dynamic moduli G′, G″ and tan δ as a function of frequency. The dynamic behavior of the dough was also analyzed by the complex modulus (G*) calculated according to Equation (2). In addition, G* as function of angular frequency (ω) was plotted and then the power law was fitted with Equation (3).ow units .Dough was prepared according to The specific volumes (Vs) were calculated as the ratio between volume and weight. Five breads of each formula were analyzed. The protein content and crumb moisture of breads were determined according to AACC Method . Values The water activity and molecular mobility of the different breadcrumbs were performed by the method described for the dough in Texture profile analysis of bread crumbs were undertaken in a TA.XT2i Texture Analyzer  using a load cell of 25 kg. Middle bread slices (thickness = 20 mm) underwent a double compression cycle (two-bite texture profile) up to 40% deformation of its original height with a disc probe (SMS/35). Eight replicates were analyzed for each kind of bread [p < 0.05) was used to define differences between means for each lupin flour. Means and standard deviations were calculated for each parameter.Results were analyzed using Statgraphics Plus for Windows 5.1 software. Fisher’s least-significant differences test . Lupinus albus L.) protein isolate by DSC, assigning the first peak at approximately 91 °C to the 2S globulin fraction, while the second and third peaks, at 100 °C and 106 °C, to the 7S and 11S globulins fraction, respectively. The higher temperatures reported could be due to the low amount of water used (1 g water/g solids). On the other hand, Muranyi et al. [Sousa et al.  previousi et al.  studied i et al.  studied,On the other hand, the denaturation enthalpies of the protein fractions of the suspensions of Rumbo flour were statistically higher than those obtained for the Misak for both fractions (7S and 11S). This difference could be attributed to the high amount of proteins of Rumbo, which could be stabilized with a higher proportion of hydrogen bonds, and therefore require more energy to denature. Muranyi et al.  found siabs, whereas mixtures with Rumbo variety absorbed 10% less water than wheat flour. Regarding the development time (td), this parameter decreased in both cases. The decrease was more pronounced in the Misak variety. Finally, the stability (St) decreased in both systems, while the degree of softening (SD) increased.Farinograms of blends of wheat flour with 10%, 20% and 30% lupine flours—Misak M (left) and Rumbo R (right)—are shown in abs when 5, 10 and 15% of Lupino albus spp. flour or defatted flour was added to wheat flour. Similar behavior has been reported with the incorporation of other legumes into wheat flour and an increase in Wabs with carob germ flour [Dervas et al.  reportedrm flour , pea or rm flour . These aLupinus luteus  and Lupinus angustifolius . These authors attributed the decrease in stability to the high content of legume proteins, obviously less marked in L. angustifolius, leading to a dilution of the gluten proteins. In a recent work, Carboni et al. [On the other hand, Piasecka-Jóźwiak et al.  reportedi et al.  demonstrIncorporation of the two lupine flours, Misak and Rumbo, resulted in earlier gluten network formation, although wheat proteins were diluted, and stability decreased between 82 and 90% in blends with 30% compared to 10% lupine flour addition. However, both flours contain significant amounts of globular proteins, which seem to favor the formation of the gluten network, although this reinforcement is not maintained during kneading. Therefore, the technological processes that should be performed during baking could have a negative impact on the quality of the product.cont), water activity (aw) and molecular mobility (λ) of the different doughs are shown in The moisture (MThe molecular mobility of wheat dough (C) was the highest. An increase in lupine flours, Misak and Rumbo, λ parameter significantly decreased. This trend suggests that the molecular mobility is lower and therefore a more rigid matrix would be formed due to the incorporation of different lupine flour components, especially the globular proteins. However, at the same level of lupine flour addition, the values were even significantly lower in Rumbo dough than in Misak dough . This beIn summary, while dough hardness and adhesiveness increased with Misak (up to 20%), with Rumbo they decreased to values close to that of wheat dough, and values with Rumbo were much lower than those observed of Misak dough at the same substitution. The difference in the textural behavior of dough with the different lupine flours could be due to the distinct profile and protein content of both lupine varieties. Salinas et al. , who stuThe variation of the viscoelasticity of the dough at different frequencies with the addition of lupine flour is shown in On the one hand, in the case of doughs with Rumbo, although they showed a similar behavior to the Misak dough, there were some differences. The R20 dough behaved like C dough, with curves above those of R10 and R30, which were also similar. This slight superiority in the curves of C and R20, observed up to values of about 8000 Pa of G″, implies a higher value of G′ for the same value of G″ at low frequencies (ω < 0.7 Hz). On the other hand, dough R10, and especially dough R30, presented at frequencies lower than 0.07 Hz; higher values of G″ form the same value of G′, suggesting the formation of less elastic and more viscous dough. This behavior was different to that observed in dough with amaranth flour  , probablF), these bonds between the polymers are easily broken during compression (TPA test), resulting in a softer dough after this process. In the case of dough with 30% of resistant starch and hydrocolloids (up to 1.5%), Arp et al. [Another way for studying the dynamic viscoelasticity of dough is through the variation of G* with angular frequency c,d. Dougp et al.  found thQuality parameters of bread (specific volume of bread and protein content) and bread crumbs  of lupine wheat bread are described in These results contrast with those found by other authors who used lupine flour in different proportions. They found that the Vs of the breads was lower than that of wheat bread, and furthermore as the amount of lupine flour increased, the bread volume decreased ,36,37,38The moisture of the breads with Misak flour decreased at the lowest percentages (10 and 20%); however, at 30%, it had a moisture similar to that of wheat bread (C). Meanwhile, the breads made with Rumbo flour showed values lower than C in all additions, with the lowest value being for R30. Although the water content varied in both types of bread, the water activity remained constant in all breads. These results suggest that Rumbo lupin globular proteins may form a bread matrix together with gluten with a lower proportion of water, in agreement with the lower farinographic water absorption obtained for the R30 blend .In addition, when observing the λ value in the breads with Misak lupine flour, a significant decrease is observed with increasing flour content, associated with a more flexible matrix. In breads with Rumbo incorporation a decrease in molecular mobility was observed in all cases with respect to wheat bread, suggesting that Rumbo proteins form a more compact matrix with less relaxation.A slice of wheat bread containing lupine flours (Misak and Rumbo) is shown in Finally, the textural parameters of the breads are shown in Several authors found that by incorporating lupine flour in wheat flour-based breads, the firmness of the breads was higher than in wheat bread, and that the firmness increased with the higher amount of lupine flour in the blend ,32,36,39Lupinus albus L.), they are from different cultivars and origins (one cultivated in America and the other in Europe), and conferred different characteristics, especially in the protein content and profile, which led to a different interaction with wheat flour and with water. This led to the formation of doughs with different hydration and rheological properties, which, in turn, led to breads of different baking quality. Although both varieties are feasible to be used in breads, the better technological quality of the Rumbo lupine flour obtained from Chile is evident.Despite the two lupine flours being from the same specie (The farinograms of the mixtures with both lupine flours were affected with supplementation ≥20%. The rheological properties of the dough were negatively affected with both lupine flours, especially with the Rumbo cultivar, where the hardness decreased significantly, and the intensity of the interactions was affected especially with 30% incorporation. Despite this, the breads presented good specific volumes. In addition, the firmness and chewiness of the crumbs increased, but less so in the breads with the Rumbo cultivar. Finally, breads with 30% of this lupine cultivar had the highest protein content. Therefore, even though both cultivars provide protein and reveal dough handling difficulties, the Rumbo cultivar is the one that affects the bread quality to a lesser degree.The data obtained in the present study highlight the relevance of lupine flour as a high-nutrition ingredient for functional bakery products due to its suitable technological performance. Further research is needed to evaluate consumer acceptance of bread or baking products containing the commercial lupin varieties studied in the present work.