Most of the functional substances in food are absorbed in the small intestine, but before entering the small intestine, the strong acid and enzymes in the stomach limit the amount that can reach the small intestine. Therefore, in this paper, to develop a delivery system for functional food ingredients, maintain the biological activity of the ingredients, and deliver them to the target digestive organs, preparation of starch-based functional food nano-microcapsule delivery system and its controlled release characteristics were reviewed. Embedding unstable food active ingredients in starch-based nano-microcapsules can give the core material excellent stability and certain functional effects. Starch-based wall materials refer to a type of natural polymer material that uses starch or its derivatives to coat fat-soluble components with its hydrophobic cavities. The preparation methods of starch-based wall materials mainly include spray drying, extrusion, freeze drying, ultra-high pressure, coagulation, fluidized bed coating, molecular inclusion, chemical, and enzymic methods. The controlled release of functional food can be achieved by preparing starch-based nano-microcapsules to encapsulate the active agents. It has been reported that that compared with traditional embedding agents such as gelatin, acacia gum, and xanthan gum, starch-based functional food nano-microcapsule delivery system had many good properties, including improving antioxidant capacity, bioavailability, probiotics, and concealing bad flavors. From this review, we can learn which method should be chosen to prepare starch-based functional food nano-microcapsule delivery system and understand the mechanism of controlled release. More and more attention has been paid to the design and application of foods containing biologically active substances with natural functional ingredients , 2. DiffNano-microencapsulation technology was first used in the pharmaceutical industry, and then gradually expanded to the food industry, becoming a commonly used technology in today's food production –12. As sStarch is a renewable biopolymer widely distributed in nature and has a wide range of industrial application prospects –18. StarStarch can be used as a carrier to protect the core material, encapsulate and target the guest molecules, controllable release, or mask unpleasant flavors such as acid, astringency, and bitterness –39. HoweAccording to its own characteristics, starch is usually modified by physical, chemical or enzymatic methods to improve or change its inherent physiochemical properties, so as to produce composite nano-microcapsules with higher yields while retaining the functional and physicochemical properties of natural starch.cis,cis-9,12-octadecadienoic acid (linoleic acid), cis-9-octadecenoic acid (oleic acid), octadecanoic acid (stearic acid), ethyl cis-9-octadecenoate, ethyl cis,cis-9,12-octadecadienoate and methyl octadecanoate provided nano-microcapsules in which encapsulated guest molecules did not interact with starch nano-microcapsules. On the formation of nano-microcapsules, the lipid guest molecules did not react to starches. The encapsulation yield varied between almost 11–94% . The eluted excess tea polyphenols were finally freeze-dried to obtain starch-tea polyphenol nano-microcapsules. The results showed that the nano-microcapsules exhibited a C-type crystal structure and a “net-like” surface structure at a pressure lower than 150 MPa .2 particles. The energy disperse spectroscopy of samples with ultrasonic treatment for 0 min and 10 min indicated that the SiO2 was present in prepared chitosan-SiO2 particles. When the ultrasonic time reached 10 min, the chitosan-SiO2 nanoparticles formed and the particle size was 506.7 nm. Zeta potential of the chitosan-SiO2 nanoparticles was >30 mV, showing the suspension was a stable dispersed liquid. The results showed that chitosan-SiO2 nanoparticles could be used as a reinforcement to prepare thermoplastic starch films and promoted the application of chitosan nanoparticles in nanocomposite films  to achieve the purpose of modification . A novelThe preparation principle of the high-speed shearing method is that the starch particles are pulverized through the process of grinding, shearing and collision, etc., and the factors that affect the pulverization level include the concentration of starch milk, the rotation speed, and the grinding beads.2 as a medium  to esterify partial functional groups of starch in an alkaline environment to prepare OSA modified starch. Compared with natural starch, OSA modified starch has good hydrophilicity, emulsification and gel characteristics. It is a new, safe, low-cost emulsifier and thickener. Due to the high concentration and low viscosity of OSA starch aqueous solution, many studies have applied OSA starch to the embedding of hydrophobic food ingredients in recent years, and have achieved good results –66. As sEscherichia coli and Bacillus cereus  results showed that the crystal structure of SMs was different from that of natural tapioca starch, and the relative crystallinity of SMs increased with the decrease of starch molecular weight. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results showed that peak gelatinization temperature (Tp) and enthalpy of gelatinization (ΔH) of SMs increased with the decrease of starch molecular weight. Stability tests showed that SMs were stable in acidic environments, but unstable under α-amylase hydrolysis , substitution degree (0.004), water uptake capacity (0.88 g g−1), and C-phycocyanin encapsulation efficiency (67.58%), thus was tested in vivo . The formation of the composite also enhanced the stability of AP to light, heat and oxidation. Furthermore, all samples exhibited a higher release rate of AP within 1 h and persistent released curve during 1–10 h in the simulated small intestine environment  is a cyclic oligosaccharide produced by amylose under the action of cyclodextrin glucosyltransferase produced by tructure , 83, 84.tructure . Using βBecause the nano-microcapsules are prepared by different methods and the sources of the wall materials and core materials are different, their embedding characteristics are also different. Different sources of starches and the characteristics of starch-based nano-microcapsules prepared by different methods are shown in Simple physical treatments such as spray drying, freeze drying, high pressure homogenization, etc. trap the core material in the cavity of the starch or confine it within the starch molecules , 58, 62.13C solid-state NMR /xanthan gum (XG) combinations and blueberry anthocyanins (ANS) were confirmed by FTIR and tate NMR . Carboxytate NMR . When OState NMR . The inttate NMR .After the natural starch is treated with α-amylase and glucosidase, porous starch with good adsorption properties can be formed, and the probiotics can be loaded on the porous starch to improve the thermal performance and stability of the probiotics. The deep holes produced by the enzyme-modified natural starch increase its surface adhesion ability, allowing probiotics to enter the starch granules . The preStarch-based nano-microcapsule technology has huge application potential in the field of functional foods. Different types of nano-microcapsules have different functional characteristics. As shown in in vitro. Trapping percentages >40 and 90% were observed by emulsion and aspersion, respectively  with whey protein concentrate (WPC) and gum arabic (GA) was evaluate as a wall material for encapsulation of cinnamon oleoresin by spray drying  of resistant starch microspheres was between 43.01–48.46. The average diameter of resistant starch particles was in the range of 45.53–49.29 μm. The results showed that resistant starch was a potential carrier for oral administration of probiotics. The simulated release experiment in vitro proved that the starch-folic acid nano-microcapsules protected the folic acid during the passage through the gastrointestinal tract and improved the thermal stability of folic acid. Meanwhile, the free folic acid content in the intestinal juice was higher than that in the gastric juice, indicating that the nano-microcapsules had intestinal targeted release characteristics, so it could be added to foods for specific nutritional supplements for people or regions lacking folic acid . Modifications of starch include oxidation, acetylation, hydrolysis, enzymes, etc. In particular, starch modified with hydrophobic groups can act as a surfactant, giving it a higher embedding rate. In addition, a variety of technologies can be applied to the preparation of food nano-microcapsules, such as spray drying, high-pressure homogenization, microwave, ultrasound, ultra-high pressure and so on. Research results showed that compared with traditional embedding agents such as gelatin, acacia gum, and xanthan gum, starch had many good properties that could be used to improve the quality of core materials, including improving antioxidant capacity, bioavailability, cell activity (probiotics), processing and storage stability, and concealing bad flavors.in vivo digestion process and targeted sustained release mechanism of starch-based nano-microcapsules are still not very clear. This limits the control of their production process during the preparation of nano-microcapsules and their application in the food industry. Therefore, base on the key factors that affect the controlled release characteristics of the nano-microcapsules, the embedding rate and the stability of the nano-microcapsules need to be improved, and achieve their precise release in human organs and exert specific effects. The starch-based food nano-microcapsules can provide new ideas for the development of functional foods. In summary, the starch-based nano-microcapsule technology, as a new type of functional food technology, has an immeasurable market prospect.At present, the research on the properties of nano-microcapsules is only limited to the characterization of their structural properties, and it is rarely used in actual food processing, and the practice in food production is slightly insufficient. The research on the structure of nano-microcapsules and the controlled release properties of core materials is limited, and they are limited to simply calculating the release amount in the simulated digestion model. There is a lack of systematic studies to illustrate the structure-activity relationship between the structure of nano-microcapsules and the controlled release properties. The ST: conceptualization, funding acquisition, and writing-review and editing. XX: formal analysis, investigation, and writing-original draft. ZC: investigation and resources. XW: investigation, methodology, supervision, and writing-review and editing. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.The authors would like to acknowledge NSFC for financial assistance under NSFC Research Contract No. 31701636. This research was supported by the Cultivation Programme for Young Backbone Teachers in Henan Province (2021GGJS059) and funded by Natural Science Innovation Fund Support Program from Henan University of Technology (2021ZKCJ12). Special funded project for Natural Science Foundation of Henan (222300420423).The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.


The mean graft width at baseline was 27.95 ± 5.23 mm, and the mean graft width reduction was 10.2 ± 12.7% (2.98 ± 3.62 mm) and 11.3 ± 14.4% (3.36 ± 4.08 mm) at six months and at the latest follow-up. The change was significant at six months (p = 0.005), but did not show significant further variation (p = 0.11). On the mesial and distal aspect, the mean graft extension decreased by 1.56 ± 2.67 mm and 0.84 ± 2.71 mm at the latest follow-up. No significant difference between mesial and distal changes was found (p = 0.24), suggesting that the biomaterial is resorbed homogeneously on both sides. The mean graft height was 11.92 ± 2.53 mm at baseline and decreased by 9.3 ± 9.05% (1.11 ± 1.09 mm) at six months (p < 0.001). Non-significant further changes were found at the latest follow-up (p = 0.10). Conclusions: after early remodeling, heterologous bone substitutes showed a good dimensional stability in the mid-term for maxillary sinus augmentation.Background: This investigation aimed to radiographically assess the variations of graft dimension following maxillary sinus augmentation by the lateral approach. Methods: Eighteen patients , with a mean age at surgery of 66.5 ± 9.8 (range 52–82) years, were unilaterally treated. Thirty-five dental implants were positioned in the posterior maxilla simultaneously to grafting with heterologous biomaterials. Intraoral radiographs taken at the time of surgery, after six months, and at the longest follow-up (up to nine years after implant placement) were analyzed. The following distances were measured: mesio-distal width of the graft, vertical distance from implant apex to most coronal level of the graft, distance from the mesial aspect of the  implant to the mesial graft extension; distance from the distal aspect of the  implant to the distal graft extension, and graft height along the implant axis. The dimensional changes with respect to baseline, after six months and at the longest follow-up were calculated. Results: The patient-based mean follow-up was 38.3 ± 30.1 months (range 12–108 months). The mean residual bone height at the mesial and distal aspect of the implants was 3.19 ± 2.05 mm and 2.65 ± 1.60 mm, respectively ( Rehabilitation of the edentulous posterior maxilla with dental implants may often represent a clinical challenge due to the insufficient bone volume, maxillary sinus pneumatization and the low-density spongious bone ,2. In thThe dimensional modification of a maxillary sinus graft around implants has long been a subject of investigation, as graft stability may represent one of the prognostic factors for long-term implant success ,18. OverIn the recent years, several heterologous materials, with different features, have been introduced in the market of bone substitutes.The aim of the present retrospective clinical study was to evaluate the behaviour of different heterologous bone substitutes, alone or in combination, in terms of mechanical stability and bone regeneration in the sinus cavity after the maxillary sinus floor augmentation procedure via the lateral approach under conditions of daily clinical practice.The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and in accordance to the Good Clinical Practice Guidelines. The Ethical Board approval was not required, given the observational retrospective nature of the study, which was conducted in a private clinic, under daily clinical practice conditions, following standard protocols. The informed consent for the retrospective study data evaluation and publishing has been obtained from all included subjects. The present retrospective study included adult patients with the need for a partial restoration in atrophic posterior maxilla, who underwent maxillary sinus augmentation procedures using a heterologous bone substitute as grafting material, and had been followed for at least 12 months after implant placement (six months after prosthesis delivery). Before the intervention, all patients signed a written consent form. Exclusion criteria were: the presence of infection in the oral cavity, such as untreated periodontal pockets on natural teeth or peri-apical fistulae; the presence of maxillary sinus infection; systemic diseases that could compromise osseointegration such as uncontrolled diabetes; radiation therapy in the craniofacial region within the previous 12 months; patients under therapy with bisphosphonates or other antiresorptive/antiangiogenic drugs; pregnancy or lactation, and smoking more than 10 cigarettes/day. Surgeries were performed by a single surgeon in a private dental practice in Conegliano Veneto (TV) Italy. Each surgery consisted of one-stage implant placement and sinus augmentation via the lateral window technique.® mp3®  is a heterologous cortico-cancellous porcine bone mix made of 600–1000 µm or 1000–2000 µm pre-hydrated collagenated cortico-cancellous granules, properly mixed with collagen gel. The composition is 90% granulated mix, 10% collagen gel; the collagen facilitates blood clotting and the subsequent invasion of repairing and regenerative cells. The micro-porous consistency facilitates new bone tissue formation in defect sites and accelerates the regeneration process. Gradually resorbable, it preserves the original graft shape and volume (osteoconductive property) [OsteoBiolroperty) .® Putty (Tecnoss®) is a cortico-cancellous heterologous porcine bone mix composed of 80% granulated mix and 20% collagen gel. OsteoBiol® Putty is a paste that can be injected with a syringe between the defect walls and the implant, guaranteeing a perfect filling of the entire defect volume [OsteoBiolt volume .® GTO® (Tecnoss®) composition is 80% pre-hydrated granulated mix of porcine origin, and 20% TSV Gel. The latter is a mixture of heterologous type I and III collagen gel with polyunsaturated fatty acids and a biocompatible synthetic copolymer diluted in aqueous solution, and can be injected in the defect site. OsteoBiol® GTO® is gradually resorbed and it is extremely osteoconductive.The OsteoBiol® Apatos® (Tecnoss®) is a bone mixture of porcine origin, and its natural microporous consistency facilitates the formation of new bone tissue in the bone defect area, accelerating the process. OsteoBiol® Apatos® microcrystalline hydroxyapatite is available in cortical and mixed granules. The composition is OsteoBiol® Apatos® Mix: 100% heterologous cortico-cancellous mix and OsteoBiol® Apatos® Cortical, which is 100% cortical bone; the granulometry is 600–1000 µm and 1000–2000 µm. This material is able to guarantee adequate preservation of the grafted volume [OsteoBiold volume .® Gel 40 (Tecnoss®) is a collagen type I and III matrix that is loaded for 60% of its volume with heterologous porcine bone granules up to 300 µm; it is rapidly and totally resorbed, its malleability and its plasticity make this product the ideal choice for sinus lift access.OsteoBiolBioresorb Macro Pore  is an osteconductive, pure-phase beta-Tricalcium phosphate (99%) bone grafting material, available in 500–1000 microns particles size. This synthetic granular bone substitute is developed through a patented process that allows for the obtaining of a porous structure very similar to human bone. The interconnecting micro and macro porous structure promotes angiogenesis and cell transport into and throughout the granules, leading to new bone deposits within the particles.® Evolution, Tecnoss®) was applied covering the Schneiderian membrane in order to prevent accidental membrane perforation, and a bone graft was positioned into the neoformed cavity.All patients underwent the same pre- and post-surgical protocol. After a primary visit and evaluation through panoramic radiographs and Cone Beam Computed Tomography Scans, all subjects treated underwent local anaesthesia performed by 4% articaine with epinephrine 1:100,000 . A mucoperiosteal full-thickness trapezoidal flap was elevated to expose the bone ridge and a vestibular osteotomy was performed by a bur with continuous saline irrigation. The procedure consisted of the creation of a sinus bony access window, and the Schneiderian membrane elevation was performed using appropriate surgical instruments in order to create the regenerative space. A gradually resorbable pericardium membrane, composed by heterologous mesenchymal tissue with dense collagen fibers (OsteoBiol® Evolution ) and the implant healing abutments were immediately positioned. The surgical access was sutured and an antibiotic prophylaxis was administered, consisting of amoxicillin/clavulanic acid  1 g twice daily for 6 days with pain relievers if needed. The suture removal was performed after 10 days and the control radiographs scans were conducted after three months. The prosthetic finalization was performed six months after the surgery.The implant drilling protocol was performed by a 2 mm diameter drill, followed by the 3 mm diameter drill under saline irrigation by a surgical motor. After implant insertion and grafting, the grafted space was covered by a resorbable pericardium membrane  by a single experienced evaluator. Prior to performing the study measurements, the evaluator underwent a calibration procedure consisting in measuring the set distances on a sample of 10 radiographs. The intra-operator error was considered acceptable when the maximum difference between consecutive measurements of the same distance was below 5%. The following distances were measured at insertion (baseline), after six months, and at the longest follow up: mesio-distal width of the graft, measured at the graft base, in contact with the original sinus floor . The personal identity of patients was anonymized.p = 0.05.Descriptive statistics was used to describe the features of the sample, using mean values and standard deviations (SD). The difference between changes at six months and at the latest follow-up values was evaluated using a paired Student’s t-test in case of normal distributions. Otherwise, the Wilcoxon test was used. The normality of the distributions was assessed using the D’Agostino and Pearson’s omnibus normality test. Linear regression analysis between baseline values and changes, and between changes and follow-up time was undertaken, considering for each distance both the change in mm, and in percentage respect to baseline value. The software Graphpad Prism version 5.1 was used for statistical analysis. The level of significance was set at In accordance with the inclusion criteria, 18 patients were enrolled in the present study. Seven males and eleven females, with a mean age at surgery of 66.5 ± 9.8 (range 52–82) years, received in total 35 implants in the posterior maxilla. Only four patients were smokers, and two smoked less than 10 cig/day and two smoked 10 cig/day . Implantp = 0.38). The radiographic follow up after implant placement ranged from twelve months to nine years .In p = 0.005), but there was no significant difference between six months and the latest follow-up (p = 0.11). The mean graft width at baseline was 27.95 ± 5.23 mm, and the mean graft width reduction was 10.2 ± 12.7% (2.98 ± 3.62 mm) and 11.3 ± 14.4% (3.36 ± 4.08 mm) at six month follow-up and at the last follow-up, respectively. The change was significant at six months (p = 0.60), nor in percentage (p = 0.65), suggesting that after an initial reduction due to remodeling, the graft size remains unchanged over time , suggesting that horizontal graft changes are independent of baseline graft size (p = 0.24), suggesting that the biomaterial is resorbed homogeneously on both sides.Also, correlation between baseline graft width and change (in both percentage and mm) was not significant . With respect to the baseline, the change at the latest follow-up averaged 10.2 ± 9.5% (1.22 ± 1.14 mm). The difference with the six month change was not significant (p = 0.10). Regarding the vertical extension of the graft over each implant, the mean height at baseline was 3.09 ± 1.39 mm, and at the latest follow-up, a mean reduction of 1.16 ± 1.17 mm was found .The mean sinus floor augmentation  was 11.92 ± 2.53 mm at baseline and decreased by 9.3 ± 9.05% (1.11 ± 1.09 mm) at six months (p = 0.10) nor on a patient basis (p = 0.64).p = 0.04 and p = 0.30, respectively), suggesting that vertical graft changes are fairly independent of baseline graft height  with autogenous bone) is a predictable procedure. In this study, the same surgeon performed all operations, and the same assessor made all measurements on the radiographs, ensuring minimization of the results’ variability. An interesting finding of the present study is that graft resorption in both the mesio-distal and the cranio-caudal dimension seems to be unaffected by the follow-up duration. In fact, the slope of the regression in ® GTO® or OsteoBiol® Apatos® were present in the graft. However, the same materials were also used in cases showing the largest vertical resorption, suggesting that factors other than the grafting material may contribute to dimensional changes of the graft. This finding is certainly interesting but needs to be confirmed by specific investigations with a higher number of cases. The largest mesio-distal resorption (more than 12 mm) was observed in a case using OsteoBiol® Putty alone, but in another case the same material was associated with minimal resorption (about 1 mm). Of course, two cases are not sufficient to draw indications on the performance of this material. Another interesting finding is that in both the cranio-caudal and the mesio-distal dimension, there was a trend for larger changes to be associated with larger grafts: the linear regression slope of In the present study, no comparison in graft dimensions’ change among the different materials has been evaluated, because several materials and combinations were used, and the sample size for each of them was low, as can be seen in One major limitation of the present study is that all measurements were based on bi-dimensional intraoral radiographs. We acknowledge that 3D reconstructions can allow for a more precise representation of the graft extension and the remodeling pattern as well. Nevertheless, multiple assessments of the patients with computed tomography increase the x-ray exposure and cannot be justified in daily clinical practice. Studies using multiple CT assessment must require ethical approval. Furthermore, in the pool of patients considered for the present study, some of which have been treated more than 10 years ago, only periapical radiographs were available at follow-up.Another limitation of the present retrospective study was represented by the low number of samples for each of the different biomaterials used, which prevents a sound comparison. In order to compare the performance of different materials, specific studies with wider sample size and long-term follow-up are needed. In future studies, it would be desirable to introduce stem cells in the clinical practice due to their beneficial role in bone regeneration procedures .In conclusion, the data of this study performed under daily practice conditions suggest that in maxillary sinus augmentation with a lateral approach, xenogeneic bone substitutes of porcine origin, combined or not with alloplastic graft materials, undergo a resorption pattern consisting of an early remodeling, followed by a phase of stability. The amount of change appears to be related to the baseline dimension of the graft. The remodeling pattern of the graft was compatible with durable implant support and protection.


Here, a non-contact upconversion nanosystem based on the excitation energy attenuation (EEA) effect and a conventional upconversion nanosystem based on the joint effect of EEA and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) are designed for the fluorescence sensing of H2O2. We show that the upconversion luminescence (UCL) is quenched by MoOx3− nanosheets (NSs) in both systems due to the strong absorbance of MoOx3− NSs in the visible and near-infrared regions. The recovery in UCL emissions upon addition of H2O2 enables quantitative monitoring of H2O2. Benefiting from the non-contact method, hydrophobic OA-NaYF4:Yb,Er can be used as the luminophore directly and ultrahigh quenching efficiency (99.8%) is obtained. Moreover, the non-contact method exhibits high sensitivity toward H2O2 with a detection limit of 0.63 μM, which is lower than that determined by simple spectrophotometry (0.75 μM) and conventional upconversion-based nanocomposites (9.61 μM). As an added benefit, the same strategy can be applied to the sensing of pH, showing a broad pH-responsive property over a range of 2.6 to 8.2. The successful preparation of different upconversion-based nanosystems for H2O2 sensing using the same material as the quencher provides a new design strategy for fluorescence sensing of other analytes.Hydrogen peroxide (H 2O2.Non-contact and conventional upconversion-based nanosystems were designed for the fluorescence sensing of pH and H Additionally, H2O2 is widely used as a bleaching agent and sterilant in industrial and environmental fields,8,9 such as food processing, drinking water treatment, packaging, and organic pollutant degradation. However, exposure to high concentrations of H2O2 is a great threat to organisms.10,11 Therefore, quantitative detection of H2O2 is of great importance for monitoring its potential risk.Hydrogen peroxide , upconversion nanoparticles featuring large anti-Stokes shifts, excellent chemical- and photo-stability, sharp multicolor emissions, and low toxicity have been regarded as a promising class of luminophores.13Optical methods 14–16 noble metals,17–19 quantum dots,20–22 carbon nanomaterials,23–25 and two-dimensional materials26–28 has been employed to couple with upconversion nanoparticles to construct fluorescence probes, realizing quantitative detection of inorganic ions,29–31 pH,32–34 small molecules,35–38 and nucleic acids.39–42 Most of the upconversion-based probes rely on the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) process, in which a very short distance between the upconversion nanoparticles and absorbers is required. Moreover, in order to obtain high-sensitivity detection, high-quality upconversion nanoparticles with strong emission and high upconversion efficiency are employed, which are commonly prepared by applying oleic acid (OA) as the ligand. The oleate-capped upconversion nanoparticles are hydrophobic and prone to disperse in nonpolar solvents, whereas hydrophilic upconversion nanoparticles are required for typical sensing applications of interest. Therefore, the hydrophobic-to-hydrophilic transition of upconversion nanoparticles is essential.43Up to now, a variety of functional materials including organic dyes,2O2 sensing using MoOx3− nanosheets (NSs) as the energy acceptor based on either the excitation energy attenuation (EEA) effect or the joint effect of the EEA and FRET, owing to the strong absorbance of MoOx3− NSs in both visible and near-infrared (NIR) regions. By coupling of MoOx3− NSs solution and oleate-capped NaYF4:Yb,Er upconversion nanoparticles (abbreviated as OA-UCNPs) solution, a EEA-based upconversion nanosystem for sensing of H2O2 in the non-contact mode is designed, where MoOx3− NSs act as the energy acceptor of the incident light for the activation of UCNPs. Additionally, this system can be used for pH sensing as well. Benefiting from the non-contact method, hydrophobic OA-UCNPs can be used directly for the sensing and ultrahigh quenching efficiency (99.8%) can be reached. Meanwhile, by the integration of hydrophilic UCNPs and MoOx3− NSs, we are able to prepare conventional upconversion-based nanocomposites for H2O2 sensing via the joint effect of the EEA and FRET, where MoOx3− NSs act as the energy acceptor of not only the 980 nm exciting light for UCNPs but also fluorescence emissions of UCNPs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first upconversion-based nanoprobe for the sensing of one analyte by two different systems while using the same material as an energy acceptor.Herein, we propose different upconversion nanosystems for Hiii) acetate tetrahydrate (99.9%), ytterbium(iii) acetate hydrate (99.9%), erbium(iii) acetate hydrate (99.9%), MoO3 (99.95%) were purchased from Alfa Aesar, 1-octadecene , oleic acid , sodium hydroxide , ammonium fluoride , methanol (99.8%), cyclohexane (99.5%), ethanol (≥99.8%), formic acid (≥98%), polyethylenimine  were obtained from Sigma-Aldrich. Milli-Q water (18.2 MΩ cm at 25 °C) was used in all experiments.Yttrium(6 cathode operated at 200 kV. UV-vis absorption spectra were acquired on a CARY 50 spectrophotometer. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements were performed on a Philips X'Pert MPD Pro X-ray diffractometer at a scanning rate of 4° min−1 in the 2θ range from 10° to 80° . ζ-Potential measurements were carried out on an Anton Paar Litesizer™ 500 instrument. Upconversion luminescence (UCL) emission spectra were obtained on a fiber-coupled spectrometer  with an external 980 nm continuous-wave (CW) laser  at room temperature (RT). Quartz cuvettes  were used for UV-vis absorption and UCL measurements.Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra were recorded in transmission mode on a Thermo Scientific Nicolet iS5 FT-IR spectrometer with the KBr method. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was measured with a Thermo Fisher Scientific ESCALAB 250Xi instrument. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were performed on the FEI Tecnai G2 20 S-TWIN with a LaBx3− NSs were prepared according to the previous publication with minor modifications.44,45 In a typical process, 1.5 g bulk MoO3 powder was ground with 0.3 mL of acetonitrile for 30 min and then added to a water/ethanol solution . The dispersion was then probe-sonicated for 2 h at 100 W  at a 5 s ON and 2 s OFF pulse. To avoid overheating of the solvent, the beaker filled with MoO3 dispersion was immersed in an ice bath during sonication. The light blue supernatant containing a high concentration of MoO3 NSs (denoted as S-MoO3 NSs) was collected via centrifugation at 7000g for 30 min. For the preparation of MoOx3− NSs, the supernatant dispersion was filled into a quartz glass vial and irradiated with a UV lamp  for 5 h, dark blue MoOx3− NSs solution was finally obtained, and the MoOx3− NSs solution was then diluted to 2 mg mL−1 by water and ethanol (v/v = 1/1) solution, and stored at 4 °C for further use.MoO4: 20 mol% Yb, 2 mol% Er was carried out by employing OA as ligand via a high-temperature coprecipitation method.46 Briefly, in a 100 mL round flask, 3.12 mL of Y(CH3COO)3 (0.2 M), 0.8 mL of Yb(CH3COO)3 (0.2 M) and 0.8 of mL Er(CH3COO)3 (0.02 M) were mixed with 6 mL of OA and 14 mL of ODE at RT. The mixture solution was first heated to 110 °C for 30 min to evaporate the water and then heated to 160 °C for 40 min to form lanthanide-oleate complexes, followed by cooling down to 50 °C. A methanolic solution (10 mL) containing 3.2 mmol of NH4F and 2.0 mmol of NaOH was slowly added and then stirred at 50 °C for 30 min. After evaporating the methanol, the solution was heated to 310 °C at a rate of 10 °C min−1 and maintained for 30 min under nitrogen atmosphere. After cooling down to RT, OA-UCNPs were precipitated out with the addition of excess ethanol, collected after washing three times with the ethanol, and finally dissolved in cyclohexane for further use.As previously reported, the synthesis of oleate-capped NaYF47 5 mmol of formic acid was directly added to 2 mL of cyclohexane solution containing 20 mg of OA-UCNPs, ligand-free UCNPs were precipitated out after shaking for 10 s at 3000 rpm on a vortex mixer. Bare UCNPs were obtained after centrifugation and washing once with ethanol and three times with water and finally dissolved in water.Ligand-free UCNPs were prepared using our previously reported method.x3− nanocomposites, PEI-capped UCNPs (abbreviated as PEI-UCNPs) was first prepared. Typically, 4 mL ligand-free UCNPs solution (5 mg mL−1) were added to a vial containing 4 mL PEI solution (10 mg mL−1), followed by overnight stirring. PEI-UCNPs were collected after centrifugation at 16 000g for 30 min and washing three times with water, and finally dispersed in water with a concentration of 1 mg mL−1. UCNPs/MoOx3− nanocomposites were prepared by mixing 0.5 mL PEI-UCNPs solution with an appropriate amount of MoOx3− NSs solution, the mixture was first shaken for 3 min (3000 rpm) on a vortex mixer and then ultrasonicated for 5 min. UCNPs/MoOx3− nanocomposites were then collected by centrifugation at 7000g for 30 min, washed three times with water, and redispersed in water.To synthesize UCNPs/MoO−1 were sealed in a quartz cuvette, the cuvette was then aligned with the other cuvette containing 1 mg mL−1 MoOx3− NSs solution with different pH. The pH was adjusted by either 50 mM NaOH or 50 mM HCl ethanol/H2O (v/v = 1/1) solution. The cuvette containing MoOx3− NSs was put in front of the other one containing OA-UCNPs solution, and the UCL spectra were collected under the excitation of a 4 W 980 nm CW laser.To detect pH in the non-contact mode, OA-UCNPs dispersed in cyclohexane with a concentration of 1 mg mL2O2 was similar to that of the non-contact pH sensing, except that MoOx3− NSs were dissolved in acetate buffer  with different concentrations of H2O2.The non-contact sensing procedure for the H2O2, 0.5 mg mL−1 of UCNPs/MoOx3− aqueous solution (0.35 mg mL−1 MoOx3− NSs) and different concentrations of H2O2 (0.4 mL) were added to 0.1 mL acetate buffer , The mixture was then incubated at RT for 2 h, and the UCL spectra were measured under the excitation of a 4 W 980 nm CW laser.To detect Hx3− nanocomposites for fluorescence sensing of H2O2 is based on the modulation of MoOx3− NSs-induced reduction in UCL emissions by H2O2 through the joint effect of EEA and FRET. In contrast, the pH and H2O2 dual-responsive upconversion-based nanosystem is realized by the direct adjustment of the excitation energy for UCNPs in the non-contact mode , leading to the decrease of absorption in the visible and NIR regions  appear in the obtained S-MoO3 NSs, which can be assigned to the Mo5+ oxidation state, and the integral area ratio of Mo5+/Mo6+ is calculated to be 17.1% from the XPS spectrum. This phenomenon indicates that the MoO3 is slightly reduced during the exfoliation process, showing weak absorption ability of S-MoO3 NSs in visible and NIR regions , demonstrating their high crystallinity  stretching, and those at 1561 and 1460 cm−1 can be attributed to the vibrations of the carboxylate groups, indicating the presence of oleate ligand on the surface of OA-UCNPs. However, the disappearance of these characteristic peaks confirms the removal of surface ligand after treatment by formic acid. When further modified by PEI, new peaks appear at 3396 cm−1 (N–H stretching), 2930 and 2854 cm−1 (asymmetric and symmetric –CH2− stretching), and 1545 cm−1 (N–H bending). Accordingly, the FT-IR results verify the success in ligand removal of OA-UCNPs and further attachment of PEI on bare UCNPs. After ligand exfoliation and polymer modification, ligand-free UCNPs and PEI-UCNPs are easily dispersed in water, and the ζ-potentials are measured to be +35.7 mV and +32.8 mV, respectively  and red (658 nm) luminescence emissions originating from the 2H11/2 → 4I15/2, 4S3/2 → 4I15/2, and 4F9/2 → 4I15/2 transitions of Er3+ ions when activated by a 980 nm CW laser. The UV-vis spectroscopy of MoO3 NSs shows only slight absorption in visible and NIR regions. In contrast, MoOx3− NSs strongly absorb in both visible and NIR regions, ascribed to the enhancement of the free electron concentration and the increased oxygen vacancies in the MoOx3− NSs after exposure to UV light. The absorption of MoOx3− NSs overlaps well with not only UCL emissions of UCNPs but also the excitation wavelength for UCNPs, namely 980 nm. Additionally, the absorption in the visible and NIR regions disappears after the addition of H2O2, as shown in 2O2 in the acidic medium, filling up the oxygen vacancies of MoOx3− NSs.48Next, the optical properties of UCNPs and MoOx3− NSs solutions (1 mg mL−1) at different pH are first investigated by UV-vis spectroscopy. As represented in VI state) by the addition of OH− to the MoOx3− NSs solution, leading to the reduction of free carrier concentration, and thus reducing the absorption in visible and NIR regions.48,49The optical properties of MoOx3− NSs solutions (1 mg mL−1) with different pH in front of the OA-UCNPs solution (1 mg mL−1) and illuminate it then with the light of 980 nm wavelength at RT, where the 980 nm light first passes through the MoOx3− NSs solution and then reaches OA-UCNPs , 0.988 (pH 5–6), and 0.998 (6.3–8.2), respectively  in the acidic environment than under exposure to the UV light.Next, the luminescence properties are investigated by placing MoOOA-UCNPs . The lumectively . Thus, t2O2 in the non-contact mode is evaluated by the UV-vis absorption and UCL spectroscopy. As can be seen in the absorption spectrum . Then the absorption intensity reduces gradually and no further variation in absorption is found after the addition of 0.8 mM H2O2, indicating the completion in the conversion of MoOx3− to MoO3. The change in absorption intensity at 722 nm (denoted as (A0 − A)/A0, where A0 and A refer to the MoOx3− NSs solution in the absence and presence of H2O2, respectively) shows a linear relationship with the H2O2 concentration in two-separated regions  with different added H2O2 concentrations are placed in front of the OA-UCNPs solution. The quenching efficiency (denoted as (F0 − F)/F0, where F and F0 represent the luminescence intensity at a specific wavelength in the presence and absence of MoOx3− NSs, respectively) at 658 nm reaches 99.8% when 1 mg mL−1 MoOx3− NSs solution is aligned in front of 1 mg mL−1 OA-UCNPs solution. When H2O2 is added in the range from 0 to 0.8 mM, the absorption intensity of MoOx3− NSs solution at 980 nm shows a continuous decrease  and 250–500 μM (R22 = 0.997), respectively , glutamine (Gln), glycine (Gly), leucine (Leu), proline (Pro), serine (Ser), threonine (Thr), and valine . Furthermore, competition experiments exhibit the recovery in UCL intensities at 658 nm, performed by adding H2O2 to MoOx3− NSs solutions containing other interfering species  values are lower than 4.45%, suggesting the efficient practical applicability of the proposed sensor.For a practical application of the non-contact upconversion-based sensor, we studied the detection of Hx3− NSs on PEI-UCNPs, a series of MoOx3− NSs modified PEI-UCNPs nanocomposites (the concentration of PEI-UCNPs is fixed at 0.5 mg mL−1) is prepared by changing the MoOx3− NSs content (from 0 to 0.4 mg mL−1). The overlap integral (J(λ)) between the normalized emission spectrum of the donor (UCNPs) and the absorption spectrum of the acceptor (MoOx3− NSs) is defined by the equation as follows:where λ is the wavelength in nm, FD is the 980 nm laser-activated UCL spectrum of PEI-UCNPs normalized to an area of 1, εA is the extinction coefficient spectrum of MoOx3− NSs in units of M−1 cm−1. The J(λ) value for the donor acceptor pair is calculated to be 2.79 × 1013 M−1 cm−1 nm4. The effect of different MoOx3− NSs loading on PEI-UCNPs is evaluated by UCL spectra. As shown in x3− nanoassemblies experiences a significant decrease with the increasing addition of MoOx3− NSs. Additionally, the green emission intensity of upconversion-based nanoassemblies with different loading of MoOx3− NSs shows a similar tendency, but with a slower downward trend. As shown in x3− NSs, and shows no obvious changes after the addition of 0.35 mg mL−1 MoOx3− NSs solution. Compared with unmodified PEI-UCNPs, the highest fluorescence quenching efficiency at 658 nm reaches 95.6% with the addition of 0.35 mg mL−1 MoOx3− NSs. Moreover, the quenching efficiency at 543 nm shows the same trend, but with a maximum value of 87.3%. Correspondingly, UCNPs/MoOx3− nanocomposites with the addition of 0.35 mg mL−1 MoOx3− NSs are selected for the subsequent sensing experiments.To quantitatively analyze the quenching ability of MoOx3− NSs, a non-contact mode is designed. The MoOx3− NSs solution (0.35 mg mL−1) is sealed in the quartz cuvette, aligning in front of another quartz cuvette containing 0.5 mg mL−1 PEI-UCNPs solution, and the UCL spectra are depicted in Fig. S7.x3− NSs solution, and the energy-reduced light then reaches the UCNPs, resulting in the loss of intensity in UCL emissions. Ideally, the UCL intensity at 658 nm reduces by 72.3% compared with the control experiment.To elucidate the effect of EEA-induced reduction in the UCL of UCNPs by MoO−1) with different power of the 980 nm laser. As presented in Fig. S8,x3− nanocomposites with the increasing loading content of MoOx3− NSs  keeps its stability, which is confirmed by the activation of PEI-UCNPs  and 1.0–2.5 mM (R22 = 0.996), respectively  for upconversion fluorescence sensing of H2O2. The non-contact method relies on the MoOx3− NSs absorption-induced EEA effect and operates by placing the MoOx3− NSs solution in front of UCNPs solution, whereas the conventional upconversion-based fluorescence nanoprobe, based on the joint effect of EEA and FRET, was constructed by the integration of UCNPs and MoOx3− NSs via electrostatic interactions. An advantage of the non-contact method is that the valuable sensor particles do not become consumed or contaminated during the measurement and can be reused for a long time. The MoOx3− NSs act as the quencher in both nanosystems, owing to the strong absorptive capacity of MoOx3− in both visible and NIR regions. However, the addition of H2O2 leads to the oxidation of MoOx3−, resulting in the recovery of UCL emissions, and thus enabling the quantitative detection of H2O2 by both methods. Benefiting from the non-contact method, hydrophobic OA-UCNPs can be applied as the luminophore directly and ultrahigh fluorescence quenching (99.8%) is obtained. Moreover, the non-contact method exhibits high sensitivity toward H2O2 down to 0.63 μM, which is lower than that determined by the spectrophotometry of MoOx3− (0.75 μM) and conventional UCNPs/MoOx3− nanocomposites (9.61 μM). Additionally, pH sensing can be achieved by employing the non-contact mode as well, which has shown a broad pH-responsive range from 2.6 to 8.2. We believe that these results could provide new insights into the design of upconversion-based nanosystems for fluorescence sensing of other analytes.In summary, we have designed two different methods (There are no conflicts to declare.NA-003-D0NA01045F-s001


Compared with WS gel, HPGRS, and LAEGRS could effectively delay the short-term aging of WS gels, and LAEGRS had a more significant effect. HPGRS increased the pasting viscosity, viscoelasticity, and springiness of WS gels, reduced the free water content, and established a tighter gel network structure, while LAEGRS had an opposite trend on WS. In conclusion, HPGRS was suitable for WS-based foods with stable gel network structure and high water retention requirements, and LAEGRS was suitable for WS-based foods with low viscosity and loose gel structure.An investigation was conducted into the impacts of hydroxypropyl glutinous rice starch (HPGRS) and lactate-esterified glutinous rice starch (LAEGRS) on a dilute solution and gel properties of wheat starch (WS) at different proportions . The results of dilute solution viscosity showed that hydroxypropyl treatment of glutinous rice starch (GRS) could promote the extension of GRS chains, while lactate esterification led to the hydrophobic association of GRS chains, and the starch chains curled inward. Different HPGRS: WS and LAEGRS: WS ratios,  Wheat is one of the most essential grains in the world. It is not only a staple food but also the main raw material for preparing bread, biscuits, cakes, and other foods . Starch,Modified starch refers to starch treated by a certain method to improve the original characteristics of the starch or produce new characteristics to meet the needs of industrial production . ModificDilute solution viscometry (DSV) provides an effective, fast, and inexpensive technique for studying polymer interactions, which is widely used to determine molecular weight and conformation of molecules. Irani et al.  investigGlutinous rice starch (GRS) limits application in widespread food industry; due to the low solubility, shear resistance and gel strength, it is of great significance to prepare modified starch from GRS . In thisspη) increased and showed a linear relationship, thus making it feasible to determine the intrinsic viscosity ([η]) by extrapolating experimental data. The [η] is the spη of polymer solution as its concentration approaches 0, which reflects the liquid flow of each molecule flow friction; The value of [η] does not change with the concentration and can supply a useful indicator of the hydrodynamic volume occupied by an individual macromolecule coil, which only depends on the dimensions of the polymer chains [η] of WS, HPGRS-WS, and LAEGRS-WS are shown in η] of HPGRS-WS and LAEGRS-WS both increased. The [η] of single HPGRS and LAEGRS were 0.579 and 0.526, respectively, much higher than WS (0.279). It was related to the fact that both HPGRS and LAEGRS were prepared from GRS, with only minor amounts of amylose, and amylopectin is more difficult to recrystallize than amylose during the retrogradation [η] of the two modified starches prepared from the same raw material was also wholly different, [η]HPGRS > [η]GRS > [η]LAEGRS. Previous studies proved that hydroxypropyl weakened the internal structure of starch and hydroxypropyl groups was hydrophilic, which is conducive to starch chains stretched in water, increasing the volume of starch in an aqueous solution radation . As a resolution . The estsolution .The Huggins constant (k) is an essential parameter showing the aggregation of macromolecules, reflecting the molecular structure of polymer coils and the degree of coil expansion ,17. The In the dilute solution, the molecular conformation of the polymer is determined by calculating the slope of the b parameter of the power-law model. A slope (the b parameter) greater than 1 indicates the random coil conformation, while a slope less than 1 is associated with the rod conformation . The b vb developed by Krigbaum and Wall  of HPGRS and LAEGRS is significantly higher than that of WS, which means that both HPGRS and LAEGRS had sufficient hydrogen bond binding sites to interact with WS during gelatinization, which was the major reason for the mutual attraction of HPGRS, LAEGRS with WS  and b value of HPGRS increased, and the K value decreased. As a result, HPGRS had more binding sites and more entanglement with WS occurred, leading to a stronger gel network structure. This manifests itself in increased pasting viscosity, gel viscoelasticity and springiness, a more compact microstructure, and the retention of more water molecules in the network structure of starch gel. As in LAEGRS, esterification leads to the hydrophobic association of GRS molecules. The LAEGRS chains were coiled inward, and the exposed sites of starch chains hydroxyl were considerably reduced in the gelatinization process, which resulted in the decrease of the [η] and b value and the increase of k value compared with GRS. Dilute solution viscosity results showed that LAEGRS and WS still exhibit mutual attraction, proving that the lactate esterification only caused parts of the GRS chains to curl inward and that the massive starch chains were still entangled with WS. LAEGRS was unable to construct a stronger gel structure with WS due to the reduced number of molecular chains binding sites. It appeared in the results that LAEGRS reduced the pasting viscosity, viscoelasticity, and springiness of LAEGRS-WS, the gel microstructure was looser, and the ability to trap water was reduced.The formation of a starch gel network structure was the result of the action of amylose and amylopectin; the introduction of different groups on the starch chains may have different effects on the gel ,36. In tThe addition of HPGRS and LAEGRS had a significant effect on the formation of the wheat starch gel. The results of dilute solution viscosity showed that hydroxypropyl treatment of glutinous rice starch could promote the extension of glutinous rice starch chain, while lactate esterification led to the hydrophobic association of glutinous rice starch chain, and the starch chain curled inward. However, HPGRS and LAEGRS both had a mutually attractive force with WS, forming a uniform gel structure. Both HPGRS and LAEGRS can effectively delay the short-term aging of WS gel, and LAEGRS has a more significant effect. HPGRS improved the peak viscosity, final viscosity, dynamic modulus, and gel elasticity of WS gels, reduced the free water content, and established a closer gel network structure. HPGRS had a significant effect of thickening and promoting the formation of WS gels, while LAEGRS showed an opposite trend of the formation of WS gels. LAEGRS is more suitable for foods with low viscosity and gel strength requirements.GRS was isolated by the alkali steeping method described by Wang et al. . The priHPGRS was prepared according to the method described by Yang et al. . The watLAEGRS was prepared according to Butt’s method  with som2O5  until use.Samples were prepared by replacing WS with HPGRS and LAEGRS at 0%, 1%, 3%, 5%, and 10% levels, respectively. The samples were fully mixed in the stirrer, and the mixture was evenly mixed, transferred into an airtight plastic container, and stored with Pspη is the specific viscosity, t is the outflow time of the blend solution, and t0 is the outflow time of the pure solvent. The results of each sample in the experiment were the average value of three parallel measurements, and the error was ±0.1 s.DSV was performed using a Ubbelohde viscometer  according to Guo et al.  with somKrigbaum and Wall  proposedsp(η) is the increased specific viscosity of polymer (spη = rη − 1); [η] is the intrinsic viscosity of the solution; C is the mass fraction of polymer in solution; b is a constant related to Huggins coefficient k, reflecting the interaction between polymer and polymer in solution under a certain concentration condition. The spη of blends can be expressed as the following equation :Specific viscosity Changing Equation (6) into Equation (3) form according to Equation (5):HereKrigbaum and Wall  defined Pingping  proposedα to judge the compatibility between blends. The parameter α indicates the attractive (α ≥ 0) or repulsive (α < 0) interaction among polymer segments.The Huggins parameter n et al.  used parβ, asJiang and Han  revised β is a function of w and Δk; values of β ≥ 0 indicate attractive, whereas values of β < 0 indicate repulsive.The parameter The pasting properties of mixed starch were determined using an RVA-TM Rapid Visco Analyzer  according to Yang et al. with some modifications . The temThe DHR-1Rheometer  was used to investigate the viscoelastic properties of mixed starches as described by Yang et al. . The linThe textural properties of starch gels were examined using a TA-XT plus texture analyzer . The starch paste formed by the RVA was transferred to an aluminum can (45 mm × 30 mm), quickly covered with an aluminum lid to avoid water loss, and refrigerated at 4 °C for 24 h. The experiment was carried out after the sample was raised to room temperature. Samples were compressed twice to 25% of the original sample height using P/0.5 R probe at the speed of 1.0 mm/s, to a distance of 10.0 mm, the trigger force was 5.0 g. Six repeated experiments were performed on the samples.2) measurements were carried out by the Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) sequence. The echo number of the CPMG sequence was set to 1024, the scan number was 8, and the time domain range of spin echo was set to 1000–2000 ms.Water mobility of the mixed starch gels was determined on a MesoMR23-060H-I nuclear magnetic resonance  according to the method of Ren et al. . The samThe samples prepared as described in p < 0.05. Figures were performed using Origin2019b .All numerical results represent the average of at least three independent replicates using SPSS 16.0 . The analysis of variance using Tukey’s test at a significance level of


Plants have the amazing ability to convert solar energy into sugars through photosynthesis. Photosynthesis-derived sugars, synthesized during the day, serve as building blocks for a myriad of metabolic and developmental processes in plants . Upon synthesis, these sugars can either be used right away or converted into starch to be used at night, during which starch reserves are remobilized and degraded into simple sugars , allowing plants to maintain growth until photosynthesis resumes the next day . UsuallyPlant Physiology, In this issue of To investigate how light impacts starch homeostasis, the authors measured starch accumulation kinetics in response to changes in photoperiod. First, they used plants entrained in short (6-h photoperiod)- or long (18-h photoperiod)-day conditions prior to being transferred to a continuous light regime on the day of the experiment. After transfer to continuous light, both short and long day-entrained plants displayed near-linear starch accumulation before plateauing at ZT = 14 h . Even though short day-entrained plants expected dusk at ZT = 6 h, they continued to accumulate starch reserves similarly as in long day plants, indicating that starch accumulation depends on the time after dawn, irrespective of time to expected dusk.2 levels had a similar impact on reducing starch accumulation, pointing toward the involvement of photosynthesis rather than light signaling components.Then, 13CO2 labeling, the authors showed that the stabilization of starch resources was associated to the maintenance of cell wall and protein synthesis upon simulated dusk twilight. Based on these results, the authors hypothesized that decreased light intensity during evening twilight causes a dampening of photosynthesis and the associated sucrose/starch accumulation, which would in turn trigger starch degradation to maintain starch levels constant until dusk and avoid an energy crisis (Next, to test whether starch degradation in the light could be regulated like starch degradation occurring in the night, the authors modified and optimized an existing arithmetic division model  to prediy crisis .To test their hypothesis, Altogether, the authors provide evidence that decreased light intensity during evening twilight reduces photosynthesis activity and subsequent sucrose/starch synthesis, which in turn decreases Tre6P levels in plants, thereby promoting starch degradation to maintain starch levels constant until dusk . This inTre6P is a key regulator of starch degradation during the night as it integrates the circadian clock to set the pace at which starch must be degraded to sustain plant growth until the next day . The autConflict of interest statement. None declared.


The effect of fermentation treatment on the surface morphology, crystal structure, molecular weight, chain length distribution, and physicochemical properties of corn starch was investigated using natural fermentation of corn ballast. The amylose content in corn ballast starch reduced at first after natural fermentation, then grew, following the same trend as solubility. There were certain erosion marks on the surfaces of fermented corn ballast starch granules. The crystalline structure of corn ballast starch remained the same, i.e., a typical A-type crystalline structure, at different fermentation times; however, the intensities of diffraction peaks were different. The weight-average molecular weight of starch first increased and then decreased after fermentation. The content of low-molecular-weight starch (peak 3) decreased from 25.59 to 24.7% and then increased to 25.76%, while the content of high-molecular-weight starch (peak 1) increased from 51.45 to 53.26%, and then decreased to 52.52%. The fermentation time showed a negative correlation with the viscosity of starch, and the pasting temperature first increased, and then decreased. Natural fermentation can be used as a technical means to produce corn starch products as a result of the experiments' findings, and future experiments will detect and analyze the bacterial structure of corn fermentation broth in order to better understand the molecular mechanism of natural fermentation affecting the structure and physicochemical properties of corn starch. As the third-largest food and cash crop in the world, maize has been extensively grown in all major continents, with a global production of 988 tons in 2014 , gel permeation chromatography (GPC) with multi-angle light scattering characterization (MALS), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The effect of different fermentation times on the molecular structure and physicochemical properties of maize starch was determined using SEM, GPC-MALS, and DSC to provide a theoretical basis and data support for future fermented maize products.Corn ballast were purchased from Lingbi County Zhuoyue Grain and Oil Trading Co., Ltd. Hydrochloric acid  and sodium oxide  were purchased from Tianjin Damao Chemical Reagent Factory; sodium hydroxide, hydrochloric acid, potato amylose standard, acetone, and ethanol were purchased from Sigma Co. . All the procured chemicals were analytical grade.DGG-9053A electric blast drying oven ; MJ-10A pulverizer ; RVA 4500 Rapid Visco Analyzer ; scanning electron microscope ; gel chromatography-differential-multiangular laser light scatter and Waters1525 high-performance gas chromatograph by US Waters , UV Spectrophotometer by General Analysis General Instruments Co., Ltd. .The whole corn ballast (150 g) was weighed, washed three times with distilled water, added to distilled water (300 g), and naturally fermented at 30 °C for 1-20 d.Fill a filter article tube with 2 g of corn ballast powder that has been naturally fermented for 1–20 days and place it in the extractor. Connect the extractor and a dry extraction bottle with a known constant weight to the condenser, add 50 mL petroleum ether from the top of the condenser, connect the condensed water, start distillation at about 65°C, the number of siphons per hour is around 20. The filter article cylinder was removed after 6 h of distillation, the petroleum ether was recovered, and the extraction bottle was weighed after 1 h of drying in a drying oven at 105°C.Determine the crude protein content of 1 g of corn ballast powder that has been naturally fermented for 1–20 days using the Kjeldahl method.Weigh 2 g of corn ballast powder that has been naturally fermented for 1–20 days in a crucible of known constant weight, stagger the lid by about 0.5 cm, and place it on an electric furnace to burn and carbonize until it is smokeless, then place it in a muffle furnace to burn at 550 °C for 23 h until the sample turns white or off-white, cool, and weigh. Then burn for another 0.5 h, remove, cool, and weigh until the difference in mass between the two times is <0.2 mg, which is the constant weight.Corn ballast fermented for different times was rinsed with water, ground, and dried at 40 °C; it was then pulverized and passed through an 80-mesh sieve. The corn flour was extracted in 1:3 g/mL NaOH solution 0.3 g/100 mL) for 3 h, then centrifuged at 4,000 r/min for 10 min. The supernatant was discarded, and the upper layer of yellow-brown material in the precipitate was removed. The remaining material was then rinsed with water four times and centrifuged until the starch slurry turned white. The starch slurry was adjusted to pH 7 with 1 mol/L HCl, centrifuged, dried at 30 °C, passed through an 80-mesh sieve, and set aside for future use (0 mL for Amylose and amylopectin standards (0.1 g) were weighed and placed separately in a beaker, then anhydrous ethanol (1 mL) and NaOH  were added, respectively. The contents were shaken well and heated in a boiling water bath for 10 min. After cooling, the solution was transferred to a 100 mL volumetric flask and filled to the mark to obtain 1 mg/mL amylose/amylopectin standard solution. The prepared amylose standard solution was added to five 100 mL volumetric flasks at various volumes of 0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, and 1.5 mL, followed by the addition of the prepared amylopectin standard solution at various volumes of 5, 4.75, 4.5, 4, and 3.5 mL, respectively. The blank contained 0.09 mol/L NaOH (5 mL), following the addition of 1 mL acetic acid solution (1 mol/mL) and 1 mL iodine reagent  in turn, and filled up to 25 mL with water. The color was developed for 10 min and measured at 620 nm with a calorimeter. The absorbance values were recorded. The absorbance value was recorded at 620 nm. The amylose standard curve was plotted with the mass of amylose as the x-coordinate and the absorbance value as the y-coordinate.The starch sample (0.1 g) was weighed after different fermentation times and was prepared using the same procedures detailed in the previous section. The solution was cooled and filled to the mark in a 100-mL volumetric flask. Acetic acid solution (1 mL) and iodine reagent (1 mL) were added and water was added to fill to the 50-mL mark. After 10 min of color development, the absorbance was measured at 620 nm.The solubility and swelling power of corn ballast starch with different fermentation times were determined using the method proposed by Lv et al. . The 2% Solubility index (SI) = A/W × 100%Swelling power (SP) =P/W × (1-S)where, W is the sample mass (g), A is the dry weight of the supernatant (g), and P is the weight of the pellet (g).Sample solutions were prepared in aluminum cylinders by adding 3.50 g (dry basis) fermented and unfermented corn ballast starch and 25 mL of distilled water. The device underwent the following controlled heating/cooling process: initial holding at 35 °C for 3 min, heating to 95 °C at a rate of 6 °C/min, holding for 5 min, and cooling to 50 °C at a rate of 6 °C/min. The result was plotted using the software provided by the device .2 flow rate of 150 mL/min, the pressure of 0.1 MPa, and a temperature ramping rate of 5 °C/min  and distilled water (7 μL) were added to the crucible, which was then repeatedly pressed three to four times with a sealing press until the edge of the crucible was properly sealed. The samples were equilibrated at room temperature for 12 h and their pasting characteristic curves were determined under the following conditions: N5 °C/min .3 (containing 0.02% NaN3) was added to the dried sample, and the mixture was reacted at 121 °C for 20 min, then centrifuged at 12,000 r/min for 10 min. The prepared sample (100 μL) was analyzed using ASTRA 6.1 software , the flow rate was 0.4 mL/min, the column temperature was 60 °C, the analytical columns were Ohpak SB-804 HQ and Ohpak SB-806 HQ, and the loading volume was 100 μL.Instrumentation analysis settings: the mobile phase was 0.1 mol/L NaNO3 , and 2.5 mL isoamylase, and heated in a water bath at 37 °C for 3 h. Afterward, 5 mL of anhydrous ethanol was added to the solution, followed by centrifugation at 4,000 rpm for 10 min. A DMSO/LiBr solution (1 mL) was added and dissolved by heating at 80 °C for 2 h.Purified starch (5 mg) was weighed, resuspended in water (0.9 mL), heated in a boiling water bath for 15 min under intermittent vortex mixing. The solution was then mixed with 0.1 mL of sodium acetate , NaNThe chromatographic device was a GPC-MALS system, consisting of a U3000 liquid-phase system , an Optilab T-rEX differential detector , and a DAWN HELEOS-II laser light scattering detector .According to the properties of specific compounds, gel exclusion columns  with appropriate molecular weight ranges were used, the column temperature was 60 °C, injection volume was 100 μL, mobile phase A was 0.5% LiBr and DMSO, the flow rate was 0.3 mL/min, and the gradient and isocratic elution for 120 min.4 V; scanning speed: 4°/min; scanning range (2θ): 3–60°; step size: 0.02°; DS-SS-RS settings: 1 mm-1 mm-0.1 mm, respectively  and SPSS software  were used for statistical analysis. Origin software  was used for image processing. All data were collected in triplicate and the average value was used for analysis.2 = 0.9992, indicating a good linear relationship between the amylose content and the absorbance value.The absorbance value of the solution was measured at a wavelength of 620 nm and the standard curve was plotted with the mass of amylose as the x-coordinate and the absorbance value as the y-coordinate. The results were as shown in The effect of natural fermentation on the content of amylose in corn ballast is shown in The effect of natural fermentation on the solubility and swelling power of corn ballast is shown in The effect of natural fermentation on the pasting characteristics of corn ballast starch is shown in 7 to 7.78 × 107 g/mol in the early stage of fermentation, then gradually declined to 6.68 × 107 g/mol as fermentation progressed. The high molecular weight (>4 × 108 g/mol) first increased, then decreased as fermentation progressed. Meanwhile, the dispersion coefficient increased from 3.019 to 3.442, then decreased to 3.002. The dispersion coefficients of the starch molecules after fermentation were overall >1, indicating that the fermented starch molecules were more extensively dispersed and complex in structure.The effect of natural fermentation on the molecular weight of corn ballast starch is shown in The effect of natural fermentation on the chain length distribution of corn ballast starch is shown in The crystallinity of corn ballast starch with different fermentation times is shown in The effect of natural fermentation on the surface morphology of corn ballast starch granules is shown in As the primary nutrient component of corn and other food crops, starch has unique functional properties such as swelling power, pasting parameters, and regeneration value. The functional properties of starch are mainly determined by the ratio of amylopectin and amylose in the starch. The amylopectin content is positively correlated with starch swelling and amylose tends to undergo aging and polymerization processes . TherefoStudies have shown that under the conditions of starch milk formation, heating led to the breakage of chemical bonds between starch molecules, thus forming new hydration sites and promoting the swelling of starch granules. Since amylopectin molecules have a three-dimensional branching structure containing more spatial sites to bond to more water molecules, the amylopectin content is positively correlated with the change in swelling index , 20. TheThe aging characteristic curves obtained from RVA are closely related to the quality of starchy foods and are also important parameters for evaluating the quality of cooking characteristics of food crops. In this experiment, the aging characteristic values of corn ballast starch with different fermentation times were determined, and the results are shown in The variation trends of the starting pasting temperature (To), peak temperature (Tp), ending pasting temperature (Tc), pasting range (ΔT), and the enthalpy values of corn ballast starch for different fermentation times are shown in 8 g/mol) decreased from 83.6 to 82.6%, and the high molecular weight content (Mw>4 × 108 g/mol) increased from 1 to 1.8%. During early fermentation, because the amylose in the corn granules was completely dissolved, microorganisms adequately hydrolyzed amylose to produce sugars of small molecular weight, which were reused as a carbon source by microorganisms in the fermentation broth, resulting in a decrease in the relative content of amylose and a decline in the low molecular weight content. Meanwhile, the hydrolysis of amylose caused an increase in the relative content of amylopectin and an increase in molecular weight. As fermentation progressed, the microbial flora structure became more diverse and produced considerable amounts of amylase, glycosylase, and organic acids, which facilitated hydrolysis of the α-1,4 and α-1,6 bonds in starch to generate glucose and decreased the molar mass , the Heilongjiang Provincial Agricultural Reclamation Bureau Science and Technology Project (grant No. HNK135-05-02), Heilongjiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (LH2020C087), and the Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University Graduate Innovation Research Project (grant No. YJSCX2018-Y53).The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.


The conducted research aimed to evaluate the influence of admixtures of various modified starches on the rheological properties of cement composites and their influence on the compressive strength of hardened cement mortars. The study involved 17 different modified starch admixtures. Using a rheometer, the values of viscosity and tangential stresses were determined depending on the shear rate, and were subsequently used to determine the yield point and plastic viscosity of cement slurries. The next parameters tested were the flow of fresh cement slurry and the compressive strength of hardened cement composite. The highest fluidisation was recorded for retentate LU-1420-0.5%Ac-R, an increase of 82%. The conducted tests led to the conclusion that admixing cement composites with modified starches changes the rheological parameters and the compressive strength of cement composites. The highest strength gains occurred for the admixtures of retentate LU-1412-R (increase of 25%). Declines in compressive strength were noticed in the retentate LU-1422-R (decrease by 13%) and the retentate OSA-2.5%-R (decrease of 17%). The admixture of starch hydrolysate significantly decreases the yield point of slurries, which in turn may contribute to the fluidisation of concrete mixes and the reduction of mixing water. The lowest values were obtained for retentates LU-1420-0.5%Ac-R (decrease of 94%), and LU-1412-R (decrease of 93%). It was found that the consistency and compressive strength of cement mortars are affected by both the type of modification and the length of the chemical chain of starch. The workability of mixes is a major problem in concrete technology. Workability can be understood here as the behaviour of concrete mixes subjected to loads related to implemented technological processes. Designing concrete mixes concerning their workability involves the skilful development of optimal relations between the desired properties of mixtures, the occurring forces, and predicting the behaviour of the systems for the loads applied ,2,3. AdmCurrently, environmentally friendly products are growing in importance. Despite the prevalence of inexpensive toxic substances or derivative petrochemical products that have a destructive effect on the planet, “green” products are increasingly chosen all over the world despite the fact that their prices are sometimes higher. These products include biopolymers, biopolymer-stabilised nanoparticles and waste materials ,7,8,9,10The idea of green or sustainable concrete obtained from plants was common in early times. Numerous ancient structures, which have survived to this day, confirm the influence of natural substances on the durability of buildings constructed with their use .Starch is a material of natural origin, completely biodegradable, and commonly applied in many industries. Most often, it is used as a thickener or stabiliser .Starch is a very important resource that occurs naturally on Earth. To improve its properties, it can be chemically modified , physically or enzymatically. The chemical treatment of starch can be divided into several main types of modification: esterification, etherification, oxidation and hydrolysis. Starch esters include sodium starch octenyl succinate, acetylated starches, monostarch phosphates and distarch phosphates. By introducing an alkyl substituent in place of hydrogen in the hydroxyl group, starch ethers are formed, which include hydroxypropyl starches, cationic starches, anionic starches and cross-linked starches ,14.The rheological properties of cement mixes depend on many factors, primarily including the degree of saccharification, salt content and pH value . PreviouThe interaction of cement and saccharides has not yet been fully determined. Izaguirre et al.  found thThe delay of the hydration phenomenon becomes higher with the increase in polysaccharide concentration. Dextrins with lower molecular weights, compared to starch, foster the formation of more of the soluble fraction and, as a result, delay hydration . Based oThis paper aims to investigate the effect of the addition of modified starches on rheology and the selected physicochemical properties of cementitious pastes and mortars. To determine the possibility of using modified starches as plasticizers, experimental research was carried out. In the case of the slurries, the focus was on rheometric tests. For the mortars, the influence of the modified-starch admixture on the compressive strength was assessed. In the rheological tests of the mortars, measurements of the spread of modified-starch-doped mixtures were performed.The studies, conducted so far by the authors have shown that the addition of starch derivatives to cement composites can significantly affect their physicochemical parameters. Of particular importance are starch hydrolysates. The addition of dextrin substantially improves the workability of fresh cement. Durability tests carried out on cement blocks showed that the tested admixtures can increase the value of compressive durability by almost 20% without reducing the water–cement ratio . In addiSince the elimination of toxic substances contained in some plasticizers or superplasticizers that can migrate into aquatic and soil ecosystems is of high importance, this research concentrates on the use of fully biodegradable natural plasticizers that contribute to sustainability and ecosystem protection.The tests were carried out with the use of CEM I 42.5N Portland cement compliant with the European standard PN-EN 197-1. Native modified starches and starch hydrolysates were used as admixtures:Waxy corn starch (hereafter Waxy corn).-High-amylopectin starch (hereafter High amylopectin);-Oxidized starch (hereinafter LU-1404);-Acetylated starch (hereafter LU-1420);-Acetylated oxidized starch (hereafter LU-1451-0.5%Ac);-Acetylated oxidized starch (hereafter LU-1451-2.5%Ac).Potato starch:Starches-Acetylated starch filtrates (hereafter LU-1420-0.5%Ac-F and LU-1420-2.5%Ac-F);-Acetylated starch retentates (hereafter LU-1420-0.5%Ac-R and LU-1420-2.5%Ac-R);-Distarch phosphate filtrate (hereafter LU-1412-F);-Distarch phosphate retentate (hereafter LU-1412-R);-Acetylated distarch adipate retentate (hereafter LU-1422-R);-Starch sodium octenyl succinate (OSA) retentates ;-Maltodextrins .Products of enzymatic hydrolysis of starch subjected to membrane filtration (ultrafiltration)—filtrates (F) or retentates (R):Starch hydrolysatesSelected physicochemical properties of starch derivatives used in this research and methods of their synthesis are presented in ,32,33,34The rheological tests of cement slurries were performed on samples containing 0.5% of the modifier in relation to the amount of cement and for w/c ratios of 0.4 and 0.5.Starches were digested in make-up water using a multi-station CIMAREC and Poly 15 magnetic stirrer produced by Komet.The aqueous solution of starch admixtures was added to the cement, after which the entire mixture was stirred for 10 min using a mechanical mixer. The composition of the analysed mixes is presented in Cement slurries were tested mainly for the rheological properties of the produced systems. Measurements were taken for modified starches, including dextrins, which were also verified in terms of how the drying method influenced the rheological behaviour of the resultant slurries. The detailed research methodology is described in the points below.Viscosity measurements were taken with a Thermo Scientific™ HAAKE™ Viscotester™ 550 viscometer equipped with an MV-DIN rotor.For each sample, the level of viscosity was measured in three stages: in the first stage, the shear rate increased from 10 to 300 rpm, after which the shear rate was kept constant for 10 s, amounting to 300 rpm, and in the third stage, the shear rate was gradually decreased from 300 rpm to 10 rpm.dy/dt—shear modulus rate of fluid, (1/s) and Herschel–Bulkley model in the form ofn—dimensionless rheological parameter while the remaining parameters are the same as in the Bingham model. To obtain the required rheological parameters, an approach based on linear regression was applied [Based on the viscosity measurements, the rheological parameters of cement slurries were determined using the Bingham model in the form of: applied .In the first step, the mortar preparation procedure consisted in weighing out the required ingredients, i.e., aggregate, cement, water and admixtures in the following amounts: 1350 g, 450 g, 225 g and 2.25 g per portion. In the next step, the measured dose of a selected admixture was dissolved in the mixing water using a magnetic stirrer (in accordance with the PN-EN 196-1: 2016 standard).Cement mortars were prepared using a mixer with a program module and a device for automatic control of rotation speed around its axis and the axis of the bowl (planetary rotation).To determine the influence of admixtures on the consistency of cement mortars, the mixes were tested using a flow-table method, in accordance with the PN-EN 196-1: 2016 standard .Testing of the compressive strength of cement mortars was preceded by making beams with dimensions of 0.04 × 0.04 × 0.16 m. Fresh mortar was placed in three-part polystyrene-cement-mortar moulds. After the mortars were placed in the moulds, they were compacted with a shaker and secured against moisture loss.The beams were deformed 24 h after the batch was made and placed in water at a temperature of 20 ± 1 °C for 28 days. The compressive-strength test was carried out on halves of previously prepared cement beams, in accordance with PN-EN 196-1 . SubsequThe mean reference value of the flow was 19.25 cm. A slight increase in the fluidisation of the mortars was observed for the addition of waxy maize starch , LU-1451-2.5%Ac  and High amylopectin starch . A reduction in the fluidisation of the mortars took place with the addition of LU-1451-0.5%Ac  and the oxidized starch LU-1404 . The flow did not change when the acetylated starch LU-1420 was added. With the admixing of the mortars with starch hydrolysates, no reduction in fluidisation was noticed; each admixture improved the workability of the cement mixes. The highest fluidisation was recorded for the retentate LU-1420-0.5%Ac-R , the filtrate LU-1420-0.5%Ac-F , the retentate LU-1420-2.5%Ac-R , the retentate LU-1412-R  and the retentate OSA-2.5%-R . Slightly lower flows occurred for the filtrate LU-1420-2.5%Ac-F , the filtrate LU-1412-F  and the retentate OSA-0.5%-R . Among the samples of hydrolysate, the lowest fluidisation was noted for the Maltodextrin DE 8.5  and for the Maltodextrin DE 4.9 and retentate thickener LU-1422-R .τ0 = 10.9 Pa. An increase was noted in the yield point for two types of modified starch: the starch LU-1450-2.5%Ac  and the High amylopectin starch . The value of the yield points, similar to the reference point, occurred for the Waxy corn starch, gelling starch LU-1451-0.5%Ac and oxidized starch LU-1404. Furthermore, for two admixtures of modified starches, a reduction in the yield point was achieved. The LU-1420 reduced the yield point by 28% (τ0 = 7.8 Pa), whereas the retentate thickener LU-1422-R by 62% (τ0 = 4.1 Pa) compared to the reference value.The tests with the use of a rotational viscometer were performed for the mortars with 17 different starch admixtures. Using the Bingham and Herschel–Bulkley models, their yield point and plastic viscosity were determined. Admixing the mortars with starch hydrolysates lowered the yield point for each of the added starches. The lowest values were obtained with the retentate LU-1420-0.5%Ac-R , the oxidized starch LU-1404  and the gelling starch LU-1450-0.5%Ac . A slightly smaller increase in the compressive strength occurred with the Waxy maize starch  and the High amylopectin starch .The use of admixtures made of starch hydrolysates resulted in both decreases and increases in the compressive strengths of the cement mortar beams, depending on the derivative used.Strength gains occurred for the admixtures of the retentate LU-1412-R , filtrate LU-1420-2.5%Ac-F , retentate LU-1420-0.5%Ac-R , retentate OSA-0.5%-R  and retentate LU-1420-2.5%Ac-R .Smaller increases in the compressive strength were found for the admixtures of the Maltodextrin DE 8.5  and Maltodextrin DE 4.9 . A slight increase in the compressive strength for the admixture of the filtrate LU-1412-F  was found.Declines in compressive strength were noticed for the retentate LU-1422-R  and the retentate OSA-2.5%-R .All the tested starch hydrolysates caused a significant decrease in both the yield point and the plastic viscosity of the samples of cement slurry. The lowest values of the yield point were obtained for the fractions of the retentates. Among all the hydrolysates, the smallest reduction in the yield point was observed for the maltodextrins, particularly Maltodextrin DE = 4.9.These effects may have been due to the fact that the fractions of retentates contained the remains of the enzyme used in the process of enzymatic hydrolysis; thus, their surface activity was higher than that of the respective filtrate fractions . This diConsidering the plastic viscosity, most of the starch hydrolysates reduced it significantly and its lowest values were also obtained for the fractions of the retentates.It is worth noting that even when the w/c was reduced to 0.40, none of the starch hydrolysates reached the yield point for the reference slurry, determined by the value of the water–cement ratio equal to 0.50. For the retentates, the reduction in the yield point was above 80%.During the rheological tests, it was noted that the remaining modified starches did not change the yield points of the cement slurries or, in most cases, increase it. The same conclusions can also be drawn by analysing the obtained values of plastic viscosity. Due to the compaction of the mix, it was impossible to lower the w/c ratio to 0.40.The analysis of the above data shows that depending on the method of starch modification, different effects on the behaviour of cement mixes were obtained. Hydrolysed starches cause significant fluidisation. The best results were obtained for the fractions of the retentates. Furthermore, the number of acetyl groups of starch is important for fluidisation. However, it is not clear whether starches with more or fewer groups provide greater fluidisation, as this depends on the type of starch. The molecular weight of the starch seems to be a critical point affecting fluidisation . The tesDifferences in the degree of the fluidisation of cement mixes obtained due to modification with starch preparations or starch hydrolysates result directly from their chemical structure—the degree of polymerisation of admixtures. Starch hydrolysates have shorter polymer chains; hence, their saccharification degree is higher, which, consequently, affects the fluidisation of cement mixes. Furthermore, not without significance is the fact that the surface activity of starch hydrolysates, especially retentates, is higher compared to their initial preparations ,35.Starch hydrolysates change the compressive strengths of cement-mortar beams. However, they do not lead to an increase in compressive strength in all cases. For preparations with OSA 2.5% and retentate thickener AD, a decrease in the compressive strengths of the samples was noticed. These substances were correlated with the occurrence of cement-setting problems; the samples were disassembled after 2 days, which may have reduced their compressive strength. The remaining samples were disassembled after 24 h. Tan H. et al.  also notIt was found that the consistency and strength of cement mortars are affected by both the type of modification and the length of the chemical chain of starch.The highest strength gains occurred for the admixtures of retentate LU-1412-R (increase of 25%). Declines in compressive strength were noted in the retentate LU-1422-R (decrease by 13%) and in the retentate OSA-2.5%-R (decrease of 17%).It was demonstrated that all the tested starch hydrolysates caused a significant decrease in the yield points and plastic viscosities of the cement slurries and an increase in the flow diameters of the cement mortars and concretes. The highest degree of fluidisation, which was also confirmed by the viscometer tests, and the lowest values of the yield point and plastic viscosity were obtained for the fractions of the retentates. The thickening of the cement mix and an increase in the yield point were observed for the potato starches that were not starch hydrolysates.The differences in the degrees of fluidisation of the cement mixes obtained due to the modifications with starch preparations or starch hydrolysates resulted directly from their chemical structure—the degree of polymerisation of the admixtures. Starch hydrolysates have shorter polymer chains; hence, their saccharification degree is higher, which, consequently, affects the fluidisation of cement mixes.Taking into account both the compressive strength and the rheological parameters, the best results were obtained with the LU-1412R.Further investigations may be required to determine the effects of both the type and the amount of the added admixture on the course of the bonding process of cement composites.


In this issue, three articles have focused on endometriosis classification and terminology . These aIn their consensus paper published in this issue of Facts, Views and Vision, the International Working Group of AAGL, ESGE, ESHRE and WES  have outThere will be disagreement over some of this terminology amongst experts but we believe this is an important step in the right direction. We should leave minor differences of opinions and preferences based on arbitrary historical nomenclature aside to be able to move forward and use the same terminology internationally. The publication of this consensus reached amongst representatives of four large societies that deal with endometriosis is only the start. Changing terminology requires an international effort from all stakeholders for acceptance. If we are to achieve widespread and global change, peer reviewers and editors of scientific journals should insist on the use of this terminology. Similarly, the proposed terminology should be promoted in international conferences and social media. Future editions of relevant textbooks should reflect these changes. We should also reach out to societies not included in this consensus (and there are some large and important societies amongst those) to try and reach a more inclusive agreement globally.The issue of reaching a universally accepted staging/classification system may be an even more complicated endeavour than the terminology quest.In the second article in this issue of Facts, Views and Vision, the International Working Group of AAGL, ESGE, ESHRE and WES,; have lisHow did we get here? Why have we been unable to come up with a unified system so far? In their discussion, the International Working Group of AAGL, ESGE, ESHRE and WES  make a vAnd what does the perfect solution look like? What do we expect from an ideal system? We should not forget our most important stakeholder, the patient. Patients expect a commonly accepted classification system to give them an idea of the severity of their disease, in a format that is understandable and familiar.The “perfect” system that ticks all these boxes is unlikely to be found, due to the nature of the disease but can we get close to it? Can technology help? Electronic patient records have become almost universal and the use of technology to facilitate writing operation records is becoming more and more common. Perhaps with the right technology we can devise a data collection system that converts the “raw data” into various proposed classification systems. We simply describe what we find (on imaging or at surgery) and get a report that includes multiple classification systems. Such technology can also help in finding the best system (or combination of systems). The EQUSUM electronic surgical data collection system seems to perform better than nondigital recording in staging the disease  Does theThere is no disagreement amongst experts that we need a universal language. The differences in opinion lie in the answer to the question: “have we found that language yet or should we keep looking?”.The analogy of “Language”, in the context of classification staging systems, is an appropriate one. There are thousands of languages and dialects spoken worldwide. These languages are part of the culture of people who speak them and are incredibly valuable to them. Languages evolve to reflect the needs of the current times. A language survives only if it is spoken by a large number of people, is taught at schools and are passed down generations. The time has come to move away from the most frequently used rASRM classification as part of the evolution and develop one that will be spoken by the all stakeholders of endometriosis to ensure its survival.