The aim of the study was to directly measure graft forces of an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) and a lateral extra-articular tenodesis (LET) using the modified Lemaire technique in combined anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) deficient and anterolateral rotatory instable knees and to analyse the changes in knee joint motion resulting from combined ACLR + LET.On a knee joint test bench, six fresh-frozen cadaveric specimens were tested at 0°, 30°, 60°, and 90° of knee flexion in the following states: 1) intact; 2) with resected ACL; 3) with resected ACL combined with anterolateral rotatory instability; 4) with an isolated ACLR; and 5) with combined ACLR + LET. The specimens were examined under various external loads: 1) unloaded; 2) with an anterior tibial translation force (ATF) of 98 N; 3) with an internal tibial torque (IT) of 5 Nm; and 4) with a combined internal tibial torque of 5 Nm and an anterior tibial translation force of 98 N (IT + ATF). The graft forces of the ACLR and LET were recorded by load cells incorporated into custom devices, which were screwed into the femoral tunnels. Motion of the knee joint was analysed using a 3D camera system.P = 0.028). During IT + ATF, the LET graft forces reached 112 N. ACLR alone did not restore native internal tibial rotation after combined ACL deficiency and anterolateral rotatory instability. Combined ACLR + LET was able to restore native internal tibial rotation values for 0°, 60° and 90° of knee flexion with decreased internal tibial rotation at 30° of flexion.During IT and IT + ATF, the addition of a LET reduced the ACLR graft forces up to 61% between 0° and 60° of flexion (The study demonstrates that the addition of a LET decreases the forces seen by the ACLR graft and reduces residual rotational laxity after isolated ACLR during internal tibial torque loading. Due to load sharing, a LET could support the ACLR graft and perhaps be the reason for reduced repeat rupture rates seen in clinical studies. Care must be taken not to limit the internal tibial rotation when performing a LET. Injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) are often accompanied by deficiencies in its functional synergetic structure, the anterolateral complex –4. AlthoHowever, there is still controversy over which indications should be used to recommend the addition of a LET, and whether this procedure lead to non-physiologic motion changes in the knee joint. Biomechanical studies have reported controversial results in relation to knee joint motion after combined ACLR + LET. Lagae et al.  and SmitThe purpose of the present biomechanical study was to measure the graft forces of the ACLR and LET under various external loads after isolated ACLR and combined ACLR + LET. Load sharing mechanisms between the LET and an anatomic ACLR were therefore directly quantified for the first time. Knee joint motion after isolated ACLR and combined ACLR + LET was also analysed. The hypotheses of the study were first, that there is a reduction in the ACLR graft forces due to the addition of a LET, in comparison with an isolated ACLR; and second, that the combined ACLR + LET reduces residual rotational laxity that occurs in anterolateral rotatory instable knees after isolated ACLR.Six fresh-frozen human knee joints from donors with a median age of 86  were used for the biomechanical in vitro study. The bodies were donated to the local anatomical institute by individuals who had provided informed consent before death to the use of their bodies for scientific and educational purposes .Quantitative computed tomography scans  were performed to exclude knee arthritis (Kellgren-Lawrence ≥ 3). The specimens were stored at –20 °C and thawed for 24 h at room temperature before testing. Skin and subcutaneous tissue were removed, leaving the knee capsule and inserting tendons intact. A medial parapatellar arthrotomy was performed and closed after ligament integrity was verified. Only specimens without ligamentous and/or bony degeneration or a history of knee injury were included. Under lateral x-ray visualisation, a mediolateral pin was inserted into the distal femur at the intersection between the distal femur cortex and the Blumensaat line, as described by Stannard et al. . This axThe quadriceps and hamstring tendons were armed with high-strength sutures for active dynamic cyclic motion. Anterior translational forces were applied to the proximal tibia using a circular ring connected to a mediolateral pin placed 65 mm below the knee flexion line. The femur and tibia were embedded in polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) cement  for fixation inside the test bench. While the specimen was being mounted into the test bench, physiological movement of the tibia during dynamic flexion–extension was verified.The ACL was resected through the medial arthrotomy, which was sutured after each procedure and before testing. The simulated anterolateral rotatory instability consisted of three parts. First, a longitudinal incision was made in the iliotibial band. Second, a cut was created anterior and parallel to the lateral collateral ligament, from the lateral epicondyle to the joint line, in order to cut the anterolateral ligament and capsule, leaving the meniscus and popliteus tendon intact , 19. ThiAll of the surgical procedures were carried out by the same experienced orthopaedic surgeon (RM). ACLR was performed through the medial arthrotomy using bovine digital extensor tendons  folded iA modified Lemaire tenodesis  was perfThe knees were tested in the following states and sequence: 1) intact ; 2) with resected ACL; 3) with resected ACL combined with anterolateral rotatory instability; 4) with isolated ACLR; and 5) with combined ACLR + LET. Each state was investigated without external loading, during application of an anterior tibial translation force (ATF) of 98 N (10 kg), internal tibial torque (IT) of 5 Nm, as well as with a combined internal tibial torque of 5 Nm and anterior tibial translation force of 98 N (IT + ATF). Force and torque values were chosen for comparison reasons to relevant results of recent publications , 23, 26.The ACLR graft was preconditioned for 10 min under 89 N  and fixeTesting of the different states was conducted on a customised validated test bench with six degrees of freedom Fig.  17]. Mo. Mo17]. n = 6), a non-normal distribution was assumed. A related-samples two-sided Wilcoxon signed rank test was used for every flexion angle in order to test for significant differences between graft force data for the isolated ACLR and combined ACLR + LET. Friedman’s two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) by ranks with Conover’s post hoc test and Holm-Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons [n = 1000) was used to calculate 95% confidence intervals.In combination with a PICAS measuring amplifier , LabVIEW 11.0  was used to record graft forces. Motion data were analysed using ARAMIS Professional 2018 . Statistical analyses were conducted in RStudio  with R version 4.0.1. The significance level was set to 0.05. Because of the limited sample size (parisons  was usedP = 0.028). There were no significant differences between the two states (isolated ACLR vs. combined ACLR + LET) for any of the other flexion angle tested (P > 0.25)  Fig. .Fig. 3GrP = 0.028) . The average force reduction over all tested flexion angles was 49% during IT , 45% during IT + ATF  and 7% during ATF .During IT and IT + ATF, the ACLR graft forces in combined ACLR + LET were significantly lower compared to the isolated ACLR at 0°, 30°, and 60° (8) Figs.  and 5. WDuring ATF, the absolute LET graft forces decreased with flexion angle. During IT and IT + ATF, the absolute LET graft forces increased up to 60°    and 30° (P = 0.01) of flexion  Fig. . In cont41) Fig. . CuttingP = 0.003; 30°: P = 0.003; 90°: P = 0.002) and internal rotation during IT . For 60° of flexion there was no significant additional increase in anterior translation during ATF (P = 0.08). For 0° of flexion, internal rotation during IT did not differ significantly from the isolated ACL deficient state (P = 0.72), but combined with the non-significant increase of the ACL deficiency did differ significantly from the native state (P = 0.02). The combined deficiency significantly increased anterior translation during IT + ATF compared to the native state for all tested flexion angles .Further sectioning of the anterolateral structures (combined deficiency) led to a significant increase compared to the isolated ACL deficiency in both anterior translation during ATF . The isolated ACLR was not able to restore native internal rotation during IT for any tested flexion angle (P < 0.001), except for 0° flexion (P = 0.41). A non-significant increase in median internal rotation during IT between the combined deficient and isolated ACLR state was seen at 30° to 90°. In order to directly measure graft forces, small soft tissue incisions had to be done to securely fixate the custom graft force measuring device, which enhanced the lateral insufficiency. The isolated ACLR was able to restore the native anterior translation during IT + ATF at 30° (P = 0.07) but not at 0° (P < 0.001), 60° (P = 0.02), or 90° (P = 0.01).The isolated ACLR was able to nearly approximate the native anterior translation during ATF for every tested flexion angle without significant differences (0°: P < 0.001). The combined ACLR + LET led to a significant reduction in internal rotation during IT in comparison with the isolated ACLR, restoring native motion for 0° (P = 0.07), 60° (P = 0.92), and 90° (P = 0.15). At 30° of flexion, the combined ACLR + LET resulted in significantly decreased internal rotation in comparison with the native state (P = 0.01). The combined ACLR + LET reduced anterior translation during IT + ATF, resulting in non-significant differences from the native state at 0° (P = 0.62) and 60° (P = 0.15). For 30° (P = 0.007) and 90° (P = 0.02), combined ACLR + LET significantly differed from the native state during IT + ATF due to decreased anterior translation.Addition of the LET (combined ACLR + LET) and re-tensioning of the ACLR graft in between states significantly decreased the anterior translation during ATF in comparison with the isolated ACLR as well as the native state for all tested flexion angles . When an ATF was applied, the addition of a LET played a minor role and did not have a major influence on ACLR graft forces. The LET decreased residual rotational laxity after isolated ACLR, approximating native internal rotation under the tested conditions (retaining the second hypothesis). Unphysiological time-zero limitation of internal rotation was observed at 30° of flexion.The present study has directly measured forces in the LET (modified Lemaire technique) and ACLR grafts during different loading conditions. During loadings involving IT, measured LET graft forces reached high values of up to 112 N and ACLR graft forces were decreased from 0° to 60° of knee flexion when comparing the isolated ACLR to the combined ACLR + LET. This effect of the LET on the ACLR graft could support the ACLR due to load sharing and was directly quantified for the first time.Engebretsen et al.  reportedNoyes et al.  also dirAnother way of determining graft forces is to use a robotic system and the principle of superposition combined with serial sectioning , as descThe study by Marom et al.  is the oThe isolated ACLR was able to restore native knee joint motion during application of an ATF, but left a residual rotational laxity in combined ACL deficient and anterolateral rotatory instable knees. This finding is consistent with biomechanical and clinical studies reporting that isolated ACLR is not able to restore native knee joint motion in all cases , 36, 37.In the present study, combined ACLR + LET showed anterior tibial translation below native values during ATF and IT + ATF. This might be mainly because of the re-tensioning protocol used for the ACLR graft. Preconditioning and tensioning values for the grafts were selected to be as close as possible to clinical practice, in order to increase the validity of the in vitro testing. Due to irreversible viscoelastic effects in vitro (stress relaxation and slack increase), as well as the stress history dependency of biological tissue, the temporally separate graft force measurements in the two states (isolated ACLR and combined ACLR + LET) are not directly comparable –42. It wAs this was an in vitro biomechanical study, only the time-zero condition of the postoperative state – without healing, graft integration, or any other in vivo processes – could be investigated. Furthermore, only the knee joint itself, without the foot and ankle or skin and subcutaneous tissue, was examined. There was no muscle induced stabilisation or iliotibial band loading during the static investigations which resulted in high tibial translational and rotational values. As ligament-based stability strongly relates to muscle loaded stability and is a reliable predictor for functional stability , it was The addition of a LET using the modified Lemaire technique was found to provide a significant reduction in ACLR graft forces in comparison with the isolated ACLR for internal tibial torque loading. With anterolateral rotatory instability, isolated ACLR did not restore internal tibial rotation. After combined ACLR + LET, internal tibial rotation was comparable to that of the native knee, with decreased internal rotation at 30° of flexion. LET treatment in combination with an ACLR could therefore be helpful in postoperative protection of the ACLR during rotational loadings.


Biocomposite materials have a significant function in saving the environment by replacing artificial plastic materials with natural substances. They have been enrolled in many applications, such as housing, automotive engine components, aerospace and military products, electronic and circuit board components, and oil and gas equipment. Therefore, continuous studies have been employed to improve their mechanical, thermal, physical properties. In this research, we conduct a comprehensive review about corn fiber and corn starch-based biocomposite. The results gained from previous studies were compared and discussed. Firstly, the chemical, thermal, and mechanical properties of cornstarch-based composite were discussed. Then, the effects of various types of plasticizers on the flexibility of the cornstarch-based composite were addressed. The effects of chemical treatments on the properties of biocomposite using different cross-linking agents were discussed. The corn fiber surface treatment to enhance interfacial adhesion between natural fiber and polymeric matrix also were addressed. Finally, morphological characterization, crystallinity degree, and measurement of vapor permeability, degradation, and uptake of water were discussed. The mechanical, thermal, and water resistance properties of corn starch and fibers-based biopolymers show a significant improvement through plasticizing, chemical treatment, grafting, and cross-linker agent procedures, which expands their potential applications. After the industrial revolution, manufacturing processes used modern systems and started to cause a huge damage to the environment by increasing carbon emission, global warming, and producing more non-degradable materials. All these issues affect the life cycle of many species on the earth. Because of all these problems, scientists applied many solutions to reduce environmental pollution. Thus, in order to overcome these problems, scientists had developed the ecofriendly engineering materials, which are degradable, low in manufacturing cost, light weight, renewable, chemically inert, and easy to process compared to most artificial plastic materials ,2,3,4.Developing the properties of biocomposite material is still an ongoing process. Numerous investigations are being conducted on plants, both wood and non-wood, to extract fibers for biocomposite materials. The ingredients of biocomposite materials are extracted from various types of agricultural crops residue, such as wheat, corn, cassava, hemp, jute, kenaf and other crops . The facThere is inherently low compatibility between natural fiber and the hydrophobic thermoplastic matrix because the natural filler is naturally hydrophilic. This incompatibility between the natural filler and thermoplastic causes problems in composite processing and material properties. In order to overcome these incompatibility problems, various physical and chemical methods have been employed to modify the natural filler . TherefoCorn is one of the most cultivated crops globally, whereby according to United States Department of Agriculture the worldwide production reached 1110.84 million metric tons in 2019 . It is a3 [Percentages of corn in the biocomposite significantly differ for each composition depending on the material properties used as matrix and chemical bonding created between the filler and the matrix. To achieve perfect mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties, selecting the right composition needs to be determined experimentally. Usually, after a specific point or percentage of corn load, the properties drop, which requires chemical or thermal treatment or adding other materials to defeat the drop. Corn has been mixed with other materials to enhance their properties, such as recycled low density polyethylene (RLDPE) , calcium3 , microal3 , poly . The proThe structure of the corn kernel consists of six physical parts, which can be identified as the tip cap, the hull , the-Starch extracted after steeping for 24–72 h at 45 °C using centrifugation or sedimentation separation method .-Starch was extracted after steeping for 20–24 h at 50 °C using the centrifugation method ;-Starch extracted after steeping for 30 min using the decantation method .The process of extracting corn starch can be done by one of the following methods:The corn grain composition consists of starch 68.0%–74.0 %, hemicellulose and cellulose 10.5%, protein 8.0%–11.5%, oil 4.5%, sugars 2.0%, and ash 1.5% ,44,45. TThere are two ways to improve biocomposites-based fiber properties, either using fiber surface treatment or additions such as grafting and cross-linking agent. While plasticizers are added to enhance the flexibility of biocomposites based starch matrix.Plasticizers are used in composite material to improve the flexibility and applicability of the biocomposite based starch. Starch cannot be melted in its native form due to the strong hydrogen bonds, plasticizer molecules penetrate starch granules and reduce hydrogen bonds in high temperature, pressure and shear stress .It has been found that ethanolamine, diethanolamine (DEA), triethanolamine, ethylene glycol, and glycerol can act as plasticizers for starch . GlyceroPlasticizers have been used to promote plasticity and flexibility and reduce brittleness, but adding plasticizers must be experimented with to avoid the undesirable drop in the mechanical properties. For instance, reinforced plasticized corn starch with 8% of corn husk results in 12.9 MPa of tensile strength and 615 MPa of Young’s modulus. Adding 6% of sugar palm fiber (SPF) improves the mechanical properties, including tensile strength of 19 MPa and Young’s modulus of 1160 MPa. While the highest elongation was gained without reinforcing starch with fiber ,91.Corn starch can be plasticized by adding polyol mixtures of conventional plasticizer glycerol and higher molecular weight polyol (HP), such as Xylitol, Sorbitol, and Maltitol. When the glycerol is added to the corn starch, the highest tensile strength was 9.2 MPa, which is gained when the mixture contains 40 Parts per Hundred (PHR) of glycerol while the highest elongation at break was 117% at 60 PHR of glycerol. When sorbitol is added to corn starch, the highest tensile strength was 10.2 MPa gained when the mixture contains 50% of sorbitol of the polyol mixture while the highest elongation at break was 104% at 0–10% of sorbitol. The highest tensile strength gained was 16.26 MPa by the mixture of 20% Glycerol and Maltitol . When plSurface treatment is a common method to clean, modify, or improve the natural fiber surface to lower surface tension and enhance interfacial adhesion between natural fiber and polymeric matrix ,95. The -Acrylonitrile treatment improves the mechanical properties and decreased the maximum degradation temperature ,106;-Maleic anhydride treatment improves compatibility between the constituents of biocomposite, enhance the mechanical properties and the melt temperature ,107,108;-Titanate treatment improves the processibility of the biocomposite, and mechanical behavior ;-Oxidative treatment increases the carbonyl and carboxyl and enzymatic hydrolysis of starch ;-Alkali (sodium hydroxide) treatment for starch improved the pasting properties, reduced the past temperature and increased the peak viscosity ;-Alkali and silane (as a coupling agent) treatment is one of the most effective surface treatment to remove out hemicellulose and lignin . It is iThere are many treatments available to improve the surface properties of natural fiber, some of these treatments are:Bonding monomers onto the polymer chain improves the functional properties of the polymer such as sulfonation, phosphorylation, carboxymethylation and acetylation . GraftinSaccharum spontaneum L. (Ss) fiber and methyl methacrylates (MMA) [Corn starch have been used as a matrix for grafted fiber such as es (MMA) ,117. Cores (MMA)  and cornes (MMA) . Corn fies (MMA) ,121,122.Grafting Technique Types:In this technique, polymer is grafted onto cellulose and the most popular methods in this technique are ring opening polymerization and free radical grafting.Ring Opening Polymerization (ROP) is polymerization in which cyclic monomer yield a monomeric unit . It chanFree radical grafting makes formation in the polymer by the successive addition of free radical building blocks. This method is good for starch grafting. However, this method is a high cost method, which makes it inappropriate for many applications .Grafting via coupling agent improves the adhesion between the fiber and the matrix such as isocyanates. N-Octadecyl isocyanate is used as a coupling agent to improve compatibility between the Nano-crystalline cellulose extracted from Sisal and poly(caprolactone) (PCL) matrix , while MChemical grafting of the polymer can be achieved through ionic mode. Ionic grafting is similar to free radical generation method but in this method chemical initiator do not form free radicals. Instead, they form cationic or anionic centers that will initiate the grafting process . The ionStarch-based polymer blends are able to alleviate the environmental damage and alternate artificial plastics. However, many of starch-based polymer suffer from poor mechanical and thermal properties. Cross-linkage agents are used to improve the properties of biocomposites by improving the filler matrix interaction and filler dispersion. The most workable cross-linking agents are GLA and EP . These tBiodegradation is biochemical process driven by material tendency and micro-organisms to revert to its original constituents. It is considered as one of the most important characters of biocomposite materials. The biodegradation behavior dictates if the material is suitable for application at environment. In addition, it provides information on the required disposal process. Examples of popular degradation tests are as follows:Thermal degradation of polymer is the decay of molecules and loss of a hydrogen atoms from the polymer chain as a result of overheating. Thermal degradation serves as an upper bond to operating temperature of polymer. Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) is a technique to measure the degradation of the polymer by varying the heating rate while the change in the sample mass is measured. Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) is used to analyze the heating effect of polymer during the physical changes (glass transition and melting) ,135. AddPolymeric materials depolymerize using micro-organisms’ secreted enzymes . In thisMicro-organisms such as bacteria and fungi in the soil cause the degradation in the material after burial. This microorganism works by enzymatic action. The sample must be buried in soil with known weight for different time intervals, depending on the composite material and the application of the product. Then, the rate of degradation is evaluated by measuring the weighted and water absorption of the samples . ReinforCellulose is the most abundant polymer in corn fiber, while hemicellulose has the second percentage cellulose in the fiber composition. The strength of the chemical bonds in hemicellulose is lower than that in cellulose, therefore, hemicellulose starts to decompose first . Lignin There are many techniques used to identify the morphology of materials such as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy Analysis (TEM), Optical Light Microscopy (LM). Usually Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) is used identify the morphology of biocomposite materials.SEM results illustrate that there is improvement in the morphology of the corn composite product after alkali treatment shows significant reduction in hemicellulose and lignin. Another way to improve its properties is to add cross-linkers. Adding cross linker to the combination of corn, cob and chitosan shows best in 20% of corn cob and 1% of the cross linker. The most efficient cross-linking agents are EP and adipic acid (ADP) which uses chitosan/corn cob biocomposite films . The morCI) can be determined using Equation (2).aA is the amorphous area and cA is the crystalline area [X-ray diffraction (XRD) is an analytical technique used to characterize crystalline phases of a wide variety of materials, The advantages of using X-ray diffraction are its capability to characterize a single crystal with high-accuracy . XRD tesine area .Chemical treatment, adding crosslinking agent and fiber grafting improves the crystallinity of corn fiber while plasticizers improve corn starch crystallinity. Adding 6% and 8% of palm fiber to corn husk as reinforcement for corn starch matrix reveals 23.9% and 27.3% of crystalline index, respectively . Corn fiWVTR) or according to the ASTM E96-00 standard [To measure the passage of water vapor through a substance we need to calculate Water Vapor Transmission Rate  calculated by the Equations (3) to (5):Water Vapor Permeability is a measure for the permeability of vapor barriers. Before starting the test of water vapor permeability, the films were kept under 25 °C and 67% relative humidity in a desiccator for 48 h, the specimen placed at the top of the test cup and sealed with melted paraffin. The cup prefill up with an hydrous calcium chloride, leaving 3 mm above to the top, after that the sample place under conditions 25 °C and 100% relative humidity (RH), according to stander ASTM E96-00 ,149,150.d is film thickness, m is the weight increment of the cup, A is the area exposed, t is the time lag for permeation, P is water vapor partial pressure difference across the film. R1 is the relative humidity RH in the desiccator, R2 is the relative humidity RH in the cup and [Referring to Equations (2)–(4),  cup and .WVP) of corn starch usually ranges between 7–8 g.mm m−2 d−1 kPa−1 [w/w concentration of corn husk) to 8.5 g/m.s.Pa (at 5% w/w concentration of corn husk) [−11 g s−1 m−1 Pa−1 at (without glycerol) to 4.5 ± 0.4 * 10−11 g s−1 m−1 Pa−1 (using glycerol as plasticizer) [WVP) to minimize moisture transfer in the final product.The water vapor permeability (−1 kPa−1 . Fillingrn husk) . Using gticizer) . It’s imn is the number of layers, L and P are the thickness and permeability of the multilayer film, iL and iP are the thickness and permeability of each layer, respectively [Oxygen permeability can be used to define how easily oxygen passes through a particular material. It can be measured using gas permeation instrument using ASTM 3985 standard. Permeability of one layer can be determined using multilayer permeability Equation (6):ectively .−2 d−1 kPa−1 [w/v) concentration), 41.5 cc/m² Χ day (15% corn–zein (w/v) concentration), respectively [The oxygen permeability value of the pure starch film was 12.11 cm³ µm.m−1 kPa−1 . It has −1 kPa−1 . Plasticectively .To identify chemical bonds in organic materials, polymers, metals and various sorts of materials, we used Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) . The FTIThe FTIR result shows that the lignin and most of the hemicellulose were removed from the corn fiber using chemical treatment ,95. CrosThermal stability of biocomposite material is evaluated by monitoring change in weight as a function of temperature at a predetermined heating rate. Thermal properties of biocomposite materials are usually measured by Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Thermomechanical Analysis (TMA), and Dynamic Mechanical Analysis DMA . ThermalCorn starch plasticized with citric acid and reinforced with Grewia optiva fiber and methyl methacrylate (MMA) grafted fibers in addition of GLA as a cross-linker improves the thermal stability and the decomposition temperature can reach up to 522.65 °C .At the onset temperature stage, which is approximately 300 °C for films based starch, the starch carbon chains polymer underwent hydrogen functional group removal, degradation, and depolymerization . By addiMechanical characterization can be carried out using standard tests. The ASTM standard are summarized in Using grafting modification enhanced the mechanical properties of corn composite whereby the addition of maleic anhydride polyethylene (MAPE) to the composite of LDPE/CS improved the interaction between the LDPE/CS composite, at 10% of filler loading, tensile strength of the biocomposite was 8.1 MPa without grafting, and it increased to 9.5 MPa. However, the addition of MAOE decreased the elongation and young modulus . ReinforGenerally, mechanical properties can be improved by fiber surface treatments, addition of plasticizers and cross-linking agents ,172,173.0W is the weight of the sample before drying and tW is the weight of the dried sample after t time.Water uptake or water absorption refers to the ability of a material to absorb water. The increase of water absorbed by material causes an increase in the swelling and decrease in the mechanical properties of the material. Water absorption is expressed as increase in weight of the material due to immersion of water in percentage. To measure the water uptake of the material, the specimen is soaked in water for a known time at a specified temperature. Then, the water uptake is calculated using Equation (7) . BiocompReinforcing corn starch with rice husk/walnut shell reduced the water absorption to 4.32%  while reThe renewability of agricultural crops, such as corn, is one of the significant advantages of biocomposites-based agriculture resources. However, this advantage is restricted in biocomposites based forest plants unless the green cover of the forest is continually replenished and renewed.Corn-derived fibers and straw may be used to make several types of paper and paperboards. Because lignin has a high energy content and fuel value, it is widely utilized as a burning fuel. Additionally, lignin is utilized to make adhesives and binders, although these usages offer little value . Daily uAgro-industrial waste such as corn residues are difficult to recycle or dispose of, making them a serious environmental issue . These wAs the starch is the major component of the corn kernel, accounting for up to 72% to 73% of its weight , it has Production of bioplastics ensures the proper usage of biomass, whether its waste, such as corn residues, or prepared specially for bioplastic production, such as corn starch. Over the forecast period, 2017–2030, demand for bioplastics is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 11.2% . The incBiodegradation is normally not aimed at recovering plastic materials or monomers to be reintroduced in the life cycle of plastic products, while this is specifically the aim of other types of recycling options, such as mechanical and chemical recycling, which address both waste management and primary resource preservation. However, to control material waste and environmental footprints, the utilization of novel biocomposite elements should be enhanced along with and development of innovative recycling technologies . HoweverAccording to a market study, global biocomposite usage reached $19.6 billion in 2020, with a projected increase to $38.07 billion and a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.2 percent in 2025 . MeanwhiGreen polymers reinforced with natural fillers offer an exciting prospect for future research in order to reduce the usage of petroleum-based plastic. Recent and future studies focus on selecting the best biodegradable components of the biopolymer  and optimizing processing parameters based on selected properties. Natural composites will become more affordable as a result of diligent study, while their quality will improve, markets will expand, and the environmental impact will be reduced .Biocomposite material has great potential to replace synthetic plastic materials in various applications. Studies have been done to improve the properties of biocomposites. Corn fiber and corn starch emerged as popular biocomposites materials in the biocomposite research field. It has been found that both corn starch and corn fiber need to improve their properties. Adding cross-linking agents to the corn fiber, such as EP and GLA, and performing treatments to the corn fiber, such as using alkali and silane, maleic anhydride, and vinyl acetate to graft corn fiber has revealed improvement in thermal and mechanical properties of the composite. Adding plasticizers to corn starch improves the flexibility and applicability of the biocomposite material. Perfect composition percentages are the critical point for an ideal composite material with high properties. From an industrial perspective, bioplastics derived from starch may be processed at least four times without the addition of new material. However, further research must be done on the ways of managing and recycling biocomposite waste. Through plasticizing, chemical treatment, grafting, and cross-linker agent operations, the mechanical, thermal, and water resistance properties of corn starch and fiber based biopolymers are enhanced, which increases their potential uses.


Correction to: International Journal of Clinical Oncology 10.1007/s10147-023-02295-0In the original publication the given and family names of authors are swapped. The correct names are given in this Correction.The original publication has been updated.


The Brazilian Journal of Otorhinolaryngology (BJORL) celebrates 80 years (1933-2013) of science and progress; this means 80 years of contribution to the advancement of our specialty.We want to pay a very special tribute to all editors who have made our journal an entity truly representative of the scientific community of otorhi-nolaryngologists.We would also like to highlight the progress made in the year 2012: we hired a CEO who has provided an important support to the editorial production; shown the papers “ahead of print” at the website; and a DOI number assignment to each paper published. Additionally, our members may already have access to issues in mobile devices such as I-phones and I-pads. This is technology combined with science!Finally, we want to thank our colleagues who participated with exemplary dedication as associate editors and reviewers in this biennium, 2011 and 2012, a period in which we won our indexing to ISI, and we wish to extend a warm welcome to new members.Our future as a high level journal depends on each of us; thus, we count on the support from all of you, so as to increasingly have quality publications in our BJORL.A great 2013 to all!


Advances in Respiratory Medicine is a journal with a rich history dating back to 1909, when the journal was previously named Gruźlica (Tuberculosis) and published in Polish. The publication was suspended in 1939 due to the Second World War and only resumed in 1947 [Gruźlica i Choroby Płuc. In the early 1990s, the journal was renamed Pneumologia i Alergologia Polska [In 1962, the journal underwent a transformation and became an affiliated journal of the Polish Phtisiopulmonology Society and the Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases [a Polska  and becaFrom 2015 onwards, all articles in the journal were published in English .Advances in Respiratory Medicine that it is today [Advances in Respiratory Medicine is published by MDPI [In 2016, the journal was renamed again to finally become the is today . Until J by MDPI . It willAdvances in Respiratory Medicine will continue to serve as a platform for sharing advances in the field of respiratory medicine.We would like to offer a warm welcome to all Editorial Board Members, the Polish Respiratory Society members, and authors. We hope


The increasing use of total arch replacement and frozen elephant trunk (FET) is expected to lead to an increase in the prevalence of graft infections requiring replacement involving an FET, which is generally a more invasive procedure than the initial surgery. Herein, we describe a novel method for FET removal using a polyvinyl tube as the storage device. The procedure is completed using the same median sternotomy approach as the initial surgery. We report on the outcomes for six patients. Our procedure is simple to perform and safe and caused no injury to the aorta in our case series.The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11748-022-01790-x. Over the last decade, the frozen elephant trunk (FET) technique has replaced the conventional elephant trunk procedure for the treatment of complex and extensive aortic arch aneurysms. However, graft infection is a concern. Deep sternal wound infection (DSWI) is a rare but potentially devastating complication of the median sternotomy that is performed during cardiac surgery, with an incidence rate of 0.2–3% . In contn = 2), 27 × 120 mm (n = 1), 27 × 90 mm (n = 1), 27 × 60 mm (n = 1), and 25 × 90 mm (n = 1) were removed in all cases with poly vinyl tubes of the same size. Culture findings were positive in three of the six removed FET grafts. All FET could be removed without difficulty regardless the duration between the primary operation and FET removal. No adverse events associated with our method were noted during the postoperative period.Our approach to removing the FET from the distal arch to the descending aorta uses a polyvinyl tube as a storage device and is performed via a median sternotomy. We use a commercially available polyvinyl water supply tube  cut to a length 2 cm longer than the distal end-point of the graft to be removed. After a rounded end is formed to avoid damaging the aortic intima  infection , is imprWe have also used our method to remove an infected Zenith Alpha thoracic endovascular graft  deployed from the infected prosthetics graft to the native descending aorta. For the Zenith Alpha, a No. 2 silk thread was passed through the uncovered stent, allowing for complete storage of the stent graft within the polyvinyl tube. Therefore, our technique is effective for the removal of both the J-graft Frozenix, in which the stent is located inside the prosthetic graft, and the Zenith Alpha, in which the stent is located outside the graft Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.


However, this approximation is imperfect, especially in the case of metagenomics data. Erroneous but abundant k-mers are wrongly included, and non-erroneous but low-abundant ones are wrongly discarded. We propose kmtricks, a novel approach for generating Bloom filters from terabase-sized collections of sequencing data. Our main contributions are (i) an efficient method for jointly counting k-mers across multiple samples, including a streamlined Bloom filter construction by directly counting, partitioning and sorting hashes instead of k-mers, which is approximately four times faster than state-of-the-art tools; (ii) a novel technique that takes advantage of joint counting to preserve low-abundant k-mers present in several samples, improving the recovery of non-erroneous k-mers. Our experiments highlight that this technique preserves around 8× more k-mers than the usual yet crude filtering of low-abundance k-mers in a large metagenomics dataset.When indexing large collections of short-read sequencing data, a common operation that has now been implemented in several tools  is to construct a collection of Bloom filters, one per sample. Each Bloom filter is used to represent a set of https://github.com/tlemane/kmtricks.Bioinformatics Advances online. Consortia such as the 100 000 Genomes Project  belongs to any of the samples, and, if so, which ones. Though much progress has been made, indexing a collection such as Tara Ocean has remained out of practical reach.A recently proposed alternative is to build an index of the raw sequencing data and then later query sequences of interest, e.g. genes or shorter sequence fragments around variants such as SNPs or indels. Traditional indexing approaches, such as those used by owDe-SBT  and Mantk-mer indexing tools are based on common building blocks, three of them being: (i) k-mer counting, which summarizes each sequencing sample into a set of k-mers along with their abundances, (ii), k-mer matrix construction, which aggregates lists of k-mer counts over a collection of samples , the nuon tools , that fik-mer counting tool separately for each sample, and then construct a Bloom filter from the k-mers in that sample. We observe here that this modular approach has several drawbacks. First, it prevents fine-grain optimizations that can be obtained by tightly integrating these steps. Second, not all information is available during data structure construction, such as being able to identify all the samples to which a given k-mer belongs. As we will show, using such information improves the removal of erroneous k-mers. In summary, by limiting themselves to a modular approach, current tools leave both significant speed-up and joint filtering opportunities on the table. Given the maturity and abundance of Bloom filter-based indexing tools, as well as a plateau in performance improvement of k-mer counting tools  we introduce a procedure for rescuing low-abundance k-mers at the heart of the joint multi-sample k-mer counting procedure. This enables more sensitive results yet discarding truly erroneous k-mers, saving the prohibitive indexing of all (vastly erroneous) k-mers. (ii) We newly apply the concept of hash counting  We incorporate for the first time existing efficient matrix transposition techniques in a k-mer matrix tool, to efficiently output Bloom filter rows directly from partitioned intermediate data, saving intermediate disk space during joint multi-sample counting.From a collection of read samples, our method constructs Bloom filters. Based on a partitioned k-mer and its abundance on each sample in columns. In addition to a set of linearly dependent modules along with some utilities, the tool also proposes an API for downstream developments. Rescuing low-abundance k-mers is also optional.The proposed method is flexible as it offers various features depending on the user needs. Through a user-friendly pipeline, diverse results can be proposed such as count matrices instead of simple Bloom filters. Such matrices, represented in binary or plain text format, show for each row a k-mers, both in describing the proposed method and experimenting with it. A bird-eye view of the whole pipeline showing all its potential usages is proposed in In this article, we restrict our attention to the Bloom filters creation pipeline using the hash counting feature and using the rescuing of low-abundance k-mer counting and Bloom filter construction of a 6.5 terabase metagenomics collection, in under 50 GB of memory and 38 h, which is at least 3.8 times faster than the next best alternative.Using our workflow, we perform for the first time a massive-scale joint KMC (DSK (k-mer counting tools. Counting k-mers is an operation that identifies the set of k-mers present within one (or multiple) datasets and records the abundance of each k-mer. Intuitively, k-mers having a low abundance (i.e. seen few times) are more likely to be the result of one or multiple sequencing errors within reads, while k-mers above a certain abundance threshold are more likely to be correct. Note that neither KMC nor DSK can output Bloom filters.k-mers in a hash table by carefully controlling for memory and disk usage using partitioning. Recent versions of KMC and DSK are based on variants of an algorithm introduced by MSPKmerCounter -mers that we will not use here.In its original publication, DSK directly stored kmc_tools is a binary tool included in KMC3 for manipulation of its results files, which can perform e.g. set operations on list of k-mers, such as intersection, union or more complex ones. However, to the best of our knowledge kmc_tools does not support collections of k-mer lists (i.e. k-mer matrices) and is therefore not applicable to the work presented here.Jellyfish  (k-mers considered as not erroneous contained in its corresponding set. This requires to perform a time-consuming k-mer counting process for each data set.owDe-SBT  is a k-mes (SBT) . BrieflyBIGSI  which is a set of software components that together perform joint multi-sample k-mer counting, filtering, and Bloom filter construction, given as input many sequencing datasets (raw reads). Its aim is to efficiently construct Bloom filters for terabase-scale collections.We propose ‘k-mer matrices) are supported , jointly count k-mers, construct k-mer matrices, transpose them, and construct Bloom filters from counted k-mers.kmtricks has been designed to be a stand-alone pipeline , yet it k-mer matrix in row-major order.kmtricks also provides a C++ library for interfacing with any stage of the pipeline, enabling for instance downstream sequence analyses based on streaming a For all presented results, the description of the data, tool versions and command lines are provided in a companion Github website see .We evaluated the performance of kmtricks in terms of running time, peak memory usage and maximal disk space on human RNA-seq samples, while used in combination with HowDe-SBT for constructing indexes from Bloom filters.k-mers counted by Jellyfish and KMC3. Results for other related tools are reported in The main purpose of these experiments is to show the performances of kmtricks in various settings  and compare them to the construction of Bloom filter using a module of HowDe-SBT on k-mer indexing benchmarks, and first proposed in These benchmarks were done on two subsets of 100 and 674 samples from a common set of 2585 human RNA-seqs used in several k-mer counting.On these collections, kmtricks is 1–1.5× faster than KMC3 and 5–6× faster than Jellyfish. Thus kmtricks yields superior or comparable performance to other methods for indexing sequencing data, even though it performs the more complex operation of joint Using this dataset, we also validated that partitioning the Bloom filters does not yield uneven false positive rates that would be partition-dependent see .In the next section, we show that the performance gap between other methods and kmtricks further widens on larger inputs, i.e. terabyte-sized collections.k-mers (k = 20), among which 174 billion distinct k-mers occur twice or more (as reported by kmtricks).We performed experiments on large and complex sea water metagenomic data composed of 241 samples (distinct locations) by the Tara Ocean project (http://www-hpc.cea.fr/fr/complexe/tgcc.htm)] node with 2 × 64-cores AMD Milan@2.45 GHz (AVX2) with 512 GB of memory, on an SDD with 970 MB/s and 216 MB/s sequential read write (average on ten tests). Jobs are limited to 72 h. We did not include other, non-bloom filter based, tools in this experiment because we found significantly lower performances on smaller datasets , usually set to 2 or 3. However, with data such as metagenomics or RNA-seq that have uneven coverage and include low abundance species or expressed genes, abundance does not enable to distinguish erroneous k-mers from real ones, as highlighted in rescue low-abundant k-mers, through a rare but shared k-mer rescue procedure. This procedure consists in keeping any k-mer whose abundance is below a sample-specific threshold  whenever this k-mer is sufficiently abundant in one or several other samples. Section 4.3 provides a formalization and an in-depth description of the procedure.k-mers seen once (hard-min = 2), with our rescue strategy applied on the whole k-mer spectrum (hard-min = 1). We validated this strategy as follows. For each sample we computedWe compared an usual filtering method, i.e. discarding the therr: the theoretical expected number of erroneous k-mers,oneerr: the number of k-mers occurring only once andunrescuederr: the number of k-mers that are still considered as erroneous after our rescue procedure.k-mers occurring once. The closer a ratio is to one, the better.We then look at the ratio therr. Given raw sequencing data from Acinetobacter baylyi generated by these three sequencing technologies  we counted the number of erroneous k-mers (k = 20), i.e. those absent from the reference genome. Our estimated k-mer error rates (e.g. ratio of erroneous k-mers) are 1.27%, 9.27%, and 3.38% for HiSeq2000, HiSeq2500 and GAIIx, respectively. As a side note, from those ratio, one can estimate respective base error rates being 0.06%, 0.48% and 0.171%, respectively.The Tara Oceans dataset was mainly generated by HiSeq 2000 technology (222 samples out of 241), 8 samples were generated by HiSeq2500, 4 samples by GAIIx. For each of these technologies, we computed the theoretical error rate k-mer rescue procedure. Indeed, the quantity of k-mers filtered out is close to the theoretical expected value when using the rescue procedure . Around 8–9× too many k-mers appear to be wrongly filtered out when removing from each sample k-mers occurring only once .Results shown in k-mer rescuing appears to be essential as it: (i) side-steps the issue of removing low-abundant k-mers which ends up discarding an order of magnitude too many k-mers; (ii) recovers a number of k-mers close to the expected one using co-occurrence across samples.Thus, when indexing datasets containing low-abundant sequences as in the Tara ocean metagenomes, minimizer of length m within a sequence s is the smallest m-mer within s, where typically ‘smallest’ is understood in the lexicographical sense. A super-k-mer is a sequence in which all constituent k-mers have the same minimizer.A Bloom filter  between itself and its reverse complement.The strand of each sequenced read being unknown, in kmtricks, as in all hash counting as the process of counting hash values of a set of elements instead of counting the elements (k-mers) themselves. This is the counterpart of k-mer counting except that here k-mers are converted into (non-invertible) hash values, and several k-mers may collide to the same hash value. Classical k-mer counters  also use hash values inside their algorithms, but always return exact k-mers in the final results. Here ‘hash counting’ goes one step further and discards the original k-mer sequence, as it is unnecessary for constructing Bloom filters. The key difference between performing hash counting and directly constructing a Bloom filter is that we record the abundances of k-mers, which is essential for further filtering. This is akin to Count-Min sketches . This method however cannot directly be applied to efficiently construct Bloom filters, as we do in this work by counting, partitioning and sorting hashes prior to data structure construction. In k-mer matrix or Bloom filters. In both cases, the input is a collection of sequencing data files in FASTA/FASTQ format. The output is either a matrix having k-mers or hashes as rows, samples as columns, and k-mer counts as values, or a collection of Bloom filters, one per sample. In the following, for simplifying the reading of this manuscript, we focus on the process of constructing Bloom filters, counting hash values instead of k-mers. A general presentation of the whole pipeline with all its features is proposed in kmtricks supports the construction of either a k-mers then (ii) inserting distinct k-mers into filters, on a per-sample basis. kmtricks streamlines this process by realizing that in the case of Bloom filters, only the hashes need to be counted, not k-mers. Furthermore, in order to cope with terabytes of input data and still be able to efficiently count hashes, a careful partition-aware hashing scheme is designed.In other tools, the construction process of Bloom filters can typically be broken into two steps: (i) efficiently counting k-mer counting following the classical paradigm of partitioning k-mers based on their minimizers and then constructing super-k-mers, as introduced by KMC2 . These are Bloom filters that are partitioned into P sub-filters with exclusive (and consecutive) hash spaces s = bits” corresponding to the user-requested Bloom filter size. pBFs allow to populate only a small part of a Bloom filter when processing a k-mer partition, which saves memory and enables coarse-grained parallelization at both the construction and query stages. A classical Bloom filter can be obtained by a simple concatenation of the pBFs thanks to the consecutive hash spaces. This entails to adapt the query operations, see Section 4.2.5.In order to take advantage of the partitioning scheme, we use k-mers and writing them in their corresponding partitions on disk  is not performed, bit-vectors are output immediately instead of a list of counted hashes  not seen in the partition), an empty bit-vector is appended to the matrix. Hashes are not stored (only the bit-vectors are), as they implicitly correspond to row indices. At the end of this step, we have P sub-matrices of The count vector of each row  is processed according to the k-mer-aggregative representation, i.e. where each filter represents hashes for a single collection. Switching from a color-aggregative representation to a k-mer-aggregative representation can be achieved through a bit-matrix transposition. The matrices are additionally sorted so that each bit-vector row corresponds to consecutive hashes in At this point, the resulting matrices are color-aggregative, i.e. each row represents the presence or the absence of the corresponding hash value across samples. One seeks to convert the data into a P transposed matrices are in fact obtained, each with a number of rows corresponding to the number of samples. The horizontal concatenation of each corresponding row from these matrices allows one to build one Bloom filter per sample.When performing a transposition, we transform a matrix with hashes in rows associated with presence/absence bit-vectors into a matrix with samples in rows associated with a one-hash pBF. Due to Bloom filter partitioning, kmtricks can produce different outputs as described in Subsequently, pBFs vectors can be converted into sample-specific Bloom filters that are compatible with the SDSL library , its abundance in other samples is used to decide whether to keep its abundance for that sample or not.To rescue low-abundant but likely correct i, two thresholds are used: k-mers whose abundance is below a first threshold called hard-mini are simply discarded from sample i during the counting step. Such k-mers cannot be rescued latter. Among remaining k-mers, those whose abundance is higher than or equal to a second threshold called soft-mini (with soft-mini) are said to be ‘solid’ and are conserved during the merge step. Finally a k-mer whose abundance in sample i is in i, soft-mini] is conserved only if there exists at least share-min other samples in which this k-mer is solid. The parameter share-min is user-defined and is independent from the considered sample.In each sample i and soft-mini are user-defined and can be set independently for each sample i, or a unique value can be set to all samples. To facilitate usage, soft-mini can be automatically determined with respect to the total number of k-mers in set i. In this case soft-mini is the smallest value k-mers occurring soft-mini is smaller than a user-defined percentage of the total number of k-mers.The thresholds hard-mink-mers across multiple samples and for generating Bloom filters. In addition to being the fastest method for generating Bloom filters over terabyte-scale collections, our approach kmtricks proposes a novel mechanism to filter erroneous k-mers using their co-occurrence across samples, i.e. going beyond filtering on a per-sample basis. This approach leads to significantly improved recovery of k-mers in metagenomes. kmtricks is flexible as, in addition to this adjustable possibility for subtle k-mer filtration, it offers diverse usage scenario: Bloom filters creation, k-mer matrices and various operations on each module output. The scope of kmtricks is therefore Bloom filter construction, k-mer matrix construction, but it is not a drop-in replacement for k-mer counting tools.We propose kmtricks, a novel method for efficiently counting k-mers per sample), the performance of kmtricks is roughly equivalent to the state of the art KMC3 k-mer counter combined with the Bloom filters construction procedure of HowDe-SBT. However, kmtricks stands out on larger collections having higher number of k-mers per sample, such as Tara Ocean . For those, Bloom filter construction becomes a bottleneck and highlights the superior efficiency of the streamlined kmtricks pipeline.In our tests on relatively small collections . MetaGraph has been applied to collections of hundreds of terabases using cloud resources. Its preprocessing step is KMC3, and it does not perform k-mer rescue. Therefore its features are different to kmtricks, yet we added a performance comparison in k-mer rescue within a cloud architecture.Contemporary of kmtricks, MetaGraph (vbac029_Supplementary_DataClick here for additional data file.


The mathematical evaluation of the data indicated a significant effect (p < 0.05) of the US parameters on the production of RS. The largest increment of RS (13.46 g/100 g dw) was achieved with US cavitation at 1.8 W/cm2 power, 40.2 °C temperature, and 18 min of processing time. The developed method and technology bring low-temperature US processing of rice milling waste to create a new sustainable food system based on modified rice bran biopolymers.In this study, the optimization of ultrasound (US)  processing parameters  for the enhanced production of resistant starch (RS) in rice bran (RB) matrixes was performed. The effect of US cavitation at different temperatures on the morphology, physicochemical properties, and mechanical performance of RS was evaluated. Ultrasonication at 40–70 °C temperatures affected the chemical structure, reduced the crystallinity of RS from 23.85% to between 18.37 and 4.43%, and increased the mechanical and thermal stability of RS pastes, indicating a higher tendency to retrograde. US treatment significantly ( Cereal processing by-products, being a low-cost source of nutritionally valuable components, such as dietary fibres, resistant starches, proteins, minerals, and bioactive compounds, are promising materials for the valorization of sustainable bio-based components for food.Resistant starch (RS) is a biopolymer of plant origin that is resistant to digestion in the small intestine . In termStarch is composed of the two polysaccharides, amylose, a linear polysaccharide with α-1,4-glycosidic bonds, and amylopectin, which is a larger branched polysaccharide with α-1,4 and α-1,6 linkages ,4. The cNowadays, RS is characterized as a functional biopolymer with physiological effects comparable to those assigned to dietary fiber . RS alsoRice processing by-products have the potential to be utilized as an RS source, but the natural RS content depends on the rice variety and can be relatively low . MoreoveThe nutritional and technological properties of foods can be maintained through the use of preserving production conditions, leading to the increased interest in developing safe and cost-effective technologies. In the last decade, ultrasound (US) has been used extensively in food processing to enhance the physicochemical and functional properties of food components ,18,19,20The technological and mechanical properties of starch depend on water absorption and starch formulation, processing, and retrogradation. Higher amylose/amylopectin ratios of starch generally give material of higher strength and plasticity, and also affects the gelatinization process, which generates the uniform amorphous thermoplastic structure by the action of temperature and mechanical force or ultrasound cavitation ,23. QuanFrom this perspective, our work has been devoted to the development of a new sustainable food system based on rice bran biopolymers, in light of the potential application of US technology for the enhanced production of RS, by optimizing RS3 preparation conditions, thereby taking into account the effect of US processing temperature on the morphology, structural changes, mechanical performance, and technological properties of RS, and the possibility of the valorization and recovery of rice milling by-products.In this study, the analyzed food matrix was rice bran (RB) obtained from a local mill  after the brown rice milling process. A fraction with a particle size of 315 µm  was used for the experiment. Commercial native rice starch (S-7260) was purchased from Sigma Aldrich . Raw materials were stored in plastic jars at 4 °C temperature.Parameters of the starch sonication were selected on the basis of procedures reported by Wang and Bai . For theg, 10 min); this was then washed twice with 50% (v/v) ethanol and centrifuged. RS in the pellet was dissolved in 2M KOH by vigorously stirring for 20 min in an ice-water bath. The solution was neutralized with acetate buffer and the starch was quantitatively hydrolyzed to glucose with AMG. D-Glucose was quantified with glucose oxidase/peroxidase reagent (GOPOD), and this was the measurement of the RS content in the sample. Digestible starch (DS) was determined by measuring free-glucose content with GOPOD in the original supernatant and the washings. The RS and rapid digestible starch (RDS) contents were calculated and expressed as grams per 100 g of the dry weight of raw material.The content of resistant starch (RS) was determined using a Megazyme Assay Kit  for resistant starch determination based on the AOAC method (2002.02). The RB sample (100 ± 5 mg) was digested with a pancreatic α-amylase and amyloglucosidase (PAA/AMG) at 37 °C (pH 6.0) for 16 h with continual stirring, during which time the non-resistant starch was solubilized and hydrolyzed to D-glucose. The reaction was terminated by the addition of an equal volume of 95% ethanol and RS was recovered as a pellet through centrifugation  according to the manufacturer instructions.g for 15 min. The extraction was repeated two times. After the protein extraction, the starch precipitates were washed two times with 150 mL of distilled water by centrifugation. Isolated starches were lyophilized and stored in a desiccator until further use.Starches were isolated from the RB material by the alkaline extraction before and after the enzymatic digestion step . The staGranule morphology of starches was quantified using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) . Each powdered sample was placed on an adhesive tape attached to an aluminum stub and randomly examined at 2500× magnification.α radiation (U = 40 kV and I = 40 mA), a 0.02 mm nickel filter, the Bragg-Brentano geometry, and a fast-counting detector Bruker LynxEye. The samples were scanned over the 2θ range of 5–30° at a speed of 6°/min. The relative crystallinity was determined by calculating the areas below and above the curve that correspond to the amorphous and crystalline regions, respectively [Starch crystallinity was analyzed with a D8 Advance X-ray Diffractometer Bruker AXS . Data were collected using CuKectively . The rat–1 with a resolution of 4 cm–1.The FT-IR spectra of the samples were recorded using an FT-IR Spectrometer  with a single reflectance horizontal ATR  cell equipped with a diamond crystal. The data were recorded in the range from 4000 to 560 cmw/w) were heated from 25 to 95 °C at a rate of 6.5 °C/min, held at 95 °C for 15 min, cooled to 50 °C at 6.5 °C/min, and held at 50 °C for 2 min with a speed of rotating paddle of 250 rpm.The thermomechanical behavior of the RS paste  was analyzed by a Brabender Micro-Visco-Amylograph  according to Yang et al.  with somThe mechanical properties of RS slurry (0.4 mg/mL) in 1N KOH were investigated by an Ostwald’s capillary viscometer (tube diameter 0.99 mm) held in a temperature-controlled water bath  . Time ofThe least-gelation concentration (LGC) of starches was determined according to the method of Sathe and Salunkhe , analyziT, °C), treatment time , and power  at different levels. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) [lack of fit’ and the Fisher value (F).A Central Composite Design (CCD) consisting of 21 experiments and 3 center points for each power group was employed as the experimental design performed in a random order at four replications. The factors investigated included independent variables: temperature (gy (RSM)  was usedAll chemical analyses were performed at least in triplicate. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using SPSS software . The significant differences between the means were evaluated by one-way ANOVA at a significance level of 0.05.Factors affecting the increment of RS due to the formation of RS type 3 in the rice bran matrix were studied at 50% US intensity A. The amMost of the RS was produced at the early period of ultrasonication (15–20 min); a longer US treatment time (25–35 min) enhanced the degradation of starch, significantly decreasing the content of RS. Sonication at higher temperatures (60–70 °C) caused a slight increase (up to 5.0%) in the RS content during 15–20 min of ultrasonication, but a decrease up to 73.5% at longer sonication times (25–35 min) was fixed A. HerewiThe results are in agreement with other reports, showing that the yield of starch could be improved due to acoustic cavitation that disrupts the protein and fibre matrix, allowing the enhanced release of the starch granules . In otheAccording to the literature , the US p < 0.0001) for the RS production , and time .At US temperatures above the rice starch gelatinization temperature, the layered structure of the starch became unstable, and that may be the reason for the reduced relative crystallinity and lower content of RS. The ANOVA of the initial experimental data showed that both the US temperature and time were the significant factors (oduction . The RS T), time (t), and power (P) on the RS yield was determined via optimization by CCD and RSM. The yield of RS varied significantly from 1.51 to 12.61 g/100 g d.w. when applying different T (30–50 °C), t (15–25 min), and P  combinations (The effect of the US processing temperature (inations .0), obtained under the influence of the US processing, and independent variables, was constructed in the following equation:0 is the RS content in raw material; t, T, and P are the values of temperature, time, and US power, respectively.A quartic-order regression model , describt and T significantly affected the RS formation (p < 0.0001) , and their quadratic effects on the RS content: T2 (F = 13636.80) > t (F = 5168.84) > t2 (F = 4055.14) > P (F = 1049.64) > T2t2 (F = 1001.51) > Tt (F = 728.10) > tT2 (F = 437.29) > t2T (F = 263.98) > T (F = 163.30).The ANOVA of the model confirmed that the sonication temperature, time, power, and their quadratic effects and linear interaction effects among the factors  0.0001) . In addip < 0.0001), variation coefficient 1.19 %, determination coefficient R2 = 0.9998. The results showed that the p-value for ‘lack-of-fit’ was not significant (p = 0.1049); hence, the model was satisfactory in explaining the obtained data at a 95% confidence level. The predicted R2 value (0.9736) for the experimental design was close to the adjusted R2 value (0.9994), indicating that 97% of the data could be described by this regression model. Comparing the experimental data with the theoretical prediction, the relative error (RE) varied between 0.17 and 1.56% , indicating that there is a possibility of exploring the production of RS outside the studied level, but this would be outside of the technical characteristics of the device used.The elliptical form of the contours and a relatively sharp slope of the surface responses indicate a strong interaction between the analyzed factors and a strong influence of the sonication parameters on the response value. Based on RSM, the optimal conditions for the production of RS in RB were set as follows: US power of 1.8 W/cmUnder optimal conditions, the predicted RS increment (dY) shows at 13.46 g/100 g d.w. After three repeated tests, the average RS content was 13.44 g/100 g d.w. with a small relative error (RE = 0.42). The actual value was close to the theoretical value, indicating that the optimization results were reliable and practical.US as a sustainable processing technique has the potential to produce RS with desirable properties and mechanical performance. Modification at different US processing temperatures can achieve functional properties not found in untreated starches, which may have specific applications in the food industry.UN) showed typical irregular-shaped small-size granules (Scanning electron micrographs (SEM) of RS isolated from sonicated samples at different temperatures of RB are presented in granules A,B, corr40C granules and the formation of crushed particles . The RS samples obtained after sonication at higher temperatures already showed lower crystallinity peaks. With a temperature of 70 °C, the disappearance of peaks at 15° and 23° 2θ, and a doublet at 16.9° and 17.9° 2θ was noticed.Ultrasonication under mild conditions (40 °C) resulted in a minor decrease in crystallinity at 20° and 23° 2θ, a reduced peak sharpness at 15°, and a doublet at 16.9° and 17.9° 2θ compared to the starches isolated from the untreated RB (RSUN (23.85%)  and RS(23.85%)  implies Jiranuntakul et al.  also repReduced crystallinity was reported for US treated waxy corn starch , rice stThe FT-IR spectra of the rice starches are displayed in −1 (C–O stretching) and 1149 cm−1 , and the intensity of the peak at 1336 cm−1, corresponding to C–H symmetric bending [UN than for the ultrasonicated RS. The RS samples showed C–H stretching at 2926 cm−1 (peak A2) and at 1646 cm−1  that may be due to the picking of amylose helices during the combined US and thermal treatment.The intensity of absorption at 995 cm bending , was rel−1 (peak D) could be assigned to the asymmetrical stretching of the carboxylate group (–COO). In addition, the bonding to the carbonyl group (C=O) displayed an absorption peak at the 1720 cm−1 (peak B) region as a result of a possible polysaccharide oxidation process, which was more noticeable after US treatment. The bands at 999 cm−1 (peak H) and 1076 cm−1 (peak F) characterize the crystalline structure, and the band at 1016 cm−1 (peak G) was attributed to the amorphous structure of the starch [The stretching at 1514 cme starch .The observed differences in the FT-IR spectra of the RS samples may indicate a greater structural disorganization of the starch macromolecules, and the possible conformational and chemical changes  as a result of the action of the physical treatment and temperature . The pea−1, indicating a decreased crystallinity of RS from lotus stem due to US exposure.The results were similar to those reported by Young et al. , who repp < 0.05) contents of amylose (37.20–53.10%) than the untreated RS (UN sample (25.62%).In the case of amylose, the RS samples isolated from the US-treated RB had significantly higher  pasting temperature (72.95 °C) and lower peak viscosity (370.63 BU) due to the decrease in the crystalline/amorphous ratio and the double helix content of starch that occurred during the milling of the rice grain [s) of the RS slurry increased with a 40 °C US temperature and decreased at temperatures between 50 and 70 °C.In the case of the pasting properties , the natce grain . The spe40C paste and reduced the peak viscosity compared to the RSUN paste. The final viscosity value of the RS increased significantly at US temperatures of 40–50 °C but decreased compared to the untreated RS due to the disruption and dissolution of the starch granules. This indicates that US-assisted treatment increased the mechanical and thermal stability of the rice RS pastes and caused a higher tendency of the RS granules to retrograde.Ultrasonication at 40 °C slightly increased the pasting temperature of the RSp < 0.05) compared to the RS40C with no significant effect (p ≥ 0.05) on pasting temperature (70C that was isolated after sonication at 70 °C had the highest pasting temperature (75.07 °C) but a strongly reduced peak viscosity (298.51 BU), indicating that the starch granules swelled slowly.With temperatures of 50–60 °C, the RS pastes exhibited a slightly higher peak viscosity  improved the oil (OAC) and water (WAC) absorption capacities, swelling power (SP), solubility (WS), and reduced the least-gelation concentration (LGC) of the RS compared to the untreated sample.The technological properties of the RS isolated from the untreated and US-treated RB material are presented in p < 0.05) with increasing US temperature compared to the RSUN.Among the samples, the sonicated RS absorbed the highest amounts of water and oil  compared to the untreated RS  and native rice starch . The SP and WS of the sonicated RS samples increased significantly  at the lowest concentration, while for RS RS gels . The natThe increased solubility of the RS samples isolated from the US-treated RB could be explained by thermal/ultrasound disruption, inducing depolymerization and degradation of amylose and amylopectin , thus leAccording to the literature, US cavitation can initiate the degradation of chains between amylopectin molecules, contributing to strengthened linear fractions that can influence the increase in swelling capacity and solubility of starch granules . When th40C sample, indicating a strong interaction between the colloidal particles and soluble polysaccharide molecules. This finding could partly explain the enhanced content of such starch and its resistance to digestive enzymes. The US processing significantly (p < 0.05) improved the oil and water absorption capacities, swelling power, solubility, and gelation properties.This study showed that US treatment induced the structural disorganization of rice bran resistant starch, changing its physicochemical characteristics and influencing its mechanical preferences and hydration properties. Modification by US processing achieved functional properties not found in untreated starches, which may have specific applications in the food industry. US treatment at different temperatures (40–70 °C) affected the chemical structure, reduced the crystallinity of the RS from 23.85% to between 18.37% and 4.43%, and increased the mechanical and thermal stability of the RS pastes, indicating a higher tendency of the RS granules to retrograde. The pasting results clearly showed that the most viscous paste formed in the case of the RSp < 0.05) of three studied factors . The regression analysis confirmed that 97% of the data could be described by the obtained mathematical model. Through the optimization using the RSM, optimal conditions for rice bran US treatment were obtained: a time of 18 min, a temperature of 40.2 °C, and a US power of 1.8 W/cm2; under optimized conditions, the predicted RS increment was 13.46 g/100 g d.w.So far, there has been no report on the improvement of RS content through US treatment of rice-milling by-products. The data evaluation indicated a significant effect (The technological concept adapted in this study differs from the idea of using pure starch as the raw material to increase the RS content. The raw material used in this study was rice bran, which excludes the difficulty of drying the slurry of starch in the following technological stages. US treatment, resulting in a significant increment of resistant starch in the rice bran matrix, thereby increases its potential to be used as a functional bio-based component for food.


In this study, the mechanism of ultrasound combined with corn starch granules (CSG) treatment improved the foam properties of whey protein isolates (WPI) and was systematically investigated. The results showed that ultrasound combined with corn starch granules treatment increased foam capacity and stability by 15.38% and 41.40%, respectively. Compared with the control group, corn starch granules enhanced the surface charge (52.38%) and system turbidity (51.43%), which certainly provided the necessary conditions for the improvement of foam stabilization stability. In addition, corn starch granules as microgel particles increased the mechanical properties of the interfacial protein film, thus delaying the instability of foam. This research would provide new insights into the design of new protein-based foam foods in the future food industry. Whey protein isolate (WPI) is mainly composed of β-lactoglobulin (50%), α-lactalbumin 20%), bovine serum protein 4.7%), and immunoglobulin 3%) . The rig0%, bovin% . The r.7%, and In response to this situation, researchers have attempted to improve protein foaming systems using a variety of methods ,5,6. UltAlthough the foam capacity is enhanced, the formed foam system tends to destabilize within a short period of time due to the fact that the interfacial film structure formed by proteins at the air-water interface is still relatively weak. This phenomenon is likewise a factor that cannot be ignored in restricting the development of protein foam-based foods. Therefore, a simple and efficient foam stabilization technique may be beneficial to solve this problem. Recently, several teams have found that microparticles formed from biomacromolecules might possess excellent interfacial stabilization ,11. ProtTherefore, we considered whether corn starch granules (CSG), a common food matrix, could solve the problem of unstable WPI foam. In this work, ultrasonically modified WPI was first prepared to confirm its improved effect on foam capacity. In addition, bulk phase and molecular characteristics were evaluated to discuss the mechanism of ultrasound and corn starch granules affecting the properties of WPI foam.WPI and corn starch granules were purchased from Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Co., Ltd.  Trypsin and ANS were obtained from Sigma company. Other necessary reagents  were provided by Shanghai yuanye Bio-Technology Co., Ltd. .2), 240 W (21.26 W/cm2), and 360 W (31.89 W/cm2) for 30 min, respectively, with a 5 s pulse interval  were configured. Each sample solution was mixed with each of the above five solutions and fully reacted . The reacted samples were centrifuged at 10,733× All tests were performed in triplicate. SPSS 25 and Origin 8.0 were employed for the statistical and visualization of the data. Significance analysis was performed at the 5% level.p < 0.05). Meanwhile, corn starch granules did not seem to improve the protein foam capacity, as the assay results of the treatment group with added starch granules did not exhibit a significant enhancement at the same ultrasound power (p > 0.05). This phenomenon might be attributed to the following aspects. On the one hand, ultrasound treatment did induce structural changes in WPI, which enhanced the interfacial activity of proteins to a certain extent and accelerated their diffusion and adsorption to the air-water interface [In nterface . This menterface . The cavnterface . Therefop < 0.05), corn starch granules further enhanced this effect, which continued to increase with increasing ultrasound intensity. In particular, the corn starch granules increased the foam stability to a maximum of 48.5% under ultrasound treatment at 360 W, which was a 33.2% improvement over ultrasound treatment alone. Recently, many scholars have proposed that starch granules tend to bind to proteins in a macromolecular complex, and this complex stabilizes the interface by adsorbing on the side of the air-water interface close to the aqueous phase [Even so, the foam stability data in us phase ,19. Simip > 0.05), which might be due to that starch granules were located in the aqueous phase, making it difficult to directly affect the bubble morphology significantly. In addition, those relatively unstable bubbles had all disappeared during the stabilization of the system. The remaining bubbles were relatively stable in diameter, which tended to indicate lower interfacial tension. Generally, low interfacial tension corresponded to high interfacial protein adsorption, indicating that starch particles had no obvious impact on the amount of adsorbed protein at the interface when the system was stable. In conclusion, even though the foam capacity and bubble size were not observed to be favorably altered compared to the samples treated with ultrasound only, the foam stability of WPI with the addition of corn starch granules was greatly enhanced. The mechanism that underlies these phenomena is worthy of further discussion.Additionally, in p < 0.05) and the turbidity decreased continuously with increasing power. This was mainly caused by the external energy input brought by ultrasound. The larger biological macromolecules originally dispersed in the aqueous phase responded strongly to the light signal, but with the intervention of ultrasound, the initial equilibrium state of these aggregates was disrupted and caused an increased entropic effect on the system [p < 0.05). Such a phenomenon was consistent with our previous experience. Normally, starch-containing systems have a higher viscosity [Turbidity, an important indicator of the dispersion state and hydration properties of biomacromolecules in the bulk phase, has been widely utilized to evaluate the foaming potential of food matrices. The turbidity of the bulk phase for each treatment group was shown in e system . The lariscosity , which ciscosity . In concp < 0.05). This alteration indicated that the ultrasound greatly affected the arrangement state of charged amino acid residues in WPI, and the protein surface electronegativity was considerably enhanced. Similar results have been obtained in other studies on ultrasonically modified proteins [p < 0.05), and the zeta potential of the starch granules combined with 240 W and 360 W sonicated samples reached −18.4 mV and −18.9 mV, respectively. Theoretically, starch and proteins in the aqueous phase tend to bind at specific segments and side chains in the molecular structure through non-covalent interactions [Zeta potential is often employed to evaluate the dispersion state and particle morphology of colloidal particles in the bulk phase, which is a classical index to describe the surface properties of charged particles. Generally, colloidal particles at the interface exhibit a more spacious and disordered spatial conformation to maintain interfacial stability, and this state is dependent on a higher net surface charge . The larproteins . These lp < 0.05) with the enhancement of ultrasound intensity. This phenomenon implied that the hydrophobic amino acid residues originally buried inside the protein molecule might be exposed to the molecular surface under the effect of ultrasound, which also suggested that the amino acid residue arrangement of the ultrasound-treated protein was strongly affected. Similar results have been previously observed in other researchers’ studies [p < 0.05). Starch granules were normally in the swollen state in the aqueous phase, and the increased surface area provided favorable conditions for the association between starch and protein. Nevertheless, since the surface hydrophobicity was not significantly enhanced at higher ultrasound powers (240 W and 360 W), it would be reasonable to hypothesize that the co-assembly between them did not involve hydrophobic fragments. On the whole, ultrasound contributed to improving the surface hydrophobicity and interfacial activity of WPI, but corn starch granules did not display an incredible effect in this respect.In addition, the surface hydrophobicity of the samples with different treatments was given in  studies . In thisp < 0.05), which reached a maximum value of 0.24 with the combined effect of 240 W ultrasound and starch granules. Some researchers have concluded that multiple forms of external energy could enhance the molecular flexibility of proteins [p < 0.05), which could be confirmed in Molecular flexibility has been widely recognized as one of the important factors determining the functional properties of proteins, which essentially reflects the motility of the protein molecular conformation. Furthermore, the interfacial properties of proteins, especially emulsification and foaming properties, are closely associated with the motility of the molecular conformation . The traproteins ,29. Duriproteins . CompareIt has been clearly established that the molecular flexibility of WPI was significantly enhanced after treatment with ultrasound and corn starch granules, then further quantitative resolution of the protein secondary structure was indispensable. In comparison with the control group, ultrasound treatment increased the content of β-turn and random coil structures while reducing α-helix and β-sheet structures . It is kIntermolecular interactions in macromolecular systems are closely related to the macroscopic processing properties of complex food matrices. The changes in hydrogen bonding, ionic bonding, hydrophobic interactions, and disulfide bonding content of the systems subjected to different treatments were illustrated in Ultrasound treatment and CSG had significant positive effects on the foam capacity and stability of WPI, respectively. This phenomenon depends on suitable alterations in the molecular structure of WPI, and it is closely related to the Pickering stabilization mechanism of microgel granules (corn starch granules). Specifically, ultrasound treatment induces the unfolding of protein structure and a relative increase in flexibility through cavitation and local thermal effects. Furthermore, the inlay of corn starch granules at the Plateau interface prevented the intensification of the destabilization process which was achieved mainly by relying on the non-covalent interactions between WPI and CSG. This work will provide reliable and scientific insights for developing high-quality WPI foods and understanding the mechanisms of food protein foam evolution.


Few people had the privilege to head and thus become deeply acquainted with the largest and longest serving national scientific publication in the field of Otorhinolaryngology in Brazil. I am proud to have been one of them, in the capacity of Director of Publications for the ABORL-CCF between 2005 and 2010; and I admit that I felt this nostalgia when I was invited to write this editorial. I was suddenly taken by that sense of responsibility towards my colleagues, of representing them in a distinct and correct way. And I felt it could not be different now, in this mission to convey to them my view on the scientific importance of the BJORL in its 80 years of life, or at least in the meager five years within which I took part in its history. I searched and gathered data, made statistical calculations and correlations and strived to give scientific evidence to my words, as if thereby I were honoring the fundamental principles that govern and that have always ruled our journal - scientific excellence and editorial sophistication. Suddenly, I started to wonder if just the opposite was about to happen, if I was using this editorial space to pay homage to myself, because of half a decade within eighty years; as if the privilege had belonged to the journal, and not to its director. I then decided to put aside accomplishments, achievements, improvements, or other parameters that could attempt to testify for an intended management efficiency, and decided that I should rather speak, if possible, from the soul of our journal, which perhaps portrays more for the little things of day-to-day than the charts.My memory swung back and forth with several small facts and situations which, for me, define this very soul, for example, the care of our Assistant Director at the time - Regina Helena, in the correction of minor editorial errors, numbering tables and figures and even (phew!) references! It also came to my mind a most noble João Mello, snapped to his principles, refusing a decision he deemed not fair, even though such an attitude would not be known to most people, but only a few supporters and some many critics… I remembered the recent stalemate between privileging the papers from otolaryngologists, who were, after all, the owners of the journal and to whom we owed accountability, or give equal treatment to papers from other professionals, often of great value to increase our impact factor - should we privilege the ENTs or the journal? We have always taken pride in having the decision made by our consciousness, regardless of what it was. We also had the endless discussions about the effects of the political classification of scientific journals and graduate programs made by CAPES on national medical journals… attempts to clarify to colleagues the nuances behind the new classification… the serenity of all vis-à-vis the criticisms and fears arising from misinformation on this subject… the painful decision to discontinue the Revista Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia and invest in the Brazilian Journal of Otorhinolaryngology… and the very difficulty (thankfully solved with patience and creativity) to make these changes happen without much suffering and without changing the routine of the journal readers.I apologize for expressing such personal feelings, but I must say that it also came from the broth of my memories, the look of pride of a father who saw himself continued in his offspring, greater encouragement, perhaps, for a soul tormented by our apparent finitude. Professor Nelson Caldas, my mentor and of so many others around the country, would also celebrate eighty years this year and I cannot help but make a connection between his personal and professional life and the history of the journal and that of the very Brazilian Otolaryngology. The spirit with which he branded his entire career is the same fashion that has been driving the course of our journal, based on scientific and ethical rigor, and in constant pursuit of self-improvement. A spirit aware that the scientist is one who constantly seeks the truth, not one who has found it. And, as he certainly saw continuity in me and in all his disciples, we also see ourselves continued in that little mark that we left in the history of the Brazilian Journal, to which we should be thankful for.Finally, it came to my mind the bimonthly meetings of our Board of Publications along with the entire ABORL-CCF Executive Board… and the passionate involvement of all vis-à-vis issues related to the journal, showing that it truly was the darling of Otolaryngology. The support of the presidents, the search for sponsorship, the small ideas that could make big differences, the spirit of all devoted to the institutional interest above any other… This is the soul of our BJORL and it is to such soul that I should pay tribute in this festive year, an homage that I also pay to all of those who have helped and still help on this success story, either as founder, as director, researcher, translator, secretary, organizer, sponsor or many other functions involved in this magnificent job that has dignified our specialty and that was, after all, recognized by the high level indexing agencies in the world with our most recent ranking in the Journal Citation Reports from Thomson Reuters, a long dream cherished by us all and for which we have given ourselves as much as we could.Congratulations, BJORL! Best wishes! Many years of life!


In the high-producing dairy cow, providing an adequate supply of digestible energy is essential. One strategy to meet this need is to provide fermentable starch from cereal grains or silages like corn, barley, or wheat. Unfortunately, excess dietary starch increases the risk of rumen acidosis. Rumen acidosis challenge models using high-grain diets, particularly with wheat and barley, have demonstrated that a sudden change in starch concentration or digestibility leads to the breakdown of the rumen epithelial barrier. As a result, increases in circulating lipopolysaccharide  and acute phase proteins (APP) have been observed. Feeding increasing amounts of starch in chronic feeding studies does not appear to consistently modulate inflammation in early-lactation cows that already experience inflammation. In mid- and late-lactation cows, increasing starch above 30% may increase APP, but the response is inconsistent and has not been investigated using different grains or differently processed starch sources. Abomasal starch infusion experiments indicate that increasing the intestinal starch supply consistently reduces fecal pH but does not lead to an APP response or changes in gut integrity. Increasing intestinal starch supply increases fecal butyrate concentrations, and butyrate has had positive effects on gut health and integrity in other species and experimental models. More chronic feeding experiments are needed to investigate how starch concentrations, sources, processing methods, and interactions affect inflammation and gut integrity. There is a paucity of data investigating the role that carbohydrate concentrations and sources play on ruminant hindgut health, integrity, function, structure, or microbiome. Currently, data indicate that feeding diets with less than 30% starch to lactating dairy cows does not contribute to systemic inflammation. Starch and the cereal grains that typically supply it play an important role in dairy cattle nutrition. Starch is a highly digestible energy source that may increase milk yield , milk prAPP; This mini-review summarizes current research investigating systemic inflammation in lactating dairy cows provided different dietary starch concentrations during grain challenges, feeding experiments, or hindgut infusions. We use “grain challenge” when referring to experiments where grains are abruptly increased to ≥20% of diet DM for the purpose of causing ruminal acidosis. These grain challenges have resulted in an increase in circulating markers of inflammation such as LPS and acute phase proteins APP; . A meta-SAA), haptoglobin (Hp), and LPS binding protein during these rumen acidosis grain challenge experiments  had elevated serum Hp . Peak-lactation cows fed 45% of diet DM as barley grain  had reduced rumen pH, increased ruminal LPS, and increased SAA, but milk yield increased by 4 kg/d nonetheless, whereas milk fat yield was reduced . Pan et Few studies have examined periparturient cow APP responses to increasing dietary starch concentrations, but there is little evidence of enhanced inflammation. Abomasally infusing starch has not resulted in inflammation or gut barrier integrity loss even though it reduces fecal pH. IL10 (encoding an anti-inflammatory cytokine) in intestinal dendritic cells and macrophages, which, when incubated with naive CD4+CD25− T cells, promoted development of regulatory T cells, which suppress inflammatory signaling  in barley- or wheat-based diets may also lead to increased APP, but data indicate that sudden diet changes contribute to inflammation more than chronically elevated dietary starch. Altering dietary starch (20–32% of diet DM) for transition cows does not consistently affect APP. Starch infusion experiments demonstrate that increasing the supply of starch in the small intestine does not cause inflammation, even though fecal pH is reduced. Increasing intestinal starch supply increases fecal butyrate concentrations, which may provide benefits in the gut, but further investigation is needed. Evaluation of the gut microbiome and hindgut mucosal layers may yield important insights into the effects of starch on gut health and inflammation.


Philip Alexander, MD, is a native Texan, retired physician, and accomplished musician and artist. After 41 years as an internal medicine physician, Dr. Phil retired from his practice in College Station in 2016. A lifelong musician and former music professor, he often performs as an oboe soloist for the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra. He began exploring visual art in 1980, evolving from pencil sketches—including an official White House portrait of President Ronald Reagan—to the computer-generated drawings featured in this journal. His images, which first appeared in this journal in the spring of 2012, are his own original creations.Methodist DeBakey Cardiovascular Journal, submit your creation online at journal.houstonmethodist.org as a “Humanities” entry.If you would like to see your art published in the