Geopolitics is shaping the international education landscape. International education has trationally been used as a tool to boost transnational cooperation, foster multilateral and global ties, and reduce tensions between nations. Such a role has been eroded and international education has been weaponised in the context of escalating political turbulences and disputes over the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the relationship between Australia and China, with international student flows interrupted due to COVID-19, is overshadowed by escalating geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific region. Based on a qualitative study, this article examines stakeholders’ views on the responses of the Australian international education sector and universities to emerging geopolitical tensions. The conjuncture of geopolitics, COVID-19 and Australia's former government responses magnified a sense of crisis for universities and the international education sector as it was at risk because of their financial reliance on international students. Based on the findings, recommendations are made for the framing of a reciprocal, coordinated, responsive and empathetic international education sector to mitigate geopolitical risks and ensure more sustainable and ethical development for the sector. International education (IE) is situated in a broader political context as it involves multiple educational, social, cultural and diplomatic relationships across different countries and various fields. The key dimensions of international education, including student mobilities, international student recruitment, internationalisation of the curriculum, international research collaborations, transnational education and offshore programs, are increasingly subject to nation states’ political agendas and geopolitical turbulences. The role of international education, previously as a tool to nurture mutual understandings, intercultural learning, empathy, country-to-country harmony and peaceful cooperation, has declined . Yang  strategy and return diaspora policy that aim to boost the country’s attraction as a destination for international students and establish China as a regional education hub ... if you’ve got that geopolitical tension happening, but at the same you’ve got students reporting heightened racism and really feeling unsafe and not having access to clear and consistent information and so forth, that’s when you’ve got a problem. At the same time, the heightened discourse by the government about China also shifted public attitudes towards Asian students as captured below by a private consultant’s comment.Students and their families’ choice of study destination is informed by their ‘subjective’ perception of risks and individual risk calculation : p. 10. it’s almost like telling them that “we don’t really welcome you, so don’t come.” And so, when you start having, for example, federal politicians, basically calling people – well, you know, being suspicious of anybody that looks Chinese, that doesn’t really help for Australia’s image perspective, ... I think Australia’s done some things that I can’t see the necessity for - some visa cancellation, and the unforgivably slow processing of some research student visas, including Chinese research student visas. I think it’s unjustifiable. And I think Australia should do better in that score. So, I think there’s fault on both sides. Meanwhile, the lack of support and empathy for international students and the border closure policy of the former federal government together with difficulty obtaining visas together with the Chinese government’s position has significantly discouraged Chinese and other international students from choosing Australia as a study destination.The Australian government therefore created a public discourse that imparted an unwelcoming message towards international students by asking them to go home, closing the border, and being slow in visa processing. At the same time, incidents of racism, xenophobia, financial hardship and mental health problems experienced by international students in Australia, particularly Asian students, as commented by some participants  documented in official reports such as the COVID-19 Racism Comprehensive Report  and in tin some ways that fits with a larger picture whereby it’s managing COVID-19 by prevention and by isolating the Australian population from the virus... Leaving aside the question of the Australian government’s attitude to international education and I think its desire to run down the finances of the universities and weaken them. .[M]y sense is that the Australian government’s been almost deliberately slow to revive the international education industry. But, The thematic analysis revealed inconsistent and conflicting approaches to handling the dual geopolitical-pandemic crisis across different levels in Australia, that is, federal government, state and territory government and institutions. Responses of Australian previous federal government are believed to be slow, reactive, and unsympathetic as compared to other key destination countries such as the UK, Canada and New Zealand who continued to recruit international students despite the pandemic. However, this response aligned with the Morrison government’s initial reluctance, to put health before the economy and manage COVID-19 to ensure health safety. This belated response to the COVID-19 crisis was not matched in higher education. The Morrison government’s ongoing lack of support for international students and indeed universities  was recoWe didn’t get much traction on the federal level. By the way, the federal government is also hostile to the higher education sector. That’s an ideological position. It’s so interesting that there’s a hostility to the knowledge-based, inquiry-based sector. And that’s because maybe you don’t want to be open to inquiry and critical analysis. The Commonwealth Government in particular hasn’t been very sympathetic to international students and hasn’t done very much at all to help them in a concrete way. And that’s been quite different from the way other national governments have behaved, I think particularly in New Zealand, and Canada, and possibly the UK... And I think the universities have worked hard to be sympathetic to international students. And I think state governments have done quite a bit. Border closure indicated the Australian government prioritised public health before international education. But nearly two years later, due to pressure from the international education sector and Universities Australia, has seen the revival of international student mobility with the first groups of students arriving after 15 December 2021. Prior to that, alternative possibilities suggested and reported in the media and elsewhere of developing protocols of controlled quarantine on campuses were never adopted. This can be attributed to the hostility of the government towards the higher education sector compared to the financial support given to other sectors (e.g. business and construction industry) and merely amplified the structural issue and long-term policy of reduced funding for the sector and not addressing the failed model of university funding reliant on international students. This was echoed by some participants:While the federal government is unsupportive to universities and therefore IE, the local, state and territory governments and universities have demonstrated more sympathy for international students who are experiencing difficult times during geopolitical-pandemic crisis, with certain types of support, such as COVID rental relief in Victoria , Internathere’s a difference between government narrative and the institution [ones] ...policy and practice, right? And it will be naïve to say, “Oh, China said we’re not going to work with Australia, therefore we just stop”. The institution will say, “Okay. I’ll go and speak to ... China and say, are we still good?” “Yeah, we’re good.” “Okay, carry on.” So, we just carry on. Unless there’s a real clampdown. I think what I’m learning is The discourse of crisis and national security mobilised by the Morrison government magnified the different positioning of universities and the government in dealing with international education and collaborative relationships with China. This was exemplified with the foreign interference legislation which established federal overview of all international research collaborations, the unnamed target being China, but with significant effects on universities who have multiple arrangements with Chinese universities in teaching and research . DespiteThis participant pointed to the ideological difference between governments in both countries and universities in the way they perceive risks relative to what they consider to be their primary role, for example, doing research. Research is a global enterprise based on transnational collaboration, as COVID-19 showed in terms of identifying the strain and developing vaccines. At the political level, the Morrison government has taken a more confrontational position with China and tightened its relationship with the US by mobilising a confrontational discourse, even suggesting war . UniversAt the same time, they are aware of heightened risk factors around cyber security, with the hacking into the Australian National University (ANU) website in 2019, in which China was named, as a warning. Universities, in managing risk, have also become more careful regarding the soft power of Confucius Institutes (funded by China) which many universities have adopted and addressing the subtle influence being brought to bear on Chinese international students on campus and Australian academics in terms of any critical analysis of China by stating values of academic freedom . AcademiBut to effectively diversify to make up for a major loss of Chinese students is extremely difficult, if not impossible the way things stand at the moment because you can’t just create a large market for international education if that’s not already there. No, I don’t think they have [effectively diversified]. In the absence of support from the federal government, universities have made continuing effort to deal with the geopolitical-pandemic crisis and risk associated with their reliance on China as the major source of international students. Strategies included diversifying student cohorts to make up for the loss of the Chinese market, e.g., India, Vietnam. Indonesia , supportAlthough international education is often seen to be market driven, as argued earlier, international student mobility is often based on developing partnerships and infrastructure in-country to gain the benefits of scale. This requires significant planning, time and effort, often developed from research collaborations and institutional partnerships as well as reputation building in specific regions.ad-hoc and inconsistent across the sector. Wendy (consultant) notes that while some universities have reduced tuition fees for international students to compensate for the pivots to online learning during the pandemic and cater for students’ financial struggles, others still charge full fees.I must say some universities are doing better than others, and they spend more effort in addressing it... But at the same time, I’ve also heard that students have been chased for their tuition fees, for example, and part of me just thinks, they’re actually studying overseas right now, rather than being on campus, and some students might actually be struggling, so how much universities are actually supporting them in that process, is quite minimal. With COVID-19, universities, in taking up the slack of the federal government, are becoming increasingly active regarding pastoral care for their international students, although still largely approaches are The universities that had online already and invested heavily are pivoted really, really well. The ones that haven’t are struggling and having to spend a lot of money. Most notably, moving online has been the university response to both geopolitical and pandemic crisis. However, as James indicated, some universities that have had more experience in blended learning are more adaptive than others. Online provision requires significant digital infrastructure and academic support that requires a cultural shift in teaching and learning.This has led to significant effects on international student experience which is also being recognised by state and federal governments. But overall, there has been variation and fragmentation across the sector including universities in their effort to return to normal as international students begin to arrive. This signifies the need for a more holistic and consistent response across the sector to regain the prior reputation for Australian international education and trust from the international communities.The perspectives of participants in this study advocate for the critical need for the Australian IE sector to work towards a reciprocal, coordinated, responsive and empathetic approach for a sustainable recovery from the dual geopolitics-pandemic crisis.if we could be getting more young Australian people interested in China, interested in understanding China and interested in going to China, that serves a few purposes. Because it’s actually – it’s helping to be humble and to be able to say, we would like to learn from you at the same time…. I think And we’ve got to get out that technology or a vision, and really think about where we are today... in terms of ... how we can benefit the provider and... add value to them... We desperately need to be more international or global in our perspective... We have had almost an aid view of the world. ... It isn’t just knowing that, it’s understanding how the political system impacts on what’s delivered on the ground… So sometimes the difference in geopolitical systems is what you want because you’re going to learn something from that. Participants emphasised that for the Australian IE sector to navigate through geopolitical turbulences, there is a need to develop more reciprocal understandings and learning between Australia and partner countries in the space of inbound and outbound student mobilities, research collaboration or transnational education (TNE). The reciprocity should place emphasis on adding mutual values for Australia and partner countries alike, as commented by Anna, Paul and Trent below.As these excerpts suggest, Australians need to switch from the mindset of aid and Western superiority to a more global perspective in which Australia is part of a wider global community and regional network . It also requires politicians to shift from a more confrontational discourse to one that addresses geopolitics of the region in a more subtle manner, which the Labour government appears to be doing. Especially, countries in the Asia-Pacific region, the latest site of geopolitical tension being the Pacific nations, for example, Solomons  are impoAs discussed above, there exists inconsistency and mismatch in the response to the geopolitical-pandemic crisis at different levels and by different stakeholders including universities and government, indicating the lack of coordination and consultation, even antagonism with the previous government, across the sector and between the sector and government levels and departments. Participants concurred that international education needs to follow an interrelated and collaborative approach instead of each level, stakeholder and dimension operating in silos and that they needed to share expertise and practices that worked with regard to international students. The agency of crisis management is subject to an amalgam of institutional and human agencies so the collaboration between institutional agency, linked to the ability of units and authorities to respond promptly and responsibly to a crisis, and human agency, related to the willingness and ability of individual members to act and collaborate, is critical in crisis management .we absolutely need all the sectors working together as one. You need, at the moment we’ve got states controlling different things. We’ve got Austrade running in a different direction. We’ve got governments playing in the education space. We’ve got different universities with different policies and strategies. We need to be engaged as a sector. Bottom line is, that Australia if it wants to be and get back to a position, ...As recommended in the excerpt below, different stakeholders such as federal government, state/territory/local governments, universities and community organisations should come together to more effectively leverage the resources and create compound effects on reviving the sector.[I]f universities can pull together an amount of money to provide services to international students... so you can actually provide substantial services when you pull together funding, but universities don’t like that, and not willing to, as well..., and sometimes you think “well are universities actually wanting to support students, or they just want to pretend to support international students. And if they do support international students in a much better way, a lot of this wouldn’t necessarily happen. [University should] collaborate. I don’t see why they have to compete. The commodification of education has led to competition and people don’t have to mindlessly participate... You don’t have to participate in the competition. Some competition is counterintuitive and counterproductive to generating knowledge and outcomes. that everyone is competing with each other. But there are certain signals that can be [sent]… in collaboration with government. Well, it is difficult for the sector as a whole because it is a very divided, competitive sector, I suppose, Within the higher education sector, participants also pointed to the need for universities as a sector to switch from a competitive model to a more coordinated one, marketing as a sector not as individual universities competing for students.The competition among universities is the result of processes of corporatisation and commodification , encouraAs an example, while it may be that Beijing and Canberra are experiencing tension, it doesn’t mean that people of China and Australia are necessarily experiencing tension and that the value is to keep those connections. The value within a risk assessed environment ... That’s the role the university plays. So at an institution-to-institutional level, we tend to just keep our relationships because we know anything above us could change very quickly.... On an international level, collaboration and partnership with other countries should, various stakeholders argued, also be maintained, and strengthened based on institution-to-institution and people-to-people relationships.Both Barbara and James highlighted the importance of the relationships at the institutional and personal levels as key to sustainable partnership despite turbulences in national political relations. Tensions in the bilateral relationship between Australia and China, for example, cannot impede universities and academics in the two countries from maintaining collaboration and connection, as exemplified by how intellectual leadership continued during and in response to the pandemic. International institutional collaboration and partnership lay a foundation for student and staff mobilities, international student recruitment, research collaboration as well as TNE, and thereby being beneficial to the recovery of the sector in Australia. Therefore, different dimensions of international education should be interrelated and built upon each other rather than operating in silos.we do due diligence. And part of our due diligence will be, we [have] the right match as a partner, from a branding, from a marketing, from a financial, from a student, staff security?’, “Can we send staff and students out to a country?,” for example, Iran, is probably not a country we’re going to send staff and students to and setup an institute at the moment because of the risks, political risk, health risks.... and that’s where we will absolutely use Austrade, DFAT... we might get independent consultants. When we look at institutions, international risk advisor. So we have a company called International SOS who are contracted to us. ... In the event that anything happens to any of our staff or students offshore, International SOS always will respond on our behalf. And that’s a big part of our risk management… We have an To increase institutions’ readiness for modern risks, there is a need for them to take ‘anticipatory precautionary measures’ : p. 11 tdo a better job of the inclusion, the support, and the diplomacy that’s required in order for Chinese students to have a good experience of education here, and to understand democratic processes and the importance of participation in civil society. My recommendation is that don’t treat Chinese students as an extension of the Chinese Communist Party. If you want to support democratic participation and changes in Chinese society back home, then please being empathetic, really empathetic to students in different cultural backgrounds is going to be essential when making policy decisions from now on. I don’t know what the solution is, but I think As emphasised by participants, what is crucial to a sustainable and ethical IE sector is the support and empathy for as well as inclusion of international students. While the care factor has been outlined in government policy documents such as the newly released Australian Strategy for International Education 2021–2030 , it is iThese stakeholders recognise how international students are caught up in the geopolitics-international education crisis and domestic politics and need to be embraced, welcomed and supported in an inclusive society and community. The well-being of students is central to them having good experiences while studying in Australia and is more likely to provide them with a sense of belonging and security. Indeed, support, care and empathy for international students are necessary for Australia to restore the reputation of international sector, which has taken Australia decades to build but been quickly damaged by federal government’s careless message that asked international students to return to their home countries during the pandemic . Again, I think that there is a big problem with regards to university support system. But whenever, for example, even if we direct them to other like study clusters or Commonwealth departments or things like that, they always say, “ask your university.” Your university or education providers are supposed to give you the support. I don’t know where else students can go to when their university do not provide those kinds of support, they are supposed to. At the university level, there should be more investment in building staff capacity in relation to supporting international students and taking care of their well-being.As universities are the direct point of contact for international students, they should take lead in providing support and duty of care to their students. However, as Bianca remarked, universities do not always have sufficient expertise to assist students in crisis, indicating the need for universities to develop the capacity for staff in this space.Australia hasn’t responded well ... If you look at the US they’ve been very strong in protecting academics from nation states where they’ve been subject to violence or refugee status or protecting their right to research and comment... Same, if you read across EAIE, they’ve done the same within the European Union. There’s a real integration of academic knowledge creation and sharing and protection that sometimes supersedes a nation. But we haven’t managed to do that. Universities UK is stronger than [Universities Australia]---It is better. It’s larger and it’s probably smarter. It is a very effective organisation, in my opinion. I think everyone would respond the same way because it’d be done through the university organisations. Like Apart from students, academic staff also need support and protection from universities and government. Currently, academic staff in Australia are not sufficiently protected as compared to other countries such as the US, UK and Europe, where university organisations such as Universities UK, NAFSA  and EAIE  are active in advocating for academics.This echoes International education has proven to be highly prone to geopolitical turbulences. This inter-relation has become crystalised during the pandemic which has accelerated the tensions of Australia–China relationship. Australia’s international education has been undergoing heightened challenges over the last two years, including the drastic drop of international students, suspension in outbound mobility and transnational education, hardship of international students and staff, and the shaken reputation of Australian IE, as reported by the participants in this research. These challenges reflect the ‘modern risks’ facing Australian international education sector that are the result of ‘conscious decisions’ : p. 25 mThe study provides evidence about the fragmented, inconsistent, and conflicting approaches to responding to the geopolitics-pandemic crisis from key stakeholders in Australia. Participants overwhelmingly agree that there are marked differences in the responses from different government levels to international education and international students. The Australian former federal government is considered by many interviewees to be slow, reactive and unsympathetic to higher education generally and international education in particular, compared to other governments of competing destinations such as Canada and the UK, and also compared to the state/territory and local governments within Australia.reciprocal, coordinated, responsive and empathetic international education sector to help Australia regain its positioning in international education. Reciprocity requires Australian universities to understand and learn from other countries as well as care more about other countries’ needs and the values Australia can add to these countries that align with partner needs. In terms of coordination, we recommend re-positioning different dimensions of international education within an institution as being interrelated and built upon each other rather than operating in silos. With regard to being responsive, the geopolitical crisis foregrounds the need for improved risk prevention and management by education providers and government to respond to the risks, changing needs and emerging demands associated with inbound and outbound mobilities, as well as the new trends, challenges and opportunities of transnational education and research collaboration. Finally, being empathetic and caring for international students should be at the heart of an ethical international education sector.The findings of this study underscore the importance to re-think and rebuild a more Even though this research provides fresh insights into Australian university response to geopolitics-pandemic crisis, it is limited in its scope with 22 stakeholders being interviewed. In addition, in this study, we could not collect institutions’ formalised risk maps from interviewees as they were confidential resources of their institutions. It would also be worthwhile to have access to this information to enhance our understanding of the mechanism Australian universities have in place to respond to risks and crises.


As a globally distributed cereal, wheat is an essential part of the daily human dietary structure. Various changes in nutrient composition and starch structure can reflect the quality of wheat. In this study, we carried out a series of measurements to reveal the levels of wheat quality during long-term storage. We found that the deterioration of wheat was apparent after two years of storage: (1) the content of fatty acid increased from 12.47% to 29.02%; (2) the malondialdehyde content increased to 37.46%; (3) the conductivity significantly increased from 35.71% to 46.79%; and (4) other indexes, such as the amylopectin content, peak viscosity, and disintegration rate, increased noticeably during storage. Moreover, SEM images revealed a certain degree of damage on the surface of starch granules, and an X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed A-type crystalline starch of wheat. Additionally, FTIR spectra suggested that the ratio of amylose and amylopectin decreased with a decreasing content of amylose and increasing content of amylopectin. The ratio of amylose and amylopectin can lead to variations in wheat machining characteristics. Therefore, wheat should be kept at an average of 20 °C with safe water content for less than two years to maintain reasonable quality. Triticum and their edible grains, and they are a staple food that is part of dietary structure globally [Wheat refers to several species of the genus globally ,2. Sinceglobally . The subglobally .Starch is the main component of wheat, and its content is closely related to wheat quality . Its maiAlthough some previous studies have focused on changes in quality and nutrient content during storage, most of them were carried out under laboratory conditions. How they vary under granary conditions and whether the results are consistent with those in the laboratory also deserve to be studied. To address this issue, we conducted a long-term follow-up survey to investigate changes in the physicochemical properties and nutritional compositions of wheat during different storage periods. The findings of this study can provide essential insights into maintaining optimal wheat quality during practical storage.The samples were durum wheat from Australia, stored for 0, 1, and 2 years at the Quzhou grain depot in Zhejiang Province at 20–25 °C in summer and 10–15 °C in other seasons. The wheat stored in different years was subject to different treatments. Each treatment was composed of three samples from three different silos, and a total of nine samples were used in this study.Water content was measured based on the method reported by Zhai et al. . An alumThe fatty acid value was determined following the method proposed by Zhai et al.  after thThe contents of glutenin, gliadin, globulin, and albumin were determined by the method reported by Zhao et al. with slight modifications .According to the study reported by Qu et al. , samplesThe germination rate was investigated on the basis of the reported method . The steAccording to the method mentioned by Qu et al. , 40 intaWheat was peeled with a ratio of 1:5 soaked in distilled water overnight after beating the slurry through 200-mesh sieves, with distilled water used to wash the slurry. The washed suspension was collected in a 50 mL centrifuge tube; then, it was centrifuged at 4000 rpm for 10 min, and the upper layer of protein was scraped until clean. Then, it was dried at 42 °C, and passed through a 100-mesh sieve .g for 15 min. Subsequently, the tube containing sediment was dried at 80 °C for 1 h and weighed, and recorded as M3. The tube containing precipitation was dried at 80 °C for 20 min and recorded as M2. The aluminum bucket with supernatant was dried to constant weigh in an oven at 80 °C, then placed in a constant temperature and humidity chamber for 20 min, weighed, and recorded as M4 [The sample (about 0.1 g) was transferred into a test tube containing 10 mL deionized water (empty tube as M1). Then, it was heated at 90 °C for 60 min. When the sample was cooled to room temperature, it was centrifuged at 8000× ed as M4 ,19. The swelling power (SP) and water solubility (WS) of starch were calculated according to the following formula:The samples (100 mg) were placed in a 15 mL glass tube, then 2 mL of 0.2 M potassium hydroxide solution was mixed with them before being immediately placed in a boiling water bath. The boiling starch glue was maintained at about two-thirds of the tube volume and gelatinized for 8 min. After gelatinization, samples were cooled in an ice bath for 20 min. Then, they were placed on the horizontal platform at 25 ± 2 °C for 1 h and the fly-out length of the sample in the tube was measured.The starch extracted from wheat was ground, dispersed, and passed through a 100-mesh sieve. An appropriate amount of sample (2.5–3.1 mg) was placed into the sample tray. Then, the starch was equilibrated by adding deionized water at 4 °C for 24 h. The enthalpy variation of the sample was analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry (NETZSCH DSC 200 F3) with the temperature increasing from 30 °C to 105 °C at a speed of 10 °C/min. Thermal transformations were estimated by detecting the change in heat absorption and release of the samples [The pasting property of wheat starch was determined following the method described by Wu et al. . The visThe apparent amylose content of wheat starch was determined by iodine reagent method and calculated according to the standard curve obtained from different proportions of the amylose and amylopectin mixtures . The amylopectin chain length distribution of wheat starch was determined according to the method mentioned by Ren et al. . Purifie−1 in the wavelength range of 4000 cm−1 to 400 cm−1.Wheat starch structure was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), referring to the method described by Sun et al. . The shoThe crystal structure of wheat starch was analyzed by an X-ray diffractometer (XRD). All samples were scanned using a Cu Kα X-ray source in the step size range of 4–40° and 0.033° . The volThe surface of wheat starch granules was observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The analysis was carried out as described by Hung and Morita (2005). A certain amount of starch was suspended in 95% ethanol for a few minutes and then sprinkled onto a double-sided adhesive tape mounted on an aluminum stub. After being dried by vacuum aspiration for several hours, the samples were coated with Pt/Pd and photographed using an SEM apparatus  at an accelerating potential of 10 kV .All experiments were carried out in at least three replicates, and the related data are presented as mean value ± standard deviation (SD). Statistical analyses (ANOVA) were conducted by Duncan’s multiple range tests using SPSS 25.0 software. All the figures were plotted using Origin Pro 9.8.0 software.To evaluate the wheat quality during long-term storage, we monitored the change in the contents of water, fat acid, protein, and malonaldehyde (MDA), as well as germination rate and conductivity. Water is an essential basis for organism activity and, as such, it can affect the breeding of molds and grain pests . The watWater solubility (WS) and swelling power (SP) can reflect the interaction between starch and water. With the increase in storage time, the extensibility of wheat starch first decreased to 19.49 g/g, then increased to 23.00 g/g . SwellinThe gel consistency of wheat is relevant to starch gelatinization, and it is affected by the amylose content, that is, a higher amylose content creates lower gel consistency. The gel consistency increased from 121.67 mm to 134.67 mm with the extension of storage time  due to tDSC was carried out to investigate the thermal property of wheat starch. As the initial temperature of starch gelatinization increased continuously, the termination temperature does not show a significant change, possibly due to the incomplete accumulation of the crystal structure caused by the degradation of amorphous starch during storage a. The thThe peak viscosity, the retrogradation value, the disintegration value, and the final viscosity of wheat starch all first decreased and then increased . The peaThe retrogradation value indicates the extent to which the starch molecules recombine with each other through hydrogen bonding during the cooling process, which includes both short- and long-term rebirth. Short-term retrogradation is mainly due to the recrystallization of amylose, while long-term retrogradation is attributed to the recrystallization of amylopectin. Generally, the higher the amylose content, the easier it will be for the retrogradation to occur. However, the amylose content decreased as the retrogradation value increased . The retThe content of amylose initially decreased to 24.15% and then increased to 24.42% during the two-year storage .X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra showed that the starch obtained from the wheat with different storage years exhibits similar diffraction intensity at 15°, 17°, 18°, 20°, and 23° . Among t−1 and 1022 cm−1 are usually used to evaluate the crystallinity of starch, which are related to the crystalline region and the amorphous region, respectively. Moreover, the ratio of peak intensities at 1045 cm−1 and 1022 cm−1 represents the short-range order of starch crystallinity, whereas the ratio of peak intensities at 995 cm−1 and 1022 cm−1 reflects the degree of the double-helix structure in starch granules. The ratio between peak intensities at 1045 cm−1 and 1022 cm−1 and the ratio between peak intensities at 995 cm−1 and 1022 cm−1 for samples with different storage years indicated that there is no new peak during wheat storage, further suggesting that no covalent bonds are formed during this process (−1 and 1022 cm−1 increased in the first year but decreased after 2 years, which indicates that the degree of order in starch granules first increases and then decreases. The reduced content of amylose leads to the formation of a double helix structure between the branched chains of amylopectin molecules, causing an increase in the order of starch granules. In addition, the fluctuation of helicity tends to be inversely proportional to the amylose content, and the helicity is also negatively correlated with the amylose content [Furthermore, we performed FTIR analysis to investigate the structure of wheat starch. The two typical absorption peaks at 1045 cm process b. Clearl content .Natural wheat starch contains two types of starch granules, A-type starch granules with a flat or round-cake shape, and B-type starch granules, which are small and spherical in shape . InteresIn summary, the quality of wheat significantly deteriorated during long-term storage under suitable granary conditions. Specifically, the components, such as fatty acid, protein, and MDA, as well as germination rate and electrical conductivity, clearly varied. Moreover, other characteristics, i.e., swelling property, adhesive strength, and thermal and gelatinization properties, change with storage life, which has a significant impact on the processing characteristics of wheat. Furthermore, as a main component of wheat, the starch structure is transformed, with the ratio of amylose to amylopectin decreasing to 32.31%, and the spoilage of starch granules appears. Therefore, based on the above results, wheat should be stored for less than one year to maintain a reasonable quality.


Micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS) extensively employed planar mechanisms with elastic curved beams. However, using a curved circular beam as a flexure hinge, in most cases, needs a more sophisticated kinetostatic model than the conventional planar flexures. An elastic curved beam generally allows its outer sections to experience full plane mobility with three degrees of freedom, making complex non-linear models necessary to predict their behavior. This paper describes the direct kinetostatic analysis of a planar gripper with an elastic curved beam is described and then solved by calculating the tangent stiffness matrix in closed form. Two simplified models and different contributions to derive their tangent stiffness matrices are considered. Then, the Newton–Raphson iterative method solves the non-linear direct kinetostatic problem. The technique, which appears particularly useful for real-time applications, is finally applied to a case study consisting of a four-bar linkage gripper with elastic curved beam joints that can be used in real-time grasping operations at the microscale. Compliant mechanisms have been adopted in several applications for centuries, because of several well-known advantages, such as the absence of sliding friction, backlash, and significant wear, with the advantage of requiring minimum effort assembly. The first complete and systematic description of their characteristics appeared in the literature about thirty years ago, around 1994, when Midha and Howell introduced a classification . More maCompliant mechanisms are nowadays used in many fields , as, forThe actual configuration of a compliant mechanism depends not only on the applied forces and torques but also on its geometric characteristics, with kinematic and mechanical coupling and non-linearity problems that especially arise in case of large deformations.A comprehensive survey on many recent techniques for modeling the kinetostatic and dynamic behavior of flexure-based compliant mechanisms has been recently presented .Kinetostatic models of complex plane compliant mechanisms have been developed in both micro and macro scale devices by using a wide variety of different linear and non-linear methods, such as, for only representative example, those based on: Loop-closure equations and the static equilibrium conditions for multi-loops compliant mechanisms ; chainedA more specific contribution has been dedicated in 2013  to the sThe present investigation explores the opposite problem of direct kinetostatic analysis of a planar gripper with circular flexures. Two possible models based on the static balance of flexures are provided. The first linear model considers the static equilibrium in the undeformed configuration, while the second considers the balance in the deformed configuration. Both models simplify the fully non-linear model by exploiting a constant stiffness matrix of the undeformed curved beam element. These models allow us to find the tangent stiffness matrix in closed form as the sum of different contributions. Furthermore, dividing the tangent stiffness matrix into its contributions allows for evaluating each term’s importance and setting strategies to speed up convergence. Furthermore, through a validation process of the fully non-linear model results performed on a case study, it will be possible to ascertain how the simplifications still provide accurate values in almost the entire mechanism’s range of motion. As known, the tangent stiffness matrix is the heart of an iterative solving method. It is the basis of many implicit integrators widely used for the study of flexible mechanisms, such as the generalized α-method  or the Hα-method .Solving the problem of the direct kinetostatic analysis of planar grippers with curved beams;Being reliable in terms of motion accuracy and actuation forces;Being computationally efficient to extend the formulation for real-time applications.The main target of this article is to create two simplified models:Any Finite Element Analysis (FEA) or Multibody Dynamics Simulation (MBDS) package is very reliable for solving any general problem in kinetostatic analysis numerically. Despite this, the availability of a ready-to-use independent algorithm to solve the direct kinetostatic problem gives rise to the possibility of implementing it in any real-time applications. Nevertheless, the MBDS Adams software has been used herein for validation purposes.The paper is divided into the following sections. Flexures employed in this context are curved beams. It has been demonstrated that curved beams can provide large rotations while maintaining small errors in terms of displacements of its center , as it iE is Young’s modulus and I is the area moment of inertia, assumed both constant for the circular profile. In the following sections, the inverse of the compliance matrix In the following, the curved beam compliance matrix, and its inverse stiffness matrix, will be recalled from . Let us rived in , followshat will refer to the undeformed configuration, while the same vectors will indicate the deformed configuration without the hat. Position vectors of local frames as well as rotation matrices of frames describing the orientation of bodies in the undeformed configuration are constant.Hereafter, all vectors denoted with the A curved beam links two components, as it happens for the two bodies displayed in i to that on body j is obtained through the following expressionIn the undeformed configuration, the position vector Then, consider a generic configuration in which the bodies undergo finite displacements and rotations, and the flexure is deformed. For the assumption of rigid bodies, it follows that Let us introduce the deformation vector f, already introduced in Then, as recalled in Since the direct kinetostatic analysis will be solved using an iterative procedure, the variation of the generalized displacement array must be calculated. Using Equation , the varEquation  are consConsidering the angles, the variation of Equation , leads ti and j and Finally, the variations can be combined to form the variation of the generalized deformation vector In deriving i and j. The deformation of the beam yields force and moment applied on the section linear model, performs the balance in the undeformed configuration and leads to the following expressionsThe kinetostatic equations of the system require the static equilibrium of a curved beam. Consider the layout of partial non-linear model is not the geometrically exact fully non-linear model of the curved beam since the forces and moment at section In Equation  intoi in its i, the final kinetostatic model isi, Considering the frame invariance of the scalar equation of moments, the final system readsEquation . If the Equation , the kinAlgorithm 1 Newton–Raphson iterative method1:2:3:4:procedureNewton–Raphson iterative method employed in MEMS micro-grippers have a rotation range limited to ±20breaking ,40. Thisn forces .The simplified models have been employed to perform the cross-section optimization of the curved beams, as shown in Since the tangent stiffness matrix is the key element of the direct kinetostatic analysis, in the following, a detailed analysis of the tangent stiffness matrix and its role in the Newton–Raphson algorithm convergence is detailed. As already described in Let us consider the mechanism in the final deformed configuration obtained by applying Since The second term Equation  and the Equation , observiFinally, the third term Equation .To better focus on the importance of the tangent stiffness matrix in achieving solution convergence, let us keep the tangent stiffness matrix constant and equal to that obtained in the undeformed configuration for the entire simulation, i.e., The complete matrix The first term The complete matrix The first term The same simulation has been repeated by updating the tangent stiffness matrix following four strategies based on:It can be seen that the approaches using the previous converged solution reduce the number of iterations. Similarly, using the complete matrix instead of the first-term approximated matrix results in fewer iterations. The results are displayed in It is interesting to observe how these trends translate into a computational burden. The reduced number of iterations provided by the strategies based on the previous converged solution translates directly into savings in computation time. The two strategies based on the first term of the tangent stiffness matrix lead to a higher number of iterations but, simultaneously, require a smaller number of variables to be determined and save on calculation times, as shown in This section is concluded by giving some insights into the computational time obtained using Adams. In The tangent stiffness matrix has been used as a conceptual base to solve the direct kinetostatic problem of planar grippers with curved beams. Two models have been presented to cope with flexure deformations. The first linear model considers the flexure equilibrium in the initial undeformed configuration, while the second partial non-linear model considers the equilibrium in the deformed configuration. Both methods do not include a fully non-linear geometric description of the curved beam flexure whose stiffness matrix is kept constant and equal to that obtained in the undeformed state. The tangent stiffness matrix has been divided into sub-parts to facilitate both the theoretical treatment and the numerical implementation. The linear model led to two sub-parts, while the partial non-linear model introduced a further third sub-part. Both models were tested and compared with a fully non-linear model obtained using the commercial software MSC Adams. The results proved to be in good agreement on most of the mechanism’s workspace, except for the extreme areas wherein the geometric non-linear effects become relevant. The same case study was used to show the method’s potential; for example, in conducting a shape optimization of the flexure cross-section. Finally, the importance of each term of the tangent stiffness matrix in the convergence process was detailed in terms of the number of iterations required to achieve convergence and computational load.1.The results of 2.The tangent stiffness matrix is obtained in closed form. This feature prevents the use of numeric differentiation, making the convergence process of the direct kinetostatic solution more robust. Furthermore, splitting the expression of 3.The tangent stiffness matrix can be employed to develop a dynamics model to study vibrations. The tangent stiffness matrix is the core of implicit time integration methods primarily employed in flexible multibody dynamics . Shape o4.Both the two simplified models employ curved beams modeled by a constant stiffness matrix. Despite this, the curved beams guarantee finite displacements/rotations in the mechanism, allowing for the expansion of the reachable workspace. The model remains reliable for most of the mechanism’s workspace. The results are accurate in the functional area except for the limit zones of the workspace in which physical constraints usually prevent motion. When the maximum rotations of the curved beams exceed 5.Although the proposed method is valid only for planar cases, it can be extended to other compliant mechanisms with constant stiffness flexures without changing the mathematical background.From what has been outlined, the proposed method offers various advantages:


Biomechanical studies have shown that an increased medial posterior tibial slope (MPTS) may affect anteroposterior knee laxity and tibial shear forces, ultimately increasing the risk for graft failure after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Previous clinical studies have, however, reported inconclusive results.The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the MPTS and graft failure as well as functional outcomes after anatomic primary isolated ACL reconstruction using a hamstring tendon autograft. It was hypothesized that an increased MPTS would be associated with a higher ACL graft failure rate. Furthermore, a higher MPTS would negatively correlate with functional outcomes in patients without ACL graft failure.Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3.Consecutive patients who underwent isolated primary ACL reconstruction with an anteromedial portal drilling technique between January 2011 and December 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. The MPTS was measured on preoperative lateral knee radiographs. At a minimum of 24 months postoperatively, the ACL graft failure rate and patient-reported outcome measures  were evaluated. Differences in the MPTS between patients with and without ACL graft failure as well as the frequency of graft failure between those with an MPTS <12° and those with an MPTS ≥12° were assessed for statistical significance. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to stratify the risk of graft failure with the following variables: MPTS, age at surgery, and sex. Correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between the MPTS and PROM in patients without ACL graft failure.P = .264). Additionally, there was no significant difference in the frequency of graft failure between patients with an MPTS <12° and those with an MPTS ≥12° . Binary logistic regression showed that younger age at the time of surgery  was associated with graft failure; sex and MPTS were not associated with graft failure. In patients without ACL graft failure, there was no significant correlation between the MPTS and PROM.In total, 326 patients were included . There was no significant difference in the MPTS between patients with and without graft failure (10.6°± 3.2° vs 11.2°± 2.8°, respectively; In patients who underwent anatomic primary isolated ACL reconstruction, an increased MPTS was not associated with a higher rate of graft failure or inferior functional outcomes. Younger age was a significant nonmodifiable risk factor for ACL graft failure. Although some clinical studies found that a steeper PTS, frequently reported as ≥12°, increased the risk for primary ACL injuries or injury recurrence after ACL reconstruction, the findings of other studies are in disagreement.33The significance of the posterior tibial slope (PTS) in the context of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries has been discussed controversially in the current literature. It has been shown that a steeper PTS leads to increased anterior tibial shear forces and anterior tibial translation, Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of an increased PTS on ACL graft failure and, in patients without ACL graft failure, functional outcomes. It was hypothesized that a steeper PTS would be associated with ACL graft failure and, in patients without ACL graft failure, inferior functional outcomes.The influence of the PTS on graft failure and functional outcomes in patients undergoing primary isolated ACL reconstruction with an anteromedial portal drilling technique has been insufficiently investigated thus far. It is crucial to assess the influence of the PTS on ACL graft failure in patients without concomitant injuries that require surgical treatment, as they have a confounding effect on outcomes after ACL reconstruction.Patients who underwent primary isolated single-bundle ACL reconstruction with an anteromedial portal drilling technique using a hamstring tendon autograft at the authors’ institution between January 2011 and December 2019, with a minimum follow-up of 24 months postoperatively, were eligible to participate. Patients with a minimum age of 16 years at the time of surgery were included. Exclusion criteria were previous ipsilateral knee surgery, concomitant abnormalities that needed to be treated at index surgery, and malrotated or short  preoperative lateral knee radiographs. ACL graft failure was defined as complete ACL graft disruption, confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or revision ACL reconstruction.The present study was approved by the ethics committee of the Technical University of Munich (reference No. 9/22-S-NP) and conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki. All patients signed written informed consent forms.Patient-specific data included age at the time of primary ACL reconstruction, sex, laterality of the injury, and body mass index. Additionally, injury- and surgery-related data were collected and analyzed: time from the injury to surgery (weeks), and graft diameter (in millimeters).At follow-up, patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) including the Lysholm score, International Knee Documentation Committee subjective knee form, Tegner Activity Scale, visual analog scale for pain, and subjective instability  were administered.39 according to the method described by Dejour and Bonnin. In brief, the MPTS was determined as the angle between the proximal tibial shaft axis and a tangential line to the medial tibial plateau, subtracted from 90° of the diaphyseal axis. The tibial shaft axis was defined as a line connecting 2 midpoints, one 5 cm below the tibial tuberosity and the second 15 cm distal to the tibial joint line, between the anterior and posterior tibial cortices  was measured on lateral knee radiographs with a minimum tibial shaft length of 15 cm and a posterior femoral condylar distance ≤6 mmcortices . All meaAll patients underwent anatomic single-bundle ACL reconstruction using an autologous hamstring tendon graft . The femoral tunnel was drilled via an anteromedial portal, and the tibial tunnel was prepared in the center of the ACL tibial footprint according to the graft size. Graft fixation was performed in 30° of flexion using an extracortical suspension device  on the femoral side and a biocomposite interference screw  on the tibial side.Partial weightbearing (20 kg) was allowed for the first 2 weeks postoperatively. For the first 6 weeks, a knee brace was recommended . Physical therapy started on the first postoperative day with passive flexion, with patients attending sessions 2 to 3 times per week. Return to activities, such as running and cycling, was encouraged from the 12th postoperative week. Return to pivoting sports was recommended ≥12 months postoperatively. in which it was shown that an increased MPTS is associated with an increased risk of further ACL injuries. Therefore, a mean MPTS of 9.6°± 2.3° for patients with ACL graft failure and a mean MPTS of 8.5°± 2.3° for patients without ACL graft failure were assumed. Moreover, a group allocation of 31 for ACL graft failure and 131 for no ACL graft failure was chosen. Based on these data, a total sample size of 222 patients  was necessary to achieve a statistical power of 0.8 . Power analysis was conducted using G*Power (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf).An a priori sample size calculation was conducted based on a previous study by Webb et alt test was applied, and for group comparisons of ordinal variables, the Mann-Whitney U test was applied. For group comparisons of categorical variables, the chi-square test or the Fisher exact test was applied, as appropriate. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the relative contribution of age, sex, and MPTS on the occurrence of ACL graft failure. Overall, 3 factors were selected to ensure the statistical power of regression analysis. Age and sex were selected because of their association with ACL graft failure in previous statistical analyses and thus were further explored as possible factors in regression analysis. The MPTS represented the core of this study and was therefore also selected as a factor. Likewise, recent systematic reviews and previous studies38 have indicated that these factors may have an effect on graft failure. Spearman rank correlation coefficients were used to evaluate the association between the MPTS and PROM . Statistical significance was set at a P value of <.05.Data were analyzed using SPSS . Categorical variables are presented as counts and percentages. The normal distribution of continuous variables was assessed by the Shapiro-Wilk test. Normally distributed continuous variables are reported as the mean ± SD. Nonnormally distributed continuous variables are reported as the median (interquartile range). For group comparisons of continuous variables, an unpaired A subset of 30 lateral knee radiographs was randomly selected and assessed by 2 authors (M.H. and M.B.) to evaluate intraclass correlation coefficients and, subsequently, calculate the intrarater and interrater reliability. Both the intrarater and interrater reliability were “almost perfect” for MPTS measurements .In total, 326 patients were included at a median follow-up of 71.0 months . Details on patient characteristics and patient enrollment are given in P = .264). There was no significant difference regarding graft failure in patients with an MPTS <12° versus an MPTS ≥12°  (Graft failure was reported in 52 patients (15.9%). There was no significant difference regarding the MPTS in patients with versus without ACL graft failure  .P < .001) and male sex  were the only independent factors associated with graft failure  was associated with graft failure after primary isolated ACL reconstruction. Sex and MPTS did not show a statistically significant effect .Functional outcomes, pain levels, and subjective knee stability differed significantly between patients who experienced no ACL graft failure and those who experienced ACL graft failure . In patiThe most important finding of this study was that there was no correlation between an increased MPTS and ACL graft failure after anatomic primary isolated ACL reconstruction. Further, an increased MPTS was not associated with inferior functional outcomes in patients without ACL graft failure. Younger age at the time of primary ACL reconstruction, however, was a significant and nonmodifiable risk factor for ACL graft failure.33 several other studies have reported a significant association between the MPTS and ACL graft failure rates.38 Differences between studies may be tied to variations in (1) the definition of failure, (2) the types of patient cohorts included, (3) the surgical techniques used for ACL reconstruction, and (4) MPTS measurement methods or imaging modalities used.Although some studies also reported no association between the MPTS and ACL graft failure, investigated the influence of the MPTS on further ACL injuries in patients after primary isolated ACL reconstruction. They reported that patients with a PTS ≥12° were 5 times more likely to suffer further ACL injuries. Previous studies,33 similar to our findings, also found no association between the MPTS and ACL injury recurrence or revision surgery. Beyond recurrent ipsilateral ACL injuries or revision surgery, Webb et al also included contralateral primary ACL injuries in their analysis, which may explain why the findings differed between studies. In their study, a direct comparison of the PTS between patients with ACL graft failure (9.6°± 2.3°) and those without ACL graft failure (8.5°± 2.3°) showed no significant difference, which aligns with the findings of the present study. The findings from Daehlin et al and Cooper et al should, however, be interpreted with caution, as a “nonanatomic” transtibial tunnel drilling technique was utilized in the majority of patients in the study by Daehlin et al and only patients aged ≤21 years were included in the study by Cooper et al.Webb et al but MRI was used in several other studies.42 Studies that used MRI may have underestimated the MPTS by approximately 3° to 4° according to the previous literature.20 Even though an underestimation of the MPTS may not affect whether the MPTS influenced ACL graft ruptures or revision surgery, it may limit the extrapolation of study findings in which threshold values are investigated.42Beyond the aforementioned differences, MPTS measurement methods and imaging modalities varied between studies. Lateral knee radiographs were used in most studies, in their systematic review and meta-analysis, reported that patients aged <25 years have 4-fold increased odds of graft failure or revision compared with patients aged >25 years. Several studies have indicated that ACL graft failure at a young age is caused by a rapid return to sports combined with high activity levels.43 Keuning et al reported an 8-fold increased risk regarding graft failure in male patients. According to several systematic reviews and meta-analyses, this difference between male and female patients is likely because of a return to high-intensity sports and a shorter time to return to play in male patients.43Regarding the influence of other factors on ACL graft failure, young age was a significant risk factor for graft failure in the current study. This is consistent with previous findings. Zhao et al,There was no correlation between the MPTS and functional outcomes in patients without subsequent graft failure. Although PROM assess global functional outcomes of the knee, even patients with a steep MPTS showed good clinical outcomes and subjective stability. To our knowledge, the relationship between PROM and the MPTS has not been assessed previously in patients without ACL graft failure. the effect of this should not be overestimated. Third, several patients who reported ACL graft failure underwent revision ACL reconstruction, which may confound the PROM in patients with ACL graft failure.Some limitations of our study should be noted. First, because of the extended time frame for patient inclusion, surgical procedures were carried out by different surgeons. Nonetheless, all used the aforementioned “anatomic” technique. Second, lower leg lateral radiographs were unavailable, which led to the MPTS being measured on short lateral knee radiographs. As short lateral knee radiographs with a minimum length of 15 cm below the joint line are adequate according to the previous literature,31As an increased MPTS was not associated with a higher risk of ACL graft failure in patients after anatomic primary isolated ACL reconstruction, PTS-correcting osteotomy in the context of primary ACL ruptures or graft failure after anatomic primary isolated ACL reconstruction should be reevaluated.In patients who underwent anatomic primary isolated ACL reconstruction, the MPTS was not associated with ACL graft failure or functional outcomes. Young age at the time of primary ACL reconstruction was a significant and nonmodifiable risk factor for ACL graft failure, which should be considered in patient counseling.


In the present study, the morphology, refined structure, thermal properties, and dynamic rheological, texture, and digestive properties of common vetch starch, a potential new type of legume starch, were systematically investigated, and compared with commercially available pea and mung bean starch. The results showed that the composition and chemical structure of common vetch starch were similar to the pea and mung bean starch. However, the amylose content (35.69), A-chain proportion (37.62), and relative crystallinity (34.16) of common vetch starch were higher, and the particle size and molecular weight  were larger. The value of pasting properties and enthalpy change (ΔH) of gelatinization of common vetch starch was lower and higher than mung bean and pea starch, respectively, and a lower swelling power and pasting index indicate that common vetch starch had higher hot-paste and cold-paste stability. In addition, common vetch starch gel exhibited good rheology, cohesiveness, and anti-digestive properties. These results provide new insights into the broader application of common vetch starch. Vicia sativa L.) . Asp < 0.05). This may be related to the size of starch granules and chain length distribution; larger starch granules predicted higher crystallinity [The crystal structure of starch is shown in allinity ,34,38, a−1) and degree of double helix structure  of common vetch starch was close to that of mung bean starch and significantly higher than that of pea starch (p < 0.05), which indicate the short-range molecular order and long-range order of common vetch starch were similar to those of mung bean starch but higher than those of pea starch [FT-IR is a well-established tool for monitoring the structure of macromolecular polymers. As can be seen from a starch ,34.−1 [−1 in common vetch was significantly lower than that of mung bean starch and pea starch (p < 0.05), which is consistent with the results of relative crystallinity.The short-range molecular order of the double helix of the starch sample can also be characterized by the FWHM value of the Raman band at 480 cm−1 ; smaller13C cross-polarization/magic angle spinning NMR is an advantageous way to resolve the helical and crystal structure of starch, especially the short-range ordered structure of starch molecules. As shown in 13C-NMR of common vetch was the highest, followed by mung bean starch and pea starch, which is consistent with the result of XRD. However, the relative crystallinity obtained with 13C-NMR (36.35–47.32%) was greater than that obtained with XRD (27.31–34.07%), which may be because the crystallinity detected with 13C-NMR included crystalline layers and semi-crystalline regions [p < 0.05), which is consistent with the results of XRD and Raman measurements, indicating that the structural difference between the three starches was mainly related to the long-range crystalline and water-binding ability.The  regions ,40. In a2) [2 signal in a rigid or less mobile environment indicates that water was strongly bound and less active [21), indicating that the moisture of the three types of starches was mainly bound to water. However, the signal of T21 and the peak area A21 of common vetch starch were significantly lower than those of mung bean starch and pea starch (p < 0.05), indicating that the water binding ability of starch granules was weakest in pea starch and strongest in common vetch starch. These results also suggest that more stable hydrated structures were formed in common vetch starch compared to mung bean starch and pea starch.Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) is used to determine the water-binding ability of macromolecular substances . The qua2) . And a ss active ,43. As sp < 0.05) than those of mung bean starch and pea starch, but its PT value was close to that of mung bean starch and significantly higher than that of pea starch. This may be related to the higher molecular weight, amylose content, and A-chain proportion of common vetch starch. Studies found that amylose content was significantly negatively correlated with the PV of starch, and low swelling extent also predicted a low viscosity value and BD value [The pasting properties of common vetch, pea, and mung bean starches are shown in BD value ,45,46. ABD value . In addiBD value . The higo and Tc reflect the perfect degree of double helix structure or crystalline structure in starch granules, and the change of the enthalpy value of starch is the process of breaking the double helix structure and crystal structure under heating conditions [p < 0.05), while the Tp value was close to that of mung bean starch and pea starch, and the Tc value was lower than that of mung bean starch and higher than that of pea starch, respectively. In addition, the ΔH of common vetch starch was significantly higher than that of mung bean starch and pea starch, and Fu et al., also found that the ΔH of CV35, CV12, and CV17 starches was significantly higher than that of smooth pea starches [Generally, Tnditions ,48. As sG′, G″, and tan δ as functions of frequency for different starch gels are presented in p < 0.05). This may be related to the content of amylose, molecular weight, branching degree, and chain length distribution [The solubility and swelling power of the three starches are presented in ribution . Some stribution , and theribution . These rTexture properties are a necessary feature of starch-based foods. The hardness of starch gel is mainly caused by the network structure formed by the retrogradation of starch, which is related to the content of amylose, the viscosity of starch, and the crystallinity of amylopectin . SpringiThe content of rapidly digestible starch (RDS), slowly digestible starch (SDS), and resistant starch (RS) in three starch gels is shown in As shown in p < 0.05). And the granules and particle size distributions of common vetch starch were larger than those of mung bean starch and pea starch. The short-range order degree of common vetch starch was similar to that of mung bean starch but higher than that of pea starch, while the relative crystallinity of common vetch starch was significantly higher than that of mung bean starch and pea starch. Compared with mung bean starch and pea starch, the gelatinization of common vetch starch required more energy, and the cold-paste stability and hot-paste stability were higher, but the pasting viscosity was lower. In addition, common vetch starch had better solubility and lower swelling power, and the gel viscosity and texture properties of common vetch starch were higher than those of pea starch. More resistance to digestion was found in common vetch starch gel than in mung bean starch and pea starch gels. The results indicate that common vetch starch can be used as an excellent compound for starch processing to improve the stability and slow digestibility of starch products. More research related to the product processing of common vetch starch is needed to expand its application fields.The composition and chemical structure of common vetch starch were not significantly different from the commercial pea and mung bean starch. But the amylose content of common vetch starch was considerably higher than that of the commercial pea and mung bean starch (


Dear colleagues and friends,It is with great joy that we celebrate the 65th anniversary of the founding of Acta Biochimica et Biophysica Sinica (ABBS). Looking back at the development of ABBS, we are filled with immense pride and gratitude.ABBS is a professional academic journal supervised by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and sponsored by the Center of Excellence in Molecular Cell Science , which has evolved in the last 65 years from a Chinese vernacular journal to an English journal with international impact. The Journal was founded as Acta Biochimica Sinica in 1958 by Professor Yinglai Wang, who served as the first Editor-in-Chief. In 1961, the Journal was renamed as Acta Biochimica et Biophysica Sinica (ABBS), with the aim of developing into an authoritative journal in the research field of biochemistry and biophysics in China. In the early years of its establishment, the Journal published a number of important scientific achievements, such as the preliminary research results on synthetic crystalline bovine insulin between 1961 and 1964, and a series of research papers on “Kinetics of irreversible modification of enzyme activity” by Professor Chen-Lu Tsou in 1965. These scholarships witnessed the beginning and development of biochemistry in China and promoted the progress of biochemistry and biophysics in China.In 1998, as one of the most influential academic journals in China, ABBS became one of the first Chinese vernacular journals to be indexed in Medline database and SCIE database, which was an important milestone for the journal. To adapt to the rapid progress of scientific research in China and to enhance further international exchange, ABBS was converted to a monthly English journal in 2004. This change significantly promoted the international dissemination of Chinese scientific research works. In 2005, ABBS established a partnership with Blackwell Publishing Asia Ltd, which opened the mode of global publication and distribution for the journal, and took the lead in starting the online version of the journal. ABBS became one of the first few journals in China to explore international cooperation in publishing and marketing. In 2009, ABBS set up a cooperative relationship with Oxford University Press and published the journal simultaneously in both print and electronic versions. In doing so, the subscribers of ABBS have covered most of the developed countries and regions including Europe, the United States, and Japan, as well as more than 30 developing countries. Through these international collaborations, ABBS has achieved tremendous development and accelerated the international dissemination of Chinese research works.The Open Access (OA) publishing model has brought new opportunities for the prosperity of academic journals, and also provided a possibility for Chinese scientific and technological journals to explore the way to grow and develop independently. In 2022, ABBS, as the first academic journal, started the journey of returning back to China to publish independently. With the SciEngine, a full-process digital publishing platform provided by Science Press, ABBS started OA publishing and distribution by itself. The Journal has accomplished the localization of the whole publishing process covering content production, publication, distribution, and data storage, and kept the trend of stable development. This paved a new path for the development of Chinese scientific journals.Over the past 65 years, ABBS has been adhering to the missions of serving the scientific community and providing a professional, friendly and high-quality publication platform for scientific researchers to publicize and disseminate their works. At present, ABBS has grown into a professional academic journal with international influence. In the last 5 years, the Journal has published more than 940 scientific papers with nearly 4000 authors from more than 600 research institutions in 25 countries and regions worldwide; furthermore, the research content of the papers has covered hot research areas such as protein science, RNA regulation, epigenetics, DNA damage repair, tumor metabolism and immunity, enzyme structure and function regulation, cell signaling pathways, and cell death and apoptosis, and much more. The Journal has reached over 300,000 views and downloads per year, and 60% of the readers are international researchers.To meet the new opportunities and challenges in the future, ABBS will continue to commit to the original missions of the journal: to actively promote the publication and dissemination of cutting-edge research works in biochemistry and biophysics, and to provide a high-level, high-quality professional publication platform with better services and supports to the scientific community.On the occasion of the 65th anniversary of ABBS, as the current Editor-in-Chief of ABBS, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to CAS and CEMCS for their full supports, and to the former Editor-in-Chiefs, the members of the past and current Editorial Boards, all the reviewers, and all the researchers who have supported and cared about the development of ABBS for their selfless dedication, tireless efforts, and valuable contributions. Only because of you, ABBS has flourished over the past 65 years. I sincerely hope that ABBS will continue to receive your fondness and support, and I look forward to working together to further promote the development of biochemistry and biophysics in China.To celebrate ABBS’ 65th anniversary, ABBS has organized and published two special issues: the current issue focusing on cancer biology and the next issue focusing on liquid-liquid separation. These review articles cover the main research hotspots in these fields, summarizing the research progresses in recent years and providing the authors’ perspectives on future developmental directions. We hope that readers will benefit from these two special issues in their future research work.


Because of their self-alignment property and design simplicity, the spherical hydrostatic bearings have the advantage over the other bearing configurations. Their static and dynamic performances have been intensively studied. Focusing on the bearing dynamic performance, it could be realized that the researchers used to mechanically excite the bearing in the experimental studies and perturb the rotor  in the theoretical studies, observing its behavior and expressing it by dynamic stiffness and damping coefficient. Owing to a lack of information on bearing oscillation, this study adopts a new method to analyze this bearing behavior theoretically and grasp its nature. Unusually, the bearing vibration is studied hydro-dynamically rather than mechanically, showing the effect of eccentricity, inertia, restrictor type, seat configuration, and the supply pressure on the performance. New and unique formulas have been derived to predict the frequency, stiffness, and dampness, explaining how these parameters create the bearing self-alignment property. Some thrust bearings, designed with different techniques, have been examined where the results show vibration even in the bearing’s stationary state. Also, the newly derived formulas could precisely predict the rotation and rotational speed of the Kugel ball . Kazama3 presented an optimal design for the types of fitted and clearance thrust spherical bearings with capillary and orifice restrictors. This design was based on minimizing power losses and maximizing stiffness. The study concluded that the central pressure ratio is two-thirds for the fitted type and 0.69 for the clearance type. Yacout8 analytically studied both types after developing the Reynolds equation to apply it to the thrust spherical bearing, considering the effects of surface roughness, centripetal inertia, viscosity, and seat configuration on bearing performance. The central pressure ratio was calculated to be two-thirds for both types, leading to consistent bearing performance. Examples of optimal designs based on minimum friction and flow rate were provided. Elescandarany11 developed two new techniques to design a fitted type, with and without a restrictor. Based on the steady and unsteady states, Gosh et al.14 and San Ander15 numerically studied the dynamic behavior of the journal bearing. This behavior is represented through stiffness and damping coefficients by exciting the bearing journal while also considering the fluid compressibility in the bearing recess. Applying the first-order perturbation method, Yacout17 studied the dynamic behavior (dynamic stiffness and damping coefficient) of the thrust spherical bearing, considering the compressibility of the fluid in the bearing recess. Sharma et al.19 numerically studied thrust and journal spherical bearings with Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids, considering the effect of surface roughness on bearing performance. Gupta and Kumar21 examined the behavior of a hydrodynamic squeeze film between a stationary spherical surface and a hemispherical bearing. The research focused on understanding the impact of surface roughness on bearing performance when subjected to a constant load. Based on self-excited vibration, the studies generally are concerned with techniques to control and suppress the vibration. Cameron22 stated that one of the most troublesome features of high-speed bearings could be oil whirl. It is a vibration that occurs slightly below half the speed of the shaft and is usually found during acceptance trials, which is the most awkward time for serious faults to appear. The main features of the problem were analyzed and understood a few years ago. There are now a few guidelines for the solution to the problem. A bearing that completely suppresses oil whirl has not yet been produced, though new anti-whirl bearing configurations are patented yearly. Rowe23 addressed the whirl phenomenon, stating that the puzzling question is the following: How is it possible for a heavily damped system to act as though it has zero dampness, and replying that the explanation is not altogether simple and lies like the hydrodynamic stiffness causing a positive reaction force in the direction of the velocity, in turn, this force acts in opposition to the squeeze force and cancels out the dampness. Jinhao et al.24 presented an experimental study on the active control of self-excited vibrations in a rotor bearing system supported on a pair of externally pressurized thrust bearings in the axial direction and on actively controlled journal gas bearings in the radial direction. Feedback control systems were constructed with gap sensors to measure the vibration of the piezoelectric actuators embedded in the rotor and thee PID  controllers. The experimental results show that self-excited vibration could be effectively suppressed with the designed feedback control system if the gains of the PID controllers are appropriately tuned. An experimental study offered by Talukder and Stowell25 was made of the occurrence of a pneumatic hammer in an externally pressurized air journal with admission into double plane. Various parameters that affect the onset of the pneumatic hammer were investigated, such as the depth of the recess, the diameter of the orifice and the bearing mass, stating that the pneumatic hammer is relatively easily avoided in the journal bearings. Taiwari et al.26 presented research reviewing the bearings' dynamic parameters in rotating machines. Attention is given to vibration-based methods where the review covers descriptions of experimental measurement techniques, mathematical modeling, parameter extraction algorithms, and uncertainty in the estimates applied to a variety of bearings and suggests some articles as the need for more experimental work in the field of rotor dynamics to study the bearing and support influence upon the rotor response, especially for full-scale rotor systems. Ales Tondl27 presented a survey of publications dealing with vibration suppression methods in different types of self-excitation. The attention is given to passive and active means using parametric excitation, focusing on the latter, and the necessary steps for answering the main questions are formulated to initiate further investigation, especially application to actual systems. Feng and Hahn28 presented a study on circular and elliptical bearings to examine and compare their impact on the rotor support of industrial machines. The findings showed significant variations in natural frequencies and critical speeds depending on the type of bearing used. Charki et al.29 provided a numerical simulation and an experimental study to assess the stiffness and dampness characteristics of thrust air bearings with multiple orifices using finite element modeling to solve the Reynolds equation. The results obtained numerically showed that performance is related to bearing design, and the experimental investigation allowed analyzing bearing behavior. Peiji et al.30 studied the impacts of cylindrical bearings and four-lobe bearings on the vibration of the rotor system, combining theoretical analysis and experimental results, concluding that different types of bearing have effects on the critical characteristics of the rotor system and the vibration of the rotor supported by the cylindrical bearing is more stable than the four-lobe bearing, where the results showed good agreement between theoretical and experimental analysis. Zhifeng et al.31 presented a review of research articles related to the introduction of developments in hydrostatic bearings  where typical applications were based on rectangular oil pads, circular oil pads, and journal bearings. Polach et al.32 presented a simulation for a system consisting of a rotor supported on two journal bearings and a controller, which controls the speed of the rotor, to study self-excited and flow-induced vibrations of the rotor, reporting that subsynchronous flow-induced vibrations can occur only if the rotor is well balanced and is radially supported on poorly lubricated journal bearings, whose supply bores are located in the lower bearings half. Davorka and Marko33 presented a modern method for testing the condition of bearings in operation using vibration analysis and demonstrating the importance of this method by changing the parameters related to two different bearing structures grouped in the so-called Sommerfeld number. Dmytro et al.34 presented a study to improve machining accuracy in precision cutting and grinding by designing a developed spindle with water-lubricated hydrostatic bearings. Dynamic characteristics such as stiffness, dampness, and frequency of the machine spindle were investigated by simulation and experiments, where it is reported that the simulation results were in good agreement with the actual spindle dynamics obtained experimentally. Yingjie Wang et al.35 studied the characteristics of hydrostatic bearings by analyzing load capacity, stiffness, and dampness using CFD and 3D meshing, hence Compared to traditional empirical formulae, 3D meshing and CFD analysis were more accurate and could be adapted to the analysis of various shapes of hydrostatic bearings. Runlin Chen et al.36 studied a motorized hydrostatic spindle system of a grinding machine using a two-degree-of-freedom stiffness model, considering the rotation of the rotor, where stiffness was analyzed under different excitation frequencies, and the vibration test in the spindle system was implemented through the hammering method. The stiffness of the spindle system was found to agree well with the theoretical calculation, with an average error of about 14%. Xin Qin et al.37 presented a novel hydrostatic squeeze film metal mesh journal bearing, which uses both a hydrostatic squeeze film damper and a metal mesh damper to suppress vibration of rotor bearing systems where lubrication equations were introduced to calculate the dynamic characteristics. Experiments were conducted to study the reduction in vibration of the bearing rotor system with the bearing; the theoretical and experimental results showed that the bearings exhibit excellent dampness and vibration attenuation characteristics. Despite the attention given to the journal bearing through numerous studies handling its static and dynamic behavior, in addition to the recent studies on its self-excitation vibration and endless research on eliminating, suppressing, and controlling this undesired disturbance by active or passive means, nothing has been offered about the vibratory behavior or/and the self-alignment property of the spherical hydrostatic type of bearings. Therefore, as the next step to designing an ideal model of such a bearing, this paper presents a new study investigating the natural properties of this bearing by applying a new method depending on the Reynolds equation and the hydrodynamics of the bearing.Bearings constitute a fundamental component of any rotating machine, where a good understanding of their behavior allows the prediction of the system function. High speeds and high power with reliable operation are necessary. Accurate prediction and control of bearing behavior is required. It is commonly known that more than 40% of machine failures are the result of bearing problems. The most efficient approach to solving the problem is through analysis conducted in numerous studies, which leads to better performance. The potential characteristics of low running friction, small viscous dissipation, high load carrying capacity, and high stiffness have made hydrostatic bearings indispensable for industrial applications in present-day heavy-duty and high-speed devices such as machine tools, precision measuring instruments, hydraulic piston pumps, motors, telescopes, gyroscope gimbals, dynamometers, radar tracking units, and craft engines. Spherical bearings have advantages over other configurations due to their self-alignment property and their capacity to accept radial and thrust loads. Therefore, the operation of the spherical bearings is not affected by angular misalignments. Mayer17:From4:From YacoutThe configuration of the bearing, Fig. 17:FromThe following is a unique method to derive new mathematical expressions that predict the bearing performance and elucidate its characteristics.Arranging and integrating Eq.  give:4\dDifferentiation of Eq. a  and  with (E) in the equation to prevent the confusion between (e) the eccentricity and (e) the exponential number and after the solution it would be returned to its original form.Hence it would be:Then, the solution is:Using the boundary conditions:Returning the equation to its original form will be:Arranging Eq.  gives:\dThe integration could be found in the appendix as:4:FromThe integration of Eq.  could beFrom Eqs. , 26, theThe dampness could be calculated as:Rotating machines must be subjected to vibration inspection to evaluate condition and efficiency where defects could be revealed.Vibration could be measured using one of the following measurement techniques: displacement, velocity or acceleration.The probe position on the bearing depends on the measuring technique.The vibration could be suppressed via passive or active means.The goal of this paper, as stated previously, is to investigate the vibratory behavior of the fitted thrust spherical hydrostatic bearing. Applying a new method, new and unique formulas have been derived to predict the vibratory bearing characteristics such as the vibration frequency, the stiffness, the dampness etc. The effect of eccentricity, supply pressure, restrictor type and its dimensions, inertia, and seat configuration on the bearing characteristics is studied. Seven cases have been checked to assess the new method’s validity. Figures 17 which point to the vibratory phenomenon of this type of bearings promising to be studied in detail in future separate research. However, a new method is used to study the bearing vibratory behavior avoiding the assumptions of infinitesimal oscillation or disturbance or/and applying the first-order perturbation method as done before. The new method adopted is mainly dependent on bearing hydrodynamics rather than reliance on mechanical analysis as in11.The conception of this research arises from the author’s referencesNew pressure and load capacity Eqs. , 26 have4 and the pressure has the same feature as in19 despite the use of non-Newtonian lubricant.Figure Figure 11, and to oscillate if it has one degree of freedom, as in the case of the current bearing. 11 calculated this moment mechanically by force analysis and determined the frequency.The axial wave velocity is represented by Eq. , and itsThe optical examination of the curve reveals that it is of a parabolic form , which mathematically means that this axial velocity is a 2nd-degree function. Hence, it should be expected  that the displacement (e) in the time domain must be a 3rd-degree function.Equation  connectsThe unique frequency Eq.  calculatEquation  calculatThe unique characteristic Eq.  of the ro) as declared before.Equation  is the mEquation  relates This internal dampness reveals the mystery of the self-alignment property characterizing this type of bearing.Equation  relates Figures As the eccentricity increases . Hence, the decreased load and the increased axial velocity cause decreasing dampness due to Eq.  decreases; hence from Eq.  increases; hence, the dampness decreases as predicted by Eq. , the stiffness and dampness increase.Figure Figure Hence, despite improving the stiffness and dampness, the supply pressure increases the rotor vibration and displacement. Therefore the designer could be guided to compromise between the supply pressure gain and drawback.Figure Figure Figure 10, where (mo = 1), generates relatively high vibration.Figure 5, respectively, and the rest were chosen from2.Seven cases have been tested. The first two cases were selected fromFigures The five cases are significant because their vibration data could be directly compared with the present ones predicted by the new technique. Figures Despite their different dimensions, the rest of the Figs. Despite the importance of this subject, it is out of the scope of this study. It needs a separate detailed investigation which could be the next step in the author’s project for designing an ideal bearing. However, based on the present study, a temporary self-remedy method could be presented by increasing the capillary tube restrictor length, which could highly suppress the bearing vibration.As mentioned before, this study is achieved to grasp the vibratory nature of the hydrostatic thrust spherical bearing behavior. The study is an exploring step to enable the researcher, designer, and inspector to put their hands on the bearing problems to find the best solutions. However, the present study offers the following:A new unique technique based on the Reynolds equation for lubrication for investigating the bearing vibration behavior hydro-dynamically rather than mechanically.New and unique mathematical formulas predict the following:The bearing pressure, load capacity, vibration frequency, rotor displacement, stiffness, dampness and restrictors dimensions.The above formulas have been applied to a generally selected bearing to study its behavior.All the previous items and their relations have been studied and analyzed.For satisfaction, seven different cases designed by several techniques were examined showing excellent results.The self-vibration generated by the bearing and calculating its frequency by new unique formulas derived by new method.Unique governing characteristic equation predicts the bearing behavior.Decoding the self-alignment and the resistance to angular displacement properties that characterize this type of bearingDecoding the self-vibration phenomena of the bearing.The supply pressure for its negative effect on the bearing vibration.The seat arc length for its positive effect on the bearing vibration.The rotational speed for its negative effect on the bearing vibration.The capillary restrictor length for its positive effect on the bearing vibration.The eccentricity for its negative effect on the bearing behavior at all.The vibration frequency.Regardless the technique used in designing this type bearing, attention should be paid to the effect of most important parameters:Finally, it could be reliably said that the bearing has been dissected, and the results are impressive.Supplementary Information.