Introduction: Epicardial fat tissue, the true visceral adipose depot of the heart, has been associated with changes in both cardiac function and morphology. This study aimed to show the relationship between epicardial fat tissue (EFT) thickness and graft flow dynamics in arterial and venous grafts in coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG).Methods: Patients underwent transthoracic echocardiography before surgery and epicardial fat thickness were evaluated. The patients were divided into two groups as EFT value <5.5 (group 1) mm and ≥5.5 (group 2) mm. One hundred eighty-one patients with a total of 434 grafts  underwent isolated coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. All grafts were examined by transit time flow meter intraoperatively.Results: The mean epicardial fat tissue thickness values were 4.9±0.8 mm and 6.1±1.3 mm, respectively.Mean graft flow values of left internal mammary artery was 44.21±23.2 mL/min in group 1 and39.65 ± 19.2 mL/min in group 2 (P = 0.041). Similarly, mean graft flow values were higher in group1 in all venous grafts regardless of which vessel bypass was performed. There is a significant negative correlation between epicardial fat thickness and mean graft flow.Conclusion: Epicardial fat thickness measurement preoperatively might provide additional data for the faith of the graft. EFT, especially around subepicardial coronary arteries, is thought to lead perivascular inflammation and pathologic proliferation of smooth muscle cell. EFT has been reported to cause endothelial dysfunction and as a result development of early restenosis after coronary revascularization.4 Coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) is a crucial revascularization method with proven success. The effectiveness of coronary surgery is also directly related to the natural vessel flow dynamics of the anastomosis. Previous studies have reported that intra-operative evaluation of graft function was performed effectively with Transit time flow measurement (TTFM).6 Albeit the relationship between EFT with atherosclerotic vascular damage coronary artery is prominent. To investigate the relationship between EFT thickness and transit time flow quantifications of venous and arterial grafts of coronary arteries in diabetic patients is the primary purpose of the current study.The association between epicardial fat tissue (EFT) and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have been reported in previous studies.2, and the patients we could not obtain an optimal echocardiographic measurement were excluded. Patients underwent coronary angiography, transthoracic echocardiography before elective surgery routinely. Demographic data, including age, gender, weight, height, BMI was collected. Also, if the patients had diabetes, hypertension, or smoking, their medical history records were registered  and a-stat pH management as considered. Calculating the ultrasound waves passing from the transducer to the receiver is the basis of the TTFM measurement method: two Doppler signals are emitted and received in the opposite direction by two quartz crystals set at 45° angle with the bloodstream. The coronary graft which wants to be evaluated is placed into a flow probe in the middle of the two ultrasonic transducers and a reflector, in a vertical style. The transit time is the delayed time between transducer reflector and the receiver.7 The flow volume in the coronary graft is calculated by the flow meter based on the supplied transit time.8 Measurements of flow parameters of the grafts were performed after the cardiopulmonary bypass was removed and hemodynamically stabilization was completely achieved. Graft flow parameters were measured by utilizing a Transit-time flow meter (TTFM)  before the skin closure. The mean graft flow, diastolic filling, pulsatility index, and systolic reverse flow were measured for each graft. , who underwent CABG surgery under elective circumstances were registered to our retrospective study. Cukurova University ethical committee approved the study . The patient suffers from cardiac failure (systolic ejection fraction lower than 40%), body mass index (BMI) bigger than 40 kg/mgistered . A cardigistered . A mean h graft.  The diasPulsatility index = (maximum graft flow – minimum graft flow / mean graft flow).11 Systolic backward flow predicts a competitive status between the coronary artery and arterial or venous coronary graft in the course of the systolic period of heart beating cycles. The backward flow values greater than ≥3. 0% should be considered as a predictor parameter for early graft failure.For a successful anastomosis of a graft pulsatility index should range from 1 to 5; an index < 3.0 is a satisfactory value for a successful anastomosis.P < 0.05 is considered significant. Quantitative variables analysed by using the t-test, and the Mann-Whitney test was preferred to use if these variables were not normal. Pearson’s chi-squared test was used to analyse qualitative variables, and Fisher’s exact test was utilized when it is necessary. Multiple logistic regression model was utilized to evaluate the variables at the same time.SPSS 25.0 version  was utilized to analyse our data. Data are expressed as mean ± S and P < 0.001), history of the cerebrovascular event (10.7% vs 2.5% P ≤ 0.001) and the higher level of dyslipidaemia , total cholesterol , triglyceride , creatinine , haemoglobin A1C, CRP and lower levels of haemoglobin were observed in group 2 when compared with patients in group 1 . The mean EFT thickness were 4.9 ± 0.8 mm and 6.1 ± 1.3 mm respectively. EFT thickness was strongly correlated with older age , dyslipidaemia , BMI  in bivariate analysis. EFT thickness had a negative correlation with the mean graft flow  and pulsatility index , however, a significant correlation was not found between EFT thickness and the diastolic filling  and reverse flow  values. There was a correlation between mean graft flow and age , dyslipidaemia , BMI , hypertension , epicardial fat thickness  and DM  in bivariate analysis. Univariate relationships and multivariable analyses of mean graft flow presented in 434 grafts in 181 patients who underwent elective CABG surgery under general anaesthesia with CPB were evaluated within the study. All the grafts were measured by TTFM intraoperative, 162 grafts were arterial, and 272 were venous . Higher 12 Previous studies reported that epicardial adipose tissue is a participating factor in the pathogenesis of CAD and there is a meaningful correlation between EFT and the severity of CAD, as strong as satisfactory.14 EFT might suppress İnsulin sensitivity and adiponectin secretion. İn adipose tissue, these factors induce inflammation, trigger the secretion process of proinflammatory cytokines also contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Relationship of these metabolic disorders and progression of coronary microvascular disorders is still not clear. Previous studies have shown that higher adipose tissue volume are thought to induce coronary microvascular dysfunction.12 Endothelial dysfunction as a cause of increased microvascular resistance is an early finding before clinically stenosis develops in patients with cardiovascular risk factors.15 Many studies have shown increased EFT volume in coronary artery stenosis.17 İn the present study, according to our results, poor TTFM values were observed in patients with higher EFT volumes. For a successful coronary arterial revascularization, in CABG surgery, it is mandatory that the graft flow passing through the anastomosis need to overrun the coronary flow. Several factors  affect the potency of a coronary artery bypass. Only some of these parameters depend on the surgery. Especially distal coronary resistance and collateral flow is hard to estimate before surgery. Akasaka et al showed that diabetic patients have a lower coronary flow reserve compared with nondiabetic individuals, but the underlying mechanism is still unclear.18 TTFM has become a popular method to evaluate the revascularization quality during CABG operations. Because, TTFM is non-invasive, easy to perform, rapid, simple to reproducible, and a characteristic sample of the real flow in the graft. İt is well known that, mean graft flow, diastolic filling, pulsatility index and reverse flow parameters previously proposed as predictors a higher prevalence of graft failure in the early period of surgery, for both arterial and venous conduits.19 Mean graft flow is a useful indicator for how graft is flowing after anastomosis and is expressed in ml/minute. However, it is not a solid marker of the classification of the anastomosis on the grounds that the index is affected by numerous factors, such as coronary microvascular resistance blood pressure and harvesting quality of the grafts. Many studies concerning interpretive coronary graft flow measurement have been published; greater than 20 mL/minute mean graft flow is defined as a satisfactory result. The diastolic filling is expressed as a percentage and signifies the ratio of diastolic flow during a total period of graft flow. The diastolic filling should range from 45% to 80% for an appropriate graft. ESC/EACTS guidelines on myocardial revascularization published in 2010 endorsed TTFM low mean graft flow lower than 20 mL/min and high pulsatility index greater than 5 to predict technically inadequate grafts, advocating graft revision before leaving the operation room.20 The power of TTFM to predict the potency of grafts in the long term is still controversial. A recent review study performed by Niclauss revealed the advantages and some shortcomings of the routine use of TTFM measurements. As a result of 9 studies screened, the graft failure rate was 12% and they concluded that “TTFM alone may not be a sufficient evaluation method to detect graft failure and other parameters should be specified. With the TTFM method, the sensitivity of the graft evaluation (ie the true positive rate) varies between 94% and 98%, but the specificity (ie true negative rate) rate is quite low, such as 61%.21 In a study completed by Tokuda and et al, In patients who underwent angiography follow-up for a mean of 16.5 ± 7.6 months’ lower mean graft flow  and a higher % diastolic filling  the measurements were inversely proportional to the graft opening in the mid-range.19 In the present study, we did not detect any meaningful relationship between EFT and reversed flow. Already we have not identified any graft competition, according to our clinical observations. Dynamic variables such as blood pressure, graft diameter, flow competition, heart rate and distal coronary resistance are some restrictive factors for optimal evaluation by affecting the graft assessment by TTFM. Saad F. Jaber et al reported that mean graft flow did not decrease significantly until graft stenosis was greater than 75 %. 22 There are some limitations in some points of our study. In this retrospective study, it was not possible to detect territory that had lost the viability due to previous infarctions. It is also obvious that tissue that has lost its vitality in the areas fed by the anastomoses will potentially have a negative effect on the graft flow. However, none of the patients included in our study underwent a surgical procedure requiring resection due to large myocardial scar tissue. On the other hand, with viability studies that are not routinely applied to every patient, measurements of graft flows can be performed more accurately. EFT might provide additional information and be a useful guide for vascular endothelial dysfunction and the faith of grafts. In this study, we performed EFT thickness measurements by echocardiography. Although echocardiography is fast, practical and easy to use, subjective results may emerge in part because it is dependent on the experience of the user. High-speed computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging may give more accurate results, but it will not be efficient to use it for EFT thickness measurement since it is both expensive and impractical. Moreover, there are technical differences in how to evaluate tissue thickness with echocardiography among unlike studies, including measuring thickness in cardiac systole or diastole, used echocardiographic window type, and a location in each window that thickness is measured.To evaluate the predictive role of EFT in graft flow dynamics is the primary purpose of this study. İn some recent studies EFT has been reported to be a novel predictive sign of metabolic disorders and cardiovascular diseases independently.The author gives special thanks to the staff of the department of cardiology of the University of Health Sciences Adana City Training and Research Hospital for their collaboration in echocardiographic assessment.EFT thickness might be associated with the mean graft flow, pulsatility index and diastolic filling. There is a stronger relationship between EFT thickness with the mean graft flow, pulsatility index and diastolic filling.No conflict of interest was declared by the authors.Çukurova University ethical committee approved the study .The authors declared that this case has received no financial support.


For complex carbohydrates, such as glycogen and starch, various analytical methods and techniques exist allowing the detailed characterization of these storage carbohydrates. In this article, we give a brief overview of the most frequently used methods, techniques, and results. Furthermore, we give insights in the isolation, purification, and fragmentation of both starch and glycogen. An overview of the different structural levels of the glucans is given and the corresponding analytical techniques are discussed. Moreover, future perspectives of the analytical needs and the challenges of the currently developing scientific questions are included. Today, several techniques for the analysis of complex carbohydrates exist, though a single all-embracing method is lacking. All methods provide information about glycan samples, but along with this knowledge, there is unfortunately also a partial loss of specific information. As an example, very large and complex glycans can be analyzed only following partial fragmentation. Thus, a combination of several methods is required for extensive characterization of glycans. Furthermore, the use of overlapping methods is the most promising approach. Therefore, in this article, several competing techniques are presented, essentially restricted to the analytics of the complex storage glucans, starch, and glycogen. However, as starch and glycogen have very similar chemical properties but strongly different physical characteristics, this article starts with a focus on the required differences in the analytical workflow for both glucans. Following this, the different levels of analyses are summarized and discussed. However, many different conventional and modern analytical techniques exist, and thus, we constrain our discussion to the most widespread state-of-the-art methods and techniques.−3. Consequently, the isolation methods for starch and glycogen also differ  is frequently used ,25,26. HThe isolation of glycogen is more complex, as glycogen is watersoluble, similar to potential contaminating proteins and further metabolites. For the extraction of glycogen from mammal liver or muscles, the trichloroacetic acid (TCA)-based isolation procedures or ultracentrifugation in combination with sucrose gradients are widely used . Iodine staining is frequently used to visualize starch and glycogen even within tissues, however false positive signals are possible as these tests are not strictly highly specific for starch or glycogen, as other glucosyl residues containing poly- and oligomers, e.g., maltodextrins, can interfere, and therefore, additional analyses are necessary for higher precision.+) into the reduced form NADPH. The formation of NADPH is then spectroscopically measured . In addition, also NAD+ converting glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenases can be applied forming NADH. It should be mentioned that such quantification method measures total starch comprising both components amylopectin and amylose. Information about amylose and amylopectin proportion within starch is gained by iodine staining methods and/or combination with further fractionation methods . These kits are in principle based on the enzymatic or chemical hydrolysis of starch, resulting in the exclusive formation of glucose monomers. The glucose is further enzymatically converted via glucose-6-phosphate to 6-phosphogluconolactone by hexokinase (EC 2.7.1.1) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.49), resulting also in a conversion of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPhods see .Solanum tuberosum L.) starch granules are spherical with up to 100 µm in diameter. Maize starch granules are irregular-polyhedral shaped with a size range between 5 to 20 µm ,225Arabiin vitro or in vivo modifications of starches, starch- and glycogen-like molecules and glycogen, MALDI mass spectrometry is the method of choice [Smaller glucans released from starch or glycogen can also be analyzed by mass spectrometry, mostly using matrix assistant laser desorption and ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry with 2,5-Dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB) as matrix ,231,232.f choice ,233,234.In addition to the carbohydrate-related analyses of starch and glycogen, protein analytics of both carbon stores can also be performed. For starch and glycogen, binding and integration of proteins have been reported. Thus, for glycogen, the binding of glycogenin, glycogen synthase, glycogen phosphorylase, glycogen debranching enzyme, laforin as well as kinases and phosphatases were reported ,237,238.To date, it is unclear whether some integrated or bound proteins are also important for the overall structural properties of the starch granules.in vitro. Such experiments can also be extended by pre-treatment of the starch via, for instance, hydrolytic digestion by enzymes [vivo can be analyzed by using transgenic plants expressing proteins labelled with a fluorescent group, such as e.g., GFP, YFP, or mCherry [Besides analysis of catalytic actions of enzymes at the starch granule surface and its resulting glucan products see  also the enzymes . Moreove mCherry ,270,271.Over the past few decades various carbohydrate analysis techniques have been established, and subsequently, the starch and glycogen fields have benefitted. Thus, more and more detailed information about starch and glycogen has been obtained. A covalent modification, the phosphorylation of glycogen and starch, was identified, and various mutants with different starch morphologies, altered inner structures, and modified surface properties have been reported.However, many open questions remain. For example, for both starch and glycogen, covalent modification by phosphorylation has been detected. However, to date, the molecular order of this phosphorylation event is unclear. Thus, e.g., the exact position of the phosphorylation, i.e., the glucosyl residue in the glucan chain, the distance to branching points, the distance between two phosphorylation events, and the physical or chemical background are obscure. Similar to the modification of starch and glycogen, the order at the surface of both polyglucans is far from being resolved. More and more results point to specific characteristics of the surface that influence the interaction with proteins, and thus, the changing surface is critical for biological function. Thus, for biological and biochemical analyses, the surface is the focus of the research, as almost all interactions with proteins occur here. This includes the synthesis as well as the degradation of new glycosidic linkages. Furthermore, the results of the action of enzymes and proteins during synthesis at the surface presuppose the created inner structure. In addition, both the actions of enzymes and proteins during synthesis and degradation presuppose the available surface. In this dynamic molecular world, the currently available methods are limited. This limitation comprises, a time component as well as an individual component. Thus, for many analyses, at least the isolation of glycogen or starch is needed, which reduces the time resolution of possible analyses. Additionally, it can also alter parameters of the analyte. Furthermore, as most of the analyses cannot be performed with a single starch or glycogen molecule, due to the low amount, almost all data to date are averages, limiting your insight. Depending on the analytic question and method, this averaging can include different physiological or metabolic states of the same cell but can also include analytes from different cells, tissues or even organs. Thus, especially small alterations can be underestimated.Similarly, in regard to the analyses of the inner structure, nearly no individual starch or glycogen molecule has been analyzed to date, limiting our knowledge about possible natural variance. Interestingly, an analysis of a single giant starch granule from orchid was reported .However, analyze of characteristics such as the size and shape and the resulting properties for applications when huge amounts of the polyglucans are necessary, especially starch, can be more accurate, faster, and obtained more cheaply. Therefore, analytic needs differ largely among the various scientific and industrial sectors. However, gaining more insight into individual molecular structures will also be helpful for crude industrial applications. Furthermore, in computational science, particularly modelling, it has become more and more important to develop new ideas about the exact properties of starch and glycogen.


The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed a uniformly dispersed microfibrillar structure for the TLCP component in cryogenically-fractured blends, without any phase-separated domains. The FT-IR spectra showed that the carbonyl stretching bands of TLCP/PEGMA blends shifted to higher wavenumbers, suggesting the presence of specific interactions and/or grafting reactions between carboxyl/hydroxyl groups of TLCP and glycidyl methacrylate groups of PEGMA. Accordingly, the melting and crystallization temperatures of the PEGMA component in the blends were greatly lowered compared to the TLCP component. The thermal decomposition peak temperatures of the PEGMA and TLCP components in the blends were characterized as higher than those of neat PEGMA and neat TLCP, respectively. From the rheological data collected at 300 °C, the shear moduli and complex viscosities for the blend with 30 wt% PEGMA were found to be much higher than those of neat PEGMA, which supports the existence of PEGMA-g-TLCP formed during the melt-compounding. The dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMA) analyses demonstrated that the storage moduli of the blends decreased slightly with the PEGMA content up to 3 wt%, increased at the PEGMA content of 5 wt%, and decreased again at PEGMA contents above 7 wt%. The maximum storage moduli for the blend with 5 wt% PEGMA are interpreted to be due to the reinforcing effect of PEGMA-g-TLCP copolymers.In this study, a series of thermotropic liquid crystalline polyester (TLCP)-based blends containing 1–30 wt% poly(ethylene- Thermotropic liquid crystalline polyesters (TLCPs)—aromatic polyesters exhibiting liquid crystallinity in a molten state—are used in a variety of industrial sectors because of their excellent thermal stability, dimensional stability, mechanical performance, and chemical resistance ,5,6,7,8.The blending of TLCPs with commercial thermoplastics, such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polycarbonate (PC), poly (PET), etc., has been known to lead to viscosity reductions, an improved processability, and enhanced mechanical and barrier properties ,14,15,16g-glycidyl methacrylate) (PEGMA) has been considered as a reactive polymer component in polymer blend systems [In this study, we tried to investigate the structure–property relationship of TLCP-dominant blends containing thermoplastic as a minor component. PE is a thermoplastic polymer widely used in various fields because of its excellent flexibility, processability, and cost-efficiency. The blending of TLCP with PE can achieve enhanced mechanical properties in terms of the toughness and an acceptable performance-cost ratio. However, TLCP/PE blends are known to be immiscible, resulting in poor interfacial adhesion ,20. Immi systems ,25. For 3, melting point of 105 °C, glass transition temperature of −26 °C, tensile strength at break of 18 MPa, elongation at break of 650%, and modulus = 1000 kg/cm2, was used as a thermoplastic polymeric modifier of TLCP.TLCP, which is composed of 27 mol% hydroxybenzoic acid (HBA) and 73 mol% hydroxynaphthoic acid (HNA), was kindly supplied by Seyang Polymer Com., Incheon, Korea. PEGMA  containing 6 wt% GMA, with a mass flow rate of 3 g/10 min at 190 °C, density of 0.931 g/cmTLCP-based blends with 1–30 wt% PEGMA loadings were fabricated by masterbatch-based melt-compounding, as represented schematically in The morphological features of TLCP/PEGMA blends were characterized by using a scanning electron microscope  operating at the accelerating voltage of 8 kV. For obtaining cross-sectional SEM images, neat TLCP and its blends were fractured in a liquid nitrogen bath and then coated with platinum in a vacuum sputtering chamber for 60 s.The crystalline features of neat TLCP, neat PEGMA, and TLCP/PEGMA blends were identified by using an X-ray diffractometer  with Cu-Kα radiation (λ = 0.15418 nm) in the 2θ range of 5–50°. The chemical structures and molecular interactions of TLCP/PEGMA blends and their components were analyzed by using a FT-IR spectrometer .The thermal transition properties of neat TLCP, neat PEGMA, and TLCP/PEGMA blends were investigated with a differential scanning calorimeter  over the temperature range of 30–300 °C at a heating and cooling rate of 10 °C/min under nitrogen atmosphere.The thermal stability and thermal degradation behavior of TLCP-based blends with different PEGMA contents were analyzed by using a thermogravimetric analyzer  in the temperature range of 30–800 °C at a heating rate of 10 °C/min under nitrogen atmosphere.The rheological properties of neat TLCP, neat PEGMA, and TLCP/PEGMA blends under an oscillatory dynamic shear were measured by using a rheometer  with a parallel plate geometry with a 25 mm diameter and 1 mm gap. Dynamic frequency sweep measurements were performed at 300 °C in the frequency range of 0.1–100 rad/s.The temperature-dependent dynamic mechanical properties of TLCP/PEGMA blends were characterized by using a dynamic mechanical analyzer  with a single cantilever geometry at a frequency of 0.1 Hz. The DMA experiments were carried out in the temperature range from −50 to 240 °C at a heating rate of 5 °C/min.In order to characterize the morphological features of TLC/PEGMA blends, SEM images of the fractured surfaces of TLCP and TLCP/PEGMA blends were obtained, as shown in −1. In addition, characteristic C=O stretching  and C–O stretching  vibrations of the carboxyl group can be observed at ~1724 and ~1249/1178 cm−1, respectively [νepoxy, asym) can be observed at 908 cm−1. In addition, characteristic vibration bands related to the C–O stretching of O–CH2 , C–O stretching of the carboxyl group of GMA , symmetric deformation of the methyl group (δCH3), bending deformation of the methylene group (δCH2), and C=O stretching of carboxyl groups of GMA  were detected at 1141, 1234, 1370, 1463, and 1733 cm−1, respectively [νC–O, carboxyl) at 1176 and 1249 cm−1 for neat TLCP were shifted to 1179 and 1253 cm−1 for the TLCP-E30 blend, as the PEGMA content increased in the blends. In addition, the C=O stretching band  at 1724 cm−1 for neat TLCP was shifted to 1727 cm−1 for the TLCP-E30 blend. These results demonstrate that intermolecular interactions and/or a chemical reaction might exist between carboxyl/hydroxy groups of TLCP and epoxy/methacrylate groups of PEGMA [To identify the chemical structures and molecular interactions of TLCP and PEGMA, the FT-IR spectra of the neat TLCP, neat PEGMA, and TLCP/PEGMA blends were obtained, as can be seen in ectively ,27,28. Iectively ,30. For of PEGMA , as reprd-spacing of 4.5 nm based on Bragg’s law, was observed and this is associated with the (110) plane of the TLCP crystalline structure [g-TLCP) and the intermolecular interactions between TLCP and PEGMA components  and enthalpies (ΔHm and ΔHc) of the melting and crystallization transitions of TLCP and PEGMA components in the blends were summarized and are presented in Tm, TLCP and Tm, PEGMA values of neat TLCP and PEGMA are characterized as ~281 and ~110 °C, respectively. In the cases of TLCP/PEGMA blends, the Tm, TLCP values of 276–279 °C for the TLCP component are slightly lower than that of neat TLCP, whereas the Tm, PEGMA values of the PEGMA component decrease noticeably from ~101 °C of TLCP-E30 to ~85 °C of TLCP-E1 when decreasing the PEGMA content in the blends. In the first cooling thermograms of Tc, TLCP and Tc, PEGMA) of neat TLCP and PEGMA are characterized as ~237 and ~90 °C, respectively. For TLCP/PEGMA blends, the Tc, TLCP values of 235–237 °C for the TLCP component are quite comparable to that of neat TLCP, irrespective of the PEGMA content, while the Tc, PE values of 76–79 °C for the PEGMA component are far lower than that of neat PEGMA. In the second heating thermograms of Tm, PEGMA and Tc, PEGMA values of the PEGMA component in the blends are conjectured to be caused by the restricted crystallization rate, as well as the thin crystal formation of PEGMA with a flexible backbone chain owing to the chemical reactions and specific interactions between PEGMA and TLCP, as supported by the above SEM, FT-IR, and X-ray diffraction analyses. Consistently, the experimental melting and crystallization enthalpies (ΔHm and ΔHc) of TLCP and PEGMA components in the blends  of TLCP and PEGMA components in the blends were plotted as a function of the PEGMA content and compared with the calculated values, as can be seen in The thermal transition behaviors of neat TLCP, neat PEGMA, and TLCP/PEGMA blends were investigated by obtaining DSC heating and cooling thermograms, as shown in e blends  were fouTd, TLCP and Td, PEGMA) of TLCP and PEGMA components in the blends, which were obtained from the DTG thermograms, were plotted as a function of the PEGMA content, as can be seen in Td, TLCP value of neat TLCP was measured to be ~513 °C and the Td, PEGMA value of neat PEGMA was ~475 °C. For all TLCP/PEGMA blends, the Td, TLCP values of the TLCP component were found to be in the range of 540–544 °C, which are values 17–21 °C higher than the value of neat TLCP, indicating the enhanced thermal stability of the TLCP component in the blends. The enhanced thermal stability of the TLCP component in the blends is conjectured to be due to the thermal insulation layer formation of a PEGMA component with a lower thermal stability. In addition, the Td, PEGMA values of the PEGMA component in the blends with 7–30 wt% PEGMA contents are in the range of 493–510 °C, which are values 18–35 °C higher than that of neat PEGMA. The highly increased Td, PEGMA values of the PEGMA component in the blends are believed to have been induced by the enhanced thermal stability of the PEGMA component that reacted or interacted with the TLCP component. It is thus reasonable to contend that the thermal stability of both TLCP and PEGMA components in the blends could be enhanced by the synergistic effects of the chemical reaction and enhanced compatibility between PEGMA and TLCP.The influence of the PEGMA content on the thermal decomposition behavior of TLCP-based blends was characterized by using TGA and DTG thermograms of neat TLCP, neat PEGMA, and TLCP/PEGMA blends, as shown in G’), shear loss modulus (G”), loss tangent (tan ™), and complex viscosity (η*) of neat TLCP, neat PEGMA, and TLCP/PEGMA blends at 300 °C were measured as a function of the angular frequency, as can be seen in g-TLCP copolymers formed during the masterbatch-based melt-compounding contribute to enhancing the compatibility of TLCP and PEGMA components in the blend and restricting the alignment of TLCP chains with the applied shear. The shear storage modulus (E’) of neat TLCP, neat PEGMA, and their blends as a function of the temperature were obtained, as shown in 11 Pa at −50 °C decreased slightly to ~1010 Pa at ~100 °C owing to the glass transition, and remained at a level of ~1010 Pa up to 230 °C. In the case of neat PEGMA, the storage modulus of ~109 Pa at −50 °C decreased when increasing the temperature and decreased significantly above 50 °C owing to the beginning of the melting of PE crystals. The overall temperature-dependent storage modulus changes of the blends with 1–30 wt% PEGMA are almost identical to the neat TLCP, although the storage moduli are slightly lower over the temperature range.To characterize the effects of the PEGMA content on the dynamic mechanical thermal properties of TLCP/PEGMA blends, the changes of the storage modulus (g-TLCP copolymers on the compatibility and mechanical performance of TLCP/PEGMA blends.For a quantitative comparison, the storage moduli of neat TLCP, neat PEGMA, and TLCP/PEGMA blends at constant temperatures of −50, 30, and 100 °C were plotted as a function of the PEGMA content, as shown in g-TLCP copolymers during the melt-compounding. As the results show, the melting and crystallization temperatures of the PEGMA component in the blends were greatly lowered compared to the TLCP component with a rigid backbone chain. The thermal decomposition peak temperatures of PEGMA and TLCP components in the blends were higher than those of neat PEGMA and neat TLCP, respectively. The shear moduli and complex viscosities for the blend with 30 wt% PEGMA at a melt state of 300 °C were far higher than those of neat PEGMA, which supports the presence of PEGMA-g-TLCP formed during the melt-compounding. The DMA results revealed that the storage moduli of TLCP/PEGMA blends at a constant temperature decreased slightly with the PEGMA content up to 3 wt%, increased at the PEGMA content of 5 wt%, and decreased again at PEGMA contents above 7 wt%. The maximum storage moduli for the blend with 5 wt% PEGMA were also conjected to be due to the reinforcing and synergistic effects of PEGMA-g-TLCP copolymers on the compatibility and mechanical performance of TLCP/PEGMA blends. Overall, it is valid to contend that TLCP/PEGMA blends with enhanced thermal and mechanical properties, as well as an increased price-performance ratio, could be utilized as advanced engineering materials for high-end applications in automotive components, electronic devices, and super fibers.In summary, TLCP-based blends with 1–30 wt% PEGMA loadings were fabricated by facile and efficient masterbatch-based melt-compounding, and their morphology, microstructures, and physical properties were investigated systematically by considering the chemical reaction and intermolecular interaction between TLCP and PEGMA components. The SEM images of cryogenic fracture surfaces revealed that microfibrils of the TLCP component with stiff backbone chains were dispersed uniformly for all blends, without exhibiting any phase-separated domains, which indicates a good compatibility between TLCP and PEGMA components. From the FT-IR spectra, the characteristic vibrational bands associated with the carboxyl groups of TLCP components were found to shift to higher wavenumbers when increasing the PEGMA content in the blends. X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the crystalline diffraction intensity of the PEGMA component in the blends decreased more significantly compared with that of the TLCP component. The morphological and microstructural features obtained from SEM, FT-IR, and XRD data suggested the presence of specific intermolecular interactions between carboxyl/hydroxy groups of TLCP and glycidyl methacrylate groups of PEGMA, as well as the formation of PEGMA-


Objectively measured reduction in lumbar posterior-to-anterior (PA) stiffness is associated with pain relief in some, but not all persons with low back pain. Unfortunately, these measurements can be time consuming to perform. In comparison, the Lumbar Spine Instability Questionnaire (LSIQ) is intended to measure spinal instability and the Lumbar Spine Disability Index (LSDI) is created for self-reporting functional disability due to increased spinal stiffness. Given the above, the aim of this study is to compare measures of the LSIQ and LSDI with objective measures of lumbar PA stiffness as measured by a mechanical device, Vertetrack (VT), in patients with persistent non-specific low back pain (nsLBP).Twenty-nine patients with nsLBP completed the LSIQ and LSDI at baseline and after two weeks. On these same occasions, PA spinal stiffness was measured using the VT. Between measurements, patients received four sessions of spinal manipulation. The resulting data was analyzed to determine the correlation between the self-report and objective measures of stiffness at both time points. Further, the patients were categorized into responders and non-responders based on pre-established cut points depending on values from the VT and compared those to self-report measures in order to determine whether the LSIQ and the LSDI were sensitive to change.Twenty-nine participants completed the study. Measures from the LSIQ and LSDI correlated poorly with objectively measured lumbar PA stiffness at baseline and also with the change scores. The change in objectively measured lumbar PA stiffness following spinal manipulation did not differ between those who improved, and those who did not improve according to the pre-specified cut-points. Finally, a reduction in lumbar PA stiffness following intervention was not associated with improvement in LSIQ and LSDI outcomes.The current data indicate that the LSIQ and LSDI questionnaires do not correlate with measures obtained objectively by VT. Our results suggest that these objective and self- reported measures represent different domains and as such, cannot stand in place of one another. Low back pain (LBP) is the primary cause of years lived with disability globally . No specPatients with nsLBP display greater average lumbar posterior-to-anterior (PA) stiffness as measured by mechanical devices than asymptomatic people . ObjectiSpinal manipulation (SM) has been shown to alter lumbar PA stiffness measures, and a reduction in stiffness is related to self-reported measures of disability . FeelingRecently, the clinimetric properties of the LSIQ were assessed in a sample of patients with nsLBP . The autThe LSDI has demonstrated acceptable internal consistency, retest reliability, and external validity when assessed in a group of 32 adult lumbar arthrodesis patients . Also, iGiven the above, the aims of this study were to examine: 1.How measures from the LSIQ, LSDI and the VT change following the provision of SM in patients with persistent nsLBP. 2.How baseline measures from the LSIQ and LSDI correlate to baseline values of lumbar PA stiffness as measured by the VT. 3.How changes in LSIQ and LSDI measures correlate to potential changes in VT measures following SM intervention. 4.If there was a difference in VT change scores following SM intervention between those who responded and those not responding according to LSIQ and LSDI measures following SM intervention. 5.If a reduction in lumbar PA stiffness was associated with improving in LSIQ and LSDI measures following SM intervention.Patients with persistent low back pain were recruited from the Spine Centre of Southern Denmark, a large regional hospital department with specialist focus on spinal pain syndromes, located in Middelfart, Denmark. Patients were referred to the department from primary practice  and other hospitals in the region. See yes” answer, thus the score of the LSIQ ranges from 0–15  and the Danish Data Protection Agency. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04086667. All participants provided informed, written consent.Descriptive statistics were performed on clinical characteristics of the participants. Testing for normality for relevant variables was done using the Shapiro–Wilk’s test, all data was deemed normally distributed.segmental stiffness (SS), i.e., the individual stiffness scores of motion segments L1-L5, and mean lumbar stiffness (MLS), calculated as the mean of all SS-scores. Questionnaire data were treated as continuous. VT data were treated as continuous data. Specifically, SS measures were calculated from the second point to the second last point of the raw force–displacement curve  reduction in LSDI-scores at follow-up compared to baseline, classified participants as responders. This was based on a previous study reporting an 11% improvement  in LSDI-score following arthrodesis over a single lumbar segment.t-test was performed to determine if there was a difference in the change scores of VT measures between the responders and non-responders, determined by the LSIQ and LSDI change respectively.A Welch two-sample 2 test was performed to determine whether a decrease in lumbar PA stiffness was associated with improvement in LSIQ and LSDI.Finally, a 5% reduction in each VT measure (both SS and MLS) classified participants as responders. This specific cut point, which was also predefined and arbitrary, was considered relevant to our study only. A chiA total of 35 patients were recruited into the study . Of thosP = 0.003) and 4.5 (P = 0.018) points respectively. The MLS-score increased by 0.029 N/mm (P = 0.994).Twenty-one participants improved following the intervention period according to the pre-determined LSIQ cut-point, and 14 improved according to the LSDI-score . RespectA reduction in objectively measured lumbar PA stiffness following treatment was not associated with improvement in either the LSIQ or LSDI following the SM intervention .Improvement in both LSIQ and LSDI scores were observed in patients with persistent nsLBP following a two-week intervention of 4 sessions of SM. The mean lumbar PA stiffness measured by the VT increased slightly during the intervention period among all participants, however not significantly. Neither the cross-sectional measures nor the change scores of the LSIQ and LSDI, correlated with objectively measured lumbar PA stiffness as measured by the VT. Those improving in the LSIQ or LSDI scores following intervention did not differ in the change scores of objectively measured PA stiffness compared to those not improving in the questionnaires scores. Finally, a decrease in lumbar PA stiffness was not associated with improving in the LSIQ and LSDI outcome following SM intervention. These findings suggest that these subjective and objective measures do not measure similar domains.Stanton et al. recently concluded that perceived and actual, measured stiffness did not correlate well and that the experience of feeling stiff did not reflect actual biomechanical back stiffness as measured also by the VT . They alThere are several possibilities as to why the objective measure of spinal stiffness did not change during the duration of this study. Most likely, the subset of participants we tested were not responders to SMT. As mentioned in the introduction, prior work has shown that some, but not all, persons who respond to SMT with a significant change in disability also show a significant change in spinal stiffness. Clearly, as is the case with all studies, not every recruited participant will be a responder.Findings from a recent study, suggests that the 15 items of the LSIQ may be indicative of clinical instability individually, but that many of the questionnaire items are characteristics of LBP in general . AnalysiInterestingly, the mean LSDI scores in a study that examined patients with lumbar arthrodesis were similar to the mean baseline and follow-up scores found in our study . In factThis study examined the relation between self-reported and objectively measured spinal stiffness both cross-sectionally and longitudinally, which expanded our assessment to include the association of the potential changes that might have occurred both in the questionnaire scores and measured stiffness. In addition, the self-report instruments were bench marked against an objective measure of spinal stiffness.The fact that translation of the questionnaires into Danish was not performed using the recommended reverse translation procedures might have an influence on the reliability of the conclusions from this study. Another limitation to this study is that division into improvement/no improvement in the measures of the LSIQ, LSDI and VT following intervention were set by our estimate of a relevant cut point. However, this was a necessary procedure because of the lack of previously utilizable cut points in the literature. Further, a number of factors can potentially influence the PA spinal stiffness measured by the VT. Voluntary/involuntary paraspinal muscle activation is one example. As for discussion of the limitations and challenges of the VT we refer to previous work . FinallyThe current data indicate, that the LSIQ and LSDI questionnaires do not measure actual spinal stiffness, in so much as this is quantified objectively by VT. Our results suggest that objective and self- reported measures of stiffness represent different domains. The questionnaires may still be of clinical relevance, but it seems they are unsuited as measures of PA spinal stiffness.10.7717/peerj.9598/supp-1Supplemental Information 1Click here for additional data file.10.7717/peerj.9598/supp-2Supplemental Information 2Click here for additional data file.10.7717/peerj.9598/supp-3Supplemental Information 3Click here for additional data file.10.7717/peerj.9598/supp-4Supplemental Information 4Click here for additional data file.


SLC22A12 gene, which encodes the major uric acid (UA) transporter, URAT1. The clinical course of related, living donor-derived RHUC in patients undergoing kidney transplantation is poorly understood. Here, we report a case of kidney transplantation from a living relative who had an SLC22A12 mutation. After the transplantation, the recipient’s fractional excretion of UA (FEUA) decreased, and chimeric tubular epithelium was observed.Renal hypouricemia (RHUC) is a genetic disorder caused by mutations in the SLC22A12 gene was detected in the donor, but not in the recipient. The recipient’s serum-UA level increased from 148.7 μmol/L to 231.9 μmol/L 3 months after transplantation and was 226.0 μmol/L 1 year after transplantation. His FEUA decreased from 20.8 to 11.7% 3 months after transplantation and was 12.4% 1 year after transplantation. Fluorescence in situ hybridization of allograft biopsies performed 3 months and 1 year after transplantation showed the presence of Y chromosomes in the tubular epithelial cells, suggesting the recipient’s elevated serum-UA levels were owing to a chimeric tubular epithelium.A 40-year-old man underwent kidney transplantation. His sister was the kidney donor. Three weeks after the transplantation, he had low serum-UA, 148.7 μmol/L, and elevated FEUA, 20.8% . The patient’s sister had low serum-UA (101.1 μmol/L) and high FEUA (15.8%) before transplant. Suspecting RHUC, we performed next-generation sequencing on a gene panel containing RHUC-associated genes. A heterozygous missense mutation in the SLC22A12 (URAT1) gene. Despite this mutation, the clinical course was not problematic. Thus, the presence of donor-recipient chimerism in the tubular epithelium might positively affect the clinical course, at least in the short-term.We reported on a kidney transplant recipient that developed RHUC owing to his donor possessing a heterozygous mutation in the  SLC22A12 gene [SLC22A12 can cause RHUC [Renal hypouricemia (RHUC) is a genetic disorder caused by a defect in the urate transporter 1 (URAT1) protein, often causing urolithiasis and exercise-induced acute renal failure . URAT1 iA12 gene , 5. In ause RHUC .At present, two reports showed successful kidney transplantation from living, related donors and recipients affected with hereditary RHUC , 8. HoweWe reported on a case of donor-derived RHUC in a kidney recipient, focusing on the detection of Y chromosome chimerism in the tubular epithelium of the recipient using FISH.The recipient was a 40-year-old Japanese man that was diagnosed with proteinuria during a previous medical examination at 28 years of age. However, he did not receive any form of treatment for this condition and had not received any kind of medical care until 38 years of age, when he sought treatment for severe fatigue and anorexia. Laboratory tests showed a serum creatinine (S-Cr) level of 1113.8 μmol/L and serum-UA (S-UA) level of 743.5 μmol/L. He was referred to the nephrology department of another hospital to receive hemodialysis. The etiology of his renal failure was unknown because a renal biopsy was not performed.Two years later, he underwent kidney transplantation. The patient’s donor was his living sister, and the clinical course after transplantation was uneventful. Three weeks after kidney transplantation, his S-Cr was 100.7 μmol/L, and he had a slightly low S-UA  with a fractional excretion of UA (FEUA) of 20.8% . A physical examination of the patient did not reveal any abnormalities.The donor was the patient’s 42-year-old sister. Before donation, her S-UA and FEUA levels were 101.1 μmol/L and 15.8%, respectively. Other clinical data were normal ) in the donor, but not in the recipient. The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics variant classifications for this variant are shown in Supplemental Material Based on these findings, we suspected that the donor had RHUC. After obtaining the informed consent from both the donor and the recipient, we performed next-generation sequencing with a gene panel containing RHUC-associated genes on both of them, including d SLC2A9 . We founThe recipient had an excellent transplantation outcome: two years after the surgery, he had no major complications, including urolithiasis or exercise-induced acute renal failure. The recipient’s S-UA level was 231.9 and 226.0 μmol/L, 3 months and 1 year after transplantation, respectively. His S-Cr level did not significantly change from his levels 3 weeks after transplant, and was 96.3 and 93.7 μmol/L, 3 months and 1 year after transplantation, respectively. His FEUA decreased from 20.8% before the surgery, to 11.7 and 12.4%, 3 months and 1 year after transplantation, respectively. Therefore, we hypothesized the presence of donor-recipient chimerism in the tubular epithelium, played a role in the UA reabsorption process. FISH of the allograft biopsies taken 3-months and 1-year post-transplantation detected the presence of the Y chromosome in the tubular epithelium. The protocol of FISH is shown in Supplemental Material SLC22A12 (URAT1) gene, known to cause RHUC. As opposed to previously reported kidney transplants where both the donor and recipient had RHUC [We reported on a kidney transplantation case in which the donated kidney had a heterozygous mutation in the had RHUC , 8, the SLC22A12 gene, encoding URAT1, were the most frequent [SLC22A12 gene. The G269A mutation is causative for RHUC and is the second most prevalent cause of RHUC [According to a previous report, the incidence of hypouricemia, defined as an S-UA of ≤118.9 μmol/L (2.0 mg/dL), in outpatients is 0.16% in men and 0.24% in women . In RHUC of RHUC , 15. TheRHUC is typically an autosomal recessive disease, caused by homozygote or compound heterozygous mutations. Moreover, single heterozygous mutations can cause hypouricemia symptoms , 16. PatHypouricemia is a risk factor for urolithiasis and exercise-induced acute renal failure , 3. SomeWe speculated that the increase in S-UA and decrease in FEUA levels were owing to an adaptive physiological change after transplantation. In contrast with previous reports in which both the recipient and the donor were affected by RHUC, in our case report, only the donor had the disease , 8. TherThis case report had an important limitation. Although we speculated that the decrease in FEUA level observed in the recipient was related to tubular chimerism, other factors may have been responsible for this decrease, especially since the ratio of tubular chimerism was very small. We estimated that the ratio was around 10%, but we did not have enough images to perform a semi-quantitative analysis. Moreover, although the clinical course of the recipient was good in the short-term, the recipient and donor have to be monitored very closely, especially for signs of renal failure.SLC22A12 (URAT1) gene, and the recipient did not develop RHUC owing to the presence of chimerism in the tubular epithelium. Further studies are necessary to predict the clinical outcomes following kidney transplantation for donors and recipients when one or both are affected by RHUC.In conclusion, we reported on a kidney transplantation case in which the donor was affected by RHUC due to a heterozygous mutation in the Additional file 1: Supplemental Material 1. The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics variant classifications variant classifications to (NM_144585.4:c.269G > A:p.(Arg90His).Additional file 2: Supplemental Material 2. FISH protocol.


Ventriculitis is a well-documented complication of ventriculostomy, which is difficult to treat and is associated with high rates of mortality. There is a growing trend of resistance among many organisms, such as Acinetobacter baumannii, in particular, to most antibiotics with the exception of colistin. It is thought that colistin has poor blood-brain barrier penetration; therefore, in cases of ventriculitis, it is preferentially administered via the intrathecal or intraventricular route. These routes, in turn, risk introducing infections, which may perpetuate the problem. We report a case of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii ventriculitis, which was treated successfully with intravenous colistin monotherapy. Ventriculitis is a well-established common complication of indwelling external ventriculostomy catheters, which has high morbidity and mortality. However, the use of external ventriculostomy catheters cannot be avoided in neurosurgical practice. Common indications are for temporary cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diversion and intracranial pressure monitoring in trauma. Despite many advances being made to ventricular drainage in terms of materials and techniques, ventricular catheter-related infection remains to be a major source of morbidity among these patients. A local Malaysian study in 2009 reported a ventricular catheter infection rate of 32.2% . The mosHowever, it has been noted there is an emerging trend of multidrug-resistant gram-negative ventriculitis, in particular, carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, which is often only sensitive to colistin . IntraveA 19-year-old male motorcyclist was involved in a road traffic accident. His Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) was 9/15 upon arrival at the hospital. He was intubated for airway protection. Computed tomography revealed the presence of right frontal contusion, pneumocephalus, and effacement of basal cisterns  to sample CSF in all patients with ventriculostomy catheters twice weekly, thus sampling was done at Days 3 and 6 post-ventriculostomy. The ventricular catheter was dislodged after sampling on Day 6, however, as the GCS was improving, we opted for clinical monitoring before deciding on the reinsertion of another external ventricular drain. Pyrexia was noted Day 2 onwards with neck stiffness, septic work was done and a third-generation cephalosporin was started on clinical and biochemical grounds. CSF culture and sensitivity result came back at Day 5; it was positive for carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, only sensitive to colistin.We were advised to commence the patient on intrathecal colistin. However, his parents refused another surgery, therefore, high-dose colistin E (3 million units 8 hourly) was commenced and followed up closely clinically and biochemically via repeated lumbar punctures. Upon completion of two weeks of intravenous colistin and the normalization of biochemical parameters, as summarized in Table Infection by carbapenem-resistant organisms, Acinetobacter baumannii, in particular, presents a challenge in its management. More so if it involves the central nervous system, which is a microenvironment unto itself due to the presence of the blood-brain barrier. A community-acquired Acinetobacter central nervous system infection is exceedingly rare, with a reported incidence rate of 0.2%, whereas in nosocomial infections, it is 3.6% . A nosocColistin, a polypeptide antimicrobial agent was first introduced in the 1940s . Soon afIn central nervous system infections requiring colistin, the preferred administration is via either the intraventricular or the intrathecal route. This is due to poor blood-brain barrier penetration, which was first reported in 1999 . HoweverIn our review of literature, there have been a total of 12 cases of the successful treatment of carbapenem-resistant central nervous system infections with intravenous colistin ,16-17. AA recent publication reported a similar case, where the patient was successfully treated with intraventricular colistin followed by intravenous administration. However, the total duration of antibiotics was for six weeks, inclusive of two weeks of intraventricular administration and was augmented with glycylcycline . In our In our patient, the infection was successfully treated with intravenous colistin monotherapy without the need for the increased dosage or use of adjuncts. The duration of antibiotic administration and hospital stay was also short at two weeks, with good recovery. Intravenous colistin monotherapy is an option in carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter ventriculitis. However, this needs to be proven and reproduced in well-designed controlled studies before being the norm.


The objective of the present study was to determine the influence of replacement part of starch with inulin on the rheological characteristics of pastes and gels obtained on the basis of potato starch. Replacement of the starch by inulin varied from 0 to 40%. Flow curves for pastes and gels were determined, and the viscoelastic properties were characterized using dynamic tests and creep and recovery tests. It was determined that the replacement of part of potato starch with inulin significantly modifies rheological properties of starch pastes and gels, weakening their structure. With the increasing amount of inulin, an increase of viscous properties was becoming more apparent. Moreover, an irregular influence of inulin addition on the parameters of rheological characteristics was determined. Initially, the differences were minor, and the differences at the lowest addition were typically statistically insignificant, followed by strong increase with local restrictions to structural weakening. Due to its properties depending on the polymerization degree and the nature of the bonds, attempts have been made to use the compound as a component of numerous food products [Inulin and starch are among the most widely distributed biopolymers, forming a reserve material of numerous plant species. Inulin has exhibited many interesting functional and health-promoting properties . Its strβ2,-glycosidNatural starch occurs in the form of granules mostly in seeds, roots, and tubers, as well as stems, leaves, and fruit. Starch granules differ in size and shape, primarily depending on the botanical origin. In seeds, starch occurs in a partially crystalline form. The crystallinity degree depends on the botanical origin (amylose to amylopectin ratio), and it influences certain parameters of starch to a large degree. The botanical origin further significantly influences the additional substances occurring in starch, which can be described as concomitant. Their type and amount determines its physicochemical and functional properties .Lactobacillus casei [Since inulin is considered a substance that can have a beneficial effect on health and at the same time guarantee a sufficiently high level of sensory properties of food products, there is a lot of research on its application in food. In many cases, inulin occurs in combination with other polysaccharides, among other starch of various botanical origins . The work on gluten-free bread supplementation with inulin can be quoted here –6; combius casei  and in tus casei . Inulin us casei .Despite the fact that inulin is highly commonly used in food products in combination with starch and nonstarch hydrocolloids, information on their interactions is limited. Here, studies of , 13 can Potato starch  and inulin Frutafit®IQ  with DP 8-12 , 21 wereRheological properties were characterized using a rheometer MARS II  equipped with the cone-plate system . The samples were placed in the rheometer measuring system, the excess of the sample was removed, and the edges were covered with paraffin oil. The sample was left for 5 minutes (pastes) and 15 minutes (gels) to relax stress and stabilize the temperature, and then, the measurements were performed.−1 (180 s up and 180 s down). Based on the experimental data, power-law model parameters were determined [τ is the shear stress (Pa), K the consistency coefficient (Pa sn), −1), and n the flow behaviour index.The paste was characterized at 50°C by determining flow curves at increasing and decreasing shear rate in the range 0.1-200 stermined :(1)τ=K∙−1 (180 s up and 180 s down), and mechanical spectra and creep and recovery tests within the range of linear viscoelasticity were performed.Gels were characterized at 25°C. Analogously to pastes, flow curves were determined at increasing and decreasing shear rate in the range 0.1-200 sG′ and loss G″ moduli on the applied stress in the range of 0.1-100 Pa at a fixed frequency of 1 Hz.The range of linear viscoelasticity was determined by verifying the dependence of storage −1. The experimental data were fitted with power-law equations [G′ is the conservative modulus (Pa), G″ the loss modulus (Pa), and ω the angular velocity (rad s−1), while K′, K″, n′, and n″ are experimentally determined constants.Mechanical spectra were determined in the range of linear viscoelasticity at constant strain amplitude of 5% in the angular frequency of 1-100 rad squations :(2)G′ω=σ0 = 1 Pa in the range of proportionality of strain to stress. The creep phase continued for 150 s, and recovery 300 s. The experimental data were fitted by Burger's model:J is the compliance (Pa−1), J0 is the instantaneous compliance, J1 is the retardation compliance (Pa−1), η0 is zero shear viscosity (Pa∙s), λret is the retardation time (s), and t1 is the time after which stress was removed (s).Creep and recovery tests were performed at fixed stress Calculations were performed using the Marquardt-Levenberg method with the use of the Statistica 12.0 software .In order to establish the statistical differences between means, the data were treated by one-factor analysis of variance, and the averages were compared with the Duncan test at significance level 0.05. All calculations were performed with the statistical software package Statistica 9.0 .This variability may be also result of the presence of the inulin in the system and its participation in the structure production process. As determined in earlier studies, inulin gel formation is a combination of the crystallization process and formation of three-dimensional network by the crystals, and the final properties of gel depend on the mutual ordering of the crystals. The crystallization process and thus the final properties of the system are difficult to control as well . HoweverK is reduced, both at increasing (3.20-0.72 Pa sn) and decreasing shear rate (6.06-1.03 Pa sn). In line with the description for shear stress presented above, higher K values at decreasing shear rate and negative values of the hysteresis loop surface area were obtained. Change of the consistency indices values , and then it decreased. In turn for the destroyed structure (curve downwards), the flow behaviour index increased gradually, attaining the highest value for the highest inulin addition.K and n after replacement of a part of rice starch with short and medium chain inulin was determined in the study of [K value obtained in the study of [Earlier studies  determinstudy of . On the study of , who exastudy of . Despitestudy of , an incrTaking into account the cited works and the results of this work, it should be stated that for systems prepared according to the starch methodology, there is a weakening of the structure due to the removal of starch and the lack of structure produced by inulin, while the local limitations of viscosity decrease result from inulin-starch and inulin-inulin interactions.G′ values were higher than G″ (tan δ < 1) and increased with the increase of the angular frequency values. Tan δ values and the course of the relationships indicate a significant advantage of elastic properties over viscous properties and enable the statement that the sample has the character of a strong gel. The obtained results comply with the results of the preexisting research on other products such as ketchup, kefir, yoghurt, and gluten-free bread dough [δ value over 1 was obtained for the highest addition of inulin. This means that the tested systems maintain gel structure with its simultaneous strong weakening and significant increase of the share of viscous properties of the tested systems.ad dough , 31, 32.G′ and G″ of inulin, starch gel were significantly increased, which according to authors indicates that inulin molecules could have interacted with each other to form a weakly elastic gel. The influence was also variable with addition of a long-chain inulin; at lower concentrations, an increase of the moduli was obtained, and at higher concentrations, a decrease, obtaining lower values than for control sample. In the study of [Earlier studies  demonstrstudy of , the addstudy of  determinstudy of . AccordiK′ and K″ dependency on the contribution of inulin. The K′ and K″ coefficients decreased with the increase of inulin concentration in samples. Both coefficients decreased irregularly; at the initial samples, the decrease was minor, then considerably higher, then it stabilized again, and at the highest values of inulin in the samples, the difference between values of the coefficient was highest. The n′ coefficient increased sharply with the increasing of inulin contribution, whereas n″ decreased in the same manner . Results of the our study and the presented literature data suggest that changes of the values of the analysed parameters are largely linked to the effect with other components present in the system as well as with water availability. The retardation time increased; thus, it can be concluded that inulin addition influences to the increase of the viscous properties. Similar increase of the retardation time was obtained in the study of [Curves obtained in creep and recovery test are presented in study of , increasstudy of . Zero shstudy of  obtainedstudy of , inulin G′ and G″ values characterizing the tested gels were reduced, and the G″/G′ ratio increased, and a shift in the properties of pastes and gels towards higher viscosity was observed. In all cases, the value of retardation susceptibility increased and zero shear viscosity decreased, while instantaneous compliance and retardation time initially increased and then decreased depending on the contribution of inulin. Statistical analyses demonstrated the significance of the influence of inulin addition on the properties of pastes and gels. This proves that with addition of inulin, it is necessary to take into account its interactions with other components, so as to reduce the potentially negative changes in the product. Numerous factors must be taken into account when considering the possibilities for supplementation of inulin. If inulin is added, both the dry weight and on the other competition for water are increased. In a water deficient system, inulin may lead to the strengthening of the structure without weakening the starch structure or disturb the structure of gel formed by starch leading to its weakening. In systems, where inulin replaces ingredients, one should take into account the strength and rheological properties of these ingredients, as well as the potential weakening of the structure in the case of lack of interactions with inulin resulting from the loss of ingredient of significance for structure . Properties of inulin itself are in turn strongly dependent of the process conditions; here, one should take into consideration temperature (which enables obtaining of inulin gel), as well as time necessary for structure building, the value of which may stem from interactions with other ingredients, and it may be subject to significant changes depending on the composition. Multicomponent systems may have variable impact on the process of crystallization and formation of three-dimensional network by inulin, playing both positive and negative roles in the process.With the increasing inulin concentration, an increasingly pronounced rise of viscous properties was observed; inulin retains the liquid phase at the same time inhibiting starch pasting. The parameters of equations used to describe flow curves decreased with the increasing inulin addition. The consistency coefficient from the power model decreased with an increase in the proportion of inulin at both tested temperatures (25°C and 50°C), both for curves with increasing and decreasing shear rate. An exception was a sample with 10% of inulin at 50°C for which an increase in value was found, and a maximum value was obtained for this curve. However, the flow behaviour index behaved differently, depending on the concentration, decreasing and increasing alternately. For all samples with increasing inulin addition, the


The purpose of this work is to optimize the rigid or compliant behavior of a new type of parallel-actuated robot architecture developed for exoskeleton robot applications. This is done in an effort to provide those that utilize the architecture with the means to maximize, minimize, or simply adjust its stiffness property so as to optimize it for particular tasks, such as augmented lifting or impact absorption. This research even provides the means to produce non-homogeneous stiffness properties for applications that may require non-homogeneous dynamic behavior. In this work, the new architecture is demonstrated in the form of a shoulder exoskeleton. An analytical stiffness model for the shoulder exoskeleton is created and validated experimentally. The model is then used, along with a method of bounded nonlinear multi-objective optimization to configure the parallel substructures for desired rigidity, compliance or nonhomogeneous stiffness behavior. The stiffness model and its optimization can be applied beyond the shoulder to any embodiment of the new parallel architecture, including hip, wrist and ankle robot applications. In order to exemplify this, we present the rigidity optimization for a theoretical hip exoskeleton. In the field of exoskeleton robotics, parallel actuation can offer many advantages over more commonly used serial actuation. Despite having complex kinematics and a typically small workspace, parallel actuation has numerous useful properties including low end-effector inertia, high acceleration, high position accuracy, and the potential for high stiffness . FurtherParallel actuation has been utilized for a number of exoskeleton applications. These include devices for the wrist, ankle, hip and shoulder. The wrist exoskeleton RiceWrist , uses a Spherical parallel manipulators (SPMs) are the most popular choice for exoskeleton applications, primarily because they offer a greater workspace than parallel architectures with a high degree of actuation, like the Stewart-Gough Platform . This isIn order to improve the workspace/stiffness tradeoff of SPMs, the authors introduced a new type of SPM architecture . The arcThe second-generation SPM developed by the authors utilized a system of 4-bar (4B) mechanisms to rotate a mobile platform about a center point. The advantage of this new 4B-SPM design is that the 4-bar system achieves similar arc motion to the previous design while utilizing a far more simplistic construction and maintaining back-drivability. Furthermore, the 4B-SPM utilizes three additional motors to actuate the roll DoF of each substructure, eliminating the primary issues of the MMC design.Maximizing stiffness for applications such as lifting or crush protection.Maximizing compliance for applications requiring a high degree of unpredictable human-robot interaction or collision protection.Designing custom non-homogeneous stiffness ellipsoids for applications that may require non-homogeneous dynamic behavior.An additional property of the 4B-SPM architecture is flexibility of actuator placement. The three substructures that comprise the device can be placed in any position about a center point. Placement is critical, as the stiffness of the 4B-SPM will be highly dependent on the configuration chosen. Therefore, a stiffness model with substructure placement as an input and end effector stiffness as an output would be useful for achieving desired dynamic behavior. Several examples of this include:With a stiffness model, the 4B-SPM could have widespread application for exoskeleton devices, as it has been shown to 1) interface well the shoulder, hip, wrist and ankle, 2) not require any complex mechanical components, 3) have very flexible actuator placement, and 4) not require the human joint for a singular kinematic solution . For thiThe rest of this paper presents the steps taken to optimize the rigid or compliant behavior of the 4B-SPM for a given workspace. The sections are organized as follows: The previously developed 4B-SPM architecture is presented in For the purpose of determining end effector stiffness of the 4B-SPM for different substructure configurations, an analytical model was created. The model is based off of a matrix structural analysis method commonly used for calculating stiffness of complex truss networks typically found in bridges. The concept of applying this method to parallel manipulators was first introduced by Dominique Debase. For brevity, the reader will be referred back to Debase’s prior work for some of the more derivative or expansive steps required in the development of this model. With the model, it is possible to generate the end effector rotational stiffness ellipsoids that will govern how the 4B-SPM responds to externally applied torques. To start, each actuated substructure The nodes shown in .The substructure stiffness matrix rinciple . It can In order to determine the global stiffness of the 4B-SPM architecture, the substructure end point stiffness matrices . Assume that The end-effector stiffness matrix An experiment was performed to test the validity of the stiffness model through a comparison of the theoretical 4B-SPM stiffness to that of the prototype. The shoulder exoskeleton was oriented at 90° flexion and coupled to one end of a 6-axis force/torque sensor . To provide an accurate displacement of the load cell, a 7-DoF research robotic arm  was connected to the other end of the sensor. This robot was chosen for its ability to perform these sensitive experiments. In addition to a rated payload that exceeds to forces exerted during these tests, the device has highly repeatable position control (±0.015 mm), which is necessary for accurate stiffness estimates . The 7-Dψ), pitch (θ) and yaw (ϕ) angles of the shoulder exoskeleton were perturbed ±3° by the 7-DoF robotic arm. A sinusoidal perturbation profile commanded over 3,000 ms was used. The corresponding forces were recorded by the 6-axis load cell at 1 kHz. All the collected measurements were filtered using a zero-phase 2nd order Butterworth filter with a 20 Hz cutoff frequency. With measurements of corresponding displacement The roll  needs to be optimized. There are a couple of parameters applied to this optimization. First, solutions for each substructure location must be bounded to a practical region were mechanical interference between robot-robot and human-robot cannot occur. After considering the geometry of the human model shown in For executing the genetic algorithm, Matlab’s Optimization Toolbox  was used. The genetic algorithm function (ga) was given the boundary conditions and objective functions stated, along with the stiffness model with shoulder plate orientation as an input and the stiffness ellipsoid as an output. The shoulder plate orientation was varied in 10° along the pitch and yaw Euler angles and bounded by the octant  Imperfect intersection of the roll axes for the three substructures. This misalignment could produce increased resistance to applied torque that may contribute to differing stiffness results. This could be corrected with higher manufacturing tolerances. 2) Backlash in the servo motors. This could potentially cause play in the shoulder plate that could affect the stiffness measurements. It should be noted that efforts to minimize backlash were taken by applying minor tension of the three substructures against the shoulder plate equal to the measured backlash of the servos. This minimizes backlash without changing the kinematic solution. 3) Imperfect modeling of the prototype’s geometric and material properties. Measurements taken from the prototype and materials utilized vary within tolerance. These tolerances are not accounted for by the theoretical model and are therefore a potential source for minor error. 4) Simplification 4-bar mechanism nodal diagram, as described in T mT m and T m. For optimal compliance, the virtual center of each point cloud for the top, middle and bottom substructure, respectively, are T mT m and T m. For the optimal nonhomogeneous stiffness behavior, the virtual center of each point cloud for the top, middle and bottom substructure, respectively, are T m T m and T m. The generalized rotational stiffness ellipsoid that represents the average stiffness across the entire workspace for each solution is shown in For the octant workspace bounded by the The results shown in The results shown in T mT m and T m, respectively. As previously mentioned, this second embodiment of the 4B-SPM architecture is included here in order to demonstrate the versatility of the 4B-SPM architecture and the stiffness analysis used. It should be noted that the choice of a hip exoskeleton was arbitrary. This second embodiment could have just as easily been a 4B-SPM exoskeleton wrist or ankle alternative.In addition to the findings presented for the 4B-SPM shoulder exoskeleton, the maximum stiffness results of a theoretical hip exoskeleton are also presented. These results are shown in The work performed for this paper was motivated by the need for exoskeleton architectures that are capable of matching the workspace of a user while exhibiting desired stiffness characteristics. Because of limitations in the stiffness or workspace of typical serial and parallel actuated architectures, the authors developed the new 4B-SPM architecture in prior work that was specifically designed for exoskeleton applications involving complex biological joints like the shoulder, hip, wrist and ankle. Demonstrated in the form of a shoulder exoskeleton, the authors performed a dynamic analysis on the 4B-SPM in order to help validate the derived stiffness model. The model was then used to optimize the 4B-SPM configuration in order to achieve rigid, compliant and nonhomogeneous stiffness behavior.The results of this paper detail a theoretical stiffness model for the 4B-SPM presented, along with an experiment to validate the model. An error between the prototype stiffness and theoretical stiffness of 11.8% with a standard deviation of 8.4 was reported. Despite some error, the model still proved to be a reasonable approximation of stiffness. Possible causes for the error are discussed in The stiffness model was used in conjunction with a bounded nonlinear multi-objective optimization method in order determine the optimal placement of the three actuated substructures to achieve certain dynamic behavior within a given workspace. The workspace was chosen to be one octant of a sphere defined by the three arm orientations: 90° flexion, 90° abduction, and at rest. For this workspace, the actuator placements for optimal rigid, compliant and certain nonhomogeneous stiffness behavior were demonstrated.The main contribution of this work is providing researchers and members of the robotics community who chose to use the 4B-SPM architecture a means of adjusting its dynamic performance to fit many different exoskeleton applications. To reiterate, there are many reasons to use the 4B-SPM, the primary ones being: 1) interfaces well the shoulder, hip, wrist and ankle; 2) does not require any complex mechanical components; 3) has very flexible actuator placement; and 4) does not require the human joint for a singular kinematic solution. With the addition of the presented stiffness model, future wearable 4B-SPM devices could be optimized for a variety of tasks and applications, such as lifting, jumping, running, crush protection and impact absorption.


Tapioca and potato starches were used to investigate the effect of heat–moisture treatment  on gelatinization properties, swelling power (SP), solubility and pasting properties. Tapioca starch had similar content and degree of polymerization of amylose, but a higher amylopectin short/long chain ratio, to potato starch. After HMT, the gelatinization temperature range was narrowed for tapioca starch, but was widened for potato starch. Decreases in SP and solubility were less for tapioca than potato starches, coinciding with a progressive shift to the moderate-swelling pasting profile for tapioca but a drastic change to the restricted-swelling profile for potato. Moreover, decreasing extents of SP and maximum viscosity for HMT tapioca starch were, respectively, in the range of 47–63% and 0–36%, and those of HMT potato starch were 89–92% and 63–94%. These findings indicate that the granule expansion and viscosity change of starch during gelatinization can be tailored stepwise by altering the HMT holding time and iteration. Starch exists as semi-crystalline granules in nature, and its properties are governed not only by its origin but also its composition, morphology, molecular characteristics and the arrangement of amylose and amylopectin within its granules . Due to Research on the HMT-resulting changes in starch architecture has revealed that some of the granules remained intact after HMT, while some were ruptured or deformed with a central void, which was accompanied by disrupted birefringence . In addiStudies on the effect of HMT on properties of high-swelling starch have been carried out across a wide range of botanical origins, including tapioca , potato A considerable amount of research has been conducted to investigate the characteristics of HMT starch, and efforts have been focused predominantly on the mechanism and HMT parameter effect on the architecture and physicochemical properties of starch, as well as HMT starch applications in food and non-food sectors. However, there is still a dearth of information on the HMT-resulting changes to the characteristics of high-swelling starch with similar amylose content but different amylopectin structure and phosphorus content, revealed by varying the HMT holding times and iterations with an aim to broaden the application of the starch. In this study, tapioca and potato starches were used as the models of high-swelling starch, and were subjected to HMT at 95–96 °C for 0–60 min with up to six iterations. Along with characterizing the molecular properties of native starch, the obtained HMT starch was analyzed for its gelatinization thermal properties, swelling power, solubility and pasting properties to investigate the effect of HMT holding time and iteration on gelatinization characteristics of high-swelling starch with similar amylose content but different molecular structure of amylopectin and phosphorus content. Moreover, the regression models on HMT-resulting changes in swelling power and pasting properties were established to elucidate the different extents of changes to the properties of starch after progressively altering its gelatinization characteristics by varying the holding time and iteration.w). In contrast, the amylopectin fraction of tapioca starch consisted of more A chains but less B2+ chains (long chains) as compared to that of potato starch. This further reflected on the short/long chain ratio (S/L ratio) of amylopectin, with tapioca amylopectin exhibiting a higher S/L ratio than potato amylopectin. Besides, tapioca amylopectin was characterized with shorter B2+ chains than potato amylopectin.Chain length distribution of starch used for HMT was analyzed chromatographically after being debranched by isoamylase . As show2+ chains and a higher proportion of short chains with their branching points less localized in the inter-crystalline amorphous region when compared to those of B-type starch . Hence, the discrepancy in amylopectin structure would probably lead to starches with different polymorphism to exhibit different thermal stability during heating.The observed differences in chain length distributions of tapioca and potato starches are in agreement with the report of Srichuwong and Jane , in whicoT, pT, and cT, respectively) and the corresponding enthalpy change (ΔH) were computed. Results showed both native tapioca and potato starches were characterized by monophasic gelatinization endotherm  from 16.4 °C to the range of 11.4–14.0 °C. In contract to tapioca starch, HMT potato starch exhibited biphasic profile even with the condition of 0-min holding time and one iteration  was much higher than that of the native starch regardless of holding time. Consequently, in contrast to tapioca starch, the rT of potato starch was widened from 10.2 °C to 21.6–27.8 °C after HMT. With respect to the ΔH of HMT starch, the changes were relatively marginal among different HMT starches with the same botanical source [Thermodynamic properties of native and HMT starches during gelatinization were analyzed calorimetrically, and the onset, peak and conclusion temperatures . Besides, the increase in cT and decrease in ΔH due to HMT were considerably less for tapioca than for potato starch. Research on the HMT-resulting changes to the architecture of starch crystallites suggested that, during HMT, the crystalline region of starch was first mobilized due to the presence of moisture and the introduced thermal energy, then the constituting double helices began to move laterally and vertically [In this study, it is interesting to observe that tapioca and potato starches responded differently to HMT conditions, particularly when different holding times were employed. After HMT, the increased rtically ,6. As a rtically . Thus, irtically  and furtrtically .Swelling power (SP) of native starch in excess of water at 90 °C was 42.6 g/g for tapioca and 184.6 g/g for potato . After Hw of amylose molecules, but had distinctly different amylopectin structure  of starch paste, which occurred prior to cooling from 95 °C, was computed to represent the greatest viscosity of the starch that could generate under heating and with shearing force applied. As shown in Vmax of HMT tapioca starch depended on HMT condition. With 0- and 30-min holding times, the Vmax of the HMT starch began to decrease after three iterations, and the extent was intensified not only by increasing the number of iterations but also the holding time. By prolonging the holding time to 60 min, the Vmax began to decrease after two iterations, and the decreasing extent was steeper than those of 0- and 30-min holding times. In contrast to tapioca starch, the Vmax of potato starch considerably decreased despite the HMT condition. Additionally, a progressive decrease in Vmax was observed by increasing the iteration and holding time of HMT.In order to evaluate the HMT effect on gelatinization across starches with high-, moderate- and restricted-swelling pasting profiles, the maximum viscosity .Regression of decreasing extents of SP on those of Vmax for the potato starch were considerably high and in the range of 89–92% and 63–94%, respectively. Additionally, the regression model for HMT potato starch was positively linear (r = 0.947) throughout the HMT conditions investigated. Considering the decreasing extents and the correlations of SP and Vmax for tapioca and potato starches, the observed differences suggest that the crystalline structure of tapioca starch appeared to be more stable and thus required more thermal energy to initiate its structural arrangement than that of potato starch.In contrast to HMT tapioca starch, the decreasing extents of SP and Tapioca and potato starches were, respectively, purchased from Starpro Starch Co. Ltd.  and Emsland-Starke GmbH , and the moisture content on wet basis (wb) was 8.4–10.2%. Protein, lipid, ash and phosphorus content of starch were, respectively, 0.3 g, 0.4 g, 0.2 g and 6.5 mg per 100 g  starch for the tapioca, and were 0.2 g, 0.8 g, 0.4 g and 38.8 mg per 100 g (db) starch for the potato . All reaPreparation of HMT starch was performed as described by Lin et al. . In brien-propanol, recovered by centrifugation and then re-dissolved in 1.8 mL water with the aid of heating in a boiling water bath. To the starch solution, 0.2 mL of 0.5 mol/L sodium acetate buffer and 10 μL of 50 mmol/L acetate buffer (pH 4.0) containing 0.2 μmol/min isoamylase  were pipetted sequentially and mixed thoroughly in between to lower the pH of the solution to 4.0 and to commence the debranching reaction at 40 °C for 24 h. In due course, the reaction was terminated by sequentially adding 100 μL of 0.6 mol/L NaOH, 10 μL of 1.33 mol/L (NH4)2SO4, 1 mL of 20 mmol/L BaCl2, 4.4 mL of 150 mmol/L phosphate buffer  and then heating in a boiling water bath for 10 min. After cooling and filtration (0.2 μm pore size), aliquot (~2 mL) of the isoamylase digest was used for high performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) to analyze the chain length distribution of starch, and 5 mL of aliquot was subjected to amylose precipitation by n-butanol complexation. After the removal of amylose–butanol complex by centrifugation, the supernatant was subjected to HPSEC for the characterization of unit chain profile of amylopectin. The HPSEC included four series-connected gel filtration columns , a triangle light-scattering detector  and a differential refractive index detector .Chain length distribution of starch was characterized in triplicate as described by Lin et al.  with mod(starch) and Area(AP) are the areas of normalized chromatograms of debranched starch and its butanol-isolated amylopectin, respectively [w of amylose was obtained by using ASTRA software  to compute the acquired signals of light-scattering and DRI detectors. For the amylopectin, the obtained unit chain profile was categorized into sub-fractions denoting, respectively, long B chains , B1 chains and A chains according to Hizukuri et al. [w of amylopectin sub-fractions were also computed according to Lin et al. [1, %A and %B2+, respectively, denote the weight (g) of B1, A and B2+ chains per 100 g (db) starch.The weight percentage of amylose content was calculated as follows,ectively . The DPwi et al. . The DPwn et al. , and theoT, pT, cT and rT of starch during gelatinization were determined. In addition, the ΔH was computed by integrating the corresponding endothermic heat flow after baseline correction.Gelatinization properties of starch were characterized in triplicate as described by Chang et al.  with modg for 15 min. The weight of sediment was recorded, and the supernatant was dried to constant weight at 130 °C to obtain the weight of soluble material.Swelling power and solubility of native and HMT starches at 90 °C were quantified gravimetrically in triplicate as described by Lin et al. . In brienative and SPHMT denote the SP of native and HMT starches, respectively.Solubility was calculated as the mass ratio of soluble material to starch on a dry weight basis. Swelling power (SP) was expressed as the mass ratio of sediment to dry starch, which was corrected with the corresponding solubility. The decreasing extent of SP (%) was further calculated as follows,Vmax of starch paste, which occurred prior to cooling from 95 °C, was recorded for computing the decreasing extent of Vmax (%) as follows,Vmax-native and Vmax-HMT denote the Vmax of native and HMT starches, respectively.Pasting properties of starch during gelatinization and the subsequent cooling were characterized in triplicate with a viscometer  as described by Lin et al. . Starch Vmax of starch after HMT was computed by using the first-order regression model. The Pearson correlation coefficients (r) were obtained subsequently.Correlation between decreasing extents of SP and rT, and the changes were further intensified by increasing the number of iterations and prolonging the holding time. Similar changes were also observed for HMT potato starch, while a decrease in oT was noticed for the starch with 0-min holding time. Besides, the rT of HMT potato starch was found to be widened across all the HMT conditions applied.Tapioca and potato starches, having similar properties of amylose molecules but differing in chain length distribution of amylopectin, were used as the models to investigate the effect of HMT on the properties of high-swelling starch from different origins. After HMT, tapioca starch was characterized with increased gelatinization temperatures and narrowed Vmax of the HMT starches.The different extents of HMT-resulting effect were also observed in the magnitudes of decreases in SP and the transformation of the pasting profile, where a transformation from high-swelling to moderate-swelling profile was observed for HMT tapioca starch, but a drastic change to restricted-swelling profile was observed for the potato starch. The differences in HMT effect on swelling and pasting characteristics also reflected on the regression models on decreasing extents of SP and Results of this study indicate that the thermal stability, granule expansion and viscosity change of high-swelling starch during gelatinization, as well as the viscosity of starch paste during the subsequent cooling process, can be tailored in a stepwise manner by altering the HMT holding time and iteration. Moreover, the findings of the study suggest that the dissimilarities in S/L ratio of amylopectin and phosphate monoester content of the starting starches probably result in the divergence in thermal stability of their crystalline structure, leading to the observed differences in the extents of the HMT-resulting effect. The low S/L ratio and high phosphate monoester content, as shown by potato starch, may likely further intensify the HMT effect on the decreases in swelling and pasting characteristics of the obtained starch. Additionally, the observation of synergistic effect of phosphate monoesters and HMT on starch properties may demonstrate an alternative approach for imparting both features of low swelling and retrogradation to a starch.


The above article from Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, published online on 10 March 2018 on Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) in Volume 22, pp. 3058–3072, has been retracted by agreement between the authors, the journal Editor‐in‐Chief and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. The retraction has been agreed following an investigation based on allegations raised by a third party. The authors asked to retract this manuscript as raw experimental data were not accessible anymore and thus the validity of the overall results could not be confirmed.