Picea abies) beams reinforced with carbon-fibre fabric. In the experimental program, each beam is tested for bending with and without CFRP reinforcement in order to determine specimen-specific stiffness increase on an individual basis. The reinforcement yielded an increase of The strengthening of timber beams with carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (CFRP) has been widely used in the last decades to enhance the behaviour of historical or new timber structures, usually for bending. While considerable improvement in capacity and ductility is typically achieved, the increase in stiffness was, in many cases, well short of analytical expectations, which tend to overestimate stiffness. This study addresses the problem by investigating the underlying mechanical behaviour using experimental, analytical, and numerical tools on a sample of Norway spruce ( Wood is a popular building material for a wide range of lightweight structures. Further to its good mechanical properties and simplicity of manufacturing, its aesthetic appearance also makes it a favourable construction material.The increase of loads or material deterioration in timber structures may sometimes be responsible for the destruction of existing buildings. However, it is often less costly and more time-effective to reinforce damaged wood pieces or structural members rather than replace them entirely. Carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (CFRP) are currently strongly suggested for structural retrofitting. They have many benefits, including high elastic modulus, strength, corrosion resistance, durability, adequate bonding to wood, and low density. Compared with other types of fibres—e.g., glass or basalt—carbon fibre is more expensive to produce and tends to show brittle failure, though these drawbacks are well counterweighed by numerous advantages. It possesses high stiffness and strength, making it an appropriate alternative to steel in structural reinforcement or completely replacing it, e.g., high-strength steel bridge cables . Its gooFibre-reinforced polymers are formed by embedding high-strength fibres  in a matrix  and can take a range of shapes and sizes , as well as can be prepared on-site or prefabricated. Attachment to wood can usually be externally bonded, near-surface mounted, glued-in, etc. Due to its high modulus and strength, increases in stiffness, capacity, and ductility of reinforced timber structural elements is expected.The prediction of mechanical behaviour is heavily affected by the uncertainty and variability of material properties of both timber and reinforcement. On the one hand, in the case of CFRP, the manufacturer specifies the properties of fibres. While factory-made composites are available with expected quality and specifications, in situ preparation of the reinforcement always involves uncertainty to a degree. On the other hand, timber quality widely varies due to its natural origin, which is further increased by factors such as moisture content, age, density, species, etc. Measured mechanical properties may show significant differences between samples even from the same species and are frequently only informative ,5.The adhesive’s performance directly influences the bond strength and effectiveness of the composite. It is crucial for achieving a robust CFRP-to-wood bond interface that can successfully transmit shear and normal stresses from the timber to the composite material . The bonSeveral experimental studies were carried out to evaluate the effect of CFRP on the flexural behaviour of wood structural components focusing on stiffness, capacity, and ductility. With a good interface between the wood and the CFRP, a significant improvement (maximum of a 60% increase in capacity and a 30% increase in stiffness) was achieved . Two difIt was also shown that, in most cases, strengthening timber elements with CFRP had only a minor influence on stiffness ,15,16, aIt is apparent that results are scattered in a wide range and sometimes contradict expectations. A review comparison between the measured stiffness increase and the theoretical values obtained from calculations using classical beam theory was shown in  based onSeveral numerical and analytical investigations addressed the question. They attributed the differences to an individual factor such as the boundary conditions, the adhesive stiffness, the FRP-to-wood ratio, or the wood material characteristics to resolve the disparities from a technical perspective. For instance, ref.  observedAll the methods mentioned above are strategies to resolve the problem from a technical point of view without explaining the cause of the problem, whereas this work investigates the underlying mechanical behaviour of the materials of CFRP-reinforced timber beams and gives an explanation as to the observed differences between measurements and analysis. For this purpose, a number of sawn Norway spruce beams were tested. Opposed to conventional testing programs, in this work, the bending stiffness properties and enhancement were not obtained as statistics on samples but each specimen was measured with and without unidirectional carbon-fibre fabric reinforcement attached to the tension side in order to obtain a series of specimen-specific data on mechanical properties. Analysis by both classical beam theory and three-dimensional finite element modelling was performed, also capable of predicting the non-linear behaviour by appropriate settings of material parameters. Recommendations concluded by this study on timber modelling enable more adequate assessment of reinforced timber beams in terms of stiffness, preventing possible overestimation of actual stiffness and failing to comply with design objectives.The outline of the paper is as follows. A series of experiments were carried out for the determination of elastic stiffness of the timber beams with and without reinforcement in order to provide data for the subsequent analysis.Picea abies). The test beams had a length of approx. 1000 mm (to ensure a clear span of 900 mm) and rectangular cross-sections of approx. 45 mmThe timber material used is sawn wood of Norway spruce  at full width in the clear span leaving space for supports .A series of four-point bending tests were carried out involving several groups of specimens using a standard MTS testing device with a capacity of 600 kN. The testing arrangement had a clear span of 900 mm, and the force exerted by a single actuator was transmitted onto the specimens at two points at exact thirds of the span via a loading bridge. Small hardwood (beech) blocks were placed at points of application of forces to avoid undesired stress concentration and excessive transverse strains in the softwood specimens. The schematic drawing and a photograph of the test arrangement are shown in The beams were tested under displacement-controlled loading producing load–deflection data. The loading rate was set to 7 mm/min. The series contained 19 specimens, including 6 without reinforcement (group 0) and 13 reinforced with CFRP fabric (group F), see Before measurements, the physical dimensions and weights of the specimens were measured and documented. The density was computed. . The procedure was displacement-controlled in order to capture the entire curves.Data obtained from the experiments form the basis of analytical and numerical investigations. The overall purpose is to evaluate the effect of the CFRP on the bending stiffness of timber beams to make an adequate assessment of the material properties and to provide an accurate prediction for the stiffness increase using analytical and numerical approaches. The individual steps are as follows.Stiffness of all tested beams are determined by linear curve fitting to the linear sections of the load–deflection diagrams.Considering the classical Euler beam model, equilibrium equations of a homogeneous cross-section (for a non-reinforced beam) and of an inhomogeneous (composite) cross-section (reinforced beam) are formulated in terms of geometric data and the modulus of elasticity for timber and fibre reinforcement. In each measurement pair (same timber beam with and without reinforcement), modulus for timber can be computed from the stiffness of the non-reinforced one, and then the modulus for reinforcement from the other once the modulus for timber is known.As in several cases, the obtained modulus for reinforcement is beyond any acceptable tolerance for the factory data provided by the manufacturer, an improved model involving different moduli for tension and compression is introduced, and the equations are reformulated. With the assumption of the factory data for reinforcement, the timber moduli are computed from the equations.In order to cross-check the validity of computations based on the Euler beam, a three-dimensional finite element model was constructed involving a fully orthotropic material model and non-linear analysis. The two models are compared for each beam.The methods are detailed in the following.S of the line fitted with linear regression relates the increment of applied force F and of displacement e of the actuator as All load–deflection curves recorded in the bending tests can be evaluated to obtain bending stiffness characterising linearly elastic behaviour. In the case of loading in the linearly elastic range, the entire curves are used for linear fitting, whereas in the case of total loading (until failure) only the section between E is the modulus of elasticity (customarily denoted by the acronym MOE), I is the moment of inertia related to the axis of bending, and L is the span. This allows the computation of the modulus of elasticity from the measurements. It is important to note that the modulus of elasticity is unquestionably the most determining of the material properties of timber beams in terms of displacements. The properties of natural materials vary in a large range, even within the same species. This implies that the calculation of the actual values of MOE for non-reinforced timber beams enables a more accurate evaluation of the same beams with reinforcement than the adoption of statistical averages from literature data or other samples.Considering the classical Euler beam model, some straightforward analytical derivation yields the stiffness of a homogeneous beam under the given test arrangement as N, M, and z is the vertical coordinate of points of the domain in a suitable coordinate system. Strains Values of modulus of elasticity determined for specimens in group F in the non-reinforced stage are incorporated in the subsequent analysis of reinforcements. The increase in the bending stiffness of reinforced beams is attributed to the contribution of CFRP to the composite structure. Stresses in the inhomogeneous cross-section ought to satisfy conditionsThe analytically predicted behaviour may differ from the observations, which is readily reflected in possible discrepancies between calculated and nominal moduli of the CFRP. Differences may be attributable to the effectiveness of the preparation of in situ reinforcement with accidental damages or imperfections introduced during the procedure or inaccurate assessment of timber material properties.Several authors reported a low or moderate increase in stiffness resulting from FRP reinforcement. In a number of cases, the measured and predicted values significantly differ, as shown in a review article . Therefoe.g., by ,36, for e.g., by .)t and c refer to tension and compression in timber, respectively, and E is the modulus of elasticity of an equivalent homogeneous cross-section. Tension and compression domains and strains are to be expressed parametrically with the position of the neutral axis. The solution of the equation system yields the formulaBy tension and compression zones distinguished in terms of material properties, the resulting inhomogeneous cross-section should satisfy conditionsStress resultants in the cross-section are to be modified to account for the different moduli such that in Equations (1a) and (1b), the wood domain is divided into tension and compression zones:Assuming the modulus of the reinforcement to be nominal, the solution of the equation system , a, a4a), aMechanical behaviour beyond the linear range is dependent on the non-linearity of timber in compression. Considering the commonly used constitutive model consisting of linear elasticity and perfect plasticity a, the stthe beam b. The stthe beam c, which the beam d based oFinite element simulations were carried out to verify the analytical derivations based on the one-dimensional beam model. The three-dimensional FE models for both test groups (0 and F) were created in the general purpose software ANSYS . The finite element mesh of a reinforced beam is shown in In structural modelling, wood is considered a linearly elastic orthotropic material at low-stress levels. While it is typically assumed that elasticity is preserved until brittle failure in tension, some kind of non-linear behaviour is adopted beyond elastic limit stress or yield stress in compression. This can be perfect plasticity, multilinearity, higher-order stress–strain relationships, etc.In this study, elastic behaviour is characterised by the general form of Hooke’s law with nine orthotropic constants in the material stiffness matrix. Moduli parallel to grain were taken from the computation of this work, while the rest of the constants were adopted from literature ,5,38,39.Non-linearity was effectuated by the generalised anisotropic Hill potential model incorporated in ANSYS, which allows the definition of distinct yield strengths in tension and compression and different behaviour in the principal material directions. An anisotropic work-hardening rule and an associated flow rule are included in the model. The material behaviour is characterised by the stress–strain curves in the three orthogonal and shear directions. For each direction, a bilinear response is considered. Plasticity is represented by zero tangent modulus at the compression yield stress and the absence of plasticity in tension by sufficiently large values for yield stress. The elastic moduli of the material are the same for compression and tension. In order to implement different values, the timber domain was divided into a tension part and a compression part such that the appropriate modulus is defined in each.f and m refer to fibre and matrix, respectively. The shear modulus The composite reinforcement is a mixture of epoxy matrix and fibres forming a transversely isotropic material. Epoxy is a linearly elastic isotropic material with modulus Poisson’s ratio x-direction), and 12 and 6 elements in the other two directions . By constraining the displacements of respective nodes, conditions of the test arrangement were realised (simple supports at the bottom face and two lines of loads at the top).Three-dimensional solid elements (SOLID45) were employed to represent the wood material. The eight-node element has three translational degrees of freedom per node and is compatible with the defined Hill anisotropic model. A fine mesh was achieved by dividing the beam into 200 elements longitudinally  were used to represent the unidirectional CFRP composites and epoxy. This element can be used to create multilayered thick shells or solids, and the anisotropic material characteristics are included in the element input data. The element needs to be associated with predefined shell sections for both the FRP and the epoxy with their specifications . The CFRP is relatively thin; so, the mesh had to be generated carefully to comply with rules on aspect ratios and to avoid improperly shaped elements for adequate accuracy. The longitudinal lines within the volume representing the CFRP were divided into certain sub-lines. The vertical ones along the CFRP thickness were divided into two sub-lines and the mesh was later defined accordingly.No constraint equations were defined to link the wood and CFRP components since both solid elements had the same degrees of freedom. Interface components and slide behaviour were not considered as an adequate bond between the wood and the CFRP was assumed.Load–displacement curves of all tests are displayed in t-tests showing that the samples can be regarded as coming from the same distribution at significance level Specimen data of all test groups are summarised in uted see  with twoee e.g., , particuSpecimens in group F were tested until failure after the reinforcement was applied, and the linear section of the load–deflection curves was used as input for curve fitting. The obtained slopes (SR) are shown in In group F (fabric reinforcement), it was found that three specimens produced exceptionally low increases (only up to 7%), which was contradictory to prior expectations. Inspection revealed that one of these specimens suffered a failure in the bond between the timber and fabric, as apparent from the slip of the reinforcement at one end of the beam both in the longitudinal and transverse directions leading to insufficient exertion of the capacities of the reinforcement, see The rest of the specimens did not exhibit any unexpected behaviour producing stiffness increments in the range of approx. 13% to 30%. The bending stiffness quations  and (1b)Assuming nominal reinforcement behaviour and different wood moduli in the tension and compression, the solution of the equation system , a, a4a), at-test showed that the samples possess equal means at significance level The calculated compression moduli are compared with the results of compression tests presented in Load–deflection curves shown in Contrary to the analysis of stiffness, load-bearing capacity and ultimate deflection cannot be determined for both non-reinforced and reinforced configurations of a beam (because of its obvious destructive nature); instead, two different samples (0 and F) are compared statistically. Mean values and standard deviations in both groups and increase by reinforcement with respect to the non-reinforced group are given in All specimens in the non-reinforced group failed in tension with the splitting of fibres parallel to the grain. The tension zone was free from knots to avoid the loss of capacity they may potentially cause.  The failure originated in weak points in the tension zone, and the fracture of the fibres is usually followed by horizontal cracks propagating towards the ends parallel to the grain. Most specimens exhibited insignificant ductility, suggesting that the tensile failure took place before the plastic capacity of wood in compression could be utilised. In the case of one specimen, the ductility was not negligible; this specimen had the highest load-bearing capacity and potentially the highest tensile strength, allowing for some plasticity in the compression zone to develop.With a few exceptions, the reinforced specimens had significantly larger ultimate displacement and ductility than the reference group. This supports the purpose of reinforcement to attract tensile stresses in order to facilitate the exploitation of both the tension and compression capacities of timber. Most of the specimens underwent moderate deformation in compression before sudden tension failure. One specimen behaved differently as it contained a knot. Even though it was located in the compression zone of the timber, the disturbed fibre paradigm with intense fibre curvature reached into the tension zone. It caused stress concentration that initiated the failure in the tension zone, though the effect of its contribution cannot be assessed. A few failure cases are illustrated in In an experimental study involving similar reinforcement of the same wood species , it was Compliance, the energy absorption measure of the specimens, can also be computed to quantify the load–deflection behaviour. It is numerically evaluated as the area covered under the curve in the diagram. The increase in mean compliance in the reinforced group F compared with the non-reinforced reference group 0 was Analysis of the entire load–deflection behaviour, including the non-linear part, was carried out using both the one-dimensional beam model and the three-dimensional finite element simulation. The former incorporates non-linearity with respect to material plasticity through the moment–curvature relationship, while the latter implements a complete non-linear analysis in all aspects . The longitudinal normal stresses are dominant in the orthotropic stress fields. For each specimen, moduli obtained for tension and compression were applied. The difference between the simulated and measured load–deflection curves can be quantified by the sum of least squares, and the plastic yield stress in the simulations was set to result in the minimum error, which could be easily achieved with the required precision after a few trials. One particular specimen (F-6) is shown for illustration in Both simulated curves fit to the measurements very closely, with the result of the finite-element analysis being slightly softer as it is less rigid than the classical beam model. The mean difference in stiffness (slope of the linear part of the curves) between the finite element results and the measurements is For comparison, beam model calculations with a single wood modulus It is clear that the mean values are in good correspondence, which indicates that the inversely calculated values are adequately verified by measurements.The match between the simulated and the measured load–deflection curves can also be given by other quantities. The relative difference between the ultimate loads at the ultimate displacement had a mean value of only Note that even though the measured and simulated load–deflection curves are in good correspondence, the differences may further be reduced by applying more sophisticated non-linear models , though it requires more material parameters to achieve.The adequate in situ reinforcement of non-defected timber beams produced an increase in stiffness in the range t-test showing statistical match at Computations assuming different tension and compression moduli for timber showed in most cases that measured stiffness increase could be achieved using the nominal factory value for reinforcement modulus. Both the beam model and the finite element simulations using three-dimensional models showed good correspondence with the measured data with appropriately set compression yield stresses, indicating that the applied models are adequate for the description of the non-linear behaviour as well. The finite element simulations of the load–deflection curves resulted in an average error of Statistical comparison of stiffness values in the reinforced group with the non-reinforced reference group showed that they come from the same sample. The average increases of The results lead to the conclusion that the differences observed between experiments and analytical considerations regarding the bending stiffness of reinforced timber beams are likely to be attributed to the use of a single modulus in timber for tension and compression, and the distinction enables adequate modelling complying with experiments.Over the last few decades, several studies reported on the mechanical enhancement of timber by applying fibre-reinforced polymers. The increase in stiffness observed in experiments covered a wide range with a minimum near zero and often clearly contradicted expectations by analytical models. This work presented an experimental, analytical, and numerical study on timber beams reinforced with CFRP to provide better modelling for the explanation of the discrepancies. The experiments featured measurements of stiffness of beams under bending, with and without CFRP reinforcement of each producing specimen-specific data, which enabled the direct analysis of stiffness increase on an individual basis. The role of fibre-reinforced fabric in the analysis is significant because the composite structure enables the distinction between tension and compression moduli as opposed to a pure timber structure in which the moduli cannot be uniquely determined. The main findings of the work are summarised as follows:Differences between simulated and experimentally obtained stiffness increase are in most cases in favour of the calculations, which would therefore overestimate the stiffness of the reinforced beams in a design process. This, in turn, would lead to non-compliance with the objectives on structural deflections at the expense of safety. Its effect is likely to rise if larger amounts of reinforcement (in volume ratio) are applied. Inclusion of this distinction into modelling could more efficiently describe the mechanical behaviour of timber with or without reinforcement, and enable designers to apply the right amount of reinforcement for their task.The research can be continued with experimental investigation of beams with different dimensions and amount of reinforcement; however, attention needs to be paid to eliminate all factors that could invalidate calculations, e.g., imperfections of in situ reinforcement, insufficient bond contact if factory-product lamellae are used, defects of timber, etc.


Little is known about the relationship between family caregivers and persons living with dementia communication at micro-level . Micro-level communication was assessed second-by-second using 75 in-home video recordings from 19 caregiver-care recipient dyads. Each care recipient (N = 38) and caregiver (N = 42) behavior unit was paired and compared using Spearman’s partial correlation. Two-hundred twenty care recipient-caregiver behavior unit pairs were correlated . Ninety-one caregiver facilitative-care recipient engaging behavior unit pairs  were positively correlated . Eighteen caregiver disabling-care recipient challenging behavior unit pairs  were positively correlated . Individualized caregiver education for matching and adjusting communication is needed to facilitate meaningful interaction.


Starch grain analysis carried out on 23 ceramic sherds from 6 refuse pits from the site of Nachtigal in central Cameroon is shedding light on a longstanding debate regarding ancient diets in Central Africa during the Iron Age  but also more recently during the Modern Period (ca. 150 BP). The results indicate a varied, but balanced diet, consisting of cereals, legumes, oil-rich seeds, and tubers; the latter being very rarely documented in the region. Moreover, we underscore the presence of taxa still consumed today, or in recent times. Rescue archaeology, and the application of specialized methodologies, are critical to better nuancing past dietary practices in this region. Archaeology in Western Central Africa (WCA) is slowly revealing its complex history.In the current context of declining biodiversity (including agro-diversity) it is becoming urgent to understand the history of agriculture in Central Africa and its past strategies in order to improve the current food security and to find resilient solutions for the future.3. To date, data obtained from archaeobotanical, isotope, and more recently organic residue analyses have provided significant information on the topic of plant-related subsistence practices in WCA during the Early Iron Age (EIA). The analysis of macrobotanical remains (seeds and other plant parts visible to the naked eye) has shown that this period coincides with the introduction of a West African package consisting of a cereal, pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum syn. Cenchrus americanus), and a legume, cowpea (Vigna unguiculata)4. At the same time, these early agricultural communities relied on other resources that include fruit trees and palms (notably Canarium schweinfurthii and Elaeis guineensis) and most likely tubers  along with other grasses and herbs5. With specific regards to pearl millet, questions remain concerning its function (staple vs. minor food), the manner in which it was prepared (food or beer), and what was its status. More recent isotopic and microbotanical studies seem to indicate that the adoption of cereals was not uniform across the region6 and organic residues suggest the importance of leafy greens in the diet7. However, we should underscore that there is still a lack of comprehensive and systematic studies in this area that do not allow us to fully address the major archaeological questions pertinent to this time period and region. The diet of the modern period in Central Africa also requires further studies. While there is more information on Western Africa for this period9 locally, in the Yaoundé region, it is not known whether the use of certain plant resources changed through time. For example, was pearl millet cultivated continuously since the EIA? Evidence of carbonized remains of this plant suggest that it was grown in the Inner Congo Basin also between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries AD3, but it remains to be seen if this can be applied to our study region. Moreover, when does another cereal, sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), appear in the WCA? Research thus far indicates that it was found in small quantities in Western Africa in the tenth century AD10 and two centuries later in the Eastern Congo Basin6. Finally, the timing and role of the banana (Musa spp.) has yet to be fully elucidated for our region. The reports of Musa phytoliths in 1st millennium BC contexts from the Yaoundé region2 have been debated11. More recently, this taxon has been reported from the Inner Congo Basin, but only for Late Iron Age contexts3.The plant-based diet of ancient African populations has been a longstanding debate over the past 20 years12. A number of features, such as their size, shape, and presence or absence of lamellae, hila, and fissures, allows us in many cases to identify the starch grain to a particular taxon. As not all plants and plant parts are processed in the same way, nor will they preserve in the same manner in the archaeological record, starch grain analysis allows us to further address the numerous questions scholars still have regarding plant diets in CWA. Our preliminary study does not propose to answer all these questions related to diets but does contribute new data on the plant resources likely consumed by the local populations and seeks to highlight the potential of applying microbotanical analysis to material recovered during rescue archaeology, which has significantly developed in the region in the last two decades.In this article we present the preliminary results from starch grains recovered from ceramics dated to the EIA (ca. 2500–2200 BP) and the modern period ca. 150 BP) recovered from refuse pits located north of the modern city of Yaoundé  team (February 2019-July 2021) has to date documented more than 161 archaeological sites across more than 721 hectares. The most numerous sites date to the Early Iron Age (EIA) and the Modern period. A preliminary study which sought to recover starch grains was carried out on sherds recovered from 6 refuse pits, from which charcoal and A total of 23 sherds were studied from 18 different vessels (16 from the EIA). For the modern period, the selected sherds are probably from necked jars decorated with engraved roulette wheels of medium-sized vessels  and cowpea .Clearly ubiquitous in the EIA ceramics are Types B and C, which remain unidentified: the former is ovalish with a central fissure and measuring between 17 and 20 μm, while the latter are strongly facetted grains that measure on average 20 μm in width. Type D starch grains can be divided into two size categories: small .A total of 52 starch grains remains unidentified, 18 of which could not be identified due to damage. Unfortunately, a lack of data on experimentally cooked and processed plants native to Africa makes it harder to go further with our identifications. However, damage in some cases resembles the stigmata visible on starch grains derived from other experimentally cooked plantsDioscorea sp.) given their size, visibility of the lamellae  and changes in their morphology Fig. . These d23. In some cases, however, the taxon can still be identified, such as in the case of a small cluster where the starch grains resemble those of okra , we can only say that these grains are rather ubiquitous in the ceramics studied.Pearl millet, found in macrobotanical form, has now been found at several EIA sites in Central Africa, supporting the idea that it was indeed a “supra-regional phenomenon”8. The starch grains in our samples indicate the consumption of these beans, which are prepared in a variety of manners, from a thick soup to being ground into flour to produce steamed or deep-fried cakes. The Bambara groundnut, another member of the Fabaceae family, is prepared in a variety of manners, boiled, roasted, and even pounded into flour8. The presence of cowpea, also domesticated in West Africa, together with the pearl millet, further supports the existence of a “West African package” (see3).The cowpea is today an important legume crop in Africa, where different parts of the plant are consumed 6. Moreover, given the difficulties in differentiating the starch grains of this taxa, combined with the fact that experimental studies have shown that starch grains belonging to other millet species  increased in size after being ground28, lead us to propose only a tentative identification. However, if these starch grains do in fact belong to sorghum ⎯ a cereal originally domesticated in East Africa29—this would suggest a much earlier consumption/adoption of this resource at Nachtigal during the EIA. Once again, only the presence of macrobotanical remains such as seeds will confirm this merely hypothetical identification for the moment.The presence of sorghum during the EIA remains hypothetical given the other data available to date. Although sorghum is reported from dental calculus from an individual in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the individual dates to the Late Iron AgeCoula edulis) have been reported from sites in Gabon and in southern Cameroon31. The fruits can be consumed raw but can also be cooked. In Cameroon, a preparation known as bumbo sees the fruits roasted, ground, cooked and wrapped in banana or Marantaceae leaves, while koga komol is prepared using the kernels which are boiled, dried and ground to prepare a paste, which is again wrapped in leaves and cooked30.Endocarps of the Gabon nut  and the Democratic Republic of Congo5. These palms are important subsistence resources, with various parts of the plant used, for example the fruits, kernels, and terminal buds5. Given that the starch grains in the samples closely resemble those obtained in its trunk, this could indicate the consumption of its sap, today used to prepare vin de raphia, a fermented beverage.Fruit and seed remains of 8 found a possible okra seed, however from contexts dated to AD 1210–1450 in Ghana. Okra pods are commonly used in contemporary West African cuisine, both fresh or dried, and added to soups and stews, providing a slimy or slippery texture32.The potential use of okra, widely used today for its pods , is interesting as its origins are not well understood. Logan33 but does provide the first evidence of their use in Cameroon during the EIA . While yams are noted as “culturally significant” [35: 362], the difficulty of tubers preserving in the archaeobotanical record, or the lack of specialized studies, have made it difficult to document their presence36. However, more recently, charred parenchyma fragments, potentially belonging to yam has been recovered in Iron Age contexts in the Congo Basin3. Our recovery of starch grains inside the vessel fragments suggests that tubers were cooked in ceramic pots.The presence of tubers in the samples is not surprising given the current diversity of yams in the region32, is a category that comprises various species, all producing similar-looking seeds in the Cucurbitaceae family. In our current study, the starch grains more closely resemble those found in the seeds of Cucumeropsis mannii. White-seed melon is highly regarded in West Africa, where the oil-rich seeds are consumed in soups8 and in Central Africa more generally as a sauce and semolina37. To the best of our knowledge this plant has only been tentatively identified by Logan8 in the form of a fragmentary seed dating to AD 1210–1450 from Ghana.White-seed melon, locally known as “egusi”Sorghum bicolor leaf sheaths are used in the preparation of waakye, a traditional Ghanaian dish38. Other sources indicate the importance of leafy greens in the diet today of West and Central Africa, which include both crop and weedy taxa . The presence of plant waxes reported from Nok ceramics from Nigeria7 further suggest the importance of leafy greens in the diet of past communities in West and Central African cuisines.The occurrence of leaf epidermis might indicate the use of leafy greens (see sample C19 F1 0–30). While the botanical original of the graminoid stomata cannot be identified further, it has been reported that 7, bark is an important resource in traditional medicine, and we should not discount the multi-purpose function of these vessels.The presence of other elements besides starch grains, such as vascular tissues, sclereids, and fibers, especially abundant in one vessel (C19 F3 P1) but seen in many others, may however indicate that these ceramics were not only used for culinary purposes, but also to prepare and hold medicinal preparations. As noted by Dunne et al.Canarium schweinfurthii) and oil palm (Elaeis guineensis). Endocarps from these resources have been reported from sites in West and Central Africa39 including at Nachtigal. However, it should be noted that in the case of the incense tree, it lacks starch grains in its fruits, thus highlighting the value of combining different types of approaches if we are to appreciate a wider spectrum of the ancient diet.Missing from the microbotanical record are two widely reported species—for example, the incense tree  between the EIA and the modern period; only future studies focusing on this gap will help to resolve this issue.The presence of gelatinized starch clusters supports the notion that these ceramics were used for cooking or serving cooked foods, in particular foods that were likely boiled to prepare soups and stews, preparations that are still popular today in parts of Africa. In other cases, some were ground or pounded, as indicated by the damage exhibited on some of the starch grains. Future studies that include starch grain analysis, complimented by macrobotanical and possibly residue analyses to test for animal fats and proteins from sites across Cameroon, will shed even more light on the topic of diets during the EIA but also in more recent periods in West and Central Africa.31. While the presence of sorghum during the EIA remains highly tentative, if it is confirmed by future macrobotanical analyses, its presence would be the earliest in the region. Nearly all the plant remains identified in the EIA samples are still used today by local populations, indicating a probable continuity in the dietary practices, although the trends that occurred between these time periods have yet to be defined. It is clear that starch grain analysis has the advantage to bring to light parts of the archaeobotanical record that may otherwise remain invisible, which includes the presence of tubers and leafy greens, often missed when simply carrying out macrobotanical analysis. Finally, we would argue that rescue archaeology in WCA opens scientific perspectives that should no longer be overlooked by scholars.The exceptional diversity and excellent preservation of starch grains recovered from 23 samples leads us to make several observations. The diet of Western Central Africa was very diversified and pragmatic, still largely based on foraging despite the existence of staple foods, an observation also put forward by other scholarsi-The quality, richness and good conservation of the original contexts  attracted our attention. We also favored sediments rich in charcoal, which suggests less acidity and therefore better conservation; ii-The size (larger than 5 cm) and the quality of conservation of the pottery sherds (an uncorroded inner surface) was taken into account. A large proportion of the sherds from NAC-B85 came from an entire vessel taken as a block from the pit; iii-We finally looked at the ceramic typology: we favored rather closed or deep forms. The fragments near the bottom and the middle part of the vessel were integrated, as well as a spout (NAC-C19 F1 0–30 cm). Control soil samples from 5 different contexts were also collected to cross-check for contamination. Only one sample contained a starch grain (C19 F1 12–150 cm).The sherds were collected using powder-free gloves and masks in a laboratory where food consumption was not allowed, and were then separately placed in clean, labeled plastic bags. The sherds were selected according to several criteria: 40, but overall consist in using different chemicals to remove excess organic materials and separate the starch grains from the sediment. Drops of the clean sample were mounted in a 1:1 glycerin: water solution, and a cover slip was finally placed to cover the sample. The starch grains were observed in three dimensions between 100 and 600 × under transmitted and cross-polarized light using a Nikon E600 POL microscope and photographed using a Zeiss Axiocam 208 camera. All the other elements visible on a slide were also documented (described and photographed).The previously unwashed ceramic sherds were exported to France and sampled using a new and clean toothbrush (one per sherd) and distilled water. To ensure that the samples represent the contents of the ceramics as much as possible and not from contamination from any adjacent sediment, the excess sediment attached to the sherd was first gently brushed away before washing. The samples were treated using the protocol outlined in detail elsewhereThe archaeological starch grains were compared to those in our reference collection obtained from a range of plant organs from taxa native to West and Central Africa (Supplementary Fig. Supplementary Figures.


Netherlands Heart Journal [Dear editor, with interest we read the results of the URGENT 1.5 trial in the article by Koper et al., recently published in the We agree that further investigation of this topic should be encouraged. However, prospective studies on the applicability of the pre-hospital modified HEART score have already been performed , 3. AlthClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05466591) addressed the above-mentioned issue [Moreover, the Dutch ARTICA trial (Acute Rule-Out of Non-ST-Segment Elevation Acute Coronary Syndrome in the (Pre)hospital Setting by HEART Score Assessment and a Single Point-of-Care Troponin;


An increase in the production and consumption of spelt products can be associated with positive effects on human health, which are attributed to bioactive compounds present in the grain. The basic success of spelt wheat in organic farming might be explained by the fact that spelt wheat belongs to the group of hulled wheat where the presence of a husk protects the seed from abiotic and biotic stress factors, thus demanding less chemical protection. The goal of this study was to investigate the variations in the bioactive compound , protein, starch and fructan content of bread and spelt wheat under different farming systems . The results showed higher protein and alkylresorcinol but lower fructan content in spelt wheat. Organic spelt had significantly higher starch, fiber and alkylresorcinol content but lower β-glucan and protein content than conventionally grown spelt. The spelt variety ‘Oberkulmer-Rotkorn’ was characterized by the highest values for the majority of analyzed traits under both farming systems. Overall, the environmental conditions (Hungary and Serbia), farming systems  and wheat species (bread and spelt) contributed to the variations of the compositional traits in different manners. Triticum sp.) has been studied in many aspects and by many researchers. Besides its dominant role in supplying the food industry with white bread flour, nowadays, there is an increasing range of food products present in the market containing wholemeal flour as a prevalent source of carbohydrates. This increase in the production and consumption of wholemeal wheat products can be associated with the positive effects of wholemeal flour and its main constituents on human health [As one of the big three cereals widely grown for their abundance of nutrients, wheat , at the organic site. At the conventional site, 120 kg/ha of N was applied through NPK fertilizer. Herbicides  and insecticide  were used twice a year. Fungicides were not used. No fertilizers or any chemicals were applied at the organic sites. Weeds were removed physically.In Hungary, at the Center for Agricultural Research, Martonvásár, the plots were 4 × 1.2 m with 6 rows spaced 20 cm apart. The varieties were sown in two replicates on clayey chernozem with pH of 7.25, 2.8% The cumulative precipitation was low in the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 seasons in Hungary, especially in the last 100 days of the growing period. The mean temperature was the highest in 2019/2020 (9.48 °C), while, in Serbia, higher mean temperatures were observed for two growing seasons . The absolute minimum temperature over a full season was the lowest in 2018/2019; however, there were cold days in the last 100 days of crop development in 2019/2020 and 2020/2021, with negative 3.6 °C and 6.5 °C in Hungary, respectively, and negative 5.4 °C absolute minimum temperatures in Serbia in the 2019/2020 growing season. The absolute maximum temperature was higher in Hungary in 2018/2019 (36 °C) and in 2020/2021 (37.4 °C), and so the number of hot days warmer than 30 °C was the lowest in 2019/2020.Spelt and bread wheat had to go through collecting, threshing  and cleaning  before milling and laboratory analysis.Marvin System  and FOSS Tecator 1241  instruments were used for determination of thousand kernel weight (TKW) and test weight, respectively, for the harvested grains according to the standard MSZ 6367/4-86 method . A PerteTotal and water-extractable pentosans, of which arabinoxylan is the major component, were analyzed with a colorimetric method according to Douglas  in threeTotal protein content of wholemeal samples was measured by the Dumas method with an Elementar Rapid N III Analyzer  according to the ICC 167 standard method . The staDescriptive statistics for bioactive compound, protein and starch content from bread and spelt wheat grown using conventional and organic farming systems were presented by violin plots drawn by R software (R version 4.2.1). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey’s test using SPSS Statistics 27.0 software  was used to test differences among the mean values of wheat species, varieties, growing seasons and farming systems. Correlations between the analyzed bioactive compound, protein and starch content for wheat species were determined with Pearson’s correlation coefficient by R software. Principal component analysis (PCA) carried out in Statistica 6.0  was used to study variation in the compositional as well as protein- and starch-related traits of the grain and flour and examine relationships between varieties and obtain clusters.Bioactive compound, protein and starch content showed variations between the two wheat species, two farming systems and two countries. The distribution for each group is shown with violin plots .Total arabinoxylan content showed higher values in bread than in spelt wheat using conventional and organic farming systems. In bread wheat, total arabinoxylan content ranged from 12.0 to 20.9 mg/g with an average value of 15.7 mg/g, while in spelt wheat, it ranged from 9.0 to 17.7 mg/g with an average value of 13.3 mg/g. The highest value for this trait in bread wheat was found using the conventional farming system in Hungary (20.9 mg/g), while the lowest value was found using organic system in Hungary (12 mg/g). On the contrary, in spelt wheat, the lowest value (9 mg/g) was found with the conventional system in Hungary, whilst the highest value was found with the organic farming system (17.7 mg/g) in Hungary a.Similar to total arabinoxylan content, the water-extractable arabinoxylan showed higher values in bread (6.58 mg/g) than in spelt wheat (5.13 mg/g) in different farming systems and countries b. Much hβ-glucan content ranged from 5.8 to 9.9 mg/g and 5.1 to 8.1 mg/g in bread and spelt wheat, respectively c. NotablContrary to arabinoxylan and β-glucan content, the antioxidant capacity represented by alkylresorcinol content was remarkably higher in spelt wheat varieties (511.6 µg/g) than in bread wheat varieties (454.9 µg/g) in organically and conventionally grown farming systems d. The hiBread wheat varieties were characterized by a higher fructan content (1.1%) than spelt wheat (0.9%), and it ranged from 0.7% to 1.6% in bread and from 0.5% to 1.2% in spelt wheat e. The hiDifferences were found in protein content among spelt and bread wheat as well as among farming systems f. Bread Bread wheat generally had higher starch content (58.4%) than spelt (55.4%) g. The stThe analysis of variance showed significant differences between wheat species, varieties, growing seasons and farming systems based on bioactive compound, protein and starch content . Bread wAmong spelt wheat varieties, total and water-extractable arabinoxylan did not vary significantly . Spelt vThe G×E interaction determined more than 70% of the variance of total and water-extractable arabinoxylan in bread wheat a. A consAccording to the Pearson’s coefficients, significant positive correlations were found between total and water-extractable arabinoxylan, β-glucan and fructan content in both species combined . Water-eIn bread wheat, significant positive correlations were found for total arabinoxylan and fructan content, β-glucan and fructan content and fructan and starch content. Conversely, significant negative correlations were found between β-glucan and alkylresorcinol content, fructan and alkylresorcinol content, fructan and protein content and protein and starch content. In spelt wheat, significant positive correlation was found for water-extractable arabinoxylan and alkylresorcinol content, whilst significant negative correlations were found between total arabinoxylan and starch content, water-extractable arabinoxylan and protein and protein and starch content.PCA analysis based on combining bioactive compound, protein and starch content clearly separated organically grown bread wheat from conventionally grown spelt wheat from Hungary and Serbia a. The fiProtein-related quality traits also differed at the different sites and in different species b. The fiThe PCA that was based on the starch-related components distinguished bread wheat from spelt wheat varieties to a large extent c. The fiTriticum species. Although at some point the farming of spelt over bread wheat was neglected, at present, the production of spelt is extended, which can be attributed to its preferable health-related properties, greater amenability to sustainable agriculture [Extensive cultivation, coupled with high yields, reduced spike-shattering and free-threshing, placed bread wheat among the most cultivated iculture  and goodiculture  comparedn = 5) compared to a larger bread wheat sample size (n = 151); the sample sets were unbalanced. The significantly higher amount of arabinoxylan in bread than in spelt wheat found in our study could be explained by differences in the pericarp layers. Escarnot et al. [Even though spelt and bread wheat have a very similar distribution of dietary fiber over the kernel cell walls , their at et al.  observedt et al. , a higheize n = 1; the samt et al. . Recentlt et al. . Moreovet et al. . As endot et al. , higher t et al. . As spelt et al. , our fint et al. ,57, whilt et al. ,59, histThe literature findings about the antioxidant capacities related to the alkylresorcinol content in spelt and bread wheat are contradictory. While some authors reveal no significant differences , others Significant positive correlations between total and water-extractable arabinoxylan and β-glucan, as well as fructan and β-glucan, were found in our study for both species, and this is in agreement with other studies ,25. In oThe largest kernel fraction comes from the endosperm, in which starch is the predominant compound . Starch Protein is the second main component of wheat grain. In our study, spelt wheat varieties showed significantly higher protein content than bread wheat varieties, which is in accordance with the majority of the literature results ,63,68,70By linking protein-related traits and starch pasting properties, a similar pattern was observed in our study. Namely, spelt wheat was characterized by higher flour yield and thousand kernel weight, dough softening, gluten content and gluten spread, while bread wheat had higher test weight, gluten index, farinograph quality number, water absorption, dough development time, dough stability and Zeleny sedimentation volume. As an indicator of milling value, spelt is expected to have higher flour yield, as it has higher thousand kernel weight ,72, kernOne of the main factors contributing the most to the functional properties of cereals are the molecular weight of the amylopectin and the distribution of amylopectin structural units . By combThe response of genotype (G), environment  and the G×E interaction contributed to the variation in the bioactive compound, protein and starch content in different manners, depending on wheat species. By comparing the effect of genotypes on total dietary fiber, Escarnot et al.  found thThe β-glucan content is mostly influenced by the genotype in wheat , whereasIn spite of the strong influence of genotype on protein  and starIn our study, the following bread wheat varieties are suitable for breeding as rich sources of bioactivity. These are ‘Recital’ with the highest arabinoxylan and starch content, ‘Pobeda’ with the highest β-glucan and fructan content and ‘Estevan’ with the highest antioxidant capacity and protein content. Among spelt wheat varieties, ‘Oberkulmer-Rotkorn’ had the highest amount of arabinoxylan and β-glucan content and high antioxidant capacity, and the lowest starch content. ‘Rouquin’ had the highest alkylresorcinol content. It is documented that type 2 diabetes is commonly diagnosed in people whose diet is based on starch, such as Asians , and as There is some evidence that organically grown wheat has more dietary fiber ,109 and In our study, significant differences between conventional and organic farming systems were found for water-extractable arabinoxylan, β-glucan, alkylresorcinol, protein and starch content in both species. Differences among farming systems were also found for fructan in bread wheat and for total arabinoxylan content in spelt.Significantly higher total arabinoxylan content in spelt wheat in our study can be explained by the fact that spelt wheat successfully grows in organic and low-input fields  where itThe significantly higher β-glucan content in organically grown bread wheat observed in our study corroborates a previous study . As orgaGenerally, it is argued that the arabinoxylan accumulation is influenced by meteorological conditions, primarily water availability. Higher amounts of rainfall result in higher amounts of total  and wateComparison of the compositional traits of spelt and bread wheat genotypes confirmed the significant differences between the arabinoxylan, β-glucan, alkylresorcinol, fructan, protein and starch content of the two species. Accordingly, spelt had significantly higher protein and alkylresorcinol content, but all the other components were present in lower quantities in spelt than in bread wheat. The higher protein content and antioxidant capacity of spelt has already been confirmed by other authors as well. Both have nutritional and health-related benefits. The lower fructan content of spelt makes it a possible target for studies aiming at the production of food for FODMAP-sensitive patients. The significantly lower total and soluble fiber content of spelt could be beneficial in animal feeding.Farming system  significantly affected all studied parameters, except the total arabinoxylan content of bread wheat and the fructan content of spelt wheat. Organic spelt had significantly higher starch, fiber and alkylresorcinol content but lower β-glucan and protein content than conventionally grown spelt. Organic bread wheat showed the same, but more pronounced, differences compared to conventional sites, except for the protein content, which was lower at Serbian and higher at Hungarian conventional sites. The fructan content of organic bread wheat was higher than the conventionally grown ones. The lower protein generally found under the organic site could be a possible explanation of the weaker breadmaking quality (lower dough strength), which is also a characteristic of spelt compared to bread wheat. Spelt showed lower test weight, gluten index, farinograph quality number, water absorption, dough development time, dough stability and Zeleny sedimentation volume. Starch properties such as peak viscosity, breakdown, final viscosity, trough viscosity and setback properties were also lower in spelt.The variety had significant effect on all compositional traits in bread wheat, while only β-glucan and fructan content was affected by spelt varieties. This might be the result of the low variability found in spelt properties, although neither of the spelt genotypes contained the wheat genome, and the strong effect of G×E with a lower effect of G.From spelt wheat varieties, ‘Oberkulmer-Rotkorn’ had the highest arabinoxylan, β-glucan and starch content, with high values of protein, alkylresorcinol and fructan content as well. It had high protein content under conventional (above 14%) as well as organic farming (above 13%), and it is considered to have a greater potential for organic, high-quality, milling spelt wheat production.Overall, our results demonstrated that the environmental conditions, farming systems and wheat species contribute to the variations in the amount of the bioactive compounds, protein and starch content in different manners. These findings on the composition of individual bioactive compound, protein and starch content in specific varieties and wheat species can serve as a starting point for breeders to breed new varieties with improved dietary fiber content, antioxidant capacity and, consequently, improved nutritional value.


Adhesion robots have broad application prospects in the field of spacecraft inspection, repair, and maintenance, but the stable adhesion and climbing on the flexible surface covering the spacecraft has not been achieved. The flexible surface is easily deformed when subjected to external force, which makes it difficult to ensure a sufficient contact area and then detach from it. To achieve stable attachment and easy detachment on the flexible surface under microgravity, an adhesion model is established based on the applied adhesive material, and the relationship between peeling force and the rigidity of the base material, peeling angle, and working surface stiffness is obtained. Combined with the characteristics of variable stiffness structure, the adhesion and detachment force of the foot is asymmetric. Inspired by the adhesion-detachment mechanism of the foot of the gecko, an active adhesion-detachment control compliant mechanism is designed to achieve the stable attachment and safe detachment of the foot on the flexible surface and to adapt to surfaces with different rigidity. The experimental results indicate that a maximum normal adhesion force of 7.66 N can be generated when fully extended, and the safe detachment is achieved without external force on a flexible surface. Finally, an air floating platform is used to build a microgravity environment, and the crawling experiment of a gecko-inspired robot on a flexible surface under microgravity is completed. The experimental results show that the gecko-inspired foot with variable stiffness can satisfy the requirements of stable crawling on flexible surfaces. Spacecraft is a typical high value and complex system . Timely In 2000, AUTUMN et al.  revealedCompared with the adhesion and desorption of the rigid surface, the flexible surface is more difficult to adhere stably. The reasons are: (a) The flexible surface deforms greatly under force, and it will be difficult to fit the foot; (b) the surface is prone to vibrate under the action of external force, which may cause robotic resonance and lead to unstable exercise. Under microgravity, the adhesion of flexible surface needs to have the characteristics of robust adhesion and easy detachment, so the toe pad of the foot needs to adapt actively to control the adhesion.This article takes the gecko adhesion and desorption mechanism as the starting point. The simulation model of its adhesive force for the adhesive material used is established, and the relationship between desorption force, desorption angle, and the substrate stiffness is analyzed. An active bionic foot with variable stiffness is designed.Currently, the model that is useful to describe the desorption process is the Kendall Tape model, proposed by Ravin and improved by Kendall ,25. BaseThe dry adhesion material used in this paper is PVS (Polyvinyl Siloxane) material. Its micro-morphology is shown in The base material is divided into When the model is in a balanced state, there areThe adhesion unit only has adhesiveness and elasticity. Both are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. Therefore, the adhesion force generated by a single adhesion unit can be calculated through the following formula.Among them, k and the bending stiffness of the working surface k values are We established simulation models in Matlab/Multibody. Based on the observation of adhesive material, the base unit length is The following conclusions can be obtained by the simulation results of the adhesive model: (1) The desorption force of adhesive material decreases with the increase of desorption angle, showing asymmetry; (2) the greater the bending stiffness of the base, the greater the desorption force of the adhesive material; (3) the smaller the bending stiffness of the working surface, the smaller the adhesive force can be generated, and the more difficult it is to achieve stable adhesion.Simulation models are now verified by the desorption experiment of adhesion material. The experimental platform is shown in In order to verify the impact of perspective on dismissal and ensure the stability of strife and the consistency of perspective, the description was completed by controlling the 2D mobile platform to pull the adhesive material along different angles. During the experiment, 10 groups of different desorption angles were taken under the same substrate stiffness, and the desorption angles were 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 75°, 90°, 105°, 120°, 135°, and 150°, respectively. In the initial state, the adhesive material was completely fitted with the working surface. The platform mobile tightened the tape to drive the adhesion materials to be attached. We recorded the descriptions of different base stiffness and different aid angles by using vector diagrams, as shown in Under the three stiffness, the desorption force shows obvious asymmetry: when Geckos have excellent climbing ability and can achieve stable adhesion movements in horizontal, vertical, and even inverted surfaces. The gecko adhesion process is accompanied by inward grasping of the toes, and the detachment process is accompanied by outward turning of the toes to achieve active detachment b. This bBased on the results of the adhesion model, a gecko-inspired foot with variable stiffness characteristics was designed, as shown in The structure of the foot is shown in In order to prevent the robot’s feet from shaking when swinging and make the feet parallel to the working surface when touching the working surface, four reset springs were installed on the feet to improve the stability of the structure.The toe of the telescopic rod was placed in the spring and the wire. When the wire is relaxed, the telescopic rod is in an extended state, and the toe pad of the foot is opened. At this time, it was attached to the working face, so that a larger attachment area could be obtained. When absence is required, the servo drives the rudder to rotate, the traction cable tightens, the telescopic rod contracts, and at the same time drives itself to rise, so that the variable stiffness toe naturally rolls up. The rolling process makes the adhesive material separate from the absence surface, and several absence states in the absence process are shown in As shown in When the metal sheet is bent, its cross-section is approximately as a rectangle, as shown in The width of the rectangle is When the metal sheet is straightened, the cross-sectional shape is approximately a partial arc, as shown in In summary, the bending coefficient of the section of the metal sheet is much greater when it is stretched than when it is bent. When this material is used as the base part to the gecko-inspired foot, the toe root will have a larger bending stiffness and the end will have a smaller bending stiffness.The adhesion and desorption force are essentially the forces required to detach the feet from each other after they are attached to the working surface. However, the adhesion force of the feet with variable stiffness during adhesion and the detachment force required during detachment show some asymmetry. That is, when the adhesion force of the foot can be firmly attached to the working surface without falling off, and when it needs to be detached, only a small force is required to realize the detachment from the surface. This property comes from the design of the foot. The base of the foot root is in a straight state, while the end is in a rolled-up state. The stiffness of the base in the two states is different, and the corresponding detachment conditions are also different: the base of the root is in a state of large stiffness base detachment, and the end is in a small stiffness detachment state. In addition, when the foot is in the adhesion state, the contralateral toe forms a “Y” structure , and theBecause the base is not completely rigid when it is straightened, the section near the root must bend to a certain extent, and then the external force will be transferred to the base of the adhesion section along this section. At this time, the required force The stable adhesion between the foot and the working surface in the space environment mainly depends on the normal adhesion force. However, the flexible surface of spacecraft is generally a thin film made of polyimide and metal materials, and the normal contact force has a great influence on the deformation of the flexible surface. Based on the above considerations, the performance test of the adherent foot is carried out for the normal detachment force on the flexible surface. The experimental platform adopts the spacecraft surface film as the flexible surface, which is fixed to the base of the test platform. The toe pad of the foot takes its own weight (In the application of adhesive motion, the foot design of gecko toe pad is combined with a climbing robot to form a bionic gecko robot, as shown in The gecko-inspired robot is fixed on the air floating table bracket, and the continuous spraying at the bottom of the bracket offsets the weight of the bracket itself and the robot, creating a microgravity condition. Combined with the smooth steel plate plane, it eliminates the friction pair between the bottom and the moving ground during the movement. In this paper, an imitation gecko foot is proposed and its adhesion performance is tested. The foot paw adopts an active adhesion-debonding mechanism combining materials with variable bending stiffness to achieve asymmetric adhesion-debonding characteristics.First, the adhesion model is established based on the microstructure of the dry adhesion PVS material. Through simulation analysis and design of the adhesion experiment, the relationship between adhesion force and adhesion angle, bending stiffness of the substrate and bending stiffness of the working surface was investigated. The results show that the smaller the debonding angle, the greater the bending stiffness of the matrix and the bending stiffness of the working face, and the greater the debonding force required for debonding.A bionic gecko foot with variable stiffness was then designed according to the results of the adhesive model and the structure with variable bending stiffness. Inspired by the adhesion-desorption behavior of the large gecko paw, an active desorption mechanism was designed to make the paw exhibit asymmetric adhesion-desorption characteristics.Finally, the adhesion-desorption performance of the bionic gecko paws on flexible surfaces was tested. The results show that the variable stiffness paw design with active desorption mechanism can adapt to the flexible surfaces. The maximum normal adhesion force is


There is an increasing demand for kidney retransplantation. Most studies report inferior outcomes compared to primary transplantation, consequently feeding an ethical dilemma in the context of chronic organ shortage. Material and Methods. All patients transplanted at our center between 2000 and 2016 were analyzed retrospectively. Survival was estimated with the Kaplan–Meier method, and risk factors were identified using multiple Cox regression.  To assess variables influencing long-term graft survival after kidney retransplantation. p=0.104) but an inferior graft survival thereafter (log-rank p=0.026). Independent risk factors for graft survival in retransplantation were age ≥ 50 years, time on dialysis ≥1 year, previous graft survival <2 years, ≥1 mild comorbidity in the Charlson–Deyo index, active smoking, and life-threatening complications (Clavien–Dindo grade IV) at first transplantation.  We performed 1,376 primary kidney transplantations and 222 retransplantations. The rate of retransplantation was 67.8% after the first graft loss, with a comparable 10-year graft survival compared to primary transplantation (67% vs. 64%,  Graft survival is comparable for first and second kidney transplantation within the first 10 years. Risk factors for poor outcomes after retransplantation are previous graft survival, dialysis time after graft failure, recipient age, comorbidities, and smoking. Patients with transplant failure should have access to retransplantation as early as possible. The expansion of indications for kidney transplantation and the increasing use of extended criteria grafts inevitably lead to a higher number of patients with graft failure. Given the current high overall rate of kidney transplants, which will assumably continue to rise, the growing number of patients requiring kidney retransplantation is a challenge . FurtherWe retrospectively reviewed medical records of all patients who underwent kidney transplantation at our institution between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2016. Patients were followed up until December 31, 2017. Due to the low number of third and fourth transplantations, we assessed first and second kidney transplantations only. The local ethics committee reviewed and approved the study protocol (project number 2018–00153).μmol/l, and cerebrovascular cause of death [We assessed recipient characteristics, including pre-, intra-, and postoperative parameters. The age-independent Charlson–Deyo index was used to estimate the impact of multiple recipient comorbidities . Graft sof death .Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) mismatch was defined as the number of mismatches within HLA A, B, and DR, totaling a maximum of 6 possible mismatches. HLA-donor-specific antibodies (DSA) detection was using a sensitive single antigen bead assay (Luminex®), and intensity was measured by mean fluorescence intensity (MFI). MFI levels above 1,000 were considered relevant. No patients were excluded from analysis, irrespective of MFI levels or previous episodes of acute rejection. However, it was our policy to avoid transplantations with DSA, especially with MFI levels > 1,000, whenever possible. All patients that underwent retransplantation received monoclonal antibodies for induction therapy (Thymoglobulin® or Basiliximab®).We accounted our models for era effects, which occurred in May 2008 due to the start of allocation according to donor-specific antibodies. Complications were assessed according to the validated and severity-oriented Clavien–Dindo classification , 20.p value <0.2 [Statistical analysis was performed with IBM SPSS Statistics 25.0  and Stata 13.1 . Categorical variables were compared by chi-square test or Fisher exact test for expected frequencies <5. Continuous variables were analyzed by the Mann–Whitney test. Survival was estimated by the Kaplan–Meier method and compared with the log-rank test. Cox regression was used to assess risk factors for graft failure (using the time to failure or death as a dependent variable) as well as the chance of retransplantation (using the time to retransplantation as a dependent variable). First, every variable was checked with a univariate (enter) model. Variables with a lue <0.2  were teslue <0.2 . To confn = 43) and 1.6% (n = 3), respectively. Second transplant patients had less diabetes or cystic disease as the underlying cause of primary kidney failure compared to first transplantation, 15.9% versus 6.8% and 16.7% versus 10.4%, respectively. The median duration of dialysis between first and second transplantation was longer than before the first transplant, 2.5 versus 1.7 years, respectively. Second transplant recipients were less likely to get an ECD or donor after circulatory death (DCD) graft, 25.9% versus 6.3% and 6.8% versus 0%, respectively. The living donation was also less frequent in the setting of second transplantation (32.3% vs. 22.4%). Detailed recipient characteristics are listed in Out of 1,598 kidney transplantations, 1,376 (86.1%) were first transplantations, 192 (12.0%) second, 28 (1.8%) third, and 2 (0.1%) were fourth transplantations. Loss of follow-up after first and second transplantations was 3.1%  underwent a retransplantation. The main reason for the decline in patients for retransplantation was reduced physical condition, followed by malignancies and infection .Graft survival is shown in p=0.104), this changed over time and was then lower for retransplantation (p=0.026). Multiple Cox regression model, adjusted for recipient, donor, and era variables, identified the second transplantation as a risk factor for lower graft survival . Causes of death between the two groups did not differ significantly, with infections, heart failure, and malignancies being the main reasons for death in both groups.The mortality rate was 16.8% and 16.9% after the first and second transplantation, respectively , and less than 3 years on dialysis. Previous graft survival of more than 5 years was also a positive prognostic factor for being retransplanted . MultiplKidney retransplantation accounts for approximately 15% of transplant activity , 23, 24,Reports on graft survival after kidney retransplantation are conflicting and the prognosis of retransplantation compared to first transplantation remains unclear. Within our cohort, graft and patient survival rates within 10 years were comparable for first and second transplantations and seem to decline thereafter, favoring first transplantation. This time lag difference in outcome has been demonstrated before. Trèbern-Launay et al. showed an increased risk for graft failure in retransplantations, with a delayed effect becoming evident beyond 4 years of follow-up . Magee eThere are currently no recommendations for the management of patients with a failed kidney transplant, nor are there clear decision criteria for relisting. To date, no scoring system to predict outcome after repeat kidney transplantation, such as the lung allocation score for lung transplantation , is avaiOur analyses show that there are indeed some risk factors for second graft loss and should have an impact on the management of patients after graft loss at initial transplantation. In our cohort, dialysis duration before retransplantation is a considerably stronger risk factor for graft loss than before initial transplantation. While dialysis for 2 or more years was a risk factor for first graft failure, the risk of subsequent organ loss after retransplantation is already present after 1 year of dialysis. These data are consistent with reports on the negative effect of waiting time and dialysis on kidney transplant outcomes –32, but Of note, smoking was the strongest risk factor for graft loss after retransplantation in our cohort. The adverse effects of smoking have been reported for primary transplants, being associated with an increased risk of graft loss and death , 34. HowRetransplantations carry an increased immunological risk regarding rejection and complications of immunosuppression , 40. HowThis study has some limitations. It is a retrospective analysis and readers need to consider the limitations and error rate of data. Loss of follow-up was very low for the transplanted population. However, we did not compare the results to a matched dialysis cohort after graft loss. Limited statement regarding survival benefits of retransplantation compared to staying on dialysis is possible.Our results highlight the importance of including prior transplant outcomes to improve decision-making for repeat wait-listing and predicting retransplant outcomes. As long as consensus on relisting is lacking, a clear definition of risk factors is crucial to optimize patient selection for repeated transplantation. With this long-monitored cohort of retransplanted patients, we were able to identify risk factors that increase the risk of graft loss and should therefore be taken into account in the preparation for retransplantation. Most importantly, the data show that early relisting, which is associated with younger age of the patient and shorter dialysis time, increases the chances of longer graft survival. Relisting should therefore be initiated promptly, potentially before graft failure. However, this might be limited in patients with primary disease recurrence-related graft failure or those who lost their graft for antibody-mediated rejection. In this regard, the data also clearly show that patient adherence is essential medically but also with a focus on lifestyle, as a BMI <30 is more likely to lead to relisting and nicotine abstinence to longer graft survival.Kidney retransplantation has comparable long-term outcomes to primary transplantation. Outcome after retransplantation depends on previous graft survival, dialysis time after first graft failure, recipient age, comorbidities, and smoking. Due to the excellent long-term outcome, patients with transplant failure should be offered retransplantation at the earliest.


Masquelet technique is one of the modalities for the treatment of long bone defect. Using cancellous bone graft to fill the bone defect is always a concern in children due to the small size of their iliac crest and open growth plate. We reported a case of 13-year-old male who presented with gap non-union of middle third of tibia. We applied a modified Masquelet technique by using only the cortical fibular graft instead of cancellous bone to fill the space surrounded by induced membrane. Fibula was used as a nonvascularized strut graft and matched stick graft to achieve complete union. We concluded that nonvascularized fibula grafting is an easy and effective option to fill the bone defect in children in the second stage of Masquelet technique. The patient was given Ciprofloxacin for 3 weeks. Six weeks later the second stage of the surgery was planned. On exposure we found a white coloured membrane around the cement spacer. The cement spacer was removed while preserving the membrane. The ipsilateral middle third of fibula of length 9 cm was harvested through postero-lateral approach. It was ensured that proximal and distal tibiofibular joint remained unaffected. The fibula graft was cut into 2 pieces with length of 7 cm and 2 cm. The longer segment of the fibula graft was used as intramedullary graft in the tibial defect and internal fixation was done using 4.5 mm locking compression plate. Before placing the graft, both ends of the non-union side were adequately freshened. The shorter segment of fibula graft was cut into thin matchstick grafts and placed around intramedullary graft. No cancellous graft was used  when combined for all the pathologies. It was 7.8 months for congenital pseudoarthrosis, 8.0 months for benign tumors, 8.3 months for malignant tumors and 15.3 months for traumatic injuries.We could not find any similar report in the literature where only cortical bone was used in the second stage of Masquelet technique without any cancellous bone. Good result was achieved by the combined advantages of Masquelet technique and nonvascularized free fibula grafting where the paucity of cancellous graft for the bone defect was managed by using fibula graft and the healing of fibula graft was enhanced by the use of induced membranes. We conclude that nonvascularized fibula grafting is an easy and effective option to fill the bone defect in children in the second stage of Masquelet technique.Nil.This case report was exempted from ethical approval by Institute Ethics Committee, All India Institute of Medical Science.The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.Ravi Mittal - performed the surgery and reviewed the manuscript. Siddharth Jain - worte the manuscript.


Slope bias was substantially less for the fixed-coefficient equation than noted for the other DMI- or gross energy intake (GEI)-based equations, but mean bias was substantially greater, presumably reflecting the failure of the fixed-coefficient approach to account for dietary factors that affect CH4 production. In this article, we report on the use of the dietary ratio of concentrations of starch to neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and dietary ether extract (EE) concentration to improve the accuracy and precision of the fixed-coefficient equation. The same development data set used to create the fixed-coefficient equation was used in the present study, which included 134 treatment means from 34 respiration calorimetry studies. Based on stepwise regression with dietary NDF, starch, crude protein, EE, and the starch:NDF ratio as possible dependent variables, the starch:NDF ratio and EE were the only dietary variables selected (P ≤ 0.15). The study-adjusted relationship with the starch:NDF ratio  was: Mcal of CH4/kg of DMI = 0.2883 − 0.03474 × starch:NDF; whereas the relationship with a model that included both starch:NDF ratio and dietary EE  was: Mcal of CH4/kg of DMI = 0.3227 − 0.0334 × starch:NDF − 0.00868 × % EE. A previously published independent data set with 129 treatment means from 30 respiration calorimetry studies was used to evaluate these two equations, along with two additional equations in which g/d of CH4 was predicted directly from DMI, starch:NDF ratio, and/or dietary EE. The two Mcal of CH4/kg of DMI equations had superior fit statistics to the previously published 0.2433 Mcal of CH4/kg of DMI equation, with a substantial decrease in mean bias and improved concordance correlation coefficients. Moreover, the Mcal of CH4/kg of DMI equations resulted in improved fit relative to direct prediction of g/d of CH4 from DMI, the starch:NDF ratio, and % EE. Based on these results, further evaluation of the dietary ratio of starch-to-NDF concentrations and EE concentration to predict methane production per unit DMI in beef cattle is warranted.Previous research demonstrated that a fixed value of 0.2433 (SE = 0.0134) Mcal of CH Equations to predict the megacalories of methane per unit of dry matter intake from the ratio of dietary starch to neutral detergent fiber concentrations and dietary ether extract concentration yielded better fits to experimental data than equations that directly predicted methane from the same variables in combination with dry matter intake. Further research is needed to evaluate these equations in other independent data sets. Using a data set derived from energy balance studies with growing and finishing beef and dairy cattle, 4/kg of DMI could be used to predict daily CH4 production. When evaluated with an independent data set, the fixed-value equation gave similar or greater r2, root mean squared prediction error (RMSPE), and concordance correlation coefficients (CCC) to extant equations based on DMI or GEI; however, the mean bias of the fixed-coefficient equation was approximately 34% of the RMSPE, a value 10 times greater than the other equations that were compared. Adjusting the fixed-coefficient equation for the potential effects of level of intake above maintenance did not markedly improve fit statistics and had no effect on mean bias. The authors suggested that because the predicted values were consistently less than observed values across the range of the data, the fixed-coefficient needed adjustment, presumably for differences in diet composition. Specifically, differences in dietary concentrations of neutral detergent fiber (NDF), starch, and ether extract (EE) between the top and bottom 50% of values in their development data set were noted as potential discriminating factors.Given environmental concerns about the contributions of ruminant production systems to greenhouse gas emissions, development of accurate and precise equations to predict CHIn the present report, we extend the work of Data used in this article were generated from published literature; thus, no live animals were used by the authors, and Institutional Animal Care and Use Approval was not necessary.The development and evaluation data sets described by 4/kg of DMI from P-value for entry into the model set at 0.15. Given that the ratio of starch to NDF has been shown to have a predictive value for CH4  and root mean square error (RMSE) were determined for the model using the study-adjusted values and PROC MIXED and PROC REG of SAS .Mixed model methods described by r models . The coe4 by regressing observed CH4 on the predicted CH4 for each equation. No adjustments were made for the source of the data (study) in the independent evaluation data set. For these analyses, daily methane production expressed in Mcal/d was converted to g/d using conversion factors of 9.45 kcal/L and 0.716 g/L for methane. In addition to the coefficient of determination and root mean square prediction error (RMSPE) statistics, the CCC was computed as described by MSPE) was decomposed by determining the mean, slope, and error biases and expressing these values as a percentage of the MSPE  was 0.2433 Mcal/kg of DMI . Multiplication of the 0.2433 Mcal/kg value by DMI yield an estimate of Mcal of daily CH4 production. 4, Mcal/kg DMI = 0.3344 − 0.05639 × multiple of maintenance .Using the same development data set employed in the present study, 4 production in the independent data set described previously. Based on fit statistics reported by r2, RMSPE, and CCC to other equations, as well as lower slope bias, but the mean bias of both the fixed-coefficient equation and the fixed coefficient adjusted for multiples of maintenance intake was approximately 34% of the RMSPE, which was 10 times greater than the other equations that were compared. These results led 4 production should be evaluated. In particular, P-value threshold (≤0.15) for entry into the model. The starch:NDF ratio was the first variable selected in the stepwise analysis, with an r2 of 0.503, whereas adding EE to the model increased the r2 to 0.542. Because starch:NDF accounted for most of the variation in Mcal of CH4/kg of DMI, two models, one with starch:NDF only and another with starch:NDF and EE were evaluated in the mixed model analyses to account for random intercepts of studies, resulting in the following two equations:Our current analyses represent an effort to adjust the fixed-coefficient equation of r2 = 0.673; RMSE = 0.0327; 95% confidence intervals: intercept = 0.2807, 0.2959 and starch:NDF slope = –0.0389, –0.0306.where r2 = 0.738; RMSE = 0.0315; 95% confidence intervals: intercept = 0.3104, 0.3350, starch:NDF slope = –0.0376, –0.0292, and EE slope = –0.0115, –0.0059.where 4/kg of DMI from equations 1 and 2 is multiplied by DMI to determine Mcal of CH4 produced and then converted to g/d. An alternative to predicting Mcal of CH4/kg of DMI and then converting that value to g/d of CH4 is to directly predict g/d of CH4 from DMI, starch:NDF, and EE. Initial stepwise regression analysis indicated that when given DMI (kg/d), starch, NDF, starch:NDF, crude protein, and EE as potential independent variables, only DMI, starch:NDF, and EE entered the model at the P ≤ 0.15 level. The subsequent mixed-model analyses adjusting for random effects of study resulted in the following two equations:The resulting value for Mcal of CHr2 = 0.812, RMSE = 14.1297; 95% confidence intervals: intercept = 23.7361, 40.8509, DMI slope = 14.2939, 17.2335, and starch:NDF slope = –17.6259, –13.8581.where r2 = 0.836, RMSE = 13.7426; 95% confidence intervals: intercept = 34.4663, 58.2267, DMI slope = 13.9232, 16.8054, starch:NDF slope = –17.0409, –13.2049, and EE slope = –4.7247, –2.2750.where 4 on CH4 predicted from equations 1 through 4 resulted in the fit statistics shown in r2, smaller RMSPE, and higher CCC) compared with the fixed-coefficient equation and the fixed-coefficient equation adjusted for multiples of maintenance intake, as well as the other published equations evaluated by 4 predictions. Equations 3 and 4, in which g/d of CH4 is predicted directly, had noticeably inferior fit statistics compared with equations 1 and 2, particularly in terms of the RMSPE, mean bias, and CCC. The superior fit of equations 1 and 2 vs. Equations 3 and 4 presumably reflects multiplication of the predicted Mcal/kg of DMI by the known DMI vs. multiplication of the known DMI by a slope coefficient with its associated error when g/d of CH4 is predicted directly.Using the evaluation data set of 4 production in ruminants (4 production per unit DMI as was done in the present study are typical approaches used in developing empirical regression equations to predict CH4 production. The starch:NDF ratio seems to provide a convenient means of describing the effects of dietary components that are known to affect CH4 production. In addition, dietary EE has been shown to be a potentially important predictor of CH4 (4 production in beef cattle. These authors used a much larger database than our development data set, and one in which CH4 was measured by a variety of methods in addition to chambers and head boxes. Like ours, their equation was adjusted for random effects of data source. Nonetheless, the agreement between the equation by 4 rather than MJ/d as originally reported, the converted equation is as follows: CH4, g/d = 48.53 + 14.23 × DMI − 20.64 × starch:NDF. Based on the standard errors presented by 4 in our evaluation data set, the correlation between those values and CH4 predicted from equation 3 was 0.99, an indication of the strong agreement between the equations.Dry matter intake is an important driver of CHuminants . Thus, ir of CH4 . As note4 predictions.Further refinement of the starch:NDF ratio approach is possible. For example, the degradability of starch in the rumen is markedly affected by grain processing . Adjusti4/kg of DMI. Important improvements in fit statistics were noted using this approach compared with a fixed-coefficient approach reported by Present data suggest that using dietary ratio of starch to NDF concentrations alone or in combination with dietary EE concentration is effective in predicting Mcal of CH


Starch is the most abundant carbohydrate in legumes (22–45 g/100 g), with distinctive properties such as high amylose and resistant starch content, longer branch chains of amylopectin, and a C-type pattern arrangement in the granules. The present study concentrated on the investigation of hydrolyzed faba bean starch using acid, assisted by microwave energy, to obtain a possible food-grade coating material. For evaluation, the physicochemical, morphological, pasting, and structural properties were analyzed. Hydrolyzed starches developed by microwave energy in an acid medium had low viscosity, high solubility indexes, diverse amylose contents, resistant starch, and desirable thermal and structural properties to be used as a coating material. The severe conditions  of microwave-treated starches resulted in low viscosity values, high amylose content and high solubility, as well as high absorption indexes, and reducing sugars. These hydrolyzed starches have the potential to produce matrices with thermo-protectants to formulate prebiotic/probiotic (symbiotic) combinations and amylose-based inclusion complexes for functional compound delivery. This emergent technology, a dry hydrolysis route, uses much less energy consumption in a shorter reaction time and without effluents to the environment compared to conventional hydrolysis. Phaseolus vulgaris L.), lentils (Lens culinaris L.), peas (Pisum sativum L.), faba beans (Vicia faba L.), and chickpeas (Cicer arietinum L.). Since they are a high-starch source, their extraction and use are of great interest [Pulses contain a large amount of slow-release carbohydrates, they have a high level of protein 18 to 25 g/100 g) and contain minerals and vitamins. Some of the most important legumes are beans  and they are extensively used in the food industry. Starch modified by acid hydrolysis alters the granular structure of starches, resulting in a different behavior upon heating in water and produce pastes with lower intrinsic viscosity values, increased water solubility, and good film-forming properties . These tThe functional properties of pulse starches can be modified using emerging technologies such as microwave energy, which has several advantages, including energy-saving, high conversion, rapidity, and no effluents to the environment . MicrowaFaba bean, due to its features mentioned before, has the potential to be used as a food-grade material. Thus, the focus of the current investigation was to prepare hydrolyzed faba bean starch using acid assisted by microwave energy. Hydrolysis using microwave energy is an environmentally friendly process because it has low energy consumption, a shorter reaction time, and no generation of effluents.Vicia faba var. major) was 30–33 g/100 g, similar to the one reported by Ambigaipalan et al. [The yield of starch extraction from faba bean seeds , conventional hydrolysis faba bean starch (CFBS), and hydrolyzed faba bean starches (HFBS) is presented in The viscosity profiles of NFBS, CFBS, and HFBS are shown in o, Tp, and Tf [In , and Tf . This sh, and Tf . In addi, and Tf  in tapio, and Tf . Therefo, and Tf . Hence, , and Tf .The XRD spectra of NFBS, CFBS, and HFBS are shown in −1, indicating the presence of hydroxyl groups (O–H). Peaks at 2935 cm−1 and 1650 cm−1 representing the C–H stretching vibration and bound water present in the starch, respectively, were also seen in the FTIR spectra. The fingerprint region of the starch spectrum  glycosidic linkage, while the peak near to 860 cm−1 corresponds to C–H and CH2 deformations [The FTIR spectra of NFBS, CFBS, and HFBS are shown in spectrum B has fivrmations . There wSEM micrographs of NFBS, CFBS, and HFBS appear in Vicia faba var. major) were acquired in a local market of Queretaro, Queretaro, Mexico . All reagents were analytical grade.Faba bean seeds  for the acid hydrolysis was evaluated. Factors and levels were as follows: moisture, 20% and 40%; pure hydrochloric acid concentration, 2 and 4 mL/100 mL; time, 30 and 60 s; and power level, 2 and 6. The hydrolysis of the starch was carried out as follows. The NFBS was conditioned to moisture content and concentration of HCl according to the design matrix  was used, the working frequency was 2450 MHz, and the maximum electric power was 1100 W. A fractional factorial design . WAI and WSI were determined using the method described by Anderson et al. . ReducinThe viscosity profile was evaluated using a Rapid Visco Analyzer (RVA) model Super 4 . Sample amount of 2 g (dry base) was weighed out, and 28 mL of distilled water was added. Measurements were made according to the specifications of the AACC , 61-02 mThermal properties were performed using a differential scanning calorimeter . Sample amount of 3 mg was weighed out, and 7 mg of distilled water was placed in a 40 µL aluminum crucible at room temperature (25 °C), subsequently sealed and allowed to stand for 12 h at room temperature for even distribution of water. The sample was subjected to a heating ramp from 30 to 100 °C, with a 10 °C/min rate. An empty aluminum crucible was used as a reference. The start temperature, the maximum temperature, the completion temperature, and the enthalpy of gelatinization (ΔH) were recorded .The X-ray diffraction was recorded using an X-ray diffractometer (Rigaku X-ray diffractometer DMAX-2100). Operating conditions included a CuKα radiation of λ = 1.5405, 30 kV, and an electric current of 16 mA. Approximately 1 g of sample was loaded onto a glass plate and scanned in the range of 5° to 60° Bragg angles in steps of 1°/0.03 s at room temperature. The relative crystallinity was determined from the ratio of the areas of the diffraction peaks to the area of the whole diffraction pattern subtracting amorphous background patterns using OriginPro 2018 Software  .w/w) and scanned over a wavenumber range from 400 to 4000 cm−1 [FTIR spectra were produced with a Spectrum GX spectrometer  with a diffuse reflectance accessory (Pike Technology model). Samples were prepared by finely grinding starch with KBr in a ratio of 1:100 . A drop of suspension was mounted on a silicon wafer and allowed to dry on a desiccator. Subsequently, the wafer was mounted on specimen stubs with carbon black tape and sputter-coated (Denton Vacuum Desk V sputter) with gold and an exposure time of 60 s before observation .All experiments were conducted with three replications. Mean values and standard deviations (SD) were computed. The experimental data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). All analysis was performed using R software .Microwave energy reduced the time required to obtain HFBS from hours to seconds. Microwave treatments combined with acid decreased the amylose content from 38.3 to 22.8 g/100 g (except for HFBS8), while RS, water solubility, and reducing sugars were increased. Furthermore, MWE modified the viscosity profile of starch granules, compared with NFBS and CFBS; the viscosity values statistically decreased. The most severe conditions resulted in the lowest viscosity values, the highest amylose content, solubility, absorption indexes, and reducing sugars. The starch granule structure of samples CFBS and HFBS5 was not totally destroyed, and the original appearance of the granules was maintained but presented some agglomerations. In HFBS8, the original shape of the starch disappeared completely. In summary, we report a broadly applicable and rapid microwave treatment protocol for the development of HFBS with high amylose and low viscosity contents that can be applied as an alternative encapsulant material.