The Assessment of Resin-Based Composite Sealants' Effectiveness in Arresting Non-Cavitated Dentin Carious Lesions (ICDAS 3)-A 12 Month Follow-Up Preliminary Study.

Background and Objectives: The therapeutic management of carious lesions remains a significant focus for researchers, given their persistently high prevalence despite being largely preventable. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of a composite resin-based sealant material in halting extended non-cavitated dentin carious lesions when used therapeutically versus preventively on caries-free teeth over a period of twelve months. Materials and Methods: out of the 236 children examined, 45 were excluded from the study due to non-compliance with the inclusion criteria. Thus, the study included 191 children aged 10-12 years, and 764 molars in total. Results: among these molars, 171 were caries-free (ICDAS II code 0), forming the Control group, while 180 molars were classified with an ICDAS II score of 3, forming the Study group. All molars were sealed and evaluated at 6- and 12-month follow-up intervals. Both intervals revealed statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in sealant retention and carious lesion development between sound (ICDAS code 0) and decayed (ICDAS code 3) teeth. Conclusions: the findings did not support the effectiveness of sealants in halting non-cavitated dentin carious lesions classified as ICDAS II with code 3 compared to their preventive application in sound teeth classified as ICDAS II with code 0.

Ancient Wheats-A Nutritional and Sensory Analysis Review.

The purpose of this review is to provide a critical evaluation of the nutritional and sensory properties of ancient wheats (spelt, emmer, einkorn, and kamut) and the methods used to analyze them. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the main analytical methods applied to study the nutritional properties of ancient wheats. According to our findings, protein content was the most commonly studied macronutrient across all types of ancient wheat species. The article notes that einkorn bran showed the highest protein and ash content, which reveals the potential of ancient wheats to be more widely used in food products. Regarding the majority of amino acids in spelt wheat cultivars, the general trend in the data was rather consistent. This review also compares sensory evaluation methods for different wheat products made from ancient wheats, such as bread, pasta, cooked grains, porridge, snacks, and muffins. The various reported methods and panel sizes used prove that ancient wheat products have many potential sensory advantages. Overall, using ancient wheats in wheat products can enhance the nutritional benefits, increase diversity in the food systems, and may be more appealing to consumers looking for something different, thereby contributing to the development of more sustainable and locally based food systems.

Xanthohumol-Enriched Beer Does Not Exert Antitumorigenic Effects on HeLa Cell Line In Vivo.

Xanthohumol is a hop-derived flavonoid that has been widely examined for its health-protecting and antitumorigenic properties, but not yet in a natural beer matrix. The aim of the study was to investigate the antitumorigenic potential of a xanthohumol-enriched beer in vivo. Four groups of 4 × 10 nude mice were formed. Following the injection of HeLa tumorigenic cell lines, the treatment groups were administered a xanthohumol supplementation for 100 days, either dissolved in beer or in an ethanolic solution with the same alcohol strength as beer. The control groups received un-supplemented material. The terminal tumor masses, liver weights, and plasma antioxidant capacities (FRAP and ABTS methods) were measured. For the statistical analysis, a two-way ANOVA test was performed (p < 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in tumor size between the groups. Xanthohumol did not induce higher levels of plasma antioxidant capacity, neither in beer nor in the water-ethanol matrix. The terminal liver weights were significantly higher in the control group receiving the unsupplemented ethanol solution. Xanthohumol dissolved in beer or in the water-alcohol matrix did not have a protective effect on tumor growth, nor did it have a positive effect on plasma antioxidant capacity either. However, beer with added xanthohumol had a less harmful effect on the liver compared to the supplemented water-ethanol solution. Our results indicate the possible negative countereffect of ethanol; however, further investigations are needed.

Development of Protein- and Fiber-Enriched, Sugar-Free Lentil Cookies: Impact of Whey Protein, Inulin, and Xylitol on Physical, Textural, and Sensory Characteristics.

Gluten-free (GF) diets often become nutritionally imbalanced, being low in proteins and fibers and high in sugars. Preparing GF foods with improved nutritional value is therefore a key challenge. This study investigates the impact of different combinations of whey protein (11.9%), inulin (6.0%) as dietary fiber, and xylitol (27.9%) as a sweetener used in the enrichment of green- and red-lentil-based gluten-free cookies. The cookies were characterized in terms of baking loss, geometric parameters, color, texture, and sensory profile. The results showed that these functional ingredients had different impacts on the lentil cookies made of different (green/red) lentils, especially regarding the effect of fiber and xylitol on the volume (green lentil cookies enriched with fiber: 16.5 cm3, sweetened with xylitol: 10.9 cm3 vs. 21.2 cm3 for control; red lentil cookies enriched with fiber: 21.9 cm3, sweetened with xylitol: 21.1 cm3 vs. 21.8 cm3 for control) and color (e.g., b* for green lentil cookies enriched with fiber: 13.13, sweetened with xylitol: 8.15 vs. 16.24 for control; b* for red lentil cookies enriched with fiber: 26.09, sweetened with xylitol: 32.29 vs. 28.17 for control). Regarding the textural attributes, the same tendencies were observed for both lentil products, i.e., softer cookies were obtained upon xylitol and whey protein addition, while hardness increased upon inulin enrichment. Stickiness was differently influenced by the functional ingredients in the case of green and red lentil cookies, but all the xylitol-containing cookies were less crumbly than the controls. The interactions of the functional ingredients were revealed in terms of all the properties investigated. Sensory analysis showed that the addition of whey protein resulted in less intensive "lentil" and "baked" aromas (mostly for red lentil cookies), and replacement of sugar by xylitol resulted in crumblier and less hard and crunchier products. The application of different functional ingredients in the enrichment of lentil-based gluten-free cookies revealed several interactions. These findings could serve as a starting point for future research and development of functional GF products.

Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) Flour Varieties as Promising New Ingredients for Gluten-Free Cookies.

Monotony in a gluten-free (GF) diet can be a challenge because of a limited choice of acceptable cereal sources. This study investigates the potential of five types of differently coloured lentils in the development of GF cookies using rice flour as a reference. Raw materials (lentil flours) and cookies were characterised in terms of physicochemical parameters (e.g., crude protein content, total phenolics and flavonoids, antioxidant properties, colour, pH); additionally, geometry, baking loss and texture profile were determined for the cookies. A sensory acceptance test was also conducted to find out consumer preferences regarding rice versus different lentil cookies. Results showed that lentil cookies were superior to rice control in terms of higher crude protein (12.1−14.8 vs. 3.8 g/100 g), phenolic (136.5−342.3 vs. 61.5 mg gallic acid equivalents/100 g) and flavonoid (23.8−75.9 vs. 13.1 mg catechin equivalents/100 g) content and antioxidant capacity (0.60−1.81 vs. 0.35 mmol trolox equivalents/100 g), as well as lower hydroxymethyl-furfural content (<1 vs. 26.2 mg/kg). Consumers preferred lentil cookies to rice ones (overall liking: 6.1−7.0 vs. 5.6, significant differences for red and brown lentils), liking especially their taste (6.3−7.0 vs. 5.5). Depending on the target parameter, whether physicochemical or sensory, these lentil flours can be promising raw materials for GF bakery products.

Retention Ability of a Glass Carbomer Pit and Fissure Sealant.

Dental sealants are an excellent means to prevent pits and fissure decay. Currently, there are multiple commercially available sealant materials. The purpose of this study was to assess the retention of glass carbomer fissure sealant and the incidence of secondary caries over a period of 24 months in comparison with a resin-based sealant. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We included 32 children in the study, with ages between six and eight years and an average age of 6.8 years old. For each child, we sealed four permanent molars (totaling 128 teeth). The study group was divided into sub-groups. Sub-group A was represented by 64 first permanent molars which underwent dental sealing procedures with composite resin-based fissure sealant, Helioseal F™, and sub-group B was represented by 64 first permanent molars which underwent dental sealing procedures with glass carbomer cement, GCP Glass Seal™. The sealants were assessed clinically at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. RESULTS: The 6-month follow-up evaluation showed no statistically significant differences between the two materials neither regarding sealant retention nor new carious lesions formation (p > 0.05). At the 12-month recall, 57 molars had good retention (89.06%) from sub-group A and 44 molars (68.75%) from sub-group B; there was a statistically significant difference (p = 0.0187) between the two treatment choices only regarding material retention. At the last recall after 2 years, sub-group A had a higher number of molars with perfect sealing (47-73.43%) and 8 molars (12.5%) with new caries lesions and sub-group B had 23 (35.93%) molars with perfect sealing and 15 molars (23.44%) with new caries lesions; there was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.0001) between the two treatment choices only regarding material retention. CONCLUSIONS: The glass carbomer retention is very inferior to the resin-based material. The glass carbomer sealant was effective in preventing new caries development, comparable with the conventional resin-based sealant.

Revealing the Effect of Heat Treatment on the Spectral Pattern of Unifloral Honeys Using Aquaphotomics.

In this study we aimed to investigate the effect of heat treatment on the spectral pattern of honey using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). For the research, sunflower, bastard indigo, and acacia honeys were collected from entrusted beekeepers. The honeys were not subject to any treatment before. Samples were treated at 40 °C, 60 °C, 80 °C, and 100 °C for 60, 120, 180, and 240 min. This resulted in 17 levels, including the untreated control samples. The 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) content of the honeys was determined using the Winkler method. NIRS spectra were recorded using a handheld instrument. Data analysis was performed using ANOVA for the HMF content and multivariate analysis for the NIRS data. For the latter, PCA, PCA-LDA, and PLSR models were built (using the 1300-1600 nm spectral range) and the wavelengths presenting the greatest change induced by the perturbations of temperature and time intervals were collected systematically, based on the difference spectra and the weights of the models. The most contributing wavelengths were used to visualize the spectral pattern changes on the aquagrams in the specific water matrix coordinates. Our results showed that the heat treatment highly contributed to the formation of free or less bonded water, however, the changes in the spectral pattern highly depended on the crystallization phase and the honey type.

Origin Identification of Hungarian Honey Using Melissopalynology, Physicochemical Analysis, and Near Infrared Spectroscopy.

The objective of the study was to check the authenticity of Hungarian honey using physicochemical analysis, near infrared spectroscopy, and melissopalynology. In the study, 87 samples from different botanical origins such as acacia, bastard indigo, rape, sunflower, linden, honeydew, milkweed, and sweet chestnut were collected. The samples were analyzed by physicochemical methods (pH, electrical conductivity, and moisture), melissopalynology (300 pollen grains counted), and near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS:740-1700 nm). During the evaluation of the data PCA-LDA models were built for the classification of different botanical and geographical origins, using the methods separately, and in combination (low-level data fusion). PC number optimization and external validation were applied for all the models. Botanical origin classification models were >90% and >55% accurate in the case of the pollen and NIR methods. Improved results were obtained with the combination of the physicochemical, melissopalynology, and NIRS techniques, which provided >99% and >81% accuracy for botanical and geographical origin classification models, respectively. The combination of these methods could be a promising tool for origin identification of honey.

Sensory and Physicochemical Evaluation of Acacia and Linden Honey Adulterated with Sugar Syrup.

Honey is produced by honeybees and is used as a food and medical product. Adulteration of honey has been a problem for several years now because of the relatively high price of honey on the market according to its valuable composition. The aim of our study is to determine the physicochemical properties of authentic Hungarian linden and acacia honeys (pure samples or manipulated ones blended with sugar syrup) as well as commercially available blends of European Union (EU) non-European Union (non-EU) honeys. Authentic linden and acacia were blended with sugar syrup at 10%, 20% and 50% concentration levels, and physicochemical properties were determined according to the methods of the International Honey Commission. Our objectives also included testing of the performance of electronic sensory techniques (electronic tongue (ET) and electronic nose (EN)) in the detection of adulteration, and the results are compared to the sensory profile analysis. The results provide good average recognition and prediction abilities for the classification of adulterated and authentic honeys (>90% for ET and higher than >80 for EN). Misclassifications were found only in the case of honey with 10% added sugar syrup. The methods were also able to reveal adulteration of independently predicted samples.

Selective ring-opening carbonylation of epoxy-steroids.

Ring-opening alkoxycarbonylation of epoxy-steroids has been carried out with a Co2(CO)8/3-hydroxypyridine catalytic system. High chemo- and regioselectivities were obtained under the reaction conditions applied. Structural analysis of the products proved their high stereochemical purity in each case, accompanied by inversion of the original configuration. No carbonylation took place for sterically hindered steranic epoxides.