Effects of debranched starch on physicochemical properties and in vitro digestibility of flat rice noodles.

Aiming to develop flat rice noodles with both desirable textural quality and lower starch digestibility, we investigated the effect of adding indica rice debranched starch (RDBS) on the quality of flat rice noodles. In this study, adding RDBS to flat rice noodles enhanced their mechanical properties. Cooking characteristic analysis showed that incorporating RDBS into dried flat rice noodles increased the rehydration ratio by 16.1 % and reduced rehydration time by 26.5 %. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed the presence of microparticles formed through the self-assembly of RDBS within the network of flat rice noodles. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis demonstrated that the addition of RDBS elevated the crystallinity of the flat rice noodles, rising from 9.59 % to 22.57 %. In addition, the in vitro simulated digestion test suggested the addition of RDBS led to a threefold increase in the content of slowly digestible starch (SDS) and a ninefold increase in resistant starch (RS) content in flat rice noodles. This study found that adding RDBS into flat rice noodles can effectively reduce their digestion rate and improve their eating quality. It could be a promising approach for creating functional rice noodles aimed at alleviating public health concerns such as diabetes and obesity.

Inhibition of CXCR4: A perspective on miracle fruit seed for Alzheimer's disease treatment.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent type of dementia, and its causes are currently diverse and not fully understood. In a previous study, we discovered that short-term treatment with miracle fruit seed (MFS) had a therapeutic effect on AD model mice, however, the precise mechanism behind the effect remains unclear. In this research, we aimed to establish the efficacy and safety of long-term use of MFS in AD model mice. A variety of cytokines and chemokines have been implicated in the development of AD. Previous studies have validated a correlation between the expression levels of C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) and disease severity in AD. In this research, we observed an upregulation of CXCR4 expression in hippocampal tissues in the AD model group, which was then reversed after MFS treatment. Moreover, CXCR4 knockout led to improving cognitive function in AD model mice, and MFS showed the ability to regulate CXCR4 expression. Finally, our findings indicate that CXCR4 knockout and long-term MFS treatment produce comparable effects in treating AD model mice. In conclusion, this research demonstrates that therapeutic efficacy and safety of long-term use of MFS in AD model mice. MFS treatment and the subsequent reduction of CXCR4 expression exhibit a neuroprotective role in the brain, highlighting their potential as therapeutic targets for AD.

A deep learning-based automatic image quality assessment method for respiratory phase on computed tomography chest images.

Background: Computed tomography (CT) chest scans have become commonly used in clinical diagnosis. Image quality assessment (IQA) for CT images plays an important role in CT examination. It is worth noting that IQA is still a manual and subjective process, and even experienced radiologists make mistakes due to human limitations (fatigue, perceptual biases, and cognitive biases). There are also kinds of biases because of poor consensus among radiologists. Excellent IQA methods can reliably give an objective evaluation result and also reduce the workload of radiologists. This study proposes a deep learning (DL)-based automatic IQA method, to assess whether the image quality of respiratory phase on CT chest images are optimal or not, so that the CT chest images can be used in the patient's physical condition assessment. Methods: This retrospective study analysed 212 patients' chest CT images, with 188 patients allocated to a training set (150 patients), validation set (18 patients), and a test set (20 patients). The remaining 24 patients were used for the observer study. Data augmentation methods were applied to address the problem of insufficient data. The DL-based IQA method combines image selection, tracheal carina segmentation, and bronchial beam detection. To automatically select the CT image containing the tracheal carina, an image selection model was employed. Afterward, the area-based approach and score-based approach were proposed and used to further optimize the tracheal carina segmentation and bronchial beam detection results, respectively. Finally, the score about the image quality of the patient's respiratory phase images given by the DL-based automatic IQA method was compared with the mean opinion score (MOS) given in the observer study, in which four blinded experienced radiologists took part. Results: The DL-based automatic IQA method achieved good performance in assessing the image quality of the respiratory phase images. For the CT sequence of the same patient, the DL-based IQA method had an accuracy of 92% in the assessment score, while the radiologists had an accuracy of 88%. The Kappa value of the assessment score between the DL-based IQA method and radiologists was 0.75, with a sensitivity of 85%, specificity of 91%, positive predictive value (PPV) of 92%, negative predictive value (NPV) of 93%, and accuracy of 88%. Conclusions: This study develops and validates a DL-based automatic IQA method for the respiratory phase on CT chest images. The performance of this method surpassed that of the experienced radiologists on the independent test set used in this study. In clinical practice, it is possible to reduce the workload of radiologists and minimize errors caused by human limitations.

Predictive potentials of glycosylation-related genes in glioma prognosis and their correlation with immune infiltration.

Glycosylation is currently considered to be an important hallmark of cancer. However, the characterization of glycosylation-related gene sets has not been comprehensively analyzed in glioma, and the relationship between glycosylation-related genes and glioma prognosis has not been elucidated. Here, we firstly found that the glycosylation-related differentially expressed genes in glioma patients were engaged in biological functions related to glioma progression revealed by enrichment analysis. Then seven glycosylation genes (BGN, C1GALT1C1L, GALNT13, SDC1, SERPINA1, SPTBN5 and TUBA1C) associated with glioma prognosis were screened out by consensus clustering, principal component analysis, Lasso regression, and univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis using the TCGA-GTEx database. A glycosylation-related prognostic signature was developed and validated using CGGA database data with significantly accurate prediction on glioma prognosis, which showed better capacity to predict the prognosis of glioma patients than clinicopathological factors do. GSEA enrichment analysis based on the risk score further revealed that patients in the high-risk group were involved in immune-related pathways such as cytokine signaling, inflammatory responses, and immune regulation, as well as glycan synthesis and metabolic function. Immuno-correlation analysis revealed that a variety of immune cell infiltrations, such as Macrophage, activated dendritic cell, Regulatory T cell (Treg), and Natural killer cell, were increased in the high-risk group. Moreover, functional experiments were performed to evaluate the roles of risk genes in the cell viability and cell number of glioma U87 and U251 cells, which demonstrated that silencing BGN, SDC1, SERPINA1, TUBA1C, C1GALT1C1L and SPTBN5 could inhibit the growth and viability of glioma cells. These findings strengthened the prognostic potentials of our predictive signature in glioma. In conclusion, this prognostic model composed of 7 glycosylation-related genes distinguishes well the high-risk glioma patients, which might potentially serve as caner biomarkers for disease diagnosis and treatment.

Utilization of heat-induced curdlan gel to improve the cooking qualities of thermally sterilized fresh rice noodles.

Thermal sterilization is the most economical and efficient method to guarantee the shelf life of extruded fresh rice noodles, but it often leads to a high cooking breakage rate and poor elongation at break of the noodles. The aim of this study was to improve the edible quality of sterilized fresh rice noodles through the addition of low concentrations of curdlan (0.38 %-1.13 %), which can form a thermal-irreversible gel to resist high-temperature sterilization. Compared with the control group without curdlan, the cooking breakage rate of sterilized fresh rice noodles with 1.13 % curdlan decreased from 16.85 % to 5.22 %, the tensile strain increased from 91.15 % to 147.05 %, and the microstructure was more dense and uniform. The results showed that adding the proper amount of curdlan is an effective strategy to improve the quality of sterilized fresh rice noodles.

Vof16-miR-185-5p-GAP43 network improves the outcomes following spinal cord injury via enhancing self-repair and promoting axonal growth.

INTRODUCTION: Self-repair of spinal cord injury (SCI) has been found in humans and experimental animals with partial recovery of neurological functions. However, the regulatory mechanisms underlying the spontaneous locomotion recovery after SCI are elusive. AIMS: This study was aimed at evaluating the pathological changes in injured spinal cord and exploring the possible mechanism related to the spontaneous recovery. RESULTS: Immunofluorescence staining was performed to detect GAP43 expression in lesion site after spinal cord transection (SCT) in rats. Then RNA sequencing and gene ontology (GO) analysis were employed to predict lncRNA that correlates with GAP43. LncRNA smart-silencing was applied to verify the function of lncRNA vof16 in vitro, and knockout rats were used to evaluate its role in neurobehavioral functions after SCT. MicroRNA sequencing, target scan, and RNA22 prediction were performed to further explore the underlying regulatory mechanisms, and miR-185-5p stands out. A miR-185-5p site-regulated relationship with GAP43 and vof16 was determined by luciferase activity analysis. GAP43-silencing, miR-185-5p-mimic/inhibitor, and miR-185-5p knockout rats were also applied to elucidate their effects on spinal cord neurite growth and neurobehavioral function after SCT. We found that a time-dependent increase of GAP43 corresponded with the limited neurological recovery in rats with SCT. CRNA chip and GO analysis revealed lncRNA vof16 was the most functional in targeting GAP43 in SCT rats. Additionally, silencing vof16 suppressed neurite growth and attenuated the motor dysfunction in SCT rats. Luciferase reporter assay showed that miR-185-5p competitively bound the same regulatory region of vof16 and GAP43. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicated miR-185-5p could be a detrimental factor in SCT, and vof16 may function as a ceRNA by competitively binding miR-185-5p to modulate GAP43 in the process of self-recovery after SCT. Our study revealed a novel vof16-miR-185-5p-GAP43 regulatory network in neurological self-repair after SCT and may underlie the potential treatment target for SCI.

Microarray analysis of lncRNAs and mRNAs in spinal cord contusion rats with iPSC-derived A2B5+ oligodendrocyte precursor cells transplantation.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a severe complication of spinal trauma with high disability and mortality rates. Effective therapeutic methods to alleviate neurobehavioural deficits in patients with SCI are still lacking. In this study, we established a spinal cord contusion (SCC) model in adult Sprague Dawley rats. Induced pluripotent stem cell-derived A2B5+ oligodendrocyte precursor cells (iP-A2B5+OPCs) were obtained from mouse embryonic fibroblasts and injected into the lesion sites of SCC rats. Serological testing and magnetic resonance imaging were employed to determine the effect of iP-A2B5+OPCs cell therapy. The Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan score and inclined plane test were performed on days 1, 3, 7, and 14 after cell transplantation, respectively. Differentially expressed long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) were detected by microarray analysis. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analyses were performed to analyse the biological functions of these lncRNAs and mRNAs. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to verify variations in the expression of crucial target genes. The results demonstrated that induced pluripotent stem cells exhibited embryonic stem cell-like morphology and could differentiate into diverse neural cells dominated by oligodendrocytes. The neurobehavioural performance of rats treated with iP-A2B5+OPCs transplantation was better than that of rats with SCC without cell transplantation. Notably, we found that 22 lncRNAs and 42 mRNAs were concurrently altered after cell transplantation, and the key lncRNA (NR_037671) and target gene (Cntnap5a) were identified in the iP-A2B5+OPCs group. Moreover, RT-qPCR revealed that iP-A2B5+OPCs transplantation reversed the downregulation of NR_037671 induced by SCC. Our findings indicated that iP-A2B5+OPCs transplantation effectively improves neurological function recovery after SCC, and the mechanism might be related to alterations in the expression of lncRNAs and mRNAs, such as NR_037671 and Cntnap5a.

Stem Cell Therapy in Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy and Cerebral Palsy: a Bibliometric Analysis and New Strategy.

The aim of this study was to identify related scientific outputs and emerging topics of stem cells in neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (NHIE) and cerebral palsy (CP) through bibliometrics and literature review. All relevant publications on stem cell therapy for NHIE and CP were screened from websites and analyzed research trends. VOSviewer and CiteSpace were applied to visualize and quantitatively analyze the published literature to provide objective presentation and prediction. In addition, the clinical trials, published articles, and projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China associated with stem cell therapy for NHIE and CP were summarized. A total of 294 publications were associated with stem cell therapy for NHIE and CP. Most publications and citations came from the USA and China. Monash University and University Medical Center Utrecht produced the most publications. Pediatric research published the most studies on stem cell therapy for NHIE and CP. Heijnen C and Kavelaars A published the most articles. Cluster analyses show that current research trend is more inclined toward the repair mechanism and clinical translation of stem cell therapy for NHIE and CP. By summarizing various studies of stem cells in NHIE and CP, it is indicated that this research direction is a hot topic at present. Furthermore, organoid transplantation, as an emerging and new therapeutic approach, brings new hope for the treatment of NHIE and CP. This study comprehensively summarized and analyzed the research trend of global stem cell therapy for NHIE and CP. It has shown a marked increase in stem cell therapy for NHIE and CP research. In the future, more efforts will be made on exploring stem cell or organoid therapy for NHIE and CP and more valuable related mechanisms of action to achieve clinical translation as soon as possible.

Transcranial Doppler Ultrasonography detection on cerebral infarction and blood vessels to evaluate hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy modeling.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to observe changes of rats' brain infarction and blood vessels during neonatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (NHIE) modeling by Transcranial Doppler Ultrasonography (TCD) so as to assess the feasibility of TCD in evaluating NHIE modeling. METHODS: Postnatal 7-days (d)-old Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were divided into the Sham group, hypoxic-ischemic (HI) group, and hypoxia (H) group. Rats in the HI group and H group were subjected to hypoxia-1 hour (h), 1.5 h and 2.5 h, respectively. Evaluation on brain lesion was made based on Zea-Longa scores, hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and Nissl staining. The brain infarction and blood vessels of rats were monitored and analyzed under TCD. Correlation analysis was applied to reveal the connection between hypoxic duration and infarct size detected by TCD or Nissl staining. RESULTS: In H and HI modeling, longer duration of hypoxia was associated with higher Zea-Longa scores and more severe nerve damage. On the 1 d after modeling, necrosis was found in SD rats' brain indicated by HE and Nissl staining, which was aggravated as hypoxic duration prolonged. Alteration of brain structures and blood vessels of SD rats was displayed in Sham, HI and H rats under TCD. TCD images for coronal section revealed that brain infarct was detected at the cortex and there was marked cerebrovascular back-flow of HI rats regardless of hypoxic duration. On the 7 d after modeling, similar infarct was detected under TCD at the cortex of HI rats in hypoxia-1 h, 1.5 h and 2.5 h groups, whereas the morphological changes were deteriorated with longer hypoxic time. Correlation analysis revealed positive correlation of hypoxic duration with infarct size detected by histological detection and TCD. CONCLUSIONS: TCD dynamically monitored cerebral infarction after NHIE modeling, which will be potentially served as a useful auxiliary method for future animal experimental modeling evaluation in the case of less animal sacrifice.

Deep learning-driven multi-view multi-task image quality assessment method for chest CT image.

BACKGROUND: Chest computed tomography (CT) image quality impacts radiologists' diagnoses. Pre-diagnostic image quality assessment is essential but labor-intensive and may have human limitations (fatigue, perceptual biases, and cognitive biases). This study aims to develop and validate a deep learning (DL)-driven multi-view multi-task image quality assessment (M[Formula: see text]IQA) method for assessing the quality of chest CT images in patients, to determine if they are suitable for assessing the patient's physical condition. METHODS: This retrospective study utilizes and analyzes chest CT images from 327 patients. Among them, 1613 images from 286 patients are used for model training and validation, while the remaining 41 patients are reserved as an additional test set for conducting ablation studies, comparative studies, and observer studies. The M[Formula: see text]IQA method is driven by DL technology and employs a multi-view fusion strategy, which incorporates three scanning planes (coronal, axial, and sagittal). It assesses image quality for multiple tasks, including inspiration evaluation, position evaluation, radiation protection evaluation, and artifact evaluation. Four algorithms (pixel threshold, neural statistics, region measurement, and distance measurement) have been proposed, each tailored for specific evaluation tasks, with the aim of optimizing the evaluation performance of the M[Formula: see text]IQA method. RESULTS: In the additional test set, the M[Formula: see text]IQA method achieved 87% precision, 93% sensitivity, 69% specificity, and a 0.90 F1-score. Extensive ablation and comparative studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms and the generalization performance of the proposed method across various assessment tasks. CONCLUSION: This study develops and validates a DL-driven M[Formula: see text]IQA method, complemented by four proposed algorithms. It holds great promise in automating the assessment of chest CT image quality. The performance of this method, as well as the effectiveness of the four algorithms, is demonstrated on an additional test set.

Super-resolution algorithm for the characterization of sweat glands in fingerprint OCT images.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a noninvasive optical imaging technique that can be used to produce three-dimensional images of fingerprints. However, the low quality and poor resolution of the regions of interest (ROIs) in OCT images make it challenging to segment small tissues accurately. To address this issue, a super-resolution (SR) network called ESRNet has been developed to enhance the quality of OCT images, facilitating their applications in research. Firstly, the performance of the SR images produced by ESRNet is evaluated by comparing it to those generated by five other SR methods. Specifically, the SR performance is evaluated using three upscale factors (2×, 3×, and 4×) to assess the quality of the enhanced images. Based on the results obtained from the three datasets, it is evident that ESRNet outperforms current advanced networks in terms of SR performance. Furthermore, the segmentation accuracy of sweat glands has been significantly improved by the SR images. The number of sweat glands in the top view increased from 102 to 117, further substantiating the performance of the ESRNet network. The spiral structure of sweat glands is clear to human eyes and has been verified by showing similar left-right-handed spiral numbers. Finally, a sweat gland recognition method for the SR 3D images is proposed.

A computer-aided determining method for the myometrial infiltration depth of early endometrial cancer on MRI images.

To classify early endometrial cancer (EC) on sagittal T2-weighted images (T2WI) by determining the depth of myometrial infiltration (MI) using a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) method based on a multi-stage deep learning (DL) model. This study retrospectively investigated 154 patients with pathologically proven early EC at the institution between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2020. Of these patients, 75 were in the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage IA and 79 were in FIGO stage IB. An SSD-based detection model and an Attention U-net-based segmentation model were trained to select, crop, and segment magnetic resonance imaging (MRl) images. Then, an ellipse fitting algorithm was used to generate a uterine cavity line (UCL) to obtain MI depth for classification. In the independent test datasets, the uterus and tumor detection model achieves an average precision rate of 98.70% and 87.93%, respectively. Selecting the optimal MRI slices method yields an accuracy of 97.83%. The uterus and tumor segmentation model with mean IOU of 0.738 and 0.655, mean PA of 0.867 and 0.749, and mean DSC of 0.845 and 0.779, respectively. Finally, the CAD method based on the calculated MI depth reaches an accuracy of 86.9%, a sensitivity of 81.8%, and a specificity of 91.7% for early EC classification. In this study, the CAD method implements an end-to-end early EC classification and is found to be on par with radiologists in terms of performance. It is more intuitive and interpretable than previous DL-based CAD methods.

Research progress of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy in nonhuman primate models.

Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is one of the important complications of neonatal asphyxia, which not only leads to neurological disability but also seriously threatens the life of neonates. Over the years, animal models of HIE have been a research hotspot to find ways to cope with HIE and thereby reduce the risk of neonatal death or disability in moderate-to-severe HIE. By reviewing the literature related to HIE over the years, it was found that nonhuman primates share a high degree of homology with human gross neural anatomy. The basic data on nonhuman primates are not yet complete, so it is urgent to mine and develop new nonhuman primate model data. In recent years, the research on nonhuman primate HIE models has been gradually enriched and the content is more novel. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to further summarize the methods for establishing the nonhuman primate HIE model and to better elucidate the relevance of the nonhuman primate model to humans by observing the behavioral manifestations, neuropathology, and a series of biomarkers of HIE in primates HIE. Finally, the most popular and desirable treatments studied in nonhuman primate models in the past 5 years are summarized.

A review of starch swelling behavior: Its mechanism, determination methods, influencing factors, and influence on food quality.

Swelling behavior involves the process of starch granules absorbing enough water to swell and increase the viscosity of starch suspension under hydrothermal conditions, making it one of the important aspects in starch research. The changes that starch granules undergo during the swelling process are important factors in predicting their functional properties in food processing. However, the factors that affect starch swelling and how swelling, in turn, affects the texture and digestion characteristics of starch-based foods have not been systematically summarized. Compared to its long chains, the short chains of amylose easily interact with amylopectin chains to inhibit starch swelling. Generally, reducing the swelling of starch could increase the strength of the gel while limiting the accessibility of digestive enzymes to starch chains, resulting in a reduction in starch digestibility. This article aims to conduct a comprehensive review of the mechanism of starch swelling, its influencing factors, and the relationship between swelling and the pasting, gelling, and digestion characteristics of starch. The role of starch swelling in the edible quality and nutritional characteristics of starch-based foods is also discussed, and future research directions for starch swelling are proposed.

Effects of peanut oligopeptides on the pasting properties of potato starch and digestive characteristics of dry, flat potato starch noodles.

In this study, we developed dry, flat potato starch noodles with an ideal taste and low digestibility. Peanut oligopeptide and potato starch were combined to form dry, flat potato starch noodles containing different peanut oligopeptide contents using a steam-slice method. Adding 5 % and 10 % peanut oligopeptides maintained the dry, flat starch noodles' quality. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed that dry, flat starch noodles containing peanut oligopeptides had more pores with pore sizes ranging from 0.30 µm to 2.00 µm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results showed that peanut oligopeptide promoted the recrystallization of amylopectin during the retrogradation process after gelatinization, and the crystallinity of noodles ranged from 4.31 % (control noodles) to 18.24 % (noodles containing 10 % peanut oligopeptides). An in vitro simulated digestion test showed that the slowly digestible starch and resistant starch contents of noodles containing 10 % peanut oligopeptides were 18.24 % and 22.03 %-significantly higher than control starch noodles (14.88 % and 9.9 %, respectively). Therefore, when peanut oligopeptides were added to dry, flat starch noodles, it was a promising material for lowering blood sugar levels after meals.

Construction and In Vitro Digestibility of Recrystallized Starch Encapsulated in Calcium Alginate Beads.

In order to reduce the digestion rate of starch in human body and improve the content of slowly digestible starch (SDS) and resistant starch (RS), millimeter calcium alginate beads encapsulated with different proportions of recrystallized starch were constructed in this study. First, we prepared recrystallized starch (RS3) by debranching waxy corn starch and retrogradation, and then encapsulated RS3 in calcium alginate beads by the ionic gel method. The microstructure of the beads was observed by scanning electron microscope, and the gel texture properties, swelling properties, and in vitro digestibility of the beads were studied. The results showed that the beads after cooking still maintained high hardness and chewiness, and the swelling power and solubility of the beads were lower than that of native starch. Compared with native starch, the content of rapidly digestible starch (RDS) in beads decreased, while the content of SDS and RS increased. The sample with the highest content of RS is RS31@Alginate1, whose content of RS is 70.10%, 52.11 times higher than that of waxy corn starch and 1.75 times higher than that of RS3. RS3 encapsulated in calcium alginate beads has a good encapsulation effect, and the content of SDS and RS is greatly increased. This study has important implications for reducing the digestion rate of starch and regulating the health of people with diabetes and obesity.

Current analysis of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy research issues and future treatment modalities.

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is the leading cause of long-term neurological disability in neonates and adults. Through bibliometric analysis, we analyzed the current research on HIE in various countries, institutions, and authors. At the same time, we extensively summarized the animal HIE models and modeling methods. There are various opinions on the neuroprotective treatment of HIE, and the main therapy in clinical is therapeutic hypothermia, although its efficacy remains to be investigated. Therefore, in this study, we discussed the progress of neural circuits, injured brain tissue, and neural circuits-related technologies, providing new ideas for the treatment and prognosis management of HIE with the combination of neuroendocrine and neuroprotection.

Different Characteristics of Annealed Rice Kernels and Flour and Their Effects on the Quality of Rice Noodles.

In this study, the characteristics of indica rice kernels (IRK) and flour (IRF) annealed in different conditions were evaluated, and the quality of rice noodles made with these IRK and IRF was determined. Native IRK and IRF were annealed in deionized water at a kernel or flour to water ratio of 1:3 (w/v) and temperatures of 50, 55, 60, and 65 °C for 12 and 24 h. Annealing increased the paste viscosity of IRK while decreasing that of IRF. Both annealed IRK and IRF exhibited increases in the gelatinization enthalpy change and relative crystallinity. Annealed IRK gel showed higher hardness, and annealed IRF gel displayed greater springiness. Unlike native rice noodles, annealed IRK noodles exhibited denser pores, while annealed IRF noodles exhibited a looser microstructure. With increasing annealing temperature and time, both annealed IRK and IRF noodles showed enhanced tensile properties. Rice noodles made from IRF annealed at 65 °C for 12 h exhibited a fracture strain of 2.7 times that of native rice noodles. In brief, IRK and IRF exhibited different degrees of susceptibility to annealing. Annealing had more significant effects on IRF than IRK. This study highlights the possibility of using annealed IRK and IRF in rice noodles.

Transcranial Doppler Ultrasonography detection on cerebrovascular flow for evaluating neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy modeling.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of Transcranial Doppler Ultrasonography (TCD) in evaluating neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (NHIE) modeling through monitoring the alteration of cerebrovascular flow in neonatal hypoxic-ischemic (HI) rats. Methods: Postnatal 7-day-old Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were divided into the control group, HI group, and hypoxia (H) group. TCD was applied to assess the changes of cerebral blood vessels, cerebrovascular flow velocity, and heart rate (HR) in sagittal and coronal sections at 1, 2, 3, and 7 days after the operation. For accuracy, cerebral infarct of rats was examined by 2,3,5-Triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining and Nissl staining to simultaneously verify the establishment of NHIE modeling. Results: Coronal and sagittal TCD scans revealed obvious alteration of cerebrovascular flow in main cerebral vessels. Obvious cerebrovascular back-flow was observed in anterior cerebral artery (ACA), basilar artery (BA), middle cerebral artery (MCA) of HI rats, along with accelerated cerebrovascular flows in the left internal carotid artery (ICA-L) and BA, decreased flows in right internal carotid artery (ICA-R) relative to those in the H and control groups. The alterations of cerebral blood flows in neonatal HI rats indicated successful ligation of right common carotid artery. Besides, TTC staining further validated the cerebral infarct was indeed caused due to ligation-induced insufficient blood supply. Damage to nervous tissues was also revealed by Nissl staining. Conclusion: Cerebral blood flow assessment by TCD in neonatal HI rats contributed to cerebrovascular abnormalities observed in a real-time and non-invasive way. The present study elicits the potentials to utilize TCD as an effective means for monitoring the progression of injury as well as NHIE modeling. The abnormal appearance of cerebral blood flow is also beneficial to the early warning and effective detection in clinical practice.