Macromolecular, thermal, and nonthermal technologies for reduction of glycemic index in food-A review.

Consumers rely on product labels to make healthy choices, especially with regard to the glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL), which identify foods that stabilize blood sugar. Employing both thermal and nonthermal processing techniques can potentially reduce the GI, contributing to improved blood sugar regulation and overall metabolic health. This study concentrates on the most current advances in GI-reduction food processing technologies. Food structure combines fiber, healthy fats, and proteins to slow digestion, reducing GI. The influence of thermal approaches on the physical and chemical modification of starch led to decreased GI. The duration of heating and the availability of moisture also determine the degree of hydrolysis of starch and the glycemic effects on food. At a lower temperature, the parboiling revealed less gelatinization and increased moisture. The internal temperature of the product is raised during thermal and nonthermal treatment, speeds up retrogradation, and reduces the rate of starch breakdown.

Bacteriophages: a potential game changer in food processing industry.

In the food industry, despite the widespread use of interventions such as preservatives and thermal and non-thermal processing technologies to improve food safety, incidences of foodborne disease continue to happen worldwide, prompting the search for alternative strategies. Bacteriophages, commonly known as phages, have emerged as a promising alternative for controlling pathogenic bacteria in food. This review emphasizes the potential applications of phages in biological sciences, food processing, and preservation, with a particular focus on their role as biocontrol agents for improving food quality and preservation. By shedding light on recent developments and future possibilities, this review highlights the significance of phages in the food industry. Additionally, it addresses crucial aspects such as regulatory status and safety concerns surrounding the use of bacteriophages. The inclusion of up-to-date literature further underscores the relevance of phage-based strategies in reducing foodborne pathogenic bacteria's presence in both food and the production environment. As we look ahead, new phage products are likely to be targeted against emerging foodborne pathogens. This will further advance the efficacy of approaches that are based on phages in maintaining the safety and security of food.

Correction: Recent trends in carbon nanotube (CNT)-based biosensors for the fast and sensitive detection of human viruses: a critical review.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1039/D2NA00236A.].

Rehydration modeling and characterization of dehydrated sweet corn.

The increasing demand of rehydrated foods is due to its better storage stability at ambient conditions and not requiring refrigeration. Prior to drying at 55, 60, 65, and 70°C in a hot air tray dryer, hot water blanching (HB), steam blanching (SB), and microwave blanching (MB) were employed as pretreatments. Rehydration of dried pretreated sweet corn kernel was performed in boiling water. The pretreatments and drying temperatures were independent factors that affected the dependent factors such as rehydration ratio, total sugar, ascorbic acid, geometric mean diameter, color, sensory evaluation, water absorption, mass, and geometric mean diameter. Peleg, Weibull, and newly proposed models were considered to describe the change in moisture content during rehydration. The proposed model performed better than other models and indicated the rise in equilibrium moisture content of rehydrated sweet corn with an increase in dehydration temperature of sweet corn due to higher R 2 (0.994), and lower chi-square (0.005) and RMSE (0.064). The rehydrated sweet corn obtained from samples processed with microwave blanching and dehydration at 70°C showed higher retention of total sugar, ascorbic acid, geometric mean diameter, and color.

Physical and functional stability of spray-dried jamun (Syzygium cumini L.) juice powder produced with different carrier agents.

Jamun (Syzygium cumini L.) fruit is an underutilized source of bioactive phytochemicals. Therefore, preserving this fruit in various forms over the year is necessary. Spray drying can effectively preserve jamun juice; but the stickiness issue of fruit juice powder mainly arises during the drying, which may be overcome by using different carriers. Consequently, this experiment aimed to ascertain the effect of different carrier types (maltodextrin, gum arabic, whey protein concentrate, waxy starch, and maltodextrin: gum arabic) on the physical, flow, reconstitution, functional, and color stability of spray-dried jamun juice powder. The physical parameters of the produced powder such as moisture content, bulk, and tapped density were in the range of 2.57%-4.95% (w.b.), 0.29-0.50 and 0.45-0.63 g/mL, respectively. The powder yield ranged between 55.25% and 75.9%. The flow characteristics, Carr's index and Hausner ratio, were in the range of 20.89-35.90 and 1.26-1.56, respectively. Reconstitution attributes viz., wettability, solubility, hygroscopicity, and dispersibility were in the range of 90.3-199.7 s, 55.28%-95%, 15.23-25.86 g/100 g, and 70.97%-95.79%, respectively. The functional attributes include total anthocyanin, total phenol content, and encapsulation efficiency, were in the range of 75.13-110.01 mg/100 g, 129.48-215.02 g GAE/100 g, and 40.49%-74.07%, respectively. The L*, a*, and b* values ranged from 41.82 to 70.86, 14.33 to 23.04, -8.12 to -0.60, respectively. A combination of maltodextrin and gum arabic was found effective in producing jamun juice powder with appropriate physical, flow, functional, and color attributes.

Performance evaluation of external compound parabolic concentrator integrated with thermal storage tank for domestic solar refrigeration system.

The aim of this research was to develop a model for a solar refrigeration system (SRS) that utilizes an External Compound Parabolic Collector and a thermal energy storage system (TESS) for solar water heating in Chennai, India. The system parameters were optimized using TRNSYS software by varying factors such as collector area, mass flow rate of heat transfer fluid, and storage system volume and height. The resulting optimized system was found to meet 80% of hot water requirements for the application on an annual basis, with an annual collector energy efficiency of 58% and an annual TESS exergy efficiency of 64% for a discharge period of 6 h per day. In addition, the thermal performance of 3.5 kW SRS was studied by connecting it to an optimized solar water heating system (SWHS). The system was found to generate an average cooling energy of 12.26 MJ/h annually, with a coefficient of performance of 0.59. By demonstrating the ability to efficiently generate both hot water and cooling energy, the results of this study indicate the potential for utilizing a SWHS in combination with STST and SRS. The optimization of system parameters and the use of exergy analysis provide valuable insights into the thermal behavior and performance of the system, which can inform future designs and improve the overall efficiency of similar systems.

A Review on CNTs-Based Electrochemical Sensors and Biosensors: Unique Properties and Potential Applications.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), are safe, biocompatible, bioactive, and biodegradable materials, and have sparked a lot of attention due to their unique characteristics in a variety of applications, including medical and dye industries, paper manufacturing and water purification. CNTs also have a strong film-forming potential, permitting them to be widely employed in constructing sensors and biosensors. This review concentrates on the application of CNT-based nanocomposites in the production of electrochemical sensors and biosensors. It emphasizes the synthesis and optimization of CNT-based sensors for a range of applications and outlines the benefits of using CNTs for biomolecule immobilization. In addition, the use of molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP)-CNTs in the production of electrochemical sensors is also discussed. The challenges faced by the current CNTs-based sensors, along with some the future perspectives and their future opportunities, are also briefly explained in this paper.

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTSReview article on advanced Carbon-Nanotube (CNT)-based sensors and biosensors.The advantages of using CNTs for biomolecule immobilization and in electrochemical sensors and biosensors are discussed.The use of molecularly imprinted polymer-CNT nanocomposites in the production of electrochemical sensors is also discussed.Several characteristics, including sensor manufacturing, linear ranges, detection limits, and repeatability, are described in depth.Challenges and prospects using CNTs modified sensors have been proposed.

Microwave assisted fluidized bed drying of bitter gourd: Modelling and optimization of process conditions based on bioactive components.

Bitter gourds were dried under varied drying conditions in a microwave assisted fluidized bed dryer, and the process was optimized using response surface methodology. Microwave power, temperature and air velocity were used as process variables for drying and the process parameters were varied between 360 and 720 W, 40-60 °C and 10-14 m/s, respectively. The responses determined for deciding the optimal criteria were vitamin C, total phenolics, IC50, total chlorophyll content, vitamin A content, rehydration ratio, hardness and total color change of the dried bitter gourd. Statistical analyses were done by using response surface methodology, which showed that independent variables affected the responses to a varied extent. The optimum drying conditions of 550.89 W microwave power, 55.87 °C temperature, and 13.52 m/s air velocity were established for microwave assisted fluidized bed drying to obtain highest desirability for the dried bitter gourd. At optimum conditions, validation experiment was done to ensure the suitability of models. Temperature and drying time plays an important role in the deterioration of bioactive components. Faster and shorter heating led to the greater retention of bioactive components. Taking the aforesaid results into consideration, our study recommended MAFBD as a promising technique with minimum changes in quality attributes of bitter gourd.

Recent trends in carbon nanotube (CNT)-based biosensors for the fast and sensitive detection of human viruses: a critical review.

The current COVID-19 pandemic, with its numerous variants including Omicron which is 50-70% more transmissible than the previously dominant Delta variant, demands a fast, robust, cheap, and easily deployed identification strategy to reduce the chain of transmission, for which biosensors have been shown as a feasible solution at the laboratory scale. The use of nanomaterials has significantly enhanced the performance of biosensors, and the addition of CNTs has increased detection capabilities to an unrivaled level. Among the various CNT-based detection systems, CNT-based field-effect transistors possess ultra-sensitivity and low-noise detection capacity, allowing for immediate analyte determination even in the presence of limited analyte concentrations, which would be typical of early infection stages. Recently, CNT field-effect transistor-type biosensors have been successfully used in the fast diagnosis of COVID-19, which has increased research and commercial interest in exploiting current developments of CNT field-effect transistors. Recent progress in the design and deployment of CNT-based biosensors for viral monitoring are covered in this paper, as are the remaining obstacles and prospects. This work also highlights the enormous potential for synergistic effects of CNTs used in combination with other nanomaterials for viral detection.

A review about COVID-19 in the MENA region: environmental concerns and machine learning applications.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has delayed global economic growth, which has affected the economic life globally. On the one hand, numerous elements in the environment impact the transmission of this new coronavirus. Every country in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) area has a different population density, air quality and contaminants, and water- and land-related conditions, all of which influence coronavirus transmission. The World Health Organization (WHO) has advocated fast evaluations to guide policymakers with timely evidence to respond to the situation. This review makes four unique contributions. One, many data about the transmission of the new coronavirus in various sorts of settings to provide clear answers to the current dispute over the virus's transmission were reviewed. Two, highlight the most significant application of machine learning to forecast and diagnose severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Three, our insights provide timely and accurate information along with compelling suggestions and methodical directions for investigators. Four, the present study provides decision-makers and community leaders with information on the effectiveness of environmental controls for COVID-19 dissemination.

Comparison of Crestal Bone Loss and Osteocalcin Release Kinetics in Immediately and Delayed Loaded Implants: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

PURPOSE: To compare concentration and release kinetics of osteocalcin and crestal bone loss under immediate and delayed loading conditions during osseointegration. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-one patients who were indicated for rehabilitation with dental implants randomly received either implant with placement of permanent prosthesis after 3 months (delayed loading) or implant with placement of permanent prosthesis within 7 days (immediate loading). Radiographic assessment of crestal bone loss at the mesial and distal surface was done at 3, 6, and 12 months after implant placement. Peri-implant sulcular fluid was collected immediately from the buccal surface at two sites after implant insertion and also, at 7, 15, 30, and 90 days after surgery. The level of osteocalcin was evaluated using ELISA and data were compared using two sample t-test. Differences between two groups were analyzed by unpaired Student's t test. Intragroup comparison was done by repeated measures ANOVA. RESULTS: Mean crestal bone loss was lower in the immediate loading group compared to the delayed loading group at 3, 6, and 12 months (p < 0.001). Intragroup comparison revealed a statistically significant increase in osteocalcin levels in both group I (delayed loading) (F = 26712.2) and group II (immediate loading) (F = 10497.2) at the predetermined time intervals. CONCLUSIONS: Less crestal bone loss and early release of osteocalcin was found in the immediately loaded group than in the delayed loaded group. The study substantiates that immediately loaded implants show less crestal bone as well as early release of osteocalcin facilitating upregulation of bone metabolism, improving long term health of bone and prognosis of implants. Immediately loaded implants can be a better treatment protocol provided there is adequate bone and primary stability.

Dental Care in Head and Neck Cancer Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy.

External beam radiotherapy is an integral part of the management of head and neck cancer. Radiotherapy for head and neck cancer lead to many treatment-related toxicities, including a wide range of dental morbidities. These complications depend on the various patient and treatment-related factors. Patients with poor oral hygiene, pre-existing periodontal disease, and the conventional mode of radiotherapy delivery are major factors leading to acute and severe late dental problems. Most of the complications are preventable with proper oral and dental care before, during and after radiotherapy. Pre radiotherapy dental evaluation to diagnose patients with potential risk and timely intervention can reduce long-term morbidities like carries, osteoradionecrosis, etc., thereby improving patients' quality of life. This article highlights the various aspects of dental care and management in head neck cancer patients before, during and after radiation therapy.

Biological and esthetic outcome of immediate dental implant with the adjunct pretreatment of immediate implants with platelet-rich plasma or photofunctionalization: A randomized controlled trial.

Aim: The purpose of the study was to assess biological and esthetic outcomes of immediate dental implant in esthetic zone with the adjunct pretreatment of immediate implants with photofunctionalization or platelet-rich plasma in comparison to standard tapered root form implant without pretreatment. Settings and Design: Patients visiting department of Prosthodontics of a tertiary care health Institution. Design of the study was randomized controlled trial. Materials and Methods: Ninety subjects who required replacement of maxillary anterior teeth immediately after extraction were selected and randomly divided into three groups: control group and two case groups. Two case groups were treated with immediate implants with pretreatment with Photofunctionalization (PF group) or platelet-rich plasma (PRP group). Delayed loading protocol was followed with prosthesis given after 6 months. Follow-up was performed at 2nd and 4th weeks and 2, 4, 6, and 12 months (P < 0.05). Biological outcomes (mean marginal bone loss, implant stability), esthetic outcome (pink esthetic score and white esthetic score), and success and survival rate were evaluated. Statistical Analysis Used: Outcomes were compared using one-way ANOVA, while intragroup changes with baseline and follow up were assesed using repeated-measures ANOVA. Statistical analyses were performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The level of significance was set at <.05. Results: Mean marginal bone loss was not significantly different in PF group and PRP group than the control group. PF group and PRP group showed significantly greater implant stability as compared to the control group. Pink and white esthetic scores were not significantly different among groups. Conclusion: Pretreatment of commercial dental implants with PF or PRP exhibited a statistically significant difference in implant stability but not with other outcomes.

Spinal extradural arachnoid cyst: Rare cases from Indian Institutes.

BACKGROUND: Spinal extradural arachnoid cyst (SEDAC), accounting for approximately 1% of all spinal lesions, rarely causes compressive myelopathy. It is usually found at lower thoracic or upper lumbar levels in males in their forties to sixties. The standard surgical procedures include direct dural repair. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 37-year-old male presented with myelopathy attributed to a type I meningeal cyst (SEDAC) that was successfully managed with a laminectomy, cyst excision, and direct dural sleeve repair. Similar cases reported in the literature were also reviewed. CONCLUSION: SEDACs, although rare, must be considered among the differential diagnoses for compressive myelopathy/neurogenic bladder.

Anesthetic Errors During Procedures in the United States.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to identify the incidence of anesthetic errors per discharges in the United States within these errors, the incidence of death. A secondary aim was to identify any association between the mortality and patient comorbidities. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of the hospitals in the United States using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database during 2007-2014 was performed. The study population consisted of patients who were recorded as inpatient discharges who experienced complications as a result of incorrect anesthetic administration resulting from either an overdose or inappropriate medication administration in the United States. RESULTS: Between 2007 and 2014, a total of 17,116 anesthetic errors were reported. There was a substantial decrease in the total number of these errors over time, from 2483 in 2007 to 1391 in 2014 (44% decrease). There were 131 reported deaths in this cohort (0.77% mortality rate), with 61 mortalities in teaching hospitals (0.86% mortality rate) and 57 in nonteaching hospitals (0.73% mortality rate). During the study period, deaths decreased from 21 in 2007 (0.85% mortality rate) to 11 in 2014 (0.79% mortality rate), corresponding with a 7.1% decrease in the mortality rate. Comorbidities associated with a significant increase in mortality from anesthetic substances included fluid and electrolyte disorders (odds ratio 8.82, 95% confidence interval 5.24-14.83, P < 0.001) and coagulopathies (odds ratio 5.26, 95% confidence interval 2.53-10.93, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that although the incidence of anesthetic errors is small, they do still exist in our hospitals. Certain comorbidities appear to predispose patients to increased risk. The subsets of patients who appear to be at the greatest risk include those with preexisting electrolyte and fluid disorders and coagulopathies.

An assessment of variation in macular volume and RNFL thickness in myopes using OCT and their significance for early diagnosis of primary open-angle glaucoma.

PURPOSE: An assessment of variation in Macular Volume and RNFL Thickness in myopes using OCT, and their significance for early diagnosis of Primary Open Angle Glaucoma(POAG). MATERIALS AND METHOD: Total of 122 eyes of 61 Indian Myopic subjects of both sex and various age groups underwent retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, macular volume in 6mm analysis by Rtvue Avanti SD-OCT, Optovue Technology V6.1.1,after taking due consent from ethical committee. Subjects were divided into two groups based on their refractive error, Group A <6 D and Group B >6D. The results were evaluated to determine the above mentioned measurements and their variation with myopic refractive error. RESULTS: The RNFL thickness in four Quadrants and an inner circle were taken. The mean thickness in inner circle in both groups were 101.48µm (SD±13.34 µm) and 92.38 µm (SD±11.99µm) respectively, which was statistically significant. The difference was also significant in superior, nasal and inferior quadrant. Statistically the difference was not significant in temporal quadrant. The macular volume was calculated in 6mm diameter. The mean value in Group A was 7.82mm3±0.54 mm 3. The mean value in Group B was 7.44mm3±0.98mm3. The statistical analysis showed the difference between the two groups is statistically significant. CONCLUSION: RNFL thickness is an established way to diagnose open angle glaucoma in preperimetric stage. Macular Volume is also found to be co-related with the risk. Myopes are known to be at higher risk to develop POAG. Hence, measurement of RNFL thickness by OCT should be made a mandatory investigation in High Myopes.

Iatrogenic tracheal laceration in the setting of chronic steroids.

We report the case of a 71-year-old woman with end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who presented with a 10-cm tracheal laceration from a presumed traumatic intubation in the setting of respiratory distress and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation and subsequently developed significant subcutaneous emphysema along her neck and mediastinum in addition to her peritoneum and mesentery. We were successfully able to treat this patient conservatively up until the time that tracheostomy was warranted. We discuss and review tracheobronchial injuries with respect to etiology, risk factors, and management and hope to benefit health care providers managing airways in patients at risk for tracheal injury.

Evaluation of various treatment modalities in sleep bruxism.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Sleep bruxism (SB) is an oral condition that is associated with tooth wear, orofacial pain, and interference with sleep. The most recommended management technique is the use of an occlusal splint. Although the mandibular advancement device (MAD) has shown good results, few well-designed randomized controlled trials are available with which to compare these treatment options. Therefore, an evaluation of the effect of these 2 appliances on SB is needed. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a MAD and a maxillary occlusal splint (MOS) on the sleep quality and SB activity of participants with SB. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this randomized controlled trial, 28 participants were randomly supplied with either a MAD or MOS. The sleep quality of the participants was evaluated with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and their SB activity with electromyographic activity of the masseter with polysomnography. These variables were measured at baseline, 1 month, and 3 months. RESULTS: Of 32 participants, 28 had data available for statistical analysis, as 4 participants did not return for follow-up examination. Both the MOS and MAD significantly reduced the PSQI and SB episodes and bursts in participants after 3 months (P<.05). The MAD provided greater reduction in SB episodes per hour after 3 months compared to the MOS. Participants supplied with a MAD reported more discomfort in their feedback form than participants using a MOS. CONCLUSIONS: Both the MAD and MOS provided significantly improved sleep quality and a decrease in SB episodes at 3 months.

Morphological Pattern of Cutaneous Adverse Drug Reactions due to Antiepileptic Drugs in Eastern India.

INTRODUCTION: Cutaneous manifestations of adverse drug reactions are a common occurrence and need to be differentiated from other causes of similar manifestations. Antiepileptic drugs (AED) usually are responsible for severe cutaneous adverse drug reactions (CADR) like Stevens-Johnson Syndrome/Toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN) and drug rash with eosinophillia and systemic symptoms (DRESS). There is paucity of published research regarding morphological pattern of CADR due to various antiepileptic drugs AED. OBJECTIVE: To study the morphological patterns of CADR due to AED and common anticonvulsant drugs implicated particularly in severe CADR such as SJS/TEN and DRESS in a tertiary care teaching hospital in eastern India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective, observational study was conducted over a period of 4 years from August 2009 to July 2013 after the approval of the Institutional Ethics Committee using self-reporting method for selection of cases. SETTINGS: All patients with CADR after AED consumption for various conditions presenting to the Dermatology outpatient department (OPD) and Pediatric OPD and Indoor patients of a tertiary care teaching hospital located in Rohtas district of Bihar were included in this study. RESULTS: During the study period, 64 cases of severe CADRs were included in this study. Out of 64 patients, 28 were male and 36 were female with mean age 36.1 years (range 6 years to 72 years). Most common AED implicated for CADR was Phenytoin. Maculopapular rash was the most common cutaneous manifestation of ADRs (42.85%). Serious CADR like TEN and SSJS were more likely in patients prescribed Phenytoin and Carbemazepine simultaneously. CONCLUSION: CADRs are a common occurrence and awareness about the same is essential for diagnosis and prevention. This study identified combined use of phenytoin and carbamezepine as a most important risk factor for serious CADR like SJS and TEN.