Effect of mango butter on the physicochemical properties of beeswax-Moringa seed oil-based oleogels for topical application.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this research was to determine any connections between the characteristics of oleogels made of beeswax and the impact of mango butter. METHODS: Oleogel was prepared through inverted tube methods, and optimized through oil binding capacity. Other evaluations like bright field and polarized microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, crystallization kinetics, mechanical study, and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). The drug release kinetic studies and in vitro antibacterial studies were performed. RESULTS: FTIR study reveals that the gelation process does not significantly alter the chemical composition of the individual components. Prepared gel exhibiting fluid-like behavior or composed of brittle networks is particularly vulnerable to disruptions in their network design. The incorporation of mango butter increases the drug permeation. In-vitro microbial efficacy study was found to be excellent. CONCLUSION: The studies revealed that mango butter can be used to modify the physico-chemical properties of the oleogels.

The Impact of Beeswax and Glycerol Monolaurate on Camellia Oil Oleogel's Formulation and Application in Food Products.

This study assessed the nutritional profile of camellia oil through its fatty acid composition, highlighting its high oleic acid content (81.4%), followed by linoleic (7.99%) and palmitic acids (7.74%), demonstrating its excellence as an edible oil source. The impact of beeswax (BW) and glycerol monolaurate (GML) on camellia oil oleogels was investigated, revealing that increasing BW or GML concentrations enhanced hardness and springiness, with 10% BW oleogel exhibiting the highest hardness and springiness. FTIR results suggested that the structure of the oleogels was formed by interactions between molecules without altering the chemical composition. In biscuits, 10% BW oleogel provided superior crispness, expansion ratio, texture, and taste, whereas GML imparted a distinct odor. In sausages, no significant differences were observed in color, water retention, and pH between the control and replacement groups; however, the BW group scored higher than the GML group in the sensory evaluation. The findings suggest that the BW oleogel is an effective fat substitute in biscuits and sausages, promoting the application of camellia oil in food products.

Carnauba wax and adipic acid oleogels as an innovative strategy for cocoa butter alternatives in chocolate spreads.

The aim of this study was to replace cocoa butter substitute (CBS) with structured sunflower oil in chocolate spread partially. Two types of oleogel, 6% carnauba wax (CWO) and 2% carnauba wax with 4% adipic acid (AD-CWO) were substituted (at 20%, 50%, and 70%), and chocolate spread characteristics were evaluated. Various properties of chocolate spread samples were investigated as peroxide value, firmness, oil binding capacity, moisture content, molecular interactions, and molecular conformation of fat crystals. The increasement of CBS substitution by oleogel in samples significantly reduced firmness. The samples with 20% replacement formulated by CWO and AD-CWO had the highest oil binding capacity, 97.48 ± 0.21% and 97.73 ± 0.02, respectively. Moreover, oxidative stability analysis showed a positive correlation with an increasing replacement level over 90 days of storage. Based on FT-IR analysis, the new intermolecular hydrogen bond formation in the oleogel-based spreads network has been confirmed. CBS replacement with oleogels revealed the presence of stable ß´ polymorphs with low intensity. In conclusion, the carnauba-based oleogels have significant potential to substitute CBS in chocolate spread partially.

A review of oleogels applications in dairy foods.

The characteristics of dairy products, such as texture, color, flavor, and nutritional profile, are significantly influenced by the presence of milk fat. However, saturated fatty acids account for 65% of total milk fat. With increased health awareness and regulatory recommendations, consumer preferences have evolved toward low/no saturated fat food products. Reducing the saturated fat content of dairy products to meet market demands is an urgent yet challenging task, as it may compromise product quality and increase production costs. In this regard, oleogels have emerged as a viable milk fat replacement in dairy foods. This review focuses on recent advances in oleogel systems and explores their potential for incorporation into dairy products as a milk fat substitute. Overall, it can be concluded that oleogel can be a potential alternative to replace milk fat fully or partially in the product matrix to improve nutritional profile by mimicking similar rheological and textural product characteristics as milk fat. Furthermore, the impact of consuming oleogel-based dairy foods on digestibility and gut health is also discussed. A thorough comprehension of the application of oleogels in dairy products will provide an opportunity for the dairy sector to develop applications that will appeal to the changing consumer needs.

Bioconjugation of Vegetable Oils with UV Absorbers: New Approach in Skin Photoprotection.

We reported the tunable synthesis of new vegetable oil-UV filter bioconjugates using sea buckthorn oil (SBO) and p-methoxycinnamic acid (p-MCA) as an alternative to the common UV filter, ethylhexyl-p-methoxycinnamate (octinoxate). The synthetic strategy is based on the sustainable ring-opening reaction of epoxidized SBO with p-MCA in heterogenous catalysis in eco-friendly solvents. The amount of UV-absorptive moieties grafted on the triglyceride backbone is controlled by different epoxidation degrees as determined by NMR spectroscopy. The performance of the new UV-absorber bioconjugates was assessed by in vitro sun protection factor (SPF) measurements after inclusion in SBO-ethylcellulose (EC) oleogels and comparison with the SPF value of the SBO-EC-octinoxate oleogel with equivalent p-MCA acid moieties (10% wt/wt). The concentration obtained for the SBO-EC oleogel formulated with the bioconjugate with the lowest degree of functionalization, namely 55%, represents 45% of the SPF determined for the SBO-EC-octinoxate oleogel, regardless of the concentration of measured solutions. The new concept of vegetable oil-UV-absorber bioconjugates has potential UV-B photoprotective properties when included in oleogel formulations and deserves further investigation of their properties and stability including association with UV-A absorbers, respectively.

Surfactant-free oleogel-based emulsion stabilized by co-assembled ceramide/lecithin crystals with controlled digestibility.

BACKGROUND: There is increasing interest in the development of oleogel-based emulsions. However, they usually contained surfactants for stabilization, especially small-molecular weight surfactants, which may have adverse health impacts. RESULTS: Herein, a surfactant-free oleogel-based emulsion stabilized by co-assembled ceramide/lecithin (CER/LEC) crystals was developed. The formation and stabilization mechanisms were explored. The different molar ratios of gelator (LEC and CER) in emulsions resulted in different crystal morphology, crystallinity as well as different emulsion properties. This suggested that appropriate crystallinity, crystal size, and interfacial distribution of these crystals provided higher surface coverage against droplets coalescence, thus better emulsion stabilization. Both X-ray diffractograms and contact angle results confirmed that the crystals which were primarily responsible for emulsion stabilization, are co-assembled crystals consisted of both gelators (CER and LEC). Furthermore, the percentage of free fatty acids (FFAs%) results revealed a negative relationship between lipid digestibility and crystal concentration. CONCLUSIONS: This strategy greatly enriched surfactant-free oleogel-based emulsion formulations, as well as their potential applications in healthy lipid-based products and novel food delivery systems with controlled lipid digestibility. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Evaluation of high oleic sunflower oil oleogels with beeswax, beeswax-glyceryl monopalmitate, and beeswax-Span80 in cookie preparation.

BACKGROUND: Shortening is used widely in cookie preparation to improve quality and texture. However, large amounts of saturated and trans fatty acids present in shortening have adverse effects on human health, and much effort has been made to reduce the use of shortening. The use of oleogels might be a suitable alternative. In this study, the oleogels of high oleic sunflower oil with beeswax (BW), BW-glyceryl monopalmitate (BW-GMP), and BW-Span80 (BW-S80) were prepared and their suitability to replace shortening in cookie preparation was evaluated. RESULTS: The solid fat content of BW, BW-GMP, and BW-S80 oleogels was significantly lower than that of commercial shortening when the temperature was not higher than 35 °C. However, the oil-binding capacity of these oleogels was almost similar to that of shortening. The crystals in the shortening and oleogels were ß' form mainly; however, the morphology of crystal aggregates in these oleogels was different from that of shortening. The textural and rheological properties of doughs prepared with the oleogels were similar, and clearly different from those of dough with commercial shortening. The breaking strengths of cookies made with oleogels were lower than that of cookies prepared with shortening. However, cookies containing BW-GMP and BW-S80 oleogels were similar in density and color to those prepared with shortening. CONCLUSION: The textural properties and color of cookies with BW-GMP and BW-S80 oleogels were very similar to those of the cookies containing commercial shortening. The BW-GMP and BW-S80 oleogels could act as alternatives to shortening in the preparation of cookies. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Rheological and thermal properties of reinforced monoglyceride-carnauba wax oleogels.

BACKGROUND: Oleogels can be used in the food industry to reduce the consumption of solid fat in the human diet and diminish some of the industrial-technological issues of using oil instead of fat. Regarding the structural weakness of neat monoglyceride oleogel and the waxy mouthfeel of pure carnauba wax oleogel, as a result of the high melting and crystallization points, the present study aimed to diminish these defects. RESULTS: Carnauba wax (CBW) was used as a co-gelator with distilled monoglyceride (DMG) at different weight ratios (100:0, 85:15, 70:30, 55:45, 40:60, and 0:100) (DMG: CBW) and two total gelator concentrations (50 and 100 g kg-1 ) to improve the DMG oleogel characteristics. The addition of CBW strengthened the DMG network and decreased the polymorphic transition. Thermal analysis showed just co-crystallization at the 85:15 ratio, whereas, in the other combinations, high melting components of CBW crystalized at first. As a result of the crystal homogeneity and long-time development, the oleogel properties improved at the 85:15 ratio. The low concentration of CBW and the formation of the eutectic system were efficient in the waxy mouthfeel reduction of oleogel at the 85:15 ratio in food applications. CONCLUSION: The DMG/CBW oleogel at the 85:15 ratio, with better structural and sensorial properties than DMG and CBW oleogels, respectively, has the potential for use instead of fat in food formulations. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

A novel strategy for preparation of rice bran protein oleogels based on high internal phase emulsion template.

BACKGROUND: Oleogels have been extensively explored as fat substitutes with no trans fatty acids and low saturated fatty acids in recent years as a result of increased health problems found to be related to the intake of trans and saturated fatty acids. RESULTS: Herein, high internal phase emulsion (HIPE) stabilized by rice bran protein (RBP) was prepared and further utilized as a template for preparation of RBP oleogels. RBP HIPE with the strongest rheological properties was obtained at pH 5.0 as a result of appropriate structural deformation, surface charge and a high three-phase contact angle at this pH. However, RBP oleogels prepared at pH 9.0 exhibited the highest yield stress after drying process. At this pH, RBP showed higher resistance to deformation caused by water evaporation. This highlighted the importance of structural stability of protein network on rheological properties of the resultant oleogels. Furthermore, with an increase in drying temperature, RBP oleogels exhibited higher yield stress and gel strength because water was better removed as a result of an enhanced capability to overcome the capillary pressure of emulsion. CONCLUSION: The present study further revealed the structure-activity relationship between protein, HIPE and oleogel, and also provided theoretical support for the development of protein-based oleogel. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

A Heat Transfer Model and Supporting Experiments to Guide the Uniform Gelation of Molecular Oleogels During Scale-up.

The quest for novel vegetable oil structuring strategies has been progressing since the discovery of the deleterious impacts of trans fats. Although oleogelation using bioderived molecular gelators has been proven to be successful as an alternative to traditional hydrogenation methods, efforts are needed to meet the industrial requirements. A major constraint during the fabrication of oleogels is to achieve consistency in physical properties during scale-up. Experiments showed that gelation fails to occur when larger volumes were prepared based on the minimum gelation concentration (MGC) of gelators, determined using the smallest oil volume (1 mL), a general laboratory practice. This observation was consistent with all the molecular gelators used in this study; sorbitol dioctanoate, mannitol dioctanoate, and 12-hydroxystearic acid. To understand this behavior, a mathematical model was developed since gelator network propagation is governed by the cooling rate. The model indicates that maintenance of a minimal thermal gradient via uniform heat dissipation and gelation time is necessary to achieve homogeneous gel propagation across the vial. With these predictions, we hypothesized and confirmed that oleogels with constant surface area-to-volume ratio could result in identical gelation times and consistent physical properties (MGC, melting temperature, melting enthalpy, yield stress, solid phase content, and oil binding capacity) during scale-up.

Oleogelation based on plant waxes: characterization and food applications.

Fats contribute majorly to food flavour, mouthfeel, palatability, texture, and aroma. Though solid fats are used for food formulation due to the processing benefits over oils, their negative health effects should not be overlooked. Oleogelation is thus used to transform liquid oil into a gel which function like fats and provide the nutritional benefits of oils. Additionally, only food-grade gelators convert the oils into solid-like, self-standing, three-dimensional gel networks. Rice bran wax, candelilla wax, carnauba wax, and sunflower wax are mainly used plant waxes for formulating oleogels as a result of their low cost, availability, and excellent gelling ability. A comprehensive information about the wax based oleogels, their characteristics and applications is needed. The present review discusses the effect of different plant-based waxes on the properties of the oleogel formed. The article provides information on how the physical and chemical properties of waxes impact the oleogel properties such as oil binding capacity, critical concentration, rheological, thermal, textural, morphological, and oxidative stability. Moreover, the current and potential applications of oleogels in the food sector have also been covered this article.

Gels as fat replacers in bakery products: a review.

Several strategies have been studied to replace or decrease fat content in bakery products aiming improving their nutritional profile. This paper reviewed the effect of different vehiculization systems (hydrogels, emulgels and oleogels) as fat replacers in different types of bakery goods, focusing on technological and nutritional properties of the reformulated products. The most commonly used fat source for replacement purposes were vegetable oils with high monounsaturated fatty acid content, such as olive oil and canola oil (44% of the revised papers used them), whereas high polyunsaturated fatty acid content oils were used in 34% of papers. Oleogelation was the most frequent used method of oil structuring, using waxes and fibers as stabilizers. Reductions of total fat between 19% and 46% and saturated fatty acid between 33% and 87% were achieved, enough to reach the minimum legal limit to state nutrition claims, under the EU legislation, on several products. Sensory evaluation results showed that partially replaced products (<75% replacement) were more appreciated by panelists than fully replaced ones. This review highlights the wide range of alternatives within gel-like fat replacers, that have potential to be applied in different bakery products and the challenge to produce nutritionally enhanced foods and technologically and sensory acceptable.

Heat resistant chocolate development for subtropical and tropical climates: a review.

Heat resistant chocolate (HRC) which can retain the desired texture and mouthfeel in tropical and subtropical climatic conditions has become a major research area in the chocolate industry. Liking of the chocolate products keeps on changing with the geographical conditions of the world due to the availability of ingredients from local resources and consumer's taste preferences. The geographical changes also bring about the change in climatic conditions and as such no chocolates have been formulated to withstand the hot tropical or sub-tropical temperature conditions. Textural issues and various storage related problems faced due to meltability of chocolate in different countries has opened up a broad research field of sustainable HRC manufacturing. Over the years, there are broadly three different approaches (fat modification, sugar structure modification and innovative process approach) to develop the HRC and all these scientific approaches have given different scientific insights about improving the heat resistance characteristics and textural stability of chocolate. There is a lack or coordinated fundamental and applied research related to cocoa butter polymorphism, and thermal-textural issues during product development/storage. This review paper is an attempt to describe the different scientific approaches for developing HRC and how they affect the physical/sensory chocolate attributes.

Advances and prospects in the food applications of pectin hydrogels.

Pectin hydrogel is a soft hydrocolloid with multifaceted utilities in the food sector. Substantial knowledge acquired on the gelation mechanisms and structure-function relationship of pectin has led to interesting functions of pectin hydrogel. Food applications of pectin hydrogels can be categorized under four headings: food ingredients/additives, food packaging, bioactive delivery and health management. The cross-linked and tangly three-dimensional structure of pectin gel renders it an ideal choice of wall material for the encapsulation of biomolecules and living cells; as a fat replacer and texturizer. Likewise, pectin hydrogel is an effective satiety inducer due to its ability to swell under the simulated gastric and intestinal conditions without losing its gel structure. Coating or composites of pectin hydrogel with proteins and other polysaccharides augment its functionality as an encapsulant, satiety-inducer and food packaging material. Low-methoxyl pectin gel is an appropriate food ink for 3D printing applications due to its viscoelastic properties, adaptable microstructure and texture properties. This review aims at explaining all the applications of pectin hydrogels, as mentioned above. A comprehensive discussion is presented on the approaches by which pectin hydrogel can be transformed as a resourceful material by controlling its dimensions, state, and rheology. The final sections of this article emphasize the recent research trends in this discipline, such as the development of smart hydrogels, injectable gels, aerogels, xerogels and oleogels from pectin.

Recent advances on food-grade oleogels: Fabrication, application and research trends.

In order to improve the nutritional and quality characteristics of food, solid fats are widely used in food formulations. With the continuous improvement of consumers' awareness of health in recent years, substantial attempts have been carried out to find substitutes for solid fats to reduce saturated fatty acid content in foods. Oleogels have drawn increasing attention due to their attractive advantages such as easy fabrication, superior fatty acid composition and safe use in food products to satisfy consumers' demands for healthy products. This review provides the latest information on the diversified oleogel systems. The feasibility of oleogel and oleogel-based system as nutraceutical vehicles is elucidated. The type as well as concentration of oleogelators and the synergistic effect between two or more oleogelators are important factors affecting the properties of obtained oleogel. Oleogels used in nutraceutical delivery have been shown to offer increased loading amount, enhanced bioaccessibility and targeted or controlled release. These nutrients wrapped in oleogels may in turn affect the formation and properties of oleogels. Furthermore, the future perspectives of oleogels are discussed. The feasible research trends of food-grade oleogel include oleogel-based solid lipid particle, essential oil-in-oleogel system, delivery of probiotics, nutraceuticals co-delivery and microencapsulated oleogel.

Surfactin-oleogel with therapeutic potential for inflammatory acne vulgaris induced by Propionibacterium acnes.

Accumulating evidence suggested that suppression of Propionibacterium acnes-induced inflammation was a promising strategy to alleviate acne vulgaris. This study evaluated the alleviating effect of surfactin-oleogel on P. acnes-induced inflammatory acne vulgaris in mice. Epidermis morphology and histopathological examination showed that surfactin-oleogel effectively ameliorated the P. acnes-induced epidermis swelling and erythema. Surfactin-oleogel reduced the epidermis thickness to 48.52% compared to the model control group. The colony of P. acnes in the epidermis was decreased by 1 log CFU/mL after receiving surfactin-oleogel treatment. Furthermore, surfactin-oleogel attenuated oxidative stress in the epidermis by increasing the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase. In addition, the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase, nitric oxide, cyclooxygenase-2, pro-inflammatory cytokines (e.g. tumour necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1ß), and nuclear factor kappa-B in the epidermis were reduced after treating with surfactin-oleogel. Moreover, total cholesterol and free fatty acids were decreased, whereas the treatment of surfactin-oleogel increased triglycerides and linoleic acid content. Besides, immunohistochemical assay and real-time PCR analysis indicated that surfactin-oleogel blocked the TLR2-mediated NF-κB signalling pathways in the epidermis. Consequently, our results demonstrated that surfactin-oleogel had antibacterial and anti-inflammation activities to treat P. acnes-induced inflammatory acne vulgaris.Key points• Surfactin-oleogel effectively relieves inflammation and oxidative stress caused by P. acnes.• Surfactin-oleogel effectively reduced the P. acnes colony.• Surfactin-oleogel relieves P. acnes-induced inflammation by inactivated the TLR-mediated NF-κB.

Crystallization and Structural Properties of Oleogel-Based Margarine.

Interest in oleogel as a promising alternative to traditional hydrogenated vegetable oil has increasingly grown in recent years due to its low content of saturated fatty acids and zero trans fatty acids. This study aimed to develop wax-based margarine to replace traditional commercial margarine. The wax-based margarine was prepared and compared with commercial margarine in texture, rheology, and microscopic morphology. The possibility of preparing margarine at room temperature (non-quenched) was also explored. The results showed that the hardness of oleogel-based margarine increased as the BW concentration increased. Denser droplets and crystal network structure were observed with the increase in BW content. XRD patterns of oleogel-based margarine with different content BW were quite similar and structurally to the ß' form. However, the melting temperature of oleogel-based margarine was over 40 °C at each concentration, which represented a poor mouth-melting characteristic. In addition, the unique, improved physical properties of oleogel-based margarine were obtained with binary mixtures of China lacquer wax (ZLW) and Beeswax (BW), due to the interaction of the ZLW and BW crystal network. The rapid cooling process improved the spreadability of oleogel-based margarine. The margarine prepared by 5% BW50:ZLW50 had similar properties to commercial margarine in texture and melting characteristics (37 °C), which had the potential to replace commercial margarine.

l-Lysine-Based Gelators for the Formation of Oleogels in Four Vegetable Oils.

Supramolecular oleogel is a soft material with a three-dimensional structure, formed by the self-assembly of low-molecular-weight gelators in oils; it shows broad application prospects in the food industry, environmental protection, medicine, and other fields. Among all the gelators reported, amino-acid-based compounds have been widely used to form organogels and hydrogels because of their biocompatibility, biodegradation, and non-toxicity. In this study, four Nα, Nε-diacyl-l-lysine gelators (i.e., Nα, Nε-dioctanoyl-l-lysine; Nα, Nε-didecanoyl-l-lysine; Nα, Nε-dilauroyl-l-lysine; and Nα, Nε-dimyristoyl-l-lysine) were synthesized and applied to prepare oleogels in four kinds of vegetable oils. Gelation ability is affected not only by the structure of the gelators but also by the composition of the oils. The minimum gel concentration (MGC) increased with the increase in the acyl carbon-chain length of the gelators. The strongest gelation ability was displayed in olive oil for the same gelator. Rheological properties showed that the mechanical strength and thermal stability of the oleogels varied with the carbon-chain length of the gelators and the type of vegetable oil. The microstructure of oleogels is closely related to the carbon-chain length of gelators, regardless of oil type. The highest oil-binding capacity (OBC) was obtained in soybean oil for all four gelators, and Nα, Nε-dimyristoyl-l-lysine showed the best performance for entrapping oils.

Determination of characteristic evaluation indexes for novel cookies prepared with wax oleogels.

BACKGROUND: Wax-based oleogels showed better performance as a substitute for shortening in cookies, but the relationship between the structure and physical properties of wax oleogels and cookies quality has not been elucidated, which limit its further application. In this regard, the effect of structure and physical properties of wax oleogels on the quality of cookies was investigated, and the characteristic indexes for evaluating the quality of novel cookies prepared with wax oleogels were determined. RESULTS: The results showed that oleogels with 5-9% proportion of rice bran wax (RBX) and candelilla wax (CDW) produced soft cookies with porous structure, desired spread and color. Compared with shortening, wax oleogels with lower solid fat content (SFC, 4.5-11%, 25 °C) and higher ß' crystals (2795.7-11 671.3) produced cookies with similar hardness to that of shortening. Besides, the hardness of wax oleogel-based cookies depends more on the amount of crystals than crystal size. In the results, SFC, ß' crystals, viscosity and elastic modulus (G') were determined to be the characteristic evaluation indexes for the quality of cookies prepared with wax oleogels. Cookies with wax oleogels with higher SFC, ß' crystal, viscosity and G' are softer. CONCLUSION: The quality of novel cookies prepared with wax oleogels can be controlled by the SFC and ß' crystal of wax oleogels. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Synergistic effects of oleogelators in tailoring the properties of oleogels: A review.

Conventional solid fats play a crucial role as an ingredient in many processed foods. However, these fats contain a high amount of saturated fats and trans fats. Legislations and dietary recommendations related to these two types of fats set forth as a consequence of evidence showing their deleterious health impact have triggered the attempts to find alternate tailor-made lipids for these solid fats. Oleogels is considered as a novel alternative, which has reduced saturated fat and no trans fat content. In addition to mimicking the distinctive characteristics of solid fats, oleogels can be developed to contain a high amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids and used to deliver bioactives. Although there has been a dramatic rise in the interest in developing oleogels for food applications over the past decade, none of them has been commercially used in foods so far due to the deficiency in their crystal network structure, particularly in monocomponent gels. Very recently, there is a surge in the interest in using of combination of gelators due to the synergistic effects that aid in overcoming the drawbacks in monocomponent gels. However, currently, there is no comprehensive insight into synergism among oleogelators reported in recent studies. Therefore, a comprehensive intuition into the findings reported on synergism is crucial to fill this gap. The objective of this review is to give a comprehensive insight into synergism among gelators based on recent literature. This paper also identifies the future research propositions towards developing oleogels capable of exactly mimicking the properties of conventional solid fats to bridge the gap between laboratory research and the food industry.