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Gluten free (GF) products are often inferior in quality attributes, nutritional content and consumer acceptability. The use of GF by-products is a novel strategy to improve the structure and nutritional profile of these products. Sweet corn cob (SCC) is a by-product of sweet corn processing containing a considerable amount of fibre and ferulic acid. The effect of baking on ferulic acid content, colour, texture and physical characteristics on muffins incorporated with SCC flour (SCCF) as a value-added food ingredient was investigated using a GF model system. The freeze-dried SCCF, containing ferulic acid (6.02 mg g−1) was used to replace the rice flour at varying levels of 10, 20, and 30%. In general, SCCF increased dietary fibre and free ferulic acid content of muffins. Inclusion of 20% SCCF showed an increase in terms of the height of the muffin and number of air cells in the crumb, along with a decrease in the hardness of muffins. Muffins with SCCF showed higher mean overall liking scores than rice flour muffin.

Solid-state fermentation (SSF) is a sustainable method to convert food waste and plant biomass into novel foods for human consumption. Surplus bread crusts (BC) have the structural capacity to serve as an SSF scaffold, and their nutritional value could be increased in combination with perennial ryegrass (PRG), a biorefining feedstock with high-quality protein but an unpleasant sensory profile. SSF with Rhizopus oligosporus was investigated with these substrates to determine if the overall nutritional value could be increased. The BC-PRG SSFs were conducted for up to 72 h, over which time the starch content had decreased by up to 89.6%, the total amino acid (AA) content increased by up to 141.9%, and the essential amino acid (EAA) content increased by up to 54.5%. The BC-PRG SSF demonstrated that this process could potentially valorise BC and PRG, both widely available but underexplored substrates, for the production of alternative proteins., Competing Interests: Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Sufficient dietary fiber consumption is associated with well-established health benefits, yet such intake is currently suboptimal globally. Thus, there is interest in developing strategies to improve dietary fiber intake. One such approach is to increase the dietary fiber content of staple foods, but this needs relevant investigation., Methods: Forty-two United Kingdom (UK) based consumers (18-76 y) were recruited to take part in seven focus group sessions investigating: (i) key factors in food choice; (ii) dietary fiber-related knowledge, awareness, consumption habits, and engagement levels; (iii) willingness to consume dietary fiber-rich staple foods; and (iv) gain initial feedback on dietary fiber-rich breads., Results: Overall, key dietary fiber themes emerged such as knowledge (benefits, foods, recommendations and labeling), consumption (not measuring intake), barriers (convenience and knowledge), resources (education and public appeal), and topics (food examples and cooking). Consumers were positive per se to the idea of dietary fiber-rich staple foods but with various caveats (no changes in appearance, taste, and cost). White bread trends were centered around context (sandwich and toast), habit (comfort food), preferences (soft and fresh), and consumption is variable (daily to less often). In addition, consumers' preferred labeling strategy for dietary fiber-rich breads was predominately focused on transparency and visibility. Overall, the newly developed breads were well received demonstrating the potential of our prototypes to fit into the white bread market; however, additional consumer insights are needed., Conclusion: Our findings recommend combining education with a personalized element of advice, coupled with a collective effort from the government and food industry, as essential to help encourage a step-change in dietary fiber consumption in the UK population., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Biscuits contain high proportions of saturated fats, which could lead to an adverse health effect. The objective of this study was to study the functionality of a complex nanoemulsion (CNE), stabilised with hydroxypropyl methylcellulose and lecithin, when used as a saturated fat replacer in short dough biscuits. Four biscuit formulations were studied including a control (butter) and three formulations where 33% of the butter was replaced with either extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), with CNE, or with the individual ingredients of the nanoemulsion added separately (INE). The biscuits were evaluated by texture analysis, microstructural characterisation, and quantitative descriptive analysis by a trained sensory panel. The results showed that incorporation of CNE and INE yielded doughs and biscuits with significantly higher (p < 0.05) hardness and fracture strength values than the control. The doughs made of CNE and INE showed significantly less oil migration during the storage than EVOO formulations, which was confirmed by the confocal images. The trained panel did not find significant differences in crumb density and hardness on the first bite among CNE, INE and the control. In conclusion, nanoemulsions stabilised with hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and lecithin can work as saturated fat replacers in short dough biscuits, providing satisfactory physical characteristics and sensory attributes., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Introduction: The definition of asthma phenotypes has not been fully established, neither there are cluster studies showing homogeneous results to solidly establish clear phenotypes. The purpose of this study was to develop a classification algorithm based on unsupervised cluster analysis, identifying clusters that represent clinically relevant asthma phenotypes that may share asthma-related outcomes., Methods: We performed a multicentre prospective cohort study, including adult patients with asthma (N=512) from the MEGA study (Mechanisms underlying the Genesis and evolution of Asthma). A standardised clinical history was completed for each patient. Cluster analysis was performed using the kernel k-groups algorithm., Results: Four clusters were identified. Cluster 1 (31.5% of subjects) includes adult-onset atopic patients with better lung function, lower BMI, good asthma control, low ICS dose, and few exacerbations. Cluster 2 (23.6%) is made of adolescent-onset atopic asthma patients with normal lung function, but low adherence to treatment (59% well-controlled) and smokers (48%). Cluster 3 (17.1%) includes adult-onset patients, mostly severe non-atopic, with overweight, the worse lung function and asthma control, and receiving combination of treatments. Cluster 4 (26.7%) consists of the elderly-onset patients, mostly female, atopic (64%), with high BMI and normal lung function, prevalence of smokers and comorbidities., Conclusion: We defined four phenotypes of asthma using unsupervised cluster analysis. These clusters are clinically relevant and differ from each other as regards FEV1, age of onset, age, BMI, atopy, asthma severity, exacerbations, control, social class, smoking and nasal polyps., (Copyright © 2023 SEPAR. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Diet is a key modulator of non-communicable diseases, and food production represents a major cause of environmental degradation and greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, 'nudging' people to make better food choices is challenging, as factors including affordability, convenience and taste often take priority over the achievement of health and environmental benefits. The overall 'Raising the Pulse' project aim is to bring about a step change in the nutritional value of the UK consumers' diet, and to do so in a way that leads to improved health and greater sustainability within the UK food system. To achieve our objectives, UK-specific faba bean production systems that optimise both end users' diets and environmental and economic sustainability of production will be implemented in collaboration with key stakeholders (including industry, the retail sector and government). Palatable faba bean flours will be produced and used to develop 'Raising the Pulse' food products with improved nutritional profile and environmental value. Consumer focus groups and workshops will establish attitudes, preferences, drivers of and barriers to increased consumption of such products. They will inform the co-creation of sensory testing and University-wide intervention studies to evaluate the effects of pulses and 'Raising the Pulse' foods on diet quality, self-reported satiety, nutritional knowledge, consumer acceptance and market potential. Nutrient bioavailability and satiety will be evaluated in a randomised-controlled postprandial human study. Finally, a system model will be developed that predicts changes to land use, environment, business viability, nutrition and human health after substitution of existing less nutritionally beneficial and environmentally sustainable ingredients with pulses. Government health and sustainability priorities will be addressed, helping to define policy-relevant solutions with significant beneficial supply chain economic impacts and transformed sustainable food systems to improve consumer diet quality, health and the environment., (© 2023 The Authors. Nutrition Bulletin published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Nutrition Foundation.)

Background: Penetrating neck injuries represent 5-10% of all traumatic injuries, these bring with them a high rate of morbidity and mortality due to vital structures that could be injured in this area. The aim of this study was to determine the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of penetrating neck injuries., Methods: This was a retrospective, unicentric and descriptive study that included all patients who underwent neck exploration surgery., Results: A total of 70 neck exploration cases were reviewed, 34 (49%) didn't had any injury. Thirty (43%) had at least one hard sign, 42 (60%) patients showed at least one soft sign. Statistical analysis showed only surgical time (252±199.5 vs. 155±76.4; p=0.020) and transfusions (1.87±3 vs. 0.4±0.856; p=0.013) were statistically significant. We report a mortality of 2 (3%) patients., Conclusions: Our prevalence of neck surgical exploration without vascular injury was slightly higher (49% vs. 40%) than literature. We highlight the importance of not performing neck explorations in all patients who present a penetrating injury. We did not obtain differences between groups for hard signs and soft signs. We were not able to identify whether or not there would be an injury based on clinical characteristics. Imaging studies should be performed to avoid unnecessary neck explorations; however, depending on the clinical scenario some surgery cannot be avoided., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U.)

The combination of two emulsifiers, lecithin and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), into emulsions is an interesting strategy to design fat replacers in food matrices. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of HPMC type and concentration on the formation, stability, and microstructure of conventional emulsions and nanoemulsions. Two different types of HPMC with low and high content of methyl and hydroxypropyl groups (HPMC-L and HPMC-H) were evaluated. The results showed that the molecular structure and concentration of HPMC play a major role in the viscoelastic behaviour, the gelation temperature, and the strength of gel formed. The firmness and work of shear of HPMC solutions increased significantly (p < 0.05) with increasing concentration. HPMC-L illustrated a more stable gel structure than the HPMC-H solution. Nanoemulsions showed lower moduli values, firmness, and work of shear than conventional emulsions due to the influence of high-pressure homogenization. A combination of lecithin and HPMC improved the physical and lipid oxidative stability of the emulsions, presenting a lower creaming index and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). In conclusion, HPMC-L at 2% w/w could be a suitable type and concentration combined with lecithin to formulate a saturated fat replacer that could mimic butter technological performance during food manufacturing operations.

The processes of oil production play an important role in defining the final physical and chemical properties of vegetable oils, which have an influence on the formation and characteristics of emulsions. The objective of this work was to investigate the correlations between oils’ physical and chemical properties with the stability of conventional emulsions (d > 200 nm) and nanoemulsions (d < 200 nm). Five vegetable oils obtained from different production processes and with high proportion of unsaturated fatty acids were studied. Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), cold-pressed rapeseed oil (CPRO), refined olive oil (OO), refined rapeseed oil (RO) and refined sunflower oil (SO) were used in this study. The results showed that the physicochemical stability of emulsion was affected by fatty acid composition, the presence of antioxidants, free fatty acids and droplet size. There was a significant positive correlation (p < 0.05) between the fraction of unsaturated fatty acids and emulsion oxidative stability, where SO, OO and EVOO showed a significantly higher lipid oxidative stability compared to RO and CPRO emulsions. Nanoemulsions with a smaller droplet size showed better physical stability than conventional emulsions. However, there was not a significant correlation between the oxidative stability of emulsions, droplet size and antioxidant capacity of oils.