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Snacks such as puffed corns are tasty and favorite food products of many people. These products usually have low content of bioactive compounds with high starch and oil contents. To overcome these drawbacks, in the present study, the mixture including the corn grit incorporated with barberry (Berberis vulgaris) fruit powder (BFP), as a rich source of bioactive components and fibers, at level of 0 (control) to 10% were fed into the extruder to make a puffed product. Quality properties of the produced samples were determined during 90 days of storage at ambient condition. Results showed that by incorporation of BFP there were an increase in fiber (from 2.9 to 6.2%) and decreases in oil (from 25.5 to 19.5%) and protein (from 7.2 to 5.8%) levels. BFP could decrease oil hydrolysis and oxidation during storage, and acidity and peroxide values of fortified samples were lower than control during storage. Vitamin C content of samples were increased from 0.28 to 3.4 ppm in samples containing BFP. In the fortified samples, pelarogonidin-3-monoglucoside was the main anthocyanin followed by petunidin-3-monoglucoside and cyanidin-3-monoglucoside. Expansion ratio, brittleness and breaking strength of the fortified samples was also decreased significantly (P

A novel hollow CoAl2O4 microsphere was synthesized by hydrothermal method and used to selectively convert CO2 and CS2 to cyclic carbonates and trithiocarbonates under the solventless condition. Various techniques such as powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), as well as N2 and CO2 adsorption measurements have been used for characterization of catalyst. The effects of reaction parameters such as temperature, time and pressure were investigated. The catalyst showed a good performance for conversion of a wide range of epoxides, giving almost satisfactory yields and high selectivity for carbonates and trithiocarbonates. In addition, the catalyst showed high stability and could be reused after regeneration at least for six times. This process also could be regarded as an efficient way for CO2 conversion for production of valuable organic compounds.

We report an ultrafast transformation of poly(p-phenylene-2,6-benzobisoxazole) (PBO) fibers into carbon fibers (CFs) by direct carbonization that eliminates high-cost oxidation in traditional CF conversion. Ultrafast heating and cooling render PBO-derived CFs superlative mechanical properties. ReaxFF atomistic-scale reactive molecular dynamics simulations unveil the PBO to CF conversion mechanism in which ultrafast heating suppresses the O-contained gas release, facilitating all-carbon rings alignment during the carbonization of PBO. These findings provide new guidelines for identifying and evaluating alternative CF precursors and fresh perspectives on smart manufacturing of CFs.

Pomegranate fruit is getting more attention due to its positive health effects, and pomegranate peel (PP) is its main byproduct. PP has the potential to be converted from environmentally polluting waste to wealth due to its rich phenolic compounds such as ellagitannins, proanthocyanidins, and flavonoids with antioxidant, antimicrobial, and health effects. These phenolics are susceptible to environmental conditions such as heat, light, and pH as well as in vivo conditions of gastrointestinal secretions. Some phenolics of PP, e.g., ellagitannins could interfere with food ingredients and thus reduce their beneficial effects. Also, ellagitannins could form complexes with salivary glycoproteins, then a feeling of astringency taste. In this article, nano-delivery systems such as nanoparticles, nanoemulsions, and vesicular nanocarriers, designed and fabricated for PP bioactive compounds in recent years have been reviewed. Among them, lipid-based nano carriers i.e., solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers, and vesicular nanocarriers have low toxicity, large-scale production feasibility, easy synthesis, and high biocompatibility. So, it seems that the extraction and purification of bioactives from pomegranate wastes and nanoencapsulating them with cost effective and generally recognized as safe (GRAS) materials can be a bright prospect in enhancing the quality, safety, shelf life and health benefits of pomegranate products.

The incidence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in menopausal women is one of the main health care concerns. MetS clusters are related to an imbalance in pro- and anti-inflammatory adipokines such as secreted frizzled-related protein 5 (SFRP5) and wingless-type mammary tumor virus integration site family, member 5A (WNT5A). WNT5A induces an inflammatory state to induce insulin resistance and further pathologic consequences. Recent strategies to prevent progression of MetS to diabetes have focused on conservative treatments such as exercise and herbal medicine. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanistic effects of cotreatment with cinnamon extract and 12-wk high-intensity endurance training on MetS components considering the non-canonical WNT5A signaling.Thirty-two female ovariectomized Wistar rats were divided into the following four groups (n = 8/group): exercise (Ova+Exe), cinnamon extract (Ova+Cin), exercise with cinnamon extract (Ova+Exe+Cin) and saline (Ova+Sal). One group of rats undergoing surgery without removal of the ovaries was considered as a sham. After 3 mo of experimental intervention, waist circumference, serum concentrations of glucose, insulin, lipid profile, tumor necrosis factor-α, WNT5A, and SFRP5 were measured.Data showed a significant reduction in serum glucose, low-density lipoprotein, homeostasis model assessment estimate of insulin resistance, and tumor necrosis factor-α, but an increase in SFRP5 level in Ova+Exe, Ova+Cin and Ova +Exe+Cin groups compared with Ova+Sal group (P0.05). Serum WNT5A significantly was reduced only in Ova+Exe+Cin group (P = 0.02).The present study indicated that high-endurance training combined with aqueous cinnamon extract supplementation for 12 wk more efficiently alleviated insulin resistance and metabolic dysfunctions via reduction in noncanonical WNT signaling in ovariectomized rats.

Detection and quantitation of bisphenol A (BPA) level in food samples and environment are of great significance. In this research work, a new electrochemical aptasensor was developed for ultrasensitive detection of BPA, based on MWCNT/SiO2@Au nanocomposite. Molecular dynamic (MD) simulation was carried out in order to better understand the interaction between the target molecules and the aptamer from molecular point of view. The detection strategy of the proposed electrochemical aptasensor, is based on [Fe (CN)6]3-/4- as a label free redox probe. In the absence of BPA molecules, the aptamers remain unfold so that the long tunnels for receiving the [Fe (CN)6]3-/4- redox probe are formed at the surface of the electrode. But, upon addition of BPA molecules, strong interactions between the BPA molecules and the aptamer are occurred. Therefore, the entrance of the tunnels is closed which results in a hard electron exchange between the redox probe and the electrode surface. Therefore, the electrochemical signal is decreased in the presence of BPA molecules. The proposed electrochemical aptasensor shows a high selectivity toward BPA molecules with a limit of detection (LOD) as low as 10 pM. The fabricated electrochemical aptasensor was successfully applied for detection of BPA in food samples.

In this study, seeds of Milk thistle (Silybum marianum L.) as a biomedical plant were pretreated with microwaves (800 W) for 2 and 4 min, to evaluate the process of intensifying oil extraction efficiency, physicochemical properties, nutraceuticals content, and fatty acids profile of milk thistle seeds oil extracted from Iranian ecotype, Khoreslo. Results showed that microwave pretreatment of Milk thistle seed increased the oil extraction yield (by 6%), total phenolic content (by 12.2%), phytosterols (by 25%), and tocopherols (by 37.5%) of the oil obtained by solvent. Some physicochemical properties of seed oil such as chlorophyll content (0.55–1.73 mg pheophytin/kg oil) and saponification value (179–187 mg KOH/g oil) increased, but acid value (4.24−2.16 mg KOH/g oil), peroxide value (5.11−2.09 meqO2/kg oil), iodine value (107−99 g I2/100 g oil), and the poly unsaturated to saturated fatty acids (PUFA/SFA) ratio of all samples decreased by treatment with microwaves. Moreover, the α, β, γ-, δ δ -tocopherols, and phytosterols content such as cholesterol, campesterol, stigmasterol, cleroesterol, β-sitosterol, and Δ7-sterol of milk thistle seed oils increased by microwaves treatment. In conclusion, the results indicated that microwave pretreatment is a promising strategy for amplification of oil extraction yield and the content of nutraceuticals in obtained oil from milk thistle seeds.

In this study, a simple and novel kinetic spectrophotometric method has been proposed for the sensitive and highly selective determination of Brilliant Green. The method is based on the interaction of Brilliant Green with Triton X-100 in micellar media at room temperature. As a result of this interaction, the peak wavelength (625 nm) is gradually shifted toward longer wavelength region (634 nm) and more intensive hyper chromic effect has been seen. As well as, variations in the red, blue and green (RGB) components of the images as a function of time were observed. The kinetic interaction of Brilliant Green with Triton X-100 was recorded, using UV–Vis Spectrophotometer-diode array detector and a digital camera. The fixed-time method was used for the construction of a calibration curves. Brilliant Green can be measured in the range of 1.0 to 12.0 mg L−1 and 1.0 to 10.0 mg L−1with the detection limit of 0.047 mg L−1 and 0.037 mg L−1 using spectrophotometer and digital camera, respectively. The proposed method has been successfully used to determine Brilliant Green in some wastewaters such as textile dye effluent and goldfish farming water in the presence of some triphenylmethan dyes as the interferences.

Popliteal artery aneurysm (PAA) is a rare disease with a prevalence of 0.1% to 1%. Within previous years, endovascular repair (ER) of PAAs has been performed more frequently despite the lack of high-level evidence compared with open surgical repair (OSR). In 2014, the POPART registry was initiated to validate the current treatment options for PAA repair.POPART is a multinational multicenter registry of the peri- and postoperative outcomes of ER and OSR for PAAs. Data sets were recorded using the online survey tool SurveyMonkey (available at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/). Regular monitoring and plausibility checks of the data sets are performed to ensure reliability. The aim of the present study was to report the findings from the POPART registry, which includes data from 41 centers.From June 2014 to August 2019, 794 cases had been recorded in the POPART registry. OSR had been performed in 662 patients and ER in 106 patients; 23 patients had been treated conservatively. Of the 106 patients in the primary ER group, 4 had required conversion to OSR. The ER patients were significantly older (ER, median, 71 years; OSR, median, 67 years; P .05). No other significant differences were present in the demographic data, comorbidities, or aneurysm morphology between the two groups. Of the 662 patients in the OSR group, 50.3% were symptomatic compared with 29.2% of the 106 patients in the ER group (P .05). Emergency treatment because of acute ischemia, critical ischemia, or rupture was necessary for 149 patients (22.5%) in the OSR group and 11 patients (10.3%) in the ER group. The most frequent postoperative complications were impaired wound healing (OSR, n = 47 [7.1%]; ER, n = 3 [2.8%]; P.05) and major bleeding (OSR, n = 26 [3.9%]; ER, n = 3 [2.8%]; P.05). The in-hospital length of stay was significantly longer for the OSR group than for the ER group (median, 10 days; range, 3-65 days; vs median, 7 days; range, 1-73 days). The overall patency for the OSR and ER groups after 12 and 24 months was 83.2% and 44.7% (P .005) and 74.2% and 29.1% (P .005), respectively. The outcomes with a prosthetic graft vs an autologous vein were significantly poorer in the OSR group (primary patency, 71.4% vs 88.1% at 12 months).To evaluate new treatment techniques such as ER for PAAs, real-world data are of essential importance. The present analysis of the first results for the POPART registry shows good perioperative results for endovascular treatment of PAA in asymptomatic patients with good outflow vessels. The perioperative complication rate is low and the postoperative hospital stay is shorter than after OSR. However, the patency rates after 12 and 24 months are low in the ER group compared to patients treated with open repair. More follow-up data is required for further interpretation; the completion of the data sets in the registry is ongoing.

The present investigation deals with the textural properties, colloidal interactions, and morphology of emulsified meat systems in the presence of flaxseed flour (FF) and tomato powder (TP). The results displayed that the emulsifying capacity and texture of raw and cooked meat batters were significantly affected following the addition of TP and FF. The cooked emulsified sausages containing 3% of FF and 3% (w/w) of TP showed the highest values for hardness and cohesiveness, as compared to the control and 6% (w/w) of FF samples. The outcomes of mechanical shearing forces and SEM showed the formation of a gel-type matrix around the unabsorbed protein in TP-FF batters. These patterns were then confirmed by the higher values of GN° (van Gurp Palmen) associated with an increase in the elasticity and the molecular entanglement. In contrast, large fat globules, low entanglement, and protein cross-linking were observed in meat batters with 6% FF.

Aims Ischemia-reperfusion injury is one of the most common cardiac disorders leading to irreversible heart damage. Many underlying mechanisms seem to be involved, among which mitochondrial dysfunction. Since physical training has a beneficial effect on mitochondrial dynamics (fusion and fission), it may have a cardioprotective effect against IR injury also via mitochondrial pathways. This study investigates the protective role of aerobic training against cardiac IR injury and the mitochondrial dynamics as a possible mechanism. Main methods Thirty-two male Wistar rats (8-week old) were divided into a control, sham, control + IR, and training + IR groups (8 rats each). Training group was exercised aerobically on a treadmill for 8 weeks (5 days/week). After 8 weeks, anesthetized rats underwent a left thoracotomy (sham, control + IR, and training + IR groups) to access the left anterior descending coronary artery, which was occluded by a silk suture for 30 min and released for 90 min of reperfusion (IR groups). Triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining was used to determine the infarct size. The gene expression of mitofusin 1 (Mfn1), mitofusin 2 (Mfn2), and dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) was evaluated by RT-PCR. A one-way ANOVA was used for statistical analysis with the significance level set at P ≤ 0.05. Key findings Cardiac infarct size was smaller In training + IR group (20.24 ± 5.7%) than in control + IR (35.9 ± 2.3%; P ≤ 0.05). Training + IR showed higher expression of Mfn1 and Mfn2 (P ≤ 0.05). Conversely, Drp1 expression was lower after training (P ≤ 0.05). Significance Exercise-induced regulation of mitochondrial fusion and fission, leading to improvement of mitochondrial dynamics seems to be involved in the cardioprotection against IR injuries.

Camelina oil, as an alternative to linseed oil, is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids with higher oxidative stability and valuable nutritional properties. Although Iran is a suitable location for the cultivation of the Camelina sativa plant, it is not well known. Therefore, in this study, the physicochemical properties of camelina oil obtained from the Soheil cultivars grown in different regions of Iran (Ilam, Kermanshah, Fars, and Hamedan) were determined to be used as an edible oil source. Results showed that regions had a significant effect (p

Black raspberry is an important source of anthocyanins, which are profoundly colored materials, known for their antioxidant activity. However, their usage in food industry is restricted mainly because of their low stability, especially under harsh conditions. To overcome the instability of these water soluble compounds, a double emulsion technique prior to complex coacervation was applied by gelatin and gum Arabic as wall materials after preparing the water-in-oil emulsion. The coacervation process was investigated as a function of gelatin, gum Arabic and the core material concentrations at ratios of 1:1:0.5, 1:1:0.75 and 1:1:1, the concentration of polymer solutions (2.5, 5.0 and 7.5%, w/v) as well as pH (3.5, 4.0, 4.5 and 5.0). The pH 4.0 was selected as optimum pH for gelatin/gum Arabic coacervation. The morphology, particle size, moisture, solubility, hygroscopicity, zeta potential, loading capacity, color parameters (L*, a*, b*, C, H◦ and TCD), stability, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermal behavior and X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern were obtained. The microcapsules presented the spherical shape and relatively smooth surface by the average sizes ranging from 45.25 ± 0.97 to 109.49 ± 4.77 μm. The loading capacity was high (23.27 ± 0.42 to 41.72 ± 0.30%). There was a good correlation between zeta potential values and FTIR spectra, indicating the chemical cross-linking reaction. DSC thermograms confirm the thermostability of microcapsules. XRD pattern was in line with DSC results, indicating the amorphous structure of unencapsulated core anthocyanins. Furthermore, the HPLC and color analysis results demonstrating the high retention of microencapsulated anthocyanins (up to 36%) as comparing the control sample after 2 months of storage at 37 ± 2 °C, suggesting that the method chosen to protect the anthocyanins was effective.

Speaker extraction aims to extract the speech signal of the speaker of interest from a mixture of two or more speakers. We propose a set of novel psychoacoustic-based loss functions that each can be used to optimize a stacked network of Bidirectional Long Short Term Memories (BLSTM) to imitate the human hearing system, which has an extraordinary ability to perceive and separate speech signals. To do this, we propose to use Mel and Gammatone filter banks as well as perceptual loudness and power-law of hearing effects in the loss functions of BLSTMs. The evaluation results on the Speech Separation Corpus (SSC) show that the proposed approach outperforms the baseline methods in terms of Short-Time Objective Intelligibility (STOI), Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Quality (PESQ) and Speech to Distortion Ratio (SDR). The proposed approach leads to an improvement of up to 0.276 in PESQ results compared to baseline methods.

Objectives Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) and vitamin D signaling pathways regulate a multitude of genes involved in different physiological functions. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of vitamin D supplementation and aerobic training on metabolic syndrome and PPARγ expression. Methods Forty female ovariectomized rats were divided into five groups of aerobic training with high (OVX + Exe + HD), moderate (OVX + Exe + MD), and low dose of vitamin D (OVX + Exe + LD), aerobic training receving vehicle (sesame oil; OVX + Exe + oil), and sham-operated control (sham) groups. After 2 mo of treatment, serum insulin, vitamin D, glucose, lipid profile, visceral fat, and liver PPARγ gene expression were measured. Results The combination of exercise and high doses of vitamin D significantly reduced insulin ( P = 0.039), blood glucose ( P = 0.024), and homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance ( P = 0.011), and elevated PPARγ gene expression ( P = 0.032). Also, treatment with aerobic training and either high or moderate vitamin D, ameliorated overall metabolic syndrome Z scores ( P = 0.001). Conclusion Findings from the present study suggested that a sedentary lifestyle and vitamin D deficiency accelerated the occurrence of metabolic syndrome probably by decreasing the expression of nuclear receptor PPARγ. Additionally, adequate levels of plasma vitamin D are necessary to achieve the beneficial metabolic effects of physical activity.