In this study, the viability and stability of probiotics (Lactobacillus casei and Bifidobacterium animalis) encapsulated in a resistant starch medium through freeze‐drying is evaluated. Particle ...size, SEM, and color analysis are done on the microcapsules. The encapsulation yield after freeze‐drying is between 81.55% and 88.78%, with viability of the microcapsules analyzed in simulated gastric juice (SGJ) and simulated intestinal juice (SIJ) as well as in apple juice store at 4 °C over 28 days. The microencapsulated probiotics in this study has a substantial final count for SGJ and SIJ between 7.30–7.98 Log colony‐forming unit (CFU) mL‐1 and 7.26–7.89 Log CFU mL‐1, respectively. The Log CFU mL‐1 for free cells are significantly lower than the microcapsules. The final viability for microcapsules in the juice at the end of 28 days for resistant starch + L. casei (RSL), resistant starch + B. animalis (RSB), and resistant starch + L. casei + B. animalis(RSLB) are 7.53, 6.98, and 7.46 Log CFU mL‐1. This confirms that microencapsulation enhance the survival of L. casei and B. animalis in fruit juice under cold storage. Results from this study show that resistant starch has potential as an encapsulating material as it protected the probiotic cells in conditions such as freeze‐drying, simulated gastrointestinal digestion and low pH environments during beverage application.
Microencapsulation is one of the most efficient methods for protection of probiotics, in this study, the viability and stability of probiotics (Lactobacillus casei and Bifidobacterium animalis) encapsulated in a resistant starch medium through freeze‐drying is evaluated. The results show that resistant starch has potential as an encapsulating material protecting probiotic cells during freeze‐drying, gastrointestinal digestion and low pH environments.
A key challenge in movement ecology is to understand how animals move in nature. Previous studies have predicted that animals should perform a special class of random walks, called Lévy walk, to ...obtain more targets. However, some empirical studies did not support this hypothesis, and the relationship between search strategy and ecological factors is still unclear. We focused on ecological factors, such as predation risk, and analyzed whether Lévy walk may not be favored. It was remarkable that the ecological factors often altered an optimal search strategy from Lévy walk to Brownian walk, depending on the speed of the predator's movement, density of predators, etc. This occurred because higher target encounter rates simultaneously led searchers to higher predation risks. Our findings indicate that animals may not perform Lévy walks often, and we suggest that it is crucial to consider the ecological context for evaluating the search strategy performed by animals in the field.
Bambara groundnut is a leguminous crop that originated in West Africa. It is a drought-tolerant crop and has the potential to provide improved food and nutritional security in the dry areas of ...Africa. However, the plant contains anti-nutritional factors that affect its food value chain. The objective of this study was to assess the content of four major anti-nutritional factors in 30 bambara groundnut accessions in South Africa. The seeds of the bambara groundnut landraces were ground to make a fine powder and assessed for condensed tannins (CTs), phytic acid phosphate (PAP), polyphenol, and trypsin inhibitor content. Each assay was done in triplicate. The content of the four anti-nutritional compounds varied widely among the bambara groundnut accessions. The mean values for CTs ranged between 0.2 and 6.2 mg/g of prodephinidin equivalent, whereas that of the PAP was between 1.4 and 4.9 mg/g. A low mean polyphenol content of 0.4 mg/g of GA (gallic acid) equivalent was observed among the accessions. The level of trypsin inhibitor ranged from 5.3 to 73.4 TI/mg. With the exception of CTs and trypsin inhibitor, no significant correlation was observed among the four anti-nutritional factors assessed in this study. Generally, higher levels of anti-nutrients were observed in this study compared with certain studies reported earlier.
Summary
Projected mortalities from cancer are expected to continue escalating, with conventional chemotherapeutic regimens having extensive side effects, hence the need for therapeutics capable of ...terminating cancer cells selectively, through apoptosis. Therapeutic protein isolates bind specifically to target proteins inducing cell death in vitro and in vivo in various cancer cells. Therefore, this study aimed at observing the antioxidant and anticancer potential of protein isolates from five cowpea cultivars (Glenda, Embu buff, Makhatini, Veg Cowpea 2 and Veg Cowpea 3). Cytotoxicity was conducted on cancerous and non‐cancerous cell lines. Apoptosis was quantified using flow cytometry, and caspase‐3/7 activity was determined. Cytotoxicity assays revealed that Embu buff was the pre‐eminent inhibitor of cancerous cells, while also acting as a protecting mediator in a stressed non‐cancerous cell line by causing a reversal in apoptotic activity. Therefore, cowpea isolates show high potential as candidates for the therapeutic intrusion of cancer.
Embu buff isolate was the pre‐eminent inhibitor of cancerous cells effective in the inhibition of breast cancer cells, while also acting as a protecting mediator in stressed non‐cancerous cells by causing a reversal in apoptotic activity. Embu buff isolate also acted as a protecting mediator in stressed non‐cancerous cells by causing a reversal in apoptotic activity.
The effects of the addition of Nb and B on grain boundary precipitation, martensitic transformation and superelasticity were investigated in the Fe–Ni–Co–Al alloys. The addition of Nb increases the ...hardness and the martensitic transformation changes from non-thermoelastic to thermoelastic, while the addition of B is effective for suppressing the formation of brittle grain boundary precipitates. By the recrystallization texture developed by 98.5% cold-rolling and annealing, high ductility and superelasticity with 5% recoverable strain were realized in the Fe–28Ni–17Co–10.5Al–2.5Nb–0.05B polycrystalline alloy.
Modern neurotechnology research employing state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms within the so-called "AI for social good" domain contributes to improving the well-being of individuals with a ...disability. Using digital health technologies, home-based self-diagnostics, or cognitive decline managing approaches with neuro-biomarker feedback may be helpful for older adults to remain independent and improve their wellbeing. We report research results on early-onset dementia neuro-biomarkers to scrutinize cognitive-behavioral intervention management and digital non-pharmacological therapies.
We present an empirical task in the EEG-based passive brain-computer interface application framework to assess working memory decline for forecasting a mild cognitive impairment. The EEG responses are analyzed in a framework of a network neuroscience technique applied to EEG time series for evaluation and to confirm the initial hypothesis of possible ML application modeling mild cognitive impairment prediction.
We report findings from a pilot study group in Poland for a cognitive decline prediction. We utilize two emotional working memory tasks by analyzing EEG responses to facial emotions reproduced in short videos. A reminiscent interior image oddball task is also employed to validate the proposed methodology further.
The proposed three experimental tasks in the current pilot study showcase the critical utilization of artificial intelligence for early-onset dementia prognosis in older adults.
The microstructural state and evolution of fault gouge has important implications for the mechanical behaviour, and hence the seismic slip potential of faults. We use 3D discrete element (DEM) ...simulations to investigate the fragmentation processes operating in fault gouge during shear. Our granular fault gouge models consist of aggregate grains, each composed of several thousand spherical particles stuck together with breakable elastic bonds. The aggregate grains are confined between two blocks of solid material and sheared under a given normal stress. During shear, the grains can fragment in a somewhat realistic way leading to an evolution of grain size, grain shape and overall texture. The ‘breaking up’ of the fault gouge is driven by two distinct comminution mechanisms: grain abrasion and grain splitting. The relative importance of the two mechanisms depends on applied normal stress, boundary wall roughness and accumulated shear strain. If normal stress is sufficiently high, grain splitting contributes significantly to comminution, particularly in the initial stages of the simulations. In contrast, grain abrasion is the dominant mechanism operating in simulations carried out at lower normal stress and is also the main fragmentation mechanism during the later stages of all simulations. Rough boundaries promote relatively more grain splitting whereas smooth boundaries favor grain abrasion. Grain splitting (plus accompanying abrasion) appears to be an efficient mechanism for reducing the mean grain size of the gouge debris and leads rapidly to a power law size distribution with an exponent that increases with strain. Grain abrasion (acting alone) is an effective way to generate excess fine grains and leads to a bimodal distribution of grain sizes. We suggest that these two distinct mechanisms would operate at different stages of a fault’s history. The resulting distributions in grain size and grain shape may significantly affect frictional strength and stability. Our results therefore have implications for the earthquake potential of seismically active faults with accumulations of gouge. They may also be relevant to the susceptibility of rockslides since non-cohesive basal shear zones will evolve in a similar way and potentially control the dynamics of the slide.
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