Microencapsulation of Red Sorghum Phenolic Compounds with Esterified Sorghum Starch as Encapsulant Materials by Spray Drying

Fenolni spojevi imaju antioksidacijska svojstva, ali su vrlo osjetljive molekule, što ograničava njihovu upotrebu. Iz tog razloga je kao učinkovit materijal za njihovu inkapsulaciju predložen ekstrudirani esterificirani škrob. Svrha je ovog istraživanja bila opisati metodu inkapsulacije fenolnih spojeva izoliranih iz crvenog sirka sušenjem raspršivanjem pomoću ekstrudiranog fosforiliranog, acetiliranog te dvostruko esterificiranog škroba iz bijelog sirka. Prinosi inkapsulacije bili su 77,4; 67,4 i 56,8 %, a učinkovitost 91,4; 89,7 i 84,6 %. Stupanj supstitucije potvrdio je esterifikaciju škroba, a Fourierovom transformacijom crvenog spektra (FTIR) dokazano je da je došlo do bitnih kemijskih i strukturnih promjena u ekstrudiranom škrobu s fenolnim spojevima. Mikrokapsule od fosforiliranog škroba imale su najveću endotermnu tranziciju (173,89 °C) i omogućile bolju zaštitu fenolnih spojeva pri skladištenju na 60 °C tijekom 35 dana nego ostali inkapsulacijski materijali. Dokazano je da je ekstrudirani esterificirani škrob bijelog sirka dobar za zaštitu fenolnih spojeva jer ima veliku učinkovitost inkapsulacije i stabilnost tijekom skladištenja.Phenolic compounds with antioxidant properties are highly sensitive molecules, which limits their application. In response, extruded esterified starch has been proposed as efficient encapsulating material. In this work, we aim to describe the encapsulation of red sorghum phenolic compounds by spray drying using extruded phosphorylated, acetylated and double esterified sorghum starch as wall material. Their respective encapsulation yields were 77.4, 67.4 and 56.8 %, and encapsulation efficiency 91.4, 89.7 and 84.6 %. Degree of substitution confirmed esterification of the sorghum starch and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed the significant chemical and structural changes in the extruded esterified starch loaded with phenolic compounds. Microcapsules from phosphorylated sorghum starch showed the highest endothermic transition (173.89 °C) and provided a greater protection of the phenolic compounds during storage at 60 °C for 35 days than the other wall materials. Extruded esterified sorghum starch proved to be effective material for the protection of phenolic compounds due to its high encapsulation efficiency and stability during storage

Ambulatory health service users' experience of waiting time and expenditure and factors associated with the perception of low quality of care in Mexico

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A principal reason for low use of public health care services is the perception of inferior quality of care. Studying health service user (HSU) experiences with their care and their perception of health service quality is critical to understanding health service utilization. The aim of this study was to define reference points for some aspects of health care quality and to analyze which HSU experiences resulted in perceptions of overall low quality of care.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data from the National Health Survey 2006 were used to compare the experiences of HSUs with their ambulatory care at Ministry of Health and affiliated institutions (MOH), social security institutions (SSI) and private institutions (PrivI). Reference points of quality of care related to waiting time and expenditure were defined for each of the three types of institutions by analyzing HSU experiences rated as 'acceptable'. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to identify the principal factors associated with the general perception of low quality of care.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 11,959 HSUs were included in the analysis, of whom 37.6% (n = 4,500) HSUs received care at MOH facilities; 31.2% (n = 3,730) used SSI and 31.2% (n = 3,729) PrivI. An estimated travel and waiting time of 10 minutes respectively was rated as acceptable by HSUs from all institutions. The differences between the waiting time rated as acceptable and the actual waiting time were the largest for SSI (30 min) in comparison to MoH (20 min) and PrivI (5 min) users. The principal factors associated with an overall perception of low quality of care are type of institution (OR 4.36; 95% CI 2.95-6.44), waiting time (OR 3.20; 95% CI 2.35-4.35), improvement of health after consultation (OR 2.93; CI 2.29-3.76) and consultation length of less than 20 minutes (2.03; 95% CI 1.60-2.57).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The reference points derived by the HSUs' own ratings are useful in identifying where quality improvements are required. Prioritizing the reduction of waiting times and improving health status improvement after consultation would increase overall quality of care ratings.</p

The political economy of progressive fiscal contracts in Africa and Latin America

Motivation How can poorer developing countries escape from the vicious circle in which, because the state is fragile, those countries cannot raise sufficient public revenue to be able to finance development, leading to the persistence of poverty and state fragility? We explore a new approach to this problem, which we call progressive fiscal contracts, in which government earmarks the proceeds of particular taxes to be spent on forms of expenditure which will have widespread benefits for lower income groups, such as health, education and social protection. Taxpayers are thus offered a contractual relationship with government (better‐targeted delivery of public services in return for tax payments) in place of a coercive one (simply being ordered to pay taxes, with nothing being offered in exchange). We seek to examine whether this kind of contractual approach offers a way forward for developing countries. Purpose Across five countries (Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Ghana and Zambia) between 2000 and 2015, we seek to find out whether tax yields have improved following the introduction of progressive fiscal contracts, whether conflict and poverty have declined, and whether there have been countervailing costs in terms of reduced efficiency. We also examine the experience of two countries (Brazil and Chile) where there is no formal ear‐marking but government has encouraged the public to think of particular taxes as being associated with particular forms of expenditure. Approach and methods We assess the impact of changes in tax yields, welfare indicators and conflict indicators by means of panel‐data regressions, tabular comparisons and, in Bolivia, qualitative interviews. Changes in efficiency are assessed through examination of changes in tax structure. Findings Across all of the countries surveyed, the introduction of progressive fiscal contracts has been associated with a reduction in headcount poverty between 2000 and 2015, and in Bolivia our qualitative evidence suggests that the relationship can be seen as a causal one. In three cases out of five (Ghana, Bolivia and Ecuador) tax yields have increased, and in two (Ecuador and Bolivia) there was a significant reduction in political violence. In the Latin American cases examined, but not the African ones, there was a shift from royalty‐based taxation to income‐based taxation of natural resources, suggesting the likelihood of an improvement in efficiency over the period in those countries only. In these cases, the stereotypical view that progressive fiscal contracts improve equity at the expense of efficiency is contradicted. Policy implications (or conclusions) ‘Progressive fiscal contracts’, which originated as a device for making tax payments more palatable by offering social benefits in return, show promise as an innovative strategy for boosting tax ratios, reducing political violence and reducing poverty, which deserves further exploration

Elective Cancer Surgery in COVID-19-Free Surgical Pathways During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: An International, Multicenter, Comparative Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: As cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19-free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a COVID-19-free surgical pathway (complete segregation of the operating theater, critical care, and inpatient ward areas) or no defined pathway (incomplete or no segregation, areas shared with patients with COVID-19). The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, unexpected ventilation). RESULTS: Of 9,171 patients from 447 hospitals in 55 countries, 2,481 were operated on in COVID-19-free surgical pathways. Patients who underwent surgery within COVID-19-free surgical pathways were younger with fewer comorbidities than those in hospitals with no defined pathway but with similar proportions of major surgery. After adjustment, pulmonary complication rates were lower with COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.2% v 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86). This was consistent in sensitivity analyses for low-risk patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 1/2), propensity score-matched models, and patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 preoperative tests. The postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was also lower in COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.1% v 3.6%; aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.76). CONCLUSION: Within available resources, dedicated COVID-19-free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during current and before future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks

Elective cancer surgery in COVID-19-free surgical pathways during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: An international, multicenter, comparative cohort study

PURPOSE As cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19–free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway. PATIENTS AND METHODS This international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a COVID-19–free surgical pathway (complete segregation of the operating theater, critical care, and inpatient ward areas) or no defined pathway (incomplete or no segregation, areas shared with patients with COVID-19). The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, unexpected ventilation). RESULTS Of 9,171 patients from 447 hospitals in 55 countries, 2,481 were operated on in COVID-19–free surgical pathways. Patients who underwent surgery within COVID-19–free surgical pathways were younger with fewer comorbidities than those in hospitals with no defined pathway but with similar proportions of major surgery. After adjustment, pulmonary complication rates were lower with COVID-19–free surgical pathways (2.2% v 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86). This was consistent in sensitivity analyses for low-risk patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 1/2), propensity score–matched models, and patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 preoperative tests. The postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was also lower in COVID-19–free surgical pathways (2.1% v 3.6%; aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.76). CONCLUSION Within available resources, dedicated COVID-19–free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during current and before future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Enhancing the hydrogen generation of TiO2nanoparticles by decorating its surface with BiI3and PbI2quantum dots

This work reports the performance of TiO2/BiI3and TiO2/PbI2nanocomposites for hydrogengeneration. BiI3and PbI2quantum dots (QDs) were grown on TiO2(P25 Degussa) using a fastinjection method. According to the analysis by X-ray diffraction, the nanocomposites have a mixture of anatase, rutile and cubic phases from TiO2, BiI3and PbI2. The images obtainedfrom transmission electron microscopy revealed that the TiO2support have sizes in therange of 70e220 nm while the QDs of BiI3and PbI2(co-catalysts) grown on TiO2have sizesin the range of 12e17 nm. The presence of these iodides on TiO2created oxygen vacanciesdefects (confirmed by photoluminescence measurements) that extended the light ab-sorption of TiO2from the UV to the VIS range. According to the results from the photo-catalytic experiments for hydrogen generation (achieved using pure water and UV-VISlight), the hydrogen generation rates produced by the TiO2/BiI3and TiO2/PbI2nano-composites were 437e580 times, 81e108 times and 21e30 times, higher than these for pureTiO2, PbI2and BiI3, respectively. The maximum hydrogen generation rates of the TiO2/BiI3and TiO2/PbI2nanocomposites were 290.7 and 219.2mmol h 1g 1, respectively. In addition,the TiO2/BiI3and TiO2/PbI2nanocomposites contained defects that acted as electrontrapping centers, which in turn, delayed the electron-hole recombination and this favoredthe photocatalytic generation of H2. Moreover, the heterojunction formed between the TiO2and the iodides allowed the transfer of electrons from the conduction band of TiO2towardthe conduction band of the iodides, creating a“sink”for the electrons which delayed theelectron hole recombination. The results presented here demonstrated that the depositionof iodide co-catalyst on TiO2is a feasible option to enhance the hydrogen generation

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) phenotypes: From Agroindustry to health effects

Sweet potato (SP; Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam) is an edible tuber native to America and the sixth most important food crop worldwide. China leads its production in a global market of USD 45 trillion. SP domesticated varieties differ in specific phenotypic/genotypic traits, yet all of them are rich in sugars, slow digestible/resistant starch, vitamins, minerals, bioactive proteins and lipids, carotenoids, polyphenols, ascorbic acid, alkaloids, coumarins, and saponins, in a genotype-dependent manner. Individually or synergistically, SP's phytochemicals help to prevent many illnesses, including certain types of cancers and cardiovascular disorders. These and other topics, including the production and market diversification of raw SP and its products, and SP's starch as a functional ingredient, are briefly discussed in this revie

In Patients With Obesity, the Number of Adipose Tissue Mast Cells Is Significantly Lower in Subjects With Type 2 Diabetes

This work was supported by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (grant PI15/01361), Spain; and MINECO (grant DPI2017-84439-R), Madrid and FEDER. DL-P is a predoctoral fellow ("Programa de doctorado en Bioquimica y Biologia Molecular", B16.56.1) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (" Formacion de profesorado universitario" grant FPU18/ 04432). DL-P participated in this work thanks to a grant from University of Granada ("Becas de iniciacion a la investigacion del plan propio de la UGR").Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a rising global health problem mainly caused by obesity and a sedentary lifestyle. In healthy individuals, white adipose tissue (WAT) has a relevant homeostatic role in glucose metabolism, energy storage, and endocrine signaling. Mast cells contribute to these functions promoting WAT angiogenesis and adipogenesis. In patients with T2D, inflammation dramatically impacts WAT functioning, which results in the recruitment of several leukocytes, including monocytes, that enhance this inflammation. Accordingly, the macrophages population rises as the WAT inflammation increases during the T2D status worsening. Since mast cell progenitors cannot arrive at WAT, the amount of WAT mast cells depends on how the new microenvironment affects progenitor and differentiated mast cells. Here, we employed a flow cytometry-based approach to analyze the number of mast cells from omental white adipose tissue (o-WAT) and subcutaneous white adipose tissue (s-WAT) in a cohort of 100 patients with obesity. Additionally, we measured the number of mast cell progenitors in a subcohort of 15 patients. The cohort was divided in three groups: non-T2D, pre-T2D, and T2D. Importantly, patients with T2D have a mild condition (HbA1c <7%). The number of mast cells and mast cell progenitors was lower in patients with T2D in both o-WAT and s-WAT in comparison to subjects from the pre-T2D and non-T2D groups. In the case of mast cells in o-WAT, there were statistically significant differences between non-T2D and T2D groups (p = 0.0031), together with pre-T2D and T2D groups (p=0.0097). However, in s-WAT, the differences are only between non-T2D and T2D groups (p=0.047). These differences have been obtained with patients with a mild T2D condition. Therefore, little changes in T2D status have a huge impact on the number of mast cells in WAT, especially in o-WAT. Due to the importance of mast cells in WAT physiology, their decrease can reduce the capacity of WAT, especially o-WAT, to store lipids and cause hypoxic cell deaths that will trigger inflammation.Instituto de Salud Carlos III PI15/01361MINECO, Madrid DPI2017-84439-REuropean CommissionSpanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (" Formacion de profesorado universitario" grant) FPU18/04432 B16.56.1University of Granada ("Becas de iniciacion a la investigacion del plan propio de la UGR"

Encapsulation of probiotics

Elie Metchnikoff (1845–1916) is considered the grandfather of modern probiotics (Greek, “for life”) science. In his book The Overtime of Life (Metchinkoff, 1908), he proposed that administering live beneficial microbes to humans through fermented dairy may result in better health and senility delay (Zendeboodi et al., 2020). However, to exert such effects on the host, enough live cells should be guaranteed during storage and gastrointestinal (GI) passage. The loss of cell viability in prepared foods (especially fermented ones) and harsh GI conditions (e.g., low pH/osmolarity) has encouraged researchers to find new protection methods (Mokhtari, Jafari, & Khomeiri, 2019), from which microencapsulation and nano-covering stand are the most studied. These methods protect viable cells from oxygen, light, temperature, osmolarity, and free radical damage (Corona-Hernandez et al., 2013). Modern omics sciences offer new perspectives on the differential modulation of probiotics’ metabolism when delivered to the GI tract in free vs. entrapped or viable vs. nonviable cells. These and other relevant aspects of probiotic science are reviewed and discussed in the following section