Effect of cooking on protein digestion and antioxidant activity of different legume pastes

[EN] Legumes are protein-rich foods that can be used to prepare pastes or pureed foods suitable for babies and the elderly. The aims of this study were the characterization of different legume pastes (from soybean, lentil, and pea) subjected to three processing methods (ordinary cooking, pressure cooking, and microwave) and the evaluation of protein digestion and antioxidant activity during simulated gastrointestinal digestion (GID). The different cooking methods of legumes led to differences in the physicochemical properties of the pastes, as well as on the textural and viscoelastic characteristics, except for soybean samples, despite all the pastes presenting elastic properties and weak gel behavior. Cooking followed by GID improved the protein digestibility and antioxidant activity of the legumes, which was attributed to released peptides and amino acids more than free phenolics. However, the fate and extent at each digestion stage was different according to the legume type and cooking method, as it would be influenced by the matrix structure and interaction between components. This work has expanded knowledge about the properties, digestibility, and antioxidant activity of different cooked legumes for a future design of pastes.This research was funded by the RTI2018-098842-B-I00 project from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities.Gallego Ibáñez, M.; Arnal-Salinas, M.; Barat Baviera, JM.; Talens Oliag, P. (2021). Effect of cooking on protein digestion and antioxidant activity of different legume pastes. Foods. 10(1):1-20. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10010047S12010

Compositional, structural design and nutritional aspects of texture-modified foods for the elderly

[EN] Background: Texture-modified foods (TMF) are commonly used as a therapeutic strategy for people with chewing or swallowing difficulties such as the elderly, which is the fastest growing segment of the global population. These foods need to be soft, safe and easily swallowed as well as have nutritive properties and attractive sensory attributes in order to help overcome physiological dysfunctions and cover specific nutritional requirements.Scope and approach: This review provides an overview about common and novel ingredients and techniques used to obtain TMF with desired textural characteristics as well as methods or processes aimed to improve nutritional and sensory characteristics. Digestibility aspects of TMF are also presented, specially the influence of food matrix structure and material properties on digestion and bioaccessibility of nutrients.Key findings and conclusions: The design of products with textural, nutritional, and sensory characteristics suitable for the elderly should consider not only compositional and structural aspects during formulation but also the modification of food structure during oral processing and gastrointestinal digestion. Increasing the knowledge in these issues will assist the development of products with enhanced functionalities in order to meet the needs of specific populations such as the elderly.Grant RTI2018-098842-B-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by ERDF "A way of making Europe" is acknowledged. M.G. also gratefully thanks the postdoctoral grant (PAID-10-19) from the "Universitat Politecnica de Valencia".Gallego Ibáñez, M.; Barat Baviera, JM.; Grau Meló, R.; Talens Oliag, P. (2022). Compositional, structural design and nutritional aspects of texture-modified foods for the elderly. Trends in Food Science & Technology. 119:152-163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2021.12.00815216311

Effect of the type and degree of alkalization of cocoa powder on the physico-chemical and sensory properties of sponge cakes

[EN] Alkalization is a crucial process during cocoa processing to reduce its bitterness, improve solubility and develop color. Alkalization can be performed out at several points of the process (nib or cake), with different agents and at various intensities. All these variables may affect cocoa properties, but also physico-chemical and sensory properties of derived products (i.e. cakes). This work aims to evaluate the impact of alkalization type (nib vs. cake), alkalizing agent (K2CO3, NaHCO3 and KOH) and process intensity (mild and strong) on the physicochemical and sensory properties of sponge cakes. For this aim, 8 different alkalized powders were industrially produced and used in the preparation of sponge cakes. Alkalizing conditions significantly affected cocoa properties (pH, color, sensory properties) and those of the corresponding cakes (cake doughs color and rheology, as well as baked cake color and texture). In general, doughs prepared with cocoas alkalized under strong conditions were a 55 % darker and a 15 % less elastic. After baking, the corresponding cakes were a 17 % darker (L*) and a 12 % harder in texture. Despite these differences, all the cakes were equally rated by consumers in sensory terms demonstrating that for this application, alkalization variables do not condition consumer acceptability.The authors wish to acknowledge the financial assistance provided by the Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad (Spanish Government) and the European Regional Development Fund (Project RTC-2016-5241-2). We also thank Helen Warburton for editing the English style.Puchol-Miquel, M.; Palomares, C.; Fernández Segovia, I.; Barat Baviera, JM.; Pérez-Esteve, É. (2021). Effect of the type and degree of alkalization of cocoa powder on the physico-chemical and sensory properties of sponge cakes. LWT - Food Science and Technology. 152:1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2021.1122411915

Calibration of Gamma Ray Impacts in Monolithic-Based Detectors Using Voronoi Diagrams

[EN] Molecular imaging systems, such as positron emission tomography (PET), use detectors providing energy and a 3-D interaction position of a gamma ray within a scintillation block. Monolithic crystals are becoming an alternative to crystal arrays in PET. However, calibration processes are required to correct for nonuniformities, mainly produced by the truncation of the scintillation light distribution at the edges. We propose a calibration method based on the Voronoi diagrams. We have used $50 \times 50 \times 15$ mm(3) LYSO blocks coupled to a $12\times 12$ SiPMs array. We have first studied two different interpolation algorithms: 1) weighted average method (WAM) and 2) natural neighbor (NN). We have compared them with an existing calibration based on 1-D monomials. Here, the crystal was laterally black painted and a retroreflector (RR) layer added to the entrance face. The NN exhibited the best results in terms of XY impact position, depth of Interaction, and energy, allowing us to calibrate the whole scintillation volume. Later, the NN interpolation has been tested against different crystal surface treatments, allowing always to correct edge effects. Best energy resolutions were observed when using the reflective layers (12%-14%). However, better linearity was observed with the treatments using black paint. In particular, we obtained the best overall performance when lateral black paint is combined with the RR.This work was supported in part by the European Research Council through the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under Grant 695536, and in part by the Spanish Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad under Grant TEC2016-79884-C2-1-R.Freire, M.; Gonzalez-Montoro, A.; Sánchez Martínez, F.; Benlloch Baviera, JM.; González Martínez, AJ. (2020). Calibration of Gamma Ray Impacts in Monolithic-Based Detectors Using Voronoi Diagrams. IEEE Transactions on Radiation and Plasma Medical Sciences. 4(3):350-360. https://doi.org/10.1109/TRPMS.2019.2947716S3503604

Characterization of a High-Aspect Ratio Detector With Lateral Sides Readout for Compton PET

This work was supported by the European Research Council through the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under Grant 695536.Barrio, J.; Cucarella, N.; González Martínez, AJ.; Freire, M.; Ilisie, V.; Benlloch Baviera, JM. (2020). Characterization of a High-Aspect Ratio Detector With Lateral Sides Readout for Compton PET. IEEE Transactions on Radiation and Plasma Medical Sciences. 4(5):546-554. https://doi.org/10.1109/TRPMS.2020.3006862S5465544

Impact of chia seed mucilage on technological, sensory, and in vitro digestibility properties of a texture-modified puree

[EN] The impact of adding chia seed mucilage (CSM) as alternative to common thickeners, such as modified starch (MS), in a texture-modified chicken and vegetables puree and their effect on technological, sensory, and in vitro digestibility properties were evaluated and compared. The thickened purees showed weak gel behaviour with good oral consistency, but MS puree was less accepted than CSM regarding the oral adhesiveness. CSM purees presented the highest consistency and viscosity during the oral processing, which would facilitate a safe swallowing process. Its flow behaviour was scarcely affected by the conditions of simulated oral and gastric phases. Protein digestibility was not compromised, whereas the digestion rate of starch in CSM was lower than that of MS. These results demonstrate the feasibility of tailoring the technological, sensory, and digestibility properties of purees by adding different thickeners, and the suitability of CSM to be used in dysphagia-oriented products.Grant RTI2018-098842-B-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by ERDF "A way of making Europe" is acknowledged. M.G. gratefully acknowledge the Postdoctoral grant (PAID-1019) from the "Universitat Politecnica de Valencia" and S.R. the Postdoctoral grant (APOSTD/2020/264) from "Generalitat Valenciana".Ribes-Llop, S.; Gallego Ibáñez, M.; Barat Baviera, JM.; Grau Meló, R.; Talens Oliag, P. (2022). Impact of chia seed mucilage on technological, sensory, and in vitro digestibility properties of a texture-modified puree. Journal of Functional Foods. 89:1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jff.2022.104943198

Funcionamiento del software ExtraSL para la simulación del proceso de extracción sólido-líquido

En este artículo vamos a aprender a utilizar el programa ExtraSL para la simulación de procesos de extracción sólido-líquido muy frecuentes en la industria alimentaria.Fito Suñer, PJ.; Castro Giráldez, M.; Tomás Egea, JÁ.; Barat Baviera, JM.; Ortolá Ortolá, MD. (2018). Funcionamiento del software ExtraSL para la simulación del proceso de extracción sólido-líquido. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/103832DE

Artificial neural networks (Fuzzy ARTMAP) analysis of the dataobtained with an electronic tongue applied to a ham-curing processwith different salt formulations

tThis paper describes the determination of optimum values of the parameters of a Simplified FuzzyARTMAP neural network for monitoring dry-cured ham processing with different salt formulations tobe implemented in a microcontroller device. The employed network must be set to the limited micro-controller memory but, at the same time, should achieve optimal performance to classify the samplesobtained from this application.Hams salted with different salt formulations (100% NaCl; 50% NaCl + 50% KCl and 55% NaCl + 25%KCl + 15% CaCl2+ 5% MgCl2) were checked at four processing times, from post-salting to the end of theirprocessing (2, 4, 8 and 12 months).Measurements were taken with a potentiometric electronic tongue system formed by metal electrodesof different materials that worked as nonspecific sensors. This study aimed to discriminate ham samplesaccording to two parameters: processing time and salt formulation.The results were analyzed with an artificial neural network of the Simplified Fuzzy ARTMAP (SFAM)type. During the training and validation process of the neural network, optimum values of the controlparameters of the neural network were determined for easy implementation in a microcontroller, and tosimultaneously achieve maximum sample discrimination. The test process was run in a PIC18F450 micro-controller, where the SFAM algorithm was implemented with the optimal parameters. A data analysiswith the optimized neural network was achieved, and samples were perfectly discriminated according toprocessing time (100%). It is more difficult to discriminate all samples according to salt formulation type,but it is easy to achieve salt type discrimination within each processing block time. Thus, we concludethat the processing time effect dominates salt formulation effects.This work was financially supported by the Spanish Government and European FEDER funds (MAT2012-38429-C04-04).Gil Sánchez, L.; Garrigues Baixauli, J.; Garcia-Breijo, E.; Grau Meló, R.; Aliño Alfaro, M.; Baigts Allende, DK.; Barat Baviera, JM. (2015). Artificial neural networks (Fuzzy ARTMAP) analysis of the dataobtained with an electronic tongue applied to a ham-curing processwith different salt formulations. Applied Soft Computing. (30):421-429. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asoc.2014.12.0374214293

Antidiabetic Drug Prescription Pattern in Hospitalized Older Patients with Diabetes

Objective: To describe the prescription pattern of antidiabetic and cardiovascular drugs in a cohort of hospitalized older patients with diabetes. Methods: Patients with diabetes aged 65 years or older hospitalized in internal medicine and/or geriatric wards throughout Italy and enrolled in the REPOSI (REgistro POliterapuie SIMI—Società Italiana di Medicina Interna) registry from 2010 to 2019 and discharged alive were included. Results: Among 1703 patients with diabetes, 1433 (84.2%) were on treatment with at least one antidiabetic drug at hospital admission, mainly prescribed as monotherapy with insulin (28.3%) or metformin (19.2%). The proportion of treated patients decreased at discharge (N = 1309, 76.9%), with a significant reduction over time. Among those prescribed, the proportion of those with insulin alone increased over time (p = 0.0066), while the proportion of those prescribed sulfonylureas decreased (p < 0.0001). Among patients receiving antidiabetic therapy at discharge, 1063 (81.2%) were also prescribed cardiovascular drugs, mainly with an antihypertensive drug alone or in combination (N = 777, 73.1%). Conclusion: The management of older patients with diabetes in a hospital setting is often sub-optimal, as shown by the increasing trend in insulin at discharge, even if an overall improvement has been highlighted by the prevalent decrease in sulfonylureas prescription