Health-Promoting compounds in Potatoes: Tuber exhibiting great potential for human health.

Potatoes are consumed worldwide because of their high accessibility, low cost, taste, and diversity of cooking methods. The high carbohydrate content of potatoes masks the presence of -vitamins, polyphenols, minerals, amino acids, lectins and protein inhibitors in the minds of consumers. The consumption of potatoes faces challenges among health-conscious people. This review paper attempted to provide up-to-date information on new metabolites reported in potatoes that play role in disease prevention and overall human well-being. We tried to compile information on antidiabetic, antihypertensive, anticancer, antiobesity, antihyperlipidemic, and anti-inflammatory potential of potato along with role in improving gut health and satiety. In-vitro studies, human cell culture, and experimental animal and human clinical studies showed potatoes to exhibit a variety of health-enhancing properties. This article will not only popularize potato as a healthy food, but will also improve its use as a staple for the foreseeable future.

Skin Color Retention in Red Potatoes during Long-Term Storage with Edible Coatings.

In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of edible coatings and cold storage conditions on the skin color of red potatoes (Ciklamen and Modoc) stored for six months at 4 ± 2 °C and 90 ± 5% relative humidity (RH). The four different formulations used were sodium alginate (F1), sodium alginate and potato starch (F2), zein and chitosan (F3), and chitosan, sodium alginate and potato starch (F4), in addition to the control treatment with distilled water. The treated samples were assessed periodically during six months of storage for changes in color, levels of reducing sugars, total phenolics and sensory qualities. The results indicated that the treatment with edible coatings significantly enhanced the chroma value of skin color, especially F1 and F2 formulations. However, these coatings instilled a limited effect on the level of reducing sugars. Moreover, F1 and F4 formulations exerted a significant effect (p < 0.05) on anthocyanin content examined after three months of storage. Alginate-based edible coatings significantly improved sensory evaluation, especially in terms of the color, gloss, and general acceptability of red skin potatoes.

The Bioaccessibility of Phenolics, Flavonoids, Carotenoids, and Capsaicinoid Compounds: A Comparative Study of Cooked Potato Cultivars Mixed with Roasted Pepper Varieties.

An in vitro method was used to assess the bioaccessibility of phenolics, flavonoids, carotenoids, and capsaicinoid compounds in different cooked potatoes mixed with roasted peppers (Capsicum annuum), Joe Parker (JP, hot), and Sweet Delilah (SD, sweet). The present study identified differences in the bioaccessibility of bioactive compounds among the potato cultivars (Solanum tuberosum) Purple Majesty (PM; purple flesh), Yukon Gold (YG; yellow flesh), Rio Grande Russet (RG; white flesh) and a numbered selection (CO 97226-2R/R (R/R; red flesh)). The bioactive compounds and capsaicinoid compounds in potatoes and peppers were estimated before and after in vitro digestion. Before digestion, the total phenolic content of potato cultivars mixed with JP was in the following order: R/R > PM > YG > RG. The highest levels of carotenoids were 194.34 µg/g in YG and 42.92 µg/g in the RG cultivar when mixed with roasted JP. The results indicate that the amount of bioaccessible phenolics ranged from 485 to 252 µg/g in potato cultivars mixed with roasted JP. The bioaccessibility of flavonoids ranged from 185.1 to 59.25 µg/g. The results indicate that the YG cultivar mixed with JP and SD showed the highest phenolic and carotenoid bioaccessibility. In contrast, the PM mixed with JP and SD contained the lowest phenolic and carotenoid bioaccessibility. Our results indicate that the highest flavonoid bioaccessibility occurred in R/R mixed with roasted JP and SD. The lowest flavonoids bioaccessibility occurred in PM and the RG. The maximum bioaccessible amount of capsaicin was observed in YG mixed with JP, while the minimum bioaccessibility was observed with PM.

Segmentation of Potato Consumers Based on Sensory and Attitudinal Aspects.

Consumer hedonic scores for potatoes were linked to sensory characteristics to understand the underlying consumer segments, flavor and texture preferences and attitudinal associations regarding potatoes. Consumers were asked to evaluate liking on a 9-point hedonic scale for 12 cultivars of potatoes. Sensory findings were collected by using a consensus-based descriptive analysis approach for the same cultivars. Segmentation analysis procedure identified three subgroups of consumers with different overall liking patterns, indicating variability in the acceptance of different potato cultivars. Drivers of liking were identified for respective segments by using preference mapping. Dissimilar features were found important in determining potato liking patterns. Purple Majesty, Masquerade and Rio Colorado cultivars were found most liked by respondents, while Russian Banana were found to be liked the least. Tuber color, price, variety name on package, color of peel, and being locally produced were found to be important factors in purchasing decisions.

Capsaicinoids, Polyphenols and Antioxidant Activities of Capsicum annuum: Comparative Study of the Effect of Ripening Stage and Cooking Methods.

Peppers (Capsicum annuum L.) are an important crop usually consumed as food or spices. Peppers contain a wide range of phytochemicals, such as capsaicinoids, phenolics, ascorbic acid, and carotenoids. Capsaicinoids impart the characteristic pungent taste. The study analyzed capsaicinoids and other bioactive compounds in different pepper cultivars at both the mature green and red stages. The effect of roasting on their nutritional content was also investigated. In the cultivars tested, the levels of capsaicin ranged from 0 to 3636 µg/g in the mature green stage and from 0 to 4820 µg/g in the red/yellow stage. The concentration of dihydrocapsaicin ranged from 0 to 2148 µg/g in the mature green stage and from 0 to 2162 µg/g in the red/yellow stage. The levels of capsaicinoid compounds in mature green and red /yellow stages were either reduced or increased after roasting depending on the cultivar. The ranges of total phenolic and total flavonoids compounds were 2096 to 7689, and 204 to 962 µg/g, respectively, in the green and red/yellow mature stage pods. Ascorbic acid levels in the peppers ranged from 223 to 1025 mg/ 100 g Dry Weight (DW). Both raw and roasted peppers possessed strong antioxidant activity as determined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) reagent (DPPH, 61-87%) and 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS, 73-159 µg/g) assays. Ascorbic acid and antioxidant activity decreased after roasting in the mature green and red stages, whereas total phenolics and flavonoids increased except in the mature green stage of Sweet Delilah and yellow stage of Canrio.

Inhibition of α-glucosidase, α-amylase, and aldose reductase by potato polyphenolic compounds.

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease that is becoming a serious global health problem. Diabetes has been considered to be one of the major risks of cataract and retinopathy. Synthetic and natural product inhibitors of carbohydrate degrading enzymes are able to reduce type 2 diabetes and its complications. For a long time, potatoes have been portrayed as unhealthy for diabetic patients by some nutritionist due to their high starch content. However, purple and red potato cultivars have received considerable attention from consumers because they have high levels of polyphenolic compounds that have potent antioxidant activities. In this study, we screened the total phenolics (TP) and total anthocyanins (TA) and analyzed the phenolic and anthocyanin compounds in selected potato cultivars and advanced selections with distinct flesh colors (purple, red, yellow and white). Purple and red potato cultivars had higher levels of TP and TA than tubers with other flesh colors. Chlorogenic acid is the predominant phenolic acid, and major anthocyanin is composed of the derivatives of petunidin, peonidin, malvidin and pelargonidin. We tested the potential inhibitory effect of potato extracts on the activities of α-amylase and α-glucosidase, which were targeted to develop antidiabetic therapeutic agents. We also measured inhibitory effect of potato extracts on aldose reductase (AR) which is a key enzyme that has been a major drug target for the development of therapies to treat diabetic complications. Purple flesh tubers extract showed the most effective inhibition of α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and aldose reductase with IC50 values 25, 42, and 32 µg/ml, respectively. Kinetic studies showed that anthocyanins are noncompetitive inhibitors of these enzymes, whereas phenolic acids behaved as mixed inhibitors for α-amylase and α-glucosidase and noncompetitive inhibitors for AR. This study supports the development of a positive and healthful image of potatoes, which is an important issue for consumers.

Microwave dielectric relaxation spectroscopy study of propylene glycol/ethanol binary mixtures: Temperature dependence.

Complex dielectric permittivity measurements of propylene glycol (PG) in ethanol at various mole fractions were measured by using open-ended coaxial probe technique at different temperatures in the frequency range 0.02<ν/GHz<20. The dipole moment (µ), excess dipole moment (Δµ),excess permittivity (εE), excess inverse relaxation time(1/τ)E, Bruggeman parameter (fB), excess Helmholtz energy (ΔFE) are determined using experimental data. From the minimum energy based geometry optimization, dipole moments of individual monomers of propylene glycol and ethanol and their binary system have been evaluated theoretically at gaseous state as well as alcoholic medium by using PCM and IEFPCM solvation models from the Hatree-Fock (HF) and Density Functional Theory (DFT-B3LYP) methods with 6-311G* and 6-311G** basis sets. The obtained results have been interpreted in terms of the short and long range ordering of the dipoles, Kirkwood correlation factor (geff), thermodynamic parameters, mean molecular polarizability (αM) and interaction in the mixture through hydrogen bonding.

Dissimilarity-Based Sparse Subset Selection.

Finding an informative subset of a large collection of data points or models is at the center of many problems in computer vision, recommender systems, bio/health informatics as well as image and natural language processing. Given pairwise dissimilarities between the elements of a 'source set' and a 'target set,' we consider the problem of finding a subset of the source set, called representatives or exemplars, that can efficiently describe the target set. We formulate the problem as a row-sparsity regularized trace minimization problem. Since the proposed formulation is, in general, NP-hard, we consider a convex relaxation. The solution of our optimization finds representatives and the assignment of each element of the target set to each representative, hence, obtaining a clustering. We analyze the solution of our proposed optimization as a function of the regularization parameter. We show that when the two sets jointly partition into multiple groups, our algorithm finds representatives from all groups and reveals clustering of the sets. In addition, we show that the proposed framework can effectively deal with outliers. Our algorithm works with arbitrary dissimilarities, which can be asymmetric or violate the triangle inequality. To efficiently implement our algorithm, we consider an Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM) framework, which results in quadratic complexity in the problem size. We show that the ADMM implementation allows to parallelize the algorithm, hence further reducing the computational time. Finally, by experiments on real-world datasets, we show that our proposed algorithm improves the state of the art on the two problems of scene categorization using representative images and time-series modeling and segmentation using representative models.

Characterization of patients referred for non-specific intellectual disability testing: the importance of autosomal genes for diagnosis.

Genetic testing for non-specific intellectual disability (ID) presents challenges in daily clinical practice. Historically, the focus of the genetic elucidation of non-specific ID has been on genes on the X chromosome, and recent research has brought attention to the growing contribution of autosomal genes. In addition, next-generation sequencing (NGS) has greatly improved the ability to simultaneously analyze multiple genetic loci, making large panel testing a practical approach to testing for non-specific ID. We performed NGS analysis of a total of 90 genes implicated in non-specific ID. The 90 genes included 56 X-linked genes and 34 autosomal genes. Pathogenic variants were identified in 11 of 52 (21%) patient samples. Nine of the eleven cases harbored mutations in autosomal genes including AP4B1, STXB1, SYNGAP1, TCF4 and UBE3A. Our mutation-positive cases provide further evidence supporting the prevalence of autosomal mutations in patients referred for non-specific ID testing and the utility of their inclusion in multi-gene panel analysis.

Physiologically-based toxicokinetic modeling of zearalenone and its metabolites: application to the Jersey girl study.

Zearalenone (ZEA), a fungal mycotoxin, and its metabolite zeranol (ZAL) are known estrogen agonists in mammals, and are found as contaminants in food. Zeranol, which is more potent than ZEA and comparable in potency to estradiol, is also added as a growth additive in beef in the US and Canada. This article presents the development and application of a Physiologically-Based Toxicokinetic (PBTK) model for ZEA and ZAL and their primary metabolites, zearalenol, zearalanone, and their conjugated glucuronides, for rats and for human subjects. The PBTK modeling study explicitly simulates critical metabolic pathways in the gastrointestinal and hepatic systems. Metabolic events such as dehydrogenation and glucuronidation of the chemicals, which have direct effects on the accumulation and elimination of the toxic compounds, have been quantified. The PBTK model considers urinary and fecal excretion and biliary recirculation and compares the predicted biomarkers of blood, urinary and fecal concentrations with published in vivo measurements in rats and human subjects. Additionally, the toxicokinetic model has been coupled with a novel probabilistic dietary exposure model and applied to the Jersey Girl Study (JGS), which involved measurement of mycoestrogens as urinary biomarkers, in a cohort of young girls in New Jersey, USA. A probabilistic exposure characterization for the study population has been conducted and the predicted urinary concentrations have been compared to measurements considering inter-individual physiological and dietary variability. The in vivo measurements from the JGS fall within the high and low predicted distributions of biomarker values corresponding to dietary exposure estimates calculated by the probabilistic modeling system. The work described here is the first of its kind to present a comprehensive framework developing estimates of potential exposures to mycotoxins and linking them with biologically relevant doses and biomarker measurements, including a systematic characterization of uncertainties in exposure and dose estimation for a vulnerable population.

Aggregation dynamics, structure, and mechanical properties of bigels.

Recently we have introduced bigels, inter-penetrating gels made of two different colloidal species. Even if particles with simple short-range isotropic potential are employed, the selective interactions enable the tunability of the self-assembly, leading to the formation of complex structures. In the present paper, we explore the non-equilibrium dynamics and the phenomenology underlying the kinetic arrest under quench and the formation of bigels. We demonstrate that the peculiar bigel kinetics can be described through an arrested spinodal decomposition driven by demixing of the colloidal species. The role played by the presence of a second colloidal species on the phase diagram, as expanded to account for the increased number of parameters, is clarified both via extensive numerical simulations and experiments. We provide details on the realisation of bigels, by means of DNA-coated colloids (DNACCs), and the consequent imaging techniques. Moreover we evidence, by comparison with the usual one-component gel formation, the emergence of controllable timescales in the aggregation of the bigels, whose final stages are also experimentally studied to provide morphological details. Finally, we use numerical models to simulate the bigel response to mechanical strain, highlighting how such a new material can bear significantly higher stress compared to the usual one-component gel. We conclude by discussing possible technological uses and by providing insights on the viable research steps to undertake for more complex and yet tuneable multi-component colloidal systems.

Silencing Met receptor tyrosine kinase signaling decreased oral tumor growth and increased survival of nude mice.

OBJECTIVES: The hepatocyte growth factor receptor (Met) is frequently overexpressed in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC), correlating positively with high-grade tumors and shortened patient survival. As such, Met may represent an important therapeutic target. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of Met signaling for HNSCC growth and locoregional dissemination. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using a lentiviral system for RNA interference, we knocked down Met in established HNSCC cell lines that express high levels of the endogenous receptor. The effect of Met silencing on in vitro proliferation, cell survival and migration was examined using western analysis, immunohistochemistry and live cell imaging. In vivo tumor growth, dissemination and mouse survival was assessed using an orthotopic tongue mouse model for HNSCC. RESULTS: We show that Met knockdown (1) impaired activation of downstream MAPK signaling; (2) reduced cell viability and anchorage independent growth; (3) abrogated HGF-induced cell motility on laminin; (4) reduced in vivo tumor growth by increased cell apoptosis; (5) caused reduced incidence of tumor dissemination to regional lymph nodes and (6) increased the survival of nude mice with orthotopic xenografts. CONCLUSION: Met signaling is important for HNSCC growth and locoregional dissemination in vivo and that targeting Met may be an important strategy for therapy.

Rapid high throughput amylose determination in freeze dried potato tuber samples.

This protocol describes a high through put colorimetric method that relies on the formation of a complex between iodine and chains of glucose molecules in starch. Iodine forms complexes with both amylose and long chains within amylopectin. After the addition of iodine to a starch sample, the maximum absorption of amylose and amylopectin occurs at 620 and 550 nm, respectively. The amylose/amylopectin ratio can be estimated from the ratio of the 620 and 550 nm absorbance values and comparing them to a standard curve in which specific known concentrations are plotted against absorption values. This high throughput, inexpensive method is reliable and reproducible, allowing the evaluation of large populations of potato clones. 

Fast l1-minimization algorithms for robust face recognition.

l1-minimization refers to finding the minimum l1-norm solution to an underdetermined linear system [Formula: see text]. Under certain conditions as described in compressive sensing theory, the minimum l1-norm solution is also the sparsest solution. In this paper, we study the speed and scalability of its algorithms. In particular, we focus on the numerical implementation of a sparsity-based classification framework in robust face recognition, where sparse representation is sought to recover human identities from high-dimensional facial images that may be corrupted by illumination, facial disguise, and pose variation. Although the underlying numerical problem is a linear program, traditional algorithms are known to suffer poor scalability for large-scale applications. We investigate a new solution based on a classical convex optimization framework, known as augmented Lagrangian methods. We conduct extensive experiments to validate and compare its performance against several popular l1-minimization solvers, including interior-point method, Homotopy, FISTA, SESOP-PCD, approximate message passing, and TFOCS. To aid peer evaluation, the code for all the algorithms has been made publicly available.

Studying permethrin exposure in flight attendants using a physiologically based pharmacokinetic model.

Assessment of potential health risks to flight attendants from exposure to pyrethroid insecticides, used for aircraft disinsection, is limited because of (a) lack of information on exposures to these insecticides, and (b) lack of tools for linking these exposures to biomarker data. We developed and evaluated a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) model to assess the exposure of flight attendants to the pyrethroid insecticide permethrin attributable to aircraft disinsection. The permethrin PBPK model was developed by adapting previous models for pyrethroids, and was parameterized using currently available metabolic parameters for permethrin. The human permethrin model was first evaluated with data from published human studies. Then, it was used to estimate urinary metabolite concentrations of permethrin in flight attendants who worked in aircrafts, which underwent residual and pre-flight spray treatments. The human model was also applied to analyze the toxicokinetics following permethrin exposures attributable to other aircraft disinsection scenarios. Predicted levels of urinary 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA), a metabolite of permethrin, following residual disinsection treatment were comparable to the measurements made for flight attendants. Simulations showed that the median contributions of the dermal, oral and inhalation routes to permethrin exposure in flight attendants were 83.5%, 16.1% and 0.4% under residual treatment scenario, respectively, and were 5.3%, 5.0% and 89.7% under pre-flight spray scenario, respectively. The PBPK model provides the capability to simulate the toxicokinetic profiles of permethrin, and can be used in the studies on human exposure to permethrin.

Biguanide related compounds in traditional antidiabetic functional foods.

Biguanides such as metformin are widely used worldwide for the treatment of type-2 diabetes. The identification of guanidine and related compounds in French lilac plant (Galega officinalis L.) led to the development of biguanides. Despite of their plant origin, biguanides have not been reported in plants. The objective of this study was to quantify biguanide related compounds (BRCs) in experimentally or clinically substantiated antidiabetic functional plant foods and potatoes. The corrected results of the Voges-Proskauer (V-P) assay suggest that the highest amounts of BRCs are present in green curry leaves (Murraya koenigii (L.) Sprengel) followed by fenugreek seeds (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.), green bitter gourd (Momordica charantia Descourt.), and potato (Solanum tuberosum L.). Whereas, garlic (Allium sativum L.), and sweet potato (Ipomea batatas (L.) Lam.) contain negligible amounts of BRCs. In addition, the possible biosynthetic routes of biguanide in these plant foods are discussed.

Reduction of acrylamide formation by vanadium salt in potato French fries and chips.

The effects of vanadyl sulphate on the formation of acrylamide have been studied in fried potato products, such as French fries and chips. Acrylamide formation was inhibited by 30.3%, 53.3% and 89.3% when the sliced potato strips were soaked in 0.001, 0.01 and 0.1 M vanadyl sulphate (VOSO(4)) solutions, respectively, for 60 min before frying. Moreover, 57.7%, 71.4% and 92.5% inhibition of acrylamide formation was observed when chips were soaked in the respective vanadyl sulphate solution before frying. In a separate model reaction, a solution containing an equimolar concentration of L-asparagine and D-glucose showed a significant inhibition of acrylamide formation when heated at 150 °C for 30 min in the presence of vanadyl sulphate (VOSO(4)). The results indicate that the binding of VO(2+) to asparagine and the decrease in the pH of the potato samples resulted in a significant reduction of acrylamide formation in fried potato products.

Exposure indices for the National Children's Study: application to inhalation exposures in Queens County, NY.

Characterization of environmental exposures to population subgroups within the National Children's Study (NCS), or other large-scale human environmental health studies is essential for developing a high-quality data platform for subsequent investigations. A computational formulation utilizing the tiered exposure ranking framework is presented for calculating inhalation exposure indices (EIs) for population subgroups. This formulation employs a probabilistic approach and combines information from diverse, publicly available exposure-relevant databases and information on biological mechanisms, for ranking study locations or population subgroups with respect to potential for specific end point-related environmental exposures. These EIs capture and summarize, within a set of numerical values/ranges, complex distributions of potential exposures to multiple airborne contaminants. These estimates capture spatial and demographic variability within each study segment, and allow for the relative comparison of study locations based on different statistical metrics of exposures. The EI formulation was applied to characterize and rank segments within Queens County, NY, which is one of the Vanguard centers for the NCS. Inhalation EI estimates relevant to respiratory outcomes, and potentially to pregnancy outcomes (low birth weight and preterm birth rates) were calculated at the study segment level. Results indicate that there is substantial variability across the study segments in Queens County, NY, and within segments, and showed an exposure gradient across the study segments that can help guide and target environmental and personal exposure sampling efforts in this county. The results also serve as an example application of the EI for use in other exposure and outcome studies.

Computational fluid dynamics modeling of transport and deposition of pesticides in an aircraft cabin.

Spraying of pesticides in aircraft cabins is required by some countries as part of a disinsection process to kill insects that pose a public health threat. However, public health concerns remain regarding exposures of cabin crew and passengers to pesticides in aircraft cabins. While large scale field measurements of pesticide residues and air concentrations in aircraft cabins scenarios are expensive and time consuming, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models provide an effective alternative for characterizing concentration distributions and exposures. This study involved CFD modeling of a twin-aisle 11 row cabin mockup with heated manikins, mimicking a part of a fully occupied Boeing 767 cabin. The model was applied to study the flow and deposition of pesticides under representative scenarios with different spraying patterns (sideways and overhead) and cabin air exchange rates (low and high). Corresponding spraying experiments were conducted in the cabin mockup, and pesticide deposition samples were collected at the manikin's lap and seat top for a limited set of five seats. The CFD model performed well for scenarios corresponding to high air exchange rates, captured the concentration profiles for middle seats under low air exchange rates, and underestimated the concentrations at window seats under low air exchange rates. Additionally, both the CFD and experimental measurements showed no major variation in deposition characteristics between sideways and overhead spraying. The CFD model can estimate concentration fields and deposition profiles at very high resolutions, which can be used for characterizing the overall variability in air concentrations and surface loadings. Additionally, these model results can also provide a realistic range of surface and air concentrations of pesticides in the cabin that can be used to estimate potential exposures of cabin crew and passengers to these pesticides.

Bayesian Analysis of a Lipid-Based Physiologically Based Toxicokinetic Model for a Mixture of PCBs in Rats.

A lipid-based physiologically based toxicokinetic (PBTK) model has been developed for a mixture of six polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in rats. The aim of this study was to apply population Bayesian analysis to a lipid PBTK model, while incorporating an internal exposure-response model linking enzyme induction and metabolic rate. Lipid-based physiologically based toxicokinetic models are a subset of PBTK models that can simulate concentrations of highly lipophilic compounds in tissue lipids, without the need for partition coefficients. A hierarchical treatment of population metabolic parameters and a CYP450 induction model were incorporated into the lipid-based PBTK framework, and Markov-Chain Monte Carlo was applied to in vivo data. A mass balance of CYP1A and CYP2B in the liver was necessary to model PCB metabolism at high doses. The linked PBTK/induction model remained on a lipid basis and was capable of modeling PCB concentrations in multiple tissues for all dose levels and dose profiles.