Medical insurance, vulnerability to poverty, and wealth inequality.

Background: China has made remarkable achievements in alleviating poverty under its current poverty standards. Despite these immense successes, the challenge of consolidating these achievements remains. In reality, health risks are among the significant factors causing rural households to fall into poverty, and medical insurance is the significant factor mitigating household vulnerability to poverty. Therefore, alleviating or guarding against households falling into poverty is essential. Methods: This paper establishes a multi-equilibrium model that incorporates heterogeneous health risks and medical insurance. Through parameter calibration and value function iteration, numerical solutions are derived. Results: Heterogeneous health risks significantly increase poverty vulnerability and wealth inequality in rural households. Medical insurance, through its investment incentives and loss compensation effects, efficiently mitigates these issues, especially benefiting those in poorer health. Furthermore, the dual-slanted compensation policy efficiently mitigates the adverse effects of "reverse redistribution." Conclusion: Medical insurance effectively mitigates household vulnerability to poverty and wealth inequality. Government departments must establish health records for residents. By recognizing variations in health conditions, these departments can provide households with poorer health conditions with a higher medical expense compensation ratio. In addition, the government should further focus medical expense reimbursements toward households on the cusp of escaping poverty to ensure that they are not plunged back (or further) into poverty due to medical expenses.

Novel Insight into the Formation of Odour-Active Compounds in Sea Buckthorn Wine and Distilled Liquor Based on GC-MS and E-Nose Analysis.

Sea buckthorn wine (SW) and distilled liquor (DL) are fruit wines with beneficial health effects. However, their unpleasant flavour limits their development and widespread acceptance. Therefore, it is necessary to analyse their flavour composition and changes. In this study, differential metabolites of sea buckthorn DL during processing were analysed, and the relationships between E-nose sensor values and key volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were established. The results show that 133 VOCs were identified, with 22 aroma-contributing components. Fermentation significantly increased the content of VOCs, especially esters. A total of seven and 51 VOCs were significantly upregulated after fermentation and distillation, respectively. Meanwhile, seven sensors were positively correlated with the increased level of alcohols and esters, and reflected the increasing trends of 10 key VOCs.

Effect of 2 types of resistant starches on the quality of yogurt.

This study investigated the effects of resistant starch (RS) 2 (a high-amylose corn starch) and RS3 (physically modified corn starch) on yogurt quality. Yogurt containing Bifidobacterium BB-12 was treated with RS2 or RS3 to a final concentration of 1.5%, with the control group receiving 1.5% (wt/wt) of sucrose. Multispeckle diffusing wave spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to investigate the effect of the resistant starches on the gelation process and microstructure of yogurt. The quality of the yogurt treatments was evaluated using viable counts of Bifidobacterium BB-12 and all viable cells, titratable acidity, amount of whey separation, and viscosity during storage. The resistant starches affected the progress of gelation and microstructure and decreased the decline of viable counts of Lactobacillus. Notably, RS3 effectively protected the Bifidobacterium BB-12, increased the viscosity, and decreased titratable acidity. Our results suggested that RS could improve the quality of yogurt and have a more probiotic effect. Further studies could lead to optimization in yogurt processing by mixing these 2 types of RS to determine their best usage and explore their interactions with proteins.

Detection and identification of wild yeast in Koumiss.

Koumiss is a slightly alcoholic fermented mare's milk beverage, originally obtained by using a natural mixed starter of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts. Yeast is an important component of Koumiss processing which can affect the aroma, texture, as well as the nutrients beneficial to human health, but few reports have examined the yeast ecology of local ecosystems. The purpose of this study was to isolate and identify the yeast present in Koumiss from three representative regions of China using a polyphasic method. A total of 655 yeast isolates were obtained from 96 Koumiss samples collected from three regions in China. Koumiss harbored yeast populations at 5-7 log CFU/ml. Twelve different yeast species belonging to nine genera were detected in the Koumiss samples tested, including Candida pararugosa, Dekkera anomala, Geotrichum sp., Issatchenkia orientalis, Kazachstania unispora, Kluyveromyces marxianus, Pichia deserticola, Pichia fermentans, Pichia manshurica, Pichia membranaefaciens, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Torulaspora delbrueckii. Kluyveromyces marxianus, Kazachstania unispora and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were the dominant species present in this traditional fermented dairy product. This study is the first to identify the yeast communities associated with Koumiss in China. The results enrich our knowledge of yeast in Koumiss, give us a more complete picture of the microbial diversity in Koumiss and can be used to promote the development of the local dairy industry.