A binary mixture of starch–starch or starch with other biopolymers such as protein and non-starch polysaccharides could provide a new approach in producing starch-based food products. In the context of food processing, a specific adjustment in the rheological properties plays an important role in regulating production processing and optimizing the applicability, stability, and sensory of the final food products. This review examines various biopolymer mixtures based on starch and the influence of their interaction on physicochemical and rheological properties of the starch-based foods. It is evident that the physicochemical and rheological characteristics of the biopolymers mixture are highly dependent on the type of starch and other biopolymers that make them up mixing ratios, mixing procedure and presence of other food ingredients in the mixture. Understanding these properties will lead to improve the formulation of starch–based foods and minimize the need to resort to chemically modified starch.
Brain plasticity in somatosensory cortex can be facilitated by brain stimulation. To elucidate the relationship between the magnitude of plasticity and tactile performance with tactile expertise, we investigated the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on tactile perception in musicians and non-musicians. At three separate days, 17 semi-professional musicians (e.g., piano or violin players) and 16 musical novices aged 18-27 years received 15 minutes of 1mA anodal (a-tDCS), cathodal (c-tDCS) or sham tDCS in a pseudorandomized design. Pre and post tDCS, tactile sensitivity (Touch Detection Task; TDT) and discrimination performance (Grating Orientation Task; GOT) were assessed. For further analysis, the weekly hours of instrument-playing and computer-typing were combined into a ‘tactile experience’ variable. For GOT, but not TDT, a significant group effect at baseline was revealed with musicians performing better than non-musicians. TDT thresholds, were significantly reduced after a-tDCS but not c-tDCS or sham stimulation. While both experts’ and novices’ performance improved after anodal stimulation, neither musical nor tactile expertise were directly associated with the magnitude of this improvement. Low performers in TDT with high tactile experience profited most from a-tDCS. We conclude that tactile expertise may facilitate somatosensory cortical plasticity and tactile learning in low performers.
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