The effects of SSB (superheated steam blanching) time (0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 min) and drying temperature (50, 60, 70 and 80C) on drying kinetics and quality of yam slices under air impingement drying were investigated in this paper. Results indicated that the positive effect of SSB on drying rate might be overshowed by the negative effect of starch gelatinization and appropriate SSB could accelerate drying rate, whereas the effect of excessive SSB is reversed. The moisture effective diffusivity ranged from 1.1540 ¥ 10 -9 to 2.8431 ¥ 10 -9 m 2 /s, calculated using Fick's second law of diffusion. The activation energy determined from the slope of the Arrhenius plot, ln(D eff ) versus 1/(T + 273.15), was 20.925 kJ/mol. Moderate increase in SSB time or decrease in drying temperature can improve the whiteness index of dried yam slices, whereas increase in SSB time and drying temperature can decrease the rehydration ratio of dried yam slices. Corresponding PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSYam is a nutritional, economical and healthy plant, which has been widely used in traditional Chinese medicine. Fresh yams having relatively high-moisture contents are very sensitive to microbial spoilage. Drying is one of the most common methods used for yam preservation. In China, the natural sun-drying method is commonly used for drying yam. However, it requires a long drying time and the final product may be contaminated by dust and insects, especially toxic substances. Blanching is an essential step before the processing of vegetables and fruits, as it can accelerate the drying rate and prevent quality deterioration. Air impingement drying is an efficient drying technology, which has been successfully used in paper and textile industries. Understanding the effect of superheated steam blanching time and drying temperature on hot air impingement drying kinetics and quality of yam slices is helpful for improving the drying process efficiency and quality of dried yam slices.

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Background/Aims: Increasing evidence demonstrates that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play critical regulatory roles in cancers, including osteosarcoma. A previous study showed that Nicotinamide Nucleotide Transhydrogenase-antisense RNA1 (NNT-AS1) was aberrantly expressed in several types of cancer. However, the potential biological roles and regulatory mechanisms of NNT-AS1 in osteosarcoma progression remain unknown. Methods: Quantitative RT-PCR was performed to examine the expression of NNT-AS1 in human tissues and cells. The biological functions of NNT-AS1 were determined by CCK-8, colony formation, Flow cytometry and Transwell assays in vitro. A mouse xenograft model was performed to investigate the effect of NNT-AS1 on tumor growth in vivo. Results: In this study, we found the expression of NNT-AS1 was significantly increased in tumor tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues. Furthermore, upregulated NNT-AS1 expression predicted poor prognosis and was an independent and significant risk factor for osteosarcoma patient survival. Further experiments revealed that NNT-AS1 knockdown significantly inhibited cell proliferation by inducing cell cycle arrest and promoting apoptosis in osteosarcoma cells. Moreover, NNT-AS1 silencing suppressed cell migration and invasion in vitro. In a tumor xenograft model, knockdown of NNT-AS1 suppressed tumor growth of OS-732 cells in vivo. Conclusions: Taken together, these findings indicate that NNT-AS1 functions as an oncogene in osteosarcoma and could be a novel diagnostic and therapeutic target for osteosarcoma.

The aim of this study was to assess the influence of bone mineral density and hip geometry on the fragility fracture of femoral neck and trochanteric region. There were 95 menopausal females of age ≥ 50 years with fragility fracture of hip, including 55 cases of femoral neck fracture and 40 cases of trochanteric fracture. Another 63 non-fractured females with normal bone mineral density (BMD) were chosen as control. BMD, hip axis length, neck-shaft angle and structural parameters including cross surface area, cortical thickness and buckling ratio were detected and compared. Compared with control group, the patients with femoral neck fracture or trochanteric fractures had significantly lower BMD of femoral neck, as well as lower cross surface area and cortical thickness and higher buckling ratio in femoral neck and trochanteric region. There were no significant differences of BMD and structural parameters in the femoral neck fracture group and intertrochanteric fracture group. Hip axis length and neck-shaft angle were not significantly different among three groups. The significant changes of BMD and proximal femur geometry were present in the fragility fracture of femoral neck and trochanteric region. The different types of hip fractures cannot be explained by these changes.

ObjectiveTo study the effect of anti‐osteoporosis therapies on mortality after hip fracture.MethodsThis retrospective study was carried out in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University and enrolled 690 patients 50 years of age and older who were admitted with hip fractures between 2010 and 2015. The patients were followed in 2017: 690 patients aged was from 50 to 103 years. There were 456 women and 234 men. There were 335 patients with fractures of the femoral neck and 355 patients with intertrochanteric fractures of the femur. There were 444 (64.35%) patients who also had internal diseases. The Charlson comorbidity index was 0–6. The anti‐osteoporosis medications were classified into no anti‐osteoporosis medication, calcium + vitamin D supplementations, non‐bisphosphonate medication, and bisphosphonate medication. The physicians followed the patients or family members by personal visit and telephone. Multivariable Cox regression analyses were done with known risk factors for mortality of hip fracture, such as gender, age, number of combined internal diseases, fracture type, place of residence, and Charlson comorbidity index, to show which anti‐osteoporosis medications had significant effects on mortality after adjustment for these variables.ResultsOut of 690 patients with hip fractures, 149 patients received no anti‐osteoporosis medication, 63 patients received calcium +vitamin D supplementations, 398 patients received non‐bisphosphonate medication, and 80 patients received bisphosphonate medication. The patients were followed between 7 months and 52 months, with the average of 28.53 ± 9.75 months. A total of 166 patients died during the follow‐up period. Of 166 deaths, 43 occurred within 3 months, 65 within 6 months, and 99 within 1 year after the hip fracture. In this study, fracture type, place of residence, and Charlson comorbidity index were not associated with the mortality, and the male gender, age > 75 years, and ≥ 2 combined internal diseases were the independent factors for deaths post‐hip fracture. The cumulative mortality was 36.24% in the patients receiving no anti‐osteoporosis medication. The hazard ratio for mortality after hip fracture with bisphosphonate medication, non‐bisphosphonate medication, and calcium/vitamin D supplementation was 0.355 (95% CI, 0.194–0.648), 0.492 (95% CI, 0.347–0.699) and 0.616 (95% CI, 0.341–1.114), respectively, as compared with no anti‐osteoporosis group. Bisphosphonate and non‐bisphosphonate medications for osteoporosis were significantly associated with the reduction of cumulative mortality post‐hip fracture (P < 0.01).ConclusionsBisphosphonate and non‐bisphosphonate medications for osteoporosis were significantly associated with decreased mortality after fragility hip fracture.