Physiological Mechanisms by Which the Functional Ingredients in Beer Impact Human Health.

Nutritional therapy, for example through beer, is the best solution to human chronic diseases. In this article, we demonstrate the physiological mechanisms of the functional ingredients in beer with health-promoting effects, based on the PubMed, Google, CNKI, and ISI Web of Science databases, published from 1997 to 2024. Beer, a complex of barley malt and hops, is rich in functional ingredients. The health effects of beer against 26 chronic diseases are highly similar to those of barley due to the physiological mechanisms of polyphenols (phenolic acids, flavonoids), melatonin, minerals, bitter acids, vitamins, and peptides. Functional beer with low purine and high active ingredients made from pure barley malt, as well as an additional functional food, represents an important development direction, specifically, ginger beer, ginseng beer, and coix-lily beer, as consumed by our ancestors ca. 9000 years ago. Low-purine beer can be produced via enzymatic and biological degradation and adsorption of purines, as well as dandelion addition. Therefore, this review paper not only reveals the physiological mechanisms of beer in overcoming chronic human diseases, but also provides a scientific basis for the development of functional beer with health-promoting effects.

Gene silencing, knockout and over-expression of a transcription factor ABORTED MICROSPORES (SlAMS) strongly affects pollen viability in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum).

BACKGROUND: The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is an economically valuable crop grown worldwide. Because the use of sterile males reduces the cost of F1 seed production, the innovation of male sterility is of great significance for tomato breeding. The ABORTED MICROSPORES gene (AMS), which encodes for a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor, has been previously indicated as an essential gene for tapetum development in Arabidopsis and rice. To determine the function of the SlAMS gene (AMS gene from S. lycopersicum) and verify whether it is a potential candidate gene for generating the male sterility in tomato, we used virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS), CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing and over-expression technology to transform tomato via Agrobacterium infection. RESULTS: Here, the full-length SlAMS gene with 1806 bp from S. lycopersicum (Accession No. MK591950.1) was cloned from pollen cDNA. The results of pollen grains staining showed that, the non-viable pollen proportions of SlAMS-silenced (75%), -knockouted (89%) and -overexpressed plants (60%) were significantly higher than the wild type plants (less than 10%; P < 0.01). In three cases, the morphology of non-viable pollen grains appeared tetragonal, circular, atrophic, shriveled, or otherwise abnormally shaped, while those of wild type appeared oval and plump. Furthermore, the qRT-PCR analysis indicated that SlAMS in anthers of SlAMS-silenced and -knockouted plants had remarkably lower expression than in that of wild type (P < 0.01), and yet it had higher expression in SlAMS-overexpressed plants (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: In this paper, Our research suggested alternative approaches to generating male sterility in tomato, among which CRISPR/Cas9-mediated editing of SlAMS implied the best performance. We also demonstrated that the downregulation and upregulation of SlAMS both affected the pollen formation and notably led to reduction of pollen viability, suggesting SlAMS might be essential for regulating pollen development in tomato. These findings may facilitate studies on clarifying the SlAMS-associated molecular regulatory mechanism of pollen development in tomato.

Actional Mechanisms of Active Ingredients in Functional Food Adlay for Human Health.

Medicinal and food homologous adlay (Coix lachryma-jobi L. var. ma-yuen Stapf) plays an important role in natural products promoting human health. We demonstrated the systematic actional mechanism of functional ingredients in adlay to promote human health, based on the PubMed, CNKI, Google, and ISI Web of Science databases from 1988 to 2022. Adlay and its extracts are rich in 30 ingredients with more than 20 health effects based on human and animal or cell cultures: they are anti-cancer, anti-inflammation, anti-obesity, liver protective, anti-virus, gastroprotective, cardiovascular protective, anti-hypertension, heart disease preventive, melanogenesis inhibiting, anti-allergy, endocrine regulating, anti-diabetes, anti-cachexia, osteoporosis preventive, analgesic, neuroprotecting, suitable for the treatment of gout arthritis, life extending, anti-fungi, and detoxifying effects. Function components with anti-oxidants are rich in adlay. These results support the notion that adlay seeds may be one of the best functional foods and further reveal the action mechanism of six major functional ingredients (oils, polysaccharides, phenols, phytosterols, coixol, and resistant starch) for combating diseases. This review paper not only reveals the action mechanisms of adding adlay to the diet to overcome 17 human diseases, but also provides a scientific basis for the development of functional foods and drugs for the treatment of human diseases.

Social-path embedding-based transformer for graduation development prediction.

As the education of students attracts more and more attention, the task of graduation development prediction has gradually become a hot topic in academia and industry. The task of graduation development prediction aims to predict the employment category of students in advance via academic achievement data, which can help administrators understand students' learning status and set up a reasonable learning plan. However, existing research ignores the potential impact of social relationships on students' graduation development choices. To fully explore social relationships among students, we propose a Social-path Embedding-based Transformer Neural Network (SPE-TNN) for the task of graduation development prediction in this paper. Specifically, SPE-TNN is divided into the Social-path selection layer, the Social-path embedding layer, the Transformer layer, and the Multi-layer projection layer. Firstly, the Social-path selection layer is designed to find social relationships that impact graduation development and embed them into the student's performance features through the Social-path embedding layer. Secondly, the Transformer layer is adopted to balance the weights of the students' features. Finally, the Multi-layer projection layer is used to achieve the student graduation development prediction. Experimental results on the real-world datasets show that SPE-TNN outperforms the existing popular approaches.

Stepwise selection of natural variations at CTB2 and CTB4a improves cold adaptation during domestication of japonica rice.

The improvement of cold adaptation has contributed to the increased growing area of rice. Standing variation and de novo mutation are distinct natural sources of beneficial alleles in plant adaptation. However, the genetic mechanisms and evolutionary patterns underlying these sources in a single population during crop domestication remain elusive. Here we cloned the CTB2 gene, encoding a UDP-glucose sterol glucosyltransferase, for cold tolerance in rice at the booting stage. A single standing variation (I408V) in the conserved UDPGT domain of CTB2 originated from Chinese Oryza rufipogon and contributed to the cold adaptation of Oryza sativa ssp. japonica. CTB2 is located in a 56.8 kb region, including the previously reported gene CTB4a in which de novo mutation arose c. 3200 yr BP in Yunnan province, China, conferring cold tolerance. Standing variation of CTB2 and de novo mutation of CTB4a underwent stepwise selection to facilitate cold adaptation to expand rice cultivation from high-altitude to high-latitude regions. These results provide an example of stepwise selection on two kinds of variation and describe a new molecular mechanism of cold adaptation in japonica rice.

PEGylated Nanoscale Metal-Organic Frameworks for Targeted Cancer Imaging and Drug Delivery.

Nanoscale metal-organic frameworks (nMOFs) are a unique type of hybrid materials, which are broadly applicable as cargo delivery systems. However, the relatively low material stability and insufficient cancer cell interacting capacity have limited nMOFs' applications in cancer theranostics. Herein, a zirconium-based nMOF UiO-66-N3 was synthesized, and its surface was covalently functionalized with alkyne-containing polyethylene glycol (PEG) via the azide-alkyne click chemistry. After that, F3 peptide was attached for targeting of cancer cells (the material was denoted as UiO-66-PEG-F3). Doxorubicin (DOX) served as a therapeutic drug and a fluorescent label in this study, and it was transported into UiO-66-PEG conjugates with sufficient drug loading efficiency. pH-responsive release of DOX from UiO-66 conjugates was witnessed. The structural integrity of UiO-66-N3 was maintained post the surface modification process. Flow cytometry and confocal fluorescence microscopy revealed that DOX/UiO-66-PEG-F3 had stronger accumulation in MDA-MB-231 cells (nucleolin+) compared with DOX/UiO-66-PEG. In order to track the pharmacokinetic behavior (organ distribution profile) in vivo, the positron-emitting zirconium-89 (89Zr) was incorporated into UiO-66-N3. Similar PEGylation and F3 peptide conjugation resulted in the formation of 89Zr-UiO-66-PEG-F3. Serial positron emission tomography (PET) imaging demonstrated that the preferential accumulation of 89Zr-UiO-66-PEG-F3 in MDA-MB-231 tumors, and their liver clearance was faster than PEGylated UiO-66 using noncovalent methods. Thus, the PEGylated nMOFs using covalent strategies may find broad application in future cancer theranostics.

A Multi-Feature Fusion Slam System Attaching Semantic In-Variant to Points and Lines.

The traditional simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) system uses static points of the environment as features for real-time localization and mapping. When there are few available point features, the system is difficult to implement. A feasible solution is to introduce line features. In complex scenarios containing rich line segments, the description of line segments is not strongly differentiated, which can lead to incorrect association of line segment data, thus introducing errors into the system and aggravating the cumulative error of the system. To address this problem, a point-line stereo visual SLAM system incorporating semantic invariants is proposed in this paper. This system improves the accuracy of line feature matching by fusing line features with image semantic invariant information. When defining the error function, the semantic invariant is fused with the reprojection error function, and the semantic constraint is applied to reduce the cumulative error of the poses in the long-term tracking process. Experiments on the Office sequence of the TartanAir dataset and the KITTI dataset show that this system improves the matching accuracy of line features and suppresses the cumulative error of the SLAM system to some extent, and the mean relative pose error (RPE) is 1.38 and 0.0593 m, respectively.

Differentiation, evolution and utilization of natural alleles for cold adaptability at the reproductive stage in rice.

Genetic studies on cold tolerance at the reproductive stage in rice could lead to significant reductions in yield losses. However, knowledge about the genetic basis and adaptive differentiation, as well as the evolution and utilization of the underlying natural alleles, remains limited. Here, 580 rice accessions in two association panels were used to perform genome-wide association study, and 156 loci associated with cold tolerance at the reproductive stage were identified. Os01g0923600 and Os01g0923800 were identified as promising candidate genes in qCTB1t, a major associated locus. Through population genetic analyses, 22 and 29 divergent regions controlling cold adaptive differentiation inter-subspecies (Xian/Indica and Geng/Japonica) and intra-Geng, respectively, were identified. Joint analyses of four cloned cold-tolerance genes showed that they had different origins and utilizations under various climatic conditions. bZIP73 and OsAPX1 differentiating inter-subspecies evolved directly from wild rice, whereas the novel mutations CTB4a and Ctb1 arose in Geng during adaptation to colder climates. The cold-tolerant Geng accessions have undergone stronger selection under colder climate conditions than other accessions during the domestication and breeding processes. Additive effects of dominant allelic variants of four identified genes have been important in adaptation to cold in modern rice varieties. Therefore, this study provides valuable information for further gene discovery and pyramiding breeding to improve cold tolerance at the reproductive stage in rice.

Aloe-emodin: A review of its pharmacology, toxicity, and pharmacokinetics.

Aloe-emodin is a naturally anthraquinone derivative and an active ingredient of Chinese herbs, such as Cassia occidentalis, Rheum palmatum L., Aloe vera, and Polygonum multiflorum Thunb. Emerging evidence suggests that aloe-emodin exhibits many pharmacological effects, including anticancer, antivirus, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiparasitic, neuroprotective, and hepatoprotective activities. These pharmacological properties lay the foundation for the treatment of various diseases, including influenza virus, inflammation, sepsis, Alzheimer's disease, glaucoma, malaria, liver fibrosis, psoriasis, Type 2 diabetes, growth disorders, and several types of cancers. However, an increasing number of published studies have reported adverse effects of aloe-emodin. The primary toxicity among these reports is hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity, which are of wide concern worldwide. Pharmacokinetic studies have demonstrated that aloe-emodin has a poor intestinal absorption, short elimination half-life, and low bioavailability. This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of the pharmacology, toxicity, and pharmacokinetics of aloe-emodin reported to date with an emphasis on its biological properties and mechanisms of action.

Underlying mechanisms of apoptosis in HepG2 cells induced by polyphyllin I through Fas death and mitochondrial pathways.

Aims: Polyphyllin I, a steroidal saponin in Rhizoma paridis, which possess broad application prospects in cancer prevention and treatment. The purpose of this study was to determine the potential cytotoxicity and mechanism of Polyphyllin I in HepG2 cells.Main methods: In this study, we used MTT to evaluate cell survival. Cell apoptosis rate, cell cycle distribution, mitochondrial membrane potential and ros levels were measured by flow cytometry, and the expression of apoptosis-related proteins was determined by Western blot analysis.Key findings: Polyphyllin I significantly reduced cell viability and induced HepG2 cell apoptosis in a dose and time-dependent manner. Compared with the control group, it could induce reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and depolarization of matrix metalloproteinases in liver cells. Polyphyllin I dose-dependent increased the release of mitochondrial cytochrome c, and levels of Fas, p53, p21, and Bax/Bcl-2 ratios, as well as the activation of cleaved caspase-3, -8, -9, and subsequent cleavage of the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). The G2/M phase cell cycle arrest was induced by increasing the expression of p21 and cyclin E1, and significantly reducing the expression of cyclin A2 and CDK2.Significance: Our results suggested that Polyphylin I inhibited cell proliferation and growth by triggering G2/M cell cycle arrest, and induced apoptosis through intracellular and extracellular apoptosis pathways to cause cell death by generating reactive oxygen species.

Pharmacology, toxicity and pharmacokinetics of acetylshikonin: a review.

CONTEXT: Acetylshikonin, a naphthoquinone derivative, is mainly extracted from some species of the family Boraginaceae, such as Lithospermum erythrorhizon Sieb. et Zucc., Arnebia euchroma (Royle) Johnst., and Arnebia guttata Bunge. As a bioactive compound, acetylshikonin has attracted much attention because of its broad pharmacological properties. OBJECTIVE: This review provides a comprehensive summary of the pharmacology, toxicity, and pharmacokinetics of acetylshikonin focussing on its mechanisms on the basis of currently available literature. METHODS: The information of acetylshikonin from 1977 to 2020 was collected using major databases including Elsevier, Scholar, PubMed, Springer, Web of Science, and CNKI. Acetylshikonin, pharmacology, toxicity, pharmacokinetics, and naphthoquinone derivative were used as key words. RESULTS: According to emerging evidence, acetylshikonin exerts a wide spectrum of pharmacological effects such as anticancer, anti-inflammatory, lipid-regulatory, antidiabetic, antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidative, neuroprotective, and antiviral properties. However, only a few studies have reported the adverse effects of acetylshikonin, with respect to reproductive toxicity and genotoxicity. Pharmacokinetic studies demonstrate that acetylshikonin is associated with a wide distribution and poor absorption. CONCLUSIONS: Although experimental data supports the beneficial effects of this compound, acetylshikonin cannot be considered as a therapy drug without further investigations, especially, on the toxicity and pharmacokinetics.

Fine mapping of QTL qCTB10-2 that confers cold tolerance at the booting stage in rice.

KEY MESSAGE: The QTL qCTB10 - 2 controlling cold tolerance at the booting stage in rice was delimited to a 132.5 kb region containing 17 candidate genes and 4 genes were cold-inducible. Low temperature at the booting stage is a major abiotic stress-limiting rice production. Although some QTL for cold tolerance in rice have been reported, fine mapping of those QTL effective at the booting stage is few. Here, the near-isogenic line ZL31-2, selected from a BC7F2 population derived from a cross between cold-tolerant variety Kunmingxiaobaigu (KMXBG) and the cold-sensitive variety Towada, was used to map a QTL on chromosome 10 for cold tolerance at the booting stage. Using BC7F3 and BC7F4 populations, we firstly confirmed qCTB10-2 and gained confidence that it could be fine mapped. QTL qCTB10-2 explained 13.9 and 15.9% of the phenotypic variances in those two generations, respectively. Using homozygous recombinants screened from larger BC7F4 and BC7F5 populations, qCTB10-2 was delimited to a 132.5 kb region between markers RM25121 and MM0568. 17 putative predicted genes were located in the region and only 5 were predicted to encode expressed proteins. Expression patterns of these five genes demonstrated that, except for constant expression of LOC_Os10g11820, LOC_Os10g11730, LOC_Os10g11770, and LOC_Os10g11810 were highly induced by cold stress in ZL31-2 compared to Towada, while LOC_Os10g11750 showed little difference. Our results provide a basis for identifying the genes underlying qCTB10-2 and indicate that markers linked to the qCTB10-2 locus can be used to improve the cold tolerance of rice at the booting stage by marker-assisted selection.

Molecular Mechanism and Health Role of Functional Ingredients in Blueberry for Chronic Disease in Human Beings.

Functional ingredients in blueberry have the best health benefits. To obtain a better understanding of the health role of blueberry in chronic disease, we conducted systematic preventive strategies for functional ingredients in blueberry, based on comprehensive databases, especially PubMed, ISI Web of Science, and CNKI for the period 2008⁻2018. Blueberry is rich in flavonoids (mainly anthocyanidins), polyphenols (procyanidin), phenolic acids, pyruvic acid, chlorogenic acid, and others, which have anticancer, anti-obesity, prevent degenerative diseases, anti-inflammation, protective properties for vision and liver, prevent heart diseases, antidiabetes, improve brain function, protective lung properties, strong bones, enhance immunity, prevent cardiovascular diseases, and improve cognitive decline. The anthocyanins and polyphenols in blueberry are major functional ingredients for preventive chronic disease. These results support findings that blueberry may be one of the best functional fruits, and further reveals the mechanisms of anthocyanins and polyphenols in the health role of blueberry for chronic disease. This paper may be used as scientific evidence for developing functional foods, nutraceuticals, and novel drugs of blueberry for preventive chronic diseases.

Identification of QTLs controlling grain protein concentration using a high-density SNP and SSR linkage map in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.).

BACKGROUND: Grain protein concentration (GPC) is a major determinant of quality in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Breeding barley cultivars with high GPC has practical value for feed and food properties. The aim of the present study was to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for GPC that could be detected under multiple environments. RESULTS: A population of 190 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) deriving from a cross between Chinese landrace ZGMLEL with high GPC (> 20%) and Australian cultivar Schooner was used for linkage and QTL analyses. The genetic linkage map spanned 2353.48 cM in length with an average locus interval of 2.33 cM. GPC was evaluated under six environments for the RIL population and the two parental lines. In total, six environmentally stable QTLs for GPC were detected on chromosomes 2H (1), 4H (1), 6H (1), and 7H (3) and the increasing alleles were derived from ZGMLEL. Notably, the three QTLs on chromosome 7H (QGpc.ZiSc-7H.1, QGpc.ZiSc-7H.2, and QGpc.ZiSc-7H.3) that linked in coupling phase were firstly identified. Moreover, the genetic effects of stable QTLs on chromosomes 2H, 6H and 7H were validated using near isogenic lines (NILs). CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, the identified QTLs expanded our knowledge about the genetic basis of GPC in barley and could be selected to develop cultivars with high grain protein concentration.

Health-promoting compounds in Amomum villosum Lour and Amomum tsao-ko: Fruit essential oil exhibiting great potential for human health.

The Zingiberaceae family serves as a diverse repository of bioactive phytochemicals, comprising approximately 52 genera and 1300 species of aromatic perennial herbs distinguished by their distinct creeping horizontal or tuberous rhizomes. Amomum villosum Lour. and Amomum tsao-ko Crevost & Lemaire., are the important plants of family Zingiberaceae that have been widely used in traditional medicine for the treatment of many ailments. The Amomum species are employed for their aromatic qualities and are valued as spices and flavorings. In the essential oils (EOs) of Amomum species, notable constituents include, camphor, methyl chavicol, bornyl acetate, trans-p-(1-butenyl) anisole, α-pinene, and ß-pinene. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this review is to present an overview of pharmacological studies pertaining to the extracts and secondary metabolites isolated from both species. The foremost objective of review is not only to increase the popularity of Amomum as a healthy food choice but also to enhance its status as a staple ingredient for the foreseeable future. RESULT: We endeavored to gather the latest information on antioxidant, antidiabetic, anticancer, antiobesity, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties of plants as well as their role in neuroprotective diseases. Research conducted through in-vitro studies, animal model, and compounds analysis have revealed that both plants exhibit a diverse array health promoting properties. CONCLUSION: the comprehensive review paper provides valuable insights into the diverse range of bioactive phytochemicals found in A. villosum and A. tsao-ko, showcasing their potential in preventing diseases and promoting overall human well-being. The compilation of information on their various health-enhancing properties contributes to the broader understanding of these plants and their potential applications in traditional medicine and beyond.

Elicitors directed in vitro growth and production of stevioside and other secondary metabolites in Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) Bertoni.

Stevia rebaudiana (stevia) is a plant in the Asteraceae that contains several biologically active compounds including the antidiabetic diterpene glycosides (e.g. stevioside, rebaudioside and dulcoside) that can serve as zero-calorie sugar alternatives. In this study, an elicitation strategy was applied using 5% polyethylene glycol (PEG), sodium chloride (NaCl; 50 and 100 mM) and gibberellic acid (2.0 and 4.0 mg/L GA3) to investigate their effect on shoot morphogenesis, and the production of phenolics, flavonoids, total soluble sugars, proline and stevioside, as well as antioxidant activity, in shoot cultures of S. rebaudiana. Herewith, the media supplemented with 2 mg/L and 4 mg/L GA3 exhibited the highest shooting response (87% and 80%). The augmentation of lower concentrations of GA3 (2 mg/L) in combination with 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) resulted in the maximum mean shoot length (11.1 cm). The addition of 100 mM NaCl salts to the media led to the highest observed total phenolics content (TPC; 4.11 mg/g-DW compared to the control 0.52 mg/g-DW), total flavonoids content (TFC; 1.26 mg/g-DW) and polyphenolics concentration (5.39 mg/g-DW) in shoots cultured. However, the maximum antioxidant activity (81.8%) was observed in shoots raised in media treated with 50 mM NaCl. The application of 2 mg/L of GA3 resulted in the highest accumulation of proline (0.99 µg/mL) as compared to controls (0.37 µg/mL). Maximum stevioside content (71 µL/mL) was observed in cultures supplemented with 100 mM NaCl and 5% PEG, followed by the 4 mg/L GA3 treatment (70 µL/mL) as compared to control (60 µL/mL). Positive correlation was observed between GA3 and stevioside content. Notably, these two compounds are derived from a shared biochemical pathway. These results suggest that elicitation is an effective option to enhance the accumulation of steviosides and other metabolites and provides the groundwork for future industrial scale production using bioreactors.

GC-MS based antioxidants characterization in Saussurea heteromalla (D. Don) Hand-Mazz by inhibition of nitric oxide generation in macrophages.

For centuries, medicinal plants have served as the cornerstone for traditional health care systems and same practice is still prevalent today. In the Himalayan region, Saussurea heteromalla holds a significant place in traditional medicine and is used to address various health issues. Despite its historical use, little exploration has focused on its potential for scavenging free radicals and reducing inflammation. Hence, our current study aims to investigate the free radical scavenging capabilities of S. heteromalla extracts. The n-hexane extract of entire plant revealed promising activity. This extract underwent extensive extraction on a larger scale. Subsequent purification, employing column chromatography, HPLC-DAD techniques, led to the identification of active compounds, confirmed via GC-MS and the NIST database as 1-O-butyl 2-O-octyl benzene-1,2-dicarboxylate and 2,4-ditert-butylphenol. Assessing the free radical scavenging properties involved utilizing RAW-264.7 macrophages activated by lipopolysaccharides. Notably, the compound 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol exhibited remarkable scavenging abilities, demonstrating over 80% inhibition of Nitric oxide. This study stands as the inaugural report on the isolation of these compounds from S. heteromalla.

Keyword-Based Diverse Image Retrieval With Variational Multiple Instance Graph.

The task of cross-modal image retrieval has recently attracted considerable research attention. In real-world scenarios, keyword-based queries issued by users are usually short and have broad semantics. Therefore, semantic diversity is as important as retrieval accuracy in such user-oriented services, which improves user experience. However, most typical cross-modal image retrieval methods based on single point query embedding inevitably result in low semantic diversity, while existing diverse retrieval approaches frequently lead to low accuracy due to a lack of cross-modal understanding. To address this challenge, we introduce an end-to-end solution termed variational multiple instance graph (VMIG), in which a continuous semantic space is learned to capture diverse query semantics, and the retrieval task is formulated as a multiple instance learning problems to connect diverse features across modalities. Specifically, a query-guided variational autoencoder is employed to model the continuous semantic space instead of learning a single-point embedding. Afterward, multiple instances of the image and query are obtained by sampling in the continuous semantic space and applying multihead attention, respectively. Thereafter, an instance graph is constructed to remove noisy instances and align cross-modal semantics. Finally, heterogeneous modalities are robustly fused under multiple losses. Extensive experiments on two real-world datasets have well verified the effectiveness of our proposed solution in both retrieval accuracy and semantic diversity.

Validation of the JAMR F1701T (arm type) pressure monitor according to the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation/European Society of Hypertension/ISO 81060-2:2018 protocol.

To validate the JAMR F1701T (arm type) blood pressure (BP) monitor according to the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation/European Society of Hypertension/International Organization for Standardization (AAMI/ESH/ISO) Universal Standard (ISO 81060-2:2018). A total of 90 subjects (male 60 and female 30) were recruited to fulfill the criteria of the AAMI/ESH/ISO Universal Standard (the number, gender, age, limber size, and BP distribution), and sequential measurements of BP, including both SBP and DBP were obtained using the test device and the standard mercury sphygmomanometer. A total of 270 sets of comparison data (three sets of each subject) were obtained and analyzed. According to the validation criterion 1 of ISO 81060-2:2018, the mean ± SD of the differences between the JAMR F1701T and mercury sphygmomanometer BP (systolic/diastolic) readings was 2.06 ± 6.83/-4.84 ± 5.23 mmHg. For criterion 2, the SD of the averaged BP (systolic/diastolic) differences between the JAMR F1701 and reference BP (systolic/diastolic) per participant was 5.62/4.39 mmHg (the requirement was ≤6.43/5.01 mmHg by calculation). The JAMR F1701T met all the requirements of the ISO 81060-2:2018, and can be recommended for clinical and self/home use.

Genome-Wide Association Study Reveals the Genetic Basis of Total Flavonoid Content in Brown Rice.

Flavonoids have anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and anticarcinogenic effects. Breeding rice varieties rich in flavonoids can prevent chronic diseases such as cancer and cardio-cerebrovascular diseases. However, most of the genes reported are known to regulate flavonoid content in leaves or seedlings. To further elucidate the genetic basis of flavonoid content in rice grains and identify germplasm rich in flavonoids in grains, a set of rice core collections containing 633 accessions from 32 countries was used to determine total flavonoid content (TFC) in brown rice. We identified ten excellent germplasms with TFC exceeding 300 mg/100 g. Using a compressed mixed linear model, a total of 53 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were detected through a genome-wide association study (GWAS). By combining linkage disequilibrium (LD) analysis, location of significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), gene expression, and haplotype analysis, eight candidate genes were identified from two important QTLs (qTFC1-6 and qTFC9-7), among which LOC_Os01g59440 and LOC_Os09g24260 are the most likely candidate genes. We also analyzed the geographic distribution and breeding utilization of favorable haplotypes of the two genes. Our findings provide insights into the genetic basis of TFC in brown rice and could facilitate the breeding of flavonoid-rich varieties, which may be a prevention and adjuvant treatment for cancer and cardio-cerebrovascular diseases.