Revealing core heterotic germplasm and characterizing of maize inbred lines using SSRs

Clear knowledge about germplasm characteristics of inbred lines is very important for breeding and genetic research in maize. In this study, a total of 100 SSR markers uniformly distributed on all chromosomes were used to classify 758 lines with broad germplasm types and to reveal the germplasm relationship of 452 introduced lines with unknown pedigree and 91 lines from different sources. Great genetic diversity was observed among these lines, with total alleles 384, alleles per locus 2 ~ 11, polymorphic information content 0.23 ~ 0.86, gene diversity 0.26 ~ 0.88, major allele frequency 0.09 ~ 0.50. All lines were divided into 10 groups G1~G10, in which all lines with unknown pedigree were included. Five typical heterotic groups were revealed. Three groups (G1, G2, and G7, totally included 695 lines, accounting for 91.69%) and two core heterotic types (G1×G2 and G7×G2) were consistently revealed according to typical lines, the genetic differences among different groups and between pairs of parental lines for 48 important commercial hybrids. Eighteen high-oil and 18 popcorn lines were distinctly classified in G7-9 and G8 groups. The namesake lines from different sources were classified into the same groups for 82 lines, while other 9 such lines were classified into different groups or subgroups. In addition, line improvement among typical groups was obviously reflected and proved to be the effective way in further maize breeding. These results were mainly consistent with inbred pedigree/heterotic groups, previous researches and breeding practice, and could provide useful gerplasm information for all lines in further maize breeding and genetic research

Original Article Benefit of a 360-degree horizontal turn following premedication with simethicone on image quality during gastroendoscopy: a randomized controlled trial

Abstract: Objectives: To investigate whether a 360-degree horizontal turn after oral premedication with simethicone improves the mucosal visibility during gastroendoscopic examination, and to determine the proper time to turn over the patient. Methods: This study involved 993 patients scheduled for gastroendoscopy. Just before gastroendoscopy，after oral premedication with simethicone, patients were randomly assigned to three groups：in Group A, patients waited for 20 min before gastroendoscopy; in Group B, patients were separately waited for 5/10/15/20 min and were then turned 360 degrees just before gastroendoscopy; in Group C, patients were immediately turned 360 degrees and then separately waited for 5/10/15/20 min before examination. The sum of the gastric mucosal visibility scores (MVS) was calculated after the examination. The MVS and proportion of images with higher visibility scores for the mucosal surface. Lower scores indicate better visibility of the mucosal surface. Results: In Groups B and Groups C, when waiting time more than 10 min had lower mean total MVS than Group A. The MVS of four subgroups of Group B were not different from those of Group C. Conclusion: Oral premedication with simethicone and immediately make a body posture change (turning over 360 degrees) then waiting for 10min can increase the image quality during gastroendoscopy and effectively decrease the premedication time

The Ninth Visual Object Tracking VOT2021 Challenge Results

acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

A multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased negative emotions and decreased positive emotions globally. Left unchecked, these emotional changes might have a wide array of adverse impacts. To reduce negative emotions and increase positive emotions, we tested the effectiveness of reappraisal, an emotion-regulation strategy that modifies how one thinks about a situation. Participants from 87 countries and regions (n = 21,644) were randomly assigned to one of two brief reappraisal interventions (reconstrual or repurposing) or one of two control conditions (active or passive). Results revealed that both reappraisal interventions (vesus both control conditions) consistently reduced negative emotions and increased positive emotions across different measures. Reconstrual and repurposing interventions had similar effects. Importantly, planned exploratory analyses indicated that reappraisal interventions did not reduce intentions to practice preventive health behaviours. The findings demonstrate the viability of creating scalable, low-cost interventions for use around the world