Production and characterization of beer supplemented with Hibiscus sabdariffa (Malvaceae)

This study evaluated the effect of Hibiscus sabdariffa (HS) (Malvaceae) calyces on fermentation kenetics, phytochemical constituents, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and sensory profile of beer. Single infusion method of mashing was utilized, and the resulting beers were compared to industrial beers. HS supplementation did not alter the fermentation kenetics as a general decrease in extracts (oBrix) was observed in treated and the control fermentations. The HS beer (HSB) showed higher polyphenols and antioxidant activities than the control Belgian ale beer (BAB) including the industrial beers. One of the industrial beers, BRB showed slightly higher total flavonoid than HSB but not statistically different (p >.05). The peak response of ethyl acetate in HSB (199.61 ± 2.51 × 105 TIC) was significantly (p <.05) higher compared to BAB (22.86 ± 2.01 × 105 TIC). Generally, sensory panelists preferred HSB and BAB over the industrial beers. Therefore, we have demonstrated that supplementing wort with HS during brewing will not alter fermentation performance but augment beer with health promoting phytochemicals. © 2021 The Authors. Food Frontiers published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd and Nanchang University, Northwest University, Jiangsu University, Zhejiang University, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University.Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Minobrnauka, (FEUZ‐2020‐0058, H687.42B.223/20)This work was carried out with financial support from the Ministry of Science and Education of the Russian Federation, State Contract No. FEUZ‐2020‐0058 (H687.42B.223/20)

Ginger Beer: An Overview of Health Benefits and Recent Developments

Since time immemorial, ginger has been widely used as a food spice, providing aromatic odor and pungent taste, and as a medicinal plant, with various therapeutic effects such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic, among others. It has long been an integral constituent of most herbal medicines in Africa, China and India. Its medicinal properties are largely attributed to its outstanding amount of phenolics which include gingerols, paradols, zingerones, and many others. With consumer preference gradually and remarkably shifting from high-calorie towards low-calorie and functional beverages, the demand for ginger beer is flourishing at a faster rate. Currently, the ginger beer market is dominated by the United States. The demand for ginger beer is, however, debilitated by using artificial ingredients. Nonetheless, the use of natural ginger extract enriches beer with putative bioactive phytoconstituents such as shagaol, gingerone, zingerone, ginger flavonoids and essential oils, as well as essential nutritional components including proteins, vitamins and minerals, to promote general wellbeing of consumer. This paper presents an overview of the phytoconstituents of ginger as well as the overall biological activities they confer to the consumer. In addition, the market trend as well as the production technology of ginger beer using natural ginger extract is described here. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

Dialogue games for explaining medication choices

SMT solvers can be used efficiently to search for optimal paths across multiple graphs when optimising for certain resources. In the medical context, these graphs can represent treatment plans for chronic conditions where the optimal paths across all plans under consideration are the ones which minimize adverse drug interactions. The SMT solvers, however, work as a black-box model and there is a need to justify the optimal plans in a human-friendly way. We aim to fulfill this need by proposing explanatory dialogue protocols based on computational argumentation to increase the understanding and trust of humans interacting with the system. The protocols provide supporting reasons for nodes in a path and also allow counter reasons for the nodes not in the graph, highlighting any potential adverse interactions during the dialogue.Postprin

The Importance of Research on the Origin of SARS-CoV-2

The origin of the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus causing the COVID-19 pandemic has not yet been fully determined. Despite the consensus about the SARS-CoV-2 origin from bat CoV RaTG13, discrepancy to host tropism to other human Coronaviruses exist. SARS-CoV-2 also possesses some differences in its S protein receptor-binding domain, glycan-binding N-terminal domain and the surface of the sialic acid-binding domain. Despite similarities based on cryo-EM and biochemical studies, the SARS-CoV-2 shows higher stability and binding affinity to the ACE2 receptor. The SARS-CoV-2 does not appear to present a mutational “hot spot” as only the D614G mutation has been identified from clinical isolates. As laboratory manipulation is highly unlikely for the origin of SARS-CoV-2, the current possibilities comprise either natural selection in animal host before zoonotic transfer or natural selection in humans following zoonotic transfer. In the former case, despite SARS-CoV-2 and bat RaTG13 showing 96% identity some pangolin Coronaviruses exhibit very high similarity to particularly the receptor-binding domain of SARS-CoV-2. In the latter case, it can be hypothesized that the SARS-CoV-2 genome has adapted during human-to-human transmission and based on available data, the isolated SARS-CoV-2 genomes derive from a common origin. Before the origin of SARS-CoV-2 can be confirmed additional research is required

The AIQ Meta-Testbed: Pragmatically Bridging Academic AI Testing and Industrial Q Needs

AI solutions seem to appear in any and all application domains. As AI becomes more pervasive, the importance of quality assurance increases. Unfortunately, there is no consensus on what artificial intelligence means and interpretations range from simple statistical analysis to sentient humanoid robots. On top of that, quality is a notoriously hard concept to pinpoint. What does this mean for AI quality? In this paper, we share our working definition and a pragmatic approach to address the corresponding quality assurance with a focus on testing. Finally, we present our ongoing work on establishing the AIQ Meta-Testbed.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Proc. of the Software Quality Days 2021, Vienna, Austri

Urgent Need for Field Surveys of Coronaviruses in Southeast Asia to Understand the SARS-CoV-2 Phylogeny and Risk Assessment for Future Outbreaks

Phylogenetic analysis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is focused on a single isolate of bat coronaviruses (bat CoVs) which does not adequately represent genetically related coronaviruses (CoVs) [...

Carbon-Based Nanomaterials: Promising Antiviral Agents to Combat COVID-19 in the Microbial-Resistant Era

Therapeutic options for the highly pathogenic human severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing the current pandemic coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are urgently needed. COVID-19 is associated with viral pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome causing significant morbidity and mortality. The proposed treatments for COVID-19 have shown little or no effect in the clinic so far. Additionally, bacterial and fungal pathogens contribute to the SARS-CoV-2-mediated pneumonia disease complex. The antibiotic resistance in pneumonia treatment is increasing at an alarming rate. Therefore, carbon-based nanomaterials (CBNs), such as fullerene, carbon dots, graphene, and their derivatives constitute a promising alternative due to their wide-spectrum antimicrobial activity, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and capacity to induce tissue regeneration. Furthermore, the antimicrobial mode of action is mainly physical (e.g., membrane distortion), characterized by a low risk of antimicrobial resistance. In this Review, we evaluated the literature on the antiviral activity and broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties of CBNs. CBNs had antiviral activity against 13 enveloped positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses, including SARS-CoV-2. CBNs with low or no toxicity to humans are promising therapeutics against the COVID-19 pneumonia complex with other viruses, bacteria, and fungi, including those that are multidrug-resistant

Possible Transmission Flow of SARS-CoV-2 Based on ACE2 Features

Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the cellular receptor for the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that is engendering the severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The spike (S) protein receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 binds to the three sub-domains viz. amino acids (aa) 22-42, aa 79-84, and aa 330-393 of ACE2 on human cells to initiate entry. It was reported earlier that the receptor utilization capacity of ACE2 proteins from different species, such as cats, chimpanzees, dogs, and cattle, are different. A comprehensive analysis of ACE2 receptors of nineteen species was carried out in this study, and the findings propose a possible SARS-CoV-2 transmission flow across these nineteen species