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Computing the number of loop-free k-hop paths is crucial for selecting services in social networks, for example a service consumer require to evaluate the trustworthiness of a service provider along the social trust paths, there are usually many social trust paths between two unconnected participants, we need know the number of loop-free k-hop trust propogation paths; other applications include the similarity computation for services recommendation, information diffusion, etc. Previously, the number of k-hop paths is roughly estimated by the elements in the k multiplications of the network adjacency matrix. This method calculates much more k-hop paths with loops, counted as loop-free k-hop paths, which may result in obvious errors in applications. Accurate mathematical formulas for counting loop-free paths are obtained in this paper for paths with 5 or less hops, an approximate method is provided for larger hops. Based on the proposed loop removing algorithm (LRA), the typical method for predicting trust between any two people is improved, the error rate is dramatically reduced; the traditional path based similarity indices are improved, which are much accurate than their antecedent counterparts; and a method for computing the spreading probability for information spreading in the famous independent cascade model is also obtained. To reveal the effectiveness of the proposed LRA, this paper also provide a traversal depth-first search algorithm (DFSA) for finding the true number of k-hop loop-free paths.

The advancements of Wireless sensor network (WSN) in large number of applications made it common. However, the energy is a major challenge in the WSN environment as the battery-operated sensor nodes in the network consumes huge amount of energy during transmission. This work addresses the energy issue and provides an energy efficient multi-hop routing in WSN named Taylor based Cat Salp Swarm Algorithm (Taylor C-SSA) by modifying C-SSA with Taylor series. This method undergoes two stages for attaining multi-hop routing, which includes selection of cluster head (CH), and transmission of data. Initially, the energy-efficient cluster heads are selected using the Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy (LEACH) protocol for effective data transmission, the sensor nodes sends data over the CH, which transmits the data to the base station through the selected optimal hop. The optimal hop selection is done using the proposed Taylor C-SSA. Moreover, the security aware multi-hop routing is performed by introducing trust model that involves indirect trust, integrity factor, direct trust, and data forwarding rate. The proposed Taylor C-SSA algorithm shows best performance in terms of energy, number of alive nodes, delay, and throughput values of 0.129, 42, 0.291, and 0.1, respectively.

Status epilepticus (SE) is a neurological emergency, and delayed management can lead to higher morbidity and mortality. It is thought that prolonged seizures stimulate stem cells in the hippocampus and that epileptogenesis may arise from aberrant connections formed by newly born cells, while others have suggested that the acute neuroinflammation and gliosis often seen in epileptic hippocampi contribute to hyperexcitability and epilepsy development. Previous studies have identified the expression of homeodomain-only protein (HOP) in the hippocampal dentate gyrus (HDG) and the heart. HOP was found to be a regulator of cell proliferation and differentiation during heart development, while it maintains the ‘heart conduction system’ in adulthood. However, little is known about HOP function in the adult HDG, particularly in the SE setting. Here, a HOP immunohistochemical profile in an SE mouse model was established. A total of 24 adult mice were analyzed 3–10 days following the SE episode, the ‘acute phase’. Our findings demonstrate a significant downregulation of HOP and BLBP protein expression in the SE group following SE episodes, while HOP/Ki67 coexpression did not remarkably differ. Furthermore, coexpression of HOP/S100β and HOP/Prox1 was not observed, although we noticed insignificant HOP/DCX coexpression level. The findings of this study show no compelling evidence of proliferation, and newly added neurons were not identified during the acute phase following SE, although HOP protein expression was significantly decreased in the HDG. Similar to its counterpart in the adult heart, this suggests that HOP seems to play a key role in regulating signal conduction in adult hippocampus. Moreover, acute changes in HOP expression following SE could be part of an inflammatory response that could subsequently influence epileptogenicity., Highlights • Homeodomain-only protein (HOP) is exclusively expressed in adult hippocampal dentate gyrus. • In adult HDG, HOP-expressing cells could represent a unique terminally-differentiated, highly specialized glial subtype. • . A single episode of status epilepticus (SE) does not affect cell proliferation nor differentiation in adult HDG. • HOP protein is downregulated following SE and could influence epileptogenicity. • Similar to its function in adult heart, HOP seems to play critical role in regulating adult ‘hippocampus conduction system’. • HOP protein could represent a molecular target for acute management of SE to minimize its cumulative effects.

With the increase of the world’s population, people’s demand for food is also increasing. However, due to various reasons, traditional agriculture cannot make full use of the land. Therefore, to ensure the food supply of the global population and promote the development of agriculture, the implementation of smart agriculture has become essential. The purpose of this research work is to study the smart agricultural wireless sensor routing protocols and node positioning algorithms based on the Internet of Things (IoT) technology. The present study first analyzes the classification of wireless sensor routing protocols. Based on the analysis and research of the Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy protocol, the influence of factors such as node energy and distance are considered, and the network’s Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy routing protocol is improved and extended its life. It introduced the classification of positioning algorithm, and then analyzed the DV-HOP positioning algorithm. Aiming at the problem of low positioning accuracy and large error of DV-HOP algorithm, an improved method of DV-HOP algorithm based on average HOP distance was proposed to make positioning more precise. Experimental results prove that the improved algorithm proposed in this paper has better performance. By testing the algorithm proposed in this paper, the improved DV-HOP algorithm reduces the positioning error by 30% compared with the original DV-HOP algorithm.

Improving the sensory stability of beer is still a motivating challenge for brewing research Some hop constituents, polyphenols and alpha-acids are considered to be substances that can slow the aging process of beer due to their antiradical and metal chelating properties. In pilot brewing experiments (200 l), with a variable dose of polyphenols (five hop varieties and CO2 extract), at a constant dose of alpha-acids, the effect on carbonyl formation and flavour deterioration of 12% pale lager beer during aging was investigated. The results showed the inter-relationships between the dose of hop polyphenols during wort boiling, the antioxidant status of beer evaluated by RC-DCPI and ARA-DPPH methods, suppression of the formation of both Strecker aldehydes and unsaturated carbonyls derived from fatty acids and off-flavours associated with beer aging. A significant effect of aromatic hop varieties with a high polyphenols/alpha-acids ratio on the deceleration of sensory aging of pale lager was demonstrated.

Summary Background & aims Donor human milk (DHM) is recommended as the first alternative for preterm infants if their mother's own milk is not available or if the quantity is not sufficient. The most commonly used technique to eliminate microbial contaminants in DHM is holder pasteurization (HoP). However, the heating process during HoP partially destroys milk bioactive factors such as insulin. Therefore, innovative techniques have been developed as alternatives to HoP. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of HoP, high-temperature–short-time (HTST), thermoultrasonication (TUS), ultraviolet-C irradiation (UV-C), and high-pressure processing (HPP) on the insulin concentration in DHM. Methods Milk samples from 28 non-diabetic mothers were collected. The milk samples were aliquoted and either left untreated or treated with HoP (62.5 °C; 30 min), HTST (72 °C; 15 s), TUS (60 W; 6 min), UV-C (4863 J/L), or HPP (500 MPa; 5 min). Results The mean insulin concentration in untreated milk was 79 ± 41 pmol/L. The mean insulin retention rate was 67% for HoP, 78% for HTST, 97% for TUS, 94% for UV-C, and 106% for HPP. The mean insulin concentration in milk treated with HoP was significantly lower compared to untreated milk (p = 0.01). Conclusion TUS, UV-C, and HPP preserve insulin in DHM. The insulin concentration in DHM is affected to a larger extent by HoP than by HTST. These results indicate that TUS, UV-C, and HPP may serve as alternatives to HoP.

Objectives: Soy and hop extracts have been investigated as alternatives for hormone replacement therapy. However, their combined efficacy is not known. We investigated the efficacy and safety of a ...

Hop powdery mildew, caused by the ascomycete fungus Podosphaera macularis, is a consistent threat to sustainable hop production. The pathogen utilizes two reproductive strategies for overwintering and perennation: (i) asexual vegetative hyphae on dormant buds that emerge the following season as infected shoots; and (ii) sexual ascocarps (chasmothecia), which are discharged during spring rain events. We demonstrate that P. macularis chasmothecia, in the absence of any asexual P. macularis growth forms, are a viable overwintering source capable of causing early season infection two to three orders of magnitude greater than that reported for perennation via asexual growth. Two epidemiological models were defined that describe (i) temperature-driven maturation of P. macularis chasmothecia; and (ii) ascosporic discharge in response to duration of leaf wetness and prevailing temperatures. P. macularis ascospores were confirmed to be infectious at temperatures ranging from 5 to 20°C. The organism’s chasmothecia were also found to adhere tightly to the host tissue on which they formed, suggesting that these structures likely overwinter wherever hop tissue senesces within a hop yard. These observations suggest that existing early season disease management practices are especially crucial to controlling hop powdery mildew in the presence of P. macularis chasmothecia. Furthermore, these insights provide a baseline for the validation of weather-driven models describing maturation and release of P. macularis ascospores, models that can eventually be incorporated into hop disease management programs.

The article presents the results of breeding work for the creation of new high-yielding varieties of bitter-aromatic hops with a high content of alpha-acids carried out in 2004-2020 in the Chuvash Republic on gray forest soils. The work was done by individual clonal selection of the best hop plants from the collection nursery. Seven high-yielding breeding numbers with a high alpha-acid content were selected from the collection nursery. After passing through all the stages of study in each of the appropriate nurseries from seven numbers, two clones were selected to create new varieties. Data were obtained on the parameters of the initial clonal breeding material, depending on weather conditions and the age of plantings. The selected clones (1-17 bitter-aromatic type and 6-26 bitter type) correspond to the specified indicators: collection of raw hops is not less than 4.0 kg from a bush, the duration of the growing period is 100-120 days, the content of alpha acids is not less than 5.0 %. Documentation on clone 1-17 was sent to the State Variety Commission for registration of a new variety Salampi. The variety is characterized by stable performance and quality indicators. The productivity of the variety is 30.0 c/ha (4.0 kg/bush) with a content of alphaacids of 9.3 %. The Podvyazny standard variety has 26.4 c/ha (3.5 kg/bush), the content of alpha-acids is 8.8 %. Testing of clone 6-26 will be continued to obtain complete and objective data.

The transcriptome from lupulin glands and associated bracts from cone tissue of hop (Humulus lupulus) c.v. ‘Cascade’, during three stages of development: early, mid, and late or near-harvest, was s...

The Hsp70 and Hsp90 molecular chaperone systems are critical regulators of protein homeostasis (proteostasis) in eukaryotes under normal and stressed conditions. The Hsp70 and Hsp90 systems physically and functionally interact to ensure cellular proteostasis. Co-chaperones interact with Hsp70 and Hsp90 to regulate and to promote their molecular chaperone functions. Mammalian Hop, also called Stip1, and its budding yeast ortholog Sti1 are eukaryote-specific co-chaperones, which have been thought to be essential for substrate (“client”) transfer from Hsp70 to Hsp90. Substrate transfer is facilitated by the ability of Hop to interact simultaneously with Hsp70 and Hsp90 as part of a ternary complex. Intriguingly, in prokaryotes, which lack a Hop ortholog, the Hsp70 and Hsp90 orthologs interact directly. Recent evidence shows that eukaryotic Hsp70 and Hsp90 can also form a prokaryote-like binary chaperone complex in the absence of Hop, and that this binary complex displays enhanced protein folding and anti-aggregation activities. The canonical Hsp70-Hop-Hsp90 ternary chaperone complex is essential for optimal maturation and stability of a small subset of clients, including the glucocorticoid receptor, the tyrosine kinase v-Src, and the 26S/30S proteasome. Whereas many cancers have increased levels of Hop, the levels of Hop decrease in the aging human brain. Since Hop is not essential in all eukaryotic cells and organisms, tuning Hop levels or activity might be beneficial for the treatment of cancer and neurodegeneration.

Hop essential oil is a mixture of several hundred volatile metabolites that quantitatively and qualitatively distinguish hop varieties. Given the commercial relevance of hops in the brewing industry and the complexity of hop oil, analytical tools enabling a comprehensive characterization of oil constituents are required. At this, atmospheric pressure chemical ionization interfaced to gas chromatography and high-resolution mass spectrometry (APGC-MS) is a promising option that combines soft ionization, high sensitivity, and high resolution. While high sensitivity is required to detect minor or trace-level volatile metabolites, soft ionization and high resolution enable the reliable identification of unknowns based on exact masses of the molecular ion or the protonated molecule. Twenty-two volatile metabolites typically found in hop oil were studied in respect to their APGC ionization behavior. For 15 compounds, APGC-MS did not yield high molecular ion or protonated molecule intensities and considerable in-source fragmentation was observed. APGC-MS parameter optimization (cone gas flow and cone voltage) was able to yield the maximum absolute intensity for the base peak. However, in-source fragmentation could not be prevented, leading to spectra with either the protonated molecule or a characteristic fragment ion as the base peak. APGC-MS operated under optimized parameters was applied to a hop essential oil sample to verify the effect of optimization. By estimating the limit of quantification for the 22 compounds, it is concluded that APGC-MS is well suited to analyze major, minor, and trace-level volatiles from hops.

Hop (Humulus lupulus L.): Traditional and Present Use, and Future Potential. Hop (Humulus lupulus) is best known for its use in beer brewing owing to its bittering flavor and floral aroma. Today, the brewing industry uses as much as 98% of the produced hop crop worldwide. However, there are many other uses, some of them known since prehistoric times. Hops, the cone–like female structures called strobili, are the most frequently used part of the hop plant, but other tissues are of interest as well. The present review compiles existing knowledge of the chemical and pharmacological properties, traditional and present uses and further use potential, genetic resources, and breeding attempts in H. lupulus, and discusses climate change challenges to hop production. It contains hundreds of phytochemicals, and some of the secondary metabolites have definite potential pharmacological and medicinal value, but further investigations are desirable. Hop substances are potential alternatives, e.g., in antimicrobial, cancer, metabolic syndrome, and hormone replacement therapy treatments, as well as insecticides, preservatives, and fragrances. There are presently a few hundred cultivated hop varieties, and new cultivars are being developed and tested. Future hop breeding efforts with different quality and adaptation targets can utilize existing genetic resources, such as wild populations and landraces present in many regions.

The citrus bark cracking viroid (CBCVd) was identified as causal agent for a severe stunting disease in hops. Viroids are highly stable parasitic RNAs, which can be easily transmitted by agricultural practices. Since CBCVd has recently been detected in two European countries a growing concern is that this pathogen will further spread and thereby threaten the European hop production. Biogas fermentation is used to sanitize hop harvest residues infected with pathogenic fungi. Consequently, the aim of this study was to test if biogas fermentation can contribute to viroid degradation at mesophilic (40 °C) and thermophilic (50 °C) conditions. Therefore, a duplex reverse transcription real-time PCR analysis was developed for CBCVd and HLVd detection in biogas fermentation residues. The non-pathogenic hop latent viroid (HLVd) was used as viroid model for the pathogenic CBCVd. The fermentation trials showed that HLVd was significantly degraded after 30 days at mesophilic or after 5 days at thermophilic conditions, respectively. However, sequencing revealed that HLVd was not fully degraded even after 90 days. The incubation of hop harvest residues at different temperatures between 20 and 70 °C showed that 70 °C led to a significant HLVd degradation after 1 day. In conclusion, we suggest combining 70 °C pretreatment and thermophilic fermentation for efficient viroid decontamination.

Microbial biofilms can establish in numerous areas within the brewery and exposure to these communities of organisms can result in undesirable flavors. Beer transfer lines represent a particular ri...

Purpose: Physical growth of children is measured by changes in body size and/or body composition, as well as by changes in motor skills. Motor skills can be affected by many factors, such as genetic predisposition, body composition, socio-economic conditions, and the like. Accordingly, the aim of the research is to determine the correlation between body composition with speed and agility of children aged 9 to 10 years. Methods: The sample included 40 participants (29 boys and 11 girls, 9.47 ± 0.5 years). Body height (BH), body weight (BW), body mass index (BMI) and body fat (BF), and basal metabolism (BMR) were determined to assess body composition. The BOT-2 subtest was used to assess speed and agility, which includes: Shuttle Run (1SAA), Stepping Sideways over a Balance Beam (2SAA), One-Legged Stationary Hop (3SAA), One-Legged Side Hop (4SAA), Two-Legged Side Hop (5SAA), and Total Speed and Agility (TSAA). Results: The results of correlation statistics indicated the existence of negative correlations between: height and 3SAA (r=-.353, p=.026); weight and 3SAA (r=-.422, p=. 007); weight and TSAA (r=-.359, p=.023); BMI and 3SAA (r=-.342, p=. 031); BMI and TSAA (r=-.333, p=.036); BMR and 3SAA (r=-.369, p=. 019); BMR and TSAA (r=-.363, p=.021). Conclusion: Based on the results obtained in this study, it can be concluded that there is a correlation between body composition and speed and agility. In addition to body composition, a correlation was found between body height and performance of one-legged stationary hop, as well as between basal metabolism, the one-legged stationary hop test and the overall results achieved in motor skill tests.

Wireless ad hoc networks have become valuable assets to both the commercial and military communities with applications ranging from industrial control on a factory floor to reconnaissance of a hostile border. In most applications, nodes act as data sources and forward information to a central base station (BS) that may also perform network management tasks. The critical role of the BS makes it a target for an adversary's attack. Even if an ad hoc network employs conventional security primitives such as encryption and authentication, an adversary can apply traffic analysis techniques to find the BS. Therefore, the BS should be kept anonymous to protect its identity, role, and location. Previous work has demonstrated distributed beamforming to be an effective technique to boost BS anonymity in wireless ad hoc networks; however, the increased anonymity and corresponding energy consumption depend on the quality and quantity of selected helper relays. In this paper we present a novel, distributed approach for determining a set of relays per hop that boosts BS anonymity using evidence theory analysis while minimizing energy consumption. The identified relay set is further prioritized using local wireless channel statistics. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness our approach.

Fibrous material extracted from biogas digestate is investigated as a possible raw material for composites. Digestate is a by-product of every biogas plant and consists mostly of water, undegraded ...

Currently, the application of the dry hopping process is a new technology. This method of introducing hops allows you to preserve unstable aromatic oils. The dry hopping process means the addition of hop products at the fermentation stage of the fermentation chine or kegs after the fermentation process is completed. The dry hopping technology does not give the beer a bitter taste, but as a result of its use, it allows you to preserve volatile unstable aromatic oils that evaporate during cooking: monoterpenes-myrcene , diterpenes-dimircene, sexwiterpenes-β-corpofyllene, etc. Beer prepared using this technology is characterized by a rich aroma of hops, which is not present in traditional brewing technology. Based on the production tasting quality assessment, sensory profiles and physico-chemical parameters of drinks with different concentrations of Goldings hops were determined, in particular, the content of the extract, pH, the content of bitter substances, color, diacetyl content, alcohol content, the degree of fermentation, and according to the results of the profilogram analysis, the optimal dose of hops administration was 29 g/dal.

Characterization of varietal profiles of hop secondary metabolites in beer is of considerable importance for hop growing and brewing. This three-year study focused on pilot brewing tests of three new Saaz derived hop varieties, namely Saaz Brilliant, Saaz Shine and Saaz Comfort. The sensory profiles of kettle and kettle+dry single hopped beers were monitored. At the same time, the impact of dry hopping technology on sensory perception of final beers and changes in volatile compounds was investigated. Pilot brews (200 l) of 12% pale lager were prepared in kettle and kettle+dry variants using the new Czech varieties and traditional Saaz as a control sample. Essential oils in beers were determined by GC/MS-MS method with the aim to clarify links to the beer sensory profile of both, kettle and dry hopping mode. The descriptive sensory method of hop-derived aromas and the triangle tests were employed to determine the sensory quality of beer. The overall sensory impression of beers from all tested varieties was at least comparable to traditional Saaz, and Saaz Comfort even reached better evaluation. The profile of essential oils and hop flavours in beer was partially different, however it was not rated worse than Saaz. The kettle+dry hopped beers of new varieties were significantly different from Saaz in the triangle test, Saaz Brilliant was preferred over the Saaz. The results showed considerable potential of new varieties for the production of interesting and taste-specific beers and the enrichment of the spectrum of fine aroma varieties of Czech hops.

The article deals with the harvest forecast of the content of bitter acids in Czech hop varieties harvested in 2020. This is presented in the context of long-term trends in the content and composition of bitter acids analogues and the stability of the varietal characteristics in the aforementioned harvest. This analysis is usually available at the end of the calendar year. 180 hop samples were analysed using EBC 7.7 (HPLC) method. The α-acids content in the most important variety of Saaz (3.65% in dry matter) was 12.8% rel. higher than in the 2019 harvest and 4.2% rel. higher than the 28-year average. The α-acids content in Saaz Late (3.23%), Sladek (7.9%), Kazbek (6.4%) and Agnus (12.4%) was significantly higher than both the long-term averages for the varieties and the harvest of 2019. The Premiant (8.0%) variety was close to the long-term average. The ratio of α-/β-acids, the relative content of cohumulone and the relative content of colupulone were consistent with long-term averages of the tested varieties. It was confirmed that the harvest forecast provides timely information on the α-acids content of the given harvest, the results being in good agreement with the values of the final evaluation of all harvested hops.

The quality of hops is dictated in large part by the content of flavor and aroma compounds. These compounds vary in concentration and are affected by agricultural practices. Previous research has f...

To expand the applicability of the third-generation DNA sequencing technologies for the brewing industry, the new experimental protocols for quality control (QC) brewery laboratories have been deve...

The purpose of the work was the correction rumen fermentation in the transition cows to prevent metabolic disorders. For the experiment, two groups of Ukrainian dairy black-and-white breed cows were formed, 10 animals per group. The experiment lasted 3 weeks prepartum and 3 weeks postpartum. Animals received a balanced diet, which consisted of haylage, silage, barley, wheat, corn, soybean meal, salt, mineral and vitamin premix. The first group was the control. To the diet of second group 300 mg of α-tocopherol acetate (0.6 g of Rovimix E-50) and 1 g/kg of dry hop cones per kg of dry matter was added. Before calving, the tested feed additive reduced the concentration of peroxide oxidation products in the cows blood (P

This article considers a dual-hop Internet of Things communications network where sensor nodes transmit data to a gateway either directly or via other nodes using dual-hop communications. Each node employs separate transmission buffers to store its own sensing data and data received from other nodes. End-to-end delay quality-of-service constraints in terms of the maximum acceptable delay-outage probabilities are imposed. We investigate energy-efficient adaptive resource allocation problems (i.e., joint link scheduling, rate, and power allocation) to support minimum data rates of the nodes. A novel approach is proposed exploiting asymptotic delay analysis to first determine the achieved delay exponents of the queue length tail distributions to satisfy the delay-outage constraints. Next, the relation between the delay exponents and resource allocation variables are derived. Last, the solutions to the resulting constrained optimization problems are obtained using the Lagrangian approach and convex optimization. Illustrative examples demonstrate the effects of the rate requirements and delay constraint stringency on the power consumption and routing configuration.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a highly heterogeneous class of non-protein-encoding transcripts that play an essential regulatory role in diverse biological processes, including stress responses. The severe stunting disease caused by Citrus bark cracking viroid (CBCVd) poses a major threat to the production of Humulus lupulus (hop) plants. In this study, we systematically investigate the characteristics of the lncRNAs in hop and their role in CBCVd-infection using RNA-sequencing data. Following a stringent filtration criterion, a total of 3598 putative lncRNAs were identified with a high degree of certainty, of which 19% (684) of the lncRNAs were significantly differentially expressed (DE) in CBCVd-infected hop, which were predicted to be mainly involved in plant-pathogen interactions, kinase cascades, secondary metabolism and phytohormone signal transduction. Besides, several lncRNAs and CBCVd-responsive lncRNAs were identified as the precursor of microRNAs and predicted as endogenous target mimics (eTMs) for hop microRNAs involved in CBCVd-infection.

Micropropagation is a promising technique for hop (Humulus lupulus L.) plantlet production. However, the phenotypic stability of micropropagated hop plants is poorly understood. These should be characterized, in order to identify possible variations. The purpose of this study was to analyze and characterize the occurrence of somaclonal variation induced by in vitro multiplication of hop genotypes. Three genotypes were established in vitro and micropropagated in five subcultures. The response variables were chosen by the stepwise method and subjected to multivariate analysis of variance (Manova), multivariate contrasts, standardized canonical coefficients (StCC) and intraclass correlation (t). Somaclonal variation was detected in the genotypes Chinook and Columbus, both from America. No significant variations were found in the European genotype Hallertauer Mittelfrueh, regardless of the number of subcultures. Somaclonal variation was detected in the genotypes Chinook and Columbus, both from America. No significant variations were found in the genotype Hallertauer Mitterlfrueh, regardless of the number of subcultures.

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) cause the majority of beer spoilage incidents in the brewing industry. Previous studies revealed that the hop resistance genes, horA and horC, are applicable to the speci...

With the steep increase in wireless devices, the requirement of the spectrum has increased for communication. However, despite huge demand, the available spectrum is underutilized. The cognitive radio network (CRN) is more challenging environment as compared to conventional mobile ad hoc network because of node mobility and dynamic channel availability. Therefore, we propose a localized clustering scheme, which aims to provide better stability, scalability, efficient spectrum management, and reduce communication overhead. Each node computes its weight and shares with its one hop neighbours, and a node with maximal weight becomes the cluster head. Subsequently, the neighbour nodes sharing the channel(s) with a cluster head join it to form a cluster. To provide fault tolerance, vice-cluster head is also selected along with cluster head. We compare the performance of our protocol with competing protocols in the CRN. Finally, we present analytic as well as simulation study of our protocol and provide a method to handle the cluster dynamics.

Background: Japanese hop is an important cause of weed pollinosis in East Asia. Its pollen is abundant in autumn. This pollen is known to be the cause of many allergic diseases. However, molecular characteristics of its allergens have not been elucidated. Objective: In this study, we produced recombinant proteins of allergen homologues from Japanese hop by the analysis of expressed sequence tags (EST), and evaluated its allergenicity. Methods: cDNA library was constructed using as little as 50 ng of total RNA from Japanese hop pollen. Allergen homologues were identified by the initial screening of 963 EST clones. Recombinant proteins were overexpressed in the E. coli expression system and purified using Ni-nitrilotriacetic acid-agarose. Purified proteins were analyzed by ELISA. Results: Japanese hop pathogenesis-related 1 protein (PR-1) shares 37.0 to 44.4% of amino acid sequence identity with Art v 2, Cuc m 3, and Cyn d 24. Pectin methyl esterase (PME) shows 23.2 to 50.2% of identities to Act d 7, Ole e 11, and Sal k 1. Polygalacturonase (PGs) shows 16.7 to 19.3% of identities to Phl p 13, Cry j 2, Cha o 2, Jun a 2, Pla a 2, and Pla or 2. IgE antibodies from Japanese hop allergy patients’ sera recognized PR-1 (3.4%), PME (13.8%), PGs (3.7%), and profilin (13.8%), respectively. Conclusion: Novel allergenic components were identified, even though low IgE reactivity was displayed reflecting the low degree of cross-reactivity with other pollen allergens. We believe that these molecules have worth further studies.

Annual downy mildew [Pseudoperonospora humuli (Miyabe & Takah.) G.W. Wilson, (1914)] epidemics threaten hop (Humulus lupulus L. var. lupulus) production throughout the eastern United States. Rootstock rot complicates foliar disease assessments because dormant buds may rot before producing a symptomatic basal shoot and noncolonized buds produce healthy shoots. We selected 12 cultivars to evaluate downy mildew susceptibility (2016 and 2017) and examined the rhizomes of a subset of six cultivars (2018) that showed clear differences in foliar disease ratings to determine rootstock rot susceptibility. Trials were conducted on nontrellised hop yards established at two research farms in 2016 and managed without fungicides. The relative area under the disease progress curve (rAUDPC) values for foliar disease severity and density ratings were consistently higher for ‘Cascade’, ‘Centennial’, and ‘Nugget’ than for ‘Newport’, ‘Tahoma’, and ‘Columbia’. Only ‘Centennial’ had a higher wet-rot cortex discoloration (CD) incidence (71.5%) and severity (31.9%) in its rhizomes than the other cultivars. Among cultivars with low foliar disease levels, Columbia was less vigorous (shoots/plant) than ‘Tahoma’, but had similar wet-rot CD (incidence, 46.4% to 47.2%; severity, 12.5% to 17.7%). The levels of wet-rot CD for ‘Tahoma’, ‘Newport’, and ‘Columbia’ were comparable to those of some cultivars with more severe foliar disease symptoms (‘Nugget’ and ‘Cascade’). Differences in foliar disease among cultivars with similar levels of rootstock rot suggest a resistance defense mechanism to P. humuli. Additional work is needed to clarify rootstock infection sites and characterize defense responses to aid future breeding efforts.

Currently, a lot of research is being done on the flavoring compounds of hops. However, much less attention has been paid to the aroma formation considering the hop polyphenol different groups by various methods at the wort hopping stage. Therefore, the main goal of the research is an impact of hopping conditions on the polyphenolic compounds, when the hop is extracted variously into both wort and water to better understand extraction conditions, mechanisms, and factors as well as aroma formation considering various groups of polyphenols. As shown the hop variety, boiling time, and treatment type affect the hop polyphenols amount extracted into the wort. Aromatics varied upon a hop variety and wort boiling time accompanying a positive softening effect regarding aroma formated from malt wort compounds comparing to hopped aqueous extracts. The research proved the most noticeable pH (7 and above) impact on aroma formation caused by the polyphenol conversion. As also shown the first time, a temperature and acidic pH doubled the rutin amount, as well as the best extraction of the prenylflavanoid isoxanthohumol, was achieved by boiling at an alkaline medium pH. The results obtained indicate that various hydrophilic amino acids containing in the wort can stabilize polyphenols affecting the quality indicators of beer produced from different grain raw materials.

Czech hop varieties are evaluated as part of maintenance breeding. Every year, this evaluation includes ten mother plants of each hop variety. Yield is determined in kilograms of fresh hops per plant. The t-test is used to determine significance. Results from the years 2014–2019 show that Gaia and Kazbek have the highest yield (3.17 kg/plant and 3.05 kg/plant, respectively). Their yield is higher than that of the Harmonie, Agnus, Bohemie, Premiant, Sládek, Boomerang and Saaz varieties. Saaz has the lowest hop yield, i.e. 1.85 kg/plant. Bor, Saaz Late, Saaz and Sládek show the lowest variability, which ranges between 20.56 and 20.58%. Gaia has the highest variability (34.33%). Gaia also has the highest alpha acid content (12.30%) with a probability of 95% to 99%. Vital and Boomerang have a higher alpha acid content than other Czech hop varieties (11.09% and 10.81%, respectively) with a probability of 99%. Saaz Late (3.42%) and Saaz (3.06%) have the lowest alpha acid content with a probability of 95% to 99%. The variability of alpha acid content is considerably lower than the hop yield variability. Rubín has the lowest year-on-year variability of all Czech varieties (4.81%). Vital and Gaia have a very low variability (5.63% and 5.72%, respectively). A higher variability of alpha acid content was found in Saaz Late, Premiant, Agnus, Saaz, Kazbek, Bor and Harmonie, ranging between 8.01% and 10.21%.