Egyptian truffles as a source of antimicrobial and antioxidant agents

Edible desert truffles are obligate symbiotic macro hypogenous ascomycetes fruit bodies. These are growing in depth between 5 and 10 cm. These consider a miracle of nature and an unexploited source of therapeutic compounds with antimicrobial, antioxidant, and wonderful food, especially for Bedouins. The current study investigated the activity of premature and mature ethyl acetate truffle extracts (white and Red) collected from the Western Egyptian Desert as antimicrobial and antioxidant. This study evaluated in vitro the efficacy of antimicrobial activity of organic truffles extract, and their effect on various pathogens (Gram-negative, Gram-positive bacteria, filamentous fungi, and yeast) by using agar well diffusion. TEM micrographs had been done for the most effective crude extracts. Furthermore, the activity of DPPH scavenging was studied for both mature truffles. Both truffles extracts had antibacterial activity more than antifungal activity. The selected extracts exhibited an inhibitory effect on the cell wall and protoplasm of pathogens. Terfezia sp. had antioxidant activity more than Tirmania sp. This investigation concluded that the truffle extracts could be considered a promising antibiotic and antioxidant drug in near future

COVID-19 and Social Distancing: A Cross-Cultural Study of Interpersonal Distance Preferences and Touch Behaviors Before and During the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the introduction of unprecedented safety measures, one of them being physical distancing recommendations. Here, we assessed whether the pandemic has led to long-term effects on two important physical distancing aspects, namely interpersonal distance preferences and interpersonal touch behaviors. We analyzed nearly 14,000 individual cases from two large, cross-cultural surveys – the first conducted 2 years prior to the pandemic and the second during a relatively stable period of a decreased infection rate in May-June 2021. Preferred interpersonal distances increased by 54% globally during the COVID-19 pandemic. This increase was observable across all types of relationships, all countries, and was more pronounced in individuals with higher self-reported vulnerability to diseases. Unexpectedly, participants reported a higher incidence of interpersonal touch behaviors during than before the pandemic. We discuss our results in the context of prosocial and self-protection motivations that potentially promote different social behaviors