How a marine debris environmental education program plays to strengths of linguistically diverse learners

Although environmental education (EE) has increased focus on how to best serve diverse populations, one understudied area is how linguistically diverse learners may engage with EE programming. Linguistic diversity is on the rise across the United States; for instance, nearly one-third of all children between the ages of 0 and 8 have at least one parent who speaks a language other than English in the home. This study evaluated impacts of an EE curriculum designed to promote pro-environmental behavior change with a pre-post, treatment-control experimental design among students from linguistically diverse households. In partnership with teachers, we implemented the curriculum in elementary schools across the state of North Carolina, United States. Over two school years (2018–2020), 36 teachers from 31 schools across 18 counties participated in the study, providing 644 paired pre-post student responses (n = 204 control; n = 440 treatment). About 10% of the sample (n = 49 treatment, n = 18 control) reported speaking a language at home other than English. We tested hypotheses that the curriculum would increase pro-environmental behavior change among all students, but particularly among those from linguistically diverse households using multiple linear regression. Results indicate that the curriculum effectively encouraged pro-environmental behaviors for all students on average, but particularly among linguistically diverse students, adding to growing examples of the equigenic effects of environmental and nature-based education. These findings are consistent with research demonstrating that EE can contribute to behavior change among young learners and may be particularly well-suited to resonate with the unique contributions of linguistically diverse learners

Antimicrobial Activity of a Crude Extract and Fractions from Alternanthera brasiliana (L.) O. Kuntze Leaves

SUMMARY. Aqueous EtOH (70%) crude extract of Alternanthera brasiliana leaves and dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and butanolic fractions of the crude extract were tested against a panel of microrganisms by the broth microdilution method to determine the Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC). The results demonstrate that the crude extract and some fractions showed moderate activities against Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Saccharomyces cerevisae and Prototheca zopffi. All samples did not present activity against the bacteria Escherichia coli, Candida albicans and Candida glabrata. The strongest effect occurred with dichloromethane fraction against the algae P. zopfii, (MIC= 312.5 μg.mL -1 ). These results demonstrate that A. brasiliana have a weak antimicrobial activity that not support the ethno-pharmacological indication of the plant for the treatment of infection diseases nor it's popular names such as "penicillin" and "terramycin" in Brazil . RESUMEN. "Actividad Antimicrobiana del Extracto Bruto y Fracciones de las Hojas de Alternanthera brasiliana (L.) O. Kuntze". El extracto etanólico crudo (70%) y las fracciones diclorometánica, de acetato de etilo y butanólica de las hojas de A. brasiliana fueron analizados en relación a su actividad antimicrobiana. Las concentraciones inhibitorias mínimas (MIC) fueron determinadas usando el método de microdilución en caldo. Los experimentos demostraron que el extracto y algunas fracciones exhibieron moderada acción antimicrobiana, particularmente contra Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Saccharomyces cerevisae y Prototheca zopffi. El efecto más fuerte ocurrió con la fracción diclorometánica frente a P. zopfii (MIC 312,5 μg.mL -1 ). La bacteria Escherichia coli y las leveduras Candida albicans y C. glabrata no fueron inhibidas por ninguno de los extractos probados. La baja actividad antimicrobiana de la planta no respalda las indicaciones planteadas por la comunidad para su uso en el tratamiento de procesos infecciosos, ni tampoco sus nombres populares en Brasil, tales como "penicilina" y "terramicina"

An investigation into the stability of an oregano essential oil emulsion for the preparation of microparticles using spray drying.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the viscosity, zeta potential and soluble and total solids of the emulsion and microparticles of oregano essential oil (Origanum vulgare) using gum arabic as a coating agent and to analyze the morphology of the microparticles produced by the spray drying method. The rheological analysis showed a viscosity for emulsion of 36.23 ± 0.59 mPas and for microparticles of 20.13 ± 0.15 mPa.s. The zeta potential of the emulsion was - 6.67 ± 0.32 mV and of the oregano oil microparticles -16.47 ± 0.70 mV. Soluble solids showed Brix° of 8.44 ± 0.13 and 0.98 ± 0.36 and total solids 8.95 ± 0.42 and 1.03 ± 0.02 % for emulsion and microparticles, respectively. The morphology of the microparticles presented irregular spherical shapes and agglomeration

Biomarkers for prediction of mortality in left-sided infective endocarditis

Background: Evidence regarding biomarkers for risk prediction in patients with infective endocarditis (IE) is limited. We aimed to investigate the value of a panel of biomarkers for the prediction of in-hospital mortality in patients with IE. Methods: Between 2016 and 2018, consecutive IE patients admitted to the emergency department were prospectively included. Blood concentrations of nine biomarkers were measured at admission (D0) and on the seventh day (D7) of antibiotic therapy: C-reactive protein (CRP), sensitive troponin I (s-cTnI), procalcitonin, B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), interleukin 6 (IL6), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), proadrenomedullin, alpha-1-acid glycoprotein, and galectin 3. The primary endpoint was in-hospital mortality. Results: Among 97 patients, 56% underwent cardiac surgery, and in-hospital mortality was 27%. At admission, six biomarkers were independent predictors of in-hospital mortality: s-cTnI (OR 3.4; 95%CI 1.8–6.4; P < 0.001), BNP (OR 2.7; 95%CI 1.4–5.1; P = 0.002), IL-6 (OR 2.06; 95%CI 1.3–3.7; P = 0.019), procalcitonin (OR 1.9; 95%CI 1.1–3.2; P = 0.018), TNF-α (OR 1.8; 95%CI 1.1–2.9; P = 0.019), and CRP (OR 1.8; 95%CI 1.0–3.3; P = 0.037). At admission, S-cTnI provided the highest accuracy for predicting mortality (area under the ROC curve: s-cTnI 0.812, BNP 0.727, IL-6 0.734, procalcitonin 0.684, TNF-α 0.675, CRP 0.670). After 7 days of antibiotic therapy, BNP and inflammatory biomarkers improved their performance (s-cTnI 0.814, BNP 0.823, IL-6 0.695, procalcitonin 0.802, TNF-α 0.554, CRP 0.759). Conclusion: S-cTnI concentration measured at admission had the highest accuracy for mortality prediction in patients with IE