ANTIMICOTIC ACTIVITY OF OCIMUM BASILICUM ESSENTIAL OIL AGAINST STORED FUNGI

The use of indigenous products as an alternative for the biocontrol of mycotoxigenic fungi has become a key factor due to the negative impact of synthetic fungicides towards environment and human health. They are widely used in medicine for these purposes. Essential oils (EOs) have been long recognized for their antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties. Worldwide, at the scientific community level there have been discovered a series of plant bioactive eco-friendly principles, and were performed a multitude of researches regarding the potential of essentials oils and mixture of organic volatile compounds, as alternative insecticides and antimicrobial fumigants for a sustainable agricultural production. EOs and their components show promising activities against many pathogens and spoilage microorganisms when tested in vitro. Among promising alternative methods to control food spoilage much attention is being paid to the use of essential oils (EOs), and lately also to their activity in vapor phase. Ocimum basilicum, commonly known as basil, is an aromatic annual herb and an important economic crop. The paper presents a study regarding the activity of basil volatile essential oil towards the growth and development of stored pathogenic fungi

Reasons for facebook usage: Data from 46 countries

Seventy-nine percent of internet users use Facebook, and on average they access Facebook eight times a day (Greenwood et al., 2016). To put these numbers into perspective, according to Clement (2019), around 30% of the world\u2019s population uses this Online Social Network (OSN) site. Despite the constantly growing body of academic research on Facebook (Chou et al., 2009; Back et al., 2010; Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010; McAndrew and Jeong, 2012; Wilson et al., 2012; Krasnova et al., 2017), there remains limited research regarding the motivation behind Facebook use across different cultures. Our main goal was to collect data from a large cross-cultural sample of Facebook users to examine the roles of sex, age, and, most importantly, cultural differences underlying Facebook use

Affective interpersonal touch in close relationships: a cross-cultural perspective

Interpersonal touch behavior differs across cultures, yet no study to date has systematically tested for cultural variation in affective touch, nor examined the factors that might account for this variability. Here, over 14,000 individuals from 45 countries were asked whether they embraced, stroked, kissed, or hugged their partner, friends, and youngest child during the week preceding the study. We then examined a range of hypothesized individual-level factors (sex, age, parasitic history, conservatism, religiosity, and preferred interpersonal distance) and cultural-level factors (regional temperature, parasite stress, regional conservatism, collectivism, and religiosity) in predicting these affective-touching behaviors. Our results indicate that affective touch was most prevalent in relationships with partners and children, and its diversity was relatively higher in warmer, less conservative, and religious countries, and among younger, female, and liberal people. This research allows for a broad and integrated view of the bases of cross-cultural variability in affective touch

Sex differences in mate preferences across 45 countries: A large-scale replication

Considerable research has examined human mate preferences across cultures, finding universal sex differences in preferences for attractiveness and resources as well as sources of systematic cultural variation. Two competing perspectives—an evolutionary psychological perspective and a biosocial role perspective—offer alternative explanations for these findings. However, the original data on which each perspective relies are decades old, and the literature is fraught with conflicting methods, analyses, results, and conclusions. Using a new 45-country sample (N = 14,399), we attempted to replicate classic studies and test both the evolutionary and biosocial role perspectives. Support for universal sex differences in preferences remains robust: Men, more than women, prefer attractive, young mates, and women, more than men, prefer older mates with financial prospects. Cross-culturally, both sexes have mates closer to their own ages as gender equality increases. Beyond age of partner, neither pathogen prevalence nor gender equality robustly predicted sex differences or preferences across countries

Strategies for prevention and protection of violence against healthcare workers in out-of-hospital emergencies: a review of the literature.

openINTRODUZIONE. In seguito all’emergenza Covid-19, si è osservato un notevole aumento della violenza nei confronti degli operatori sanitari, con particolare impatto nei servizi di emergenza medica. Il personale sanitario di emergenza si trova ad agire in situazioni e ambienti differenti e spesso caratterizzati da impatti emotivi intensi, che possono innescare agitazione nei pazienti, che può poi sfociare in atti di violenza. La violenza può assumere diverse forme e può avere conseguenze importanti che coinvolgono sia l’individuo che l’intero sistema sanitario. Spesso, il personale infermieristico tende a non segnalare questi episodi poiché li considera parte integrante del proprio lavoro. Secondo la Raccomandazione Ministeriale n. 8 del 2007, questi vengono definiti veri e propri eventi sentinella che richiedono di mettere in atto diverse politiche di prevenzione e protezione. OBIETTIVO. Questo studio si propone di indagare le strategie di prevenzione e protezione che gli operatori sanitari che lavorano nell’emergenza extra-ospedaliera possono mettere in atto per far fronte agli episodi di violenza. Inoltre, si pone l’obiettivo di confrontare il protocollo dell’U.O.C 118 di Mestre con i dati emersi dalla letteratura, e valutare eventuali aree di miglioramento. METODI. È stata redatta una revisione della letteratura mediante consultazione dei database scientifici Scopus, Pubmed e Cinahl, inserendo un limite temporale di 5 anni. RISULTATI. Sono stati selezionati 10 articoli che rispondevano ai criteri di inclusione ed esclusione: due revisioni sistematiche, cinque studi qualitativi, uno studio prospettico, uno studio con metodi misti e una dichiarazione politica. CONCLUSIONI. Gli studi hanno evidenziato che la gestione della violenza necessità di diversi approcci che coinvolgono più livelli: quello individuale, del singolo infermiere, quello organizzativo, sociale e giudiziario. Dalla letteratura sono emersi questi temi principali per mitigare la violenza sugli operatori sanitari nell’extra-ospedaliero: la formazione, le body-worn camera (BWC), le strategie di protezione, la collaborazione con le forze dell’ordine e l’impegno organizzativo, sociale e giudiziario. Le aree di miglioramento individuate che possono essere implementate nel protocollo della U.O.C 118 di Mestre sono: il miglioramento della formazione attraverso le simulazioni, migliorare il sistema di reporting, l’utilizzo di un sistema di allarme finalizzato a segnalare le aree a rischio di violenza e migliorare la gestione post-violenza attraverso il debriefing e il sostegno psicologico.

Effect of Humic Acids from Biomass Biostimulant on Microalgae Growth

Humic substances (HSs) are formed by chemical and biological transformations of vegetal and animal biomass through microbial metabolism, representing a major organic carbon source at the soil’s surface. They contribute to the adjustment of many major ecological processes. For example, HSs enhance plant growth and terrestrial life in general, adjust carbon and nitrogen cycles in the soil, enhance plant and microorganism growth, improve the fate and transportation of anthropogenic compounds and heavy metals and stabilize the soil [1,2]. Scientists define humic acids (HAs) as humic materials that are soluble in aqueous alkaline solutions and that precipitate when the pH is brought to 1–2 [3]. For lignin extraction from BSG, various DESs were used. Humification of the extracted lignin was carried out through a reaction with hydrogen peroxide in the presence of ferric sulphate heptahydrate. Biostimulant tests were conducted at 25 ± 2 °C, illuminating with a fluorescent light lamp at 100 μmol/m2·s (µEinstein), with a light/darkness period of 14/10 h for 9 days up to 2 weeks. Parameters such as turbidity, optic density and chlorophyll content were studied. Concentrations of 10 mg/L and 1 mg/L in the case of reference products BJK and LSNa and of 1 mg/L in the case of the obtained HAs were used. Lignin was extracted with various yields. HAs were identified using FT-IR spectra. HAs derived from lignin had the best biostimulant activity in the period of 9 days for the 0.1 mg/L concentration. The biostimulant effect of various HAs showed promising results in every case, and the Has obtained from lignin had a better effect than the commercial product containing HAs after 9 days

Effect of Humic Acids from Biomass Biostimulant on Microalgae Growth

In this work, HAs were obtained by humification of lignin that was extracted from beer spent grain (BSG) obtained from beer fabrication with deep eutectic solvents (DESs). The humification process used in this case was reacting the BSG-extracted lignin with hydrogen peroxide in the presence of ferric sulphate heptahydrate. The biostimulant effect of HAs was tested on the Chlorella Sorokiniana microalgae species. Additionally, biostimulant tests were conducted using a commercial product containing HAs (BlackJak, BJK) and a coal-extracted lignosulphonate (LsNa)

Humic Substances as Microalgal Biostimulants—Implications for Microalgal Biotechnology

Humic substances (HS) act as biostimulants for terrestrial photosynthetic organisms. Their effects on plants are related to specific HS features: pH and redox buffering activities, (pseudo)emulsifying and surfactant characteristics, capacity to bind metallic ions and to encapsulate labile hydrophobic molecules, ability to adsorb to the wall structures of cells. The specific properties of HS result from the complexity of their supramolecular structure. This structure is more dynamic in aqueous solutions/suspensions than in soil, which enhances the specific characteristics of HS. Therefore, HS effects on microalgae are more pronounced than on terrestrial plants. The reported HS effects on microalgae include increased ionic nutrient availability, improved protection against abiotic stress, including against various chemical pollutants and ionic species of potentially toxic elements, higher accumulation of value-added ingredients, and enhanced bio-flocculation. These HS effects are similar to those on terrestrial plants and could be considered microalgal biostimulant effects. Such biostimulant effects are underutilized in current microalgal biotechnology. This review presents knowledge related to interactions between microalgae and humic substances and analyzes the potential of HS to enhance the productivity and profitability of microalgal biotechnology

Enhancement of Lignolytic Enzyme Activity in Ganoderma Lucidum by Co-Cultivation with Bacteria

Fungi are known for their capacity to produce two main categories of enzymes, cellulolytic and lignolytic, both valuable for biodegradation of lignocellulosic biomass [...