Essential Oils and their Antimicrobial Effect on Serratia Marcescens

S. marcescens is a gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic bacterium that is particularly aggressive in its growing capability. It is a concern in medical fields as well as home environments due to its resistance to most antibiotics, high mortality rate, and easy ability to colonize on soap and other fatty substances. Although testing of natural cleansers such as lemon juice, vinegar, and ammonia has been done on S. marcescens and essential oil efficacy has been tested on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, no literature has been published on the effect of essential oils on S. marcescens growth. The purpose of this experiment therefore was to test the efficiency of essential oils in inhibiting the growth of this bacterium. Using Kirby-Bauer Assay and Minimum Inhibitory Concentration testing we compared the effectiveness of different harsh cleaners such as Lysol®, with peppermint and helichrysum essential oils. Although few significant values were obtained, noticeable zones of inhibition were seen, especially for peppermint oil. Based on this finding, further research should be done exploring this potency of peppermint and other essential oils on S. marcescens

Scenario-based learning

Continuing the theme of using the real world as a teaching resource, Smith, Warnes and van Hoestenberghe describe learning scenarios where students find their own way and make their own choices in exploring an authentic situation. The intended learning outcomes are explained to the students to guide them to what is relevant, but these are thoroughly embedded in the tasks set: they do not have to make a special effort to work out what is being assessed. Again, assessment requires careful thought, which makes having student input to the design all the more relevant; this allows the teaching staff to actively guide students through their learning rather than merely acting as dispensers of knowledge: just as the Connected Curriculum strategy invites, students find things out for themselves

Archaeological interpretation of combined magnetic and GPR surveys of the roman town Flavia Solva, Austria

The Roman Town Flavia Solva The Roman town Flavia Solva in the Roman province Noricum (Styria, Austria) shows a rectangular street system known from aerial archaeology and excavations. Flavia Solva was founded in the early 1st century AD as a dwelling of local Late Iron Age people in the Roman province of Noricum. It already got the status of a Roman municpium around 70 AD under the Emperor Titus Flavius Vespasianus (69-79 AD). The name of the town and its location are known since the 19th ce..

Combining data of different GPR systems of surveys of the roman fort Qreiye-cAyyash, Syria

Introduction The Roman fort of Qreiye-cAyyash was founded in the late 2nd or early 3rd century AD and was abandoned in the mid-third of the 3rd century AD. It is situated immediately north of the modern village of cAyyash, 12 km upstream from Deir ez-Zor in Syria, on the edge of a plateau overlooking the valley of the river Euphrates. The Roman fort comprises 220 x 220 m and was discovered in 1929 by A. Poidebard in the course of an aerial photographic reconnaissance (Poidebard, 1934, 87-88, ..

Combining data of different GPR systems of surveys of the roman fort Qreiye-cAyyash, Syria

Introduction The Roman fort of Qreiye-cAyyash was founded in the late 2nd or early 3rd century AD and was abandoned in the mid-third of the 3rd century AD. It is situated immediately north of the modern village of cAyyash, 12 km upstream from Deir ez-Zor in Syria, on the edge of a plateau overlooking the valley of the river Euphrates. The Roman fort comprises 220 x 220 m and was discovered in 1929 by A. Poidebard in the course of an aerial photographic reconnaissance (Poidebard, 1934, 87-88, ..

Data Processing and Image Enhancement of GPR Surveys of Roman Villas in Austria

Introduction The quality of ground penetrating radar data can suffer from many different sources of noise. Some of these sources are varying distances of the antennas to the ground due to rough surfaces, different surface conditions (e.g. compression due to tractor tracks), external electromagnetic fields and instrumental noise and instabilities (Seren, 2007). Analyses of recorded raw data and knowledge of the source of noise lead to specialised processing methods to improve the signal-to-noi..

Astenic syndrome in you students with different online-behaviors during the pandemic of new coronavirus infection COVID-19

Introduction. An urgent problem in many countries of the world is the growth of comorbid diseases and conditions associated with the pathological use of the Internet, including functional somatic disorders, which include asthenic syndrome.Purpose of the study. To study the frequency of occurrence of asthenic syndrome schoolchildren with different online behavior during the coronavirus pandemic.Materials and methods. The method of random sampling was used to examine 1 148 adolescents at the age of 11–18 years, of which 535 (46.6%) were boys and 613 (53.4%) were girls. The frequency of occurrence was analyzed in the entire sample of the surveyed, as well as in the comparison groups, formed by gender: 1 gr. – boys (n = 535), 2 gr. – girls (n = 613), age: 1 gr. – 11–14 years old (m + d) (n = 837) and 2 gr. – 15–18 years old (m + d) (n = 311), type of online behavior: 1 gr. – with adaptive use of the Internet, 2 gr. – with maladaptive internet use, 3 gr. – with pathological use of the Internet and type of Internet addiction.Results. The frequency of adaptive use of the Internet was 37.0%, with maladaptive – 49.9% and with pathological – 13.1% of the total sample of  the surveyed. The content structure of  the online behavior of  Tuvan schoolchildren includes the  presence of a game Internet addiction in 4.4% of the surveyed, dependence on social networks – in 12.5%, mixed IА – in 2.4% and undifferentiated IА – in 5.0%. The frequency of asthenic syndrome is 12.2% of all surveyed.Conclusion. A more pronounced association of asthenic syndrome in schoolchildren with maladaptive online behavior indicates the negative impact of the computer and the Internet on the body and justifies the need for a personalized approach to these contingents

Analysis and visualization of Arabidopsis thaliana GWAS using web 2.0 technologies

With large-scale genomic data becoming the norm in biological studies, the storing, integrating, viewing and searching of such data have become a major challenge. In this article, we describe the development of an Arabidopsis thaliana database that hosts the geographic information and genetic polymorphism data for over 6000 accessions and genome-wide association study (GWAS) results for 107 phenotypes representing the largest collection of Arabidopsis polymorphism data and GWAS results to date. Taking advantage of a series of the latest web 2.0 technologies, such as Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML), GWT (Google-Web-Toolkit), MVC (Model-View-Controller) web framework and Object Relationship Mapper, we have created a web-based application (web app) for the database, that offers an integrated and dynamic view of geographic information, genetic polymorphism and GWAS results. Essential search functionalities are incorporated into the web app to aid reverse genetics research. The database and its web app have proven to be a valuable resource to the Arabidopsis community. The whole framework serves as an example of how biological data, especially GWAS, can be presented and accessed through the web. In the end, we illustrate the potential to gain new insights through the web app by two examples, showcasing how it can be used to facilitate forward and reverse genetics research. Database URL: http://arabidopsis.usc.edu