Occurrence of secondary metabolites in tepals of Asphodelus ramosus L.

Major processes contributing to subtleties of ephemeral flowers of Asphodelus ramosus are related to chemical constituents detected in tepals which expand during cold and wet seasons in the eastern Mediterranean. Luteolin, caffeic acid, chlorogenic, and p-hydroxy-benzoic acids are the main constituents, whereas νalkanes, ketones, and fatty acids appear in low amounts

Religious Associations in the Post-Classical Polis

The book, stemming from Steinhauer’s PhD thesis undertaken at the University of St Andrews, constitutes a timely contribution to a much broader topic, namely ancient associations in the Eastern Mediterranean. Indeed, this is a promising field of investigation that has lately attracted unprecedented attention on both sides of the Atlantic (most notably, the De Gruyter series on Greco-Roman Associations as well as the forthcoming online database on Ancient Associations by the Copenhagen Associa..

Activités anti-radicalaires de l'huile essentielle et des extraits bruts de Thymus numidicus Poiret., Algérie

Thymus numidicus Poiret. (Lamiaceae) est une plante largement utilisée en médecine traditionnelle algérienne pour ses propriétés thérapeutiques. Le but de ce travail est d'évaluer l'activité antioxydante de l'huile essentielle ainsi que plusieurs extraits bruts (dichlorométhane, méthanol, méthanol-eau 5:1 v/v, et l'infusé) du Thymus numidicus Poiret. récolté à Annaba (Algérie). L'activité antioxydante a été estimée par deux méthodes photométriques, la méthode de DPPH et celle de réduction du peroxyde d'hydrogène. Les résultats ont révélé que les deux extraits méthanol et méthanol-eau 5:1 ont exercé une forte activité de piégeage des radicaux libres DPPH en comparaison avec le BHT ainsi qu'une haute capacité de blocage du peroxyde d'hydrogène en comparaison avec les contrôles positifs de l'acide gallique et l'acide caféique.Mots-clés : Thymus numidicus, extraits bruts, activité antioxydante. Anti-radical activities of essential oil and crude extracts of Thymus numidicus Poiret., AlgeriaThymus numidicus Poiret. (Lamiaceae) is a plant widely used in Algerian traditional medicine. The aim of this work was to assess the antioxidant activity of the volatile compounds as well as different crude extracts (dichloromethane, methanol, methanol-water 5:1 v/v, infusion) of the endemic Thymus numidicus Poiret. collected from Annaba city (Algeria). The antioxidant activity was estimated by two fluorimetric methods, the DPPH method and the hydrogen peroxide scavenging method. The results revealed that methanol and methanol water 5:1 v/v extracts exerted very high free radical scavenging activity compared to the well-known butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and high hydrogen peroxide blocking activity than positive controls gallic acid and caffeic acid.Keywords : Thymus numidicus, crude extracts, anioxidant activity

ThresholdROC: optimum threshold estimation tools for continuous diagnostic tests in R

We introduce an R package that estimates decision thresholds in diagnostic settings with a continuous marker and two or three underlying states. The package implements parametric and non-parametric estimation methods based on minimizing an overall cost function, as well as confidence interval estimation approaches to account for the sampling variability of the cut-off. Further features of the package include sample size determination and estimation of diagnostic accuracy measures. We used randomly generated data and two real datasets to illustrate the capabilities and characteristics of the package

Adjusting Overall Survival Estimates after Treatment Switching: a Case Study in Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer

Background If patients in oncology trials receive subsequent therapy, standard intention-to-treat (ITT) analyses may inaccurately estimate the overall survival (OS) effect of the investigational product. In this context, a post-hoc analysis of the phase 3 PREVAIL study was performed with the aim to compare enzalutamide with placebo in terms of OS, adjusting for potential confounding from switching to antineoplastic therapies that are not part of standard metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) treatment pathways in some jurisdictions. Methods The PREVAIL study, which included 1717 chemotherapy-naïve men with mCRPC randomized to treatment with enzalutamide 160 mg/day or placebo, was stopped after a planned interim survival analysis revealed a benefit in favor of enzalutamide. Data from this cutoff point were confounded by switching from both arms and so were evaluated in terms of OS using two switching adjustment methods: the two-stage accelerated failure time model (two-stage method) and inverse probability of censoring weights (IPCW). Results Following adjustment for switching to nonstandard antineoplastic therapies by 14.8 (129/872 patients) and 21.3% (180/845 patients) of patients initially randomized to enzalutamide and placebo, respectively, the two-stage and IPCW methods both resulted in numerical reductions in the hazard ratio (HR) for OS [HR 0.66, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.57–0.81 and HR 0.63, 95% CI 0.52–0.75, respectively] for enzalutamide compared to placebo versus the unadjusted ITT analysis (HR 0.71, 95% CI 0.60–0.84). These results suggest a slightly greater effect of enzalutamide on OS than originally reported. Conclusion In the PREVAIL study, switching to nonstandard antineoplastic mCRPC therapies resulted in the ITT analysis of primary data underestimating the benefit of enzalutamide on OS

Μελέτη της επίδρασης της μορφής των θεμάτων των Πανελληνίων Εξετάσεων Χημείας 2018-2019 στις επιδόσεις των μαθητών .Πλαίσιο ανάλυσης θεμάτων Χημείας D-A-C (Definition-Algorithmic-Conceptual)

ΠΕΡΙΛΗΨΗ Η αναβάθμιση της εννοιολογικής κατανόησης αποτελεί σημαντικό ζητούμενο στην εκπαιδευτική διαδικασία . Οι Πανελλήνιες Εξετάσεις αποτελούν ένα μέσο αποτύπωσης του επιπέδου εννοιολογικής κατανόησης των μαθητών. Αντικείμενο αυτής της έρευνας είναι η αναζήτηση και διερεύνηση των παραγόντων που οδήγησαν στην πτώση των επιδόσεων των μαθητών στις ΠΕΧ του έτους 2019 σε σύγκριση με τις αντίστοιχες επιδόσεις του 2018 . Για το λόγο αυτό πραγματοποιήθηκε ανάλυση των θεμάτων των Πανελληνίων Εξετάσεων Χημείας των ετών 2018 και 2019 με τη μέθοδο πλαισίου ανάλυσης Γενικών Εξετάσεων Χημείας ( D-A-C ) που πρότειναν οι K. Christopher Smith et al [1] σε συσχέτιση με τις επιδόσεις των μαθητών. Η έρευνα πραγματοποιήθηκε σε δύο επίπεδα . Στο πρώτο επίπεδο έγινε η ταξινόμηση των γνωστικών στόχων των ερωτημάτων σε συνδυασμό με τη μοριοδότηση των θεμάτων, ταξινομία που ανέδειξε την ποσοτική σχέση μεταξύ τους. Στο δεύτερο επίπεδο μελετήθηκε ποσοστιαία αφενός η επίδοση του συνόλου των μαθητών της Επικράτειας σε κάθε βαθμό της βαθμολογικής κλίμακας κάθε υποερωτήματος και αφετέρου η επίδοση ατομικά κάθε μαθητή σε κάθε υποερώτημα , αλλά και στο σύνολο των θεμάτων . Το σύνολο των μαθητών της Επικράτειας για το 2018 είναι 63.351, ενώ για το 2019 είναι 60.876. Στην εξατομικευμένη μελέτη της επίδοσης των μαθητών τα στοιχεία που διαθέτουμε είναι για το έτος 2018 αναλυτικές βαθμολογίες ΠΕΧ από 136 μαθητές , ενώ για το έτος 2019 διαθέτουμε τις αντίστοιχες βαθμολογίες από 1357 μαθητές. Η ανάλυση των θεμάτων των ΠΕΧ έδειξε ότι τα θέματα περιέχουν χαμηλό ποσοστό ερωτήσεων εννοιολογικού περιεχομένου και συγκεκριμένα 26% το 2018 και 34% το 2019 . Η αύξηση του ποσοστού των ερωτήσεων εννοιολογικού περιεχομένου στις εξετάσεις το 2019 , οι οποίες απαιτούν υψηλού γνωστικού επιπέδου δεξιότητες , είχε ως αποτέλεσμα σημαντική πτώση στην επίδοση των μαθητών. Ενδεικτικά αναφέρεται ότι 10% περίπου των μαθητών έγραψαν άριστα το 2018 και 1,5% έγραψαν άριστα το 2019. Προτείνονται τρόποι αναμόρφωσης των θεμάτων και γενικότερα των ερωτημάτων κατά την εκπαιδευτική διαδικασία. ΠΕΡΙΛΗΨΗ Η αναβάθμιση της εννοιολογικής κατανόησης αποτελεί σημαντικό ζητούμενο στην εκπαιδευτική διαδικασία . Οι Πανελλήνιες Εξετάσεις αποτελούν ένα μέσο αποτύπωσης του επιπέδου εννοιολογικής κατανόησης των μαθητών. Αντικείμενο αυτής της έρευνας είναι η αναζήτηση και διερεύνηση των παραγόντων που οδήγησαν στην πτώση των επιδόσεων των μαθητών στις ΠΕΧ του έτους 2019 σε σύγκριση με τις αντίστοιχες επιδόσεις του 2018 . Για το λόγο αυτό πραγματοποιήθηκε ανάλυση των θεμάτων των Πανελληνίων Εξετάσεων Χημείας των ετών 2018 και 2019 με τη μέθοδο πλαισίου ανάλυσης Γενικών Εξετάσεων Χημείας ( D-A-C ) που πρότειναν οι K. Christopher Smith et al [1] σε συσχέτιση με τις επιδόσεις των μαθητών. Η έρευνα πραγματοποιήθηκε σε δύο επίπεδα . Στο πρώτο επίπεδο έγινε η ταξινόμηση των γνωστικών στόχων των ερωτημάτων σε συνδυασμό με τη μοριοδότηση των θεμάτων, ταξινομία που ανέδειξε την ποσοτική σχέση μεταξύ τους. Στο δεύτερο επίπεδο μελετήθηκε ποσοστιαία αφενός η επίδοση του συνόλου των μαθητών της Επικράτειας σε κάθε βαθμό της βαθμολογικής κλίμακας κάθε υποερωτήματος και αφετέρου η επίδοση ατομικά κάθε μαθητή σε κάθε υποερώτημα , αλλά και στο σύνολο των θεμάτων . Το σύνολο των μαθητών της Επικράτειας για το 2018 είναι 63.351, ενώ για το 2019 είναι 60.876. Στην εξατομικευμένη μελέτη της επίδοσης των μαθητών τα στοιχεία που διαθέτουμε είναι για το έτος 2018 αναλυτικές βαθμολογίες ΠΕΧ από 136 μαθητές , ενώ για το έτος 2019 διαθέτουμε τις αντίστοιχες βαθμολογίες από 1357 μαθητές. Η ανάλυση των θεμάτων των ΠΕΧ έδειξε ότι τα θέματα περιέχουν χαμηλό ποσοστό ερωτήσεων εννοιολογικού περιεχομένου και συγκεκριμένα 26% το 2018 και 34% το 2019 . Η αύξηση του ποσοστού των ερωτήσεων εννοιολογικού περιεχομένου στις εξετάσεις το 2019 , οι οποίες απαιτούν υψηλού γνωστικού επιπέδου δεξιότητες , είχε ως αποτέλεσμα σημαντική πτώση στην επίδοση των μαθητών. Ενδεικτικά αναφέρεται ότι 10% περίπου των μαθητών έγραψαν άριστα το 2018 και 1,5% έγραψαν άριστα το 2019. Προτείνονται τρόποι αναμόρφωσης των θεμάτων και γενικότερα των ερωτημάτων κατά την εκπαιδευτική διαδικασία.ABSTRACT Improving students’ conceptual understanding is an important issue in the educational process. The Greek National Examinations (Panhellenic Examinations) provide a means of capturing the level of conceptual understanding of students. The purpose of this research is to elucidate the reason behind the decrease in the students’ performance on the Greek National Examination of 2019 compared to the corresponding performance in 2018. Consequently, an analysis of the questions of the Panhellenic Chemistry Examinations of the years 2018 and 2019 was carried out using the framework method of analysis of General Chemistry Examinations (D-A-C) proposed by K. Christopher Smith et al. [1] in relation to the students’ performance The research was carried out on two levels. On the first level, the cognitive objectives of the questions were classified in relation to the allocation of questions. This classification generated the quantitative ratio between classified questions. On the second level, the collective performance of all the students nationally was studied at each grade scale of each sub-question. Furthermore, the performance of each student was studied, firstly, in relation to each question and secondly to the body of questions. The total number of students nationwide for 2018 was 63.351 while for 2019 it was 60.876. Individual performance was assessed based on data from 136 students in 2018 and 1357 students in 2019. The analysis of the exam questions revealed a low percentage of conceptual questions (26% in 2018 and 34% in 2019). The use of conceptual questions requiring high-level cognitive skills resulted in a significant decrease in student performance. Notably, an average of 10% of students excelled obtaining a perfect score in 2018 as opposed to only 1.5% in 2019. This dissertation proposes methods to reform the examination questions, with the aim to facilitate the educational process in general

Antimicrobial activity of secondary metabolites isolated from Centaurea spruneri Boiss. & Heldr.

Two coumarins, scopoletin (1) and isoscopoletin (2), two simple phenolic acids, protocatechuic acid (3) and isovanillic acid (4) and one flavonoid, eriodictyol (5) were isolated from the aerial parts of Centaurea spruneri. The structure of the compounds was established by spectroscopic methods. The in vitro antimicrobial activity of the isolated compounds was tested against eight bacteria and eight fungal species, using a microdilution method. All compounds tested showed moderate antibacterial and antifungal activities. Their minimum inhibitory concentrations were in the range 0.655-2.38 µmol ml-1 and their minimal bactericidal concentrations ranged from 0.694 to 4.15 µmol ml-1 against the tested bacterial species. All compounds showed fungistatic activity at 0.259-2.38 µmol ml-1 and fungicidal at 0.69-2.6 µmol ml-1 against all fungi tested.Iz nadzemnog dela Centaurea spruneri izolovana su dva kumarina skopoletin (1) i izoskopoletin (2), dve proste fenolske kiseline protokatehuinska kiselina (3) i izovanilinska kiselina (4) i flavonoid eriodiktiol. Hemijske strukture poznatih jedinjenja su utvrđene korišćenjem 1D i 2D NMR, MS i UV spektroskopskih analiza. U in vitro testu za određivanje antimikrobne aktivnosti izolovanih jedinjenja korišćena je mikrodiluciona metoda. Dobijena jedinjenja testirana su na po osam bakterijskih i gljivičnih vrsta. Sva jedinjenja su imala umerenu antibakterijsku i antifungalnu aktivnost. Minimalna inhibitorna koncentracija testiranih jedinjenja se kretala od 0,655 do 2,38 µmol ml-1, a minimalna baktericidna koncentracija 0,694-4,15 µmol ml-1. Testirana jedinjenja su pokazala fungicidnu aktivnost od 0,259-2,38 µmol ml-1 i fungistatičku 0,694-2,60 µmol ml-1, na sve testirane gljive.Projekat ministarstva br. 14304

Occurrence of secondary metabolites in tepals of Asphodelus ramosus L

Abstract Major processes contributing to subtleties of ephemeral flowers of Asphodelus ramosus are related to chemical constituents detected in tepals which expand during cold and wet seasons in the eastern Mediterranean. Luteolin, caffeic acid, chlorogenic, and p-hydroxy-benzoic acids are the main constituents, whereas alkanes, ketones, and fatty acids appear in low amounts

Elucidating human-nature connectedness in three EU countries: A pro-environmental behaviour perspective

1. Strengthening positive human-nature relationships is seen as a way to more pro-environmental behaviour and leads to a greater environmental sustainability. Therefore, understanding human-nature relationships has attracted increasing attention among researchers. Nature connectedness is a concept developed to measure such relationships. Since nature connectedness is complex and context dependent phenomenon, more research comparing sociocultural and environmental factors within societies in different countries is needed to understand its determinants.2. In this study, we explored how sociodemographic and socioeconomic characteristics and value orientation of respondents and environmental variables affected nature connectedness across different contexts in the European Union. We used 11 sociodemographic, socioeconomic and personal value factors from the computer-assisted web interview (CAWI) and six environmental variables characterizing the local environments of 1054 respondents as independent variables to explain the nature connectedness of the respondents in Greece, Poland and Sweden. The individual level of nature connectedness (response variable) was expressed by an additive index (NC-index) based on a 5-item scale originating from CAWI. The general additive model was applied to link NC-index to sociodemographic, value orientation and selected environmental variables.3. We found that the sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents and their value orientation were substantially more important in explaining the individual level of nature connectedness than environmental variables. The NC-index was positively correlated with the frequency of visits to the natural environment and biospheric values of the respondents, and was higher for women and the most prosperous respondents. Moreover, we observed several country-wise differences in associations between explanatory variables and NC-index. For example, altruistic orientation was positively related to the level of nature connectedness only in Greece, but not in two other countries, and residence during childhood was important to nature connectedness only in Sweden.4. Our findings that some sociodemographic, socioeconomic and value orientation variables affect the level of individual nature connectedness across studied countries are encouraging. They indicate that some universally applied educational actions may elevate the level of nature connectedness. We argue that exploration of nature connectedness from a cross-country perspective may provide significant insights into the environmental debate in national and international contexts

Nanovesicles loaded with origanum onites and satureja thymbra essential oils and their activity against food-borne pathogens and spoilage microorganisms

Food poisoning is a common cause of illness and death in developing countries. Essential oils (EOs) could be effective and safe natural preservatives to prevent and control bacterial contamination of foods. However, their high sensitivity and strong flavor limit their application and biological effectiveness. The aim of this study was firstly the chemical analysis and the antimicrobial evaluation of the EOs of Origanum onites L. and Satureja thymbra L. obtained from Symi island (Greece), and, secondly, the formulation of propylene glycol-nanovesicles loaded with these EOs to improve their antimicrobial properties. The EOs were analyzed by GC-MS and their chemical contents are presented herein. Different nanovesicles were formulated with small average sizes, high homogeneity, and optimal ζ-potential. Microscopic observation confirmed their small and spherical shape. Antibacterial and antifungal activities of the formulated EOs were evaluated against food-borne pathogens and spoilage microorganisms compared to pure EOs. Propylene glycol-nanovesicles loaded with O. onites EO were found to be the most active formulation against all tested strains. Additionally, in vitro studies on the HaCaT cell line showed that nanovesicles encapsulated with EOs had no toxic effect. The present study revealed that both EOs can be used as alternative sanitizers and preservatives in the food industry, and that their formulation in nanovesicles can provide a suitable approach as food-grade delivery system