Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of the antibacterial effects of essential oil from the leaves of Laurus nobilis L. in Kerman Province

The antibacterial activity of the essential oil of Laurus nobilis L. on human pathogenic bacteria by disc diffusion method via average inhibition zone was studied. The chemical composition of the essential oil of the leaves of L. nobilis L. (Lauraceae) were obtained by hydrodistillation method and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Thirty three compounds, accounting for 95.75% of the total oil with 1.8% (v/w) oil yield were identified in the essential oil of the leaves. The major components were 1,8-cineole (25.7%), sabinene (8.7%) and α-pinene (5.25%). To study the antibacterial activity, the essential oil tested against 9 bacteria strains such as three Gram positive bacteria:Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Streptococcus faecalis and six Gram negative bacteria: Pseudomonas aeroginosa, Shigella flexneri, Klebsiella pneuomoniae, Salmonella typhi, Serratia marcescens and Escherichia coli were studied. Effect of theessential oil of L. nobilis on bacteria tested was more than that of tetracycline antibiotic. The results showed that the essential oil of L. nobilis had strong anti-bacterial effects. Key words: Laurus nobilis L. , human pathogenic bacteria, antibacterial activity, 1,8-cineole, gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS)
The Enjoyment of Knowledge Sharing: Impact of Altruism on Tacit Knowledge-Sharing Behavior

Knowledge sharing between individuals is a key process for knowledge-intensive organizations to create value and gain a competitive edge. An individual is in the center of a complex set of factors, which are conducive to the knowledge-sharing process. The purpose of this empirical study is to explain the interaction mechanisms between personality and knowledge-sharing behavior and to examine the mediating effects of willingness to share knowledge and subjective norm. The theory of planned behavior, the social exchange theory, and the big five personality traits theory are combined to explain tacit knowledge-sharing behavior. A survey strategy and purposive sampling was applied, and the analysis was conducted on a sample of 288 employees from Croatia working on knowledge-intensive tasks for which high levels of tacit knowledge sharing are characteristic. A standard online questionnaire consisted of items evaluated on a 7-point Likert-scale, ranging from strongly agree (7) to strongly disagree (1). In the structural model, relationships between altruism, willingness, subjective norm, and tacit knowledge sharing were tested. Confirmatory factor analysis with maximum likelihood estimation was performed by using SEM software AMOS version 23. The findings of the study suggest that altruism has a direct impact on tacit knowledge sharing, reaffirming a relationship with knowledge sharing but distinguishing between sharing of different types of knowledge, assessing tacit knowledge sharing as a construct separate from general knowledge sharing. Our findings suggest that willingness to share is a predictive factor of knowledge sharing behavior between employees, having both direct impact on tacit knowledge sharing and being a mediator between the trait of altruism and tacit knowledge sharing. The mediation test also indicates that altruism has an indirect influence on tacit knowledge sharing when subjective norm was a mediator. The findings suggest that personality traits relying on social capital, such as altruism, have more influence on tacit knowledge sharing compared to personality traits that have accentuated intrinsic components. The study contributes to the better understanding of factors stimulating knowledge-sharing behaviors and provides recommendations based on empirical evidence, which may later be applied in the development of knowledge-sharing leadership styles, employee hiring, and auxiliary initiatives.
Political Orientation Moderates the Relationship Between Climate Change Beliefs and Worry About Climate Change

Public perceptions are well established as a key factor in support for climate change mitigation policies, and they tend to vary both within and between countries. Based on data from the European Social Survey Round 8 (N = 44,387), we examined the role of climate change beliefs and political orientation in explaining worry about climate change across 23 countries. We show that belief in anthropogenic climate change, followed by expectations of negative impacts from climate change, are the strongest predictors of worry about climate change. While the strength of the association between political orientation and worry about climate change varies across countries, self-positioning further to the right of the political spectrum is associated with lower levels of worry in most of the countries included in the analysis. We further show that political orientation moderates the relationship between climate change beliefs and worry. While increased confidence in the anthropogenic nature of climate change and expectations of negative impacts are both associated with increased worry across the political spectrum, the relationship is weaker among right-leaning as compared to left-leaning individuals. Notably, the main effect of political orientation on worry about climate change is no longer statistically significant when the interaction terms are present. Finally, a relatively small amount of the explained variance in worry is attributable to differences between countries. The findings might inform strategies for climate change communication in a European context.
The impact of host resistance on cumulative mortality and the threshold of herd immunity for SARS-CoV-2

It is widely believed that the herd immunity threshold (HIT) required to prevent a resurgence of SARS-CoV-2 is in excess of 50% for any epidemiological setting. Here, we demonstrate that HIT may be greatly reduced if a fraction of the population is unable to transmit the virus due to innate resistance or cross-protection from exposure to seasonal coronaviruses. The drop in HIT is proportional to the fraction of the population resistant only when that fraction is effectively segregated from the general population; however, when mixing is random, the drop in HIT is more precipitous. Significant reductions in expected mortality can also be observed in settings where a fraction of the population is resistant to infection. These results help to explain the large degree of regional variation observed in seroprevalence and cumulative deaths and suggest that sufficient herd-immunity may already be in place to substantially mitigate a potential second wave.
Characterization and Stability of Pigments Extracted from Terminalia Catappa Leaves

Terminalia catappa is a tree growing in Southeast Mexico; its leaf color ranges from red to yellow and it is a potential source of natural pigments. Petroleum ether:acetone and hexane:acetone were used for pigment extraction. The maximum extraction was 24 mg/100 g of leaves with 70:30 petroleum ether:acetone. Seven pigments were identified in the extracts (violaxanthin, violeoxanthin, lutein epoxide, lutein, two lutein isomers and β-cryptoxanthin). A lower pigment concentration was obtained in saponified than in unsaponified extracts. Antioxidant-free extracts underwent deterioration when stored under light. Conversely, pigments remained stable after 10 days at 40 °C, provided they were preserved with 0.1% BHT and stored in the dark. Des etudes ont demontre la toxicite de certains colorants synthetiques et on recherche maintenant de nouvelles sources de colorants naturels. Parmi ceux-ci, les carotenoides sont largement acceptes grâce a leurs proprietes colorantes et nutritionnelles. Cette etude porte sur l'extraction de carotenoides du badamier (Terminalia catappa), un arbre du Sud Est du Mexique, principalement utilise en ornementation. Ses feuilles deviennent rouge-pourpre en pleine maturite et virent au jaune a la senescence. Le sujet de cette etude est de definir la meilleure methode d'extraction utilisant des solvants organiques et d'identifier les pigments obtenus dans les extraits saponifies ou non. 7 pigments sont identifies. Ils restent stables apres 10 jours a 40°C s'ils sont conserves avec 0,1% BHT et a l'abri de la lumiere.
Characterization of mammalian UDP-GalNAc:glucuronide α1-4-N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase

We previously reported that cultured cells incubated with beta-xylosides synthesized alpha-GalNAc-capped GAG-related xylosides, GalNAc alpha GlcA beta Gal beta Gal beta Xyl beta-R and GalNAc alpha GlcA beta GalNAc beta GlcA beta Gal beta Gal beta Xyl beta-R, where R is 4-methylumbelliferyl or p-nitrophenyl (Manzi et al., 1995; Miura and Freeze, 1998). In this study, we characterized an alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase (alpha-GalNAc-T) that probably adds the alpha-GalNAc residue to the above xylosides. Microsomes from several animal cells and mouse brain contained the enzyme activity which requires divalent cations, and has a relatively broad pH optimal range around neutral. The apparent K(m) values were in the submillimolar range for the acceptors tested, and 19 microM for UDP-GalNAc. 1H-NMR analysis of the GlcA-beta-MU acceptor product showed the GalNAc residue is transferred in alpha 1,4-linkage to the glucuronide, which is consistent with previous results reported on alpha-GalNAc-capped Xyl-MU (Manzi et al., 1995). Various artificial glucuronides were tested as acceptors to assess the influence of the aglycone. Glucuronides with a bicyclic aromatic ring, such as 4-methylumbelliferyl beta-D-glucuronide (GlcA-beta-MU) and alpha-naphthyl beta-D-glucuronide, were the best acceptors. Interestingly, a synthetic acceptor that resembles the HNK-1 carbohydrate epitope but lacking the sulfate group, GlcA beta 1,3Gal beta 1,4GlcNAc beta-O-octyl (delta SHNK-C8), was a better acceptor for alpha-GalNAc-T than the glycosaminoglycan-protein linkage region tetrasaccharyl xyloside, GlcA beta 1,3Gal beta 1,3Gal beta 1,4Xyl beta-MU. GlcA-beta-MU and delta SHNK-C8 competed for the alpha-GalNAc-T activity, suggesting that the same activity catalyzes the transfer of the GalNAc residue to both acceptors. Taken together, the results show that the alpha-GalNAc-T described here is not restricted to GAG-type oligosaccharide acceptors, but rather is a UDP-GalNAc:glucuronide alpha 1-4-N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase.
Dynamic Satellite Seascapes as a Biogeographic Framework for Understanding Phytoplankton Assemblages in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, United States

Physical, chemical, geological, and biological factors interact in marine environments to shape complex but recurrent patterns of organization of life on multiple spatial and temporal scales. These factors define biogeographic regions in surface waters that we refer to as seascapes. We characterize seascapes for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) and southwest Florida shelf nearshore environment using multivariate satellite and in situ measurements of Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs) and Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs). The study focuses on three periods that cover separate oceanographic expeditions (March 11–18, May 9–13, and September 12–19, 2016). We collected observations on bio-optical parameters (particulate and dissolved spectral absorption coefficients), phytoplankton community composition, and hydrography from a ship. Phytoplankton community composition was evaluated using (1) chemotaxonomic analysis (CHEMTAX) based on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) pigment measurements, and (2) analysis of spectral phytoplankton absorption coefficients (aphy). Dynamic seascapes were derived by combining satellite time series of sea surface temperature, chlorophyll-a concentration, and normalized fluorescent line height (nFLH) using a supervised thematic classification. The seascapes identified areas of different salinity and nutrient concentrations where different phytoplankton communities were present as determined by hierarchical cluster analyses of HPLC pigments and aphy spectra. Oligotrophic, Mesotrophic, and Transition seascape classes of deeper offshore waters were dominated by small phytoplankton (<2 μm; ∼ 40–60% of total cell abundance). In eutrophic, optically shallow coastal seascapes influenced by fresh water discharge, the phytoplankton was dominated by larger taxa (>60%). Spectral analysis of aphy indicated higher absorption levels at 492 and 550 nm wavelengths in seascapes carrying predominantly small phytoplankton than in classes dominated by larger taxa. Seascapes carrying large phytoplankton showed absorption peaks at the 673 nm wavelength. The seascape framework promises to be a tool to detect different biogeographic domains quickly, providing information about the changing environmental conditions experienced by coral reef organisms including coral, sponges, fish, and higher trophic levels. The effort illustrates best practices developed under the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) demonstration project, in collaboration with the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Research (SFER) project managed by the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory of NOAA (AOML-NOAA).
Purification and characterization of a neutral endoxylanase from Aspergillus nidulans

A neutral endoxylanase from a culture filtrate of Aspergillus nidulans grown on oat spelt xylan was purified to apparent homogeneity. The purified enzyme showed a single band on SDS-PAGE with a molecular mass of 22,000 and had an isoelectric point of 6.4. The enzyme was a non-debranching endoxylanase highly specific for xylans and completely free from cellulolytic activity. The xylanase showed an optimum activity at pH 5.5 and 62°C and had a Km of 4.2 mg oat spelt xylan per ml and a Vmax of 710 μmol min−1 (mg protein)−1.
The marsupial and monotreme thymus, revisited

The anatomy and histology of the thymus in monotremes and marsupials were revisited and several new observations made. Tissues of the mediastinum and/or ventral neck of 134 animals altogether (12 Australian marsupial and monotreme species) were examined and the locations of thymic tissues documented. Descriptions not previously recorded include the gross anatomy of the thymus in monotremes, the bandicoot ( Isoodon macrourus , Isoodon obesulus ), the wombat ( Lasiorhinus latifrons ), and koala ( Phascolarctos cinereus ), as well as light and electron microscopic features in all species examined. In monotremes, thymic tissue was diffusely spread in the mediastinum and extended over the ventral surface of the pericardium. In the bandicoot, a small, deep cervical thymus was persistently present as well as the expected thoracic thymus and contrary to previous observations, a thoracic thymus was found in the wombat but not the koala. Both species also have a cervical thymus. In the marsupial species examined, additional thymic tissue was often present in the vicinity of the carotid bifurcations, in the deep ventral regions of the neck. In many animals, thymic tissue of deep cervical origin as well as thoracic thymus was mingled with parathyroid tissue. In several specimens, the two tissue types lacked intervening connective tissue barriers and at the electron microscopic level, attenuated processes of epithelial reticular cells were the only tissue components separating parathyroid and thymic tissues. The role of the cervical thymus in diprotodont marsupials remains to be elucidated. The presence of aberrant thymic tissue in marsupials is important in the interpretation of experiments involving thymectomy and immunological development because complete removal of thymic tissue may not occur. One aspect that has received little attention is the function of the thymic epithelial reticular cells in marsupial development and a suggestion is made that perhaps the extra thymic tissue found in marsupials provides extra epithelial reticular cells necessary for the production of cytokines and other secretions to sustain the development of immunological competence.
MICROSPECTROPHOTOMETRY OF RETINAL CELLS *

Spectrophotometry at the subcellular level in the past several years has made important inroads in the field of vision research. One discovery that has reached even popular attention as a result of this technique provides confirmation of the Young-Helmholtz theory that color vision in primates, including man, is mediated through three different wavelength-selective detectors (Marks, 1964; Brown, 1964; Liebman, 1964a). These three detectors were found by microspectrophotometry (MSP) to be three visual pigments, each contained in a separate retinal cell. However, my purpose here is not to discuss those findings but to outline some of the problems implicit in the use of MSP on retinal cells and to provide a more extensive perspective on the unique applicability of MSP to problems of photoreceptor physiology and biophysics in general. The lo5 to 10’ photoreceptor cells (rods and cones) that line the back of the retinas of vertebrate eyes are responsible for initiating vision. These cells are roughly cylindrical in symmetry and, depending on the species of origin, may be IO-lOO,u long and 1-10,u in diameter. Proceeding along the path that light travels in the eye, the major parts of each photoreceptor cylinder are: synaptic foot, synaptic vesicles, endoplasmic reticulum, nucleus, “glycogen” vesicle, mitochondria, oil drop (only in birds, reptiles and amphibians), and outer segment. The linear demarcation of organelles is quite discre in these cells, though the
Impaired Self-Awareness and Denial During the Postacute Phases After Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

While a number of empirical studies have appeared on impaired self-awareness (ISA) after traumatic brain injury (TBI) over the last 20 years, the relative role of denial (as a psychological method of coping) has typically not been addressed in these studies. We propose that this failure has limited our understanding of how ISA and denial differentially affect efforts to rehabilitate persons with TBI. In this selective review paper, we summarize early findings in the field and integrate those findings with more recent observations (i.e., 1999–2019). We believe that this synthesis of information and expert clinical opinion will inform future research on ISA and denial as well as approaches to rehabilitation for persons with TBI.
Reduction of Bacteria in Relation to Feeding Regimes When Treating Aquaculture Waste in Fly Larvae Composting

This study evaluated the impact of feeding regimes on process performance and inactivation of microorganisms during treatment of aquaculture waste with black soldier fly (BSF) larvae. In three treatments (T1–T3), a blend of reclaimed bread and aquaculture waste was used as substrate for BSF larvae. In T1, the substrate was inoculated with four subtypes of Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli (both at 1% w/w), and offered only once, at the beginning of the 14-day trial. In T2 and T3, the substrate was supplied on three different days, with contaminated substrate provided only the first event in T2 and in all three events in T3. Provision of a lump sum feeding (T1) proved unfavorable for larval growth and process efficiency, but did not affect the microbial reduction effect. The total reduction in Salmonella spp. was approximately 6 log10 in T1 and T2, and 3.3 log10 in T3, while the total reduction in E. coli was approximately 4 log10 in T1 and T2, and 1.9 log10 in T3. After removing the larvae, the treatment residues were re-inoculated with Salmonella spp. and E. coli. It was found that the inactivation in both organisms continued in all treatments that originally contained BSF larvae (T1–T3), suggesting that antimicrobial substances may have been secreted by BSF larvae or by its associated microbiota.
The production of acetate, propionate and butyrate in the rumen of sheep: fitting models to 14C- or 13C-labelled tracer data to determine synthesis rates and interconversions

A procedure is described for solving an open, fully exchanging, three-compartment model representing ruminal volatile fatty acids (VFA) kinetics in sheep. This model was solved using results from a published study in which labelled VFA, viz. 1-14C-acetate (Ac), 1-14C-propionate (Pr) and 1-14C-butyrate (Bu), were infused individually at a constant rate for 240 min into the rumen of sheep on different occasions. During the tracer infusions, the sheep were given 75 g of lucerne (Medicago sativa) every hour. The patterns of increasing specific radioactivity (SA) during the infusions were described by differential equations that were solved using the computer software, WinSAAM. This linear kinetic analysis gave estimates of the rates of synthesis and absorption of Ac, Pr and Bu and the carbon interconversions between each acid. The sizes of the Ac, Pr and Bu compartments (10.5, 3.9 and 2.1 g C respectively), were also estimated, which is not possible with commonly used algebraic analyses. The model output showed that tracer : tracee equilibrium (plateau SA) had not been reached in the Ac, Pr and Bu compartments during the 240 min of tracer infusion and the algebraic method of analysis used in the original study was therefore compromised. The procedures described here eliminated this source of error; in addition, confidence in the model solution was improved because all data representing the build-up to plateau SA were used, rather than just estimates of ‘plateau’ SA. After accounting for VFA interconversions, the rates of VFA absorption (or incorporation into other materials such as microbial polymers or methane) were 85, 48 and 49 g C/day, or 78%, 91% and 73% of the total production of each VFA, respectively. The variability in the observed SA responses to the tracer infusions was relatively large and this is discussed. Model solutions using the linear kinetic analysis and the previously widely used algebraic analyses are compared. The effect of positional labelling in tracer VFA is also discussed in the light of evidence that the rate of absorption of Pr may be overestimated when [1-14C]-Pr rather than [2-14C]-Pr or uniformly labelled [14C]-Pr is used as the Pr tracer.