Due to the increase in antimicrobial resistance, alternative medicinal therapies are being explored. Studies have shown that honey and ginger alone have antimicrobial effects on the genera Staphylococcus and Escherichia, including S. epidermidis and E. coli. The authors of this study tested whether a honey-ginger supplement, Jengimiel™, could be used as an antimicrobial agent against S. epidermidis and E. coli K-12.
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The Effect of Antioxidant Vitamins on Mustard Plants in a Hydrogen Peroxide-Induced Injury Model
In this study, the authors assess the antioxidant properties of vitamins A, C and E given to mustard plants after oxidative damage. This research shows an interesting comparison of the vitamins' effect on plant recovery and health.
Read More...The impacts of different Al(NO3)3 concentrations on the mitotic index of Allium sativum
Recognizing the increasing threat of acid deposition inn soil through the reaction of NOx and SO2 pollutants with water in Spain, the authors investigates the effects of Al(NO3)3 concentrations on the health of Allium sativum. By tracking its mitotic index, they found a negative exponential correlation between Al(NO3)3 concentrations and the mitotic index of A. sativum.
Read More...Tomato disease identification with shallow convolutional neural networks
Plant diseases can cause up to 50% crop yield loss for the popular tomato plant. A mobile device-based method to identify diseases from photos of symptomatic leaves via computer vision can be more effective due to its convenience and accessibility. To enable a practical mobile solution, a “shallow” convolutional neural networks (CNNs) with few layers, and thus low computational requirement but with high accuracy similar to the deep CNNs is needed. In this work, we explored if such a model was possible.
Read More...Simulating natural selection via autonomous agents: Environmental factors create unstable equilibria
Natural selection shapes the evolution of all organisms, and one question of interest is whether natural selection will reach a "stopping point": a stable, ideal, value for any particular trait. Madhan and Kanagavel tackle this question by building a computer simulation of trait evolution in organisms.
Read More...The Effects of Micro-Algae Characteristics on the Bioremediation Rate of Deepwater Horizon Crude Oil
Environmental disasters such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill can be devastating to ecosystems for long periods of time. Safer, cheaper, and more effective methods of oil clean-up are needed to clean up oil spills in the future. Here, the authors investigate the ability of natural ocean algae to process crude oil into less toxic chemicals. They identify Coccochloris elabens as a particularly promising algae for future bioremediation efforts.
Read More...Low environmental pH inhibits phagosome formation and motility of Tetrahymena pyriformis
In this study, the authors look into some of the implications of rising carbon dioxide levels by studying the effects of acidic pH on the ability of T. pyriformis to feed by quantifying phagosome formation and motility.
Read More...Effects of Various Environmental Factors on Stomatal Density, Area, and Potential Conductance Index
In this study, the authors investigate the combinatorial effects of CO2 plus other environmental factors including salinity, temperature, acidity, and drought on how effectively plants can transport water and carbon through their stomata.
Read More...The Effects of Ocean Acidification on the food location behavior and Locomotion of Pagurus Longicarpus
Increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide is slowly acidifying our oceans. Here the authors test the effects of ocean acidification on the ability of hermit crabs (P. longicarpus) to find food. Though no statistically significant changes in food finding were observed, the data suggest a trend toward different activity.
Read More...Characterization and Phylogenetic Analysis of the Cytochrome B Gene (cytb) in Salvelinus fontinalis, Salmo trutta and Salvelinus fontinalis X Salmo trutta Within the Lake Champlain Basin
Recent declines in the brook trout population of the Lake Champlain Basin have made the genetic screening of this and other trout species of utmost importance. In this study, the authors collected and analyzed 21 DNA samples from Lake Champlain Basin trout populations and performed a phylogenetic analysis on these samples using the cytochrome b gene. The findings presented in this study may influence future habitat decisions in this region.
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