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The SOJI project is one of activity dealing with community empowering and services with the topic "Training on Local Commodity-Based Hand Sanitizers and Natural Disinfectants". This activity is carried out virtually using online media because it is in a pandemic era and is required to carry out remote activities to reduce social contact. SOJI has three main activities in the form of a virtual campaign which is carried out by educating the public about hand sanitizers through social media, making hand sanitizers natural ingredients from local commodities in each student residence, and distributing hand sanitizers made from natural local commodities for free while also educating the importance of cleanliness hand to the street vendors (PKL). The purpose of this activity is to first increase the knowledge and awareness of street vendors and the community about the importance of using hand sanitizer as an alternative to maintaining hand hygiene, secondly to provide information to the community on how to make hand sanitizers made from natural local commodities. The benefit of this activity is to educate street vendors and the general public so that they are more aware of the use of hand sanitizers as an alternative to hand hygiene supervision and the community can make hand sanitizers made from natural local commodities. The achievement obtained from the virtual campaign was the total number of likes in the form of infographics (4 contents) were 912 likes, while two video contents reached 1171 total views over 1 month period.

Important evidence is reported on the antimicrobial and antagonistic properties of bacterial endophytes in Echinacea purpurea and their role in the modulation of plant synthesis of bioactive compounds. Here, endophytic fungi were isolated from E. purpurea, and the dual culture approach was applied to deepen insights into the complex plant–microbiome interaction network.In vitro experiments were carried out to evaluate the species specificity of the interaction between host (E. purpurea) and non‐host (E. angustifolia and Nicotiana tabacum) plant tissues and bacterial or fungal endophytes isolated from living E. purpurea plants to test interactions between fungal and bacterial endophytes.A higher tropism towards plant tissue and growth was observed for both fungal and bacterial isolates compared to controls without plant tissue. The growth of all fungi was significantly inhibited by several bacterial strains that, in turn, were scarcely affected by the presence of fungi. Finally, E. purpurea endophytic bacteria were able to inhibit mycelial growth of the phytopathogen Botrytis cinerea.Bacteria and fungi living in symbiosis with wild Echinacea plants interact with each other and could represent a potential source of bioactive compounds and a biocontrol tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

miRNAs constitute fine-tuners of gene expression and are implicated in a variety of diseases spanning from inflammation to cancer. miRNA expression is deregulated in rheumatoid arthritis (RA); however, their specific role in key arthritogenic cells such as the synovial fibroblast (SF) remains elusive. Previous studies have shown that Mir221/222 expression is upregulated in RA SFs. Here, we demonstrate that TNF and IL-1β but not IFN-γ activated Mir221/222 gene expression in murine SFs. SF-specific overexpression of Mir221/222 in huTNFtg mice led to further expansion of SFs and disease exacerbation, while its total ablation led to reduced SF expansion and attenuated disease. Mir221/222 overexpression altered the SF transcriptional profile igniting pathways involved in cell cycle and ECM (extracellular matrix) regulation. Validation of targets of Mir221/222 revealed cell cycle inhibitors Cdkn1b and Cdkn1c, as well as the epigenetic regulator Smarca1. Single-cell ATAC-seq data analysis revealed increased Mir221/222 gene activity in pathogenic SF subclusters and transcriptional regulation by Rela, Relb, Junb, Bach1, and Nfe2l2. Our results establish an SF-specific pathogenic role of Mir221/222 in arthritis and suggest that its therapeutic targeting in specific subpopulations could lead to novel fibroblast-targeted therapies.

Desert soil hosts many microorganisms, whose activities are essential from an ecological viewpoint. Moreover, they are of great anthropic interest. The knowledge of extreme environments microbiomes may be beneficial for agriculture, technology, and human health. In this study, 11 Arthrobacter strains from topsoil samples collected from the Great Gobi A Strictly Protected Area in the Gobi Desert, were characterized by a combination of different techniques. The phylogenetic analysis, performed using their 16S rDNA sequences and the most similar Arthrobacter sequences found in databases, revealed that most of them were close to A. crystallopoietes, while others joined a sister group to the clade formed by A. humicola, A. pascens, and A. oryzae. The resistance of each strain to different antibiotics, heavy-metals, and NaCl was also tested as well as the inhibitory potential against human pathogens (i.e., Burkholderia ssp., Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus ssp.) via cross-streaking, to check the production of metabolites with antimicrobial activity. Data obtained revealed that all strains were resistant to heavy metals and were able to strongly interfere with the growth of many of the human pathogens tested. The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) profile of the 11 Arthrobacter strains was also analyzed. A total of 16 different metabolites were found, some of which were already known for having an inhibitory action against different Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Isolate MS-3A13, producing the highest quantity of VOCs, is the most efficient against Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc), K. pneumoniae, and coagulase-negative Staphylococci (CoNS) strains. This work highlights the importance of understanding microbial populations' phenotypical characteristics and dynamics in extreme environments to uncover the antimicrobial potential of new species and strains.

Encouraged by the tremendous success of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4), analogous NaFePO4 has been predicted to show identical properties as LiFePO4. Synthesis of NaFePO4 materials in the maricite phase has been carried out using the sol-gel method with variations of calcination temperature and starting materials as sources of sodium Na2CO3 and NaCl. The resulted NaFePO4 maricite phase with the purity between 40% and 85%, according to X-ray diffractometry (XRD) characterization was obtained. The morphology and grain size of the particles in samples, as observed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM), tend to enlarge upon calcination at higher temperatures. The increment of calcination temperature increases the NaFePO4 maricite phase content in the sample. The impedance data analysis shows that the diffusion coefficient of Na+ ions and the electrical conductivity of a sample using Na2CO3 is higher than that of NaCl. This comprehensive study provides a feasible method and opens new opportunities for the continuous study of Na-ion batteries.

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) has been proven to be a versatile method for the deposition of thin films of various materials. It yields films with exceptional conformality and allows tunable film compositions with control of film thickness at the atomic level. Thin films of Al oxide, nitride, and oxynitride are deposited via ALD using Al(CH3)3 (TMA)/AlCl3 with H2O/NH3. Herein, surface chemical reactions are examined using density functional theory calculations to elucidate the adsorption, oxidation, and nitridation of precursors [TMA and AlCl3] as well as the mechanism controlling the composition of Al oxynitride thin films obtained through ALD. The hydrogen-terminated substrate surface is transformed into a CH3/Cl-terminated surface after the reaction with the TMA/AlCl3 precursors. The molecular adsorption of TMA occurs through a spontaneous reaction, whereas that of AlCl3 requires a slight energy input. Although the adsorption energy of AlCl3 is higher than that of TMA, the activation energy and energy change of AlCl3 adsorption are higher and lower than those of TMA, respectively; furthermore, the use of AlCl3 results in the generation of a corrosive by-product (HCl). A similar tendency is observed in the second ALD half reaction, which is oxidation. Nitride formation is endothermic for molecularly adsorbed AlCl3 but exothermic for TMA. Furthermore, the investigation of the exchange reactions between surface moieties and excess gaseous reactants reveals a preference for the substitution of N by O, which is attributed to differences in bond energies between the surface moieties and the surface metal atom, as well as between H2O and NH3.

Researchers describe the isolation of a Pseudomonas species that naturally colonizes the roots of Zea mays and produces 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (DAPG). DAPG is a natural antibiotic against major plant pathogens.

Biodiversity in Burkholderia cepacia, a bacterial species colonizing corn roots, was investigated using molecular as well as polymerase chain reaction-based techniques. The investigation was conducted by first isolating the organisms and assigning them to particular strains or species by restriction fragment length polymorphism criteria. Biodiversity was then analyzed by the random amplified polymorphic DNA method.

The chocolate bar is a processed cocoa product that is rich in polyphenols, but polyphenols decrease during processing. Gallic acid encapsulated in the form of solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) can be a solution for the fortification of phenolic compounds in chocolate bars. This study aimed to obtain the right concentration of SLN-gallic acid in the manufacture of chocolate bars. SLN was made by the double emulsion method and added fat rich in Monoacylglycerol (MAG) and Diacylglycerol (DAG) from coconut stearin as an emulsifier as well as a solid lipid matrix. The concentrations of SLN-gallic acid used for fortification were 0%, 2.5%, 5%, and 7.5%. The results showed that the addition of SLN-gallic acid affected the characteristics of physicochemical, sensorial, and antioxidant activity of chocolate bars. The higher the concentration of the addition of gallic acid SLN increased the total phenolic and antioxidant activity. However, the characteristics of color, texture, and organoleptic properties were decreased. The microstructure of the chocolate bar did not show a significant difference, namely the spherulite needlelike crystal. The best treatment was obtained by adding 5% of SLN-gallic acid on chocolate bars with an IC50 of 174.24 ± 2.48 and was favored by the panelists. The best treatment resulted in crystal morphology in the form of spherulite, small and spread out, and the polymorphism pattern was dominated by beta crystals. Thus, SLN-gallic acid was suitable for the fortification of up to 5% into chocolate bars.

This research is motivated by students who have not been able to overcome learning difficulties at SD Muhammadiyah 1 Marapalam Padang. The purpose of this study is to describe the difficulties in learning to read, write and count.This research use desciptive qualitative approach. The instruments used in the research are observation, interviews and documentation of the cases seen. The technique used in data processing is through data reduction, data presentation and drawing conclusions. Techniques for data validity, trustworthiness, transferability, reliability. The results of this study indicate that students who have learning difficulties are: 1. Students' learning difficulties in reading occur because students do not repeat lessons at home such as reading, students experience poor vision and hearing. 2 Students' learning difficulties in writing occur because students do not practice writing at home and have blurred vision and 3. Students' learning difficulties in counting occur because of doubts in recognizing mathematical symbols and lack of practice at home. Based on the results of the study, it is recommended for parents to pay more attention to students at home so that learning difficulties experienced by students can be overcome.

Synovial fibroblasts (SFs) are key pathogenic drivers in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Their in vivo activation by TNF is sufficient to orchestrate full arthritic pathogenesis in animal models, and TNF blockade proved efficacious for a high percentage of patients with RA albeit coinducing rare but serious side effects. Aiming to find new potent therapeutics, we applied the L1000CDS2 search engine, to repurpose drugs that could reverse the pathogenic expression signature of arthritogenic human TNF–transgenic (hTNFtg) SFs. We identified a neuroleptic drug, namely amisulpride, which reduced SFs’ inflammatory potential while decreasing the clinical score of hTNFtg polyarthritis. Notably, we found that amisulpride function was neither through its known targets dopamine receptors D2 and D3 and serotonin receptor 7 nor through TNF–TNF receptor I binding inhibition. Through a click chemistry approach, potentially novel targets of amisulpride were identified, which were further validated to repress hTNFtg SFs’ inflammatory potential ex vivo (Ascc3 and Sec62), while phosphoproteomics analysis revealed that treatment altered important fibroblast activation pathways, such as adhesion. Thus, amisulpride could prove beneficial to patients experiencing RA and the often-accompanying comorbid dysthymia, reducing SF pathogenicity along with its antidepressive activity, serving further as a “lead” compound for the development of novel therapeutics against fibroblast activation.

Three hundred laying hens of two commercial and one experimental crossbreed were evaluated in Peruvian Andes. The Commercial crossbreeds were Babcock Brown and Improved Creole ISAMISA (CM), and local experimental crossbreed (CE). The experimental crossbreed was obtained from Naked Neck Creole Hens, legs feather Creole Hens and Babcock Brown (BB) commercial layer. The females were reared to 52 wk. of age, and recorded data included body weight, feed intake, egg number, and egg weight, allowing the calculation of egg mass and feed conversion ratio. The economic value of each crossbreed was determined by overall egg production and body weight at 52-wk old. The highest laying rate was exhibited by Babcock (76.9%) and CE (58.9%), followed by CM (53.1%). The crossbreeds differed in feed intake and in females’ feed conversion, with BB leading (2.55) followed by CE (3.49) and CM (4.32). In egg production, BB were the best, as expected from specialized tableegg crossbreeds. In summary, BB was the best egg-producing crossbreed, but poor in meat production. Better choice for dual-purpose production would be CE, ranked second in egg production. CM was the best meat-producing crossbreed and were second in egg-mass production. Hence, CE might be the best dual-purpose hybrid with better feed efficiency than CM and the consumers prefer large eggs and birds.