Origanum compactum (O. compactum) is an endemic Moroccan medicinal herb. Numerous studies have shown that O. compactum organic extracts, essential oil and its main components possess a broader spectrum of pharmacological and therapeutic activities such as antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant and antitumour activity. This research was designed to examine the antibacterial activity of O. compactum essential oil tested on clinical bacterial strains isolated from vaginal and cervical swabs. First, antibacterial activity was tested against standard bacterial cultures: Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 51299, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, and after that on clinical strains. For testing the antibacterial activity, agar diffusion and microdilution methods were used. The inhibition zones (IZ) for standard bacterial cultures were from 31.0 ± 0.57 mm to 35.0 ± 1.15 mm. The minimum inhibitory concentracion (MIC) for essential oil was tested using the broth dilution method. The values were in the range of 0.098 mg/ml - 1.562 mg/ml. O. compactum essential oil provided strong antibacterial activity for all tested microorganisms. The antibacterial activity of essential oil depends largely on the main components: carvacrol and thymol. Clinical isolates, which are more resistant in comparison with laboratory strains, are almost equally sensible to O. compactum essential oil. This essential oil could be an ideal replacement for conventional antimicrobial products, especially if we consider the increasing resistance to implemented antibiotics. In the future, O. compactum essential oil could be an option in the treatment of gynecological infections.

Burned area of forest may be developed based on different factors. In this investigation the burned area of forest was analyzed by computational intelligence approach. The main goal was to analyze the influence of eight inputs on the burned area of forest. The method of ANFIS (adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system) was applied to the data. Eight inputs are considered: FFMC, DMC, DC, ISI, temp, RH, wind, rain. The ANFIS process was implemented to detect the dominant factors which affect the forecasting of the burned area of forest.

Background / Aim. MDSCs suppress immune responses via a series of inhibitory mechanisms, which ultimately could lead to tumor growth. B7-H4 expression is significantly associated with poor outcome and promotion of tumor cell proliferation, invasion and migration in patients with various cancers. Data concerning B7-H4 expression in lung cancers, either on tumor or immunological cells, are still sporadically. To estimate and correlate the number of CD14+B7-H4+MDSC in blood and lung tumor microcirculation with clinical stage, histology type of tumor, TNM stadium, nodal status and disease outspread. Methods. 44 lung cancer patients (III and IV clinical stage) and 30 healthy controls. CD14+B7-H4+ MDSC number was estimated by flowcytometry in blood and tumor microcirculation samples of each patient. Results. CD14+B7-H4+MDSC number was significantly higher in patient’s samples comparing to controls. CD14+B7-H4+MDSC was significantly increased in tumor comparing to blood sample of same patient. Clinical stage III patients had increased number of the CD14+B7-H4+ MDSC comparing to stage IV, in both type of samples. According to histology SCLC patients had the highest average CD14+B7-H4+MDSC number, significantly increased comparing to patients with squamous and large cell LC histology in tumor. Tumor size was directly associated with the number of the CD14+B7-H4+MDSC, both in blood and tumor samples. Furthermore, nodal involvement was associated with gradual increase of the CD14+B7-H4+MDSC number, being the highest in the N3 group, again both in blood and tumor samples. Finally, we have detected higher CD14+ B7-H4+MDSC number in the samples of patients without metastases. Conclusion. CD14+B7-H4+MDSC number in LC patients is significantly associated with tumor histology type, lymph node involvement, disease extent degree and tumor size. Concerning their large number in LC tumor microenvironment together with immunosuppressive capacities, CD14+B7-H4+MDSC could represent important tumor promoting factor in LC pathophysiology.