Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Influence of edaphic factors on the structure and distribution of plant species in and around Mekeiman Marsh Wetland, Northeast of Algeria

Abstract. Touarfia M, Bouali N, Djouamaa Ak, Maazi MC, Houhamdi M. 2021. Influence of edaphic factors on the structure and distribution of plant species in and around Mekeiman Marsh Wetland, Northeast of Algeria. Biodiversitas 22: 3219-3228. Understanding the environmental factors that influence plant species composition and distribution is essential for successful management of biodiversity. Hence, the purpose of the present study was to assess plant species composition and distribution in a freshwater wetland Mekeiman Marsh, Northeastern Algeria and to analyze the influence of environmental factors on local plant species. To explore the distribution of plant species in this Marsh and analyze their associations with edaphic soil factors, the mapping and types of plant species in this area were analyzed by MapInfo and principal component analysis (PCA) ordination. For this purpose, four stations were chosen according to a stratified sampling method and phytosociological surveys were carried out in 12 plots, which were sampled using the Braun- Blanquet method. Multivariate analyses were used to determine the relationship between plant species distribution and edaphic factors. The R i386 (version 4.0.3) software was used for data analysis. We have identified 48 plant species belonging to 21 families. Results of biological types in the study area revealed the dominance of hemicryptophytes and therophytes, which indicates the presence of therophytization in this Marsh. Spatial distribution maps showed that plant species were divided into two categories viz. sparse and scattered plants according to the humidity gradient. The most important edaphic factors associated with plant species in Mekeiman Marsh were Sodium, Phosphorus, active limestone, Magnesium, clay, organic matter, C/N and Azot. By combining mapping and influence of edaphic factors on the structure and distribution of plant species in this wetland, it was known that the plant assemblages of this Marsh make disproportionately important contributions to wetland-level diversity. By combining mapping and influence of edaphic factors on the structure and distribution of plant species in this wetland, the plant assemblages of this Marsh make disproportionately important contributions to wetland-level diversity.
The Effect of Students' Digital Literacy Skill to the Quality of Accounting Learning in Self-Directed Learning as Moderating Variables

This study aims to test digital literacy's impact on the quality of accounting learning with self-directed learning as a moderation variable. The learning process is often faced with problems relating to the quality of learning. The learning process's objectives have many essential aspects of being aware of, including digital literacy and self-directed learning capabilities. Digital literacy in education, especially in higher education, has the consequences of learning design by utilizing digital media to improve learning quality. This research uses a quantitative approach type. This research population is students of the Department of Accounting Education, Universitas Negeri Semarang, the year 2017, which has 75 students. The sampling technique is a saturated sampling. Data collection and retrieval methods using questionnaire poll. Data analysis techniques using IBM SPSS Statistic 26.0 regression moderation analysis, the year 2020. The results showed that digital literacy has no a significant and positive impact on the quality of learning, and self-directed learning can moderate the positive influence of digital literacy on the quality of learning.
Detection of Nudibranch Chromodoris quadricolor associated microbiome using two DNA extraction methods

Article history: Received 27 April 2021 Received in revised form 25 May 2021 Accepted 26 May 2021 Available online 1 June 2021 DNA extraction with high quality is critical to all molecular genetic analyses. However, obtaining DNA from microbes associated with animals is challenging. Despite the availability of various DNA extraction kits in the markets, no studies were conducted to date to evaluate their potential for the invertebrates such as nudibranch, one of Mollusca. This study compared the Quick—DNA Fungal/Bacterial Miniprep Kit and CTAB methods and tested them across four samples of Chromodoris quadricolor gut and skin tissues. The universal bacterial primers 331f and 797r and the animalspecific primers LCO1490-JJ and HCO2198-JJ were used to amplify the 16S rRNA gene and partial mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene using extracted DNA as a template. The DNA and PCR products’ quality and concentration were verified with agarose gel and Nanodrop, respectively. The two methods' quality assessed using the deep pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene in capturing a more diverse microbiome. The highest yield and purity (over 1000 ng / μL) were obtained with the CTAB method, while it was not exceeded 260 ng/μL with Quick DNA kit and display high purity. Also, 16S rRNA community amplicon sequencing revealed that the CTAB way could catch more diverse bacterial groups. The most efficient method of DNA extraction was CTAB, as it achieved both high concentration and purity.
The Influence of Cause-Related Marketing on Millennials’ Purchase Intentions: Evidence of CSR from an Emerging Economy

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been implemented through sponsorships, philanthropy, and cause-related marketing (CRM), amongst which CRM has aroused the interest of many academicians and stakeholders. The study aims to examine the antecedents of cause-related marketing while considering attitude as a mediator to test its relationship with the purchase intention. The snowball sampling technique for data collection was administered to Indian millennial consumers from the regions of Karnataka and Kerala. A total of 313 valid cases were selected for the analysis, which employed partial least squares (PLS) based on structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings have shown that a positive relationship exists between cause participation and purchase intention. Further, product/cause congruence & consumer/cause identification had a positive impact on attitude, while attitude, in turn, showed a favorable association with the purchase intention. This study disclosed the relative importance of the compatibility between the social causes supported by the company with its engaged business while adopting CRM campaigns, and highlighted the need for the involvement of consumers in the CRM programs for their effectiveness.
Group Type and Social Media Engagement Strategies in the EU: The Case of British Interest Groups on Facebook

Although interest group strategies have been studied by a number of authors who compare different types of groups, our knowledge about how these different types of groups differ in the way they use social media as a strategy to realise their goals is limited. In this paper, we use the hierarchy of engagement model and investigate how British public interest groups and sectional groups, which are active at the European Union (EU) level, engage with the public on Facebook. Compared with information and community-type posts, action-type posts can attract more attention on social media. Public interest groups can use action-type messages as a tool for attracting public attention, thus, alleviating their relative disadvantage in attracting and maintaining members. Results show that the use of action-type messages are significantly higher for public interest groups.
Stable Transformant of Phalaenopsis amabilis Somatic Embryo Carrying 35S::AtRKD4 Develops Into Normal Phenotype of Transgenic Plant

Phalaenopsis amabilis (L.) Blume orchid is an Indonesian national flower. The number of these orchids in their natural habitat is very limited, therefore plant propagation efforts are needed. One of the promising methods is plant propagation by inserting embryo gene AtRKD4 from a model plant Arabidopsis thaliana into the orchid genome to produce many somatic embryos. From previous research, we have obtained 28 plant P. amabilis transformants carrying the AtRKD4 gene, however, it was unknown whether these plants have normal phenotypes and growth similar to their parents. Therefore, descriptions on growth and morphology are needed. This research aimed to evaluate the phenotype of P. amabilis carrying 35S: : AtRKD4 the transformants grown in greenhouse. To achieve it, AtRKD4 gene integration stability on transformants genome was analyzed. Morphology and cross-section anatomy structure on transformant and non-transformant plantswere described. The stability of AtRKD4 gene integration in the plant genome was confirmed by amplification of the AtRKD4 gene from genomic DNA with Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) using a specific primer for AtRKD4 and ACTIN genes as the internal control. The quantitative data from morphology and anatomy measurements were analyzed statistically using ANOVA. The results showed that AtRKD4 was stably integrated into the genome of P. amabilis transformants and all transformant plants showed similar morphology and anatomy characteristics as non-transformant plants. The AtRKD4 embryo gene was stably integrated into the orchid genome and the transformant plants grow normally without significant changes in phenotype.
Exploring the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) of Vocational High School’s Accounting Teachers

This study aims to discover the level mastery of Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) of vocational high schools in Kebumen and to find out the difference in the TPACK mastery level of accounting teachers based on gender, education level, and teaching experience. The research method used is the descriptive method with a quantitative approach. The population in this study is all accounting teachers as many as 65 people, and the instrument used was questionnaire. The results show that all TPACK of the Accounting teachers are in a good category; there is no difference in the mastery of TPACK between male and female teachers. In addition, there is a difference in TPACK mastery from teachers' level of education except in PK and PCK. Based on teaching experience, there is a significant difference in TK, TCK, and TPK. From the results of this study, it can be concluded that the Accounting teachers of vocational high schools in Kebumen have a good category level of mastery of TPACK that has been implemented in the learning process. Besides, there is no difference in the mastery of TPACK from gender, and there are differences in terms of education level and teaching experience.
Late Spring and Summer Subseasonal forecasts in the Northern Hemisphere midlatitudes: biases and skill in the ECMWF model

Subseasonal forecasts lie between medium-range and seasonal time scales with an emerging attention due to the relevance in society and by the scientific challenges involved. This study aims to (i) evaluate the development of systematic errors with lead time in the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ensemble forecasts of surface-related variables during late spring and summer, and (ii) investigate potential relationships between the systematic errors and predictive skill. The evaluation is performed over the northern hemisphere midlatitudes, focusing on several regions with different climate characteristics. The results indicate five key bias patterns: (i) cold bias of daily maximum temperature (mx2t) in the April-May forecasts at all lead times in most regions; (ii) central North America with a warm bias mostly in the daily minimum temperature (mn2t); (iii) East of Caspian Sea region with a warm and dry bias; (iv) Western and Mediterranean Europe with a cold bias in mn2t mainly in April-May forecasts and (v) continental Europe with a cold bias in the mx2t and warm bias of mn2t in the June-July forecasts. We also found substantial deviations of soil moisture and terrestrial water storage variation in most regions compared to ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis. Despite the large differences in the systematic error characteristics among the different regions, there is little relation to the skill of the subseasonal forecasts. The systematic temperature biases require further attention from model developers as diurnal cycle improvements could enhance some of the potential predictability coming from the long-memory effect of soil moisture.
Chitosan and Aloe vera gel formulations as wound healing agents in episiotomy

Episiotomy is an obstetric technique that consists of making an incision in the perineum during vaginal childbirth, to facilitate the baby to pass through. After delivery, the perineal region is sutured with absorbable threads to heal the cut. However, are frequent reports of pain, infections, and dyspareunia after the execution of this technique. In this context, the use of biomaterials becomes relevant as they promote faster and safer tissue repair, making it an attractive alternative for the healing process of episiotomy. Based on the physical-chemical and biological properties of chitosan and Aloe vera, this research developed three different vaginal gels, with the purpose of promoting tissue regeneration and infection prevention post-episiotomy. Chitosan solutions with concentrations of 5% w/v were prepared by dissolving the chitosan powder in 2% v/v aqueous solution of acetic acid. After the extraction and processing of the mucilage, the pulp of the Aloe vera leaf was added to the chitosan gel in the proportions of 1, 2, and 3% v/v. All formulations were neutralized by the slow drip technique of a neutralizing solution of sodium hydroxide (2 M). The compositions were analyzed according to their organoleptic aspect, optical microscopy, spreadability, hydrogen potential, absorption spectroscopy, cytotoxicity, and rheological behavior. Based on the results obtained, it was possible to conclude that gels produced have the potential to be used as vaginal gels.
A comparative study of serum calcium and magnesium levels in women with pre-eclampsia and normotensive women

Background: Pre-eclampsia is transient but potentially dangerous complication of pregnancy. Despite of pre-eclampsia's prevalence and severity, the pathophysiology of this multisystem disorder is still poorly understood and its aetiology has not yet been fully elucidated. Recently, nutritional deficiency especially micronutrients deficiency is gaining prominence in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia. Hypocalcaemia and hypomagnesaemia have been implicated in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia. This study has been done to compare serum calcium and magnesium levels in women with pre-eclampsia and normotensive women and their association with severity of pre-eclampsia.Methods: 50 women with pre-eclampsia and 50 normotensive women were included in the study and serum calcium and magnesium levels were measured. Data were analyzed.Results: The serum ionic calcium concentration was significantly lower in the pre-eclamptic cases compared to the normotensive controls (3.34±1.35 versus 4.37±0.74, p=0.0000) similarly serum magnesium concentration was significantly lower in the pre-eclamptic cases compared to the normotensive controls (1.68±0.41 versus 1.94±0.42, p-0.002). Mean serum ionic Ca levels in severe pre-eclampsia group was significantly lower than normotensive pregnant women (p=0.0000) as well as mild pre-eclampsia group (p=0.001). Mean serum Mg in severe pre-eclampsia was significantly lower than normotensive pregnant women (p=0.0008) as well as mild pre-eclampsia group (p=0.03). Serum ionic Ca and Mg had a negative correlation with systolic and diastolic blood pressure.Conclusions: Based on this study, measurements of serum ionic calcium and magnesium among women at risk of for pre-eclampsia may be used to predict the onset and severity of pre-eclampsia.
The criticality of financial development and energy consumption for environmental sustainability in OECD countries: Evidence from dynamic panel analysis

ABSTRACT This study explored whether financial development and energy consumption affect environmental sustainability in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. The empirical evidence used in this study was based on the standard fixed effects and the Arellano-Bover/Bundell Bond dynamic panel approach. Our empirical results demonstrated the importance of a financial development index and energy efficiency for reducing carbon emissions and promoting sustainability in the OECD. The mechanism through which financial development affects carbon emissions has been identified as energy consumption and foreign direct investment. Our study recommends that financial development be prioritised alongside investments in energy efficiency to promote environmental sustainability.
Effort Reinforces Learning

Humans routinely learn the value of actions by updating their expectations based on past outcomes – a process driven by reward prediction errors (RPEs). Importantly, however, implementing a course of action also requires the investment of effort. Recent work has revealed a close link between the neural signals involved in effort exertion and those underpinning reward-based learning, but the behavioral relationship between these two functions remains unclear. Across two experiments, we tested healthy male and female human participants (N = 140) on a reinforcement learning task in which they registered their responses by applying physical force to a pair of hand-held dynamometers. We examined the effect of effort on learning by systematically manipulating the amount of force required to register a response during the task. Our key finding, replicated across both experiments, was that greater effort increased learning rates following positive outcomes and decreased them following negative outcomes, which corresponded to a differential effect of effort in boosting positive RPEs and blunting negative RPEs. Interestingly, this effect was most pronounced in individuals who were more averse to effort in the first place, raising the possibility that the investment of effort may have an adaptive effect on learning in those less motivated to exert it. By integrating principles of reinforcement learning with neuroeconomic approaches to value-based decision-making, we show that the very act of investing effort modulates one's capacity to learn, and demonstrate how these functions may operate within a common computational framework. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Recent work suggests that learning and effort may share common neurophysiological substrates. This raises the possibility that the very act of investing effort influences learning. Here, we tested whether effort modulates teaching signals in a reinforcement learning paradigm. Our results showed that effort resulted in more efficient learning from positive outcomes and less efficient learning from negative outcomes. Interestingly, this effect varied across individuals, and was more pronounced in those who were more averse to investing effort in the first place. These data highlight the importance of motivational factors in a common framework of reward-based learning, which integrates the computational principles of reinforcement learning with those of value-based decision-making.
Influence of Waste Tire Rubber Particles Size on the Microstructural, Mechanical, and Acoustic Insulation Properties of 3D-Printable Cement Mortars

3D printing technologies of construction materials are gaining ground in the building industry. As well documented in the literature, these advanced manufacturing methodologies aim to reduce work-related injuries and materials waste, enhancing architectural flexibility which would enable more sophisticated designs for engineering and aesthetic purposes. In this framework, the development of functional and eco-sustainable printable materials represents an extremely attractive challenge for research, promoting digital fabrication to reach its maximum cost-effective and technological potentials. The use of recycled tire rubber particles in 3D printable Portland-based compounds is an exclusive contribution in this field. This line of research aims to integrate the well-known engineering performances of rubber-cement materials with the advanced peculiarities of additive manufacturing methodologies. As an innovative contribution, the authors propose here a detailed study on the possible relationship between rubber particle size and technological properties of the 3D printable mix. Specifically, two groups of continuous size grading polymer aggregates (0-1 mm rubber powder and 1-3 mm rubber granules as fine and coarse fractions, respectively) were analyzed in terms of impact on rheology, print quality, microstructure, mechanical properties, and acoustic insulation performance. Concerning the print quality, rubber aggregates altered the fluidity of the fresh mix, improving the adhesion between the printed layers and therefore enhancing the mechanical isotropy in the post-hardening sample. A remarkable influence of the rubber gradation on the compounds’ behaviour was found in hardened properties. By comparing the rubberized compounds, the fine polymer fraction shows greater interfacial cohesion with the cement paste. However, more significant mechanical strength loss was found due to a greater reduction in density and increased porosity degree. On the other hand, mortars doped with larger rubber particles tend to have a higher unit weight, finest pore distribution, minor mechanical strength drop, and higher ductility but worse interface binding with the matrix. Regarding the acoustic insulation properties, a proper balance between rubber powder and granules in the mixes allows to obtain comparable/superior performance compared to plain mortar but the effect of the aggregate size is strongly dependent on the sound frequency range investigated. Future findings revolve around applicability studies of these formulations in civil and architectural fields, benefiting from the design flexibility of 3D printing. Doi: 10.28991/cej-2021-03091701 Full Text: PDF