Invasive macrophytes are troublesome in a myriad of freshwater ecosystems worldwide. However, before causing threats to recipient communities, invasive species face abiotic and/or biotic environmental filters at the colonization and establishment phases, which may hamper their success. Here we investigated experimentally the isolated effects of one abiotic filter (sediment organic matter) and two biotic filters (competition and herbivory), along with their interactions, on the growth of the exotic species Hydrilla verticillata in its invasive range. We found that herbivory by the native mollusc Pomaceae canaliculata, competition with the native macrophyte Egeria najas and high organic matter in sediment impacted negatively the performance of the species in terms of plant height, biomass production and branching, and the intensity of each limiting factor depends on the presence of a second, independent factor, as indicated by significant interactions between sediment type x herbivory and competition x herbivory. However, our most important finding was that these three factors act synergistically having a disproportional significant negative impact on the exotic macrophyte. Because the native competitor and the herbivorous we used occur in lakes with high organic matter in sediment, our results help explaining the reasons H. verticillata has not still colonized several aquatic habitats in South America

Purpose: Dysbiosis has been associated with increased microbial translocation, leading to chronic inflammation in cardiovascular diseases (CVD). It has been proposed that modulation of gut microbiota by probiotic might modify metabolic endotoxemia. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) on metabolic endotoxemia, and marker of inflammation in CVD subjects. \nMethods: This study was a 12-weeks randomized, double-blind, and intervention on 44 patients with CVD. Patients were randomly allocated to receive either one LGG capsule 1.6 ×109 colony-forming unit (CFU) or the placebo capsules for 12 weeks. Serum levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), interleukin-10 (IL-10), and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), were assessed before and after the intervention. \nResults: A significant decrease in IL1-Beta concentration (-1.88 ± 2.25, vs. 0.56 ± 1.58 mmol/L, P=0.027), and LPS levels (-5.20 ±2.70 vs. 2.96+ 5.27 mg/L, P=0.016), was observed after the probiotic supplementation compared with the placebo. Subjects who had ≥2.5 kg weight loss showed significantly improved in some variables, compared to patients with <2.5 kg weight reduction, regardless of the supplement they receive.\nConclusion: These data provide preliminary evidence that probiotic supplementation has beneficial effects on metabolic endotoxemia, and mega inflammation in subjects with CVD.

Carrot is one of the most important root vegetables grown extensively in about 125 countries of the world. China is the largest producer of carrot followed by Russia, USA, Uzbekistan, Poland, Ukraine, UK, Turkey, Japan and France. Carrot root is rich in carotenoids and phenolic acids with an appreciable amount of several other bioactive compounds having significant health-promoting properties. The consumption of fresh carrot and its products is increasing steadily due to its recognition as an important source of natural antioxidants. Carotenoids help in preventing heart diseases, improve vision, help in reducing blood sugar and reduce colon cancer. However, due to seasonal and perishable nature of carrot, it is not possible to make it readily available throughout the year. Improved post-harvest handling practices and value-addition by processing during the main growing season is an important alternative. In view of the nutritional and therapeutic importance and its abundant availability particularly during the winter season, the post-harvest researchers must suggest viable alternatives for its profitable use. Efforts have been made to review the information available on this very important root vegetable for the benefit of the researchers and the consumers.

Land-use history and habitat age are considered highly important regarding the species composition and conservation value of, e.g., grasslands and forests. Ancient sites, i.e., sites with a continuous habitat history, are thought to be richer in rare, threatened, and more specialised species than recent sites. However, species composition is also affected by abiotic and ecological factors such as soil and climate parameters, and further analyses are needed to determine whether history or other factors are more important. In previous studies carried out at two study areas in the German Jurassic mountains, land-use history was identified as the main factor shaping vascular plant composition of ancient vs. recent grassland sites. Ancient was defined that there was a continuous grazing history since at least 200 years, while recent grasslands have developed from arable fields considerably after this time. Many species such as arable weeds and crop species, being residuals of the former land-use type, were found in the recent grasslands. In the present study, we assessed the terricolous cryptogam vegetation (bryophytes, lichens, macromycetes) of the same ancient and recent sites regarding species composition, occurrence of endangered species, and the applicability of the indicator species concept and Ellenberg indicator values. Although land-use history was the strongest explaining factor regarding vascular plant vegetation in previous studies, cryptogam vegetation did not reflect this signal. Species numbers and Ellenberg indicator values were quite similar in ancient and recent grasslands but we could, nevertheless, identify indicator species for both grassland types, with Rhytidium rugosum, Cladonia furcata ssp. subrangiformis and Hygrocybe persistens as strongest indicators of ancient grasslands, and Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus as strongest indicator of recent grasslands. When we compared the results for vascular plant and cryptogam vegetation we found that land-use history seems to have much less influence on the composition of the cryptogam vegetation in grasslands, given a certain time of recreation and succession. This is very likely due to an enhanced dispersability of cryptogam propagules. We found rare and endangered cryptogam species in ancient and recent sites; therefore, species maintenance measures can be worthwile in both grassland types.

The monitoring of network measures, such as degree centrality, betweenness centrality, and clustering coefficient is performed, aiming to identify the periods that the earthquake network has distinct evolution before the main shock of 24 June 2015 in Egypt area. As nodes the 42 square cells that constitute a normal lattice imbricate on the investigation region are considered and the connections are drawn whenever earthquake succession is predestined between the node areas of seismic activity of the corresponding nodes. The data are possessed from a seismic catalog including crustal earthquakes (focal depth less than 50 Km) of magnitude M≥2.5 that occurred in the territory of Egypt during the period 1998-2015. The earthquake network is created on sliding windows of 90 days and then the values of 9 network measures on each sliding window are computed before the main shock of 24 June 2015. The investigation of network measures revealed that more of the network measures values exhibit an abrupt jump just before the main shock occurrence.

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPS) are used in different applications, including dyes, pigments, paints, medical diagnoses, cosmetics, and sunscreens. Spinacia oleracea, family Chenopodiaceae (spinach), has several medicinal application, as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-epileptic, and to promote sexual activity. This study investigated the effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles (SO.ZnONPs) using S. oleracea leaf extract on sperm characteristics and reproductive hormones in male mice (SWR/J). ZnONPs were biosynthesized using S. oleracea leaf extract and further characterized by standard methods of UV-visible spectroscopy, X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Forty-eight male mice were used in this study; 12 mice as controls, 12 administered 15 mg/kg body weight [BW] ZnONPs, 12 administered 25 mg/kg BW of SO.ZnONPs, and 12 administered 50 mg/kg BW S. oleracea extract intraperitoneally for three days. The sperm count, motility, and reproductive hormones were assessed. The LD50 value of the SO.ZnONPs, ZnONPs, and S. oleracea were 160, 100, and 200 mg/kg BW, respectively. Successful biosynthesis of zinc nanoparticles produced particles of 10–54 nm. Sperm counts and motility increased in SO.ZnONPs and S. oleracea treated mice. A significant increase in levels of testosterone (TH) was observed in SO.ZnONPs treated mice, while the level of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) decreased compared to control and ZnONPs treated mice. The percentage of immotile sperm significantly decreased, rapid motility, and viability increased in SO.ZnONPs and S. oleracea treated mice. SO.ZnONPs and S. oleracea can increase sperm count and motility and elevate TH levels.

This study examines the effects of debt financing on the productivity of capital invested using data of manufacturing firms in China, Japan and USA. We find that firms that use more debt capital are less likely to make overinvestment and more likely to make underinvestment. The study suggests that the productivity of capital invested becomes high when the manufacturing firms avoid over (under) investment. Besides, we document that the use of debt financing positively affect the productivity of capital invested and that the effect is partially mediated by the investment of the manufacturing firms.

This paper is an exploratory sequential mixed methods research aimed to explore the inhibiting factors of Indonesian doctoral students in conducting high impact international publications with qualitative exploratory methods and knowing the relationship between inhibiting factors with the performance of publications with quantitative methods. This research uses exploratory sequential mixed methods, The first stage is a qualitative analysis exploring factors inhibiting the publication of doctoral students. Primary data collection using in-depth interviews with 7 (seven) doctoral program students who were selected and determined using purposive sampling method. The next step is to conduct a quantitative analysis to get the correlation between the inhibiting factors and the performance of the publication. Collecting primary data using an online questionnaire with 110 respondents who were selected using the snowball sampling method and then analyzed using the LISRELL program. The results of this research indicate that doctoral student respondents have had several constraints to publishing in journals international reputation such as negative result reviewer, lack of Funding, long respon time, low english skill, lack of writing time, limiting writing skill, limiting submision skill, high publication fee, inadequate facilities, limited journals reference, limited technology skill. Novelty of this research is the first research of the obstacles in the publication of doctoral students in Indonesia with the Exploratory Sequential Mixed Methods method with the scope of the territory of a country. This research can be a reference for similar research, and subsequent research can be conducted in other countries.

The aim of this study is to explore the advantages, constraints and solutions of online learning for private university students in Indonesia which are being implemented as a result of the pandemic of COVID. In this study using a qualitative method, using a survey method to private university students in Indonesia after six weeks of online distance learning as respondents, where distance learning is carried out using an online system. A total of 100 students participating in distance learning filled out a semi-structured questionnaire that was distributed to them online. The result of this article is the advantage that students feel with online learning is that they can listen at home, they are not limited by the place, they can listen anytime anywhere, and they are not limited by time or space grouped into comfortable educational themes. environment, utilization of free time, network instability, the voice of lecturers and teaching materials are not synchronous, they cannot take classes when the wifi is not connected, the concentration is reduced. Suggestions for improvement include increasing network instability, activating interaction through increasing one-sided interaction, and conducting face-to-face classes for practice.