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Nitrogen (N2) fixation in oligotrophic surface waters is the main source of new nitrogen to the ocean1 and has a key role in fuelling the biological carbon pump2. Oceanic N2 fixation has been attributed almost exclusively to cyanobacteria, even though genes encoding nitrogenase, the enzyme that fixes N2 into ammonia, are widespread among marine bacteria and archaea3–5. Little is known about these non-cyanobacterial N2 fixers, and direct proof that they can fix nitrogen in the ocean has so far been lacking. Here we report the discovery of a non-cyanobacterial N2-fixing symbiont, ‘Candidatus Tectiglobus diatomicola’, which provides its diatom host with fixed nitrogen in return for photosynthetic carbon. The N2-fixing symbiont belongs to the order Rhizobiales and its association with a unicellular diatom expands the known hosts for this order beyond the well-known N2-fixing rhizobia–legume symbioses on land6. Our results show that the rhizobia–diatom symbioses can contribute as much fixed nitrogen as can cyanobacterial N2 fixers in the tropical North Atlantic, and that they might be responsible for N2 fixation in the vast regions of the ocean in which cyanobacteria are too rare to account for the measured rates.A symbiosis between a diatom and a newly discovered species of alphaproteobacteria, ‘Candidatus Tectiglobus diatomicola’, can fix nitrogen in the ocean, providing evidence that nitrogen fixers other than cyanobacteria have a key role in the marine environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prodrugs have been explored as an alternative to conventional chemotherapy; however, their target specificity remains limited. The tumor microenvironment harbors a range of microorganisms that potentially serve as tumor-targeting vectors for delivering prodrugs. In this study, we harness bacteria-cancer interactions native to the tumor microbiome to achieve high target specificity for prodrug delivery. We identify an oral commensal strain of Lactobacillus plantarum with an intrinsic cancer-binding mechanism and engineer the strain to enable the surface loading of anticancer prodrugs, with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) as a model cancer. The engineered commensals show specific binding to NPC via OppA-mediated recognition of surface heparan sulfate, and the loaded prodrugs are activated by tumor-associated biosignals to release SN-38, a chemotherapy compound, near NPC. In vitro experiments demonstrate that the prodrug-loaded microbes significantly increase the potency of SN-38 against NPC cell lines, up to 10-fold. In a mouse xenograft model, intravenous injection of the engineered L. plantarum leads to bacterial colonization in NPC tumors and a 67% inhibition in tumor growth, enhancing the efficacy of SN-38 by 54%. The chemotherapeutic efficacy of prodrug is limited by its cancer-targeting ability. Here this group reports an engineered commensal Lactobacillus plantarum strain with anticancer prodrugs loading on the surface for nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell-targeting and growth inhibition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we presented an electrophysiological dataset collected from layer V of the primary motor cortex (M1) and the corresponding behavior dataset from normal and hemi-parkinson rats over 5 consecutive weeks. The electrophysiological dataset was constituted by the raw wideband signal, neuronal spikes, and local field potential (LFP) signal. The open-field test was done and recorded to evaluate the behavior variation of rats among the entire experimental cycle. We conducted technical validation of this dataset through sorting the spike data to form action potential waveforms and analyzing the spectral power of LFP data, then based on these findings a closed-loop DBS protocol was developed by the oscillation activity response of M1 LFP signal. Additionally, this protocol was applied to the hemi-parkinson rat for five consecutive days while simultaneously recording the electrophysiological data. This dataset is currently the only publicly available dataset that includes longitudinal closed-loop DBS recordings, which can be utilized to investigate variations of neuronal activity within the M1 following long-term closed-loop DBS, and explore additional reliable biomarkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental stressors such as drought, salinity, and heavy metals pose significant obstacles to achieving sustainable food security, necessitating the development of universally applicable and cost-effective solutions to ameliorate soil under stress. Biochar, an eco-friendly material to increase crop yield, has been researched for almost two decades and has great potential for global use in enhancing stress resistance. However, there hasn't been comprehensive research on the impact of biochar application on soil properties, and root and crop growth. To optimize and promote biochar application in agriculture under stress, this study integrates over 100 peer-reviewed articles to explain how biochar promotes crop growth by enhancing soil resistance to stress. Biochar's distinctive properties, such as porous structure, alkaline nature, enriched surface functional groups, and nutrient content, are responsible for the following soil environment benefits: improved soil physiochemical properties, increased nutrient cycling, and boosted microbial growth. Moreover, the research emphasizes that the enhanced stress resistance of biochar optimizes nutrient absorption, alleviates soil pollutants, and thereby enhances overall crop productivity. The study discusses the roles and mechanisms of biochar on soil under stress, as well as the challenges linked to the sustainable and economical implementation of biochar in extreme soil conditions. This review aims to provide a theoretical basis for the widespread and cost-effective use of biochar in improving soil under stresses, thereby enhancing soil health and food security. Highlights: Biochar's physicochemical properties help with stress resilience. Biochar's effect on multiple stresses mitigation promotes soil nutrients circulating. Biochar provides virtuous cycles for crop stress resistance and root growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the regulatory role of the cyp19a1b aromatase gene in the sexual differentiation of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides, LMB), we obtained the full-length cDNA sequence of cyp19a1b using rapid amplification of cDNA ends technique. Tissue expression characteristics and feedback with 17-β-estradiol (E2) were determined using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), while gonad development was assessed through histological section observations. The cDNA sequence of LMB cyp19a1b was found to be1950 base pairs (bp) in length, including a 5′ untranslated region of 145 bp, a 3′ untranslated region of 278 bp, and an open reading frame encoding a protein consisting of 1527 bp that encoded 508 amino acids. The qRT-PCR results indicated that cyp19a1b abundantly expressed in the brain, followed by the gonads, and its expression in the ovaries was significantly higher than that observed in the testes (P < 0.05). After feeding fish with E2 for 30 days, the expression of cyp19a1b in the pseudo-female gonads (XY-F) was significantly higher than that in males (XY-M) (P < 0.05), whereas expression did not differ significantly between XX-F and XY-F fish (P > 0.05). Although the expression of cyp19a1b in XY-F and XX-F fish was not significantly different after 60 days (P>0.05), both exhibited significantly higher levels than that of XY-M fish (P<0.05). Histological sections analysis showed the presence of oogonia in both XY-F and XX-F fish at 30 days, while spermatogonia were observed in XY-M fish. At 60 days, primary oocytes were abundantly observed in both XY-F and XX-F fish, while a few spermatogonia were visible in XY-M fish. At 90 days, the histological sections' results showed that a large number of oocytes were visible in XY-F and XX-F fish. Additionally, the gonads of XY-M fish contained numerous spermatocytes. These results suggest that cyp19a1b plays a pivotal role in the development of ovaries and nervous system development in LMB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The genetic improvement in growth and food habit domestication of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) have made breakthroughs in past decades, while the relevant work on disease resistance were rarely carried out. Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes, which are well known as their numbers and high polymorphisms, have been used as candidate genes to mine disease-resistant-related molecular markers in many species. Methods and results: In present study, we developed and characterized 40 polymorphic and biallelic InDel markers from the major histocompatibility complex genes of largemouth bass. The minor allele frequency, observed heterozygosity, expected heterozygosity and polymorphic information content of these markers ranged from 0.0556 to 0.5000, 0.1111 to 0.6389, 0.1064 to 0.5070, and 0.0994 to 0.3750, respectively. Three loci deviated significantly from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, while linkage disequilibrium existed at none of these loci. Conclusion: These InDel markers might provide references for the further correlation analysis and molecular assisted selection of disease resistance in largemouth bass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry and the advent of the industrial revolution, the complexity of part structures and the variety of materials have increased. The demand for cutting tool performance is becoming increasingly diverse, posing numerous challenges to the design and development of tools. By studying natural cutting phenomena, scholars have discovered that biological structures such as teeth and claws possess unique characteristics. The design and development of tools based on the imitation of these biological structures have become a new research direction. To address the high energy consumption and reduce cutting resistance in the cutting process, limpet teeth were prepared, and their geometric features were extracted. The structural features of limpet teeth were applied to the design of tool structures, and five bionic tools were designed and fabricated. Taking cutting force as the performance indicator, the cutting performance of the bionic tools was investigated by comparing them with conventional tools. The analysis of cutting forces found that effortless tool exhibited a significant force-saving effect, with a reduction in cutting force by 16.2%. Through a single-factor experiment, the influence of cutting parameters on the effortless tool was explored. The results showed that limpet bionic cutting tools with appropriate size parameters exhibited a significant force-saving effect, improving tool cutting performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acceptance of artificial pelleted diets contributes to increasing the cultured areas and output of carnivorous fish. However, the mechanism of acceptance of artificial pelleted diets remains largely unknown. In this study, the easy acceptance of artificial pelleted diets (EAD) group and the not easy acceptance of artificial pelleted diets (NAD) group of Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) were divided based on the ratios of stomach weight/body weight (SB) after 0.5 h feeding, which was bigger than 18% in the EAD group and ranged from 8 to 12% in the NAD group. Through transcriptome and proteome sequencing, a total of 2463 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 230 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified, respectively. Integrated analyses of transcriptome and proteome data revealed that 152 DEPs were matched with the corresponding DEGs (named co-DEGs-DEPs), and 54 co-DEGs-DEPs were enriched in 16 KEGG pathways, including the metabolic pathways, steroid biosynthesis, fatty acid biosynthesis, etc. Furthermore, 3 terpenoid backbone biosynthesis-related genes (Hmgcr, Hmgcs, and Fdps) in metabolic pathways, 10 steroid biosynthesis-related genes (Fdft1, Sqle, Lss, Cyp51a1, Tm7sf2, Nsdhl, Hsd17b7, Dhcr24, Sc5d, and Dhcr7), and 3 fatty acid biosynthesis-related genes (Acaca, Fasn, and Ascl) were all up-regulated in the EAD group, suggesting that the lipid metabolism pathway and steroid biosynthesis pathway play important roles in early food habit domestication in Largemouth bass. In addition, the detection results of randomly selected 15 DEGs and 15 DEPs indicated that both transcriptome and proteome results in the study were reliable. Our study provides useful information for further research on the mechanisms of food habit domestication in fish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/aims: Timely detection and treatment of retinal detachment (RD) could effectively save vision and reduce the risk of progressing visual field defects. High myopia (HM) is known to be associated with an increased risk of RD. Evidently, it should be clearly discriminated the individuals with high or low risk of RD in patients with HM. By using multi-parametric analysis, risk assessment, and other techniques, it is crucial to create cutting-edge screening programs that may be utilized to improve population eye health and develop person-specific, cost-effective preventative, and targeted therapeutic measures. Therefore, we propose a novel, routine blood parameters-based prediction model as a screening program to help distinguish who should offer detailed ophthalmic examinations for RD diagnosis, prevent visual field defect progression, and provide personalized, serial monitoring in the context of predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine (PPPM/3 PM). Methods: This population-based study included 20,870 subjects (HM = 19,284, HMRD = 1586) who underwent detailed routine blood tests and ophthalmic evaluations. HMRD cases and HM controls were matched using a nested case-control design. Then, the HMRD cases and HM controls were randomly assigned to the discovery cohort, validation cohort 1, and validation cohort 2 maintaining a 6:2:2 ratio, and other subjects were assigned to the HM validation cohort. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to select feature indexes. Feature indexes were integrated into seven algorithm models, and an optimal model was selected based on the highest area under the curve (AUC) and accuracy. Results: Six feature indexes were selected: lymphocyte, basophil, mean platelet volume, platelet distribution width, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio. Among the algorithm models, the algorithm of conditional probability (ACP) showed the best performance achieving an AUC of 0.79, a diagnostic accuracy of 0.72, a sensitivity of 0.71, and a specificity of 0.74 in the discovery cohort. A good performance of the ACP model was also observed in the validation cohort 1 (AUC = 0.81, accuracy = 0.72, sensitivity = 0.71, specificity = 0.73) and validation cohort 2 (AUC = 0.77, accuracy = 0.71, sensitivity = 0.70, specificity = 0.72). In addition, ACP model calibration was found to be good across three cohorts. In the HM validation cohort, the ACP model achieved a diagnostic accuracy of 0.81 for negative classification. Conclusion: We have developed a routine blood parameters-based model with an ACP algorithm that could potentially be applied in the clinic with a PPPM approach for serial monitoring and predicting the occurrence of RD in HM and can facilitate the prevention of HM progression to RD. According to the current study, routine blood measures are essential in patient risk classification, predictive diagnosis, and targeted therapy. Therefore, for high-risk RD persons, novel screening programs and prompt treatment plans are essential to enhance individual outcomes and healthcare offered to the community with HM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The least squares support vector machine (LS-SVM) is an effective method to deal with classification and regression problems and has been widely studied and applied in the fields of machine learning and pattern recognition. The learning algorithms of the LS-SVM are usually conjugate gradient (CG) and sequential minimal optimization (SMO) algorithms. Based on this, we propose a conjugate functional gain SMO algorithm and theoretically prove its asymptotic convergence. This algorithm combines the conjugate direction method and the functional gain SMO algorithm with second-order information, which increases the functional gain of the plain SMO algorithm. In addition, we also provide a generalized SMO-type algorithm framework with a simple iterative format and easy implementation for other LS-SVM training algorithms. The numerical results show that the execution time of this algorithm is significantly shorter than that of the other plain SMO-type algorithms and CG-type algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum LI09 could prevent D-galactosamine-induced liver injury. Our previous study has preliminarily determined that different intestinal microbiota profiles existed in the LI09-treated rats. Due to the sample size limitation, some subsequent analyses could not be achieved. In the current study, we conducted different experiments and bioinformatic analyses to characterise the distinct intestinal bacterial microbiota profiles in the LI09-treated rats with liver injury (i.e., LI09 group). Partition around medoids clustering analysis determined two intestinal microbiota profiles (i.e., Cluster_1_LI09 and Cluster_2_LI09) in LI09 group. Compared with Cluster_2_LI09, Cluster_1_LI09 group was determined at less dysbiotic microbial status and with lower level of liver injury. The two microbiota profiles were determined with distinct representative amplicon sequence variants (ASVs), among which, ASV1_Akkermansia and ASV3_Bacteroides were most associated with Cluster_1_LI09 and Cluster_2_LI09, respectively. Multiple representative phylotypes in Cluster_1_LI09 negatively correlating with liver function variables were assigned to Parabacteroides, suggesting Parabacteroides could benefit LI09 on modulating the liver function. In addition, ASV310_Lachnospiraceae, ASV501_Muribaculaceae and ASV484_Lachnospiraceae were determined as network gatekeepers in Cluster_1_LI09 network. The relevant results suggest that some intestinal bacteria could assist LI09 in lowering the intestinal microbial dysbiosis in the rats with liver injury, and their clinical application deserves further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Homeobox B2 (HOXB2) is known to be correlated with the development and prognosis of various cancers. However, its role in colon cancer remains unclear. Aims: In this study, we explored the prognostic value of HOXB2 in colon adenocarcinoma (COAD). Methods: A total of 264 colon adenocarcinoma cases were retrospectively enrolled to evaluate HOXB2 expression and clinical significance. Chi-square test was applied to identify relationship between clinical features and HOXB2 expression. The effect of HOXB2 expression and clinical features on the survival of COAD patients was evaluated using Kaplan–Meier and Cox regression analyses. Cellular assays and mice models were conducted to validate the tumor-related role of HOXB2 in COAD. Results: Higher expression of HOXB2 in COAD tissues was significantly associated with tumor size, invasion depth, and lymph node metastasis (all P < 0.05). Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that high expression of HOXB2 was significantly correlated with a poor overall survival. In vitro cellular assays combined with knockdown strategies demonstrated that HOXB2 can promote tumor proliferation and invasion of COAD, which was further confirmed by in vivo xenograft experiments. Conclusions: HOXB2 may be a valuable biomarker and potential therapeutic target for the treatment of COAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia in aged population. Oxidative stress and neuroinflammation play important roles in the pathogenesis of AD. Investigation of hub genes for the development of potential therapeutic targets and candidate biomarkers is warranted. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in AD were screened in GSE48350 dataset. The differentially expressed oxidative stress genes (DEOSGs) were analyzed by intersection of DEGs and oxidative stress-related genes. The immune-related DEOSGs and hub genes were identified by weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and protein–protein interaction (PPI) analysis, respectively. Enrichment analysis was performed by Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes. The diagnostic value of hub genes was assessed by receiver operating characteristic analysis and validated in GSE1297. The mRNA expression of diagnostic genes was determined by qRT-PCR analysis. Finally, we constructed the drug, transcription factors (TFs), and microRNA network of the diagnostic genes. A total of 1160 DEGs (259 up-regulated and 901 down-regulated) were screened in GSE48350. Among them 111 DEOSGs were identified in AD. Thereafter, we identified significant difference of infiltrated immune cells (effector memory CD8 T cell, activated B cell, memory B cell, natural killer cell, CD56 bright natural killer cell, natural killer T cell, plasmacytoid dendritic cell, and neutrophil) between AD and control samples. 27 gene modules were obtained through WGCNA and turquoise module was the most relevant module. We obtained 66 immune-related DEOSGs by intersecting turquoise module with the DEOSGs and identified 15 hub genes through PPI analysis. Among them, 9 hub genes (CCK, CNR1, GAD1, GAP43, NEFL, NPY, PENK, SST, and TAC1) were identified with good diagnostic values and verified in GSE1297. qRT-PCR analysis revealed the downregulation of SST, NPY, GAP43, CCK, and PENK and upregulation of NEFL in AD. Finally, we identified 76 therapeutic agents, 152 miRNAs targets, and 91 TFs regulatory networks. Our study identified 9 key genes associated with oxidative stress and immune reaction in AD pathogenesis. The findings may help to provide promising candidate biomarkers and therapeutic targets for AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The two-stage stochastic variational inequality (TSVI) is a popular modeling paradigm recently with a wide range of applications in stochastic programming, game problems, equilibrium, etc. To numerically solve a TSVI, samples drawn from the true probability distribution are employed to discretely approximate the original problem with continuous probability distribution. However, this key assumption can hardly be fulfilled in practice because the perceived data may usually contain noise. This leads to the so-called statistically robust analysis. This paper considers the statistical robustness of TSVIs. We first give some preliminaries on both TSVIs and statistical robustness, which lay the foundation for the subsequent discussion. Then both qualitative and quantitative statistical robustness of TSVIs are studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper concentrates on necessary conditions for properly efficient solutions in nonsmooth multiobjective optimization problems. We first present a generalization of Tucker's alternative theorem for conic nonlinear systems, provided that a closedness condition holds. Some sufficient conditions for the validity of such a closedness condition are given. As applications, under the weak Abadie regularity condition, we then establish the primal and the strong Karush/Kuhn–Tucker (dual) necessary optimality conditions for an efficient solution to be locally properly efficient in Borwein's sense. The primal and the dual conditions are formulated as an equivalent pair by means of the Tucker-type alternative results. Finally we give an example to illustrate that Borwein's locally properly efficient solution cannot be reduced to the only efficient one in the main results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with nonconvex nonsmooth uncertain multiobjective optimization problems, in which the decision variable of both objective and constraint functions is defined on Banach space while uncertain parameters are defined on arbitrary nonempty (may not be compact) sets. We employ the Stone–C̆ech compactification of uncertainty sets and the upper semicontinuous regularization of original functions with respect to uncertain parameters, giving rise to unified robust necessary optimality conditions for the local robust weakly efficient solution of the considered problem. Moreover, we derive weak and strong KKT robust necessary conditions via the constraint qualification and the regularity condition, respectively. Several examples are provided to illustrate the validity of our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/aims: Predicting the clinical outcomes of primary diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of the central nervous system (PCNS-DLBCL) to methotrexate-based combination immunochemotherapy treatment in advance and therefore administering the tailored treatment to the individual is consistent with the principle of predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine (PPPM/3PM). The red blood cell distribution width (RDW) has been reported to be associated with the clinical outcomes of multiple cancer. However, its prognostic role in PCNS-DLBCL is yet to be evaluated. Therefore, we aimed to effectively stratify PCNS-DLBCL patients with different prognosis in advance and early identify the patients who were appropriate to methotrexate-based combination immunochemotherapy based on the pretreatment level of RDW and a clinical prognostic model. Methods: A prospective–retrospective, multi-cohort study was conducted from 2010 to 2020. We evaluated RDW in 179 patients (retrospective discovery cohorts of Huashan Center and Renji Center and prospective validation cohort of Cancer Center) with PCNS-DLBCL treated with methotrexate-based combination immunochemotherapy. A generalized additive model with locally estimated scatterplot smoothing was used to identify the relationship between pretreatment RDW levels and clinical outcomes. The high vs low risk of RDW combined with MSKCC score was determined by a minimal P-value approach. The clinical outcomes in different groups were then investigated. Results: The pretreatment RDW showed a U-shaped relationship with the risk of overall survival (OS, P = 0.047). The low RDW (< 12.6) and high RDW (> 13.4) groups showed significantly worse OS (P < 0.05) and progression-free survival (PFS; P < 0.05) than the median group (13.4 > RDW > 12.6) in the discovery and validation cohort, respectively. RDW could predict the clinical outcomes successfully. In the discovery cohort, RDW achieved the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.9206 in predicting the clinical outcomes, and the predictive value (AUC = 0.7177) of RDW was verified in the validation cohort. In addition, RDW combined with MSKCC predictive model can distinguish clinical outcomes with the AUC of 0.8348 for OS and 0.8125 for PFS. Compared with the RDW and MSKCC prognosis variables, the RDW combined with MSKCC scores better identified a subgroup of patients with favorable long-term survival in the validation cohort (P < 0.001). RDW combined MSKCC score remained to be independently associated with clinical outcomes by multivariable analysis. Conclusions: Based on the pretreatment RDW and MSKCC scores, a novel predictive tool was established to stratify PCNS-DLBCL patients with different prognosis effectively. The predictive model developed accordingly is promising to judge the response of PCNS-DLBCL to methotrexate-based combination immunochemotherapy treatment. Thus, hematologists and oncologists could tailor and adjust therapeutic modalities by monitoring RDW in a prospective rather than the reactive manner, which could save medical expenditures and is a key concept in 3PM. In brief, RDW combined with MSKCC model could serve as an important tool for predicting the response to different treatment and the clinical outcomes for PCNS-DLBCL, which could conform with the principles of predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Characterization of fracture propagation morphology of multi-stage fracturing in horizontal wells in shale reservoirs is a challenging task, especially for complex volumetric fractures. Experimental conditions limit the applicability of experimental methods, so numerical simulation methods are often used to study fracture propagation. The numerical model has a slow simulation speed under the condition of engineering scale, and considering the complex fracture morphology and plasticity at the same time will increase the modeling difficulty and simulation computational cost. Therefore, it is urgent to propose a fast analytical model to predict the fracture propagation characteristics. In this study, the average fracture length and average fracture density were used to equivalently simplify the complex volumetric fracture morphology. Based on energy conservation and material balance, combined with the minimum action principle, an analytical model for rapid prediction of volumetric fracture propagation morphology considering elastoplasticity is established. The results showed that the average fracture length and average fracture density increase as a power exponential function with time, and their growth rate decreases with time. Through the orthogonal test analysis method, it is clarified that the net pressure in fracture is the main controlling factor affecting the fracture propagation morphology. The net pressure increased from 2 to 8 MPa, the dimensionless average fracture length increased from 3.2 to 4, and the average fracture density decreased from 4.3 to 2 after 200 s of fracture propagation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the efficient solution set for generalized vector quasi-equilibrium problems is investigated. By means of the linear scalarization method, we establish the path connectedness of the efficient solution set for generalized vector quasi-equilibrium problems under some suitable conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, an efficient estradiol-17β (E2)-induced feminization method was established based on the timing of early gonadal differentiation in Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). Histological section results showed that from 20 days post-hatch (dph) to 30 dph, the germ cells gradually differentiated into oogonium and spermatic deferent, respectively. Moreover, female-biased genes Foxl2 and Cyp19a1a were up-regulated to the first peak at 20 dph, while the male-biased genes Dmrt1 were up-regulated to the first peak at 30 dph. These results indicated that the timing of early gonadal differentiation in Largemouth bass was between 20 and 30 dph. Therefore, 15 dph Largemouth bass with a body length of 15.10 ± 0.09 mm were chosen, and four E2-treated diets were set as 0 (E0, control), 50 mg/kg E2 (E50), 100 mg/kg E2 (E100), and 200 mg/kg E2 (E200). After feeding with E2-treated diets for 60 days, female ratios were 55%, 100%, 100%, and 100% in E0, E50, E100, and E200 groups, respectively. No intersex fish were observed in all the groups. However, 30% of females in the E200 group possessed thinner ovaries, with smaller ovary cavity structures and a decreased number of primary oocyte cells than those in other groups. Besides, the Largemouth bass in the E0 group grew more than those in E50, E100, and E200 groups during the E2 treatments period (P < 0.05). In conclusion, our study suggested that 50–100 mg/kg E2-treated diets could effectively induce the feminization of 15 dph Largemouth bass within 60 days duration time, which provided valuable information for the breeding of the all-male Largemouth bass population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The depletion of Bacteroides in the gut is closely correlated with the progression of alcoholic liver disease (ALD). This study aimed to identify Bacteroides strains with protective effects against ALD and evaluate the synergistic effects of Bacteroides and pectin in this disease. Mice were fed Lieber-DeCarli alcohol diet to establish an experimental ALD model and pre-treated with 4 Bacteroides strains. The severity of the liver injury, hepatic steatosis, and inflammation was evaluated through histological and biochemical assays. We found that Bacteroides fragilis ATCC25285 had the best protective effects against ALD strains by alleviating both ethanol-induced liver injury and steatosis. B. fragilis ATCC25285 could counteract inflammatory reactions in ALD by producing short-chain fat acids (SCFAs) and enhancing the intestinal barrier. In the subsequent experiment, the synbiotic combination of B. fragilis ATCC25285 and pectin was evaluated and the underlying mechanisms were investigated by metabolomic and microbiome analyses. The combination elicited superior anti-ALD effects than the individual agents used alone. The synergistic effects of B. fragilis ATCC25285 and pectin were driven by modulating gut microbiota, improving tryptophan metabolism, and regulating intestinal immune function. Based on our findings, the combination of B. fragilis ATCC25285 and pectin can be considered a potential treatment for ALD. Key points: • B. fragilis ATCC25285 was identified as a protective Bacteroides strain against ALD. • The synbiotic combination of B. fragilis and pectin has better anti-ALD effects. • The synbiotic combination modulates gut microbiota and tryptophan metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relevance: Accumulating evidence suggests a dysfunction of the para-inflammation in the retinal ganglion cell layer and the optic nerve head in patients with glaucoma. Currently, circulating blood platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) are regarded as novel indicators of systemic inflammation. Biomarkers allow early identification of patients with visual field (VF) loss progression and timely implementation of replacement therapies. Objective: This study aimed to investigate whether higher inflammatory indices (PLR, NLR, and LMR) were associated with VF loss progression in patients with primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) for the predictive diagnostics, targeted prevention, and personalization of medical services. Methods: This prospective cohort study followed up 277 patients with PACG for at least 24 months, with clinical examination and VF testing every 6 months. Inflammatory cell quantification, including platelets, neutrophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes, was measured using the Sysmex XN-A1 automated inflammatory cells quantification system. Three systemic inflammatory indices, PLR, NLR, and LMR, were determined on the basis of baseline neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte, and platelet counts in patients with PACG. The risk factors for PACG were analyzed using logistic regression, Cox proportional hazards regression, and the Kaplan–Meier curve. Results: Our results revealed that 111 (40.07%) patients showed VF loss progression. The PLR was significantly higher (P = 0.046) in the progression group than in the non-progression group. A higher PLR (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.01–1.08, P = 0.004) was a risk factor for PACG progression. In multivariate analyses, PLR independently predicted VF loss progression (HR 1.01, 95% CI 1.00–1.01, P = 0.04). Kaplan–Meier curve analysis showed that higher PLR indicated significantly higher rates of VF loss progression (66.91% vs. 52.90%, P = 0.03). Comparable results were observed in the male and female subgroups. Conclusion: Our findings revealed the significant association between a high PLR and a greater risk of VF loss progression in patients with PACG. PLR may be highly recommended as a novel predictive/diagnostic tool for the assessment of VF loss progression from the perspectives of predictive, preventive, and personalized medicine in vulnerable populations and for individual screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) is an economically important species in China. Contrary to its rapidly increasing yield during the last decades, the domestic genetic diversity of largemouth bass has gradually declined. In this study, 37 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers were developed based on genotyping-by-sequencing data and characterized by genotyping 32 individuals using the PCR–restriction fragment length polymorphism method. The effective number of alleles (Ne), observed heterozygosity (Ho), expected heterozygosity (He), and polymorphic information content (PIC) of these SNPs ranged from 1.168 to 1.998, 0.156 to 0.844, 0.146 to 0.507, and 0.134 to 0.375, respectively. Totally, five loci deviated significantly from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (p < 0.05), while there existed no linkage disequilibrium at all loci. These novel polymorphic markers will lay the foundation for future rationally excavation and utilization of germplasm resources in M. salmoides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sample average approximation (SAA) approach for two-stage stochastic variational inequalities (SVIs) with continuous probability distributions, where the second-stage problems have multiple solutions, may not promise convergence assertions as the sample size tends to infinity. In this paper, a regularized SAA approach is proposed to numerically solve a class of two-stage SVIs with continuous probability distributions, where the second-stage problems are monotone and allowed to have multiple solutions. We first give some structural properties. After that, the convergence analysis of the regularized SAA approach for two-stage SVIs is investigated as the regularization parameter tends to zero and the sample size tends to infinity. Finally, we employ the progressive hedging algorithm to report some numerical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to study second-order optimality conditions for a set-valued optimization problem with set criterion, where the order relation is induced by a set belong to a class of specific coradiant sets and is not necessarily a preorder. We introduce a notion of generalized second-order radial set, different from the classical second-order radial set, it is defined on a set, not on a point. Using the generalized second-order radial set, we introduce a new type of generalized second-order radial derivatives for set-valued maps and apply them to establish some necessary and sufficient conditions for the lower strict minimal solution of the set optimization problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, active and arousal elements of emotion associated with acute stress were systematically investigated with respect to the relations between the brain activity and autonomic nervous system. In this regard, we examined the differences in short-term heart rate variability (HRV) with respect to time-frequency domain characteristics, nonlinear features, and heart rhythm patterns, when breathing volitionally in a resonant frequency (RF) respiratory with International Affective Picture Systems (IAPS) triggered negative stimulus. In this regard, a sample-based event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (efMRI) experiments were performed to verify the dynamic changes in brain lateralisation, and 105 healthy right-handed subjects participated in the HRV study while eight of them were randomly chosen to perform small sample based efMRI test. The experimental results suggest that when experiencing negative emotions, RF-based volitional breathing is sufficient to facilitate coherence of autonomic nervous system (ANS) performance, and shifted the brain activation toward left lateralized neural activity. In combination with the previous research on cerebral correlates of emotion, this study validated the feasibility of applying HRV biofeedback in the regulation of negative emotion in healthcare settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several ocular factors have been identified for primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG), such as a small cornea, elevated intraocular pressure (IOP), shallow anterior chamber, and short axial length (AL). However, the relationship between the severity of PACG and various ocular parameters [IOP, anterior chamber depth, AL, central corneal thickness] is not fully understood. Methods: A 7-year cross-sectional study. A total of 2254 eyes of 1312 PACG patients (females = 856 [1479 eyes] and males = 456 [775 eyes]) were included. A detailed eye examination was performed. The participants were categorized into gender subgroups followed by subdivision into three different severity groups according to their mean deviation (MD) of the visual fields results as follows: mild (MD ≤ 6 dB), moderate (MD 6–12 dB), and severe (MD > 12 dB) PACG. The associations of ocular biometry with severity of PACG were analyzed using paired Student's t test, multivariate linear regression, and logistic regression analysis. Results: There was a significant positive correlation between the MD and AL in the female subgroup (B = 0.663, p = 0.001, 95%CI = 1.070 to 1.255) but not in the male subgroup. Increased AL levels (mild [OR = 1], moderate [OR = 1.047, p = 0.062, 95%CI = 0.947 to 2.462], and severe [OR = 1.274, p < 0.001, 95%CI = 1.114 to 1.457]) were only associated with the severity of PACG in females. Paired Student's t tests showed that the long AL female eyes have a higher MD value than in the short AL female eyes (mean difference = 3.09, t = 6.846, p < 0.001) in the same subjects, but not in the male subgroup (p = 0.648). Conclusions: The AL was positively and significantly related to the severity of PACG in female but not male subjects. This finding refers to the PACG pathogenesis and suggests the use of AL assessment in glaucoma monitoring, diagnosis, and progression. This may contribute to further development of personalized strategies in preventive medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, strong Karush/Kuhn–Tucker conditions are studied for smooth multiobjective optimization with inequality constraints. We introduce a new second-order regularity condition of Abadie type in terms of the second-order directional derivatives and then obtain a second-order strong Karush/Kuhn–Tucker necessary condition at a Borwein-properly efficient solution. Simultaneously, we also use an example to show that, if the Abadie type regularity condition is weakened to the Guignard type one, the second-order strong Karush/Kuhn–Tucker necessary condition may not hold. Finally, then we also apply the second-order strong Karush/Kuhn–Tucker conditions to derive a sufficient result for local Geoffrion-proper efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we introduce a sequential approximate strong Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (ASKKT) condition for a multiobjective optimization problem with inequality constraints. We show that each local efficient solution satisfies the ASKKT condition, but weakly efficient solutions may not satisfy it. Subsequently, we use a so-called cone-continuity regularity (CCR) condition to guarantee that the limit of an ASKKT sequence converges to an SKKT point. Finally, under the appropriate assumptions, we show that the ASKKT condition is also a sufficient condition of properly efficient points for convex multiobjective optimization problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the separations and optimality conditions for the optimal solution defined by the improvement set of a constrained multiobjective optimization problem. We introduce a vector-valued regular weak separation function and a scalar weak separation function via a nonlinear scalarization function defined in terms of an improvement set. The nonlinear separation between the image of the multiobjective optimization problem and an improvement set in the image space is established by the scalar weak separation function. Saddle point type optimality conditions for the optimal solution of the multiobjective optimization problem are established, respectively, by the nonlinear and linear separation methods. We also obtain the relationships between the optimal solution and approximate efficient solution of the multiobjective optimization problem. Finally, sufficient and necessary conditions for the (regular) linear separation between the approximate image of the multiobjective optimization problem and a convex cone are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Image space analysis is a new tool for studying scalar and vector constrained extremum problems as well as generalized systems. In the last decades, the introduction of image space analysis has shown that the image space associated with the given problem provides a natural environment for the Lagrange theory of multipliers and that separation arguments turn out to be a fundamental mathematical tool for explaining, developing and improving such a theory. This work, with its 3 parts, aims at contributing to describe the state-of-the-art of image space analysis for constrained optimization and to stress that it allows us to unify and generalize the several topics of optimization. In this 1st part, after a short introduction of such an analysis, necessary and sufficient optimality conditions are treated. Duality and penalization are the contents of the 2nd part. The 3rd part deals with generalized systems, in particular, variational inequalities and Ky Fan inequalities. Some further developments are discussed in all the parts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Part I, sufficient and necessary optimality conditions and the image regularity conditions of constrained scalar and vector extremum problems are reviewed for Image Space Analysis. Part II presents the main feature of the duality and penalization of constrained scalar and vector extremum problems by virtue of Image Space Analysis. In the light, as said in Part I and Part II, to describe the state of Image Space Analysis for constrained optimization, and to stress that it allows us to unify and generalize the several topics of Optimization, in this Part III, we continue to give an exhaustive literature review on separation functions, gap functions and error bounds for generalized systems. Part III also throws light on some research gaps and concludes with the scope of future research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the light, as said in Part I, of showing the main feature of image space analysis—to unify and generalize the several topics of optimization—we continue, in Part II, considering duality and penalization. In the literature, they are distinct sectors of optimization and, as far as we know, they have nothing in common. Here it is shown that they can be derived by the same “root.” [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we introduce a new type of vector topical function. It contains some other categories of topical functions as special cases and can be interpreted as weak separation functions in image space analysis. We establish its envelope result and investigate its properties in the frame of abstract convexity. Then, we present the corresponding conjugation and subdifferential, and observe the relationships among these concepts. Finally, as applications, we obtain some dual results for some vector optimization, where the object is expressed as the difference of vector topical functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Poynting-Thomson creep model is one of the classical combined creep models; however, it fails to demonstrate the plastic creep and the accelerated creep stage, which limit the popularization and the use of the model. The New Poynting-Thomson (NP-T) creep model is established to enhance the existing Poynting-Thomson creep model by the damage theory and the viscoplastic unit in this paper. On the basis of deducing its constitutive equation in three-dimensional finite difference form, The NP-T creep model is secondarily developed by using Visual C language and FLAC built-in FISH language. The results of a parameter inversion indicate the superiority of the NP-T creep model that can be applied in non-uniform stress field. After validating its accuracy by the FLAC software, the NP-T creep model is used in a numerical simulation to reflect that the roadway stability is gradually weakened with the increase of the surrounding soft rock thickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose weak separation functions in the image space for general constrained vector optimization problems on strong and weak vector minimum points. Gerstewitz function is applied to construct a special class of nonlinear separation functions as well as the corresponding generalized Lagrangian functions. By virtue of such nonlinear separation functions, we derive Lagrangian-type sufficient optimality conditions in a general context. Especially for nonconvex problems, we establish Lagrangian-type necessary optimality conditions under suitable restriction conditions, and we further deduce Karush-Kuhn-Tucker necessary conditions in terms of Clarke subdifferentials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growth is one of the most crucial economic traits of all aquaculture species, but the molecular mechanisms involved in growth of largemouth bass ( Micropterus salmoides) are poorly understood. The objective of this study was to screen growth-related genes of M. salmoides by RNA sequencing and identify growth-related single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers through a growth association study. The muscle transcriptomes of fast- and slow-growing largemouth bass were obtained using the RNA-Seq technique. A total of 54,058,178 and 54,742,444 qualified Illumina read pairs were obtained for the fast-growing and slow-growing groups, respectively, giving rise to 4,865,236,020 and 4,926,819,960 total clean bases, respectively. Gene expression profiling showed that 3,530 unigenes were differentially expressed between the fast-growing and slow-growing phenotypes (false discovery rate ≤0.001, the absolute value of log (fold change) ≥1), including 1,441 up-regulated and 2,889 down-regulated unigenes in the fast-growing largemouth bass. Analysis of these genes revealed that several signalling pathways, including the growth hormone-insulin-like growth factor 1 axis and signalling pathway, the glycolysis pathway, and the myostatin/transforming growth factor beta signalling pathway, as well as heat shock protein, cytoskeleton, and myofibril component genes might be associated with muscle growth. From these genes, 10 genes with putative SNPs were selected, and 17 SNPs were genotyped successfully. Marker-trait analysis in 340 individuals of Youlu No. 1 largemouth bass revealed three SNPs associated with growth in key genes (phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 1, FOXO3b, and heat shock protein beta-1). This research provides information about key genes and SNPs related to growth, providing new clues to understanding the molecular basis of largemouth bass growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method of convex combined expectations of the least absolute deviation and least squares about the so-called regularized gap function is proposed for solving nonlinear stochastic variational inequality problems (for short, NSVIP). The NSVIP is formulated as a weighted expected residual minimization problem (in short, WERM) in this way. Moreover, we present a discrete approximation of WERM problem by applying the quasi-Monte Carlo method when the sample space is compact, and a compact approximation approach for the case that the sample space is noncompact. The limiting behaviors of optimal solutions of the discrete approximation problem and the compact approximation are also analyzed, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a new spectral gradient method for removing impulse noise in the second phase of the two-phase method. An attractive property of the proposed method is that the search direction satisfies the sufficient descent property at each iteration, which is independent of any line search. Under Armijo-type line search, the global convergence of the proposed method is simplify established for general smooth functions. The preliminary numerical experiments are given to indicate the efficiency of the proposed method for impulse noise removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the oriented distance function, a linear weak separation function and three nonlinear regular weak separation functions are introduced in reflexive Banach spaces. Particularly, a nonlinear regular weak separation function does not involve any parameters. Moreover, theorems of the weak alternative for vector variational-like inequalities with constraints are derived by the separation functions without any convexity. Saddle-point conditions, which show the equivalence between the existence of a saddle point and a (linear) nonlinear separation of two suitable subsets of the image space, are established for the linear and nonlinear regular weak separation functions, respectively. Necessary and sufficient optimality conditions for vector variational-like inequalities with constraints are also obtained via the saddle-point conditions. Finally, two gap functions for vector variational-like inequalities with constraints and their continuity are derived by using the image space analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage still has a high mortality and morbidity despite notable advances in surgical approaches to cerebral aneurysm (CA). We examined the role of aspirin in vascular inflammation and degeneration. CA was induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats by ligating left common carotid artery and bilateral posterior renal arteries with or without aspirin treatment. The right anterior cerebral artery/olfactory artery (ACA/OA) bifurcations were stripped and assessed morphologically after Verhoeff's Van Gieson staining. Blood sample was obtained to examine circulating CD34 CD133 endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), platelet aggregation and platelet counts. Macrophages infiltration in aneurysmal wall was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 and 9 (MMP-2 and 9), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), macrophage chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) was examined by RT-PCR. 2 months after CA induction, surgically treated rats manifested aneurysmal degeneration in ACA/OA bifurcations. Aspirin-treated rats exhibited a significant decrease in degradation of internal elastic lamina (IEL), medial layer thinning, CA size and macrophages infiltration with reduced expression of MMP-2 and 9 compared with rats in the CA group. RT-PCR demonstrated that the upregulation of NF-κB, MCP-1 and VCAM-1 after CA induction was reversed by aspirin treatment. Aspirin treatment following CA induction increased circulating EPCs to near control levels and reduced platelet aggregation without changing platelet counts. The evidence suggested that aspirin significantly reduced degeneration of aneurysm walls by inhibiting macrophages-mediated chronic inflammation and mobilizing EPCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) has a wide range of biological functions. We cloned the full-length cDNAs encoding PACAP and PACAP-related peptide (PRP) from the brain of largemouth bass ( Micropterus salmoides) and used real-time quantitative PCR to detect PRP-PACAP mRNA expression. The PRP-PACAP cDNA has two variants expressed via alternative splicing: a long form, which encodes both PRP and PACAP, and a short form, which encodes only PACAP. Sequence analysis results are consistent with a higher conservation of PACAP than PRP peptide sequences. The expression of PACAP-long and PACAP-short transcripts was highest in the forebrain, followed by the medulla, midbrain, pituitary, stomach, cerebellum, intestine, and kidney; however, these transcripts were either absent or were weakly expressed in the muscle, spleen, gill, heart, fatty tissue, and liver. The level of PACAP-short transcript expression was significantly higher than expression of the long transcript in the forebrain, cerebella, pituitary and intestine, but lower than that of the long transcript in the stomach. PACAP-long and PACAP-short transcripts were first detected at the blastula stage of embryogenesis, and the level of expression increased markedly between the muscular contraction stage and 3 d post hatch (dph). The expression of PACAP-long and PACAP-short transcripts decreased significantly in the brain following 4 d fasting compared with the control diet group. The down-regulation effect was enhanced as fasting continued. Conversely, expression levels increased significantly after 3 d of re-feeding. Our results suggest that PRP-PACAP acts as an important factor in appetite regulation in largemouth bass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Icotinib is the first oral epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase receptor inhibitor, which has been proven to exert significant inhibitory effects on non-small cell lung cancer in vitro. Clinical evidence has showed that the efficacy of Icotinib on retreating advanced non-small cell lung cancer is comparable to Gefitinib. However, different phenotypes of EGFR can affect the therapeutic outcomes of EGFR tyrosine kinase receptor inhibitor. Therefore, our study focused on efficacy and safety of Icotinib in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer of different EGPR phenotypes. Clinical data of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer who received Icotinib treatment from August, 2011 to May, 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used for survival analysis and comparison. 18 wild-type EGFR and 51 mutant type were found in a total of 69 patients. Objective response rate of patients with mutant type EGFR was 54.9 % and disease control rate was 86.3 %. Objective response rate of wild-type patients was 11.1 % ( P = 0.0013 vs mutant type), disease control rate was 50.0 % ( P = 0.0017). Median progression-free survival (PFS) of mutant type and wild-type patients were 9.7 and 2.6 months, respectively ( P < 0.001). Median PFS of exon 19 mutated mutant patients was 11.3 months, mean PFS of exon 21 L858R mutated mutant patients was 8.7 months ( P = 0.3145). Median overall survival (OS) of EGFR mutated patients had not reached. OS time of 13 wild-type patients was 12.9 months ( P < 0.001). The common adverse reactions of Icotinib included rash, diarrhea, itching skin with occurrence rates of 24.6 % (17/69), 13.0 % (9/69), and 11.6 % (8/69), respectively. Most adverse reactions were grade I-II. Icotinib has great efficacy in EGFR mutated patients, making it an optimal regimen to treat EGFR mutated patients. Furthermore, most of adverse reactions associated with Icotinib treatment were tolerable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the potential antibiotic resistance capability of cultured human colonic microbiota as a whole system when residual antibiotics enter the human intestine, the combination of viable cell counting and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) method was used to study effects of the enrofloxacin (ENR) residue on the microbial diversity, antibiotic resistance, and anti-colonization capability in a human chemostat model. The results indicated that the ENR enhanced the microbial antibiotic resistance to the ciprofloxacin (CI), and a dose-dependent effect was observed. When exposed to 1.25 μg/mL ENR, the growth of the tested bacteria (e.g., total aerobic bacteria, total anaerobic bacteria, Lactobacillus, Enterococci, Escherichia coli, Bacteroides fragilis) received little change, while the microbial diversity in this group was totally changed; In 12.5- and 125-μg/mL ENR group, the quantities and microbial diversity received a dramatic change compared to their no drug stage, while the addition of the cultured human colonic microbiota to the probiotic group did enhance the colonization resistance (CR) of the cultured microbiota to Candida albicans SC5314, indicating its potential beneficial effect on human intestinal healthy and anti-infection capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]