The gut microbiota has been linked to cardiovascular diseases. However, the composition and functional capacity of the gut microbiome in relation to cardiovascular diseases have not been systematically examined. Here, we perform a metagenome-wide association study on stools from 218 individuals with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ACVD) and 187 healthy controls. The ACVD gut microbiome deviates from the healthy status by increased abundance of Enterobacteriaceae and Streptococcus spp. and, functionally, in the potential for metabolism or transport of several molecules important for cardiovascular health. Although drug treatment represents a confounding factor, ACVD status, and not current drug use, is the major distinguishing feature in this cohort. We identify common themes by comparison with gut microbiome data associated with other cardiometabolic diseases (obesity and type 2 diabetes), with liver cirrhosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Our data represent a comprehensive resource for further investigations on the role of the gut microbiome in promoting or preventing ACVD as well as other related diseases.

The inflammatory intestinal disorder Crohn's disease (CD) has become a health challenge worldwide. The gut microbiota closely interacts with the host immune system, but its functional impact in CD is unclear. Except for studies on a small number of CD patients, analyses of the gut microbiota in CD have used 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing. Here we employed metagenomic shotgun sequencing to provide a detailed characterization of the compositional and functional features of the CD microbiota, comprising also unannotated bacteria, and investigated its modulation by exclusive enteral nutrition. Based on signature taxa, CD microbiotas clustered into 2 distinct metacommunities, indicating individual variability in CD microbiome structure. Metacommunity-specific functional shifts in CD showed enrichment in producers of the pro-inflammatory hexa-acylated lipopolysaccharide variant and a reduction in the potential to synthesize short-chain fatty acids. Disruption of ecological networks was evident in CD, coupled with reduction in growth rates of many bacterial species. Short-term exclusive enteral nutrition elicited limited impact on the overall composition of the CD microbiota, although functional changes occurred following treatment. The microbiotas in CD patients can be stratified into 2 distinct metacommunities, with the most severely perturbed metacommunity exhibiting functional potentials that deviate markedly from that of the healthy individuals, with possible implication in relation to CD pathogenesis.

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Globalization, servitization, and customization in the marketplace are changing the way manufacturing enterprises do their business. Cloud manufacturing (CMfg) offers a possibility to perform large-scale manufacturing collaboration. However, CMfg systems are immature in many aspects. Service selection and scheduling is a key issue for practical implementation of CMfg. In this paper, a service selection and scheduling model is established, with criteria TQCS (time, quality, cost, and service) being considered. A fuzzy decision-making theory is adopted to transform TQCS values into relative superiority degrees. This is different from the traditional linear weighted method in most previous research, which results in large values of non-standardization error. The four relative superiority degrees are then combined linearly into an overall objective, in which the weight coefficients are calculated through analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Afterwards, ant colony optimization (ACO) is repurposed for the established service selection and scheduling model. Meanwhile, a selection mechanism is added to ACO (now ACOS) to enhance its validity. The simulation results demonstrate the practicality of the proposed model and the effectiveness of ACOS compared with other widely used algorithms.

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The effectiveness of a comprehensive schistosomiasis japonica control program implemented in 8 villages along the Yangtze river in Jiangsu province from 2005 to 2008 was studied. Control measures included snail control, chemotherapy of humans and livestock, health education, and transmission cycle interruption using sanitation in dwellings and at anchorage sites for fishermen and sailors. The Schistosoma japonicum prevalence among residents and livestock, the total area of snail habitats, the Oncomelania hupensis snail density, and the percentage of infected snails served as indicators for the effectiveness of the control efforts. After 4 years of program implementation, the seroprevalence in humans had decreased from 9.03% to 3.24% (P < 0.001) and the parasitological prevalence among males had decreased from 0.42% to 0.12% (P = 0.004). Among females, it remained stable at a low level. The S. japonicum prevalence in livestock had decreased from 2.94% to 0% (P < 0.001). Additionally, the area where infected snails could be found had shrunk from 89.99 hectares (ha) to 16.00 ha, the snail density had decreased from 0.56 to 0.32 per 0.1m(2), and the percentage of infected snails had dropped from 0.38% to 0.12% (all P < 0.001). The results demonstrate that an integrated schistosomiasis japonica control strategy focusing on the main transmission cycles and reservoirs and combines chemotherapy, infrastructure interventions and health education combined with robust surveillance is feasible and allows to effectively control S. japonicum.