Convergence Properties for Asymptotically almost Negatively Associated Sequence

We get the strong law of large numbers, strong growth rate, and the integrability of supremum for the partial sums of asymptotically almost negatively associated sequence. In addition, the complete convergence for weighted sums of asymptotically almost negatively associated sequences is also studied

Complete Convergence for Moving Average Process of Martingale Differences

Under some simple conditions, by using some techniques such as truncated method for random variables (see e.g., Gut (2005)) and properties of martingale differences, we studied the moving process based on martingale differences and obtained complete convergence and complete moment convergence for this moving process. Our results extend some related ones

Quorum sensing LuxS/autoinducer-2 inhibits Enterococcus faecalis biofilm formation ability

Objective:  To investigate the relation between biofilm formation ability and quorum sensing gene LuxS/AI-2. Materials and Methods: Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) standard strain ATCC 29212 was used in the study. Long flanking homology polymerase chain reaction method was used to build the LuxS gene knockout strain. Sequential culture turbidity measurement and CFU counting were used to assess the proliferation ability of E. faecalis after the depletion of LuxS. 96-well plate assay was used to quantify the biofilm formation ability; CLSM was used to observe the attached bacteria areas, while scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was performed to observe biofilm microstructure conditions. Results: LuxS gene knockout strains were successfully constructed and identified. The results showed that proliferation ability of E. faecalis was not affected by the depletion of the luxS gene, and the biofilm formation ability of ΔLuxS 29212 significantly decreased (P<0.05). Conclusions: Collectively, our studies provide the LuxS gene's key role in controlling biofilm formation of E. faecalis, which presented a negative regulation, and furthermore, providing us a possible way to conquer the persistent apical periodontitis

Les harraga algériens

Des Algériens, principalement des jeunes hommes, tentent de quitter leur pays, sans passeport ni visa, sur des barques, au péril de leur vie. En dialecte maghrébin, on nomme ces candidats à l’émigration harraga (les “brûleurs”), car ils “brûlent” les frontières et les étapes nécessaires à une migration légale. En outre, s’ils arrivent en Europe, ils détruisent, ils “brûlent” leurs papiers d’identité pour tenter d’échapper à l’expulsion. Après les hittistes des années 1980 et ceux qui ont rejoint les groupes islamistes armés durant le conflit des années 1990, les harraga sont érigés au rang de figure symbolisant le désespoir de la jeunesse algérienne durant les années 2000. Ils sont invoqués comme preuve ultime des dysfonctionnements qui touchent le pays. (Premier paragraphe

The roles of environmental variation and spatial distance in explaining diversity and biogeography of soil denitrifying communities in remote Tibetan wetlands

The relative importance of local environments and dispersal limitation in shaping denitrifier community structure remains elusive. Here, we collected soils from 36 riverine, lacustrine and palustrine wetland sites on the remote Tibetan Plateau and characterized the soil denitrifier communities using high-throughput amplicon sequencing of the nirS and nirK genes. Results showed that the richness of nirS-type denitrifiers in riverine wetlands was significantly higher than that in lacustrine wetlands but not significantly different from that in palustrine wetlands. There was no clear distinction in nir community composition among the three kinds of wetlands. Irrespective of wetland type, the soil denitrification rate was positively related to the abundance, but not the α-diversity, of denitrifying communities. Soil moisture, carbon availability and soil temperature were the main determinants of diversity [operational taxonomic unit (OTU) number] and abundance of thenirS-type denitrifier community, while water total organic carbon, soil NO3- and soil moisture were important in controlling nirK-type denitrifier diversity and abundance. The nirS community composition was influenced by water electrical conductivity, soil temperature and water depth, while the nirK community composition was affected by soil electrical conductivity. Spatial distance explained more variation in the nirS community composition than in the nirK community composition. Our findings highlight the importance of both environmental filtering and spatial distance in explaining diversity and biogeography of soil nir communities in remote and relatively undisturbed wetlands.</p

Microplastics provide new microbial niches in aquatic environments

Microplastics in the biosphere are currently of great environmental concern because of their potential toxicity for aquatic biota and human health and association with pathogenic microbiota. Microplastics can occur in high abundance in all aquatic environments, including oceans, rivers and lakes. Recent findings have highlighted the role of microplastics as important vectors for microorganisms, which can form fully developed biofilms on this artificial substrate. Microplastics therefore provide new microbial niches in the aquatic environment, and the developing biofilms may significantly differ in microbial composition compared to natural free-living or particle-associated microbial populations in the surrounding water. In this article, we discuss the composition and ecological function of the microbial communities found in microplastic biofilms. The potential factors that influence the richness and diversity of such microbial microplastic communities are also evaluated. Microbe-microbe and microbe-substrate interactions in microplastic biofilms have been little studied and are not well understood. Multiomics tools together with morphological, physiological and biochemical analyses should be combined to provide a more comprehensive overview on the ecological role of microplastic biofilms. These new microbial niches have so far unknown consequences for microbial ecology and environmental processes in aquatic ecosystems. More knowledge is required on the microbial community composition of microplastic biofilms and their ecological functions in order to better evaluate consequences for the environment and animal health, including humans, especially since the worldwide abundance of microplastics is predicted to dramatically increase