Associations between spinal flexibility and bracing outcomes in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: a literature review.

Objectives: To identify the existing assessment methods used to measure the spinal flexibility of adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis before bracing and to evaluate the predictive effect of spinal flexibility on bracing outcomes.

Methods: A broad literature search was performed in the PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, CINAHL, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases to obtain relevant information about spinal flexibility and bracing outcomes. All literature was retrieved by October 14, 2023.

Community structure and niche differentiation of endosphere bacterial microbiome in .

Microorganisms inhabited various tissues of plants and play a key role in promoting plant growth, nutritional absorption, and resistance. Our research indicates that the diversity of endophytic bacterial communities is highly dependent on the plant compartment. , , , , , , and are dominant bacteria phyla.

Neuroinflammation mediates noise-induced synaptic imbalance and tinnitus in rodent models.

Hearing loss is a major risk factor for tinnitus, hyperacusis, and central auditory processing disorder. Although recent studies indicate that hearing loss causes neuroinflammation in the auditory pathway, the mechanisms underlying hearing loss-related pathologies are still poorly understood. We examined neuroinflammation in the auditory cortex following noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) and its role in tinnitus in rodent models.

Blast Exposure Disrupts the Tonotopic Frequency Map in the Primary Auditory Cortex.

Blast exposure can cause various auditory disorders including tinnitus, hyperacusis, and other central auditory processing disorders. While this is suggestive of pathologies in the central auditory system, the impact of blast exposure on central auditory processing remains poorly understood. Here we examined the effects of blast shockwaves on acoustic response properties and the tonotopic frequency map in the auditory cortex.

Early treatment of minocycline alleviates white matter and cognitive impairments after chronic cerebral hypoperfusion.

Subcortical ischemic vascular dementia (SIVD) caused by chronic cerebral hypoperfusion develops with progressive white matter and cognitive impairments, yet no effective therapy is available. We investigated the temporal effects of minocycline on an experimental SIVD exerted by right unilateral common carotid arteries occlusion (rUCCAO). Minocycline treated at the early stage (day 0-3), but not the late stage after rUCCAO (day 4-32) alleviated the white matter and cognitive impairments, and promoted remyelination.

Developmental expression of chicken FOXN1 and putative target genes during feather development.

FOXN1 is a member of the forkhead box family of transcription factors. FOXN1 is crucial for hair outgrowth and thymus differentiation in mammals. Unlike the thymus, which is found in all amniotes, hair is an epidermal appendage that arose after the last shared common ancestor between mammals and birds, and hair and feathers differ markedly in their differentiation and gene expression.

Toxic effects of atrazine on reproductive system of male rats.

Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the toxic effects of Atrazine (ATZ) on the reproductive system of male rats.

Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to ATZ by gavage at dosages of 0, 38.5, 77, and 154 mg/kg bw/day for 30 d.

Novel species including Mycobacterium fukienense sp. is found from tuberculosis patients in Fujian Province, China, using phylogenetic analysis of Mycobacterium chelonae/abscessus complex.

Objective: To identify the novel species 'Mycobacterium fukienense' sp. nov of Mycobacterium chelonae/abscessus complex from tuberculosis patients in Fujian Province, China.

Methods: Five of 27 clinical Mycobacterium isolates (Cls) were previously identified as M.

Immunotoxicity of atrazine in Balb/c mice.

The present study was designed to investigate the immunotoxicity of atrazine (ATZ) in male Balb/c mice. ATZ (175, 87.5, and 43.

Impaired development and competitive refinement of the cortical frequency map in tumor necrosis factor-α-deficient mice.

Early experience shapes sensory representations in a critical period of heightened plasticity. This adaptive process is thought to involve both Hebbian and homeostatic synaptic plasticity. Although Hebbian plasticity has been investigated as a mechanism for cortical map reorganization, less is known about the contribution of homeostatic plasticity.

Homeostatic plasticity drives tinnitus perception in an animal model.

Hearing loss often results in tinnitus and auditory cortical map changes, leading to the prevailing view that the phantom perception is associated with cortical reorganization. However, we show here that tinnitus is mediated by a cortical area lacking map reorganization. High-frequency hearing loss results in two distinct cortical regions: a sensory-deprived region characterized by a decrease in inhibitory synaptic transmission and a normal hearing region showing increases in inhibitory and excitatory transmission and map reorganization.

Expression and characterization of Gag protein of HIV-1(CN) in Pichia pastoris.

To express the core protein of HIV-1 of Chinese prevalent strain (HIV-1(CN)) in Pichia pastoris, the full-length gag gene was inserted into the secretory expression vector pHILS1. Linearized recombinant plasmid pHILGAG by SalI was electrotransformed into the yeast strain GS115, and the yeast transformants were identified by PCR. To induce the interest protein to be expressed, the PCR positive transformants were inoculated in the medium of BMGY and BMMY, mRNA of the strain was detected by RT-PCR, and the expressed protein was analyzed by SDS-PAGE, Western blotting and thin layer scanning.

Genotoxicity of microcystin-LR in human lymphoblastoid TK6 cells.

Toxic cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) water blooms have become a serious problem in several industrialized areas of the world. Microcystin-LR (MCLR) is a cyclic heptapeptidic toxin produced by the cyanobacteria. In the present study, we used human lymphoblastoid cell line TK6 to investigate the in vitro genotoxicity of MCLR.