Intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) is a common contributor for low back pain, which is featured by loss of extracellular matrix and nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs). Hence, our current study is undertaken to explore the potential mechanism of NPC apoptosis during IVDD. Transcription factor Dp-1 (TFDP1) expression in degenerative and non-degenerative intervertebral disc tissues was analyzed by bioinformatics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTaste and odor (T/O) compounds are a global threat in drinking water, mainly produced by cyanobacteria in freshwater environments. Temperature plays a crucial role in regulating geosmin dynamics in temperate and subtropical lakes, while its influence may be lower in tropical waters. To better understand the factors affecting geosmin occurrence in tropical waters, a dataset from a field investigation conducted in a large tropical reservoir was analyzed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFParticle-attached bacterial (PAB) communities play pivotal roles in water organic matter decomposition, nutrient cycling, and the natural self-purification processes. However, we know little about their responses to seasonal environmental fluctuations, under eutrophication in reservoir ecosystems. In this study, we studied the shifts of PAB communities to seasonal environmental fluctuations in tropical China.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The psychosocial impact of dental aesthetics (PIDA) has a significant effect on well-being and quality of life. This study aimed to explore the latent heterogeneous classes of the PIDA among adolescents and investigate the relationships among identified subtypes and sociodemographic variables, the status of left-behind children, and the clinical manifestations of malocclusion.
Methods: A cross-sectional study on the PIDA among 1451 adolescents aged 11 to 12 years in elementary schools in a rural area in Guangxi, China, was conducted.
Objectives: The aim was to assess the associations between the LTF, MMP20, CA6, and TAS1R2 polymorphisms and caries in the Zhuang population and explore the underlying mechanism of the impact of lactoferrin on caries susceptibility.
Methods: A case-control study of 315 adolescents was conducted in Guangxi, China, from May-November 2022. Data were collected through oral examinations and questionnaires.
The current study examined the relationship between mothers' selfie-related behaviors and adolescents' cosmetic surgery consideration, as well as the mediating effects of the adolescents' selfie-related behaviors, body surveillance, and facial dissatisfaction. A total of 541 mother-child dyads with adolescents averaging 16.55 years old, was recruited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Malocclusion, a common oral health problem in children, is associated with several contributing factors. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of mixed dentition stage malocclusion and its contributing factors in Chinese Zhuang children aged 7-8 years.
Methods: Overall, 2,281 Zhuang children, about 7-8 years old, were randomly selected using a stratified whole-cluster sampling method from schools in counties in Northwestern Guangxi, China.
The Bering-Chukchi shelf is one of the world's most productive areas and characterized by high benthic biomass. Sedimentary microbial communities play a crucial role in the remineralization of organic matter and associated biogeochemical cycles, reflecting both short-term changes in the environment and more consistent long-term environmental characteristics in a given habitat. In order to get a better understanding of the community structure of sediment-associated prokaryotes, surface sediments were collected from 26 stations in the Bering-Chukchi shelf and adjacent northern deep seas in this study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDwarfing is an important agronomic trait in fruit breeding. At present, dwarf cultivars or dwarfing rootstocks are used for high-density planting. Although some dwarf rootstocks have been used in the cultivation of pear (Pyrus bretschneideri Rehd), the breeding of dwarf pear rootstocks or cultivars is still sorely lacking.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContext: Abnormalities in the meiosis process after sperm-egg union can cause fetal chromosome aneuploidy. The rate of birth defects and the mortality of fetuses with chromosome aneuploidy is significantly higher than that of fetuses with normal chromosomes. Both ultrasound and quantitative fluorescence polymerase chain reaction (QF-PCR) have limitations when used singly, but their combined use may provide better diagnoses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContext: Gualou Guizhi decoction (GLGZD) is an ancient Chinese classical prescription widely used to treat ischemic stroke. However, the molecular mechanisms of GLGZD promoting angiogenesis are unavailable.
Objective: This study investigates the angiogenesis effect of GLGZD as well as its mechanism.
Additional effective therapeutic strategies for Type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients are urgently needed Gut microbiota plays an important role in T2D development and is a promising treatment strategy for T2D patients. Faecalibacterium prausnitzii () is regarded as one of the most important bacterial indicators for a healthy gut, but the mechanisms of its anti-diabetic properties are still unclear. The abundance of in feces of patients with T2D was detected by using qPCR.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDuration perception can be heavily distorted owing to repetitive exposure to a relatively long or short sensory event, often causing a duration aftereffect. Here, we used a novel procedure to show that adaptations to both single and average durations produced the duration aftereffect. Participants completed a duration reproduction task (Experiment 1) or a duration category rating task (Experiment 2) after long-term adaptations to a stimulus of medium duration and to stimuli of averagely medium duration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Electro-acupuncture (EA) has promising effects on diastasis rectus abdominis (DRA), defined as a separation of the two muscle bellies of rectus abdominis. To study, there is scant knowledge or scarce high-quality evidence.
Objective: We aimed to evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of EA in treating DRA during postpartum.
The southern Chinese coast is one of the most developed regions in China and is an area where harmful algal blooms (HABs) have occurred frequently. In this study, differences in the phytoplankton community between microscopic observations and 18S rDNA metabarcoding were compared in 89 surface water samples collected from the southern Chinese coast and the western South China Sea (SCS). This is the first report investigating the phytoplankton community and HAB species using a combination of morphological and metabarcoding approaches in this sea area.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOccurring worldwide, blooms of Raphidiopsis raciborskii threaten the use of water resources especially in tropical and subtropical waterbodies. Its high flexibility in the uses of light and macronutrients (C, N, P) frustrates any bloom prediction and control based on macronutrients regulation. To identify the critical factors promoting periodic blooms of R.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNutrient storage is considered a critical strategy for algal species to adapt to a fluctuating nutrient supply. Luxury phosphorus (P) uptake into storage of polyphosphate extends the duration of cyanobacterial dominance and their blooms under P deficiency. However, it is unclear whether nitrogen (N) storage in the form of cyanophycin supports persistent cyanobacterial dominance or blooms in the tropics where N deficiency commonly occurs in summer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this work, chitosan/lignosulfonate composite micelles (CS-LS) were successfully prepared through polyelectrolyte self-assembly. Curcumin was encapsulated in CS-LS to obtain CUR-CS-LS. The results showed that the average diameter of CS-LS and CUR-CS-LS were 239 nm and 286 nm, respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiastasis rectus abdominis (DRA) is one of the common complications during pregnancy and post-partum, which has psychological and physical effects on post-partum women. Acupuncture, a worldwide alternative therapy, has attracted wide attention in preventing and treating diseases related to pregnancy and childbirth. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture combined with physical training in treating post-partum rectus muscle dissociation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRaphidiopsis raciborskii (previously ) can produce cylindrospermopsin (CYN) which is of great concern due to its considerable toxicity to human and animals. Its CYN-producing (toxic) and non-CYN-producing (non-toxic) strains co-exist commonly in natural water bodies, while how their relative dominance is regulated has not been addressed. In this study, we combined field investigation with laboratory experiments to assessed the relationship between toxic and non-toxic abundances under different nutrient levels.
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