Fate of the intervertebral disc and analysis of its risk factors following high-energy traumatic thoracic and lumbar fractures: MRI results of minimum five years after injury.

Objective: Disc degenerative disease is regarded as the primary cause of low back pain. The purpose of this study was to clarify the fate of Intervertebral disc (IVD) following the traumatic event through long-term follow-up and to identify the risk factors for irrevocable degeneration.

Methods: 78 non-operative patients who had traumatic fracture of the thoracic or lumbar at minimum 5 years before were enrolled.

[Dynamics of habitat suitability for waterfowls from 1990 to 2015 in the ecological function zone of Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China].

As a wetland of international importance, the ecological function zone of the Sanjiang Plain (EFZSP) plays an important role in maintaining waterfowl habitat. With the increasing disturbance of human beings, land use and climate changes, habitat suitability for waterfowls (HSW) has drawn greater attention of ecologists. In this study, Landsat TM/ETM+/OLI and HJ-1B images in 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2015 were used to obtain land cover classification by object-based image analysis, and the entropy and analytic hierarchy process methods were adopted to determine the factors and their weights, the factors selected in this study included water condition (lake and river density), disturbance factor (residence and road density), shelter condition (land cover type and slope), and food abundance (NDVI).

Model-based self-optimization method for form correction in the computer controlled bonnet polishing of optical freeform surfaces.

Freeform surfaces have become increasingly widespread in the optical systems for enhanced performance and compact lightweight packaging. The geometrical complexity and high precision requirements of optical freeform surfaces for various functional optical applications, has posed great challenges in the design, precision machining, and measurement of these surfaces. This paper presents a model-based self-optimization approach for precision machining and measurement of optical freeform surfaces in the computer controlled bonnet polishing (CCBP) process.

Immune responses in mice vaccinated with a DNA vaccine expressing serine protease-like protein from the new-born larval stage of Trichinella spiralis.

Trichinella spiralis is a parasitic helminth that can infect almost all mammals, including humans. Trichinella spiralis infection elicits a typical type 2 immune responses, while suppresses type 1 immune responses, which is in favour of their parasitism. DNA vaccines have been shown to be capable of eliciting balanced CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses as well as humoral immune responses in small-animal models, which will be advantage to induce protective immune response against helminth infection.

Serological tools for detection of infection in animals and humans.

Trichinellosis is a serious foodborne zoonotic disease. It is an important threat to public health in both developing and developed countries. Human infections are strongly associated with consuming undercooked meat containing infective larvae.

Serine proteases of parasitic helminths.

Serine proteases form one of the most important families of enzymes and perform significant functions in a broad range of biological processes, such as intra- and extracellular protein metabolism, digestion, blood coagulation, regulation of development, and fertilization. A number of serine proteases have been identified in parasitic helminths that have putative roles in parasite development and nutrition, host tissues and cell invasion, anticoagulation, and immune evasion. In this review, we described the serine proteases that have been identified in parasitic helminths, including nematodes (Trichinella spiralis, T.

Trichinella spiralis newborn larvae: characterization of a stage specific serine proteinase expression, NBL1, using monoclonal antibodies.

Trichinella spiralis is an intracellular parasitic nematode of mammalian skeletal muscle, causing a serious zoonotic disease in humans and showing a high economic impact mainly in pig breeding. Serine proteinases of T. spiralis play important roles in the host-parasite interactions mediating host invasion.

Proteomic analysis of surface proteins of Trichinella spiralis muscle larvae by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry.

Background: Trichinella spiralis is a zoonotic tissue-dwelling parasitic nematode that infects humans and other mammals. Its surface proteins are recognized as antigenic in many infected hosts, being directly exposed to the host's immune system and are the main target antigens that induce the immune responses. The larval surface proteins may also interact with intestinal epithelial cells and may play an important role in the invasion and development process of T.

Structure of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens alpha-amylase at high resolution: implications for thermal stability.

The crystal structure of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens alpha-amylase (BAA) at 1.4 A resolution revealed ambiguities in the thermal adaptation of homologous proteins in this family. The final model of BAA is composed of two molecules in a back-to-back orientation, which is likely to be a consequence of crystal packing.

Purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis of xylose reductase from Candida tropicalis.

Xylose reductase (XR), which requires NADPH as a co-substrate, catalyzes the reduction of D-xylose to xylitol, which is the first step in the metabolism of D-xylose. The detailed three-dimensional structure of XR will provide a better understanding of the biological significance of XR in the efficient production of xylitol from biomass. XR of molecular mass 36.

Purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray crystallographic analysis of rice bifunctional alpha-amylase/subtilisin inhibitor from Oryza sativa.

Rice bifunctional alpha-amylase/subtilisin inhibitor (RASI) can inhibit both alpha-amylase from larvae of the red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum) and subtilisin from Bacillus subtilis. The synthesis of RASI is up-regulated during the late milky stage in developing seeds. The 8.

Characterization of a zebrafish estrogen-sulfating cytosolic sulfotransferase: inhibitory effects and mechanism of action of phytoestrogens.

Cytosolic sulfotransferases (STs) are generally thought to be involved in detoxification of xenobiotics, as well as homeostasis of endogenous compounds such as thyroid/steroid hormones and catecholamine hormones/neurotransmitters. We report here the identification and characterization of a zebrafish estrogen-sulfating cytosolic ST. The zebrafish ST was bacterially expressed, purified, and examined for enzymatic activities using a variety of endogenous compounds as substrates.

Reduced hybrid cluster proteins (HCP) from Desulfovibrio desulfuricans ATCC 27774 and Desulfovibrio vulgaris (Hildenborough): X-ray structures at high resolution using synchrotron radiation.

The hybrid cluster proteins from the sulfate reducing bacteria Desulfovibrio desulfuricans ATCC 27774 ( Dd) and Desulfovibrio vulgaris strain Hildenborough ( Dv) have been isolated and crystallized anaerobically. In each case, the protein has been reduced with dithionite and the crystal structure of the reduced form elucidated using X-ray synchrotron radiation techniques at 1.25 A and 1.

The nature of the di-iron site in the bacterioferritin from Desulfovibrio desulfuricans.

The first crystal structure of a native di-iron center in an iron-storage protein (bacterio)ferritin is reported. The protein, isolated from the anaerobic bacterium Desulfovibrio desulfuricans, has the unique property of having Fe-coproporphyrin III as its heme cofactor. The three-dimensional structure of this bacterioferritin was determined in three distinct catalytic/redox states by X-ray crystallography (at 1.

Three-dimensional structure of manganese superoxide dismutase from Bacillus halodenitrificans, a component of the so-called "green protein".

A so-called "green protein" has been purified from a moderate halophilic eubacterium, Bacillus halodenitrificans (ATCC 49067), under anaerobic conditions. The protein, which might play an important role in denitrification, dissociates mainly into two components after exposure to air: a manganese superoxide dismutase (GP-MnSOD) and a nucleoside diphosphate kinase. As a first step in elucidating the overall structure of the green protein and the role of each component, the 2.

Preliminary crystallographic studies of two C-terminally truncated copper-containing nitrite reductases from Achromobacter cycloclastes: changed crystallizing behaviors caused by residue deletion.

The C-terminal segment of copper-containing nitrite reductase from Achromobacter cycloclastes (AcNiR) has been found essential for maintaining both the quaternary structure and the enzyme activity of AcNiR. C-terminal despentapeptide AcNiR (NiRc-5) and desundecapeptide AcNiR (NiRc-11) are two important truncated mutants whose activities and stability have been affected by residue deletion. In this study, the two mutants were crystallized using the hanging drop vapor diffusion method.

Hybrid cluster proteins (HCPs) from Desulfovibrio desulfuricans ATCC 27774 and Desulfovibrio vulgaris (Hildenborough): X-ray structures at 1.25 A resolution using synchrotron radiation.

The structures of the hybrid cluster proteins (HCPs) from the sulfate-reducing bacteria Desulfovibrio desulfuricans (ATCC 27774) and Desulfovibrio vulgaris (Hildenborough) have been elucidated at a resolution of 1.25 A using X-ray synchrotron radiation techniques. In the case of the D.