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ObjectiveTo review the effects of core stability exercise or general exercise for patients with chronic low back pain (LBP).Summary of Background DataExercise therapy appears to be effective at decreasing pain and improving function for patients with chronic LBP in practice guidelines. Core stability exercise is becoming increasingly popular for LBP. However, it is currently unknown whether core stability exercise produces more beneficial effects than general exercise in patients with chronic LBP.MethodsPublished articles from 1970 to October 2011 were identified using electronic searches. For this meta-analysis, two reviewers independently selected relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating core stability exercise versus general exercise for the treatment of patients with chronic LBP. Data were extracted independently by the same two individuals who selected the studies.ResultsFrom the 28 potentially relevant trials, a total of 5 trials involving 414 participants were included in the current analysis. The pooling revealed that core stability exercise was better than general exercise for reducing pain [mean difference (−1.29); 95% confidence interval (−2.47, −0.11); P = 0.003] and disability [mean difference (−7.14); 95% confidence interval (−11.64, −2.65); P = 0.002] at the time of the short-term follow-up. However, no significant differences were observed between core stability exercise and general exercise in reducing pain at 6 months [mean difference (−0.50); 95% confidence interval (−1.36, 0.36); P = 0.26] and 12 months [mean difference (−0.32); 95% confidence interval (−0.87, 0.23); P = 0.25].ConclusionsCompared to general exercise, core stability exercise is more effective in decreasing pain and may improve physical function in patients with chronic LBP in the short term. However, no significant long-term differences in pain severity were observed between patients who engaged in core stability exercise versus those who engaged in general exercise.Systematic Review Registration http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO PROSPERO registration number: CRD42011001717.

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) on growth performance, meat quality, immune functions, duodenal morphology and intestinal microbial populations of broilers fed a conventional corn-soybean meal basal diet. A total of 450 1-d-old commercial Arbor Acres male broiler chicks were randomly allocated by bodyweight to 1 of 5 treatments with 6 replicate cages (15 broilers per cage) for each of 5 treatments in a completely randomized design. Chicks were fed the basal corn-soybean meal diets supplemented with 0, 25, 50, 75, or 100 mg of XOS kg-1 of diet, respectively for an experimental duration of 42 days. The results showed that supplementation of XOS affected feed conversion rate (feed/gain, F/G) during days 22-42 and 1-42 (P<0.03), drip loss in thigh muscle (P=0.02), and duodenal crypt depth (P=0.005) on day 42, but had no effect (P>0.05) on all other measured indices. The chicks fed the diet supplemented with 100 mg of XOS kg-1 had the lowest (P<0.05) F/G and drip loss in thigh muscle. The drip loss in thigh muscle decreased linearly (P=0.003) as the supplemented XOS increased. Duodenal crypt depth decreased (P<0.05) at the supplemental level of 75 mg of XOS kg-1. The results indicate that dietary supplementations of 75 and 100 mg of XOS kg-1 are beneficial to broilers fed a conventional corn-soybean meal diet.

The bionic fixation at least equals the performance of Endobutton fixation; it also allows more physiologic movement of the syndesmosis when compared to the screw fixation and may serve as a viable option for the fixation of the tibiofibular syndesmosis.

Dried fermentation biomass (DFB) and hydrolyzed porcine intestinal mucosa are co-products of L-Lys • HCl production and heparin extraction, respectively. Three experiments were conducted to determine standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of AA (Exp. 1), concentration of DE and ME (Exp. 2), and standardized total tract digestibility (STTD) of P (Exp. 3) in DFB and 2 hydrolyzed porcine intestinal mucosa products (PEP50 and PEP2+), and compare these values with values for fish meal. In Exp. 1, 12 ileal cannulated barrows (BW = 11.5 ± 1.1 kg) were allotted to a replicated 6 × 6 Latin square design with 6 diets and 6 periods. A N-free diet, diet based on soybean meal (SBM), and 4 diets based on a combination of SBM and DFB, PEP50, PEP2+, or fish meal were formulated. With the exception of Lys, there were no differences in SID of indispensable AA between DFB and fish meal. Except for Thr, no differences in SID of indispensable AA between PEP50 and fish meal were observed, but SID of all indispensable AA, except Lys and Trp, was less (P < 0.05) in PEP2+ than in the other ingredients. In Exp. 2, 40 barrows (BW = 12.8 ± 1.4 kg) were allotted to 5 diets with 8 pigs/diet. A basal diet containing 96.4% corn and 4 diets containing corn and DFB, PEP50, PEP2+, or fish meal were formulated. The DE (5,445 kcal/kg DM) and ME (5,236 kcal/kg DM) in DFB were greater (P < 0.01) than in PEP50 (4,758 and 4,512 kcal/kg DM for DE and ME, respectively) and fish meal (4,227 and 3,960 kcal/kg DM for DE and ME, respectively). Also, DE in DFB was greater (P < 0.01) than in PEP2+ (4,935 kcal/kg DM), but ME in DFB was not different from that in PEP2+ (4,617 kcal/kg DM). Furthermore, DE in PEP50 and PEP2+ were greater (P < 0.01) than in fish meal, but ME did not differ from that in fish meal. In Exp. 3, 40 barrows (BW = 12.4 ± 1.3 kg) were randomly allotted to 5 diets with 8 pigs/diet. A P-free diet and 4 diets in which the sole source of P was from DFB, PEP50, PEP2+, or fish meal were formulated. The STTD of P in DFB (96.9%) and PEP2+ (97.6%) were greater (P < 0.01) than in PEP50 and fish meal (76.2% and 68.5%, respectively), and STTD of P in PEP50 was greater (P < 0.01) than in fish meal. In summary, SID of most indispensable AA did not differ among DFB, PEP50, and fish meal, but DE and ME and STTD of P in DFB were greater than in PEP50 and fish meal.

Background: Chemokines play a key role in post-traumatic inflammation and secondary injury after spinal cord injury (SCI). CCL28, the chemokine CC-chemokine ligand 28, is involved in the epithelial and mucosal immunity. However, whether CCL28 participates in the physiopathologic processes after SCI remains unclear.Results: CCL28 is upregulated in the spinal cord after SCI. In addition, neutralizing antibodies against IL-1β or TNF-α, or treatment of ML120B, a selective inhibitor of IKK-β, remarkably decrease CCL28 upregulation, suggesting that CCL28 upregulation relies on NF-κB pathway activated by IL-1β and TNF-α after SCI. Moreover, CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ regulatory T (Treg) cells that express CCR10, a receptor of CCL28, are enriched in the spinal cord after SCI. We further demonstrate that the spinal cord recruits Treg cells through CCL28-CCR10 axis, which in turn function to suppress immune response and promote locomotor recovery after SCI. In contrast, neutralizing CCL28 or CCR10 reduces Treg cell recruitment and delays locomotor recovery.Methods: The neutralizing antibodies and recombinant CCL28 were injected intraspinally into the mice prior to SCI, which was established via hemitransection. RT-qPCR analysis was performed to determine transcript level, and Western blot analysis and ELISA assay were used to detect protein expression. Immune cells were analyzed by flow cytometry and visualized by immunofluorescence. The chemotaxis was assessed by in vitro transwell migration assay. The mouse locomotor activity was assessed via the Basso Mouse Scale (BMS) system.Conclusions: These results indicate that NF-κB pathway-regulated CCL28 production plays a protective role after SCI through recruiting CCR10-expressing and immunosuppressive Treg cells, and suggest that interfering CCL28-CCR10 axis might be of potential clinical benefit in improving SCI recovery.

BackgroundSyndesmotic diastasis is a common injury. Syndesmotic bolt and tightrope are two of the commonly used methods for the fixation of syndesmotic diastasis. Syndesmotic bolt can be used to reduce and maintain the syndesmosis. However, it cannot permit the normal range of motion of distal tibiofibular joint, especially the rotation of the fibula. Tightrope technique can be used to provide flexible fixation of the syndesmosis. However, it lacks the ability of reducing the syndesmotic diastasis. To combine the advantages of both syndemostic bolt and tightrope techniques and simultaneously avoid the potential disadvantages of both techniques, we designed the assembled bolt-tightrope system (ABTS). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the primary effectiveness of ABTS in treating syndesmotic diastasis.MethodsFrom October 2010 to June 2011, patients with syndesmotic diastasis met the inclusion criteria were enrolled into this study and treated with ABTS. Patients were followed up at 2, 6 weeks and 6, 12 months after operation. The functional outcomes were assessed according to the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) scores at 12 months follow-up. Patients’ satisfaction was evaluated based upon short form-12 (SF-12) health survey questionnaire. The anteroposterior radiographs of the injured ankles were taken, and the medial clear space (MCS), tibiofibular overlap (TFOL), and tibiofibular clear space (TFCS) were measured. All hardwares were routinely removed at 12-month postoperatively. Follow-ups continued. The functional and radiographic assessments were done again at the latest follow-up.ResultsTwelve patients were enrolled into this study, including 8 males and 4 females with a mean age of 39.5 years (range, 26 to 56 years). All patients also sustained ankle fractures. At 12 months follow-up, the mean AOFAS score was 95.4 (range, 85 to 100), and all patients were satisfied with the functional recoveries. The radiographic MCS, TFOL, and TFCS were within the normal range in all patients. After hardware removal, follow-up continued. At the latest follow-up (28 months on average, (range, 25 to 33 months) from internal fixation), the mean AOFAS score was 96.3 (range, 85 to 100), without significant difference with those assessed at 12 months after fixation operations. No syndesmotic diastasis reoccurred based upon the latest radiographic assessment.ConclusionsABTS can be used to reduce the syndesmotic diastasis and provide flexible fixation in a minimally invasive fashion. It seems to be an effective alternative technique to treat syndesmotic diastasis.

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