The critical maturation time of central otolith neurons in processing spatial orientations was examined in Sprague-Dawley rats. With the use of immuno-hybridization histochemical methods, we observed c-fos expression in vestibular nuclear neurons responding to transverse movement on the horizontal plane as early as P7 and those to antero-posterior stimulation as early as P9. In the inferior oli...

Nociceptive processing is tuned by GABAA receptor-mediated inhibition in the spinal cord dorsal horn that undergoes postnatal maturation in rodents. These GABAergic inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) are modulated by 3α5α-reduced steroids during early postnatal development in spinal cord lamina II. Thus an enhanced phasic inhibition is present in neonates and decreases over time. GABA can...

Understanding the dynamics of plant-associated microbial communities within agriculture is well documented. However, ecological processes that assemble plant microbiome are not understood. This study elucidates relative dominance assembly across compartments (root, stem, and leaves) developmental stages (emergence, growth, flowering, maturation). Bacterial community composition were assessed us...

The potential of harvesting to induce adaptive changes in exploited populations is now increasingly recognized. While early studies predicted that elevated mortalities among larger individuals select for reduced maturation size, recent theoretical studies have shown conditions under which other, more complex evolutionary responses to size-selective mortality are expected. These new predictions ...

We defined the sensory-motor characteristics of the lower esophageal sphincter relaxation (LESR) (stimulus threshold volume, response onset, and relaxation period, relaxation magnitude, nadir) during maturation in human neonates. We hypothesized that LESR kinetics differs during maturation and with peristaltic reflex type. Basal and adaptive esophageal motility testing was performed (N = 20 pre...

The developmental competence of oocytes during in vitro maturation (IVM) is compromised due to asynchronous nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation. To improve IVM efficiency, a pre-maturation culture or two-step maturation strategy has been established, involving meiosis arrest induced by pharmacological agents to provide oocytes with sufficient time to synchronize the maturation of the nucleus and...

Previous studies reported that early postnatal cholinergic lesions severely perturb early cortical development, impairing neuronal cortical migration and the formation of cortical dendrites and synapses. These severe effects of early postnatal cholinergic lesions preclude our ability to understand the contribution of cholinergic systems to the later-stage maturation of topographic cortical repr...

A single ribosomal protein (Mr, 32,000) becomes phosphorylated during progesterone-induced in vitro maturation of Xenopus laevis oocytes. The protein is identified as 40S ribosomal protein S6. Phosphorylation of S6 is monitored by incorporation of 32Pi and by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. S6 is minimally phosphorylated in unstimulated oocytes. After progesterone treatment,...

Background: In vitro maturation (IVM) of immature oocyte is a promising treatment option for infertile women.IVM procedures attempt to mimic the natural conditions of the follicular environment. The technique of IVM of oocytes has been successful after the first trial using culture of human oocytes in follicular fluid. The crucial part of this technique is the maturation process itself, and the...