PURPOSE Follistatin (FST), an inhibitor of activin, regulates a variety of biological functions, including cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. However, the role of FST in cancer metastasis is still unknown. Previous research established a multiple-organ metastasis model of human small cell lung cancer in natural killer cell-depleted SCID mice. In this model, i.v. inoculated tumo...

This paper describes an approach based on reachability calculations for ensuring robust operation guarantees in flight maneuver sequences performed by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) under supervision of human operators, with applications to safety-critical scenarios. Using a hybrid system formalism to model the maneuver sequence, the paper devises systematic procedures for designing switching ...

The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of aqueous and ethanolic extracts of T. bellirica on depression in mice using forced swim test (FST) and tail suspension test (TST). The extracts were administered orally for 10 successive days in separate groups of Swiss young male albino mice. Aqueous extract (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) in a dose-dependent manner and ethanolic extract (10...

The present study was designed to evaluate the antidepressant potential of 5-HT3 receptor antagonist N-n-propyl-3-ethoxyquinoxaline-2-carboxamide (6n). The compound '6n' with optimum log P and pA 2 value identified from a series of compounds synthesized in our laboratory was subjected to forced Swim Test (FST) (1, 2, and 4 mg/kg, i.p) and Tail Suspension Test (TST) (1, 2, and 4 mg/kg, i.p.). Th...

FST is one of the most frequently-used indices of genetic differentiation among groups. Though FST takes values between 0 and 1, authors going back to Wright have noted that under many circumstances, FST is constrained to be less than 1. Recently, we showed that at a genetic locus with an unspecified number of alleles, FST for two subpopulations is strictly bounded from above by functions of bo...

Amphibians are often considered excellent environmental indicator species. Natural and man-made landscape features are known to form effective genetic barriers to amphibian populations; however, amphibians with different characteristics may have different species-landscape interaction patterns. We conducted a comparative landscape genetic analysis of two closely related syntopic frog species fr...

Short bowel syndrome is an acquired condition in which the length of the small intestine is insufficient to perform its normal absorptive function. Current therapies are limited as the developmental mechanisms that normally regulate elongation of the small intestine are poorly understood. Here, we identify Fgf9 as an important epithelial-to-mesenchymal signal required for proper small intestina...

The antidepressant-like effect of a supercritical CO2 (SCCO2) Valeriana glechomifolia extract enriched in valepotriates was investigated in a mice tail suspension test (TST) and forced swimming test (FST). The SCCO2 extract decreased mice immobility in the FST (0.5-20 mg/kg p.o.) and elicited a biphasic dose-response relationship in the TST (1-20 mg/kg p.o.) with no alterations in locomotor act...

The antidepressant action of cannabis as well as the interaction between antidepressants and the endocannabinoid system has been reported. This study was conducted to assess the antidepressant-like activity of Delta(9)-THC and other cannabinoids. Cannabinoids were initially evaluated in the mouse tetrad assay to determine doses that do not induce hypothermia or catalepsy. The automated mouse fo...