Sequential conversion of estradiol (E) to 2/4-hydroxyestradiols and 2-/4-methoxyestradiols (MEs) by CYP450s and catechol-O-methyltransferase, respectively, contributes to the inhibitory effects of E on smooth muscle cells (SMCs) via estrogen receptor-independent mechanisms. Because medroxyprogesterone (MPA) is a substrate for CYP450s, we hypothesized that MPA may abrogate the inhibitory effects...

The objective of this study was to determine the arterial responses to plasma lipid lowering alone or in combination with (1) estrogen replacement therapy or (2) hormone replacement therapy in surgically postmenopausal female monkeys with preexisting atherosclerosis. Eighty-eight female cynomolgus macaques were ovariectomized, fed an atherogenic diet for 24 months, and then assigned by randomiz...

The objective of our study was to compare the characteristics of the corpus luteum (CL) formed after ovulation of the dominant follicle (DF) of the first follicular wave (W1) and those of the CL formed after ovulation of the DF of the second (induced) follicular wave (W2). Non-lactating Holstein cows were used for this study. In Experiment 1, cows were treated with PGF2α and GnRH on days 6 and ...

BACKGROUND Epidural and intrathecal injections of methylprednisolone acetate (MPA) have become the most commonly performed interventional procedures in the United States and worldwide in the last 2 decades. However neuraxial MPA injection has been dogged by controversy regarding the presence of different additives used in commercially prepared glucocorticoids. We previously showed that MPA coul...

Following an eruptive accretion event in NGC 6334I-MM1, flares the various maser species, including water masers, were triggered. We report observed relative proper motion of highly variable masers associated with massive star-forming region, 6334I. High velocity H2O motions detected five clusters, CM2-W2 (bow-shock structure), MM1-W1, MM1-W3, UCHII-W1, and UCHII-W3. The overall average derived...

Computed tomography (CT) is widely used for evaluation of lung diseases. To evaluate the value of CT measurement of pulmonary artery for diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and its comorbidity pulmonary hypertension (PH), we retrospectively reviewed the CT of 221 patients with COPD and 115 control patients without cardiovascular or lung disease. Patients with COPD were div...

This study investigated the use of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as a treatment for music performance anxiety (MPA) in an uncontrolled pilot design. ACT is a newer, "third-wave" therapy that differs from previous MPA treatments, because its goal is not to reduce symptoms of MPA. Rather, ACT aims to enhance psychological flexibility in the presence of unwanted symptoms through the prom...

Delsarte showed that for any projective linear code over a finite field GF (p) with two nonzero Hamming weights w1 < w2 there exist positive integers u and s such that w1 = p u and w2 = p (u + 1). Moreover, he showed that the additive group of such a code has a strongly regular Cayley graph. Here we show that for any proper, regular, projective linear code C over a finite Frobenius ring with tw...

We describe the characterization of human lymphoblastoid cell lines with acquired resistance (>20,000-fold) to a novel folate-based thymidylate synthase (TS) (EC 2.1.1.45) inhibitor, C2-desamino-C2-methylW°-propargyl-5,8-dideazafolic acid (ICI198S83). This acquired resist ance was associated with a 64-fold amplification of the TS gene, a similar elevation in the corresponding mKNA, and an --20...

Mycophenolic acid (MPA; 1,3-dihydro-4-hydroxy-6-methoxy-7-methyl-3-oxo-5-isobenzylfuranyl)-4-methyl-4-hexenoate), the active metabolite of the immunosuppressant prodrug, mycophenolate mofetil, undergoes glucuronidation to its 7-O-glucuronide as a primary route of metabolism. Because differences in glucuronidation may influence the efficacy and/or toxicity of MPA, we investigated the MPA UDP-glu...