A study was conducted to determine the influence of different particle size limestone in layer diets on egg production and eggshell quality during the later stages of egg production (>54 weeks of age). Calcitic limestone (360 g Ca/kg), consisting of small (<1.0 mm), medium (1.0 2.0 mm) and large (2.0 3.8 mm) particles were obtained from a specific South African source that is extensively used i...

Our objective was to assess, using clinical trial simulation, the feasibility of a fixed 200-microg dose of darbepoetin alfa (Aranesp) administered every 2 weeks in chemotherapy-induced anemia. A pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic model was developed using clinical data from 547 cancer patients who received darbepoetin alfa at various doses and schedules. Monte Carlo simulations were performed for...

To determine the evolutionary importance of parental environmental effects in natural populations, we must begin to measure the magnitude of these effects in the field. For this reason, we conducted a combined growth chamber-field experiment to measure parental temperature effects in Plantago lanceolata. We grew in the field offspring of controlled crosses of chamber-grown parents subjected to ...

Rett Syndrome is a neurological disorder caused by mutations in the X-linked MECP2 gene. Mouse models where Mecp2 is inactivated or mutated recapitulate several features of the disorder and have demonstrated a requirement for the protein to ensure brain function in adult mice. We deleted the Mecp2 gene in ~80% of brain cells at three postnatal ages to determine whether the need for MeCP2 varies...

Inflorescence development of the 'Hass' avocado (Persea americana Mill.) was investigated at the macro and microscopic level. Near the end of shoot extension, two secondary axis meristems were present in the axils of inflorescence bracts. The primary axis meristem changed shape from conical to flattened to conical followed by the initiation of additional bracts and associated secondary axis inf...

PURPOSE Inhibitors of farnesyltransferase (e.g., R115777) are being developed for therapy and prevention of various cancers. The efficacy of R115777 [Zarnestra; (B)-6-[amino(4-chlorophenyl)(1-methyl-1H-imidazol-5-yl)-methyl]-4-(3-chlorophenyl)-1-methyl-2(1H)-quinolinone] to prevent the development of lung tumors in mice was determined. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Female strain A mice (7-8 weeks of ag...

UNLABELLED Recently, it was shown that D-cycloserine (DCS, a NMDA partial agonist) facilitated extinction of fear as well as cocaine conditioned place preference (CPP) in rats. METHODS The present study examined the effects of DCS (15 mg/kg i.p. and 30 mg/kg i.p.) on extinction and renewal of cocaine-induced CPP in C57bL/c mice. In parallel, we examined the effects of DCS on locomotor activit...

The regulatory mechanisms underlying bud breaking (scale leaf elongation) and flowering in the lateral flower buds of Japanese pear (Pyrus pyrifolia Nakai 'Kosui') are unknown. To more fully characterize these processes, we treated pear trees with different amounts of chilling initiated at different times. Chilling for ∼900 h at 6 °C always induced bud breaking (scale elongation in ≥70% lateral...