Originally isolated on the basis of its capacity to stimulate T-cell maturation and proliferation, avian thymic hormone (ATH) is nevertheless a parvalbumin, one of two beta-lineage isoforms expressed in birds. We recently learned that addition of Ca(2+)-free ATH to a solution of 8-anilinonaphthalene-1-sulfonate (ANS) markedly increases ANS emission. This behavior, not observed in the presence o...

Aberrant transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signalling has been associated with a number of disease pathologies, such as the development of fibrosis in the heart, lung and liver, cardiovascular disease and cancer, hence the TGF-β pathway represents a promising target for a variety of diseases. However, highly specific ways to inhibit TGF-β signalling need to be developed to prevent cross-talk...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the effects of antidepressants and pilocarpine on the quantity of myoepithelial cells and on the proliferation index of the epithelial cells of rat parotid glands. INTRODUCTION Hyposalivation, xerostomia, and alterations in saliva composition are important clinical side effects related to the use of antidepressants. METHODS Ninety male Wistar rats were allocated to ni...

Studies from the USA suggest that rates of pediatric bipolar disorder have increased since the mid-90s, but no study outside the USA has been published on the rates of pediatric bipolar disorder. Further, it is unclear whether an increase in rates reflects a true increase in the illness or more diagnostic attention. Using nationwide registers of all inpatients and outpatients contacts to all ps...

BACKGROUND Depression is a major risk factor for suicide, but few studies have examined psychosocial risk factors for suicide in clinical patients with depression. The purpose of this study was to investigate psychosocial factors which could be associated with suicidal ideation in clinical patients with depression including: sick-leave, help-seeking behavior, and reluctance to admit mental heal...

The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of weight training time on bone mineral density (BMD) of patients with secondary osteoporosis after hemiplegia. A total of 129 hemiplegic patients with stroke, 75 males and 54 females, aged 50-75 years, were recruited in this study. Male patients were randomly divided into 3 groups (25 cases each) receiving 30 min (group M30), 60 min (group M6...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effects of aspirin (AS) and vitamin C (VC) against cardiac damage induced by chronic corn syrup (CS) consumption via a mechanism involving sirtuin-1 (ST-1), hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), and the caspase-3 pathway in rats. METHODS Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats (14-16 weeks) that weighed 250-300 g were randomly distribut...

Aims – The Drag Temperature Model (DTM) is a semi-empirical model describing the temperature, density, and composition of the Earth’s thermosphere. DTM2013 was developed in the framework of the Advanced Thermosphere Modelling and Orbit Prediction project (ATMOP). It is evaluated and compared with DTM2009, the pre-ATMOP benchmark, and the Committe on Space Research (COSPAR) reference model for a...

This report documents the impacts of international maize breeding research in eastern and southern Africa. It draws on information from a comprehensive 1998/99 survey of public and private maize breeding and seed production organizations active in the region. In many countries of eastern and southern Africa, policy reforms introduced in the 1980s and 1990s encouraged private sector participatio...

Present investigations suggest that f30% of colorectal cancer cases arise on the basis of inherited factors. We hypothesize that the majority of inherited factors are moderately penetrant genes, common in the population. We use an affected sibling pair approach to identify genetic regions that are coinherited by siblings with colorectal cancer. Individuals from families with at least two siblin...