Signal transducer and activator of transcription-5 (Stat5) is known to play a critical role in prolactin-induced beta-casein gene transcription in rodents. In nonmammary cells, Stat5 is activated by multiple hormones and cytokines, including growth hormone. We hypothesized that Stat5 may serve as a common point in the signal transduction pathways of hormones that promote milk protein gene expre...

A suitable protocol for micropropagation of Casuarina hybrid, Casuarina equisetifolia L. 9 Casuarina glauca Sieber ex Spreng (C. e. 9 C. g.), was developed. When seeds without seed coats were cultured on 4 germination media, the optimal seed germination percentage (91%) was obtained on 0.8% agar solidified water medium. Shoot multiplication was achieved by culturing 2-cm long epicotyls, excised...

BACKGROUND The detection of hepatocellular cancers (HCC) is a major role of preoperative imaging in patients with end stage liver disease being considered for orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). AIMS To assess the sensitivity of iodised oil computed tomography (IOCT). PATIENTS AND METHODS A prospective evaluation in 50 consecutive patients undergoing OLT included ultrasound scan, contra...

OBJECTIVES This study compares the long-term performance of the Carpentier-Edwards (CE) porcine bioprosthesis and the CE pericardial bioprosthesis for aortic valve replacement (AVR). BACKGROUND With new bioprostheses on the horizon, there is renewed interest in how the long-term durability of current pericardial bioprostheses compares with the traditional porcine bioprosthesis. METHODS We r...

Tef (Eragrostis tef) provides a major source of human nutrition in the Horn of Africa, but biotechnology has had little impact on its improvement to date. Here, we report the elaboration of an in vitro regeneration protocol, based on the use of immature zygotic embryos as explant. Explant size was an important determinant of in vitro regeneration efficiency, as was the formulation of the cultur...

The capacity to control developmental and morphogenetic processes in vitro has always been the fascination and primary focus of many ornamental tissue culture studies. Thin cell layers or TCLs were first used to control the development of flowers, roots, shoots and somatic embryos in tobacco pedicels. Since those studies over 30 years ago, TCLs have been successfully used in the micropropagatio...

Testis and ovary explants have been proposed as in vitro screens for identifying potential inhibitors of steroid biosynthesis. The goals of the current study were to optimize the conditions of the two assays, to characterize these assays using several compounds with well-defined endocrine activity, and to compare the responses from the explant assays with an in vivo male battery currently under...

Tumors inhibit dendritic cell maturation and function in order to evade host immunity. We showed that conditioned media from tumor explant tissue, taken from metastatic colorectal cancer patients, significantly inhibits maturation of dendritic cells.

Experimentally induced breast cancer is often preceded by the appearance of preneoplastic lesions which possess the attributes of hyperplastic normal tissue. These lesions can be isolated and carried as stably transplantable outgrowth lines which continue to morphologically resemble differentiating mammary tissue (Medina, D. Methods Cancer Res., 7: 3-53, 1973). We established seven serially tra...