BACKGROUND The threatened plant Centella asiatica L. is traditionallyused for a number of remedies. In vitro plant propagation and enhanced metabolite production of active metabolites through biotechnological approaches has gained attention in recent years. RESULTS Present study reveals that 6-benzyladenine (BA) either alone or in combination with 1-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) supplemented ...

The neonatal mouse retina remains viable as an explant in serum-supplemented growth media for more than 4 weeks. Interpretation of drug effects on this tissue is compromised by the enigmatic composition of the serum. We sought to remove this ambiguity by culturing neonatal as well as late postnatal mouse retina in serum-free nutrient medium. In this study three important observations were made,...

There is accumulating evidence that the mammalian cerebral cortex is regionally specified early in neurogenesis. However, the degree and scale of the regional pattern that is intrinsic to different parts of the cortical primordium remains unclear. Here, we show that detailed patterning-the accurate positioning of several areas or fields-is intrinsic to the part of the primordium that generates ...

Tooth germ derived from the mandible of newborn mice was used in this study. The enamel organs were dissected and attached directly to coverslips without using the plasma clot. By this method it was possible, for the first time as far as is known, to attain preparations in which the major part of the outgrowth from the explant consisted purely of epithelial-like cells which probably were anelob...

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...

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.