the families of tgf-β proteins are the most important growth factors in the ovary for growth and differentiation of early ovarian follicles. three related oocyte-derived members of the transforming growth factor-β superfamily namely growth differentiation factor 9 (gdf9), bmp15 and bmpr-ib have been shown to be essential for follicular growth and ovulation. different mutations in the gdf9 gene ...

Background: Human embryonic stem cells (hESC), which are derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocysts, have been considered to be pluripotent cells. In this study we examine the differentiating potential of hESC into hepatocytes by characterization of the expression of endoderm and liver-specific genes. Methods: hESC were cultivated in suspension to form aggregates, the embryoid bodies. ...

Androgenreceptorshave been documentedand char acterized in the 7,12-dimethybbenz(a)anthracene-induced rat mammarytumor and in a series of transplantablerat mammary tumors, (MTW-9A, MTW-9B, and MTW-9D). In all cases specific binding of [3H]dihydrotestosterone (DHT) to tumor cytosol was saturable, and Scatchard analysisshoweda singleclassof high-affinity,bow-capac ity binding sites. Bound [3HJDHT...

background and objective: vascular endothelial growth factor (vegf) and its receptors (vegf-r1 and r2) are major regulators of angiogenesis. this study was designed to assess serum levels of vegf and vegf-r1 and their prognostic significance in newly diagnosed childhood acute leukemia. materials and methods: for this purpose, vegf and vegf-r1 were determined using enzyme linked immuno-sorbant a...

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most frequently reported entrapment neuropathy; however, the exact pathological mechanism of CTS remains unknown. In a recent paper published in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research, we investigated the associations between Wnt signaling and the etiology of idiopathic CTS (ICTS). We compared the expression levels of genes encoding Wnt1, 2, 3, 4, 5a, 5b, 6, 7a,...

The red imported fire ant (RIFA), Solenopsis invicta, is an invasive species, accidentally introduced in the United States that can cause painful (sometimes life-threatening) stings to human, pets, and livestock. Their colonies have two social forms: monogyne and polygyne that have a single and multiple functional queens, respectively. A major gene (Gp-9), identified as a putative pheromone-bin...

Motivated by the problem of existence Kähler–Einstein edge metrics, Cheltsov and Rubinstein conjectured K-polystability asymptotically log Fano varieties with small cone angles when anti-log-canonical divisors are not big. Cheltsov, Zhang proved it affirmatively in dimension 2 irreducible boundaries except for type (I.9B.$n$) $1 \leq n 6$. Unfortunately, Fujita, Liu, Süß, Zhuang recently showed...