Thrombomodulin (TM), a membrane proteoglycan on endothelial cells, binds thrombin in a 1:1 complex, accelerates the protein C activation by thrombin, promotes the thrombin inactivation by antithrombin III and inhibits the procoagulant properties of thrombin. The inactivation of single-chain urokinase-type plasminogen activator (scu-PA) by thrombin is accelerated about 70-fold by TM [De Munk, Gr...

BACKGROUND We have previously shown that suspension culture prevents follicle flattening and maintains three-dimensional follicle architecture better than culture on flat plates. However, many of the follicles cultured in suspension do eventually rupture, as basement membrane integrity is lost and the three-dimensional structure of the follicle is altered. Therefore, the objective of this study...

Protecting children from injuries caused by fall accidents from playground equipment is important. Therefore, measures toward minimizing the risk of fall accident injuries are required. The risk of injury can be evaluated using ASTM F1292. In this test, G-max and the HIC are used to estimate the risk of injury. However, the measurement procedure is too complicated for application to a large num...

A linear stability analysis is applied to determine the onset of oscillatory thermocapillary convection in cylindrical liquid bridges of large Prandtl numbers (4 6 Pr 6 50). We focus on the relationships between the critical Reynolds number Rec, the azimuthal wave number m, the aspect ratio Γ and the Prandtl number Pr. A detailed Rec-Pr stability diagram is given for liquid bridges with various...

The central nervous system depressant activity of the crude methanol extract (REC) and fractions (RE1, RE2, and RE3) of Russelia equisetiformis were evaluated in mice using the following models: amphetamine-induced stereotypy, picrotoxin-induced convulsion and phenobarbitone sleeping time. At 200-400 mg/kg, REC significantly increased phenobarbitone-sleeping time [P < 0.05] in a dose- dependent...

OBJECTIVE To describe FSH profile variants. DESIGN Observational study. SETTING Multicenter collaborative study. PATIENT(S) A total of 107 women. INTERVENTION(S) Women collected daily first morning urine and underwent serial ovarian ultrasound. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) FSH RESULT(S) The individual FSH cyclic profiles demonstrated a significant departure from the currently accepted mode...

BACKGROUND We investigated at what stage early cultured preantral mouse follicles become dependent on a minimal effective FSH dose (10 mIU/ml) and analysed the influence of implementing FSH at several time-points during in vitro culture. METHODS Two-layered mouse follicles were cultured for 12 days under seven different FSH exposure regimens and ovulated on day 13 by hCG/EGF. Ovulated cumulus...

Health research that seeks the participation of patients requires ethical and administrative clearances through the NHS research governance process. This is a two-stage process which involves a central Research Ethics Committee (REC), and Research and Development (R&D) at specific Trusts. Reflection is undertaken from a researcher’s perspective on their experience of negotiating NHS research go...

Twenty healthy subjects with at least two Miller Class I gingival recessions (RECs) crossing the midline in the maxilla were enrolled for the study. Fifty-six (mean initial REC = 2.3 ± 0.9 mm) and 75 (mean initial REC = 2.3 ± 1.1 mm) RECs were treated in the test and control groups, respectively. All of the cases were treated by means of CAF without vertical releasing incisions: ten were random...

AIM The aim of the study was in vitro analysis of biological activity of recombinant human beta-defensin-4 (rec-hBD-4). METHODS hBD-4 cDNA was cloned into pGEX-2T vector, and recombinant plasmid was transformed into E. coli BL21(DE3) cells. To purify soluble fusion GST-hBD-4 protein, affinity chromatography was applied. Rec-hBD-4 was cleaved from the fusion protein with thrombin, and purified...