CELL CULTURE: Human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells were cultured in a mixture of Ham’s F12 medium and Eagle’s minimal essential medium (1:1 mixture), supplemented with 10% (v/v) fetal calf serum and 1% nonessential amino acids. Cells were incubated at 37 °C in a humidified incubator gassed with 95% air and 5% CO2, passaged every 7 days and used for up to 20 passages. Cells were harvested in phosph...

This paper considers a new-product firm’s choice between exporting and foreign direct investment (FDI) to access foreign markets. We find that, when quality is unknown to buyers, the firm may choose FDI over exporting to signal quality, even though FDI is a costlier mode of access than exporting. We then use the model to study the effect of local labor requirement policy imposed by the host cou...

[1] Precipitating particle data from the DMSP F12 and F13 satellites has been merged with image data from the Ultraviolet Imager (UVI) on the Polar satellite. UVI images were combined within single transpolar passes of the DMSP F12 and F13 satellites. Pixel irradiances were then averaged into 1 1 bins along the satellite tracks, thus generating along-track irradiance profiles. Similarly, energy...

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) on the expression of a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTS) enzymes and their inhibitor, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 3 (TIMP-3), in human intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration. Cells from patients with IVD degeneration were culture...

OBJECTIVE Worldwide, diabetes mellitus (DM) is an ever-increasing metabolic disorder. A promising approach to the treatment of DM is the implantation of insulin producing cells (IPC) that have been derived from various stem cells. Culture conditions play a pivotal role in the quality and quantity of the differentiated cells. In this experimental study, we have applied various culture conditions...