BACKGROUND Expression of scatter factor (SF), also known as hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), and its receptor, c-met, is often associated with malignant progression of human tumors, including gliomas. Overexpression of SF/HGF in experimental gliomas enhances tumorigenicity and tumor-associated angiogenesis (i.e., growth of new blood vessels). However, the role of endogenous SF/HGF or c-met expre...

The purpose of this investigation was to assess muscle fiber size, composition, and in vivo contractile characteristics of the calf muscle of four male crew members during a 17-day spaceflight (SF; Life and Microgravity Sciences Spacelab Shuttle Transport System-78 mission) and eight men during a 17-day bed rest (BR). The protocols and timelines of these two investigations were identical, there...

We tested for differential brain response to distinct spatial frequency (SF) components in faces. During a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment, participants were presented with "hybrid" faces containing superimposed low and high SF information from different identities. We used a repetition paradigm where faces at either SF range were independently repeated or changed across consec...

Several physiological studies in cats and monkeys have reported that the spatial frequency (SF) tuning of visual neurons varies depending on the luminance contrast and size of stimulus. However, comparatively little is known about the effect of changing the stimulus contrast and size on SF tuning in human perception. In the present study, we investigated the effects of stimulus size and luminan...

To gain further insights into the molecular basis of Sulforaphane (SF) mediated retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) 19 cell against oxidative stress, we investigated the effects of SF on the regulation of gene expression on a global scale and tested whether SF can endow RPE cells with the ability to resist apoptosis. The data revealed that after exposure to H2O2, RPE 19 cell viability was increase...

The nuclear receptor steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1) is essential for development of the gonads, adrenal gland, and the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus. It also regulates the expression of pivotal steroidogenic enzymes and other important proteins in the reproductive system. We sought to elucidate the mechanisms that govern the transcriptional activity of SF-1. We demonstrate here that a previo...

Previously determined experimental data for thermal attachment of electrons to SF(6) and thermal detachment from SF(6)(-) over the range 590-670 K are reevaluated by a third-law analysis. Recent high precision calculations of SF(6)(-) harmonic frequences and anharmonicities (for several of the modes) lead to considerable changes in modeled vibrational partition functions which then have to be a...

INTRODUCTION Foam sclerotherapy has gained a great popularity among phlebologists worldwide, although a major lack of homogeneity in the material used to produce sclerosant foam (SF) and to inject SF has been reported. AIMS To highlight the literature data and a few personal clinical and experimental outcomes concerning the main variables in SF production and injection. METHODS A review of ...

Tidal Dwarf Galaxies (TDGs), produced from material expelled in galactic interactions, are well–suited to test the laws of star formation (SF) due to their simple structure, high metallicity – making CO a reliable tracer of the molecular gas content – and recent SF. Here, we study the conditions for the onset of SF and for the rate at which SF proceeds once above a threshold in a small sample o...

OBJECTIVE In synovial fluid (SF) from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), neutrophils are exposed to proinflammatory mediators endowed with either anti-apoptotic or pro-apoptotic properties. We investigated neutrophil apoptosis in the presence of SF from 11 RA patients. METHODS SF was obtained from affected knees of 11 patients with RA. Human neutrophil apoptosis was evaluated by light m...