Testis size and sperm production are directly correlated to the total number of adult Sertoli cells (SCs). Although the establishment of an adequate number of SCs is crucial for future male fertility, the identification and characterization of the factors regulating SC survival, proliferation, and maturation remain incomplete. To investigate whether the IGF system is required for germ cell (GC)...

OBJECTIVES Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has been used for almost 40 years to treat refractory neuropathic pain after failed back surgery. Fully implantable non-rechargeable pulse generators have a battery life of between 2 and 5 years. A new SCS system with a rechargeable power source may last 10 to 25 years, or longer. The potential economic implications of longer battery life with a new SCS ...

OBJECTIVE To quantify the costs of treatment in critical limb ischaemia (CLI) and to compare costs and effectiveness of two treatment strategies: spinal cord stimulation (SCS) and best medical treatment. METHODS One hundred and twenty patients with CLI not suitable for vascular reconstruction were randomised to either SCS in addition to best medical treatment or best medical treatment alone. ...

SIGNIFICANCE The skin interfollicular epidermis (IFE) is an organism's first line of defense against a harmful environment and physical damage. During homeostasis and wound repair, the IFE is rejuvenated constantly by IFE stem cells (SCs) that are capable of both proliferation and differentiation. However, the identity and behavior of IFE SCs remain controversial. RECENT ADVANCES Two opposing...

Constitutive p16Ink4a expression, along with senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SAβG), are commonly accepted biomarkers of senescent cells (SCs). Recent reports attributed improvement of the healthspan of aged mice following p16Ink4a-positive cell killing to the eradication of accumulated SCs. However, detection of p16Ink4a/SAβG-positive macrophages in the adipose tissue of old mice and in ...

Glioblastoma stem cells (GBM-SCs) are believed to be a subpopulation within all glioblastoma (GBM) cells that are in large part responsible for tumor growth and the high grade of therapeutic resistance that is so characteristic of GBM. MicroRNAs (miR) have been implicated in regulating the expression of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes in cancer stem cells, including GBM-SCs, and they are a...

Nuclear exclusion of the transcriptional regulators and potent oncoproteins, YAP/TAZ, is considered necessary for adult tissue homeostasis. Here we show that nuclear YAP/TAZ are essential regulators of peripheral nerve development and myelin maintenance. To proliferate, developing Schwann cells (SCs) require YAP/TAZ to enter S-phase and, without them, fail to generate sufficient SCs for timely ...

Epithelial cancer constitutes a major clinical challenge and molecular mechanisms underlying the process of tumour initiation are not well understood. Here we demonstrate that hair follicle bulge stem cells (SCs) give rise to well-differentiated sebaceous tumours and show that SCs are not only crucial in tumour initiation, but are also involved in tumour plasticity and heterogeneity. Our findin...

OBJECTIVES Predegeneration is a standard technique to obtain mitotically activated and enriched cultures of Schwann cells (SCs). This study, for the first time, evaluated the impact of various duration of predegeneration on cell yield and enrichment of SCs from dog peripheral nerve. MATERIALS AND METHODS Dog sural nerves were subjected to 5, 10, 15 day-long in vitro predegeneration. The total...

A full-spectral third-generation ocean wind-wave model, Wavewatch-III, has been implemented in the South China Sea (SCS) for investigating the wind wave characteristics. This model was developed at the Ocean Modeling Branch of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). The NASA QuickScat data (0.25 resolution) two times daily were used to simulate the wind waves for the whole yea...