The gene encoding D-hydantoinase from Agrobacterium radiobacter NRRL B11291 was successfully cloned by use of polymerase chain reaction. A positive clone was scored, and its nucleotide sequence was further analyzed. The analysis by deleting various lengths of nucleotides from the amino terminus of the open reading frame revealed the putative regions for promoter and RBS site. By highly expressi...

OBJECTIVES Testosterone (T), the primary androgenic hormone in males, is stimulated through pulsatile secretion of LH and regulated through negative feedback inhibition at the hypothalamus and pituitary. The hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis also controls sperm production through the secretion of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). Negative feedback in the HPG axis is achieved in part t...

A mechanistic understanding of aging has yet to be described; this paper puts forth a new theory that has the potential to explain aging in all sexually reproductive life forms. The theory also puts forth a new definition of aging - any change in an organism over time. This definition includes not only the changes associated with the loss of function (i.e. senescence, the commonly accepted defi...

Prenatal ethanol (E) exposure programs the fetal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and -gonadal (HPG) axes such that E rats show HPA hyperresponsiveness to stressors and altered HPG and reproductive function in adulthood. Importantly, prenatal ethanol may differentially alter stress responsiveness in adult male and female offspring compared to their control counterparts. To test the hypothes...

We report the facile preparation of palladacycles as storable arylpalladium(II) reagents from acetanilides via cyclopalladation. The palladacycles exhibit good stability in PBS buffer and are capable of functionalizing a metabolically encoded HPG-containing protein, thus providing a new type of biocompatible organometallic reagent for selectively functionalizing the alkyne-encoded proteins.

In magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear spins are the source of the image signal. In the lung, low-proton spin density in alveolar gas and abundant gas-tissue interfaces substantially impair conventional native 1H-MRI. Spin polarisation can be increased in two non-radioactive noble gas isotopes, 3He and 129Xe, by exposure to polarised laser light. When inhaled, such "magnetized" gases prov...

BACKGROUND The hormones of hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis have facilitative effects on reproductive behavior in mammals. Ghrelin as a starvation hormone has an inhibitory effect on HPG axis' function. Hence, it is postulated that ghrelin may reduce the sexual behavior through inhibiting of HPG axis. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of ghrelin and its antagonist, [D-Lys...

Low plasma total testosterone (T) levels may influence the sense of well-being and produce depressive symptomatology, increasing the risk of suicide. In a previous study, we reported reduced serum T levels in male psychiatric patients after a suicide attempt. The reduction was more pronounced in subjects who used violent attempt methods, and we discussed the possible influence of stress of hosp...

Inhibition of enzymes involved in the synthesis of sex steroids can substantially impact developmental and reproductive processes controlled by the hypothalmic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. A key steroidogenic enzyme that has received little attention from a toxicological perspective is 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3β-HSD). In these studies, we exposed reproductively-active fathead minnows ...