OBJECTIVE The determinants of serum homocysteine in healthy postmenopausal women remain uncertain. The aim of this study was the assessment of the association of endogenous sex steroids with serum homocysteine levels in healthy postmenopausal women not on hormone therapy. DESIGN 484 postmenopausal women aged 43-69 years were studied in a cross-sectional design. Parameters assessed were serum ...

Glycidaldehyde, a bifunctional carcinogenic alkylating agent, has been found to react with calf thymus DNA in vitro under alkaline conditions. A product was isolated and identified to be the result of a fusion of a delta4-imidazoline ring to the pyrimidine ring of deoxyguanosine at the N-1 and 2-NH2 positions. Following reaction and dialysis, the DNA was hydrolyzed enzymatically to nucleosides....

Mice with targeted mutations in genes required for Notch signal transduction die during embryogenesis, displaying overt signs of hemorrhage due to defects in their vascular development. Surprisingly, directed expression of a constitutively active form of Notch4 within mouse endothelial cells produces a similar vascular embryonic lethality. Moreover, patients with mutations in Notch3 exhibit the...

The steroidogenic acute regulatory protein, cytochrome P450 cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme and specific 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/delta5-delta4 isomerases initiate the essential process of steroidogenesis in the gonads. Testicular and ovarian expression of their respective genes, STARD1, CYP11A1 and gonadal HSD3B, is primarily controlled by gonadotropins with contributions by v...

The ventral spinal cord generates multiple inhibitory and excitatory interneuron subtypes from four cardinal progenitor domains (p0, p1, p2, p3). Here we show that cell-cell interactions mediated by the Notch receptor play a critical evolutionarily conserved role in the generation of excitatory v2aIN and inhibitory v2bIN interneurons. Lineage-tracing experiments show that the v2aIN and v2bIN de...

Erythrocyte fatty acids and plasma vitamin E concentrations were determined in 47 grade 2 and 21 grade 3 malnourished Pakistani children (ages 4-56 months). Data were compared with those of 26 age- and sex-matched apparently healthy controls. Evaluation with three statistical approaches revealed that both grade 2 and grade 3 malnourished children had decreased erythrocyte omega6 fatty acids and...

Background: In linear accelerators, the treatment field’s uniform intensity is achieved by including a flattening filter in beam. However, to produce more conformal dose distributions, contemporary radiotherapy practice now frequently uses fluence and aperture modifying techniques, such as volumetric modulated arc therapy. these circumstances, beam manufacturing process no longer required. It t...