In vitro and in vivo performance of methacrylated gellan gum hydrogel formulations for cartilage repair

Methacrylated gellan gum (GGMA) formulation is proposed as a second‐generation hydrogel for controlled delivery of cartilage‐forming cells into focal chondral lesions, allowing immediate in situ retention of cells and 3D filling of lesion volume, such approach deemed compatible with an arthroscopic procedure. Formulation optimization was carried out in vitro using chondrocytes and adipose mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (ASCs). A proof‐of‐concept in vivo study was conducted using a rabbit model with induced chondral lesions. Outcomes were compared with microfracture or non‐treated control. Three grading scores were used to evaluate tissue repair after 8 weeks by macroscopic, histological and immunohistochemical analysis. Intense collagen type II and low collagen type I gene and protein expression were achieved in vitro by the ASC + GGMA formulation, in light with development of healthy chondral tissue. In vivo, this formulation promoted significantly superior de novo cartilage formation compared with the non‐treated group. Maintenance of chondral height and integration with native tissue was further accomplished. The physicochemical properties of the proposed GGMA hydrogel exhibited highly favorable characteristics and biological performance both in vitro and in vivo, positioning itself as an attractive xeno‐free biomaterial to be used with chondrogenic cells for a cost‐effective treatment of focal chondral lesions

Simplicial quantum dynamics

Present-day quantum field theory can be regularized by a decomposition into quantum simplices. This replaces the infinite-dimensional Hilbert space by a high-dimensional spinor space and singular canonical Lie groups by regular spin groups. It radically changes the uncertainty principle for small distances. Gaugeons, including the gravitational, are represented as bound fermion-pairs, and space-time curvature as a singular organized limit of quantum non-commutativity. Keywords: Quantum logic, quantum set theory, quantum gravity, quantum topology, simplicial quantization.Comment: 25 pages. 1 table. Conference of the International Association for Relativistic Dynamics, Taiwan, 201

Compressed representation of a partially defined integer function over multiple arguments

In OLAP (OnLine Analitical Processing) data are analysed in an n-dimensional cube. The cube may be represented as a partially defined function over n arguments. Considering that often the function is not defined everywhere, we ask: is there a known way of representing the function or the points in which it is defined, in a more compact manner than the trivial one

An Upstream Open Reading Frame Controls Translation of var2csa, a Gene Implicated in Placental Malaria

Malaria, caused by the parasite Plasmodium falciparum, is responsible for substantial morbidity, mortality and economic losses in tropical regions of the world. Pregnant women are exceptionally vulnerable to severe consequences of the infection, due to the specific adhesion of parasite-infected erythrocytes in the placenta. This adhesion is mediated by a unique variant of PfEMP1, a parasite encoded, hyper-variable antigen placed on the surface of infected cells. This variant, called VAR2CSA, binds to chondroitin sulfate A on syncytiotrophoblasts in the intervillous space of placentas. VAR2CSA appears to only be expressed in the presence of a placenta, suggesting that its expression is actively repressed in men, children or non-pregnant women; however, the mechanism of repression is not understood. Using cultured parasite lines and reporter gene constructs, we show that the gene encoding VAR2CSA contains a small upstream open reading frame that acts to repress translation of the resulting mRNA, revealing a novel form of gene regulation in malaria parasites. The mechanism underlying this translational repression is reversible, allowing high levels of protein translation upon selection, thus potentially enabling parasites to upregulate expression of this variant antigen in the presence of the appropriate host tissue