Collagen scaffold-seeded iTenocytes accelerate the healing and functional recovery of Achilles tendon defects in a rat model.

Introduction: Tendon injuries represent an ongoing challenge in clinical practice due to poor regenerative capacity, structure, and biomechanical function recovery of ruptured tendons. This study is focused on the assessment of a novel strategy to repair ruptured Achilles tendons in a Nude rat model using stem cell-seeded biomaterial.

Methods: Specifically, we have used induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived mesenchymal stem cells (iMSCs) overexpressing the early tendon marker Scleraxis (SCX, iMSC, iTenocytes) in combination with an elastic collagen scaffold.

Discovery and engineering of the antibody response to a prominent skin commensal.

The ubiquitous skin colonist Staphylococcus epidermidis elicits a CD8 T cell response pre-emptively, in the absence of an infection. However, the scope and purpose of this anti-commensal immune program are not well defined, limiting our ability to harness it therapeutically. Here, we show that this colonist also induces a potent, durable, and specific antibody response that is conserved in humans and non-human primates.

GPU-Accelerated Solution of the Bethe-Salpeter Equation for Large and Heterogeneous Systems.

We present a massively parallel GPU-accelerated implementation of the Bethe-Salpeter equation (BSE) for the calculation of the vertical excitation energies (VEEs) and optical absorption spectra of condensed and molecular systems, starting from single-particle eigenvalues and eigenvectors obtained with density functional theory. The algorithms adopted here circumvent the slowly converging sums over empty and occupied states and the inversion of large dielectric matrices through a density matrix perturbation theory approach and a low-rank decomposition of the screened Coulomb interaction, respectively. Further computational savings are achieved by exploiting the nearsightedness of the density matrix of semiconductors and insulators to reduce the number of screened Coulomb integrals.

Breast cancer cells promote osteoclast differentiation in an MRTF-dependent paracrine manner.

Bone is a frequent site for breast cancer metastasis. The vast majority of breast cancer-associated metastasis is osteolytic in nature, and RANKL (receptor activator for nuclear factor κB)-induced differentiation of bone marrow-derived macrophages to osteoclasts (OCLs) is a key requirement for osteolytic metastatic growth of cancer cells. In this study, we demonstrate that Myocardin-related transcription factor (MRTF) in breast cancer cells plays an important role in paracrine modulation of RANKL-induced OCL differentiation.

Focal necrotizing cervical lymphadenitis without evidence of disseminated disease in an immunocompetent patient.

Previously healthy Caucasian female in her 30s initially presented for progressively enlarging right-sided cervical lymphadenopathy with associated sore throat. After she completed 2 antibiotic regimens for presumed infection with no relief, a CT Neck with contrast was obtained which demonstrated multiple pathologic lymph nodes, the largest lymph node demonstrating central necrosis. Patient underwent fine needle aspiration with Otolaryngology, as well as core needle biopsy with Interventional Radiology, both of which were nondiagnostic.