The culture of human limbal epithelial stem/progenitor cells (LSCs) in the presence of animal components poses the risk of cross-species contamination in clinical applications. We quantitatively compared different xenobiotic-free culture media for the cultivation of human LSCs. LSCs were cultured from 2 × 2 mm limbal tissue explants on denuded human amniotic membrane with different xenobiotic-f...

Scaffolds prepared from silk fibroin derived from cocoons of the domesticated silkworm moth Bombyx mori have demonstrated potential to support the attachment and growth of human limbal epithelial (HLE) cells in vitro. In this study, we attempted to further optimize protocols to promote the expansion of HLE cells on B. mori silk fibroin- (BMSF-) based scaffolds. BMSF films were initially coated ...

At the end of his famous book Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, Gershom Scholem points to important role stories have played Hasidism, latest phase and he closes lectures with following story: When Baal Shem had a difficult task before him, would go certain place woods, light fire meditate prayer—and what set out perform was done [...]

This paper compares base shears computed from floor accelerations (inertial base shear) and column shears (structural base shear) for two mid-rise, multi­ story buildings due to a suite of 30 earthquake ground motions. The presented results demonstrate that the inertial base shear exceeds the structural base shear in the median by 10% to 20% and may exceed the structural base shear by as much a...

Dr Stephen Bergman, Professor of medical humanities at New York University, writes under the name Samuel Shem. He is an acclaimed author of several novels, plays and textbooks, and his work has been translated into several languages -'The House of God' his first novel has sold over 3 million copies. His work exposes the potential moral challenges of the medical workplace and the connection betw...