Influence of the Degree of Deacetylation of Chitosan and BMP-2 Concentration on Biocompatibility and Osteogenic Properties of BMP-2/PLA Granule-Loaded Chitosan/β-Glycerophosphate Hydrogels

Compositions based on chitosan/β-glycerophosphate hydrogels with highly porous polylactide granules can be used to obtain moldable bone graft materials that have osteoinductive and osteoconductive properties. To eliminate the influence of such characteristics as chain length, degree of purification, and molecular weight on a designed material, the one-stock chitosan sample was reacetylated to degrees of deacetylation (DD%) of 19.5, 39, 49, 55, and 56. A study of the chitosan/β-glycerophosphate hydrogel with chitosan of a reduced DD% showed that a low degree of deacetylation increased the MSCs (multipotent stromal cells) viability rate in vitro and reduced the leukocyte infiltration in subcutaneous implantation to Wistar rats in vivo. The addition of 12 wt% polylactide granules resulted in optimal composite mechanical and moldable properties, and increased the modulus of elasticity of the hydrogel-based material by approximately 100 times. Excessive filling of the material with PLA (polylactide) granules (more than 20%) led to material destruction at a ~10% strain. Osteoinductive and osteoconductive properties of the chitosan hydrogel-based material with reacetylated chitosan (39 DD%) and highly porous polylactide granules impregnated with BMP-2 (bone morphogenetic protein-2) have been demonstrated in models of orthotopic and ectopic bone formation. When implanted into a critical-size calvarial defect in rats, the optimal concentration of BMP-2 was 10 μg/mL: bone tissue areas filled the entire material’s thickness. Implantation of the material with 50 μg/mL BMP-2 was accompanied with excessive growth of bone tissue and material displacement beyond the defect. Significant osteoinductive and osteoconductive properties of the material with 10 μg/mL of BMP-2 were also shown in subcutaneous implantation.     

Antiferromagnetic and superconducting states in the three-band two-dimensional repulsive Hubbard model

The three-band two-dimensional repulsive Hubbard model in the formalism of the temperature Green function is investigated. The applicability of the weak coupling approach at the values of the dimensionless coupling constant U/t≈10–11 is justified. The normal state, the antiferromagnetic state with Neel magnetic ordering on the “copper” sublattice, and the superconducting state with nontrivial Cooper pairing in channels with odd angular momenta are studied. The possibility of other magnetic states in the model is discussed. Bibliography: 20 titles. Translated fromZapiski Nauchnykh Seminarov POMI, Vol. 209, 1994, pp. 194–228. Translated by K. Malyshev.     

Advantages of NIR radiation use for optical determination of skin horny layer thickness with embedded TiO2 nanoparticles during tape stripping procedure

The tape stripping technique is an experimental method frequently used for reconstruction of the in-depth distribution of various topically administered substances within the horny layer of human skin, e.g., compounds contained in sunscreens. Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles (25–200 nm in diameter) are one such compound. Optical techniques which apply blue light are found to be suitable for reconstruction. However, the presence of particles affects the light propagation within the skin and therefore causes incorrect determination of strip thickness, leading to an improper reconstructed distribution of nanoparticle concentration revealed from the experimental data. This study evaluates the errors emerging from the use of blue (400 nm) and NIR (800 nm) radiation and finds the use of longer wavelength light more advantageous. Particles of different diameters are considered, and it is revealed that the application of small particles (25–60 nm) results in the lowest rate of error.     

Quantum-interference effects for gamma radiation under crossing-anticrossing conditions for nuclear levels in an RF field

A new approach to observing the effect of electromagnetically induced transparency in gamma optics is proposed. The propagation of a resonant photon in a ⁵⁷Fe magnetic medium in an applied rf field is considered for this purpose. It is shown that, under crossing-anticrossing conditions, a resonant rf field substantially changes the gamma-optical properties of the medium, which become dependent on the parameters of the field. This opens the possibility for exercising a coherent control of the photon group velocity and a controllable filtration of unpolarized gamma radiation in a sample.     

Use of the two-moment boundary condition in the problem of rarefied gas slip over a solid cylindrical surface

The slip velocity of a rarefied gas nonuniform in temperature and mass velocity is calculated for gas slip over the surface of a right circular cylinder. The calculation uses the two-moment boundary condition in an approximation linear in Knudsen number. Corrections to the slip velocity that are due to the interface curvature, volume temperature stresses, and nonuniform temperature distribution in the Knudsen layer are studied as func-tions of the accommodation coefficients in the first two moments of the distribution function. The Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook model of the Boltzmann kinetic equation is employed as the basic equation for the gas state.