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The increasing cost of high-volume cultures and dependence on serum and growth factor supplementation limit the affordability of mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) therapies. This has spurred interest in developing strategies that support adherent cell expansion while reducing raw material costs. Culture surfaces coated with sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), specifically heparan sulfate (HS), are an alternative to prolong growth factor retention in cell cultures. Unlike heparin, recombinant HS (rHS) offers strong binding affinity for multiple growth factors and extracellular matrix components, such as collagen I, without undesirable anticoagulant effects or xenobiotic health risks. The potential of rHS as a factor reservoir in MSC cultures remains underexplored. This study investigated the impact of rHS on the growth and anti-inflammatory properties of undifferentiated bone marrow MSCs in both planar and microcarrier-based cultures. It was hypothesized that rHS would enable MSC growth with minimal growth factor supplementation in a sulfation level-dependent manner. Cell culture surfaces were assembled via the layer-by-layer (LbL) method, combining alternating collagen I (COL) and rHS. These bilayers support cell adhesion and enable the incorporation of distinct sulfation levels on the culture surface. Examination of pro-mitogenic FGF and immunostimulatory IFN-γ release dynamics confirmed prolonged availability and sulfate level dependencies. Sulfated surfaces supported cell growth in low serum (2% FBS) and serum-free (SF) media at levels equivalent to standard culture conditions. Cell growth on rHS-coated surfaces in SF was comparable to that on heparin-coated surfaces and commercial surface-coated microcarriers in low serum. These growth benefits were observed in both planar and microcarrier (μCs) cultures. Additionally, rHS surfaces reduced β-galactosidase expression relative to uncoated surfaces, delaying cell senescence. Multivariate analysis of cytokines in conditioned media indicated that rHS-containing surfaces enhanced cytokine levels relative to uncoated surfaces during IFN-γ stimulation and correlated with decreased pro-inflammatory macrophage activity. Overall, utilizing highly sulfated rHS with COL reduces the need for exogenous growth factors and effectively supports MSC growth and anti-inflammatory potency on planar and microcarrier surfaces under minimal factor supplementation.

The article focuses on Lebanon's current state amidst ongoing political and economic crises. Topics include the nostalgic yet deteriorating image of Beirut, the impact of political corruption on the country's infrastructure and economy, and the precarious situation involving Hezbollah's role in regional conflicts, including its stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

By his own admission, Eddie Slovik was the unluckiest man alive. Nearly 50,000 American and 100,000 British soldiers deserted from the Allied forces during the Second World War, but the [...]

Israel should have known better. Even before abandoning their bases inside Lebanon in 2000, the Israelis had been unable to rout Hezbollah; now they planned to cross the border into [...]

The facts are simple enough. If we had left the olive groves and the cotton fields and the oil wells of this region alone, we might not have had to [...]

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2002, LONDON A headline on a newspaper outside the Metropole Hotel, where factions of the Iraqi opposition are convening this week, declares: 'Troops Start Countdown to War.' [...]

Discussed in this essay: First Great Triumph: How Five Americans Made Their Country a World Power, by Warren Zimmermann. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002. 562 pages. $30. I abhor injustice […]

A directory of helmet manufacturers is presented. Some of the companies in the listing are Acerbis, Bell, Boeri, Briko and Carrera. Gabel, Giro, Jofa, Leedom and Louis Garneau are also included. Helmet suppliers are faced with a bullish 1999 market because of advertisements from freeskiing competitions, dead sports stars and government agencies who are giving safety design recommendations. It is expected that helmet suppliers' 1999-2000 collection, which features products that are more technologically advanced, will do well in the market.

THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT there who haven't been on a ski vacation in over five years. Disturbing, no? Actually, it's not so bad. If you're one of these underskied folks, [...]

How much adventure can a ski boot handle? We explored the possibilities at Vail. RIDING VAIL'S CHAIR 14 last April 7 to Boot Test Central's 11,500-foot elevation, we felt a [...]

There's a strong smell of double-talk around American and British pressure for air strikes on Iraq. After all, who armed Saddam? Why, we did, of course Emperors, like gods, open [...]

Seven top photographers sent us selections of their best unpublished images. Our photography department sifted out the true gems. Chris Anderson Top of Aspen Mountain, 6:30 A.M. Chris had been [...]

With the millennium just around the corner, everyone's looking to the future. The Rainbow Room at New York's Rockefeller Center is booked solid for the New Year 2000 blowout. Raving [...]

Ralph Fiennes, Kristin Scott Thomas, Willem Dafoe and Juliette Binoche star in the film adaptation of Michael Ondaatje's Booker Prize-winning novel, 'The English Patient.' Anthony Minghella directs the film while Saul Zaentz is the producer.

The state of the US as it prepares for its last election for the 20th century seem dim. Although Gen. George Washington, in his Farewell Address to the American Nation, advised Americans to preserve the nation's freedom, oppose the political party system, enlighten public opinion and maintain good faith and justice toward all nations, Americans have chosen to plunder the nation into the depths of unaccountable corporate wealth and government power. To put things right, the US needs another revolution or a new constitution that would restore sovereignty to the people.

The article presents information on the civil war in Syria. The author says that Syria is hosting conflicts between Turks and Kurds, the US and Iran, Israel and Hezbollah, and between Russia and the U.S. According to him, the U.S. plans to create a Border Security Force of Kurdish fighters and Arab tribes for containing Iranian aggression.

The book 'Jeff Koons' which contains a section 'Made in Heaven' and considered to be pornographic is available in Britain in its censored version even though it is sold legally in most other European countries. The book depicts explicit sex which is prohibited under the Obscene Publications Act of 1959. However, the uncensored version of the book is also available in book stalls to a limited extent. The ambiguity of terming particular material as 'literature' and 'pornography' should be removed but the government has hesitated in its response.

Parkas are measured by their usefulness, under the worst weather conditions--wind, snow, rain or the potentially hypothermia-inducing blend of condensation and bitter cold. Some manufacturers rely on formulas proven over […]

This article presents information about the author Charles Glass's journey through Greater Syria from Alexandretta in southern Turkey to Aqaba on the Red Sea for his book "Tribes With Flags." It ended halfway when kidnappers abducted him in Beirut. A few days after the September 11, 2001 attacks, he went back to finish the trip from Aqaba to the spot on Beirut's coastal highway where the kidnappers took him. Author's guide Ahmed Amrin, took him for coffee in a small park and while returning he was kidnapped. Mr. Amrin had served in the Jordanian army, which included military studies in Great Britain, before moving to Aqaba to become a tour guide in a country without tourists.

KILLING MRLEBANON by Nicholas Blandford I.B. Tauris, £17.99, pp. 236, ISBN 1845112024 . £14.39 (plus £2.45 p&p) 0870 429 6655 Rafik Hariri was Lebanon's bulldozer. A buccaneer. A bruiser. Built [...]

From Babel to Dragomans: Interpreting the Middle East. By Bernard Lewis. Oxford. 352 pp. $28. I have witnessed what Bernard Lewis, and later Samuel Huntington, designated the 'clash of civilizations' […]

The article consists of contributions from 20 different authors, who examine the relationship the US has with the rest of the world, along with their own personal experiences and perceptions. Many of the discussions focus on comparisons between American perspectives before and after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

It was the best of wars. It was the worst of wars. But did the war in Iraq change anyone's mind? Those who urged the war into being retain their [...]

Erbil, northern Iraq Northern, 'free' Iraq looks more and more like Lebanon in the old days: venue of not one war but many. It should have been so simple. The […]

The article offers information on the intervention of Syria by the U.S. Topics discussed include U.S. State Department closed the U.S. Embassy in Damascus, Syria in February 2012 following intelligence that the Salafist Jabhat al- Nusra group planned to bomb it; war against Islamic State; and impact of the Free Syrian Army.

John Wayne: The Life and Legend by Scott Eyman Simon & Schuster, 25 £, pp. 512, ISBN 978439199589 Spectator Bookshop, 20 £ I'm not making a picture [The Green Berets] [...]

The best thing about turning 50 is that you've had time to develop a healthy narcissism While I tap out these syllables on the first day of my 51st year, [...]

The footwear of choice for weekend warriors and sane adventurers. Our Sport-Utility boots have a lot in common with sport-utility vehicles. Even before SUVs had a cutesy acronym, these tough, [...]

Leave the blue-light Specials to the tourist. These top-of-the-line ski boots are stiff, responsive, and utterly trustworthy. Some things just aren't worth skimping on. If you need a liver transplant, [...]

New models and old Favorites are designed For roaming the Entire mountain. Freeriding is working a subtle change in ski boots: They're becoming more versatile than ever. The legacy of [...]