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    <timestamp>20261001055313726</timestamp>
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        <full_title>Molecular Sciences and Applications</full_title>
        <issn media_type="print">2944-9138</issn>
        <issn media_type="electronic">2732-9992</issn>
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      <journal_issue>
        <publication_date media_type="online">
          <month>05</month>
          <day>14</day>
          <year>2026</year>
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        <publication_date media_type="print">
          <month>05</month>
          <day>14</day>
          <year>2026</year>
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          <volume>6</volume>
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      <journal_article publication_type="full_text" language="en">
        <titles>
          <title>Theoretical Analytical Framework for Enhancing Retinal Photoreceptor Neurite Outgrowth with Small Molecules and Growth Factors</title>
        </titles>
        <contributors>
          <person_name sequence="first" contributor_role="author">
            <given_name>Jacob</given_name>
            <surname>Nagler</surname>
            <affiliations>
              <institution>
                <institution_name>Nagler Independent Research Center NIRC Haifa, Givat Downs 34345, Israel, ISAREL</institution_name>
              </institution>
            </affiliations>
          </person_name>
        </contributors>
        <jats:abstract xml:lang="en"><jats:p>Cell replacement strategies using stem cell-derived photoreceptor precursors (PRPs) offer a promising route for retinal repair; however, a persistent translational bottleneck is the gap between neurite elongation and functional synaptic integration. Recent experimental work combining ROCK inhibition (Y-27632), taurine, retinal conditioned medium, and 3D collagen scaffolds showed pronounced neurite outgrowth, yet transcriptomic readouts at 72 h did not reveal robust presynaptic ribbon marker induction. This manuscript develops a theoretically grounded, multi-scale explanation for that separation between morphology and synaptic maturation. We formulate the Comprehensive Spatiotemporal Elasto-Kinetic (CSEK) framework, extended by the Stochastic Biomechanical Arborization &amp; Transport (SBAT) model, to couple actin cortex relaxation, motor-clutch-based elongation, stochastic branching, and delayed intracellular transport of synaptic cargo. A further Classical Elasto-Kinetic and Reaction-Diffusion (CEK-RD) description is introduced to capture target-cell tethering and compartmental mass transfer. The model predicts that strong elongation can occur well before mature synaptogenesis becomes detectable, especially when contact-dependent transcription and axonal transport delays are superimposed on rapid growth-cone extension. The framework therefore offers a coherent theoretical basis for interpreting why early time-point RNA profiling may underestimate synapse formation and suggests that longer observation windows are required to assess functional integration in elongated, branched PRPs.</jats:p></jats:abstract>
        <publication_date media_type="online">
          <month>10</month>
          <day>01</day>
          <year>2026</year>
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        <publication_date media_type="print">
          <month>10</month>
          <day>01</day>
          <year>2026</year>
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        <pages>
          <first_page>99</first_page>
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          <item_number item_number_type="article_number">9</item_number>
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          <doi>10.37394/232023.2026.6.9</doi>
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