ObjectiveTo investigate the feasibility and optimal condition of isolation,purification and expansion of mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs) derived from human umbilical cord blood in vtro.MethodsHuman umbilical cord blood(HUCB) was collected from full term deliveries scheduled,all samples were obtained sterilely with 20 U/ml preservative free heparin.The cord mononuclear cells were isolated with lymphocyte separation medium(density 1.077 g/ml),purified and expanded with MesencultTM medium and acidic environment to produce adherent layer.The surface antigen expression of MSCs was detected with flow cytometry.ResultsThe HUCB-derived mononuclear cells,when seeded in specific medium,gave rise to adherent cells,which exhibited either an osteoclast or mesenchymal-like phenotype.After passage 3,these cells were able to be purified and expanded.6.6×105 primary MSCs reached a number of 9.9×10<>sup8 after 10 expanded passage.Flow cytometry showed that MSCs did not express antigens CD34,CD11a and CD11b,but express strongly CD29 and weakly CD71,which was identical to human bone marrow-derived MSCs.ConclusionMSCs in HUCB can be cultured and expanded in vitro,and could be a source of stem cells for experimental and clinical application.

The long-period CT perfusion imaging leads to an excess amount of radiation dose to the patient. However, the radiation dose could be significantly reduced if a previous normal-dose image is acquired before a set of low-dose scans of perfusion, and a filtering processing is performed on the differences between the current low-dose images and the previous normal-dose image, then the results are added to the previous image. But the selection of plenty of parameters makes the algorithm complicated. This paper proposes an innovative approach performed in sinogram domain instead of in image domain. First a normal-dose image and a set of low-dose projection data are acquired before the perfusion. Second the perfusion information is commendably reconstructed with sparsity constraints of the differences between current low-dose perfusion sinograms and previous low-dose sinogram. Finally, the reconstructed perfusion information is added to the previous normal-dose image. The proposed method was validated by simulated experiments with a set of brain CT perfusion images, which showed that the new method provided more accurate perfusion information; the time-attenuation curve was more close to that for normal-dose scan and the mean transit time more repeatable.
Algorithms ; Brain ; diagnostic imaging ; Humans ; Perfusion Imaging ; methods ; Radiation Dosage ; Radiation Injuries ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted ; Subtraction Technique ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; adverse effects ; methods

Objective To investigate the clinical effect of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) combined with non-specific sequential immunotherapy (IM) for early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC),and analyze the factors affecting prognosis of patients after RFA.Methods The prosepctive study was conducted.The clinicopathological data of 72 early HCC patients who were admitted to the People's Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region from January 2009 to October 2015 were collected.Patients were divided into 3 groups by random number table:patients in group A underwent single RFA therapy;patients in group B underwent RFA + non-specific sequential IM (1-3 times);patients in group C underwent RFA + non-specific sequential IM (≥ 4 times).RFA was performed by the same doctors team,and non-specific sequential IM planning included thymalfasin + interleukin-2 (IL-2).Observation indicators:(1) treatment situations;(2) follow-up and survival;(3) analysis of prognostic factors after RFA.Follow-up using outpatient examination was performed to detect tumor recurrence and overall survival up to December 2015.Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as (x) ± s,and comparison among groups were evaluated with the ANOVA.Comparison of count data were analyzed using the chi-square test.The curve,rate and time of tumor recurrence after treatment,overall survival curve and time were respectively drawn and calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method,and the Log-rank test was used for survival analysis.The univariate analysis and multivariate analysis were respectively done using the COX proportional hazard regression model.Results Seventy-two patients were screened for eligibility,including 31 in group A,22 in group B and 19 in group C.(1) Treatment situations:patients in 3 groups underwent RFA,and contrast enhanced ultrasound showed complete tumors ablation at 5 days postoperatively.Patients in group B and C didn't have significant adverse reactions after RFA during IM therapy.(2) Follow-up and survival:72 patients were followed up for 2-66 months after treatment,with a median time of 34 months.The 1-year tumor recurrence rates after treatment in group A,B and C were respectively 19.4％,13.6％ and 10.5％,with no statistically significant difference (x2=0.714,P＞0.05).The median tumor recurrence times in group A,B and C were respectively 24.0 months,30.0 months and 33.0 months,with no statistically significant difference (x2 =3.283,P＞0.05).The median overall survival times in group A,B and C were respectively 46.0 months,56.0 months and 57.0 months,with a statistically significant difference (x2=7.079,P＜0.05).There were statistically significant differences between group A and group B and C (x2 =4.566,4.243,P＜0.05),and no statistically significant difference between group B and group C (x2 =0.078,P＞0.05).(3) Analysis of prognostic factors after RFA:results of univariate analysis showed that initial tumor,tumor number,Barcelona clinic liver cancer (BCLC)staging and sequential IM after RFA were related factors affecting prognosis of early HCC patients [hazard ratio (HR)=2.636,2.530,0.145,0.582,95％ confidence interval (CI):1.218-5.703,1.110-5.767,0.041-0.517,0.321-0.867,P＜0.05].Results of multivariate analysis showed that tumor number ＞ 1,staging B of BCLC and without sequential IM after RFA were independent risk factors affecting prognosis of early HCC patients (HR=2.376,2.683,0.567,95％CI:1.080-5.229,1.530-21.112,0.335-0.962,P＜0.05).Conclusions The non-specific sequential IM of thymalfasin + IL-2 can prolong survival time of early HCC patients after RFA.Tumor number ＞ 1,staging B of BCLC and without sequential IM after RFA are independent risk factors affecting prognosis of early HCC patients.

TORCH, which is considered as a series of pathogens, including the Toxoplasma gondii, Rubella virus, Cytomegalovirus or Herpes simplex virus, often infects the pregnant women to induce the the fetus or newborn infection by transplacental infection or exposure to contaminated genital tract secretions at delivery. Increasing evidence have been confirmed that the infection of TORCH may cause the miscarriage, premature birth, malformed fetus, stillbirth, intrauterine growth retardation, neonatal multiple organ dysfunction and other adverse pregnancy outcomes. For most TORCH-infections cases may lacking the effective treatments during pregnancy, and it is important to achieve the effacing monitoring of TORCH infections before and during pregnancy. The laboratory testing of TORCH has the great significance. However, the consensus opinions still need to improve the the standardization of TORCH testing process and the correct interpretation. Based on the characteristics of the TORCH detection method, this article gives a consensus opinion on the standardized detection and clinical application of TORCH from the laboratory perspective according to the characteristics and types of infection of different pathogens.