Undifferentiated embryonic stem (ES) cells can be maintained in vitro if cultured in the presence of the cytokine leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF). ES cells can also differentiate in vitro. A particularly efficient method for inducing ES cell differentiation is to culture ES cells as aggregates in the absence of LIF. Under these conditions they form structures known as embryoid bodies (EBs). However the current protocols for EB formation are still diverse. In order to facilitate further study, we carefully controlled the culture conditions for EB formation, and here we report an efficient protocol by which uniformly differentiated EBs were obtained, monitored by measuring the differentiation of beating cardiomyocytes. Furthermore, by using this protocol we observed in long-term cultured plating EBs (> 60 days) there still exist cell colony with pluripotency. This observation raised a potential possibility that ES cells may keep pluripotent in a niche provided by differentiated cells.
Animals ; Cell Differentiation ; physiology ; Cells, Cultured ; Culture Media ; Embryonic Development ; physiology ; Embryonic Stem Cells ; cytology ; Leukemia Inhibitory Factor ; pharmacology ; Mice ; Stem Cell Niche ; physiology ; Time Factors

Objective To explore the functional connectivity characteristics and intensity of brain network in depression at rest.Methods Patients with major depressive disorder(MDD)and healthy controls(HCs)underwent resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging.The total brain degree centrality(DC)of the two groups was calculated to assess the functional connection strength.Support vector machine(SVM)method was used to investigate whether abnormal DC value can recognize MDD.Results A total of 26 patients and 37 controls were included in the analysis.Compared to HCs,MDD group showed decreased DC value in the left middle frontal gyrus(t=-4.98,P＜0.05,GRF corrected)and increased DC value in the right middle temporal gyrus(t=5.02,P＜0.05,GRF corrected),right parahippocampal gyrus(t=4.80,P＜0.05,GRF corrected),and right posterior cerebellar gyrus(t=4.98,P＜0.05,GRF corrected).Additionally,no significant correlations were found between abnormal DC values and clinical variables(i.e.,17-item Hamilton depression scale and Beck depression scale scores)in MDD group(P＞0.05).SVM analysis showed that decreased DC value in the left middle frontal gyrus might be used to distinguish MDD group from HCs with an accuracy of 84.13%,a specificity of 81.08%,and a sensitivity of 88.46%,the area under the operational characteristic curve is 0.87.Conclusions Altered DC values in the left middle frontal gyrus and right middle temporal gyrus,right parahippocampal gyrus,right posterior cerebellum may contribute to the pathophysiology of MDD.The change of functional connection strength of the left medial frontal gyrus may be helpful for the recognition of MDD.

Objective    To investigate the feasibility of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) lung resection in the treatment of tuberculosis. Methods    We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 164 tuberculosis patients who underwent lung resection in Xi'an Chest Hospital from 2013 to 2017. Patients were divided into two groups according to the surgical procedure: a VATS group (85 patients, 56 males and 29 females) and a thoracotomy group (79 patients, 52 males and 27 females). The clinical effect of the two groups was compared. Results     Compared to the thoracotomy group, the VATS group had less operation time (151.59±76.75 min vs. 233.48±93.89 min, P<0.001), amount of intraoperative blood loss (200.00 ml vs. 600.00 ml, P<0.001), the postoperative drainage (575.00 ml vs. 1 110.00 ml, P=0.001), extubation time (4 d vs. 6 d, P<0.001) and hospital stay (13.00 d vs. 17.00 d, P<0.001). There was no statistical difference in postoperative complications (10 patients vs.17 patients, P=0.092) between the two groups. A total of 97 patients underwent lobectomy, including 36 of the VATS group and 61 of the thoracotomy group. The operation time (211.39±70.88 min vs. 258.20±87.16 min, P=0.008), the intraoperative blood loss (400.00 ml vs. 700 ml, P<0.010), the postoperative drainage (800.00 ml vs. 1 250.00 ml, P=0.001), extubation time (5.00 d vs. 8.00 d, P=0.002) and hospital stay (13.11±4.45 d vs. 19.46±7.74 d, P<0.010) in the VATS group were significantly better than those in the thoracotomy group. There was no statistical difference in postoperative complication rate (4 patients vs. 14 patients, P=0.147) between the two[1]，groups. Conclusion    Compared with conventional thoracotomy, VATS lung resection has obvious advantages in treatment of tuberculosis, which may be the preferred technique.