The identification of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) sources that are easily obtainable is of utmost importance. Several studies have shown that MSCs could be isolated from umbilical cord (UC) units. However, the presence of MSCs in umbilical cord blood (UCB) is controversial. A possible explanation for the low efficiency of MSCs from UCB is the use of different culture conditions by independent studies. Here, we compared the efficiency in obtaining MSCs from unrelated paired UCB and UC samples harvested from the same donors. Samples were processed simultaneously, under the same culture conditions. Although MSCs from blood were obtained from only 1 of the 10 samples, we were able to isolate large amounts of multipotent MSCs from all UC samples, which were able to originate different cell lineages. Since the routine procedure in UC banks has been to store the blood and discard other tissues, such as the cord and/or placenta, we believe our results are of immediate clinical value. Furthermore, the possibility of originating different cell lines from the UC of neonates born with genetic defects may provide new cellular research models for understanding human malformations and genetic disorders, as well as the possibility of testing the effects of different therapeutic drugs. STEM CELLS 2008;26: 146 -150 Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.

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We investigated 52 families of patients with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD1), including 172 patients (104 males and 68 females). Among 273 DNA samples which were analyzed with probe p13E-11, 131 (67 males and 64 females) were shown to carry an EcoRI fragment smaller than 35 kb; 114 among them were examined clinically and neurologically. Results of the present investigation showed that: a) there is no molecular evidence for autosomal or X-linked recessive inheritance of FSHD1; b) an excess of affected males, which is explained by a significantly greater proportion of females than males among asymptomatic cases and a significantly greater proportion of affected sons than daughters observed in the offspring of asymptomatic mothers; c) the penetrance of the FSHD1 gene until age 30 was estimated as 83% for both sexes but was significantly greater for males (95%) than for females (69%); d) new mutations occur significantly more frequently in females than males among somatic/germinal mosaic cases; and e) severely affected cases originated more often through new mutations or were transmitted through maternal than through paternal lines including somatic/germinal mothers. These observations have important implications for understanding the molecular mechanisms responsible for FSHD1 and for genetic and prognostic counseling according to the gender of the affected patient.

Using the Yguazú-a three-dimensional hydrodynamic code, we have computed a set of numerical simulations of heavy, supersonic, radiatively cooling jets including variabilities in both the ejection direction (precession) and the jet velocity (intermittence). In order to investigate the effects of jet rotation on the shape of the line profiles, we also introduce an initial toroidal rotation velocity profile, in agreement with some recent observational evidence found in jets from T Tauri stars which seems to support the presence of a rotation velocity pattern inside the jet beam, near the jet production region. Since the Yguazú-a code includes an atomic/ionic network, we are able to compute the emission coefficients for several emission lines, and we generate line profiles for the Hα, [O I]λ6300, [S II]λ6716 and [N II]λ6548 lines. Using initial parameters that are suitable for the DG Tau microjet, we show that the computed radial velocity shift for the medium-velocity component of the line profile as a function of distance from the jet axis is strikingly similar for rotating and non-rotating jet models. These findings lead us to put forward some caveats on the interpretation of the observed radial velocity distribution from a few outflows from young stellar objects, and we claim that these data should not be directly used as a doubtless confirmation of the magnetocentrifugal wind acceleration models.