Filling gaps in trustworthy development of AI.

Incident sharing, auditing, and other concrete mechanisms could help verify the trustworthiness of actors.

A solution scan of societal options to reduce transmission and spread of respiratory viruses: SARS-CoV-2 as a case study.

Societal biosecurity - measures built into everyday society to minimize risks from pests and diseases - is an important aspect of managing epidemics and pandemics. We aimed to identify societal options for reducing the transmission and spread of respiratory viruses. We used SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) as a case study to meet the immediate need to manage the COVID-19 pandemic and eventually transition to more normal societal conditions, and to catalog options for managing similar pandemics in the future.

An innovative method to generate a Good Manufacturing Practice-ready regulatory T-cell product from non-mobilized leukapheresis donors.

Background Aims: There is real and sustained interest in preparing T-regulatory cells from leukapheresis collections for cellular therapy through the use of simple, effective and reliable methods conforming to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). We describe a GMP-ready isolation procedure for CD25(+) products with the use of a sterile docking device, pigtail sampling, a laminar flow hood and the CliniMACS system that uses leukapheresis collections made by two apheresis machines.

Methods: We used CD8/CD19 depletion followed by CD25-positive selection.

Storage time affects umbilical cord blood viability.

Background: Cryopreserved umbilical cord blood (CB) is increasingly used as a cell source to reconstitute marrow in hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients. Delays in cryopreservation may adversely affect cell viability, thereby reducing their potential for engraftment after transplantation.

Study Design And Methods: The impact of delayed cryopreservation for up to 3 days on the viability of both CD45+ and CD34+ cell populations in 28 CB donations with volumes of 58.

Interlaboratory assessment of a novel colony-forming unit assay: a multicenter study by the cellular team of Biomedical Excellence for Safer Transfusion (BEST) collaborative.

Background: Interlaboratory scoring performances were determined using a traditional 14-day colony-forming unit (CFU) assay and a new 7-day CFU assay.

Study Design And Methods: Digital images of colonies were utilized to train personnel at each site. A central laboratory inoculated methylcellulose with progenitors and sent the samples by overnight courier to participating labs for plating.

Storage characteristics of cord blood progenitor cells: report of a multicenter study by the cellular therapies team of the Biomedical Excellence for Safer Transfusion (BEST) Collaborative.

Background: Most hematopoietic progenitor cell (HPC) products are infused or processed shortly after collection, but in some cases this may be delayed for up to 48 hours. A number of variables such as temperature and cell concentration are of critical importance for the integrity of HPCs during this time.

Study Design And Methods: We evaluated critical variables using cord blood HPC units that were divided equally and stored at 4 °C versus room temperature (RT) for up to 96 hours.

An internal positive control for the enumeration of CD45(+) and CD34(+) cells by flow cytometry allows monitoring of reagent and operator performance.

Background: Three-color flow cytometry assays are used to determine CD34(+) cell doses prior to stem cell transplantation. These assays require high-quality reagents that are dispensed accurately to ensure reproducible results. We have developed a flow cytometry assay for CD34(+) cells with an integral positive control (KG1a cells) for monitoring reagent and operator performance.