Two laser-assisted hatching methods of embryos in ART: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Laser-assisted hatching (LAH) stands as the predominant technique for removing the zona pellucida (ZP) in embryos, primarily consisting of two methods: drilling laser-assisted hatching (D-LAH) and thinning laser-assisted hatching (T-LAH). Presently, both methods have limitations, and their comparative efficacy for embryo implantation and clinical pregnancy remains uncertain. AIM: Evaluate the impact of D-LAH and T-LAH on clinical pregnancy rates within assisted reproductive technology (ART). METHODS: We systematically searched electronic databases including PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library until July 20, 2022. This study encompassed observational studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs). A 95% confidence interval (CI) was utilized for assessing the risk ratio (RR) of pregnancy outcomes. The level of heterogeneity was measured using I2 statistics, considering a value exceeding 50% as indicative of substantial heterogeneity. RESULTS: The meta-analysis scrutinized 9 studies involving 2405 clinical pregnancies from D-LAH and 2239 from T-LAH. Findings suggested no considerable variation in the clinical pregnancy rates between the two techniques (RR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.79-1.10, I2 = 71%, P = 0.41). Subgroup analyses also revealed no substantial differences. However, D-LAH exhibited a notably higher occurrence of singleton pregnancies compared to T-LAH (RR = 2.28, 95% CI: 1.08-4.82, I2 = 89%, P = 0.03). There were no noteworthy distinctions observed in other secondary outcomes encompassing implantation rate, multiple pregnancies, ongoing pregnancy, miscarriage, premature birth, and live birth. CONCLUSION: Both the primary findings and subgroup analyses showed no marked variance in clinical pregnancy rates between D-LAH and T-LAH. Therefore, patients with varying conditions should select their preferred LAH technique after assessing their individual situation. However, due to the restricted number of studies involved, accurately gauging the influence of these laser techniques on clinical outcomes is challenging, necessitating further RCTs and high-quality studies to enhance the success rate of ART. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO: CRD42022347066.

Ce/N @BC prepared based on plant metallurgy strategy: A novel activator of peroxymonosulfate for the degradation of sulfamethoxazole.

A novel carbon catalyst was created based on plant metallurgy strategy for organic pollutants removal. Plants rich in CeO2 NPs in water were used as carbon precursors and pyrolyzed with urea to obtain Ce/N co-doped carbon catalysts, which were used in the degradation of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) by active peroxymonosulfate (PMS). The results showed that the Ce/N @BC/PMS system achieved to 94.5% degradation of SMX in 40 min at a rate constant of 0.0602 cm-1. The activation center of PMS is widely dispersed Ce oxide nanocrystals, and CeO2 NPs promote the formation of oxygen centered PFR with enhanced catalytic ability and longer half-life. In addition, N-doping facilitates the transfer of π-electrons within the sp2 carbon of biochar, increasing active sites and thus improving PMS activation efficiency. The degradation process was contributed to by both radical and non-radical activation mechanisms including 1O2 and direct electron transfer, with O2•- serving as 1O2's precursor. Through the DFT calculations, LC-MS and toxicological analyses, the degradation pathway of pollutants and the toxicity changes throughout the entire degradation process were further revealed, indicating that the degradation of SMX could effectively reduce ecological toxicity.

Construction of the metabolic reprogramming-associated gene signature for clear cell renal cell carcinoma prognosis prediction.

BACKGROUND: Metabolism reprogramming is a hallmark that associates tumor growth, metastasis, progressive, and poor prognosis. However, the metabolism-related molecular patterns and mechanism in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) remain unclear. Herein, the purpose of this study was to identify metabolism-related molecular pattern and to investigate the characteristics and prognostic values of the metabolism-related clustering. METHODS: We comprehensively analyzed the differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and metabolism-related genes (MAGs) in ccRCC based on the TCGA database. Consensus clustering was used to construct a metabolism-related molecular pattern. Then, the biological function, molecular characteristics, Estimate/immune/stomal scores, immune cell infiltration, response to immunotherapy, and chemotherapy were analyzed. We also identified the DEGs between subclusters and constructed a poor signature and risk model based on LASSO regression cox analysis and univariable and multivariable cox regression analyses. Then, a predictive nomogram was constructed and validated by calibration curves. RESULTS: A total of 1942 DEGs (1004 upregulated and 838 downregulated) between ccRCC tumor and normal samples were identified, and 254 MRGs were screened out from those DEGs. Then, 526 ccRCC patients were divided into two subclusters. The 7 metabolism-related pathways enriched in cluster 2. And cluster 2 with high Estimate/immune/stomal scores and poor survival. While, cluster 1 with higher immune cell infiltrating, expression of the immune checkpoint, IFN, HLA, immune activation-related genes, response to anti-CTLA4 treatment, and chemotherapy. Moreover, we identified 295 DEGs between two metabolism-related subclusters and constructed a 15-gene signature and 9 risk factors. Then, a risk score was calculated and the patients into high- and low-risk groups in TCGA-KIRC and E-MTAB-1980 datasets. And the prediction viability of the risk score was validated by ROC curves. Finally, the clinicopathological characteristics (age and stage), risk score, and molecular clustering, were identified as independent prognostic variables, and were used to construct a nomogram for 1-, 3-, 5-year overall survival predicting. The calibration curves were used to verify the performance of the predicted ability of the nomogram. CONCLUSION: Our finding identified two metabolism-related molecular subclusters for ccRCC, which facilitates the estimation of response to immunotherapy and chemotherapy, and prognosis after treatment.

Live birth after letrozole-stimulated cycles versus hormone replacement treatment cycles for the first frozen embryo transfer in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION: Hormone replacement treatment (HRT) is the most commonly used endometrial preparation protocol for frozen embryo transfer (FET) in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). However, studies have found that HRT may increase the risk of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and some obstetric complications. Letrozole is a new first-line ovulation induction drug for PCOS and can effectively induce spontaneous ovulation by reducing oestrogen levels. However, letrozole is still rarely used in FET and has only been reported in a few studies in Asian populations. High-quality, well-powered randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing HRT and letrozole-stimulated protocols are lacking. The aim of this study is to compare the efficacy and safety of two protocols in patients with PCOS. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This is a multicentre, open-label RCT in four reproductive medical centres in China. In total, 1078 women with PCOS will be randomised (1:1) to the letrozole-stimulated or HRT group in their first FET cycle and their pregnancy and perinatal outcomes during this cycle will be followed up and analysed. The primary outcome is live birth. Secondary outcomes are cycle cancellation rate, biochemical pregnancy, clinical pregnancy, miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, obstetric and perinatal complications, neonatal complications and birth weight. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of Reproductive and Genetic Hospital of CITIC-XIANGYA (LL-SC-2022-001). Written informed consent will be obtained from each participant. The findings will be disseminated through conference presentations and publication in peer-reviewed journals. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05227391.

Molecular Biomarker Exploration of Rituximab plus CHOP Therapy in Real-World Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Patients.

BACKGROUND: Presently, several classification methods are based on diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), but its clinical application has not yet been testified in Asian populations. METHODS: Twenty-five DLBCL patients were subjected to second-generation gene sequencing (NGS), and retrospective analysis of clinical features of the patients was to explore genotyping and survival prognosis biomarkers. RESULTS: The prevalent mutant genes in DLBCL patients cover myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) (40%), TP53 (32%), B-cell translocation gene 2 (BTG2) (28%), PIM1 (28%), and CREB-binding protein (CREBBP) (24%) in this study. The classical International Prognostic Index (IPI) scores were associated with progression-free survival (PFS) (HR: 7.52, 95% CI 1.51 - 37.6, p = 0.00393) via univariate analysis. Furthermore, patients with ETS-variant gene 6 (ETV6) (HR: 5.1, 95% CI 0.927 - 28.1, p = 0.0371), platelet-derived growth factor receptor A (PDGFRA) (HR: 4.29, 95% CI 0.824 - 22.3, p = 0.0594), platelet-derived growth factor receptor B (PDGFRB) (HR: 10.8, 95% CI 0.979 - 119, p = 0.0149) was distinctively correlated with poor PFS except for the IPI score. Nevertheless, the mutation of PDGFRA/B gene was not distinct in further multivariate analysis (PFS: HR: 2.72, 95% CI 0.52 - 14.23, p = 0.2369). Additionally, better survival prognosis was in DLBCL patients who did not progress within 12 months (POD12). Ultimately, caspase recruitment domain 11 (CARD11) gene mutations were enriched in patients with primary intranodal tumors, but the prognostic relevance was not discovered. CONCLUSIONS: ETV6 and platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR)A/B gene mutations are supposed to be potential biomarkers for the prognosis of DLBCL patients via the statistical analysis of this small sample, and POD12 is also expected to be an effective endpoint for efficacy assessment.

Microbiological composition of follicular fluid in patients undergoing IVF and its association with infertility.

PROBLEM: In recent years, the incidence of female infertility has risen sharply, which is affected by many factors. It was recognized that female reproductive tract microbes play a role in the process of female conception. If the reproductive tract microbes could solve a certain proportion of infertility, it would certainly reduce the pain and economic burden of many patients. The objective of this study was to investigate the microbial community composition of follicular fluid in infertile patients and its potential impact on infertility. METHOD OF STUDY: Follicular fluid from 49 primary infertility and 52 secondary infertility patients was collected by a negative pressure needle, and the microbiota was analyzed by 16S rDNA sequencing. RESULTS: It was found that Lactobacillus, especially L. crispatus, might have a positive effect on female pregnancy. Considering the presence or absence of male factors and different body mass indices, L. iners might inhibit female pregnancy. However, L. iners seemed to play a positive role in egg maturation, while Gardnerella and Cutibacterium acnes might have a negative effect on female pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggested the potential role of Lactobacillus in follicular fluid in improving female infertility and provided a theoretical basis for the future microbiological treatment of female infertility.

Loss of Cep72 affects the morphology of spermatozoa in mice.

The centrosome regulates mammalian meiosis by affecting recombination, synapsis, chromosome segregation, and spermiogenesis. Cep72 is one of the critical components of the centrosome. However, the physiological role of Cep72 in spermatogenesis and fertility remains unclear. In this study, we identify Cep72 as a testis-specific expression protein. Although Cep72 knockout mice were viable and fertile, their sperms were morphologically abnormal with incomplete flagellum structures. Transcriptome analysis reveals significant differences in six genes (Gm49527, Hbb-bt, Hba-a2, Rps27a-ps2, Gm29647, and Gm8430), which were not previously associated with spermatogenesis. Overall, these results indicate that Cep72 participates in regulating sperm morphology and yet is dispensable for fertility in mice.

Optimization of PAHs oxidation from contaminated soil using modified nanoscale zero-valent iron combined with potassium permanganate.

A novel synergistic oxidation technology based on modified nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) and potassium permanganate (KMnO4) was developed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) remediation in actual contaminated soil. In this study, three surfactants were used as dispersants to modify nZVI, including poly acrylic (PAA), sorbitan monolaurate (SPAN-20) and sugar esters (SE). The following parameters were studied to optimize the coupling oxidation process: dispersants/nZVI ratio, dosage of oxidant based on soil oxidation demand (SOD), amount of modified nanomaterials added in the coupling system. By using zeta potential, XRD, SEM, BET characterization methods, the results show that nZVI successfully coated with 5% PAA, 20% SE and 10% SPAN-20 have the best stability and mobility to effectively reduce the agglomeration effect. The conditions for treating PAH contaminated soil with the three best modified nanocomposites combined with KMnO4 were studied. The optimal conditions were defined as [SE-nZVI] = 10% and [KMnO4] = 40% SODmax for 24 h at 25 °C. The synergistic oxidation process under these optimal conditions and the two unoptimized processes of KMnO4 and nZVI-KMnO4 degraded 85%, 58.9% and 62% of PAHs, respectively. This showed that the treatment effect of the optimized oxidation process was improved by 1.3-1.5 times. Further, by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), adsorption and electrophilic substitution reaction were speculated as the oxidation mechanism of PAHs treated by the coupling system of SE-nZVI-KMnO4. PAHs could finally be decomposed into 9-methylene-9H-fluorene, fluoranthene and 1,5-diphenyl-1,4-pentadiyn-3-one and reached a safer status in the soil.

Identification of Immune-Related Genes Associated With Bladder Cancer Based on Immunological Characteristics and Their Correlation With the Prognosis.

BACKGROUND: To identify the immune-related genes of bladder cancer (BLCA) based on immunological characteristics and explore their correlation with the prognosis. METHODS: We downloaded the gene and clinical data of BLCA from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) as the training group, and obtained immune-related genes from the Immport database. We downloaded GSE31684 and GSE39281 from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) as the external validation group. R (version 4.0.5) and Perl were used to analyze all data. RESULT: Univariate Cox regression analysis and Lasso regression analysis revealed that 9 prognosis-related immunity genes (PIMGs) of differentially expressed immune genes (DEIGs) were significantly associated with the survival of BLCA patients (p < 0.01), of which 5 genes, including NPR2, PDGFRA, VIM, RBP1, RBP1 and TNC, increased the risk of the prognosis, while the rest, including CD3D, GNLY, LCK, and ZAP70, decreased the risk of the prognosis. Then, we used these genes to establish a prognostic model. We drew receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves in the training group, and estimated the area under the curve (AUC) of 1-, 3- and 5-year survival for this model, which were 0.688, 0.719, and 0.706, respectively. The accuracy of the prognostic model was verified by the calibration chart. Combining clinical factors, we established a nomogram. The ROC curve in the external validation group showed that the nomogram had a good predictive ability for the survival rate, with a high accuracy, and the AUC values of 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival were 0.744, 0.770, and 0.782, respectively. The calibration chart indicated that the nomogram performed similarly with the ideal model. CONCLUSION: We had identified nine genes, including PDGFRA, VIM, RBP1, RBP1, TNC, CD3D, GNLY, LCK, and ZAP70, which played important roles in the occurrence and development of BLCA. The prognostic model based on these genes had good accuracy in predicting the OS of patients and might be promising candidates of therapeutic targets. This study may provide a new insight for the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of BLCA from the perspective of immunology. However, further experimental studies are necessary to reveal the underlying mechanisms by which these genes mediate the progression of BLCA.

Chromatin-Associated Protein Sugp2 Involved in mRNA Alternative Splicing During Mouse Spermatogenesis.

Mammalian spermatogenesis is a highly ordered process that is determined by chromatin-associated moderators which still remain poorly understood. Through a multi-control group proteomics strategy, we confirmed that Sugp2 was a chromatin-associated candidate protein, and its signal arose along spermatogenesis. The expression results showed that Sugp2, which is mainly expressed in the testis, had two transcripts, encoding one protein. During spermatogenesis, Sugp2 was enriched in the nucleus of male germ cells. With the depletion of Sugp2 by CRISPER-Cas9 technology, we found that Sugp2 controlled a network of genes on metal ion and ATP binding, suggesting that alternative splicing regulation by Sugp2 is involved in cellular ion and energy metabolism during spermatogenesis, while it had a little effect on meiotic progression and male fertility. Collectively, these data demonstrated that, as a chromatin-associated protein, Sugp2 mediated the alternative splicing regulatory network during spermatogenesis.

Adrenal venous sampling with adrenocorticotropic hormone stimulation: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: This meta-analysis was performed to compare the effect of adrenal venous sampling with adrenocorticotropic hormone with that without adrenocorticotropic hormone in subjects with primary aldosteronism. METHODS: A systematic literature search up to May 2020 was performed and 17 studies were detected with 1878 subjects who had adrenal venous sampling operations. They reported relationships between with and without adrenocorticotropic hormone stimulation during adrenal venous sampling in subjects with primary aldosteronism. We calculated the odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), using the dichotomous method with a random- or fixed-effect model. RESULTS: Adrenal venous sampling operations with adrenocorticotropic hormone stimulation had statistically significant lower incorrect lateralisation (OR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.43-0.75, P < .001); lower unsuccessful cannulations in both adrenal veins (OR, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.21-0.58, P < .001); lower unsuccessful cannulations of left adrenal vein (OR, 0.10; 95% CI, 0.06-0.17, P < .001) and lower unsuccessful cannulations of right adrenal vein (OR, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.11-0.54, P < .001) compared with without adrenocorticotropic hormone stimulation in subjects with primary aldosteronism. CONCLUSIONS: Adrenal venous sampling operations with adrenocorticotropic hormone stimulation had significantly lower incorrect lateralisation, unsuccessful cannulations in both adrenal veins, unsuccessful cannulations of the left adrenal vein and unsuccessful cannulations of the right adrenal vein compared with adrenal venous sampling operations without adrenocorticotropic hormone stimulation in subjects with primary aldosteronism. Larger prospective studies are recommended to confirm these findings.

[Clinical Significance of Interleukin-2 Receptor, Interleukin-8 Expression Levels in the Diagnosis of Infection in Patients with Hematological Malignancies].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical value of expression level of interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) in the fever patients with hematological malignancies. METHODS: A total of 121 inpatients in the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from April 2018 to October 2019 were enrolled in this study. The patients were separated into infection group (61 cases) and non-infection group (60 cases). In the meantime, 40 healthy people without fever or infection in the hospital for physical examination were set as matched group. C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), and cytokines were detected in all the patients with fever after admission and infection control. While, blood samples were taken from healthy people during physical examination. RESULTS: The expression levels of IL-2R in infection group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.001), and the level of serum IL-2R in infection group was also higher than that in the non-infection group (P<0.05). Based on Spearman analysis, in patients with malignant hematologic disease, serum IL-2R level was positively correlated with CRP (r=0.557, P<0.001) and IL-8 (r=0.479, P<0.001), and IL-8 level was positively correlated with CRP (r=0.318, P<0.001). Compared with the non-infection group, the area under the curve (AUC) for the level of CRP, PCT, and IL-2R of the infection group was 0.714 (95%CI: 0.623-0.806), 0.765 (95%CI: 0.680-0.851), and 0.761 (95%CI: 0.686-0.836), the sensitivity was 0.705, 0.852, and 0.705, and the specificity was 0.717, 0.70, and 0.60, respectively. While, AUC of CRP+PCT, CRP+IL-2R, PCT+IL-2R, and CRP+PCT+IL-2R was 0.789 (95%CI: 0.712-0.866), 0.702 (95%CI: 0.623-0.782), 0.757 (95%CI: 0.677-0.838), and 0.789 (95%CI: 0.712-0.866), the sensitivity was 0.738, 0.934, 0.705, and 0.738, and the specificity was 0.840, 0.470, 0.810, and 0.840, respectively. CONCLUSION: CRP, PCT, IL-2R, and IL-8 are useful parameters for diagnosis of the infectious fever in patients with hematological malignancies, which provides the basis of initial diagnosis and rational use of antibioties for clinician.

The Relationship between the Migrant Population's Migration Network and the Risk of COVID-19 Transmission in China-Empirical Analysis and Prediction in Prefecture-Level Cities.

The outbreak of COVID-19 in China has attracted wide attention from all over the world. The impact of COVID-19 has been significant, raising concerns regarding public health risks in China and worldwide. Migration may be the primary reason for the long-distance transmission of the disease. In this study, the following analyses were performed. (1) Using the data from the China migrant population survey in 2017 (Sample size = 432,907), a matrix of the residence-birthplace (R-B matrix) of migrant populations is constructed. The matrix was used to analyze the confirmed cases of COVID-19 at Prefecture-level Cities from February 1-15, 2020 after the outbreak in Wuhan, by calculating the probability of influx or outflow migration. We obtain a satisfactory regression analysis result (R2 = 0.826-0.887, N = 330). (2) We use this R-B matrix to simulate an outbreak scenario in 22 immigrant cities in China, and propose risk prevention measures after the outbreak. If similar scenarios occur in the cities of Wenzhou, Guangzhou, Dongguan, or Shenzhen, the disease transmission will be wider. (3) We also use a matrix to determine that cities in Henan province, Anhui province, and Municipalities (such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chongqing) in China will have a high risk level of disease carriers after a similar emerging epidemic outbreak scenario due to a high influx or outflow of migrant populations.