Pre-pandemic support for shared reading buffers adverse parenting impacts: an RCT in Brazil.

BACKGROUND: To examine whether (1) a parent-child reading program (Universidade do Bebê [UBB]), conducted in Brazil pre-pandemic can support parenting and parent-child reading 6 months into the pandemic, (2) cognitive stimulation at pandemic onset mediates effects of UBB on these outcomes, and (3) UBB pre-pandemic buffers associations between COVID-19-related distress and parenting/parent-child reading 6 months into the pandemic. METHODS: 400 women, either pregnant or with children 0-24 months, were randomized to UBB (n = 200) or control groups. UBB consisted of monthly parent workshops focusing on parent-child reading and a book-lending library. Assessments pre-pandemic (June-2019) and at pandemic onset (April-2020) included cognitive stimulation. Assessments 6 months into the pandemic (October-2020) included COVID-19 exposure/impact/distress, as well as parenting and parent-child reading. RESULTS: 133 families (n = 69 UBB) contributed data 6 months into the pandemic. Participation in UBB pre-pandemic was associated with parent-child reading but not parenting 6 months into the pandemic. Indirect effects of UBB through cognitive stimulation at pandemic onset were observed for both outcomes. Increased COVID-19-related distress was significantly associated with reduced parenting/parent-child reading 6 months into the pandemic in the control group only. CONCLUSION: Promotion of cognitive stimulation pre-pandemic may have reduced risk for effects of the pandemic on parenting/parent-child reading. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial has been registered with the Brazilian Clinical Trials Registry RBR-29RZDH on 05/28/2018. IMPACT: This is the first study showing sustained impacts of a reading aloud intervention beginning in pregnancy and early infancy implemented pre-pandemic. Findings suggest that participation in a reading-aloud intervention buffered associations between COVID-19 distress and parenting/parent-child reading 6 months into the pandemic. Novel empirical evidence suggests that promotion of cognitive stimulation prior to the pandemic may buffer its impacts on parenting and parent-child book reading following onset in low- and middle-income countries. Findings provide important new support for implementation of parent-child reading aloud programs and likely have implications for early childhood development beyond the COVID-19 pandemic for disasters generally.

Reading Aloud, Self-Regulation, and Early Language and Cognitive Development in Northern Brazil.

OBJECTIVES: In this study, we examined (1) whether a reading aloud intervention, Universidade do Bebê (UBB), had impacts on self-regulation; (2) whether effects on child outcomes were mediated by self-regulation; and (3) whether effects of UBB were explained through a sequential pathway of impact, including cognitive stimulation in the home, parent-child interactive reading, and self-regulation. METHODS: We performed a cluster randomized controlled trial of UBB in child care centers serving low-income children (mean age 37.4 months; SD = 6.5) in Northern Brazil. The child care centers were randomized to receive UBB or standard care (control). Families in UBB could borrow children's books weekly and participate in monthly workshops focused on reading aloud. Parent-child dyads (n = 484, intervention = 232, control = 252) were evaluated at baseline and 9 months later on: child self-regulation, vocabulary, intelligence quotient (IQ), working memory, and phonological memory and measures of cognitive stimulation in the home and parent-child interactive reading. Multilevel analyses accounted for baseline performance, sociodemographics, and clustering within centers and sites. RESULTS: The UBB group showed significantly higher self-regulation (Cohen's d = 0.25), compared with the control group, particularly in the subdomains of Attention (d = 0.24) and Impulse Control (d = 0.21). Previously shown impacts of UBB on receptive vocabulary, IQ, and working memory were mediated by self-regulation. Effects of UBB on self-regulation and child outcomes were partially explained through cognitive stimulation in the home and parent-child interactive reading. CONCLUSION: Self-regulation represents an important mechanism by which reading aloud interventions affect language and cognitive outcomes. Investigators should consider the role of self-regulation when refining interventions, seeking to prevent poverty-related disparities.

Relationship between age and blastocyst chromosomal ploidy analyzed by noninvasive preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidies (niPGT-A).

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between human blastocyst chromosomal ploidy established by niPGT-A and increasing age. METHODS: This is a prospective multicenter study carried out by ten assisted reproduction centers after their embryologists acquired training and validated their results with the previous use of niPGT-A. A total of 94 couples with indication for niPGT-A due to increase maternal age, male factor, repeated implantation failures, recurrent abortion or because they requested niPGT-A were included in this study. The couples had no karyotype abnormalities. After ICSI, the embryos were cultured until blastocyst stage using one or two step culture systems, single or sequential media respectively, at 37°C in an atmosphere of 6-7% CO2 and 5-20% O2 incubators. On day 3, we re-evaluated cleavage embryos to complete cumulus cells removal. The embryos were then cultured in individual well, with 20µl of medium under oil until they reached blastocyst stage. The blastocysts were vitrified and stored in liquid nitrogen. After that, the spent blastocyst culture medium (20µl) was transferred to a PCR tube and sent for analysis in the genetic laboratory, where it was stored at -80°C until sequencing. A total of 243 samples of spent blastocyst culture medium were collected on the 5th/6th day. Cell-free DNA secreted on culture medium was amplified using NICS Sample Preparation Kit (Yikon Genomics), based on the MALBAC technology. After whole genome amplification, the DNA was measured using a Qubit 2.0 fluorometer and subjected to next generation sequencing (NGS) using Illumina MiSeq® platform. The data were analyzed using the ChromGo® software (Yikon Genomics). RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 38±4.08 years with an interval of 20-44 years. The euploid was diagnosed in 36.4% (80/220) of cases, aneuploidy in 31.3% (69/220), and mosaicism in 32.3% (71/220; with ≥60% aneuploidy) of blastocysts. Mosaic values ranged from 29.8% to 33.8% in different age groups. Individually, the most frequent chromosomal abnormality was XXY (Klinefelter Syndrome) occurring in 18 cases, followed by chromosome 21 (trisomy/monosomy) in 8 cases. The niPGT-A data showed a ≥60% incidence of aneuploid cells in all cases of chromosomal mosaicism (n=71). CONCLUSION: A high degree of mosaicism with aneuploidy cells was detected, and some hypotheses were suggested for this data (niPGT-A sensitivity in detecting the self-correction of chromosomal abnormalities phenomenon). However, it did not vary remarkably with age. On the other hand, euploidy levels had a negative correlation with age and aneuploidy levels had a positive relationship. This is the first report in the literature to relate chromosomal ploidy in blastocysts using niPGT-A and increasing patient age.

Evaluation of zona pellucida birefringence intensity during in vitro maturation of oocytes from stimulated cycles.

BACKGROUND: This study evaluated whether there is a relationship between the zona pellucida birefringence (ZP-BF) intensity and the nuclear (NM) and cytoplasmic (CM) in vitro maturation of human oocytes from stimulated cycles. RESULTS: The ZP-BF was evaluated under an inverted microscope with a polarizing optical system and was scored as high/positive (when the ZP image presented a uniform and intense birefringence) or low/negative (when the image presented moderate and heterogeneous birefringence). CM was analyzed by evaluating the distribution of cortical granules (CGs) throughout the ooplasm by immunofluorescence staining. CM was classified as: complete, when CG was localized in the periphery; incomplete, when oocytes presented a cluster of CGs in the center; or in transition, when oocytes had both in clusters throughout cytoplasm and distributed in a layer in the cytoplasm periphery Nuclear maturation: From a total of 83 germinal vesicle (GV) stage oocytes, 58 of oocytes (69.9%) reached NM at the metaphase II stage. From these 58 oocytes matured in vitro, the high/positively scoring ZP-BF was presented in 82.7% of oocytes at the GV stage, in 75.8% of oocytes when at the metaphase I, and in 82.7% when oocytes reached MII. No relationship was observed between NM and ZP-BF positive/negative scores (P = 0.55). These variables had a low Pearson's correlation coefficient (r = 0.081). Cytoplasmic maturation: A total of 85 in vitro-matured MII oocytes were fixed for CM evaluation. Forty-nine oocytes of them (57.6%) showed the complete CM, 30 (61.2%) presented a high/positively scoring ZP-BF and 19 (38.8%) had a low/negatively scoring ZP-BF. From 36 oocytes (42.3%) with incomplete CM, 18 (50%) presented a high/positively scoring ZPBF and 18 (50%) had a low/negatively scoring ZP-BF. No relationship was observed between CM and ZP-BF positive/negative scores (P = 0.42). These variables had a low Pearson's correlation coefficient (r = 0.11). CONCLUSIONS: The current study demonstrated an absence of relationship between ZP-BF high/positive or low/negative score and nuclear and cytoplasmic in vitro maturation of oocytes from stimulation cycles.

Efficacy of hyaluronic acid binding assay in selecting motile spermatozoa with normal morphology at high magnification.

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the hyaluronic acid (HA) binding assay in the selection of motile spermatozoa with normal morphology at high magnification (8400x). METHODS: A total of 16592 prepared spermatozoa were selected and classified into two groups: Group I, spermatozoa which presented their head attached to an HA substance (HA-bound sperm), and Group II, those spermatozoa that did not attach to the HA substance (HA-unbound sperm). HA-bound and HA-unbound spermatozoa were evaluated according to the following sperm forms: 1-Normal morphology: normal nucleus (smooth, symmetric and oval configuration, length: 4.75+/-2.8 µm and width: 3.28+/-0.20 µm, no extrusion or invagination and no vacuoles occupied more than 4% of the nuclear area) as well as acrosome, post-acrosomal lamina, neck, tail, besides not presenting a cytoplasmic droplet or cytoplasm around the head; 2-Abnormalities of nuclear form (a-Large/small; b-Wide/narrow; c-Regional disorder); 3-Abnormalities of nuclear chromatin content (a-Vacuoles: occupy >4% to 50% of the nuclear area and b-Large vacuoles: occupy >50% of the nuclear area) using a high magnification (8400x) microscopy system. RESULTS: No significant differences were obtained with respect to sperm morphological forms and the groups HA-bound and HA-unbound. 1-Normal morphology: HA-bound 2.7% and HA-unbound 2.5% (P = 0.56). 2-Abnormalities of nuclear form: a-Large/small: HA-bound 1.6% vs. HA-unbound 1.6% (P = 0.63); b-Wide/narrow: HA-bound 3.1% vs. HA-unbound 2.7% (P = 0.13); c-Regional disorders: HA-bound 4.7% vs. HA-unbound 4.4% (P = 0.34). 3. Abnormalities of nuclear chromatin content: a-Vacuoles >4% to 50%: HA-bound 72.2% vs. HA-unbound 72.5% (P = 0.74); b-Large vacuoles: HA-bound 15.7% vs. HA-unbound 16.3% (P = 0.36). CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that HA binding assay has limited efficacy in selecting motile spermatozoa with normal morphology at high magnification.

Programa de fertilizaçäo in vitro do Centro de Reproduçäo humana da Fundaçäo Maternidade Sinhá Junqueira - 1991: análise de 100 procedimentos / In vitro fertilization program at the human reproduction center of the Maternidade Sinhá Junqueira - 1991: analysis of 100 procedures

Um grupo de 84 pacientes participou do programa de fertilizaçao in vitro do Centro de Reroduçao Humana da Maternidade Sinhá Junqueira, durante o ano de 1991. Um total de 100 captaçoes de oócitos foi realizada, com a média de 5,04 oócitos por punçao, tendo sido transferidos, em média, 2,39 embrioes por punçao. A taxa de gravidez clínica por punçao foi de 20 por cento e por transferência de 25,31 por cento. Contudo, cinco abortos ocorreram do total de 20 gestaçoes obtidas, perfazendo a taxa de 25 por cento de abortamentos espontâneos.

Prevençäo da hiperestimulaçäo ovariana pelo uso de agonista de GnRH (leuprolide) como indutor da ruptura folicular / Prevention of the ovarian hyperestimulation by the using of GnRH (leuprolide) agosnist for the triggering ovulation

Um grupo de 12 pacientes com infertilidade e tratados com hMG em preparaçäo para inseminaçäo intra-uterina ou para correçäo de anovulaçäo, tiveram a ovulaçäo desencadeada pela descarga de LH endógeno, através da administraçäo de 2,5mg subcutâneo de acetato de leuprolide, por terem sido consideradas de alto risco para desenvolverem a síndrome de hiperestimulaçäo ovariana (SHO). Com a utilizaçäo do agonista do GnRh a rotura folicular ocorreu em 10 das 12 pacientes (83,33 por cento) e a SHO nos graus moderado e severo näo foi observada em nenhuma paciente apesar das altas taxas pré-ovulatórias de estradiol (µ = 2.078,17pg/ml), do grande número de folículos < 15mm (µ = 10,0) e da presença de um baixo fator de sincromia ovariano (µ = 0,40).

Nascimento de quadrigêmeos após estimulaçäo ovariana com gonadotrofinas / Birth of quadruplet after gonadotrophins ovarian stimulation

The authors report a case of quadruplet pregnancy. Early diagnosis by ultrasonography, meticulous antenatal care, early hospitalization, delivery by cesarean section, and on-site availability of a neonatologist for each baby at the time of delivery are the probable major determinants of the improved outcome.