Effect of noninvasive embryo viability testing versus conventional IVF on the live birth rate in IVF/ICSI patients: a study protocol for a double-blind, multicenter, randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) was demonstrated to be superior to conventional IVF in reducing the incidence of miscarriage and abnormal offspring after the first embryo transfer (ET). PGT-A requires several embryo trophectoderm cells, but its negative impacts on embryo development and long-term influence on the health conditions of conceived children have always been a concern. As an alternative, noninvasive PGT-A (niPGT-A) approaches using spent blastocyst culture medium (SBCM) achieved comparable accuracy with PGT-A in several pilot studies. The main objective of this study is to determine whether noninvasive embryo viability testing (niEVT) results in better clinical outcomes than conventional IVF after the first embryo transfer. Furthermore, we further investigated whether niEVT results in higher the live birth rate between women with advanced maternal age (AMA, > 35 years old) and young women or among patients for whom different fertilization protocols are adopted. METHODS: This study will be a double-blind, multicenter, randomized controlled trial (RCT) studying patients of different ages (20-43 years) undergoing different fertilization protocols (in vitro fertilization [IVF] or intracytoplasmic sperm injection [ICSI]). We will enroll 1140 patients at eight reproductive medical centers over 24 months. Eligible patients should have at least two good-quality blastocysts (better than grade 4 CB). The primary outcome will be the live birth rate of the first embryo transfer (ET). Secondary outcomes will include the clinical pregnancy rate, ongoing pregnancy rate, miscarriage rate, cumulative live birth rate, ectopic pregnancy rate, and time to pregnancy. DISCUSSION: In this study, patients who undergo noninvasive embryo viability testing (niEVT) will be compared to women treated by conventional IVF. We will determine the effects on the pregnancy rate, miscarriage rate, and live birth rate and adverse events. We will also investigate whether there is any difference in clinical outcomes among patients with different ages and fertilization protocols (IVF/ICSI). This trial will provide clinical evidence of the effect of noninvasive embryo viability testing on the clinical outcomes of the first embryo transfer. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR) Identifier: ChiCTR2100051408. 9 September 2021.

[Quercetin for the treatment of prostate cancer: Progress in studies].

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a common urinary malignancy, and advanced PCa has a poor prognosis and a high mortality. Drug therapies currently available for this malignancy often cause serious adverse reactions, and therefore new drugs with fewer adverse effects or the potential to reduce the adverse effects of traditional chemotherapeutic drugs are badly needed for the management of PCa. Quercetin, as a natural flavonoid, has been extensively studied in recent years for its anti-cancer effects, as in cell signal transduction, apoptosis promotion, anti-proliferation and -oxidation, and growth inhibition. In fact, quercetin has a variety of biological effects and can inhibit various enzymes involved in cell proliferation and signal transduction pathways. Besides, quercetin is also reported to have potential synergistic effects when used in combination with radiotherapy or chemotherapeutic drugs. This review summarizes the advances in the treatment of PCa with quercetin, focusing on its effects of promoting the apoptosis, inhibiting the proliferation and reducing the invasiveness and migration of tumor cells, and reversing drug resistance, aiming to provide a new theoretical basis and some new ideas for the studies of the treatment of PCa.

Evaluation of left ventricular systolic function using synchronized analysis of heart sounds and the electrocardiogram.

BACKGROUND: Heart failure is a major health concern and often requires echocardiography to confirm the diagnosis. We introduce a new method that uses a wearable heart sound and electrocardiogram (ECG) device that can be used in the outpatient setting. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the value of synchronized analysis of heart sounds and ECG in identifying patients with depressed left ventricular ejection fraction (dLVEF) <50%. METHODS: One hundred eighty-nine patients (76 with dLVEF; 113 with normal ejection fraction) were enrolled. All were admitted to the hospital because of dyspnea or chest discomfort. N-Terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) was measured in all patients. LVEF was determined by echocardiography. Heart sound and ECG signals were simultaneously recorded using the wearable synchronized phonocardiogram and ECG device. Heart sound and ECG signals were automatically analyzed using wavelet analysis and utilized to determine electromechanical activation time (EMAT), EMAT/RR, S1-S2 time, and S1-S2/RR. RESULTS: EMAT in the dLVEF group was significantly higher than that in the control group (159.82 ± 83 ms vs 91.58 ± 28 ms). Pearson correlation test showed a negative correlation between EMAT and LVEF (r = -0.449; P <.001). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated that the sensitivity and specificity of EMAT ≥104 ms for the diagnosis of EF <50% were 92.1% and 92%, respectively. Patients with intermediate NT-proBNP values were identified as dLVEF by EMAT ≥104 ms, with sensitivity of 93.5% and specificity of 92.8%. CONCLUSION: The heart sound and ECG signal index EMAT contributes to the diagnosis of EF <50% and is especially helpful in patients with an inconclusive NT-proBNP value.

[Spectroscopic Characterization of DOM During Hyperthermophilic Composting of Sewage Sludge].

Spectroscopy methods such as three-dimensional excitation-emission (3D-EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy were applied to analyze the structures and changes of DOM in hyperthermophilic composting of sewage sludge to fully understand the advantages of hyperthermophilic composting in promoting sludge maturity. The results showed that the temperature reached its peak value at 90℃ and remained over 80℃ for 5 d. The thermophilic period more than 50℃ lasted for 22 d. This indicated that the microorganisms were metabolically active during the composting. The parameters of UV-visible (UV-Vis), including E253/E203, SUVA280, and S275-295, significantly changed from days 0 to 23, showing that the aromaticity degree of DOM and the humification degree of the compost gradually strengthened. Combined with the fluorescence regional integration (FRI), the 3D-EEM analysis results illuminated that the protein-like materials in DOM were completely degraded during days 0 to 6 of the hyperthermophilic composting and a large amount of humic acid-like and fulvic-like materials formed from days 0 to 23, indicating the compost was mature at the hyperthermophilic stage. This was consistent with the germination index (GI) on day 23 (GI=98.5%) as well. Based on the correlation analysis between spectroscopic parameters, PⅤ,n/PⅢ,n showed close relationship with others (r ≥ 0.68), showing their potential as indicators for maturity of hyperthermophilic composting. The results above confirmed that fermentation time could be greatly shortened to about 20 d by using the hyperthermophilic composting, which has great potential for application in organic solid waste management.

Salibacterium lacus sp. nov., a halophilic, non-spore-forming bacterium isolated from sediment of a saline lake.

A novel halophilic bacterium, strain GSS13T, capable of growing at salinities of 8-28 % (w/v) NaCl (optimally at 24 %, w/v) was isolated from Yuncheng Saline Lake in China. GSS13T was Gram-stain-positive, strictly aerobic, rod-shaped, motile and a non-spore-former. Growth occurred at pH 5.5-8.5 (optimum pH 7.0) and at 10-45 °C (optimum 30 °C). On the basis of the results of 16S rRNA gene sequences phylogenetic analyses, GSS13T represents a member of the genus Salibacterium and is closely related to Salibacterium halotolerans S7T, Salibacterium qingdaonense CM1T and Salibacterium halochares MSS4T, with 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities of 98.7, 98.4 and 97.9 %, respectively. The results of DNA-DNA pairing studies revealed that GSS13T displayed 52, 43 and 48 % relatedness to S. halotolerans S7T, S. qingdaonense CM1T and S. halochares MSS4T, respectively. The polar lipids of GSS13 consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol unidentified glycolipids, an unidentified phospholipid and an unidentified lipid. The predominant isoprenoid quinone was MK-7, and the major fatty acids were anteiso-C17 : 0 (32.0 %) and anteiso C15 : 0 (26.4 %). The DNA G+C content of the type strain was 52.1 mol%. On the basis of phylogenetic, chemotaxonomic and phenotypic data, a novel species of the genus Salibacterium is proposed, with the name Salibacterium lacus sp. nov. The type strain is GSS13T (=KCTC 33792T=MCCC 1K00567T).

Bacillus nitroreducens sp. nov., a humus-reducing bacterium isolated from a compost.

A Gram-staining-positive, facultative anaerobic, motile and rod-shaped bacterium, designated GSS08(T), was isolated from a windrow compost pile and characterized by means of a polyphasic approach. Growth occurred with 0-4 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum 1 %), at pH 6.5-9.5 (optimum pH 7.5) and at 20-45 °C (optimum 37 °C). Anaerobic growth occurred with anthraquinone-2,6-disulphonate, fumarate and NO3 (-) as electron acceptor. The main respiratory quinone was MK-7. The predominant polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylethanolamine. The major fatty acids (>5 %) were iso-C15:0 (43.1 %), anteiso-C15:0 (27.4 %) and iso-C16:0 (8.3 %). The DNA G + C content was 39.6 mol%. The phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain GSS08(T) formed a phyletic lineage with the type strain of Bacillus humi DSM 16318(T) with a high sequence similarity of 97.5 %, but it displayed low sequence similarity with other valid species in the genus Bacillus (<96.0 %). The DNA-DNA relatedness between strains GSS08(T) and B. humi DSM 16318(T) was 50.8 %. The results of phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and genotypic analyses clearly indicated that strain GSS08(T) represents a novel species, for which the name Bacillus nitroreducens sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is GSS08(T) (=KCTC 33699(T) = MCCC 1K01091(T)).

[Performance of Bioleaching Combined with Fenton-like Reaction in Heavy Metals Removal from Contaminated Soil].

Considering that heavy metal pollution problem is widespread in the soil of South China, bioleaching process and bioleaching combined with Fenton-like reaction were used to study the removal performance of Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb in the contaminated soil around the lead-zinc mine in ShaoGuan City, Guangdong Province, China. Sequential chemical extraction was applied to analyze the effects of different treatments on the fracion distributions of Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb. The results showed that 66.5% of copper,55.1% of zinc, 72.8% of cadmium and 35.6% of lead could be removed after 12-day bioleaching process, among which, the inorganic bound-fracion had the best dissolution efficiency. The rest of the heavy metals in solid phase mainly existed in the form of stabilized residual fraction. With an optimal H2O2 concentration of 5 g·L-1, the removal efficiencies of Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb were 55.6%, 50.6%, 60.7% and 30.5% respectively after 2-day bioleaching combined with Fenton-like reaction, which indicated that this treatment was less effective than 12-day bioleaching, but significantly more effective than the H2SO4 leaching, 2-day bioleaching, and Fenton reaction. The bioleaching combined with Fenton-like reaction could realize the effective dissolution of stable-state heavy metals such as residual fraction, organic bound fraction and inorganic bound fraction in the soil, the contents of Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb were below the limit value of standand of 50, 200, 0.3 and 250 mg·kg-1 after the treatment, respectively. It possesses the advantage of high removal efficiency in bioleaching and rapid reaction rate in Fenton reaction, thus, it is a promising remediation treatment for heavy metal contaminated soil.

Bacillus borbori sp. Nov., isolated from an electrochemically active biofilm.

A Gram-positive, facultative anaerobic, motile, endospore-forming rod strain, designated DX-4(T), was isolated from an electrochemically active biofilm. Growth occurred at 30-65 °C (optimum 55 °C), at pH 6.0-8.5 (optimum pH 7.0-7.5) and with <6 % (w/v) NaCl. Cells were catalase- and oxidase-positive. The main respiratory quinone was MK-7, the predominant polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol mannoside, and unidentified aminophospholipid, the DNA G+C content was 38.6 mol% and the major fatty acids (>5 %) were iso-C15:0 (38.9 %), iso-C17:0 (30.5 %), iso-C16:0 (5.6 %), and anteiso-C17:0 (5.2 %). The phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons revealed that strain DX-4(T) is a member of the genus Bacillus. The results of phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, and genotypic analyses clearly indicated that strain DX-4(T) represents a novel species, for which the name Bacillus borbori sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is DX-4(T) (= CCTCC AB2012196(T) = KCTC 33103(T)).

[Development of a low-cost single chamber microbial fuel cell type BOD sensor].

The principle of the detector is based on the effect of microbial toxicity of water sample on the electricity generation in microbial fuel cell (MFC). The performance of the MFC-type biotoxicity detector was evaluated with the synthetic water containing heavy metals of Cd2+ and Cu2+. The experimental results demonstrated that: (1) relative to the conventional methods, the MFC-type detector is easy to operate, and suitable for on-line measurements with high sensitivity; (2) it only requires 4 h to complete measurements, and can get ready for next measurement within 4 h; (3) there is a significant linear correlation between the concentration of toxic metal(s) and inhibition ratios in Coulombic yields of MFC. As the IC20 (concentration causing 20% inhibition) of Cd2+, Cu2+ and mixed metals (Cd2+ and Cu2+) were 0.6, 0.8 and 0.25 mg/L, the regression coefficients were shown to be 0.9960, 0.9744 and 0.9907.

[Isolation and characterization of a facultative anaerobe Pantoea agglomerans MFC-3 and its humic substance-and Fe(III) - respiring activity].

A strain of humic substance- and Fe(III)- reducing bacterium was isolated from the subterranean forest sediment and designated as MFC-3. The strain is facultative anaerobic, Gram-negative, motile and rod (1.0-3.0 microm long, 0.5-1.0 microm wide) and identified as Pantoea agglomerans with the 16S rDNA sequence analyses. Batch experiments were conducted to investigate its humic substance-and Fe(III)-respiring activity. The results showed that MFC-3 was capable of anaerobic respiration on anthraquinone-2,6-disulphonate (AQDS) as the sole terminal electron acceptor with glucose as the electron donor. Within 48 h, MFC-3 could reduce 0.3 mmol x L(-1) AQDS at the expense of 4.5 mmol x L(-1) glucose, and the population of bacteria was increased by 7 times. The strain could use sucrose, glucose, citrate, lactate and formate as electron donors for anaerobic respiration, and the reduction rates of AQDS ranked as sucrose (77%) > glucose (66%) > citrate (50%) > lactate (33%) > glycerol (25%) > formate (17%). MFC-3 can also effectively reduce four types of Fe(III) oxides. After 25 d, the total Fe(II) concentration in the tests of using ferrihydrite, alpha-FeOOH, gamma-FeOOH or alpha-Fe2 O3 as electron acceptor reached 2.5, 2.1, 2.3 and 0.8 mmol x L(-1), respectively. As a strain of environmental origin, MFC-3 is quite useful for the study of extracellular respiration and bioremediation of chlorinated organic pollutants in Fe(III)/humic substance-rich environments.

[Development of a low-cost single chamber microbial fuel cell type BOD sensor].

The 5-d biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) test is the most conventional method to determine the concentration of biodegradable organics in wastewater. However, this method is time-consuming and usually requires experience and skill to produce creditable results, which is also not suitable for on-line measurements. This study described a single-chamber mediator-less microbial fuel cell (MFC)-type BOD sensor as an alternative method to BOD5. In such MFC, MnO2 was used as the cathode catalyst instead of Pt and the expensive proton exchange membrane was replaced with the cation exchange membrane. The factors including the external resistance, pH of anolyte, the reaction time and rinse time on BOD sensor were explored, and the results were compared with the values determined by BOD5. The experimental results showed that the optimal conditions are: the external resistance of 12 k omega, pH of 7.0, and the reaction period of 2 h and the rinse time of 2-10 min. The low detection limit is 0.2 mg/L and the precision is 0.33%. This study indicates that MFC-type sensor can be used as a reliable method to determine BOD in wastewater, supported by the good linear correlation between BOD concentration and coulombs generation (regression coefficient, R2 = 0.9992) and the small relative error of 4% between MFC-type sensor and BOD5. Such device provides a low-cost, easy-operated, fast-response, sensitive and reliable method to measure BOD in wastewater, and also is suitable for on-line measurements.

[Reform and application of the vas deferens puncture tube needle via skin].

The article gives a detailed introduction of the process of marking flat tube needle for vas deferens puncture and a brief explanation of its application. This kind of tube needle can be easily made of readily available material, convenient to be cleaned and sterilized, with high success rate of puncturing and good effect. Other tube needles can be made by imitating it.

Quantitative study of circadian variations of ambulatory blood pressure in Chinese healthy, hypertensive, and diabetes subjects.

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) recorded abundant data of BP and heart rate (HR) variations with even more derived parameters for evaluation of BP. Using our ABP database system established recently, we studied quantitatively the data of 24-hr ABP in Chinese. First, 155 Chinese were divided into three groups: 50 healthy subjects (C) of 20 men and 30 women, aged 60.0 +/- 10.3 (SD) years; 58 hypertensive patients (H, mild or moderate hypertension) of 33 men and 25 women, aged 59.4 +/- 8.0 years; 47 diabetes patients (D, type 2 diabetes, all were normotensive and with no insulin treatment) with 28 men and 19 women, aged 61.0 +/- 8.5 years. Then 24-hr ABP was monitored by TM-2421 Monitor and data were analyzed by ABP database, cosinor method, and conventional statistics. Our results were 4-fold: 1) systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), HR, rate-pressure product (HR x SBP) showed circadian variations, and significant circadian rhythms were confirmed by cosinor method in all groups. MESOR (midline estimate statistic of rhythm) differed significantly among three groups (H had the highest and C had the lowest values); 2) BP means (SBP, DBP, pulse pressure [PP], and HR x SBP) and BP loads (SBP, DBP, and PP) showed significant differences among the groups (H and D had higher values than that of C); 3) there were no significant differences of BP variability (BPV) of SBP, DBP, and PP among the groups; 4) areas under curve of BP (SBP, DBP, and PP) in H were significantly higher than in C and there was no significant difference between H and D. We concluded that ABPM can offer abundant information on BP evaluation by its direct recording data and derived parameters. The computerized way of treating the large numbers of ABPM values supplies a useful tool in evaluation of BP. Our results suggest that clinically normotensive diabetes patients had some pathological alterations in their BP systems.

[The clinical application and research on vas deferens laser coagulation sterilization].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of Ar(+) laser on human vas deferens and to compare the effects of using different radiation levels with varying thickness of tissue and varying levels of injury. METHODS: After initial tests on animals, four human scrotums were opened and treated directly with Ar(+) laser radiation. Then 58 human individual scrotums were treated with radiation by the method of trans-skin puncture. The rate of sperm reduction and elimination was tested. RESULTS: In 60 cases, the sperms were found to be eliminated completely after six months of radiation treatment. In 2 cases the sperms were found not to be eliminated completely due to the insufficient radiation. CONCLUSION: Ar(+) laser is one of the best forms of radiation for coagulation of vas deferens. It can be used to coagulate vas deferens without any complications or sequelae.