AFC vs. AMH: prediction of ovarian response in women with endometrioma undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical value of antral follicle count (AFC) and anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) for the prediction of ovarian response in women with endometrioma undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation for IVF using GnRH antagonist treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifty patients with endometrioma who underwent their first IVF/ICSI cycle with GnRH antagonist treatment were included in the study. The average AMH values were recorded as 1.5-2 ng/mL. Fifty infertile women are not suffering from endometrioma were selected from those with male factor infertility as control. They were matched according to both serum AMH levels and age. Serum samples have been collected before the IVF treatment for determining AMH levels in both groups of subjects. Likewise, each group of subject underwent ultrasound scan for AFC on day 3. Total number of oocytes retrieved during OPU, the number of transferred embryo, implantation and clinical pregnancy rates, live birth and abortion rates, total dose of rhFSH were noted in both groups of subjects. RESULTS: Day 3 AFC was significantly higher in the control group compared to women with endometrioma. Both the number of retrieved oocytes during oocyte pick-up, MII oocytes and 2 PN embryo were significantly lower in the endometrioma. Likewise, the fertilization, implantation, clinical pregnancy and live birth rates of endometrioma group were significantly lower than those in the control group. The total rFSH dose was higher in the endometrioma group than those in control. The percentage of abortion in the endometrioma group was found to higher compared to those with controls. CONCLUSIONS: AFC is more sensitive than the AMH in detecting ovarian response in women with ovarian endometrioma. The individualization of GnRH antagonist protocols in subjects having endometrioma might be improved by using an AFC-tailored approach instead of AMH.

Disulfiram, as a candidate NF-κB and proteasome inhibitor, prevents endometriotic implant growing in a rat model of endometriosis.

OBJECTIVE: Disulfiram (DSF) exerts its therapeutic effects through oxidative, proteasome, and nuclear factor kappa beta (NF-κB) pathways. The study was planned to test the impact of DSF on growing of endometriotic implants in rats with experimentally induced endometriosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty rats were labeled as the control (n = 8), sham (n = 6), GnRH-agonist (n = 8) and the DSF (n = 8) groups. The rats in the group 3 exposed to single dose leuprolide acetate. The rats in group 4 were treated with DSF for 21 days. The serum activity of oxidant and antioxidant markers, total oxidant status (TOS), total antioxidant status (TAS), interleukin-1ß, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were determined. Implants were processed for NF-κB, PCNA, and CD34 immunostaining. RESULTS: The serum concentration of malondialdehyde in the DSF group was significantly higher than those in other groups. The concentration of TAS, TNF-α, and interleukin-1ß in the DSF group considerably decreased compared to control group. Following treatment with DSF while the percentage of Grade 1 and 2 implants increased the percentage of Grade 3 and 4 implants decreased. The implants disappeared totally in two cases in the DSF group and one case in the GnRH-agonist group. The mean H-Scores of implant NF-κB and PCNA in DSF treated animals were found to significantly lower than those of the control group. CONCLUSIONS: By decreasing NF-κB expression, angiogenesis, and cell proliferation DSF prevents the growth of endometriotic implants.

Irisin immunostaining characteristics of breast and ovarian cancer cells.

To determine expression pattern of irisin in tissues obtained from human ovarian cancer, breast cancer, and cervix cancer. Tissue samples obtained from subjects with breast cancer, ovarian cancer cervix cancer, simple endometrial hyperplasia, complex atypical endometrial hyperplasia. At least five sections from each subject were immunohistochemically stained with irisin antibody, and H-score method was used to evaluate irisin intensity. Tissues obtained from healthy breast tissues, proliferative phase endometrium adenomyosis and benign ovarian tumors were accepted as control. Irisin activity was not detected in control breast tissues significantly increased irisin staining was detected in invasive lobular, intraductal papillary, invasive ductal, invasive papillary, and mucinous carcinomas compared to control tissues. Also, significantly increased irisin immunoreactivity was detected in both ovarian endometriosis and mucinous carcinomas compared to benign tumors. However irisin staining was not observed at the papillary carcinoma of the ovary while sections obtained from simple and complex atypical endometrial hyperplasia, and cervix carcinoma demonstrated irisin immunoreactivity. Increased irisin immunoreactivity in tissues obtained from breast, ovary, cervix carcinomas, and endometrial hyperplasia suggest critical role of this peptide during carcinogenesis.

Mastering hysteresis in magnetocaloric materials.

Hysteresis is more than just an interesting oddity that occurs in materials with a first-order transition. It is a real obstacle on the path from existing laboratory-scale prototypes of magnetic refrigerators towards commercialization of this potentially disruptive cooling technology. Indeed, the reversibility of the magnetocaloric effect, being essential for magnetic heat pumps, strongly depends on the width of the thermal hysteresis and, therefore, it is necessary to understand the mechanisms causing hysteresis and to find solutions to minimize losses associated with thermal hysteresis in order to maximize the efficiency of magnetic cooling devices. In this work, we discuss the fundamental aspects that can contribute to thermal hysteresis and the strategies that we are developing to at least partially overcome the hysteresis problem in some selected classes of magnetocaloric materials with large application potential. In doing so, we refer to the most relevant classes of magnetic refrigerants La-Fe-Si-, Heusler- and Fe2P-type compounds.This article is part of the themed issue 'Taking the temperature of phase transitions in cool materials'.

Shell-ferromagnetism of nano-Heuslers generated by segregation under magnetic field.

We report on a new functional property in an AF martensitic Heusler Ni50Mn45In5, which when annealed at high temperatures under a magnetic field, segregates and forms Ni50Mn25In25 Heusler precipitates embedded in a Ni50Mn50 matrix. The precipitates are paramagnetic whereas the matrix is antiferromagnetic. However, the spins at the interface with the Ni50Mn50 matrix align with the field during their nucleation and growth and become strongly pinned in the direction of the applied field during annealing, whereas the core spins become paramagnetic. This shell-ferromagnetism persists up to 600 K and is so strongly pinned that the remanent magnetization remains unchanged, even when the field is reversed or when the temperature is cycled between low temperatures and close to the annealing temperature.

Serum and follicular fluid irisin levels in poor and high responder women undergoing IVF/ICSI.

OBJECTIVE: We examined the follicular fluid (FF) and serum levels of irisin in high and poor responders undergoing IVF/ICSI to test whether irisin has a role in the metabolic regulation of energy homeostasis in growing follicle. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty infertile women with PCOS and 20 poor responder participants undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) with GnRH antagonist protocol for IVF/ICSI treatment were allocated. Blood was obtained at the time of oocyte retrieval. The follicular fluid content of mature follicles was collected from both high and poor responder women. Irisin levels were measured by using EIA. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between serum and FF-irisin levels in women with PCOS. (11.18 ± 5.14 µg/mL vs. 11.06 ± 4.93 µg/mL, p < 0.96). In contrast, serum levels of irisin in poor responders were significantly higher than in the FF-irisin levels (13.13 ± 4.27 µg/mL vs. 10.09 ± 4.14 µg/mL, p < 0.01). FF-irisin levels of PCOS subjects were positively and significantly correlated with serum levels of irisin (r: 0.81, p < 0.00). Serum irisin was positively associated with serum levels of total testosterone but was negatively associated with HOMA-IR in the overall patient population. FF-irisin levels were also noted to be negatively correlated with HOMA-IR. Although there is no correlation between serum irisin and AMH levels, FF irisin levels were negatively correlated with serum AMH levels in PCOS subjects. Contrary to PCOS group there were no significant correlation between serum and FF-irisin levels in poor responder group (r: 0.21; p < 0.35). CONCLUSIONS: The present study is the first attempt to explore the role of irisin in oocyte development by measuring FF and serum levels of this molecules in patients with poor and high responders undergoing IVF/ICSI.

Magnetic correlations in the magnetocaloric materials Mn3GaC and Mn3GaC0.85N0.15 studied by neutron polarization analysis and neutron depolarization.

Partially substituting carbon by nitrogen in the antiperovskite compound Mn3GaC increases the first order antiferromagnetic/ferromagnetic transition temperature and at the same time causes the high-temperature long-range ferromagnetism to weaken. To show that the weakening is related to the diminishing of ferromagnetic domain formation, we undertake neutron depolarization and neutron polarization analysis experiments on Mn3GaC and Mn3GaC0.85N0.15. Polarization analysis experiments show that strong ferromagnetic correlations are present at high temperatures in the paramagnetic states of both Mn3GaC and Mn3GaC0.85N0.15 and that these correlations vanish in the antiferromagnetic state. Neutron depolarization studies show that above the first order transition temperature, ferromagnetic domain formation is present in Mn3GaC but is absent in Mn3GaC0.85N0.15. The relationship between ferromagnetic domain formation and transitional hysteresis is brought forward for these two important magnetocaloric materials.

Ab initio Prediction of Martensitic and Intermartensitic Phase Boundaries in Ni-Mn-Ga.

Despite the importance of martensitic transformations of Ni-Mn-Ga Heusler alloys for their magnetocaloric and shape-memory properties, the martensitic part of their phase diagrams is not well determined. Using an ab initio approach that includes the interplay of lattice and vibrational degrees of freedom we identify an intermartensitic transformation between a modulated and a nonmodulated phase as a function of excess Ni and Mn content. Based on an evaluation of the theoretical findings and experimental x-ray diffraction data for Mn-rich alloys, we are able to predict the phase diagram for Ni-rich alloys. In contrast to other mechanisms discussed for various material systems in the literature, we herewith show that the intermartensitic transformation can be understood solely using thermodynamic concepts.

Disturbed endometrial NF-κB expression in women with recurrent implantation failure.

OBJECTIVE: This study was planned to investigate whether expression levels of endometrial NF-κB1 and NFκB p65 changes in women with recurrent implantation failure (RIF). PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study group consists of 30 RIF patients having at least three previous failed IVF cycles. The control group comprises of 30 patients having one or no previous failed attempt. Endometrial samples were obtained from all participants during hysteroscopy at the late follicular phase. Samples underwent ELISA analysis and immunohistochemical staining. The semi-quantitative H-Score method was used for analyzing the intensity of endometrial NF-κB p65 expression. RESULTS: The concentrations of endometrial NF-κB1 were found to be significantly increased when compared to control subjects. Likewise, significantly increased NF-κB p65 immunoreactivity was detected in the cytoplasm of luminal and glandular epithelial cells. The H-Score of NF-κB p65 in RIF women was found to be significantly increased when compared to control group. CONCLUSIONS: Increased levels of NF-κB1 and NF-κB p65 in the endometrium of RIF women can disturb physiological inflammation which is known to be positive modulator of endometrial receptivity.

Fabrication and analysis of Cr-doped ZnO nanoparticles from the gas phase.

High quality Cr-doped ZnO nanoparticles from the gas phase were prepared and investigated with respect to their structural, optical and magnetic properties. The extended x-ray absorption fine structure and the x-ray absorption near edge structure of the particles verify that after nanoparticle preparation Cr is incorporated as Cr3+ ) at least partially on sites with a 4-fold oxygen configuration, most likely on a Zn site, into the wurtzite lattice. Despite the fact that Cr is known to act as an efficient non-radiative loss centre for near band gap emission (NBE), a pronounced NBE is obtained up to room temperature even for a nominal Cr concentration of 10 at.%. Annealing at 1000 degrees C results in a significant improvement of the photoluminescence efficiency and a reduced PL linewidth down to 2.9 meV at low temperatures while the structural and magnetic data indicate the formation of ZnCr2O4 clusters.

Enhanced orbital magnetism in Fe(50)Pt(50) nanoparticles.

X-ray absorption and magnetic circular dichroism spectra at both the Fe and Pt L(3,2) edges were measured on wet-chemically synthesized monodisperse Fe(50)Pt(50) particles with a mean diameter of 6.3 nm before and after complete removal of the organic ligands and the oxide shell covering the particles by soft hydrogen plasma resulting in a pure metallic state. After thermal treatment of the metallic particles, the coercive field increased by a factor of 6, the orbital magnetic moment at the Fe site increased by 330% and is reduced at the Pt site by 30%, while the effective spin moments did not change. A decrease of the frequency of oscillations in the extended x-ray absorption fine structure at the Pt L(3,2) edges provides evidence for crystallographic changes towards the L1(0) phase.

Magnetic instabilities in Fe3C cementite particles observed with Fe K-edge x-ray circular dichroism under pressure.

The ferromagnetic interstitial iron compound Fe(3)C (cementite) is expected to have Invar properties, whereby a high-moment to low-moment transition should occur when the atomic volume is reduced below a critical value. We, therefore, examine the pressure dependence of the Fe K-edge x-ray magnetic circular dichroism in Fe(3)C at ambient temperature and pressures up to 20 GPa. We find clear evidence for a high-moment to low-moment transition around 10 GPa.