D6 high-quality expanded blastocysts and D5 expanded blastocysts have similar pregnancy and perinatal outcomes following single frozen blastocyst transfer.

Objective: We compared the pregnancy and perinatal outcomes between expanded blastocysts vitrified on D5 versus D6 following single frozen blastocyst transfer. Methods: Clinical data on 7,606 cycles of frozen-thawed blastocyst implantations were retrospectively analyzed. Depending on whether blastocysts were vitrified on D5 or D6 and the transferred blastocysts, the blastocysts were divided into 6 groups: HQB-D5, HQB-D6, 4XC-D5, 4XC-D6, 4CX-D5, and 4CX-D6 groups. The differences in clinical pregnancy rate, live birth rate, first trimester abortion rate, preterm birth rate, gestational age, birth weight, and sex ratio at birth among the groups were compared. Results: Our study showed that there was no difference in pregnancy and perinatal outcomes between the delayed formation of D6 high-quality expanded blastocysts and D5 expanded blastocysts, whether they were high-quality blastocysts or not. For low-quality blastocysts, the clinical pregnancy rate of D5 was higher than that of D6, and D5 was also better than D6 in live birth rate for those with inner cell mass rating B or above, while there was no difference between D5 and D6 for those with inner cell mass rating C. Conclusion: Based on our research, we suggest that when we are developing the implantation strategy, we give priority to the selection of high-quality expanded blastocysts, regardless of D5 and D6, whose clinical outcomes are not different. For low-quality blastocysts, D5 expanded blastocysts are preferred for transfer.

[Correlation of sperm mitochondrial membrane potential with semen parameters and outcomes of in vitro fertilization].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation of sperm mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) with routine semen parameters and the effect of MMP on the outcomes of in vitro fertilization (IVF). METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data on 727 IVF cycles, including 231 fresh transplantation cycles, in our hospital from November 2018 to October 2019. According to the MMP level determined by JC-1 staining and flow cytometry, we divided the patients into a low MMP (≤52%) and a high MMP (> 52%) group and compared the rates of fertilization, clinical pregnancy, abortion and live birth between the two groups. Meanwhile, we analyzed the correlation of sperm MMP with the semen volume, sperm concentration, total sperm count, total sperm motility, percentages of progressively motile sperm (PMS) and morphologically normal sperm (MNS), and sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI). RESULTS: The fertilization rate was significantly higher in the high MMP than in the low MMP group (85.3% ï¼»2 211/2 592ï¼½ vs 81.7% ï¼»3 910/4 785ï¼½, P < 0.01), and so were the rates of clinical pregnancy (50.00% ï¼»41/82ï¼½ vs 48.32% ï¼»72/149ï¼½, P < 0.05) and live birth (43.90%ï¼»36/82ï¼½ vs 40.94% ï¼»61/149ï¼½, P < 0.05), while the abortion rate was lower in the former than in the latter group (12.20% ï¼»5/41ï¼½ vs 15.28% ï¼»11/72ï¼½, P > 0.05). Statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups in sperm concentration, total sperm motility, percentages of PMS and MNS, and sperm DFI (P< 0.05), but not in the semen volume and total sperm count (P > 0.05). Sperm MMP was found correlated positively with sperm concentration (r = 0.11, P < 0.05), total sperm motility (r = 0.304, P < 0.01) and percentages of PMS (r = 288, P < 0.01) and MNS (r = 458, P < 0.01) but negatively with sperm DFI (r = 0.387, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The level of sperm MMP is related to decreased sperm motility, increased sperm abnormality, elevated sperm DFI and reduced IVF rate. It is also an important index for sperm function evaluation and, together with routine semen parameters, helps to comprehensively evaluate and optimize the assisted pregnancy program of infertile men in assisted reproduction technology.

Influencing Factor Investigation on Dynamic Hydrothermal Growth of Gapped Hollow BaTiO3 Nanospheres.

Gapped hollow BaTiO3 nanospheres with an apparent diameter of 93 ± 19 nm (shell thickness of 10-20 nm) were synthesized via a dynamic hydrothermal process using TiO2 sols and Ba(2+) ions as the Ti and Ba sources in alkaline aqueous solutions. The phases and morphologies of the BaTiO3 samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), SEM, TEM, and Raman spectra. The effects of the hydrothermal temperatures and durations, NaOH concentrations, and Ba/Ti ratios on the formation of gapped hollow BaTiO3 nanospheres were systematically investigated. The optimum conditions for forming gapped hollow BaTiO3 nanospheres are hydrothermal treatment at 180 °C for 10-20 h under a continuous magnetic stirring with NaOH concentrations of about 1 mol/L and molar Ba/Ti ratios of 1.2-1.5. The formation mechanism of the gapped hollow BaTiO3 nanospheres is understood as the combination of the orientated attachment and reversed crystal growth.