Blastocyst hatching site is regularly distributed and does not influence foetal development in mice.

Hatching out from the zona pellucida (ZP) is a crucial step for blastocyst implantation and development. However, it is still unknown whether the location of the hatching site relative to the inner cell mass (ICM) affects embryo implantation and foetal development. Here, we classified hatching blastocysts into three categories, 0° ≤ θ ≤ 30°, 30° < θ ≤ 60°, and 60° < θ ≤ 90°, in which θ is determined based on the relative position of the hatching site to the arc midpoint of the ICM. Non-surgical embryo transfer (NSET) devices were employed to evaluate blastocyst implantation and embryo development. Of 1,827 hatching blastocysts, 43.84%, 30.60%, and 21.67% were categorized as 30° < θ ≤ 60°, 0° ≤ θ ≤ 30°, and 60° < θ ≤ 90°, respectively. Embryos with different hatching sites showed no distinct differences in blastocyst implantation; surrogate female pregnancy; embryo development to term; litter size, or offspring survival, gender, or body weight. Our results indicate that mouse blastocyst hatching site is not randomly distributed. Embryo implantation and development are not correlated with the blastocyst hatching site in mice. Thus, assessment of the blastocyst hatching site should not be recommended to evaluate mouse blastocyst implantation and developmental potential.

[Controlled observation on the efficacy of thoracic facet joint disorder treated with electroacupuncture and manual reduction].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the difference in the efficacy on thoracic facet joint disorder between the combined therapy of electroacupuncture and manual reduction and the simple manual reduction. METHODS: One hundred and sixty patients were randomized into an electroacupuncture and manual manipulation group (group A) and a simple manual manipulation group (group B), 80 cases in each one. In the group A, Ashi points and three pairs of Jiaji (EX-B 2) bilateral to the painful sites were selected. The perpendicular puncture was used at Ashi points, the oblique puncture was used at Jiaji (EX-B 2) and connected with electric stimulation for 20 min, additionally, the corresponding manual reduction was adopted at the sites of facet joint disorder. In the group B, the simple manual reduction was applied to the affected sites. Acupuncture was given once every day, the manual reduction was applied once every 10 days. The treatment of 10 days made one session. The efficacy was analyzed statistically at the end of two sessions of treatment. Before and after treatment, McGill pain scale was adopted for the value statistical analysis. PRI score, VAS score and PPI score of patients were calculated before and after treatment and compared in the two groups. The efficacy was compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The curative rate was 56.3% (45/80) in the group A, which was better than 18.8% (15/80) in the group B (P< 0.01). The total effective rate was 95.0% (76/80) in the group A, which was better than 76.3% (61/80) in the group B (P<0.01). The scores of PRI, VAS and PPI after treatment were all improved significantly in the two groups (all P<0.05), in which, the results in the group A were better than those in the group B (PRI: 4.00 +/- 0.97 vs 5.44 +/- 1.16, VAS: 3.29 +/- 0.72 vs 3.87 +/- 0.81, PPI: 1.07 +/- 0.74 vs 1.64 +/- 0.90, all P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The combined therapy of electroacupuncture and manual manipulation achieves the superior efficacy on thoracic facet joint disorder as compared with the simple manual manipulation. The combined therapy relieves the symptoms of thoracic facet joint disorder and reduces the severity of disorder.