Characterization and Performance Testing of an Intumescent Nanoinhibitor for Inhibiting Coal Spontaneous Combustion.

Considering disadvantages such as the low thermal stability and environmental pollution of existing gel inhibitors, a green and stable intumescent nanoinhibitor (INI) was prepared and tested. First, polyacrylamide (PAM), nano-silica, and intumescent flame retardant (IFR) were selected as raw materials. The INI was prepared by nanoparticle modification and cross-linking polymerization. Then, the structure and physical properties of INI were tested by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and rheological experiments. Meanwhile, the inhibition performance of INI was studied through thermogravimetric analysis-Fourier transfer infrared spectroscopy (TGA-FTIR) analysis. The results suggest that the nanomodification improved the dispersibility of INI particles. The addition of modified nano-silica (MNS) and IFR enhances the strength of the reticular structure, thereby improving the transport convenience and covering ability of the INI gel. At high temperatures, IFR can generate a porous foamed carbon layer that further coats the coal. After INI inhibition treatment, the characteristic temperature and activation energy of coal were significantly improved, and the production of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide decreased. Hence, irrespective of physical properties, physical inhibition performance, or chemical inhibition performance, INI performed well. Research results can provide valuable references for the preparation and performance study of a coal spontaneous combustion inhibitor.

Pregnancy outcomes in patients with late-onset severe OHSS following different methods of ascetic fluid drainage and a comparison with non-OHSS IVF patients.

PURPOSE: In this study, we aimed to identify whether there are any differences in pregnancy outcomes in patients with severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) following the drainage of ascites by central venous catheter or paracentesis. We also aimed to identify differences in pregnancy outcomes between severe OHSS patients and non-OHSS IVF patients. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort analysis carried out in a university-affiliated reproductive center between 2012 and 2019 featuring 359 women with severe OHSS following ascites draining and 345 non-OHSS women (matched by age and the number of oocytes retrieved). We investigated the rates of clinical pregnancy, multiple pregnancies, miscarriage, live birth, and preterm delivery, between the two groups. Within the OHSS group (central venous catheter group vs paracentesis group), we also analyzed the odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of clinical pregnancy. RESULTS: The rate of biochemical pregnancy loss in non-OHSS patients was significantly higher than that of severe OHSS patients (11.1% vs. 0.6%; P < 0.05). Live birth rate and the rate of multiple pregnancy (twin pregnancy) were much higher in the severe OHSS group than in the non-OHSS group (88.9% vs. 73.5%; 57.6% vs. 28.1%, respectively). There was no significant difference between the rate of singleton and twin preterm delivery, and neonatal birth weight between the OHSS and the non-OHSS groups. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that multiple pregnancy and the long superovulation protocol had high odds ratios (odds ratio (OR) = 2.53), thus suggesting that these are significant risk factors for severe OHSS. When considering the patients with severe OHSS and the manner in which they underwent ascites drainage, we found that the volume of ascites in the central venous catheter group was significantly higher than that in the abdominal paracentesis group (P < 0.05). There were no significant difference between the two groups with regards to the number of live births and the birth weight of singletons and twins (P > 0.05), although the premature birth rate of singletons in abdominal paracentesis group was 9.3% (10/107), compared with 3.75% in the central venous catheter group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Analysis indicated that for women undergoing in vitro fertilization embryo transfer (IVF-ET), a higher number of antral follicle count, COS long protocol, and multiple pregnancy may be risk factors for late-onset OHSS. Both paracentesis and central venous catheters are effective modalities for the management of ascites in patients with severe OHSS. Catheters represent a safe and effective way to treat patients who need to undergo repeated paracentesis.

Acute miliary tuberculosis in pregnancy after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer: a report of seven cases.

BACKGROUND: While miliary tuberculosis (TB) in pregnancy is rare after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET), it poses a serious threat to the health of pregnant women and their fetuses. The present study aimed to describe the clinical features of miliary TB and pregnancy outcomes of patients after IVF-ET. METHODS: Data of infertile patients who received IVF-ET at Peking University Third Hospital between January 2012 and December 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients who developed miliary TB during pregnancy were identified, and clinical characteristics of miliary TB were described. RESULTS: Out of 62,755 infertile women enrolled, 7137 (11.4 %) showed signs of prior pulmonary TB on chest X-ray (CXR). Among the 15,136 women (mean age: 33.2 ± 5.0 years) who successfully achieved clinical pregnancy, seven patients aged 28-35 years had miliary TB during pregnancy, with two patients having a complication of TB meningitis. All these patients presented with fever. Notably, old TB lesions were detected on CXR in six patients before IVF-ET; nevertheless, no anti-TB therapy was administered. Furthermore, salpingography revealed oviduct obstruction in all patients (7/7). Patients received anti-TB therapy following a diagnosis of miliary TB and were clinically cured. However, pregnancy was terminated due to spontaneous (4/7) and induced (3/7) abortion. CONCLUSIONS: TB reactivation, mostly as miliary TB and TB meningitis, is severe in pregnant women after IVF-ET and deleterious to pregnancy outcomes. Signs of prior TB on CXR may be risk factors for TB reactivation during pregnancy.

Fertility quality of life (FertiQoL) among Chinese women undergoing frozen embryo transfer.

BACKGROUND: Women undergoing infertility treatment have poor quality of life. This may cause them to withdraw from or refuse treatment. Women undergoing frozen embryo transfer have a treatment interval. The aim of this study was to investigate the status quo of the fertility quality of life in women undergoing frozen embryo transfer and analyse its predictors. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from August 2019 to August 2020 among women undergoing frozen embryo transfer in a tertiary hospital reproductive centre in Beijing, China. The survey collected demographic characteristics and treatment data and included the fertility problem inventory, the fertility quality of life scale (FertiQoL) and the state-trait anxiety scale. Multiple linear stepwise regression was used to explore the predictors of fertility quality of life. RESULTS: In total, 1062 women completed the survey. Participants reported that they had high levels of fertility-related stress and anxiety during treatment. They also had lower fertility-related quality of life, and the Treatment FertiQoL scored the lowest. The regression results showed that social concern, trait anxiety, duration of treatment and age were risk factors for diminished fertility quality of life. CONCLUSION: Chinese women undergoing frozen embryo transfer have relatively poor quality of life. The potential predictors of fertility quality of life include social concern, trait anxiety, duration of treatment and age.

[Correlation of stigma with marital adjustment in female patients undergoing artificial insemination with donor sperm].

Objective: To investigate the stigma and marital adjustment of the female patients undergoing artificial insemination with donor sperm (AID) and analyze their correlation. METHODS: Using the convenience sampling method, we selected 208 infertile female patients undergoing AID from March to December 2020. We conducted a cross-sectional survey among the patients with General Information Questionnaire, Infertility Stigma Scale (ISS), and Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS). RESULTS: The total ISS score and DAS score of the patients were 54.19 ± 14.52 and 116.23 ± 15.30, respectively. Pearson analysis showed that the total and individual item ISS scores were negatively correlated with the DAS score (P < 0.01). Multivariate linear regression analysis manifested that stigma was an important factor influencing marriage adjustment (P < 0.01) and explained 34.1% of the total variations. CONCLUSIONS: Stigma is an important factor affecting marital adjustment in female patients undergoing AID and negatively correlated with marital adjustment: The lower the stigma, the better the marital adjustment. Adequate attention should be paid to the stigma of the infertile women undergoing AID and targeted measures should be developed for its intervention.

Clinical applications of MARSALA for preimplantation genetic diagnosis of spinal muscular atrophy.

Conventional PCR methods combined with linkage analysis based on short tandem repeats (STRs) or Karyomapping with single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays, have been applied to preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), an autosome recessive disorder. However, it has limitations in SMA diagnosis by Karyomapping, and these methods are unable to distinguish wild-type embryos with carriers effectively. Mutated allele revealed by sequencing with aneuploidy and linkage analyses (MARSALA) is a new method allowing embryo selection by a one-step next-generation sequencing (NGS) procedure, which has been applied in PGD for both autosome dominant and X-linked diseases in our group previously. In this study, we carried out PGD based on MARSALA for two carrier families with SMA affected children. As a result, one of the couples has given birth to a healthy baby free of mutations in SMA-causing gene. It is the first time that MARSALA was applied to PGD for SMA, and we can distinguish the embryos with heterozygous deletion (carriers) from the wild-type (normal) ones accurately through this NGS-based method. In addition, direct mutation detection allows us to identify the affected embryos (homozygous deletion), which can be regarded as probands for linkage analysis, in case that the affected family member is absent. In the future, the NGS-based MARSALA method is expected to be used in PGD for all monogenetic disorders with known pathogenic gene mutation.