Factors correlating to frozen⁃thawed embryo transfer outcomes in preimplantation genetic testing cycles / 安徽医科大学学报

Objective@#To explore the factors associated with the transplant outcomes after the treatment of preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) for infertile patients.@*Methods@# A retrospective analysis of data of frozen⁃thawed embryo transfers in PGT for structural rearrangements/PGT for monogenic ( PGT⁃SR/PGT⁃M) cycles was performed. According to the transplant outcomes , it was divided into the pregnancy group (74 cases) and the nonpregnancy group (74 cases) . The factors including male age , female age , duration of infertility , number of abortion , female BMI , follicle⁃stimulating hormone (FSH) , luteinizing hormone ( LH) , estradiol( E2) , progesterone(P) , blood glucose , insulin , albumin , total cholesterol , triglycerides , high⁃density lipoprotein( HDL) , parents ′causes of infertility , type of chromosomal abnormality , number of retrieved oocyte , number of meiosis II( MII) , number of fertilization , number of two pronuclei(2PN) , endometrial thickness on embryo transfer day , endometrial preparation , day of embryo development , presence of a top quality embryo ( TQE) or not were analyzed by the Mann⁃Whitney U test and Pearson ′s chi⁃square test. The probability of transplant outcomes in correlation with the relevant parameters analyzed was measured with multivariate logistic regression analysis.@*Results@#Univariate analysis indicated that E2 , insulin , total cholesterol , triglycerides and endometrial preparation were significantly associated with transplant outcomes in PGT⁃SR , PGT⁃M cycles (P < 0. 05) . Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that lower levels of insulin ( OR = 0. 14 , 95% CI = 0. 03 - 0. 27) and triglycerides ( OR = 1. 38 , 95% CI = 0. 14 -2. 78) in women were beneficial to transplant outcomes in PGT cycles. For endometrial preparation , compared with natural cycles , hormone replacement therapy (HRT) cycles ( OR = 3. 52 , 95% CI = 2. 54 - 4. 65) were another factor to improve transplant outcomes.@*Conclusion@#There is a correlation between the levels of insulin and triglycerides , endometrial preparation and transplant outcomes in PGT cycles. In detail , lower levels of insulin and triglycerides , and the HRT cycle can lead to a better transplant outcome.

Application of three dimensional artificial intelligence localization technology in CT chest scanning / 中华放射学杂志

Objective:To evaluate the clinical application of three dimensional artificial intelligence(3D-AI) localization technology in chest CT scan.Methods:A total of 100 patients who underwent chest CT for COVID-19 screening in Nanjing University Medical School Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital were collected from September 2020 to October 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. The patients were divided into manual positioning group ( n=50) and 3D-AI automatic positioning group ( n=50) with block randomization method. All patients were scanned with the same CT scanning protocol. The off-center distance, CT dose index (CTDI), dose length product (DLP) and CT examination time were measured and recorded. Quantitative image evaluation of mediastinal window images and qualitative image evaluation of chest window images were assessed by two radiologists. The off-center distance, CTDI, DLP, CT examination time and objective indexes of image quality of two groups were compared by independent sample t test. The quantitative image quality scores were compared with χ 2 test. Results:Compared with manual positioning group, the overall off-center distance of 3D-AI automatic positioning group was reduced by 42.86% [(15.4±9.7) vs. (8.8±7.2)mm, t=3.65, P<0.01], CTDI was reduced by 10.67%[(7.5±2.5) vs. (6.7±2.6)mGy, t=0.59, P=0.04], DLP was reduced by 13.33%[(270±95) vs. (234±86)mGy·cm, t=1.98, P=0.02], the average examination time was reduced by 29.91% [(214±26) vs. (150±14)s, t=15.79, P<0.01]. There were no significant differences in the background noise, signal to noise ratio of descending aorta and erecting spinal muscle, and subjective score between two groups ( P>0.05). Conclusion:The 3D-AI automatic positioning technology can greatly improve the accuracy of patient positioning and reduce the radiation dose for chest CT imaging, and improve work efficiency with qualified chest CT image quality.

Erratum: SOAPdenovo2: an empirically improved memory-efficient short-read de novo assembler.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/2047-217X-1-18.].

SOAPdenovo2: an empirically improved memory-efficient short-read de novo assembler.

BACKGROUND: There is a rapidly increasing amount of de novo genome assembly using next-generation sequencing (NGS) short reads; however, several big challenges remain to be overcome in order for this to be efficient and accurate. SOAPdenovo has been successfully applied to assemble many published genomes, but it still needs improvement in continuity, accuracy and coverage, especially in repeat regions. FINDINGS: To overcome these challenges, we have developed its successor, SOAPdenovo2, which has the advantage of a new algorithm design that reduces memory consumption in graph construction, resolves more repeat regions in contig assembly, increases coverage and length in scaffold construction, improves gap closing, and optimizes for large genome. CONCLUSIONS: Benchmark using the Assemblathon1 and GAGE datasets showed that SOAPdenovo2 greatly surpasses its predecessor SOAPdenovo and is competitive to other assemblers on both assembly length and accuracy. We also provide an updated assembly version of the 2008 Asian (YH) genome using SOAPdenovo2. Here, the contig and scaffold N50 of the YH genome were ~20.9 kbp and ~22 Mbp, respectively, which is 3-fold and 50-fold longer than the first published version. The genome coverage increased from 81.16% to 93.91%, and memory consumption was ~2/3 lower during the point of largest memory consumption.

Influence of laminin on the expression of bcl-2 in rabbit cornea endothelial cells / 中国病理生理杂志

AIM: To investigate the influence of laminin (LN) on the expression of bcl-2 in rabbit cornea endothelial cells. METHODS: Cultured rabbit corneal endothelial cells were divided into three groups: normal control group, LN group and negative control group. Immunohistochemical technique and ELISA were used to measure the staining and A value to assess the levels of bcl-2 expression. RESULTS: Bcl-2 expression score showed that LN group had a strong positive expression. Control group only showed a weak expression. Negative control group showed a negative expression by immunohistochemical staining. The mean A value of each group were 1.21?0.18 (LN group), 1.05?0.14 (normal control group) and 0.04?0.01 (negative control group). CONCLUSION: LN promotes bcl-2 gene expression in rabbit cornea endothelial cells, and protects the cells from apoptosis.

Effect of L-arginine on arrhythmia induced by ischemia/reperfusion of right coronary artery in rabbits / 中国病理生理杂志

AIM: To explore the effect of L-arginine (L-Arg) on the arrhythmia induced by ischemia/reperfusion (IR) of the right coronary artery in rabbits. METHODS: 48 healthy adult rabbits were divided into 4 groups (n=12 of each) randomly: IRa group (120 min reperfusion after 30 min ischemia), IRb group (120 min reperfusion after 120 min ischemia), IRa+L-Arg group and IRb+L-Arg group. I/R model was established by occluding and loosening the root of the right coronary artery in rabbits. The changes of ECG and arrhythmia were recorded and graded. RESULTS: ① The longer time of IR was, the higher the score of the arrhythmia was found. The incidence of atrial-ventricular block (AVB), sinus-atrial block (SAB), even sinus arrest were detected and aggravated gradually. ② The incidence of AVB was decreased and from Ⅲ?→Ⅱ?→Ⅰ? markedly, some of sinus and atrial arrhythmia were transformed into sinus rhythm gradually, and all of the arrhythmia scores in IRa group were decreased significantly as compared with the same time phases of IRb group (P