Cumulative live birth rate after oocyte in vitro maturation with a pre-maturation step in women with polycystic ovary syndrome or high antral follicle count.

PURPOSE: This study evaluated the 24-month cumulative live birth rate (CLBR) for women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) or high antral follicle count (AFC) who underwent oocyte in vitro maturation (IVM) with pre-maturation step (CAPA-IVM). METHODS: This multicenter, retrospective study was performed at IVFMD, My Duc Hospital, and IVFMD Phu Nhuan, My Duc Phu Nhuan Hospital from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2019. All women with PCOS or high AFC treated with a CAPA-IVM cycle were included. Cumulative live birth was defined as at least one live birth resulting from the initiated CAPA-IVM cycle. Where a woman did not return for embryo transfer, outcomes were followed up until 24 months from the day of oocyte aspiration. Logistic regression was performed to identify factors predicting the CLBR. RESULTS: Data from 374 women were analyzed, 368 of whom had embryos for transfer (98.4%), and six had no embryos for transfer (1.6%). The oocyte maturation rate was 63.2%. The median number of frozen embryos was 4 [quartile 1, 2; quartile 3, 6]. Cumulative clinical pregnancy and ongoing pregnancy rates were 60.4% and 43.6%, respectively. At 24 months after starting CAPA-IVM treatment, the CLBR was 38.5%. Multivariate analysis showed that patient age and number of frozen embryos were significant predictors of cumulative live birth after CAPA-IVM. CONCLUSIONS: CAPA-IVM could be considered as an alternative to in vitro fertilization for the management of infertility in women with PCOS or a high AFC who require assisted reproductive technology.

Thermal induced changes of rice straw phytolith in relation to arsenic release: A perspective of rice straw arsenic under open burning.

On-site open burning is a common practice for handling rice straw, but its negative impacts, e.g., biomass loss and air pollution, are largely debated worldwide. To address the negative effects of open burning, many efforts have been made to 'ignite' worldwide bans. However, these bans are likely based on a singular view in which some positive aspects of open burning are overlooked. In this study, we aimed to determine the thermal-induced changes of straw and straw arsenic (As) under open burning and heat-treatments (in the temperature range from 300 to 900 °C). It was found that silica phase in rice straw (so-called phytolith) can encapsulate As in its structure. Open burning or heat-treatment of straw resulted in a tighter association of As and phytolith, thereby reducing dissolution of As. We proposed an opinion that open burning causes air pollution, but it can increase the activity of phytolith in sequestrating As, enabling delayed As cycle in rice ecosystems. The combat of on-site open burning of rice straw to reduce air pollution will alter straw handling routines, thereby changing the cycle of straw phytolith and the route of straw As.

Polyacrylate crosspolymer-11 enhances soil clay dispersibility: An indication for inadvertent environmental impacts from personal care and cosmetic ingredients.

Polymer ingredients are commonly found in personal care and cosmetic industry and their "leakages" into the environment have recently been warned as an emerging environmental risk. Daily use of personal care and cosmetic products can inadvertently release large amounts of polymer ingredients into water courses. However, their fate and interaction with other constituents, especially colloids (e.g., clays), have not been fully understood. This study primarily evaluates the colloidal dynamics of soil clays under the presence of polyacrylate crosspolymer-11 (PC11) (a common ingredient of cosmetic and personal care products) with the aim of identifying possible induced changes in the clay-accumulated environments, e.g., soil and sediment. The test-tube experiments were coupled with a particle charge detector to mutually evaluate the colloidal dynamics and surface charge properties of the soil clays. It was revealed that adsorption of PC11 onto the clays shifted clay surface to more negative, thereby intensifying repulsive force and favouring the dispersion state of the soil clays. This implies that various polymer ingredients can act in the same way in stabilizing clay dispersion or even altering the fate of the soil clays. As the growing consumption of personal care and cosmetic products will likely continue, it requires a tighter consideration of the possible impacts of polymer ingredient residues, not limited to dispersion-induced effects, in various clay-accumulated environments such as paddy fields, river mouths or mangroves.

Fungicide application can intensify clay aggregation and exacerbate copper accumulation in citrus soils.

Fungicide application for controlling fungal diseases can increase copper (Cu) accumulation in soil. More urgently, Cu released from fungicides can associate with soil clay and favour the mutual aggregation of Cu and soil clay, thereby potentially intensifying the accumulation of Cu. We investigated the effects of Cu salt and six common Cu-based fungicides on colloidal dynamics of a clay fraction from citrus cultivated soil. Batch experiments were carried out to provide the loading capacity of the clay fraction for Cu. The colloidal dynamic experiments were performed over a pH range from 3 to 8 following a test tube method, while surface charge, the key electrochemical factor of the solid-liquid interface, was quantified by a particle charge detector. It was found that all the studied fungicides, via releasing Cu2+, acted to effectively favour clay aggregation. The dissolved organic matter obtained from the dissolution of polymers in fungicides can theoretically stimulate clay dispersion. However, their effects were obscured due to the overwhelming effect of Cu2+. Therefore, Cu2+ appears as the most active agent in the fungicides that intensifies clay aggregation. These findings imply that the intensive application of fungicides for plant protection purposes can inadvertently reduce clay mobility, favour the co-aggregation of clay and fungicides, and hence potentially exacerbate the contamination of the citrus soil.

Effects of CO2 and temperature on phytolith dissolution.

Phytoliths, silica structures derived from plant residues in silicon (Si)-accumulating plant species, have recently been recognized as a sink and source of nutrients and a hosting phase for carbon sequestration in soil. While the solubility of phytoliths in relation to their respective nature and solution chemistry has been intensively studied, the combined effects of CO2 and temperature, two highly variable parameters in soil, have not been fully understood. We hypothesized that changes in CO2 and temperature may affect the dissolution rate, thereby resizing the soil phytolith pool. Rice straw phytoliths were obtained from either open burning or controlled heating of straw from 300 to 900 °C and used to determine their batch incubation kinetics in a closed chamber at CO2 concentrations of 0 to 15% vol. and a temperature range of 20 to 50 °C for six days. The results revealed a contrasting effect in which temperature and CO2 were correspondingly found to accelerate or decelerate the dissolution rate of phytoliths. Under the most dissimilar conditions, i.e., 0% vol. CO2 and 50 °C and 15% vol. CO2 and 20 °C, the discrepancy in solubility was approximately six-fold, indicating a high vulnerability of phytoliths to CO2 and temperature changes. This finding also suggests that the soil phytolith pool can be diminished in the case of either increasing soil temperature or decreasing CO2 flux. Calculations based on these data revealed that the dissolution rate of phytoliths could be increased by an average of 4.5 to 7.3% for each 1 °C increase in temperature. This finding suggests a possible impact of current global warming on the global biogenic silica pool, and more insight into the relationship between this pool and climate change is, therefore, necessary to maintain the function of the phytolith phase in soil.

Colloidal interactions of micro-sized biochar and a kaolinitic soil clay.

Fine-sized biochars and clay minerals co-present in various circumstances, e.g., agricultural land and water treatment. Because both of these materials are scavengers for nutrients, agrochemicals and other toxicants, their dispersibility and transportability have received much attention. However, little is documented about their colloidal interactions and to what extent biochar particles can stimulate the dispersion of clay minerals. Here, the effect of engineered micro-sized biochar amendment on the surface charge (SC) and colloidal dynamics of the clay fraction of a kaolinite-rich soil was determined. The engineered biochars showed distinctive SC and colloidal properties depending on their pyrolysis conditions (e.g., oxygen level and temperature) and solution chemistry (i.e., pH and cation type). Two types of biochars prepared under non-biochar-oriented pyrolysis (open heating, 'O-biochar') and biochar-oriented pyrolysis (N2-supported heating, 'N2-biochar') showed contrasting effects on the colloidal dynamics of clay. The O-biochars provoked aggregation due to their higher content of soluble salts, which increased ionic strength and provided multivalent cations, inducing bridging between negatively charged colloids. In contrast, the N2 biochars low in soluble salts and rich in negatively charged burned organic matter compounds favoured the dispersion of clay. The adjustment of biochar production methods can therefore be highlighted as the way to customize biochar for specific uses or to reduce the risk of clay loss from soils in the short term. In the long term, when soluble salts are removed by leaching, it is likely that dispersion is facilitated and the risk for erosion increases.