Clinical validation of the early embryo viability assessment system: Analysis for the blastocyst morphology and pregnancy outcomes

Objective:To determine the relationship between the early embryo viability assessment(EEVA)and blastocyst morphological parameters and pregnancy outcomes.Methods:This retrospective cohort study was conducted on 291 intracytoplasmic sperm injection cycles including 2522 embryos with indications of prolonging embryo culture to the blastocyst stage in the Genea embryo review incubator,and 511 single vitrified-warmed blastocyst transfer cycles from January 2020 to June 2023.The EEVA system produced an EEVA score from E1(best)to E5(worse)for the potential of blastocyst formation.Blastocyst morphology was evaluated.The association between the EEVA score and each type of blastocyst morphology,implantation rate,clinical pregnancy,and ongoing pregnancy were assessed using generalized estimating equations.Results:The inner cell mass A(ICM A),trophectoderm A(TE A),blastocoele expansion degree of 3,4,5,6,7 rates were higher with lower the EEVA score.The adjusted odd ratio(aOR)(E5 vs E1)was 0.3 for ICM A,0.174 for TE A and 0.210 for BL3,4,5,6,7(all P<0.001),suggesting a significant association between lower EEVA scores and improved embryo quality.The implantation,clinical pregnancy,and ongoing pregnancy rate were also higher with lower the EEVA score.The aOR of E5 vs E1 was 0.245 for implantation,0.185 for clinical pregnancy and 0.200 for ongoing pregnancy rate(P<0.001).Conclusions:There were associations between blastocyst morphology,pregnancy outcome and EEVA scores.The good blastocyst morphology and pregnancy outcomes are higher with lower the EEVA score.

Early Stage CAD-Compliant Energy Performance Assessment Method

A simple calculator for early stage energy performance assessment in residential buildings was developed and partially validated in this study. The calculator is based on the correlation of heat loss and energy need for heating and has fixed internal heat gains as intended for compliance assessment. With the calculator, the effect of any parameter implemented can be immediately seen on delivered and primary energy. Because of simple equations, it is suitable for implementation into CAD （computer aided design） design tools including basic BIM （building information modeling） data. Results showed that the accuracy of the correlation for the cases with practical relevance was not worse than 14% of the energy need of space heating. This applies for passive house insulation level; for less insulated building envelopes, the deviations were smaller. This 14% equals to only 3 kWh/（m2.a）, i.e., the percentage difference in the total delivered and primary energy was much lower because of other components in the energy balance. The deviations determined were implemented in the calculator as safety margin. Results prove that simple energy performance assessment based on specific heat loss coefficient is well justified for early stage energy analyses as well as for compliance assessment implemented in Estonian regulation.

A Matrix-Based Approach for Sustainability in Product Design

The paper proposes a matrix-based approach that a designer can use to evaluate the sustainability of one or more design solutions in the conceptual phase of a product development process. The methodology is structured in two main phases. In the first one, a data structure, called Augmented-DSM （Design Structure Matrix）, has to be drawn in order to collect design information such as functional links among product components, indicators that provide information about the life cycle of each element, connections with the environment and toward other systems. The matrix is based on a DSM format, where new records were introduced to store and organize different types of data and an editing protocol was formalized. In the second stage, a set of procedures have to be applied in order to evaluate sustainability of a design solution and compare it with the others. The presented procedures, in fact, allow designers to assess a product in its proper characteristics, evaluate a device during its use stage and verify the coherence of links present in the functional model. This new approach is conceived to manage different performance indicators and, as a support tool, it is an attempt to aid designers in a quantitative evaluation.

A longitudinal assessment of retinal function and structure in the APP/PS1 transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease

Background:A great body of evidence suggests that there are retinal functional and structural changes that occur in Alzheimer’s disease(AD).However,whether such changes are primary or secondary remains to be elucidated.We studied a range of retinal functional and structural parameters in association with AD-specific pathophysiological markers in the double transgenic APP/PS1 and control mice across age.Methods:Electroretinogram(ERG)and optical coherence tomography(OCT)was performed in APP/PS1 and wild type(WT)control mice every 3 months from 3 to 12 months of age.For functional assessment,the a-and b-wave of the ERG,amplitude of oscillatory potentials(OP)and the positive scotopic threshold response(pSTR)were quantified at each time point.For structural assessment,the inner and outer retinal thickness was segmented and measured from OCT scans.Episodic memory was evaluated at 6,9 and 12 months of age using the novel object recognition test.Amyloid beta(Aβ)distribution in the hippocampus and the retina were visualised at 3,6 and 12 months of age.Interand intra-group analysis was performed to study rate of change for each parameter between the two groups.Results:Inter-group analysis revealed a significant difference in b-wave and OPs of APP/PS1 compared to WT controls starting from 3 months(p<0.001).There was also a significant difference in the amplitude of pSTR between the two groups starting from 6 months(p<0.001).Furthermore,a significant difference in the inner retinal thickness,between the two groups,was observed starting from 9 months(p<0.001).Conclusions:We observed an age-related decline in retinal functional and structural parameters in both APP/PS1 and WT controls,however,inter-group analysis revealed that inner retinal functional and structural decline is exacerbated in APP/PS1 mice,and that retinal functional changes precede structural changes in this strain.Further studies are required to confirm whether such phenomenon occurs in humans and if studying retinal functional changes can aid-in early assessment of AD.