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.

The Influence of Advanced Paternal Age on Sperm Chromatin Integrity and Early Embryo Morphological Development during ICSI

The study determined the impact of advanced male ageing (≥50 years) on sperm chromatin integrity and early embryo morphological development in intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) technique cycles. Six hundred subfertile men were age-grouped;X1 (50 to 59 years), X2 (60 to 69), and X3 (≥70), were compared with 600 fertile males of known fertility (Y, age 25 - 35 years). Oocytes from 254 women, aged ≤ 30 years, were included. Sperm were analyzed using acridine orange fluorescence test (AOT) and categorized: “low”, “inter-mediate” and “high” damage. After ICSI, embryos were evaluated and categorized as “good”, “fair” or “poor” quality. Embryonic morphological development was assessed at three stages: fertilization, early and late paternal effect. The AOT results were: X1: low = 29, intermediate = 53 and high = 118;X2: low = 11, intermediate = 42 and high = 147;X3: low = 8, intermediate = 24 and high = 168;Y: Low = 486, intermediate = 71 and high = 43. The fertilization rate was: X1, 329/350 (93.7%);X2, 298/350 (85.1%);X3, 225/350 (64.1%) and, Y, 350/350 (100%). Associations between increasing age and sperm chromatin damage (χ2 (723.249, 6) p < 0.0001), increasing age and inability to fertilize (χ2 (210.990, 3) p < 0.0001) were observed. Associated with increasing age was the significant proportion of morphologically poor quality embryos over the five days after fertilization. Male age ≥ 50 years, is highly associated with abnormal sperm chromatin organization, an inability to adequately fertilize with ICSI methodology, an increase in the number of poor quality embryos and, a corresponding decrease in the number of good quality embryos five days after fertilization.

Balancing Between the New Family Law and Religious Practices and Its Impact on Moroccan Women＇s Lives

The present paper seeks to shed light on the main factors lying behind the non-implementation of Article 20 of the New Moroccan Family Law reformed in 2004 which is concerned with legal minimum age of marriage for both sexes, 18 years old for both. This study aims at investigating why the number of marriages of young girls continue to increase despite the establishment of the Law. The author takes the region of Fez as a case in point to explore this social behavior in Moroccan society. A qualitative approach has been adopted by interviewing 10 persons including Family Affairs Judges, lawyers and University Professors of Islamic studies at the University of Fez. Added to this, the technique of observation has equally been utilized to have everyday life concrete experiences of young girls ＂marriages＂. It has been argued that a unilateral approach to this social phenomenon cannot succeed to understand the complex nature of this bad social habit that is still predominant among rural areas and marginalized urban districts. A rather global approach taking into account the economic, socio-cultural, and legal dimension of the issue under investigation proves to be much more adequate to explore the intricate nature of this problems in which a number of diverse variables interact. The paper ends up with a conclusion and a number of recommendations on how to reduce this social act.

Effects of Alcohol and Liquid Paraffin on Development of Early Mouse Embryos in vitro

In culturing early mouse embryos in vitro,liquid paraffin and alcohol exert deleterious influence on the development of embryos. Some of light liquid paraffin produced by Chinese factories have proved harmful for early mouse embryos. As shown by our experiments, the nitronaphthalene contained and the specific gravity of liquid paraffin were not involved in the injurious effects.However,alcohol mingled in medium had harmful effects on the development of embryos. At the 0.1% concentration of alcohol in medium the proportion of embryos developing to blastocysts decreased to 73.9%. When the concentration of alcohol was increased to 0.8%, all embryos ceased developing. In our experiments, CO_2 which contained 0.13% alcohol had no visible effects on the development of embrvos in vitro.

Internal Microanatomy and Zoological Affinity of the Early Cambrian Olivooides

The early Cambrian pentamerous microfossil Olivooides/Punctatus in South China, which is characterized by a diagnostic stellate tubular apex, has been well-known for its almost complete development sequence that can be confidently traced from embryos and hatched juveniles, to conical adults. However, its zoological affinity remains highly controversial. Here we describe the internal microanatomic structures of the soft-body inside the peridermal theca of Olivooides multisulcatus Qian, 1977, including interradial pairs of tentacles, adradial and perradial frenula, perradial oral marginal lappets and twins of perradial gastric saccule-like humps as well as a circular velarium with striated coronal muscles. Particularly, one specimen shows bifurcated velarial canals along the bell aperture. Both the components of the soft-body and the external theca （or cyst） are arranged in perfect pentaradial symmetry. These characteristics are more compatible with those of living cubomedusans and co-occurring Cambrian athecate embryonic cubozoans. Concerning the presence of peridermal theca, Olivooides most likely represents an extinct thecate stem-group cubomedusae but devoid of both perradial eyes and specialized pedalia. The well-grown soft body inside the peridermal tube displays a set of mixed features of both polyp and medusa.

Antibodies against the C-terminal peptide of rabbit oviductin inhibit mouse early embryo development to pass 2-cell stage

A full-length rabbit oviductin cDNA(1909bp) was cloned. It consists of a 5’-UTR of 52bp, an open reading frame (ORF) of 1374bp and a 3’-UTR of 483bp and has more than 80% homology with that of other mammal oviductins. N-terminal peptide (NTP) (384 residues) and C-terminal peptide (CTP) (73 residues) of deduced protein precursor has about 80% and 50% identity with that of other mammals respectively. Fusion proteins GST-NTP 368(1R-368N)and GST-CTP73 (369F-441A) were expressed and purified. NH2-terminal of CTP sequencing reveals that the purified protein is consistent with the deduced one. In order to study the function of NTP and CTP the mouse anti-NTP and rabbit anti-CTP antisera were prepared. Tissue-specific (skeleton muscle, oviduct, uterus, ovary, liver, heart and brain) analysis indicated that rabbit oviductin was only found in oviduct. The conditioned medium derived from the rabbit oviduct mucosa epithelial cells has a function of overcoming the early embryonic development block of Kunming mous e cultured in vitro. Anti-CTP antiserum could totally inhibit the early embryo development at 2-cell stage cultured in the conditioned culture medium, but anti-NTP antiserum couldn’t. There was a positive relationship between the ratio of early embryos at development block and the dosage of anti-CTP antiserum added in the conditioned culture medium. These results suggest that oviductin has a function not only on fertilization, but also on the release of early embryonic development block, and the later function domain of rabbit oviductin may be situate in its C-terminal.

Preliminary study on aftershock decay rate of the 2013 Ms 7.0 Lushan earthquake

We obtained a catalog of early aftershocks of the 2013 Lushan earthquake by examining waveform from a nearby station MDS which is 30.2 km far away from the epicenter, and then we analyzed the relation between aftershock rate and time. We used time-window ratio method to identify aftershocks from continuous waveform data and compare the result with the catalog provided by China Earthquake Networks Center （CENC）. As expected, a significant amount of earthquakes is missing in CENC catalog in the 24 h after the main shock. Moreover, we observed a steady seismicity rate of aftershocks nearly in the first 10,000 s before an obvious power-law decay of aftershock activity. We consider this distinct early stage which does not fit the Omori law with a constant p （p - 1） value as early aftershock deficiency （EAD）, as proposed by previous studies. Our study suggests that the main shock rupture process is different from aftershocks＇ processes, and EAD can vary in different cases as compared to earthquakes of strike-slip mechanism in California.

Propagation Techniques of Ewes at Early Age

The integration of hormone induction of young ewes,live oocyte collection,in-vitro fertilization and embryo transfer( JIVET),as a major breakthrough in livestock breeding technology,not only solves the problem of low oocytes obtained from adult ewes by hormone induction in production practice,but also significantly improves production efficiency. This technology can reduce the generation interval of cattle and sheep and speed up the acquisition of genes in genetic breeding. The application of this technology can help accelerate the cultivation process,shorten the generation interval,promote the industrialization and improve the economic benefits of beef cattle breed. This paper provides a reference for the research and application of new breeding and propagation techniques of beef cattle.

基于Python爬虫技术的动物检疫信息预警系统

2016年,河南省动物检疫电子出证平台(简称“省平台”)已完成与国家动物检疫大数据平台(简称“国家平台”)的检疫数据对接。然而在指定通道制度实施后,国家平台检疫数据作为畜禽运输车辆查验的最终判定依据,如果省平台与国家平台间数据传输延迟,将严重影响指定通道的查验工作。为及时发现数据传输延迟的问题,基于Python爬虫技术开发了动物检疫信息预警系统,系统建成后取得了良好的应用效果,多次成功发挥预警作用,在一定程度上解决了数据传输延迟问题。同时,在辅助执法方面也起到了预警效果。本文介绍了该系统建设的背景、设计思路、系统框架,以及其在辅助执法方面的扩展应用,仅供同行参考。

From the Beginning of the World to the Beginning of Life on Earth

Hypersphere World-Universe Model (WUM) is, in fact, a Paradigm Shift in Cosmology [1]. In this paper, we provide seven Pillars of WUM: Medium of the World;Inter-Connectivity of Primary Cosmological Parameters;Creation of Matter;Multicomponent Dark Matter;Macroobjects;Volcanic Rotational Fission;Dark Matter Reactors. We describe the evolution of the World from the Beginning up to the birth of the Solar System and discuss the condition of the Early Earth before the beginning of life on it.

DDX3X regulates cell survival and cell cycle during mouse early embryonic development

DDX3X is a highly conserved DEAD-box RNA helicase that participates in RNA transcription, RNA splicing, and mRNA transport, translation, and nucleo-cytoplasmic transport. It is highly expressed in metaphase II （MII） oocytes and is the predominant DDX3 variant in the ovary and embryo. However, whether it is important in mouse early embryo development remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the function of DDX3X in early embryogenesis by cytoplasmic microinjection with its siRNA in zygotes or single blastomeres of 2-cell embryos. Our results showed that knockdown of Ddx3x in zygote cytoplasm led to dramatically diminished blastocyst formarion, reduced cell numbers, and an increase in the number of apoptotic cells in blastocysts. Meanwhile, there was an accumulation of p53 in RNAi blastocysts. In addition, the ratio of cell cycle arrest during 2-cell to 4-cell transition increased following microinjection of Ddx3x siRNA into single blastomeres of 2-cell embryos compared with control. These results suggest that Ddx3x is an essential gene associated with cell survival and cell cycle control in mouse early embryos, and thus plays key roles in normal embryo development.

Nutrition and metabolism in poultry: role of lipids in early diet

Modern strains of broiler chickens are selected for fast growth and are marketed anywhere from 36 to 49 days after a21-day incubational period. For a viable healthy chick, all the necessary nutrients required for growth and development must be provided by the hen through the fertilized egg. The current feeding strategies for improved growth, health and productivity are targeted towards chicks after hatching. Considering the fact that developing chick embryo spends over 30 % of its total life span inside the hatching egg relying on nutrients deposited by the breeder hen, investigations on nutritional needs during pre-hatch period will improve embryonic health, hatchability and chick viability. In this context, investigations on hatching egg lipid quality is of utmost importance because, during incubation, egg fat is the major source of energy and sole source of essential omega-6（n-6） and omega-3（n-3） fatty acids to the chick embryo.Due to the unique roles of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids in growth, immune health, and development of central nervous system, this review will focus on the role of early exposure to essential fatty acids through maternal diet and hatching egg and its impact on progeny in meat-type broiler chickens.

Presence of Meiotic Spindles Indicates Early Cleavage of Embryos

Objective To assess whether the detection of the meiotic spindle could anticipate the appearance of early cleavage. Methods Oocytes were obtained from stimulated ovaries of consenting patients undergoing oocytes retrieval for ICSI. Spindles were imaged with the Polscope. After ICSI, oocytes with or without spindles were cultured for examination of early cleavage and embryo development. A total of 328 oocytes from 50 cycles were examined with the Polscope and inseminated by ICSI. Results Spindles were imaged in 81.7% of oocytes. After ICSI, more oocytes with spindles （78.4%） fertilized normally than oocytes without spindles （53.3%） （P〈0. 001）. At 25-27 h post ICSI, more fertilized oocytes developed from oocytes with spindles （81.9%） were detected early cleavage than those from oocytes without spindles （28.1%） （P〈0.001）. Significantly more embryos with early cleavage （82.2%） developed to high quality embryos at d 3 compared with the embryos without early cleavage （48.3%） （P=0.001）. The value of rs related to the relationship between spindles and early cleavage was 0.420 （P〈0.001）. Conclusion The existing of the early cleavage may have a predictive value on the opportunity of high quality embryos and the existing of the spindle may have a predictive value in the appearance of early cleavage.

Effects of Colchicine on Distribution of Mitochondria in 2-cell and Compacted 8-cell Mouse Embryos

The distribution of mitochondria during early development of mouse embryos was visualized bymitochondria-specific vital fluorescent dye, rhodamine 123(Rh 123). Mitochondrial clusters wasmarkedly conceotrated to perinuclear area in blastomere of normal 2-ccll embryos. In blastomere ofuncompacted 8-cell embryos, mitochondria were randomly distributed throughout the cytoplasm, butthey were reorganizcd to the cytocortices beneath the apposed surfaces of blastomere duringcompaction. As demonstrated in our study, colchicine (10 μg/ml) produced marked effect onmitochondrial distribution in blastomcre of 2-cell and compacted 8-cell embryos: mitochondriabecame scattered throughout the cytoplasm ofblastomere. It is suggested that the spatial distributionof mitochondria in early mouse embryo are maintained by microtubule.

Abnormal Karyotype of Pen Shell (Atrina pectinata) During Its Early Embryonic Development in Late Breeding Season

The pen shell,Atrina pectinata,distributes globally.It is one of the most important edible bivalves in east Asian countries.However,there are multiple difficulties in rearing pen shell larvae and juveniles because of their high mortality.To understand the mechanism underlining such high mortality at the early embryonic development stage,we obtained approximately 100 million larvae during later breeding season in June,2017,and checked a large amount of mitotic chromosomal plates of the early embryos and post-spawning gonads tissue slices of their parents.The results showed that most diploid A.pectinata embryos have 17 pairs of chromosomes(2n=34)as their parents do.The first pair of particularly large chromosomes are heterotypic in some diploid embryos while they are homomorphic in others.The primary sex-determination chromosome type is XX/XY.A lot of triploid,pentaploid and aneuploid embryos with different numbers of the largest homomorphic or heteromorphic chromosomes were found due to the degeneration of overmatured parent gonads which hold normal karyotype.These larvae will die even though most of them may develop into the trochophore stage with 34 chromosomes.Genetic deficiency of chromosomes will cause a high rate of mortality in early embryos in late breeding season.These findings should enrich the current knowledge of juvenile pen shell aquaculture.

早期中国法的理性化之路

早期中国神权法演变过程中,存在三个明显的现象:巫与宗族的结合、天命作刑的实践、天赐法典观念的流传。这三个现象先后登场,时有反复,在各有扬弃的基础上开辟了法律世俗化与理性化的进程。早期中国法的理性化论证与道法理论相关,其核心概念是“刑名”。该理论认为,在立法阶段,道可以通过“刑名”的中介衍生出法律。经过法家学者的改造,立法阶段的“刑名”转化为督察臣子言行的“刑名”。随着法家理论在秦国的贯彻扩张,“道”对法的实质影响急剧减少,君主成为立法权的最高享有者与最终依据。汉以后道家黄老思想的复苏、引礼入法及法律儒家化等趋势的出现,正建立在对早期中国法律理性化深层反思的基础之上。

千金藤素对牛体外卵母细胞和早期胚胎抗凋亡能力的影响

【目的】探究千金藤素(Ceph)对牛卵母细胞及早期胚胎抗凋亡能力的影响,为提高牛体外胚胎生产效率提供参考,同时为Ceph抗癌过程中的药理作用提供新的数据。【方法】将牛卵母细胞分别在含不同浓度(0、10、100、500、1000μmol/L)Ceph的体外成熟培养液中培养,观测卵母细胞成熟率及受精后的早期胚胎发育,确定Ceph的最适浓度,并对牛卵母细胞组织蛋白酶B(CB)活性、细胞自噬相关蛋白LC3水平、凋亡相关基因Survivin和Caspase-3 mRNA表达水平及囊胚细胞凋亡率进行检测。【结果】经500μmol/L Ceph处理的牛卵母细胞成熟率及早期胚胎分裂率、囊胚率均显著高于其他组(P<0.05)。添加Ceph显著降低了牛卵母细胞CB活性和LC3水平(P<0.05),显著提高了抗凋亡相关基因Survivin mRNA表达水平(P<0.05),显著降低了促凋亡相关基因Caspase-3 mRNA表达水平及囊胚细胞凋亡率(P<0.05)。【结论】在体外胚胎生产过程中添加Ceph能够通过调控凋亡相关基因Survivin和Caspase-3的表达影响CB和LC3水平,提升牛卵母细胞抗凋亡能力和体外胚胎生产效率。

基于机器学习预测模型探究薄型子宫内膜患者接受IVF/ICSI-ET治疗的早期流产风险因素

目的:基于多种机器学习方法,探讨薄子宫内膜患者在新鲜胚胎移植中发生早期流产的影响因素,并建立预测模型,为预防薄子宫内膜患者在进行新鲜胚胎移植中发生早期流产提供合理的指导思路。方法:纳入了首次进行新鲜胚胎移植的薄子宫内膜患者1153例,通过LASSO回归和随机森林递归特征消除(recursive feature elimination,RFE)筛选特征,建立6种机器学习模型,通过交叉验证、准确度、敏感性、召回率、f1值、ROC曲线下面积及校准曲线比较不同模型的性能。SHAP图用于解释影响早期流产的因素。结果:通过LASSO回归和随机森林RFE筛选出29个特征变量纳入六种机器学习模型,其中多层感知机模型对早期流产的区分度最佳,ROC曲线下面积为0.803(95%CI=0.772~0.834)。随机森林、XGBoost和AdaBoost模型的ROC曲线下面积都高于0.7。结论:开发了薄子宫内膜患者在新鲜胚胎移植中是否发生早期流产的机器学习预测模型,各种评价指标的验证表明该模型的性能良好,有助于临床医生对该人群患者的早期诊断,为未来改善早期流产高危患者的妊娠结局提供指导思路。

血清miRNA-146、LPS、ROS在早期妊娠胚胎丢失患者中的水平及临床意义

目的探讨血清微小RNA(miRNA)-146、脂多糖(LPS)和活性氧(ROS)在早期妊娠胚胎丢失(EPEL)患者中的水平及临床意义。方法选取2021年3月至2023年3月广东省东莞市妇幼保健院收治的100例EPEL患者作为研究组,另外选取同期在广东省东莞市妇幼保健院就诊的100例正常妊娠女性作为对照组,检测并比较研究组和对照组血清指标水平。培养HTR-8/SVneo细胞,按照不同转染方式分成miRNA-146抑制剂组、miRNA-146模拟物组及NC组。比较miRNA-146抑制剂组、miRNA-146模拟物组Toll样受体4(TLR4)蛋白和核因子-κB(NF-κB)蛋白水平,比较NC组、miRNA-146模拟物组和miRNA-146抑制剂组miRNA-146水平及HTR-8/SVneo细胞的凋亡率,比较不同水平LPS处理的HTR-8/SVneo细胞生长活力。采用Pearson相关分析EPEL患者miRNA-146水平与ROS、LPS、白细胞介素(IL)-6、肿瘤坏死因子(TNF)-α、TLR4蛋白和NF-κB蛋白水平的相关性。结果研究组LPS、ROS、IL-6和TNF-α水平高于对照组,且雌二醇、孕酮、miRNA-146水平低于对照组,差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05)。miRNA-146模拟物组miRNA-146水平高于miRNA-146抑制剂组和NC组,差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05)。miRNA-146模拟物组TLR4蛋白、NF-κB蛋白水平低于miRNA-146抑制剂组,差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05)。不同水平LPS(8、12、16、20μg/mL)处理的HTR-8/SVneo细胞生长活力低于20μg/mL LPS+miRNA-146模拟物处理的HTR-8/SVneo细胞生长活力,差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05)。miRNA-146抑制剂组HTR-8/SVneo细胞的凋亡率高于NC组和miRNA-146模拟物组,且NC组高于miRNA-146模拟物组,差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05)。Pearson相关分析结果显示,EPEL患者miRNA-146水平与ROS、LPS、IL-6、TNF-α、TLR4蛋白和NF-κB蛋白水平呈负相关(r=-0.737、-0.614、-0.712、-0.729、-0.739、-0.708,P<0.05)。结论EPEL患者血清中miRNA-146水平明显下降,并与LPS、ROS、IL-6、TNF-α的水平呈负相关,可能是EPEL发生的影响因素之一,有望为临床预测孕妇发生EPEL提供新思路。

冻融-硫酸盐腐蚀耦合作用下早龄期混凝土强度演变及预测模型研究

为了研究冻融-硫酸盐腐蚀耦合作用对早龄期混凝土力学性能的影响,基于新疆若羌地区实际环境条件,对三种水胶比的早龄期混凝土分别进行冻融循环、硫酸盐腐蚀、冻融-硫酸盐腐蚀耦合作用工况下的耐久性试验,分析不同环境作用工况与水胶比交互作用下早龄期混凝土强度经时演变规律和作用机制。同时,基于灰色系统理论与遗传算法,建立早龄期混凝土强度的变权缓冲GM(1,1)模型。研究结果表明:同环境作用工况下,随冻融循环次数增加,早龄期混凝土抗蚀系数均出现先增大后减小的变化规律,并且在腐蚀终期,水胶比与早龄期混凝土抗蚀系数呈负相关。在同水胶比条件下,相较于单一冻融循环工况,冻融-硫酸盐腐蚀耦合作用工况对早龄期混凝土抗蚀系数终值的影响程度更高。早龄期混凝土强度预测模型的最大平均预测误差仅为1.893%,具有较好的预测精度,可为寒冷、盐渍土地区混凝土结构服役状态评估提供参考;通过预测模型对不同环境作用工况下早龄期混凝土进行耐久性评估,可知:冻融循环作用下,0.26、0.32、0.38水胶比的早龄期混凝土预测服役寿命分别是75.3 a、24.6 a、15.3 a,而在冻融-硫酸盐腐蚀耦合作用工况下,同水胶比下早龄期混凝土预测服役寿命缩短至30.7 a、22 a、12.7 a。