Moderate and increased physical activity is not detrimental to live birth rates among women with unexplained infertility and obesity.

Objective: To determine if moderate physical activity is associated with live birth rates in women with unexplained infertility and obesity.

Design: Secondary analysis of the Improving Reproductive Fitness through Pretreatment with Lifestyle Modification in Obese Women with Unexplained Infertility trial.

Setting: US fertility centers, 2015-2019.

Place of death and associated factors in 12 Latin American countries: A total population study using death certificate data.

Background: Little is known about place of death in Latin America, although this data are crucial for health system planning. This study aims to describe place of death and associated factors in Latin America and to identify factors that contribute to inter-country differences in place of death.

Methods: We conducted a total population observational study using death certificates of the total annual decedent populations in 12 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay) for the most recent available year (2016, 2017, or 2018).

Feasibility of using death certificates for studying place of death in Latin America.

Objective: This paper assesses the availability and quality of death certificate data in Latin America and the feasibility of using these data to study place of death and associated factors.

Methods: In this comparative study, we collected examples of current official death certificates and digital data files containing information about all deaths that occurred during 1 year in 19 Latin American countries. Data were collected from June 2019 to May 2020.

Employee benefit or occupational hazard? How employer coverage of egg freezing impacts reproductive decisions of graduate students.

Objective: To better understand if employer-based financial coverage of non-medical oocyte cryopreservation impacts the way women make decisions about their reproduction, including the decision to pursue oocyte cryopreservation and the time frame in which they plan to begin family building.

Design: Prospective survey study.

Setting: Academic medical center.

Disentangling the lifespans of hepatitis C virus-infected cells and intracellular vRNA replication-complexes during direct-acting anti-viral therapy.

The decay rate of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected cells during therapy has been used to determine the duration of treatment needed to attain a sustained virologic response, but with direct-acting anti-virals (DAA), this rate has been difficult to estimate. Here, we show that it is possible to estimate it, by simultaneously analysing the viral load and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) kinetics during combination DAA therapy. We modelled the HCV RNA and ALT serum kinetics in 26 patients with chronic HCV genotype 1b infection, under four different sofosbuvir-based combination treatments.

The dynamics of simian immunodeficiency virus after depletion of CD8+ cells.

Human immunodeficiency virus infection is still one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality in the world, with a disproportionate human and economic burden especially in poorer countries. Despite many years of intense research, an aspect that still is not well understood is what (immune) mechanisms control the viral load during the prolonged asymptomatic stage of infection. Because CD8+ T cells have been implicated in this control by multiple lines of evidence, there has been a focus on understanding the potential mechanisms of action of this immune effector population.

MicroRNA 21a-5p overexpression impacts mediators of extracellular matrix formation in uterine leiomyoma.

Background: MicroRNAs (MiR) may promote fibroid development via altered expression of genes involved in cell proliferation and ECM formation, and evidence supports aberrant expression of MicroRNA (MiR) 21a-5p in fibroids. The purpose of this study was to investigate the functional significance of MiR 21a-5p overexpression in the pathobiology of leiomyomata (fibroids).

Methods: A basic science experimental design using immortalized fibroid and myometrial cell lines derived from patient-matched specimens was used.

Dynamics of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Two-Long-Terminal-Repeat Circles in the Presence and Absence of CD8 Cells.

CD8 cells play a key role in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection, but their specific mechanism(s) of action in controlling the virus is unclear. Two-long-terminal-repeat (2-LTR) circles are extrachromosomal products generated upon failed integration of HIV/SIV. To understand the specific effects of CD8 cells on infected cells, we analyzed the dynamics of 2-LTR circles in SIVmac251-infected rhesus macaques (RMs) treated with an integrase inhibitor (INT).

Impact of transfer time on pregnancy outcomes in frozen-embryo transfer cycles.

Objective: To identify the impact of embryo transfer time (total seconds from the loading of the transfer catheter to the expulsion of the embryo(s) into the uterine cavity) on clinical pregnancy (CPR), implantation (IR), and live birth (LBR) rates.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Academic hospital practice.

The Role of Oncofertility Clinics in Facilitating Access to Reproductive Specialists.

Purpose: To determine the impact of the establishment of a dedicated oncofertility clinic on the frequency of patient referrals for fertility preservation (FP) consultation and the time from patient referral to consultation.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of all women aged 21 to 44 years with an active cancer diagnosis who were referred for FP consultation from 2011 to 2015.

Results: A total of 6895 female patients eligible for FP were seen at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center.

Treatment with integrase inhibitor suggests a new interpretation of HIV RNA decay curves that reveals a subset of cells with slow integration.

The kinetics of HIV-1 decay under treatment depends on the class of antiretrovirals used. Mathematical models are useful to interpret the different profiles, providing quantitative information about the kinetics of virus replication and the cell populations contributing to viral decay. We modeled proviral integration in short- and long-lived infected cells to compare viral kinetics under treatment with and without the integrase inhibitor raltegravir (RAL).

Total number of oocytes and zygotes are predictive of live birth pregnancy in fresh donor oocyte in vitro fertilization cycles.

Objective: To evaluate the association of oocyte donor-recipient characteristics, oocyte donor response, and live birth pregnancy rate following fresh donor oocyte IVF-ET.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Academic reproductive medicine practice.

The Clinical Efficacy for Two-Level Transforaminal Epidural Steroid Injections.

Background: Epidural steroid injections have been used in combination with other modalities for the treatment of lumbar radicular pain. The literature has shown that 1-level lumbar fluoroscopically guided transforaminal epidural steroid injections (TFESIs) are effective in decreasing pain and morbidity; however, the efficacy of 2-level TFESIs has not been investigated, although they are performed by many practitioners in the treatment of lumbar radicular pain.

Objectives: To assess the clinical effectiveness of 2-level TFESIs in patients with unilateral, single-level lumbar radicular pain.

Increased inflammation in sanctuary sites may explain viral blips in HIV infection.

Combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) suppress HIV-1 viral replication, such that viral load in plasma remains below the limit of detection in standard assays. However, intermittent episodes of transient viremia (blips) occur in a set of HIV-patients. Given that follicular hyperplasia occurs during lymphoid inflammation as a normal response to infection, it is hypothesised that when the diameter of the lymph node follicle (LNF) increases and crosses a critical size, a viral blip occurs due to cryptic viremia.

Donor TSH level is associated with clinical pregnancy among oocyte donation cycles.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to evaluate the association between donor TSH level (independent of recipient TSH level) and recipient pregnancy outcome among fresh donor oocyte IVF cycles.

Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study investigating 232 consecutive fresh donor-recipient cycles (200 total oocyte donors) at an academic medical center. Main outcome measures include clinical pregnancy and live birth.

Reproductive outcomes in oocyte donation cycles are associated with donor BMI.

Study Question: When adjusting for recipient BMI, is donor body mass index (BMI) associated with IVF outcomes in donor oocyte IVF cycles?

Summary Answer: Increasing oocyte donor BMI is associated with a reduction in clinical pregnancy and live birth rates.

What Is Known Already: Increased BMI has been associated with suboptimal reproductive outcomes, particularly in assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycles. However, it remains unclear if this association implies an effect of BMI on oocyte quality and/or endometrial receptivity.

Ovarian stimulation and in-vitro fertilization outcomes of cancer patients undergoing fertility preservation compared to age matched controls: a 17-year experience.

Purpose: To compare the in-vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes of cancer patients who underwent oocyte retrieval and embryo/oocyte cryopreservation prior to gonadotoxic therapy to those of age and time-matched controls with tubal factor infertility.

Methods: All cancer patients who underwent embryo/oocyte cryopreservation at our institution from 1997 to 2014 were reviewed. Primary outcomes were total dose of gonadotropins used, number of oocytes retrieved, and number of 2pn embryos obtained.

MicroRNAs in the development and pathobiology of uterine leiomyomata: does evidence support future strategies for clinical intervention?

Background: Human leiomyomata (fibroids) are benign tumors of the uterus, represent the most common neoplasms of reproductive-aged women and have a prevalence of ∼70% in the general population. This disorder conveys a significant degree of morbidity and remains the leading indication for hysterectomy in the USA. Prior investigations of aberrant microRNA (miRNA) expression in various malignancies have provided invaluable insight into the role of this class of small non-coding RNAs in tumor growth.

Spatial modeling of HIV cryptic viremia and 2-LTR formation during raltegravir intensification.

Combination Antiretroviral Therapy (cART) can suppress plasma HIV below the limit of detection in normal assays. Recently reported results suggest that viral replication may continue in some patients, despite undetectable levels in the blood. It has been suggested that the appearance of the circularized episomal HIV DNA artifact 2-LTR following treatment intensification with the integrase inhibitor raltegravir is a marker of ongoing viral replication.