A randomized controlled trial investigating the use of a predictive nomogram for the selection of the FSH starting dose in IVF/ICSI cycles.

The number of oocytes retrieved is a relevant intermediate outcome in women undergoing IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). This trial compared the efficiency of the selection of the FSH starting dose according to a nomogram based on multiple biomarkers (age, day 3 FSH, anti-Müllerian hormone) versus an age-based strategy. The primary outcome measure was the proportion of women with an optimal number of retrieved oocytes defined as 8-14.

A "four-cycle program" improves the estimate of the cumulative pregnancy rate and increases the number of actual pregnancies in IUI treatment: a cohort study.

Objective: To demonstrate that reduction of the cumulative dropout rate (CDR) improves the accuracy of the estimate of the cumulative pregnancy rate (CPR) in a set of four intrauterine insemination (IUI) cycles ("four-cycle program") and increases the total number of pregnancies obtained.

Study Design: Single-centre retrospective observational cohort study of couples who underwent IUI cycles at the Andros Day Surgery Clinic, Palermo, from 1997 to 2011. The main outcome measure was the calculation of the CPR, with life table analysis, firstly by giving the same probability of pregnancy to the dropouts as the patients who continued the treatment (usual method) and secondly by considering this probability null (conservative method).

Measuring knowledge of the insanity defense: scale construction and validation.

Given the influence of social conformity and prejudice, defendants pleading not guilty by reason of insanity face the significant challenges of securing fair and impartial juries. Attitudes and knowledge of the insanity defense are factors that may influence levels of impartiality. In the light of this, we set out to develop a scale to examine knowledge levels of the insanity defense and their influence on decision-making.

Is there a uniform basal endometrial gene expression profile during the implantation window in women who became pregnant in a subsequent ICSI cycle?

Background: To understand which genes are really involved in the implantation process, we planned to study the gene basal expression profile during the window of implantation (WOI) of patients who became pregnant in a subsequent ICSI cycle.

Methods: Women attending their first ICSI cycle at ANDROS Day Surgery for severe male factor infertility were included in the study. An endometrial biopsy was performed during the WOI, in one of the last two cycles before the ICSI cycle.