Prolonged Ovarian Stimulation Does Not Worsen Neonatal Outcomes After Fresh Embryo Transfers.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between prolonged ovarian stimulation and neonatal outcomes after autologous fresh embryo transfer (fET).

Design: A retrospective cohort study.

Setting: University-affiliated centres.

E2 level > 2950 pg/ml on hCG trigger day is an independent predictor for birthweight loss of full-term singletons born after fresh embryo transfers in non-PCOS patients.

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated that the supraphysiological E2 level is negatively correlated with birthweight. However, the cut-off value of E2 level that significantly affects birthweight is unknown, and there is no definite conclusion regarding this level. Our study aimed to explore the threshold of the effect of E2 levels on birthweight.

Comparison of embryo implantation potential between time-lapse incubators and standard incubators: a randomized controlled study.

Research Question: What are the potential clinical benefits of embryo culture and assessment in a time-lapse incubator compared with a standard incubator using static assessment?

Design: This large multicentre, single-blinded, randomized controlled study included 1224 participants randomly assigned (1:1) to the time-lapse or standard incubator group. In all patients one or two embryos were transferred on day 3. The primary outcome was the implantation rate in the first embryo transfer cycle.

[Influence of gender of reciprocal translocation carriers on the occurrence of embryonic chromosomal abnormalities].

Objective: To explore the influence of gender of chromosomal translocation carriers on the occurrence of embryonic chromosomal aberrations.

Methods: A retrospective study was carried out. Data were collected from 235 couples carrying reciprocal translocations (1163 blastocysts) and 70 couples carrying Robertsonian translocations (351 blastocysts).

The effect of ovarian stimulation on aneuploidy of early aborted tissues and preimplantation blastocysts: comparison of the GnRH agonist long protocol with the GnRH antagonist protocol.

Purpose: To compare aneuploidy rates in early aborted tissues or blastocysts between in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles after the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist (GnRH-ant) protocol or the GnRH agonist (GnRH-a) long protocol.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study from a university-affiliated fertility center. In total, 550 early miscarriage patients who conceived through IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) after receiving the GnRH-ant or GnRH-a long protocol were analyzed to compare aneuploidy rates in early aborted tissues.

Climatology and changes in hourly precipitation extremes over China during 1970-2018.

Sub-daily precipitation extremes could intensify with temperature at a higher rate than the scaling for daily precipitation extremes, posing increasing risks to natural ecosystem and human society in the era of global warming. A systematic investigation of the climatology and spatiotemporal changes in sub-daily precipitation extremes is of paramount importance to inform future precipitation projection as well as to guide climate adaptation. Here, leveraging a newly proposed set of sub-daily extreme precipitation indices, we examine the climatology and changes in hourly precipitation extremes in mainland China across the major river basins during the warm period of 1970-2018.

[Analysis of the Continuous Heavy Pollution Process in the Winter of 2016 in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei].

From December 16 to 21, 2016, continuous heavy haze occurred in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region of China. To further understand the development mechanism of haze and improve the forecasting of haze events, a variety of data, background circulation, and the meteorological elements of this severe haze process were comprehensively analyzed. The results show that the process lasted for a long time, pollution intensity was high, influence area was wide, visibility was low, and external transport was the main cause.

High-coverage targeted lipidomics revealed dramatic lipid compositional changes in asthenozoospermic spermatozoa and inverse correlation of ganglioside GM3 with sperm motility.

Background: It has been previously demonstrated that cholesterol content and cholesterol/phospholipid ratio were significantly higher in asthenozoospermia and oligoasthenoteratozoospermia. The majority of published studies have investigated the fatty acid composition of phospholipids rather than lipids themselves. This study evaluated the lipid composition of asthenozoospermic and normozoospermic spermatozoa, and identified the exact lipid species that correlated with sperm motility.

Analysis on the impact of two winter precipitation episodes on PM in Beijing.

In this paper, the circulation background, the characteristics of meteorological elements configuration in the boundary layer and the stable meteorological conditions in two precipitation episodes (during February 19-21, 2015 and February 10-13, 2016, respectively) within the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region are compared and analyzed. Data from conventional meteorological observations, air quality monitoring, reanalysis and numerical models are used. The results show that before the two precipitation processes in 2015 and 2016, the circulations in the middle and high latitudes of Asia and Europe demonstrate "two troughs and one ridge".

Alpha-lipoic acid improves the maturation and the developmental potential of goat oocytes in vitro.

Oxidative stress inevitably occurs during oocyte maturation in vitro. α-lipoic acid (α-LA) has a strong antioxidant capacity, but the effect of α-LA on parthenogenetic activation of oocytes was rarely reported. This study aims to investigate the effect of supplementing α-LA to in vitro maturation medium on the subsequent developmental ability of goat parthenogenetic embryos during oocytes maturation.

Improving the clinical outcomes by extended culture of day 3 embryos with low blastomere number to blastocyst stage following frozen-thawed embryo transfer.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate whether the extended culture of day 3 (D3) embryos with low blastomere number to blastocyst following frozen-thawed embryo transfer improved the clinical outcomes.

Methods: This was a retrospective study of clinical data of women undergoing in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) cycles in the Tangdu Hospital. The patients were divided into groups with 4-5, 6, 7-9 and > 9 cells based on the blastomere number of D3 embryos.

Cumulative Live Birth Rates After the First ART Cycle Using Flexible GnRH Antagonist Protocol vs. Standard Long GnRH Agonist Protocol: A Retrospective Cohort Study in Women of Different Ages and Various Ovarian Reserve.

To compare the cumulative live birth rates (cLBRs) after the first assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycle using flexible gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH)-antagonist protocol vs. standard long GnRH agonist protocol for controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) in infertile women with different ages and ovarian reserve. Women who underwent ART treatment at our center between June 1st, 2015 and December 31st, 2018 were screened.

[Concentration Characteristics of PM and the Causes of Heavy Air Pollution Events in Beijing During Autumn and Winter].

To study the changing of characteristics and formation mechanisms of PM in Beijing during the last two years, particulate matter concentrations, weather conditions, and air-mass trajectories were analyzed during severe pollution episodes in fall and winter 2016-2017 using routine observations and the TrajStat model. Results showed that 13 heavy pollution events, each lasting at least two days, occurred in Beijing. Of these, approximately 61.

[Relationship Between Atmospheric Visibility and PM Concentrations and Distributions].

Monitoring data were used to analyze the relationships among relative humidity (RH), visibility, and PM concentrations. A strong, linear relationship expression between the extinction coefficient and PM concentrations at different relative humidities is proposed. The mean correlation coefficient at RH 40%-90% was higher than 0.

Loss of methylation of H19-imprinted gene derived from assisted reproductive technologies can be mitigated by cleavage-stage embryo transfer in mice.

Purpose: Studies on rodents have shown that assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) are associated with perturbation of genomic imprinting in blastocyst-stage embryos. However, the vulnerable developmental window for ART influence on the genomic imprinting of embryos is still undetermined. The purpose of this study was to establish the specific embryonic development stage at which the loss of methylation of H19 imprinting control regions (ICRs) was caused by ART occurrence.

Temporal and spatial variations in sand and dust storm events in East Asia from 2007 to 2016: Relationships with surface conditions and climate change.

We analyzed the frequency and intensity of sand and dust storms (SDSs) in East Asia from 2007 to 2016 using observational data from ground stations, numerical modeling, and vegetation indices obtained from both satellite and reanalysis data. The relationships of SDSs with surface conditions and the synoptic circulation pattern were also analyzed. The statistical analyses demonstrated that the number and intensity of SDS events recorded in spring during 2007 to 2016 showed a decreasing trend.

[Characteristics of Elements and Potential Ecological Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in PM at the Southwest Suburb of Chengdu in Spring].

PM samples were collected at the southwest suburb of Chengdu in spring (in May 2012 and 2014). The mass concentrations of PM were determined by the weight method, and 24 chemical elements in PM were analyzed by XRF. To study the pollution characteristics and sources of chemical elements, and the potential ecological risk of heavy metals in PM, the Geo-accumulation Index, Enrichment Factor, and Potential Ecological Risk Index methods were applied, respectively.

Improving development of cloned goat embryos by supplementing α-lipoic acid to oocyte in vitro maturation medium.

α-Lipoic acid (LA) is a powerful antioxidant for clinical therapy of some metabolic diseases, but there are few reports about the effect of LA on animal occyte in vitro maturation (IVM). The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of supplementing LA to IVM medium on subsequently developmental competence of goat cloning embryos after somatic cell nucleus transfer (SCNT). Twenty-five micromolars LA significantly increased 12% oocyte maturation rate from control 57.

[Efficient delivery of siRNA into mouse preimplantation embryos by electroporation].

We developed a detailed electroporation method to deliver efficiently siRNA into mouse preimplantation embryos. By introducing Cy3 labeled negative control small interfering RNA (siRNA) into mouse preimplantation embryos, we optimized conditions for the electroporation, including the voltage, pulse duration, pulse number, electroporation buffer and an important step to weaken the zona pellucida. Embryonic survival rate, transfection rate and blastocyst development rate were evaluated under the converted fluorescence microscope, by embryos counting and statistical analysis.