Odds and Predictors of Monozygotic Twinning in a Multicentre Cohort of 25,794 IVF Cycles.

The rate of monozygotic twinning (MZT) has seen a gradual increase in recent years. Numerous parameters involved in ART procedures are blamed for this surge, even though the exact explanation is as yet unknown. Our study's objectives were to determine the risk variables for monozygotic twinning after ART and to estimate their prevalence.

Single-Dose Tafenoquine to Prevent Relapse of Plasmodium vivax Malaria.

Background: Treatment of Plasmodium vivax malaria requires the clearing of asexual parasites, but relapse can be prevented only if dormant hypnozoites are cleared from the liver (a treatment termed "radical cure"). Tafenoquine is a single-dose 8-aminoquinoline that has recently been registered for the radical cure of P. vivax.

Perivitelline threads in cleavage-stage human embryos: observations using time-lapse imaging.

Time-lapse imaging of the human preimplantation embryo in vitro has revealed a transient phenomenon involving the appearance of perivitelline threads, commonly observed at the two-cell stage. These threads span the perivitelline space, arising at the specific area where the cytoplasmic membrane contacts the zona pellucida, before any perivitelline space is formed. The threads persist as the cytoplasmic membrane retracts from the zona pellucida to form the first cleavage furrow.

Live births after embryo selection using morphokinetics versus conventional morphology: a retrospective analysis.

The increasing corpus of clinical studies using time-lapse imaging for embryo selection demonstrates considerable variation in study protocols and only limited-sized study cohorts. Outcome measures are based on implantation or clinical pregnancy; some predict blastulation from early cleavage-stage data, and few have evaluated live birth. Erroneously, most studies treat the embryos as independent variables and do not include patient or treatment variables in the statistical analyses.

Tafenoquine plus chloroquine for the treatment and relapse prevention of Plasmodium vivax malaria (DETECTIVE): a multicentre, double-blind, randomised, phase 2b dose-selection study.

Background: Clinical effectiveness of previous regimens to treat Plasmodium vivax infection have been hampered by compliance. We aimed to assess the dose-response, safety, and tolerability of single-dose tafenoquine plus 3-day chloroquine for P vivax malaria radical cure.

Methods: In this double-blind, randomised, dose-ranging phase 2b study, men and women (aged ≥16 years) with microscopically confirmed P vivax monoinfection (parasite density >100 to <100,000 per μL blood) were enrolled from community health centres and hospitals across seven sites in Brazil, Peru, India, and Thailand.

Optimization of direct fibroblast reprogramming to cardiomyocytes using calcium activity as a functional measure of success.

Direct conversion of fibroblasts to induced cardiomyocytes (iCMs) has great potential for regenerative medicine. Recent publications have reported significant progress, but the evaluation of reprogramming has relied upon non-functional measures such as flow cytometry for cardiomyocyte markers or GFP expression driven by a cardiomyocyte-specific promoter. The issue is one of practicality: the most stringent measures - electrophysiology to detect cell excitation and the presence of spontaneously contracting myocytes - are not readily quantifiable in the large numbers of cells screened in reprogramming experiments.

Optimal dose finding for novel antimalarial combination therapy.

A recent discussion meeting convened by the Medicines for Malaria Venture examined how best to manage the discovery and preclinical pipeline to achieve novel combination therapies which would address the key clinical needs in malaria. It became clear that dose optimisation of components within combination therapy was a key issue in achieving antimalarial efficacy and for preserving that efficacy against parasite resistance emergence. This paper outlines some of the specific issues in malaria that cause dose-ranging and dose-optimisation studies to be particularly challenging and discusses the potential of factorial study design to address such challenges.

Growth hormone and gene expression of in vitro-matured rhesus macaque oocytes.

Growth hormone (GH) in rhesus macaque in vitro oocyte maturation (IVM) has been shown to increase cumulus expansion and development of embryos to the 9-16 cell stage in response to 100 ng/ml recombinant human GH (r-hGH) supplementation during IVM. Although developmental endpoints for metaphase II (MII) oocytes and embryos are limited in the macaque, gene expression analysis can provide a mechanism to explore GH action on IVM. In addition, gene expression analysis may allow molecular events associated with improved cytoplasmic maturation to be detected.

Chlorproguanil-dapsone-artesunate versus artemether-lumefantrine: a randomized, double-blind phase III trial in African children and adolescents with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria.

Background: Chlorproguanil-dapsone-artesunate (CDA) was developed as an affordable, simple, fixed-dose artemisinin-based combination therapy for use in Africa. This trial was a randomized parallel-group, double-blind, double-dummy study to compare CDA and artemether-lumefantrine (AL) efficacy in uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria and further define the CDA safety profile, particularly its hematological safety in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) -deficient patients.

Methods And Findings: The trial was conducted at medical centers at 11 sites in five African countries between June 2006 and August 2007.

Effects of ooplasm manipulation on DNA methylation and growth of progeny in mice.

New techniques to boost male and female fertility are being pioneered at a rapid pace in fertility clinics to increase the efficiency of assisted reproduction methods in couples in which natural conception has not been achieved. This study investigates the possible epigenetic effects of ooplasm manipulation methods on postnatal growth and development using a mouse genetic model, with particular emphasis on the possible effects of intergenotype manipulations. We performed interstrain and control intrastrain maternal pronuclear transfers, metaphase-II spindle transfers, and ooplasm transfer between C57BL/6 and DBA/2 mice, and found no major, long-term growth defects or epigenetic abnormalities, in either males or females, associated with intergenotype transfers.

Gastric impaction and obstruction of the small intestine associated with persimmon phytobezoar in a horse.

Signs of mild colic, intermittent lethargy, and weight loss of 6 weeks' duration in a 2-year-old Quarter Horse gelding were attributed to persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) phytobezoar formation. Diagnosis of the phytobezoar was facilitated by gastric endoscopy. Signs of gastrointestinal tract obstruction were associated with a large phytobezoar in the lumen of the stomach, gastric ulceration, and obstruction of the small intestine (as a consequence of fragmentation of the primary bezoar).

Presumed moxidectin toxicosis in three foals.

Outcome and complications associated with administration of moxidectin gel to 3 foals < 4 months old are described. Two foals became comatose but survived following supportive treatment. One foal died following loss of consciousness associated with moxidectin administration.

Accessory bile duct and laparoscopic cholangiography: report of three cases.

Laparoscopic cholangiography can be useful in identifying an accessory bile duct. Failure to identify an accessory bile duct during laparoscopic cholangiography may lead to complications and prolonged hospitalizations. At times, the accessory duct can be clearly seen filling with contrast; at other times, the only clue to the possible presence of an accessory duct is opacification of the gallbladder.

Diastolic mitral regurgitation in acute but not chronic aortic regurgitation: implications regarding the mechanism of mitral closure.

In acute aortic regurgitation, left ventricular pressure rises rapidly during diastole, which produces presystolic mitral valve closure. This does not occur in chronic aortic regurgitation. Since normal, nonregurgitant mitral valve closure may depend on properly coordinated atrial and ventricular contractions, we hypothesized that abnormal mitral valve closure occurring before systole in acute aortic regurgitation may produce diastolic mitral regurgitation detectable by Doppler echocardiography.