Which parameters to use for sleep quality monitoring in team sport athletes? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Sleep quality is an essential component of athlete's recovery. However, a better understanding of the parameters to adequately quantify sleep quality in team sport athletes is clearly warranted.

Objective: To identify which parameters to use for sleep quality monitoring in team sport athletes.

Current status of residency training in laparoscopic surgery in Brazil: a critical review.

Introduction: The surgeon's formation process has changed in recent decades. The increase in medical schools, new specialties and modern technologies induce an overhaul of medical education. Medical residency in surgery has established itself as a key step in the formation of the surgeon, and represents the ideal and natural way for teaching laparoscopy.

Oral supplementation of butyrate reduces mucositis and intestinal permeability associated with 5-Fluorouracil administration.

Mucositis affects about 40 % of patients undergoing chemotherapy. Short chain fatty acids (SCFA), mainly butyrate, are claimed to improve mucosal integrity, reduce intestinal permeability and act as anti-inflammatory agents for the colon mucosa. We evaluated the effects of oral administration of SCFA or butyrate in the 5FU-induced mucositis.

Effects of different surface treatments and accelerated artificial aging on the bond strength of composite resin repairs.

The purpose of the present study was to assess the bond strength of composite resin repairs subjected to different surface treatments and accelerated artificial aging. 192 cylindrical samples (CSs) were prepared and divided into 24 groups (n = 8). Half of the CSs were stored in water for 24 h, and the other half were subjected to C-UV accelerated aging for non-metallic specimens.

Prospective cohort study in high responder oocyte donors using two hormonal stimulation protocols: impact on embryo aneuploidy and development.

Background: Ovarian stimulation regimens for in vitro fertilization seem to have a deleterious effect on oocyte quality and embryo aneuploidy in a dose-dependent manner. This study aims to test the influence of gonadotrophin doses on embryo aneuploidy rates.

Methods: A total of 32 young oocyte donors with a high response to ovarian stimulation, were included in the study.

A prospective, randomized, controlled trial comparing three different gonadotropin regimens in oocyte donors: ovarian response, in vitro fertilization outcome, and analysis of cost minimization.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of three different gonadotropin regimens in an oocyte donation program. The analysis of cost minimization also was evaluated.

Design: Prospective, randomized, controlled study.

GnRH agonist administration at the time of implantation does not improve pregnancy outcome in intrauterine insemination cycles: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To assess whether GnRH agonist administration in the luteal phase improves pregnancy outcome in intrauterine insemination (IUI) cycles.

Design: Single-center, randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Setting: University-affiliated infertility clinic, between February 2005 and December 2007.

Melanocytoma of ciliary body and choroids simulating melanoma.

Melanocytoma is a rare intraocular tumor. There are some reports in the literature dealing with primary melanocytomas of the choroid and ciliary body. It is believed that most of these tumors are clinically diagnosed as nevi or melanoma, and are followed up or treated without surgical resection, respectively.

Female obesity impairs in vitro fertilization outcome without affecting embryo quality.

Objective: To compare embryo quality and reproductive outcome in our IVF program according to the women's body mass index (BMI).

Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: University-affiliated infertility clinic, between January 2001 and April 2007.

Anisotropic median-diffusion for filtering noisy electrocardiogram signals.

Low Noise Electrocardiogram (ECG) has been widely used for heart disease diagnosis. The anisotropic median-diffusion is the filter obtained by intercalating a median filtering in each diffusion step. We propose to use anisotropic median-diffusion to filter noisy ECG signals.

Genetic variability of human immunodeficiency virus-1 in Bahia state, Northeast, Brazil: high diversity of HIV genotypes.

The HIV-1 genetic variability in Bahia state, Brazil, was investigated. DNA samples from 229 and 213 HIV-1-infected individuals were analyzed using the heteroduplex mobility assay (HMA) in gag and env fragments, respectively. One hundred seventy-five samples were characterized in both genes.

Cigarette smoking and reproductive function.

Purpose Of Review: To perform a systematic review of the literature on the relationship between cigarette smoking and reproductive function. Whenever possible, this review is focused on the most recently published studies (mainly the past 2 years). Nevertheless, in many instances older literature was too relevant not to be taken into account.

Antral follicle count (AFC) can be used in the prediction of ovarian response but cannot predict the oocyte/embryo quality or the in vitro fertilization outcome in an egg donation program.

Objective: To verify whether the antral follicle count (AFC) could predict ovarian response, oocyte/embryo quality, and IVF outcome.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: Instituto Universitario-Instituto Valenciano de Infertilidad, Valencia, Spain.

Human immunodeficiency type-1 virus (HIV-1) infection in serodiscordant couples (SDCs) does not have an impact on embryo quality or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) outcome.

Objective: To evaluate the embryo quality in our program for human immunodeficiency type-1 virus (HIV-1) serodiscordant couples (SDCs) with the male infected in comparison with a tubal-factor infertility control group.

Design: Retrospective case-control study.

Setting: Instituto Valenciano de Infertilidad, Valencia, Spain.

Implantation in IVF.

The recent advances in assisted reproduction have made it possible to study and interfere in almost every step of the human reproductive process except for implantation. The most complex and important step remains in great part unknown. Implantation in human has proven to be less efficient compared with other species.

Obesity and poor reproductive outcome: the potential role of the endometrium.

Objective: To analyze the potential role of extraovarian factors such as endometrium in the reproductive outcome of obese patients.

Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: University-affiliated infertility clinic, between January 2001 and July 2005.

Improvements achieved in an oocyte donation program over a 10-year period: sequential increase in implantation and pregnancy rates and decrease in high-order multiple pregnancies.

Objective: To compare outcome parameters and cumulative pregnancy rates (PRs) in oocyte donation cycles over a period of 10 years.

Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: University-affiliated assisted reproductive technology program.

Ovarian stimulation length, number of follicles higher than 17 mm and estradiol on the day of human chorionic gonadotropin administration are risk factors for multiple pregnancy in intrauterine insemination.

The aim of the present study was to identify the risk factors, their prognostic value on multiple pregnancies (MP) prediction and their thresholds in women undergoing controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) with follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and intrauterine insemination (IUI). A case-control study was carried out by identifying in our database all the pregnancies reached by donor and conjugal IUI (DIUI and CIUI, respectively), and compared cycle features, patients' characteristics and sperm analysis results between women achieving single pregnancy (SP) versus MP. The number of gestational sacs, follicular sizes and estradiol levels on the human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) administration day, COH length and semen parameters were obtained from each cycle and compared.

Complex role of the IL-4 receptor alpha in a murine model of airway inflammation: expression of the IL-4 receptor alpha on nonlymphoid cells of bone marrow origin contributes to severity of inflammation.

Recent studies have suggested the IL-4Ralpha expressed on lung epithelium is necessary for TH2-mediated goblet cell differentiation and mucus hypersecretion in a murine model of allergic lung disease. However, the IL-4Ralpha is expressed on numerous cell types that could contribute to the overall pathology and severity of asthma. The relative role of the receptor on these cells has not yet been conclusively delineated.

Nasal instillation of gpMBP can exacerbate murine EAE: effect of mucosal priming is an age-dependent phenomenon.

Nasal installation or oral feeding of antigens can alter the subsequent immune response in animals and humans. Most mucosal treatments with antigens tend to down-regulate disease, inducing full tolerance or immune deviation; however, priming has also been reported. We evaluated the course of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in (SJL x B10.

Strain-dependent effect of nasal instillation of antigen on the immune response in mice.

Background: Nasal instillation is an effective method for inducing antigen-specific immune tolerance. However, it is not clear how a tolerization scheme established in one mouse strain will perform when used in a mouse of a different haplotype.

Objectives: To compare the antigen-specific recall responses in four mouse strains--BALB/c, C57BL/6, NOD, and B10.

Gene transfer of Ig-fusion proteins into B cells prevents and treats autoimmune diseases.

Based on the tolerogenic properties of IgG carriers and B cell Ag presentation, we developed a retrovirally mediated gene expression approach for treatment of autoimmune conditions. In this study, we show that the IgG-Ag retroviral constructs, expressing myelin basic protein (MBP) or glutamic acid decarboxylase in B cells, can be used for the treatment of murine models for multiple sclerosis and diabetes. Transduction of syngeneic B cells with MBP-IgG leads to the amelioration of ongoing experimental allergic encephalomyelitis induced by the transfer of primed cells from PLxSJL F(1) mice with ongoing disease and could be effective even after symptoms appeared.