High prevalence of vitamin D and calcium deficiency among pregnant women and their newborns in Chengdu, China.

Background: Vitamin D and calcium deficiency is common in pregnant women and newborn infants. There are few data about the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D during pregnancy and infancy in China. We assessed vitamin D status of pregnant women and their neonates in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China.

Cryopreservation of the human ovarian tissue induces the expression of Fas system in morphologically normal primordial follicles.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the Fas system was involved in cryopreservation process of the human ovarian tissue. Human ovarian cortical tissues were cryopreserved using slow freezing method. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) was used to investigate apoptosis of primordial follicle.

Novel needle immersed vitrification: a practical and convenient method with potential advantages in mouse and human ovarian tissue cryopreservation.

Background: Ovarian tissue cryopreservation may be a potential method of preserving fertility in women who have experienced gonadotoxic treatments. To improve the efficiency of existing cryopreservation, we developed a practical and convenient vitrification method named needle immersed vitrification (NIV), which required a less concentrated and minimum volume of vitrification solution.

Methods: Mouse ovaries and human ovarian cortex fragments were vitrified using the NIV method, the slow-freezing method or the dropping vitrification method.

Adenosine-activated myocardial ischemia does not induce delayed preconditioning.

Background: Our objective was to determine whether adenosine-induced ischemia exerts a delayed cardiac protective effect in patients with stable effort angina ischemic heart disease.

Material/methods: The study group was comprised of 32 patients (men) with symptoms of stable effort angina, aged 38-65 years (Group 1), and 18 clinically healthy subjects (3 women, 15 men), aged 35-55 years (Control group). The study protocol included baseline ECG and treadmill echocardiogram (ET1); ECG and adenosine echocardiogram performed 7 days after ET1; repeated exercise test exactly 24 h after adenosine infusion (ET2).

[Characteristics of monoclonal antibodies against chorionic gonadotropin receptor].

We reported the production of monoclonal antibodies (McAb) against chorionic gonadotropin (CG) receptor by fusing spleen cells of BALB/c mice immunized with purified pseudomonas maltophilia CG receptor with mouse myeloma line (SP 2/0). Four hybridoma cell lines secreting CG receptor McAbs were obtained (ED 490, DG 390, AB 890, GE 590). GE 590 is IgG 1; ED 490, DG 390, AB 890 are IgG2b.