BlastAssist: a deep learning pipeline to measure interpretable features of human embryos.

Study Question: Can the BlastAssist deep learning pipeline perform comparably to or outperform human experts and embryologists at measuring interpretable, clinically relevant features of human embryos in IVF?

Summary Answer: The BlastAssist pipeline can measure a comprehensive set of interpretable features of human embryos and either outperform or perform comparably to embryologists and human experts in measuring these features.

What Is Known Already: Some studies have applied deep learning and developed 'black-box' algorithms to predict embryo viability directly from microscope images and videos but these lack interpretability and generalizability. Other studies have developed deep learning networks to measure individual features of embryos but fail to conduct careful comparisons to embryologists' performance, which are fundamental to demonstrate the network's effectiveness.

Stabilization of hESCs in two distinct substates along the continuum of pluripotency.

A detailed understanding of the developmental substates of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) is needed to optimize their use in cell therapy and for modeling early development. Genetic instability and risk of tumorigenicity of primed hPSCs are well documented, but a systematic isogenic comparison between substates has not been performed. We derived four hESC lines in naive human stem cell medium (NHSM) and generated isogenic pairs of NHSM and primed cultures.

Transcriptomic Analysis of Human Fragile X Syndrome Neurons Reveals Neurite Outgrowth Modulation by the TGFβ/BMP Pathway.

Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is the main genetic reason for intellectual disability and is caused by the silencing of fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), an RNA-binding protein regulating the translation of many neuronal mRNAs. Neural differentiation of FX human embryonic stem cells (hESC) mimics the neurodevelopment of FXS fetuses and thus serves as a good model to explore the mechanisms underlining the development of FXS. Isogenic hESC clones with and without the FX mutation that share the same genetic background were in vitro differentiated into neurons, and their transcriptome was analyzed by RNA sequencing.

Impaired Functional Connectivity Underlies Fragile X Syndrome.

Fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most common form of inherited intellectual disability, is caused by a developmentally regulated silencing of the gene, but its effect on human neuronal network development and function is not fully understood. Here, we isolated isogenic human embryonic stem cell (hESC) subclones-one with a full FX mutation and one that is free of the mutation (control) but shares the same genetic background-differentiated them into induced neurons (iNs) by forced expression of , and compared the functional properties of the derived neuronal networks. High-throughput image analysis demonstrates that FX-iNs have significantly smaller cell bodies and reduced arborizations than the control.

[HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY AFTER GYNECOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES].

Treatment of gynecological malignancies can cause an abrupt onset of menopausal symptoms along with associated long term morbidity. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is the most effective treatment to alleviate these symptoms but the safety of HRT among gynecologic oncology patients remains controversial. We conducted a review of the published literature on the risk of recurrent disease among gynecologic cancer patients using HRT.