Oocytes Quality Assessment-The Current Insight: A Systematic Review.

An overall in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcome is dynamic. Good oocyte quality is important for achieving a better IVF pregnancy. Various methods have been used for OQ assessment (OQA).

The spectrum of maturation in clinical practice: the current insight.

oocyte maturation (IVM) has been used worldwide. Despite the long-term implementation, the uptake of this procedure to complement current fertilization (IVF) remains low. The main reason is likely due to the non-synchronization of protocol and definition criteria, leading to difficulty in collective proper outcome data worldwide and, thus, lack of understanding of the exact IVM procedure.

Incidence and causes of perinatal death in prenatally diagnosed vasa previa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: This study aimed to estimate the perinatal mortality associated with prenatally diagnosed vasa previa and to determine what proportion of those perinatal deaths are directly attributable to vasa previa.

Data Sources: The following databases have been searched from January 1, 1987, to January 1, 2023: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase.

Study Eligibility Criteria: Our study included all studies (cohort studies and case series or reports) that had patients in which a prenatal diagnosis of vasa previa was made.

Long-term Weight Loss as a Predictor of Mortality in Hemodialysis Patients.

Background: Serial weight decrease can be a prognostic predictor in chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients. We investigated the impact of long-term post-HD body weight (BW) changes on all-cause mortality among HD patients.

Methods: This longitudinal cohort study and post-hoc analysis evaluated participants of a previous randomized controlled trial conducted between 2006 and 2011 who were followed up until 2018.

Reduction in the Doses of Direct Oral Anticoagulants and Risk of Ischemic Stroke Events: A Hospital Survey.

Inappropriately reduced doses (IRDs) of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are common in clinical practice. We performed a retrospective review using electronic medical records of St. Marianna University School of Medicine Hospital (a 1200-bed teaching hospital in Japan) to address the prevalence of IRDs and patient-related factors that result in IRDs.

Effect of CV159-Ca(2+)/calmodulin blockade on redox status hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury in mice evaluated by a newly developed in vivo EPR imaging technique.

1,4-Dihydro-2,6-dimethyl-4-(3-nitrophenyl)-3,5-pyridinedicarboxylic acid methyl 6-(5-phenyl-3-pyrazolyloxy)hexyl ester (CV159) exhibits selective blocking of Ca(2+)/calmodulin and inhibits Ca(2+) overloading in living organisms. The effects of this antagonist in mice with hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury were investigated using electron paramagnetic resonance imaging (EPRI) and ex vivo EPR (x-band EPR) techniques. The EPRI determined that the 3-carbamoyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethylpyrrolidine-1-oxyl half-life in CV159-treated mice was significantly shorter than that in untreated mice and was almost equal to that in the sham group.

Effect of inhaled corticosteroid on an immunoreactive thymus and activation-regulated chemokine expression in the bronchial biopsies from asthmatics.

Background: Bronchial asthma is characterized by airway inflammation, notably because of eosinophils and T cells. Thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC) is known to selectively attract Th2 cells, and is increased in response to interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13, which share a common receptor, IL-4 receptor alpha (IL-4Ralpha). While corticosteroids have proven, very effective in modifying airway inflammation, the effect of corticosteroids on TARC in asthmatics has been little studied.

[Lifestyle modification and diet therapy for nephrotic syndrome].

The management of the lifestyle of patients with nephrotic syndrome is important to prevent progression to end stage renal failure. In spite of various kinds of medication, the daily lifestyle and diet modification should be taken into consideration from the early stage. The strict restriction of exercise is disagreeable.

Cortical potentials evoked by horizontal rotatory stimulation: the effects of angular acceleration.

Objective: To examine the potentials evoked by rotatory stimulation, which we consider the optimal means of invoking angular acceleration and which may lead to clinical applications in patients with vertigo.

Material And Methods: Horizontal rotatory stimulation using a trapezoidal waveform was performed with 3 different angular accelerations (20, 15 and 10 degrees/s2) used sequentially, with alternating clockwise and counterclockwise stimulation, to normal subjects and a patient with bilateral loss of vestibular function.

Results: It is likely that angular accelerations of < 20 degrees/s2 produce minor somatosensory effects.

Increased immunoreactivity of stromal cell-derived factor-1 and angiogenesis in asthma.

Stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) acts as a chemoattractant for leukocytes and can induce neovascularisation. To examine the role of SDF-1 in the development of angiogenesis, immunohistochemical studies were performed on bronchial biopsy specimens from asthmatic and control subjects. Bronchial biopsy specimens were obtained from 13 asthmatic and eight control subjects.

Analysis of loss of heterozygosity at 16p12-p13 (familial neuroblastoma locus) in 470 neuroblastomas including both sporadic and mass screening tumors.

Background: Neuroblastoma (NBL) in children usually occurs in a sporadic form. However, it rarely occurs in families. Recently, the familial neuroblastoma (FNB) locus has been mapped to 16p12-p13 by linkage analysis.

[Psychological background as a risk factor of variant angina].

In this study, the role of psychological make-up was assessed as a risk factor in the etiology of vasospasm in variant angina (VA) using the Cornell Medical Index (CMI). Study subjects consisted of 15 patients with VA; 32 with effort angina or old myocardial infarction having no vasospasm (EA + OMI); and 34 healthy men. For a neurosis discriminative diagram, the areas I and II were judged as normal and the areas III and IV were judged compatible with a neurotic disorder.