OBJECTIVETo investigate the influence of male age on the pregnancy outcomes of in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET).

METHODSWe retrospectively analyzed 7,533 cycles of IVF-ET performed between January 1, 2009 and October 31, 2013. We divided the samples into three groups according to the female age (< 30, 30-34, and 35-38 yr), each again subdivided into six groups based on the male age (< 30, 30-32, 33-35, 36-38, 39-41, and ≥ 42 yr). We compared the rates of implantation, pregnancy, miscarriage, and live birth among different age groups.

RESULTSThere were no statistically significant differences in basal E2, FSH, endometrium thickness on the day of hCG administration, number of oocytes retrieved, and days of embryo transfer among different male age groups (P > 0.05). The implantation rate showed an age-dependent decrease in the < 30, 30-32, 33-35, 36-38, 39-41, and ≥ 42 yr male groups, 41.1, 42.0, 39.5, 31.3, 40.7, and 48.6% among the women aged < 30 years (P < 0.05), 40.3, 36.4, 35.1, 35.3, 29.4, and 37.3% among the women aged 30-34 years (P < 0.05), and 48.2, 17.8, 25.3, 23.5, 22.1, and 23.8% among the women aged 35-38 years (P < 0.05). The miscarriage rate was significantly higher in the ≥ 39 yr than in the 30-32 and 33-35 yr male age groups among the women aged 30-34 years (P < 0.05), but showed no remarkable differences among the other male age groups in the women aged < 30 and 35-38 years (P > 0.05). No statistically significant differences were observed in the rates of pregnancy and live birth among different male age groups (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONMale age has some influence on the rates of implantation and miscarriage but not on the rates of pregnancy and live birth in IVF-ET.

Abortion, Spontaneous ; epidemiology ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Embryo Implantation ; Embryo Transfer ; Female ; Fertilization in Vitro ; Humans ; Male ; Oocyte Retrieval ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Pregnancy Rate ; Retrospective Studies ; Sex Factors

BACKGROUND: Linxian County of China is one of the areas with the highest incidence of esophageal cancer and gastric cardia cancer in the world, and nutrition-deficiency is widely existing in local people. In recent years, many researches around the world revealed that the cause of Parkinson disease (PD) is related to factors of gene, age, environment, diet, nutrition and smoking. More and more studies confirmed that primary hypertension may be in relation to vascular Parkinsonism (VP) and long-term hypertension was apt to VP.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between hypertension and clinical probable Parkinson disease (PPD) in nutrition-deficient population of Linxian County and provide a theoretical basis for early prevention and treatment of PD.DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.PARTICIPANTS: A total of 4 335 subjects aged over 55 years were selected. These subjects have taken part in the nutritional intervention study of Linxian County and first entered in the cohort study in 1985. They were enrolled in the nutritional intervention study in Linxian County in 1985.METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted. ①Case screening: PD questionnaire (used in American Gebai County) combined with general neurological examination were adopted. ②The diagnosis of PD: Clinical diagnostic criteria of UK Parkinson Disease Society Brain Bank were taken as the criteria for screening PD. Further evaluations were undertaken for clinical PPD and clinical possible PD on subjects who had PD symptoms.The diagnostic criteria of clinical PPD: Subjects were diagnosed as having clinical PPD if they presented any two of the following two cardinal features (resting tremor, hypermyotonia, bradykinesia and impairment of postural reflexes) or presented any one of the following features (resting tremor, hypermyotonia and bradykinesia). Diagnostic criteria of clinical possible PD: Subjects were diagnosed as having clinical possible PD when presented any one of the following four cardinal features (resting tremor, hypermyotonia, bradykinesia, and impairment of postural reflexes).③Definition of hypertension: Hypertension was defined as the systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥ 140 mm Hg or the diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥ 90 mm Hg. Data were processed with linear trend test and nonconditional logistic regression.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Status of final diagnoses on patients and relationship between hypertension and clinical PPD.RESULTS: A total of 4 335 subjects including 2 008 males (46.32%)and 2 327 females (53.68%) participated in the screening of PD.①Results of final diagnosis on patients: Among all the 4 459 survival participants,46 subjects were diagnosed as having PD, 118 as having clinical PPD and 78 as having clinical possible PD. After excluding patients with PD or clinical possible PD, only 118 patients were diagnosed as having clinical PPD. These patients and 4 217 normal controls were analyzed and a total of 2 035 patients had hypertension. ②There were statistical correlation between hypertension and clinical PPD, RR was 1.648 (1.147-2.638), which was 1.668 (1.145-2.432) after being adjusted by possible confounding factors including age, gender, smoking, drinking and so on, the association mentioned above still existed (χ2=7.463,P=0.006). Analysis of gender showed statistically significant differences between female patients with hypertension and clinical PPD(χ2=9.669 P=0.002), and RR before adjust ment was 2.347 (1.347-4.091), which was 2.346 (1.327-4.150) after being adjusted and correlation still existed. While there were no statistical corre lations between male patients with hypertension and clinical PPD (χ2 =0.697 ,P=0.404)but there was also an ascending trend in RR value. ③ With the blood pressure increasing, the RR value correspondingly in creased with the linear trend test (χ2=11.325 ,P=0.003). And there was sta tistical significance in raw and adjusted RR value of hypertension with the BP ≥ 140/90 mm Hg. Respective statistics of SBP and DBP showed a dose-response relationship between SBP and clinical PPD; When the SBP ≥ 140 mm Hg, there were statistical significances in values of raw RR or adjusted RR of hypertension (χ2=8.007 ,P=0.018). While there were no sta tistical significances in RR values before and after adjustment of DBP (χ2 =2.569,P=0.227). CONCLUSION: Hypertension is one of the risk factors of clinical PPD in female residents older than 55 and the incidence of getting clinical PPD is increased with the heightening of BP.

Objective To observe liver functional lesion caused by combination chemotherapy containing or not containing oxaliplatin. Methods Data from 42 patients with liver functional lesion caused by chemotherapy between March 2005 and October 2007 were analyzed. All patients were diagnosed through histology or cytology detection and received chemotherapy only. Different drugs were. admitted,based on different tumors. Before chemotherapy, each patient had normal liver function without liver lesions such as liver metastasis, Hepatitis B and C, hepatic cirrhosis, etc. Furthermore, 22 received FOLFOX-4 in containing oxaliplatin group while the remaining 20 received chemotherapy excluding oxaliplatin. When liver functional lesion without the influence of any liver protectant was first observed, ALT, AST, TBIL, DBIL, IBIL, ALP, GGT and the WHO criteria of liver toxicity were analyzed. T test and Wilcoxon rank sum test were used for data analysis. Results All together 90 cycles, median 2.14 cycles, were given. According to WHO criteria of liver toxicity, 13 cases were in grade O, 21 in grade Ⅰ, 7 in grade Ⅱ, and 1 in grade Ⅲ. ALT and AST were significantly high after chemotherapy(P <0.05). Moreover, ALT and AST were significantly higher in containing oxaliplatin group than non oxaliplatin group after chemotherapy(P <0.05). Chemotherapy had no influence on bilirubin. The population distribution of accumulative chemotherapy cycles and WHO criteria of liver toxicity was similar between two groups. Conclusion Before the intervention of liver protectant, combination chemotherapy containing oxaliplatin is more likely to have liver functional lesion than other chemotherapy without oxaliplatin. It mainly presents an increase in transaminase.

Objective To investigate the value of Tei index for estimating right ventricular global function in patients with dissymmetry hypertrophic cardiomyopathy(including obstructive and nonobstructive).Methods Pulsed wave Doppler of transtricuspid flow and transpulmonic valve flow were performed in hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy(HOCM,n=28),hypertrophic nonobstructive cardiomyopathy(HNCM,n=34), and healthy control subjects(n=30) at apical four-chamber view and short-axis view of aortic root,and Tei index was calculated.Results~①Accelerating contraction time/right ventricular ejection time(ACT/RVET),isovolumetric contraction time(ICT),isovolumetric relaxation time(IRT),isovolumetric contraction time+isovolumetric relaxation time(ICT+IRT),right ventricular ejection time(RVET),ACT/RVET and Tei index[(ICT+IRT)/RVET] showed no significant changes between the groups of HOCM and HNCM.②Tei index was distinctly different between patients with HCM and control subjects(P

In comparison with the clinical PET scanner,PET scanner for small animals puts forward a higher demand in spacial resolution and sensitivity. This article describes the development of the PET scanner for small animals and compares the characteristics of several kinds of contemporary typical PET scanners for small animals in different aspects based on the development of detectors. Meanwhile,it also introduces the development of the detectors designed for measuring depth of interaction (DTC) to reduce parallax error.

In order to establish an UPLC-MS method for determination of twelve active compounds in Qili Qiangxin capsules including astragaloside, calycosin-7-0-glucoside, ginsenoside Rb1, ginsenoside Re, ginsenoside Rd, ginsenoside Rg1, ginsenoside Rf, periplocin, periplocoside H1, hesperidin, narirutin, isoquercitrin, the chromatographic separations were performedon a Phenomenex UPLC Kinetex C18 column (2.1 mm x 100 mm, 2.6 microm) with gradient elution of acetonitrile and 0.1% aqueous formic acidat a flow rate of 0.4 mL x min(-1). The temperature was set as 40 degrees C and injection volume was 5 microL. The monitoring of all analytes was achieved under the negative ionization mode with TOF-MS and TOF-MS/MS method. The twelve analytes showed good linearity (R2 > 0.9990) within the test ranges, the average recoveries were 98.0%-102%, respectively, and the RSD were less than 3.9%, respectively. The established method is simple, rapid, and sensitive, and can be used for quality control of Qili Qiangxin capsules.
Capsules ; chemistry ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; chemistry ; Quality Control ; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization ; methods ; Tandem Mass Spectrometry ; methods

?-arbutin is biosynthesized by whole cell method with Xanthomona maltophilia BT-112.The conditions for cell biosynthesized ?-arbutin are investigated as follows:temperature,25℃;concentration of hydroquinone,30mmol/L;mol ratio of sucrose and hydroquinone,20∶1;time course of ?-arbutin biosynthesis,45 hours;rotational speed,160r/min;concentration of Xanthomona maltophilia BT-112,85g/L;concentration of K-2HPO-4-KH-2PO-4 buffer solution,25mmol/L;pH of K-2HPO-4-KH-2PO-4 buffer solution,8.0.Under the above optimal conditions,the maximum of molar conversion yield based on the amount of hydroquinone supplied reaches 86.7%.

Objective To explore the differences in health care quality,scale,output,efficiency,cost and financial condition between freestanding secondary hospitals and system-affiliated secondary hospitals in Shanghai,and analyse the determinants of hospital integration. Methods Eleven upper secondary hospitals in Shanghai integrated between 2000 and 2004 were selected,and another 40 secondary hospitals (including 30 upper secondary hospitals and 10 middle secondary hospitals) without integration were served as controls. Using related data of 1999,Mann-Whitney U test was performed to analyse the differences between these two groups,and Logistic regression analysis was conducted to explore the determinants of hospital integration. Results There were significant differences in health care quality,scale,and output between these two groups (P0.05). It was revealed by Logistic regression analysis that health care quality,scale,output,and financial condition were determinants of integration. Conclusion System-affiliated secondary hospitals have advantages over freestanding hospitals in health care quality,scale,output and financial condition,and those with better health care quality,larger scale,larger output and better financial condition are more likely to be integrated by tertiary hospitals.

Objective To analyze the clinical outcomes of patients treated with in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) and influence factors of pregnancy rate. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 12 491 cycles, including 6832 fresh IVF/intracytoplast single sperm injection (ICSI) cycles and 5659 frozen embryo transfer (FET) cycles from 2005 to 2007. Results The clinical pregnancy rate per cycle was 32. 99% (2254/6832)in fresh embryo transfer program, and the live birth rate was 25.75% (1394/5413); the early pregnant loss rate was 9. 36% (211/2254), and the prenatal defect rate was 1.45% (25/1722). Through analysis of these patients' basic data, we found that the patients' age, causes for infertility, egg retrieval and cycle number affected the pregnancy rate. Using logistic regression method, we found that patients′ age was the most important factor affecting pregnancy outcome. In FET cycles, the clinical pregnancy rate was 38.08% (2155/5659), significantly higher than fresh embryo transfer cycles. Conclusions IVF-ET treatment is a safe and effective method for infertility couples. However, the female age and poor ovarian response are the main factors affecting pregnancy rate. Thawed embryo transfer can increase the accumulated pregnancy rate effectively.

Objective To compare clinical outcome of intracytoplasmic sperm injection(ICSI)cycle by using fresh and cryopreserved-thawed testicular and epididymal spermatozoa in azoospermic patients.Methods Between September 2006 and May 2007,208 azoospermic patients underwent in vitro fertilization(IVF)were treated in Center of Reproductive Medicine,Peking University Third Hospital.Those couples were divided into two groups based on their wishes,including 171 cases in fresh group and 37 cases in cryopreserved-thawed group.The cryopreserved testicular or epididymal spermatozoa were thawed and recovered before ICSI procedure iu thawed group.The outcomes of ICSI in each group were compared.including clinical outcomes(two pronuclear fertilization,high quality embryo,clinical pregnancy and embryo implantation)and pregnancy outcomes(spontaneous miscarriage,gestational weeks and neonatal birth weight).Results (1),The utilization rate were 92%(23/25)in cryopreserved-thawed testicular spermatozoa and 100%(12/12)in epididymal spermatozoa.(2)Between fresh and cryopreserved-thawed groups,no statistical difference was observed in two pronuclear fertilization rate[62.25%(973/1563)vs.64.53%(282/437),P=0.960],high quality embryo rate[78.9%(768/973)vs.79.1%(223/282),P=0.985],clinical pregnancy rate per embryo transfer[44.4%(60/135)vs.46.9%(15/32),P:0.688]and embryo implantation rate[29.3%(84/287)vs.33.3%(23/69),P=0.508].(3)No significant difference between flesh and cryopreserved group was found in spontaneous miscarriage rate (11%vs.7%,P＝1.000),gestational weeks(single birth:39.0 weeks vs.38.7 weeks,P:0.538;twins:36.8 weeks vs.36.3 weeks,P=0.571)and birth weight(single birth:3409 g vs.3350 g,P=0.699;twins:2584 g vs.2635 g,P=0.703).Conclusion It suggested that tissue from the azoospermic patients who underwent diagnostic testieular and epididymal biopsy should be eryopreseved for IVF-ET.