OBJECTIVETo explore various factors affecting the clinical pregnancy outcomes of artificial insemination with donor sperm (AID).

METHODSWe retrospectively analyzed 15,744 cycles of AID in 6302 women and investigated the association of the clinical pregnancy outcomes of AID with the treatment protocols, the times of insemination per cycle, the age of the infertile women, the status of the oviduct, and the number of AID cycles.

RESULTSThe pregnancy rate of AID was higher in the chlomiphene-treated women than in those of the natural cycle group (P = 0.003) but showed no significant differences either between the chloramiphene and human menopause gonadotropin (HMG) or between the HMG and natural cycle groups (P > 0.05), and so was it in the women that had received AID twice per cycle before and after ovulation (26.3%) than in those that had undergone only once before (7.0%) or after ovulation (23.7%) (P < 0.05). However, the pregnancy rate was remarkably lower in the women aged 35-40 years (16.5%), especially in those over 40 years (1.2%), than in those under 35 years (26.0%) (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the success rate of AID between the women with oviductal adhesion and those without (27.4% vs. 28.1%, P > 0.05). The pregnancy rate of the first cycle of AID (27.6%) was markedly higher than those of the second (24.7%), third (23.9%), and fourth (23.1%) (P < 0.01), but with no significant differences among the latter three cycles (P > 0.05), while that of the fifth cycle (19.0%) was remarkably lower than those of the first four (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONThe age of the infertile women is an important factor affecting the success rate of AID. AID twice per cycle is better than once only. For those without oviductal factors, at least 4 cycles of AID are required before in vitro fertilization.

Adult ; Age Factors ; Female ; Fertilization in Vitro ; Humans ; Infertility, Female ; Insemination, Artificial ; Insemination, Artificial, Heterologous ; Ovulation ; Ovulation Induction ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Pregnancy Rate ; Retrospective Studies

The quality and integrity of clinical trials and associated data are not only derived from accuracy of trial data analyses, but also closely embodied to the authenticity and integrity of those data and data documents as well as the compliant procedures obtaining those data and relevant files in the life cycle of clinical trials. The compliances of good clinical practices and standards suggest the reliability, complete and accuracy of data and data documents, which is constructing the convincible foundation of drug efficacy and safety validated via clinical trials. Therefore, the monitoring and auditing on clinical trials and associated data quality keep eyes on not only verifications of reliability and correctness on the data analytic outcomes, but also validation of science and compliance of the trial management procedure and documentations in the process of data collections.
Clinical Trials as Topic ; standards ; Data Accuracy ; Reproducibility of Results

Neurodegenerative disease is characterized by progressive loss of neurons in specific brain regions that results in neuronal dysfunction of the central nervous system. Although the pathological mechanism is not fully established, the activation of glial cells mediated neuroinflammation appears to be involved. Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) is originally described as intracellular chaperone, which plays an important role in protein quality control in cells. However, recent study showed that up-regulation of HSP70 had anti-inflammatory effects in the brain. HSP70 protected neurons from damage and improved neurological function by decreasing inflammatory response as indicated by inactivation of glial cells and inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokine release. So it is of great significance to find new compounds targeting at HSP70 as neuroprotective agents to delay the progress of neurodegenerative disease. This review will focus on the role of HSP70 in neuroinflammation and the recent advances in using HSP70 as a target for the treatment of neurodegenerative disease.
Brain ; physiopathology ; Cytokines ; HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins ; physiology ; Humans ; Inflammation ; pathology ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; physiopathology ; Neurons ; pathology ; Neuroprotection ; Up-Regulation

Danshen is one of the traditional Chinese herbal medicines and nas a long history or being used clinically in the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular conditions such as coronary heart disease and angina pectoris. Tanshinone IIA is a derivative of phenanthrene-quinone isolated from Danshen. It has been reported to be the major bioactive compound of Danshen and has diverse biological effects. Recent studies demonstrated that tanshinone IIA had neuroprotective effects on experimental ischemic stroke through its antiinflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-apoptosis effects and its inhibitory effect on excitatory amino acid toxicity. In this review, we summarized all the recent progresses on the protective effect of tanshinone IIA on cerebral ischemic stroke. Hopefully, this article will throw some light on further study and application of tanshinone IIA.
Antioxidants ; therapeutic use ; Apoptosis ; Diterpenes, Abietane ; therapeutic use ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Salvia miltiorrhiza ; chemistry ; Stroke ; drug therapy

Sphingolipids, especially ceramide and S1P, are structural components of biological membranes and bioactive molecules which participate in diverse cellular activities such as cell division, differentiation, gene expression and apoptosis. Emerging evidence demonstrates the role of sphingolipids in hepatocellular death, which contributes to the progression of several liver diseases including ischaemia-reperfusion liver injury, steatohepatitis or hepatocarcinogenesis. Furthermore, some data indicate that the accumulation of some sphingolipids contributes to the hepatic dysfunctions. Hence, understanding of sphingolipid may open up a novel therapeutic avenue to liver diseases. This review focuses on the progress in the sphingolipid metabolic pathway with a focus on hepatic diseases and drugs targeting the sphingolipid pathway.
Apoptosis ; Ceramides ; metabolism ; Fatty Liver ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Humans ; Liver Diseases ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Lysophospholipids ; metabolism ; Reperfusion Injury ; metabolism ; physiopathology ; Sphingolipids ; metabolism ; Sphingosine ; analogs & derivatives ; metabolism

Abatacept ; Case-Control Studies ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 2 ; Diabetes, Gestational ; genetics ; Exons ; Female ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Glucokinase ; genetics ; Humans ; Immunoconjugates ; genetics ; Mutation ; Pregnancy ; Promoter Regions, Genetic

Objective To explore the effects of stimulating vagus nerve with pulse current on peripheral blood CD4+T lymphocyte of rats with collagen induced arthritis and its mechanism.Methods To duplicate model rats of experimental arthritis(EA)by intradermal injection of Ⅱtype collagen,divide the rats into 2 groups:vagus nerve stimulation(VNS)group and sham operated group.Rats in VNS group were stimulated at the left cervical vagus nerves for 30 minutes a day with constant square wave,pulse current with intra train of 16 Hz,pulse duration of 1.0 ms,train duration of 10 s,interstimulus interval of 1.5 min and intensities of 3.0 mA.Then flow cytometry and immunofluorescence methods were used to detect the activation of CD4+T lymphocytes(expressing CD71)and the expression of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors alpha 7(nAChR?7)and choline acetyltransferase(ChAT)in peripheral blood CD4+T lymphocytes.Results In VNS group,the expression of nAChR?7 and ChAT were significantly raised in CD4+ T cells at 1st weekend(Pa

Objective To investigate the characteristics of renal hemodynamic and the esoteric prostacyclin(PGI2),thromboxane A2(TXA2)level in children with early Henoch-Schonlein purpura(HSP),and study the function of TXB_2/6-Keto-prostaglandin F(6-Keto-PGF_(1?))(T/K)numerus in early changes of kidney injury.Methods Children involved in the experiment were dicided into 3 groups.Thirty-one patients with HSP,divided into 2 groups according to routine urianlysis:children with HSP without renal damage group(n=16)and Henoch-Schonlein purpura nephritis(HSPN)group(n=15).Control group with 16 healthy children,their age and sex match with the other 2 groups.The urine of all children,including the children in control group,was sampled in 24 hours.The urinary production of the samples were kept in the freezer at-20 ℃.The radioimmunoassay was applied to determine the 6-Keto-PGF_(1?),TXB_2 quantitatively,and calculate the number of T/K.In the early morning the children accept the Doppler arteria renalis sonography with an empty stomach to determine the Vmax of the period of contraction of the arteria renalis the Vmin of diastolic phase and the resistent index(RI).SPSS 13.0 software was used to analyze the data.Results 1.The renal hemodynamic indicated a change of high velocity and resistance,the masculine rate(83.9%)was ob-viously higher than that in routine urinalysis(48.4%)(?2=5.79 P0.05).The RI in the former group(0.798?0.165)was much higher than that in the other one(0.637?0.116)(t=4.02 P

To construct the Bac-to-Bac expression system of Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV), a transfer vector was constructed which contained an Escherichia coli (E. coli) mini-F replicon and a lacZ: attTN7: lacZ cassette within the upstream and downstream regions of the BmNPV polyhedrin gene. B. mori larvae were cotransfected with wild-type BmNPV genomic DNA and the transfer vector through subcutaneous injection to generate recombinant viruses by homologous recombination in vivo. The genomic DNA of budded viruses extracted from the hemolymph of the transfected larvae was used to transform E. coli DH10B. Recombinant bacmids were screened by kanamycin resistance, PCR and restriction enzyme (REN) digestion. One of the bacmid colonies, BmBacJS13, which had similar REN profiles to that of wild-type BmNPV, was selected for further research. To investigate the infectivity of BmBacJS13, the polyhedrin gene was introduced into the bacmid and the resultant recombinant (BmBacJS13-ph) was transfected to BmN cells. The budded viruses were collected from the supernatant of the transfected cells and used for infecting BmN cells. Growth curve analysis indicated that BmBacJS13-ph had a similar growth curve to that of wild-type BmNPV. Bio-assays indicated that BmBacJS13-ph was also infectious to B. mori larvae.

OBJECTIVETo study changes of left ventricular remodeling (LVR) in hypertension patients with carotid atherosclerosis (CAS) of phlegm-dampness syndrome (PDS).

METHODSDoppler ultrasonography data of CAS were observed in 223 hypertension patients with CAS (as the hypertension group, including 119 patients of the PDS group and 104 of the non-PDS group), 81 CAS patients with non-hypertension, and 19 non-hypertension non-CAS patients (as the control group). The difference in the degree of LVR was compared among the above groups.

RESULTSThe left ventricular posterior wall thickness (LVPWT), inter ventricular septum thickness (IVS), E/A were higher in the hypertension group than in the non-hypertension group (P < 0.05). The left ventricular end-diastolic dimension (LVEDD), left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVESD), stroke volume (SV) were higher in the soft plaque hypertension group and the soft plaque non-hypertension group than in the hard plaque group, the thickening intimal group, and the normal intimal group (P < 0.01 , P < 0.05). The LVEDD, LVESD, and SV were higher, and the ejection fraction (EF) was lower in the PDS hypertension group than in the non-PDS hypertension group (all P < 0.05). Of them, LVEDD, LVESD, and SV were higher in the soft plaque group than in the hard plaque group (P < 0.01), the thickening intimal group (P < 0.01) and the normal intimal group (P < 0.05). There was no statistical difference in PDS hypertension between the soft plaque group and the hard plaque group (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe hypertension patients with CAS of PDS might be correlated to LVR, and LVR was more obviously in the soft plaque patients.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Carotid Artery Diseases ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; physiopathology ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging ; physiopathology ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Ultrasonography ; Ventricular Remodeling