BACKGROUND:In vitro fertilization-embryo transfer is commonly used to solve infertility,but its success rate is not high,the more common reasons are poor endometrial receptivity,poor egg quality,etc.The follicular fluid melatonin can inhibit the aging of the ovary,to a certain extent,can promote the development of embryos,improve the probability of conception,but whether there is a correlation between the two is not known. OBJECTIVE:To explore the correlation between follicular fluid melatonin level and pregnancy rate of single-cycle in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer women. METHODS:A total of 112 female patients who received in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer treatment in the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from December 2020 to April 2021 were selected as the study subjects.They were divided into quartile array(Q1-Q5)according to the follicular fluid melatonin level from low to high.Among them,the melatonin level of group Q1 was<6.99 ng/L(n=18),that of group Q2 was 7.00-9.99 ng/L(n=26),that of group Q3 was 10.00-11.99 ng/L(n=27),and that of group Q4 was 12.00-13.99 ng/L(n=18);and melatonin levels in group Q5 were 14.00-19.99 ng/L(n=23).Clinical data characteristics of the five groups were compared.Multi-factor Logistic regression was used to analyze the correlation between follicular fluid melatonin level and pregnancy rate of women with single-cycle in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer and embryo transfer.A restricted cubic spline Logistic regression model was established to analyze the dose-response relationship,and the model was evaluated by clinical decision curve. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Compared with the study population with the lowest melatonin quintile(Q1),with the increase of melatonin level(Q2-Q5),the levels of egg harvest and pregnancy success were gradually increased,and the body mass index was gradually decreased,and the differences were significant(P<0.05).(2)Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for confounding factors such as global mass index,number of eggs retrieved,luteinizing hormone,estradiol,progesterone and other confounding factors,follicular fluid melatonin level was still independently correlated with pregnancy rate of single-cycle in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer women(OR=1.538,95%CI:1.032-1.837,P<0.05),and there was significant difference in trend test of follicular fluid melatonin level from low to high quintile array(Ptrend<0.05).(3)The sensitivity test analysis showed that E value was 2.117.Subgroup analysis showed that the study population with higher levels of luteinizing hormone in follicular fluid had a more significant association between follicular fluid melatonin and pregnancy rate in single-cycle in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer women(P interaction=0.008).(4)The results of restricted cubic spline model analysis showed that there was a nonlinear dose-response relationship between follicular fluid melatonin level and pregnancy rate of single-cycle in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer women(P<0.05),and there was an overall positive correlation between follicular fluid melatonin level and pregnancy rate of single-cycle in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer women.(5)The results of clinical decision curve analysis showed that the follicular fluid melatonin level had important clinical value in predicting the pregnancy rate of single-cycle in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer women.(6)Follicular fluid melatonin level is closely related to the pregnancy rate of single-cycle in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer women,and with the decrease of follicular fluid melatonin level,the pregnancy rate of single-cycle in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer women also decreases.

Objective To investigate the factors influencing the pregnancy outcomes during frozen-thawed embryo transfer(FET)cycles in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS).Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients'data from 882 FET cycles.According to the pregnancy outcome,the patients were divided into non-implantation group(Group A),abortion group(Group B1)and live birth group(Group B2).Clinical data and laboratory parameters were compared among the three groups,and ordered Logistic regression analysis was used to study the factors influencing pregnancy outcomes after FET.Patients were also divided into four groups(C1-C4)based on the number of high-quality embryos obtained(0-3,4-6,7-10,≥11),and their clinical data and laboratory parameters were compared.Results The clinical pregnancy rate,live birth rate,and miscar-riage rate in the 882 treatment cycles were 71.09%(627/882),61.68%(544/882),and 13.24%(83/627),respectively.Single-factor analysis showed significant differences in body mass index(BMI),infertility type,hu-man chorionic gonadotropin(hCG)day estradiol(E2)level,number of retrieved oocytes,and number of high-quality embryos among Groups A,B1,and B2(P<0.05).Further multiple Logistic regression analysis revealed that BMI(OR=1.046,95%CI:1.001-1.093,P=0.044)and a history of previous pregnancy(OR=1.417,95%CI:1.030-1.950,P=0.032)were independent risk factors for successful FET in PCOS patients,while an in-creased number of high-quality embryos was an independent protective factor for successful pregnancy.Based on the results of Group B2,compared to Group A,OR=0.920,95%CI:0.880-0.962,P=0.000;compared to Group B1,OR=0.923,95%CI:0.862-0.988,P=0.022.Compared with the other three groups(C1-C3),the total amount of gonadotropin(Gn)in the C4 group was the lowest and the number of oocytes obtained was the high-est(P<0.05).Multiple comparisons showed that Group C4 had lower BMI,follicle-stimulating hormone(FSH),very low-density lipoprotein(vLDL)levels,a higher luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone(LH/FSH)ratio compared to Group C1(P<0.05).Group C4 had lower fasting insulin(FINS)and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance(HOMA-IR)levels compared to Group C3,and higher high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol(HDL-C)and apolipoprotein A1(Apo A1)levels compared to Groups C2 and C3(P<0.05).Con-clusion BMI,the history of previous pregnancy and the number of high-quality embryos were both independent factors for predicting pregnancy outcomes in PCOS patients undergoing FET cycles.Patients with a higher number of high-quality embryos have a higher clinical pregnancy rate during FET cycles.

Objective To investigate the role of member septin family(SEPT12)in human spermatogenesis and its influence on sperm motility and sperm ultrastructure.Methods Whole exome sequencing(WES)was performed on peripheral blood DNA extracted from 375 patients with asthenoteratozoospermia,and a patient with idiopathic in-fertility carrying compound heterozygous mutation of SEPT12 was screened out.Sanger sequencing was performed to verify the mutation,and co-segregation analysis was performed in the family.The morphological abnormalities of sperm were analyzed by hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining and scanning electron microscopy(SEM),and the ultra-structural defects of sperm were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy(TEM).Then the effects of the muta-tion on the level and position of the protein and the changes of the location and level of the defect structure markers were analyzed by Western blot and immune-fluorescence(IF).Results The compound heterozygous mutations c.C332A(p.Ti111K)and c.406_416 del TGCTCGTATTG(p.q136 VFS*39)in the SEPT12 gene were screened and identified in a patient with asthenoteratozoospermia.The mutations were verified by Sanger sequencing,which was consistent with the co-segregation genetic pattern of the family.The mutations resulted in loss of protein expres-sion,decreased sperm motility and sperm morphological deformities,mainly including short tail,curly tail and ir-regular sperm head.The ultrastructure of sperm showed that the annulus between the mid-piece and the principle-piece was missing,the acrosome membrane of sperm head fell off and the nucleus contained vacuoles.In the mid-piece of sperm flagella,the arrangement of mitochondrial sheath was disordered,most of flagella axoneme central pair was absent,microtubules doublet was missing or disordered,and some radical spoke was absent.By Western blot and IF,the marker proteins of related structural components were detected,and the results showed that the level of SEPT4 protein decreased,SEPT6 protein unchanged,acrosomal related proteins ACTL7A and ACROSIN protein missing,and the expression levels of mitochondrial and axoneme related proteins TOMM20,SPAG6 and RSPH3 protein significantly decreased.Conclusion The deletion of SEPT12 protein caused by SEPT12 gene mu-tation leads to the deletion of the annulus between the mid-piece and the principle-piece,and the abnormal assem-bly of sperm acrosome,mitochondrial sheath and flagella.

Background::Total human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) DNA and integrated HIV DNA are widely used markers of HIV persistence. Droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) can be used for absolute quantification without needing a standard curve. Here, we developed duplex ddPCR assays to detect and quantify total HIV DNA and integrated HIV DNA.Methods::The limit of detection, dynamic ranges, sensitivity, and reproducibility were evaluated by plasmid constructs containing both the HIV long terminal repeat (LTR) and human CD3 gene (for total HIV DNA) and ACH-2 cells (for integrated HIV DNA). Forty-two cases on stable suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART) were assayed in total HIV DNA and integrated HIV DNA. Correlation coefficient analysis was performed on the data related to DNA copies and cluster of differentiation 4 positive (CD4 +) T-cell counts, CD8 + T-cell counts and CD4/CD8 T-cell ratio, respectively. The assay linear dynamic range and lower limit of detection (LLOD) were also assessed. Results::The assay could detect the presence of HIV-1 copies 100% at concentrations of 6.3 copies/reaction, and the estimated LLOD of the ddPCR assay was 4.4 HIV DNA copies/reaction (95% confidence intervals [CI]: 3.6-6.5 copies/reaction) with linearity over a 5-log 10-unit range in total HIV DNA assay. For the integrated HIV DNA assay, the LLOD was 8.0 copies/reaction (95% CI: 5.8-16.6 copies/reaction) with linearity over a 3-log 10-unit range. Total HIV DNA in CD4 + T cells was positively associated with integrated HIV DNA ( r = 0.76, P <0.0001). Meanwhile, both total HIV DNA and integrated HIV DNA in CD4 + T cells were inversely correlated with the ratio of CD4/CD8 but positively correlated with the CD8 + T-cell counts. Conclusions::This ddPCR assay can quantify total HIV DNA and integrated HIV DNA efficiently with robustness and sensitivity. It can be readily adapted for measuring HIV DNA with non-B clades, and it could be beneficial for testing in clinical trials.

Objective:To explore the developmental characteristics of different cognitive styles on verbal and visuospatial working memory of primary school students.Methods:The Mosaic graph test was used to test the cog-nitive style of students in grades 2,4 and 6.The three-factor mixed experiment of 2(cognitive style:field independ-ent,field dependent)× 3(grade:2,4,6)× 2(task type:letter task,spatial task)was carried out.The 2-back task was used to measure the working memory characteristics of students with different cognitive styles,and the repeated measurement ANOVA was performed on the accuracy of letter and spatial tasks of 175 effective subjects.Results:The accuracy of letter task and spatial task of field independent primary school students were higher than that of field-dependent primary school students(P＜0.001).The accuracy rate of letter task for field independent primary school students was higher than that of space task(P＜0.001).The accuracy of two kinds of tasks of field inde-pendent students in grade 6 was better than that of field independent students in grade 2 and grade 4(P＜0.05).Conclusion:There are differences in the development of verbal and visuospatial working memory of primary school students with different cognitive styles,which may also be related to task type and age.

Objective: To evaluate the value of multi-detector CT (MDCT) upper airway imaging in the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome ( OSAHS) and in determining the location of upper airway obstruction． Methods : MDCT was used to scan the upper airways of 85 clinically confirmed adult patients with different degrees of OSAHS (73 males and 12 females) in calm breathing phase and forced inhalation phase and 60 normal adults (50 males and 10 females) in calm breathing phase to obtain nasal cavity，nasopharynx，palatopharynx and oglosopharynx volumes．Parapharyngeal fat volume was measured in OSAHS patients and normal subjects．In addition，three groups of clinical data related to OSAHS patients were recorded，including sleep apnea hypopnea index (AHI) ，body mass index ( BMI) and lowest blood oxygen saturation ( LaSO2 ) ．Finally，the measured data and clinical data of each group were statistically analyzed. Results : The volume of nasopharynx and palatopharynx in the calm breathing group was significantly smaller than that in the control group，with statistical significance．Palatopharyngeal volume forced inspiratory phase was significantly smaller than calm breathing phase in the experimental group．The parapharyngeal fat volume in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group．AHI was positively correlated with BMI and parapharyngeal fat volume．LaSO2 was negatively correlated with AHI and BMI，respectively． Conclusion MDCT upper airway imaging has good clinical application value in the diagnosis，treatment and postoperative evaluation of OSAHS disease due to the significant anatomical difference between OSAHS patients and normal subjects.

Objective:To investigate the value of intratumoral and peritumoral radiomics features of multi-parameter MRI in evaluation of the status of human epithelial growth factor receptor 2 in breast cancer.Methods:The clinical, pathological and imaging data of 340 patients with pathologically confirmed breast cancer in Henan Provincial People′s Hospital from September 2019 to December 2020 were retrospectively collected. All patients were female, 48 (42, 55) years old. All patients underwent multi-parameter breast MRI before surgery, including dynamic contrast-enhanced T 1WI (DCE-T 1WI), fat-suppressed T 2WI (T 2WI) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). The region of interest (ROI) for lesions were manually delineated and the segmented ROIs were zoomed in ring shape by 4 mm to acquire ROI intra and ROI prei, respectively. Then six sets of radiomics features were extracted from ROI intra and ROI prei of DCE-T 1WI, T 2WI and DWI. The cases were divided into a training set (272 cases) and a test set (68 cases) by stratified sampling at a ratio of 4∶1. The Mann-Whitney U test, Select K Best and minimum absolute contraction and selection operator were used for feature selection of the 6 sets of radiomics features. The feature subsets after reduction were used to construct independent and combined radiomics signatures with support vector machine algorithm to predict the HER2 status of breast cancer. Receiver operating characteristic curve was generated and area under curve (AUC) was calculated to compare the prediction performance of different models. Results:Of the 340 patients, 80 were HER2-positive and 260 were HER2-negative. Among the radiomics signatures based on single sequence, the DWI peri showed the best performance in predicting HER2 status of breast cancer, with an AUC of 0.678 for the test set. Among the combination of intratumoral and peritumoral radiomics signatures based on same sequence, the DWI intra+DWI peri had the highest prediction value, achieving an AUC of 0.774 for the testing set. Among the intratumoral or peritumoral radiomics signatures derived from two different sequences, the DCE-T 1WI intra+DWI intra and T 2WI peri+DWI peri showed the best predictive performance, yielding AUC of 0.766 and 0.769 in the testing set, respectively. Among the combination of intratumoral or peritumoral radiomics signatures derived from all 3 sequences or combinations of all features, the DCE-T 1WI intra+T 2WI intra+DWI intra+DCE-T 1WI peri+T 2WI peri+DWI peri obtained the highest prediction efficiency, with an AUC of 0.913 for the testing set. Conclusion:The radiomics features of intratumoral and peritumoral regions based on multi-parameter MRI have a certain value in non-invasive evaluation of HER2 status of breast cancer, which can help clinicians to provide scientific basis for decision-making of targeted therapy in patients with breast cancer.

Objective: To explore the characteristics of overweight children s attention bias to food cues, so as to provide a theoretical basis for the behavior and life intervention of overweight children. Methods: From September to October 2017, 28 normal weight children and 28 overweight children in grades 3 to 4 of a primary school in Shenyang were screened by body mass index (BMI). The point detection paradigm was used to evaluate the attention bias of overweight children to food cues. Results: There was no significant difference between overweight children and control children in the score of attention bias to food cues [ F (1,52)=0.01, P> 0.05 , ηp 2 <0.01]; there was significant difference between overweight children and normal weight children in the score of facilitated attention to food cues[ F (1,52)=5.94, P<0.05, ηp 2 =0.10], normal weight children had higher score of facilitated attention to food cues than that of overweight children; there was significant difference between overweight children and normal weight children in the score of difficulty in disengaging to food cues[ F (1,52)=7.74, P<0.05, ηp 2 =0.13], overweight children had higher score of difficulty in disengaging to food cues than that of normal weight children. Conclusion Compared with normal weight children, overweight children didn t have higher attention bias to food cues; in the specific indicators of attention bias to food cues, normal weight children are more alert to food cues, while overweight children are more difficult to remove attention from food cues.

Objective:To explore the causal associations of two blood pressure phenotype and four lipid fractions with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM) in European and East Asian populations using Two-Sample Mendelian randomization analysis.Methods:Blood pressure phenotype, lipid fractions and T2DM genetic loci from two ethnics were matched and combined according to single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs) numbering. With SNPs closely related to the exposure phenotype as instrumental variables, the inverse variance weighting method was used to analyze the causal effects of blood pressure phenotype and lipid fractions on T2DM in different ethnic groups. The sensitivity analysis was conducted using MR-Egger regression model, Weighted Median method, MR-PRESSO, MR-robust Adjusted Profile Score, and leave-one-out method.Results:Among European populations, systolic blood pressure( OR=1.40, 95% CI 1.23-1.59, P<0.001) and diastolic blood pressure( OR =1.24, 95% CI 1.08-1.42, P=0.002)were associated with increased risk of T2DM while high density lipoprotein-cholesterol( OR=0.68, 95% CI 0.62-0.76, P<0.001) reduced the risk of T2DM. In East Asian ethnicity, elevated diastolic blood pressure( OR=0.75, 95% CI 0.59-0.95, P=0.007) reduced the risk of T2DM. Sensitivity analysis confirmed the results. Conclusion:There are differences in the effects of blood pressure phenotype and lipid composition on T2DM in different ethnic groups, which may be related to population heterogeneity and exposure sensitivity. It should be taken into consideration in extrapolation.

Objective To analyze association of the cardiometabolic index (CMI) with risk of metabolism-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). Methods This study recruited 480 individuals from Inpatient Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Medical College from January 2018 to December 2020 and divided into MAFLD ( n =202) and non-MAFLD groups ( n =278) for comparison of the CMI and related biochemical and FibroScan parameters. The independent samples t -test was performed for comparison of normally distributed continuous data, while the Mann-Whitney U test was performed for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data and the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between these two groups of individuals. These individuals were then divided into Q1-Q4 subgroups based on their CMI and then subjected to the Kruskal-Wallis H test to compare the distribution of the controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) and liver stiffness measurement (LSM) between these two groups of patients. Finally, a Logistic regression analysis was performed to calculate MAFLD risk at different CMI scores (Q1-Q4). Results Compared with the non-MAFLD individuals, the MAFLD group had significantly higher levels of CMI, CAP, LSM, body weight, waist circumference, body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, triglyceride, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, γ-glutamyl transferase, serum uric acid, and fasting blood glucose, but significantly lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level (all P < 0.01). Moreover, there was significant difference in the CAP among different CMI quartile levels in these individuals ( χ 2 =15.220, P =0.002). The multivariate logistic regression analytic data revealed that the CMI in the Q4 was an independent predictor for MAFLD risk vs. the CMI in the Q1 quantile ones (95% confidence interval, 1.415-8.764, OR =3.521; P < 0.01) after adjustment for related risk factors. Conclusion A higher CMI score (Q4) was associated with a MAFLD risk and a gradual increase in the CMI score was with the increased number of MAFLD patients and fibrosis risk, indicating that a routine health check-up and measurement of CMI could help to identify and control MAFLD early.