Superovulation strategy before in vitro fertilization

This chapter reviews current understanding of the control of spontaneous preovulatory follicular development in the natural ovarian cycle as a basis for the design and use of superovulation strategy before clinical IVF. The principles, limitations and practical aims of therapy using clomiphene citrate and HMG to stimulate multiple follicular development are outlined together with details of methods in current use to monitor ovarian response to these drugs and to time ovulation induction and egg collection with HCG. Examples of successful IVF treatment cycles are given. It is stressed that properly controlled clinical trials to judge the relative merits of the various superovulation methods in current use for IVF have not been undertaken. Possible new approaches to ovarian stimulation before IVF include the use of 'pure' FSH, LHRH and pulsatile gonadotrophin administration.     

The relationship between hand strength and the forces used to access containers by well elderly persons.

OBJECTIVE: This study extended previous work of Rice, Leonard, and Carter [AJOT, 52(8), 621-626] and examined the relationship between grip and pinch strengths and the forces produced while accessing common household containers in healthy, elderly persons. METHOD: Forty-two women and 9 men 60 years of age and older were assigned randomly to one of four order groups in a counterbalanced, repeated-measures design. Grip strength was measured via a dynamometer and pinch strength via a pinch meter. The forces required to access six common household containers were measured with force sensing resistors applied to each container. Data analysis included Pearson product-moment correlations between the dependent variables of grip and pinch strength and force produced on the containers. Analyses of variance were used to determine differences by gender on the dependent measures and order of presentation of containers. RESULTS: A fair relationship (r = .31 to .44) was found between grip and pinch strength and the ability to open three containers. Little or no relationship was found between grip and pinch strength and the ability to open the remaining three containers (r = -.03 to .25). Significant gender differences existed on overall strength and the force used to access two of the six containers. No order effects were found. CONCLUSIONS: Strong relationships did not exist between the grip and pinch strength and the amount of force the elderly participants used to open the containers, which is similar to what Rice et al. found for younger persons. The participants appeared to use a greater proportion of their available strength when accessing the containers than did their younger counterparts previously studied. Further research is needed to determine at what level of weakness one would expect to see performance deficits in common daily occupations.     

Screening for Lynch syndrome in young Saudi colorectal cancer patients using microsatellite instability testing and next generation sequencing

Individuals with Lynch syndrome (LS) have germline variants in DNA mismatch repair (MMR) genes that confer a greatly increased risk of colorectal cancer (CRC), often at a young age. Identification of these individuals has been shown to increase their survival through improved surveillance. We previously identified 33 high risk cases for LS in the Saudi population by screening for microsatellite instability (MSI) in the tumor DNA of 284 young CRC patients. The aim of the present study was to identify MMR gene variants in this cohort of patients. Peripheral blood DNA was obtained from 13 individuals who were at high risk of LS due to positive MSI status and young age (<60 years at diagnosis). Next generation sequencing, Sanger sequencing and Multiplex Ligation-dependent Probe Amplification were used to screen for germline variants in the MLH1, MSH2, MSH6 and PMS2 MMR genes. These were cross-referenced against several variant databases, including the International Society for Gastrointestinal Hereditary Tumors Incorporated database. Variants with pathogenic or likely pathogenic significance were identified in 8 of the 13 high risk cases (62%), comprising 4 in MLH1 and 4 in MSH2. All carriers had a positive family history for CRC or endometrial cancer. Next generation sequencing is an effective strategy for identifying young CRC patients who are at high risk of LS because of positive MSI status. We estimate that 7% of CRC patients aged <60 years in Saudi Arabia are due to LS, potentially involving around 50 new cases per year.     

Antipsychotics inhibit the mitochondrial bioenergetics of pancreatic beta cells isolated from CD1 mice

Antipsychotics (APs) are widely used medications with reported diabetogenic side effects. This study investigated the effect of commonly used APs, namely chlorpromazine (CPZ), haloperidol (HAL) and clozapine, on the bioenergetics of male CD1 mice isolated pancreatic beta cells as an underlying mechanism of their diabetogenic effects. The effect of APs on Alamar blue reduction, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production and glucose‐stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) of isolated beta cells was evaluated. Then, the effects of APs on the activities of mitochondrial complexes and their common coding genes expression, oxygen consumption rate (OCR), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and lactate production were investigated. The effects of APs on the mitochondrial membrane fluidity (MMF) and mitochondrial membrane fatty acid composition were also examined. Results showed that the tested APs significantly decreased cellular ATP production and GSIS of the beta cells. The APs significantly inhibited the activities of mitochondrial complexes and their coding gene expression, MMP and OCR of the treated cells, with a parallel increase in lactate production to different extents with the different APs. CPZ and HAL showed increased MMF and mitochondrial membrane polyunsaturated fatty acid content. In conclusion, the tested APs‐induced mitochondrial disruption can play a role in their diabetogenic side effect.     

Should ICSI be the treatment of choice for all cases of in-vitro conception? Considerations of fertilization and embryo development, cost effectiveness and safety.

There is now considerable discussion whether intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) should be used in all cases of IVF. A critical and balanced view of the current literature is presented. The difficult question is how to identify men with apparently normal semen who are likely to fail to achieve a pregnancy using IVF. In conclusion, from both the safety and scientific viewpoint, ICSI should only be used in cases where success at IVF is regarded as unlikely.     

Forgery detection using multiple light sources for synthetic images

Image processing requires an estimation of position, direction and illumination of the objects present in a scene. Nowadays, digital image manipulations have experienced a remarkable growth. These image manipulations can be detected by various forgery detection techniques that have been developed in the past few years. We describe a forgery detection technique based on estimations of multiple light source directions. This method uses a pixel patch from the image region to estimate the source light vector. The implementation is done for images where one and more light sources are available in the scene. The proposed technique is able to identify image forgery in terms of elevation angle α obtained from a source of light and surface normal. This method is tested for both outdoor and indoor images under certain known parameters. The novelty of our method is that photo manipulation detection is done using a multiple light source detection approach. We demonstrate that the proposed technique produces accurate results by making certain assumptions about surface properties and illumination parameters.     

Effect of age onAgaricus bisporus PHA-B stimulated insulin release and45Ca2+ uptakein vitro by islets of langerhans

Summary Thein vitro basal insulin release and⁴⁵Ca²⁺ uptake by rat islets of Langerhans remain unaffected by the animal’s age. However, whenAgaricus bisporus lectin PHA-B is added to the medium, there is a significant stimulation of basal insulin secretion and⁴⁵Ca²⁺ uptake. The islets isolated from younger rats are more sensitive toA. bisporus PHA-B stimulation and register 1.5-fold and 3-fold more increases of insulin release and⁴⁵Ca²⁺ uptake respectively as compared to islets isolated from 12-month-old rats. Age-related conformational changes in the B-cell membrane are suggested as a possible explanation for the above observation. CDRI Communication No. 3428