Early and late paternal contribution to cell division of embryos in a time-lapse imaging incubation system

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of male age, semen quality and days of ejaculatory abstinence on embryo morphokinetics. A total of 1,220 zygotes obtained from 139 couples in a private in vitro fertilisation centre were analysed. The timing of specific events from the point of insemination, such as timings to pronuclei appearance and fading, to two, three, four, five, six, seven and eight cells and to blastulation were recorded. Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the influence of paternal factors on embryo morphokinetic events. Paternal age was positively correlated with delayed cell cleavage and blastulation, and negatively associated with implantation rate, and clinical pregnancy and live–birth chances. The ejaculatory abstinence was inversely correlated with the implantation rate. Inverse relationships were observed between semen parameters (sperm count, progressive sperm motility, total motile sperm count and morphology) and the timing of specific events during embryo development. Sperm morphology was also positively associated with implantation rate and pregnancy and live–birth chances. Increased paternal age and ejaculatory abstinence, and poor semen quality correlate with delayed cell cleavage and blastulation and negatively impact intracytoplasmic sperm injection outcomes.     

Sex- and age-related nephrotoxicity due to 1,2-dichloropropane in vitro

Sex- and age-related nephrotoxicity due to 1,2-dichloropropane was studied in vitro by means of renal cortical slices obtained from Wistar rats. Reduced glutathione content, organic anion accumulation (p-aminohippurate), and release of malondialdehyde (to measure the extent of lipid peroxidation), aspartate aminotransferase, -glutamyltransferase and lactate dehydrogenase into the incubation medium were determined. Sex differences in naive rats parameters were slight, but male were more susceptible to toxic effects of 1,2-dichloropropane than female rats; glutathione depletion, lipid peroxidation, and loss of organic anion accumulation were higher in male than in female slices. During senescence, naive male rats showed a progressive decrease of glutathione content (statistically significant from 7–9 months of age), increase of spontaneous lipid peroxidation from the same age, and increase of signs of cytotoxicity (release of aspartate aminotransferase and lactate dehydrogenase into the incubation medium) from 3–4 months of age. A loss of organic anion accumulation started from 7–9 months of age. Slices from rats of 3–4 months old showed the apparently highest susceptibility to 1,2-dichloropropane but depletion of glutathione content and loss of organic anion accumulation were at the same level in the oldest rats. The age decrease of control values caused the differences in the percentage ratio and then, apparently, a lower DCP effect. On the contrary, the increase of aspartate aminotransferase released in the incubation medium by DCP-treated slices corresponded to the age-related increase in cytotoxicity.The work was presented in part to the 1st National Conference of the Molecular and Cellular Toxicology Group, Siena 30. 11.–1.12.1990.     

Steriods for multiple sclerosis and optic neuritis: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials

We conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials on steroid treatment for multiple sclerosis and optic neuritis. Of the 25 trials comparing steroids and controls without steroid treatment that we identified 12 were selected for this review. A meta-analysis was conducted to calculate the overall odds ratio across the studies for the numbers of patients without functional improvement and with new relapses. The trials included a total of 1714 patients: 998 with multiple sclerosis and 716 with optic neuritis. Any type of corticosteroids or adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) treatment was considered, as was any dosage, route of administration, and length of treatment. Main outcome measures were: (a) number of multiple sclerosis patients who did not improve by at least one point on the EDSS or equivalent scale, or number of optic neuritis patients without complete recovery of visual acuity at 8 or 30 days and at longer follow-up; (b) number of multiple sclerosis patients with at least one new relapse, or number of optic neuritis patients in whom definite multiple sclerosis was diagnosed at longer follow-up. We found that corticosteroids or ACTH produced a significant improvement in disability or visual acuity at 30 days (odds ratio 0.49; 95 % CI 0.37–0.64). The improvement was not statistically significant at longer follow-up (0.85; 95 % CI 0.67–1.09). The treatment did not significantly reduce the number of patients with relapses (0.74; 95 % CI 0.54–1.01). Both low and high doses were effective for 30-day improvement, but only high-dose and short-term therapy were factors that identified subgroups with some reduction in the risk of new relapse. However, the power of the statistical analysis to detect a reliable difference in the subgroups was low. Steroid treatment is therefore effective in accelerating short-term recovery in patients with multiple sclerosis or optic neuritis. Whether steroids are also effective in reducing the risk of relapse, and the optimal dose and length of treatment must still be determined. Received: 5 August 1999, Received in revised form: 29 December 1999, Accepted: 22 January 2000     

Effect of silica coating and laser treatment on the flexural strength,surface characteristics,and bond strength of a dental zirconia

This study investigated the effect of irradiation with an erbium‐doped yttrium aluminium garnet (Er:YAG) laser and coating with silica on the surface characteristics, bond strength, and flexural strength of dental zirconia. Three hundred and forty‐three standard zirconia specimens were created, and 49 were assigned to each of seven surface treatment groups: (i) no treatment; Er:YAG laser (80 mJ/2 Hz) with pulse widths of 50 μs (ii), 100 μs (iii), 300 μs (iv), or 600 μs (v); or tribochemical silica coating at the partially sintered stage (vi) or after sintering was complete (vii). All specimens were sintered after the surface treatments, except for the group in which specimens were sintered before treatment. The study outcomes were roughness, surface loss, microshear bond strength (μSBS), and biaxial flexural strength (BFS). Mean roughness and surface loss values were significantly higher in specimens from irradiated groups than in those from silica‐coated groups. Regarding μSBS, after aging, specimens from all experimental groups presented very low and similar μSBS values, irrespective of the surface treatment. Silica coating after sintering yielded the highest BFS (1149.5 ± 167.6 MPa), while coating partially sintered specimens with silica resulted a BFS (826.9 ± 60.9 MPa) similar to that of the untreated control group (794.9 ± 101.7 MPa). Laser treatments, irrespective of pulse width used, significantly decreased the BFS. In the group treated with laser at 300 μs pulse width, specimens exhibited the lowest BFS value (514.1 ± 71.5 MPa). Adhesion to zirconia was not stable after aging, regardless of the surface treatment implemented.     

Do you mean me? Communicative intentions recruit the mirror and the mentalizing system

Being able to comprehend communicative intentions and to recognize whether such intentions are directed toward us or not is extremely important in social interaction. Two brain systems, the mentalizing and the mirror neuron system, have been proposed to underlie intention recognition. However, little is still known about how the systems cooperate within the process of communicative intention understanding and to what degree they respond to self-directed and other-directed stimuli. To investigate the role of the mentalizing and the mirror neuron system, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging with four types of action sequence: communicative and private intentions as well as other-directed and self-directed intentions. Categorical and functional connectivity analyses showed that both systems contribute to the encoding of communicative intentions and that both systems are significantly stronger activated and more strongly coupled in self-directed communicative actions.     

Three-Dimensional Model-Based Segmentation in Echocardiography Using High Temporal Tissue and Blood Flow Information

Accurate 3-D surface segmentation is a challenging task in echocardiography because of the relatively low image quality. We introduce a new method for 3-D segmentation of the endocardium involving temporal decorrelation of echo signals originating from tissue and blood using radiofrequency (RF) signals acquired in 3-D Doppler mode. Temporal features were extracted in 3-D Doppler mode, where a sequence of RF lines is recorded for each image line. Each set of RF lines is highly correlated because of the high pulse repetition frequency. However, for high blood flow, the RF signals will decorrelate over time in contrast to the endocardium, which will remain relatively highly correlated over time. These decorrelation features permit differentiation between myocardial tissue and blood flow. We describe an implementation of a 3-D segmentation model in which temporal information is used as external constraint. The model was validated in a phantom and in vivo in healthy volunteers (n = 5). The phantom study revealed that the model successfully segmented the artificial blood lumen even for low flow velocity and illustrated the sensitivity of the segmentations to flow rate. In healthy volunteers, high Dice similarity indices indicate that 3-D segmentation of the endocardial border in vivo is feasible.