Effects of autologous stem cell therapy for fertility enhancement among women with premature ovarian insufficiency

Background: Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is a condition where the ovary loses its normal reproductive potential earlier than 40 years, compromising fertility. There is no treatment for POI, only ovum or embryo donation. Autologous stem cell ovarian transplant (ASCOT) may be a procedure that creates new eggs in the ovaries of women with POI. The aim of the study was to find out the efficacy of ASCOT in patients suffering from POI. Methods: A total of 50 patients were included according to inclusion and exclusion criteria in this prospective observational study. POI was confirmed with low levels of anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) (<0.5 ng/dl), high level of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) >25 ng/ml, and or a low number of antral follicle count (AFC) (<3 in each ovary). Results: Results showed that after stem cell therapy, mean AMH values increased by 0.48±0.306 and mean FSH values increased by 2.73±3.98 but the difference was not statistically significant. AFC values significantly decreased by 1.33±0.625 at 1st post-stem-cell cycle. During the second cycle, AMH and AFC increased by 0.110±0.051 and 4.63±1.49, respectively, and FSH decreased by 7.4±2.78. In third cycle, AMH & FSH was significantly increased by 0.820±0.44 & 4.120±0.470 and FSH has been decreased by 2.150±3.625. The increase in AMH & AFC was statistically significant, and the decrease in FSH was not statistically significant compared to baseline values. Conclusions: The study showed that autologous stem cell therapy can have a significant effect on women’s ovarian function and fertility. It showed that ASCOT can increase AMH and AFC, and decrease FSH in patients with POI, with a total pregnancy rate of 4% after the third cycle follow-up

Simulation Studies to Quantify the Impacts of Point Defects: an Investigation of Cs2agbibr6 Perovskite Solar Devices Utilizing Zno and Cu2o As the Charge Transport Layers

In this investigation, we have applied SCAPS and wxAMPS to simulate defects and probe a photovoltaic device utilizing Cs2AgBiBr6 as the active photovoltaic layer and ZnO and Cu2O as the electron transport layer (ETL) and hole transport layer (HTL) respectively. At the Cs2AgBiBr6 bulk we find that with increasing defect density, each defect level has increasing impact on all device performance parameters. At a given defect density however, we find that that deeper defects have more profound impacts on Jsc and FF, and minimal effects on Voc. Specific to the Cs2AgBiBr6 structure, we have investigated VAg (shallow defect), VBi (deep defect) and Bri (quasi-deep defect). Our results provide insight into the growth conditions of Cs2AgBiBr6, with a need to have both Br-poor and Bi-rich conditions, and a preference for the latter over the former to suppress the deeper defect. Exploring the performance kinetics at the ZnO/Cs2AgBiBr6 and Cs2AgBiBr6/Cu2O interfaces due to defect type, location and density, we showcase a remarkably stable behavior in both Voc and Jsc across both interfaces. We attribute this to much higher charge mobilities in the ZnO and Cu2O compared to the Cs2AgBiBr6 layer combined with similar defect densities across the layers, leading to effective charge extraction and minimal charge recombination

Efficacy of a single-dose, inactivated oral cholera vaccine in Bangladesh

BACKGROUNDA single-dose regimen of the current killed oral cholera vaccines that have been prequalified by the World Health Organization would make them more attractive for use against endemic and epidemic cholera. We conducted an efficacy trial of a single dose of the killed oral cholera vaccine Shanchol, which is currently given in a two-dose schedule, in an urban area in which cholera is highly endemic.METHODSNonpregnant residents of Dhaka, Bangladesh, who were 1 year of age or older were randomly assigned to receive a single dose of oral cholera vaccine or oral placebo. The primary outcome was vaccine protective efficacy against culture-confirmed cholera occurring 7 to 180 days after dosing. Prespecified secondary outcomes included protective efficacy against severely dehydrating culture-confirmed cholera during the same interval, against cholera and severe cholera occurring 7 to 90 versus 91 to 180 days after dosing, and against cholera and severe cholera according to age at baseline.RESULTSA total of 101 episodes of cholera, 37 associated with severe dehydration, were detected among the 204,700 persons who received one dose of vaccine or placebo. The vaccine protective efficacy was 40% (95% confidence interval [CI], 11 to 60%; 0.37 cases per 1000 vaccine recipients vs. 0.62 cases per 1000 placebo recipients) against all cholera episodes, 63% (95% CI, 24 to 82%; 0.10 vs. 0.26 cases per 1000 recipients) against severely dehydrating cholera episodes, and 63% (95% CI, -39 to 90%), 56% (95% CI, 16 to 77%), and 16% (95% CI, -49% to 53%) against all cholera episodes among persons vaccinated at the age of 5 to 14 years, 15 or more years, and 1 to 4 years, respectively, although the differences according to age were not significant (P = 0.25). Adverse events occurred at similar frequencies in the two groups.CONCLUSIONSA single dose of the oral cholera vaccine was efficacious in older children (= 5 years of age) and in adults in a setting with a high level of cholera endemicity

Efficacy of a single-dose regimen of inactivated whole-cell oral cholera vaccine: results from 2 years of follow-up of a randomised trial

Background A single-dose regimen of inactivated whole-cell oral cholera vaccine (OCV) is attractive because it reduces logistical challenges for vaccination and could enable more people to be vaccinated. Previously, we reported the efficacy of a single dose of an OCV vaccine during the 6 months following dosing. Herein, we report the results of 2 years of follow-up.Methods In this placebo-controlled, double-blind trial done in Dhaka, Bangladesh, individuals aged 1 year or older with no history of receipt of OCV were randomly assigned to receive a single dose of inactivated OCV or oral placebo. The primary endpoint was a confirmed episode of non-bloody diarrhoea for which the onset was at least 7 days after dosing and a faecal culture was positive for Vibrio cholerae 01 or 0139. Passive surveillance for diarrhoea was done in 13 hospitals or major clinics located in or near the study area for 2 years after the last administered dose. We assessed the protective efficacy of the OCV against culture-confirmed cholera occurring 7-730 days after dosing with both crude and multivariable per-protocol analyses. This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02027207.Findings Between Jan 10, 2014, and Feb 4, 2014, 205 513 people were randomly assigned to receive either vaccine or placebo, of whom 204 700 (102552 vaccine recipients and 102 148 placebo recipients) were included in the per-protocol analysis. 287 first episodes of cholera (109 among vaccine recipients and 178 among placebo recipients) were detected during the 2-year follow-up; 138 of these episodes (46 in vaccine recipients and 92 in placebo recipients) were associated with severe dehydration. The overall incidence rates ofinitial cholera episodes were 0.22 (95% CI 0.18 to 0.27) per 100 000 person-days in vaccine recipients versus 0.36 (0.31 to 0.42) per 100 000 person-days in placebo recipients (adjusted protective efficacy 39%, 95% CI 23 to 52). The overall incidence of severe cholera was 0.09 (0.07 to 0.12) per 100 000 person-days versus 0.19 (0.15 to 0.23; adjusted protective efficacy 50%, 29 to 65). Vaccine protective efficacy was 52% (8 to 75) against all cholera episodes and 71% (27 to 88) against severe cholera episodes in participants aged 5 years to younger than 15 years. For participants aged 15 years or older, vaccine protective efficacy was 59% (42 to 71) against all cholera episodes and 59% (35 to 74) against severe cholera. The protection in the older age groups was sustained throughout the 2-year follow-up. In participants younger than 5 years, the vaccine did not show protection against either all cholera episodes (protective efficacy-13%, 68 to 25) or severe cholera episodes (-44%, 220 to 35).Interpretation A single dose of the inactivated whole-cell OCV offered protection to older children and adults that was sustained for at least 2 years. The absence of protection of young children might reflect a lesser degree of pre-existing natural immunity in this age group. Copyright (C) 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license

Green oxidation of indoles using halide catalysis

Oxidation of indoles is a fundamental organic transformation to deliver a variety of synthetically and pharmaceutically valuable nitrogen-containing compounds. Prior methods require the use of either organic oxidants (meta-chloroperoxybenzoic acid, N-bromosuccinimide, t-BuOCl) or stoichiometric toxic transition metals [Pb(OAc)4, OsO4, CrO3], which produced oxidant-derived by-products that are harmful to human health, pollute the environment and entail immediate purification. A general catalysis protocol using safer oxidants (H2O2, oxone, O2) is highly desirable. Herein, we report a unified, efficient halide catalysis for three oxidation reactions of indoles using oxone as the terminal oxidant, namely oxidative rearrangement of tetrahydro-β-carbolines, indole oxidation to 2-oxindoles, and Witkop oxidation. This halide catalysis protocol represents a general, green oxidation method and is expected to be used widely due to several advantageous aspects including waste prevention, less hazardous chemical synthesis, and sustainable halide catalysis.Published versionThis research was financially supported by Research Grant Council of Hong Kong (16311716, 16303617, 16304618) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (21772167). Dr. J.X. also acknowledged the Doctor Start-up Fund ([2018]28) and the Guizhou Province First-Class Disciplines Project (Yiliu Xueke Jianshe Xiangmu-GNYL [2017]008) from Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (China)