CA-125 Concentrations in the Serum and Pregnancy Outcome in IVF Cycles

Purpose: CA-125 has been proposed as a potential marker for endometrial receptivity in assisted reproduction. This study was designed to evaluate whether the levels of CA-125 in the serum of patients undergoing IVF-embryo transfer (ET) is correlated with the outcome. Methods: Levels of serum CA-125 were measured on the day before and on the day of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) administration, ovum pickup (OPU), and ET in 74 patients undergoing 100 IVF cycles between January 1994 and March 1995. Patients were treated with a midluteal-phase gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist protocol and follicular-phase human menopausal gonadotropin. Results: One hundred oocyte retrievals resulted in 91 ETs, and 22 clinical pregnancies (22%/OPU and 24.2%/ET). The live-born rate was 21%/OPU and 23.1%/ET. Neither the CA-125 serum levels nor their increase from the day of hCG until the day of ET showed any prognostic significance to the outcome of IVF, and they were not correlated with the endometrium thickness or the number of oocytes retrieved or fertilized. Conclusions: The CA-125 serum levels in conventional IVF cycles were not correlated with the IVF outcome and yielded no prognostic information in a GnRH agonist down-regulation protoco

18F-FET PET/CT in Advanced Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: an Intra-individual Comparison with 18F-FDG PET/CT

Purpose: To assess the diagnostic value of O-2-fluoro-18(F)-ethyl-l-tyrosine (18F-FET) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) for patients with advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma compared with 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose (18F-FDG) PET/CT at initial staging and following radiochemotherapy. Procedures: Thirteen patients were prospectively enrolled; each of them underwent an 18F-FDG PET/CT and 18F-FET PET/CT before treatment. Ten of those were scanned 10weeks after treatment. Results: Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for 18F-FDG PET/CT (primary and lymph node metastases) at initial staging were 89%, 50%, and 81%. For 18F-FET PET/CT the numbers were 70%, 90%, and 74%. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for 18F-FDG PET/CT at follow-up were 71%, 65%, and 67%. For 18F-FET PET/CT the numbers were 29%, 100%, and 83%. Additionally, 18F-FDG PET/CT detected a higher number of second malignancies or distant metastases. Conclusions: 18F-FET is no substitute for 18F-FDG. Although it is more specific, too many malignant lesions are missed due to its lower sensitivit

Electric-field fluctuations as the cause of spectral instabilities in colloidal quantum dots

Spectral diffusion (SD) represents a substantial obstacle towards implementation of solid-state quantum emitters as a source of indistinguishable photons. By performing high-resolution emission spectroscopy for individual colloidal quantum dots at cryogenic temperatures, we prove the causal link between the quantum-confined Stark effect and SD. Statistically analyzing the wavelength of emitted photons, we show that increasing the sensitivity of the transition energy to an applied electric field results in amplified spectral fluctuations. This relation is quantitatively fit to a straightforward model, indicating the presence of a stochastic electric field on a microscopic scale whose standard deviation is 9 kV/cm, on average. Compensating the commonly observed intrinsic electric bias with an external one, we find that SD can be suppressed by up to a factor of three in CdSe/CdS core/shell nanorods. The current method will enable the study of SD in multiple types of quantum emitters, such as solid-state defects or organic lead-halide perovskite quantum dots, for which spectral instability is a critical barrier for applications in quantum sensing

The Lantern Vol. 6, No. 3, June 1938

• Editorial • A Senior Muses • Affinity • From Darkness Into Light • Just an Old Bell! • Memories of a Friend • To a Small Animal as it Passes • The Sky and I • Between the Mountain and the River • Solace • Three Little Islands Far From Home • Beachcomberhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/lantern/1011/thumbnail.jp

The Lantern Vol. 7, No. 1, December 1938

• The Greatest Gift of All • Peace • Two Bums • October Paints the Valleys • Have the Notes Died? • America\u27s Defeatism Complex • Tahiti Jacques • When We Take Heed of Life • From The Sky Image • Still Moments • Noel • Foreign Hills • Just Beforehttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/lantern/1012/thumbnail.jp