Is paternal age associated with transfer day, developmental stage, morphology, and initial hCG-rise of the competent blastocyst leading to live birth?:A multicenter cohort study

In this study we investigated whether age of men undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment was associated with day of transfer, stage, morphology, and initial hCG-rise of the competent blastocyst leading to a live birth? The design was a multicenter historical cohort study based on exposure (age) and outcome data (blastocyst stage and morphology and initial hCG-rise) from men whose partner underwent single blastocyst transfer resulting in singleton pregnancy/birth. The ART treatments were carried out at sixteen private and university-based public fertility clinics. We included 7246 men and women, who between 2014 and 2018 underwent controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) or Frozen-thawed Embryo Transfer (FET) with a single blastocyst transfer resulting in singleton pregnancy were identified. 4842 men with a partner giving birth were included, by linking data to the Danish Medical Birth Registry. We showed that the adjusted association between paternal age and transfer day in COS treatments was OR 1.06, 95% CI (1.00;1.13). Meaning that for every increase of one year, men had a 6% increased probability that the competent blastocyst was transferred on day 6 compared to day 5. Further we showed that the mean difference in hCG values when comparing paternal age group 30–34, 35–39 and 40–45 with the age group 25–29 in those receiving COS treatment, all showed significantly lower adjusted values for older men. In conclusion we hypothesize that the later transfer (day 6) in female partners of older men may be due to longer time spent by the oocyte to repair fragmented DNA of the sperm cells, which should be a focus of future research in men

Developing 21st Century Skills for a Sustainable future through Interdisciplinary Education

One key mission of universities is to equip young professionals with the attitudes, skills, and competencies needed to solve globally intertwined sustainability challenges affecting our time. Universities increasingly engage with the grand challenges of today, and one type of engagement is through experience-based courses providing students with the relevant competencies and skills to cope with complex and wicked problems. Yet, the educational design of such courses is not straightforward, and educators continuously question: How can we best help and prepare our students to cope and innovate in a rapidly shifting, complex and interconnected world?When using wicked problems as a learning arena, educators will need new pedagogy to support students. Moreover, students will need both factual knowledge related to their discipline and certain key competencies and skills, often named 21st-century skills. These skills are normally acquired outside the traditional classroom, involving interdisciplinary interactions, real-life problems, and action-based teaching. Scholars emphasize competencies and skills, such as teamwork and collaboration, creativity and entrepreneurship, networking and learning with stakeholders, flexible mindsets, forward-looking, critical thinking, resilience, and problem-solving.In Scandinavia, several higher education institutions and universities working with experienced-based and interdisciplinary learning have established The Nordic Experts in Teams Network funded by The Nordic Council of Ministers (Nordplus). Experts in Teams is a ‘method, practice or approach’ for developing interdisciplinary teamwork skills and other 21st century skills. The method strengthens the students’ transferable skills in interdisciplinary teamwork, innovation, and group dynamics. In the Experts in Teams courses, the students work in interdisciplinary teams. The frame is a real-life case from the public or private sector or a trade organization. The students develop interdisciplinary teamwork skills by reflecting on and learning from specific teamwork situations. Furthermore, they develop an understanding of how those skills scaffold the solution of complex and wicked problems.At NTNU, the work methods in the Experts in Teamwork course have been developed over two decades and have for the last decade influenced the development of similar courses at other universities and higher education institutions, through a sharing network culture. The Experts in Teams (EiT) method has spread to other universities through creative local adaptation (‘no copy-paste’) and represents a fertile ground for innovative pedagogy and rich course formats.In a joint 1,5 hour presentation and panel conversation, we aim to present and discuss aspects of implementing EiT in courses. We draw on the network partners' combined experience and exemplify with our courses. The workshop will evolve around, e.g., the following aspects of EiT: 1) challenges to implementing the ‘EiT’ course, 2) arguments for the course variant of EiT chosen, curriculum and pedagogies, 3) competence challenges for faculty, 4) Involvement with real-life, and 5) learning challenges and outcomes for students

Familial Risk for Major Depression is Associated with Lower Striatal 5-HT₄ Receptor Binding

BACKGROUND: The 5-HT(4) receptor provides a novel potential target for antidepressant treatment. No studies exist to elucidate the 5-HT(4) receptor’s in vivo distribution in the depressed state or in populations that may display trait markers for major depression disorder (MDD). The aim of this study was to determine whether familial risk for MDD is associated with cerebral 5-HT(4) receptor binding as measured with [(11)C]SB207145 brain PET imaging. Familial risk is the most potent risk factor of MDD. METHODS: We studied 57 healthy individuals (mean age 36 yrs, range 20–86; 21 women), 26 of which had first-degree relatives treated for MDD. RESULTS: We found that having a family history of MDD was associated with lower striatal 5-HT(4) receptor binding (p = 0.038; in individuals below 40 years, p = 0.013). Further, we found evidence for a “risk-dose effect” on 5-HT(4) receptor binding, since the number of first-degree relatives with a history of MDD binding correlated negatively with 5-HT(4) receptor binding in both the striatum (p = 0.001) and limbic regions (p = 0.012). CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that the 5-HT(4) receptor is involved in the neurobiological mechanism underlying familial risk for depression, and that lower striatal 5-HT(4) receptor binding is associated with increased risk for developing MDD. The finding is intriguing considering that the 5-HT(4) receptor has been suggested to be an effective target for antidepressant treatment