Results of a Pilot Study in the U.S. and Vietnam to Assess the Utility and Acceptability of a Multi-Level Pregnancy Test (MLPT) for Home Monitoring of hCG Trends After Assisted Reproduction.

Background To evaluate the utility and acceptability of using multi-level pregnancy tests (MLPTs) at home to monitor hCG trends following assisted reproductive technology (ART). Methods One hundred and four women presenting for ART at either Stanford Medicine Fertility and Reproductive Health Clinic (Stanford, CA) or Hung Vuong Hospital (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) participated in this pilot study. Women were asked to perform the MLPT at home, primarily on days when they were also scheduled to receive standard clinic-based serum hCG testing. These tests were administered up to 6 times over the 6-week period following embryo transfer or intrauterine insemination (IUI). Concordance of serial hCG readings for each time point was assessed by comparing trends in urine MLPT results with trends in serum hCG. Stable or increasing hCG level was interpreted as an indication of a progressing pregnancy, while a declining hCG was interpreted as a lack of established or progressing pregnancy. At study end, all participants were asked about the acceptability and convenience of using the MLPT at home for monitoring hCG trends following ART. Results Data from both urine and serum testing are available for 156 of 179 clinic visits (87.2%). There was high concordance of serial trend results between the two types of tests: among the 156 sets of serum and urine hCG data points, 150 (96.2%) showed a matching trend in hCG pattern and 6 (3.8%) resulted in a discordant trend. Seventy-three percent of women reported being satisfied or very satisfied with using the MLPTs at home. Almost all (96.6%) said that the MLPT was easy or very easy to use. Conclusion The MLPT offers women and health care providers a client-friendly diagnostic tool to detect very early pregnancy and monitor its progress. Trial registration This study was registered on clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01846403 (May 1, 2013), and NCT01919502 (August 5, 2013)

The Association between POU1F1 Gene Polymorphisms and Growth as well as Carcass Traits of Noi Native Chickens

The study was conducted to detect and analyze the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the POU1F1 (POU class 1 homeobox 1) gene and growth as well as carcass traits in Noi native chickens. Blood samples were taken at the wings, DNAs were extracted based on the phenol: chloroform technique and genotypes were analyzed by PCR-RFLP method. The frequencies of CC genotypes for three polymorphic sites (POU1F1_HhaI SNP, POU1F1_EcoRI SNP, POU1F1_BspHI SNP) were the highest. The corresponding C allele frequencies were higher than those of T alleles. Of three polymorphisms, POU1F1_BspHI SNP was found to be significantly linked with growth and carcass traits. Chickens bearing TT genotype showed higher body weight at 91 days, carcass weight, breast weight, and thigh weight than those of chickens with CC genotype. This SNP can be a useful marker for the selection of Noi chicken for improvement of growth and carcass traits

Zona pellucida removal resulted in a successful live birth: Report on a case with recurrent implantation failure due to embryonic bacteria contamination

Key clinical message In in vitro fertilization (IVF), laser offers several advantages. In this study, we employed laser to eliminate the zona pellucida of a contaminated embryo. This approach helps to rescue embryo with bacterial contamination, and improve embryo‐endometrium interaction. Abstract To present a case report on the removal of a contaminated zona pellucida from an embryo of patient with a history of recurrent implantation failure (RIF), which was followed by a successful live birth. We present the case of a 34‐year‐old patient with a history of 3 years of infertility who underwent in vitro fertilization. During the culture process, the embryos became contaminated, leading to three failed implantations. Despite the aneuploidy of the embryo and the implementation of a washing technique, the contamination persisted. In the final attempt, the contaminated zona pellucida was successfully removed using laser, followed by embryo transfer, resulting in a live birth. We provided detailed clinical information, including patient demographics, infertility history, ovarian response, evidence of bacterial contamination, embryo development, treatment protocols, and outcomes. Laser excision of the zona pellucida is a safe and effective method for addressing bacterial infection in embryos