Does acupuncture improve the outcome of in vitro fertilisation? Guidance for future trials

Abstract Introduction The comprehensive review was to appraise the current evidence from both randomized and non-randomized trials by using both Chinese and western databases and to highlight the issues which could guide future trial design. Many infertile couples have chosen acupuncture as an adjunct when they undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment. More than forty trials have emerged since the first clinical research published in 1999 explored the effects of acupuncture on the outcomes of IVF. However, the current evidence makes it difficult for clinical practitioners and patients to make a decision on whether to choose acupuncture as an adjunct when undergoing IVF or ICSI treatment. Methodology A total of thirty-three randomized and 5 non-randomized controlled trials were included in the review. Results Based on this comprehensive review and analysis of all the relevant trials, the authors identify the factors which have contributed to these inconsistencies, and which should be considered in the design of future studies. Discussion/conclusions These items included in the review could provide useful recommendations and guidelines, which will in turn promote better trial design and improve the evidence base for the use of acupuncture for IVF

Robust Face Recognition With Kernelized Locality-Sensitive Group Sparsity Representation

In this paper, a novel joint sparse representation method is proposed for robust face recognition. We embed both group sparsity and kernelized locality-sensitive constraints into the framework of sparse representation. The group sparsity constraint is designed to utilize the grouped structure information in the training data. The local similarity between test and training data is measured in the kernel space instead of the Euclidian space. As a result, the embedded nonlinear information can be effectively captured, leading to a more discriminative representation. We show that, by integrating the kernelized local-sensitivity constraint and the group sparsity constraint, the embedded structure information can be better explored, and significant performance improvement can be achieved. On the one hand, experiments on the ORL, AR, extended Yale B, and LFW data sets verify the superiority of our method. On the other hand, experiments on two unconstrained data sets, the LFW and the IJB-A, show that the utilization of sparsity can improve recognition performance, especially on the data sets with large pose variation

Quantum well intermixing for the fabrication of InGaAsN/GaAs lasers with pulsed anodic oxidation

Quantum well (QW) intermixing was carried out by post-growth rapid thermal annealing in InGaAsN/GaAs QW laser structures grown by solid-source molecular-beam epitaxy. The intensity and width of the photoluminescence peak showed a dependence on annealing temperature and time, and the maximum intensity and minimum linewidth were obtained after the wafer was annealed at 670 °C for 60 s. The peak luminescence energy blueshifted with increasing annealing time, although it plateaued at an annealing time that corresponded to that yielding the maximum luminescence intensity. The diffusion coefficient for indium was determined from a comparison between experimental data and modeling, but showed that QW intermixing alone was not sufficient to account for the relatively large blueshift after annealing. Defects related to the incorporation of nitrogen in the QW layer were responsible for the low photoluminescence efficiency in the as-grown samples and were annealed out during rapid thermal annealing. During annealing, nitrogen interstitials moved to vacancy sites within the QW and thus suppressed QW intermixing. After annealing wafers under conditions giving the maximum luminescence intensity, lasers were fabricated with pulsed anodic oxidation. © 2004 American Institute of Physics.published_or_final_versio

Hematopoietic-restricted Ptpn11E76K reveals indolent MPN progression in mice

Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia (JMML) is a pediatric myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) that has a poor prognosis. Somatic mutations in Ptpn11 are the most frequent cause of JMML and they commonly occur in utero. Animal models of mutant Ptpn11 have probed the signaling pathways that contribute to JMML. However, existing models may inappropriately exacerbate MPN features by relying on non-hematopoietic-restricted Cre-loxP strains or transplantations into irradiated recipients. In this study we generate hematopoietic-restricted models of Ptpn11E76K-mediated disease using Csf1r-MCM and Flt3Cre. We show that these animals have indolent MPN progression despite robust GM-CSF hypersensitivity and Ras-Erk hyperactivation. Rather, the dominant pathology is pronounced thrombocytopenia with expanded extramedullary hematopoiesis. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the timing of tamoxifen administration in Csf1r-MCM mice can specifically induce recombinase activity in either fetal or adult hematopoietic progenitors. We take advantage of this technique to show more rapid monocytosis following Ptpn11E76K expression in fetal progenitors compared with adult progenitors. Finally, we demonstrate that Ptpn11E76K results in the progressive reduction of T cells, most notably of CD4+ and naïve T cells. This corresponds to an increased frequency of T cell progenitors in the thymus and may help explain the occasional emergence of T-cell leukemias in JMML patients. Overall, our study is the first to describe the consequences of hematopoietic-restricted Ptpn11E76K expression in the absence of irradiation. Our techniques can be readily adapted by other researchers studying somatically-acquired blood disorders

Crystallographic texture in pulse current electroforming of nickel

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The role of basic health insurance on depression: an epidemiological cohort study of a randomized community sample in Northwest China

BACKGROUND: Little research has focused on the relationship between health insurance and mental health in the community. The objective of this study is to determine how the basic health insurance system influences depression in Northwest China. METHODS: Participants were selected from 32 communities in two northwestern Chinese cities through a three-stage random sampling. Three waves of interviews were completed in April 2006, December 2006, and January 2008. The baseline survey was completed by 4,079 participants. Subsequently, 2,220 participants completed the first follow-up, and 1,888 completed the second follow-up. Depression symptoms were measured by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). RESULTS: A total of 40.0% of participants had at least one form of health insurance. The percentages of participants with severe depressive symptoms in the three waves were 21.7%, 22.0%, and 17.6%. Depressive symptoms were found to be more severe among participants without health insurance in the follow-up surveys. After adjusting for confounders, participants without health insurance were found to experience a higher risk of developing severe depressive symptoms than participants with health insurance (7 months: OR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.09-1.82; p = 0.01; 20 months: OR, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.37-2.61; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: A lack of basic health insurance can dramatically increase the risk of depression based on northwestern Chinese community samples

Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and depression among bereaved and non-bereaved survivors following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake

Many studies have suggested that unexpected death of a loved one is an important risk factor of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression among disaster survivors, but few have examined the magnitude of psychiatric morbidities among bereaved survivors. This study examined the prevalence rates of clinically significant PTSD and depressive symptoms and their associated risk factors among Chinese adult survivors following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Two hundred and fifty-one bereaved adults were compared with 1474 non-bereaved adult survivors. The estimated rates of PTSD and depressive symptoms were 65.6% and 64.8% for those who lost first-degree family members, 34.1% and 45.5% for those who lost second-degree relatives, and 27.1% and 37.5% for non-bereaved survivors respectively. Loss of a child was a significant predictor of psychopathological symptoms. The results suggested that effective and sustainable mental health services were required, especially for bereaved single-child parents. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.postprin

Oxygen molecule dissociation on carbon nanostructures with different types of nitrogen doping

Energy barrier of oxygen molecule dissociation on carbon nanotube or graphene with different types of nitrogen doping is investigated using density functional theory. The results show that the energy barriers can be reduced efficiently by all types of nitrogen doping in both carbon nanotubes and graphene. Graphite-like nitrogen and Stone-Wales defect nitrogen decrease the energy barrier more efficiently than pyridine-like nitrogen, and a dissociation barrier lower than 0.2 eV can be obtained. Higher nitrogen concentration reduces the energy barrier much more efficiently for graphite-like nitrogen. These observations are closely related to partial occupation of {\pi}* orbitals and change of work functions. Our results thus provide useful insights into the oxygen reduction reactions.Comment: Accepted by Nanoscal

Inhibition of the Gab2/PI3K/mTOR signaling ameliorates myeloid malignancy caused by Ptpn11 (Shp2) gain-of-function mutations

Activating mutations, such as E76K and D61Y, in PTPN11 (SHP2), a protein tyrosine phosphatase implicated in multiple cell signaling processes, are associated with 35% of patients with juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML), an aggressive childhood myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN). Here we show that the interaction between leukemia-associated mutant Shp2 and Gab2, a scaffolding protein important for cytokine-induced PI3K/Akt signaling, was enhanced, and that the mTOR pathway was elevated in Ptpn11E76K/+ leukemic cells. Importantly, MPN induced by the Ptpn11E76K/+ mutation was markedly attenuated in Ptpn11E76K/+/Gab2-/- double mutant mice-overproduction of myeloid cells was alleviated, splenomegaly was diminished and myeloid cell infiltration in nonhematopoietic organs was decreased in these double mutants. Excessive myeloid differentiation of stem cells was also normalized by depletion of Gab2. Acute leukemia progression of MPN was reduced in the double mutant mice and, as such, their survival was much prolonged. Furthermore, treatment of Ptpn11E76K/+ mice with Rapamycin, a specific and potent mTOR inhibitor, mitigated MPN phenotypes. Collectively, this study reveals an important role of the Gab2/PI3K/mTOR pathway in mediating the pathogenic signaling of the PTPN11 gain-of-function mutations and a therapeutic potential of Rapamycin for PTPN11 mutation-associated JMML

The world's first sprayed net hyperboloid ice structure

In the winter of 2018, a team of architects and engineers from the University of Cambridge built the world's rst hyperboloid-net ice structure in Harbin, China. A prestressed hemp rope net was sprayed with a cellulose water mix to form a structural sculpture which won the International Ice and Snow Construction Competition to which it was entered. Ice structures have traditionally been constructed from blocks of ice whereas, this project used a variation of Pykrete sprayed onto a flexible formwork. This paper explores areas of ice construction that have been little researched; the spraying of rope nets, di culties in the construction of ice nodes, and the buckling of struts during construction are discussed. The project proved the viability of sprayed net ice structures and successfully used rope formwork to pretension the ice columns in a design that was both e cient and novel