Preimplantation Genetic Testing of Aneuploidy by Next Generation Sequencing: Association of Maternal Age and Chromosomal Abnormalities of Blastocyst

BACKGROUND: Aneuploidy is a major cause of miscarriages and implantation failure. Preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) by Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) is able to detect of the numeral and structural chromosomal abnormalities of embryos in vitro fertilization (IVF). AIM: This study was aimed to assess the relationship between maternal age and chromosomal abnormalities NGS technology. METHODS: 603 human trophectoderm (TE) biopsied samples were tested by Veriseq kit of Illumina. The relation of marternal age and chromosomal abnormality of blastocyst embryo was evaluated. RESULTS: Among the 603 TE samples, 247 samples (42.73%) presented as chromosomal abnormalities. The abnormalities occurred to almost chromosomes, and the most popular aneuploidy observed is 22. Aneuploidy rate from 0.87% in chromosome 11 to 6.06% in chromosome 22. The rate of abnormal chromosome increased dramatically in group of mother's ages over 37 (54.17%) comparing to group of mother's ages less than 37 (38.05%) (p < 0.000). The Abnormal chromosome and maternal age has a positive correlation with r = 0.4783 (p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: These results showed high rate abnormal chromosome and correlated with advanced maternal age of blastocyst embryos

Genome-wide survey of SNP variation uncovers the genetic structure of cattle breeds.

The imprints of domestication and breed development on the genomes of livestock likely differ from those of companion animals. A deep draft sequence assembly of shotgun reads from a single Hereford female and comparative sequences sampled from six additional breeds were used to develop probes to interrogate 37,470 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 497 cattle from 19 geographically and biologically diverse breeds. These data show that cattle have undergone a rapid recent decrease in effective population size from a very large ancestral population, possibly due to bottlenecks associated with domestication, selection, and breed formation. Domestication and artificial selection appear to have left detectable signatures of selection within the cattle genome, yet the current levels of diversity within breeds are at least as great as exists within humans

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta

Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults

Background Underweight and obesity are associated with adverse health outcomes throughout the life course. We estimated the individual and combined prevalence of underweight or thinness and obesity, and their changes, from 1990 to 2022 for adults and school-aged children and adolescents in 200 countries and territories. Methods We used data from 3663 population-based studies with 222 million participants that measured height and weight in representative samples of the general population. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends in the prevalence of different BMI categories, separately for adults (age ≥20 years) and school-aged children and adolescents (age 5–19 years), from 1990 to 2022 for 200 countries and territories. For adults, we report the individual and combined prevalence of underweight (BMI <18·5 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2). For schoolaged children and adolescents, we report thinness (BMI <2 SD below the median of the WHO growth reference) and obesity (BMI >2 SD above the median). Findings From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity in adults decreased in 11 countries (6%) for women and 17 (9%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 that the observed changes were true decreases. The combined prevalence increased in 162 countries (81%) for women and 140 countries (70%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. In 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity was highest in island nations in the Caribbean and Polynesia and Micronesia, and countries in the Middle East and north Africa. Obesity prevalence was higher than underweight with posterior probability of at least 0·80 in 177 countries (89%) for women and 145 (73%) for men in 2022, whereas the converse was true in 16 countries (8%) for women, and 39 (20%) for men. From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of thinness and obesity decreased among girls in five countries (3%) and among boys in 15 countries (8%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80, and increased among girls in 140 countries (70%) and boys in 137 countries (69%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. The countries with highest combined prevalence of thinness and obesity in school-aged children and adolescents in 2022 were in Polynesia and Micronesia and the Caribbean for both sexes, and Chile and Qatar for boys. Combined prevalence was also high in some countries in south Asia, such as India and Pakistan, where thinness remained prevalent despite having declined. In 2022, obesity in school-aged children and adolescents was more prevalent than thinness with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 among girls in 133 countries (67%) and boys in 125 countries (63%), whereas the converse was true in 35 countries (18%) and 42 countries (21%), respectively. In almost all countries for both adults and school-aged children and adolescents, the increases in double burden were driven by increases in obesity, and decreases in double burden by declining underweight or thinness. Interpretation The combined burden of underweight and obesity has increased in most countries, driven by an increase in obesity, while underweight and thinness remain prevalent in south Asia and parts of Africa. A healthy nutrition transition that enhances access to nutritious foods is needed to address the remaining burden of underweight while curbing and reversing the increase in obesit

Genome-wide survey of SNP variation uncovers the genetic structure of cattle breeds

status: publishe

Multi-messenger Observations of a Binary Neutron Star Merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ∼ 1.7 {{s}} with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of {40}-8+8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 {M}ȯ . An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ∼ 40 {{Mpc}}) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One-Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ∼10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ∼ 9 and ∼ 16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC 4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta.</p

Transitions between ecological regimes in salinising wetlands

Secondary salinisation has affected large areas of inland southwestern Australia, and in particular, low lying aquatic areas; causing the loss of freshwater submerged macrophyte communities and their replacement by salt-tolerant species. At high salinities, the salt-tolerant macrophyte-dominated ecological regime may be replaced by a regime dominated by benthic microbial communities, further reducing the structural and functional diversity of salinised wetland ecosystems. There is little prospect of restoring salinised systems to a freshwater state, meaning that saline macrophyte dominated wetlands have a heightened structural and functional importance in this landscape. Prior to this study, little was known about the drivers for change from one ecological regime to another in salinising wetlands or about rates of ecosystem response to these drivers. This study used experimental and observational data from seven saline wetlands in order to identify some of the potential mechanisms for the transition between the salt tolerant submerged macrophyte-dominated regime and the benthic microbial community-dominated regime. The applicability of existing conceptual models for ecological regime shifts was then tested against these data. Some of the mechanisms responsible for the formation and maintenance of the macrophyte-dominated regime were explored by examining the effects of salinity on germination and flowering in a series of salt-tolerant submerged macrophytes. The initiation and dominance of benthic microbial communities over a range of salinity and wetting regimes was also examined. The results suggested that macrophyte communities are unlikely to develop in seasonally-drying wetlands at high salinities (>45 ppt), but will usually germinate and establish well at lower salinities. It was also predicted that although benthic microbial communities can survive and grow across a wide range of salinities, they are likely to be outcompeted at low salinities by macrophytes or by phytoplankton blooms if water column nutrient levels are high. However, water permanence may facilitate benthic microbial community dominance. Existing conceptual models of ecological regime transitions, such as the alternative regimes model, did not account for the effect of water regime on the dynamics of seasonally-drying systems. Therefore, a new conceptual model incorporating the interaction between hydrology and salinity in seasonally-drying wetlands was proposed

The impact of consumer product knowledge on prices of credence goods : an analysis in the context of the antiques market

Research Paper Series (National University of Singapore. Faculty of Business Administration); 1999-0031-1