Role of carbonate burial in Blue Carbon budgets

Calcium carbonates (CaCO 3 ) often accumulate in mangrove and seagrass sediments. As CaCO 3 production emits CO 2 , there is concern that this may partially offset the role of Blue Carbon ecosystems as CO 2 sinks through the burial of organic carbon (C org ). A global collection of data on inorganic carbon burial rates (C inorg , 12% of CaCO 3 mass) revealed global rates of 0.8 TgC inorg yr −1 and 15–62 TgC inorg yr −1 in mangrove and seagrass ecosystems, respectively. In seagrass, CaCO 3 burial may correspond to an offset of 30% of the net CO 2 sequestration. However, a mass balance assessment highlights that the C inorg burial is mainly supported by inputs from adjacent ecosystems rather than by local calcification, and that Blue Carbon ecosystems are sites of net CaCO 3 dissolution. Hence, CaCO 3 burial in Blue Carbon ecosystems contribute to seabed elevation and therefore buffers sea-level rise, without undermining their role as CO 2 sinks. © 2019, The Author(s)

The Groningen ART cohort study: Does ovarian hyperstimulation, the in vitro procedure or a combination of both influence cognitive and behavioural development of 4-year-old IVF-offspring?

Study question: Evaluating the effects and underlying causal relationships of ovarian hyperstimulation, the in vitro procedure and the combination of both on cognitive and behavioural development in 4-year-olds. Summary answer: Our preliminary results suggest that ovarian hyperstimulation, the in vitro procedure and the combination of both are not associated with cognitive and behavioural development in 4-year-olds. The child's cognitive and behavioural development largely depend on parental characteristics such as level of education and maternal age. What is known already: Long-term follow-up of health and development of IVFoffspring is important since the use of assisted reproduction techniques (ART) is steadily increasing. Results of long-term studies on cognitive and behavioural development in IVF-children vary, partly due to difficulties in interpretation of direct and indirect underlying causal relationships between ART, subfertility- and parental- and child aspects. The present study focuses on cognitive and behavioural development of 4-year-old IVF-offspring and underlying causal relationships. Study design, size, duration: A prospective follow-up study, in which 195 4-year-old singletons were assessed. They were born to subfertile couples (n = 195) following IVF with controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH-IVF, n = 63), IVF in the modified natural cycle (MNC-IVF, n = 53) and natural conception (Sub-NC, n = 79). The attrition rate since birth was 9.3%. Participants/materials, setting, methods: Cognitive development was evaluated with the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children; behavioural development was evaluated with the Child Behavior Checklist. Primary cognitive outcome parameter was the total intelligence quotient (IQ); behavioural outcome parameter was the total problem T-score. Regression analyses, causal inference search algorithms and structural equation modelling were applied. Main results and the role of chance: The total IQ score [mean (sd)] for COH-IVF, MNC-IVF and Sub-NC children was 106.1 (11.8), 105.2 (13.3) and 108.9 (10.7), respectively and did not differ significantly between the three groups. Similarly, behavioural scores did not differ between the three groups. The causal models suggested that ovarian hyperstimulation and the in vitro procedure did not affect cognitive and behavioural outcome. Rather, cognitive and behavioural outcome were associated with parental characteristics such as maternal age and educational level. Limitations, reason for caution: The prospective design of our study and small post-natal attrition rate reduced potential selection bias based on the child's development or health. The assessors were blind to the mode of conception. However, our results cannot be generalized to multiples, as we studied singletons only. Wider implications of the findings: Our study contributes to the understanding of the relation between ART-aspects and cognitive and behavioural development. Long-term monitoring of development and growth of children born after ART remains of importance, especially since in society maternal age at child birth, and with that subfertility and the use of ART are steadily increasing

Mental, psychomotor, neurologic, and behavioral outcomes of 2-year-old children born after preimplantation genetic screening: follow-up of a randomized controlled trial

Objective: To evaluate the effect of preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) on neurodevelopmental outcomes in children. Design: Prospective, assessor-blinded, follow-up study of children born to women randomly assigned to in vitro fertilization or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) with or without PGS. Setting: University Medical Center, Groningen, and Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Patient(s): Fifty-four PGS children and 77 controls. Intervention(s): PGS. Main Outcome Measure(s): Mental, psychomotor, neurologic, and behavioral outcomes in 2-year-old children as measured with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, the Hempel neurologic examination, and the Child Behavior Check List. Result(s): The mental, psychomotor, and behavioral outcomes at 2 years in children born after IVF with and without PGS were similar overall. The PGS children showed lower neurologic optimality scores than the control children. Scores on all tests were within the normal range. Conclusion(s): Conception with PGS does not seem to be associated with impaired mental, psychomotor, or behavioral outcomes by age 2. However, the lower neurologic optimality scores found in the PGS children may signal less favorable long-term neurologic outcomes in PGS children. Our findings stress the need for safety evaluations with new assisted reproductive techniques before large-scale implementation. (Fertil Steril (R) 2011;96:165-9. (C) 2011 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.)

Reduced movement variation in infants born following IVF with ovarian hyperstimulation

Introduction: The effect of in vitro fertilization (IVF) on neurodevelopmental outcome is unclear. Probably, IVF does not affect traditional measures of neurological development in infancy, but little is known on long-term effects. Recently a new video-based instrument to evaluate neuromotor development was developed. The Infant Motor Profile (IMP) evaluates neuromotor condition in infants in terms of the quality of spontaneous motor behaviour. The IMP does not only assess traditional neuromotor domains, such as performance, symmetry and movement fluency, but also two novel domains: variation and variability. Movement variation denotes the size of the child's movement repertoire. Previous studies demonstrated that reduced movement variation is associated with early lesions of the periventricular white matter and - more generally - reflects the integrety of cortical connectivity. In addition, reduced variation during infancy is associated with neurodevelopmental disorders in later life and reduced intelligence at school age. Variability denotes the child's ability to select from the repertoire of movements the strategy that suits the situation best. In this prospective, assessor-blinded cohort study, we address the question whether ovarian hyperstimulation and/or the in vitro procedure affect movement variation during infancy. Material and Methods: Singletons born following IVF with conventional controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH-IVF, n = 68), following IVF in a modified natural cycle (MNC-IVF, n = 57) and following natural conception born to subfertile couples (Sub-NC, n = 90) were assessed with the IMP at 4, 10 and 18 months. The assessment resulted in a total IMP score and 5 domain scores: variation (i.e. the size of movement repertoire), variability (i.e. the ability to select motor strategies), symmetry, fluency and performance. Primary outcome was the domain score variation. Outcome variables were analyzed with a mixed effects model. Results: The mixed model indicated an overall effect of treatment on variation (p Conclusions: The preliminary data suggest that ovarian hyperstimulation may be associated with reduced movement variation in infancy. These findings stress the need to carefully monitor neurodevelopment in IVF offspring