Abstract
Study question
In Japan, how much of freezing cost and the yearly storage cost of medical and social egg freezing for fertility preservation is clearly disclosed on the institution's ...website?
Summary answer
Of the 621 infertility treatment institutions, 146 listed egg freezing on their websites, 46 specified the freezing cost, and 71 specified the yearly storage cost.
What is known already
In Japan, from April 2022, standard assisted reproductive technology will be covered by insurance, but medical and social egg freezing will continue to be privately funded. Therefore, it is unclear how many facilities in Japan perform egg freezing. Furthermore, while the cost of freezing and yearly storage varies significantly from facility to facility, there has been no data comparing egg freezing among facilities in Japan or other countries. Therefore, we extracted data about freezing and storage cost from each institution's website and compared them for the first time.
Study design, size, duration
This study is a web-based survey in which a single board-certified specialist by Japan Society for Reproductive Medicine exhaustively browsed the websites of all 621 fertility treatment institutions in Japan in October 2021 and analyzed the implementation of egg freezing, freezing costs, and yearly storage costs of egg are clearly stated on the websites. The costs of drugs used for egg retrieval and ovarian stimulation were excluded.
Participants/materials, setting, methods
Of the 621 institutions, 88 institutions that clearly stated on their websites that they offer egg freezing for medical reasons were divided into a medical group, and 58 institutions that clearly stated that they offer egg freezing for only social reasons were divided into social group for statistical analysis. We compared the freezing and the yearly storage cost, respectively, whether it varies depending on the number of eggs or whether it is a fixed cost.
Main results and the role of chance
Of the 621 institutions, 146 (23.5%), 88 in the medical group and 58 in the social group, specified that they offer egg freezing. The percentages of clarification for freezing cost and yearly storage cost on the website were 27.3% and 30.7% in the medical group, 72.4%, and 75.9% in the social group, so the social group was higher in both cases (p < 0.01). The percentage of fixed costs for egg freezing was significantly lower in the social group (6/42, 14.3%) than in the medical group (9/24, 37.5%) (p < 0.05). The percentage of fixed costs for yearly storage cost was samely significantly lower in the social group (30/44, 68.2%) than in the medical group (25/27, 92.6%) (p < 0.05). The mean freezing cost/yearly storage cost was as follows for 1, 5, and 10 eggs. The medical group was (JPY45,527/JPY22,327, JPY65,179/JPY22,530, JPY90,311/JPY22,770), and the social group was (JPY56,822/JPY40,178, JPY88,429/JPY56,502, JPY136,550/JPY79,090), so the social group had the significantly highest amount of costs in each case. Note that JPY 10,000 is about EUR77.7. The most expensive clinic to store ten eggs was JPY500,000 (EUR3,883) per year, and the least university hospital was JPY 4,600 (EUR35.7) per year.
Limitations, reasons for caution
This survey was conducted by carefully browsing the facility's website, but since we did not confirm the information through questionnaires or e-mail, there is the possibility that the information may have been updated. Another limitation is that less than half of the medical groups list cost details on their websites.
Wider implications of the findings
This is the first report to analyze the cost of egg freezing in Japan using the institution's website. The rate of cost disclosure on the website is still low. Moreover, the costs of social freezing are significantly higher than medical reasons, but this may change with the insurance of ART.
Trial registration number
not applicable
Accurate species identification is required to trace, monitor and limit the distribution of harmful shell boring species of the genus Polydora, which have been transported worldwide accompanying ...commercially important mollusk species. Morphological identification of species in the polydorid complex is difficult because of close similarities, therefore, nuclear 18S rRNA gene sequences were used for the first time to distinguish among the three serious aquaculture pests Polydora brevipalpa, Polydora uncinata, and Polydora aura, from Japan and Australia. The analysis revealed new intraspecific pigmentation variation and confirmed that P. uncinata and P. aura are closely related, possessing special notochaetae on the posterior chaetigers, while P. brevipalpa is a sister taxon to these two species. Polydora brevipalpa and P. uncinata share characteristic black-bar pigmentation on their palps, but they apparently are not part of the same clade.
► We described morphology and molecular information of three harmful shell borers. ► The nuclear 18S rRNA gene sequences of borers were determined for the first time. ► P. brevipalpa and P. uncinata showed invariant black-bars pigmentation on palps. ► P. uncinata and P. aura made one and P. brevipalpa the other in phylogenetic tree.
Abstract
STUDY QUESTION
Is there a relation between specific Na+/K+ ATPase isoform expression and localization in human blastocysts and the developmental behavior of the embryo?
SUMMARY ANSWER
Na+/K+ ...ATPase α1, β1 and β3 are the main isoforms expressed in human blastocysts and no association was found between the expression level of their respective mRNAs and the rate of blastocyst expansion.
WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY
In mouse embryos, Na+/K+ ATPase α1 and β1 are expressed in the basolateral membrane of trophectoderm (TE) cells and are believed to be involved in blastocoel formation (cavitation).
STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION
A total of 20 surplus embryos from 11 patients who underwent IVF and embryo transfer at a university hospital between 2009 and 2018 were analyzed.
PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS
After freezing and thawing Day 5 human blastocysts, their developmental behavior was observed for 24 h using time-lapse imaging, and the expression of Na+/K+ ATPase isoforms was examined using quantitative RT-PCR (RT-qPCR). The expressed isoforms were then localized in blastocysts using fluorescent immunostaining.
MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE
RT-qPCR results demonstrated the expression of Na+/K+ ATPase α1, β1 and β3 isoforms in human blastocysts. Isoforms α1 and β3 were localized to the basolateral membrane of TE cells, and β1 was localized between TE cells. A high level of β3 mRNA expression correlated with easier hatching (P = 0.0261).
LARGE SCALE DATA
N/A.
LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION
The expression of mRNA and the localization of proteins of interest were verified, but we have not been able to perform functional analysis.
WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS
Of the various Na+/K+ ATPase isoforms, expression levels of the α1, β1 and β3 mRNAs were clearly higher than other isoforms in human blastocysts. Since α1 and β3 were localized to the basolateral membrane via fluorescent immunostaining, we believe that these subunits contribute to the dilation of the blastocoel. The β1 isoform is localized between TE cells and may be involved in tight junction formation, as previously reported in mouse embryos.
STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)
This work was supported by the JSPS KAKENHI (https://www.jsps.go.jp/english/index.html), grant number 17K11215. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The authors have no conflicts of interest.
Most primary breast cancers express estrogen receptor α and can be treated via endocrine therapy using anti-estrogens such as tamoxifen; however, acquired endocrine resistance is a critical issue. To ...identify tamoxifen response-related microRNAs (miRNAs) in breast cancer, MCF-7 cells infected with a lentiviral miRNA library were treated with 4-hydroxytamoxifen (OHT) or vehicle for 4 weeks, and the amounts of individual miRNA precursors that had integrated into the genome were evaluated by microarray. Compared to the vehicle-treated cells, 5 'dropout' miRNAs, which were downregulated in OHT-treated cells, and 6 'retained' miRNAs, which were upregulated in OHT-treated cells, were identified. Of the dropout miRNAs, we found that miR-574-3p expression was downregulated in clinical breast cancer tissues as compared with their paired adjacent tissues. In addition, anti-miR-574-3p reversed tamoxifen-mediated suppression of MCF-7 cell growth. Clathrin heavy chain (CLTC) was identified as a miR-574-3p target gene by in silico algorithms and luciferase reporter assay using the 3' untranslated region of CLTC mRNA. Interestingly, loss and gain of miR-574-3p function in MCF-7 cells causes CLTC to be upregulated and downregulated, respectively. These results suggest that functional screening mediated by miRNA libraries can provide new insights into the genes essential for tamoxifen response in breast cancer.
Cd-content and temperature dependences of hyperfine fields in CdxFe3-xO4 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) were investigated by means of time-differential perturbed angular correlation spectroscopy with the ...111Cd(←111In) probe. It was found that Cd2+ ions selectively occupy the tetrahedral A site in the spinel structure in all the range of the present Cd content x. The magnetic transition temperature TC becomes lower with increasing x due to the interference of the long-range ordering of Fe spins as a result of expansion of the lattice constants by Cd doping. The measurement of room-temperature hyperfine fields at different x shows that the supertransferred magnetic hyperfine field (SMHF) at the probe decreases as x increases in the range of 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5. Isothermal measurements at 15 K revealed a contrastive phenomenon for the Cd contents up to x = 0.4: the SMHF becomes great with increasing x; however, this increasing trend of the SMHF turns to reduction at x = 0.46. These observations can be explained based on the effect of Cd doping on the antiferromagnetic coupling between Fe ions in the A and B sites.
•correlation spectroscopy.•Cd-content dependence of hyperfine fields in CdxFe3-xO4.•Cd-content dependence of the isothermal hyperfine fields showing different trends at different temperatures.
57
Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy was applied to compositional studies of Fe-containing minerals in two different ordinary chondrites, MIL 07710 (L4) and Y-790272 (H4), collected in Antarctica. For both ...samples, spectral analysis revealed that there are five quadrupole doublets and two magnetic sextets in the room-temperature spectra, suggesting the presence of olivine (M1 and M2), pyroxene (M1 and M2), a high-spin Fe
3+
containing phase, antiferromagnetic FeS (troilite), and ferromagnetic Fe-Ni alloy. The large relative area of the oxidized Fe
3+
phases and the small intensity of the metal phases signify a possible effect of terrestrial weathering especially for Y-790272 (H4).
Local fields in normal spinel oxides, CdFe
2
O
4
and CdIn
2
O
4
, were measured by means of time-differential perturbed angular correlation spectroscopy with the
111
In(→
111
Cd) and
111m
Cd(→
111
...Cd) probes. The spectra obtained with the different probes show contrastive patterns in spite of the same daughter nuclei: the former shows static perturbations with explicit oscillatory structures, whereas for the latter, the angular correlations become gradually isotropic. The exponential-like relaxation patterns of the spectra observed for the
111m
Cd(→
111
Cd) probe suggest that the probes occupying the Cd
A
site experience time-dependent perturbation causing nuclear spin relaxation.
In-beam Mössbauer spectroscopy of
57
Fe using a short-lived
57
Mn (
T
1/2
= 89 s) implantation was applied to study the chemical products of localized Fe atoms in ethylene and acetylene matrices at ...low temperatures. The spectra obtained in both matrices were analyzed as three doublets. In ethylene at 14 K, Fe(C
2
H
4
)
2
(Fe
0
,
S
= 1), Fe(C
2
H
4
)
3
+
(Fe
+
,
S
= 3/2), and Fe(C
2
H
4
)
2
+
(Fe
+
,
S
= 3/2) were assigned as derived from the Mössbauer parameters and density functional theory calculations. On the other hand, the products of Fe(C
2
H
2
)
2
+
(Fe
+
,
S
= 3/2) and (C
2
H
2
)FeCCH
2
+
(Fe
+
,
S
= 3/2) were determined in the acetylene matrix at 17 K.
Midkine (MK; gene name, Mdk), a heparin-binding growth factor, regulates cell growth, cell survival, migration and anti-apoptotic activity in nephrogenesis and development. In the kidney, MK is ...expressed mainly in proximal tubular epithelial cells and is induced by oxidative stress through the activation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α. The pathophysiological roles of MK are diverse, ranging from the occurrence of acute kidney injury (AKI) to progression of chronic kidney disease, often accompanied by hypertension, renal ischemia and diabetic nephropathy. In particular, hypertension has indispensable implications for various vascular diseases, including cardiovascular and renal disorders. Mdk(+/+) mice exhibited marked hypertension in renal ablation model compared with Mdk(-/-) mice, eventually leading to more progressive renal failure such as glomerular sclerosis and tubulointerstitial injuries in association with elevated plasma angiotensin (Ang) II levels. MK is also induced in the lung endothelium by oxidative stress and subsequently up-regulated angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) in the lung. Ang II is hydrolyzed by ACE to induce further oxidative stress, accelerating MK generation and leading to a vicious cycle of positive feedback on the MK-Ang II pathway. The kidney-lung interaction involving positive feedback between the renin-angiotensin system and MK may in part account for the pathogenesis of hypertension and kidney injury. In addition to this pathway, MK is involved in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy and AKI through the recruitment of the inflammatory cells. Such multidisciplinary findings may open new avenues for targeting therapies for hypertension and various renal diseases, including AKI and diabetic nephropathy.
Local environments in 0.5 at.% In-doped ZnO were investigated by means of the time-differential perturbed angular correlation (TDPAC) method. In a comparative study, using the super(111)Cd probe ...nuclei as the decay products of different parents, super(111)In and super(111m)Cd, we found that super(111)In microscopically forms a unique structure with nonradioactive In ion(s) dispersed in ZnO, whereas super(111m)Cd has no specific interaction with the In impurities. The spectral damping of the TDPAC spectra is attributed to the aftereffect following the EC decay of super(111)In. It was demonstrated from the aftereffect that the local density and/or mobility of conduction electrons at the super(111)In probe site in the Indoped ZnO is lowered due to the characteristic structure locally formed by the dispersed In ion(s).
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