Abstract Public financing of IVF aims at increasing access to treatment while decreasing the expenses associated with multiple pregnancies. Critics argue that it is associated with lower pregnancy ...rates. This study compared cycles performed during 2009 (before implementation of Quebec’s public IVF programme; period I) to those performed in the year following implementation (period II) in a single IVF centre. First fresh cycles in period I (499 women) and first fresh cycles (815 women) along with their corresponding first vitrified–warmed transfer (271 women) in period II were evaluated. From period I to period II, single-embryo transfer increased from 17.3% to 85.0% ( P < 0.001), multiple ongoing pregnancy rate decreased from 25.8% to 1.6% ( P < 0.001) and ongoing pregnancy rate decreased from 31.9% to 23.3% ( P = 0.001). During period II, the ongoing pregnancy rate per vitrified–warmed embryo transfer was 19.2%, leading to a cumulative ongoing pregnancy rate per initiated cycle of 29.7%, which was not different to the pregnancy rate per fresh cycle during period I (31.9%). To conclude, Quebec’s public IVF programme decreased multiple pregnancy rates while maintaining an acceptable cumulative ongoing pregnancy rate, a more precise outcome to evaluate the impact of public IVF programmes. Public funding of IVF intends to increase access to IVF treatment and reduce the health and economic consequences of multiple pregnancies. However, the success of treatment, as measured by the pregnancy rates, may seem lower as expressed by critics of these public programmes. In order to evaluate the impact of the new public IVF programme in the province of Quebec, we compared the IVF cycles performed during 2009 (period I), the year previous to implementation of the programme, to the cycles performed 1 year following the programme (period II) in a single IVF centre. The first fresh cycles performed in period I were compared with the first fresh cycles in addition to the fresh cryopreserved cycle during period II (a surrogate of cumulative pregnancy rate). The transfer of a single embryo increased (17.3% in period I versus 85.0% in period II), and as a consequence, the multiple pregnancy rate sharply decreased (25.8% in period I versus 1.6% in period II). Although the ongoing pregnancy rate decreased after the transfer of the first fresh embryo (31.9% in period I versus 23.3% in period II), the transfer of one cryopreserved embryo to those women who did not get pregnant during period II resulted in a cumulative pregnancy rate of 29.7% during period II (almost the same as the pregnancy rate of 31.9% during period I). Thus, in this centre, the Quebec public IVF programme attained the objective of decreasing multiple pregnancy rates while maintaining acceptable cumulative pregnancy rate, a more precise outcome to evaluate the impact of public IVF programmes.
On October 10 2011 an underwater eruption gave rise to a novel shallow submarine volcano south of the island of El Hierro, Canary Islands, Spain. During the eruption large quantities of ...mantle-derived gases, solutes and heat were released into the surrounding waters. In order to monitor the impact of the eruption on the marine ecosystem, periodic multidisciplinary cruises were carried out. Here, we present an initial report of the extreme physical-chemical perturbations caused by this event, comprising thermal changes, water acidification, deoxygenation and metal-enrichment, which resulted in significant alterations to the activity and composition of local plankton communities. Our findings highlight the potential role of this eruptive process as a natural ecosystem-scale experiment for the study of extreme effects of global change stressors on marine environments.
•Stripe domains patterns have been observed in ferri/ferromagnetic multilayers.•Rare earth-transition metal alloys allow tuning the interactions between layers.•Transmission X-ray microscopy shows ...complex magnetic textures.
The stacking of ferrimagnetic and ferromagnetic films leads to a competition between magnetic interactions that can stabilize Bloch points and other singularities at the interfaces. In this work, GdxCo1-x/NdCo5/GdyCo1-y trilayers, with different thicknesses, have been prepared. By tuning the stoichiometry of the Gd-Co outer layers, the Co magnetic sublattice dominates in one layer, whereas the opposite side is Gd dominated. In this way, in-depth magnetization domain walls can be created due to the balance between exchange and magnetostatic interactions. In addition, the weak perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of the Nd-Co central layer induces a stripe domain pattern, supporting the formation of Bloch points, meron-like textures, and vortex-antivortex pairs. The interaction between both types of structures, in-depth domain walls and magnetic singularities, has been studied by a combination of macroscopic Magneto-Optical Kerr Effect and Vibrating Sample Magnetometry measurements with microscopic Magnetic Force Microscopy and element selective magnetic Transmission soft X-ray Microscopy imaging. The results confirm marked changes in the magnetic properties of the trilayers, as compared with those single NdCo5 films, and the formation of complex magnetic textures, associated with partial magnetization reversal, where magnetic singularities are formed.
The literature on GWAS (genome-wide association studies) data suggests that very large sample sizes (for example, 50,000 cases and 50,000 controls) may be required to detect significant associations ...of genomic regions for complex disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Because of the challenges of obtaining such large cohorts, we describe here a novel sequential strategy that combines pooling of DNA and bootstrapping (pbGWAS) in order to significantly increase the statistical power and exponentially reduce expenses. We applied this method to a very homogeneous sample of patients belonging to a unique and clinically well-characterized multigenerational pedigree with one of the most severe forms of early onset AD, carrying the PSEN1 p.Glu280Ala mutation (often referred to as E280A mutation), which originated as a consequence of a founder effect. In this cohort, we identified novel loci genome-wide significantly associated as modifiers of the age of onset of AD (CD44, rs187116, P=1.29 × 10⁻¹²; NPHP1, rs10173717, P=1.74 × 10⁻¹²; CADPS2, rs3757536, P=1.54 × 10⁻¹⁰; GREM2, rs12129547, P=1.69 × 10⁻¹³, among others) as well as other loci known to be associated with AD. Regions identified by pbGWAS were confirmed by subsequent individual genotyping. The pbGWAS methodology and the genes it targeted could provide important insights in determining the genetic causes of AD and other complex conditions.
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has a very high heritability (0.8), suggesting that about 80% of phenotypic variance is due to genetic factors. We used the integration of statistical ...and functional approaches to discover a novel gene that contributes to ADHD. For our statistical approach, we started with a linkage study based on large multigenerational families in a population isolate, followed by fine mapping of targeted regions using a family-based design. Family- and population-based association studies in five samples from disparate regions of the world were used for replication. Brain imaging studies were performed to evaluate gene function. The linkage study discovered a genome region harbored in the Latrophilin 3 gene (LPHN3). In the world-wide samples (total n=6360, with 2627 ADHD cases and 2531 controls) statistical association of LPHN3 and ADHD was confirmed. Functional studies revealed that LPHN3 variants are expressed in key brain regions related to attention and activity, affect metabolism in neural circuits implicated in ADHD, and are associated with response to stimulant medication. Linkage and replicated association of ADHD with a novel non-candidate gene (LPHN3) provide new insights into the genetics, neurobiology, and treatment of ADHD.
Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy ferromagnetic superconducting (FM SC) bilayers with a labyrinth domain structure are used to study nucleation of superconductivity on a fractal network, tunable ...through magnetic history. As clusters of reversed domains appear in the FM layer, the SC film shows a percolative behavior that depends on two independent processes: the arrangement of initial reversed domains and the fractal geometry of expanding clusters. For a full labyrinth structure, the behavior of the upper critical field is typical of confined superconductivity on a fractal network.
Angiotensin II type 1 receptor agonist antibodies (AT1R-AAs) have been associated with hypertension, atherosclerosis and vascular inflammation in human diseases. The aim of the study was to evaluate ...the prevalence of AT1R-AAs in active lupus nephritis (LN) patients and their association with vascular damage. One hundred and seven active LN patients underwent a complete clinical examination, measurement of AT1R-AAs, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, carotid intima-media thickness measurement and morphometric analysis of subintimal fibrosis and medial hyperplasia of the vessels in the kidney tissue. Plasma AT1R-AAs were positive in 58 (54.2%) patients. The Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K) score, complement C3 and C4 levels and titers of anti-dsDNA antibodies were higher in the group with positive AT1R-AAs compared with those with negative AT1R-AAs. The AT1R-AA titers correlated with anti-dsDNA antibody titers and with complement C3 and C4 serum levels. In the kidney biopsy, the percentage of subintimal fibrosis and the area of medial hyperplasia were greater in the AT1R-AA-positive patients. No differences in arterial pressure, carotid intima-media thickness and response to therapy were detected. In conclusion, AT1R-AAs are prevalent in active LN patients and are associated with histologic features of microvascular damage.
Stripe domains are studied in perpendicular magnetic anisotropy films nanostructured with a periodic thickness modulation that induces the lateral modulation of both stripe periods and in-plane ...magnetization. The resulting system is the 2D equivalent of a strained superlattice with properties controlled by interfacial misfit strain within the magnetic stripe structure and shape anisotropy. This allows us to observe, experimentally for the first time, the continuous structural transformation of a grain boundary in this 2D magnetic crystal in the whole angular range. The magnetization reversal process can be tailored through the effect of misfit strain due to the coupling between disclinations in the magnetic stripe pattern and domain walls in the in-plane magnetization configuration.
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