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Glycolic acid has considerable therapeutic value for acne with minimal side effects even in Asian skin. It may be an ideal adjunctive treatment of acne.

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Objective: To evaluate the impact of segmental mosaicism on pregnancy outcomes from the transfer of embryos previously designated as euploid. Design: Retrospective cohort analysis. Setting: Single, private, high-volume fertility center. Patient(s): Three hundred and twenty-seven women who underwent 377 frozen single euploid embryo transfers. Intervention(s): Trophectoderm biopsy of embryos cultured to the blastocyst stage, where all transferred embryos were designated euploid by high-density oligonucleotide array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH); after ascertaining all outcomes, revaluation of aCGH results for evidence of segmental mosaicism (defined as mosaicism on a portion of a chromosome). Main Outcome Measure(s): Live-birth rate and spontaneous abortion rate. Result(s): Of the 377 embryos transferred, 357 were euploid with no mosaicism, and 20 embryos had segmental mosaicism. Segmental mosaics had a statistically significantly lower live-birth rate compared with euploid controls (30.0% vs. 53.8%). When controlling for age and day of Trophectoderm biopsy, the odds for live birth after transfer of segmental mosaics were reduced by 66% compared with euploid controls (0.34; 95% confidence interval, 0.13-0.92). The spontaneous abortion rate was statistically significantly higher after transfer of segmental mosaics compared with euploid controls (40.0% vs. 18.2%). Conclusion(s): Blastocysts with segmental mosaicism have reduced reproductive potential but retain the ability to result in live birth. These results support reporting segmental mosaicism to optimize selection of a single embryo for transfer that will maximize the chance of life birth. (Fertil Steril Ò 2019;111:69-76. Ó2018 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.) El resumen está disponible en Español al final del artículo.

Epigenetic regulation of pericentromeric heterochromatin is crucial for proper interactions between kinetochores and spindle microtubules governing accurate chromosome segregation. Here, we first examined the dynamic distribution of phosphorylated serine 10 and 28 on H3 during mouse oocyte maturation and early embryo development using immunofluorescent staining and confocal microscopy. Our results revealed strong signals of phosphorylated H3/ser10 and 28 in the pericentromeric heterochromatin area and continuous persistent staining of the chromosome periphery, respectively. A panel of specific antibodies against various acetylated lysine, dimethylated lysine or phosphorylated serine residues on histone H3 or H4 were used to investigate the effects of Trichostatin A (TSA), a general inhibitor of histone deacetylases (HDACs), on histone modifications of pericentromeric heterochromatin. Unexpectedly, TSA treatment was unable to alter the acetylation and methylation status of pericentromeric heterochromatin, however, it resulted in significant dephosphorylation of H3/ser10 at this site during mouse oocyte meiosis, which is likely to play a role in the TSA-induced defective chromosome segregation. Furthermore, by using ZM447439, an inhibitor of Aurora kinases, we revealed that Aurora kinases may participate in the regulation of histone phosphorylation during mouse oocyte maturation.

Abstract. The effects of resveratrol (a phytoalexin with a wide variety of pharmacological activities) on pig embryos produced by parthenogenesis and/or in vitro fertilization have been investigated. First, parthenogenetic embryos were generated and cultured in PZM-3 medium supplemented with various amounts of resveratrol (0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 1.0 and 25 μM final concentrations). In the presence of 0.5 μM resveratrol a significantly higher percentage of parthenogenetic embryos reached the blastocyst stage by day 7 compared to non-treated control (43.5 ± 6.3% vs. 33.0 ± 5.4%; P<0.05). The total cell number of blastocysts also increased as a result of incubation with 0.5 μM resveratrol; the difference was statistically significant between treated and non-treated embryos on day 5 of culture (35.8 ± 0.9 vs. 32.1 ± 1.1; P<0.05). Resveratrol incubation affected the expression levels of apoptosis-related genes in parthenogenetic blastocysts: the level of Bax transcripts was similar but lower expression of Bcl-2 and Caspase-3 was observed in embryos treated with 0.5 μM resveratrol when compared to control blastocysts (P<0.05). The results of the TUNEL assay were similar in blastocysts developing with or without resveratrol supplementation. In addition, when embryos produced by in vitro fertilization were incubated with 0.5 μM resveratrol, the treatment led to higher frequencies of blastocyst formation (8.6% vs. 13.3%) and elevated total cell numbers (37.1 ± 2.4 vs. 43.2 ± 1.7) by the end of the 7-day culture period (P<0.05). The results indicate that 0.5 μM resveratrol during culture has a positive effect on early embryonic development of porcine embryos. Key words: Development, Embryo, Pig, Resveratrol (J. Reprod. Dev. 56: [330][331][332][333][334][335] 2010) mbryo culture is valuable in the study of preimplantation embryonic development and is indispensable for the in vitro production of transferable embryos. In spite of significant improvements in the culture conditions, the development of in vitro-produced embryos is still suboptimal [1]. Because the preimplantation embryo is extremely sensitive to environmental factors, deficiencies in culture conditions often lead to aberrant embryo development that manifest in lower frequency of blastocyst formation and lower cell numbers and can affect fetal as well as postnatal life [2]. Modifications in the culture system can potentially improve the development of the cultured embryos.Resveratrol (3,4',5-trihydroxystilbene) is a phytoalexin identified in more than 70 plant species including grapes, plums, and peanuts [3]. Its biological function is to protect the plant in case of a parasitic attack or environmental stress [4]. Originally, the search for plant-derived compounds with pharmacological properties identified resveratrol as a blocker of enzymes involved in arachidonate metabolism [5] and later, an inhibitor of partially purified kinases [6]. Based on its ability to block the cyclooxygenase COX-1 resveratrol was suggested to have anticancer properties and it was demo...

<span>The latest networking technologies have made it easier to provide authentic learning experiences for intercultural collaboration. However, more guidance about how to conduct a successful online, cross-cultural collaboration is needed. The purpose of this study was to investigate the instructional design for forming a cross-cultural group and designing the assignments for online cross-cultural collaboration projects. By investigating two collaborative classes of college students from the United States and Taiwan, the study analysed two different grouping strategies and various types of assignments to examine the level of students' learning satisfaction. The study adopted the action research approach, and collected data from an online survey and the students' reflection essays. The findings indicate the importance of building a sense of learning community and taking advantage of integrating multimedia for assignment design. The findings also suggest that instructors should have strict requirements for communication between partners, and take advantage of Web 2.0 tools for informal communication. More details about the challenges encountered and suggestions for improvement are discussed in the article.</span>

A microcellular ceramic with cell densities >109 cells/cm3 and cells <10 μm was made with a preceramic mixture of polycarbosilane and polysiloxane. The preceramic compact was saturated with gaseous CO2, a large number of cells were nucleated and grown by using a thermodynamic instability induced by a rapid pressure drop, and the microcellular preceramic was transformed into a microcellular ceramic by pyrolysis.