Aim: This study aimed to compare the efficacy of long-and short-acting gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist on clinical outcomes of in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) long protocol cycles. Methods: In this retrospective study, 478 patients were enrolled from October 2012 to November 2014. The pituitary downregulation result, serum hormone levels, gonadotropin (Gn) dose during controlled ovarian hyperstimulation, and outcome of IVF/ICSI-embryo transfer were compared between the two groups. Results: Compared with the long-acting group, in the short-acting group the duration of downregulation and stimulation was significantly shorter; the total Gn doses, cost of an IVF cycle, rate of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, superior-quality embryo rate, and implantation rate were significantly lower; and the serum luteinizing hormone concentrations on the day of Gn and human chorionic gonadotropin administration were significantly higher. The serum estradiol level on the day of human chorionic gonadotropin was higher in the long-acting group. However, no significant differences were noted in other parameters. Conclusion: The long-acting group was associated with greater amounts of Gn and a longer duration of use for ovarian stimulation. This increased the cost per IVF cycle and may have had a detrimental effect on the pregnancy outcome because of a subsequent increase in the rate of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome and decrease in the superior-quality embryo rate and implantation rate.

Background B7‐H4, a checkpoint molecule of the B7 family, regulates a broad spectrum such as T‐cell activation, cytokine secretion, tumour progression, and invasion capacities. Our previous data revealed that soluble B7‐H4 (sB7‐H4) blood serum levels are elevated in women at high risk for the hypertensive pregnancy disorder preeclampsia (PE) in the first trimester, as well as in patients with confirmed early/late‐onset PE. Aim We here aim to investigate the expression pattern of B7‐H4 in placental tissues of PE and HELLP Syndrome versus control group. Methods B7‐H4 protein expression and localization were investigated by immunoblotting and co‐immunohistochemistry in placental chorionic villous and decidual basalis tissues. Results B7‐H4 protein was prominently expressed at the cell membrane, in the cytoplasm of the syncytiotrophoblast (STB) and interstitial extravillous trophoblast (EVT). B7‐H4 protein levels in placental chorionic villous tissue were significantly higher in women with early‐onset/late‐onset PE and HELLP, while it was decreased in decidual basalis tissues of early‐onset PE and HELLP compared with controls. Conclusion B7‐H4 was inversely expressed in placental chorionic villous and decidual basalis tissues of PE and HELLP patients. The increase in B7‐H4 in the STB in PE and HELLP may lead to excessive apical expression and release of soluble B7‐H4 in the maternal circulation. In contrast, the decrease in B7‐H4 in decidual basalis tissues could be related to the decrease in invasion ability of the EVT in PE. Thus, the current results strongly suggest that B7‐H4 is involved in the pathogenesis of PE and HELLP.

In this paper, TiO 2 loaded on activated carbon fibers (ACF) was prepared by a coating treatment, followed by calcination at different temperatures in air atmosphere. The photocatalyst developed was characterized by SEM, XRD, XPS and UV-Vis adsorption spectroscopy. It was observed from SEM images that TiO 2 loaded on ACF was in the form of small clusters with nanometer size. As confirmed by XRD and XPS determinations, the crystalline pattern of immobilized TiO 2 was still anatase-form after calcination, and the micrographic structure and surface properties of ACF have not been damaged by the deposition process and calcination at different temperatures. Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solution was investigated using TiO 2 /ACF as photocatalyst. The comparison of photolysis, absorption and photocatalysis was carried out. The results indicated that the photocatalysis process of combined photocatalyst showed much higher degradation rate than that of photolysis and absorption processes. In addition, the possibility of cyclic usage of the photocatalyst was also confirmed.

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