LIF and sIL-2R plasma concentrations in IVF patients on the day of embryo transfer: predictive markers of IVF outcome.

Successful implantation is still the limiting step in IVF. We hypothesized that maternal plasma concentrations of certain cytokines at the time of embryo transfer could predict the likelihood of successful implantation and pregnancy. sIL-2R, IL-6, LIF, and MMP2 concentrations were measured in plasma from 160 IVF patients (natural and stimulated IVF cycles) on the morning of the embryo transfer (ET0) and 14days later (ET+14). Patients were ultimately subdivided into four groups depending on the IVF treatment outcome (pregnancy failure, biochemical pregnancy, first-trimester miscarriage and normal term delivery). In natural and stimulated IVF cycles at ET0, sIL-2R concentrations were threefold higher in biochemical pregnancies than in pregnancy failures (P=0.020), and in natural cycles only, 2.5-fold higher in normal term deliveries than in pregnancy failures (P=0.023). Conversely, in natural and stimulated IVF cycles at ET0, LIF concentrations were one third lower in biochemical pregnancies/first-trimester miscarriages compared with pregnancy failures (P=0.042). We suggest that high sIL-2R and low LIF concentrations in maternal plasma on the morning of the embryo transfer might be associated with increased risks of early pregnancy loss, while a basal level of sIL-2R is necessary for normal term delivery outcome. Both cytokine measurements might therefore be useful in the management of IVF patients, and modulation of their concentrations could be investigated as a therapeutic alternative for women with abnormal concentrations at the time of embryo transfer.

Strategies for an integrated distribution problem

The problems arising in the logistics of commercial distribution are complexand involve several players and decision levels. One important decision isrelated with the design of the routes to distribute the products, in anefficient and inexpensive way.This article explores three different distribution strategies: the firststrategy corresponds to the classical vehicle routing problem; the second isa master route strategy with daily adaptations and the third is a strategythat takes into account the cross-functional planning through amulti-objective model with two objectives. All strategies are analyzed ina multi-period scenario. A metaheuristic based on the Iteratetd Local Search,is used to solve the models related with each strategy. A computationalexperiment is performed to evaluate the three strategies with respect to thetwo objectives. The cross functional planning strategy leads to solutions thatput in practice the coordination between functional areas and better meetbusiness objectives.

Ejaculation failure on the day of oocyte retrieval for IVF: case report.

Unexpected ejaculation failure on the day of oocyte retrieval for IVF occurs once or twice a year in our Reproductive Medicine Unit, where approximately 500 oocyte retrievals are performed each year. Two clinical situations which occurred in 2001 are presented. In the first case, sperm were finally obtained by epididymal aspiration and resulted in the fertilization of five oocytes by ICSI. The transfer of two fresh embryos did not result in a pregnancy and the three supernumerary zygotes were cryopreserved. The male patient presented an anxio-depressive episode necessitating psychiatric hospitalization 1 week after the oocyte retrieval. In the second case, no sperm were obtained and the four oocytes were therefore lost. The couple went through a crisis in their relationship and tried another cycle of IVF 10 months later, after the preventive cryopreservation of a sperm sample. On the day of oocyte retrieval the patient was unable to produce a fresh sample but three zygotes were obtained through ICSI using the back-up cryopreserved sperm. Two embryos were transferred but no pregnancy ensued. The clinical decision-making processes for these two cases are described, as well as the measures employed to help prevent these unfortunate situations.

The persistence of inflation in OECD countries: A fractionally integrated approach

The statistical properties of inflation and, in particular, its degree of persistence and stability over time is a subject of intense debate and no consensus has been achieved yet. The goal of this paper is to analyze this controversy using a general approach, with the aim of providing a plausible explanation for the existing contradictory results. We consider the inflation rates of 21 OECD countries which are modelled as fractionally integrated (FI) processes. First, we show analytically that FI can appear in inflation rates after aggregating individual prices from firms that face different costs of adjusting their prices. Then, we provide robust empirical evidence supporting the FI hypothesis using both classical and Bayesian techniques. Next, we estimate impulse response functions and other scalar measures of persistence, achieving an accurate picture of this property and its variation across countries. It is shown that the application of some popular tools for measuring persistence, such as the sum of the AR coefficients, could lead to erroneous conclusions if fractional integration is present. Finally, we explore the existence of changes in inflation inertia using a novel approach. We conclude that the persistence of inflation is very high (although non-permanent) in most post-industrial countries and that it has remained basically unchanged over the last four decades.

Gestão Integrada dos Recursos Hídricos da Ilha do Maio (Cabo Verde): o Contributo das Águas Subterrâneas

Cabo Verde é constituído por 10 ilhas, sendo a ilha do Maio a mais antiga do arquipélago, com uma área de 269 km2, tendo como comprimento máximo 24100 m, uma largura máxima de 16300 m e uma população total de 6740 habitantes. No que concerne à geomorfologia e geologia, a ilha é considerada plana e é composta por formações eruptivas e sedimentares, sendo as formações sedimentares dominantes na ilha. Apresenta as formações mais antigas de Cabo Verde, de idade jurássica e cretácica. No entanto, não apresenta as formações eruptivas mais recentes como as restantes ilhas. A ilha do Maio enquadra-se num clima do tipo árido e semiárido, com uma temperatura média de 24.5 ºC e uma precipitação anual de 125.4 mm. Estimativas efectuadas com base no modelo do balanço hídrico sequencial diário mostram que cerca de 7% da precipitação corresponde a escoamento superficial e 14.1% a escoamento subterrâneo. Pela aplicação deste modelo e do método do balanço químico do ião cloreto, os recursos hídricos subterrâneos renováveis anualmente na ilha do Maio estão, em ano médio, compreendidos entre 3.44 x 106 m3 e 4.76 x 106 m3.por sua vez, o escoamento total é estimado em 7.8 x 106 m3 anuais, o que equivale a cerca de 21 400 m3/dia. O escoamento subterrâneo na ilha do Maio faz-se globalmente de um modo centrífugo a partir das elevações do maciço central. O gradiente hidráulico assume valores entre 0.05% e 2.9%, sendo que o valor mais baixo ocorre no sector norte da ilha, o que favorece o fenómeno de intrusão salina. Relativamente à qualidade da água, verifica-se que as amostras recolhidas correspondem a águas muito mineralizadas, com valores de condutividade eléctrica compreendidos entre 832 μS/cm e 7730 μS/cm. Por sua vez, os valores de TDS estão compreendidos entre 705.8 mg/L e 4210.4 mg/L. Nestas condições, as águas subterrâneas analisadas podem ser consideradas águas salobras. A fácies hidroquímica dominante é a cloretada sódica, sendo que grande parte das amostras pode ser considerada cloretada-bicarbonatada sódica. Admitindo que a amostragem efectuada tem significado estatístico, poderá dizer-se que, a nível físico-químico, cerca de 20% das águas subterrâneas são próprias para o consumo humano. No que respeita à utilização da água para rega, as águas analisadas apresentam baixo a alto perigo de alcalinização do solo e alto a muito alto perigo de salinização. Em síntese, pode concluir-se que, não obstante o carácter árido da ilha do Maio, a mesma apresenta um potencial de recursos hídricos não negligenciável, eventualmente suficiente para suprir as necessidades hídricas da população. No entanto, o estudo desenvolvido mostra a necessidade de implementar medidas susceptíveis de proporcionarem um aproveitamento sustentado dos recursos hídricos, no quadro da gestão integrada dos recursos hídricos da ilha do Maio.

Iowa election day registration guide, January 2008

A guide describing the steps, requirements and procedures necessary to register to vote in Iowa.

RAGBRAI Learn about the Land; Day 1, July 2008

Want to know what conditions to expect over the next stage of RAGBRAI? How hilly will it be, what towns and parks are between here and there, or what services are coming up in the next town?

RAGBRAI Learn about the Land; Day 2, July 2008

On today’s ride we continue riding across the Southern Iowa Drift Plain. This landform region covers over 40% of the state and comprises most of southern Iowa. Over the last several million years Iowa was subjected to at least seven glacial advances. The last of these older advances occurred approximately 500,000 years ago. Since then the landscape has been subjected to stream erosion and from12,500-24,000 years ago was mantled with a thick blanket of loess before being further eroded.

RAGBRAI Learn about the Land; Day 3, July 2008

Although during much of its geologic history Iowa was part of an interior sea, today what we see on the land surface has been heavily influenced by recent glaciation. Everything from Iowa soils, rivers, lakes, and hills has been influenced by glaciation. Most of Iowa’s bedrock is hidden beneath a thick mantle of deposits from the Cenozoic (i.e., new life) Era, spanning the last 65 million years. Geologists have divided the Cenozoic Era into two periods. These are the Tertiary (1.8-65 million years ago) and Quaternary Periods (recent to 1.8 million years ago). Most geologic records in Iowa are from the Quaternary period, and include glacial till and loess.

RAGBRAI Learn about the Land; Day 4, July 2008

Today’s ride departs Ames and heads towards Nevada. The Ames area is one of the classic areas to view elongated hummocks. These landforms are discontinous, lower relief curvilinear ridges which are east-west trending features. At one time geologists thought these hummocks formed at the base of the glacier due to glacial movement. It is now understood that these features may have developed within the glacier, in a large crevasse field that formed behind the ice (Bemis Moraine) margin as the ice stagnated and melted.

RAGBRAI Learn about the Land; Day 5, July 2008

Today, after you descend into the valley of the Iowa River north of Marengo, the route turns east on county road F15 and approaches the historic Amana Society. Settled in the late 1850s by German immigrants of the Community of True Inspiration, the new arrivals utilized the local timber and stone resources to construct their buildings. During these early years several stone quarries were opened in the hills along the north wall of the Iowa River valley near East, Middle, and West Amana. Riders will pass close to one of these old quarries 0.7 miles west of West Amana. The stone taken from these quarries is beautiful quartz-rich sandstone that is cemented by light brown to orange tinged iron oxide. This stone was used in the construction of many buildings in Amana.

RAGBRAI Learn about the Land; Day 6, July 2008

Today you will be biking over the Iowa and Cedar rivers, two major rivers hit by the Iowa flood of 2008. Three miles northeast of North Liberty you’ll cross the Iowa River. The river crested on June 15, 2008 at a record 31.53 ft., three feet higher than the previous record during the flood of 1993. The flooding river caused extensive damage to the University of Iowa (see cover photo of Iowa Memorial Union taken by Univ. Relations, Univ. of Iowa), Coralville, and numerous smaller towns. The flooding of the Cedar River, which RAGBRAI will cross at Sutliff, caused even greater damage. At Cedar Rapids, the 2008 flood crest of 31.12 ft. was over 11 ft. higher than the previous record set in 1851! This massive amount of water inundated downtown Cedar Rapids, Palo, and Columbus Junction and caused massive damage to buildings and infrastructure. When crossing the Cedar River at Sutliff, be sure to look to your right to see the remains of the Historic Sutliff Bridge, one of the many casualties of the Iowa flood of 2008.

RAGBRAI Learn about the Land; Day 7, July 2008

Iowa’s land was mapped long before it was declared a state. Since Lewis and Clark published their journey across the North American west in 1814, many different uses for maps have been found. Today there are maps of Iowa’s roads, waterways, landscape features, geology, and land use. One of the more recent mapping efforts has involved using a technology called LiDAR. This technology creates a topographic map of Iowa’s elevation that is accurate to within eight inches, ten times higher resolution than in previous elevation maps.

Rebuild Iowa 45 - Day Report to Governor Chet Culver, 2008

The Commission will deliver a "120-Day" report for the Governor with long-term recommendations by November 17, 2008.

Rebuild Iowa Advisory Commission (RIAC) 45-Day Report

The Rebuild Iowa Advisory Commission (RIAC) 45-Day Report offers the initial recommendations and priorities for Iowa's recovery from the devastating storms, flooding and tornadoes of 2008. The RIAC is a 15-member bipartisan commission appointed by Governor Chet Culver to lay out a blueprint to recovery.