Low Quality Groups Research Articles

Markers for egg quality in European eel derived from offspring of females subjected to different gonadotropic treatments

Broodstock management techniques in general, and gonadotropic treatments for vitellogenesis induction in particular, can influence the maternal provisioning of different compounds to the eggs, thus affecting embryo and larval competence. Among these, the abundance of certain transcripts as well as lipid content and fatty acid composition have been used as egg quality markers alongside other egg morphological parameters, such as egg size and the occurrence of abnormal cleavages during the first stages of embryonic development. Here, we evaluated the use of different markers of egg quality from farmed-raised European eel, Anguilla anguilla, broodstock reared on the same formulated diet but subjected to different pituitary extract administration schemes: weekly injections of salmon pituitary extract (SPE) in a constant dose or weekly injections of carp pituitary extract (CPE) at a stepwise increasing dose. Egg batches were categorized in two quality groups (high and low) according to their survival to the first feeding larval stage. In agreement with previous studies, unfertilized eggs and 4-h post fertilization embryos (16-cell stage) from SPE treated females had higher epcam expression levels than CPE ones, which is a molecule involved in cell-cell adhesion. When comparing treatments, batches from the SPE treatment had a lower incidence of cleavage abnormalities which could originate from compromised cell adhesion. On the other hand, this difference was not observed when comparing high-quality batches (i.e. those surviving up to the first-feeding stage) and low-quality ones. From the five genes analysed: epcam, dcbld1, plec, cenpf, and cenpk, only the latter had a differential expression between high- and low-quality groups both in unfertilized eggs and 4 h-post-fertilization embryos. This gene, cenpk, is involved in kinetochore assemblage during cell division and appears to be promising as egg quality marker in European eel in combination with epcam and dcbld1. Common biomarkers, such as egg size, total protein and lipid content, were similar between groups. However, although fatty acid composition was similar between quality groups, DHA and EPA content in unfertilized eggs was affected by the gonadotropic treatment applied to the female broodstock, and higher for the CPE treated females than the SPE ones. This entails that the hormonal treatments applied for vitellogenesis induction can influence the amount of specific fatty acids being transferred to the eggs, even for female broodstock that were fed the same high-quality diet.

Adjustment of segmental rotations to achieve both racket speed and accuracy at various impact heights during a two-handed backhand stroke

ABSTRACT This study investigated the influence of impact height and competitive level on racket speed and stroke accuracy by analysing segmental angular kinematics under a random ball condition. High- (HQ, n = 7) and low-quality (LQ, n = 7) groups were determined by k-means clustering of the ratio of ball landing in the target (accuracy) and racket speed decrease. HQ showed higher accuracy (48.3% vs. 32.4%), less speed decrease at lower impact heights (−4.4% vs. −10.3%) and better competitive level ranking [median (1st–3rd quartiles); 4 (2–7)] than LQ [10 (8–13)]. HQ produced greater racket speed (24.4 vs. 21.6 m/s), especially with a notable horizontal velocity (23.8 vs. 20.8 m/s) of the racket at lower impact height, which was attributed to the central role of greater angular velocity of pelvis and thorax in the hitting direction. Both groups showed similar adjustment mechanisms that due to the decrease in angular velocity of pelvis, players increased the relative rotation angle between pelvis and thorax to maintain angular velocity of thorax when transitioning from low to high impact heights. Our findings suggest that players should emphasise the coordination between pelvic and thoracic rotations according to impact heights to maintain racket speed while controlling ball landing position.

Quantitative Proteomics and Metabolomics of Culture Medium from Single Human Embryo Reveal Embryo Quality-Related Multiomics Biomarkers.

An effective tool to assess embryo quality in the assisted reproduction clinical practice will enhance successful implantation rates and mitigate high risks of multiple pregnancies. Potential biomarkers secreted into culture medium (CM) during embryo development enable rapid and noninvasive methods of assessing embryo quality. However, small volumes, low biomolecule concentrations, and impurity interference collectively preclude the identification of quality-related biomarkers in single blastocyst CM. Here, we developed a noninvasive trace multiomics approach to screen for potential markers in individual human blastocyst CM. We collected 84 CM samples and divided them into high-quality (HQ) and low-quality (LQ) groups. We evaluated the differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) and metabolites (DEMs) in HQ and LQ CM. A total of 504 proteins and 189 metabolites were detected in individual blastocyst CM. Moreover, 9 DEPs and 32 DEMs were identified in different quality embryo CM. We also categorized HQ embryos into positive implantation (PI) and negative implantation (NI) groups based on ultrasound findings on day 28. We identified 41 DEPs and 4 DEMs associated with clinical implantation outcomes in morphologically HQ embryos using a multiomics analysis approach. This study provides a noninvasive multiomics analysis technique and identifies potential biomarkers for clinical embryo developmental quality assessment.

Effect of Low-Quality Embryo on Adverse Obstetric and Perinatal Outcomes

Background: This retrospective study focused on whether low-quality embryos have the risk on perinatal and obstetric outcomes. Methods: This study enrolled 600 women undergoing fresh embryos transfer (ET) cycles between June 2019 and December 2022. The patients were stratified into two groups, high-quality embryo group and low-quality embryo group. In both groups, the perinatal and obstetric outcomes were the primary outcomes. Moreover, we conducted a multi-variable logistic regression analysis, where additional possible confounding factors were controlled, to determine how diverse embryo qualities affected the primary outcomes. Results: The results showed that compared with the low-quality group, the high-quality group showed increased clinical pregnancy (63.33% vs 26.33%) as well as a higher number of live birth rates (52.67% vs 18.33%) (P＜0.001). There were no statistically significant differences in unfavorable perinatal and obstetric outcomes between high- and low-quality groups (p＞0.05). Similarly, the transfer of blastocysts developing from high-quality embryos led to increased clinical pregnancy rates (84.50% vs 48.05%, p<0.001) and live birth rates (74.64% vs 38.96%, p<0.001). Transfer of blastocysts developing from low-quality embryos did not impact the unfavorable perinatal or obstetric outcomes. The logistic regression analysis showed that low-quality could not increase the unfavorable perinatal or obstetric outcomes. Conclusion: In summary, low-quality ET does not increase the risk of unfavorable perinatal or obstetric outcomes. Overall, compared to low-quality embryos, the transfer of high-quality embryos increases the clinical pregnancy and live birth rates.

Abnormally Expressed lncRNAs as Potential Biomarkers for Gastric Cancer Risk: A Diagnostic Meta-Bioinformatics Analysis.

Abnormal expression of lncRNAs is relevant to the occurrence and development of gastric cancer (GC), but the significance remains inconclusive. We performed a diagnostic meta-bioinformatics analysis to elucidate the association between lncRNA expression and GC risk. Published datasets were selected from PubMed, Embase, CNKI, and Web of Science, up to 1st December 2021. The pooled sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), and area under the curve (AUC) were calculated to evaluate the diagnostic value. RNA sequencing data were downloaded for validation. 54 studies with 4671 patients and 4652 matched controls were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled SEN, SPE, PLR, NLR, DOR, and AUC were 0.71, 0.76, 2.9, 0.39, 8, and 0.79, respectively. Subgroup analyses showed that the DOR and AUC of intergenic lncRNAs, circulating lncRNAs, larger sample size (>200), and high-quality (NOS score ≥ 7) groups were superior to antisense lncRNAs, tissue lncRNAs, smaller sample size (≤200), and low-quality (NOS score < 7) groups, respectively. However, only circulating lncRNAs had significantly higher diagnostic utility than that tissue lncRNAs. Nine differentially expressed lncRNAs in the meta-analysis were verified in TCGA-STAD. PVT1 was the most effective single lncRNA, with AUC of 0.949, SEN of 0.808, and SPE of 0.969, while PVT1 and C5orf66-AS1 were the most effective combination, with AUC of 0.972, SEN of 0.941, and SPE of 0.937. Abnormally expressed lncRNAs, especially circulating lncRNAs, might be potential diagnostic biomarkers for GC risk. A novel combined model of lncRNAs might achieve better GC diagnosis performance.

YOUTUBE AS A SOURCE OF INFORMATION ABOUT GONORRHEA

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to systematically evaluate the quality of videos on YouTube related to gonorrhea.&#x0D; Methods: Using the search term “gonorrhea”, the first 200 relevant videos on YouTube were saved to a file. All video parameters, including the number of views, likes, dislikes and comments were recorded. The Global Quality Scale (GQS) was used to evaluate the quality of the videos.&#x0D; Results: After exclusions, 144 videos were selected and evaluated by two independent observers. The median duration of the videos was calculated as 3.97 minutes. Most videos were provided by physicians (59 videos). According to the GQS scores, 47.9% (n=69) of the videos were evaluated as high quality, 19.4% (n=28) as intermediate quality, and 32.6% (n=47) as low quality. There were significant differences in video length between the high, intermediate, and low-quality groups (p&lt;0.001).&#x0D; Conclusion: YouTube can be considered an important source of gonorrhea videos.

Youtube videos for the most commonly applied radionuclide treatments: sufficient for patients as an information source?

YouTube is one of the most popular online sources of information for patients. The purpose of the study is to analyze the quality of YouTube videos about the most commonly applied radionuclide treatments. Related radionuclide therapy videos were searched on YouTube in October 2021. The quality of the videos was assessed by using the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria, the DISCERN Scale and the Global Quality Scale (GQS). A total of 473 videos were assessed and 270 were included in the study according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. According to the GQS score, videos were categorized as high-quality (n:63, 23.33%), intermediate quality (n:118, 43.70%) and low-quality (n:89, 32.96 %) groups. The findings of our study showed that the highest number of video views and comments were in the low-quality group. In addition; the number of video likes, views and comments were the lowest in the high-quality video group. The most viewed and commented as well as most liked videos and the videos of highest video power index scores were nonphysician sourced videos. The most quality videos were the physician-sourced videos in terms of JAMA, DISCERN and GQS scores. Although high-quality videos about radionuclide treatments on YouTube may enlighten and motivate patients positively; it should be kept in mind that improper information may also be uploaded to this platform. Under the guidance of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine, it is necessary to generate an official video in English with multilingual subtitles.

YouTube as a Source of Information About Air Pollution

YouTube is an important source of information on air pollution. The information presented on youtube may be of high or low quality. In our study, we aimed to evaluate the YouTube videos for their qualities and compare their view numbers, likes, and comment numbers according to high- and low-quality groups. In our study, 32.2% of all videos were in the high-quality group, 15.1% in the intermediate quality group, and 52.7% in the low-quality group according to Global Quality Scale (GQS). Significant differences were found among the quality groups in video length (p < 0.001), dislikes/day (p = 0.043), comment/day (p = 0.005), DISCERN (DS) tool scores (p < 0.001). The duration and DS tool scores were higher in high-quality videos; dislikes/day and comment/day averages were higher in low-quality videos. On the other hand, there was no significant difference in views, views/day, likes/day, likes ratios among quality groups. On this important matter, low-quality videos are abundant. Considering that there are lots of nonreliable information on YouTube, it is needed that individuals should be referred to reliable videos on air pollution.

Dynamic Changes and Influencing Factors for the Quality of Life in Nursing Care after Lung Cancer Resection.

To investigate the dynamic changes and influencing factors for the quality of life in nursing care in patients with lung cancer after resection. Totally, 136 patients undergoing lung cancer resection in our hospital from January 2019 to January 2022 were prospectively enrolled as subjects. The quality of life was measured before and 1 and 2 weeks and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after the operation to analyze the dynamic changes in the quality of life in nursing care. Clinical data of patients were collected at the time of discharge. The patients were divided into high-quality and low-quality groups according to the median level of quality of life in nursing care at the final follow-up. The logistic regression equation was applied to analyze the influencing factors for the quality of life in nursing care after lung cancer resection. Of 136 patients receiving lung cancer resection, 32 were lost to follow-up until the final follow-up, so 104 patients were finally included. According to the median level of quality of life in nursing care at the final follow-up, the patients were divided into high-quality and low-quality groups (n = 52 per group). The quality of life in nursing care first decreased, then increased, and then stabilized after lung cancer resection. The comparison of clinical data between the two groups exhibited that albumin level was higher in the high-quality group than that in the control group. The age, proportion of living alone, S-AI score, and FoP-Q-SF score were lower in the high-quality group than those in the low-quality group (P < 0.05). Univariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that high albumin (OR = 0.884) was a protective factor for the quality of life in nursing care after lung cancer resection (P < 0.05). Living alone (OR = 1.333), high S-AI score (OR = 1.211), high FoP-Q-SF score (OR = 1.221), and advanced age (OR = 1.209) were the risk factors for the quality of life in nursing care after lung cancer resection (P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that high albumin (OR = 0.861) was a protective factor for the quality of life in nursing care after lung cancer resection (P < 0.05). Living alone (OR = 1.144), high S-AI score (OR = 1.170), high FoP-Q-SF score (OR = 1.161), and advanced age (OR = 1.181) were the risk factors for the quality of life after lung cancer resection (P < 0.05). The quality of life in nursing care first decreased, then increased, and then stabilized after lung cancer resection. Albumin, age, living alone, and S-AI and FoP-Q-SF scores were the influencing factors for the quality of life in nursing care after lung cancer resection. In the nursing care process after lung cancer resection, we should focus on elderly patients living alone who are affected by anxiety and fear of recurrence to improve the quality of life of these patients.

Executive Functions and Quality of Classroom Interactions in Kindergarten Among 5–6-Year-Old Children

According to international longitudinal studies, the quality of preschool education is of great importance for children’s further development. The modern research’s greatest interest in the field of studying the quality of preschool education is precisely the assessment of the relationship between the teacher and children as well as the teaching quality in kindergarten groups. In this regard, the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) seems to be the one of the most relevant for the educational environment quality evaluation. The CLASS methodology (which includes emotional support, classroom organization, and instrumental support) is based on the cultural-historical approach, which shows the interaction between students and adults as the main mechanism for child’s development. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationships between different aspects of the classroom organization quality in kindergarten groups and executive functions components (such as cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and working memory) in 5–6-year-old children. The quality of classroom interaction was measured by the CLASS. The study used the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) method to assess cognitive flexibility and the NEPSY-II subtests “Inhibition” to assess inhibitory control and “Memory for Designs” and “Sentences Repetition” to assess visuo-spatial and verbal working memory, respectively. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Psychology at Lomonosov Moscow State University. The study involved 26 kindergarten groups in Moscow. While conducting the research, extreme groups were identified (5 with low quality and 10 with high-quality levels of classroom interaction). Then, three kindergarten groups with low level (65 children) and three groups with high level (68 children) of interaction within classroom were selected and compared. The results revealed that children from groups with low level of classroom interaction have higher results in cognitive flexibility tasks when compared with children from groups with high level of interaction. Also, children from groups with high-quality classroom interaction demonstrated higher results in visuo-spatial working memory tasks and inhibitory control tasks as contrasted with children from low-quality groups. These findings attest to the importance of classroom interaction quality for the executive functions development in the preschool age.

Factors analysis on the use of key quality indicators for narrowing the gap of quality of care of breast cancer

BackgroundThere are differences in the quality of care among breast cancer patients. Narrowing the quality differences could be achieved by increasing the utilization rate of indicators. Here we explored key indicators that can improve the quality of care and factors that may affect the use of these indicators.MethodsA total of 3669 breast cancer patients were included in our retrospective study. We calculated patient quality-of-care composite score based on patient average method. Patients were divided into high- and low-quality groups according to the mean score. We obtained the indicators with large difference in utilization between the two groups. Multilevel logistic regression model was used to analyze the factors influencing quality of care and use of indicators.ResultsThe mean composite score was 0.802, and the number of patients in the high- and low-quality groups were 1898 and 1771, respectively. Four indicators showed a difference in utilization between the two groups of over 40%. Histological grade, pathological stage, tumor size and insurance type were the factors affecting the quality of care. In single indicator evaluation, besides the above factors, age, patient income and number of comorbidities may also affect the use of these four indicators. Number of comorbidities may have opposite effects on the use of different indicators, as does pathological stage.ConclusionsIdentifying key indicators for enhancing the quality-of-care of breast cancer patients and factors that affect the indicator adherence may provide guides for enhancing the utilization rate of these indicators in clinical practice.

Non-invasive assessment of culture media from goat cloned embryos associated with subjective morphology by gas chromatography - mass spectroscopy-based metabolomic analysis.

Pre-implantation embryo metabolism demonstrates distinctive characteristics associated with the development potential of embryos. We aim to determine if metabolic differences correlate with embryo morphology. In this study, gas chromatography - mass spectroscopy (GC-MS)-based metabolomics was used to assess the culture media of goat cloned embryos collected from high-quality (HQ) and low-quality (LQ) groups based on morphology. Expression levels of amino acid transport genes were further examined by quantitative real-time PCR. Results showed that the HQ group presented higher percentages of blastocysts compared with the LQ counterparts (P<0.05). Metabolic differences were also present between HQ and LQ groups. The culture media of the HQ group showed lower levels of valin, lysine, glutamine, mannose and acetol, and higher levels of glucose, phytosphingosine and phosphate than those of the LQ group. Additionally, expression levels of amino acid transport genes SLC1A5 and SLC3A2 were significantly lower in the HQ group than the LQ group (P<0.05, respectively). To our knowledge, this is the first report which uses GC-MS to detect metabolic differences in goat cloned embryo culture media. The biochemical profiles may help to select the most invitro viable embryos.

Application of PICC on central venous pressure monitoring : a Meta-analysis

Objective To identify the difference in the central venous pressure measured via two different approaches. Methods We had searched the databases including PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP Database and Wanfang Database, and Google Scholar was used for supplement search. All the experimental studies with self-control design that investigated the difference in the central venous pressure measured via two different approaches from the database foundation of until 2014 were included. The literature exclusion and data collection were performed independently by two investigators. The literature quality was evaluated by the 2nd edition of quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies tool (QUADAS-2). All the studies enrolled were assigned to high-quality and low-quality groups for subsequent stratified meta-analysis. Results A total of 8 studies involving 273 samples were entered in the final analysis. Pooled analyses from all studies revealed a statistically significant difference between the two approaches (P=0.002), and the pooled deviation is 0.436 (95% CI: 0.166-0.707). Conclusions Consideration of minor difference between the two approaches showed by meta-analysis, peripherally-inserted central catheter (PICC) remains feasible to measure central venous pressure. The consistency of the two approaches used for measuring central venous pressure requires further validation by large-scale clinical trials. Key words: Meta-analysis; Central venous pressure(CVP); Peripherally inserted central catheter(PICC)

Evaluating the multivariate visual quality performance of image-processing components

The estimation of image quality is a demanding task, especially when estimating different high-quality imaging products or their components. The challenge is the multivariate nature of image quality as well as the need to use naïve observers as test subjects, since they are the actual end-users of the products. Here, we use a subjective approach suitable for estimating the quality performance of different imaging device components with naïve observers—the interpretation-based quality (IBQ) approach. From two studies with 61 naïve observers, 17 natural image contents, and 13 different camera image signal processor pipelines, we determined the subjectively crucial image quality attributes and dimensions and the description of each pipeline's perceived image quality performance. We found that the subjectively most important image quality dimensions were color shift/naturalness, darkness, and sharpness. The first dimension, which was related to naturalness and colors, distinguished the good-quality pipelines from the middle- and low-quality groups, and the dimensions of darkness and sharpness described why the quality failed in the low-quality pipelines. The study suggests that the high-level concept naturalness is a requirement for high-quality images, whereas quality can fail for other reasons in low-quality images, and this failure can be described by low-level concepts, such as darkness and sharpness.

Mate inspection patterns in the female beaugregory damselfish (Stegastes leucostictus)

We observed female beaugregory damselfish (Stegastes leucostictus) as they interacted with males to see whether their movements fit the predictions of different mate-search models. We established high-quality and low-quality groups with low variance in breeding site quality and a medium-quality, high-variance breeding site group and compared focal observations of female nonforaging forays in each group. Only 8% of 137 forays monitored resulted in spawning events. Eighty-nine percent of the forays were less than 240 s and were within 7 m of the focal female’s territory. Average foray times and straight-line foray distances did not differ for females traveling between males in each group. Females entered high-quality breeding sites at a higher rate than low-quality sites and round-trip distances were also greatest in high-quality groups, indicating that females were following a more convoluted path. We interpret these results to mean that (a) female beaugregories separate the tasks of mate assessment and mate choice by conducting information-gathering forays between mating events, (b) forays are energetically costly and therefore usually short in duration and overall distance traveled, (c) information collection takes approximately the same time for high-quality and low-quality mates, but (d) females will alter their foray patterns in high-quality areas to collect additional information. These data are also consistent with the hypothesis that females optimize their search by employing a tiered process of assessment during information-gathering forays, first using an adjustable threshold to accept or reject each male based on his courtship and subsequently a fixed threshold to assess the quality of each breeding site.

Chemical and Agronomic Traits of Soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] as Affected by Early Generation Selection for Seed Quality in Two Diverse Environments

Bulked F3 seed of four soybean populations was visually separated into high-, random-, and low-quality groups. The quality-bulk F3, F4, and F5 populations were evaluated for effects of the original seed-quality selection at two locations in three years. In addition, F5 lines, 6 lines selected from each of the quality-bulk populations at both locations, were evaluated in both environments in 1976. For the quality-bulk populations, seed quality was the only character affected by the initial seed quality separation. Early-maturing bulks had poor quality seed. Early-generation selection for seed quality had no effect on any character observed for the F5 lines. Variation for seed quality originally noted was due to variation in individual plant maturity. Early maturation of seed took place during hot, dry conditions, which was conducive to poor seed quality. Several researchers (Feaster, 1949; Green et al., 1965; Leffel, 1961), in studying the influence of planting data on seed quality (overall visual rating) of soybeans, found that the poorest quality seed was from the earliest-maturing soybean cultivars; that quality of seed of early maturing cultivars improved with delayed plantings, whereas that of later maturing cultivars deteriorated; and that the development of seed under hot, dry conditions