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The self-esteem Questionnaire-based Implicit Association Test (SE-qIAT) provides an indirect assessment of general self-worth that is based on the items of the well-validated Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and the structure of this variant of the IAT enables a clearer interpretation, compared with the conventional self-esteem IAT. Study 1 (N = 224) provided support for the internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and implicit-explicit convergent validity of the SE-qIAT. In Study 2 (N = 305), the correlation of the SE-qIAT with the explicit RSES was replicated, and it was larger than the correlations of the SE-qIAT with other self-reports. As to criterion validity, the SE-qIAT moderated the effect of a mild social threat (being excluded in the Cyberball game) on participants' performance in a subsequent anagram task, and this effect was incremental to the explicit self-esteem assessment. In Study 3 (N = 334), the SE-qIAT correlated positively with the self-esteem IAT and negatively with a measure of depression. The two implicit tasks correlated uniquely with each other, above and beyond the variance they each shared with the explicit RSES. Taken together, these findings provide initial support for the reliability and validity of the SE-qIAT., (© 2021 British Psychological Society.)

Problem: The study was conducted to investigate the efficacy of prednisone and aspirin in autoantibody seropositive patients with repeated in vitro fertilization embryo transfer (IVF ET) failure., Methods of Study: The study group comprised 52 consecutive patients seropositive for non-organ-specific autoantibodies, i.e., anti-cardiolipin antibodies (ACA), anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA), anti-double-stranded (ds) DNA, rheumatoid factor (RF), and lupus anti-coagulant (LAC). These patients were treated with prednisone, 10 mg per day, and aspirin, 100 mg per day, starting 4 weeks before induction of ovulation in 52 IVF cycles., Results: The clinical pregnancy rate per cycle was 32.7% (17/52). No increased incidence of pregnancy complications, including premature labor, gestational diabetes mellitus, and pregnancy-induced hypertension, were found., Conclusions: Combined treatment of prednisone for immunosuppression and aspirin as an anti-thrombotic agent, starting before ovulation induction, may improve pregnancy rate in autoantibody seropositive patients who have had repeated IVF-ET failures.

Problem: Recently, it has been suggested that anticardiolipin antibodies (ACAs) may serve as possible markers for reproductive failure. The association between ACAs and embryo morphology in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) was investigated., Method of Study: This prospective study comprised 117 patients with either tubal factor or unexplained infertility. Embryo morphology was blindly scored from I to IV according to blastomere regularity and the presence of fragments. Anticardiolipin antibodies (immunoglobulin [Ig] G and IgM) were detected., Results: Anticardiolipin antibodies were found in 26 (50%) of the 52 patients with abnormal morphology, compared with 13 (20%) of the 65 patients with normal embryo morphology (P = 0.001). No statistically significant differences were found between the prevalence of ACAs among patients with tubal factor and those with unexplained infertility (29.6% and 36.5%, respectively)., Conclusions: Our study shows an association between embryo morphology and the presence of ACAs. This association may explain the low implantation rate and early pregnancy loss in patients with ACAs.

Problem: The present study aimed at investigating the presence of Interleukin-10 (IL-10) in preovulatory follicular fluid (FF) and its possible correlation with 17-beta-estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P) levels, and treatment outcome in patients undergoing in-vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET)., Methods: Twenty consecutive patients with tubal factor infertility who underwent oocyte retrieval for IVF-ET were assayed for pooled, preovulatory FF levels of IL-10, E2, and P., Results: The mean FF levels of IL-10, E2, and P were 78.7 +/- 104.7 pg/ml, 2,787.0 +/- 726.1 pg/ml, and 1.5 +/- 0.8 ng/ml, respectively. No correlation was found between preovulatory FF concentration of IL-10, E2, oocyte number, oocyte fertilization rate, embryo quality, and pregnancy rate. The levels of IL-10 were found to be negatively correlated with P concentration, although not significantly (P = 0.057)., Conclusion: Interleukin-10 exists in the preovulatory FF. Further investigations are needed to determine the role of IL-10 in the folliculogenesis.

Problem: The presence of antithyroid antibodies in euthyroid patients with unexplained infertility and tubal obstruction., Method: The presence of antithyroid autoantibodies (microsomal and thyroglobulin) was measured in 40 patients with unexplained infertility, and 40 patients with tubal obstruction infertility, and compared to 40 healthy nulligravidae., Results: Eight patients (20%) in the unexplained infertility study group, seven (17.5%) in the tubal obstruction group and two (5%) in the healthy nulligravida group, were positive for antithyroid autoantibodies: five (12.5%) were positive for antimicrosomal antibodies, two (5%) were positive for antithyroglobulin antibodies, and one patient (2.5%) was positive for both. The tubal obstruction group comprised seven (17.5%) patients positive for antithyroid autoantibodies: four (10%) for antimicrosomal antibodies, two (5%) for antithyroglobulin antibodies, and one patient (2.5%) was positive for both. In the healthy nulligravidae group only two patients (5%) were positive for antithyroid antibodies: one for antimicrosomal and one for antithyroglobulin. No significant differences were found in the presence of antithyroid antibodies between patients with unexplained infertility and those with tubal obstruction infertility. Both groups differed significantly from the healthy controls with regard to the presence of antithyroid antibodies (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: Subclinical presence of antithyroid autoantibodies is characteristic of both unexplained and mechanical infertility, as opposed to healthy controls. Further investigation of larger groups is needed to determine the prevalence of antithyroid antibodies in the unique population of infertile women.