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Objectives To compare the available evidence of the effectiveness of single blastocyst stage transfer against the effectiveness of single cleavage stage embryo transfer. Study design A systematic research based on Pubmed, Embase and the Cochrane Library was performed until May 2, 2020 to identify all relevant studies. The Cochrane Collaboration’s Review Manager (RevMan) 5.0.2 software was used for statistical analysis. Results Five randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included in analysis, involving 1784 patients in total, who were divided into 2 groups, which were the single blastocyst stage transfer (SBT) group of 932, and the single cleavage stage transfer (SCT) group of 852. Our meta-analysis concluded that SBT group had a significantly higher clinical pregnancy rate (RR 1.26; 95%CI: 1.14–1.39), ongoing pregnancy rate (RR 1.19; 95%CI: 1.05–1.35) and delivery rate (RR 1.4; 95%CI: 1.13–1.75) than SCT group during the fresh transfer. While miscarriage rate (RR 0.93; 95% CI: 0.66–1.33), multiple pregnancy rate (RR, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.51–2.45) and ectopic pregnancy rate (RR, 0.5; 95% CI: 0.13–1.90) between two groups showed no significant difference. However, the SCT group contained notably more cryopreserved embryos than the SBT group. (RR −0.68, 95% CI: −0.95 to −0.41). Conclusions Our results indicate that single blastocyst stage transfer is associated with higher ongoing pregnancy rate and delivery rate comparing to single cleavage stage transfer in the clinical practice. Due to the low quality of the evidence of the primary outcomes, other higher-quality lager RCTs are necessary before a fully informed decision is made.

Root-associating arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi foster vegetation recovery in degraded habitats. AM fungi increase nutrient availability for host plants; therefore, their importance is expected to be higher when nutrient availability is low. However, little is known about how small-scale variation in nutrient availability influences plant and AM fungal communities in a stable ecosystem. We conducted a 2-year field study in the understorey of a boreonemoral forest where we examined plant and AM fungal communities at microsites (15 cm diameter) with intact vegetation cover and at disturbed microsites where vegetation was cleared away and soil was sterilized to remove soil biota. We manipulated soil nutrient content (increased with fertilizer, unchanged, or decreased with sucrose addition) and fungal activity (natural or suppressed by fungicide addition) at these microsites. After two vegetation seasons, manipulations with nutrient content resulted in significant, although moderate, differences in the content of soil nutrients (e.g. in soil phosphorus). Suppression of fungal activity resulted in lower richness, abundance and phylogenetic diversity of AM fungal community, independently of microsite type and soil fertility level. Plant species richness and diversity decreased when fungal activity was suppressed at disturbed but not in intact microsites. The correlation between plant and AM fungal communities was not influenced by microsite type or soil fertility. We conclude that small-scale variation in soil fertility and habitat integrity does not influence the interactions between plants and AM fungi. The richness, but not composition, of AM fungal communities recovered fast after small-scale disturbance and supported the recovery of species-rich vegetation.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the sexual intercourse frequency (SIF) of infertile couples without sexual dysfunction and analyze its related influencing factors. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data of a total number of 4,923 infertile couples without sexual dysfunction who received treatment in our assisted reproductive center from October 2016 to October 2018. Both partners of couples were inquired about their information of demographic statistics, occupations, lifestyles, education backgrounds, psychological characteristics, and testostrone levels of male patients. The multivariable linear regression analysis was applied to evaluate the influence of various variables on SIF. Results: The median (interquartile range) SIF of infertile couples without sexual dysfunction was 7 (6.5–8) times per month. Lower academic qualification and younger age were predictive of increased SIF in both partners. The SIF of Chinese Han women and Chinese Zang women is higher than that of other ethnic groups. Men with lower testosterone (Conclusion: In our study, we analyzed demographics data, occupational characteristics, and lifestyle behaviors of both partners, as well as men’s testosterone levels; we also reported the related SIF. According to our research, men’s education level was the most important factor in predicting SIF, followed by men’s age. Testosterone levels of men do not appear to play a substantial role in predicting SIF in infertile couples.

To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of microsurgical gonadal-inferior epigastric vein anastomosis for the treatment of the nutcracker phenomenon (NCP) associated with left gonadal vein varices with reflux. Thirty-five patients with NCP associated with left gonadal vein varices with reflux diagnosed in our hospital from June 2016 to June 2018 were included. All patients underwent a shunt operation consisting of microsurgical gonadal-inferior epigastric vein anastomosis, and the patients were followed up for 1 year. All patients were successfully operated on, with an average operation time of 96.5 ± 12.3 min. After a 1-year follow-up, the symptom of gross hematuria disappeared in 3 patients (including 1 woman). For the other 32 patients, the sperm concentration (27.43 ± 8.68 × 106/ml) and motility (33.06 ± 4.27%) postoperatively were significantly higher than that preoperatively (16.21 ± 6.43 × 106/ml and 23.48 ± 4.43%, respectively) (P