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During in vitro maturation (IVM) cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) are exposed to conditions that can trigger oxidative stress, thus, reducing oocyte maturation and viability. Aiming to mitigate these detrimental conditions, the effects of IVM medium supplementation with anethole have been tested. Anethole, also known as trans-anethole (1-methoxy-4 [1-propenyl]-benzene), is a naturally occurring phenylpropanoid with various pharmacological properties, including antioxidant effects. However, no study has examined anethole effect on goat COCs during IVM. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different anethole concentrations on oocyte maturation, oxidative stress, and in vitro development of caprine embryos after parthenogenetic activation. Goat COCs were selected and randomly distributed into the following treatments: TCM-199 + medium (control), or TCM-199 + medium supplemented with 30 μg/mL (AN30); 300 μg/mL (AN300) or 2000 μg/mL (AN2000) of anethole. After IVM, part of the COCs was chosen for oocyte viability and chromatin configuration, intracellular reactive oxygen species levels, and mitochondrial membrane potential assessment. Another part of COCs was parthenogenetically activated, and presumptive zygotes were cultured for 7 days. Results demonstrated that anethole at 30 μg/mL increased oocyte maturation and cleavage rates when compared to the other treatments (P < 0.05), as well as oocyte viability and in vitro embryo production when compared to the control treatment (P < 0.05). Additionally, treatment with anethole at 2000 μg/mL decreased oocyte nuclear maturation and cleavage rates when compared to other treatments (P < 0.05) and embryo production if compared to control and AN30 treatments (P < 0.05). Moreover, anethole at 2000 μg/mL increased mitochondrial membrane potential when compared to the other treatments (P < 0.05). In conclusion, anethole exerts a concentration-dependent effect during goat COCs IVM. For a more desirable outcome of oocyte viability and maturation, and in vitro embryo production, the use of anethole at 30 μg/mL is recommended., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper, (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Diagnosing primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) frequently requires neurosurgical biopsy due to nonspecific radiologic features and the low yield of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) studies. We characterized the clinical evaluation of suspected PCNSL (N = 1007 patients) and designed a rapid multiplexed genotyping assay for MYD88, TERT promoter, IDH1/2, H3F3A, and BRAF mutations to facilitate the diagnosis of PCNSL from CSF and detect other neoplasms in the differential diagnosis. Among 159 patients with confirmed PCNSL, the median time to secure a diagnosis of PCNSL was 10 days, with a range of 0 to 617 days. Permanent histopathology confirmed PCNSL in 142 of 152 biopsies (93.4%), whereas CSF analyses were diagnostic in only 15/113 samplings (13.3%). Among 86 archived clinical specimens, our targeted genotyping assay accurately detected hematologic malignancies with 57.6% sensitivity and 100% specificity (95% confidence interval [CI]: 44.1% to 70.4% and 87.2% to 100%, respectively). MYD88 and TERT promoter mutations were prospectively identified in DNA extracts of CSF obtained from patients with PCNSL and glioblastoma, respectively, within 80 minutes. Across 132 specimens, hallmark mutations indicating the presence of malignancy were detected with 65.8% sensitivity and 100% specificity (95% CI: 56.2%-74.5% and 83.9%-100%, respectively). This targeted genotyping approach offers a rapid, scalable adjunct to reduce diagnostic and treatment delays in PCNSL., (© 2021 by The American Society of Hematology.)

Unlabelled: Prolonged exposure to radiation during radiofrequency catheter ablation implies a potential risk of radiodermatitis, neoplasm and genetic defects to the patient and to the operator-physician. The use of pulsed fluoroscopy is thought to reduce such a risk because the radiation dose decreases for the same period of time. The aim of the present study was to compare the radiation exposure time during pulse and continuous radiofrequency catheter ablation., Methods: Procedures were divided according to the sort of fluoroscopy utilized and the last four cases of atrioventricular (AV) junction ablation, four of atrial flutter, five of atrial tachycardia, 16 of AV node reentrant tachycardia, 16 of AV tachycardia and 10 of ventricular tachycardia in which pulsed and continuous fluoroscopy were utilized were respectively separated into Group I (pulse fluoroscopy) and Group II (continuous fluoroscopy) with 55 patients in each group. Fluoroscopy was generated by the same device in the two groups. Continuous fluoroscopy used 2 mA and automatic kV adjustment (automatic brightness stabilizer) ranging from 70 to 110 kV. Pulsed fluoroscopy was set at 7 squares/s with 25 mA and automatic kV adjustment. Fluoroscopy time was registered by the fluoroscopy device counter., Results: Procedure duration, success rate and complications did not differ between Groups I and II. Fluoroscopy time, however, was 4.4+/-4 min during pulsed fluoroscopy and 27+/-23 min during continuous fluoroscopy (p=0.001)., Conclusion: During radiofrequency catheter ablation procedures, the use of pulsed fluoroscopy set at 7 squares/s, decreases the radiation exposure time by 80% as compared to continuous fluoroscopy without changing procedure duration and success rate.