Table 7. Test of hypotheses for Mixed Model Analysis of Variance, impact of developmental competence, patient variability and experience (i.e. qPCR series) on the level of gene expression.

Effects / yijkn (Gene)	Pi (Phenotype)	Aj (Patient)	Qk (qPCR series)	(PA)ij (Patient * Phenotype)
ANG	0.1353	<0.0001*	0.0044*	1.00
PLIN2	0.3113	0.6204	0.4347	0.0550
RGS2	0.0201*	0.0014*	0.0168*	0.1880
PTX3	0.0991	0.9196	0.0229*	<0.0001*

y_ijkn gene expression level in nth cumulus cells for a gene according to the ith phenotype from jth patient after kth qPCR series; μ gene expression level mean; Pi fixed effect of ith phenotype (i =  CC_B+ cumulus cells from mature oocyte yielding a blastocyst at day 5/6 of in vitro culture once fertilised and i =  CC_B- cumulus cells from mature oocyte which stopped developing at the embryo stage at day 5/6 of in vitro culture once fertilised); Aj random effect of the jth patient (j = 1 to 29); Qk random effect of kth qPCR series (k = 1 to 7); (PA)ij first-order interaction between variables phenotype and patient;

^*Statistical significance of model factors for the levels of expression of the four genes (p<0.05).