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Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most prevalent sexually transmitted viruses. Despite the increasing evidence of HPV prevalence in semen, the worldwide distribution of HPV types in semen and risk for male infertility remain inconclusive.Methods: Four electronic databases were searched for English language studies conducted between January 1990 and December 2016 that reported HPV DNA prevalence in semen. Based on the PRISMA guidelines, HPV prevalence was estimated among general population and fertility clinic attendees, respectively, and heterogeneity testing was performed using Cochran's Q and I 2 statistics. The association between HPV positivity and male infertility was evaluated by a meta-analysis of case-control studies.Results: A total of 31 eligible studies comprising 5194 males were included. The overall prevalence of HPV DNA in semen was 11.4% (95% CI = 7.8-15.0%) in general population (n = 2122) and 20.4% (95% CI = 16.2-24.6%) in fertility clinic attendees (n = 3072). High-risk type prevalence was 10.0% (95% CI = 5.9-14.0%) and 15.5% (95% CI = 11.4-19.7%), respectively. HPV16 was the most common type, with a prevalence of 4.8% (95% CI = 1.7-7.8%) in general population and 6.0% (95% CI = 3.8-8.2%) in fertility clinic attendees. A significantly increased risk of infertility was found for males with HPV positivity in semen (OR = 2.93, 95% CI = 2.03-4.24).Conclusions: Seminal HPV infection is common worldwide, which may contribute to the risk of male infertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dietary canthaxanthin (CX), 25 hydroxycholecalciferol (25-OH-D3) and vitamins have been widely reported to be involved in productive and reproductive performance of broiler breeders. However, limited information is available for duck breeders. In this study, a total of 1,560 Cherry Valley SM3 duck breeder females and 312 males were used to assess if the addition of CX and 25-OH-D3 could increase the performance of duck breeders under two different dietary vitamin regimens. Four diets were used under a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with 2 kinds of vitamin premixes (REGULAR and HIGH; HIGH premix had higher levels of all vitamins except K3 than REGULAR premix), and with or without the supplementation of the mixture of CX (6 mg/kg) and 25-OH-D3 (0.069 mg/kg). The ducks were fed ad libitum with pelleted diets based on corn-soybean meal from 38 to 77 wk of age. Results: HIGH vitamin premix decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) level (P < 0.001) of egg yolk, increased hatchability of fertile eggs (P = 0.029), increased hatchability of total eggs (P = 0.029), and decreased serum protein carbonyl level (P = 0.037) of breeder males. The mixture of CX and 25-OH-D3 increased serum calcium of breeder females (P = 0.010), decreased the cracked egg rate (P = 0.001), increased the pigmentation of egg yolk (P < 0.001) and male bill (P < 0.001), and decreased MDA level of egg yolk (P < 0.001) and male serum (P = 0.034). Interactive effects were observed in cracked egg rate (P = 0.038), shell thickness (P = 0.011) and serum phosphorus (P = 0.026) of breeder females. HIGH vitamin premix together with the mixture of CX and 25-OH-D3 decreased cracked egg rate and increased shell thickness of duck breeders. Serum phosphorus was decreased in duck breeder females fed REGULAR vitamin premix without the addition of the CX and 25-OH-D3 mixture. Conclusions: Dietary HIGH vitamin premix increased antioxidant status of eggs and breeder males, and increased hatchability. The mixture of CX and 25-OH-D3 enhanced egg shell quality, and promoted pigmentation and antioxidant status of eggs and breeder males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Transpedicular screws may cause damage to the cartilage in the neural arch of the vertebra, and give continuous pressure to the skeleton besides the vertebral body. The aim of this study is to examine the morphological change of the vertebral body at fixation sites and development of the vertebral body after fixation. Methods: A piglet model was used to study the influence of transpedicular screw fixation on spine development. Transpedicular screw fixation was adjusted to meet specific requirements of surgery on piglet. The screws and plates were placed at L1-L3 vertebral plates via routine surgical approach. Scoliosis and kyphosis Cobb angles were measured. Results: Anatomical characteristics of 6-week-old piglets fit the transpedicular screw system, and can meet the requirements of related studies. Transpedicular screw fixation system has no significant influence on the development of canalis vertebralis. Fixation did not cause developmental stenosis of canalis vertebralis and damage to spinal cord or nerve root. However, transpedicular screw fixation significantly impacted the development of the spine: it shortened the spine by curtailing the length of the vertebral body and intervertebral space. Our results also suggested that slow growth of epiphyseal plate may contribute to the shortening of the vertebral body. Conclusion: Transpedicular screw fixation system is beneficial for fixation of the developing spine. It may not cause scoliosis but could lead to change of cervical curvature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Ring chromosomes are often associated with spermatogenetic failure. However, the mechanism is poorly understood. We here reported a single man with severe oligospermia and a ring chromosome 4 with a microdeletion at 4p16.3. Results Synapsis (as SCP3), recombination (as MLH1) and transcriptional inactivation (as BRCA1) in a testicular biopsy were examined by fluorescence immunostaining. In the oligospermia patient, 35.4% of spermatocytes were in zygotene phase compared with 5.2% in controls. The patient had a significantly reduced recombination frequency with mean of 45.9 MLH1 foci/cell compared with 47.8 in controls. In the patient, chromosome 4 in all pachytene cells displayed loop formation with varying degrees of unpaired regions. BRCA1 localized along asynapsed regions regardless of XY body association. Conclusions Ring chromosome 4 might affect the progression of meiosis I prophase, synapse formation, and transcriptional activation of asynapsed areas, and impair male fertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background While recent research has shown that expression of RABEX-5 in breast cancer and colorectal cancer has a crucial impact on tumor development, there is little information regarding RABEX-5 expression in prostate cancer. This study investigated the expression of RABEX-5 in prostate cancer by real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and evaluated its association with clinicopathological variables, including prostate cancer patient prognosis. Methods A total of 180 patients with primary prostate cancer treated by radical prostatectomy were enrolled. Real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction was utilized to investigate mRNA expression level of RABEX-5 in 180 paired prostate cancer/adjacent non-cancerous tissues. RABEX-5 mRNA expression was divided into high expression group and low expression group and correlations between RABEX-5 mRNA and clinicopathological factors were then evaluated. Kaplan-Meier plots and Cox proportional hazards regression model were used to analyze the association between RABEX-5 mRNA expression and prognosis of patients with prostate cancer. Results Our study showed that RABEX-5 mRNA was significantly upregulated in prostate cancer tissues. The data indicated that high expression of RABEX-5 mRNA was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis (P = 0.001), clinical stage (P = 0.004), biochemical recurrence (P = 0.009), preoperative prostate-specific antigen (P < 0.001), and Gleason score (P < 0.001). High RABEX-5 mRNA expression was a significant predictor of poor biochemical recurrence free survival and overall survival both in univariate and multivariate analysis. Conclusion This is to our knowledge the first report investigating tumor RABEX-5 mRNA expression level in prostate cancer. We have shown that high RABEX-5 mRNA expression is a strong predictor of poor prognosis in prostate cancer patients treated by radical prostatectomy, and multivariate analysis confirmed RABEX-5 mRNA as an independent prognostic factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Transpedicular screws may cause damage to the cartilage in the neural arch of the vertebra, and give continuous pressure to the skeleton besides the vertebral body. The aim of this study is to examine the morphological change of the vertebral body at fixation sites and development of the vertebral body after fixation., Methods: A piglet model was used to study the influence of transpedicular screw fixation on spine development. Transpedicular screw fixation was adjusted to meet specific requirements of surgery on piglet. The screws and plates were placed at L1-L3 vertebral plates via routine surgical approach. Scoliosis and kyphosis Cobb angles were measured., Results: Anatomical characteristics of 6-week-old piglets fit the transpedicular screw system, and can meet the requirements of related studies. Transpedicular screw fixation system has no significant influence on the development of canalis vertebralis. Fixation did not cause developmental stenosis of canalis vertebralis and damage to spinal cord or nerve root. However, transpedicular screw fixation significantly impacted the development of the spine: it shortened the spine by curtailing the length of the vertebral body and intervertebral space. Our results also suggested that slow growth of epiphyseal plate may contribute to the shortening of the vertebral body., Conclusion: Transpedicular screw fixation system is beneficial for fixation of the developing spine. It may not cause scoliosis but could lead to change of cervical curvature.