scholarly journals Sperm parameters and mitochondrial DNA sequence variants among patients at a fertility clinic in Ghana

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0252923
Author(s):  
Bartholomew Dzudzor ◽  
Bismarck Bimah ◽  
Vincent Amarh ◽  
Augustine Ocloo

Purpose The present study sought to investigate the common abnormalities and mtDNA mutations in the sperm of Ghanaian men attending the fertility Clinic at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH). The study therefore provides a baseline data mtDNA mutations in a cross-section of Ghanaian men on referral to the fertility clinic at the KBTH. Materials and methods The semen of 55 men attending the fertility clinic were collected from the Urology and the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Departments of the KBTH. Demographic and clinical data were also collected using questionnaires. Semen analyses were performed and were followed by amplification and purification of mtDNA from total DNA extracted from the semen. Sequencing of the mtDNA amplicons was performed using the next generation sequencer (Illumina-MiSeq). Results Asthenozoospermia, oligospermia and oligoasthenoteratozoospermia were observed in 1.79%, 5.36% and 28.57%, respectively, of the study participants. There was no association between drinking and/or smoking and history of gonorrhea infection on sperm status/morphology. A total of 785 point mutations were detected in the non-coding control regions, rRNA genes, tRNA genes and the coding regions of the mtDNA samples from the participants. Amongst these mutations, 16 transition mutations were predominantly detected in the mtDNA samples. Missense mutations that were present in only specific sperm abnormalities were identified and they may contribute to infertility in the study population. Conclusion The present study has identified various abnormal sperm phenotypes that are prevalent in the study population and provided a baseline data on mtDNA mutations in the spermatozoa of the patients. A wide range of sperm abnormalities were detected in the study population with no association with life style or history of gonorrhea infection. The mtDNA point mutations detected in the selected genes that were analysed were mostly transition mutations. These transition mutations might be critical for the development of abnormal sperm phenotypes underlying male infertility in the Ghanaian population.

Author(s):  
Aneesh T. ◽  
Hemamalini Gururaj ◽  
Arpitha J. S. ◽  
Anusha Rao ◽  
Vaishnavi Chakravarthy ◽  
...  

Background: Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is a less common cause of stroke with a wide range of clinical presentations, predisposing factors, radiological features and outcomes. A high index of suspicion is absolutely essential to diagnose cerebral venous thrombosis. In this article, we have reviewed the clinical spectrum and radiological profile of patients with cerebral venous thrombosis and attempted to identify the specific predisposing factors for developing cerebral venous thrombosis particularly in this region of India.Methods: 116 patients hospitalized from January 2015 to March 2017 with a final diagnosis of Cerebral Venous Thrombosis which was confirmed by imaging (MRI/MRV or CT angiography) were included. Patients who were initially diagnosed as CVT but imaging were not suggestive of the same were excluded.Results: The mean age of the study population was 35.21 years, with most patients aged between 21-30 years. 18.1% of the study population were puerperal women, much lower than earlier series. 54.54% of the men had a significant history of alcohol consumption and 10.34% of the non-puerperal women revealed a history of consuming oral contraceptive pills. Among men, seizures were the most common presenting symptom followed by headache. Women presented with headache followed by vomiting. Superior sagittal sinus, transverse sinus, cortical veins and sigmoid sinus involvement were quite common in comparison to the other sinuses.Conclusions: Accurate and prompt diagnosis of CVT is crucial because timely and appropriate therapy can reverse the disease process and significantly reduce the risk of acute complications and long-term sequelae. In this article, we have reviewed the epidemiology, causative factors, clinical features and as well as radiological pattern of CVT from an Indian perspective. Over the last decade, a relatively high incidence of CVT in fairly young individuals warrants further evaluation towards genetic predisposition for pro-thrombotic states particularly in this region of India.


2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (12) ◽  
pp. 4335-4350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seth E. Tichenor ◽  
J. Scott Yaruss

Purpose This study explored group experiences and individual differences in the behaviors, thoughts, and feelings perceived by adults who stutter. Respondents' goals when speaking and prior participation in self-help/support groups were used to predict individual differences in reported behaviors, thoughts, and feelings. Method In this study, 502 adults who stutter completed a survey examining their behaviors, thoughts, and feelings in and around moments of stuttering. Data were analyzed to determine distributions of group and individual experiences. Results Speakers reported experiencing a wide range of both overt behaviors (e.g., repetitions) and covert behaviors (e.g., remaining silent, choosing not to speak). Having the goal of not stuttering when speaking was significantly associated with more covert behaviors and more negative cognitive and affective states, whereas a history of self-help/support group participation was significantly associated with a decreased probability of these behaviors and states. Conclusion Data from this survey suggest that participating in self-help/support groups and having a goal of communicating freely (as opposed to trying not to stutter) are associated with less negative life outcomes due to stuttering. Results further indicate that the behaviors, thoughts, and experiences most commonly reported by speakers may not be those that are most readily observed by listeners.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin Sullivan ◽  
Marie Louise Herzfeld-Schild

This introduction surveys the rise of the history of emotions as a field and the role of the arts in such developments. Reflecting on the foundational role of the arts in the early emotion-oriented histories of Johan Huizinga and Jacob Burkhardt, as well as the concerns about methodological impressionism that have sometimes arisen in response to such studies, the introduction considers how intensive engagements with the arts can open up new insights into past emotions while still being historically and theoretically rigorous. Drawing on a wide range of emotionally charged art works from different times and places—including the novels of Carson McCullers and Harriet Beecher-Stowe, the private poetry of neo-Confucian Chinese civil servants, the photojournalism of twentieth-century war correspondents, and music from Igor Stravinsky to the Beatles—the introduction proposes five ways in which art in all its forms contributes to emotional life and consequently to emotional histories: first, by incubating deep emotional experiences that contribute to formations of identity; second, by acting as a place for the expression of private or deviant emotions; third, by functioning as a barometer of wider cultural and attitudinal change; fourth, by serving as an engine of momentous historical change; and fifth, by working as a tool for emotional connection across communities, both within specific time periods but also across them. The introduction finishes by outlining how the special issue's five articles and review section address each of these categories, while also illustrating new methodological possibilities for the field.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 13-26
Author(s):  
Brandon W. Hawk

Literature written in England between about 500 and 1100 CE attests to a wide range of traditions, although it is clear that Christian sources were the most influential. Biblical apocrypha feature prominently across this corpus of literature, as early English authors clearly relied on a range of extra-biblical texts and traditions related to works under the umbrella of what have been called “Old Testament Pseudepigrapha” and “New Testament/Christian Apocrypha." While scholars of pseudepigrapha and apocrypha have long trained their eyes upon literature from the first few centuries of early Judaism and early Christianity, the medieval period has much to offer. This article presents a survey of significant developments and key threads in the history of scholarship on apocrypha in early medieval England. My purpose is not to offer a comprehensive bibliography, but to highlight major studies that have focused on the transmission of specific apocrypha, contributed to knowledge about medieval uses of apocrypha, and shaped the field from the nineteenth century up to the present. Bringing together major publications on the subject presents a striking picture of the state of the field as well as future directions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-54
Author(s):  
Dildora Alinazarova ◽  

In this article, based on an analysis of a wide range of sources, discusses the emergence and development of periodicals and printing house in Namangan. The activities of Ibrat- as the founder of the first printing house in Namangan are considered. In addition, it describes the functioning and development of "Matbaai Ishokia" in the past and present


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 295-297
Author(s):  
Sergej A. Borisov

For more than twenty years, the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences celebrates the Day of Slavic Writing and Culture with a traditional scholarly conference.”. Since 2014, it has been held in the young scholars’ format. In 2019, participants from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Togliatti, Tyumen, Yekaterinburg, and Rostov-on-Don, as well as Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania continued this tradition. A wide range of problems related to the history of the Slavic peoples from the Middle Ages to the present time in the national, regional and international context were discussed again. Participants talked about the typology of Slavic languages and dialects, linguo-geography, socio- and ethnolinguistics, analyzed formation, development, current state, and prospects of Slavic literatures, etc.


Author(s):  
O. Y. Balalaieva ◽  

The purpose of the article is to study the dynamics of electronic dictionaries development abroad and in Ukraine using methods of analysis of scientific sources, comparison, generalization and systematization. Electronic dictionaries have been found to be a relatively new phenomenon in the lexicographic market, evolving from machine-readable dictionaries, exact copies of paper editions to complex digital lexicographic systems with a powerful arsenal of functions over the decades. The stages of development of autonomous and online dictionaries are described. Electronic dictionaries due to the advanced search capabilities, speed, simplicity, ease of use, accessibility and compactness have gained popularity among a wide range of users. Today they are used in many spheres of human activity – scientific, educational, professional, everyday communication. However, the analysis of the current level of development of Ukrainian electronic resources indicates a shortage of electronic dictionaries both common and terminological vocabulary. The lack of electronic dictionaries is due to a number of objective problems, both practical and theoretical, that is why research in the field of domestic computer lexicography is a promising area of further research.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 613-618
Author(s):  
A. V. Altukhov ◽  
S. A. Tishchenko

The presented study reviews practically relevant research papers in the field of network structures, modern network business models and platforms.Aim. The study aims to elaborate and explain the concept of network structure and platform and to show the reasons for the progressiveness and potential of network organizational structure at the current stage of socio-economic and scientific development.Tasks. The authors highlight the main scientific ideas about network structures in business, including significant studies in this area; provide and explain the main terms and definitions and examine the key characteristics of network business structures; characterize “platforms” as an important concept for modern business and show the relationship between platforms and network structures.Methods. This study uses analysis of information and subsequent synthesis of new knowledge in the form of the authors’ conclusions and a wide range of relevant scientific publications of Russian and foreign authors, including original publications in English and French.Results. The history of network structures is briefly provided. Definitions and characteristics of such concepts as “network structure” and “platform” in relation to business are provided and explained by the authors.


Author(s):  
L.M. Kryvosheieva ◽  
V.I. Chuchvaha ◽  
N.M. Kandyba

Aim. Based on the results of multi-year research into the flax gene pool, to form a flax training collection to provide breeding scientific organizations and educational institutions with collection samples as well as with information about the bast crop gene pool. Results and Discussion. The studies were conducted in the crop rotation fields for breeding and seed production of the Institute of Bast Crops of the NAAS (Hlukhiv, Sumska Oblast) in 1992-2018. The field measurements and laboratory analyses were carried out in accordance with conventional methods of field and laboratory studies of collection flax samples.The article presents the results on the formation of a training collection of flax at the Institute of Bast Crops of the NAAS, which has 117 accessions (11 botanical species and three varieties) from 22 countries. In addition to species diversity, the collection includes accessions with different levels of expression of valuable economic and biological characteristics. It also includes accessions selected by phenotypic variability of individual characters or their combinations. The multi-year research into the flax collection accessions resulted in identification of sources of highly-expressed valuable economic traits, which are of interest for the plant breeding course. The history of flax breeding in Ukraine is shown, where breeding varieties that are most widespread or were significant breeding achievements in solving certain problems, are presented. The collection can be used as a visual aid for the plant breeding course in educational programs; in addition, it can provide starting material for scientific and educational institutions. The collection is registered with the National Center for Plant Genetic Resources of Ukraine (certificate No. 00273 dated 04/11/2019). Conclusions. The studies of accessions from the national flax collection allowed us to build up a training collection and register it with the NCPGRU. The collection represents a wide range of biological and economic features of the gene pool of this crop. The collection can be used in the educational process of educational agricultural and biological institutions. The multi-year research into the national flax collection resulted in identification of sources of highly-expressed valuable economic traits, which are of interest to the plant breeding course. The history of flax breeding in Ukraine got covered, and breeding varieties that are most widespread or were significant breeding achievements in solving certain problems are presented.


Author(s):  
Sergey S. Pashin ◽  
Natalia S. Vasikhovskaya

The article is devoted to the study of the movement for communist labour at the Tyumen Shipbuilding Plant during the period of the seven-year plan (1959-1965). The authors seek to fill a historical narrative with the particular facts connected with the peculiarities and specifics of such phenomenon as the movement for communist labour. They consider it in the context of microhistory and as the most important element of production routine. The employees of the largest industrial enterprise of Soviet Tyumen — Shipbuilding Plant in concrete historical circumstances came under the spotlight of the authors. The submitted article is written with attraction of a wide range of archival documents, taken from the funds of the State Archive of the Tyumen Region and also funds of the State Archive of Socio-Political History of the Tyumen Region. Having studied the documents the authors come to conclusion that the movement for communist labour had little effect on the production progress of the plant employees.


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