Sociocultural aspects of disorders of sex development

Disorders of sex development (DSD) is a congenital condition in which the development of chromosomes, gonads, hormones, and reproductive structures are atypical. DSD brings with it a psychological impact on the affected individual and their families. The consensus statement on management of DSD strongly advised an integrated and multidisciplinary approach in providing care to the affected individuals. Studies have been conducted focusing on medical intervention, and more recently, there is increasing attention paid to psychological aspects of DSD. However, studies reporting cultural aspects of DSD are lacking. This review provides an overview on how culture impacts the affected individuals in coping with DSD and making decisions with regard to gender assignment or reassignment, help‐seeking behavior for medical treatments, attitudes toward medical treatment, religious beliefs, and values concerning marriage and fertility. The involvement of social scientists is needed to study sociocultural aspects of DSD from more diverse cultures, to help affected individuals and their families in gaining better social acceptance. Birth Defects Research (Part C) 108:380–383, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

不同品种花叶芋的组织培养

采用12个不同品种花叶芋的叶片和叶柄进行组织培养,发现不同品种的最佳外植体并不一致,大叶型品种以叶片、小叶型品种以叶柄为佳。试管苗叶片和叶柄比栽培苗的叶片与叶柄更有利于作离体繁殖的外植体。不同外植体对培养基要求则差别不大。花叶芋离体叶片和叶柄在MS+BA 2mg/L+NAA 0.2～0.6mg/L培养基上可直接分化成小芋块,小芋块剖面坚实呈白色,以I-KI溶液染色呈现深蓝色,与盆栽苗芋块相同。小芋块在降低激素浓度培养基即于MS补加BA与NAA各0.1mg/L培养基上,即分化出大量的再生植株。在芋块上分化出芽,在芋块与苗之间分化出根。     

Quantitative genetic insights into the coevolutionary dynamics of male and female genitalia

The spectacular variability that typically characterizes male genital traits has largely been attributed to the role of sexual selection. Among the evolutionary mechanisms proposed to account for this diversity, two processes in particular have generated considerable interest. On the one hand, females may exploit postcopulatory mechanisms of selection to favour males with preferred genital traits (cryptic female choice; CFC), while on the other hand females may evolve structures or behaviours that mitigate the direct costs imposed by male genitalia (sexual conflict; SC). A critical but rarely explored assumption underlying both processes is that male and female reproductive traits coevolve, either via the classic Fisherian model of preference-trait coevolution (CFC) or through sexually antagonistic selection (SC). Here, we provide evidence for this prediction in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata), a polyandrous livebearing fish in which males transfer sperm internally to females via consensual and forced matings. Our results from a paternal half-sibling breeding design reveal substantial levels of additive genetic variation underlying male genital size and morphology—two traits known to predict mating success during non-consensual matings. Our subsequent finding that physically interacting female genital traits exhibit corresponding levels of genetic (co)variation reveals the potential intersexual coevolutionary dynamics of male and female genitalia, thereby fulfilling a fundamental assumption underlying CFC and SC theory.     

Unusual way of feeding by the deutonymph of Neottialges evansi (Actinotrichida,Astigmata, Hypoderatidae), a subcutaneous parasite of cormorants,revealed by fine structural analyses

The parasitic deutonymphs of hypoderatid mites live within the subcutaneous layer of their avian hosts, where they become greatly engorged despite not having functional mouthparts. The method by which they take up nutrients has been mysterious up to now. Here, we report on the morphology of hypoderatid deutonymphs using scanning and transmission electron microscopy and describe structures that may resolve the mystery. The deutonymph of Neottialges evansi (Hypoderatidae) from the cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo is a simply organized stage lacking both mouthparts and a functional foregut. The structure of midgut and hindgut indicate that they are not capable of processing food. The midgut consists of highly branching flat cells and rarely shows a lumen. Almost the entire space between integument, gut remnants and other organs (synganglion, developing gonads) is filled by huge cells containing protein and glycogen granules and numerous lipid inclusions. The anal opening is minute. The structure of the cuticle and epidermis suggests that nutrients are not absorbed through the general integument. Thus the two main existing hypotheses about feeding modes in hypoderatid deutonymphs, anal vs. integumentary food absorbtion, are not supported. We suggest instead that two pairs of genital papillae showing peculiar microanatomical features are actively involved in movement of liquid materials between host and mite and most probably are the nutrient‐intake organs. J. Morphol. 277:1368–1389, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Systematization of ambiguous genitalia

Sex assignment in newborns depends on the anatomy of the external genitalia, despite this stage being the final in embryogenesis. According to the current view, the genital tubercle is the embryonic precursor of penis and clitoris. It originates from mesenchymal tissue, but mesenchymal cells are arranged across the embryonal body and do not have specific androgen receptors. The nature of the signal that initiates early derivation of the indifferent genital tubercle is unknown at present. The aims of this article are to improve surgical management of intersex disorders and investigate the development of the genital tubercle. Clinical examination of 114 females with various forms of DSD revealed ambiguous (bisexual) external genitalia in 73 patients, and 51 of them underwent feminizing surgery. Intersexuality (ambiguity) in 46,XY patients results from disruptors in the pathways of sex steroid hormones or receptors; in 46,XX females arises from excessive levels of androgens. Systematization of intersex disorders distinguishes the karyotype, gonadal morphology, and genital anatomy to provide a differential diagnosis and guide appropriate surgical management. Modified feminizing clitoroplasty with preservation of the dorsal and ventral neurovascular bundles to retain erogenous sensitivity was performed in females with severe virilization (Prader degree III-V). The outgrowth of the genital tubercle and the fusion of the urethral fold proceed in an ordered fashion; but in some cases of ambiguity, there was discordance due to different pathways. Speculation about the derivation of the genital tubercle have discussed with a literature review. The genital tubercle derives from the following 3 layers: the ectodermal glans of the tubercle, the mesodermal corpora cavernosa and the endodermal urogenital groove. According to the new hypothesis, during the indifferent stages, the 5 sacral somites have to recede from their segmentation and disintegrate: the sclerotomes form the pelvic bones, the fused myotomes follow with their genuine neurotomes and the angiotomes join to the corpora cavernosa of the genital tubercle. Sexual differentiation of external genitalia is final in gender embryogenesis, but surprisingly derivation of the indifferent genital tubercle from 5 somites occurs before gonadal and internal organs development.     

Genotyping and antibiotic resistance patterns of Campylobacter fetus subsp.venerealis from cattle farms in India

Bovine genital campylobacteriosis caused by Campylobacter fetus subsp. venerealis (Cfv) is of considerable economic importance to the cattle industry worldwide. Cfv causes syndrome of temporary infertility in female cattle, early embryonic mortality, aberrant oestrus cycles, delayed conception, abortions and poor calving rates. In the present study, a total of 200 samples obtained from vaginal swabs, cervicovaginal mucous (CVM), preputial washes and semen straws were investigated that were obtained from organized cattle farm of MLRI, Manasbal and unorganized sectors. Out of a total of 200 samples, 49 (47·57%) vaginal swabs, 1 (3·33%) preputial wash and 8 (25%) carried out CVM samples were positive for Cfv, whereas none of the semen straws were positive for Cfv. A total of eleven isolates of Cfv were recovered. PFGE (Pulse field gel electrophoresis) analysis revealed four different pulsotypes (I–IV) circulating in the screened farms. A common pulsotype circulating among farms could not be established. Insertion element (ISCfe1), a 233 bp amplicon of Cfv, was sequenced and the sequence was deposited in GenBank (accession no: MK475662).     

MALE CONTEST COMPETITION AND THE COEVOLUTION OF WEAPONRY AND TESTES IN PINNIPEDS

Male reproductive success is influenced by competitive interactions during precopulatory and postcopulatory selective episodes. Consequently, males can gain reproductive advantages during precopulatory contest competition by investing in weaponry and during postcopulatory sperm competition by investing in ejaculates. However, recent theory predicts male expenditure on weaponry and ejaculates should be subject to a trade‐off, and should vary under increasing risk and intensity of sperm competition. Here, we provide the first comparative analysis of the prediction that expenditure on weaponry should be negatively associated with expenditure on testes mass. Specifically, we assess how sexual selection influences the evolution of primary and secondary sexual traits among pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, and walruses). Using recently developed comparative methods, we demonstrate that sexual selection promotes rapid divergence in body mass, sexual size dimorphism (SSD), and genital morphology. We then show that genital length appears to be positively associated with the strength of postcopulatory sexual selection. However, subsequent analyses reveal that both genital length and testes mass are negatively associated with investment in precopulatory weaponry. Thus, our results are congruent with recent theoretical predictions of contest‐based sperm competition models. We discuss the possible role of trade‐offs and allometry in influencing patterns of reproductive trait evolution in pinnipeds.     

Female genital cutting and reproductive experience in Minya, Egypt

In African populations practicing female genital cutting (FGC), beliefs exist that these procedures enhance reproduction and that their medicalization may diminish adverse effects, yet available findings are mixed in part for methodological reasons. We use data from a representative sample of ever-married women aged 17-55 years in Minya, Egypt, to examine the effects of type of FGC and type of circumciser on a woman's risks of primary infertility and pregnancy loss. Contrary to previous studies in Egypt, neither type of circumcision nor type of circumciser is associated with adverse fertility outcomes among circumcised women in Minya.     

Chlamydial infection and spatial ascension of the female genital tract: a novel hybrid cellular automata and continuum mathematical model

Sexually transmitted chlamydial infection initially establishes in the endocervix in females, but if the infection ascends the genital tract, significant disease, including infertility, can result. Many of the mechanisms associated with chlamydial infection kinetics and disease ascension are unknown. We attempt to elucidate some of these processes by developing a novel mathematical model, using a cellular automata–partial differential equation model. We matched our model outputs to experimental data of chlamydial infection of the guinea-pig cervix and carried out sensitivity analyses to determine the relative influence of model parameters. We found that the rate of recruitment and action of innate immune cells to clear extracellular chlamydial particles and the rate of passive movement of chlamydial particles are the dominant factors in determining the early course of infection, magnitude of the peak chlamydial time course and the time of the peak. The rate of passive movement was found to be the most important factor in determining whether infection would ascend to the upper genital tract. This study highlights the importance of early innate immunity in the control of chlamydial infection and the significance of motility-diffusive properties and the adaptive immune response in the magnitude of infection and in its ascension.     

高原鳅属鱼类雄性第二性征

检测了33种350余尾高原鳅属Triplophysa鱼类的雄性标本,依据吻部两颊和胸鳍的特征,将该属鱼类的雄性第2性征分为12种类型。高原鳅的雄性第2性征具有多样性,不同种类的雄性第2性征可能存在差异,分布在不同或相同水系的同一种类的个体间雄性第2性征也可能发生变化。检视结果表明,仅依据雄性第2性征把高原鳅属划分为高原鳅亚属和赫氏鳅亚属Hedinichthys并不适合。