Genetic lesions causing human male infertility are manifold. Besides gross chromosomal aneuploidies and rearrangements, microdeletions and single gene defects can interfere with male fertility. Male fertility is not only dependent on genes controlling the male germ line but also on genes of the networks functional for male gonad development and male somatic development, respectively. It is popu...

Fertility of frozen-thawed bull sperm is reduced by cryopreservation. Freezing-thawing procedures can result in as much as a sevenfold fertility decrease. Sperm mortality and loss of motility do not fully explain the reduced fertility of cryopreserved semen; they may be partially explained by the loss of sperm surface proteins, which are necessary for fertilization. We have previously identifie...

Fertility and marriage are inextricably linked in sub-Saharan Africa, but recent changes, such as the rise non-marital fertility, signals a weakening link, second demographic transition offers some explanations. Non-marital fertility comes with disadvantages, it has not been adequately studied Nigeria. Hence, this study examined levels, patterns, correlates of implications for interventions fut...

background: fatty acids are known to be critically important in multiple biological functions. phospholipid fatty acids of follicular fluid, an important microenvironment for the development of oocytes, may contribute to the women’s fertility and the efficacy of assisted reproduction techniques. the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of fatty acid composition of follicular fluid ph...

Biennial breeding is a rare life-history trait observed in animal species living in harsh, unproductive environments. This reproductive pattern is thought to occur in 10 of 14 species in the genus Marmota, making marmots useful model organisms for studying its ecological and evolutionary implications. Biennial breeding in marmots has been described as an obligate pattern which evolved as a mech...

Early body condition may be important for adult behavior and fitness, and is impacted by a number of environmental conditions and biotic interactions. Reduced fecundity of adult females exposed to larval competition may be caused by reduced body condition or shifts in relative body composition, yet these mechanisms have not been well researched. Here, body mass, body size, scaled body mass inde...

A substantial increase in grain yield potential is required, along with better use of water and fertilizer, to ensure food security and environmental protection in future decades. For improvements in photosynthetic capacity to result in additional wheat yield, extra assimilates must be partitioned to developing spikes and grains and/or potential grain weight increased to accommodate the extra a...

The effects of various levels of food deprivation on the oogenesis of P. megistus was studied. Immediately after the imaginal ecdysis, six groups (GI to GVI) of 15 couples each were formed. Each group was fed as follows: GI -- on days 5 and 25; G-II -- on days 5 and 35; GIII -- on days 5 and 45; GIV -- on day 20; GV -- on day 30; GVI -- on day 40 after the imaginal ecdysis. After the establishe...

BACKGROUND Sperm chromatin structure is often impaired; mainly due to oxidative damage. Antioxidant treatments do not consistently produce fertility improvements and, when given at high doses, they might block essential oxidative processes such as chromatin compaction. This study was intended to assess the effect on male sub-fertility of a pure one carbon cycle nutritional support without stron...

Recent authors have reported a relationship between women's fertility status, as indexed by menstrual cycle phase, and conservatism in moral, social and political values. We conducted a survey to test for the existence of a relationship between menstrual cycle day and conservatism. 2213 women reporting regular menstrual cycles provided data about their political views. Of these women, 2208 prov...