Recent studies have shown that the protein interface sites between individual monomeric units in biological assemblies are enriched in disease-associated non-synonymous single nucleotide variants (nsSNVs). To elucidate the mechanistic underpinning of this observation, we investigated the conformational dynamic properties of protein interface sites through a site-specific structural dynamic flex...

OBJECTIVE To explore potential relationships between sperm DNA integrity and both semen parameters and clinical outcomes. METHODS Semen analysis of 498 samples was performed according to the 2010 criteria of the World Health Organization. The sperm DNA fragmentation Index (DFI) of the semen samples was assessed using a neutral comet assay. RESULTS Sperm DFI showed a significant correlation ...

High DNA fragmentation index (DFI) may be associated with poor outcome after IVF. Our aim was to determine whether DFI impacts blastocyst quality or clinical outcome. This retrospective study included 134 couples who underwent 177 IVF-ICSI and pre-implantation genetic screening (PGS) cycles during January 1st, 2014-March 31st, 2016 and had documented previous DFI. Group 1 (DFI>30%) encompassed ...

The association between the disease-free interval (DFI) and survival after a locoregional recurrence (LRR) or second primary (SP) breast cancer remains uncertain. The objective of this study is to clarify this association to obtain more information on expected prognosis. Women first diagnosed with early breast cancer between 2003-2006 were selected from the Netherlands Cancer Registry. LRRs and...

A high sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI) is associated with reduced fertility. DFI is influenced by the balance between reactive oxygen species and antioxidants. A circannual variation in melatonin, an antioxidant and free radical scavenger, could thus impact semen quality and fertility. The association between the major melatonin metabolite, urine 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (aMT6s), and DFI was an...

BACKGROUND Many factors may lead to sperm DNA damage. However, it is little known that the correlations of sperm DNA damage with obesity-associated markers, and reproductive hormones and lipids levels in serum and seminal plasma. METHODS In our prospective study, a total of 1 010 subfertile men, aged from 18 to 50 years old, were enrolled from August 2012 through June 2015. Their obesity-asso...

A comprehensive review of the literature on direct foreign investment (DFI) invariably becomes a tour d’horizon of the field of International Business. Disciplines from Economics and Finance to Strategic Management, Marketing and Organizational Behaviour have contributed to the present understanding of DFI. This chapter reviews the literature on DFI with focus on determinants of DFI. It conside...

We have demonstrated displacementand frequency-noise-free laser interferometry (DFI) by partially implementing a recently proposed optical configuration using bidirectional Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs). This partial implementation, the minimum necessary to be called DFI, has confirmed the essential feature of DFI: the combination of two MZI signals can be carried out in a way that cancel...

Subverting runtime data flow is common in many current software attacks. Data Flow Integrity (DFI) is a policy whose satisfaction can prevent such attacks. This paper develops a formal foundation on DFI specification, and characteristics of its enforcement techniques with formulations of hypotheses and guarantees. Enforcement techniques are based on static analysis and program monitoring at run...

BACKGROUND Varicocele is associated with high levels of DNA damage in spermatozoa due to oxidative stress and elevated levels of sperm DNA fragmentation, which has been currently proposed to be an essential additional diagnostic test to be recommended for patients with clinical varicocele. The aim of this study was to evaluate the parameters of semen and the DNA fragmentation index (DFI) in pat...