Aims: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is characterized by a transition in vaginal microflora from lactobacilli to anaerobic bacteria. Gardnerella vaginalis and Atopobium vaginae are considered the most responsible pathogens for the etiology of BV. Colonization of male urethra with BV-associated bacteria has been rarely investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in the presence of BV-associated bacteria in the healthy male urethra in regard to sexual exposure. Methodology and results: The first-catch urine specimens, representative of urethral swabs, from 114 healthy male volunteers, were included in this study. Lactobacillus spp., L. crispatus, L. jensenii, L. gasseri, L. iners, G. vaginalis, A. vaginae, Peptoniphilus spp., P. lacrimalis, BVAB2, Mageeibacillus indolicus, Megasphaera type I, Mobiluncus mulieris, Leptotrichia/Sneathia, Corynebacterium spp., and Prevotella spp. were investigated using a PCR assay. The most frequently identified BV-associated bacteria were Lactobacillus spp., Peptoniphilus spp., and G. vaginalis. There was no association between any BV-associated bacteria and sexual exposure. There was statistically significant co-occurrence of A. vaginae and G. vaginalis in the MU of subjects independently of sexual exposure (p = 0.025). Also, there was a significant association between G. vaginalis and smoking (p = 0.023). Conclusion, significance and impact of study To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study reporting the co-occurrence of G. vaginalis and A. vaginae in the male urethra independently of sexual exposure.

In the present study, 13 clinical cases of canine mammary adenocarcinoma were evaluated in order to understand the effect of Tarantula cubensis extract (TCE) on tumor tissue. Punch biopsies were taken from the tumors before treatment with TCE. Subcutaneous injections of TCE were administered three times at weekly intervals (3 mL per dog). Between days 7 and 10 after the third injection, the tumor masses were extirpated by complete unilateral mastectomy. Pre- and post-treatment tumor tissues were immunohistochemically assessed. The expression of B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) was found to be higher in pre-treatment compared to post-treatment tissues (p < 0.01) whereas Ki-67 expression was lower in post-treatment tissues (p < 0.01). No significant differences in fibroblast growth factor or vascular endothelial growth factor expression were observed between pre- and post-treatment tissues (p > 0.05). The apoptotic index was determined to be low before treatment and increased during treatment. These results suggest that TCE may be effective for controlling the local growth of canine mammary adenocarcinoma by regulating apoptosis.
Adenocarcinoma/*drug therapy/physiopathology ; Animals ; Apoptosis/drug effects ; Dog Diseases/*drug therapy/physiopathology ; Dogs ; Female ; Mammary Neoplasms, Animal/*drug therapy/physiopathology ; Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental/*drug therapy/physiopathology ; Mitosis/drug effects ; Spiders/*chemistry