Spermatogenesis is a process consisting of spermatogonial proliferation, spermatocytic meiosis, and spermiogenesis, and is also considered to be a process in which heterochromatins gradually aggregate and finally reach a highly condensed formation in the sperm head. Recent studies show that epigenetic regulation plays a key role in spermatogenesis. This review discusses the mechanisms of epigenetic regulation in spermatogenesis in three aspects, DNA methylation, histone modification, and noncoding RNAs. These factors are essential for spermatogenesis, fertilization, and embryogenesis by mutual regulation as well as by gene expression regulation, transposon activation, sex chromosome inactivation, and genome imprinting.
DNA Methylation ; Embryonic Development ; Epigenesis, Genetic ; physiology ; Genomic Imprinting ; Humans ; Male ; Meiosis ; Spermatogenesis ; genetics ; Spermatogonia ; cytology ; physiology

Penile and testicular tumors, especially those of the malignant nature, usually require radical excision, which alters the organ image, affects sexual and urinary functions, and consequently undermines the self-confidence and quality of life of the patient. Recent studies show that organ-sparing surgery can be an alternative to radical excision for superficial tumors and small masses. Penis-sparing surgery (PSS) has been indicated for superficial penile cancer, such as Tis and T1a lesions, and testis-sparing surgery (TSS) is feasible for benign small bilateral or solitary testicular masses (TIN). Long-term follow-ups after PSS or TSS show that the patients may retain a satisfactory appearance of the organ as well as desirable sexual and reproductive functions.
Andrology ; methods ; Humans ; Libido ; Male ; Organ Sparing Treatments ; methods ; Patient Satisfaction ; Penile Neoplasms ; surgery ; Quality of Life ; Self Concept ; Testicular Neoplasms ; surgery

Objective To compare the safety and effectiveness of temporary occlusion techniques with different balloons in performing cesarean section for patients with pernicious placenta previa.Methods The clinical data of 15 patients with pernicious placenta previa,who received cesarean section during the period from March 2014 to April 2016,were retrospectively analyzed.In order to reduce bleeding during operation and to preserve the uterus as far as possible,temporary occlusion of abdominal aorta with balloon was adopted in 7 patients (group A),and temporary balloon occlusion of bilateral internal iliac arteries was employed in 8 patients (group B).The intraoperative radiation dose,the amount of blood loss and blood transfusion during cesarean section,the hysterectomy rate,the postoperative hospitalization days,and the intervention-related complications were documented,and the results were compared between the two groups.Results All the 15 patients were suffered from central type of placenta praevia complicated by extensive placenta accreta.With the help of temporary balloon occlusion technique,the cesarean section was successfully accomplished in all 15 patients.Subtotal hysterectomy had to be done in 7 patients,including 4 patients of group A and 3 patients of group B,and every one patient from each group developed arterial thrombosis of lower limb.The intraoperative radiation dose of group A was significantly lower than that of group B (P＜0.01),besides the amount of blood loss and blood transfusion during cesarean section,the hysterectomy rate,the postoperative hospitalization days,and the intervention-related complications of group A were all lower than those of group B,but because of the limited number of cases these differences were not statistically significant (P＞0.05).Conclusion For the treatment of pernicious placenta previa,temporary balloon occlusion technique-assisted cesarean section is safe and effective.The intraoperative radiation dose in the group using temporary balloon occlusion of abdominal aorta is remarkably lower than that in the group using temporary balloon occlusion of bilateral internal iliac arteries.

Cataract and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) often present concurrently in aged persons. There has been a longstanding controversy among clinicians as to whether cataract surgery is contraindicated in eyes with AMD. Most of previous researches indicated that cataract surgery could accelerate the progression of AMD. However recently studies suggested that cataract surgery improved visual function of the patients and didn't accelerate the progression of AMD. These are related to the development of cataract surgery and the using of phacoemulsification technique.

Objective To observe the abnormalities of speech production when developmental stutterers reading four-character Chinese words aloud and to discuss its etiology mechanisms. Methods The speech production results between the developmental stutterers and normal speakers when reading four-character Chinese words under the voice reaction time paradigm and computerize program in acoustic data analysis were compared. Results The voice duration time (VDT) of developmental stuttering group (791±82) ms was longer than that of the control group (687±93) ms (t=3.42,P<0.01),but the differences of voice reaction time (VRT) and voice error rate (VER) were not significant between these two groups. Conclusion The speech fluency disorders of developmental stuttering maybe mainly exist in the stage of speech movement, and probably due to the speech production disturbed with language processing.

Objective To examine the performance of developmental stutterers in processing Chinese character to determine their basic cognitive abilities of Chinese language.Methods The reaction time and error rates of developmental stutterers and fluent speakers were compared when they performed orthographic,phonetic and semantic judging tasks in the manual reaction time paradigm.Results The differences of reaction time in orthographic,phonetic and semantic judgment and the error rates in orthographic and semantic judgment between both groups were not significant(P>0.05);however,the difference of error rate in phonetic judgment between the both groups were nearly significant(P=0.053).Conclusion The only disability existed in developmental stutterers seems to be the in phonetic abstracting or encoding processes,which is partly in accordance with the covert repair hypothesis.

Humans ; Liver Diseases

Up to now, a variety of microRNAs have been found in a number of studies, that specifically expressed in retinal neuroepithelial, lens, cornea and retinal pigment epithelium, in which miR-126 plays a certain role in the proliferation of tumor cells, the development of thymus lymphocytes and cardiovascular diseases.Some researches show that miR-126 has certain correlations with the formation of corneal neovascularization, the development of diabetic retinopathy, and the immune system related eye disease.In this paper, the current miR-126 in the role of eye disease mechanism and research progress were reviewed.

Hepatitis B e Antigens ; immunology ; Humans ; Immune Tolerance ; immunology

ObjectiveTo prospectively investigate whether any of the perfusion parameters would predict early tumor response to chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy and prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). MethodsIn a prospective series, Perfusion CT were performed in 152 patients suspected lung cancer with 16-slice or 8-slice multislice CT. Contrast medium (50 ml) was injected at a rate of 4 ml/s with a power injector.The scanning delay was 10 seconds and the scanning time was 50 seconds.Among 152 patients,123 patients were proved lung cancer by pathology.With the perfusion 3.0 software, the parameters including blood flow (BF), blood volume (BV), mean transit time (MTT) and capillary permeability surface area product (PS) were calculated. The perfusion image quality was evaluated on a 4-1eveal scale. The treatment response after chemotherapy and(or) radiotherapy was assessed with Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) ,and then the relationship between perfusion parameters with early tumor response to chemotherapy and(or) radiotherapy was evaluated. Student t test and Kaplan-Meier estimates were used for data analysis. ResultsIn 84 patients (68.3%), the perfusion image quality was staged level 2 (moderate) and level 3 (good). Among them, 35 patients with NSCLC were assessed with RECIST after chemotherapy and (or) radiotherapy.In these 35 patients, The BF of responders and nonresponders was (81.0±33.6)and (56.3±23.1) ml·min~(-1)·100 g~(-1),respectively, which was significantly different(t=2.393, P=0.023). The median PFS of low-BF group (BF≤80 ml·min~(-1)· 100 g~(-1)) and high-BF group (BF>80 ml·min~(-1)·100 g~(-1)) was 11.8 and 8.0 months respectively (P>0.05), and the median PFS of low-BV group (BF≤6 ml/100 g~(-1)) and high-BV group (BF>6 ml/100 g~(-1)) was 9.2 and 8.0 months respectively(P>0.05), both of them were not significantly different.ConclusionNSCLC in high perfusion are relatively sensitive to chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, and the response rate is relatively higher, but the progress time is relatively shorter.