Anatomic Study of Female Sterility of Pinus tabulaeformis Carr.

The anatomic research on the mutant clone of Pinus tabulaeformis Carr. in the seed orchard in Xingcheng, Liaoning Province was carried out. The female cone of the mutant clone looked like normal, but its ovules degenerated in the early stage. This paper tries to find out the reason and time of ovule abortion. It seems that the ovule abortion is probably caused by female sterility because the microspores of this mutant clone were normal. Through the serial observations on the one-year-old macrosporangiates and the ovules of two-year-old female cones of mutant and normal clone, it is found that the reason of ovule abortion in mutant clone is the failure of the mitosis of free nuclei in the female gametophyte, and the time is about in the early April.

Disruption of egg-specific protein causes female sterility in Bombyx mori

Yolk proteins are the main source of nutrients during embryonic and early larval development in oviparous animals. Therefore, vitellogenesis is crucial for reproduction. The silkworm, Bombyx mori, is a model lepidopteran insect in which there are three yolk proteins: vitellin, 30-kDa protein, and egg-specific protein (Esp). In this study, we explored the gene function of Esp through transgenic clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR) / CRISPR-associated protein 9 technology-mediated mutations in the silkworm. We found that Esp mutation resulted in female sterility but had no effect on male fertility. Female mutants could lay eggs after mating, but the eggs were smaller and lighter colored than those laid by wild-type females. The most important finding is that the eggs laid by female mutants did not hatch. Furthermore, we observed stable inheritance of female sterility caused by Esp mutation through successive generations. Thus, Esp encodes a yolk protein that is crucial for female reproductive success and is a potential target for pest control.

Content Changes of Several Endogenous Plant Hormones in Female-Sterile Pinus tabulaeformis Carr.

To determine the relationship between female sterility of Pinus tabulaeformis Carr. and plant hormones, content changes of several endogenous plant hormones in a female-sterile clone and a normal clone were analyzed during the key period of female gametophyte abortion in mutant clones. The change of ABA content showed a similar pattern between normal and mutant clones, but the ABA content of the mutant clone was always much higher than that of the normal clone. In the normal clone, the IAA content decreased significantly at the early stage of the period and reached its minimum during the first ten days of April and stabilized thereafter. The endogenous ZR levels increased sharply at the early stages and reached a maximum in the middle of April, then decreased dramatically. The IAA and ZR contents of the mutant clone did not change perceptively through the entire period. We conclude that the high levels of ABA and the deficit of IAA and ZR may be the reasons of female gametophyte abortion in the female-sterile clones of P. tabulaeformis.

Persistence of Uropathogenic Escherichia Coli in the Bladders of Female Patients with Sterile Urine after Antibiotic Therapies

This study aimed to provide evidence of persistent uropathogenic Escherichia coli（UPEC） in female patients with recurrent urinary tract infection（UTI） after antibiotic therapy. We collected biopsies of the bladder, and clean-catch urine samples from 32 women who had episodes of recurrent UTI and were given antibiotic therapy. Urine samples and biopsies were analyzed by conventional bacteriological techniques. Phylogenetic group and 16 virulence factors（VFs） of UPEC were determined using polymerase chain reaction（PCR）. The infection capability of UPEC was confirmed in a mouse model. Immunofluorescence and electron microscopy were used to detect intracellular bacterial communities（IBCs） in the mouse model. The results showed that all urine specimens were detected sterile. E. coli was found in 6 of 32 biopsies（18.75%）, and was identified to be UPEC by PCR. Different VFs associated with the formation of IBCs were identified in all six UPEC isolates. Each UPEC isolate was capable of forming IBCs within the bladder epithelial cells of mice. In conclusion, UPEC with distinctive pathological traits and the capability of IBC formation was first found in the bladders of women after antibiotic therapy, suggesting that the IBC pathogenic pathway may occur in humans and it plays an important role in UTI recurrence.

Characteristics and Risk factors of Psychosomatic Symptoms Related to Female Tubal Sterilization in Rural Area in Hunan Province, China: A Prospective Study

Objectives To study characteristics of psychosomatic symptoms related to sterilization, to find out risk factors and their roles ascribed to psychosomatic symptoms, and to establish a mathematic model for screening out susceptible women. Methods: This study enrolled 776 women in rural area at three counties of Linxiang, Qiyang, Changsha of Hunan province in China between February 1990 and April 1992. Brief Neurosis Screening Scale (BNSS), Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90), sensitivity to pain, suggestibility were used to indicate subjects' psychological status. Logistic regression model and retrograde discriminant analysis were applied to develop a mathematical model. Results: Prevalence of psychosomatic reactions or symptoms was 54.8% before sterilization, 26.6% at three months and 16.4% at one year after operation respectively. Psychosomatic symptoms were verified to be the result of joint effects of multiple risk factors. The following risk factors were associated with postoperative symptoms: anger-hostility (RR=33.71), high suggestibility (RR=4.53), high neuroticism (RR=3.44), sensitivity to pain (RR=2.14) and operative sites (RR=2.05). A mathematical model to estimate the probability of developing psychosomatic symptoms in sterilization was established.Conclusions: More than half of women suffered from psychosomatic reactions before operation, and some of them did not recover after operation. The postoperative psychosomatic symptoms are the joint effect of multiple risk factors.

Nonsurgical method of female sterilization in china

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Characteristics of Contraceptive Use in So Paulo State,Brazil

Objective To know the characteristics of contraceptive use in Sao Paulo State collected by the Demographic and Health Survey （DHS） conducted in 1996. Methods Data of Sao Paulo in 1996 were analyzed compared with the previous DHS carried on in 1986focusing on Sao Paulo State. Contraceptive use among married or cohabiting women by age, number of children and schooling was closely examined. Age and timing of female sterilization were also analyzed. Results The results showed that unlike Brazil there was a stability of female sterilization in Sao Paulo State during 1986 and 1996. There was a pattern in Sao Paulo： up to 30 years old the pill was the most used contraceptive, after 30 there was a predominance of female sterilization, which increased with the number of children and decreased with schooling. The use of male methods had also increased in the 1986 and 1996 period, being greater in Sao Paulo than in Brazil. Sao Paulo also presented more diversity in the use of reversible contraceptives. Conclusions The predominant two contraceptive methods in Brazil and Sao Paulo changed from 1986 to 1996, i.e..from pill to female sterilization.

Phenotypic Characterization of a Female Sterile Mutant in Rice

A female sterile mutant, derived from a spontaneous mutation, was first discovered In rlce （Oryzs satlvs L. sep. Indlca） restorer llne 202R. Wlth normal fiowerlng, the mutant exhlblts an extremely low seed-sattlng rate. When the mutant Is crossed as a pollen donor, the seeds set normally; whereas when It Is used as a pollen recelver, no seeds are obtalned even wlth mlxed pollen gralns of dlfferent varletles sprlnkled over the atlgmas. The fioret of the mutant, conslatlng of slx stamens and one platll, looks the same as that of the wlld type In the malefemale organs, except that less than 10% of the mutant florets have three atlgmas on the ovary. Although the mutant has a low seed-setting rate, Its pollen fertility Is approximately 87.1%, which Is equal to that of the wild type. In addition, more than 90% of the mature embryo sacs of the mutant have complete Inner structures. At every stage after pollination, the sperm, embryo, and endosperm are not found In the mutant embryo sac, whereas the disintegration of the egg cell that does not accomplish fertilization Is visible. Through observetlons with a fluorescence microscope, we have found that the pollen grains germinate normally, whereas the pollen tube abnormally elongates in the style-transmitting tissue. The mutant pollen tubes display various defects In the style, such as slower elongation, conversed elongation, distorted elongation, swollen tips, or branched tips. As a result, the growth of the pollen tubes ceases In the style, and, therefore, the pollen tubes cannot reach the embryo sac and the process of double fertilization Is blocked. Based on these observations, we conclude that this mutant, designated as fs-202R, Is a novel type of female sterile mutation In rice, which causes the arrest of the elongation of the pollen tube.