ABSTRACT. Chromosome abnormalities, Y-chromosome microdeletions, and androgen receptor gene CAG and GGN repeat polymorphisms in infertile Chinese men featuring severe oligospermia and azoospermia were analyzed. Ninety-six fertile men and 189 non-obstructive infertile men, including 125 patients with azoospermia and 64 with severe oligozoospermia, were studied. Seventeen infertile men (9.0%) carried a chromosome abnormality. Twenty (10.6%) carried a Y-chromosome microdeletion. In the remainder of the patients and controls, GGN and CAG repeats were sequenced. Short GGN repeats (n < 23) appeared to be associated with defective spermatogenesis, with the number of GGN repeats strongly correlated with sperm counts. No significant difference in CAG repeats was found between patients and con- trols, nor were CAG repeats correlated with sperm counts. However, for CAG repeats ranging between 24 and 25, there was a >2.5-fold risk (OR = 2.539, 95%CI = 1.206-5.344, P < 0.05) of severe oligospermia and azoospermia. Our results confirmed the significant role of chromosome abnormalities, Y-chromosome microdeletions, and GGN repeats in Chinese male infertility.

This study systematically investigates the interface structure of three body-centered-cubic (BCC) metallic (Fe, V and Nb) films grown on MgO(100) substrates through experiments and simulations. Orientation relationships of their interfaces with the different lattice mismatch exhibit cube-on-cube configurations. The misfit dislocations at these three interfaces exhibit different characteristics. High resolution TEM (HRTEM), combined with first principle calculations, demonstrates the O-atop match type between metal atoms and MgO substrates for the first time. The fundamental mechanism in determining the interface configuration is discussed in term of the work of separation and the delocalization of atomic charge density.