The Art Institutes

About: The Art Institutes is a education organization based out in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Infertility & Male infertility. The organization has 163 authors who have published 171 publications receiving 1611 citations.

CAG Repeat Expansion in the Androgen Receptor Gene Is Not Associated With Male Infertility in Indian Populations

Abstract: CAG repeat expansion in exon 1 of the androgen re- ceptor (AR) gene has been reported to be associated with male infertility in some but not all populations Until now, studies have not been carried out to examine this among Indian populations For the first time, we have analyzed the CAG repeat motif in the AR gene in 280 men with azoospermia and in 201 men with normal fertility The mean number of CAG repeats in the AR gene of men with azoospermia was 217 6 018, with a high incidence of repeat num- ber 22 Among fertile-control men, the mean number of CAG repeats was 224 6 019, with a predominance of repeat number 23 The highest number of CAG repeats (32) was found with low frequency in both fertile and azoospermic groups Comparison of fertile men and those with azoospermia on the basis of CAG repeats revealed that the number of CAG repeats in both groups were similar, as revealed with a paired t test (t 5 004; P 5 967) Expansion of the CAG repeat in the AR gene is therefore not associated with male infertility in Indian populations This suggests that what is true for one population may not be true for other populations

The Professional Identity of Gameworkers

Abstract: / The lack of clear crediting standards is a constant concern in the computer and video game industry. On an academic level, this concern has a regrettable parallel: of all the hundreds of thousands of professional culture creators in the media world, the ones whose lives are studied the least are game developers. Our paper maps the key issues which inform and influence the working lives and professional identities of professionals in the global computer and videogame industry. In our analysis of gamework as an example of the production of culture, we synthesize interviews with game developers, scholarly and trade publications, game developers' weblogs and online forum postings, as well as informal discussions and exchanges with people inside the industry.

Effect of smoking on semen quality, FSH, testosterone level, and CAG repeat length in androgen receptor gene of infertile men in an Indian city

Abstract: This study was conducted as part of an epidemiological survey of 126 nonsmokers and 178 smokers, showing primary infertility residing around Kolkata region of Eastern India. Their lifestyle history including smoking habits along with semen and blood were collected. The study examined the association of cigarette smoking with the risk of infertility, by determining the semen quality, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), testosterone levels, and androgen receptor (AR)-CAG repeat length in a group of smokers compared with a control group (non smokers). Based on conventional WHO criteria, lower sperm motility (P < 0.001) and increased sperm morphological defects (P < 0.0001) were associated with smoking habits. Binary logistic regression analysis for the effect of smoking status on sperm DNA integrity demonstrated significant positive correlation (p = 0.006). Serum FSH and LH levels were higher for smokers compared with non-smokers while the testosterone level decreased significantly ...

A metabonomics approach as a means for identification of potential biomarkers for early diagnosis of endometriosis

Abstract: Our present study focuses on the identification of predictive biomarkers in serum for the early diagnosis of endometriosis in a minimally invasive manner using 1H-NMR based metabonomics. PLS-DA modeling of bins obtained from CPMG spectra of serum samples discriminated endometriosis patients from controls with sensitivity and specificity levels of about 80% and 90%, respectively. Compared with those from controls, serum samples from endometriosis patients showed increased levels of lactate, 3-hydroxybutyrate, alanine, leucine, valine, threonine, lysine, glycerophosphatidylcholine, succinic acid and 2-hydroxybutyrate as well as decreased levels of lipids, glucose, isoleucine and arginine. Our work offers valuable information for non-invasive diagnosis of endometriosis and may be of potential benefit to understand pathogenesis of the disease.