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On the other hand, and interestingly, the mixture of the three compounds reduced significantly the response to INSL3 by 12%, and the observed effects were opposite to those predicted, suggesting an antagonist effect. DISCUSSION-CONCLUSION Taken together, our results demonstrate for the first time that a mixture of phthalates and BPA present in human amniotic fluid disturbs the human RXFP2 function. Moreover, we demonstrate that mixture can produce potential antagonistic effects that are not displayed by the compounds, individually. The silver fox and the blue fox represent different genera, but produce viable offspring. Selleck Mepazine Although these hybrids show obvious heterosis, they are completely sterile due to spermatogenic arrest at the early stages of spermatogenesis, especially mitosis and meiosis I; the hybrids produce few spermatogonia and primary spermatocytes, and no secondary spermatocytes. Although the mechanisms of spermatogenic arrest have been well investigated, transcriptomic differences between hybrid and the pure-species testes have not clarified. In the present study, we used RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) to generate testicular transcriptomic profiles for silver foxes, blue foxes, and reciprocal hybrids during the pre-breeding period and the breeding season. In total, 1,344,022 transcripts (≥200 bp) were generated; 1,057,724 genes were obtained; and 33,423 genes were shown to have fragments per kilobase of transcript per million mapped reads (FPKM) > 0.3. To identify the hub genes associated with spermatogenesis arrest, weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was used. Nine modules were explored. Genes in only a single module were consistently downregulated in the hybrids as compared to the pure species; these genes were significantly associated with fox hybrid male infertility. Six of the genes in this module (CATSPERD, DMRTC2, RNF17, NME5, SPEF2, SPINK2) also play key roles in mitosis and meiosis during spermatogenesis. Therefore, these six genes might be associated with fox hybrid male infertility. Freeze drying has been developed as a new sperm preservation method that eliminates the necessity of using liquid nitrogen. An advantage of freeze-dried sperm is that it can be stored at 4 °C and transported at room temperature. To develop assisted reproductive techniques (ARTs) for domestic cats, we evaluated the effect of the freeze-dry procedure on cat sperm DNA by analyzing DNA integrity (experiment 1) and by generating cat embryos using freeze-dried sperm that had been preserved for several months (experiment 2). In experiment 1, the rate of DNA damage to freeze-dried sperm was not significantly different than that of sperm cryopreserved with liquid nitrogen (P > 0.05). In experiment 2, the proportions of cleaved embryos, morulae, and blastocysts and the cell number of blastocysts did not differ between experimental groups in which fresh sperm and freeze-dried sperm were used (P > 0.05). In addition, we generated feline blastocysts using freeze-dried sperm stored for 1-5 months. These results support an expansion of the repertoire of ARTs that are potentially applicable to both domestic and endangered species of cats. Laserpuncture is one of the applicative technologies used mainly in animal and fish reproductions. Laserpuncture technology has been used to improve gonadal maturity and sperm quality in fish rapidly. This study aimed to determine the effects of different laserpuncture doses on gonadal maturity and sperm quality of male striped catfish. Males striped catfish (800-900 g/fish body weight) and I gonadal maturity stage were used. Semi-conductor soft laser was used with doses of 0.2-, 0.4-, and 0.5-J, while the negative control (without the laserpuncture and the ovaprim™) and only the ovaprim™ were used as a comparison treatment, respectively. The soft-laser was treated on reproductive acupoint every week for four weeks, while the ovaprim™ was administered by intramuscular injection at dose of 0.2 mL/kg fish in final rearing period. Fish was reared in hapa at the controlled pond. Fish was fed with a commercial feed containing 32% crude protein. Gonadal maturity, gonadosomatic index (GSI), hepatosomatic index (HSI), and sperm quality of male striped catfish were measured in the final rearing period. The results showed that the laserpuncture on the reproductive acupoint had a highly significant effect (P  less then  0.01) on the gonadal maturity, GSI, HSI, and sperm quality of male striped catfish. In terms of the gonadal maturity, laserpuncture doses treatment of 0.4 and 0.5-J gave the most mature IV stage. While the highest levels of GSI and HSI were found in 0.5-J of laserpuncture dose, which was 2.17% and 1.54%, respectively. In addition, the best sperm qualities were observed in 0.5-J of laserpuncture dose, which were 81.75% motility, 82.75% viability, and 7.0 × 109 cell/mL concentration. These results suggest that the laserpuncture can accelerate a gonadal maturity and improve sperm quality in male striped catfish. Knowledge of predictive relations is a core aspect of learning. Beyond individual relations, we also represent intuitive theories of the world, which include interrelated sets of relations. We asked whether individual predictive relations learned incidentally in the same context become associatively bound and whether they spontaneously influence later learning. Participants performed a cover task while watching three sequences of events. Each sequence contained the same set of events, but differed in how the events related to each other. The first two sequences each had two strong predictive relations (R1 & R2, and R3 & R4). The third contained either a consistent pairing of relations (R1 & R2) or an inconsistent pairing (R1 & R3). We found that participants' learning of the individual relations in the third sequence was affected by pairing consistency, suggesting the mind associates relations to each other as part of the intrinsic way it learns about the world. This was despite participants' minimal ability to verbally describe most of the relations they had learned. Thus, participants spontaneously developed the expectation that pairs of relations should cohere, and this affected their ability to learn new evidence. Such associative binding of relational information may help us build intuitive theories.