Reproductive Issues Research Articles

Dioxin and Related Compound Detection: Perspectives for Optical Monitoring.

Dioxins and related compounds are environmental xenobiotics that are dangerous to human life, due to the accumulation and persistence in the environment and in the food chain. Cancer, reproductive and developmental issues, and damage to the immune system and endocrine system are only a few examples of the impact of such substances in everyday life. For these reasons, it is fundamental to detect and monitor these molecules in biological samples. The consolidated technique for analytical evaluation is gas chromatography combined with high-resolution mass spectrometry. Nowadays, the development of mid-infrared optical components like broadband laser sources, optical frequency combs, high performance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and plasmonic sensors open the way to new techniques for detection and real time monitoring of these organic pollutants in gaseous or liquid phase, with sufficient sensitivity and selectivity, and in short time periods. In this review, we report the latest techniques for the detection of dioxins, furans and related compounds based on optical and spectroscopic methods, looking at future perspectives.

Experimental High-Frequency Irreversible Electroporation Using a Single-Needle Delivery Approach for Nonthermal Pancreatic Ablation In Vivo

PurposeTo investigate the feasibility of single-needle high-frequency irreversible electroporation (SN-HFIRE) to create reproducible tissue ablations in an in vivo pancreatic swine model. Materials and MethodsSN-HFIRE was performed in swine pancreas in vivo in the absence of intraoperative paralytics or cardiac synchronization using 3 different voltage waveforms (1-5-1, 2-5-2, and 5-5-5 [on-off-on times (μs)], n = 6/setting) with a total energized time of 100 μs per burst. At necropsy, ablation size/shape was determined. Immunohistochemistry was performed to quantify apoptosis using an anticleaved caspase-3 antibody. A numerical model was developed to determine lethal thresholds for each waveform in pancreas. ResultsMean tissue ablation time was 5.0 ± 0.2 minutes, and no cardiac abnormalities or muscle twitch was detected. Mean ablation area significantly increased with increasing pulse width (41.0 ± 5.1 mm2 [range 32–66 mm2] vs 44 ± 2.1 mm2 [range 38–56 mm2] vs 85.0 ± 7.0 mm2 [range 63–155 mm2]; 1-5-1, 2-5-2, 5-5-5, respectively; p < 0.0002 5-5-5 vs 1-5-1 and 2-5-2). The majority of the ablation zone did not stain positive for cleaved caspase-3 (6.1 ± 2.8% [range 1.8–9.1%], 8.8 ± 1.3% [range 5.5–14.0%], and 11.0 ± 1.4% [range 7.1–14.2%] cleaved caspase-3 positive 1-5-1, 2-5-2, 5-5-5, respectively), with significantly more positive staining at the 5-5-5 pulse setting compared with 1-5-1 (p < 0.03). Numerical modeling determined a lethal threshold of 1114 ± 123 V/cm (1-5-1 waveform), 1039 ± 103 V/cm (2-5-2 waveform), and 693 ± 81 V/cm (5-5-5 waveform). ConclusionsSN-HFIRE induces rapid, predictable ablations in pancreatic tissue in vivo without the need for intraoperative paralytics or cardiac synchronization.

TYPOLOGY OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL COMPLEX OF DENDROBINOTS IN NATURAL AND SEMI-NATURAL BIOCOENOSIS OF CHERNIHIV REGION

This article is devoted to study typology of the entomological complex in natural and semi-natural natural biocensosis of Chernihiv region. Nowadays, the threat of significant reduction of biodiversity as a result of some types of human activity has led to recognition not only of the concept of «biodiversity», but also as a global object of protection. This led to the formation of a new approach to nature conservation, which, in turn, requires the development of plans and strategies for the conservation of biological diversity.In this regard, the methods of studying biodiversity, in particular its quantitative evaluation, have become particularly important. The issue of biodiversity conservation today has a high relevance to society, it affects socio-cultural, economic factors and factors of the environment. A rapid increase in the population of the planet dictates its laws, so it is necessary to comprehensively consider all possible options for increasing food production.All domesticated crops and animals are derived from the human management of biodiversity, which consistently responds to the peculiarities of agricultural production. It is biodiversity that provides natural management of pests, reducing the use of pesticides, obtaining high yields of cereal crops due to natural pollinators. Domestic and wild varieties of animals and plants are mandatory sources of genetic variability to respond to abiotic and biotic factors through population-genetic adaptation. In this article was established that the main cause of impoverishment of biodiversity is anthropogenic impact of the environment and intensive consumption of natural resources. It is substantiated that to solve the problems associated with preservation. Biodiversity, in particular, the species diversity of insects, is necessary first of all to solve the problem of preservation and protection of habitats of their existence (skirt, lawns, roadsides, slopes of beams, ravines, fallow, etc.). However, the optimal size of these seminatural biotopes is not sufficiently researched so it is extremely important to implement conservation measures for agrobiodiversity. Exhausting use of natural resources is today the main form of their use in agriculture. Therefore, the issue of conservation, non-exhaustive use and reproduction of biodiversity is attracting increasing attention and is absolutely topical. The purpose of the work was to study the typology and dynamics of species entomological biodiversity in the natural and semi-natural biocenoses of the Chirniv region.

Storm surge and seiche modelling in the Adriatic Sea and the impact of data assimilation

In this research we present a modelling study of storm surges influenced by pre‐existing seiches in the Adriatic Sea. The natural oscillation modes – seiches – of the Adriatic Sea can be easily excited by wind, due to the particular marine bathymetry and coastal orography. Moreover, such oscillations can interact with newer wind‐induced storm surges or with other sea‐level components. This paper first considers modelling issues in the seiche reproduction, using a simplified approach, and then analyses the reproduction with the model of two extreme storm surge events, influenced by pre‐existing seiches. In order to investigate the impact of assimilating sea level data, these events are simulated without and with a data assimilation system, based on an Ensemble Kalman Filter. Results show that, while the formulation of the bottom shear stress does not influence the seiche period, the seiche decay time is correctly estimated with a hybrid linear‐quadratic formulation. We found also that non‐linear interactions of bottom currents, caused by different sea level components, can modify the decay time. However, the two events are poorly reproduced by the model, even with a correct modelling set‐up, because of wind deficiencies. Therefore we considered the issue and found that the assimilation of tide‐gauge residual sea level has a strong positive impact, lasting several days, despite the errors in the atmospheric forcing. This is mainly due to the persistence of the seiche oscillations in the Adriatic Sea.

Interleukin-6 in pregnancy with sickle cell disease

BackgroundDespite advances in health care for sickle cell disease patients, as well as in the improvement in reproductive issues mainly in women with the disease, pregnancy is still a challenge, both for the mother and the child, with high rates of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Besides their chronic hemolytic status and vaso-occlusive events that confer systemic complications, pregnant women also have higher rates of pain episodes, infections, abortion, intrauterine growth retardation, pre-term births, eclampsia, stillbirth and the hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelets syndrome. The physiologic mechanisms of the disease in pregnancy are still unknown and chronic inflammatory responses may interfere in the adverse outcomes. The cytokine and chemokine profiles in pregnancy with sickle cell disease remain unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cytokine profile of the inflammatory response of pregnant women with sickle cell disease. MethodBlood samples from 20 pregnant women with sickle cell disease, 24 women with sickle cell disease in steady state, 16 healthy pregnant women and a control group with 9 women at childbearing age were assayed for interleukin-6. Main resultsPregnant women with sickle cell disease presented high serum levels of interleukin-6, compared to healthy pregnant women (p=0.0115). ConclusionThese data suggest that the increased production of interleukin-6 may occur during pregnancy with sickle cell disease and that the role of this cytokine in the sickle cell disease pathophysiology and pregnancy complications should be further studied.

Bovine Herpesvirus 1 Counteracts Immune Responses and Immune-Surveillance to Enhance Pathogenesis and Virus Transmission.

Infection of cattle by bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1) can culminate in upper respiratory tract disorders, conjunctivitis, or genital disorders. Infection also consistently leads to transient immune-suppression. BoHV-1 is the number one infectious agent in cattle that is associated with abortions in cattle. BoHV-1, as other α-herpesvirinae subfamily members, establishes latency in sensory neurons. Stressful stimuli, mimicked by the synthetic corticosteroid dexamethasone, consistently induce reactivation from latency in latently infected calves and rabbits. Increased corticosteroid levels due to stress have a two-pronged effect on reactivation from latency by: (1) directly stimulating viral gene expression and replication, and (2) impairing antiviral immune responses, thus enhancing virus spread and transmission. BoHV-1 encodes several proteins, bICP0, bICP27, gG, UL49.5, and VP8, which interfere with key antiviral innate immune responses in the absence of other viral genes. Furthermore, the ability of BoHV-1 to infect lymphocytes and induce apoptosis, in particular CD4+ T cells, has negative impacts on immune responses during acute infection. BoHV-1 induced immune-suppression can initiate the poly-microbial disorder known as bovine respiratory disease complex, which costs the US cattle industry more than one billion dollars annually. Furthermore, interfering with antiviral responses may promote viral spread to ovaries and the developing fetus, thus enhancing reproductive issues associated with BoHV-1 infection of cows or pregnant cows. The focus of this review is to describe the known mechanisms, direct and indirect, by which BoHV-1 interferes with antiviral immune responses during the course of infection.

Local Transmission of Zika Virus in Miami-Dade County: The Florida Department of Health Rises to the Challenge.

As early as 2015, Florida and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) public health officials recognized the potential danger of Zika for US residents and visitors. The Zika virus, a mosquito-borne flavivirus, is transmitted through the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito. A physician in Miami-Dade notified the Florida Department of Health (DOH) of the first non-travel-related Zika case in the United States. A 23-year old pregnant woman had presented on July 7, 2016, at 23 weeks of gestation, with a 3-day history of fever, widespread pruritic rash, and sore throat. Three more cases, involving men, were reported in Dade and Broward counties. These notifications set into motion additional activities from the DOH's Zika Playbook: increased mosquito surveillance; collaboration with the CDC on recommendations for mosquito abatement techniques; and increased awareness of the risks of Zika. In August, the department reported that active transmission of Zika virus was occurring in one small area in Miami-Dade County known as Wynwood. Mosquito trapping in the area with local transmission identified large numbers of the Zika vector, Aedes aegypti females and a large number of mosquito larval sites. Control efforts included larviciding, eliminating standing water, and backpack and truck spraying of insecticides. A communication strategy was developed that addressed risk mitigation, public concerns over application of noxious pesticides, loss of tourist revenue, and reproductive issues. It was reported on December 28, 2016, that there had been 256 locally acquired cases of infection of Zika, 1011 travel-related cases, and 208 pregnant women with laboratory evidence of Zika. At the end of 2018, 2 years after active Zika virus transmission was controlled in Florida, there have been 101 reported cases of Zika during 2018 but none have been linked to local transmission.

Equine fetal adrenal, gonadal and placental steroidogenesis

The authors apologize for errors in Figure 6 of their article published in the October 2017 issue of Reproduction (vol 154 iss 4 pp 445–454). The authors explain that the addition of data (Figure 6) on steroid concentrations in the chorioallantois to their manuscript on fetal adrenal and fetal gonadal steroids during development of the equine fetus was made in response to reviewer comments. However, in compiling, summarizing and graphing the data, the wrong units were used in the final figure. The manuscript as published represents the data in Figure 6 as “ng/g”, when in fact they are “nmol/g”. The authors very much regret having made the mistake and sincerely apologize for any confusion this might have caused.

(Re)Producing and challenging gender in and through urban space: women bicyclists’ experiences in Chicago

This research, which uses an intersectional feminist methodological approach, explores the relationships and intersections among women, public urban space, and bicycling, and the gendered processes through which the use of space is claimed, negotiated, and constrained. It builds on the existing scholarship on the gendered nature of public space, and uniquely uses bicycling as the site of inquiry. Drawing primarily from interviews with women cyclists in Chicago, this article explores how gender and other social identities are constructed, challenged, and constituted through an interaction with public space, urban processes and structures, and societal expectations and attitudes. It brings to the forefront and centers these narratives and empirically contextualizes them by linking the scholarship on the gendered (and raced, classed, and sexualized) nature of public space with the scholarship on women’s participation rates and barriers to bicycling. This research examines, through the everyday lived experiences of bicyclists and their multiple subject positions and privileges, how the gendered nature of public space affects the participation and experiences of women cyclists; how public space is negotiated and constrained; and how gender can be both (re)produced and challenged in and through urban space via women bicyclists’ actions. In particular, the research findings explore how women bicyclists must demand and negotiate public space; how their movement and activities are constrained in public space; how gender roles and social reproduction issues intersect with bicycling; and how social, quasi-advocacy group bicycle rides are used as a strategy, with mixed results, to address barriers to women bicyclists’ mobility.

Development and validation of extension strategies for effective management of reproductive problems of dairy animals

Reproductive problems in dairy animals emerged as prime concern for farmers due to their significant effect on the profitability and sustainability of dairy ventures in India. The present study was undertaken to assess the major reproductive problems of dairy animals as well as to develop and validate the extension strategies for managing reproductive problems. A total of 60 respondents from three villages viz Dilawara, Chundipur and Dhakwada of Karnal district were selected through simple random sampling. Data were gathered through structured interview schedule from dairy farmers who had at least one milch animal. Study revealed that repeat breeding, anestrous, retention of fetal membrane and prolapse were the major reproductive problems of dairy animals as perceived by 46.67, 36.67, 28.33 and 26.67 per cent of respondents respectively. Among 14 selected extension strategies, development and demonstration of video on specific reproductive issues with Rank Based Quotient (RBQ) value of 81.19 and preparation of extension literature with RBQ value of 72.38 were found to be the two best strategies for faster dissemination of information onmanagement of reproductive problems. The mean knowledge gain was found to be 10.75 per cent, 13.28 per cent and 15.23 per cent after exposure to different treatments i.e. booklet, video and both (video+booklet) respectively in the studyvillages. This explains the effectiveness of extension strategies and warrants the extension personnel to contextualise and deploy appropriate combinations of different extension strategies in order toimprove the information delivery system.

Women’s Reproductive Empowerment: A Comparative Study of Urban and Rural Females in Iran

Objectives: Women’s reproductive empowerment is an essential issue for good reproductive health which is affected by various socioeconomic and cultural factors. This study was designed to compare women’s reproductive empowerment in urban and rural areas. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical and correlational-type study, 810 women referring to health care centers in Sari were recruited through proportional cluster sampling method. Data were collected using a questionnaire on women’s reproductive empowerment including cultural, individual-family, social, and family planning domains. Finally, the obtained data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical tests. Results: The mean (standard deviation) of women’s reproductive empowerment score was 91.46±13.14 (a 95% CIof 90.55-92.36) and no statistical difference was observed between the urban and rural women in this respect (P = 0.59). In addition, cultural and family planning domains obtained the highest 29.12 (5.80) and the lowest 17.55 (4.25) scores concerning reproductive empowerment, respectively. Therefore, women’s reproductive empowerment score was significantly correlated with the females’ employment status (P = 0.006) and their husbands’ levels of education (P &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: Overall, the finding contributes to the discourse on women’s reproductive empowerment based on their residential area and thus adds to the limited literature on this issue in developing countries and Iran, in particular. Therefore, appropriate planning is required for women with various employment statuses and their spouses with different educational levels in order to improve their empowerment in terms of reproductive issues.

Impact of a web-based reproductive health training program: ENRICH (Educating Nurses about Reproductive Issues in Cancer Healthcare).

Educating Nurses about Reproductive Issues in Cancer Healthcare (ENRICH) is a web-based training program to assist oncology nurses with timely communication and relevant information regarding reproductive health issues (eg, risk of infertility, fertility preservation, and sexual health) to adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients and survivors. This manuscript describes impact on knowledge, perceived communication skills, and practice behaviors. The eight-module course incorporated didactic content and an interactive applied learning component on the following reproductive health topics: overview, men, women, family building options, pediatrics, sexual health, communication, and practical applications. A 14-question pretest and posttest was administered to assess changes in knowledge. Additionally, participants received a follow-up survey addressing communication skills and practice behaviors. Over a 3-year period, 233 nurses completed the training. The mean pretest to posttest total score increased significantly (P<.001). Nurses rated their communication skills regarding risk of infertility with males as 7.5 and females as 7.4, based on a 10-point scale. Half of participants noted that they often or always discuss risk of infertility and fertility preservation options. Two-thirds indicated they refer patients to reproductive specialists, and majority (72%) indicated they document those referrals. ENRICH is a successful intervention for oncology nurses caring for AYA patients and survivors by increasing knowledge, communication skills, and frequency of discussion of reproductive health.

Generational transmission of smallholder farms in late capitalism

ABSTRACT Despite contextual differences, the future of smallholder farming faces many similar challenges worldwide. This introduction to the special section previews case studies from Australia, Austria, Ireland and Japan of generational transmission of smallholder farms in late capitalism. It frames key issues in the generational reproduction of smallholder farming, combining perspectives from agrarian studies and youth studies. The cases include intrafamilial succession and extrafamilial transmission to “newcomer” farmers. Intergenerational farm transfers are a two-way interaction between the older and the younger generations, in which neither fully controls the process.

Patents on Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM) of Tissue Magnetism.

Quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) depicts biodistributions of tissue magnetic susceptibility sources, including endogenous iron and calcifications, as well as exogenous paramagnetic contrast agents and probes. When comparing QSM with simple susceptibility weighted MRI, QSM eliminates blooming artifacts and shows reproducible tissue susceptibility maps independent of field strength and scanner manufacturer over a broad range of image acquisition parameters. For patient care, QSM promises to inform diagnosis, guide surgery, gauge medication, and monitor drug delivery. The Bayesian framework using MRI phase data and structural prior knowledge has made QSM sufficiently robust and accurate for routine clinical practice. To address the lack of a summary of US patents that is valuable for QSM product development and dissemination into the MRI community. We searched the USPTO Full-Text and Image Database for patents relevant to QSM technology innovation. We analyzed the claims of each patent to characterize the main invented method and we investigated data on clinical utility. We identified 17 QSM patents; 13 were implemented clinically, covering various aspects of QSM technology, including the Bayesian framework, background field removal, numerical optimization solver, zero filling, and zero-TE phase. Our patent search identified patents that enable QSM technology for imaging the brain and other tissues. QSM can be applied to study a wide range of diseases including neurological diseases, liver iron disorders, tissue ischemia, and osteoporosis. MRI manufacturers can develop QSM products for more seamless integration into existing MRI scanners to improve medical care.

Engineering Organoid Vascularization.

The development of increasingly biomimetic human tissue analogs has been a long-standing goal in two important biomedical applications: drug discovery and regenerative medicine. In seeking to understand the safety and effectiveness of newly developed pharmacological therapies and replacement tissues for severely injured non-regenerating tissues and organs, there remains a tremendous unmet need in generating tissues with both functional complexity and scale. Over the last decade, the advent of organoids has demonstrated that cells have the ability to reorganize into complex tissue-specific structures given minimal inductive factors. However, a major limitation in achieving truly in vivo-like functionality has been the lack of structured organization and reasonable tissue size. In vivo, developing tissues are interpenetrated by and interact with a complex network of vasculature which allows not only oxygen, nutrient and waste exchange, but also provide for inductive biochemical exchange and a structural template for growth. Conversely, in vitro, this aspect of organoid development has remained largely missing, suggesting that these may be the critical cues required for large-scale and more reproducible tissue organization. Here, we review recent technical progress in generating in vitro vasculature, and seek to provide a framework for understanding how such technologies, together with theoretical and developmentally inspired insights, can be harnessed to enhance next generation organoid development.

A demonstration of modularity, reuse, reproducibility, portability and scalability for modeling and simulation of cardiac electrophysiology using Kepler Workflows.

Multi-scale computational modeling is a major branch of computational biology as evidenced by the US federal interagency Multi-Scale Modeling Consortium and major international projects. It invariably involves specific and detailed sequences of data analysis and simulation, often with multiple tools and datasets, and the community recognizes improved modularity, reuse, reproducibility, portability and scalability as critical unmet needs in this area. Scientific workflows are a well-recognized strategy for addressing these needs in scientific computing. While there are good examples if the use of scientific workflows in bioinformatics, medical informatics, biomedical imaging and data analysis, there are fewer examples in multi-scale computational modeling in general and cardiac electrophysiology in particular. Cardiac electrophysiology simulation is a mature area of multi-scale computational biology that serves as an excellent use case for developing and testing new scientific workflows. In this article, we develop, describe and test a computational workflow that serves as a proof of concept of a platform for the robust integration and implementation of a reusable and reproducible multi-scale cardiac cell and tissue model that is expandable, modular and portable. The workflow described leverages Python and Kepler-Python actor for plotting and pre/post-processing. During all stages of the workflow design, we rely on freely available open-source tools, to make our workflow freely usable by scientists.

Contraceptive use intentions and unmet need for family planning among reproductive-aged women in the Upper East Region of Ghana

BackgroundMotivations for use of contraceptives vary across populations. While some women use contraceptives for birth spacing, others adopt contraception for stopping childbearing. As part of efforts to guide the policy framework to promote contraceptive utilization among women in Ghana, this paper examines the intentions for contraceptive use among reproductive-aged women in one of the most impoverished regions of Ghana.MethodsThis paper utilizes data collected in 2011 from seven districts in the Upper East Region of northern Ghana to examine whether women who reported the use of contraceptives did so for the purposes of stopping or spacing childbirth. A total of 5511 women were interviewed on various health and reproductive health related issues, including fertility and family planning behavior. Women were asked if they would like to have any more children (for those who already had children or those who were pregnant at the time of the survey).ResultsThe prevalence of contraceptive use was low at 13%, while unmet need is highly pervasive and demand for family planning is predominantly for spacing future childbearing rather than for the purpose of stopping. Overall, about 31.7%of women not using contraceptives reported a need for spacing while 17.6% expressed a need for limiting. Thus, the latent demand for family planning is dominated by preferences for space rather than limiting childbearing.ConclusionResults show that there is latent demand for family planning and therefore if family planning programs are appropriately implemented they can yield the desired impact.

Genderless identity: avoidance of the ‘reproduction’ issue of female characters in literature of Great Leap Forward period

In this paper, the author studies female characters in literature of the Great Leap Forward period from the historical perspective of contemporary Chinese literature. The reproduction issue is the main focus of the present paper and it is found out that most of female characters in literature of the Great Leap Forward period do not have reproduction experiences (childness images). Thus, reproduction, as a gender symbol of the female identities, gradually faded away in literature of that time, and the female characters were eventually replaced with the neutralized (or even masculinized) images who were physically stronger and more capable of social functions. This paper presents three contributors to this avoidance of the reproduction issue in literature of the Great Leap Forward period as follows. The first contributor is that reproduction as a part of the personal life was suppressed by the revolution and the mission of national rescue continued to remain as a mainstream mindset even during the process of national developments. The second contributor is that the clash between the gender equality promoted in literature of Yan’an period and the cause of socialist construction was exacerbated and became even more pronounced in the Great Leap Forward period. And the last contributor is that the ‘People’s Commune’, an ideal and fundamental form of the social structure at that time consisting of ‘workers, farmers, businessmen, students, and soldiers’, had the potential to replace families based on blood ties.

Does financial autonomy imply reproductive and sexual autonomy? Evidence from urban poor women in Accra, Ghana

ABSTRACTThis article investigates the association between financial autonomy and three other measures of autonomy – sexual autonomy, perceived reproductive autonomy and actual reproductive autonomy in Ga-Mashie, Accra, Ghana. From anthropological accounts, the financial independence of women from this community, coupled with unique living arrangements, have resulted in them being independent and autonomous. The analytical sample consists of 172 women who were in union at the time of the survey. Binary logistic and ordered logistic regression models ran between financial autonomy and the other measures of autonomy, and controlling for relevant socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of the women, reveal that in this context, financial autonomy does not have the perceived effect of increasing autonomy in the three other spheres. Rather, measures that hint at egalitarianism and close marital relationships – namely, marital power, agreement with partners about reproductive issues and marital duration – are more significantly associated with sexual and reproductive autonomy. We conclude that, coupled with schemes to increase the financial autonomy of women, in this context, other measures aimed at improving marital relationships should be explored and encouraged.

Reproductive system status and the algorithm to solve fertility issues in men with cystic fibrosis

Rationale: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a common hereditary disease related to the CFTR gene mutations and characterized by progression and multiple system involvement (primarily of the digestive tract and / or pulmonary system). Most men with CF are infertile. Due to new therapeutic options, the life expectancy of CF patients has increased, with reproductive issues becoming relevant.Aim: A multifaceted assessment of the reproductive system status and fertility in male patients with CF and improvement of the strategies to resolve their reproduction issues.Materials and methods: This cohort prospective study was performed 2006 to 2018 and included 81 unrelated Russian male patients with confirmed CF, aged from 15 to 69 years (mean age 25.6 ± 7.9 years). Forty two (42) patients had pancreatic sufficient and 39 pancreatic insufficient CF. The patients underwent clinical, andrological, laboratory and instrumental examination (scrotal ultrasonography, standard and biochemical semen examination and hormone levels).Results: Reproductive disorders and semen abnormalities found in CF patients varied from preserved fertility to infertility. The following andrological abnormalities were found: delayed puberty (48%), urological disorders (26%), uni- or bilateral testicular hypoplasia (42%), diffuse lesions and cysts of the epididymis (70%), diffuse lesions /calcifications of the prostate (50%), and decreased testosterone levels (24.2%). Azoospermia was diagnosed in 87.5% of the patients, “moderate” or “mild” pathozoospermia (oligo-/astheno-/teratozoospermia) in 11.1%, and normozoospermia in 1.4% of the patients. There were significant differences between the patients with pancreatic sufficient and pancreatic insufficient CF in the ejaculate volume (1.4 ± 1.5 ml vs. 0.6 ± 0.5 ml; р = 0.006), ejaculate pH (6.7 ± 0.7 vs. 6.1 ± 0.4; р &lt; 0.0001), and sperm concentration (19.6 ± 56.0 Mio/mL vs. 0.001 ± 0.008 Mio/ mL; p = 0.011). Normal ejaculate volume was more frequent (21.1% vs 14.7%; p &gt; 0.05) in patients under the age of 25. No bilateral obstruction of vas deferens was found in 71.4% patients with 3849+10kbC&gt;T mutation. There was a significant difference (p &lt; 0.00001) in the frequency of 3849+10kbC&gt;T mutation between the patients with vas deferens obstruction (9.5%) and without it (93.8%). We developed an algorithm to resolve infertility issues (including assisted reproductive technologies) in male CF patients depending on their fertility / presence and type of pathozoospermia and some other factors that may influence the conception and CF risk in the offspring. We also suggested practical recommendations for the andrological assessment, maintenance of reproductive health, and planning of childbirth in these patients.Conclusion: Male CF patients require a multifaceted assessment of their reproductive system. The prognosis of their reproductive functions, the strategy to maintain their reproductive health and making a decision on childbirth depends on the CF type, the CFTR genotype, the results of semen analysis, and the patient’s age. Pancreatic sufficient CF type, 3849+10kbС&gt;T mutation of the CFTR gene and younger age are favorable factors for potential maintenance of vas deferens patency and male fertility in CF patients.