Molecular analysis of Y chromosome microdeletions in idiopathic cases of male infertility in Serbia.

The aim of this study was to detect frequency of microdeletions of Y chromosome in idiopathic cases of male infertility in Serbian population. Patients were subjected to detailed clinical, endocrinological and cytogenetic examinations. Ninety patients with normal cytogenetic findings with azoospermia and severe oligozoospermia were included in the study. In these patients microdeletion analysis was performed by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method on DNA extracted from peripheral blood. In each case 6 markers in azoospermia factor (AZF) regions were tested: sY84, sY86 (AZFa); sY127, sY134 (AZFb); sY254, sY255 (AZFc). Deletions on Y chromosome were detected in 14 of 90 cases (15.6%), 9 with azoospermia and 5 with severe oligozoospermia. Of total number of 17 deletions, 11 (64.7%) were detected in AZFc region, 3 (17.6%) in AZFa region and 3 (17.6%) in AZFb region. Microdeletions in AZF region of Y chromosome, especially AZFc microdeletions, represent common genetic cause of idiopathic azoospermia and severe oligozoospremia in Serbian infertile men. Therefore, testing for Y chromosome microdeletions should be considered as an important element in diagnosis and genetic counseling of infertile men in Serbia and decisions regarding the assisted reproduction should be made based on the presence and type of AZF microdeletions

Molecular analysis of Y chromosome microdeletions in idiopathic cases of male infertility in Serbia

The aim of this study was to detect frequency of microdeletions of Y chromosome in idiopathic cases of male infertility in Serbian population. Patients were subjected to detailed clinical, endocrinological and cytogenetic examinations. Ninety patients with normal cytogenetic findings with azoos and severe oligozoospermia were included in the study. In these patients microdeletion analysis was performed by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method on DNA extracted from peripheral blood. In each case 6 markers in azoospermia factor (AZF) regions were tested: sY84, sY86 (AZFa); sY127, sY134 (AZFb); sY254, sY255 (AZFc). Deletions on the Y chromosome were detected in 14 of 90 cases (15.6%), nine with azoospermia and five with severe oligozoospermia. Of total number of 17 deletions, 11 (64.7%) were detected in AZFc region, three (17.6%) in AZFa region and three (17.6%) in AZFb region. Microdeletions in AZF region of the Y chromosome, especially AZFc microdeletions, represent common genetic cause of idiopathic azoospermia and severe oligozoospremia in Serbian infertile men. Therefore, testing for Y chromosome microdeletions should be considered as an important element in diagnosis and genetic counseling of infertile men in Serbia and decisions regarding the assisted reproduction should be made based on the presence and type of AZF microdeletions

Introducing restorative approaches in prison settings: An example of a victim awareness program in Serbia

Restorative justice is implemented in a variety of fields, contexts and situations worldwide today. One possible way of implementing restorative justice is introducing restorative approaches into prison settings. It is argued that restorative justice can bring more humanity into prison systems; it may help in the treatment of prisoners and contribute to their preparation for release and reintegration. Introducing victims’ perspectives, either through their direct involvement in prison restorative justice programs or through initiatives that raise inmates’ awareness of victims and their rights, needs and feelings, contributes to victims’ visibility, empowerment and healing. The chapter presents experiences in developing and implementing a program in the women’s prison in Serbia that raises awareness about restorative justice and the impact of a crime on a victim. The authors assess the program and recommend the need for broader use of restorative justice approaches in Serbian prison settings for both adults and juveniles

How many truths are there? Reconciliation and agonistic dialogue in the former Yugoslavia

In this paper, we offer a possible interpretation of reconciliation in the former Yugoslav area. In a conflicting past and not-reconciled region, it is presumed that the truth should be the main pillar of reconciliation. However, according to our empirical analysis of 146 reconciliation projects implemented in the period between 2002 and 2015, there are many interpretations of truths in the region which are opposed to each other. These interpretations are the result of different national political constructions, supported by the dominant structures of the societies in question. Accordingly, instead of insisting on a single factual truth, we propose the introduction of the 'agonistic dialogue' principle, where multiple truths would coexist, thus turning former war enemies into political adversaries in the post-conflict setting

Globalizing feminist criminology: Gendered violence during peace and war

Feminist criminology needs to renovate concepts based explicitly on the experiences of mainly white women in the global North. It also needs to globalize its research agendas and enhance its conceptual horizons, to include the distinctively different gendered patterns of crime and violence that occur across the global South and North, and not only during peacetime, but also war and conflict. The chapter takes two issues - violence against women during war and civil conflict; and innovative approaches to preventing violence from the global South - to illustrate how feminist criminology can contribute to southern criminology’s project of democratizing knowledge transfer between the global North and South