0000000000083583
AUTHOR
María Sancho
Computer assisted morphometric analysis of ram sperm heads: Evaluation of different fixative techniques
The recent development of automated systems for morphometric sperm head analysis has provided a series of objective parameters which have facilitated the standardization of morphological semen evaluation. This current work attempts to establish the optimum fixing conditions for the morphometric characterization of ram spermatozoa. Ejaculates were obtained from 5 Merino rams used for periodic collection of semen and were diluted at 1:50 with TEST medium. Air-dried smears were fixed either in ethanol-ether (1:1), 50% methanol, 2% glutaraldehyde or SUZA fixative, in which case the smear was pretreated with chloramine. The samples were then stained with commercial kit Hemacolor. Once the prepar…
Utilización del Integrated Semen Analysis System (ISAS)® para el análisis morfométrico espermático humano y su significado en las técnicas de reproducción asistida
Use of the integrated semen analysis system (ISAS ® ) for morphometric analysis and its role in assisted reproduction technologies
Morphometry and subpopulation structure of Holstein bull spermatozoa: variations in ejaculates and cryopreservation straws
Artículo científico Sperm quality is evaluated for the calculation of sperm dosage in artificial reproductive programs. The most common parameter used is motility, but morphology has a higher potential as a predictor of genetic quality. Morphometry calculations from CASA‑Morph technology improve morphological evaluation and allow mathematical approaches to the problem. Semen from 28 Holstein bulls was collected by artificial vagina, and several ejaculates were studied. After general evaluation, samples were diluted, packaged in 0.25 ml straws, and stored in liquid nitrogen. Two straws per sample were thawed, and slides were processed and stained with Diff‑Quik. Samples were analyzed by a CA…
A new technique for analysis of human sperm morphology in unstained cells from raw semen
Sperm morphology analysis is a fundamental component of semen analysis, but its real significance has been clouded by the plethora of techniques used for its evaluation. Most involve different fixation and staining procedures that induce artefacts. Herein we describe Trumorph (Proiser R+D, Paterna, Spain), a new method for sperm morphology analysis based on examination of wet preparations of spermatozoa immobilised, after a short 60°C shock, in narrow chambers and examined by negative phase contrast microscopy. A range of morphological forms was observed, similar to those found using conventional fixed and stained preparations, but other forms were also found, distinguishable only by the o…
Facial attractiveness in men provides clues to semen quality
Abstract Facial attractiveness has been related to health in both men and women. Certain psychological, physiological, and secondary sex characteristics have been used as accurate markers of hormonal and developmental health. The main objective of this study was to investigate the capacity of women to select males of high reproductive quality based on their facial attractiveness. A total of 66 males were included in the study. Each of them provides a semen sample, and frontal and lateral photographs were taken. Semen analysis was made according to standard WHO (1999) guidelines for morphology, motility, and concentration. Moreover, a Sperm Index (SI) was calculated as the principal componen…
Sperm kinematic, head morphometric and kinetic-morphometric subpopulations in the blue fox (Alopex lagopus)
This work provides information on the blue fox ejaculated sperm quality needed for seminal dose calculations. Twenty semen samples, obtained by masturbation, were analyzed for kinematic and morphometric parameters by using CASA-Mot and CASA-Morph system and principal component (PC) analysis. For motility, eight kinematic parameters were evaluated, which were reduced to PC1, related to linear variables, and PC2, related to oscillatory movement. The whole population was divided into three independent subpopulations: SP1, fast cells with linear movement; SP2, slow cells and nonoscillatory motility; and SP3, medium speed cells and oscillatory movement. In almost all cases, the subpopulation dis…
Efecto de la cámara de recuento utilizada sobre los parámetros espermáticos, analizados con el ISASv1®
Resumen Introduccion El uso de las camaras de recuento condiciona los valores de concentracion y movilidad espermatica debido a su tipo de carga (capilaridad o desplazamiento de la gota) y a la altura que presenten. Recientemente, se han introducido nuevas camaras, tanto desechables (ISAS ® D4C) como reusables (Spermtrack ® ) con diversas alturas en cada caso. Objetivo El objetivo del presente trabajo es validar su uso, analizando diversos parametros espermaticos con un sistema CASA, el ISASv1 ® . Material y metodo Se analizaron muestras de donantes voluntarios (10 para las desechables y 5 para las reusables), analizando el efecto del tipo de camara, de la altura, del tiempo de carga y del …
Regionalization of epididymal duct and epithelium in rats and mice by automatic computer-aided morphometric analysis.
Aim: To establish a rat and mouse epididymal map based on the use of the Epiquatre automatic software for histologic image analysis. Methods: Epididymides from five adult rats and five adult mice were fixed in alcoholic Bouin’s fixative and embedded in paraffin. Serial longitudinal sections through the medial aspect of the organ were cut at 10 µm and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. As determined from major connective tissue septa, nine subdivisions of the rat epididymis and seven for the mouse were determined, consisting of five sub-regions in the caput (rat and mouse), one (mouse) or three (rat) in the corpus and one in the cauda (rat and mouse). Using the Epiquatre software, several t…
Effect of solid storage at 15 degrees C on the subsequent motility and fertility of rabbit semen.
We conducted two studies to improve preservation of rabbit semen. The objective of the first study was determine whether a glucose- and fructose-based extender with two different amounts of gelatin would solidify at 15 degrees C, and to evaluate the influence of gelatin supplementation on sperm motility parameters after storing semen up to 10 days at 15 degrees C. The fertility of rabbit semen diluted in the best gelatin-supplemented extender established in Study 1 and stored for up to 5 days was evaluated in the second study. In Study 1, semen was collected with an artificial vagina from 40 bucks. Each ejaculate was diluted to (80-100) x 10(6) spermatozoa/mL (1:3, semen/extender) at 37 deg…
Innovación educativa para integrar la seguridad en asignaturas experimentales
La formación es uno de los pilares esenciales para consolidar una auténtica cultura de la prevención que luego repercuta en el ámbito laboral. En Ingeniería Química, la formación en Higiene y Seguridad es absolutamente necesaria, por el tipo de equipos y productos manejados. Sin embargo, la integración de la prevención de riesgos en los nuevos planes de estudio de Ingeniería Química es muy variable, y todavía insuficiente para que los egresados estén capacitados para desarrollar su actividad profesional aplicando los principios de la prevención de riesgos. Aprovechando la puesta en marcha de los nuevos grados, se pensó desarrollar alguna estrategia para mejorar la formación en Seguridad de …
Male Facial Anthropometry and Attractiveness
The symmetry and masculinity of the face are often considered important elements of male facial attractiveness. However, facial preferences are rarely studied on natural faces. We studied the effect of these traits and facial metric parameters on facial attractiveness in Spanish and Colombian raters. In total, 13 metric and 11 asymmetry parameters from natural, unmanipulated frontal face photographs of 50 Spanish men were measured with the USIA semiautomatic anthropometric software. All raters (women and men) were asked to rank these images as potential long-term partners for females. In both sexes, facial attractiveness was negatively associated with facial masculinity, and preference was …
Comparison of three different staining methods for the assessment of epididymal red deer sperm morphometry by computerized analysis with ISAS®
When collection of ejaculated sperm samples is not possible, as is the case with wild species, the epididymides of sacrificed wild males become the only possible source of spermatozoa. Mature cauda epididymal spermatozoa display characteristics similar to those of ejaculated sperm cells. The present work proposes a sperm staining technique suitable for the morphometric evaluation of red deer epididymal sperm using a new computerized system. Epididymides from wild animals were extracted no later than 2 h post mortem. After epididymal sectioning, sperm samples were collected, cooled to and equilibrated at 5 °C, and frozen in liquid nitrogen. Before staining, sperm samples were thawed for 20 s…
Male facial attractiveness and masculinity may provide sex- and culture-independent cues to semen quality
Phenotype-linked fertility hypothesis (PLFH) predicts that male secondary sexual traits reveal honest information about male fertilization ability. However, PLFH has rarely been studied in humans. The aim of the present study was to test PLFH in humans and to investigate whether potential ability to select fertile partners is independent of sex or cultural background. We found that on the contrary to the hypothesis, facial masculinity was negatively associated with semen quality. As increased levels of testosterone have been demonstrated to impair sperm production, this finding may indicate a trade-off between investments in secondary sexual signalling (i.e. facial masculinity) and fertilit…
Use of the Sperm-Class Analyser® for objective assessment of human sperm morphology
The Sperm-Class Analyser was validated for assessing morphometric parameters of the head and midpiece of unwashed and washed human ejaculated spermatozoa from volunteers providing a wide range of semen quality. A higher proportion of sperm could be assessed (86% fresh semen and 75% washed sperm) if Hemacolor staining was used rather than DiffQuik (80 and 73%) or Papanicolaou (78 and 68%). Different stains employed different fixatives and the area, length, width and perimeter of the sperm head was significantly larger for washed sperm stained by Hemacolor and DiffQuik. Acrosomal area ranged from 48 to 51% of the sperm head area and this percentage was larger for washed sperm stained with Dif…