Search results for "Image processing"
showing 10 items of 3285 documents
A comparative study of the sperm nuclear morphometry in cattle, goat, sheep, and pigs using a new computer-assisted method (CASMA-F)
2012
This study was designed to compare the sperm nuclear morphometry of four species of domestic artiodactyls (cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs), using the newly developed automatic computer-assisted sperm morphometry analysis-F. The study was divided into two experiments. In the first experiment, samples from 20 males from each species were collected, diluted, and divided into four sample aliquots. The first was labeled directly with Hoechst 33342, and the others were processed as smears. Between smears, one group was directly labeled with Hoechst after air drying, and the other was fixed either with glutaraldehyde (GLUT), or with methanol, and afterward labeled with Hoechst. Digital images of t…
Use of Relief Contrast®Objective to Improve Sperm Morphometric Analysis by Isas®Casa System in the Ram
2013
The aim of this study was to develop a new method for morphometric assessment of the sperm head and acrosome in the ram. Ejaculates from 10 adult males were collected using an artificial vagina. For each ejaculate, 10 semen smears were prepared, air-dried and divided (in pairs) into the following five treatment groups: (i) washed in distilled water and allowed to dry without further processing (DRY); (ii) fixed in 50% methanol (MET); (iii) fixed in 2% glutaraldehyde (GLUT); (iv) fixed and stained with Hemacolor(®) (HEM) and (v) fixed and stained with SpermBlue(®) (SB). The prepared slides were examined with a 40 × Relief Contrast(®) objective (RC) and processed with ISAS(®) commercial softw…
Study of nuclear and acrosomal sperm morphometry in ram using a computer-assisted sperm morphometry analysis fluorescence (CASMA-F) method.
2014
The aim of this study was to develop a new method that allows morphometric assessment of the sperm nucleus and acrosome in the ram using fluorescence microscopy and free software. The study was divided into three experiments. In the first experiment, semen smears from 20 ejaculates were fixed and labeled with a propidium iodide-pisum sativum agglutinin (PI/PSA) combination. Digital images of the sperm nucleus, acrosome, and whole sperm head were captured and analyzed using the ImageJ program. The computer-assisted sperm morphometry analysis fluorescence (CASMA-F) method used allowed the differentiation, capture, and morphometric analysis of most sperm nuclei, acrosomes, and whole heads with…
CASA-Mot in mammals: an update
2017
Sperm motility is one of the most widely used parameters of sperm quality. Computer-aided sperm motility analysis (CASA-Mot) systems were developed to reduce the subjectivity of sperm motility assessment, and have had broad scientific and practical acceptance. In this review, the sources of variation and current applications of this technology and its relationships with other sperm quality tests are described in detail. Despite remarkable advances in the technique, there is still great need for standardisation in many species, and the numerous factors that affect the results make it difficult to provide universally accepted criteria for classifying semen samples based on sperm motility char…
Combined effects of type and depth of counting chamber, and rateof image frame capture, on bull sperm motility and kinematics
2019
Semen quality assessment requires accurate, reliable and objective methods for examination of sperm variables including sperm motility. For preparation of semen samples for artificial insemination, as a genetic resource, samples that are used for insemination need to have the capacity to result in a highly acceptable fertility rate. Several methods have been developed for evaluation of bull sperm in laboratory conditions and for preparation of doses for artificial insemination. Computer-assisted semen analyses can provide objective information on various sperm variables. Nevertheless, this equipment requires fine-calibrations considering differences among species, breeds and conditions for …
Morphometric classification of Spanish thoroughbred stallion sperm heads.
2007
This work used semen samples collected from 12 stallions and assessed for sperm morphometry by the Sperm Class Analyzer (SCA) computer-assisted system. A discriminant analysis was performed on the morphometric data from that sperm to obtain a classification matrix for sperm head shape. Thereafter, we defined six types of sperm head shape. Classification of sperm head by this method obtained a globally correct assignment of 90.1%. Moreover, significant differences (p<0.05) were found between animals for all the sperm head morphometric parameters assessed.
Gene Transcription Alterations Associated with Decrease of Ethanol Intake Induced by Naltrexone in the Brain of Wistar Rats
2006
Preclinical and clinical studies suggest that the administration of the opioid antagonist naltrexone decreases the intake of ethanol. However, the neuroplastic adaptations in the brain associated to reduction of ethanol consumption remains to be elucidated. The aim of the study was to identify gene transcription alterations underlying the attenuation of voluntary ethanol intake by administration of naltrexone in rats. Increasing doses of naltrexone (0.7 mg/kg, 4 days and 1.4 mg/kg/day, 4 days) to rats with acquired high preferring ethanol consumption (>3.5 g of ethanol/kg/day) decreased voluntary ethanol intake (50%). Voluntary ethanol consumption altered mu-opioid receptor function in the …
Inflammation-induced upregulation of NK1 receptor mRNA in dorsal horn neurones
1993
The expression of the neurokinin 1 (NK1) receptor (i.e. substance P receptor) gene in spinal cord was studied in rats subjected to unilateral inflammation by semi-quantitative in situ hybridization analysis. Low levels of NK1 receptor mRNA were detected in many neurones throughout the grey matter. Relatively strong labelling was observed in large motoneurones and a subpopulation of superficial dorsal horn neurones. Six days after Freund's adjuvant-induced unilateral hindpaw inflammation, NK1 receptor mRNA levels in lamina I/II of the dorsal horn ipsilateral to the inflamed paw increased almost two fold compared with the contralateral side. These data suggest an inflammation-induced increase…
Anosognosia for hemiparesis after left-sided stroke
2014
In patients with left-sided lesions, anosognosia for hemiparesis (AHP) seems to be a rare phenomenon. It has been discussed whether this rareness might be due to an inevitable bias due to language dysfunction and whether the left hemisphere's role for our self-awareness of motor actions thus is underestimated. By applying functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) we examined whether patients with AHP following a left hemisphere stroke show a regular, left-sided or a reversed, right-sided lateralization of language functions. Only the former observation would argue for an original role of the left hemisphere in self-awareness about limb function. In a consecutive series of 44 acute left-s…
The left occipitotemporal system in reading: disruption of focal fMRI connectivity to left inferior frontal and inferior parietal language areas in c…
2011
Developmental dyslexia is a severe reading disorder, which is characterized by dysfluent reading and impaired automaticity of visual word processing. Adults with dyslexia show functional deficits in several brain regions including the so-called "Visual Word Form Area" (VWFA), which is implicated in visual word processing and located within the larger left occipitotemporal VWF-System. The present study examines functional connections of the left occipitotemporal VWF-System with other major language areas in children with dyslexia. Functional connectivity MRI was used to assess connectivity of the VWF-System in 18 children with dyslexia and 24 age-matched controls (age 9.7-12.5 years) using f…