Efficacy of the motile sperm organelle morphology examination (MSOME) in predicting pregnancy after intrauterine insemination

Background: Although the motile sperm organelle morphology examination (MSOME) was developed merely as a selection criterion, its application as a method for classifying sperm morphology may represent an improvement in the evaluation of semen quality. The aim of this study was to determine the prognostic value of normal sperm morphology using MSOME with regard to clinical pregnancy (CP) after intrauterine insemination (IUI).Methods: A total of 156 IUI cycles that were performed in 111 couples were prospectively analysed. Each subject received 75 IU of recombinant FSH every second day from the third day of the cycle. Beginning on the 10th day of the cycle, follicular development was monitored by vaginal ultrasound. When one or two follicles measuring at least 17 mm were observed, recombinant hCG was administered, and IUI was performed 12-14 h and 36-40 h after hCG treatment. Prior to the IUI procedure, sperm samples were analysed by MSOME at 8400x magnification using an inverted microscope that was equipped with DIC/Nomarski differential interference contrast optics. A minimum of 200 motile spermatozoa per semen sample were evaluated, and the percentage of normal spermatozoa in each sample was determined.Results: Pregnancy occurred in 34 IUI cycles (CP rate per cycle: 21.8%, per patient: 30.6%). Based on the MSOME criteria, a significantly higher percentage of normal spermatozoa was found in the group of men in which the IUI cycles resulted in pregnancy (2.6+/-3.1%) compared to the group that did not achieve pregnancy (1.2+/-1.7%; P = 0.019). Logistic regression showed that the percentage of normal cells in the MSOME was a determining factor for the likelihood of clinical pregnancy (OR: 1.28; 95% CI: 1.08 to 1.51; P = 0.003). The ROC curve revealed an area under the curve of 0.63 and an optimum cut-off point of 2% of normal sperm morphology. At this cut-off threshold, using the percentage of normal sperm morphology by MSOME to predict pregnancy was 50% sensitive with a 40% positive predictive value and 79% specificity with an 85% negative predictive value. The efficacy of using the percentage of normal sperm morphology by MSOME in predicting pregnancy was 65%.Conclusions: The present findings support the use of high-magnification microscopy both for selecting spermatozoa and as a routine method for analysing semen before performing IUI

Tannic Acid Modified Silver Nanoparticles Show Antiviral Activity in Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Infection

The interaction between silver nanoparticles and herpesviruses is attracting great interest due to their antiviral activity and possibility to use as microbicides for oral and anogenital herpes. In this work, we demonstrate that tannic acid modified silver nanoparticles sized 13 nm, 33 nm and 46 nm are capable of reducing HSV-2 infectivity both in vitro and in vivo. The antiviral activity of tannic acid modified silver nanoparticles was size-related, required direct interaction and blocked virus attachment, penetration and further spread. All tested tannic acid modified silver nanoparticles reduced both infection and inflammatory reaction in the mouse model of HSV-2 infection when used at infection or for a post-infection treatment. Smaller-sized nanoparticles induced production of cytokines and chemokines important for anti-viral response. The corresponding control buffers with tannic acid showed inferior antiviral effects in vitro and were ineffective in blocking in vivo infection. Our results show that tannic acid modified silver nanoparticles are good candidates for microbicides used in treatment of herpesvirus infections.This work was supported by the Polish National Science Centre grant No. 2011/03/B/NZ6/04878 (for MK) and Centre for Preclinical Research and Technology (CePT) Project No. POIG.02.02.00-14-024/08-0 (for MG and MD). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscrip

Guidelines for management of ischaemic stroke and transient ischaemic attack 2008

This article represents the update of the European Stroke Initiative Recommendations for Stroke Management. These guidelines cover both ischaemic stroke and transient ischaemic attacks, which are now considered to be a single entity. The article covers referral and emergency management, Stroke Unit service, diagnostics, primary and secondary prevention, general stroke treatment, specific treatment including acute management, management of complications, and rehabilitation

Trends In Antimicrobial Resistance Of Streptococcus Pneumoniae In Children In A Turkish Hospital

The antimicrobial susceptibilities of 143 isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae recovered from the sputa of children with lower respiratory tract infections in a Turkish university hospital were determined. Five isolates (3.5%) were resistant and 57 isolates (39.9%) intermediately resistant to penicillin. The most common serotype among these resistant isolates was serotype 23, followed by serotypes 19 and 14. The overall resistance rates were 31% for tetracyline, 11% for erythromycin and cefaclor, 4% for chloramphenicol, 2% for cefotaxime and 0% for vancomycin, The data highlight the need for surveillance of resistance and serotype distribution of S. pneumoniae in our geographical area.Wo

Comparison of three methods in testing susceptibility of mycobacterium tuberculosis to antimycobacterial agents Mycobacterium tuberculosis'in antituberkuloz ilaclara karsi duyarliliginin saptanmasinda kullanilan uc yontemin karsilastirilmasi

In this study, three methods testing the susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to antimycobacterial agents were compared. For this purpose, antimicrobial susceptibility testing of 100 M. tuberculosis isolates to four antimycobacterial agents were performed by using three methods. These methods were the proportion method, BACTEC radiometric system and Alamar blue colorimetric method. Statistical analyses showed that there were no significant differences between the three methods in determining the Susceptibility of M. tuberculosis to rifampicin, ethambutol and streptomycin. Proportion method and BACTEC method showed excellent correlation in detection of isoniazid resistance while Alamar blue method was found to be less sensitive since it was unable to detect four resistant strains. The average time to obtain the results of susceptibility testing by Alamar blue method was 10 days, The reliability and accuracy of this method may be increased by using several different drug concentrations, Alamar blue colorimetric method may be used especially in developing and underdeveloped countries since it is a rapid and cheap method

Disseminated peritoneal leiomyomatosis - A benign entity mimicking carcinomatosis

Disseminated peritoneal leiomyomatosis (DPL) is a rare entity, occuring primarily in premenopausal women. The lesion is characterized by numerous subperitoneal nodules of benign smooth muscle proliferations which usually mimics the macroscopic appearance of the peritoneal carcinomatosis. We report a case of DPL and multiple uterine leiomyomas, occuring in a 50 year old premenopausal woman who was on oral contraceptives for the last three years. In order to diagnose this entity clinicians and pathologists have to be alert and collaborative during the intraoperative frozen section consultation

Women's perceptions of caesarean section: reflections from a Turkish teaching hospital

Caesarean section as a contentious topic has attracted attention world-wide and different dimensions of the issue has been investigated. The primary reason behind these initiatives have been the upsurge of caesarean sections both in the developed and developing world and the realisation that the operation may not always contribute positively to the mother's and baby's health. By contrast, several studies have demonstrated both the short and long term negative effects. Research has also revealed that factors other than medical necessity play an important role in the decision to perform a caesarean section. Turkey, although reliable data does not exist, can be classified among the countries experiencing the caesarean epidemic, at least among highly educated and wealthy mothers. This research, exploring the perceptions of mothers in a teaching hospital with a high caesarean rate, is a rare example of its kind in Turkey. The main finding is the dissatisfaction of the mothers undergoing caesareans during their stay in the hospital. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved