The role of staining techniques in seminological analysis of mammalian semen

The most important semen parameters are the concentration, motility and morphology of sperm cells. Sperm morphology is regarded as the most reliable parameter for predicting fertility in males. A problem in evaluating sperm morphology and morphometry is the lack of standardization of staining techniques. The staining procedure and reagents used can significantly affect the morphometric parameters of the sperm cell. The use of stains with different pH or osmotic pressure, as well as the duration of the procedure, may influence the shape and size of the sperm, and thus the result of the morphological evaluation of the semen. It is necessary to develop an evaluation procedure for sperm morphology and morphometry that will minimize the changes in the structure of the evaluated semen in relation to the native semen

Theoretical and Experimental Studies on the Visible Light Activity of TiO2 Modified with Halide-Based Ionic Liquids

Formation of a surface complex between organic molecules and TiO2 is one of the possible strategies for the development of visible light-induced TiO2 photoactivity. Herein, three ionic liquids (ILs) with the same cation and different anions (1-butylpirydynium chloride/bromide/iodide) have been applied for the surface modification of TiO2 and to understand the role of anions in visible light-induced activity of ILs-TiO2 systems. Photocatalytic screening tests (the measurements of phenol photodegradation reaction rate) revealed that anion type affected visible light activity (λ > 420 nm) of TiO2 obtained by the ILs-assisted solvothermal method. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrated that interactions between halogen anions and oxygen vacancies (OV) on the surface of the TiO2 particles could be responsible for the specific wavelength-induced excitation and finally for the observed photoactivity of titania under visible light. Finally, our theoretical calculations have been proven by experiments using monochromatic light (the apparent quantum efficiency was measured) and the properties of obtained samples were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction analysis (XRD), UV-Vis spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)