In a greenhouse pot experiment, maize was grown inoculated with the spores of the VAM fungi Glomus mosseae and Glomas multicaulis or non-inoculated. Low soluble ferrous phosphate (FePO4.4H2O) was ...added to the mycorrhized and non-mycorrhized maize. The fresh and dry weights of mycorrhized plants with added phosphate (P) were higher than in mycorrhized plants without added P or non-mycorrhized plants with added P. The amount of P in the soil samples from pots with mycorrhizal plants fertilized with P was evidently smaller than chose in samples also fertilized non-mycorrhizal plants. The percentage of P was higher in tissues of fertilized mycorrhizal plants than in those mycorrhized plants without or non-mycorrhized plants with added low-soluble P. These results indicated that plants in VAM symbiosis mobilize P better from low-soluble P than non-mycorrhized plants
Fuzzy logic brings new possibilities into control, modeling, data analysis, diagnostics, decision making, and other working fields in biomedical sciences. This paper presents how fuzzy logic can be ...used as an alternative or supplement to statistics in biomedical analysis. It shows an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference computing in comparison with linear and curvilinear regression. The main goal of this presentation is to involve fuzzy logic in biomedical research. Thus, we carried out a mathematical treatment of the clinical sample, semen of infertile man, with the independent variable Concentration of spermatozoa and the dependent variable Number of spermatozoa by 230 observations.
Germ cell apoptosis in the human testis Martincic, D S; Virant Klun, I; Zorn, B ...
Pflügers Archiv,
01/2001, Letnik:
442, Številka:
6 Suppl 1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Apoptosis is a widespread phenomena during development. It represents a form of cell death and has a crucial role in tissue homeostasis. Apoptosis is also involved in a number of pathological ...conditions. Spermatogenesis is a dynamic process of germ cell proliferation and differentiation. During regular spermatogenesis, the number of testicular germ cells degenerate by an apoptotic process. The significance of regulating cell population by apoptosis is more apparent when sperm production is halted. The presence and frequency of apoptosis in germ cells of human testis biopsy specimens were tested. The results confirm the presence of germ cell apoptosis but not the apoptosis of Sertoli cells. The increased apoptotic index was observed in patients with azoospermia in comparison with normal but obstructed spermatogenesis.
Elastase-inhibitor complex was assessed by immunoassay in the seminal plasma of 312 men attending the outpatient infertility clinic. Using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, ...elastase at the cut-off value of > or =290 ng/ml was shown to be efficient (sensitivity 79.5%, specificity 74.4%) in the detection of genital tract inflammation as defined by leukocytospermia (>1x106 leukocytes/ml). The prevalence of increased elastase in 292 infertile men was significantly higher (34%) as compared with that (5%) observed in 20 fertile men (P = 0.02). Moreover, high elastase concentration (> or =290 ng/ml) was observed in 66 of the 264 men (25%) without leukocytospermia. A significant positive correlation was found between elastase concentration and patient age (r = 0.202, P < 0.0001) and the number of leukocytes (r = 0.330, P < 0.0001). A negative correlation was found between elastase concentration and semen volume (r = -0.146, P = 0.01) and the percentage of spermatozoa with single-stranded DNA (r = -0.194, P = 0.024), but there was no correlation between elastase and sperm reactive oxygen species production. A higher seminal elastase concentration was significantly associated with tubal damage in female partners (P < 0.001). After norfloxacine antibiotic therapy, decrease in elastase concentration was observed in 15 (25%) of the 60 treated patients. Tubal damage in the partner negatively affected the response to antibiotic therapy. In conclusion, granulocyte elastase is a reliable screening test for silent genital tract inflammation of the couple. The elastase-inhibitor complex may have a protective effect in reducing sperm DNA denaturation.
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