Can we identify a compound that could be added to spermatozoa in vitro Assignment - 1

Can we identify a compound that could be added to spermatozoa in vitro to enhance their motility - Assignment Example In particular, sperm motility is an important parameter because it indicates the integrity of the sperm tail and axoneme structures as well as the status of mitochondrial metabolic machinery (Saharkhiz et al., 2013). The World Health Organization uses a 40% cut off as the lower limit of progressive sperm motility. Although the exact cause of asthenospermia is not clear, there is growing evidence that it may arise due to hyper-viscosity of semen, varicoceles, autoimmunity of the sperm cell, and necrospermia resulting from immotile cilia (Kartagener) syndrome (Saharkhiz et al., 2013). Overall, reduced sperm motility indicates epididymal or testicular failure that can be caused by various factors. Currently, treatment of male infertility has focused mainly on the traditional in vitro fertilization (IVF) approach and newer interventions such as micro-epididymal sperm aspirations and microsurgical fertilization. However, these techniques are uncommon in andrological practice. Current research efforts in this area focus on the use of chemical stimulation of spermatozoa. A number of chemicals can stimulate sperm motility including the addition of compounds known to exhibit phosphodiesterase inhibition (PDEI) activity to enhance sperm motility in vitro without compromising sperm morphology and function. PDEIs are a class of related compounds such as pentoxifylline (PTX) that selectively catalyze the hydrolysis of 3’ phosphate bond in cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate (cAMP) phosphate or cyclic Guanosine Monophosphate (cGMP). In one of the pioneering studies on in vitro stimulation of sperm motility, Shen (1991) demonstrated that Pentoxifylline (PTX) increases motility (velocit y) of ejaculated human spermertozoa both in in vitro aesthenozoospermic samples in oral therapy. Related studies have shown that PTX added in sperm suspensions increases sperm motion within 10 days with the motility characteristics persisting

The cultural racial other Speech or Presentation

The cultural racial other - Speech or Presentation Example Scheherezade, the young princess who tells the king stories lest she be killed, has become the standard image, in whatever way one is most familiar with that image of her, in considering and thinking of Muslim women. In the movie Sex and the City 2, the character played by Sarah Jessica Parker oozes â€Å"Just like Scheherazade,† when she finds out she and her friends are going to travel to Abu Dhabi.4 Flying carpets, wanton women, and evil magic genies are images that more readily come to the Westerner’s mind than the reality of Muslims and their Islamic faith and culture, which permeates all aspects of their society, politics, and private lives. The images and culture portrayed through Nights is offensive to many Muslims, because it falsely portrays who they are and mires them in a time of antiquity that is long past, not allowing them as a culture and people to participate in the present. This helps put into perspective the hostility with which the West is perceived by Muslims. A cultural â€Å"other† exists in the minds of the Westerner.