Introduction: When mammalian spermatozoa first enter the epididymis from testis they display little or no progressive motility. On transit along the epididymis, spermatozoa gradually acquire the potential for full progressive motility. This process which begins after sperm leave the testis is called sperm maturation and requires specific factors from the epididymal epithelium. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of computer-assisted sperm analysis for the objective determination of rat sperm motility. Having validated this system, it would be used to assess in vitro and in vivo sperm maturation.Material and methods: Sperm samples from various regions of the epididymis and ejaculates were prepared. Primary cultures of the epithelium from the rat epididymis were established. A novel computer-aided sperm analysis was used to analyze and characterize the motility of the rat spermatozoa during in vitro and in vivo maturation. Sperm motility analysis also examined during co-culture. Image analyses of sperm movement from video recording tapes were also examined.Results: This study used a novel CASA system and image analysis to monitor the changes in motility as spermatozoa undergo maturation in the rat epididymis, during ejaculation and during co-incubation with epididymal epithelial cultures and medium preparations. It is interesting to note that changes in epididymal sperm motility were occurred in vivo and in vitro. The co-incubation of immature rat spermatozoa from the caput epididymis with epithelial cultures led to significant changes in progressive sperm motility parameters associated with maturation.Conclusion: This study indicates the CASA and other image analysis techniques were able to characterize in detail the objective determination and changes in motility parameters of rat spermatozoa. Validation of this system provides the best facility to assess rat sperm maturation in vitro.

In this paper, new systems to enhance the performance of binaural source separation system, called MESSL, are proposed.In the source separation system, first, the Gaussian models for the interaural phase difference (IPD) and interaural level difference (ILD) parameters are obtained by using the EM algorithm. Then, by using the generated model for each source, a soft mask is extracted and multiplied with the short-time Fourier transform (STFT) of the mixture signal to separate the target signal. Because of incomplete performance of the separation system, two post-processing systems are proposed to remove the unwanted signals from the target signal.The first proposed method is the adaptive noise cancellation using learning-based particle swarm optimization (LPSO). The second proposed post-processing system includes two stages. In the first stage of this system, the denoising technique of the Wavelet transform is employed to remove the main part of the distracter signal. In the second step, the minimum mean-squares-error (MMSE) approach is used to enhance further the quality of the separated target signal. Evaluation and comparison of the proposed systems for Farsi database shows that the second proposed system performs well in the enhancement of the separated target speech and is also computationally efficient.

Computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA) is used as an accurate and objective tool for kinetic sperm measurements. The aims of this study were evaluate the effects of extender and sperm chamber on motility parameters of goat sperm using CASA. Semen collected from five Mahabadi goats via artificial vagina. The collected semen divided in two fractions and diluted in two commercially soyabean based extender, Bioxcell and Andromed to finally concentration of 6 × 106 spermatozoa per ml. The diluted semen evaluated via CASA and using two sperm chambers including Makler chamber with 10µ m deep and Leja chamber with 20µ m deep, and microscopic slide with 18*18mm cover. The motility parameters considered in this study were average path velocity (VAP, µ m/s), straight line velocity (VSL, µ m/s), curvilinear velocity (VCL, µ m/s), amplitude of lateral head displacement (ALH, µ m), beat cross frequency (BCF, Hz), straightness (STR, as VSL/VAP, %), and linearity (LIN, as VSL/VCL, %). The medium used for the dilution of the sample significantly affects all sperm motility parameters except VCL. Only ALH was significantly lower (P < 0. 05), whereas VSL, VAP, BCF LIN and STR were significantly higher, in the semen diluted in Bioxcell than Andromed. The effects of sperm chamber were significant only in LIN and BCF. In conclusion the extender had significant effect on the CASA results whereas sperm chamber didn't has so effects.

some what the fertility successful, but sperm’s normal morphology cannot demonstrate sperm DNA competence.Since the health of sperm DNA is affecting the results of assisted reproductive technology; the aim of this study is to evaluate semen parameters measured by CASA with sperm chromatin abnormalities in Taleghani Medical Center in 1390 and 1391.Materials and Methods: Case-control study was conducted. Subjects who had a diagnosis of infertility and a control group who had previous fertility. Semen samples were taken and sperm parameters such as motility and morphology evaluated with CASA and DNA fragmentation was assessed by chromatin dispersion test. Protamine deficiency was evaluated by chromomycin A3 staining. Parameters in both groups were analyzed statistically.Results: The results showed a significant correlation between protamine deficiency, DNA fragmentation and sperm parameters. Head and neck anomalies showed the maximum significant correlation with percentage of sperm DNA fragmentation; but tail anomalies even occur with percentage of DNA competence.Conclusion: Protamine deficiency and damage in sperm DNA in infertile cases was more than fertile cases. In cases with high DNA damage ratio, sperm parameters were poorer and the fertility was less, so CASA method cans analysis sperm parameters with high precision.

Backgrand: Cotinine (COT) is a major degradation product of nicotine (NIC). The participation of leptin in female reproduction is well-established, but any role in male reproductive function is at the best tenuous. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the in-vitro effects of nicotine, cotinine and leptin on sperm parameters in normal semen of non-smokers fertile men.Materials and Methods: Ten healthy nonsmokers aged 25-40 years old were devided into 7 groups, Thier semens were divided into 7 aliquots. (A) was layered with basal solution 70 ng/ml NIC, (B) 35 mg/ml NIC, (C) 300 ng/ml COT, (D) 200 mg/ml COT, (E) 30 ng/ml leptin, (F) 300 ng/ml leptin respectively and (G) was layered with mHTF. After migration, the samples were examined at time 0, +1, +2, +4, +8, and + 24 h of incubation. Results: These findings were obtained: sperm count: 75.66±66.25x10 6 /ml, forward motility: 75.55±14.80%, progress: 33.66±13.01, VSL: 51.58±6.99 mm/s, VCL: 103.33±14.52 mm/s, ALH: 4.33±0.77 mm, BCF: 25.60±2.97 HZ, STR: 79.33±8.04 %, LIN: 52.55±10.52 %, ELO: 74.22 ±12.76 % and ARE: 3.04±1.50 u/sq. The parameters were similar before 8 hr and were being decreased after that. Conclusion: According to the results. nicotin and cotinin have negative effects on the sperm parameters but despite the positive effect of leptin, there is no correlation between leptin concentration in semen and its physical characteristics.