Tapé Fermentation

Microorganisms isolated from ragi, originally obtained from Indonesia, were selected for their ability to convert steamed glutinous rice into tapé, an Indonesian fermented food. A mixture of Chlamydomucor oryzae and Endomycopsis fibuliger had good fermentation characteristics. Prepared starters, produced by growing pure cultures on rice and drying them, were as active as pure cultures grown for 4 days on Difco mycological agar slants at 30 C.     

Tapé fermentation

Microorganisms isolated from ragi, originally obtained from Indonesia, were selected for their ability to convert steamed glutinous rice into tapé, an Indonesian fermented food. A mixture of Chlamydomucor oryzae and Endomycopsis fibuliger had good fermentation characteristics. Prepared starters, produced by growing pure cultures on rice and drying them, were as active as pure cultures grown for 4 days on Difco mycological agar slants at 30 C.     

Efficacité et innocuité du prélèvement percutané de sperme testiculaire dans la prise en charge de l’infertilité masculine

Objective

To assess the efficacy and safety of percutaneous testicular biopsy to provide sperm cells for ICSI in male patients with azoospermia not amenable to surgical treatment.

Materials and methods

From October 1995 to December 2001, 175 biopsies were performed in men with azoospermia to provide material for intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Azoospermia was obstructive (OA) in 41 cases and non-obstructive (NOA) in 134 cases. Open biopsy was performed in the first 15 patients in the series and percutaneous biopsy was performed on an outpatient basis, under local anesthesia, with a Biopty Gun® (14G needle), in the subsequent patients as the first step in management. Open surgical biopsies were performed in another 15 patients following a sperm cell-negative percutaneous biopsy.

Results

All biopsies performed for OA were positive, but only 51/134 biopsies (38%) were positive in the NOA group. The material provided by percutaneous biopsy, when positive for sperm cells, was always sufficient to perform ICSI. When percutaneous biopsy was negative, open surgical biopsy failed to give better results. Five men developed minor complications (acute hematocele) following percutaneous biopsies requiring reoperation for hemostasis (3.12%). No major complications were observed. Results were comparable in terms of fertilization and pregnancy rates whether fresh or frozen-thawed sperm was used.

Conclusion

Percutaneous testicular sperm extraction is a safe, well-tolerated and cost-effective procedure in the management of male-factor infertility related to azoospermia.     

Indonesian tapé ketan fermentation

Indonesian tapé ketan is a fermentation in which a mold, Amylomyces rouxii Calmette (Chlamydomucor oryzae Went and Prinsen Geerligs), in combination with one or more yeasts such as Endomycopsis burtonii converts steamed rice to a sweet-sour, slightly alcoholic paste. A study was made to determine the biochemical changes that occur in the substrate during fermentation. It was found that the product was ready for consumption after fermentation at 30 degrees C for 36 to 48 h. A. rouxii used about 30% of the total rice solids, resulting in a crude protein of 12% in 96 h, whereas the combination of the mold with E. burtonii reduced total solids by 50% in 192 h, causing crude protein to increase to 16.5%. Soluble solids increased from 5 to about 67% in 36 h and decreased to 12% at 192 h with A. rouxii alone, whereas soluble solids fell to about 8% at 192 h in the fermentation with both the mold and the yeast. The mold, by itself, reduced the starch content of the rice from 78 to 10% in 48 h and to less than 2% in 144 h. The mold plus yeast reduced the starch content to about 18% in 48 h; however the "starch" content did not fall below 6% even at 192 h, presumably because the yeast was producing glycogen, which was determined along with the residual starch. With both the mold and the mold plus yeast fermentations, reducing sugars increased from less than 1% to approximately 5% in 24 h and reached maximum concentration, 16 to 17%, between 36 and 48 h. A. rouxii by itself produced a maximum of about 5.6% (vol/vol) ethanol at 96 h. The highest concentration of ethanol (8%, vol/vol) was produced by the mold plus E. burtonii at 144 h. The mold by itself reduced the starting pH from 6.3 to about 4.0 in 48 h. The combination of the mold and yeast reduced the pH to 4.1 in 144 h. The mold increased total acidity to approximately 6.2 meq of H per 100 ml, and the combination of the mold and yeast increased the total acidity to 7.8 meq of H per 100 ml in 192 h. At 48 h there was practically no difference in the volatile acidity (0.20) for the combined fermentation compared with 0.26 meq of H per 100 ml for the mold fermentation. The mold and at least one species of yeast were required to develop the rich aroma and flavor of typical Indonesian tapé.     

L'évaluation de l'incapacité dermatologique en santé au travail.

This paper presents a simple method for evaluating the extent of impairment in occupational dermatosis based on the portion (P) of the anatomic area involved (A) and the coefficient of physiologic disturbance (C). A percentage value is assigned to each anatomic area on the basis of its functional importance. The coefficient of physiologic disturbance is the average of four factors (stiffness, dehydration, thickening, and pruritus or pain). The formula (P X A). C gives the final percentage of impairment.     

Identité masculine et transsexualisme

Transsexualism is a phenomenon of our culture. In the past, there were men and women who could not accept their innate sex. What is new is linked to our modern medical technology which offers patients a so-called «change of sex» using hormones and surgery; in fact it is a change in appearance, allowing the individual to «pass» as a member of the other sex. Some societies had and still have a social status for a third gender, but our transsexuals do not want to be treated as members of a third gender, they want to belong to the other gender Male-to-female and female-to-male transsexuals have the same mental functioning, characterized by splitting and denial. But there are differences, in part because society is more intolerant of feminine behaviors in men than of masculine behaviors in women. Male-to-female transsexualism includes a subgroup of subjects who, after failing in school, are unable to earn their living and live on welfare, even after surgical sex reassignment. We have learned from the study of intersexed and transsexual subjects that the feeling of belonging to a gender is a belief, a construction, in which psychological factors (interactions between the parents, the environment and the child) play an important role. Masculine or feminine identities have their roots in the sexual difference, but they are defined by each culture. A man is a male who accepts at least part of his culture’s stereotypes regarding masculinity. Even if biological factors play a role, they cannot explain the whole of gender identity and sexual orientation.     

Cannabis et fertilité masculine

Cannabis is the most used recreational drug in the world. One of the major concerns of exposure to the cannabis is its negative effect on the reproductive function. The discovery of the endocannabinoid system, composed of multiple endogenous lipid ligands, their receptors and their metabolic enzymes, highlights the importance of the signaling pathways of this system in multiple events of reproduction. The objective of this study is to review the impact of the cannabis on male reproductive function. The limits and the perspective possible studies to evaluate the effects of the cannabis on male fertility are discussed in this study on the basis of the studies carried out on men and animals.     

La puberté surrénalienne

The androgens produced by the adrenal glands are mainly Δ5 steroids, first dehydroepiandrosterone (DHA) and its sulfate (DHAS). Adrenal androgens, very high at birth, decrease rapidly the first few months of life, remaining very low from 1 to 6 years of life. Adrenarche is defined as the changes in the pattern of adrenal secretions which occur several years before the onset of gonadal puberty (gonadarche). Developmental patterns of adrenal androgens differ markedly among species and only the chimpanzee exhibits an adrenarche comparable to that of man. Adrenarche starts in both sexes around age 7. The increase in DHA/DHAS has a rather abrupt onset and is thereafter progressive. Before the onset of gonadarche mean levels of DHA and DHAS have increased by about 10 and 20 fold respectively. The prepubertal rise in plasma Δ⁵-androgens is accompanied by that of Δ4-androstenedione and 11β-hydroxy-Δ⁴-androstenedione occurring likely at about the same time but being very progressive and more modest are only significant after age 8 in both sexes. Adrenal androgens continue to rise during puberty. Plasma levels of DHA and DHAS continue to rise from pubertal stages 1 to 5 and remain similar in both sexes until age 15. At pubertal stage P5, plasma DHA levels are similar to that seen in young adults with no sex difference while that of DHAS continue to rise in boys and become significantly higher than in girls. Developmental changes in adrenal androgen secretions are also observed in the response to ACTH stimulation. Whether estimated as absolute levels or Δ of response, the rise in all unconjugated adrenal androgens to a short or prolonged ACTH stimulation, is greater with increasing age, with no sex difference, and is somewhat correlated to basal levels. Plasma levels of DHAS do not vary significantly the 2 hours following a bolus injection of ACTH (21, 34) but its response to longterm (3-days) ACTH stimulation is also increasing with age. Morphological and functional changes in the adrenal cortex also occur during development. Focal development of aZona reticularis starts at 5 years of age, and progressively becomes continuous. The development of the zona reticularis is parallel to the increase in adrenal androgen secretions, and is completed only by age 15. This is accompanied by a rise in 17-hydroxylase and 17,20-desmolase activity in the adrenals. In a normal timing of physiological events, the onset of adrenarche occurs several years before the onset of gonadarche, 2–3 years in girls and 3–4 years in boys. This relation does not preclude that the processes are independent events. Indeed, the onset of adrenarche and gonadarche are dissociated in a variety of disorders of sexual maturation Adrenal androgen secretions are under the control of ACTH, as shown by a series of observations. However, the specific increase of adrenal androgen secretions during development without any detectable change in ACTH stimulation, the dissociation between adrenarche and gonadarche in several conditions, have led to postulate that the biochemical differentiation of the zona reticularis may require the action of an «adrenal factor» in addition to ACTH. Among the proposed «trophic» factors of adrenal androgen secretion, LH/FSH and estrogens are no longer believed to be involved. The evidences for the existence of a separate and specific pituitary cortical androgen-stimulating hormone (CASH) are not yet convincing. Prolactin, linked to nutritional status, may stimulate the activity of the adrenal hydroxysteroid sulfotransferase. The functional zonal theory» is attractive, but it does not explain why changes in adrenal androgens occur at a given age. Finally, the occurrence of familial cases of premature pubarche, the study of the changes in adrenal androgens in monozygotic or dizygotic twins and the observation that in idiopathic delayed puberty the delay in adrenarche is only one part of a generalized growth and developmental delay, strongly suggests that maturation of the adrenal cortex is regulated, at least in part, by genetic factors. The physiological importance of adrenal androgens remains a matter of controversy. Classical “dogma” dictates that adrenal androgens are responsible for pubic hair development. It has also been suggested that they contribute to somatic growth or epiphyseal advancement in childhood. This is mainly based on the observation that premature adrenarche is accompanied by premature pubarche, tall stature and advanced bone age. However, adequate androgen secretion alone does not ensure normal sexual hair development in many patients with gonadal dysgenesis. Moreover, in children with a lack or delayed adrenarche long-term treatment with DHAS at dosages such as to restore normal levels for age, failed to induce growth of sexual hair or any change in growth rate, bone maturation velocity, or to advance puberty. Although new hypotheses favour the view that Δ5-androgens, particularly Δ⁵-androstenediol, have some characteristic properties of estrogens, the physiological role of adrenal androgens, if any, remains to be established. DHAS may well be only a prohormone. There are ample evidences that all tissues possess active sulfatases which transform it into DHA, a steroid with high turn-over. Administration of DHA to experimental animals has shown beneficial effects on various endocrine-metabolic parameters, enhanced immunoprotective functions and reduced carcinogenesis. DHA prevents diabetes in genetically diabetic and obese mice. The importance ofin vivo andin vitro experimental findings is underscored by epidemiological data showing that low DHA levels are correlated with increased cardiovascular morbidity in men, breast cancer in women and a decline in immune competence. Human studies are at the moment controversial. It remains possible that DHAS influence breast cancer risk earlier in life, and/or that there are more complex interactions with other hormones or the intracellular metabolism of DHA/DHAS. Indeed, the tissue concentrations of DHAS may be important since it may act indirectly via its metabolism into estradiol or other steroids. Further long-term studies are needed to conclude whether DHA/DHAS are a youth fountain.     

Vieillissement et fertilité de l'homme

The decreased androgen levels in the ageing male have an evident effect on libido, sex life and coital frequency, whereas its role in impotence, the frequency of which increases dramatically in old age, is only marginal. Sperm quality as well as its fertilizing capacity decreases only minimally with age: there is some decrease in motility as well as an increase in percentage of spermatozoa with abnormal morphology, but sperm density remains unchanged, notwithstanding decreased spermatogenesis. After age 25, apparent fecundability of the woman decreases; this is attributable, on the one hand to an increase of the intrauterine mortality and, on the other hand to the declining coital frequency. After age of 35, female fecundity decreases more rapidly, due to changes in female physiology (increased frequency of anovulatory cycles, short luteal phase etc), whereas the normal, age dependent, decrease in coital frequency has little impact on the age pattern of fecundability. As far as the influence of the age pattern on the fecundity of the couple is concerned, it is concluded that the age of the female partner, rather than the age of the husband is the predominant factor determining the fecundability of the couple.     

Hochstaudengesellschaften des Landschaftsschutzgebietes Jizerské hory

In the protected landscape region of Jizerské hory Mts., the following tall-herb communitíes of the suballianceFilipendulenion (all.Calthion) were ascertained and studied:Lysimachio vulgari-Filipenduletum Bal.-Tul. 1978.Valeriano officinali-Filipenduletum Siss. inWesthoff et al. 1946,Chaerophyllo hirsuti-Filipenduletum Niemann, Heinrich etHilbig 1973,Cirsio, heterophylli-Filipenduletum Neuhäusl etNeuhäuslová-Novotná 1975, andTrollio altissimi-Filipenduletum Bal.-Tul. inRybní?ek. et al. 1984. Close relationships were found between the communities composition and the environmental factors. Of these, the following were studied: Altitude, substrate, climate, inclination and axposition, moisture, humus content and quality, pH, content of exchangeable H⁺ and Al³⁺, end content of nitrogen. Relations to the reconstructed natural vegetation were also taken into account.     

L’évolution chez les Phyllocerataceae,la variabilité des paramètres dimensionnels et relatifs. Variabilité de la complexité de la ligne cloisonnaire: Variabilité et paedomorphose

Evolution of the Phyllocerataceae, the variability of the dimensional and relative parameters. Variability of the complexity of the suture line. Variability and paedomorphosis. A recent study has shown the importance of heterochronies in the development of Phyllocerataceae. It was attractive to estimate with precision the variability of some morphological characters of the shell and of the suture line in order to study how this variability changed in the course of time (from Jurassic to terminal Cretaceous). This note gives the averages of the calculations of variability in dimensional and relative variables in the shell of Phylloceratidae and variability in the complexity C of their suture lines. Coefficient of variation V is the statistical parameter used here, because it allows the comparison between the dispersions of different populations. This study shows that the variability of the complexity in the suture line and h₁ + h₂ is more fluctuating among the taxa (usually subfamilies, genera and species) in which heterochrony is evident. On the other hand, the variability of other parameters (V₁, V₂, D) first grows and then slowly decreases till the branch or the lineage is extinct. This schema is mostly acceptable down to the Lower Cretaceous-Upper Cretaceous in the Tethys and in the marine shelf of Gondwana. In the family of Neophylloceratidae, very clearly in the Tethys, less clearly in marine shelf of Gondwana (it is less obvious in the genus Phyllopachyceras), the variability grows as far as the terminal Cretaceous. The extinction of this family may result from a catastrophic event and not from internal causes. In short, the decrease of variability comes before the extinction of the taxa and consequently it agrees with a Darwinian classic schema. On the other hand, the extinction of Neophylloceratidae that occurs when the variability is maximal probably takes place in another perspective, an external « catastrophic » event. To cite this article, B. Joly, C.R. Palevol 2 (2003).     

Imagerie et bilan d'une infertilité masculine

A male cause is responsible in near 50% of infertilities. The radiologist takes place in a multidisciplinary management, after clinical and biological screening, which distinguishes:

- excretory infertilities, of which some causes are curable. Transrectal sonography (TRUS) and scrotal sonography are the first tests. In case of epididymal obstacle, scrotal abnormalities may correspond to constitutional or acquired causes; TRUS is normal. TRUS usually identifies congenital bilateral absence of vas deferens; without renal agenesia, a genital form of cystic fibrosis must be evocated. In case of distal obstacles, TRUS may be completed with MRI, especially in case of voluminous cystic tumors. Vasography, which directly shows was deferens patency, is required to accurately diagnose obstruction when ultrasound is not conclusive; vasography must be integrated in a surgical strategy.

- secretory azoospermies, from gonadic or hypothalamo-hypophyseal causes. Scrotal sonography may complete clinical examination. When hypothalamo-hypophyseal axis must be explored, MRI is the reference test.

- oligo-astheno-teratospermies, where infertilities are often mixed, with various male factors.

Three groups must be explored: hyperprolactinemies (MRI); chronic genital infection (ultrasound); varicoceles; Doppler color ultrasound may help to the detection; spermatic phlebography produce a pretherapeutic cartography, and may be the first step of a percutaneous sclerotherapy.     

Testosterone levels among Aché hunter-gatherer men

Salivary testosterone levels were measured in a population of New World indigenous adult hunter-gatherer males in order to compare circulating levels of free unbound bioactive steroid with those previously reported among Boston and nonwestern males. The study population consisted of adult Aché hunter-gatherer males (n=45) living in eastern Paraguay. Morning and evening salivary testosterone levels (TsalA.M.; TsalP.M.) among the Aché were considerably lower than western values (Boston) and even lower than other previously reported nonwestern populations (Efe, Lese, Nepalese). No association was observed between height, weight, or age and salivary testosterone levels within the Aché group, although older men (ages>40) were poorly represented in the study sample. Nevertheless, a mild correlation was observed between Aché TsalA.M. levels and BMI (r=0.133,p=0.0725). Comparison of Aché values with those for other populations confirms the prevalence of significant interpopulational variation in testosterone levels among adult males. Interpopulational variation in male testosterone is not as great, however, as has been documented for ovarian steroids among females, nor is it likely that such variation reflects differences in male fecundity. Nevertheless, such interpopulational variation in salivary testosterone levels may have a functional significance in the regulation of protein anabolism in skeletal muscle, thereby affecting the overall energy budget of the organism. It is suggested that relative suppression of average testosterone may be adaptive under conditions of chronic energy shortage. This research was funded by the National Science Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, Sigma Xi, and Harvard University. The author is a doctoral candidate in biological anthropology at Harvard University. He received his B.A. in anthropology and psychology from UCLA in 1988 and his M.A. in anthropology from Harvard in 1994. His research interests include male reproductive ecology, male hormone function, foraging societies, evolutionary biology, and behavioral evolution.     

A Historical resumé of indian limnology

A broad categorisation of Indian freshwater investigations published so far is presented. The lacunae are pointed out. Problems and priorities for further limnological researches in the context of India's limited water resources are high-lighted.     

Varicocèle et infertilité masculine

Introduction

Male responsibility in couple infertility has been established in several studies. The purpose of this research was to report varicocele clinical and spermatic aspects and assess the outcomes of open retroperitoneal varicocelectomy.

Patients and methods

Our study is a retrospective assessment of the outcomes of open retroperitoneal varicocelectomy at the urology department of Aristide Le Dantec teaching hospital (Senegal). Our focus is on patients with varicocelectomy facing couple infertility (inability for sexually active couples who are not using contraceptive methods to obtain a pregnancy over a year), patients among which no other infertility cause was revealed in their partner or partners in polygamist households. To assess the results, we compared the averages of preoperative and postoperative spermatic parameters by using the Z test (comparison test of two averages on two mated series). A difference was regarded as significant if P ?? 0.05.

Results

Five hundred and fourteen cases were examined over 6 years (January 2005?CDecember 2010). The average age of the patients was 36.5 ± 7.3 years. The infertility was primary in 62.4%. The analysis of the preoperative spermograms revealed that severe oligozoospermia (33.7%) was the most common abnormalities in the sperm cells concentrations. The abnormalities in the sperm cells concentrations were variously connected with an asthenozoospermia and to a theratozoospermia. The patients were monitored with an average hindsight of 22 months (6?C48 months). The improvement of the parameters was more significant on the concentration and the mobility of sperm cells. The natural pregnancy rate obtained in our study was 20.8%. The registered pregnancies were more important in the group IV (48%). No case of natural pregnancy was noted in the group I but an induction of the spermatogenesis was noted in 20.5% of the cases. About two thirds of natural pregnancies (64%) were noted during the first 12 post-operative months.

Conclusion

The surgical treatment of varicocele allows improving the spermatic parameters. Not only do these improvements help obtain natural pregnancies but also simplify the techniques of ART planned with the preoperative spermatic parameters.