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Background Refugees have an increased risk of developing mental health problems. There are insufficient psychosocial care structures to meet the resulting need for support. Stabilizing and guided imagery techniques have shown promising results in increasing traumatized refugees’ emotional stabilization. If delivered via audio files, the techniques can be practiced autonomously and independent of time, space, and human resources or stable treatment settings. Objective This study aimed to evaluate the self-practice of stabilizing and guided imagery techniques via digital audio files for traumatized refugees living in a reception and registration center in Germany. Methods From May 2018 to February 2019, 42 traumatized refugees participated in our study. At T1, patients received digital audio files in English, French, Arabic, Farsi, Turkish, or Serbian for self-practice. Nine days later, at T2, a face-to-face interview was conducted. Two months after T2, a follow-up interview took place via telephone. Results At T2, about half of the patients reported the daily practice of stabilizing and guided imagery techniques. At follow-up, the average frequency of practice was once weekly or more for those experiencing worse symptoms. No technical difficulties were reported. According to T2 and follow-up statements, the techniques helped the patients dealing with arousal, concentration, sleep, mood, thoughts, empowerment, and tension. The guided imagery technique “The Inner Safe Place” was the most popular. Self-practice was impeded by postmigratory distress factors, like overcrowded accommodations. Conclusions The results show that self-practice of stabilizing and guided imagery techniques via digital audio files was helpful to and well accepted by the assessed refugees. Even though postmigratory distress factors hampered self-practice, “The Inner Safe Place” technique was particularly well received. Overall, the self-practiced audio-based stabilizing and guided imagery techniques showed promising results among the highly vulnerable group of newly arrived traumatized refugees.

Fructose is produced and secreted by the seminal vesicles and it is believed to form tight bonds with certain proteins that are also of vesicular origin. Under normal conditions of liquefaction, fructose is totally dialyzable; however, blocking liquefaction by exposing semen to acidic conditions renders this sugar non dialyzable. Fructose therefore appears to play a role in the coagulation of semen. The formation of fructose-protein complexes may resolve physiological problems concerning osmotic pressure in the seminal vesicles: if all the fructose were present in free state, the osmotic pressure would be very high and incompatible with cell survival

BACKGROUND: Assisted reproduction techniques can minimize the risk of infection and treat possible sterility associated with serodiscordant couples. METHODS: We assessed the efficacy of these techniques in 57 couples in which at least one partner had human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) infection that was currently under control (47 men and 10 women). The semen of seropositive men was prepared and tested for viruses. Assisted reproduction techniques included intrauterine insemination (IUI), IVF and especially ICSI, with ovarian stimulation that used a long agonist protocol and recombinant FSH. Embryos were transferred on day 3 after oocyte retrieval. RESULTS: For couples with seropositive men, five IUI and 49 IVF or ICSI attempts were perfomed, whilst for seropositive women these numbers were three IUI and 12 IVF or ICSI. No pregnancy occurred following the eight IUI trials. Seroconversion was not observed in any partners of seropositive men. Efficacy of treatment for these couples with ICSI was good, the clinical pregnancy rate per embryo transfer was 48.8%. The results for seropositive women were disappointing, with a clinical pregnancy rate per embryo transfer of 9.1%. Fourteen babies from 47 treated couples have so far been born and no pregnancies from IUI. CONCLUSIONS: Assisted reproduction techniques and particularly ICSI provide HIV-1-seropositive men with a safe and highly effective means of fathering children. These techniques may be less effective for seropositive women.

Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a genetic disease characterized by abnormalities in ciliary structure/function.We analyzed the main clinical features and test results of PCD in order to evaluate their usefulness for diagnosis.Retrospective study of 35 cases of PCD evaluated by the same team, with nasal brushings in all cases (special light microscopy) and electron microscopy and/or by isotopic mucociliary clearance study in some.In a cohort of 145 patients with suspected PCD, the diagnosis of PCD was established in 35 cases using a combination of compatible clinical features coupled with the study of nasal brushings: 13 females and 22 males, average age at time of diagnosis 25 years, situs inversus in 12 patients (34%).In the absence of consensus in the literature for diagnosis of PCD, we propose the association of the following diagnostic criteria: upper airway and bronchopulmonary infections beginning often early in the life, more inconstantly situs inversus, familial cases of PCD, consanguinity, infertility and permanent and ubiquitous abnormalities of ciliary structure/function. Nasal brushing with ciliary study (special light microscopy) seems to be an easy and reliable diagnostic criterion. Electron microscopy is necessary for proving ultrastructural abnormalities.

If the clinical asymptomatic infection of the genital tract is a very frequent diagnosis of the hypofertility, it's quite important to know if the infection is evolutive or not. The assessment of inflammatory proteins of the seminal plasma as albumin IgA, gamma-globulins, lysozyme allows to do the differential diagnosis. So, an increase of such proteins is the expression of an evolutive infection.

The antibacterial function of the seminal plasma is subdivided in: inhibition of the bacterial proliferation; inhibition of the bacterial adherence; reduction of the concentration of coiled tail spermatozoas. The reduction of the antibacterial activity of the seminal plasma can explain the high frequency of the genital tract reinfection.

The lipid composition of seminal plasma was studied in 15 control subjects and 21 patients consulting for hypofertility and showing a chronic infection of the urogenital tract. In the infected patients a significant reduction in total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and total phospholipids was noted. Moreover, there is a significant correlation between the rates of total cholesterol and prostatic acid phosphatases and the rates of phospholipids and proteins in seminal plasma. Knowing the role of lipids in the phenomena of maturation and capacitation of spermatozoa, such modifications enable us to understand better the functional anomalies of sperm observed in patients with chronic infection of the urogenital tract and also enable us to explain the effects of the infection on fertility.

This study examines the consequences of diabetes on male reproductive function. We have studied a group of 18 diabetics (15 type I, 3 type II) age 24 to 40 years (mean 34 +/- 5.3) with duration of diabetes from 2 to 30 years (mean 11.8 +/- 8.3). This group was compared to 20 semen donors. In diabetics higher sperm (p = 0.0063) and round cell (p = 0.031) concentrations/ml as well as a higher total spermatozoa count (p = 0.023) were observed. The percentage of abnormal sperms were also higher. None of the couples had consulted for sterility and they had a mean of 2 children. In this group of patients, diabetes was not a cause of subfertility. Specific spermiological alteration in diabetics might reflect a testicular damage secondary to their diabetes or disease.

Fetal rhesus monkeys were treated with recombinant human epidermal growth factor (EGF) to determine if EGF can induce maturation of the tracheobronchial secretory apparatus. At 75% of gestation, EGF was administered simultaneously into both the amniotic fluid and fetal abdominal cavity at an average dose of 66 micrograms/kg body weight, by each route over a 7-d period. At the end of the treatment period, the fetuses were delivered and either euthanized immediately or after maintenance on ventilatory support for 6 h. The lungs were removed, and the trachea and one lobe of the right lung was fixed and embedded for light microscopy. The left lung was lavaged with saline, and the collected fluid was used to quantify released secretory product. Secretory product was also measured in amniotic fluid as well as in situ on histologic sections of tracheal epithelium. When the tracheas of EGF-treated monkeys were examined, the epithelium was found to be taller and to contain a greater proportion of secretory cells and a smaller proportion of intermediate cells than the control group. However, there was no significant change in the total number of cells per millimeter of basal lamina or in the proportion of the epithelial population made up of basal or ciliated cells. There was more secretory product stored in the epithelium and submucosal glands and increased quantities of respiratory secretions in both lung lavage and amniotic fluid of EGF-treated monkeys.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The aim of this study was to evaluate why high levels of antispermatozoa autoantibodies (SPZAA) in seminal fluid represent a particularly detrimental factor in male fertility. We studied a population of 219 patients consulting us on conjugal sterility associated with an initial asthenospermia. We looked in each case for the presence of SPZAA at the surface of spermatozoa in the seminal fluid and in the serum. We found 31 patients positive for surface SPZAA, 26 of whom had urogenital infections. We also demonstrated statistically significant correlations between high levels of SPZAA in seminal fluid and both a reduction in ejaculate volume and a tendency to oligospermia. A similar correlation was found between the reduction in ejaculate volume and oligospermia. These results suggest that urogenital infection is at present the main cause of SPZAA production, that testicular damage is frequently associated with apparently isolated glandular damage, and above all that a high level of SPZAA in seminal fluid has a more detrimental effect on male fertility due to more severe genital (glandular and testicular) damage.

The seminal vesicle is a gland which appeared late in the evolution of placental mammals. Vesiculectomy leads to very serious subfertility demonstrating the important role of this gland. Secretions of the seminal vesicle act during coitus and the maturation of the spermatozoon, on its mobility, its freezing capacity and the condensation of chromatin. These secretions also act on the female genital tract because they possess immunodepressive capacity. Due to their high concentration of prostaglandins, they can modify the contraction of smooth muscle. As shown by the animal model, they have an antibacterial role in the male genital tract. This explains the relatively low frequency of purely vesicular infections in human pathology.

Glucose and fructose levels were determined enzymatically in liquefied human seminal plasma (whole or collected in three fractions) and in preparations obtained by DEAE ion-exchange chromatography on whole seminal plasma. When these secretions or DEAE-extracted preparations were overloaded with fructose, the level of glucose increased. This increase is greater in fraction I of split ejaculates than in fractions II and III, and is greater in solutions containing elements of prostatic secretion obtained chromatographically than in whole seminal plasma. Using increasing quantities of fructose in the overloading test, glucose levels reached a maximum, suggesting that the process of conversion of fructose into glucose appears to be related to an enzymatic process. Other experiments suggest that the sperm-free fraction I of split ejaculates and compounds obtained from seminal plasma by ion-exchange chromatography contain enzymes of prostatic origin that are involved in the conversion of fructose to glucose.

This study was designed to characterize the ultrastructure and carbohydrate content of secretory cells in submucosal glands of rhesus monkey and to compare this information with that available for humans. The tracheas from five adult monkeys were fixed by airway infusion, processed, and embedded for both light and transmission electron microscopy. Histochemical strains including alcian blue-periodic acid-Schiff, dialyzed iron, and high-iron diamine-alcian blue were applied to serial glycol methacrylate sections. The cytochemical stains used included periodic acid-thiocarbohydrazide-silver proteinate, high-iron diamine, and low-iron diamine. The glandular secretory cells were divided into four categories based on ultrastructure and location within the gland. Cells in the first category resembled the mucous cell of the surface epithelium and were located in ducts most proximal to the tracheal lumen. The second category consisted of cells that were located in distal ducts and contained large electron-lucent granules. The granules in both of these cell groups contained material that was periodate-reactive and sulfated. Cells of the third category contained granules that were either electron-lucent or electron-dense. These cells, which were difficult to characterize as either serous or mucous, were located in secretory tubules and acini and contained periodate-reactive glycoconjugates that were either sulfated or nonsulfated. The last category consisted mainly of cells that contained electron-dense granules that were lightly periodate-reactive or a few that were unreactive with any of the cytochemical methods used here.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The nonciliated bronchiolar epithelial (or Clara) cell is considered the primary pulmonary site of cytochrome P-450-dependent monooxygenase activity. Despite the general conception that Clara cells are restricted to bronchioles, we have previously shown that a nonciliated cell with the cytological features of the Clara cell predominates throughout rabbit tracheobronchial airways. The present study was designed to determine if the cytochrome P-450 monooxygenase system has the same distribution. Trachea, terminal bronchioles and 3 generations of bronchi were selected by microdissection from fixed lungs of adult specific-pathogen-free rabbits. Serial sections of paraffin-embedded tissue were stained with either Alcian blue/periodic acid Schiff's (AB/PAS) or with antisera to one of the following: cytochrome P-450 form 2, form 5, or NADPH-dependent cytochrome P-450 reductase. The majority of nonciliated epithelial cells lining all 5 airway generations were PAS+ and AB-. Nonciliated cells in all 5 airway generations reacted positively with all three antisera. The primary deposition site was the apical portion of nonciliated cells. Other sites included ciliated surfaces and vascular endothelium. Reaction products from all three antisera had the same localization pattern. We conclude that (1) the cytochrome P-450 monooxygenase system is distributed throughout the tracheobronchial airways of the rabbit and (2) the Clara cells of the trachea and bronchi are functionally, as well as structurally, similar to those of the bronchioles.

The pampiniform system plays an important role in the thermoregulation and the concentration of hormones in the testicle. The study of the vascularization of the testicle and of the epididymis shows an independent vascularity in the case of the rabbit. The arteries of the head of the epididymis leave the spermatic artery before the establishment of the particular relationships which exist between the testicular artery and the pampiniform system. Temperature monitoring shows no difference between these two organs. It appears in this case that the thermo regulation is achieved essentially by the scrotum. It is not possible to say if any hormonal exchange takes place between the testicle and the epididymis.

A series of 12 monoclonal antibodies was made against mucous and serous components of rhesus monkey trachea. These antibodies were used to localize secretory products in the respiratory epithelium by immunohistochemical methods. Mucous cells of the tracheal surface epithelium and submucosal glands were shown by histochemical methods to be a homogeneous population containing periodate-reactive sulfated glycoconjugates. Immunohistochemical staining using the monoclonal antibodies on glycol methacrylate sections serial to those stained histochemically revealed a more antigenically heterogeneous population of secretory cells. Four distinct staining patterns were observed with the 12 monoclonal antibodies. Eight antibodies reacted with most, but not all, mucous and serous cells. Two antibodies recognized subpopulations of secretory cells. One antibody stained tracheal mucous cells with a concentration of reaction product on the luminal border, and one antibody stained only serous cells within the glands. Ten of the 12 antibodies were shown to react in an ELISA with the high molecular weight void volume containing mucous glycoproteins separated on a Sepharose CL-4B gel filtration column. None of the antibodies recognized blood group antigens. We conclude: (1) that production of a large panel of monoclonal antibodies to respiratory tract mucins from primates is feasible, (2) that the monoclonal antibodies will recognize epitopes on biochemically identifiable glycoproteins, and (3) that the intracellular mucous products of tracheal secretory cells exhibit greater heterogeneity than is detectable by conventional histochemistry.

A method is reported for collection of sperm by electrostimulation or prostatic massage in order to carry out artificial in utero insemination in Lemur fulvus mayottensis. Using fresh sperm, one success out of 7 attempts was obtained, although it was achieved with a vesiculectomized male.

Summary: A relationship exists between several semen parameters and the ability of spermatozoa to capacitate. The increase of oligoteratozoospermia, which could be related to testicular dysfunction, is correlated with the decrease of the percentage of spermatozoa able to “capacitate”. The increase of loss of motility with time, which could be related to abnormalities of the seminal fluid, is also correlated with a decreased number of spermatozoa able to “capacitate”. Zusammenfassung: Es besteht ein Zusammenhang zwischen verschiedenen Ejakulatparametern und der Kapazitationsfahigkeit von Spermatozoen. Eine Zunahme der Oligoteratozoospermie, die auf eine Hodenfunktionsstorung zuruckfuhrbar ist, steht in Korrelation mit einem prozentualen Abfall der Spermatozoen, die kapazitieren konnen. Ein vermehrter Motilitatsverlust, der auf Storungen im Seminalplasma zuruckfuhrbar ist, steht ebenfalls in Beziehung zu einer verminderten kapazitationsfahigen Spermatozoenzahl.

Meiotic and synaptonemal complex studies using electron microscopy were carried out on infertile man with a 13/14 translocation. Synaptonemal complex analysis showed a typical trivalent with incomplete pairing of the acrocentric elements. The sterilizing effect caused by the failure of synapsis is discussed. This pairing failure has a diagnostic value and a poor prognosis.

Injection of solutions of E. coli leads to vesiculitis which regresses spontaneously, and to interstitial prostatitis. Castration preceding experimental injection of a bacterial solution modifies the progression of the vesiculitis which then becomes chronic. Infection does not seem to diffuse via the lympathic system, even after castration.

The prostatic fraction of seminal plasma contains components that are involved in the process of transforming fructose into glucose. If a positive correlation can be found between the slope of the decrease of fructose (estimated to be between 30 minutes and 5 hours) and the sperm count, with at the same time the maintenance of a relatively constant glucose level, then we have been able to demonstrate that glucose is more efficient than fructose to keep spermatozoa mobile. The enzyme process involved in transforming fructose into glucose may thus act to maintain definite glyspermia with a maximum value of 1.8 g/l. Aspermia in some circumstances then can be related to the absence or poor function of the transformation process and thus with the absence or decrease in prostatic secretion.

The study of spermiograms, conducted on patients consulting for sterility, showed relationships between motility and other variable factors of the sperm. Testicular and prostatic factors are involved in immediate asthenospermia, whereas factors are involved in secondary asthenospermia.

Sperm capacitation is accompanied by changes in the lipid composition of the sperm membrane. The purpose of this study is to compare the lipid composition of the semen with that of peritoneal fluid. These two media have opposite effects on sperm capacitation. Cholesterol, triglyceride and phospholipids were measured in seminal fluid (15 specimens) obtained by sperm centrifugation immediately after liquefaction and in the peritoneal fluid at ovulation (15 specimens) obtained through transvaginal puncture. The lipid composition of these two media is different from that of serum. Seminal fluid is characterized by a high level of phospholipids, 14.79 +/- 3.67 g/l as against 0.53 +/- 0.12 g/l in peritoneal fluid. The level of cholesterol is identical in the two media. The cholesterol/phospholipid ratio is therefore lower in seminal fluid than in peritoneal fluid (0.022/0.79). Lecithins are raised in peritoneal fluid as are sphingomyelins and the phosphatidylethanolamines, which are the most important phospholipids in seminal fluid. It therefore can be postulated that the cholesterol/phospholipid ratio, which is low in seminal fluid, and its richness in sphingomyelin brings about stabilization of the membrane cover which corresponds to a decapacitated state, whereas the cholesterol/phospholipid ratio, which is higher in peritoneal fluid, makes for greater fluidity, and this corresponds to the state of capacitation. These preliminary results obtained from human material do not in any way contradict those obtained from animal studies.

Treatment with V.1326 in the rat induces an increase in prostatic secretion. In men with insufficient prostatic secretion, this treatment also induces an increased secretion.

When soluble seminal proteins from different animal species are studied by cellulose acetate electrophoresis, important differences can be observed. These differences may be related to the type of coitus and the storage and migration of spermatozoa in the female genital tract. Seminal fluid can play a role in spermatozoal maturation by affecting the distribution of the surface charge of spermatozoal membranes.

Following hemicastration, the epididymis on the non-operated side progressively hypertrophies and remains in this state for an unlimited length of time. This modification is due to an increase in androgens from the remaining testicle via lymphatics and/or lumen. This increase in weight seems to be due to an increase of testicular content by activation of in situ cells.