ABSTRACT
Bacterial adhesion to urinary catheter was evaluated by measuring the light emitted from a recombinant bioluminescent glycocalyx producer Escherichia coli strain. Generation of the bioluminescent strain was carried out by transforming the bacterial cells with pUCP18-GFP plasmid that contains a green fluorescence gene. Light emission measurement was closely correlated with the number of the adherent cells, giving a detectable signal from 1.2 X 102 cells. The efficiency of this assay was confirmed by testing the antiadherent effect of subinhibitory concentrations of ciprofloxacin with the aid of a model for in-vitro catheter colonization. There was no significant difference in the percentage reduction of adherent cells obtained by both light emission measurement and viable cell count techniques
ABSTRACT
The objectives of this study were to compare the demographics, semen parameters and hormone profiles in men with primary and secondary infertility. The study was designed as a retrospective analysis of data collected from men attending a combined infertility clinic [seen together by urologist and gynaecologist] from January 2005 to December 2008 at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, a tertiary care hospital in Oman. Ninety-eight consecutive male patients with one or more abnormalities in semen analysis were referred to the combined infertility clinic. A complete physical examination was carried out by a urologist followed by hormone evaluation of follicle stimulating hormone [FSH], luteinizing hormone [LH], testosterone [T] and prolactin [PRL]. The semen parameters and the sex hormone evaluation were not significantly different between the men with primary and secondary infertility. The men with primary infertility were younger than the men with secondary infertility. A total of 24% of the men in the primary group and 16% in the secondary group were azoospermic with normal gonadotropin values in 9 men and 1 man in the primary and secondary group respectively. Azoospermia was more common in the primary infertile group and, based on gonadotropin levels, obstructive causes seemed more prevalent in the primary group compared to secondary group