Sage (Salvia officinalis) and fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) improve cryopreserved boar epididymal semen quality study.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of fennel and sage extracts and the influence of the egg yolk source (fresh or pasteurized) on the success of freezing boar epididymal spermatozoa. In experiment 1, epididymal sperm was recovered by flushing and cryopreserved in a lactose-egg yolk solution supplemented with various concentrations (10, 5 and 2.5 g/L) of sage or fennel. Sperm quality was evaluated (motility, viability, HOST and acrosome integrity) at 0 h and 2 h after thawing. Fennel 10 g/L and sage 5 g/L and control (no extracts) were selected for experiment 2 which also compared fresh or pasteurized egg yolk in the freezing extender and measured DNA integrity of the frozen sperm. Results showed that the interaction between fennel and sage antioxidants with fresh egg yolk significantly improved post thaw sperm quality and protected boar epididymal spermatozoa from cryopreservation damage as a result of oxidative stress.

Cryopreservation of epididymal stallion sperm.

Any event that makes semen collection or mating impossible, such as death, castration, or injury, may terminate a stallion's breeding career. Fortunately, stallion sperm which are capable of fertilization can be harvested from the epididymis, and frozen for future use. However, the fertility of frozen-thawed epididymal sperm has been found to be lower than that of ejaculated sperm. Therefore, this study aimed to optimize the fertility of frozen epididymal stallion sperm by investigating the effects of different cryoprotectants and freezing protocols on sperm quality. Dimethylformamide was tested alone or combination with pasteurized egg yolk as substitute of fresh egg yolk. In addition, the effect of the pre-freeze stabilization on sperm quality was analyzed. Heterospermic samples obtained from stallion epididymis were collected and cryopreserved in lactose-egg-yolk extender or in the same extender with varying content of cryoprotectant and content of egg yolk, stabilized and no-stabilized. Sperm motility, viability, hypoosmotic swelling test (HOST) and acrosome integrity were evaluated post-thawing. No improvement was observed on the replacement of fresh yolk by pasteurized egg yolk, whereas the results suggest that dimethylformamide is a cryoprotectant suitable for cryopreservation of equine epididymal semen, even better than glycerol. In addition, we found that the stabilization before freezing on epididymal stallion sperm, can improve sperm quality parameters.

[Utility of vasopressin in cardiopulmonary resuscitation]. / Utilidad de la vasopresina en la resucitación cardiopulmonar.

Many vasopressants have been studied in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to increase cerebral and coronary perfusion. Although there is a debate on the utility of epinephrine, this is the one that has been used historically, above all after verifying that other agents such as norepinephrine, metoxamine or phenylephrine, have not been shown to be more effective. Currently, due to the good experimental results, the use of vasopressin (ADH) in CPR is being evaluated. However there is little (only three studies) and debated evidence based on randomized clinical trials (norepinephrine or ADH) in humans. Once these are reviewed, it can be concluded: The results of the three randomized studies in humans obtain different results regarding the utility of ADH in cardiorespiratory arrest (CRA) secondary to ventricular fibrillation, electro-mechanical dissociation or asystole. More prospective studies are needed to know the role of ADH in prolonged CRA and in asystole, that may be the subgroups that can benefit the most from this drug. The neurological repercussion of a drug in the context of CRA should be evaluated before its inclusion in the CPR guides.

Utilidad de la vasopresina en la resucitación cardiopulmonar / Utility of vasopressin in cardiopulmonaryresuscitation

Muchos son los vasopresores estudiados en resucitación cardiopulmonar (RCP) para aumentar la presión de perfusión cerebral y coronaria. A pesar de que existe controversia sobre la utilidad de la adrenalina, ésta es la que históricamente se ha utilizado, sobre todo tras la comprobación de que otros agentes como la noradrenalina, metoxamina o fenilefrina no han demostrado ser más efectivos. Actualmente, debido a los buenos resultados experimentales, se está valorando la utilidad de la vasopresina (ADH) en la RCP. Sin embargo existe poca (sólo tres estudios) y controvertida evidencia basada en ensayos clínicos aleatorizados (adrenalina o ADH) en seres humanos. Una vez revisados éstos, se puede concluir lo siguiente: Los resultados de los tres estudios aleatorizados en seres humanos obtienen resultados distintos respecto a la utilidad de la ADH en la parada cardiorrespiratoria (PCR) secundaria a fibrilación ventricular, disociación electromecánica o asistolia. Son necesarios más estudios prospectivos para conocer el papel de la ADH en la PCR prolongada y en la asistolia, que tal vez sean los subgrupos que más se puedan beneficiar de este fármaco. La repercusión neurológica de un fármaco en el contexto de la PCR debe evaluarse antes de su inclusión en las guías de la RCP

Many vasopressants have been studied in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to increase cerebral and coronary perfusion. Although there is a debate on the utility of epinephrine, this is the one that has been used historically, above all after verifying that other agents such as norepinephrine, metoxamine or phenylephrine, have not been shown to be more effective. Currently, due to the good experimental results, the use of vasopressin (ADH) in CPR is being evaluated. However there is little (only three studies) and debated evidence based on randomized clinical trials (norepinephrine or ADH) in humans. Once these are reviewed, it can be concluded: The results of the three randomized studies in humans obtain different results regarding the utility of ADH in cardiorespiratory arrest (CRA) secondary to ventricular fibrillation, electro-mechanical dissociation or asystole. More prospective studies are needed to know the role of ADH in prolonged CRA and in asystole, that may be the subgroups that can benefit the most from this drug. The neurological repercussion of a drug in the context of CRA should be evaluated before its inclusion in the CPR guides

Determination of warfarin at trace-levels in water by solid-phase spectrofluorimetry.

A new selective and sensitive spectrofluorimetric method for the determination of warfarin at trace levels (0.2-50.0 ng/ml) in water is proposed. Warfarin is fixed on Sephadex QAE A-25 gel (at pH = 7.0) and its fluorescence is measured directly in the solid-phase using a 1-mm silica cell at 312/385 nm with a detection/quantification limit of 0.06/0.2 ng/ml, a relative standard deviation of 2.3% and recoveries between 95 and 105%. The method is applied to the determination of warfarin residues in water.