Low temperature preservation of porcine semen: influence of short antimicrobial lipopeptides on sperm quality and bacterial load

The objectives of this trial were to estimate prevalence of bacteriospermia, to determine the bacterial load, and to isolate the types of bacteria as well as to assess the association between bacterial load and sperm quality traits in cryopreserved bull semen in field conditions in the South Wollo Zone. A total of 309 cryopreserved straws of semen from the Holstein Friesian (HF)-cross bull (n = 180 straws) and pure Jersey bull (n = 129 straws) were investigated. Bacteriological assessments of the presence of aerobic bacteria, estimation of bacterial count and bacterial isolation, as well as semen quality were performed. Aerobic bacterial contamination was prevalent in 38.8% of the semen straws. No significant difference in the prevalence of bacteriospermia was observed among bulls although the HF-cross bull had a higher prevalence (40.0%). But, significant difference in prevalence of bacteriospermia was found among semen ejaculates of the same bull. The risk of bacteriospermia in the HF-cross bull was higher (Odds ratio = 1.86, 95% CI = 0.168–20.26) compared to Jersey although not significant. Overall average bacterial load of 50.38 ± 16.29 colony-forming units (CFU)/ml (from nil to 1318.20 CFU/ml) was found. No significant difference in bacterial count among bulls and their ejaculates was observed. Moreover, correlation analysis revealed that the proportions of motility, live, and normal morphology were negatively influenced by an increase in the bacterial contamination of semen. In this study, three isolates of coagualse-negative Staphylococcus species and one isolate of Corynebacterium species were found. Average percentages of sperm motility (48.35 ± 1.23), live (66.08 ± 1.0), and normal morphology (80.62 ± 1.24) were observed. It was concluded that cryopreservation does not guarantee the quality of semen from bacterial contamination. Hence, meticulous care should be adopted to prevent contamination of semen by bacteria during collection, transportation, processing, and storage times.

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Efficacy of potassium permanganate and turmeric as antimicrobial agents on the bacterial load and quality of boar semen during preservation at 15 °C

Veterinarski arhiv ◽

10.24099/vet.arhiv.0715 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 90 (5) ◽

pp. 443-451

Author(s):

Nang Kanna Manpoong ◽

Kutubuddin Ahmed ◽

Dilip Kumar Bhattacharya ◽

Dipak Kumar Sarma ◽

Nekibuddin Ahmed ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Antimicrobial Agents ◽

Semen Quality ◽

Sperm Quality ◽

Bacterial Load ◽

Conception Rate ◽

E Coli ◽

Bacillus Spp ◽

Boar Semen ◽

Conventional Antibiotics

The present study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of different natural antimicrobials agents (KMnO4 and Turmeric) in comparison with conventional antibiotics against the bacterial load and in relation to the quality of boar semen in Modena extender for up to 120 hours of preservation at 15 °C. A total of 56 ejaculates, 14 from each of four Hampshire crossbred boars maintained within the ICAR-AICRP on Pigs, in Guwahati, Assam, India, were utilized in the study. Thirty-two ejaculates, 8 from each of four boars were used to study the effect of antimicrobial agents on semen quality during preservation at 15 °C in Modena extender. A total of 9 different bacterial types were identified from 46 bacterial isolates, obtained from 24 fresh semen samples viz. Staphylococcus aureus (24%), E. coli (22%), Bacillus spp. (13%), Citrobacter spp. (9%), Pseudomonas spp. (9%), Staphylococcus epidermidis (9%), Klebsiella spp. (6%), Streptococcus spp. (6%) and Proteus spp. (2%). The overall sensitivity of the recovered isolates to Gentamicin, Ampicillin, Enrofloxacin, Cloxacillin, Streptomycin, Penicillin, Amoxycilln, Ofloxacin and Tetracyclin were 89, 39, 37, 48, 74, 52, 56, 76 and 63% respectively. The mean sperm motility, intact acrosome, HOST-reacted spermatozoa and bacterial load differed significantly (P˂0.01) between antimicrobial agents (Gentamicin, KMnO4 and Turmeric) and preservation periods (0, 48, 72, 96 and 120 hours). Sperm quality based on Gentamicin was found to be best, followed by Turmeric and KMnO4 during preservation at 15 °C. The conception rate for the semen preserved for 0, 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 hours of preservation was 83.33, 80.00, 75.00, 66.66, 66.66 and 50.00% respectively. In the present study, the preserved semen with ascending bacterial load containing Gentamicin did not affect the conception rate.

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Effectiveness of Low-Temperature Domestic Laundry on the Decontamination of Healthcare Workers' Uniforms

Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology ◽

10.1086/662183 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 32 (11) ◽

pp. 1103-1108 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

N. Lakdawala ◽

J. Pham ◽

M. Shah ◽

J. Holton

Keyword(s):

Low Temperature ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Bacterial Load ◽

Gram Negative Bacteria ◽

Gram Negative ◽

Log Reduction ◽

Healthcare Environment ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Before And After

Objective.Most professionals in the healthcare environment wear uniforms. For the purpose of this study, we concentrated on nurses' uniforms. In the United Kingdom, many nurses are expected to launder their uniforms at home by using a domestic washing machine that frequently has low-temperature wash cycles. We have investigated whether the use of low-temperature wash cycles results in a microbiologically acceptable product to wear on the wards.Methods.We have assessed the bioburden on uniforms before and after laundry and the effectiveness of low-temperature wash cycles and ironing on removal of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Acinetobacter baumannii. We did not assess the role of tumble drying.Results.We demonstrate contamination of uniforms by gram-negative bacteria after wash, the removal of MRSA at low-temperature wash cycles in the presence of detergent, and the eradication of gram-negative bacteria after ironing.Conclusions.Our conclusions are that laundry in a domestic situation at 60°C (140°F) for 10 minutes is sufficient to decontaminate hospital uniforms and reduces the bacterial load by more than 7-log reduction, that items left in the pockets are decontaminated to the same extent, that the addition of either a biological detergent or a nonbiological detergent is beneficial in removing MRSA from experimentally contaminated swatches, and that uniforms become recontaminated with low numbers of principally gram-negative bacteria after laundry but that these are effectively removed by ironing.

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Effect of long term storage in LN2 on bacterial load and preservability of semen in Murrah bulls

Indian Journal of Animal Research ◽

10.18805/ijar.7078 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

G. S. Meena ◽

V. S. Raina ◽

M. Bhakat ◽

T. K. Mohanty ◽

A. K. Gupta ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Liquid Nitrogen ◽

Incubation Period ◽

Sperm Motility ◽

Sperm Quality ◽

Bacterial Load ◽

Storage Period ◽

Least Square ◽

Long Term Storage ◽

Term Storage

Successful preservation of semen for longer period can be achieved by maintaining the viability of spermatozoa from its collection till its use for insemination. Therefore, we perceived the idea to determine the effect of long term storage of cryopreserved buffalo semen on sperm quality, bacterial load and fertility. Twenty years semen samples (1981-2000) from twenty bulls and the data on conception rates of these bulls were collected from record room at ABRC, ICAR- NDRI, Karnal. The data was analyzed using least square analysis. The differences in individual motility percent in the semen between estimated initially at the time of freezing and estimates after storage (at the time of evaluation) were 6.49, 14.09, 13.13 and 6.02 percent, respectively. Even after long term storage (up to 20 years) there were little changes in the sperm motility percent. Changes in non-eosinophilic sperm count, sperm abnormalities, HOST and acrosome status, were less up to 20 years storage of semen in liquid nitrogen and the differences were non-significant between different years of storage semen in liquid nitrogen. In similar fashion the microbial load in semen was decreased with the increased storage period of semen in liquid nitrogen, but the differences were non significant. The differences in sperm motility percent between 370C and room temperature were not significant, but the temperature and incubation period significantly (P<0.01) influenced motility percent estimates. Whereas, temperature-incubation period interaction was not found to be significant. The conception rate and sperm motility was highly and positively correlated (r=0.67 and 0.55) with sperm oocyte attachment. It can be concluded that there was little change occurred in semen quality even after twenty years of storage in liquid nitrogen without affecting fertility of semen.

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Epididymal sperm quality of Kacang goat preserved in low temperature for genetic material utilization in assisted reproductive technologies

IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science ◽

10.1088/1755-1315/902/1/012004 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 902 (1) ◽

pp. 012004

Author(s):

S Prastowo ◽

A F Nugroho ◽

R Widyastuti

Keyword(s):

Low Temperature ◽

Assisted Reproductive Technologies ◽

Sperm Quality ◽

Genetic Material ◽

Reproductive Technologies ◽

Epididymal Sperm ◽

Male Function ◽

Intact Membrane ◽

Material Utilization

Abstract Postmortem epidydimal preservation at low temperature (3-4°C), is a way to preserve and recover male genetic material. This effort aims for prolonging male function as sperm source, followed with its utilization in assisted reproductive technologies. This study aimed to observe the quality of sperm form cauda epididymis which preserved at low temperature for consecutive days. Sperm were retrieved from twelve cauda epididymis of Kacang Goat and its qualities namely motility, intact membrane, life/dead, and abnormality (all in %) were evaluated in every 2 days until 0% motility. Data were compared using analysis of variance at a = 0.05. Result shows significant (P<0.05) decrease in motility, intact membrane, and life/dead, but increase in abnormality during observation at day 0, day 2, day 4 and day 6, respectively. At the respective days, motility was 91.33±1.25%; 74.67±3.88%; 28.17±2.25% and 0.33±0.57%, intact membrane was 54.83±1.04%; 39±3.77%; 25.1±3.32% and 14.83±2.75%, life/dead was 55.17±4.01%; 36±3.5%; 24.3±3.25% and 12±2.78%, abnormality was 3.16±0.76%; 4.16±0.76%; 6.16±2.25% and 11±2.17%. According to the study, it is concluded that preserved sperm from cauda epididymis at low temperature shows decrease in quality and its utilization should rely on the quality status to select the most appropriate assisted reproductive technology.

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The Efficiency of Selected Extenders against Bacterial Contamination of Boar Semen in a Swine Breeding Facility in Western Slovakia

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11113320 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 3320

Author(s):

Eva Tvrdá ◽

Ondřej Bučko ◽

Kristína Rojková ◽

Michal Ďuračka ◽

Simona Kunová ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bacterial Contamination ◽

Sperm Quality ◽

Bacterial Species ◽

Bacterial Load ◽

Bacterial Count ◽

Total Bacterial Count ◽

Mitochondrial Activity ◽

Dna Integrity ◽

Gram Positive Bacteria ◽

Boar Semen

Bacteriospermia has become a serious factor affecting sperm quality in swine breeding, this is why antibiotics (ATBs) are a critical component of semen extenders. Due to ever-increasing antimicrobial resistance, the aim of this study was to assess the efficiency of selected commercially available semen extenders to prevent a possible bacterial contamination of boar ejaculates. Three Androstar Plus extenders containing different combinations of antibiotics were used to process ejaculates from 30 healthy Duroc breeding boars. Androstar Plus without antibiotics was used as a control. The extended samples were stored at 17 °C for 72 h. Sperm motility, viability, mitochondrial activity, DNA integrity and oxidative profile of each extended sample were assessed following 24 h, 48 h and 72 h. Furthermore, selective media were used to quantify the bacterial load and specific bacterial species were identified with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. The results indicate that semen extenders enriched with ATBs ensured a significantly higher preservation of the sperm quality in comparison to the ATB-free control. The total bacterial count was significantly decreased in the extenders supplemented with ATBs (p < 0.001), however gentamycin alone was not effective enough against Gram-positive bacteria, while a few colonies of Enterococcus hirae, Bacillus subtilis and Corynebacterium spp. were present in the samples extended in the presence of a triple combination of ATBs. In conclusion, we may suggest that semen extenders enriched in antibiotics were not able to fully eliminate the bacteria present in the studied samples. Furthermore, selection of suitable antibiotics for semen extension should be accompanied by adequate hygiene standards during the collection and handling of boar ejaculates.

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The Healing Effect of Low-Temperature Atmospheric-Pressure Plasma in Pressure Ulcer

The International Journal of Lower Extremity Wounds ◽

10.1177/1534734616665046 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 15 (4) ◽

pp. 313-319 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Apirag Chuangsuwanich ◽

Tananchai Assadamongkol ◽

Dheerawan Boonyawan

Keyword(s):

Low Temperature ◽

Pressure Ulcer ◽

Atmospheric Pressure ◽

Pressure Ulcers ◽

Wound Care ◽

Bacterial Load ◽

Randomized Study ◽

Atmospheric Pressure Plasma ◽

Control Group ◽

Pressure Plasma

Pressure ulcers are difficult to treat. Recent reports of low-temperature atmospheric-pressure plasma (LTAPP) indicated its safe and effectiveness in chronic wound care management. It has been shown both in vitro and vivo studies that LTAPP not only helps facilitate wound healing but also has antimicrobial efficacy due to its composition of ion and electron, free radicals, and ultraviolet ray. We studied the beneficial effect of LTAPP specifically on pressure ulcers. In a prospective randomized study, 50 patients with pressure ulcers were divided into 2 groups: Control group received standard wound care and the study group was treated with LTAPP once every week for 8 consecutive weeks in addition to standard wound care. We found that the group treated with LTAPP had significantly better PUSH (Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing) scores and exudate amount after 1 week of treatment. There was also a reduction in bacterial load after 1 treatment regardless of the species of bacteria identified.

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Exsolution and inversion in pigeonite from the Whin Sill, Northern England

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100109513 ◽

1978 ◽

Vol 36 (1) ◽

pp. 474-475

Author(s):

P.P.K. Smith

Keyword(s):

High Temperature ◽

Low Temperature ◽

Homogeneous Nucleation ◽

Silicate Mineral ◽

Antiphase Boundaries ◽

Two Phase ◽

Primitive Form ◽

The Core ◽

Nucleation Mechanisms ◽

And Inversion

Grains of pigeonite, a calcium-poor silicate mineral of the pyroxene group, from the Whin Sill dolerite have been ion-thinned and examined by TEM. The pigeonite is strongly zoned chemically from the composition Wo8En64FS28 in the core to Wo13En34FS53 at the rim. Two phase transformations have occurred during the cooling of this pigeonite:- exsolution of augite, a more calcic pyroxene, and inversion of the pigeonite from the high- temperature C face-centred form to the low-temperature primitive form, with the formation of antiphase boundaries (APB's). Different sequences of these exsolution and inversion reactions, together with different nucleation mechanisms of the augite, have created three distinct microstructures depending on the position in the grain.In the core of the grains small platelets of augite about 0.02μm thick have farmed parallel to the (001) plane (Fig. 1). These are thought to have exsolved by homogeneous nucleation. Subsequently the inversion of the pigeonite has led to the creation of APB's.

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