Sperm preparation： state-of-the-art--physiological aspects and application of advanced sperm preparation methods

For assisted reproduction technologies （ART）, numerous techniques were developed to isolate spermatozoa capable of fertilizing oocytes. While early methodologies only focused on isolating viable, motile spermatozoa, with progress of ART, particularly intracytoplasmic sperm injection （ICSI）, it became clear that these parameters are insufficient for the identification of the most suitable spermatozoon for fertilization. Conventional sperm preparation techniques, namely, swim-up, density gradient centrifugation and glass wool filtration, are not efficient enough to produce sperm populations free of DNA damage, because these techniques are not physiological and not modeled on the stringent sperm selection processes taking place in the female genital tract. These processes only allow one male germ cell out of tens of millions to fuse with the oocyte. Sites of sperm selection in the female genital tract are the cervix, uterus, uterotubal junction, oviduct, cumulus oophorus and the zona pellucida. Newer strategies of sperm preparation are founded oni （i） morphological assessment by means of＇motile sperm organelle morphological examination （MSOM E）＇; （ii） electrical charge; and （ili） molecular binding characteristics of the sperm cell. Whereas separation methods based on electrical charge take advantage of the sperm＇s adherence to a test tube surface or separate in an electrophoresis, molecular binding techniques use Annexin V or hyaluronic acid （HA） as substrates. Techniques in this category are magnet-activated cell sorting, Annexin V-activated glass wool filtration, flow cytometry and picked spermatozoa for ICSI （PICSI） from HA-coated dishes and HA-containing media. Future developments may include Raman microspectrometry, confocal light absorption and scattering spectroscopic microscopy and polarization microscopy.

完美自动化实现节能增效

2007年，贝加莱向全球的机器和设备制造商提供了超过65000个伺服驱动器，而且有迅速增加的趋势。它为什么取得这样的成功？成功来自集成了节能解决方案的驱动技术。那么，谁将从这个方案中获益？谁又能持续从“插座”中获得动力？一份详尽的效益分析报告也许能够提供一些答案。

The impact of male overweight on semen quality and outcome of assisted reproduction

The impact of obesity on male reproductive health remains a contested topic as evidence is inconclusive and inconsistent.1,2 Even more debatable is the effect of male obesity in assisted reproduction. In the manuscript, ＂the impact of male overweight on semen quality and outcome of assisted reproduction＂ published in Asian Journal ofAndrology, Thomsen et al.3 investigated the effect of male obesity on fertilization outcomes in intrauterine insemination, in vitro fertilization （IVF） and intracytoplasmic sperm injection （ICSI） programs further contributes to the increasing body of evidence in this field.

Bibliometrics： tracking research impact by selecting Lhe appropriate metrics

Traditionally, the success of a researcher is assessed by the number of publications he or she publishes in peer-reviewed, indexed, high impact journals. This essential yardstick, often referred to as the impact of a specific researcher, is assessed through the use of various metrics. While researchers may be acquainted with such matrices, many do not know how to use them to enhance their careers. In addition to these metrics, a number of other factors should be taken into consideration to objectively evaluate a scientist＇s profile as a researcher and academician. Moreover, each metric has its own limitations that need to be considered when selecting an appropriate metric for evaluation. This paper provides a broad overview of the wide array of metrics currently in use in academia and research. Popular metrics are discussed and defined, including traditional metrics and article-level metrics, some of which are applied to researchers for a greater understanding of a particular concept, including varicocete that is the thematic area of this Special Issue of Asian Journal of Andrology. We recommend the combined use of quantitative and qualitative evaluation using judiciously selected metrics for a more objective assessment of scholarly output and research impact.

Critical evaluation of two models of flow cytometers for the assessment of sperm DNA fragmentation:an appeal for performance verification

Lack of standardized,reproducible protocols and referencO values is among the challenges faced when using new or upgraded versions of instruments in reproductive laboratories and flow cytometry.Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling(TUNEL)assay combined with flow cytometry routinely used for diagnostic measurement of sperm DNA fragmentation(SDF)is a unique example.Any change in the setting of the standard instrument,including upgrades of hardware or software,can lead to different results and may affect clinicians'decision for treatment.Therefore,we compared TUNEL results of SDF obtained from a standard(C6)flow cytometer with a newer version of the same instrument(C6 Plus)and examined the cutoff,sensitivity,and specificity without calibration(adjustment)and after adjustment.Identical sperm preparation and matched acquisition settings were used to examine the performance of two flow cytometers.The strength of agreement of the results between the two observers was also assessed.After adjustment of the settings,overall concordance became high and the two cytometers showed 100%positive and negative predictive value with 100%area under the curve.The overall correlation coefficient observed between C6 and C6 Plus was highly significant(P<0.0001;r=0.992;95%confidence interval[Cl]:0.982-0.997).After adjustment,the two cytometers showed very high precisi on of 98%and accuracy of>99%.The in terobserver agreeme nt on C6 flow cytometer for the two observers was 0.801±0.062 and 0.746±0.044 for C6 Plus.We demonstrated a strong agreement between the samples tested on the two flow cytometers after calibration and established the robustness of both instruments.

The new 6^(th) edition of the WHO Laboratory Manualfor the Examination and Processing of HumanSemen: is it a step toward better standard operatingprocedure?

Semen analysis(SA)remains the cornerstone of male infertility evaluation and should ideally be performed by an accredited andrology laboratory or in vitro fertilization(IVF)clinics based on the standards defined by the World Health Organization(WHO)for the Examination and Processing of Human Semen and in accordance with the International Organization for Standardization’s Basic Semen Examination on Specification and Test Methods.