Testicular fine-needle aspiration in infertile men with absolute non-obstructive azoospermia: A single-centre cohort study.

Background: The methodology of surgically extracted sperm cells in fertility treatments remains debated, mainly due to the lack of data evaluating its predictive value on treatment outcomes.

Aim: To gain insight into the effectiveness of testicular fine-needle aspiration (TEFNA) in a cohort of infertile men with absolute non-obstructive azoospermia and to examine whether the number of retrieved sperm cells affects the fertilisation rate.

Materials And Methods: A total of 89 infertile men, aged 26-47, meticulously diagnosed with non-obstructive azoospermia, participated in the study.

Enantioselective effects of (+)- and (-)-citronellal on animal and plant microtubules.

Citronellal is a major component of Corymbia citriodora and Cymbopogon nardus essential oils. Herein it is shown that whereas (+)-citronellal (1) is an effective microtubule (MT)-disrupting compound, (-)-citronellal (2) is not. Quantitative image analysis of fibroblast cells treated with 1 showed total fluorescence associated with fibers resembling that in cells treated with the MT-disrupting agents colchicine and vinblastine; in the presence of 2, the fluorescence more closely resembled that in control cells.

Rac-dependent doubling of HeLa cell area and impairment of cell migration and cell cycle by compounds from Iris germanica.

Plants are an infinite source of bioactive compounds. We screened the Israeli flora for compounds that interfere with the organization of the actin cytoskeleton. We found an activity in lipidic extract from Iris germanica that was able to increase HeLa cell area and adhesion and augment the formation of actin stress fibers.