Background: Sperm storage via freezing has been useful for men who have difficulty masturbating during assisted reproductive technology (ART) programs and before impotency caused by chemotherapy, vasectomy, and other procedures. Studies were undertaken to evaluate the extent of cryoinjury to both semen and sperm after repeated freezing and thawing in oligozoospermic and normozoospermic samples ...

This study presents an experimental X-ray micro-CT study of the freeze-thaw processes in limestone under controlled ambient conditions. The processes weres studied with time-lapse micro-CT and dynamic micro-CT, using the Environmental X-ray CT (EMCT) at the Centre for X-ray Tomography of the Ghent University (www.ugct.ugent.be). The EMCT is a gantry-based system on which full μCT scans were aqu...

Freeze–thaw cycles and steel reinforcement corrosion can damage the properties of concrete structures in a frigid marine environment. In this paper, experimental analytical research on freeze–thaw resistance recycled coarse aggregate (RAC) bond performance corroded RAC after was conducted. The results showed that ultimate strength decreases with increasing rates, more rapidly under coupled effe...

METHODS Ten patients (70% men; median age: 38 years [range: 34 to 45 years]) with drug-refractory premature ventricular contractions or ventricular tachycardia underwent catheter cryoablation. VAs were localized using 3-dimensional (3D) mapping, multidetector computed tomography, and intracardiac echocardiography, with arrhythmia foci being mapped at either the anterolateral PM or posteromedial...

Climate change is already altering the landscape at high latitudes. Permafrost is thawing, the growing season is starting earlier, and, as a result, certain regions in the Arctic may be subjected to an increased incidence of freeze-thaw events. The potential release of carbon and nutrients from soil microbial cells that have been lysed by freeze-thaw transitions could have significant impacts o...

OBJECTIVES To assess the reliability of intradiscal pressure measurement during in vitro biomechanical testing. In particular, the variability of measurements will be assessed for repeated measures by considering the effect of specimens and of freezing/thawing cycles. METHODS Thirty-six functional units from 8 porcine spines (S1: T7-T8, S2: T9-T10, S3: T12-T11, S4: T14-T13, S5: L1-L2 and S6: ...

The freezing-thawing effect on the meat quality of whole, gutted and fillets of sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) were investigated. It was aimed to investigate the changes in the meat quality of whole, gutted and fillets of sea bass in multiple frozen (-18±2ºC) and thawed cycles in refrigerated conditions (4±2°C). The meat quality assessment of the sea bass groups (whole, gutted and fillets) sub...

Freezing and thawing of soils may affect the turnover of soil organic matter and thus the losses of C and N from soils. Here we review the literature with special focus on: (i) the mechanisms involved, (ii) the effects of freezing temperature and frequency, (iii) the differences between arable soils and soils under natural vegetation, and (iv) the hypothesis that freeze-thaw events lead to sign...

Measurement of fecal cytokines has been used as a marker of intestinal inflammation in people and correlates with endoscopic findings. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of canine-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbant assays (ELISAs) for quantification of cytokines in canine fecal samples as a non-invasive biomarker. Interleukin (IL)-6, -8, -10, -23/12p40 and TNF- were assessed by us...

reduced adsorption of NO3–N and NH4–N by anionic and cationic resins, respectively. Kjonaas (1999) also Ion exchange resins have widely been used in mineralization studies observed no detectable effect of freezing on resin staof organic materials. However, the stability of resin (anionic and cationic) under changing physical environmental conditions is not bility. Lehmann et al. (2001) have obs...