Exposure to organochloride pesticides alters semen quality: Study

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A University of Granada study has shown that exposure to organochloride pesticides alters semen quality.

Two in 10 young people in South East Spain have poor sperm density, which involves requiring more time to accomplish fertilization. The most common means of exposure to pesticides is food and other household products.

According to the study, combined exposure to organochlorides significantly alters semen quality in young people from South East Spain.

Having a low number of spermatozoa taking the levels established by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a reference can delay fertilization.

The starting point was the hypothesis that organochlorine pesticides cause alterations in semen quality parameters, as they alter homeostasis of male hipotalamus-hypophysis-gonads axis. The risk increases with exposure to different pesticides, even in low concentrations.

The results obtained showed that young people from South East Spain scores in a medium position -tending to the highest positions- with the semen quality reported in other European countries. Semen quality was measured after the total spermatic number (TSN) and the total sperm motility.

Semen quality has been found to be influenced by many factors as lifestyle -education level and job-, physical and biochemical parameters -obesity, sexual hormone levels, lipids in blood, etc- and environmental exposure.

The most common means of exposure to pesticides among the general population is through food and other household products. All the samples analysed had at least one pesticide in considerable concentrations, and the average number of pesticides detected was 11, ranging between 4 and 17. Most of the participants (62%) had residues of 10-14 different pesticides in the blood.

While exposure to certain organochlorides proved to increase total spermatic number and total sperm motility levels, other pesticides have the adverse effects and are associated to a reduction in these levels. This might be due to the fact that some pesticides are considered to be slightly estrogenic endocrine disruptors -as it is the case of endosulfan sulphate, lindane and p,p-DDT-, while others combine their clearly antiadrogenic activity to a weak estrogenic activity -as it is the case of p,p-DDE and vinclozolin.

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Exposure to organochloride pesticides alters semen quality: Study

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A University of Granada study has shown that exposure to organochloride pesticides alters semen quality.

Two in 10 young people in South East Spain have poor sperm density, which involves requiring more time to accomplish fertilization. The most common means of exposure to pesticides is food and other household products.

According to the study, combined exposure to organochlorides significantly alters semen quality in young people from South East Spain.

Having a low number of spermatozoa taking the levels established by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a reference can delay fertilization.

The starting point was the hypothesis that organochlorine pesticides cause alterations in semen quality parameters, as they alter homeostasis of male hipotalamus-hypophysis-gonads axis. The risk increases with exposure to different pesticides, even in low concentrations.

The results obtained showed that young people from South East Spain scores in a medium position -tending to the highest positions- with the semen quality reported in other European countries. Semen quality was measured after the total spermatic number (TSN) and the total sperm motility.

Semen quality has been found to be influenced by many factors as lifestyle -education level and job-, physical and biochemical parameters -obesity, sexual hormone levels, lipids in blood, etc- and environmental exposure.

The most common means of exposure to pesticides among the general population is through food and other household products. All the samples analysed had at least one pesticide in considerable concentrations, and the average number of pesticides detected was 11, ranging between 4 and 17. Most of the participants (62 pc) had residues of 10-14 different pesticides in the blood.

While exposure to certain organochlorides proved to increase total spermatic number and total sperm motility levels, other pesticides have the adverse effects and are associated to a reduction in these levels. This might be due to the fact that some pesticides are considered to be slightly estrogenic endocrine disruptors -as it is the case of endosulfan sulphate, lindane and p,p-DDT-, while others combine their clearly antiadrogenic activity to a weak estrogenic activity -as it is the case of p,p-DDE and vinclozolin.

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Ideal

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Pág. 14: Un grupo de estudiantes diseña un proyecto sobre el sistema sanitario

«Lo más peligroso serían los efectos tardíos de la radiación en Fukushima»

¡Bienvenidos al ‘colegio’!

Pág. 77: ‘Schultze gets the blues’ / ‘Rapsodia nº 2. La vida es sueño’

Descarga por URL: http://canal.ugr.es/medios-impresos/item/download/39991

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Researchers develop a halometer that tests alterations in night vision

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Researchers at the University of Granada have developed this tool and proved it with a number of groups consisting on people operated on cataract or submitted to refractive eye surgery, as well as on normal observers and patients with different eye pathologies. The Free-Software Bureau of the University of Granada launched this program, that can be downloaded from the Internet.
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Granada Hoy

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Pág. 6 y 7: La UGR genera al año casi 35 toneladas de residuos peligrosos

Los restos de los animales de laboratorio, aparte

El Cementerio de El Cabril, destino de los desechos radioactivos

Pág. 13: Máster Diagnóstica inicia las obras de su centro I+D del PTS

Pág. 21: ‘Rapsodia nº 2. La vida es sueño’ en Filosofía y Letras

Deportes – Pág. 14: La Universidad de Granada derrota a Sevilla en la final

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Researchers develop a halometer that tests alterations in night vision

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Researchers from the Department of Optics of the University of Granada, belonging to the Laboratorio de Ciencias de la Visión y Aplicaciones, have developed a programme for testing alterations in night vision, and the tool required to implement it, which has been named «halometer».

This instrument consists on a software named Software Halo v1.0, and a computer where the mouse is used as a response button, and a chin cup with a forehead holder to fix the observer’s position. Software Halo v1.0 was initially presented as freeware available on LabVisGra’s website at http://www.ugr.es/local/labvisgr and at the University of Granada’s institutional repository at http://digibug.ugr.es/handle/10481/5478. Nevertheless, it was recently released by the Free-Software Bureau of the University of Granada so, it has become a scientific freeware application.

This software was developed by a group coordinated by Rosario González Anera, receiving technical support of the Granadian company Seven Solutions and of an ophthalmological clinic set in Madrid and named Novovision. The research group was integrated by researchers José Juan Castro, Carolina Ortiz and Aixa Alarcón, and receives fundings from the regional government of Economy, Innovation and Science of the Junta de Andalucía.

Low-Light Conditions

Before the test, researchers fix the observer’s position with a chin cup and a forehead holder at an adequate distance from the monitor where the test will be displayed and considering the angular diameter that light stimuli must have. The test is performed under low-light conditions (in a dark room) and, before the test, patients are given some minutes to adapt to darkness.

This test involves showing a bright light stimulus to the subject against a dark background and, progessively showing different peripheral light stimuli with lower brightness around the central (Figure 2), at random, in different positions and at different distances. Subjects’ task is to press the buttom of a mouse every time they detect a peripheral stimulus. Once the test ends, the software makes an estimation of a parameter named «Visual Disturbance Index» that, together with the results graphic, determines the type and intensity of visual disturbance.

This index scores from 0 to 1, so the higher is this index, the stronger is the influence of the halo or any other visual disturbance perceived by the observer. Therefore, the lower is the subject’s ability to detect the peripheral stimuli displayed around the main stimulus that causes such disturbances.

One of the advantages of the halometer developed at the University of Granada is that it allows to configure such test parameters as:

    Special parameters: the radius of the central stimulus and the peripheral stimuli can be modified. Furthermore, the number of semi-major axes where the peripheral stimuli will be displayed can be fixed, as well as the maximum radius maximum distance between these stimuli-, and the number of stimuli per semi-major axe.
    Temporary Parameters: the software allows to set some exposure time for adaptation to darkness and to the brightness of the central stimulus. Furthermore, others parameters as the exposure time to the stimulus and the time elapsed between a stimulus and the next one can also be set.
    The software also allows to set the color and brightness of central and peripheral stimuli, and the weight and number of times each peripheral stimulus is shown.

This test has been tried with different observer groups consisting of people operated on cataract or submitted to refractary eye surgery, with normal observers and patients with different eye pathologies as AMD (Age-related Macular Degeneration) and unilateral keratitis. The results obtained showed that, in the case of patients with keratitis, the visual disturbance index for the healthy eye was found to be lower than that for the unhealthy eye, and even lower under binocular vision conditions. However, visual disturbance indexes proved to be higher in the case of patients operated on cataracts, showing a higher influence of halos and, therefore, lower detection capacity. Patients operated with LASIK refractory eye surgery also presented high vision disturbance indexes in comparison to normal observers.

The results obtained with this halometer and the new software have been presented in different national and internacional conferences as the IX Reunión Nacional de Óptica, Galice and the Wavefront Confress 2009. furthermore, a research article has been published in the international journal Applied Optics describing the results obtained with patients operated with refractory eye surgery. It has also been recently admitted for publication in the prestigious scientific journal Journal of Biomedical Optics, where the results obtained with patients with different eye pathologies are described.

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Researchers develop a halometer that tests alterations in night vision

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Researchers at the University of Granada have developed this tool and proved it with a number of groups consisting on people operated on cataract or submitted to refractive eye surgery, as well as on normal observers and patients with different eye pathologies. The Free-Software Bureau of the University of Granada launched this program, that can be downloaded from the Internet.

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Researchers Develop A Halometer That Tests Alterations In Night Vision

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Researchers from the Department of Optics of the University of Granada, belonging to the Laboratorio de Ciencias de la Visión y Aplicaciones, have developed a programme for testing alterations in night vision, and the tool required to implement it, which has been named «halometer».

This instrument consists on a software named Software Halo v1.0, and a computer where the mouse is used as a response button, and a chin cup with a forehead holder to fix the observer’s position. Software Halo v1.0 was initially presented as freeware available on LabVisGra’s website at http://www.ugr.es/local/labvisgr and at the University of Granada’s institutional repository at http://digibug.ugr.es/handle/10481/5478. Nevertheless, it was recently released by the Free-Software Bureau of the University of Granada so, it has become a scientific freeware application.

This software was developed by a group coordinated by Rosario González Anera, receiving technical support of the Granadian company Seven Solutions and of an ophthalmological clinic set in Madrid and named Novovision. The research group was integrated by researchers José Juan Castro, Carolina Ortiz and Aixa Alarcón, and receives fundings from the regional government of Economy, Innovation and Science of the Junta de Andalucía.

Low-Light Conditions

Before the test, researchers fix the observer’s position with a chin cup and a forehead holder at an adequate distance from the monitor where the test will be displayed and considering the angular diameter that light stimuli must have. The test is performed under low-light conditions (in a dark room) and, before the test, patients are given some minutes to adapt to darkness.

This test involves showing a bright light stimulus to the subject against a dark background and, progessively showing different peripheral light stimuli –with lower brightness around the central (Figure 2), at random, in different positions and at different distances. Subjects’ task is to press the buttom of a mouse every time they detect a peripheral stimulus. Once the test ends, the software makes an estimation of a parameter named «Visual Disturbance Index» that, together with the results graphic, determines the type and intensity of visual disturbance.

This index scores from 0 to 1, so the higher is this index, the stronger is the influence of the halo or any other visual disturbance perceived by the observer. Therefore, the lower is the subject’s ability to detect the peripheral stimuli displayed around the main stimulus that causes such disturbances.

One of the advantages of the halometer developed at the University of Granada is that it allows to configure such test parameters as:

    * Special parameters: the radius of the central stimulus and the peripheral stimuli can be modified. Furthermore, the number of semi-major axes where the peripheral stimuli will be displayed can be fixed, as well as the maximum radius –maximum distance between these stimuli-, and the number of stimuli per semi-major axe.

    * Temporary Parameters: the software allows to set some exposure time for adaptation to darkness and to the brightness of the central stimulus. Furthermore, others parameters as the exposure time to the stimulus and the time elapsed between a stimulus and the next one can also be set.

    * The software also allows to set the color and brightness of central and peripheral stimuli, and the weight and number of times each peripheral stimulus is shown.

This test has been tried with different observer groups consisting of people operated on cataract or submitted to refractary eye surgery, with normal observers and patients with different eye pathologies as AMD (Age-related Macular Degeneration) and unilateral keratitis. The results obtained showed that, in the case of patients with keratitis, the visual disturbance index for the healthy eye was found to be lower than that for the unhealthy eye, and even lower under binocular vision conditions. However, visual disturbance indexes proved to be higher in the case of patients operated on cataracts, showing a higher influence of halos and, therefore, lower detection capacity. Patients operated with LASIK refractory eye surgery also presented high vision disturbance indexes in comparison to normal observers.

The results obtained with this halometer and the new software have been presented in different national and internacional conferences as the IX Reunión Nacional de Óptica, Galice and the Wavefront Confress 2009. furthermore, a research article has been published in the international journal Applied Optics describing the results obtained with patients operated with refractory eye surgery. It has also been recently admitted for publication in the prestigious scientific journal Journal of Biomedical Optics, where the results obtained with patients with different eye pathologies are described.

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Researchers develop a halometer that tests alterations in night vision

Escrito por

Researchers from the Department of Optics of the University of Granada, belonging to the Laboratorio de Ciencias de la Visión y Aplicaciones, have developed a programme for testing alterations in night vision, and the tool required to implement it, which has been named «halometer».

This instrument consists on a software named Software Halo v1.0, and a computer where the mouse is used as a response button, and a chin cup with a forehead holder to fix the observer’s position. Software Halo v1.0 was initially presented as freeware available on LabVisGra’s website at http://www.ugr.es/local/labvisgr and at the University of Granada’s institutional repository at http://digibug.ugr.es/handle/10481/5478. Nevertheless, it was recently released by the Free-Software Bureau of the University of Granada so, it has become a scientific freeware application.

This software was developed by a group coordinated by Rosario González Anera, receiving technical support of the Granadian company Seven Solutions and of an ophthalmological clinic set in Madrid and named Novovision. The research group was integrated by researchers José Juan Castro, Carolina Ortiz and Aixa Alarcón, and receives fundings from the regional government of Economy, Innovation and Science of the Junta de Andalucía.

Low-Light Conditions

Before the test, researchers fix the observer’s position with a chin cup and a forehead holder at an adequate distance from the monitor where the test will be displayed and considering the angular diameter that light stimuli must have. The test is performed under low-light conditions (in a dark room) and, before the test, patients are given some minutes to adapt to darkness.

This test involves showing a bright light stimulus to the subject against a dark background and, progessively showing different peripheral light stimuli –with lower brightness around the central (Figure 2), at random, in different positions and at different distances. Subjects’ task is to press the buttom of a mouse every time they detect a peripheral stimulus. Once the test ends, the software makes an estimation of a parameter named «Visual Disturbance Index» that, together with the results graphic, determines the type and intensity of visual disturbance.

This index scores from 0 to 1, so the higher is this index, the stronger is the influence of the halo or any other visual disturbance perceived by the observer. Therefore, the lower is the subject’s ability to detect the peripheral stimuli displayed around the main stimulus that causes such disturbances.

One of the advantages of the halometer developed at the University of Granada is that it allows to configure such test parameters as:

    Special parameters: the radius of the central stimulus and the peripheral stimuli can be modified. Furthermore, the number of semi-major axes where the peripheral stimuli will be displayed can be fixed, as well as the maximum radius –maximum distance between these stimuli-, and the number of stimuli per semi-major axe.

    Temporary Parameters: the software allows to set some exposure time for adaptation to darkness and to the brightness of the central stimulus. Furthermore, others parameters as the exposure time to the stimulus and the time elapsed between a stimulus and the next one can also be set.

    The software also allows to set the color and brightness of central and peripheral stimuli, and the weight and number of times each peripheral stimulus is shown.

This test has been tried with different observer groups consisting of people operated on cataract or submitted to refractary eye surgery, with normal observers and patients with different eye pathologies as AMD (Age-related Macular Degeneration) and unilateral keratitis. The results obtained showed that, in the case of patients with keratitis, the visual disturbance index for the healthy eye was found to be lower than that for the unhealthy eye, and even lower under binocular vision conditions. However, visual disturbance indexes proved to be higher in the case of patients operated on cataracts, showing a higher influence of halos and, therefore, lower detection capacity. Patients operated with LASIK refractory eye surgery also presented high vision disturbance indexes in comparison to normal observers.

The results obtained with this halometer and the new software have been presented in different national and internacional conferences as the IX Reunión Nacional de Óptica, Galice and the Wavefront Confress 2009. furthermore, a research article has been published in the international journal Applied Optics describing the results obtained with patients operated with refractory eye surgery. It has also been recently admitted for publication in the prestigious scientific journal Journal of Biomedical Optics, where the results obtained with patients with different eye pathologies are described.

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Emergencia nuclear de Fukushima: la UGR debate sobre el accidente nuclear en Japón

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La UGR, a través de la Comisión Docente de Fí­sicas, organiza una charla-coloquio sobre la energí­a nuclear tras Chernobyl y Fukushima, que con el tí­tulo «Emergencia nuclear de Fukushima», se celebrará el jueves, 24 de marzo, a las 12.00 horas en el Aula Magna de la Facultad de Ciencias, impartida por J. Ignacio Porras Sánchez, profesor titular del Departamento de Fí­sica Atómica, Molecular y Nuclear de la Facultad de Ciencias de la UGR.

La charla pretende dar una visión divulgativa de los fundamentos de los reactores y centrales nucleares en lo que se refiere a su funcionamiento básico, describiendo qué se entiende por la moderación y control de neutrones, la producción de plutonio o los aspectos que involucran la necesaria refrigeración.

De igual modo, y teniendo en cuenta los recientes acontecimientos acaecidos en Japón tras el tsunami que ha asolado parte del paí­s, se hablará también sobre la seguridad de toda central nuclear, la gestión de sus residuos y los posibles efectos biológicos de la radiación. Se relatarán los acontecimientos de Chernobyl y los más recientes de Fukushima Daiichi y Fukushima Daini, con un análisis objetivo de las conclusiones que pueden extraerse por el momento de tales episodios.

La charla estará orientada no sólo a los estudiantes de Fí­sica sino también a toda la comunidad universitaria y público en general.

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Los diabéticos multiplican por diez el riesgo de una amputación

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Los pacientes diabéticos multiplican por diez el riesgo de sufrir una amputación, ha informado hoy el presidente del Capítulo de Cirugía Endovascular de la Sociedad Española de Angiología y Cirugía Vascular, Eduardo Ros.

El experto ha abogado, en una reunión de esta organización, por la extensión del uso de técnicas endovasculares en el tratamiento del pie diabético, como un recurso terapéutico esencial para favorecer la revascularización de las extremidades inferiores y, así, reducir el número de amputaciones.

«Insistimos en la necesidad de la generalización en el Sistema Nacional de Salud de unidades multidisciplinares especializadas en pie diabético, en las que trabajen equipos de distintas especialidades y disciplinas, compuestos por endocrinólogos, cirujanos vasculares y endovasculares, podólogos y ortopedistas», ha recalcado.

El fin no es otro que proporcionar una atención de mayor calidad a los pacientes con esta patología, de modo que se mejore el tratamiento y el seguimiento posterior, evitando la dispersión existente en la actualidad en la que el paciente es derivado continuamente de un especialista a otro.

Según diversos estudios, se estima que el 15% de los diabéticos manifestarán lesiones en sus pies derivadas de esta patología, y la evolución de las alteraciones puede suponer, en algunos casos, la amputación.

Entre las personas que sufren una amputación, la mortalidad perioperatoria es del 6% y la postoperatoria llega incluso al 50% a los tres años.

La prevalencia de la Diabetes Mellitus (DM) en España se sitúa en torno a un 6,5% para la población entre los 30 y 65 años, oscilando en diferentes estudios entre el 6 y el 12%.

Los datos de la Encuesta Nacional de Salud muestran cómo, desde 1993 a 2003, la prevalencia de DM -declarada por los encuestados- ha aumentado del 4,1 al 5,9%.

Ros, que además es catedrático de Patología Quirúrgica de la Universidad de Granada y jefe de servicio de Angiología y Cirugía Vascular del Hospital San Cecilio, se ha referido a las nuevas tecnologías disponibles para el paciente diabético con déficit de riego sanguíneo.

Entre ellas, el presidente de los cirujanos endovasculares españoles ha señalado el láser endoarterial y nuevos recanalizadores como el «Crosser», el «Frontrunner» y el «Outback», técnicas todas ellas que intentan recanalizar arterias estrechadas u ocluidas por la especial arteriopatía que padecen los diabéticos.

En definitiva, ha concluido, «se trata de ingeniosos procedimientos para ir abriendo camino en esas arterias y poder pasar a continuación guías, balones y stents que restablezcan el flujo sanguíneo en el pie isquémico».

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Entregan al Parlamento Europeo documentación sobre supuestas ‘irregularidades’ en el trasvase del río Castril

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La Plataforma en Defensa del Río Castril ha entregado a la Comisión de Peticiones del Parlamento Europeo la resolución judicial por la que se ordena la paralización de las obras del trasvase del río Castril, así como diversa documentación que supuestamente «acredita las irregularidades» cometidas en este proyecto, tanto desde el punto de vista «natural» como «administrativo».

Así lo ha asegurado en declaraciones a Europa Press el presidente de la plataforma, Miguel Ortiz, que se ha desplazado esta semana al Parlamento Europeo para mantener una reunión con la Comisión de Peticiones y el eurodiputado Willy Meyer para solicitar que se investigue el desarrollo de este proyecto y se pidan explicaciones al Gobierno sobre los fondos europeos que se usaron en el mismo.

Asimismo, Ortiz ha solicitado que se agilice la queja que presentó en su día la plataforma, antes de que el Tribunal Supremo paralizara en febrero de 2011 el trasvase por haber sido anulado el Real Decreto de Sequía que lo justificaba.

Entre otros asuntos, la asociación ecologista ha entregado a la Comisión los informes emitidos en su día por el Servicio de Protección de la Naturaleza (Seprona) de la Guardia Civil respecto a los daños «que se han ocasionado tanto a la flora como a la fauna del río Castril con las obras que se estaban realizando».

También se ha remitido a este organismo el estudio realizado por la Universidad de Granada y coordinado por el catedrático José Manuel Castillo sobre «los daños que padecerían los pueblos ribereños, tanto económica como social y culturalmente, en caso de que entrara en funcionamiento el trasvase», como estaba previsto.

Con estos documentos en la mano, la Plataforma ha insistido en que se pidan explicaciones al Gobierno español por no paralizar el trasvase cuando se anuló el Real Decreto de Sequía 2005 y que se abra una investigación sobre los fondos europeos que supuestamente se emplearon en las obras.

Posteriormente, los miembros de la plataforma se han reunido con el eurodiputado Willy Meyer para pedirle su apoyo y el de su grupo en el Parlamento Europeo para que se dote a la parte baja del río, con una figura de protección como corredor ecológico o similar y que sirva a su vez para conservar todo el patrimonio natural de la zona.

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