ABSTRACT
AIM: Azoospermia is the most common form of male factor infertility, due to which sperms are retrieved for intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) under general or local anesthesia. The aim of the present study was to compare the efficacy of general and local anesthesia in an attempt to extract a sufficient quality of sperm for men with azoospermia, who intend to undergo ICSI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total number of 50 patients with azoospermia, who were within the age range of 20-40, were randomly scheduled for testicular sperm extraction with either general or local anesthesia before ICSI. The hormonal abnormalities and severe varicocele were evaluated and treated before the testicular sperm extraction. The inclusion criteria obliged the researchers to focus on men with azoospermic, those who were diagnosed by two semen analyses after a 3-day abstinence from coitus according to the modified WHO criteria, and 19< body mass index ≤28. The concentration, motility, and morphology of the spermatozoa of the two groups were also compared. RESULTS: A total number of 76 men, with a mean age of 35.1 ± 6.0, were selected, 26 were excluded from the study, and the remaining participants were randomly divided into two groups such as general anesthesia and lidocaine group. According to the results, the differences between the values of sperm parameters within various hours after the testicle biopsy were not statistically significant. Also, there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of sperm motility and sperm morphology during various timing after the processing. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated that there was no evidence found for values of sperm parameters between the two groups, undergoing local and general anesthesia, within various hours after the testicular biopsy. Further investigations with more focus on concentration-dependent lidocaine on human sperm parameters need to be carried out.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to examine the cohesions status of the coordination within response teams in the emergency response team (ERT) in a refinery. METHODS: For this study, cohesion indicators of social network analysis (SNA; density, degree centrality, reciprocity, and transitivity) were utilized to examine the coordination of the response teams as a whole network. The ERT of this research, which was a case study, included seven teams consisting of 152 members. The required data were collected through structured interviews and were analyzed using the UCINET 6.0 Social Network Analysis Program. RESULTS: The results reported a relatively low number of triple connections, poor coordination with key members, and a high level of mutual relations in the network with low density, all implying that there were low cohesions of coordination in the ERT. CONCLUSION: The results showed that SNA provided a quantitative and logical approach for the examination of the coordination status among response teams and it also provided a main opportunity for managers and planners to have a clear understanding of the presented status. The research concluded that fundamental efforts were needed to improve the presented situations.