Fractal analysis of capacitating human spermatozoa. 1996

S T Mortimer, and M A Swan, and D Mortimer
Department of Anatomy and Histology and Sydney Institute of Biomedical Research, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.

While head centroid-derived kinematic values have been determined for the trajectories of hyperactivated human spermatozoa, the definitions are not robust with respect to image sampling frequency and track analysis methods. The determination of the fractal dimension of a trajectory has been suggested as an alternative descriptive parameter for hyperactivated motility. Here, we have investigated two methods for the determination of the fractal dimension of a trajectory. A simple but useful equation was found to be: D = log(n)/[log (n + log (d/L)], where the n is the number of intervals in the trajectory, d is the planar extent of the curve and L is the length of the trajectory. This equation was not influenced by scaling of the trajectory. A fractal dimension (D) >=1.30 was found to define hyperactivated trajectories, and D <= 1.20 defined non-hyperactivated trajetories, reconstructed at both 30 and 60 Hz. However, when circling tracks were studied, all had D > 1.30, even though they were classified as non-hyperactivated by curvilinear velocity and/or amplitude of lateral head displacement values. An analysis of a series of non-ideal track segments suggested a relationship between a track's linearity and its fractal dimension. It was determined by a linear regression analysis that the fractal dimension of a trajectory was inversely proportional to its linearity (r = -0.77, P < 0.001). Although the fractal dimension of a trajectory is a good indicator of its regularity (describing its space-filling properties), it should not be used as the sole criterion for the classification of a trajectory as hyperactivated.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D013075 Sperm Capacitation The structural and functional changes by which SPERMATOZOA become capable of oocyte FERTILIZATION. It normally requires exposing the sperm to the female genital tract for a period of time to bring about increased SPERM MOTILITY and the ACROSOME REACTION before fertilization in the FALLOPIAN TUBES can take place. Capacitation of Spermatozoa,Capacitation, Sperm,Spermatozoa Capacitation
D013081 Sperm Motility Movement characteristics of SPERMATOZOA in a fresh specimen. It is measured as the percentage of sperms that are moving, and as the percentage of sperms with productive flagellar motion such as rapid, linear, and forward progression. Motilities, Sperm,Motility, Sperm,Sperm Motilities
D017709 Fractals Patterns (real or mathematical) which look similar at different scales, for example the network of airways in the lung which shows similar branching patterns at progressively higher magnifications. Natural fractals are self-similar across a finite range of scales while mathematical fractals are the same across an infinite range. Many natural, including biological, structures are fractal (or fractal-like). Fractals are related to "chaos" (see NONLINEAR DYNAMICS) in that chaotic processes can produce fractal structures in nature, and appropriate representations of chaotic processes usually reveal self-similarity over time. Fractal

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