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Revista Cubana de Investigaciones Biomédicas

On-line version ISSN 1561-3011

Abstract

VIGIL PORTALES, Pilar  and  CORTES CORTES, Manuel Enrique. Fractality in a pattern of crystallization of human cervical mucus obtained at periovulatory period. Rev Cubana Invest Bioméd [online]. 2019, vol.38, n.2, pp. 296-302.  Epub June 20, 2019. ISSN 1561-3011.

Introduction:

Cervical secretion plays an important role in the human reproductive process and its characteristics (e.g., crystallization) change depending on variations in the levels of sex steroid hormones.

Objective:

The purpose of this brief communication is to report the fractality observed in a crystallization pattern of human cervical mucus.

Methods:

Mucus samples were obtained from a patient in the periovulatory period and an image of the crystalline pattern of cervical mucus was transformed to black and white and analysed by Fractalyse v. 2.4, which determines the fractal dimension (FD) for each studied image. Three zones were analysed for the selected image.

Results:

It was found that, for Zone 1, FD (± standard deviation) = 1.36 ± 0.02 (r² = 0.9985); for Zone 2, FD = 1.35 ± 0.02 (r² = 0.9979); and for Zone 3, FD = 1.36 ± 0.03 (r² = 0.9958). Zones studied were statistically equal to each other regarding their FD.

Conclusions:

Human cervical mucus obtained at periovulatory period can follow a fractal-like pattern of crystallization, especially in relation to the similarity of its structural components (criterion of self-similarity).

Keywords : complex systems; crystallization; fractality; human cervical mucus; mathematical modelling.

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