Background: Thymus vulgaris is a plant rich in essential oils acclaimed for the management of oxidative stress and inflammation in the organs. Meanwhile, the heavy metal lead is widely distributed in nature and continued exposure to lead acetate causes reduced fertility.Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the effects of T. vulgaris on ovarian and uterine structural and functional characteristics in female rats exposed to lead acetate. Methods: Three groups of 18 mature Wistar albino female rats (Rattus norvegicus), 15 weeks old and weighing between 200 and 210 g, were established and handled for 60 days as follows: Group A (control group) received 0.5 mL of distilled water (DW) daily; group B received 5 mg/kg body weight (BW) of lead acetate via oral gavage; and group C received 5 mg/kg BW of lead acetate via oral gavage followed by 75 mg/kg BW of T. vulgaris extract 2 hours later. Blood and tissue samples (uterus and ovary) were collected from euthanized animals.Results: Lead acetate caused oxidative stress, as indicated by increased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and decreased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. It also caused a decrease in serum estrogen and an increase in progesterone levels. Meanwhile, T. vulgaris caused a decrease in progesterone and MDA levels and an increase in estrogen levels and SOD activity. The histological changes of the ovary and uterus in the lead acetate group showed vascular degeneration and necrosis, and the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) revealed an increase in positive cells. All these changes were restored to normal by T. vulgaris.Conclusion: Using alcoholic extracts of T. vulgaris acts as an antioxidant, helping to restore ovarian and uterine structure and function to near-normal levels in lead acetate-exposed rats.
CdS and CdTe thin films were thermally deposited onto glass substrate. The CdCl2 layer was deposited onto CdS surface. These followed by annealing for different duration times to modify the surface and interface of the junction. The diffraction patterns showed that the intensity of the peaks increased with the CdCl2/annealed treatment, and the grain sizes are increased after CdCl2/annealed treatment
This study presents a comprehensive set of laboratory works for the examined soil layers extracted from Baghdad city (specifically from Alkadhimya, Alaitaifiya, and Alhurriya) to illustrate their engineering properties. The researchers have adopted the unified soil classification system for soil classification purposes. Also, the direct shear test was performed for soil samples with various degrees of saturation (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%). The test results have shown a significant reduction in cohesion property with higher moisture content within soil samples. Also, a noticeable reduction in angle of internal friction value has occurred with such changes. Furthermore, it has been found that the bearing capacity of unsaturated soi
... Show MoreThis study was aimed to reduce the amount of the sprayed solution lost during trees spraying. At the same time, the concentration of the sprayed solution on the target (tree or bush) must be ensured and to find the best combination of treatments. Two factors controls the spraying process: (i) spraying speed (1.2 km/h, 2.4 km/h, 3.6 km/h), and (ii) the type of sensor. The test results showed a significant loss reduction percentage. It reached (6.05%, 5.39% and 2.05%) at the speed (1.2 km/h, 2.4 km/h, 3.6 km/h), respectively. It was noticed that when the speed becomes higher the loss becomes less accordingly. The interaction between the 3.6 km/h speed and the type of Ultrasonic sensor led to a decrease in the percentage of the spray
... Show MoreIn this research the effect of cooling rate and mold type on mechanical properties of the eutectic
and hypoeutectic (Al-Si) alloys has been studied. The alloys used in this research work were (Al- 12.6%Si
alloy) and (Al- 7%Si alloy).The two alloys have been melted and poured in two types of molds with
different cooling rates. One of them was a sand mold and the other was metal mold. Mechanical tests
(hardness, tensile test and impact test) were carried out on the specimens. Also the metallographic
examination was performed.
It has been found that the values of hardness for the alloys(Al-12.6%Si and Al-7%Si) which poured in
metal mold is greater than the values of hardness for the same alloy when it poured in a heated
This work consists of a numerical simulation to predict the velocity and temperature distributions, and an experimental work to visualize the air flow in a room model. The numerical work is based on non-isothermal, incompressible, three dimensional, k turbulence model, and solved using a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) approach, involving finite volume technique to solve continuity, momentum and energy equations, that governs the room’s turbulent flow domain. The experimental study was performed using (1/5) scaled room model of the actual dimensions of the room to simulate room air flow and visualize the flow pattern using smoke generated from burnt herbs and collected in a smoke generator to delivered through
... Show MoreBackground: This in vitro study evaluated the effect of canal dryness and flaring on the accuracy of two electronic apex locators for working length (WL) determination. Materials and methods: Sixty extracted teeth were used, after access opening was done, the occlusal surface was flattened to create stable reference point. The teeth were randomly divided into two equal main groups of flared and unflared group each one of 30 teeth. The flaring was done with Gates Glidden drills. The two main groups were further subdivided into two subgroups: dry canal and wet canal using 5.25% sodium hypochlorite groups, Electronic WL of each sample was determined using both Root ZX and i-Root apex locator. Consequently, histologic WL was determined by shav
... Show MoreThe investigation of the effect of tempering on thermal analysis of
Al-Ti-Si alloy and its composites with MgO and SiC particles was
performed. Thermal analysis was performed before and after
tempering by DSC scan. Optical microscopy was used to identify the
phases and precipitations that may be formed in base alloy and
composites. X-ray diffraction test indicated that the Al3Ti is the main
phase in Al-Ti-Si alloy in addition to form Al5Ti7Si12 phase. Some
chemical reactions can be occurred between reinforcements and
matrix such as MgO.Al2O3 in Al-Ti/MgO, and Al4C3 and Al(OH)3 in
Al-Ti/SiC composite. X-ray florescence technique is used to
investigate the chemical composition of the fabricated specimens.
H
This study was conducted to explore the effects of using ionized water on the productive and physiological performance of Japanese quails (Coturnix japonica). Our study was conducted at a private farm from 20th April, 2016 to 13th July, 2016 (84 d). One hundred 42-day-old Japanese quail chicks were used, divided randomly into 5 groups with 4 replicates. Treatments consisted in a control group (T1 - normal water:), alkaline (T2 - pH 8 and T3 - pH 9), and acidic water (T4 - pH 6 and T5 - pH 5). All birds were fed a balanced diet of energy and protein. The egg production ratio, egg weight, cumulative number of eggs, egg mass, feed conversion ratio, productivity per hen per week, and effects on plasma lipids, uric acid, glucose, calcium, and ph
... Show MoreThe influence of different thickness (500,750, and 1000) nm on the structure properties electrical conductivity and hall effect measurements have been investigated on the films of copper indium selenide CuInSe2 (CIS) the films were prepared by thermal evaporation technique on glass substrates at RT from compound alloy. The XRD pattern show that the film have poly crystalline structure a, the grain size increasing with as a function the thickness. Electrical conductivity (σ), the activation energies (Ea1,Ea2), hall mobility and the carrier concentration are investigated as function of thickness. All films contain two types of transport mechanisms of free carriers increase films thickness. The electrical conductivity increase with thickness
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