ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Estrogens has traditionally been known as the female hormone, but this idea has been challenged in early 1990’s and an essential physiological role for estrogen in male fertility was identified. Phytoestrogens are naturally occurring non-steroidal plant chemicals that can act like the female hormone estrogen. The herbs ( anise alfalfa and vervain ) chosen in this study contain phytoestrogens. OBJECTIVE: Previous studies demonstrated controversy of the effects of phytoestrogens on the rat testes .Hence, the present investigation was undertaken to investigate the influence of typical dose of herbs containing phytoestrogen on the rat testis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-four apparently normal mature male rats were divided into four groups of 6 animals each. The first "control" group received only 4ml of distilled water as a placebo. The second group received 40mg/kg of anise seed; the third group received 53.3 mg/kg of dried herb of vervain and the fourth group received 400 mg /kg of alfalfa seeds. All experimental groups received the doses through orogastric tube daily for fourteen days. Testicular histology was evaluated by light and enzyme histochemistry. Plasma FSH and testosterone concentrations were taken to support our results. RESULTS: Histological examination of anise, alfalfa and vervain – treated groups showed an increase in the height of germinal epithelia. There was marked lipoprotein lipase activity in the whole of the interstitial tissue which is more in amount in experimental groups than that in control group. Acid phosphatase granules were infiltered the seminiferous epithelia mildly in control group , moderately in anise and vervain groups and markedly in alfalfa group. The number of interstitial cells showing marked acid phosphatase activity was higher in all experimental groups than that in control group. Alkaline phosphatase exhibited intense activity in the boundary tissue of the seminiferous tubules in testes of control and experimental groups but it appeared thicker in the latter. CONCLUSION: The low dose and short duration of treatment used in our study made these phytoestrogen – containing herbs to have a stimulatory effect on leydig cell steroidogenesis. This study also demonstrated that aniseed being the most potent of the three herbs followed by alfalfa in stimulating testosterone synthesis. This is possibly attributed to the coumarin constituent of aniseed and alfalfa. KEY WORDS: phytoestrogen-containing herbs, testis, acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, lipoprotein lipase
In this work, we have developed a model that describes the relationships between top predators (such as tigers, hyenas, and others), crop raiders (such as baboons, warthogs, and deer), and prey (such as deer) in the coffee forests of southwest Ethiopia. Various potential equilibrium points are identified. Additionally, the model's stability in the vicinity of these equilibrium points is examined. An investigation of the model's Hopf bifurcation is conducted concerning several significant parameters. It is found that prey species may be extinct due to a lower growth rate and consumption by top predators in the absence of human interference in the carrying capacity of prey. It is observed that top predators may be extinct due to human interfe
... Show MoreThe neutrophil/ lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR) have the potential to be inflammatory markers that reflect the activity of many inflammatory diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the NLR and PLR as potential markers of disease activity in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.
The study involved 132 patients with ankylosing spondylitis and 81 healthy controls matched in terms of age and gender. Their sociodemographic data, disease activity scores using the Bath Ankylosing
This Study was conducted to investigate vaginitis in women who live in Baghdad City. Results Revealed that Candida spp. were the causal agent of 38.5% of symptomatic cases the yeasts Candidaalbicans, C.glabrata, C.tropicalis, C.parapsilosis and C.krusei were isolated with the percentage of 38.1, 9.1, 3.9, 2.6, 1.3 respectively also there were 18% of women in control group carrying Candida spp. The direct smear method were not efficient because the percentage of infection was 17.5% comparing with the culture method the sensitivity of direct smear method was 45.5% The percentage of WBC to Epithelial cells was less than one in 76.6% of women.
The sensitivity of SnO2 nanoparticles/reduced graphene oxide hybrid to NO2 gas is discussed in the present work using density functional theory (DFT). The SnO2 nanoparticles shapes are taken as pyramids, as proved by experiments. The reduced graphene oxide (rGO) edges have oxygen or oxygen-containing functional groups. However, the upper and lower surfaces of rGO are clean, as expected from the oxide reduction procedure. Results show that SnO2 particles are connected at the edges of rGO, making a p-n heterojunction with a reduced agglomeration of SnO2 particles and high gas sensitivity. The DFT results are in
This article conclude a theoretical study for the possibility to produce additional electric power from Iraqi steam power plants by cutting – off high-pressure feed water heaters . Three separated steam power plants which Dura , south –Baghdad and Nasria were studied . The investigation showed the possibity of increasing the electric power from 10 to 15% for Dura and Nasria , whereas 6% for south – Baghdad . According to the nowadays of operation to Iraqi steam power plants , the results showed that by cutting–off high pressure feed water heaters we can generate additional electric power about 250 MW during 3-4 hrs. daily. In addition, the fuel consumption can be reduced in comparison with diesel generat
... Show MoreIn this paper we have dealt with the word " בַּיִת" in the Book of Joshua because it makes one of those that highly employed the word בַּיִת" " in the Old Testament. The Book of Joshua comes sixth in the order of tanakh wich was written by Joshua son of Noon in Palestine during the fifteenth century B.C. and it covers a three-decade era extending from the death of Moses til the death of Joshua son of Noon.
The word " בַּיִת " in this paper refers to the place, where expressions are made by a noun modified by a noun . The modifier is"" בַּיִת , and the modified is another noun. Herein, we
... Show MoreDespite the global economic downturn, online e-commerce, especially the sale of counterfeit goods, continues to witness a rise in sales, and one of the important players in e-commerce is the owners of e-commerce auction sites. Although they do not have a direct role in trademark infringement, they still consider them indirectly responsible (secondary liability) for infringing on their trademarks. Thus, many cases have been filed by the owners of the original trademarks (which have been infringed by persons who have sold some of the goods and products that are imitating their marks through some electronic auctions) against the owners of those auctions. In view of the international character of the Internet, in different countries, and despit
... Show MoreObjective: To study the effect of epidural spinal injection over one year in case of spinal stenosis. Methodology: This prospective study included 566 patients with spinal stenosis seen at Al-Kindy Teaching and Al-Sader, Hospitals who were treated by local epidural steroid injection. They were followed up for at least five subsequent visits after seven days, one month, three months, six months, and one year to assess efficacy. Result: Mean age of patients was 49.5 years, with a predominance of females (65%). L4/L5 was the most involved level in the spinal stenosis (70%). Grade II stenosis accounted for (45.4%) of cases. The pairwise comparison revealed that there was significant decrease in proportions of patients with pain in day
... Show MoreBackground:Periodontal diseases are infectious diseases in which periodontalpathogens trigger chronic inflammatory and immune responses. Interleukine-6 is a multifunctional cytokine playing a central role in inflammation and tissue injury.The aim of the study IS to determine the level of Interleukin-6(IL-6) in saliva of patients with chronic periodontitis compared to healthy subjects. Materials and Methods:The total subjects of the present study is 60, divided into 3 groups; 20 patients with chronic periodontitis with pocket depth(PD ≥4 mm)(group I), 20 patients with pocket depth(PD <4 mm) with clinical attachment loss (group II), and 20 healthy controls with pocket probing depth (PPD ≤ 3 mm) without clinical attachment loss (g
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