Background: The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor historically recognized for its role in the regulation of toxicity mediated by environmental chemicals. Recent research points to AhR's critical participation in male reproductive physiology, particularly in spermatogenesis, hormone signaling, and the maintenance of sperm quality. Both endogenous ligands (e.g., dietary and gut microbiota-derived metabolites) and exogenous pollutants (e.g., dioxins and benzo-α-pyrene) influence AhR-mediated pathways, making it a key link between environmental exposures and male fertility. Results: This review highlights AhR's influence on the male reproductive system, emphasizing the role of endogenous AhR ligands and AhR expression in the maturation and function of male reproductive organs. Environmental AhR agonists have been shown to induce oxidative stress, hormonal imbalance, and sperm DNA damage, which impact harmfully on the spermatogenesis process, which leads to reproductive abnormalities. Conversely, certain natural compounds such as resveratrol, curcumin, and lycopene appear to antagonize AhR activation and reduce its negative effects, thus offering potential protective benefits against male reproductive toxicity. Nevertheless, discrepancies persist regarding the exact interplay between AhR signaling and critical reproductive hormones such as testosterone and LH, and it remains unclear how transgenerational epigenetic changes triggered by AhR activation might affect long-term male fertility. Conclusion: AhR is pivotal in male reproductive physiology, influencing spermatogenesis, sperm quality, and hormone regulation through its interactions with both endogenous and environmental ligands. Persistent pollutants such as dioxins and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons cause oxidative damage and hormonal disturbances via AhR, contributing to reduced sperm quality and fertility.
In this research work, a new type of concrete based on sulfur-melamine modification was introduced, and its various properties were studied. This new type of concrete was prepared based on the sulfur-melamine modification and various ingredients. The new sulfur-melamine modifier was fabricated, and its fabrication was confirmed by IR spectroscopy and TG analysis. The surface morphology resulted from this modifier was studied by SEM and EDS analysis. The components ratios in concrete, chemical and physical characteristics resulted from sulfur-melamine modifier, chemical and corrosion resistance of concrete, stability of concrete against water adsorption, stability of concrete against freezing, physical and mechanical properties and durabi
... Show MoreLiquefied petroleum gas (LPG), Natural gas (NG) and hydrogen were all used to operate spark ignition internal combustion engine Ricardo E6. A comparison of CO emissions emitted from each case, with emissions emitted from engine fueled with gasoline as a fuel is conducted.
The study was accomplished when engine operated at HUCR for gasoline n(8:1), was compared with its operation at HUCR for each fuel. Compression ratio, equivalence ratio and spark timing were studied at constant speed 1500 rpm.
CO concentrations were little at lean ratios; it appeared to be effected a little with equivalence ratio in this side, at rich side its values became higher, and it appeared to be effected by equivalence ratio highly, the results s
... Show MoreAutonomous systems are these systems which power themselves from the available ambient energies in addition to their duties. In the next few years, autonomous systems will pervade society and they will find their ways into different applications related to health, security, comfort and entertainment. Piezoelectric harvesters are possible energy converters which can be used to convert the available ambient vibration energy into electrical energy. In this contribution, an energy harvesting cantilever array with magnetic tuning including three piezoelectric bimorphs is investigated theoretically and experimentally. Other than harvester designs proposed before, this array is easy to manufacture and insensitive to manufacturi
... Show MoreThis paper proposes a self organizing fuzzy controller as an enhancement level of the fuzzy controller. The adjustment mechanism provides explicit adaptation to tune and update the position of the output membership functions of the fuzzy controller. Simulation results show that this controller is capable of controlling a non-linear time varying system so that the performance of the system improves so as to reach the desired state in a less number of samples.
This paper presents a fuzzy logic controller for a two-tank level control system, which is a process with a dead time. The fuzzy controller is a proportional-integral (PI-like) fuzzy controller which is suitable for steady state behavior of the system. Transient behavior of the system was improved without the need for a derivative action by suitable change in the rule base of the controller. Simulation results showed the step response of the two-tank level control system when this controller was used to control this plant and the effect of the dead time on the response of the system.
A QR code is a type of barcode that can hold more information than the familiar kind scanned at checkouts around the world. The “QR” stands for “Quick Response”, a reference to the speed at which the large amounts of information they contain can be decoded by scanners. They are being widely used for advertising campaigns, linking to company websites, contest sign-up pages and online menus. In this paper, we propose an efficient module to extract QR code from background and solve problem of rotation in case of inaccurate image taken from mobile camera.
There are still areas around the world suffer from severe shortage of freshwater supplies. Desalination technologies are not widely used due to their high energy usage, cost, and environmental damaging effects. In this study, a mathematical model of single-bed adsorption desalination system using silica gel-water as working pair is developed and validated via earlier experiments. A very good match between the model predictions and the experimental results is recorded. The objective is to reveal the factors affecting the productivity of fresh water and cooling effect in the solar adsorption system. The proposed model is setup for solving within the commercially-available software (Engineering Equation Solver). It is implemented to so
... Show MoreNystatin is the drug of choice for treatment of cutaneous fungal infections with main disadvantage that is the need for multiple applications to achieve complete eradication which may reduce patient compliance. Microparticles offer a solution for such issue as they are one of sustained release preparations that achieve slow release of drug over an extended period of time. The objectives of this study were to fabricate nystatin-loaded chitosan microparticles with the ultimate goal of prolonging drug release and to analyze the influence of polymer concentration on various properties of microparticles. Microparticles were prepared by chemical cross-linking method using glutaraldehyde as cross-linking agent. Five formulas, namely N1C1, N1C2,
... Show MoreA load-shedding controller suitable for small to medium size loads is designed and implemented based on preprogrammed priorities and power consumption for individual loads. The main controller decides if a particular load can be switched ON or not according to the amount of available power generation, load consumption and loads priorities. When themaximum allowed power consumption is reached and the user want to deliver power to additional load, the controller will decide if this particular load should be denied receiving power if its priority is low. Otherwise, it can be granted to receive power if its priority is high and in this case lower priority loads are automatically switched OFF in order not to overload the power generation. The
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