Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the correlation between levels of certain seminal biochemical parameters and serum reproductive hormones, on the one hand, and sperm function tests, on the other hand, in asthenospermic patients. Patients and Methods: Sixty asthenospermic patients and twenty fertile men as a control group were included in this study. Semen samples were collected to perform seminal fluid analysis. Total protein, cholesterol, calcium, creatine kinase, and fructose were measured in the seminal plasma. Blood samples were collected for hormonal assay of serum reproductive hormones: testosterone, prolactin, luteinizing hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone. Results: The results revealed a significant positive correla

The aim of this study is to investigate the sedimentation environments and diagenetic processes of the Ibrahim Formation (Oligocene-early Miocene) in Zurbatiya, eastern Iraq. The Ibrahim Formation is comprised mostly of clayey micrite and skeletal grains composed of planktonic foraminifera, calcispheres, radiolaria, and benthic foraminifera. Glauconite and pyrite were documented in some restricted zones of this formation; they reflect quiet and reducing conditions. Radiolaria were identified in Late-Oligocene which was not known previously at this age regionally in carbonate formations of the Arabian Plate (AP). Mudstone, wackestone, and planktonic foraminiferal wackepackstone are the main microfacies that are affected by dissolutio

Some biological aspects of the zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha have been studied at Al-Musayab thermal power plant ,sixty km. south west of Baghdad. Data collected during the period extended from November, 2002 to October, 2003 except for the month of April The population consisted of five age groups; O, I, II, III, and IV which have 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 annuli respectively. The study also proved the validity of annuli readings for age and growth determination. The average annual growth rates for age groups O,I, II, III, and IV were 5.7, 5.5, 5.4, 5.2 and 5.4 respectively. Average calculated length for laboratory reared mussel was 2.5 mm compared to 5.4 mm in natural environment. Correlation coefficients were very high between age an

The raw material soil of Al-Sowera factory quarry (quarry soil and mixture) used for building brick industry was tested mineralogically, geochemically and geotechnically. Mineral components of soil are characterized by Clay minerals (Palygoriskite and chlorite) and nonclay minerals like calcite, quratz, feldspar, gypsum and halite. The raw material is deficient in SiO2, Al2O3, K2O, Fe2O3 and MgO, while enriched in CaO. Loss on ignition and Na2O are in suitable level and appear to be concordant with the standard. Grain size analyses show that the decreasing sand and clay, and increasing silt ratio in both quarry soil and mixture caused decreasing in strength of brick during molding and after firing. The quarry soil is characterized by high p

Here we determined the structure of a cold active family IV esterase (EstN7) cloned from Bacillus cohnii strain N1. EstN7 is a dimer with a classical α/β hydrolase fold. It has an acidic surface that is thought to play a role in cold-adaption by retaining solvation under changed water solvent entropy at lower temperatures. The conformation of the functionally important cap region is significantly different to EstN7's closest relatives, forming a bridge-like structure with reduced helical content providing greater access to the active site through more than one substrate access tunnel. However, dynamics do not appear to play a major role in cold adaption. Molecular dyn

An efficient networks’ energy consumption and Quality of Services (QoS) are considered the most important issues, to evaluate the route quality of the designed routing protocol in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). This study is presented an evaluation performance technique to evaluate two routing protocols: Secure for Mobile Sink Node location using Dynamic Routing Protocol (SMSNDRP) and routing protocol that used K-means algorithm to form Data Gathered Path (KM-DGP), on small and large network with Group of Mobile Sinks (GMSs). The propose technique is based on QoS and sensor nodes’ energy consumption parameters to assess route quality and networks’ energy usage. The evaluation technique is conducted on two routing protocols i