Background: Human semen contains high concentrations of fructose, zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) in bound and ionic forms for Zn and Cu. The presence of abnormal levels of fructose and those trace elements may affect spermatogenesis with regard to production, maturation, motility and fertilizing capacity of the spermatozoa.Objective: To evaluate the levels of fructose, Zn and Cu in seminal plasma in different groups of male infertility and to correlate their concentrations with various sperm parameters.Methods: The concentrations of fructose, Zn and Cu were measured in 114 semen samples from normozoospermic, oligozoospermic, astheno-zoospermic, and azoospermic men using the electrothermal-atomic absorption spectrometry for Zn and Cu determinatio

In Iraq most of the small buildings deployed a conventional air conditioning technology which typically uses electrically driven compressor systems which exhibits several clear disadvantages such as high energy consumption, high electricity at peak loads. In this work a thermal performance of air conditioning system combined with a solar collector is investigated theoretically. The hybrid air conditioner consists of a semi hermetic compressor, water cooled shell and tube condenser, thermal expansion valve and coil with tank evaporator. The theoretical analysis included a simulation for the solar assisted air-conditioning system using EES software to analyze the effect of different parameters on the power consumption of c

Flat-plate collector considers most common types of collectors, for ease of manufacturing and low price compared with other collectors. The main aim of the present work is to increase the efficiency of the collector, which can be achieved by improving the heat transfer and minimize heat loss experimentally. Five types of solar air collectors have been tested, which conventional channel with a smooth absorber plate (model I), dual channel with a smooth absorber plate (model II), dual channel with perforating “V” corrugated absorber plate (model III), dual channel with internal attached wire mesh (model Ⅳ), and dual channel with absorber sheet of transparent honeycomb, (model Ⅴ). The dual channel collector used for

In the hybrid coolingsolar systems , a solar collectoris used to convertsolar energy intoheat sourcein order to super heat therefrigerant leave thecompressor,andthisprocess helpsin the transformation ofrefrigerant state from gaseous statetothe liquid statein upper two-thirdsof thecondenserinstead of the lower two-thirdssuchas in thetraditional air-conditioning systems and this willreduce theenergyneeded torun the process ofcooling.In this research two hybrid air-conditioning system with an evacuated tube solar collector were used, therefrigerant was R22 and the capacity was 2 tons each.The tilt angle of the evacuated tube solar collector was changed and the solar collector fluid was replaced into oil instead of water.A comparison wasi

Background: The potential use of zinc oxide and other metal oxide nanoparticles in biomedical are gaining interest in the scientific and medical communities, largely due to the physical and chemical properties of these nanomaterials. The present work revealed the effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) on the total salivary peroxidase enzyme activity of human saliva in comparison to de-ionized water. Materials and methods: Forty eight unstimulated saliva samples were collected from dental students/University of Baghdad 18-22 years. Then measure the total salivary peroxidase activity first without any addition to human saliva as a control, second with dilution the saliva with de-ionized water, and third with zinc oxide nanoparticles in c

The current research aimed to investigate the psychometric characteristics of the Arabic version of the Nomophobia scale for the Omani youth. The scale was administered to a random sample of students from public and private universities and colleges in Oman. The research sample consisted of 2507 students, of whom 868 males and 1639 females. The validity of the measure was first checked by presenting the scale to a group of experts in this field. Then the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was carried out. The exploratory factor analysis revealed the existence of three main factors: the fear of connectivity loss, the fear of communication loss with others, and the fear of network outages. These factors accounted for 65.6% of the

MRSA is one of the major pathogens in hospitals and the community, which have the ability to produce biofilm as a virulence factor, the impact of chalcone on biofilm formation, the synergism effect of chalcone and antibiotic in both in vitro and in vivo experiments, the gene expression of virulence genes (srtA, fnbA, fnbB) before and after treatment of it on MRSA biofilm cells in vitro, all these were the prime aims of this study. Chalcone at MBIC (20 μg/ml), significantly reduced the biofilm formation to 21.45% and at sub MBIC (15 μg/ml) to 36.58 %. While, Chalcone at MIC(5 μg/ml) reduced MRSA planktonic cells to 49.61%. Susceptibility of MRSA isolates against eight antibiotics showed that all isolates were sensitive to vancomycin and n

Foundations supporting reciprocating engines, radar towers, turbines, large electric motors, and generators, etc. are subject to vibrations caused by unbalanced machine forces as well as the static weight of the machine. If these vibrations are excessive, they may damage the machine or cause it not to function properly. In the case of block foundation, if changes in size and mass of the foundation do not lead to a satisfactory design, a pile foundation may be used. In this study, the dynamic response of piles and pile Groups in dry sand is investigated experimentally. The analysis involves the displacement response under harmonic excitation. In addition, a numerical modeling by using finite element method with a three-dimensional formula

The present work includes design, construction and operates of a prototype solar absorption refrigeration system, using methanol as a refrigerant to avoid any refrigerant that cause global warming and greenhouse effect. Flat plate collector was used because it’s easy, ninexpensive and efficient. Many test runs (more than 50) were carried out on the system from May to October, 2013; the main results were taken between the period of July 15, 2013 to August 15, 2013 to find the maximum C.O.P, cooling, temperature and pressure of the system. The system demonstrates a maximum generator temperature of 93.5 oC, on July 18, 2013 at 2:30 pm, and the average mean generator temperature Tgavr was 74.7 °C, for this period. The maximum pressure Pg

Liquid-side mass-transfer coefficients (K_La) were measured in air-suction type fermentors using physical absorption of oxygen.  A fermentor of 0. 5 m i.d. was used with a working capacity of 60 liters of liquid. Tap water was used as the liquid phase, and air was used as the gas phase. The bioreactor mixing system consists of shrouded-disk/curved-blade turbine with six evacuated bending blades. The effect of liquid submergence (S) was investigated. Further, the effects of the ratio of the impeller diameter (D) to the tank diameter (T), and the clearance of the impeller from the tank bottom(C) were also studied.  The agitation speed (N) was varied in the range of 50-800 rpm. It was found that the value of  K