The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of body mass index (BMI) on semen parameters, level of sex hormone and sperm DNA integrity. Semen samples were collected from (85) infertile men and (40) healthy fertile men with range of age (38.191 ± 0.84) years during their attendance at High Institute of Infertility Diagnosis and ART, Al-Nahrain University from March to June 2016. Semen samples were obtained by masturbation after 72 hours of abstinence. Seminal fluid analyses included semen volume, sperm concentration, percent sperm motility, percent sperm morphology, and sperm chromatin integrity DNA fragmentation index (DFI]). Serum samples were collected from each subject for determination the level of Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH), Luteinizing Hormone (LH), Prolactin (PRL), and Testosterone by ELISA method. The results revealed a highly significant (P≤ 0.01) increase in BMI and immotile sperm (%), and significant(P≤ 0.05) increase in semen liquefaction time, non-progressive motility (%), round cells counts and sperm DNA fragmentation in infertile men as compared to control group, while there was a highly significant (P≤ 0.01) decrease in progressive motility (%), and a significant (P< 0.05) decrease in the sperm concentration, sperm motility (%) and normal sperm morphology (%). The results showed statistically significant (P< 0.05) positive correlations between body mass index and sperm motility, progressive motility, non-progressive motility, immotile sperm, normal sperm morphology and sperm DNA fragmentation. No significant correlations were observed between body mass index and semen liquefaction time, semen PH, sperm concentration, round cells counts and age. In respect with level of serum hormones a significant (P< 0.05) decrease in level of FSH ,LH and testosterone was found ,while the level of prolactin showed a significant (P< 0.05) increase in infertile men when compared with control group. Significant (P< 0.05) negative correlation was observed between body mass index and serum level of prolactin and testosterone, while non-significant correlations were observed between body mass index and serum level of FSH and LH. In conclusion, this study has shown that body mass index has major effect on semen characteristics and sex hormones.
Biologically active natural compounds are molecules produced by plants or plant-related microbes, such as endophytes. Many of these metabolites have a wide range of antimicrobial activities and other pharmaceutical properties. This study aimed to evaluate (in vitro) the antifungal activities of the secondary metabolites obtained from Paecilomyces sp. against the pathogenic fungus Rhizoctonia solani. The endophytic fungus Paecilomyces was isolated from Moringa oleifera leaves and cultured on potato dextrose broth for the production of the fungal metabolites. The activity of Paecilomyces filtrate against the radial growth of Rhizoctonia solani was tested by mixing the filtrate with potato dextrose agar medium at concentrations of 15%,
... Show MoreBackground subtraction is the dominant approach in the domain of moving object detection. Lots of research has been done to design or improve background subtraction models. However, there are a few well-known and state-of-the-art models that can be applied as a benchmark. Generally, these models are applied to different dataset benchmarks. Most of the time, choosing an appropriate dataset is challenging due to the lack of dataset availability and the tedious process of creating ground-truth frames for the sake of quantitative evaluation. Therefore, in this article, we collected local video scenes of a street and river taken by a stationary camera, focusing on dynamic background challenges. We presented a new technique for creati
... Show MoreEffect of [Cu/In] ratio on the optical properties of CuInS2 thin films prepared by chemical spray pyrolysis on glass slides at 300oC was studied. The optical characteristics of the prepared thin films have been investigated using UV-VIS spectrophotometer in the wavelength range (300-1100 nm). The films have a direct allow electronic transition with optical energy gap (Eg) decreased from 1.51 eV to 1.30 eV with increasing of [Cu/In] ratio and as well as we notice that films have different behavior when annealed the films in the temperature 100oC (1h,2h), 200oC (1h,2h) for [Cu/In]=1.4 . Also the extinction coefficient (k), refractive index (n) and the real and imaginary dielectric constants (ε1, ε2) have been investigated
The approach of green synthesis of bio-sorbent has become simple alternatives to chemical synths as they use for example plant extracts, plus green synthesis outperforms chemical methods because it is environmentally friendly besides has wide applications in environmental remediation. This paper investigates the removal of ciprofloxacin (CIP) using green tea nano zero-valent iron (GT-NZVI) in an aqueous solution. The synthesized GT-NZVI was categorized using SEM, AFM, BET, FTIR, and Zeta potentials techniques. The spherical nanoparticles were found to be nano zero-valent, with an average size of 85 nm and a surface area of 2.19m2/g. The results showed that the removal efficiency of ciprofloxacin depends on the initial pH (2.5-10),
... Show MoreThe present study aimed at identifying the effectiveness of Macaton method in improving some sensory and cognitive skills in autistic children. In order to achieve the aims of the study, the researcher used the experimental method. The present study sample was (10) children whose ages ranged between (7-10) years and were diagnosed medically with autism disorder. The researcher randomly selected the sample and divided it into two groups: the first group consisted of (5) children representing the experimental group, and (5) children representing the control group after extracting the equivalence between the two groups in terms of age, intelligence, economic and social level and the degree of communication. The program was implemented for t
... Show MoreThe topic of urban transformations has attracted the attention of researchers as it is one of the basic issues through which cities can be transformed towards sustainability. A specific level of transformation levels according to a philosophical concept known as a crossing. This article has relied on a specific methodology that aims to find a new approach for urban transformation based on the crossing concept. This concept derives from philosophical entrances based on the concepts of (being, process, becoming, and integration). Four levels have been for the crossing are (normal, ascending, leap, and descending). Each of these levels includes specific characteristics that distinguish it. The results showed that there is no descending
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