Background: The discriminative power of the classical WHO parameters in relation to male fertility is quite low, because they only address few aspects of sperm quality and function. This has led investigators to focus their attention on the male gamete and in particular its genome.Objective: To explore which of the sperm DNA damage parameters measured by comet assay are more reliable, and their relations with the standard semen parameters.Methods: Study was done on 40 infertile men selected from couples attending the Institute of Embryo Reasearch and Infertility Treatment at Al-Kadhimiya City/ Baghdad in the period between February 2009 and May 2009, with a history of infertility of ≥1 years; and 15 healthy volunteers of proven fertility serving as control. Samples were allowed to liquefy for at least 30 minutes at 37°C and then evaluated according to the guidelines of the World Health Organization, 1999. The single cell gel electrophoresis (comet) assay was studied in the ejaculated spermatozoa. The exclusion criteria were the presence of azoospermia and severe oligospermia. Results were compared with the standard semen characteristics (concentration, motility and morphology).Results: Compared to healthy volunteers, infertile patients had highly significantly higher values of comet parameters (P = 0.00001). In all infertile patients, comet extent did not correlate with any of the classical semen parameters; whereas, tail length (μm), % DNA in tail, tail moment and olive moment had all significant negative correlations with the standard parameters. Significant positive correlations were observed between the studied comet parameters, except for the comet extent which was not significantly correlated with tail length and % DNA in tail (P = 0.06, P = 0.7; respectively).Conclusion: Comet assay is a very useful technique in assessing sperm DNA damage. Comet tail parameters and comet extent, may clarify different aspects of DNA damage, and together give a better insight to the integrity of the male genome.Keywards: sperm, comet extent, % DNA in tail, tail moment and olive moment
In this research, analytical study for simulating a Fabry-Perot bistable etalon (F-P cavity) filled with a dispersive optimized nonlinear optical material (Kerr type) such as semiconductors Indium Antimonide (InSb). An optimization procedure using reflective (~85%) InSb etalon (~50µm) thick is described. For this etalon with a (50 µm) spot diameter beam, the minimum switching power is (~0.078 mW) and switching time is (~150 ns), leading to a switching energy of (~11.77 pJ) for this device. Also, the main role played by the temperature to change the etalon characteristic from nonlinear to linear dynamics.
Background: Several studies suggested that skeletal system is adversely affected by diabetes and is associated with increased risk of osteoporosis and fragility fractures
Objectives: The study was a case-control study that designed to assess the level of bone turnover markers (BTMs) among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and to investigate the effect of body weight and diabetic control on the level of bone turnover
Type of the study: Cross- sectional study.
Methods: The present study included 100 postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Sixty-six non-diabetic postmenopausal women were enrolled as a control. Fasting b
... Show MoreBackground: Coronavirus, which causes respiratory illness, has been a public health issue in recent decades. Because the clinical symptoms of infection are not always specific, it is difficult to expose all suspects to qualitative testing in order to confirm or rule out infection as a test. Methods: According to the scientific studies and investigations, seventy-three results of scientific articles and research were obtained using PubMed, Medline, Research gate and Google Scholar. The research keywords used were COVID-19, coronavirus, blood parameters, and saliva. Results: This review provides a report on the changes in the blood and saliva tests of those who are infected with the COVID-19.COVID-19 is a systemic infection that has
... Show MoreBackground: Health education was put as one of the components of primary health care elements and was recognized as a fundamental tool to the attainment of health for all
Objective: To evaluate the Knowledge, attitude regarding health education & to find out if there is any association between the gathered data and certain variables (age, gender, educational level, occupation). Methods: A Cross-sectional study done at Al Mustansyryia Primary Health Care Center from the 1st of January to 1st of May 2016. All patients attending the Primary Health Care Centers who were above 18 years of age and willing to participate in the research (303) were included in t
... Show MoreThis research will cover different aspects of estimating process of construction work in a desert area. The inherent difficulties which accompany the cost estimating of the construction works in desert environment in a developing country, will stem from the limited information available, resources scarcity, low level of skilled workers, the prevailing severe weather conditions and many others, which definitely don't provide a fair, reliable and accurate estimation. This study tries to present unit price to estimate the cost in preliminary phase of a project. Estimations are supported by developing mathematical equations based on the historical data of maintenance, new construction of managerial and school projects.
... Show MoreAlO-doped ZnO nanocrystalline thin films from with nano crystallite size in the range (19-15 nm) were fabricated by pulsed laser deposition technique. The reduction of crystallite size by increasing of doping ratio shift the bandgap to IR region the optical band gap decreases in a consistent manner, from 3.21to 2.1 eV by increasing AlO doping ratio from 0 to 7wt% but then returns to grow up to 3.21 eV by a further increase the doping ratio. The bandgap increment obtained for 9% AlO dopant concentration can be clarified in terms of the Burstein–Moss effect whereas the aluminum donor atom increased the carrier's concentration which in turn shifts the Fermi level and widened the bandgap (blue-shift). The engineering of the bandgap by low
... Show MoreThe research aims at a statement Internal Debt options during shocks and the impact of this borrowing in the volume of the foreign reserve, using induction and deduction with available data analysis. During the period (2004-2013) did not require the use of borrowing across (financial institutions, discounted transfers, bonds); it was only sufficient by transfer with commercial banks that can finance of temporary budget deficits: rose and decline of volume of foreign reserve according to the changes of oil prices and the volume of purchases and sales of the Central Bank of Iraq. Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) has significantly contributed to Internal Debt through bond and discounted transfers in the secondary market; thus, funding the
... Show MoreThe aim of the present study is to investigate whether or not xanthine oxidase (XO)–derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) may play a role in the pathogenesis of alloxan (ALX)–induced diabetes in rats using the specific XO inhibitor and hydroxyl radical scavenger, allopurinol
The involvement of oxidative stress in ALX – diabetes was assessed by the measurement of plasma and various tissues lipid peroxides levels ( using thiobarbituric acid ( TBA ) reactive substances ). Furthermore, the ability of allopurinol to influence these and other biochemical parameters, including plasma and urine ketones levels were also investigated in diabetic rats.
Rats were divided into four groups: control, untreated diabe
... Show MoreKnowing the distribution of the mechanical rock properties and the far field stresses for the field of interest is an important task for many applications concerning reservoir geomechanics, including wellbore instability analysis, hydraulic fracturing, sand production, reservoir compaction, and subsidence. A major challenge with determining the rock's mechanical properties is that they cannot be directly measured at the borehole. Furthermore, the recovered carbonate core samples for performing measurements are limited and they provide discrete data for specific depths.
The purpose of this study is to build 2D and 3D geomechanical models of the Khasib reservoir in the East Baghdad oil field/ Central area. TECHLOG.2015.3 softwa
... Show MoreThe measurements of major and trace elements in different brands of milk powder selected from the Iraqis market via the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) Technique have been studied in the present work. The result of the measurements reveals the high concentrations of sodium, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, potassium, calcium and magnesium. Furthermore, low concentrations of aluminum, silicon, iron, bromine, molybdenum, iodine, barium, titanium, manganese, cobalt, chrome, nickel, copper, zinc and lead were detected. Neutron activation analysis (NAA) and Kjeldahl technique were also employed to determine the concentrations of nitrogen. It was found that the nitrogen concentration was in the range of (1.96 - 3.23) % which is within the permissible li
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