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
Celiac disease (CD) is an immune-mediated disorder caused by gluten in genetically susceptible individuals characterized by chronic inflammation that essentially affects the small intestine. Objective: this study was designed to measure the potential role of some serological biomarkers including vitamin B12 and homocysteine (HCY) in the progression of CD as well as their relations to global DNA methylation (5mC). Materials and methods. Forty CD patients were enrolled in the study with an average age of (36.60 ± 2.03) years (range between 15 and 60). The diagnosis of the disease was confirmed by serological examinations and intestinal endoscopy in Gastroenterology and Liver Teaching Hospital in the Medical City Hospital in Baghdad
... Show MoreTuberculosis (TB) still remains an important medical problem due to high levels of morbidity and mortality worldwide. A series of innate immune mechanisms that create a cytokine network control the pathogenesis of tuberculosis and this response has the capacity to modify the host genomic DNA structure through epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation which could constantly alter the local gene expression pattern that can modulate the metabolism of the tissues and the immune-response. Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) is an important pro-inflammatory cytokine regulator of the innate immune response to TB. This study aims to determine DNA methylation patterns of INF-γ gene promoter and measure serum IFN- γ level in newly diagnosed TB patient
... Show MoreThe problem of Multicollinearity is one of the most common problems, which deal to a large extent with the internal correlation between explanatory variables. This problem is especially Appear in economics and applied research, The problem of Multicollinearity has a negative effect on the regression model, such as oversized variance degree and estimation of parameters that are unstable when we use the Least Square Method ( OLS), Therefore, other methods were used to estimate the parameters of the negative binomial model, including the estimated Ridge Regression Method and the Liu type estimator, The negative binomial regression model is a nonline
... Show MoreBack ground: This in vitro study was carried out to investigate the effect of post space regions (coronal, middle and apical), Time and the mode of polymerization (dual, self-cured) of the cements used on the bond strength between translucent fiber post and root dentin by using push-out test. Materials and Methods: Forty eight extracted mandibular first premolars (single root) were instrumented with ProTaper Universal system files (for hand use) and obturated with gutta percha for ProTaper and AH26® root canal sealer following the manufacturer instructions, after 24 hours post space was prepared using FRC postec® plus drills no.3 creating 8 mm depth post space. The prepared samples were randomly divided into two main groups (24 samples ea
... Show MoreThe chemical, physical and toxicological effects on health of synthetic dyes that used as tracking dye in the electrophoresis requires seriously search about alternative tracking dye. The present study is aimed to find an alternative dye from safe food dyes which commonly used in food coloring. Five dyes were selected depending on their chemical properties and the availability in local market: Brilliant Blue FCF, Tartrazine, Sunset Yellow FCF, Carmoisine, and green traditional, three dyes were chosen to be mixed as loading buffer: Brilliant Blue FCF, Sunset Yellow FCF as a basic because it give the whole range size of most traditional loading buffers that available in market, and adding the Carmoisine as a new indicator for the bands less t
... Show MorePorosity is important because it reflects the presence of oil reserves. Hence, the number of underground reserves and a direct influence on the essential petrophysical parameters, such as permeability and saturation, are related to connected pores. Also, the selection of perforation interval and recommended drilling additional infill wells. For the estimation two distinct methods are used to obtain the results: the first method is based on conventional equations that utilize porosity logs. In contrast, the second approach relies on statistical methods based on making matrices dependent on rock and fluid composition and solving the equations (matrices) instantaneously. In which records have entered as equations, and the matrix is sol
... Show MoreThere are many tools and S/W systems to generate finite state automata, FSA, due to its importance in modeling and simulation and its wide variety of applications. However, no appropriate tool that can generate finite state automata, FSA, for DNA motif template due to the huge size of the motif template. In addition to the optional paths in the motif structure which are represented by the gap. These reasons lead to the unavailability of the specifications of the automata to be generated. This absence of specifications makes the generating process very difficult. This paper presents a novel algorithm to construct FSAs for DNA motif templates. This research is the first research presents the problem of generating FSAs for DNA motif temp
... Show MoreThis research a study model of linear regression problem of autocorrelation of random error is spread when a normal distribution as used in linear regression analysis for relationship between variables and through this relationship can predict the value of a variable with the values of other variables, and was comparing methods (method of least squares, method of the average un-weighted, Thiel method and Laplace method) using the mean square error (MSE) boxes and simulation and the study included fore sizes of samples (15, 30, 60, 100). The results showed that the least-squares method is best, applying the fore methods of buckwheat production data and the cultivated area of the provinces of Iraq for years (2010), (2011), (2012),
... Show MoreBackground: Radioactive iodine-131 therapy is highly effective in treating patients with hyperthyroidism. An ablative dose is preferred by a number of endocrinologists, and, a fixed dose protocol seems to be better than a calculated dose in real practice.
Objective: To check for hypothyroidism in hyperthyroid patients one year after RAI therapy, comparing between the results of high ablative versus usual dosages of RAI-131.
Methods: This study included 174 hyperthyroid patients, 101 males and 73 females, divided into 2 groups, the first consisted of 162 patients given a usual fixed dose of RAI while the second consisted of 12 patients given a high fixed ablati
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