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
This research presents the kinetics of the saponification reaction using mixed fats of olein and stearin [in the ratio (3:1)] with NaOH solution. In this reaction, excess solution of NaOH was used to ensure the reaction being irreversible. Three parameters were varied to show their effects on the reaction rate .They are: percentage excess of NaOH solution (10 % - 100 %) , temperature (100-150)oC , and stirring speed (400-1100) rpm. It was noticed that increasing the percentage excess of NaOH solution enhances the rate of reaction while increasing temperature decreases the reaction rate since it is exothermic reaction. Increasing stirring speed also improves the reaction rate because it is mass transfer controlled .Calcu
... Show MoreIn this work the effect of annealing temperature on the structure and the electrical properties of Bi thin films was studied, the Bi films were deposited on glass substrates at room temperature by thermal evaporation technique with thickness (0.4 µm) and rate of deposition equal to 6.66Å/sec, all samples are annealed in a vacuum for one hour. The X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the prepared samples are polycrystalline and it exhibits hexagonal structure. The electrical properties of these films were studied with different annealing temperatures, the d.c conductivity for films decreases from 16.42 ? 10-2 at 343K to 10.11?10-2 (?.cm)-1 at 363K. The electrical activation energies Ea1 and Ea2 increase from 0.031 to 0.049eV and
... Show MoreBackground: There is plenty of evidence
suggesting that involvement of several groups of
viruses in the development and / or acceleration of
Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM).
Objective: To analyze the T- cell proliferation in
the presence of Coxsackie virus B5 (CVB5), Polio
and Adenovirus antigens in addition to assessment
of Interferon- gamma (IFN-γ), Interleukins (IL-10
and IL-6).
Methods: In 60 Iraqi T1DM children with recent
onset of T1DM, Lymphocyte proliferation was
analyzed using Methylthiazol tetrazolium (MTT)
assay by culturing Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes
(PBLs) with Coxsackie Virus B5 (CVB5),
Adenovirus, and Polio vaccine. Serum Interferon-γ,
IL-10 and IL-6 were quantified by sandw
One of the prominent goals of Metrical Phonology Theory is providing stress of poetry on the syllable-, the foot-, and the phonological word- levels. Analysing poetry is one of the most prominent and controversial issues for the involved number and types of syllables, feet, and meters are stable in poetry compared to other literary texts. The prosodic seeds of the theory have been planted by Firth (1948) in English, while in Arabic يديهارفلا in the second half of the eighth century (A.D.) has done so. Investigating the metrical structure of poetry has been conducted in various languages, whereas scrutinising the metrical structure of English and Arabic poetry has received little attention. This study aims at capturing the
... Show MoreOne of the prominent goals of Metrical Phonology Theory is providing stress of poetry on the syllable-, the foot-, and the phonological word- levels. Analysing poetry is one of the most prominent and controversial issues for the involved number and types of syllables, feet, and meters are stable in poetry compared to other literary texts. The prosodic seeds of the theory have been planted by Firth (1948) in English, while in Arabic يديهارفلا in the second half of the eighth century (A.D.) has done so. Investigating the metrical structure of poetry has been conducted in various languages, whereas scrutinising the metrical structure of English and Arabic poetry has received little attention. This study aims at capturing the
... Show MoreAbstract
Experimental work from Magnetic Abrasive Finishing (MAF) tests was carried out design parameters (amplitude, and number of cycle which are formed the shape of electromagnetic pole), and technological parameters (current, cutting speed, working gap, and finishing time) all have an influence on the mechanical properties of the surface layer in MAF process. This research has made to study the effect of design and technological parameters on the surface roughness (Ra), micro hardness (Hv) and material removal (MR) in working zone. A set of experimental tests has been planned using response surface methodology according to Taguchi matrix (36) with three levels and six factors
... Show MoreSteps were taken to obtain the Kojic acid crystals from local fungal isolation A. flavus WJF81 by separating the fermentation products from the fungus mycelium from the production plant at the centrifuge at a speed of 5000 cycles for 10 minutes. The extraction was followed by ethyl acetate then supernatant concentrate by using rotary evaporator, and dried with heat oven 37ºC. Long, yellowish, pristine acid crystals were obtained that examined the optical microscope with a magnification force of 10x and 40x. The melting point of kojic acid was determined between 152.9-153.5 °C Results of the diagnosis of Kojic acid by applying High pressure liquid chromatography HPLC technique showed that the acid was at one peak, which was close to the
... Show MoreIn order to improve the effectiveness, increase the life cycle, and avoid the blade structural failure of wind turbines, the blades need to be perfectly designed. Knowing the flow angle and the geometric characteristics of the blade is necessary to calculate the values of the induction factors (axial and tangential), which are the basis of the Blade Element Momentum theory (BEM). The aforementioned equations form an implicit and nonlinear system. Consequently, a straightforward iterative solution process can be used to solve this problem. A theoretical study of the aerodynamic performance of a horizontal-axis wind turbine blade was introduced using the BEM. The main objective of the current work is to examine the wind turbine blade’s perf
... Show MoreThe current research aims to identify: 1. The level of mathematical construct among the Department of Mathematics students in the colleges of education and basic education. 2. The level of effective mathematical operations in both sides of the brain at the Department of Mathematics students in the colleges of education and basic education. 3. The strength and direction of the correlation between the mathematical construct and effective mathematical operations on both sides of the brain at the Department of Mathematics students in the colleges of Education and Basic Education. To investigate the research objectives, the researcher formulated zero-main hypothesis for each aim and from the same hypothesis, three sub-zero hypotheses are deri
... Show MoreThis research involves studying the mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of “low carbon steel” (0.077wt% C) before and after welding using Arc, MIG and TIG welding. The mechanical properties include testing of microhardness, tensile strength, the results indicate that microhardness of TIG, MIG welding is more than arc welding, while tensile strength in arc welding more than TIG and MIG.
The corrosion behavior of low carbon weldments was performed by potentiostat at scan rate 3mV.sec-1 in 3.5% NaCl to show the polarization resistance and calculate the corrosion rate from data of linear polarization by “Tafel extrapolation method”. The results indicate that the TIG welding increase the corrosion current d
... Show More