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
Q-switched lasers widely used in management skin diseases and
sometimes its effect may be inadequate or associated with
cytotoxicity. The current study aimed to investigate the effect of
Q-switched Nd:YAG laser upon cellular elements using in vitro
experimental model. Aqueous solutions of human albumin and pure
calf thymus double strand deoxyribonucleic acid (ctdsDNA)
irradiated with Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at different rates (1, 3 Hz)
and time exposure (up to 60 seconds) using 532 nm (400 mJ) and
1064 (1200 mJ) nm wavelength with fixed spot size of 4 mm. The
effect of laser irradiation on the albumin solution also studied in the
presence of elemental salts of copper, zinc and iron.
Q-switched laser irrad
Soft red winter wheat (SRW) is characterized by high yield and relatively low protein content. In Kentucky, there is growing demand from local artisan bread bakers for regionally produced flour, requiring production of grain with increased protein content and/or strength. The objective of this two-year field experiment was to evaluate the effect of nitrogen (N) management on five cultivars of winter wheat on yield and bread baking quality traits of modern and landrace SRW cultivars (Triticum aestivum L.). All five cultivars were evaluated using two N application rates in conventional and organic production systems. All traits measured were significantly affected by the agricultural production system and N rate, although plant height
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Human Herpes Virus-8 (HHV-8) is a sexually transmitted viral infection that can infect the prostate epithelium in immunocompromised adults. Recently, HHV-8 was related to the development and progression of several human malignancies like prostatic adenocarcinoma. This retrospective research was designed to analyze the distribution and possible impact of HHV-8 infection on prostatic adenocarcinogenesis. A total number of one hundred formalin-fixed prostatic tissues were enrolled in this research; forty Prostate Adenocarcinoma (PAC) biopsies, forty biopsies from Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), and twenty Apparently Normal Prostatic Tissues (ANPT) as a control group. Detection of HHV -8 DNA was achieved by a highly-sensitive variant of
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Background: The main drawback of soft lining materials was that they debonded from the denture base after a certain period of usage. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to determine the impact of oxygen and argon plasma treatment on the shear bonding strength of soft liners to two different kinds of denture base materials: conventional acrylic resin and high impact acrylic resin. Materials and Methods: Heat cure conventional and high impact acrylic blocks (40 for each group) were prepared. A soft liner connected the final test specimen of two blocks of each acrylic material. Shear bond strength (SBS) was assessed using universal testing machine. Additional blocks were also prepared for analyzing Vickers microhardness, contact ang
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Background: The formation of white spot lesions around fixed orthodontic attachments is a common complication during and after fixed orthodontic treatment, which hinders the result of a successfully completed orthodontic treatment. The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of the Caries Infiltrant (ICON®) on prevention of caries on the smooth enamel surface when applied alone or combined with conventional adhesives. Materials and methods: Seventy eight human premolar enamel discs were randomly assigned to six groups (n=13). The discs were etched and treated with resins of different monomer content forming the following groups: (1)Untreated etched samples served as the negative control, (2) ICON® (DMG), (3) Adper™ S
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Toxoplasmosis is the most common, widespread disease in the world which is caused by Toxoplasma gondii.The objective of the current study is to determine the effect of the Toxoplasma gondii infection on male sperm, especially on the mitochondria of sperm for men who suffer infertility and the possibility of a hereditary mutation. Sixty seminal fluid and serum samples were taken from sub- fertile patients who attended Teba center for in vitro fertilization / Babylon and similarly samples were also obtained from healthy individuals as a control group, their ages ranged from 20 to 60 years old during the period from 1st may /2016 till 25th January/2017. All samples subjected to the tests included Macroscopic and microscopic examination, molecu
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Molecular barcoding was widely recognized as a powerful tool for the identification of organisms during the past decade; the aim of this study is to use the molecular approach to identify the diatoms by using the environmental DNA. The diatom specimens were taken from Tigris River. The environmental DNA(e DNA) extraction and analysis of sequences using the Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) method showed the highest percentage of epipelic diatom genera including Achnanthidium minutissimum (Kützing) Czarnecki, 1994 (21.1%), Cocconeis placentula Ehrenberg, 1838 (21.3%) and Nitzschia palea (Kützing) W. Smith, 1856 (16.3%).
Five species of diatoms: Achnanthidiu
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Out of 120 isolates from different clinical cases, only 75 were found and confirmed that they belong to the Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria. The result revealed that the LasB virulent gene was present in 63 isolates with 63% percentage. The gel electrophoresis showed that the molecular weight of LasB gene was 300 bp. DNA sequences of LasB gene was done, and the results showed the presence of some gene mutations like substitution, addition and deletion with 97% identity with the Refseq gene. From the other side, the results of identities of translated nucleotides sequence with the original sequence of amino acids revealed that there are no effects of gene mutations on translation of the product protein.
Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the increasing prevalent neurologic disorders. Epidemiologic and family studies implicate genetic and environmental factors in determining
susceptibility to MS. The exact effect of the former is intended for investigation in our study.
Objectives: The objective of the study is to compare the demographic features, clinical presenting features, and clinical course between familial and sporadic cases of MS.
Materials and Methods: this is a retrospective cohort study conducted in Multiple Sclerosis Center in the Medical City in Baghdad. The records of the MS center in Baghdad Teaching Hospital were surveyed, and data from 13 patients with positive family history of MS
Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the increasing prevalent neurologic disorders. Epidemiologic and family studies implicate genetic and environmental factors in determining
susceptibility to MS. The exact effect of the former is intended for investigation in our study.
Objectives: The objective of the study is to compare the demographic features, clinical presenting features, and clinical course between familial and sporadic cases of MS.
Materials and Methods: this is a retrospective cohort study conducted in Multiple Sclerosis Center in the Medical City in Baghdad. The records of the MS center in Baghdad Teaching Hospital were surveyed, and data from 13 patients with positive family history of MS
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