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 paper investigates the performance evaluation of two state feedback controllers, Pole Placement (PP) and Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR). The two controllers are designed for a Mass-Spring-Damper (MSD) system found in numerous applications to stabilize the MSD system performance and minimize the position tracking error of the system output. The state space model of the MSD system is first developed. Then, two meta-heuristic optimizations, Simulated Annealing (SA) optimization and Ant Colony (AC) optimization are utilized to optimize feedback gains matrix K of the PP and the weighting matrices Q and R of the LQR to make the MSD system reach stabilization and reduce the oscillation of the response. The Matlab softwar
... Show MoreThe research aims to shed light on the concept of Visibal management and its reflection on the organizational culture of the organization. The visual administration is a modern administrative method that contributes to the renewal and development of the organization's reality through surveying the opinions of a sample of 61 employees in the R & D / Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. (130) individuals. The questionnaire was used as a main tool for collecting data and information, and their answers were analyzed using the SPSS program in data entry and analysis. The most important tools are computational circles, standard deviations, method of analysis and regression equation. There is a possibility to apply
... Show MoreThe administrative leadership relies on a variety of behavioral paths in the functional areas in which it operates, and thus indicates its ability and thus has the upper hand in the organizational events, and in such a way that it can draw lessons and evaluate the results so as to test the expectations within the framework of the changes.
Does the study sample leadership have the characteristics that enable it to contain both crises and environmental stresses?
The aim of the study was to determine the location of the administrative leaders in the system of the study sample from the issue of crises and environmental pressures. The study concluded with a number of conclusions, the m
... Show MoreThe serum protein test includes measurement of the level of total protein(albumin, globulin). Fetuin-A is a blood protein made in liver. It can inhibit insulin receptor, enhance insulin sensitivity and make the individuals more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, then disorder in lipid profile (Total cholesterol(TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), Triglyceride(TG) and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-c) . To evaluate Fetuin-A, total protein, albumin, globulin, HbAlc and lipid profile in 200 adult and elderly Iraqi patients with type 2 Diabetes Mellitus were taken and compare them with 200 subjects as a healthy control. The laboratory analysis(for patients and
... Show MoreThe aim of this research was to indicate the opinion of the Iraqi consumer about the quality and safety of local food products, the questionnaire was included 19 questions for product quality, price, distribution and promotion as a tool to survey the opinions of 128 consumers in Baghdad, the data was analyzed by using percentage, weighted mean, and weight percent, the results obtained showed that the Iraqi consumer prefer local food products for their high quality and appropriate price, however they need attention to packaging, promotion and distribution.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common liver disease that ranges from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). So far, the underlying mechanism remains poorly understood. Here, we show that hepatic carboxylesterase 2 (CES2) is markedly reduced in NASH patients, diabetic
In this paper, a polymer-based composite material was prepared by hand Lay-up method consisting of epoxy resin as a base material reinforced by magnesium oxide powder once and silicon dioxide powder again and with different weight ratios (3, 6, 9 and 12) wt %. The three-point bending test was performed in normal conditions and after immersion in sulfuric acid. The results showed that the bending value decreased with the increase of the weighted ratio of the reinforcement material (MgO, SiO2). The Bending of samples reinforced by SiO2 was found to be less than the bending of samples reinforced by particles (MgO). For example, the bending of the SiO2 sample (0.32 mm) at the weighted ratio (3%) and for the MgO (0.18mm) sample at the weight
... Show MoreIdentify the effect of an educational design according to the repulsive (allosteric) learning model on the achievement of chemistry and lateral thinking. The sample consisted of (59) students from third-grade intermediate students. They were randomly distributed into two groups (experimental and control), and the equivalence was done in (chronological age, previous achievement in chemistry, intelligence, lateral thinking). The (30) students from experimental group were taught according to the instructional design, other 29 students from the (control) group were taught according to the usual method. Two tests done, one of them is an achievement test consisted of (30) items of the type of multiple choice, the other was a lateral think
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