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
Historically, medicinal herbs have been utilized as an important origin of chemicals with particular therapeutic potentials, and they continue to be a great place to find new medication candidates. Parthenocissus quinquefolia L. is a member of the grape-growing family Vitaceae. It is indigenous to Central and North America. It is widely dispersed in Iraqi gardens and plant houses from north to south. Traditionally, it has many uses, like relieving constipation, treating jaundice, expectorant, emetic, and others. At the same time, its proven activities include antioxidant activity, antimicrobial, anti-diabetic, thrombin inhibitor effect, and medicine for treating eyelid eczema. Parthenocissus quinquefolia contains valuable phytochemicals lik
... Show MoreIn this work, synthesis of conducting polymeric films namely, PVC thin films was carried out containing Schiff base (L) with Cu2+, Cr3+, Ni2+, Co2+, in addition to inspecting the possibilities of measuring energy gap values of PVC-L-M with variety metal ions. These new polymeric films (PVC-L-M) were characterized by FTIR spectrophotometry, energy gap and surface morphology. The optical data recorded that the band gap values are influenced by the type of metals. All modified films have a red shift in optical properties in the ultraviolet region. The PVC-L-Co(II) was the lowest value of the optical band gap, 3.1 eV.
This study designed to prepare ultrafine apixaban (APX) o/w nanoemulsion (NE) based gel with droplet size below 50 nm as a good method for transdermal APX delivery without using permeation enhancer, alternatively, the formulation components itself act as permeation enhancer. APX, a potent oral anticoagulant drug that selectively and directly inhibit coagulation factor Xa, was selected as a good candidate for transdermal delivery as it displays poor water solubility (0.028 mg/mL) and low bioavailability (50%). APX-NE gel was prepared using triacetin, triton-x-100 and carbitol as oil phase, surfactant and cosurfactant respectively, while Carbopol 940 used as a gelling agent. Ex vivo permeation of APX-NE gel through human stratum c
... Show MoreIn this study, cadmium oxide (CdO) was deposited on glass bases by thermal chemical spraying technique at three concentrations (0.05, 0.1, 0.15) M and then was irradiated by CO2 laser with 10.6 μm wave length and 1W power. The results of the atomic force microscope AFM test showed that the surfaces of these CdO thin films were homogenous and that the laser irradiated effect resulted in decreasing the roughness of the surface as well as the heights of the granular peaks, indicating a greater uniformity and homogeneity of the surfaces. The optical properties were studied to determine laser effect. The results of optical tests of these thin films showed that the photoluminescence spectra and absorption s
... Show MoreOne of the goals of adding adjuvants to agricultural spray solutions is to enhance the droplet size characteristics of this spray. Droplet size, in turn, has an influence in the deposited spray quality, in addition to the drift and losses of spray to off-target places. The aim of this research was to evaluate the effect of adding adjuvants to two types of water from different sources on the droplet size characteristics. Two types of adjuvants were employed in the tests: the active substance content of the first adjuvant was a 50% aqueous solution of sodium salt of alkylbenzenesulfonic acid—10% (HY), whereas the second was from rapeseed oil (natural origin)—85% (OL). Both adjuvants were tested in two concentrations: the first was
... Show MoreThe present paper investigates the role of fear and predator dependent refuge in the prey-predator system. The system describes the interaction between prey and a stage structure of predator that incorporates Holling II functional response. The predator splits into two compartments immature (juvenile) and mature (adult). The mature predators can hunt and reproduce but this capability is not found in the immature predators, the immature depend on their parents. The growth rate of prey decreases due to the existence of mature predators. The existence, uniqueness, and boundedness of the solution of the system are investigated. Three equilibrium points of the system are determined. The local stability of the system is studied. The global stabil
... Show MoreThe formation of a Schiff-base with N2O2 donor atoms derived from the hydrazine segment and its metal complexes are reported. The Schiff-base ligand; N’-((1R,2S,4R,5S,Z)-2,4-diphenyl-3-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonan-9-ylidene)furan-2-carbohydrazide (HL) was prepared from the reaction of furan-2-carbohydrazide with (1R, 2R, 4R, 5S)-2,4-diphenyl-3-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonan-9-one (M1) in ethanol medium. The reaction of the title ligand with selected metal ions Cr(III), Mn(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) gave complexes with the general formula [M(L)Cl2], (where: M = Cr(III), Mn(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II)). Spectroscopic analyses Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Carbon-13 nuclear magnetic res
... Show MoreSnS has been widely used in photoelectric devices due to its special band gap of 1.2-1.5 eV. Here, we reported on the fabrication of SnS nanosheets and the effect of synthesis condition together with heat treatment on its physical properties. The obtained band gap of the SnS nanosheets is in the rage of 1.37-1.41 eV. It was found that the photo-current density of a thin film comprised of SnS nanosheets could be enhanced significantly by annealing treatment. The maximum photo-current density of the stack structure of FTO/SnS/CdS/Pt was high as 389.5 mu A cm(-2), rendering its potential application in high efficiency solar hydrogen production.