Background: Human semen contains high concentrations of fructose, zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) in bound and ionic forms for Zn and Cu. The presence of abnormal levels of fructose and those trace elements may affect spermatogenesis with regard to production, maturation, motility and fertilizing capacity of the spermatozoa.Objective: To evaluate the levels of fructose, Zn and Cu in seminal plasma in different groups of male infertility and to correlate their concentrations with various sperm parameters.Methods: The concentrations of fructose, Zn and Cu were measured in 114 semen samples from normozoospermic, oligozoospermic, astheno-zoospermic, and azoospermic men using the electrothermal-atomic absorption spectrometry for Zn and Cu determination. The concentration of fructose in seminal plasma was determined with a spectrophotometric method, using the resorcinol method.Results: Results of the present study showed that there was an inverse relationship between fructose levels and sperm count. The mean value of seminal plasma fructose concentrations was significantly increased (p ≤ 0.001) in the three groups of infertile male subjects (azoospermia, asthenozoospermia and oligozoospermia) than in fertile males. The mean value of seminal plasma Zn concentrations was significantly decreased (p ≤ 0.001) in the three groups of infertile male subjects (azoospermia, asthenozoospermia and oligozoospermia) than in fertile males. A good correlation in a positive direction was noted between the sperm count and seminal plasma Zn concentration. There was significant decrease in seminal plasma Cu concentration between asthenozoospermia and control groups (p ≤ 0.05) and insignificant increase in oligozoospermic patients.Conclusions: On the basis of the observations of the present study, seminal fructose, zinc and copper may contribute to fertility through their effects on various semen parameters.Key words:Male infertility, fructose, zinc, copper.
The present study aims to estimating the prevalence of autoimmune thyroid disorders in Iraqi infertile women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Eighty-five Iraqi women, with age range (19-45) years, were divided into three groups; first group included 33 women with PCOS; second group included 30 women without PCOS; while third group included 22 fertile women as controls. The clinical data [age, body mass index (BMI), and menstrual status] have been recorded. Blood samples were collected to determine the levels of reproductive hormones [estradiol (E2), luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH)]; and thyroid hormones [triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxin (T4)]. Also, autoimmune thyroid antibodies assessment h
... Show MoreThis work presents a computer studying to simulate the charging process of a dust grain immersed in plasma with negative ions. The study based on the discrete charging model. The model was developed to take into account the effect of negative ions on charging process of dust grain.
The model was translated to a numerical calculation by using computer programs. The program of model has been written with FORTRAN programming language to calculate the charging process for a dust particle in plasma with negative ion, the time distribution of a dust charge, number charge equilibrium and charging time for different value of ηe (ratio of number density of electron to number density of positive ion).
Background: Langerhans' cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a group of conditions affecting the reticuloendothelial system. It includes Letterer-Siwe disease, Hand-Schuller-Christian disease and eosinophilic granuloma and most often presents in childhood. Materials and methods: Twenty-five cases of LCH were diagnosed histologically and confirmed by CD1a antibody and assessed immunohistochemically using anti-RANKL and anti-RANK antibodies to evaluate osteoclastogenic mechanism. Results: Regarding jaw cases, there was a significant correlation between CD1a and RANK (P=0.016). While in the skull, highly significant correlation existed between RANK and RANKL (p=0.001). Among the sites, there was no statistically significant difference found for each
... Show MoreThe purpose of the current investigation is to distinguish between working memory ( ) in five patients with vascular dementia ( ), fifteen post-stroke patients with mild cognitive impairment ( ), and fifteen healthy control individuals ( ) based on background electroencephalography (EEG) activity. The elimination of EEG artifacts using wavelet (WT) pre-processing denoising is demonstrated in this study. In the current study, spectral entropy ( ), permutation entropy ( ), and approximation entropy ( ) were all explored. To improve the classification using the k-nearest neighbors ( NN) classifier scheme, a comparative study of using fuzzy neighbourhood preserving analysis with -decomposition ( ) as a dimensionality reduction technique an
... Show MoreBackground: Suffering from recurrent boils (furunclosis) is a common problem in our locality as it is noticed by many dermatologists especially in association with increasingly hot weather. The most common causative organisms are staphylococci. Objective: The aim of the study was to shed the light upon this problem and compare two systemic therapeutic agents for the prevention of recurrence, doxycycline and rifampicin. Patient and method: One hundred thirty-five (135) Patients with recurrent boils from Al-Yarmouk teaching hospital dermatology outpatient department were included in this study; age ranged from 10 to 64 years old and out of total patients 32 were males and 103 were females. Patients were assessed by full history and cl
... Show MoreIn our time, not too long ago, the universities of the world have been fast to take care of the study of an innovative type of technical and human studies, called the science of "comparative literature". Comparative research studies have grown and flourished rapidly in response to the demands of both mental and artistic life. This shows the increasing awareness at both the modern national and the international levels in order to develop through connecting with the international intellectual, nental and artistic currents to nurture ethics and originality. Comparative studies show that the beginning of the comparative literature goes back to the time when the Latin literature was connected to the Greek literature and th
... Show MoreThe textbook is the primary means of creativity and thinking, which has a major role in the development of the readership and mental abilities of the student. It is the basic tool in education in Iraq for the teacher and the student, which cannot be dispensed in any educational program. The current study aimed at the book of the biology of the sixth grade of science in Iraq (comparative study). It was compared to the book of biology for the twelve grade in the Kingdom of Jordan to identify the ratio of similarity and differences between them, in addition, to identify the weaknesses in the Iraq curriculum and developing appropriate solutions and suggestions to address them. The sample was represented with books of biology (six-science cla
... Show MoreAge, hypertension, and diabetes can cause significant alterations in arterial structure and function, including changes in lumen diameter (LD), intimal-medial thickness (IMT), flow velocities, and arterial compliance. These are also considered risk markers of atherosclerosis and cerebrovascular disease. A difference between right and left carotid artery blood flow and IMT has been reported by some researchers, and a difference in the incidence of nonlacunar stroke has been reported between the right and left brain hemispheres. The aim of this study was to determine whether there are differences between the right and left common carotid arteries and internal carotid arteries in patient
This study illustrates effect of cold plasma CAP on the mineral blood components in vivo. the mineral blood component (Ca, Na, Cl, K and Fe) are used. Floating Electrode-Dielectric Barrier Discharge (FE-DBD) system of probe diameter 4cm is used for this purpose, and variable voltage (0-20) kV and variable frequency (0-30) kHz, the output power was ranged from (10 - 70) W. the effect of cold atmospheric plasma on mineral blood is studied with different exposure durations (30,45,60) sec. As the plasma exposure duration increases, the calcium, potassium and iron components in the blood increased, while The sodium and chlorine elements decreased. These results give an indication of the cold plasma receptor to be used to treat many disea
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