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.
We aimed to obtain magnesium/iron (Mg/Fe)-layered double hydroxides (LDHs) nanoparticles-immobilized on waste foundry sand-a byproduct of the metal casting industry. XRD and FT-IR tests were applied to characterize the prepared sorbent. The results revealed that a new peak reflected LDHs nanoparticles. In addition, SEM-EDS mapping confirmed that the coating process was appropriate. Sorption tests for the interaction of this sorbent with an aqueous solution contaminated with Congo red dye revealed the efficacy of this material where the maximum adsorption capacity reached approximately 9127.08 mg/g. The pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic models helped to describe the sorption measure
Release of industrial effluents comprising dyes in water bodies is one of the foremost causes of water pollution. Therefore, the proper and proficient treatment of these dyes contaminated left-over material before their release is crucial. Herein, an eco-friendly biological macromolecule Gum-Acacia (GA) integrated Fe3O4 nanoparticles composite hydrogel was manufactured via co-precipitation technique for effective adsorption of Congo red (CR) dye existing in water bodies. The as-prepared magnetic GA/Fe3O4 composite hydrogel was characterized by FTIR, XRD, EDX, VSM, SEM, and BET techniques. These studies discovered the fruitful fabrication of biodegradable magnetic GA/Fe3O4 composite hydrogel possessing porous structure with large surface are
... Show MoreThe predatory bush crickets Saga ephippigera Fischer Von Waldheim, 1846 is the largest Iraqi orthopterans and one of the most active and successful predators in the Kurdistan region. The nymphs and adults prey on all the stages of various species of insects. Twelve adult specimens were collected from Erbil Province during May 2018 and June 2021. Morphological structures of the adult insects were described and illustrated in details; important taxonomic characteristics of body regions with their appendages were chosen; and the results indicated the importance of morphological characteristics which confirmed the identification of this species correctly.
Al2O3 and Al2O3–Al composite coatings were deposited on steel specimens using Oxy-acetylene gas thermal spray gun. Alumina was mixed with Aluminum in six groups of concentrations (0, 5, 10,12,15 and 20% ) Al2O3, Specimens were tested for corrosion using Potentiodynamic polarization technique. Further tests were conducted for the effect of temperature on polarization curve and the hardness tests for the coated specimens. At first, Modelling was carried out using MINITAB-19, least square method, as a 2nd degree nonlinear model, bad results were achieved because of the high nonlinearity. Better result w
This research aims to identify the role and impact of illustrations in contemporary fashion design inspired by historical costumes. Historical fashion aesthetics are adapted to design drawings. The experimental method was followed and a sample of 31 students in the department of fashion and textile design, third level were selected. Each student carried out two original historical and contemporary design. The models were executed two times: one with the usage of the program and the other without program help. The tools that were used are the program, the scale, the pre-skill test, and the post-skill test. One of the most relevant results of the research is the possibility of using historical costumes to highlight creativity and innovatio
... Show MoreIn this research , we study the inverse Gompertz distribution (IG) and estimate the survival function of the distribution , and the survival function was evaluated using three methods (the Maximum likelihood, least squares, and percentiles estimators) and choosing the best method estimation ,as it was found that the best method for estimating the survival function is the squares-least method because it has the lowest IMSE and for all sample sizes
Promoting the production of industrially important aromatic chloroamines over transition-metal nitrides catalysts has emerged as a prominent theme in catalysis. This contribution provides an insight into the reduction mechanism of p-chloronitrobenzene (p-CNB) to p-chloroaniline (p-CAN) over the γ-Mo2N(111) surface by means of density functional theory calculations. The adsorption energies of various molecularly adsorbed modes of p-CNB were computed. Our findings display that, p-CNB prefers to be adsorbed over two distinct adsorption sites, namely, Mo-hollow face-centered cubic (fcc) and N-hollow hexagonal close-packed (hcp) sites with adsorption energies of −32.1 and −38.5 kcal/mol, respectively. We establish that the activation of nit
... Show MoreThe measurements and tests of the samples conducted in the laboratories of the College of Agriculture included isolating bio-fertilizers and testing the efficiency of isolates that fix atmospheric nitrogen and solubilize phosphorous compounds. Bacteria were isolated and identified from the rhizosphere soils of different plants collected from various agricultural areas. A total of 74 bacterial isolates were obtained based on the phenotypic characteristics of the developing colonies, as well as biochemical and microscopic traits. The results of isolation and identification showed that among the 74 bacterial isolates, there were 15 isolates of A. chroococcum, 13 of Az. lipoferum, 13 of B. megaterium, 10 of P. putida, 10 of Actinomycetes, and n
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