The possible effects of COVID-19 vaccines on reproductive health and male fertility in particular have been discussed intensely by the scientific community and the public since their introduction during the pandemic. On news outlets and social media platforms, many claims have been raised regarding the deleterious effects of COVID-19 vaccines on sperm quality without scientific evidence. In response to this emerging conflict, we designed this study to evaluate and assess the effect of the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA COVID-19 vaccine on male fertility represented by the semen analysis parameters.

Introduction and Aim: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a nosocomial infection with an ability to develop high levels of antibiotic resistance. The efflux pump system is one of the mechanisms that is linked to multidrug resistance in P. aeruginosa. In this study, we employed siRNA loaded on gold nanoparticles against the MexA efflux pump gene to decrease the MexA gene expression in P. aeruginosa and estimated antibiotic resistance after gene silencing.   Materials and Methods: This study examined four strains of P. aeruginosa isolated from patients in various hospitals in Baghdad. Bacteria isolated were identified by biochemical tests and Vitek compact 2 system.  Single-stranded siRNA (33bp) designed in this study was loaded onto gold

The number of infections caused by microorganisms is increasing significantly over the last few years. A total of 140 patients admitted to the central teaching hospital of pediatrics from the 1st of Jun 2017 to 31 October 2017. The Clinical samples was processed from culture and sensitivity testing. Antibiotic discs used for gram negative isolates. The most prevalent gram negative isolates included Escherichia coli 63 (45.0 %), Pseudomonas spp. 21 (15.0 %), Klebsiella spp. 19 (13.6 %) predominantly. Escherichia coli were the most prevalent isolates from urine 45 (71.4 %), Klebsiella spp. 11 (57.9 %) and Enterobacter spp. 11 (68.8 %) followed by Escherichia coli 10 (15.9 %) predominant from blood. 68 (48.6 %) of specimens were urine, 47 (33.

The dried fruit peel of pomegranate in Punicaceae family was fractionated chromatographically on Sephadex-LH-20 column .Gallic acid (trihydroxybenzoic acid) and its related galloyl esters such as gallotannin(i.e. β-penta-O-galloyl–D-glucose) were obtained homogenously. Different concentrations of gallic acid and gallotannin  were used to determine their inhibitory effect on human serum cholinesterase. The enzyme activity was measured according to the method reported by the WHO .The inhibitory effect of these compounds  on the activity of human serum cholinesterase have been studied in vitro .The inhibitory effect was remarkably clear with increasing concentration of gallic acid .Whereas galloyl ester showed n

Watermelon is known to be infested by multiple insect pests both simultaneously and in sequence. Interactions by pests have been shown to have positive or negative, additive or non additive, compensatory or over compensatory effects on yields. Hardly has this sort of relationship been defined for watermelon vis-à-vis insect herbivores. A 2-year, 2-season (4 trials) field experiments were laid in the Research Farm of Federal University Wukari, to investigate the interactive effects of key insect pests of watermelon on fruit yield of Watermelon in 2016 and 2017 using natural infestations. The relationship between the dominant insect pests and fruit yield were determined by correlation (r) and linear regression (simple and multiple) analys

Zinc is one of the essential trace elements, it plays a key role in many biochemical and functional processes. It is less harmful than many other minerals, in the case of exposure to high doses of zinc, poisoning occurs, and this poisoning may mostly result from the accidental ingestion of household products containing zinc or nutritional supplements, this study was conducted to find out the effects of zinc on the concentration of amino acid. A total of 30 adult white mouse males were taken and divided into three groups; the first group (control) of 10 mice taken with distilled water for 30 days, the second group includes 10 mice that were dose with Zn drug concentration of 50 mg/kg/day for 30 days, the third group includes 10 mice that wer

Background: The anticancer impact of Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) the highly active polyphenol of green tea was abundantly studied.  Though, the exact mechanism of its cytotoxicity is still under investigation. Objectives: Hence, the current study designed to investigate the molecular target of EGCG in HepG2 cells on thirteen autophagy- and/or apoptosis- related genes. Methods: The apoptosis detection analyses such as flow cytometry and dual apoptosis assay were used. The genes expression profile was explored by the real-time quantitative-PCR. Results: EGCG increases G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and the real-time apoptosis markers proteins leading to stimulate apoptos

Phase change materials are extensively studied for use in low-, mid-, and high-temperature applications due to their melting and solidification temperatures, latent heat, and thermophysical properties. This work aims to explore the energy stored, or released and their duration for the energy storage unit formed of a phase change material surrounding a tube within which a hot or cold, single or Two-Phase fluid flows, serving as a heat source or sink. The 3D axial transient thermal analysis of the energy storage unit is performed using the finite element method via a MATLAB-developed computer program. The effects of single- or Two-Phase fluid flow on temperature distribution, solidification, melting duration, and energy stored within phase ch

       Iraq is one of the most important countries in the world that has received its share of terrorist acts by the terrorist organization the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), which has caused instability, especially during the period of ISIS's control of seven Iraqi provinces (2014-2017). This stage has caused a decline in the levels of human and economic development and its inconsistency with the capabilities and needs of the Iraqi population. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the hypothesis that there is a close relationship between the decline in development in Iraq and the brutal practices of ISIS that it committed during his period of control over many Iraqi cities and regions. This study used several method