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.

Cohesive soils present difficulties in construction projects because it usually contains expansive clay minerals. However, the engineering properties of cohesive soils can be stabilized by using various techniques. The research aims to elaborate on the influences of using hydrated lime on the consistency, compaction, and shear strength properties of clayey soil samples from Sulaimnai city, northern Iraq. The proportions of added hydrated lime are 0%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5% and 10% to the natural soil sample. The results yielded considerable effects of hydrated lime on the engineering properties of the treated soil sample and enhancement its strength. The soil's liquid limit, plasticity index, and optimum moisture content were de

Gum Arabic is a natural gummy exudate gained from the trees of Acacia species (Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal), Family: Fabaceae. Gum Arabic considers as a dietary fiber with a high percentage of carbohydrates and low protein content. Sugars arabinose and ribose were originally discovered and isolated from gum Arabic and it is representing the original source of these sugars. A gum emanation from trees occurs under stress conditions such as heat, poor soil fertility, drought, and injury. Mainly gum is produced in belt region of Africa, mainly Sudan, Chad, and Nigeria. In the food industry, it is used in confectionery; in the pharmaceutical industry, it is used as emulsifier, film coating and others. Traditionally the g

(1) Background: Plant flavonoids are efficient in preventing and treating various diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the ability of hesperidin, a flavonoid found in citrus fruits, in inhibiting lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced inflammation, which induced lethal toxicity in vivo, and to evaluate its importance as an antitumor agent in breast cancer. The in vivo experiments revealed the protective effects of hesperidin against the negative LPS effects on the liver and spleen of male mice. (2) Methods: In the liver, the antioxidant activity was measured by estimating the concentration of glutathione (GSH) and catalase (CAT), whereas in spleen, the concentration of cytokines including IL-33 and TNF-α was measured. The in vitro expe

This study thoroughly investigates the potential of niobium oxide (Nb2O5) thin films as UV-A photodetectors. The films were precisely fabricated using dc reactive magnetron sputtering on Si(100) and quartz substrates, maintaining a consistent power output of 50W while varying substrate temperatures. The dominant presence of hexagonal crystal structure Nb2O5 in the films was confirmed. An increased particle diameter at 150°C substrate temperature and a reduced Nb content at higher substrate temperatures were revealed. A distinct band gap with high UV sensitivity at 350 nm was determined. Remarkably, films sputtered using 50W displayed the highest photosensitivity at 514.89%. These outstanding optoelectronic properties highlight Nb2O5 thin f

In the present work, the ternary compound MgxZn7-x O7Wurtzoid with variable Zn and Mg contents was analyzed using density functional theory with B3LYP 6-311G**basis set. The electronic and vibrational properties of MgxZn7-xO7 wurtzoids, were investigated, including energy gaps, bond lengths, spectral properties, such like infrared spectra and Raman. IR and Raman spectra were compared with experimental longitudinal optical modes frequency results. The theoretical results agree well with experiments and previous data. It has been found that the energy gap is increasing with the increased Mg concentration, and that the longitudinal optical position exposes a UV shift movement with an increase in the concentration.

This paper includes the synthesis of some new nucleoside analogues starting with 2-substituted benzimidazole derivative (7-9), that synthesized by condensation of O-phenylenediamine with p-chloro benzaldehyde and two substituted benzoic acid , which on nucleophilic substitution with propargyl bromide gave a new N-substituted compounds (10-12). D-Fructose and D-galactose were chosen as a sugar moiety which were protected, brominated and azotated to give azido sugars (5) and (6), then they were subjected to 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction with N-substuted compounds afforded bloked nucleoside analoges (13-16), which after hydrolysis gave our target the free nucleoside analogues (17-20). All prepared compounds were identified by FT-IR