Zanco Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences

The Seminal plasma TEX101 protein as a spermatogenesis biomarker in male infertility.

Ahmed A Al-Naqshbandi — 2024-06-30

Male infertility may be results from reduced sperm production, or oligozoospermia and azoospermia. Testis-expressed 101 (TEX101) is a glycoprotein that is associated with male fertility, and the disruption of TEX101 results in abnormal semen parameters and sperm function. A case-control study was done to measure seminal plasma TEX101 in 184 volunteers by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Significant differences in the mean of TEX101 values were estimated between fertile men (9.64 ng/ml, N= 40), normozoospermic infertile men (8.57 ng/ml, N= 28), and infertile men with oligospermia (5.35 ng/ml, N= 76), and azoospermia (3.19 ng/ml, N= 40). Significant differences between the mean of TEX101 values were estimated in azoospermic infertile men according to the presence of spermatids as no-spermatid (0.66 ng/ml, N=12), few spermatids (3.05 ng/ml, N=16), and moderate spermatids (5.88 ng/ml, N=12). In addition, a significant correlation in oligozoospermia infertile men was found between TEX101 with seminogram. Clinical assay for TEX101 has the potential to diagnose male infertility. And as a biomarker for the seminal fluid quality and as a differential diagnosis of non-obstructive azoospermia.

Effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) synthesized from different plant leaf extracts on mealworm larvae Tenebrio molitor L.,1758 (Tenebrionidae: Coleopetera)

Saher T Omar — 2024-06-30

Synthesize of zinc nanoparticles adopted through a simple, and eco-friendly biosynthesis process, utilizing the eucalyptus ( Eucalyptus camaldulensis), river oak (Casuarina cunninghamiana) and dill (Anethum graveolens ) leaves as sources and evaluate the insecticidal effects of the produced zinc oxide nanoparticles against the mealworms Tenebrio molitor L.,1758.The produced ZnO nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–visible, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The laboratory research was carried out with feeding method (the leaf immersion in ZnO NPs solution with different concentrations). The mortality effects of all the three synthesized ZnO nanoparticles against the studied larval stage was recorded in various period of time. the results of the statistical analysis showed that there were significant differences in the average mortality rate according to plant consisting of zinc nanoparticle, in which the highest average of the larval mortality was obtained (61.83%) for river oak, with an average percentage of adult emergence (27.50 %). Similarly the LC50 values of the ZnO NPs derived from the used plants was showed a varying effect on the larvae of mealworm with feeding method and that this effect varied according to the plant species in which for the River oak was (396.27 ppm ), Eucalyptus plant (3630.78 ppm )and Dill plant was( 6280.58 ppm). This result concluded that Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles from plant sources has larvicidal properties but the most effective one was from River oak plant and they serve as eco-friendly an alternative to synthetic insecticides for controlling insect stages. Hence the biogenic Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles can be used as potential insecticidal agent for the studied insect.

Prevalence and Impact of Chlamydia trachomatis Infection in Primary and Secondary Infertile Women of Kurdish Ethnicity in Erbil Provence- Iraq

Lawin A Omer — 2024-06-30

Chlamydia trachomatis is the predominant bacterium transmitted through sexual activity, usually leading to symptomless infection and complications like infertility. Therefore, it is crucial to have an efficient diagnostic technique to minimize the long-term consequences of the disease. A case-control study in which 4 ml blood samples and endocervical swabs were collected from 134 infertile and 50 fertile Kurdish women. DNA was extracted from endocervical swabs using PCR to detect C. trachomatis. Also, the serological test was performed using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test to estimate anti-chlamydial IgM from serum. Among the study participants, we found that from 134 infertile participants, Women with secondary infertility showed a higher prevalence, 86 (64.1%), than primary infertility, 48 (35.8%). The overall prevalence of genital C. trachomatis, determined through PCR testing, was found to be 62 cases (46.2%) among infertile women. Among these cases, 21 individuals (33.8%) were diagnosed with primary infertility, while 41 individuals (66.1%) had secondary infertility. In contrast, there were no positives among the fertile group. All fertile and infertile female groups were positive for anti-chlamydial IgM antibody by using ELISA. Still, the intensity of response differed between cases, with the highest rate observed in unexplained infertility (UI) (71.42%), followed by endometriosis (Endo) (66.66%), tubal factor infertility (TFI) (50%), and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) (37.5%). These results highlight the importance of considering C. trachomatis as a potential factor in infertility cases. The results concluded the highest frequency of chlamydial infection was among women with infertility than fertile women. PCR is the most reliable and exact diagnostic method for detecting it.

The Validation of Rectangular Sharp Crested Weir Flow using ANSYS – FLUENT

Bruska S. Mamand — 2024-06-30

A weir is a structure consisting of an obstruction such as a dam that built across the open channel to change its flow characteristics. In the present study, a total 12 experiments were done in the laboratory of civil engineering department inside an open channel with 20 cm width and installing full width rectangular sharp crested weirs. Then the numerical runs were validated with experimental findings and additional runs were done. The implementation of Numerical Methods A volume of fluid (VOF) model was created for the situation when water and air are in direct contact with one another. Three distinct k-epsilon turbulence models were examined [standard, RNG, and realizable]. According to mass balance data, the greatest error in experimental measurements between the main channel's input and outlet discharges does not exceed 9.542%. Furthermore, average percentage of error between numerical and experimental outlet discharges for standard, RNG and realizable k- epsilon method was 7.235, 5.489 and 7.301 respectively. Cd increased with increasing the ratio of (H1/P). The water surface will be stable along 2 m of upstream channel length upstream of the sharp crested weir, and the longitudinal water levels will decrease slightly over the weir with a curved profile, as determined experimentally and numerically.

A New Current-Mode Log and Antilog Amplifier using Current Follower Transconductance Amplifier (CFTA)

Amira R Hamad — 2024-06-30

Log and Antilog Amplifiers are two very important functions in many electronic devices. Thus, in this article a new current mode (CM) log and antilog amplifier using current follower transconductance amplifier (CFTA) are presented. The logarithmic circuit is constructed using only one CFTA as active elements and one metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor as diode operation and antilogarithmic amplifier circuit is implemented using only one CFTA as the active component, one MOS transistor as diode operation and two MOS transistor as active resistors. It provides the advantage of using MOS transistor instead of a resistor and diode that is beneficial to IC implementation in terms of space consideration which are suitable for IC implementation. These circuits provide logarithmic and antilogarithmic responses. Additionally, there is no demand to set selection criteria for components. The operation of the circuit in the current mode was verified by a non-ideality study. PSPICE was used to test the scheme's functioning. The output curves coincide very close with the theoretical expectation.

ECR-IoT: Energy-efficient and cluster-based routing method for WSN-based IoT using Harris hawk’s and whale optimization algorithms

Khalid A. Asaad — 2024-06-30

Internet of things (IoT) applications from home applications to military applications have been expanding day by day. Energy efficient routing schemes are vital for resource constraint wireless sensor networks (WSNs) and IoT. Clustering based routing scheme is one of the basic methods to extend the lifetime of WSN-based IoT. On the other hand, clustering is NP-hard problem and metaheuristic algorithms are suitable for clustering. In this paper, a new energy-efficient routing scheme is presented for IoT using two metaheuristic algorithms Harris hawk’s optimization (HHO) and whale optimization algorithm (WOA). The selection of the cluster header (CH) is based on the WOA using various parameters such as residual energy of nodes, distance to neighbors, distance to sink. After clustering phase, an energy efficient routing scheme was proposed using the HHO algorithm. The simulation results in MATLAB environment justifies that the proposed protocol improves network life by 10%, average energy consumption by 15%, packet delivery rate (PDR) by 12%, throughput by 11% and number of alive nodes by 15%.

Solving Stochastic Transportation Programming Problems with Fuzzy Information on Probability Distribution Space Using a New Approach

Halgurd Namiq Azeez Azeez — 2024-06-30

A study is conducted on solving stochastic transportation linear programming problems with fuzzy uncertainty information on probability distribution space (STLPPFI) model problems. A proposed method utilizes the concepts of alpha-cut technique with truth degrees technique on probability distribution, linear fuzzy membership function (LFMF), linear fuzzy ranking function (LFRF), trapezoidal fuzzy number , triangular fuzzy number and expectation weighted summation (EWS) technique. Those are used to convert STLPPFI into its corresponding equivalent deterministic transportation linear programming problem (DTLPP) via defuzzifying fuzziness on probability distribution and derandomization randomness of problem formulation respectively. Although, matrix minima cost method (MMCM) with modify distribution method (MODI) respectively are used on obtained DTLPP to get optimal solution. In addition, decision maker (DM) manually decides which of resulting solution is a post optimal solution via choosing a solution that has suitable situation to DM. A proposed algorithm along with numerical example on electricity field illustrating the practicability of it. The obtained results with existing methods show the efficiency of strategy proposed solution method based on the analysis that from results performed.

Modeling Non-Homogenous Poisson Process and Estimating the Intensity Function for Earthquake Occurrences in Iraq using Simulation for data from January 1st 2018 to April 30th 2023

khwazbeen Saida Fatah — 2024-06-30

The Non-homogeneous Poisson Process, with time-dependent intensity functions, is commonly used to model the scenario of counting the number of events that appear to occur in a given time interval. The identification of the process relies on the functional form of the intensity function, which can be difficult to determine. In this paper, a Non-Homogenous Poisson Process model is proposed to predict the intensity function for the number of earthquake occurrences in Iraq; the constructed model allows anticipating the number of earthquakes that occur at any time interval with a specific time length. Then, to estimate the model parameters, the data obtained from the annual reports of the Iraqi Meteorological Organization and Seismology (IMOS) from January 1^st 2018 to April 30^th 2023 are used. Moreover, a simulation study is conducted and a new algorithm is introduced to show the performance and applicability of the proposed model.

Human Health Risk Assessment of Toxic Heavy Metals in Commercially Available Rice at Local Markets in Erbil, within the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Faris Zaidan Jarjees — 2024-06-30

For the 15 brands that selected for the present study, a total of 50 rice samples were collected. Including at least 3 samples from each brand were subjected to analysis for the presence of As, Pb, Cd, Ni and Cr using the Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICPE-9820 Shimadzu) technique. Additionally, a survey was conducted to collect information about the rice consumption habits of residents, encompassing the consumed rice types and sources, as well as the rice intake quantity and frequency. The median levels of toxic heavy metals (THMs) in rice were as follows: As (0.607), Pb (0.495), Cd (0.143), Ni (0.346) and Cr (0.162) mg/kg. Factoring in the data on rice consumption, the EDI values (in mg kg/day) were determined for the studied population, resulting in a range of (3.29 x 10^-4 – 1.63 x 10^-3) for As, (2.38 x 10^-4 – 1.18 x 10^-3) for Pb, (7.59 x 10^-5 – 3.75 x 10^-4) for Cd, (1.83 x 10^-4 – 9.05 x 10^-4) for Ni, and (7.45 x 10^-5 – 3.68 x 10^-4) for Cr. In the context of non-carcinogenic risk assessment (HQ), all THMs were found to be below the acceptable threshold (= 1), except for As, which exceeded the acceptable level for all age groups. Carcinogenic risk assessment (CR) values for individuals of all ages and genders ranged from 2.03 x 10^-6 to 9.08 x 10^-3. The average total carcinogenic risk for the population in Erbil was calculated as 5.86 x 10^-3. Additionally, males exhibited higher carcinogenic risk levels than females, and individuals in the age group of 11 – 20 faced the highest carcinogenic risk.

Influence of row density and foliar humic acid application on growth parameters, yield and yield components of Niger (Guizotia abyssinica Cass.) in Erbil

Zahra Suleiman Muhammed — 2024-06-30

A field experiment was undertaken during the Autumn growing season of 2020 at the experimental farm of Qalamurtga - Erbil to study the effect of three Niger cultivars (Bengalnuglue, Karal and Animax, two plant geometry (45 and 60 )cm between rows and three levels of humic acid (0, 350 and 700 mg L^-1) on Niger (Guizotia abyssinica Cass.) growth, yield and its component using factorial RCBD experimental design with three replicates. The results indicated that Animax cultivar, 60 cm plant spacing and 700 mg L^-1 humic acid foliar application obtained the highest value of chlorophyll content (SPAD) and number of capita plant plant^-1 with values of (40.31, 39.98 and 40. 52) and (30.49, 27.88, 27.91) respectively, while seed yield values (278.34, 301.30 and 282.73) kg ha^-1 for Animax cultivar, 45cm distance between rows and spraying of 700 mg L^-1 humic acid respectively. The combination between Animax cultivar – 45cm between rows -700mg L^-1 humic acid (C₃ × G₁ × HA₂) recorded the highest value for seed yield which was 360.41 kg ha^-1. The interaction treatment (C3xG₂xHA₂) recorded the highest value of primary and secondary branches, leaf area and leaf area index, number of capita plant^-1 and weight of 1000 seeds (g) with the values (19.66 branch plant^-1, 30.00 branch plant^-1, 49.01 cm², 0.37, 37.70 capita plant^-1 and 2.70g) respectively.