OBJECTIVE To assess the effect of smoking on sperm vitality, sperm DNA integrity, semen reactive oxygen species, and zinc levels in fertile men. METHODS One-hundred sixty men were investigated. They were divided into 2 equal groups: healthy fertile nonsmokers and healthy fertile smokers. They were subjected to history taking, clinical examination, and semen analysis. In their semen, sperm hyp...

This study aimed to evaluate the inhibitory effect of a series ammonium adipate solutions (AASs) by using linear expansion test, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and particle size distribution analysis, examine underlying mechanism. A AASs was prepared from adipic acid amines as small-molecule inhibitors oil shale rock swelling. They were then evaluated bentonite test. The best one, namely, AA...

The purpose of this study was to produce a novel pH sensitive hydrogel with superior thermal stability, composed of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and cellulose nanocrystal (CNC). CNC was extracted from kenaf fiber through a series of alkali and bleaching treatments followed by acid hydrolysis. PAA was then subjected to chemical cross-linking using the crosslinking agent (N,N-methylenebisacrylamide) ...

The ocular characteristics and responses were examined in patients who had undergone extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE), intracapsular cataract extraction (ICCE) and penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) in one eye only. In each of the three groups, corneal sensitivity (the inverse of corneal touch threshold), oxygen uptake rate, and endothelial cell density were lower in the operated eye than i...

BACKGROUND Many ion channels are preferentially located in caveolae where compartmentalisation/scaffolding with signal transduction components regulates their activity. Channels that are mechanosensitive may be additionally dependent on caveolar control of the mechanical state of the membrane. Here we test which mechanism underlies caveolar-regulation of the mechanosensitive I(Cl,swell) channel...

In Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, there are several areas where expansive soil exists in the form of variable-thicknesses layers in the developed regions. Severe distress to infrastructures can be caused by the development of heave and swelling pressure in this kind of expansive shale. Among the various techniques for expansive soil mitigation, the removal and replacement technique is very popular fo...