ABSTRACT
Background:Cigarette smoking is a serious health problem of most societies. Smoking has been suggested to contribute to a number of diseases including male infertility. The present study was aimed at studying effect of cigarette smoking on Sperm morphology of infertile men.Material And Methods:A total of one hundred infertile men (50 Non-smokersand 50 Smokers) between the age group 20-45 years were taken into study. The Sperm morphology in the infertile Non-smokersand infertile Smokers group were compared using Z Test. Infertile Smokers which were divided into Group A (?1 and ?10 cigarettes/ day), Group B (>10 and <20 cigarettes/ day) and Group C (?20 cigarettes/ day) were analyzed for Sperm morphology by ANOVA Test. Result:We observed that Sperm morphology was significantly lower (p<0.01) in infertile Smokers group than infertile Non-smokersgroup. We also observed that Sperm morphology was significantly decreased (p<0.01) in accordance with the severity of smoking.Conclusion:Cigarette smoking adversely affect sperm morphology.
ABSTRACT
Red scorpion (Mesobuthus tamulus or Buthus tamulus) venom samples were collected at different regions of India: western (Chiplun and Ahmednagar from Maharashtra State) and southern (Ratnagiri and Chennai from Tamil Nadu State). The action of whole venoms on the blood sodium levels of mice was assessed using flame photometry. Seven peptides were common to all venom samples. They were separated using the native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) technique and their activities were also studied using flame photometry. There was a decrease in the concentration of sodium ions in the serum, which suggested the blockage of such ions by scorpion venom toxins. Among the 10 protein bands isolated, the band at 79.6 kDa presented maximum activity in decreasing serum sodium ions concentration. Whole venom from Chiplun region also showed maximum activity. The western blotting technique demonstrated that the anti-scorpion venom sera produced by Haffkine Biopharmaceuticals Corporation Ltd., India, neutralized all four venom samples.(AU)
Subject(s)
Scorpion Venoms/chemistry , Biological Products , Blood Chemical Analysis , Proteins , SodiumABSTRACT
Red scorpions Mesobuthus tamulus (Coconsis, Pocock) were obtained from different regions of West and South India (Ratnagiri, Chiplun and Ahmednagar from Maharashtra and Chennai from Tamil Nadu, respectively). Their venoms composition was analyzed using gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). All venom samples shared six bands of 170, 80, 60, 57, 43, and 38 kDa molecular weights. Bands of 115 kDa and 51.5 kDa were characteristic of venoms obtained from red scorpions of Chiplun region, and the 26kDa band was absent in scorpion venom from Tamil Nadu. The separated protein band patterns suggest that the venoms from Ratnagiri, Ahmednagar and Tamil Nadu had high similarities in their biochemical composition but differed from that of Chiplun region. These data were also supported by the Jaccard (J) index. The J value was 0.33 for venom obtained from Ratnagiri-Ahmednagar, 0.31 for venom from Ratnagiri-Tamil Nadu, and 0.3 for venom from Ratnagiri-Chiplun region. This suggests the existence of genetic variation among the different strains of red scorpion in western and southern India. The antiserum produced by Haffkine Biopharmaceuticals Corporation Ltd. completely neutralized proteins of venoms from all the regions studied.(AU)