Complementary Effects of Coenzyme Q10 and Lepidium Sativum Supplementation on the Reproductive Function of Mice: an Experimental Study

Background: Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) and Lepidium sativum (LS) have therapeutic effects on infertility. Objective: To evaluate the combined effects of LS and CoQ10 on reproductive function in adult male NMRI mice. Materials and Methods: Eighty three-months-old male mice (35–40 gr) were divided into four groups (n = 10/each): control (treated with water), CoQ10-treated (200, 300, and 400 mg/kg/body weight), LS-treated (200, 400, 600 mg/kg/body weight), and co-treated (LS [600 mg/kg/body weight] + CoQ10 [200 mg/kg/body weight]) groups. Serum testosterone, luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and gonadotropin realizing hormone (GnRH) levels were measured using ELISA method. The sperm quality was assessed using Sperm Class Analyzer® (SCA) CASA system and GnRH mRNA expression levels were evaluated by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: The number of sniffing and following behavior was significantly higher in LStreated (400 and 600 mg/ml/body weight) groups than the control group (p = 0.0007 and p = 0.0010, respectively). The number of mounting and coupling behaviors was significantly higher in the CoQ10 (300 and 400 mg/ml/body weight)-treated animals than the control group (p = 0.0170 and p = 0.0006, respectively). Co-treatment of CoQ10 (200 mg/ml/body weight) and LS (600 mg/ml/body weight) significantly increased all aspects of sexual behaviors as well as the levels of serum testosterone (p = 0.0011), luteinizing hormone (p = 0.0062), and follicle-stimulating hormone (p = 0.0001); sperm viability (p = 0.0300) and motility (p = 0.0010); and GnRH mRNA levels (p = 0.0016) compared to the control group. Conclusion: The coadministration of CoQ10 and LS significantly improves the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis and enhances the reproductive parameters in adult male mice. Key words: Lepidium sativum, Coenzyme Q10, Infertility, Male reproductive function

Damage Classification of Sandwich Composites Using Acoustic Emission Technique and k-means Genetic Algorithm

© 2014, Springer Science+Business Media New York. In this study acoustic emission (AE) technique was used for monitoring mode I delamination test of sandwich composites. Since, during mode I delamination test various damage mechanisms appear, their classification is of major importance. Hence, integration of k-means algorithm and genetic algorithm was applied as an efficient clustering method to discriminate different failure modes. Performing primary experiments to find the relationship between AE parameters and damage mechanisms, the AE signals of obtained clusters were assigned to distinct damage mechanisms. Also, the dominance of damage mechanisms was determined based on the distribution of AE signals in different clusters. Finally SEM observation was employed to verify obtained results. The results indicate the efficiency of the proposed method in damage classification of sandwich composites