The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of diode laser (λ=940 nm) in the management of gingival hyperpigmentation compared to the conventional bur method. Materials and methods: Eighteen patients with gingival hyperpigmentation were selected for the study with an age between 12-37 years old. The site of treatment was the upper gingiva using diode laser for the right half and the conventional method for the left half. All patients were re-evaluated after the following intervals: 3 days, 7 days, 1 month and 6 months post-operation. Pain and functions were re-evaluated in each visit for a period of 1 day, 3 days and 1 week post-operation. Laser parameters included 1.5 W in continuous mode with an initiated tip (400 μm) placed in

The annual performance of a hybrid system of a flat plate photovoltaic thermal system and a solar thermal collector (PVT/ST) is numerically analyzed from the energy, exergy, and environmental (CO2 reduction) viewpoints. This system can produce electricity and thermal power simultaneously, with higher thermal power and exergy compared to conventional photovoltaic thermal systems. For this purpose, a 3D transient numerical model is developed for investigating the system's performance in four main steps: (1) investigating the effects of the mass flow rate of the working fluid (20 to 50 kg/h) on the temperature behavior and thermodynamic performance of the system, (2) studying the impacts of using glass covers on the different parts of the s

Background: The aim of this study was to comparatively evaluate the push out bond strength (PBS) of root canal fillings using four different obturation techniques (single cone (SC), cold lateral compaction (CLC), continuous wave (CW), and carrier based gutta percha (CBG)). Materials and Methods: Forty mandibular premolar decoronated and instrumented with rotary ProTaper to F3 then teeth were divided randomly into 4 groups of 10 teeth for each as follow: group (I) single- cone obturation with matched-taper gutta-percha, group (II) cold lateral compaction technique, group (III) continuous wave of obturation technique, and group( IV) carrier based gutta-percha technique. Zinc oxide eugenol (ZOE) sealer was used as a root canal sealer for the

Adversity and psychosocial stress are involved in aging through the following pathways. psychological stress enhances the nerve system to secrete endocrine mediators (hormones). Mitochondrial respiration mediates energy production stimulated by binding to these hormones to their receptors. Energy produced by mitochondria accelerates metabolism and, in its turn, leads to increases in reactive oxygen species (ROS) of free radicals. Cellular stress and accumulation of damage can result from an excess of ROS. Accumulation of damage comprises damages in telomeric and nontelomeric DNA, in addition to mitochondrial DNA. Mitochondrial DNA damage plays an important role in increasing the pathway of p53/p21. The expression of the PGC-1α gene is inhi

The thermal performance of indirect expansion solar assisted heat pump, IX-SAHP, was investigated experimentally under Iraqi climate. An Indirect-Solar Assisted Heat Pump system was designed, built, instrumented and tested. Experimental tests were conducted by varying the controlling parameters to investigate their effects on the thermal performance of the IX-SAHP such as cooling water flow rate, heating water flow rate, ambient temperature and solar radiation intensity. The investigation covered values of cooling water flow rate of (2, 3, 4, 5 l/min) and heating water flow rate of (2, 3, 4, 5 l/min) under meteorological condition of Baghdad from November 2014 to January 2015.

The results indicated that the performance of the IX-

In this study the prevalence of acute, sub-acute and chronic toxoplasmosis were monitored in a group of Iraqi pregnant women according to the anti-T.gondii antibodies (IgG and IgM), as well as the levels of both progesterone and estrogen hormones were measured using mini-VIDAS®technique. This study demonstrated that there was high prevalence of chronic toxoplasmosis (31.70%) when it compared with acute and sub-acute type, results also showed that the acute toxoplasmosis always related with low concentration of both progesterone and estrogen which were (5.35 ± 7.15 ng/ml) and (70.66 ± 51.08 pg/ml) respectively

COVID-19 is a unique viral infectious illness that causes a variety of symptoms and health hazards, particularly to the respiratory system and has been declared a worldwide pandemic. The disease is characterized by a cytokine release in severe conditions. Interleukin-6 (IL-6), a proinflammatory cytokine, mediates an important immunomodulatory process. Also, vitamin D was identified to have a role in the innate immunity of individuals. Our study was designed to find the role of IL-6 and vitamin D in COVID-19 patients, as well as, to see whether there is a link between vitamin D deficiency and cytokine syndrome development. The study included 90 COVID-19 patients and 30 control people from Baghdad, Iraq. The age of the participants was non-s

الذات والتحصيل الدراسي . وقد استخدمت الباحثة المنهج الوصفي التحليلي، وبلغت عينة الدراسة (500) طالبًا وطالبة، تم اختيارهم بالطريقة الطبقية العشوائية وهي تمثل (15%) من مجتمع الدراسة البالغ (3328) طالباً وطالبة من طلبة المرحلة الإعدادية واستخدمت الباحثة مقياسين تم بناء مقياس لقياس الجوهر والمظهر وتبني مقياس فاعلية الذات بعد إن قامت بترجمته وتعريبه وجعله ملائم للبيئة العراقية، كم تم استخراج درجات التحصيل الدراسي للع