Background: The formation of white spot lesions around fixed orthodontic attachments is a common complication during and after fixed orthodontic treatment, which hinders the result of a successfully completed orthodontic treatment. The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of the Caries Infiltrant (ICON®) on prevention of caries on the smooth enamel surface when applied alone or combined with conventional adhesives. Materials and methods: Seventy eight human premolar enamel discs were randomly assigned to six groups (n=13). The discs were etched and treated with resins of different monomer content forming the following groups: (1)Untreated etched samples served as the negative control, (2) ICON® (DMG), (3) Adper™ S

Background: Laser is a novel physical therapy technique used to treat various conditions, including wound healing, inhibition of bacterial growth, and postoperative wounds. High-power pulsed alexandrite laser therapy is one of the most prevalent forms of laser therapy, which is a noninvasive method for treating various pathological conditions, thereby enhancing functional capacities and quality of life. It is a modern medical and physiotherapeutic technology. Generally, the Alexandrite laser emits infrared light with a wavelength of 755 nm, allowing it to propagate and penetrate tissues. Objective: This study focused on the application of a high-power pulsed alexandrite laser in vitro to evaluate the effect of a pulsed alexandrite l

Accurate description of thermodynamic, structural, and electronic properties for bulk and surfaces of ceria (CeO₂) necessitates the inclusion of the Hubbard parameter (U) in the density functional theory (DFT) calculations to precisely account for the strongly correlated 4f electrons. Such treatment is a daunting task when attempting to draw a potential energy surface for CeO₂-catalyzed reaction. This is due to the inconsistent change in thermo-kinetics parameters of the reaction in reference to the variation in the U values. As an illustrative example, we investigate herein the discrepancy in activation and reaction energies for steps underlying the partial and full hydrogenation of acetyl

Long-term organic amendments are a key strategy to build soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in semiarid agroecosystems, where low biomass inputs and calcareous parent material constrain carbon accumulation. This 14-year field experiment in central Iraq (2000–2014) evaluated how a gradient of organic matter (OM) additions (0, 1, 2.5, 5, 10, and 20%) affects SOC dynamics, nutrient availability, and soil organic matter composition in clay-dominated, semiarid soils. Surface and subsurface samples (0–30, 30–60, and 60–90 cm) were analysed for SOC, nutrients, and mid-infrared Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, which were then integrated with Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression and RothC simulations. Moderate OM inputs (5

In this work, chemical and thermal treatment were used to enhance silica extract on the purity of rice husk and to reduce the impurities associated with the extraction of silica. The thermal degradation of rice husk was studied. The characteristics and thermal degradation behavior of rice husk which investigated using thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). Hydrochloric acid was used to soak the rice husk and the study of leaching influence is followed by XRF tests for samples before and after the combustion process. Acid treatment and combustion method seem to have a clear effect on silica purity. The pyrolysis processes were carried out at Laboratory temperature up to 650 oC in the presence of nitrogen gas flowing at 150 ml/min. The effect o

Stone Matrix Asphalt (SMA) is a gap-graded asphalt concrete hot blend combining high-quality coarse aggregate with a rich asphalt cement content. This blend generates a stable paving combination with a powerful stone-on-stone skeleton that offers excellent durability and routing strength. The objectives of this work are: Studying the durability performance of stone matrix asphalt (SMA) mixture in terms of moisture damage and temperature susceptibility and Discovering the effect of stabilized additive (Fly Ash ) on the performance of stone matrix asphalt (SMA) mixture. In this investigation, the durability of stone matrix asphalt concrete was assessed in terms of temperature susceptibility, resistance to moisture damage, and sensitivity t

     An experimental investigation of the variation of argon discharge current with a glow and afterglow time intervals of a square discharge voltage was carried out at low pressure (6-11 mbar). The discharge was created between two circular metal electrodes of diameter (7.5 cm), separated horizontally by a distance (10 cm) at the two ends of a Pyrex cylindrical tube. A composite of two Gaussian functions has been suggested to fit and explain the variation graphs clearly. It is shown that the necessary times of glow and afterglow needed to attain a maximum discharge current are (70 us) and (60 us), respectively. The discharge current is observed to drop to the lowest value when the two times are serially longer than (85 us) and (72 u

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a proinflammatory cytokine implicated in the immunopathogenesis of tuberculosis (TB). TB is recognized worldwide as an important public health issue. To study the relationship between the age of patients with pulmonary TB and serum IL-6 levels, from the other hand, the severity of this disease with IL-6 levels. This study included 30 patients (16 female and 14 male) with pulmonary TB and 10 healthy persons (5 female and 5 male) as control group for comparison. An ELISA assay was used to quantify IL-6 in the sera. The results showed a significant increase of IL-6 levels with increase of age of patients, in (23-38) year old patients the IL-6 levels (median= 17.9 pg/ml, range 12.3-29.1), while in (50-70) year old patien

A field study was conducted at the college of Agriculture, Baghdad University-Jadiriyah to investigate the effect of adding potassium fertilizer and organic nutrient (Reef Amirich) on the population density of two sucking pests of cucumber, cotton whitefly, Bemisia tabaci and onion thrips, Thrips tabaci during the spring season/2016. Results indicated that potassium sulphate (50, 100 and 150 kg/ha) and organic nutrient (0.8 and 1.6ml/l) reduced both the population density of B. tabaci and T. tabaci nymphs depending on the fertilizer level of the user, the treatment 150 kg/ha for the potassium fertilizer and 1.6 ml/L for organic nutrient was the highest among others when minimized density of nymphs by 1.62 nymphs of B. tabaci/disk leaf and 0

Most pathological effects of lead on the body are due to ability of lead to bind with important cellular molecules of various tissues and organs leading to formation abnormal molecules and thus to emergence of pathological conditions. To evaluation the risk to the health status of Iraqi workers who work in the batteries industry, expression of three types of calmodulin related genes were examined. Blood samples were collected from worker working in Iraqi industry of batteries (located in Al-Waziriya), then RNAs extraction were done thereby gene expression for Calcium/Calmodulin- dependent protein kinase2 (CaMKK2), C-X-C Chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) and mitogen activated protein kinase kinase 6 (MAP2K6) was done for each sample by using RT-q