Psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory dermatological condition, exhibits heterogeneous responses to anti-TNF therapies such as etanercept (ETN), underscoring the need for predictive biomarkers. This study investigated the association of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) gene promoter polymorphisms (rs1143623 C/G, rs752338864 C/G, and rs1143627 C/T) with ETN efficacy in 80 Iraqi patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Patients were categorized according to treatment response: responders achieved ≥ 75% reduction in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), whereas non-responders demonstrated ≤ 50% reduction. Post-treatment serum IL-1β levels were significantly higher in non-responders (50.35 ± 15.81 pg/mL) compared to respo

Background: With the increasing demands for adult orthodontics, a growing need arises to bond attachments to porcelain surfaces. Optimal adhesion to porcelain surface should allow orthodontic treatment without bond failure but not jeopardize porcelain integrity after debonding.The present study was carried out to compare the shear bond strength of metal bracket bonded to porcelain surface prepared by two mechanical treatments and by using different etching systems (Hydrofluoric acid 9% and acidulated phosphate fluoride 1.23%). Materials and Methods: The samples were comprised of 60 models (28mm *15mm*28mm) of metal fused to porcelain (feldspathic porcelain). They were divided as the following: group I (control): the porcelain surface left u

This study aimed to isolate and identify Cryptococcus species from three distinct sources: sputum samples of pigeon fanciers, dried pigeon droppings, and eucalyptus tree leaves. A total of 150 specimens were collected over a two-month period, comprising 50 samples each from human sputum, pigeon droppings collected across various areas of Baghdad, and eucalyptus leaves obtained from the Baghdad College of Veterinary Medicine. All samples were cultured on Sabouraud dextrose agar supplemented with chloramphenicol and incubated at 25°C for 2–3 days. From the initial cultures, 20 isolates presumptively identified as Cryptococcus spp. were obtained: 6 isolates (12%) from human sputum, 9 isolates (18%) from pigeon droppings, and 5 isol

This study aimed to isolate and identify Cryptococcus species from three distinct sources: sputum samples of pigeon fanciers, dried pigeon droppings, and eucalyptus tree leaves. A total of 150 specimens were collected over a two-month period, comprising 50 samples each from human sputum, pigeon droppings collected across various areas of Baghdad, and eucalyptus leaves obtained from the Baghdad College of Veterinary Medicine. All samples were cultured on Sabouraud dextrose agar supplemented with chloramphenicol and incubated at 25°C for 2–3 days. From the initial cultures, 20 isolates presumptively identified as Cryptococcus spp. were obtained: 6 isolates (12%) from human sputum, 9 isolates (18%) from pigeon droppings, and 5 isol

Leuconostoc bacteria was isolated from local pickled cabbage (Brassica oleracea capitata) and identified as Leuconostoc mesenteroides by morphology,biochemical and physiological. The local isolated L. mesenteroides bacteria under the optimal conditions of dextran production showed that, the highly production of dextran was 7.7g achieved by using a modified natural media comprised of 100ml whey, 10g refined sugar, 0.5g heated yeast extract, 0.01g CaCl2, 0.001g MgSO4, 0.001g MnCl2 and 0.001g NaCl at pH 6 and 25̊C for 24 hr of fermentation and by using 1ᵡ106 cell/ml as initial inoculums volume. Some applications in food technology (Ice cream, Loaf, Ketchup and Beef preservation) have been performed with processed dextran. The result

Background: The need of the patient for a more reasonable esthetic orthodontic intervention has risen nowadays. Thus, orthodontists make use of esthetic orthodontic materials like brackets, ligature elastics, and arch wires. The esthetic brackets come as different forms of materials, such as ceramic brackets, which have their stainability remaining as the most important consideration for the patients and the orthodontists. This study aimed to compare the staining effects of various staining materials, including black tea, cigarette smoke and Pepsi, as well as the time effect on the color stability of sapphire ceramic brackets bonded with three kinds of light cure orthodontic adhesives: Transbond, Resilience and Enlight. Materials and Met

In this study Candida speices was diagnosed in 26 swab samples from patients with denture stomatitis , investigates the antagonism activity of Lactobacillus was investigated against the yeast of Candida albicans in vitro.Results revealed that The inhibition effect of Lactic Acid Bacteria against C.albicans was examined in solid medium, L.plantarum gave higher inhibition average 11mm followed by L.acidophillus with average 9 mm and, L.fermentum , L.casei with averages 7 mm. Whereas the filtrates, the highest inhibition zone were 20 and 16 mm by L. plantarum and L.acidophillus, respectively.

Listeria spp. is one of the abortion causative agents in animals, especially in ruminants. This work aimed to detect Listeria spp. in milk and aborted fetus cows in Iraq. A total of 50 organ samples from aborted cow fetuses, including (brain, liver, and spleen), and 50 milk samples from the same aborted cows were collected from Baghdad farms, Iraq from (October 2023- March 2024). The bacteria were identified by conventional culture methods, biochemical tests, and the VITEK2 compact system, followed by molecular confirmation. The antimicrobial resistance pattern assay was performed using the disc diffusion method against eight antibiotic agents, and the L.monocytogenes virulence genes involving prfA,actA, and hylA genes were detected using t