Leishmaniosis is a tropical neglected parasitic disease that is endemic in many countries, including Middle East, with no existing effective vaccines. The bite of female sand-fly transmits the causative agent, Leishmania spp., to humans. High toxicity, resistance and treatment failure of the available chemotherapy against visceral leishmaniosis demands the investigation of new anti-leishmanial compounds. Lupeol is a form of triterpene isolated from several medicinal plants and possesses an antimicrobial property. In this study, cytotoxic effect of lupeol was screened against the mammalian amastigotes form and insect promastigote form of Leishmania donovani, following three cycles of incubation at different concentrations by MTT assay. Results revealed the in vitro anti-leishmanial effect of lupeol on both forms of the parasite where significant decline in promastigotes and amastigotes growth was observed. This was conducted along three times of follow up (24, 48, 72) hours, in comparison to the classical sodium stibogluconate treatment. Cell viability was calculated and the minimum IC50 was detected after 48 hours for amastigotes and 24 hours for promastigotes, 12.125 µM, 102.78 µM, respectively. Given the severity of visceral leishmaniosis and the toxicity of conventional chemotherapies, the anti-leishmanial activity of lupeol suggested a promising compound for additional clinical trials
Background: Restoration of root canal treated teeth with a permanent restoration affect in the success of endodontically treated teeth. This in vitro study was performed to evaluate and compare the fracture strength of endodontically treated teeth restored by using custom made zirconium posts and cores, prefabricated carbon fiber, glass fiber and zirconium ceramic posts. Materials and method: Forty intact human mandibular second premolars were collected for this study and were divided into five groups. Each group contains 8 specimens: Group1: Teeth restored with Carbon Fiber Posts; Group2: Teeth restored with Glass Fiber Posts; Group3: Teeth restored with Zirconium Ceramic prefabricated Posts; Group4: Teeth restored with Zirconium Posts
... Show MoreThis work has been accomplished through a dense field work on the Sawa Lake. The aim of this work is to highlight on characteristics that are consistent with outstanding universal values to be a new Iraqi site belongs to the World Natural Heritage. This study sorted many unique characteristics might ensure that Sawa Lake as a world natural heritage sites. This study shows that the lake had met four natural criteria of the outstanding universal values: (1) the seventh criterion which states to contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance. (2) The eighth criterion which stated to be outstanding example representing major stages of earth's history, including the rec
... Show MoreImproving students’ use of argumentation is front and center in the increasing emphasis on scientific practice in K-12 Science and STEM programs. We explore the construct validity of scenario-based assessments of claim-evidence-reasoning (CER) and the structure of the CER construct with respect to a learning progression framework. We also seek to understand how middle school students progress. Establishing the purpose of an argument is a competency that a majority of middle school students meet, whereas quantitative reasoning is the most difficult, and the Rasch model indicates that the competencies form a unidimensional hierarchy of skills. We also find no evidence of differential item functioning between different scenarios, suggesting
... Show MoreThe trade war, of course, leads to a sharp tension in international relations because the economy is the lifeblood of the states. In the world of trade and economy, countries began to lean towards cooperation. Economic relations after World War II were more liberal, trade barriers were removed and global trade became more flexible and smooth
Background: This study aimed to apply a high-power pulsed alexandrite laser in vitro, the researchers tested different exposure periods, pulse lengths, and laser fluencies to see which dosage was most successful against S. aureus bacteria, which had developed resistance to many antibiotics. Method: Three bacteria samples were exposed to laser beams for 30 seconds with a 5ms pulse duration and a laser fluency of 5J/cm2. The process was repeated with laser fluencies of 10, 15, and 20. Results: The study was carried out by using different doses of Alexandrite laser. Results: There are significant differences (p = 0.05) in the mean number of bacteria colonies exposed for 30 and 60 seconds at any laser fluencies utilized in the present i
... Show MoreKeloids are prevalent fibro-proliferative tumors, and treating them is still a challenge although intralesional injections of triamcinolone acetonide (TAC) are effective, they have frequently linked adverse effects. Pentoxifylline (PTX) is an anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory, and vasodilator. It has not yet been tested for intralesional injection in keloids. The aim of the study is to study the efficacy of intralesional pentoxifylline versus triamcinolone acetonide in keloid scars of 40 patients. In this study, 40 patients with keloid scars regardless of the cause of keloid born, 20 patients have injected with intralesional triamcinolone acetonide, and 20 patients with intralesional pentoxifylline every two weeks until the lesi
... Show MoreHookah smoking has become very popular in Iraq among women and men. Hookah tobacco contains natural radioactive elements, such as radon, radium, and uranium, as well as toxic elements, such as polonium, which are released during the combustion of tobacco and are inhaled by smoking. Most reviews focus on hookah tobacco, and only a few have investigated the blood of hookah smokers. In this study, a CR-39 detector was used to measure radon, radium, and polonium concentrations and conduct risk assessments in female hookah smokers of different ages. The results show that the concentrations of radon-222, polonium-218, and polonium-214 varied between 61.62 and 384.80, 5.45–33.64 on the wal