Retainers have the potential to detrimentally impact periodontal health and contribute to tooth decay.

Objectives: Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1) is WNT/b-catenin pathway antagonist which plays a detrimental role in the development of diabetic retinopathy (DR). This research aimed to assess serum DKK-1 levels in diabetic patients who have and have not developed DR and, compare them with the control subjects finding out whether we can use it as an indicator for DR early diagnosis and to find out which one of the widely used two groups of antidiabetic treatments had the greater effect on this biomarker and hence on the progression of DR. Methods: The study participants were divided into two subgroups: First, 70 patients (36 male, 34 female) with type 2 diabetes mellitus, among them 35 patients diagnosed with DR and 35 with no evidence of DR, and s

Abstract

This Research aims for harnessing critical and innovative thinking approaches besides innovative problem solving tools in pursuing continual quality improvement initiatives for the benefit of achieving operations results effectively in water treatment plants in Baghdad Water Authority. Case study has been used in fulfilling this research in the sadr city water treatment plant, which was chosen as a study sample as it facilitates describing and analyzing its current operational situation, collecting and analyzing its own data, in order to get its own desired improvement opportunity be done. Many statistical means and visual thinking promoting methods has been used to fulfill research task.

      Strong and ∆-convergence for a two-step iteration process utilizing asymptotically nonexpansive and total asymptotically nonexpansive noneslf mappings in the CAT(0) spaces have been studied. As well, several strong convergence theorems under semi-compact and condition (M) have been proved. Our results improve and extend numerous familiar results from the existing literature.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate and compare the effect of plasma treatment versus conventional treatment on the micro shear bond strength (μSBS), surface roughness, and wettability of three different CAD/CAM materials. Materials and methods: Sixty cylindrical specimens (5 mm diameter ×3 mm height) were prepared from three different CAD/CAM materials: Group A: Zirconia, Group B: Lithium disilicate, and Group C: Resin nano-ceramic. Each group was subdivided into two subgroups according to surface treatment used: Subgroup I: Conventional treatment, zirconia was sandblasted with Al2O3, while lithium disilicate and resin nano-ceramic were etched with hydrofluoric acid. Subgroup II: Plasma treatment, the surface of each material was tr

Background: Vasospasm occurs commonly in the intracranial arteries as a complication of subarachnoid haemorrhage. On the other hand, extracranial Internal carotid artery (ICA) vasospasm is scarce, and it may occur due to mechanical manipulation during cerebral angiography. We report a case of cervical carotid artery vasospasm during diagnostic cerebral angiography, which caused anterior cerebral artery territory hypoperfusion, to discuss potential risk factors. Case description: For a 22-year-old female with a ten-year history of epilepsy on multiple drugs, brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed frontal periventricular developmental venous anomaly. Diagnostic catheter cerebral angiography was used to better identify the vas

Background: Dental erosion is a common oral condition which results due to consumption of high caloric and low pH acidic food such as carbonated drinks and fruit juices. It is expected that these food types can cause irreversible damage to dental hard tissues and early deterioration of the dental restorations. So, this study aimed to evaluate and compare the erosive potential effects of orange fruit juice and Miranda orange drink on the microhardness of an orthodontic composite material. Materials and methods: Thirty discs with a thickness of 2 mm and a diameter of 10 mm were prepared from orthodontic bonding composite. The prepared discs were equally divided into three groups (n=10). Microhardness analysis was carried out both prior to