Background: The interest in herbal extracts as antimicrobial agents has increased over the past few years in endodontic therapy. Nasturtium officinale (watercress) is a promising plant with great medicinal values. This study aimed to investigate the antifungal activity of watercress oil in combination with calcium hydroxide against Candida albicans as intracanal medicament. Materials and Methods: Candida albicans was isolated from patients with necrotic root canal or failed root canal treatment. The sensitivity of Candida albicans to different concentrations of watercress oil extract was determined by using the agar well diffusion method in comparison with calcium hydroxide paste. The agar plate method was used to determine the minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of the tested oil against the fungus. The combination of the oil extract of Nasturtium officinale with calcium hydroxide was evaluated and compared to calcium hydroxide paste with iodoform by using the agar well diffusion method. Results: The oil extract exhibited antifungal activity against Candida albicans, this activity was found to be increased as the concentration of extract increased. The tested combination of watercress oil extract with calcium hydroxide revealed larger inhibition zones than the ones formed by each tested agent individually. Conclusion: The oil extract of Nasturtium officinale is active against Candida albicans suggesting its potential to be used as an intracanal medicament alone or in combination with calcium hydroxide.
New data on jumping spiders (Salticidae) and tangle-web spiders (Theridiidae) of Armenia are provided on the basis of recently collected specimens in various regions of Armenia. One species, Ballus rufipes (Simon, 1868) is recorded as new to the Caucasus Region, in addition to the following species: Neon reticulatus (Blackwall, 1853), Pellenes brevis (Simon, 1868), Salticus scenicus (Clerck, 1757) and Synageles dalmaticus (Keyserling, 1863) that belong to a family Salticidae, are recorded in Armenia for the first time.
A further 7 species of Theridiidae are recorded in Armenia for the first time Kochiura aulica (C. L. Koch, 1838), Steatoda albomaculata (De Geer, 1778), Steatoda bipunctata (Linnaeus, 1758), Steatoda castanea Clerk, 175
A mounted specimen of a mustelid animal deposited in the Kurdistan Museum of Natural History, Salahaddin University, Erbil proved to be Mustela erminea (Linnaeus, 1758) and represents a new record for the mammalian fauna of Iraq. Its measurements and some biological noted are provided. Also, two passerine birds; the Red-headed bunting, Emberiza bruniceps Brandt, 1841(Family, Emberizidae) and the Variable wheatear, Oenanthe picata (Blyth, 1847) (Family, Muscicapidae) were recorded for the first time in Iraq. Furthermore, the tree frog Hyla savignyi Audouin, 1829 was found in two locations north east of Iraq with spotted dorsum and having interesting behavior in having the capabil
... Show MoreIts well known that understanding human facial expressions is a key component in understanding emotions and finds broad applications in the field of human-computer interaction (HCI), has been a long-standing issue. In this paper, we shed light on the utilisation of a deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) for facial emotion recognition from videos using the TensorFlow machine-learning library from Google. This work was applied to ten emotions from the Amsterdam Dynamic Facial Expression Set-Bath Intensity Variations (ADFES-BIV) dataset and tested using two datasets.
This competition between competing forces, organized into axes with conflicting objectives, is reflected in all regional affairs and the goals and interests of countries within them, including Iraq. Among the most important aspects impacted by the repercussions of international and regional competition in the region is Iraqi national security, based on its vital importance in preserving the sovereignty and entity of the Iraqi state, protecting the interests and cohesion of the state and people, ensuring and defending their present and future, and interacting with various regional and international activities. The Kurdistan Region, as an important part of Iraq with its own unique characteristics, may be one of the most important regi
... Show MoreAbstract
Objectives: The present study designed to explore the genotoxicity through measurement of Mitotic index in bone marrow and the spleen cells, as possible mechanism of bone marrow and spleen toxicity that induced by irinotecan; and to describe the protective actions of omega 3 against irinotecan induced genotoxicity in bone marrow and the spleen of rats.
Methods: Twenty four (24) rats (Sprague-Dawley) were randomly divided into four groups: Group Ӏ, rats received single oral daily dose of distilled water (2 ml/kg) for 25 days (negative control group); Group ӀӀ (irinotecan-treated), receiv
... Show MoreA total number of 68 water samples was revealed 20 isolates being Staphylococcus aureus. Irrigation water isolates represented 25% of isolates while wastewater 75%. all isolates were identified by morphological, microscopial, biochemical tests and VITEK®2 Compact. Bacterial isolates were subjected to 16 antibiotics, all irrigation water and wastewater isolates were resistant to penicillin while they were fully sensitive to Ciprofloxcin. Irrigation water isolates showed relatively greater multi-drug resistance than wastewater, wherein irrigation water isolates showed 100% multi-drug resistance while wastewater isolates showed 73.3% multi-drug resistance, indicating the ability of S. aureus MDR to move from one site to another, which means t
... Show MoreIn this study the Entrance Surface Dose (ESD) received by pediatrics patients undergoing chest, abdomen and skull X-ray examinations was estimated. The study was conducted in two hospitals in Najaf city where three radiographic systems were considered. The study participants were classified into four age groups 0-1 , 1-5 , 5-10 and 10-15 years. Calculations were performed using exposure factors, kVp, mAs and focal-skin distance, together with patient data age. The ESD was calculated for the involved patients who underwent an Antero-posterior (AP) chest, abdomen and skull X-ray examination. The resulted data were analyzed and compared with international dose references. For all studied radiographic examinations and all X-ray mac
... Show More