Introduction: Salivary melatonin is a critical antioxidant that contributes to oral health by mitigating oxidative stress. Psychological stress linked to thumb sucking may disrupt oral homeostasis, leading to conditions such as dental caries and fungal infections. Aim: This study explores the relationships between thumb sucking, salivary melatonin levels, dental caries, and the presence of Candida albicans (CA) in children. Materials and methods: A case-control study was conducted with 60 children aged 4-5 years at the University of Baghdad’s College of Dentistry. Participants were divided into thumb-sucking (n=30) and non-thumb-sucking (n=30) groups. Salivary melatonin levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), dental caries were assessed via the dmfs index, and CA counts were quantified on Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA). Statistical analyses were performed, including t-tests, ANOVA, and correlation assessments. Results: Thumb-sucking children exhibited significantly lower salivary melatonin levels (28.620±2.278 pg/mL) compared to controls (34.525±2.142 pg/mL; p=0.044). The thumb-sucking group also had higher dmfs scores (15.033±1.449 vs. 8.667±0.899; p=0.000) and greater CA counts (18.900±1.048 vs. 13.583±0.549; p=0.000). Negative correlations were observed between salivary melatonin levels and the severity of dental caries, while positive correlations linked CA with dental caries. Conclusions: Thumb sucking adversely affects pediatric oral health by reducing salivary melatonin, increasing dental caries risk, and promoting fungal overgrowth. Early intervention to curb thumb-sucking behaviors may mitigate these risks and improve oral health outcomes.
The distress of moisture induced damage in flexible pavement received tremendous attention over the past decades. The harmful effects of this distress expand the deterioration of other known distresses such as rutting and fatigue cracking. This paper focused on the efficiency of using the waste material of demolished concrete to prepare asphalt mixtures that can withstand the effect of moisture in the pavement. For this purpose, different percentages of waste demolished concrete (0, 10, 20, 30, 50, 70 and 100) were embedded as a replacement for coarse aggregate to construct the base course. The optimum asphalt contents were determined depending on the Marshall method. Then after, two parameters were founded to evaluate the moisture
... Show More2-hydrazinylbenzo[d]thiazole compound [1] is produced from reaction of 2-mercapto-benzothiazole with hydrazine hydride in ethanol. Compound [1] reacted with maleic anhydride in DMF to produce (Z)-4-(2-(benzo[d] thiazol-2yl) hydrazinyl)-4-oxobut-2-enoic acid [compound (2)]. While the treatment of compound [2] with the ammonium persulfate (NH4)2S2O8 (as the initiator) in order to produce compound [3], then compound [3] reacted with thionyl chloride in benzene to produce compound [4], finally compound [4] reaction with various drugs: cephalexin, amoxicillin, sulfamethizole, elecoxib obtained polymers [5–8]. The structure of synthesized compounds identified by spectral data: fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and proton nuclear magneti
... Show MoreA potential alternative energy resource to meet energy demands is the vast amount of gas stored in hydrate reserves. However, major challenges in terms of exploration and production surround profitable and effective exploitation of these reserves. The measurement of acoustic velocity is a useful method for exploration of gas hydrate reserves and can be an efficient method to characterize the hydrate-bearing sediments. In this study, the compressional wave velocity (P-wave velocity) of consolidated sediments (Bentheimer) with and without tetrahydrofuran hydrate-bearing pore fillings were measured using the pulse transmission method. The study has found that the P-wave velocity of consolidated sediments increase with increasing hydrate format
... Show MoreAn encryption system needs unpredictability and randomness property to maintain information security during transmission and storage. Although chaotic maps have this property, they have limitations such as low Lyapunov exponents, low sensitivity and limited chaotic regions. The paper presents a new improved skewed tent map to address these problems. The improved skew tent map (ISTM) increases the sensitivity to initial conditions and control parameters. It has uniform distribution of output sequences. The programs for ISTM chaotic behavior were implemented in MATLAB R2023b. The novel ISTM produces a binary sequence, with high degree of complexity and good randomness properties. The performance of the ISTM generator shows effective s
... Show MoreA new, simple and sensitive spectrophotometric method was described for the determination of famotidine (FAM) as a pure material and in pharmaceutical formulation. This method was based on diazotization and coupling reaction between famotidine and diazotized solution of metochlopramide hydrochloride (DMPH) in the presence of phosphate buffer solution to give a compound of azo dye having orange color soluble in water with high absorptivity at a wave length of 478 nm. The data shows that FAM and DMPH combine in the molar ratio of 1:1 at PH 7.0 .The method obeys Beer's law over concentration range of 1-40 ?g.ml-1 of famotidine with a correlation coefficient of 0.9955 and a detection limit of 0.10 ?g.ml-1. The apparent molar absorptivity re
... Show MoreThe research presented the experience of creating a new sustainable city, and this experience of establishing an Eco-City (Environmentally friendly) is considered the first experience in Iraq. The current study stressed the importance of the need for environmental planning in the early stages of planning new cities based on realism in planning, design and implementation. Subsequently, that aims to preserve the ecosystem, which is difficult to compensate if degraded or polluted. The research incorporated environmental planning indicators within sustainable urban planning (Reliance on generating electric power that is based on clean and renewable energy sources, Availability of public t
Abstract
Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the family-centered care health services of family-provider partnership in Baghdad/ Iraq.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study is conducted in Baghdad Province. A cluster samples of 440 clients who review family centered care for the purpose of health services. The instruments underlying the study phenomenon deals with client's socio-demographic characteristics and family centered care questionnaire which include (partnership related to decision-making team, supporting the family as the constant in the child’s life, family-to-family and peer support and supporting transition to adulthood). The relia
... Show MoreOrigination for Teaching Physics at Secondary Stage main of the Educational Aims
Statistical methods and statistical decisions making were used to arrange and analyze the primary data to get norms which are used with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis programs to identify the animals production and poultry units in strategic nutrition channels, also the priorities of food insecurity through the local production and import when there is no capacity for production. The poultry production is one of the most important commodities that satisfy human body protein requirements, also the most important criteria to measure the development and prosperity of nations. The poultry fields of Babylon Governorate are located in Abi Ghareg and Al_Kifil centers according to many criteria or factors such as the popu
... Show More