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 temperature control process of electric heating furnace (EHF) systems is a quite difficult and changeable task owing to non-linearity, time delay, time-varying parameters, and the harsh environment of the furnace. In this paper, a robust temperature control scheme for an EHF system is developed using an adaptive active disturbance rejection control (AADRC) technique with a continuous sliding-mode based component. First, a comprehensive dynamic model is established by using convection laws, in which the EHF systems can be characterized as an uncertain second order system. Second, an adaptive extended state observer (AESO) is utilized to estimate the states of the EHF system and total disturbances, in which the observer gains are updated
... Show MoreThe aim of this work is to detect the best operating conditions that effect on the removal of Cu2+, Zn2+, and Ni2+ ions from aqueous solution using date pits in the batch adsorption experiments. The results have shown that the Al-zahdi Iraqi date pits demonstrated more efficient at certain values of operating conditions of adsorbent doses of 0.12 g/ml of aqueous solution, adsorption time 72 h, pH solution 5.5 ±0.2, shaking speed 300 rpm, and smallest adsorbent particle size needed for removal of metals. At the same time the particle size of date pits has a little effect on the adsorption at low initial concentration of heavy metals. The adsorption of metals increases with increas
... Show MoreIn this study used three methods such as Williamson-hall, size-strain Plot, and Halder-Wagner to analysis x-ray diffraction lines to determine the crystallite size and the lattice strain of the nickel oxide nanoparticles and then compare the results of these methods with two other methods. The results were calculated for each of these methods to the crystallite size are (0.42554) nm, (1.04462) nm, and (3.60880) nm, and lattice strain are (0.56603), (1.11978), and (0.64606) respectively were compared with the result of Scherrer method (0.29598) nm,(0.34245),and the Modified Scherrer (0.97497). The difference in calculated results Observed for each of these methods in this study.
The conservation for biodiversity in Iraqi freshwater environments is important to protecting native species from the environmental impacts of alien species. Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) (Siluriformes, Clariidae) has been recognized as an alien species in Iraqi water bodies. This study aims to use molecular DNA to identify this catfish and trace its origins using. The DNA sequences of C. gariepinus were done using the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene, and a specific primer set. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification was used to align the COI gene as a barcoding marker. After analysis, the sequences were compared with sequences in the National Center for Biology Information (NCBI) database
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