Background: One common undesirable side effect of orthodontic treatment with fixed appliances is the development of incipient caries lesions around brackets, particularly in patients with poor oral hygiene. Different methods have been used to prevent demineralization; the recent effort to improve the resistance against the demineralization is by the application of lasers. Materials and method: Thirty human premolars extracted for orthodontic purposes were used to test the effect of two energy level of ER-YAG laser on enamel resistance to demineralization. The brackets were bonded on the teeth and all the labial surface excluding 2 mm area gingival to the brackets were painted with acid resistance varnish. Three groups were generated. The fi

Samarium ions (Sm +3), a rare-earth element, have a significant optical emission within the visible spectrum. PMMA samples, mixed with different ratios of SmCl3.6H2O, were prepared via the casting method. The composite was tested using UV-visible, photoluminescence and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The FTIR spectrometry of PMMA samples showed some changes, including variation in band intensity, location, and width. Mixed with samarium decreases the intensity of the CO and CH2 stretching bands and band position. A new band appeared corresponding to ionic bonds between samarium cations with negative branches in the polymer. These variations indicate complex links between the Sm +3 ion and oxygen in the ether group. The optical absorption

Iraqi oil crudes have some of the physical and chemical characteristics that distinguish it from other types of oil crudes in the world. Some of these features such us molecular composition, rheological, viscosity and emulsions are studied carefully by researchers. In this work, a comparative study of the linear and the non-linear optical properties for typical heavy and light crude oils of Iraqi origin was studied utilizing Z-scan technique. The He -Ne laser of wavelength 632.8 nm had been used for this purpose. These samples were collected from Basra and Kut oil fields. The values of the non-linear refractive index (n₂), non-linear absorption coefficient (β), and third-order electrical susceptibility (χ³) were e

    The electronic properties (such as energy gap HOMO levels. LUMO levels, density of state and density of bonds in addition to spectroscopic properties like IR spectra, Raman spectra, force constant and reduced masses as a function of frequency) of coronene C24 and reduced graphene oxide C24OX , where x=1-5, were studied.. The  methodology employed was  Density Functional Theory (DFT) with Hybrid function B3LYP and 6-311G** basis sets. The energy gap was calculated for C24 to be 3.5 eV and for C24Ox was from 0.89 to 1.6862 eV  for x=1-5 ,respectively.   These energy gaps values are comparable to the measured gap of Graphene (1-2.2 eV). The spectroscopic properties were  compared with experimental measurements, specificall

This review article summarizes our research focused on Cu(In, Ga)Se2 (CIGS) nanocrystals, including their synthesis and implementation as the active light absorbing material in photovoltaic devices (PVs). CIGS thin films were prepared by arrested precipitation from molecular precursors consisting of CuCl, InCl3, GaCl3 and Se metal onto Mo/soda-lime glass (SLG) substrates. We have sought to use CIGS nanocrystals synthesized with the desired stoichiometry to deposit PV device layers without high temperature processing. This approach, using spray deposition of the CIGS light absorber layers, without high temperature selenization, has enabled up to 1.5 % power conversion efficiency under AM 1.5 solar illumination. The composition and morphology

In this research PbS and PbS:Cu films were prepered with thicknesses (0.85±0.05)?m and (0.55±0.5)?m deposit on glass and silicon substrate respectively using chemical spray pyrolysis technique with a substrate temperature 573K, from lead nitrate salt, thiourea and copper chloride. Using XRD we study the structure properties for the undoped and doped films with copper .The analysis reveals that the structure of films were cubic polycrystalline FCC with a preferred orientation along (200) plane for the undoped films and 1% doping with copper but the orientation of (111) plane is preferred with 5% doping with the rest new peaks of films and appeared because of doping. Surface topography using optical microscope were be checked, it was found

In this study, Al2O3 thin films were prepared by dc reactive sputtering technique using different gas mixtures of argon and oxygen gases (90:10, 70:30, 50:50, 30:70, and 10:90). These films were characterized to introduce their surface morphology and elemental composition as functions of the oxygen content in the gas mixture. The gas mixing ratio plays a crucial role in controlling the nanoscale morphology of the prepared thin films. The [Al]/[O] ratio varies non-linearly with the Ar:O2​ mixing ratio. Increasing the oxygen content leads to a progressive decrease in surface roughness, resulting in smoother and more uniform films with finer granular features. These results presented herein are useful to optimize the sputtering process to ac

Background: Directly observed therapy-short course (DOTS) had been adopted by World Health Organization (WHO) as hopeful strategy for treatment of tuberculosis (TB) since early nineties. Iraqi health authorities started DOTS implementation since 2001 in Baghdad. Coverage expanded gradually till 100% in 2004. War and unstable security condition hit Iraq since March 2003. Objective: The objective of this study was To evaluate the DOTS implementation program in Baghdad in different periods including 2 unstable periods for proper assessment of war and instability on treatment of TB. Patients and methods: This study had been conducted in Baghdad during four different periods (before and during 2003 war, after war; without and with DOTS). Dire