Background: Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a promising implant material due to its superior biomechanical strength. However, due to its hydrophobic nature and lack of cellular adhesion properties, it has poor integration with bone tissue. Methods: A fractional CO2 laser was used with various parameters for surface texturing of PEEK substrate to enhance its surface properties. An optical microscope and field-emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) were used to examine the surface morphology of untextured and laser-textured samples. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) was performed to determine the effect of the laser on the microstructure of PEEK. Surface microroughness, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and wettability were investigated. Results: There were significant increases in microroughness, nanoroughness, surface area ratio, and wettability after laser texturing with no change in the elemental composition. The best results were obtained by using 400 µs laser pulse duration with a dot separation distance of 0.2 mm and a 60° staggered dots pattern. Conclusions: Laser surface texturing of PEEK implant material by fractional CO2 laser is an easy and fast method of introducing patterned topographical features with no need for additional devices. With further investigations, this method of PEEK modification might have the potential to be used in the implant field.
Colon cancer is an abnormal growth of cells that occurs in the large intestine. Sometimes growth remains restricted for a relatively long time before it becomes a malignant tumor and then spreads through the intestinal wall to the lymph nodes and other parts of the body. The study aims to estimate the effectiveness and partial purification of lipoxygenase (LOX) enzyme and measure gamma-glutamyle transferase (GGT) activity in serum patients of colon cancer in Baghdad. The study included (80) case male patients with colon cancer with (50) samples of apparently healthy males (control) as comparison group. The result displayed a noteworthy increase in lipoxygenase effectivene
... Show MoreThis study focused on the biological synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), using prodigiosin pigment produced by Serratia marcescens. The effect of parameters such as pH, temperature, time, with various concentrations of silver nitrate (AgNO3) and prodigiosin on the synthesis of AgNPs were also studied. Optimized results of the biosynthesis process revealed an increase in the intensity of Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) bands of nanoparticles with shifting at the wavelength of 400 nm. In addition, optimum synthesis of AgNPs was achieved at pH 12, temperature 55℃, and reaction time 24 h, with concentrations of prodigiosin, as a reducing agent, of 12.5 µg/ml and silver ion concentration of 1 mM. Measuremen
... Show MoreThe effects of land use/cover change are recognized as one of the challenges facing humans in the twenty-first century. In contrast to less developed regions, its characteristics are characterized by a variety of climatic conditions. The changes result in “Urban Heat Island”, in which the temperature in cities is higher than the temperature in the rest of the country. By monitoring the city of Baghdad for a short period, Baghdad's urbanization progressed quickly, which negatively affected the region’s climate through the decreasing of agricultural lands surrounding the area. Understanding the extent of effects on the environment is critical for long-term development. Climate change and environmental cleanup include making the right
... Show MoreBackground and aim: Pomegranate is a medicinal herb that can promote healing of periodontal tissue through differentiation of mesenchymal cells both in vivo and in vitro. Therefore, this study is to investigate the effect of oral supplementation of Punicagranatum L. peel extract on bone defect in rabbit. Methods: Forty five male rabbits were divided into 3 groups; group 1; baseline group(5 rabbits) left without bone defect. Group 2; study group (20 rabbits) with bone defect model that received daily 1ml of oral supplementation of pomegranate peel extract (PoPx). Group 3; control group (20 rabbits) with bone defect model that received distilled water. Bone defect was done into facial plate of lower right central incisor. Blood biopsies by
... Show MoreAbstract
This study aims to identify the most prominent factors that lead to bullying of students with intellectual disabilities in primary and middle schools from the perspectives of special education teachers. A quantitative descriptive approach was utilized. A questionnaire was used as a tool for data collection. The sample consisted of (72) male and female teachers from the Asir region in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The results revealed the most prominent factors that lead to bullying as follows: factors associated with the school and its policies, factors associated with peers, factors associated with students with intellectual disabilities, and factors associated with general education teachers. The findin
... Show MoreThe process of recharge the groundwater is the key factors that need to be addressed as is the foundation upon which the process of groundwater use and management properly, especially in arid and semi-arid, like Iraq, so the values of groundwater recharge calculated vary depending on the method used in the calculation and the more factors calculated in the process of calculating the values of groundwater recharge increased margin of error in these values. In this study were selected four methods to calculate the value of recharge for groundwater (fluctuating water table, water balance of the basin, numerical modeling, and balance of chloride ion mass in unsaturated zone) was applied in the Plateau area of Karbala (Dibdiba formation) has
... Show MoreExperimental investigations had been done in this study to demonstrate the effect of natural particles used as a reinforcement material to unsaturated polyester resin. The tensile test and water absorption were investigated according to (ASTM D638) and (ASTM D570), respectively. The influence of sunflower husk and pomegranate husk particles, used as a reinforcement material, on the tensile strength, Young's modulus and water absorption with different weight fraction (3%, 7% and 10%) and particle grain size (50µm, 100 µm and 150 µm), has been investigated. The water absorption of polymer composites was studied by measuring the specimen weight before and after immersion in water for one hundred days. In the experiments of tensile test,
... Show MoreThe corrosion inhibition of low carbon steel in1N HCl solution in the presence of peach juice at temperature (30,40,50,and 60)°C at concentration ( 5, 10, 20, 30, 40and 50 cm3/L)were studied using weight loss and polarization techniques. Results show that the inhibition efficiency was increased with the increase of inhibitor concentration and increased with the increase of temperature up to 50ºC ,above 50ºC (i.e. at 60 ºC) the values of efficiency decreases. Activation parameters of the corrosion process such as activation energies, Ea, activation enthalpies, ΔH, and activation entropies, ΔS, were calculated. The adsorption of inhibitor follows Langmuir isotherm. Maximum inhibition efficiency obtained was a bout 91% at 50ºC in the
... Show MoreThe present study aims at knowing the effect of instrumental enrichment in the acquisition of geographical concepts for first grade student in intermediate school. The study is restricted in the students of first grade student in intermediate school\ The EducationalDirectorate of Rusafa for academic (2013/2014),for the purpose of achieving the objective, the following hypotheses:
There is no statistical significant different at the level of (0.5) between the scores of the experimental group who study geography according to the instrumental enrichment and the scores of the control group who learned geographical according to the traditional methods.
&nb
... Show More