Background: This in vitro study compares a self-etch primer (SEP) to an etch-and-rinse (EaR) for bonding sapphire brackets by evaluation of the enamel etch-pattern, shear bond strength, amount of remnant adhesive and enamel surface damage following thermal and fatigue cyclic loading. Material and Methods: Ceramic (sapphire) brackets were bonded to 80 extracted human premolars using two enamel etching protocols: conventional EaR using 37% phosphoric acid (PA) gel (control), and a SEP (Transbond Plus). Each group was subdivided into two subgroups (n=20 teeth) according to the time of bracket debonding: after 24 h water storage or following 5000 thermo-cycles plus 5000 cycles fatigue loading, to determine the shear bond strength (SBS), adhesive remnant index (ARI score), with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) evaluation of enamel condition. Results: The control subgroups consistently exhibited significantly higher (p ˂ 0.05) SBS mean values (23.4-29.8 MPa) than the SEP subgroups (15.1-22.4 MPa) at both bracket debonding time points. However, the SEP subgroups yielded milder etch-patterns and attained SBS values above the minimum requirement range for clinical performance. In addition, the higher SBS of control subgroups was accompanied with higher ARI scores and enamel damage grades than SEP subgroups as confirmed by SEM. Thermocycling and fatigue significantly reduced the SBS of all subgroups, with a non-significant drop in the amount of adhesive residue or enamel damage. Conclusions: The use of SEP can be a suitable alternative to the conventional PA gel for sapphire bracket bonding as it maintains suitable bond strength and has the potential to produce both less remnant adhesive and enamel damage
Social factors may affect the available sources of toxic substances and causes of poisoning, and these factors may change over time. Additionally, understanding the characteristics of poisoning cases is important for treating such patients. Therefore, the present study investigated the characteristics of poisoning cases in Baghdad Poisoning Consultation Center (PCC) and Forensic Medicine Institute (FMI). Data on all poisoning cases reported in PCC and FMI during 2013 were retrospectively obtained from medical records. Total of 1131 reports of poisoning cases (1082 from PCC and 49 from FMI) were analyzed according to age, sex, geographical distribution and causes of poisoning according to the type and class of poisoning agent. The results
... Show MoreCilnidipine is a dihydropyridine class of calcium channel blockers, it is classified as a BCS class II drug, characterized by a low oral bioavailability of 13%. Consequently, the utilization of nanoparticle preparation is anticipated to enhance its bioavailability. The objective of the research is to integrate cilnidipine nanoparticles into oral films as a means of enhancing patient adherence. The optimal polymers for producing Cilnidipine films were PVA cold and or HPMC E5 at different concentrations using a casting technique with glycerol as a plasticizer. The Nano suspension-based preparation of Cilnidipine's oral film containing the combination of polymers exhibited a significant enhancement in vitro dissolution, with a percentage excee
... Show MoreBackground: Nanotechnology represents a new science that promises to provide a broad range of uses and improved technologies for biological and biomedical applications. One of the reasons behind the intense interest is that nanotechnology permits synthesis of materials that have structure is less than 100 nanometers. The present work revealed the effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) on Streptococcus mutans of Human Saliva in comparison to de-ionized water. Materials and methods: Streptococcus mutans were isolated from saliva of forty eight volunteers of both sexes their age range between 18-22 years and then purified and diagnosed according to morphological characteristic and biochemical tests. Different concentrations of ZnO NPs w
... Show MoreThe first aim of this paper was to evaluate the push-out bond strength of the gutta-percha coating of Thermafil and GuttaCore and compare it with that of gutta-percha used to coat an experimental hydroxyapatite/polyethylene (HA/PE) obturator. The second aim was to assess the thickness of gutta-percha around the carriers of GuttaCore and HA/PE obturators using microcomputed tomography (
In this work, the effect of different particle size on the nonlinear optical properties of silver nanoparticles in de-ionized water was studied. The experimental observation of the far field diffraction patterns by CCD camera in two and three dimensions. The maximum change of nonlinear refractive index and the relative phase shift were calculated. The self-defocusing technique was used with a continuous-wave radiation from DPSS Blue laser .The wavelength is 473 nm with an output power of 270 mW. All the Ag colloids samples containing the sizes 15, 30, 50, and 70 nm of silver nanoparticles used in the study were chemically prepared. It was found that the nonlinear refractive index is a particle size dependent and of the order of 10-7 cm2/
... Show MoreInterleukins (IL-2 and IL-4) are increased in asthmatics and were reported to induce resistance to steroid therapy in some patients who fail to get benefit from glucocorticoids when used in full dose and for long period of time. In this context, the present study was conducted on Iraqi patients to provide additional laboratory mean, beside the clinical diagnosis, for the decision whether the asthma is steroid sensitive or resistant by monitoring the level of immunoglobulins, complement proteins and interleukins among asthmatic patients (steroid sensitive or resistant) and the possible contribution of other factors like age, sex and environments in the development of steroid resistance. A total number of 55 asthmatics and 28 normal subjec
... Show MoreThis work involves the calculation of the cooling load in Iraqi building constructions taking in account the effect of the convective heat transfer inside the buildings. ASHRAE assumptions are compared with the Fisher and Pedersen model of estimation of internal convective heat transfer coefficient when the high rate of ventilation from ceiling inlet configuration is used. Theoretical calculation of cooling load using the Radiant Time Series Method (RTSM) is implemented on the actual tested spaces. Also the theoretical calculated cooling loads are experimentally compared by measuring the cooling load in these tested spaces. The comparison appears that using the modified Fisher and Pedersen model when large ventilation ra
... Show MoreThe constructed building in the urban area is subject to wind characteristics due to the influence of surrounding buildings. The residential complexes currently being built in Iraq represent a case study for the subject of this research. Therefore, the objective of this study is to identify the interference effect because of adjacent buildings effects on the mid-rise building. The speed and pressure of the wind have been numerically simulated as well as wind load has been simulated by using a virtual wind tunnel which is available in Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis, RSA, software. Two identical adjacent buildings have been simulated and many coefficients were included in this study such as the spacing, directionality,
... Show MoreThis paper focuses on Load distribution factors for horizontally curved composite concrete-steel girder bridges. The finite-element analysis software“SAP2000” is used to examine the key parameters that can influence the distribution factors for horizontally curved composite steel
girders. A parametric study is conducted to study the load distribution characteristics of such bridge system due to dead loading and AASHTO truck loading using finite elements method. The key parameters considered in this study are: span-to-radius of curvature ratio, span length, number of girders, girders spacing, number of lanes, and truck loading conditions. The results have shown that the curvature is the most critical factor which plays an important