Objective: The approximate life span of a silicone maxillofacial prosthesis is as short as1.5–2 years of clinical service, then a new prosthesis should be fabricated. The most common reasonfor re-making the prosthesis is silicone mechanical properties degradation. The aim of this studywas to assess some mechanical properties of VST-30 silicone for maxillofacial prostheses after addi-tion of intrinsic pigments.Methods: Two types of intrinsic pigments (rayon flocking and burnt sienna); each of them wasincorporated into silicone. One hundred and twenty samples were prepared and split into 4 groupsaccording to the conducted tests (tear strength, hardness, surface roughness, and tensile strengthand elongation percentage) with 30 samples for each test. Each group was equally split into threesubgroups. Group (A) was without pigment (control group), group (B) was with rayon flockingand group (C) was with burnt sienna.Results: Samples with rayon flocking showed a highly significant decrease in hardness and therewas a significant increase in tear strength, while there were non-significant differences in surfaceroughness, tensile strength and elongation percentage. Samples with burnt sienna showed a highlysignificant increase in tear strength and a highly significant decrease in hardness, but surface rough-ness, tensile strength and elongation percentage showed non-significant differences. However, therewere non-significant differences between experimental groups in all tests.
Water stress has a negative impact on the yield and growth of crops worldwide and consequently has a global impact on food security. Many biochemical changes occur in plants as a response to water stress, such as activation of antioxidant systems. Molybdenum (Mo) plays an important part in activating the expression of many enzymes, such as CAT, POD, and SOD, as well as increasing the proline content. Mo therefore supports the defence system in plants and plays an important role in the defence system of mung bean plants growing under water stress conditions. Four concentrations of Mo (0, 15, 30, and 45 mg·L−1) were applied to plants, using two approaches: (a) seed soaking and (b) foliar application. Mung bean plants were subject
... Show MoreLittle is known about hesitancy to receive the COVID‐19 vaccines. The objectives of this study were (1) to assess the perceptions of healthcare workers (HCWs) and the general population regarding the COVID‐19 vaccines, (2) to evaluate factors influencing the acceptance of vaccination using the health belief model (HBM), and (3) to qualitatively explore the suggested intervention strategies to promote the vaccination.
This was a cross‐sectional study based on electronic survey data that was collected in Iraq during December first‐19th, 2020. The electronic surve
Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most frequently observed malignancy in females worldwide. Today, tamoxifen (TAM) is considered as the highly effective therapy for treatment of breast tumors. Oxidative stress has implicated strongly in the pathophysiology of malignancies. This study aimed to investigate the changes in the levels of oxidants and antioxidants in patients with newly diagnosed and TAM-treated BC. Sixty newly diagnosed and 60 TAM-treated women with BC and 50 healthy volunteers were included in this study. Parameters including total oxidant capacity (TOC), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and catalase (CAT) activity were determined before and after treatment with TAM. The serum levels of TOC and oxidative stress index (OSI) were
... Show MoreThe study aimed to analyze the effect of meteorological factors (rainfall rate and temperature) on the change in land use in the marshes of the Al‐Majar Al‐Kabir region in southern Iraq. Satellite images from Landsat 7 for 2012 and Landsat 8 for 2022 were used to monitor changes in the land coverings, the images taken from the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) and Operational Land Imager (OLI) sensors of the Landsat satellite. Geometric correction was used to convert images into a format with precise geographic coordinates using ArcMap 10.5. The maximum likelihood classification method was used to examine satellite image data using a supervised approach, and the data were analyzed statistically. We obtained clear images of the area,
... Show MoreThree-dimensional (3D) reconstruction from images is a most beneficial method of object regeneration by using a photo-realistic way that can be used in many fields. For industrial fields, it can be used to visualize the cracks within alloys or walls. In medical fields, it has been used as 3D scanner to reconstruct some human organs such as internal nose for plastic surgery or to reconstruct ear canal for fabricating a hearing aid device, and others. These applications need high accuracy details and measurement that represent the main issue which should be taken in consideration, also the other issues are cost, movability, and ease of use which should be taken into consideration. This work has presented an approach for design and construc
... Show MoreBackground: The best material for dental implants is polyetherketoneketone (PEKK). However, this substance is neither osteoinductive nor osteoconductive, preventing direct bone apposition. Modifying the PEKK with bioactive elements like strontium hydroxyapatite is one method to overcome this (Sr-HA). Due to the technique's capacity to provide better control over the coating's properties, RF magnetron sputtering has been found to be a particularly useful technique for deposition.
Materials and methods : With specific sputtering conditions, the RF magnetron technique was employed to provide a homogeneous and thin coating on Polyetherketoneketone substrates.. the coatings were characterized by Contact angle, adhesion test, X-ray dif
... Show MoreIn this study, manganese dioxide (MnO₂) nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized via the hydrothermal method and utilized for the adsorption of Janus green dye (JG) from aqueous solutions. The effects of MnO₂ NPs on kinetics and diffusion were also analyzed. The synthesized NPs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), with XRD confirming the nanoparticle size of 6.23 nm. The adsorption kinetics were investigated using three models: pseudo-first-order (PFO), pseudo-second-order (PSO), and the intraparticle diffusion model. The PSO model provided the best fit (R² = 0.999), indicating that the adsorpti
... Show MoreIntroduction: Elite football performance hinges on rapid tactical decision-making under physical and cognitive strain. While peripheral fatigue’s effects on motor output are well documented, the neurophysiological markers of mental fatigue and their impact on in-game decision making remain underexplored. Objective: To determine how EEG-derived central fatigue indices—frontal theta power and the theta/alpha ratio—relate to tactical decision accuracy and speed in elite football players. Methodology: Twenty male national-level footballers (age 22.4 ± 2.1 years; ≥ 5 years’ experience) completed the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1 while wearing an 8-channel dry-electrode frontal EEG headset. Frontal theta
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