Staphylococcus aureus is one of the common causative agents of infections, from asymptomatic carriers to healthy individuals. It can colonize anterior nares of carriers with a high capability to resist different antibiotics. Students are susceptible to bacterial infection due to some factors, including poor health habits and surrounding school conditions. This study screened the rate of vancomycin- and methicillin- resistant Staphylococcus aureus nose carriers among secondary students in rural and urban schools and its association with some sociodemographic factors. The study sample included 300 male/female students aged 15-20 years from 12 schools of rural and urban areas during the period from November 2020 till May 2021. It was fo

Background: Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis (RAS) is the most common painful oral mucosal disease, affecting approximately 20% of the population. RAS presents with a wide spectrum of severity ranging from a minor nuisance to complete debility. Many of factors thought to have been involved in its etiology; that might have at the same time a direct or indirect impact upon oxidant/antioxidant system and trigger free radicals production. The aim of this study was to determine the possible association of oxidant/total antioxidant status and recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS). Subjects, materials and methods: The study consisted of thirty patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis and thirty healthy controls from which saliva and blood samples we

The impact of exposure to different sizes of particulate matter (PM₁, PM_2.5, PM₇, and PM₁₀) was evaluated in  Babylon concrete plant workers who had been exposed to concrete dust for at least 10 years.  The effects of  these particles on the hematological parameters, malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and  antioxidant enzymes (catalase and glutathione peroxidase ) were examined. The results exhibited that the levels of PM2.5 and PM10 were higher than the acceptable limits approved by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The blood parameters, namely white blood cells (WBC), red blood cell (RBC) and platelets counts, demonstrated non-significant differences between w

Back ground: Glass ionomer materials lack resistance to wear and pressure and are susceptible to moisture during the initial stages of setting and dehydration. So this study was done to assess diametral tensile strength and microhardness of glass ionomer reinforced by different amounts of hydroxyapatite. Materials and methods: In this study a hydroxyapatite material was added to glass monomer cement at different ratios: 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30% (by weight). The diametral tensile strength test described by the British standard specification for zinc polycarboxylate cement was used in this study and the microhardness test was performed using Vickers microhardness testing machine and the microhardness values were calculated and statistical c

Arsenic is a prevalent and pervasive environmental contaminant with varied amounts in drinking water. Arsenic exposure causes cancer, cardiovascular, liver, nerve, and ophthalmic diseases. The current study aimed to find the best conditions for eliminating arsenic from simulated wastewater and their effect on biomarkers of hepatic in mice. Adsorption tests including pH, contact duration, Al-kheriat dosage, and arsenic concentrations were evaluated. Seventy-two healthy albino mice (male) were accidentally allocated into nine groups (n = 8), the first group was considered as healthy control, the second group (AL-Kheriat), and other groups received AL-Kheriat and arsenic 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150 and 175 mg/kg, respectively. Next 10 days, the

Ganciclovir (GCV) is a drug included in BCS-Class III, having high solubility and low permeability. It is a synthetic acyclic nucleoside analog of 2′-deoxyguanosine, considered a potent inhibitor of herpes viruses and cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections are very common and are also considered a major cause of corneal blindness. This study intended to advance a pioneering nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) system for improving the ocular permeability of GCV. Several procedures were used for the preparation. Cold homogenization, solvent injection, and emulsifi cationultrasonication methods. A mixture of palmitic acid (PA) and oleic acid (OA) as a lipid matrix, cremophore EL, and transcutol HP wer

Nanostructured tin dioxide (SnO₂) thin films were prepared by thermal oxidation of Sn, which were ground and embedded in methanol then it was deposited on a glass substrate utilizing casting method. The deposited films were examined for their morphology, and crystal structure by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. In most cases, it was found that SnO₂ thin films had a tetragonal phase, predominantly grown on preferred (110) and (200) planes. The deposited thin films have grain size was about 82 nm. The sensing properties of SnO₂against NO₂ gas were studied as a function of working temperature and time under optimal co

     Cities witnessing mass-gathering events, such as Kerbala-Iraq, are peculiar in respect to their needs in controlling tuberculosis. DOTS was implemented in Kerbala almost two decades ago. GeneXpert MTB/RIF assay is adopted in the hope to escalate case detection rates, however, its performance is not evaluated yet. Records of 3254 patients suspected to have pulmonary TB whom they referred to the chest and Respiratory illnesses center of Kerbala governorate were analyzed. The overall trends of TB detection rates showed declining pattern over the year before the adoption of GeneXpert MTB/RIF. In the year of adoption of Xpert MTB/RIF, the detection rates raised, then after declined again. The GeneXpert MTB/RIF has add

Criticism is inherently impolite and a face-threatening act generally leading to conflicts among interlocutors. It is equally challenging for both native and non-native speakers, and needs pre-planning before performing it. The current research examines the production of non-institutional criticism by Iraqi EFL university learners and American native speakers. More specifically, it explores to what extent Iraqi EFL learners and American native speakers vary in (i) performing criticism, (ii) mitigating criticism, and (iii) their pragmatic choices according to the contextual variables of power and distance. To collect data, a discourse-completion task was used to elicit written data from 20 Iraqi EFL learners and 20 American native speaker

     Nickel nanoparticles (Ni-nanoparticles) were incorporated as an antecedent utilizing nickel acetate and as a reducing agent, extraction plantApiumgraveolens.  The reason  fo choosing  this plant over many other is because it is easily accessible, carries many antioxidants,  non-toxic, and there are no dangerous residues and stabilizing agent at 60℃ under stirrer. The progress of the reaction was monitored  by observing a change in color of the obtained solution. The UV–Vis utilized to screen the development of Ni-nanoparticles inside a surface  plasmon band (SPB) at 275 nm gives a phantom mark appropriate to the arrangement of nanoparticles. Examining th