Background. To identify the most common retention protocols practiced by Iraqi orthodontists using a specially designed e-survey. Furthermore, this study aimed to assess the effect of sociodemographic factors on the participant’s choice. Methods. Two hundred and twenty-five questionnaires with 23 multiple choice questions were sent to members of the Iraqi Orthodontic Society. The questionnaire was organized into four sections representing information about sociodemographic status of the orthodontists, factors affecting the selection of the retention system, commonly used retainers in the upper arch and lower arch, and duration of the retention system. The chi-square test was used to test the significant association between different variable and sociodemographic factors. Results. The response rate was 87.5%. The majority of the respondents considered the original malocclusion (80.2%) and clinical experience (49.7%) as the main factors for choosing the retention protocol. In the maxillary arch, a combination of vacuum-formed retainer and fixed retainer (35%) was mostly applied; in the mandibular arch, a fixed retainer was mainly used (46.7%). Most of the respondents recommended initial full-time wearing of a removable appliance (78.2%), especially in the first 3–6 months (47.2%). According to the respondents, bonding a fixed retainer to all anterior teeth was most common (79.7%), fabricated, and adapted directly inside the patient’s mouth (75.1%). More than half used flowable composite (54.8%) and recommend leaving the retainer forever (53.8%). Most of the variables showed a statistically significant association between the sociodemographic factors and type, duration, and fabrication of the retainer used. Conclusions. A combination of removable and fixed retainers was commonly used in orthodontics retention, and sociodemographic factors significantly affected retainer choice.
E-learning has recently become of great importance, especially after the emergence of the Corona pandemic, but e-learning has many disadvantages. In order to preserve education, some universities have resorted to using blended learning. Currently, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Iraq has adopted e-learning in universities and schools, especially in scientific disciplines that need laboratories and a spatial presence. In this work, we collected a dataset based on 27 features and presented a model utilizing a support vector machine with regression that was enhanced with the KNN method, which identifies factors that have a substantial influence on the model for the type of education, whether blended or traditiona
... Show MoreCommercial fish catch in the Iraqi marine waters from December 2018 to December 2019 was investigated. The study is based on three stations: the first station is located at the Shatt Al-Arab estuary, the second represents the area between the Shatt Al-Arab Estuary and open marine waters, and the third is associated with the Iraqi territorial marine waters. The total weight of the catch was 1881 kg, represented by 500, 654, and 727 kg in the first, second and third stations respectively. The third station was the highest with a majority of the family Sciaenidae by 464 kg, while the lowest was the family Scombridae by 0.5 kg. The total number of species included 37 species, belonging to 27 genera, 19 families, and 6 orders, the largest ord
... Show MoreIn this article, the types of renewable energies and the environmental effects of consuming these energies are studied. Energy is one of the things necessary for economic and social development and improving the quality of life, and the presence of continuous and sustainable economic energy is essential for any economic development and growth. Humankind has been aware of renewable energies such as biomass and geothermal energy for a long time and has used these energies as heat sources for shelter. With the beginning of the extraction of fossil fuels such as oil and coal and unlimited access to these products, the use of renewable energy sources, except in remote places and forest areas, has become limited and forgotten. Currently in Iraq,
... Show MoreCollagen triple helix repeat containing-1 (CTHRC1) is an essential marker for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), but its relationship with pro-inflammatory, anti-inflammatory, and inflammatory markers has been scantily covered in extant literature. To evaluate the level of CTHRC1 protein in the sera of 100 RA patients and 25 control and compare levels of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 10 (IL-10), RA disease activity (DAS28), and inflammatory factors. Higher significant serum levels of CTHRC1 (29.367 ng/ml), TNF-α (63.488 pg/ml), and IL-10 (67.1 pg/ml) were found in patient sera as compared to that in control sera (CTHRC1 = 15.732 ng/ml, TNF-α = 33.788 pg/ml, and IL-10 = 25.122 pg/ml). There was no significant correlati
... Show MoreIn the present study, the aim was made to identify the relationship between thyroid autoimmunity (TAI) and female infertility. The study was performed on 30 infertile women and 22 age-matched healthy fertile control age (33 ± 5 years). Overall, serum prolactin (PRL), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) assay is the key test for the diagnosis and management of hypo and hyperthyroidism. Anti-TPO Ab and anti-TG Ab were measured. The mean ± SE of serum PRL (31.080 ± 3.06) ng/ml was significantly (P<0.05) higher in infertile group compared with control (16.191±1.36) ng/ml. Serum TSH was significantly (P<0.05) higher in infertile group (5.689 ± 1.12) µIU/ml compared to control group (2.282 ± 0.18) µIU/ml. The prevalence of positive
... Show MoreObjectives: to assess the normal range of different lip parameters with gender difference and its role in esthetic procedures for Iraqi people. Methods: direct lip measurements were performed with closed lip position using a digital vernier caliper in 132 young Iraqi subjects (89 female and 43 male). Results: Lip measurements showed sexual dimorphism with higher value in men than women in six parameters. Cutaneous height of the upper lip was higher in both sexes. The mustache area in males was longer in males compared to females. Also, it was noticed that upper lip vertical thickness had a higher value, especially in subjects with cosmetic procedures. In addition to that, vertical upper lip thickness showed a higher rise in values
... Show MoreHepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a serious disease of the liver and signifies a major worldwide health concern. HBV Genotyping is vital for further epidemiological study, predicting the disease outcome and response to treatment. The current study aimed to determine hepatitis B virus genotypes in patients with chronic hepatitis B, and to validate possible associations with the baseline characteristics of the disease. A total of 90 patients with chronic hepatitis B infection were enrolled in this study. Liver function tests, hepatitis B virus markers and DNA viral load were done using routine standardized procedures. HBV genotyping was performed using real time PCR. Genotype D was the most predominant in 64 (71.1%) of samples, while
... Show MoreKlebsiella pneumoniae causes lethal nosocomial infections, mostly affecting patients with severe burns. More than 80% of its isolates have shown resistance to routinely used antibiotics in parallel with increased infection rates. The study aimed to determine the molecular typing and genetic relatedness of K. pneumoniae. Therefore, 20 multidrug resistant (MDR) K. pneumoniae already isolated from infected burned wounds in two major hospitals of Al-Kut city east Iraq were subjected to genotyping analysis. The random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique was used along with three oligonucleotide primers (P13, OPX-04, and OPY-01). The amplicons’ patterns of the electrophoresis-gel were analyzed by the
... Show MoreA Pap test can identify the pre-cancerous and cancerous problem in the vagina and uterine cervix. Cervical tumour is the easiest gynecologic disease to be diagnosed, treated and prevented using regular screening tests and follow-up. This review aimed to explore the opinion of specialists about cytological changes and the precancerous lesions with Pap smear test and visual inspection of the cervices, also to determine the relationship of this malignancy with demographic characteristics of patients. Results showed that few cervical cancer and pre-cancer were with women in postmenopausal period, but more were with women in the premenopausal period. Visual inspection of the cervix can show erosion lesions by gross inspection. Upon cytology exam
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