Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of respiratory airways characterized by distinctive history of respiratory symptoms due to variable airflow obstruction which reverses either spontaneously or in response to certain medications. Acetylcholine is a parasympathetic neurotransmitter which plays fundamental roles in the development of persistent asthma. Treatment guidelines recommend using medium doses of inhaled corticosteroids in addition to another controller bronchodilator instead of using high doses inhaled steroid alone for treatment of moderate to severe persistent asthma. The inhaled long acting muscarinic antagonist, tiotropium, was approved recently to control unresponsive asthma to inhaled corticosteroid with or without a long

    Basrah province is situated at the extreme south of Iraq,  it has an interesting reptile fauna (Squamata and Serpentes) and represents a land bridge between three different zoogeographical regions ( Oriental, Palaearctic and  Ethiopian).

     This situation gave Basrah province a topographic specific opportunity for raising its own faunal diversity including reptiles; in this study Basrah province was divided into four main zones: the cities and orchards, marshes and wetlands (sabkha), the true dessert, the seashore and Shat Al-Arab.

Forty nine reptile species were recorded including snakes, sea and fresh water turtles, and Lizards; brief notes and descriptions for the rare

    Literature reviews of reports concerning the parasitic fauna of fishes of Al-Diwaniyah province, Iraq till the end of December 2018 showed that a total of 43 parasite species are so far known from 13 valid fish species investigated for parasitic infections. The parasitic fauna included one euglenozoan, two myzozoans, six ciliophorans, three myxozoans, three trematodes, nine monogeneans, four cestodes, six nematodes, three acanthocephalans and six crustaceans. The infection with the trematodes, one monogenean, two cestodes and one nematode occurred with larval stages, while the remaining infections were either with trophozoites or adult parasites. Among the inspected fishes, Carasobarbus luteus was infected wit

Background: The use of Miswak, chewing sticks (salvadorapersica) can be traced back to Babylonians some 7000 years ago. It is commonly used throughout the world especially for the purpose of oral hygiene. Muslims are using as the religious view. Current study aimed to test the ability of aqueous siwak extract to increase the resistance of enamel surface against acid dissolution compared to sodium fluoride. Materials and Method: Twenty maxillary first premolars were treated with the selected solutions included two aqueous siwak extract concentration(5%,10%) and sodium fluoride(0.05%)as control positive for 2 minutes once daily for 20days interval, de ionized water was used as control negative. The concentration of the dissolved phosphorus i

Background: Information concerning the maximum bite force in human population is important to clinical orthodontics. Additionally, the influence of bite force on the vertical stability of any treatment result is important. The new position of the dentition should be compatible with the dynamics of the muscular and occlusal forces in all planes. This study was conducted to 1) to measure and compare maximum bite force, body height and weight among normal occlusion and malocclusion groups (cl I,cl II,cl III) in both gender 2) to evaluate the correlation between bite force and craniofacial morphology, body height and weight. Materials and Methods: The sample consists of 100 Iraqi adult subjects aged 18-25 years. It was classified in to four gr

Background: Human leukocyte antigen-G (HLA-G)and Toll-like receptor-9 (TLR-9)play a role in the regulation of autoimmune diseases and inflammatory processes. Aim of the study: To detect the HLA-G + 3142G > C gene polymorphism that associated with the susceptibility to SLE patients and associated with Hepatitis B infection and TLR-9 serum level. Patients and methods: This study was done on 75 SLE patients and 75 healthy control groups. Genotyping of HLA-G + 3142G > C were detected by PCR and PCR-RFLP methods. In addition to the estimation of Hepatitis B surface (HBs)antigen status by immunochromatography technique and TLR-9 serum level by ELISA technique. Results: The HLA-G + 3142G > C gene polymorphism between the SLE patients and controls

Background: C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute phase protein that its plasma levels increase after trauma or surgery so it is used as an indicator for the level of inflammation after surgery. The objective of this study is to investigate pre- and post-operative levels of CRP in three types of oral surgical interventions (Apicoectomy, Impaction, and Impacted teeth exposure). Materials and Methods: A total number of (48) healthy individuals aged (20-60) years who needed oral surgical intervention for either (removal of impacted third molars, exposure of an impacted canine, or Apicoectomy). A 4ml venous blood was obtained from each patient at two occasions (pre-operatively at the day of operation and post-operatively after 48 hours), then ce