Aim To develop a low-density polyethylene–hydroxyapatite (HA-PE) composite with properties tailored to function as a potential root canal filling material. Methodology Hydroxyapatite and polyethylene mixed with strontium oxide as a radiopacifier were extruded from a single screw extruder fitted with an appropriate die to form fibres. The composition of the composite was optimized with clinical handling and placement in the canal being the prime consideration. The fibres were characterized using infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and their thermal properties determined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The tensile strength and elastic modulus of the composite fibres and gutta-percha were compared, dry and after 1 month storage in simulated body fluid (SBF), using a universal testing machine. The radiopacity of the fibres was determined using digital radiography. The interaction of the composites with eugenol was evaluated and compared with gutta-percha. Data of the tensile test were submitted to two-way anova and Bonferroni tests (P < 0.05). Results The endothermic peaks obtained from the DSC studies showed that the melting point of the HA/PE composites ranged between 110.5 and 111.2 °C, whereas gutta-percha exhibited a melting point at 52 °C. The tensile strength and elastic modulus of the silanated HA/PE composites were significantly higher than those of gutta-percha (P < 0.0001) under dry conditions and 1 month storage in SBF. The gutta-percha in eugenol showed a significant increase in the polymer molar mass, whereas the silanated HA/PE composites were unchanged. Radiological evaluations demonstrated that silanated HA/PE fibres were sufficiently radiopaque. Conclusion Promising materials for endodontic applications have been developed, offering relevant benefits over the traditional materials in terms of mechanical and chemical properties
Background: Health information systems in most countries are inadequate in providing the needed management support and the current health information systems are therefore widely seen as management obstacles rather than as tools,Objectives: the current study is an attempt to assess the behavioral and organizational determinants of health information system performance in Iraq.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted by interviewed a total of 189 respondents selected from six Iraqi governorates. The Organizational and Behavioral Assessment Tool was used to measure the behavioral and organizational determinants of health information system performance, it is one of the PRISM package tools that are used to assess the health informatio
... Show MoreAdolescent pregnancy is common health problem still found in both developed and developing countries; as adolescent may have early sexual practice or early marriage. Adolescent mothers face substantially higher maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality than adult women. This is a randomized prospective clinical study conducted at Al-Elwiya Maternity Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq. The objective of this work is to assess the adverse maternal, fetal and neonatal outcomes in early and late teenage pregnant mothers. Study sample consisted of 220 primigravid women with a singleton, cephalic, viable fetus and no congenital abnormality that gave birth at Al-Elwiya Maternity Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq. The 1stgroup: early teenage (46 w
... Show Moreالخلاصة لقد شكل المحافظون الجدد وهم بالأساس نخبة من المثقفين ومن السياسيين الأمريكيين كتلة ضغط كبيرة التأثير على الإدارة في عهد الجمهوريين. حمل هؤلاء المحافظون مشروعاً إيديولوجياً البسوه لسلطة الجمهوريين وهو يهدف إلى جعل أمريكا سيدة العالم من دون منازع خاصة بعد انهيار الاتحاد السوفييتي ونهاية الحرب الباردة. واكب هذا الحدث التاريخي الكثير من الأفكار ومنها (نهاية التاريخ)، وصراع الحضارات، وكذ
... Show MoreFive species of Lactic acid bacteriawere isolated from raw milk, yoghurt, vegetables and pickles, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus bulgaricus isolates were identified by 16S rRNA gene. Evaluate of antimicrobial activity against all the bacterial strains Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., Pseudomonas fluorescens, Escherichia coli, Bacillus cereus and Bacillus subtilis. It showed that bacteriocin of Lactic acid bacteriamore effective than supernatant of lactic acid bacteria, the results showed that isolatemost efficient isolate belonging to Lactobacillus brevis, the diameter of the inhibition of the bacteriocin of Lactobacillus brevis were 27.7, 26.3 and 25.1
... Show MoreAntibiotic resistance increment is a major problem for the human society nowadays which encourages the efforts to look for new therapeutic alternatives from natural defenses. Synergistic antibacterial activity of epidermin and staphylolysin LasA A against Staphylococcus aureus (Staph aureus), Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Ps. aeruginosa) was evaluated. The antibacterial activities of epidermin from Staphylococcus epidermidis (Staph epidermidis) and Staphylolysin (LasA) from Ps. aeruginosa using the agar well diffusion assay were evaluated, and then using the micro dilution method to evaluate the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). The checkerboard method and fract
... Show MoreThis study aimed to know the attitudes and practice of pharmacists regarding the management of minor ailments in Iraqi community pharmacies. A cross-sectional study for 320 community pharmacists was conducted during February 2020 using a newly developed and validated questionnaire. Only 4.4% of pharmacists prefer not to deal with minor ailment cases. Minority (15.6%) of participated pharmacists refer more than half of minor ailment cases they face to the physician. Regarding the assessment of minor ailments using WWHAM technique, what are the symptoms are the most commonly asked questions by pharmacists. Only 49.1% mentioned that they ask all WWHAM questions. On the other hand, most pharmacists (90%) educate their patients about the dosi
... Show MoreIn this work, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)/ Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) nanocomposites were prepared with two concentrations of MWCNTs by casting method. Morphological, structural characteristics and electrical properties were investigated. The state of MWCNTs dispersion in a PVP matrix was indicated by Field Effect-Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) which showed a uniform dispersion of MWCNTs within the PVP matrix. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) indicate strong bonding of carbonyl groups of PVP composite chains with MWCNTs. Fourier transfer infrared (FTIR) studies shows characteristics of various stretching and bending vibration bands, as well as shifts in some band locations and intensity changes in others. Hall effect was studied
... Show MoreOrthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is an efficient multi-carrier technique.The core operation in the OFDM systems is the FFT/IFFT unit that requires a large amount of hardware resources and processing delay. The developments in implementation techniques likes Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technologies have made OFDM a feasible option. The goal of this paper is to design and implement an OFDM transmitter based on Altera FPGA using Quartus software. The proposed transmitter is carried out to simplify the Fourier transform calculation by using decoder instead of multipliers. After programming ALTERA DE2 FPGA kit with implemented project, several practical tests have been done starting from monitoring all the results of
... Show MoreChina and India are considered both rising countries, and both are among the world's most populous and fastest growing economies. The long-term growth of both China and India has reinforced the importance of their bilateral relationship. The relations between China and India are complex, as relations between them have undergone great changes during the past seven decades, ranging from friendship to hostility. This study proceeds from the hypothesis that the nature and path of Sino-Indian relations after 2013 are affected by several factors and variables, some of which represent opportunities, others represent challenges and obstacles. Several opportunities have contributed to the reformulation of bilateral relations in terms of mutual ga
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