Background: Spices and herbs have been used by many cultures to enhance the flavor and aroma of food and for their medicinal value. Black cardamom is one of these spices widely used in cooking because of its unique taste and powerful flavor. The aim of study was to test the effect of black cardamom on Mutans Streptococci in comparison to chlorhexidine gluconate (0.2%) and de-ionized water. Materials and methods: Dried fruits of black cardamom were extracted by using alcohol (70% ethanol). Saliva was collected from seven volunteers. Agar well technique with different concentrations of black cardamom extracts was used to test the sensitivities of Mutans Streptococci, as well black cardamom extracts effect on viable counts of Mutans Streptococci. Results: Mutans Streptococci was sensitive to different concentrations of alcohol extracts of black cardamom in vitro starting with (5%) to (40%) using agar well diffusion technique. Black cardamom was effective in inhibition of Mutans Streptococci but still weaker than chlorhexidine gluconate 0.2%. Highly significant reduction in the counts of bacteria was reported with cardamom extracts and CHX in comparison to neutral control after 2 hrs. Conclusions: Black cardamom showed an effect on Mutans Streptococci but still less than CHX.
Background Median sternotomy is the gold standard incision for most cardiac operations. However, with the advent of minimal invasive surgery, a new approach emerged in cardiac surgery named mini-sternotomy and has been successfully used to perform a variety of operations.
The aim of this paper is to present our experience of using mini-sternotomy to harvest the left internal mammary artery (LIMA) for off-pump revascularization of the left anterior descending artery (LAD)
Methodology Over a 2-year period (October 2012-October 2014), 100 patients underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) via conventional median sternotomy (CMS) (n=80) and mini-sternotomy (MS) (n=20). The
... Show MoreQuercetin, one of the flavonoids family member, can be found in many vegetables, fruits, and beverages with a noticeable nutritional pharmacological properties. This study was aimed to evaluate the ability of quercetin to inhibit lipopolysaccharide (LPS) that induced lethal toxicity in vivo, and to elucidate the importance of the quercetin as an antitumor agent in breast cancer cell line MCF-7.In vivo experiments included the effect of hesperidin and LPS on the liver and spleen of male mice. In the liver, the antioxidant activity was measured by estimating the concentration of glutathione (GSH), and catalase (CAT), while in the spleen, the concentration of cytokines was measured including IL-33 and TNF-α. In vitro experiments included MTT
... Show MoreA study were conducted to examinate the effect of organic and aqueous (Hot, Cold) Extracts from leaves of Duranta repens on the growth and activities of the following types of Bacteria:- Staphylococcus aureus,Streptococcus pyogens ,Escherichia coli,Klebsilla pneumonia, in addition to the yeast Candida albicans and the fungi Aspergullis niger ,Aspergulls flavus.The result showed that gram Positive Bacteria is more sensitive to the extracts than gram negative bacteria with Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value (50,25,50,100)% and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) value (100,50,200,100)% for all types Bacteria respectively . The most active extract against A.niger ,A,flavus was cold and hot aqueous extract from the leaves with d
... Show MoreIn the current study, two sites were selected from the city of Adhamiya, central Baghdad. The first site is the Adhamiya Corniche, which includes a sample of river water and the second includes domestic sewage in the same area. The total density of benthic invertebrates was 775 ind/m2, which is divided into 15 taxa. Biological indices were found, such as the stability index, the abundance index, the biodiversity index (Shannon’s index), the homogeneity index, and the invader’s guide. The result showed an increase in the density of benthic invertebrates, as well as an increase in the diversity of these organisms.
Titanium dioxide nanotubes were synthesized by anodizing Ti sheets in the ethylene glycol solution and were covered in Pt nanoparticles onto the surface of TiO2NTs using electrodeposition method from using five derivatives of Mannich base Pt complexes which have been used as precursor of platinum. The mean size, shape, elemental composition of the titanium dioxide nanotubes and platinum deposited on the template were evaluated by different techniques such as field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) technique. From all these analyses, the TiO2NTs prepared and Ptnanoparticles deposited on it were ide
... Show MoreBackground: The marginal adaptation has a key role in the success and longevity of the fixed dental restoration, which is affected by the impression and the fabrication techniques .The objective of this in vitro study was to evaluate and compare the marginal fitness of lithium disilicate crowns using two different digital impression techniques (direct and indirect techniques) and two different fabrication techniques (CAD/CAM and Press techniques). Materials and Methods: Thirty two sound upper first premolar teeth of comparable size extracted for orthodontic reason were selected in this study .Standardized preparation of all teeth samples were carried out with modified dental surveyor to receive all ceramic crown restoration with 1 mm deep
... Show MoreBackground: Ceramic veneers represent the treatment of choice in minimally invasive esthetic dentistry; one of the critical factors in their long term success is marginal adaptation. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the marginal gap of ceramic veneers by using two different fabrication techniques and two different designs of preparation. Material and methods: A typodont maxillary central incisor used in the preparation from which metal dies were fabricated, which were in turn used to make forty stone dies. The dies divided into four experimental groups, each group had ten samples: A1: prepared with butt-joint incisal reduction and restored with IPS e.max CAD, A2: prepared with overlapped incisal reduction and restored with IPS e.
... Show More