Background: Psychological stress is considered the major etiological factor precipitating myofacial pain and temporomandibular disorders.It is known that stress induce various adaptational responses of physiologic systems. The process includes increase in the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis which promotes cortisol secretion. Salivary cortisol has been used as a measure of free circulating cortisol levels.The use of salivary biomarkers has gained increased popularity since collecting samples is non-invasive and painless. The aim of thisstudy was to evaluate the level of cortisol in saliva among sample of university students having myofacial pain, during the final exam period and whether this finding could have a significant value as a symptomatic psychobiological marker. Materials and Methods: Ninety eight (98) university students were enrolled in this study. Fifty(50) were with myofacial pain (symptomatic) and forty eight (48) were without myofacial pain (asymptomatic) as a control group.Each student with myofacial pain was examined according to Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders. Saliva sample were collected from each subject before final examination and three months later for biochemical analysis of cortisolusing ELISA test. Results: A highly significant difference in salivary cortisol level between the two periods for both the study and control groups, and a non-significant difference between the two groups in before examination period. A negative association has been observed between the level of salivary cortisol and severity of pain and a highly significant improvement of pain between the final examination periods and three months later. Conclusions: Dental students perceived a higher level of stress prior to the final exam was associated with raised salivary cortisol levels which could be considered as a useful non-invasive biomarker for measuring acute stress.
The Pulse Coupled Oscillator (PCO) has attracted substantial attention and widely used in wireless sensor networks (WSNs), where it utilizes firefly synchronization to attract mating partners, similar to artificial occurrences that mimic natural phenomena. However, the PCO model might not be applicable for simultaneous transmission and data reception because of energy constraints. Thus, an energy-efficient pulse coupled oscillator (EEPCO) has been proposed, which employs the self-organizing method by combining biologically and non-biologically inspired network systems and has proven to reduce the transmission delay and energy consumption of sensor nodes. However, the EEPCO method has only been experimented in attack-free networks without
... Show MoreThe performance of flexible pavements is significantly impacted by the permanent deformation (rutting) of asphalt pavements. Rutting shortens the pavement's useful service life and poses significant risks to those using the highway since it alters vehicle handling characteristics.. The aim of this research is to evaluate the permanent deformation of asphalt mixtures under different conditions,to achieve this aim 108 cylindrical specimens has been prepared and tested under repeated loading in uniaxial compression mode. Five factors were considered in this research, these factors represent the effect of environmental condition and traffic loading as well as mixture properties, they include testing temperature, loading condition (stress level
... Show MoreTin Oxide (SnO2) films have been deposited by spray pyrolysis technique at different substrate temperatures. The effects of substrate temperature on the structural, optical and electrical properties of SnO2 films have been investigated. The XRD result shows a polycrystalline structure for SnO2 films at substrate temperature of 673K. The thickness of the deposited film was of the order of 200 nm measured by Toulansky method. The energy gap increases from 2.58eV to 3.59 eV when substrate temperature increases from 473K to 673K .Electrical conductivity is 4.8*10-7(.cm)-1 for sample deposited at 473K while it increases to 8.7*10-3 when the film is deposited at 673K
At the heart of every robust economy is a vital banking system. The functional banking system can effectively perform several functions such as mobilizing savings, allocating credit, monitoring managers, transforming risks, and facilitating the financial transactions. This paper aims to measure the impact of banking system development on economic growth in Iraq. Credit to private sector divided by GDP used as a proxy of banking development. Real per capita GDP used as a proxy of economic growth. By using Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model, the paper finds that the undeveloped Iraqi banking system could not promote economic growth in the country. Therefore, a variety of policies need to be taken to spur the role of bankin
... Show MoreZerumbone is a well-known compound having anti-cancer, anti-ulcer, anti-inflammatory and anti-hyperglycemic effects. During its use for the disease treatment, the membrane of erythrocyte can be affected by consumption of this bioactive compound. The current study was the first report of investigation of the hemolytic activities on human erythrocytes and cytotoxic profile of zerumbone. The toxicity of zerumbone on human erythrocytes was determined by in vitro hemolytic assay. Brine shrimp lethality assay was used to evaluate the cytotoxic effect of zerumbone at concentrations 10, 100 and 1000 μg/mL. The human erythrocyte test showed no significant toxicity at low concentrations, whereas hemolytic effect was amplified up to 17.5
... Show MoreBackground: Radiologic evaluation of breast lesions is being achieved through several imaging modalities. Mammography has an established role in breast cancer screening and diagnosis. Still however, it shows some limitations particulary in dense breast.
Methods : Magnetic resonance imaging is an attractive tool for the diagnosis of breast tumors1 and the use of magnetic resonance imaging of the breast is rapidly increasing as this technique becomes more widely available.1 As an adjunct to mammography and ultrasound, MRI can be a valuable addition to the work-up of a breast abnormality. MRI has the advantages of providing a three-dimensional view of the breast, performing wit
... Show More: zonal are included in phraseological units, form metaphorical names for a person, give him various emotional and evaluative characteristics. This article examines the topic of zoomorphic metaphors that characterize a person in the Russian and Arabic languages in the aspect of their comparative analysis, since the comparative analysis of the metaphorical meanings of animalisms is an important method for studying cultural linguistics, since zoomorphic metaphors are a reflection of culture in a language.