Background: All diseases concerning bone destruction such as osteoporosis and periodontal diseases share common pattern in which the osteoclast cells are absolutely responsible for bone resorption that occurred when osteoclast activity exceeds osteoblast activity. Osteoprotegrin (OPG) considered as novel soluble decoy receptor known as “bone protector†since it prevents extreme bone resorption through inhibition of differentiation and activity of osteoclast by competing for binding site. It binds to receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL) and prevent its interaction with receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B (RANK), thus inhibits osteoclast formation. TNF-α is a pro-inflammatory cytokines having a broad range of important roles in regulation of immune system and bone resorption through the stimulation of osteoclastogenesis. Alendronate (ALN) diminishes the expression of osteoclast activating factors and cytokines such as RANKL and enhances the production of decoy receptor osteoprotegerin in osteoblast cells. Moreover, it decreases the production of proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α by macrophage, stimulates apoptosis of monocyte-macrophage cell lines derivative and reduces inflammatory response. Aims of the Study: 1. To assess the effect of alendronate treatment on salivary levels of osteoprotegrin and TNF-α in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis and periodontal disease 2. To find any possible correlation between salivary levels of osteoprotegrin and TNF-α in control and study groups. Materials and Methods: Total sample of 90 female subjects (55-65 years) were divided into 3 groups, (30 subjects in each group): first control group involved systemically healthy subjects with healthy periodontium, second group involved postmenopausal women with osteoporosis under alendronate treatment for(3-6)months (alendronate group), third group involved postmenopausal women with osteoporosis without alendronate treatment(osteoporosis group). The last two groups were sub- divided in- to two sub –groups (15 subjects in each sub-group) of gingivitis and periodontitis subjects respectively. Salivary samples were collected from all subjects and salivary levels of osteoprotegrin and TNF- α were determined by enzyme –linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Highest median value of salivary (OPG) was found in alendronate group followed by control group while the lowest value was found in osteoporosis group. Highest median value of TNF- α was found in osteoporosis group followed by control group and alendronate group respectively with highly significant differences between them. Spearman correlation between salivary levels of TNF-α and OPG showed non- significant correlation at all subgroups. Conclusion: Subjects with osteoporosis in this study had greater levels of TNF-α and decrease in the level of OPG comparing with patients under alendronate treatment. Alendronate treatment for women with osteoporosis and periodontal disease may have beneficial outcome.
At atmospheric pressure and at a frequency of 9.1 kHz, a constructed magnetically stabilized tornado gliding arc discharge (MSGAD) system was utilized in this study to generate a non-thermal plasma with an alternating voltage source from 2,4,6,8 to 10 kV. Argon gas was used to generate the arc plasma with an adjustable flow rate using a flow meter regulator to stabilize the gas flow rate to 2 L/min. A gliding plasma discharge is achieved by a magnetic field for the purpose of a planned investigation. The influence of the magnetically stabilized tornado gliding arc discharge parameters such as magnetic field and applied voltage on microscopic tornado plasma parameters was studied. The electron temperature1was measured using a Boltzmann plot
... Show MoreIn the recent years, some of the newly constructed asphalt concrete pavements in Baghdad as well as other cities across Iraq showed premature failures with consequential negative impact on both roadway safety and economy. Frequently, load associated mode of failure (rutting and fatigue) as well as, occasionally, moisture damage in some poorly drained sections are the main failure types found in those newly constructed road.
In this research, hydrated lime was introduced into asphalt concrete mixtures of wearing course in two methods. The first one was the addition of dry lime on dry aggregate and the second one was the addition of dry lime on saturated surface dry aggregate moisturized by 2.0 to 3.0 percent of wa
... Show MoreCeramic to metal joining technique, which was used in this investigation includes the use of active filler alloy as a sandwich between the alumina and kovar alloy for brazing. High purity powdered metals of silver, copper, and additives of titanium were used to prepare the active filler alloy, through compacting the mixed powders and alloying in a furnace with argon atmosphere at the temperature of 800oC for 10 minutes. To use it as an active filler metal, it has been modified to a proper thickness. Two groups of alumina were prepared with different sintering temperatures (1450oC and 1650oC) and each group was tested under atmospheric pressure, vacuum furnace pressure of 2*10-4 torr and vacuum furnace pressure of 2*10-6 torr. All the pro
... Show MoreZSM-5 zeolite was synthesis under hydrothermal conditions at 175oC. The synthesis parameters have been investigated to find optimum synthesis method. Firstly, the crystallization time has been investigated to find the optimum crystallization time. Also, the ageing time was studied. The morphology, structure, and composition of the synthesized ZSM-5 zeolite were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), pH meter, viscometer, and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). The bulk Si/Al ratio of ZSM-5 zeolite was in the range of 9.5—11.7. The synthesized ZSM-5 zeolite with appropriate ageing time could adjust crystal size and degree of the crystallinity. The crystal size of ZSM-5 zeolite obtained at an agei
... Show MoreThe current research is concerned with methods of formation and their effect on the sintering process of ceramic materials. The research is divided into a number of chapters. The first chapter addressed the research structure (the research problem, importance, objective, limits, and it also defined the terms used in the research). The second chapter addressed the theoretical framework, where the theoretical framework has been divided into three sections. The first section dealt with methods of formation of ceramic materials including: Plasticizing method 2- semi-dry pressing method 3- dry pressing method 4- extrusion method 5- casting method.
The researcher found that there is a clear difference between the methods through her formati
Premature failure in asphalt concrete pavement has been the main concern for pavement construction companies and engineers in recent years because of the large rise in traffic volume and loads and the temperature extremes in the summer and winter. The use of modifiers in asphalt concrete mixtures has attracted much attention to increase the performance and lifespan of pavements. As nanotechnology developed, several researchers concentrated on how these materials can help increase pavement serviceability by minimizing rutting and moisture damage. This study evaluates the Hydrated Lime (HL) effect by two methods (wet and dry hydrated lime) on the durability of the warm mix asphalt. The first method, HL, has been supplemented to the as
... Show MoreTraffic loading and environmental factors are among the most serious variables that cause the spoilage of flexible pavements and lead to a decrease in their design life. The objective of this study is to investigate the influence of axle load raise and the change in resilient modulus on the flexible pavement design life. Locally, Highway geometric design code for Iraqi building code has assign certain admissible maximum load limits per every axle truck type that should not be overrun. In this paper nine different axle truck loads (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16) tons, single axle with dual tire and, and two different resilient moduli of asphalt pavement were chosen. The evaluation was carried out assuming high temperature to represent
... Show MoreChlorine doped SnS have been prepared utilizing chemical spray pyrolysis. The effects of chlorine concentration on the optical constants were studied. It was seen that the transmittance decreased with doping, while reflectance, refractive index, extinction coefficient, real and imaginary parts of dielectric constant were increased as the doping percentage increased. The results show also that the skin depth decrease as the chlorine percentage increased which could be assure that it is transmittance related.