Background: Elastomeric chains are used to generate force in many orthodontic procedures, but this force decays over time, which could affect tooth movement. This study aimed to study the force degradation of elastomeric chains. Data and Sources: An electronic search on Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, LILACS, and PubMed was made, only articles written in English were included, up to January 2022.Study selection: Fifty original articles, systematic reviews, and RCTs were selected. Conclusion: Tooth movement, salivary enzymes, alcohol-containing mouthwash, whitening mouthwash, and alkaline and strong acidic (pH <5.4) solutions all have a significant impact on elastomeric chain force degradation. The force level of elastomeric chains degrades rapidly over time; however, the force degradation rate is slower in thermoset chains than in thermoplastic ones. An efficient tooth movement could be achieved by using a thermoset chain type with monthly replacement. Ethylene oxide and gamma sterilization methods are preferred to avoid the risk of cytotoxicity.
Background: Salivary tumors are uncommon, being of low incidence worldwide. This study aimed to assess cases collected in this series of salivary gland tumors in regard to histopathological typing, in relation to age, site and gender. Materials and methods: This is a retrospective study; cases were collected from public and private laboratories. A total number of 171 cases were collected. The slides were reviewed and reclassified for histopathological typing according to WHO classification 2005. Results: Benign tumors were more common than malignant tumors. The most common histological type was benign mixed tumor, followed by Warthin’s tumor. The most common malignant tumor was adenoid cystic carcinoma. One hundred twenty three cases ou
... Show MoreSensibly highlighting the hidden structures of many real-world networks has attracted growing interest and triggered a vast array of techniques on what is called nowadays community detection (CD) problem. Non-deterministic metaheuristics are proved to competitively transcending the limits of the counterpart deterministic heuristics in solving community detection problem. Despite the increasing interest, most of the existing metaheuristic based community detection (MCD) algorithms reflect one traditional language. Generally, they tend to explicitly project some features of real communities into different definitions of single or multi-objective optimization functions. The design of other operators, however, remains canonical lacking any inte
... Show MorePurpose: To explore whether baseline matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-8 level in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) (exposure) can predict the outcome (reduction in probing pocket depth (PPD) (outcome)) of nonsurgical periodontal therapy (NSPT) (manual or ultrasonic or both) in patients with periodontitis (population/problem) after 3 months. Methods: Six databases (PubMed, Cochrane library, ProQuest, Ovid, Scopus, EBSCO) were searched for relevant articles published until 30 July 2021. Retrieved articles were passed through a three-phase filtration process on the basis of the eligibility criteria. The primary outcome was the change in PPD after 3 months. Quality of the selected articles was assessed using Cochrane Risk of Bias tool (RoB2
... Show MoreThis comprehensive review examines the efficacy and safety of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) inhibitors in treating various autoimmune diseases, and focuses on their application in Iraqi patients. Elevated TNF-α levels are linked to autoimmune disorders, leading to the development of anti-TNF-α therapies such as infliximab, etanercept, adalimumab, certolizumab pegol, and golimumab, which have gained FDA approval for conditions like psoriasis, in¬flammatory bowel disease, ankylosing spondylitis, and rheumatoid arthritis. While these therapies demonstrate sig¬nificant therapeutic benefits, including improved quality of life and disease management, they also carry risks, such as increased susceptibility to infections and pote
... Show MoreSeven species of semi venomous Opisthoglypha snakes (Reptilia, Ophidia) of Iraq are listed with important characteristics in morphology due to geographical and individual variation of species, as well, the confusion in the scales count of Telescopus tessellatus martini (Schmidt, 1939) of Iraq are discussed.