Background: Manuka honey (MH) is a mono-floral honey derived from the Manuka tree (Leptospermum scoparium). MH is a highly recognized for its non-peroxide antibacterial activities, which are mostly related to its unique methylglyoxal content (MGO) in MH. The beneficial phytochemicals in MH is directly related to their favorable health effects, which include wound healing, anticancer, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. Aims: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of MH on pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-8 and TNF-α) in patients with gingivitis and compare it with chlorhexidine (CHX) and distilled water (DW). Materials and Methods: This study was a randomized, double blinded, and parallel clinical trial. Forty-five young participants aged (20–40) years were randomly selected and allocated into three groups: MH, CHX, and DW mouthwash groups. Each participant was given a random bottle. Five milliliters each of honey-based mouthwash formulation, CHX mouthwashes (0.2%) and DW were used twice daily for 21 days. All the participants were examined twice, once on the zero day (base line) and once after 21 days. Before and after each participant's mouthwash use IL-8 and TNF-α were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: The results revealed a drop in the level of interleukin-8 in the manuka honey group which was statistically significant, but the decrease in the same biomarker in the chlorhexidine group was insignificant statistically. TNF-α levels were found to be insignificantly reduced in both the MH and CHX groups (P˃0.05). The DW group, on the other hand, obtained the opposite outcome in both biomarkers. Conclusion: Mouthwash containing MH had an anti-inflammatory impact, indicating an immunomodulatory action. These signs may be encouraging and promising for the use of MH in treating gingivitis.
This study reveals the results of a numerical simulation performed using the ABAQUS/CAE finite element program. The study aimed to provide a simulation model that can forecast the shear behavior of reinforced concrete beams confined with reinforcing meshes. Limited numerical studies have been conducted using geogrid or FRP mesh as shear reinforcement, with limited representation accuracy and limited material quality. The results were compared to published experimental findings in the literature. The finding of the finite element model and the experimental results were highly comparable; consequently, the model was determined to be valid. Following this, the domain of numerical analyses was broadened to include the investigation of m
... Show MoreThis work has been done with using of epoxy resin mixed with Granite powder were weighted by percent volume (5,10,15, and 20)%and then mixed with epoxy polymer to compose polymer composite. Hand lay-up technique is used in fabrication of the composite samples. Hardness test was carried out for the proper samples in both normal condition and after immersion in HCL (1 M and 2 M) solutions for periods ranging up to 10 weeks. After comparing the results between the polymer and their composite, the hardness increased with increasing Granite weight percent, it was found that Hardness were greater for the composites before immersion compared with their values after immersion.
In this research the natural frequency of a cracked simple supported beam (the crack is in many places and in different depths) is investigated analytically, experimentally and numerically by ANSYS program, and the results are compared. The beam is made of iron with dimensions of L*W*H= (0.84*0.02* 0.02m), and density = 7680kg/m3, E=200Gpa. A comparison made between analytical results from ANSYS with experimental results, where the biggest error percentage is about (7.2 %) in crack position (42 cm) and (6 mm) depth. Between Rayleigh method with experimental results the biggest error percentage is about (6.4 %) for the same crack position and depth. From the error percentages it could be concluded that the Rayleigh method gives
... Show MoreThe present study intends to prepare nanofibers mat of polyacrylonitrile by electrospinning technique and investigates their adsorption capacity to Congo red dye from the aqueous solution, after characterize it by different techniques such as FTIR, SEM, EDA, XRD and BET. The influence factors on adsorption were studied including adsorbent dosage, initial concentration, contact time, pH and ionic strength. The results confirmed that the increasing in pH decreases the adsorption capacity. So, the optimum adsorbent dosage, initial concentration and contact time were 0.006 g, 25 mg/L and 150 min respectively. The isotherm models of Freundlich and Langmuir were applied on the experimental adsorption data to evaluate the maximum capacity and ener
... Show MoreIn this research, hand lay- up technique is used to prepare samples from epoxy resin reinforced with multi- walled carbon nanotubes in different weight fractions (0, 2, 3, 4, 5) wt%. The immersion effect by sodium hydroxide solution (NaOH) at normality (0.3N) for a period of (15 days) on the thermal conductivity of nanocomposites was studied, and compared to natural condition (before immersion). The thermal conductivity of epoxy nanocomposites specimens were carried out using Lee’s disk method. The experimental results showed that thermal conductivity increased with increase weight fraction before and after immersion for all specimens, while the immersion effect leads to decrease thermal conductive values compared to thermal conductivi
... 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 MoreIn this work, results of a mathematical analysis of the role of workpiece preheating in laser keyhole welding were presented. This analysis considered the steady-state welding as well as certain range of boundary conditions over which preheating effect would be indicated. This work is an attempt to interpret the role of preheating to increase welding depth and perform keyhole welding with high quality using physical and thermal properties of steel alloys.