Background: Denture cleansing was an important step that could prevent the spread of infection and improve a patient's health, the durability of the dentures, and the overall quality of life; therefore, it was necessary to choose a suitable cleanser that, in addition to being effective, did not have an unfavorable effect on the qualities of the denture base resin itself when used for an extended period. For this purpose, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of tea tree oil (TTO) on Candida albicans adhesion and the surface roughness property of poly(methyl methacrylate) denture material after immersion in TTO. Methods: A total of 55 heat-cured acrylic resin specimens were used for C. albicans adherence and surface roughness tests. They were distributed into groups (0.25%, 0.5%, 0.75%, and 1%) of TTO, distilled water (DW), and 2% clorhexidine digluconate, totaling five specimens for each group. The specimens were immersed in accordance with their group for 10 minutes. Surface roughness was determined by a profilometer, and C. albicans adherence was determined by measuring optical density with a spectrophotometer. For comparisons between groups for surface roughness and disinfection tests, one-way ANOVA was performed on SPSS program, considering α = 0.05. Results: TTO had a statistically significant effect on C. albicans adhesion to heat-cured acrylic resin (P < 0.05) compared with negative control. Meanwhile, no statistically significant difference was found between 0.75% and 1% TTO concentrations (P > 0.05), whereas the surface roughness test showed a statistically non-significant difference between TTO concentrations and DW (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Immersion of acrylic resin in TTO was effective in decreasing C. albicans adhesion to it, and the greatest decrease was obtained by 1% TTO. The surface roughness test showed a non-significant difference in acrylic roughness after immersion in TTO.
Background: While warfarin and direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are used to manage thromboembolic events, they possess several features that impact adherence. Objective: To assess medication adherence and self-efficacy in patients receiving warfarin or DOAC treatment. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed at Ibn Al-Bitar Hospital in Baghdad from December 2022 to May 2023 on patients receiving either warfarin or DOACs. The Arabic version of the Adherence to Refills and Medications Scale (ARMS) questionnaire and the Self-Efficacy for Managing Chronic Disease 6-Item Scale (SES6C) questionnaire were used to assess adherence and self-efficacy. Results: 181 patients were enrolled in the study, of whom 56.9% received warfarin an
... Show MoreIncremental sheet metal forming is a modern technique of sheet metal forming in which a uniform sheet is locally deformed during the progressive action of a forming tool. The tool movement is governed by a CNC milling machine. The tool locally deforms by this way the sheet with pure deformation stretching. In SPIF process, the research is concentrate on the development of predict models for estimate the product quality. Using simulated annealing algorithm (SAA), Surface quality in SPIF has been modeled. In the development of this predictive model, spindle speed, feed rate and step depth have been considered as model parameters. Maximum peak height (Rz) and Arithmetic mean surface roughness (Ra) are used as response parameter to assess th
... Show MoreIntroduction: Candida spp. has become increasingly resistant to antifungal drugs, with elevated MIC levels causing a negative medical impact and increasing the number of patients at risk of candidiasis. According to the CDC, about 7% of Candida blood samples show reduced susceptibility to fluconazole. Monitoring the antifungal resistance profile of Candida spp. is vital, as non-Albicans species may limit treatment options. Objective: Evaluate the antifungal effectiveness against clinical Candida spp. isolates of six antifungals: amphotericin B, fluconazole, voriconazole, itraconazole, caspofungin, and 5-fluorocytosine. Methods: 100 samples were collected from various clinical samples at the National Centre of Teaching Laboratories
... Show MoreAdherence to cardiac medications makes a significant contribution to avoidance of morbidity and premature mortality in patients with cardiovascular disease. This quantitative study used cross‐sectional survey design to evaluate medication adherence and contributing factors among patients with cardiovascular disease, comparing patients who were admitted to a cardiac ward (
Experimental investigations had been done in this study to demonstrate the effect of natural particles used as a reinforcement material to unsaturated polyester resin. The tensile test and water absorption were investigated according to (ASTM D638) and (ASTM D570), respectively. The influence of sunflower husk and pomegranate husk particles, used as a reinforcement material, on the tensile strength, Young's modulus and water absorption with different weight fraction (3%, 7% and 10%) and particle grain size (50µm, 100 µm and 150 µm), has been investigated. The water absorption of polymer composites was studied by measuring the specimen weight before and after immersion in water for one hundred days. In the experiments of tensile test,
... Show MoreABSTRACT Background:Hydrogen absorption and related degradation in the mechanical properties of Ni-Ti based orthodontic wires has been demonstrated following exposure to fluoride prophylactic agents. This study was designed to investigate the effects of three fluoride containing agents on the load deflection characteristics of heat activated nickel titanium arch wires during unloading phase. Material and method: Eighty specimens of heat activated nickel titanium arch wires were obtained from Ortho Technology Company, half of which had a 0.016 inch round and 0.019x0.025 rectangular. Ten specimens from both wire size were immersed in one of the tested fluoride prophylactic agents (neutral sodium fluoride gel, stannous fluoride gel or phos-flu
... Show MoreMyelosuppression is one of the serious adverse effects of cancer chemotherapy that lead to life threatening febrile neutropenia and considered a limiting factor for successful therapy. Cyclophosphamide a widely used anticancer drugs, induces severe bone marrow suppression by damaging hematopoietic stem cells. As cancer incidence expands globally, the demand for an effective myeloprotective therapy during cancer treatment is also increasing.Nigella sativa seed oil, a well-known plant extract that widely used for various health conditions. This study aims to evaluate the myeloprotective activity of Nigella sativa seed oil in cyclophosphamide-induced myelosuppression mice model. Myelosuppression induced by single intraperitoneal injection o
... Show MoreThe aim of this study is to investigate the ability of malachite green (MG) combined with 650nm diode laser to kill Candida albicans and to spectrally study the MG photodegradation after photodynamic therapy (PDT) spectrally. Cultures of Candida albicans were exposed to 40mW, 650 nm diode laser in the absence of MG. In PDT group, the MG was added to the Candida suspension for 5 min then exposed to diode laser for (5, 10, 15, 20) min at power density of 0.59W/cm2. The absorption spectrum of the photosensitized fungal suspension was obtained. The data were submitted to T-test (p<0.05). A 650nm diode laser in the presence of MG reduced the number of CFU/ml in 98.4%. Laser with 650nm alone and MG alone did not reduce significantly the num
... Show MoreBackground: The need of the patient for a more reasonable esthetic orthodontic intervention has risen nowadays. Thus, orthodontists make use of esthetic orthodontic materials like brackets, ligature elastics, and arch wires. The esthetic brackets come as different forms of materials, such as ceramic brackets, which have their stainability remaining as the most important consideration for the patients and the orthodontists. This study aimed to compare the staining effects of various staining materials, including black tea, cigarette smoke and Pepsi, as well as the time effect on the color stability of sapphire ceramic brackets bonded with three kinds of light cure orthodontic adhesives: Transbond, Resilience and Enlight. Materials and Met
... Show MoreTwo Prototypes of Transversely Excited at atmospheric pressure (TEA) Nitrogen laser systems (One Stage Blumlein Circuit and Two Stage Blumlein Circuit) were fabricated and operated. High voltage power supply with variable operating voltage (0-20 kv) and operating current (1-3A) was built and tested successfully. The gas flow rate of 15 L/ min and 10 L/ min for OSBC and TSBC was used. The performance of the fabricated systems was studied extensively reaching to the optimum operating conditions. The obtained laser output energy for the first system has linear relationship with the applied voltage. The maximum output energy was about (1.14 mJ) with (10.40) ns pulse duration and the half-wave divergence angle was about (0.1455 m rad). In the
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