Background: Masseter muscle is a jaw closing muscle of the mandible involved in Para functional habits; which include lip and cheek chewing, fingernail biting, and teeth clenching or bruxism which can be classified as awake or sleep bruxism. Patients with sleep bruxism are three to four times more likely to experience jaw pain and limitation of movement than people who do not experience sleep bruxism. The aim of this study is to measure the thickness of the masseter muscle in bruxist subjects and compare it with non-bruxist subjects by using sonography. Materials and Method: Forty Iraqi subjects with age ranged (20-40) divided into two groups according to the presence of bruxism. Clinical examination was made and masseter muscle thickness measured for both groups using sonography. Results: For bruxist subjects the mean thickness of masseter muscle in relaxation and clenching were (11.7 ± 1.4 mm) and (16.4 ± 1.3 mm). For non bruxist subjects were (11.2 ± 0.4 mm) and (13 ±0.3 mm) respectively. There was an extremely high statistical significant difference in masseter muscle thickness under clenching between bruxist and non bruxist subjects ( it was higher in bruxist group). Masseter muscle thickness under relaxation was significantly lower than that under clenching for both groups. Also there was a positive correlation between masseter muscle thickness and muscle function in bruxism situation. Conclusion: Masseter muscle in bruxist subject was thicker when compared to non-bruxist subject. Masseter muscle thickness was found to be positively correlated with increasing muscle function. The findings of this study indicate that the functional capacity of the masseter muscle affected by bruxism and may be considered as one of the factors influencing muscle thickness.
Flexure members such as reinforced concrete (RC) simply supported beams subjected to two-point loading were analyzed numerically. The Extended Finite Element Method (XFEM) was employed for the treatment the non-smooth h behaviour such as discontinuities and singularities. This method is a powerful technique used for the analysis of the fracture process and crack propagation in concrete. Concrete is a heterogeneous material that consists of coarse aggregate, cement mortar and air voids distributed in the cement paste. Numerical modeling of concrete comprises a two-scale model, using mesoscale and macroscale numerical models. The effectiveness and validity of the Meso-Scale Approach (MSA) in modeling of the reinforced concrete beams w
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The development in the field of medical physics has led to the use of devices that
are manufactured under normal conditions to make tremendous progress in the
world of development in medical treatment by using these devices with modern
techniques by reducing the use of antibiotics and relying on these tools and devices
that link between physics and modern therapeutic medicine. In this research, a nonthermal
plasma system for argon gas operated at normal atmospheric pressure was
designed, this system was applied on Pseudomonas Aeruginosa bacteria isolated
from burn patients from Yarmouk Teaching Hospital. These bacteria were exposed
to this system, the results showed that these bacteria were killed at time (5 min)
In this paper we use non-polynomial spline functions to develop numerical methods to approximate the solution of 2nd kind Volterra integral equations. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the applications of these method, and to compare the computed results with other known methods.
A non-polynomial spline (NPS) is an approximation method that relies on the triangular and polynomial parts, so the method has infinite derivatives of the triangular part of the NPS to compensate for the loss of smoothness inherited by the polynomial. In this paper, we propose polynomial-free linear and quadratic spline types to solve fuzzy Volterra integral equations (FVIE) of the 2nd kind with the weakly singular kernel (FVIEWSK) and Abel's type kernel. The linear type algorithm gives four parameters to form a linear spline. In comparison, the quadratic type algorithm gives five parameters to create a quadratic spline, which is more of a credit for the exact solution. These algorithms process kernel singularities with a simple techniqu
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Background: Directly observed therapy-short course (DOTS) had been adopted by World Health Organization (WHO) as hopeful strategy for treatment of tuberculosis (TB) since early nineties. Iraqi health authorities started DOTS implementation since 2001 in Baghdad. Coverage expanded gradually till 100% in 2004. War and unstable security condition hit Iraq since March 2003. Objective: The objective of this study was To evaluate the DOTS implementation program in Baghdad in different periods including 2 unstable periods for proper assessment of war and instability on treatment of TB. Patients and methods: This study had been conducted in Baghdad during four different periods (before and during 2003 war, after war; without and with DOTS). Dire
... Show MoreGhrelin and leptin are two hormones that possess multiple functions, including appetite regulation, maintenance of the tissue homeostasis and regulation of proinflammatory cytokines. A few studies on serum ghrelin and leptin levels in autoimmune diseases have exhibited conflicting results. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between the two energy balance hormones and autoimmune diseases. Serum ghrelin and leptin levels were assessed in 94 adult patients, 61 females and 33 males, with various autoimmune diseases (celiac disease, type 1 diabetes mellitus and rheumatoid arthritis) as well as in 35 healthy people as controls, using commercially available ELISA kits. Statistically important distinction
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Background: Pleural effusion is a common clinical
problem.
Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the
diagnostic utility of Carcino embryonic antigen
(CEA), CA 15- 3, and alpha-feto protein ( AFP ) as
a tumor markers in serum and pleural effusion and
evaluate the value of combining them as a diagnostic
tools that are complementary to cytology in the
diagnosis of malignancies .
Methods: Forty patients (18 malignant and 22 benign
pleural effusion) were included in this study .The
serum and effusion levels of CEA, CA 15 – 3 and
AFP were measured using immunoradiometric assay
Results: from the 40 effusions studied 26 were
exudates and 14 were transudates. The level of
pleural effusions
Sickle cell disease (SCD) comprises an inherited blood disorder that is life long and affects many people globally. In spite of the development in treatment, SCA is a considerable cause of mortality and morbidity. The present study tries to assess the role of leukocytes represented by β integrin(CD18) and platelets and their productivity in the pathogenicity of disease during the steady state and crisis in comparison with the healthy as-control group, SCD patients (15) enrolled during crisis and steady state (follow up) showed a significant increase in leukocytes and platelets cells productivity during crisis when compared to the steady state and in the steady state when compared to the healthy control group . In this study, SCD patho
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