Background: Oxidative stress is a deleterious process that can be an important mediator of damage to cell structures and consequently various disease states. Exposure to free radicals from a variety of sources has led organisms to produce a series of defense mechanisms. The antioxidant ceruloplasmin is a copper-containing ferroxidase that can oxidize ferrous iron (Fe2+) to its nontoxic ferric (Fe3+) form. Ferrous iron (Fe2+) is extremely damaging because of its ability to generate toxic free radicals. Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic inflammatory oral mucosal disease of unknown etiology. Previous studies reported that reactive oxygen species may be involved in the pathogenesis of lichen planus. The aim of this study was to estimate the role of oxidative stress in pathogenesis of OLP through the study of serum and saliva ceruloplasmin as a marker of antioxidant status. Methods: Forty eight patients with histologically confirmed OLP by oral pathologist were included in this study. The sample group was split up in to two groups according to the clinical presentation of the lesions, 21 patients with reticular formation and 27 patients with erosive form together with 32 healthy looking volunteers that were age-matched with the patients. Serum and saliva ceruloplasmin activity was determined by oxidation of P-Phenylenediamine to give a blue - violet color that measured spectrophotometricaly at 525 NM. Results: Statistically, there was a substantial increase in serum and saliva ceruloplasmin levels of OLP patients group as compared to controls (p<0.01) and there was no statistically significant differences in serum and saliva ceruloplasmin when compared between reticular and erosive forms (p>0.05). The study showed that there was no statistically significant correlation between serum and saliva ceruloplasmin levels in OLP patients group (r=-0.029, p>0.05). Conclusion: Oxidative status play a role in the pathogenesis of oral lichen planus represented by increased serum and saliva ceruloplasmin levels.
The Sequencing Batch Reactor system (SBR) is a major component of the municipal wastewater biological treatment system and water reclamation that provides high-quality water that could be reused in restricted plants that which require large quantities of water despite the lack of water. The research aims to investigate the performance of a pilot plant SBR unit under real operation conditions that was installed and operated in Al-Rustamiya Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), Baghdad, Iraq. Results showed that the BOD5/COD ratio of the raw wastewater was within the average value at 0.66 emphasizing the organic nature of the influent flow and hence the amenability to biological treatment. The results also ensured that the treatment pro
... Show MoreThe quality of groundwater in the Al-Hawija area was assessed using a water quality index. Data of nine physico-chemical parameters of 28 groundwater wells were used to calculate the water quality index (WQI). A heterogeneous water quality was reported, where in close proximity to the Lesser Zab River (LZR), it has low WQI values and permissible for human consumptions due to the dilution processes by fresh water; whereas, it becomes deteriorated in areas located far away the river. The values of WQI ranges from 22 to 336, indicating a good to very poor groundwater quality.
Smear zone is usually formed around the prefabricated vertical drains (PVD’s) due to mandrel driving. The geotechnical properties of the soil in this zone exhibit significant changes that affect the performance of the PVD’s. The most relevant property in this respect is the coefficient of permeability. So far, no serious attention is paid to investigate the effects of shearing under large shear strains on the geotechnical properties of the soft soil in Fao region. In this study, an extensive laboratory testing program was conducted to assess the characteristics of the smear zone with an emphasis on the permeability coefficient of Fao soft soil. The results show that the permeability of the smear zone is about 70% of
... Show MoreThe geophysical testing is increasingly being employed in many geotechnical applications. It is preferred in monitoring the mechanical characteristics of the ground because of its economy, not time consuming and non-destructive nature. Seismic wave test is one of the geophysical methods which showed a potential in observing the general behaviour of the reinforced soil with stone columns. Findings in most cases showed that the seismic wave measurements was integrated with or compared to the conventional tests such as standard penetration test or cone penetration test. There was a noticeable success in identifying the enhancement achieved to the ground upon the strengthening with the column, specifically when the associated surveys can produc
... Show MoreArtificial Neural Network (ANN) model's application is widely increased for wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) variables prediction and forecasting which can enable the operators to take appropriate action and maintaining the norms. It is much easier modeling tool for dealing with complex nature WWTP modeling comparing with other traditional mathematical models. ANN technique significance has been considered at present study for the prediction of sequencing batch reactor (SBR) performance based on effluent's (BOD5/COD) ratio after collecting the required historical daily SBR data for two years operation (2015-2016) from Baghdad Mayoralty and Al-Rustamiya WWTP office, Iraq. The prediction was gotten by the application of a feed-forwa
... Show MoreExamining and comparing the image quality of degenerative cervical spine diseases through the application of three MRI sequences; the Two-Dimension T2 Weighed Turbo Spin Echo (2D T2W TSE), the Three-Dimension T2 Weighted Turbo Spin Echo (3D T2W TSE), and the T2 Turbo Field Echo (T2_TFE). Thirty-three patients who were diagnosed as having degenerative cervical spine diseases were involved in this study. Their age range was 40-60 years old. The images were produced via a 1.5 Tesla MRI device using (2D T2W TSE, 3D T2W TSE, and T2_TFE) sequences in the sagittal plane. The image quality was examined by objective and subjective assessments. The MRI image characteristics of the cervical spines (C4-C5, C5-C6, C6-C7) showed significant difference
... Show MoreObjectives: To assess the pediatric nurses' knowledge about the nosocomial infection owl), and to fud out the
relatiouships between their knowledge about the nosocomial infection and demographic data.
Methodology: A descriptive study was carried out at neonatal intensive care units OVICUs) of Baghdad
Pediatric Teaching Hospitals. It was started from the end of April to the end of October, 2008. A purposive
sample of (28) pediatric nurses were selected. The data were collected by self-administered questiormaire. The
validity of the questionnaire was detemined through a panel of experts, while its reliability was detemined
through the pilot study. The data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics through th
OpenStreetMap (OSM) represents the most common example of online volunteered mapping applications. Most of these platforms are open source spatial data collected by non-experts volunteers using different data collection methods. OSM project aims to provide a free digital map for all the world. The heterogeneity in data collection methods made OSM project databases accuracy is unreliable and must be dealt with caution for any engineering application. This study aims to assess the horizontal positional accuracy of three spatial data sources are OSM road network database, high-resolution Satellite Image (SI), and high-resolution Aerial Photo (AP) of Baghdad city with respect to an analogue formal road network dataset obtain
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