Background: Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis (RAS) is the most common painful oral mucosal disease, affecting approximately 20% of the population. RAS presents with a wide spectrum of severity ranging from a minor nuisance to complete debility. Many of factors thought to have been involved in its etiology; that might have at the same time a direct or indirect impact upon oxidant/antioxidant system and trigger free radicals production. The aim of this study was to determine the possible association of oxidant/total antioxidant status and recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS). Subjects, materials and methods: The study consisted of thirty patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis and thirty healthy controls from which saliva and blood samples we

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a prevalent condition in women of reproductive age. It is characterized by androgen excess and chronic anovulation. Some trace elements, macroelements, and heavy metals have been linked to pathophysiological mechanisms of PCOS .

To study the alterations in the serum levels of the trace element manganese (Mn), some macroelements, magnesium(Mg) and calcium (Ca), and the heavy metals cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb), in obese and non-obese PCOS patients; and the association of these alterations with some of the hormonal changes occurring in PCOS.

The study was carried out at Kamal Al-Samarrai Hospital (Center for Infertility treatment and in vitro Fertilization "IVF") Baghdad- Iraq. Eig

This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of conventional ingredients replacement with alternative ingredients on growth performance, carcass quality, nutrient digestibility and intestinal microbial of broilers. One hundred twenty Cobb500 broiler chicks were randomly assigned to four diets. Corn, soybean meal and fish meal were replaced with rice waste, meat and bone waste and black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) at 0, 10, 30 and 50% to form four treatments. Body weight gain, feed conversion ratio and digestibility of crude protein and fat were improved in broilers fed the replacement diets. Feed intake was not affected by the treatments suggesting that the replacement diets were well accepted by the chicken. Escherichia coli was decre

The current study introduces a novel technique to handle electrochemical localized corrosion in certain limited regions rather than applying comprehensive cathodic protection (CP) treatment. An impressed current cathodic protection cell (ICCPC) was fabricated and firmly installed on the middle of a steel structure surface to deter localized corrosion in fixed or mobile steel structures. The designed ICCPC comprises three essential parts: an anode, a cathode, and an artificial electrolyte. The latter was developed to mimic the function of the natural electrolyte in CP. A proportional-integrated-derivative (PID) controller was designed to stabilize this potential below the ICCPC at a cathodic potential of −850 mV, which is crucial for prote

The impact of smoking on human health is remarkable and can lead to death. This research was performed to test the effects of cigarette smoking on some parameters that are considered as signs of critical problems in human body. The study was carried out on fifty Iraqi male smokers in Baghdad city, who smoked at least 10 cigarettes per day for at least 15 years. The group includes 25 male smokers with an age range of 20 -55 years and 25 male non-smokers who were collected with the same range of age for statistical comparison. The results of the study revealed significant increases in blood parameters, including hemoglobin (Hb, 16.0917 (g/dl) , packed cell volume (PCV, 49.2%), red blood cells (RBC, 5.4763 X1012/L), white blood cell (WBC, 1

The impact of exposure to different sizes of particulate matter (PM₁, PM_2.5, PM₇, and PM₁₀) was evaluated in  Babylon concrete plant workers who had been exposed to concrete dust for at least 10 years.  The effects of  these particles on the hematological parameters, malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and  antioxidant enzymes (catalase and glutathione peroxidase ) were examined. The results exhibited that the levels of PM2.5 and PM10 were higher than the acceptable limits approved by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The blood parameters, namely white blood cells (WBC), red blood cell (RBC) and platelets counts, demonstrated non-significant differences between w

The present investigation was conducted to evaluate the effect of the crude extracts mixture of three plants (Tribulus terrestris, Phoenix dactylifera and Nasturtium officinale) on semen quality,sex hormones and reproductive performance of mature male mice. A group of 25 male mice given 150mg/kg/day of the powder of the plants mixture with the food for four weeks and another three groups of 25 animals each given intraperitoneal injection from each of the aqueous and ethanolic extracts with a doses 75, 150, and 300mg/kg/day for two weeks. A remarkable increase in sperm concentration and motility with a decreased abnormal morphology was obtained in the experimental groups. A significant increase in hormones level were recognized in most grou

The study is sought to determine specific alteration in AVP-LI level of plasma and sites of the hypothalamic-neurohypophysial-system; supraoptic nucleus (SON), paraventricular nucleus (PVN), neurointermediate lobe (NIL), and median eminence (ME), related to effects of stress of different anesthetics and electrical stimulation of RVLM/C1area. Urethane or halothane anesthetized Wistar rats were subjected to intra-RVLM electrical stimulation of 10 sec train, 1msec pulse duration at 40 Hz, and 2V every 30s.  After 30min stimulation, AVP-LI extracted from plasma, NIL, ME, SON, and PVN and measured by RIA, were compared with that of sham-stimulated urethane- or halothane-anesthetized rats and unstimulated unanesthetized control rats. Data