Objective. This study aimed to evaluate the orthodontic bond strength and enamel-preserving ability of a hydroxyapatite nanoparticles-containingself-etch system following exposure to various ageing methods. Materials and Methods. Hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (nHAp) were incorporated into an orthodontic self-etch primer (SEP, Transbond™ plus) in three different concentrations (5%, 7%, and 9% wt) and tested versus the plain SEP (control) for shear bond strength (SBS), adhesive remnant index (ARI) scores, and enamel damage in range-finding experiments using premolar teeth. The best-performing formulation was further exposed to the following four artificial ageing methods: initial debonding, 24 h water storage, one-month water stora

Background: Chronic cigarette smoking is one of the major risk factors for coronary artery disease. However, it has additional cardiac adverse effects independent of coronary atherosclerosis. Patient and Methods: After informed consent and perm- ission from the review board of the hospital, 80 healthy subjects who were classified as smokers or non-smokers were included in the study. They were examined by standard echocardiography protocol which was followed by two-dimensional speckle tracking to assess the functions of the right ventricle. Results: The tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) was significantly reduced in smokers as compared to non-smokers (P < 0.05). The tricuspid flow peak late diastolic velocity (A wave) was sig

An integrated lithofacies and mineralogical assemblage was used to describe a depositional model and sequence stratigraphic framework of the Maastrichtian–Danian succession in the Western Desert of Iraq and eastern Jordan. Fifteen lithofacies types were grouped into three associations recognized in a distally steepened ramp characterized by an apparent, distinct increase in a gradient paleobathymetric deepening westward. The clay and nonclay minerals are dominated by smectite and palygorskite, with trace amounts of kaolinite, sepiolite, illite and chlorite. Meanwhile, quartz, calcite, dolomite, opal CT (Cristobalite - Tridymite), and apatite are the main nonclay minerals. The widely dominated smectite in the Western Phosphatic Basin of Ir

Lovastatin is one of the most important compounds that is produced from some filamentous fungi, being employed in the reduction of hypocholesterolemia. The results of screening, after the collection of seventy-three local fungal isolates from different areas, demonstrated that the local isolate Aspergillus terreus A50 was the best isolate for lovastatin production, with a concentration of 12.66 µg/ml, through the submerged fermentation. Lovastatin produced from A. terreus A50 showed antimicrobial activities against a Candida albicans isolate. Solid state fermentation (SSF) was the best system to produce the highest yield of lovastatin by A. terreus A50 as compared to the submerged fermentation (SmF)

The study was carried out to determine the cytotoxic, antioxidant and gastro-protective effect of ethyl-4-[(3,5-di-tert-butyl-2-hydroxybenzylid ene)amino] benzoate (ETHAB) in rats.

The identification of a bed’s lithology is fundamental to all reservoir characterization because the physical and chemical properties of the rock that holds hydrocarbons and/or water affect the response of every tool used to measure formation properties. The main purpose of this study is to evaluate reservoir properties and lithological identification of Nahr Umr Formation in Luhais well -12 southern Iraq. The available well logs such as (sonic, density, neutron, gamma ray, SP, and resistivity logs) are digitized using the Didger software. The petrophysical parameters such as porosity, water saturation, hydrocarbon saturation, bulk water volume, etc. were computed and interpreted using Techlog software. The lithology prediction of Nahr

The Boltzmann equation has been solved using (EEDF) package for a pure sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) gas and its mixtures with buffer Helium (He) gas to study the electron energy distribution function EEDF and then the corresponding transport coefficients for various ratios of SF6 and the mixtures. The calculations are graphically represented and discussed for the sake of comparison between the various mixtures. It is found that the various SF6 – He content mixtures have a considerable effect on EEDF and the transport coefficients of the mixtures

A total of 28 birds were examined to investigate about the distribution of the nematode Hadjelia truncata among some members of the avian family Columbidae in Al-Diwaniya Province, Central Iraq. The percentages of the infection rate with this nematode were 27.27, 37.5, 14.28 and 0 in Columba livia, C. palumbis, Streptopelia decaocto, and S. turtur respectively. Reporting Hadjelia truncata from Streptopelia decaocto constitutes a new host record.

This study was conducted in the specialized center of endocrinology and diabetic (AlKindy hospital from June 2004 to April 2005). Sera of 80 women (include 40 diagnosed Hyperprolactinemia (HPro) and 40 healthy women as control) were used to estimate some biochemical parameters which include prolactin (PRL),total fucose (TF), total protein (TP) and protein bound fucose (PBF), and protein bound hexose (PBHex),  also TP TF , TP PBF and TP PBHex   ratios. A significant elevation in TP and  PBHex, in sera of HPro patients compared to control was found while PBHex/TP ratio showed a slight non significant increase in sera of patients compared to control. On the other hand a significant decrease in TF, TF/TP and PBF/TP in ser