Background: Cataract is a major cause of visual impairment and blindness around the world. This study evaluated the in vitro antioxidant and anti-cataract activities of Cnidoscolus aconitifolius leaves extract and fractions. Antioxidant activities were evaluated by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiozoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), total reducing power, and hydrogen peroxide scavenging assays. Anti-cataract potential was evaluated in vitro using goat lenses divided into eight groups of different treatments and incubated in artificial aqueous humor at 37 °C for 72 hours. Glucose-induced opacity in the lenses was observed and biochemical indices quantified (cata

Leishmania are protozoan parasites belonging to the family Trypanosomatidae that cause high morbidity and mortality levels with a wide spectrum of clinical syndrome. This study aimed to investigate the effect of liposomal amphotericine B (AmBisome) drug on promastigote and axenic amastigote stages of Leishmania donovani isolate (MHOM/IQ/2005/MRU15)in comparison with pentostam SbV drug. Different concentrations of AmBisome and SbV drugs were investigated against Leishmania donovani promastigote and axenic amastigote. The ICR50R values of SbV and AmBisome drugs on promastigote were10.12 mg/ml and 2.21μg/ml, respectively, while they were 0.77μg/ml for axenic amastigote for both drugs. The present study concluded that axenic amastigote was

Background: Nickel-titanium (NiTi) archwires have become increasingly popular because of their ability to release constant light forces, which are especially useful during initial alignment and leveling phase. The aim of the present study was to investigate and compare the load–deflection characteristics of four commercially available NiTi archwires. Materials and methods: 200 NiTi 0.014, 0.016, 0.018, 0.016x0.022 and 0.019x0.025-inch nickel–titanium archwires from four different manufacturers (3M, Ortho Technology, Jiscop and Astar) were tested. The load-deflection properties of these archwires were evaluated by a full arch bending test in both palatal and gingival directionsat 37°C temperature using a universal material t

The first aim of this paper was to evaluate the push-out bond strength of the gutta-percha coating of Thermafil and GuttaCore and compare it with that of gutta-percha used to coat an experimental hydroxyapatite/polyethylene (HA/PE) obturator. The second aim was to assess the thickness of gutta-percha around the carriers of GuttaCore and HA/PE obturators using microcomputed tomography (μCT). Ten (size 30) 1 mm thick samples of each group (Thermafil, GuttaCore, and HA/PE) were prepared. An orthodontic wire with a diameter of 0.5 mm was attached to the plunger of an Instron machine in order to allow the push-out testing of the gutta-percha coating. Five samples of (GuttaCore and HA/PE) were scanned using

Background: Nanotechnology represents a new science that promises to provide a broad range of uses and improved technologies for biological and biomedical applications. One of the reasons behind the intense interest is that nanotechnology permits synthesis of materials that have structure is less than 100 nanometers. The present work revealed the effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) on Streptococcus mutans of Human Saliva in comparison to de-ionized water. Materials and methods: Streptococcus mutans were isolated from saliva of forty eight volunteers of both sexes their age range between 18-22 years and then purified and diagnosed according to morphological characteristic and biochemical tests. Different concentrations of ZnO NPs w

Leishmania are protozoan parasites belonging to the family Trypanosomatidae that cause high morbidity and mortality levels with a wide spectrum of clinical syndrome. This study aimed to investigate the effect of liposomal amphotericin B (AmBisome) drug on promastigote and axenic amastigote stages of Leishmania tropica. From the 20 isolates of cutaneous leishmaniasis collected from patients attended to the AL-Karama Teaching Hospital in Baghdad during the period from October 2013 until February 2014, only three isolates successfully transformed to motile promastigote stage in the culture media. The most active one is included in this study. Different concentrations of liposomal amphotericin B (AmBisome) and pentostam Sb (V) drugs were inv

Ephedra alata. is a plant that widely available around the world and long used in folk medicine as a natural medication, was employed in the current work to prepare extracts rich in alkaloids and to test their cytotoxic potential. Alkaloids-rich and crude extracts of E.alata were compared to pure ephedrine medication for mitosis on Allium cepa. test system. Alkaloids and crude aqueous extracts of A. cepa root tips were examined for a total of five hours at five different concentrations compared to ephedrine standard. Mitotic index, phase index, and chromosomal aberration as part of the study. IC50 values of 35 mg/ml were found for each extract, indicating a sub-lethal influence on cell viability. (Toxic and sublethal effects are thought to

     Two field experiments were performed to study the response of two species , Nigella sativa L. and Nigella arvensis L. within different sowing dates at spring and autumn seasons which included 1^st and 20^th March, 10^th April and 1^st May for spring season, while the sowing dates for the autumn season were, 2^nd November, 21^st November, 11^th December, 31^stDecember and 20^thJanuary. Both experiments conducted according to the Completely Randomized Block Design (CRBD) within three replications at hallabja/Kurdistan Region, located [35^°12'48.7^"N; 45^°57'34.4^"

This study was designed to show the inhibitory effect of different concentrations of alcoholic extract of Borage officinalis on the Monoamine oxidase (MAO) and Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzymes in human serum. The results obtained from the study exhibited that alcoholic extract of Borage officinalis caused inhibition to enzymes activity with all concentrations of the extract. The results also showed that when the concentration of the extract was (0.001 mg/ml), the percentage of inhibition was (4.3% with MAO and 15.2% with AChE) and this percentage increases until reaching up to (74.7% with MAO and 84.18% with AChE) when the concentration of the extract was (0.1 mg/ml). From the kinetic parameters, studies found that alcoholic extract o