Introduction: Salivary melatonin is a critical antioxidant that contributes to oral health by mitigating oxidative stress. Psychological stress linked to thumb sucking may disrupt oral homeostasis, leading to conditions such as dental caries and fungal infections. Aim: This study explores the relationships between thumb sucking, salivary melatonin levels, dental caries, and the presence of Candida albicans (CA) in children. Materials and methods: A case-control study was conducted with 60 children aged 4-5 years at the University of Baghdad’s College of Dentistry. Participants were divided into thumb-sucking (n=30) and non-thumb-sucking (n=30) groups. Salivary melatonin levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), dental caries were assessed via the dmfs index, and CA counts were quantified on Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA). Statistical analyses were performed, including t-tests, ANOVA, and correlation assessments. Results: Thumb-sucking children exhibited significantly lower salivary melatonin levels (28.620±2.278 pg/mL) compared to controls (34.525±2.142 pg/mL; p=0.044). The thumb-sucking group also had higher dmfs scores (15.033±1.449 vs. 8.667±0.899; p=0.000) and greater CA counts (18.900±1.048 vs. 13.583±0.549; p=0.000). Negative correlations were observed between salivary melatonin levels and the severity of dental caries, while positive correlations linked CA with dental caries. Conclusions: Thumb sucking adversely affects pediatric oral health by reducing salivary melatonin, increasing dental caries risk, and promoting fungal overgrowth. Early intervention to curb thumb-sucking behaviors may mitigate these risks and improve oral health outcomes.
Adolescent pregnancy is common health problem still found in both developed and developing countries; as adolescent may have early sexual practice or early marriage. Adolescent mothers face substantially higher maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality than adult women. This is a randomized prospective clinical study conducted at Al-Elwiya Maternity Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq. The objective of this work is to assess the adverse maternal, fetal and neonatal outcomes in early and late teenage pregnant mothers. Study sample consisted of 220 primigravid women with a singleton, cephalic, viable fetus and no congenital abnormality that gave birth at Al-Elwiya Maternity Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq. The 1stgroup: early teenage (46 w
... Show MoreThe achievement of world peace is a humanitarian demand that humanity has sought since its existence. Despite the international and regional efforts to achieve this demand, it is still reaching its desired ambitions if conflicts, contradictions, and internal and external wars continue to justify us clearly in terms of ethnic, religious and sectarian conflict. The revolution of informatics and the impact of globalization opened a new era of communication and openness and the negative and positive impact of others, which re-published and distributed values, ideas and new cultures Some of them carries extremist ideas urging violence and destruction and other abolition, it became necessary to follow policies and reward The culture of peace,
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The public procurement crisis in Iraq plays a fundamental role in the delay in the implementation of construction projects at different stages of project bidding (pre, during, and after). The procurement system of any country plays an important role in economic growth and revival. The paper aims to use the fuzzy logic inference model to predict the impact of the public procurement crisis (relative importance index and Likert scale) was carried out at the beginning to determine the most important parameters that affect construction projects, the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) to set up, and finally, the fuzzy decision maker's (FDM) verification of the parameter for comparison with reality. Sixty-five
... Show MoreAims: To assess the success rate and implant stability changes of narrow dental implants (NDIs) during the osseous healing period. Materials and methods: This prospective observational clinical study included 21 patients with narrow alveolar ridge of restricted mesiodistal interdental span who received NDIs. The alveolar ridge width was determined by the ridge mapping technique. Implant stability was measured using Periotest® M immediately after implant insertion then after 4 weeks, 8 weeks and 12 weeks postoperatively. The outcome variables were success rate and implant stability changes during the healing period. The statistical analysis included one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey\'s multiple comparisons test, values < 0.05 w
... Show MoreIn this paper, a microcontroller-based electronic circuit have been designed and implemented for dental curing system using 8-bit MCS-51 microcontroller. Also a new control card is designed while considering advantages of microcontroller systems the time of curing was controlled automatically by preset values which were input from a push-button switch. An ignition based on PWM technique was used to reduce the high starting current needed for the halogen lamp. This paper and through the test result will show a good performance of the proposed system.
To determine the abilities of salivary E‐cadherin to differentiate between periodontal health and periodontitis and to discriminate grades of periodontitis.
E‐cadherin is the main protein responsible for maintaining the integrity of epithelial‐barrier function. Disintegration of this protein is one of the events associated with the destructive forms of periodontal disease leading to increase concentration of E‐cadherin in the oral biofluids.
A total of 63 patients with periodontitis (case) and 35
EGFR-mutant non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) initially responds well to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs), yet resistance is nearly inevitable and responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) remain limited. In a retrospective cohort of 57 patients with advanced EGFR-mutant NSCLC treated with nivolumab or pembrolizumab, the objective response rate was 12.3%, although responses were concentrated in a small subgroup with concurrent high PD-L1 expression and dense intratumoral CD8⁺ immune-cell infiltration. Emerging evidence links these outcomes to chemokine-network dysregulation that alters immune trafficking and spatial organization. Oncogenic EGFR signaling shifts chemokine networks away from effector T-cell recruitment
... Show MoreBackground: Alginate impression material is the irreversible hydrocolloid material that is widely used in dentistry. The contact time between alginate and gypsum cast could have a detrimental effect on the properties of the gypsum cast. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of various contact time intervals of Alginate impressions & type III dental stone on surface properties of stone cast. Materials and Methods: Time intervals tested were 1hour, 6 hours and 9 hours. Surface properties of stone cast evaluated were surface detail reproduction, hardness and roughness. Surface detail reproduction was determined using cylindrical brass test block in accordance with ISO 1563. Surface roughness was measured by profilometer
... Show MoreCandida Berkh. (1923) occurs naturally in the body. But it becomes opportunistic fungi, meaning that it infects humans when there is any weakening of the immune system, such as exposure to chemotherapy, diabetes, or organ transplantation. Most species of Candida grow at a temperature between 20-40 °C and have a pH of 3-8. Human pathogens of Candida species include C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. lusitaniae, C. parapsilosis, C. tropicalis and C. utili. C. albicans has many virulence factors that facilitate injury process. Virulence factors are considered as a measure of pathogenicity, and it is in the form of fungal toxins, enzymes, or cell structures that facilitate infection, as well as pathogen resistance in different conditions. This study
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