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.
Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is an important complication of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Oxidative stress plays a major role in the development of CVD. Saliva has a diagnostic properties aiding in the detection of systemic diseases. This study aimed to assess the association between salivary oxidative stress markers and the risk of vascular disease (VD) in T2DM patients. Materials and Methods: One hundred T2DM patients and fifty apparently healthy males were enrolled in this study. Saliva sample was collected for assessment of oxidative stress markers including: lipid peroxidation plasma thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), uric acid (UA) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) levels. Arterial stiffness index (ASI
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Objectives: The present study designed to explore the genotoxicity through measurement of Mitotic index in bone marrow and the spleen cells, as possible mechanism of bone marrow and spleen toxicity that induced by irinotecan; and to describe the protective actions of omega 3 against irinotecan induced genotoxicity in bone marrow and the spleen of rats.
Methods: Twenty four (24) rats (Sprague-Dawley) were randomly divided into four groups: Group Ӏ, rats received single oral daily dose of distilled water (2 ml/kg) for 25 days (negative control group); Group ӀӀ (irinotecan-treated), receiv
... Show MoreIn this work, electrochemical process was presented to polymerized eugenol on Gr.2 and Gr.5 titanium alloys before and after treated by Micro Arc Oxidation (MAO), where Gr.2 is commercial pure titanium and Gr.5 is Ti-6Al-4V dental alloys. The deposited layers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The adhesion strength of polymeric thin-film was estimation by using pull-off adhesion test and the result was the adhesion strength of PE was (1.23 MPa) on Gr.2 before MAO and increase to (1.98 MPa) on Gr.2 after MAO treatment. The corrosion behavior of Gr.2 and Gr.5 alloy in artificial saliva environment at
... Show MoreThe objective of this study was to assess the nutritional status of childs of nurseries in Baghdad city so that an early detection of malnutrition cases could be carried out. The results revealed that the daily consumption of food calories, protein, fat and carbohydrate were 1180.5 calories, 27.2gm, 38gm and 180gm, respectively, which were less than the RDA values and the percentages of these nutrients supplied by the food intake were 90.8, 83.7, 87.3 and 90.3%, respectively. It was also demonstrated that the highest percentages of stunting, underweight and wasting, which amounted to 32, 22.7 and 1.5%, respectively, were among those childs who obtained inadequate calories, while the percentages of the forementioned malnutrition cases amon
... Show MoreThis research examines the issue of Internet banking services and their impact on customer's perceived value to know the potential of Iraqi commercial Banks to provide Internet banking services as well as determine the customer's level of perception of the value of such services. The research aims to demonstrate the effect that Internet banking services have on the customer's perceived value and to find how online banking services can be used to add value that the customer perceive. The main findings were that research sample banks don't have a sophisticated network of electronic Windows through which banking services are provided to allow customers to manage their accounts, and perform various operational operations through the
... Show MoreThe objective of this research is to measure the training programs and identify the nature and then measure how it reflected on the quality of municipal services provided by the municipal departments investigated by measuring the quality of services based on quality standards, the researcher chose four municipal departments in the Rusafa / Baghdad (164 people) representing the directors and their assistants, officials of the municipal departments, the people and the engineering staff in charge of the task forces as well, including the survey of the views of the concerned persons in the management of the Vocational Training Institute in the Secretariat of the Republic, The quality of the municipal services
... Show MoreThe research tagged (Perceived Organizational Support in High Performance) deals with identifying the extent of the impact of perceived organizational support as an explanatory variable on high performance as a response variable for the purpose of reaching appropriate mechanisms that enable colleges of the University of Baghdad to exploit the perceived organizational support in achieving the required high performance and pursuit of its goals. The researcher relied on the descriptive and analytical approach in carrying out the research. An intentional sample was selected and reached (70) persons from the higher leadership of the colleges represented by (deans, assistants deans, heads of departments) that r
... Show MoreThe research dealt with the study of choice between a range of different words between the repetitive texts in the verses of the Koran and explain the reason behind this choice, and how the context has the greatest impact in this choice, and that each word in the Koran was placed in the most appropriate place, which can not be replaced by equivalent words, whatever The degree of similarity between them in the indication of the other because it remains at the end that each of those vocabulary synonyms are indicative, the first of them especially that makes the possibility of replacing them with the equivalent vocabulary impossible, and the second general significance and this connotation makes them share with their peers In one aspect of
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