Severe periodontitis is ranked as the sixth most prevalent disease affecting humankind, with an estimated 740 million people affected worldwide. The diagnosis of periodontal diseases mainly relies upon assessment of conventional clinical parameters. However, these parameters reflect past, rather than current, clinical status or future disease progression and, likely, outcome of periodontal treatment. Specific and sensitive biomarkers for periodontal diseases have been examined widely to address these issues and some biomarkers have been translated as point-of-care (PoC) tests. The aim of this review was to provide an update on PoC tests for use in the diagnosis and management of periodontal diseases. Among the PoC tests developed so far, active matrix metalloproteinase-8 has shown promising results in terms of diagnostic and prognostic values. However, further studies are required to increase the sensitivity and specificity via combining more than one biomarker and merging these test kits with periodontal risk assessment tools. Furthermore, the validity of these test kits needs to be investigated by applying the results in further independent studies and the impact on these test kits’, together with the results of risk factors for periodontal diseases, such as diabetes and smoking, also needs to be examined.
Arsenic is a prevalent and pervasive environmental contaminant with varied amounts in drinking water. Arsenic exposure causes cancer, cardiovascular, liver, nerve, and ophthalmic diseases. The current study aimed to find the best conditions for eliminating arsenic from simulated wastewater and their effect on biomarkers of hepatic in mice. Adsorption tests including pH, contact duration, Al-kheriat dosage, and arsenic concentrations were evaluated. Seventy-two healthy albino mice (male) were accidentally allocated into nine groups (n = 8), the first group was considered as healthy control, the second group (AL-Kheriat), and other groups received AL-Kheriat and arsenic 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150 and 175 mg/kg, respectively. Next 10 days, the
... Show MoreA factorial experiment (2× 3) in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications was conducted to examine the effect of honeycomb selection method using three interplant distances on yield and its components of two cultivars of bean, Bronco and Strike. Interplant distances used were 75× 65 cm, 90× 78 cm, and 105× 91 cm (row× plant) represent short (high plant density), intermediate (intermediate plant density), and wide (low plant density) distance, respectively. Parameters used for selection were number of days from planting to the initiation of first flower, number of nodes formed prior to first flower, and number of main branches. Results showed significant superiority of the Bronco cultivar represented in the number
... Show MoreGanciclovir (GCV) is a drug included in BCS-Class III, having high solubility and low permeability. It is a synthetic acyclic nucleoside analog of 2′-deoxyguanosine, considered a potent inhibitor of herpes viruses and cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. Herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections are very common and are also considered a major cause of corneal blindness. This study intended to advance a pioneering nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) system for improving the ocular permeability of GCV. Several procedures were used for the preparation. Cold homogenization, solvent injection, and emulsifi cationultrasonication methods. A mixture of palmitic acid (PA) and oleic acid (OA) as a lipid matrix, cremophore EL, and transcutol HP wer
... Show MoreNanostructured tin dioxide (SnO2) thin films were prepared by thermal oxidation of Sn, which were ground and embedded in methanol then it was deposited on a glass substrate utilizing casting method. The deposited films were examined for their morphology, and crystal structure by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. In most cases, it was found that SnO2 thin films had a tetragonal phase, predominantly grown on preferred (110) and (200) planes. The deposited thin films have grain size was about 82 nm. The sensing properties of SnO2against NO2 gas were studied as a function of working temperature and time under optimal co
... Show MoreCities witnessing mass-gathering events, such as Kerbala-Iraq, are peculiar in respect to their needs in controlling tuberculosis. DOTS was implemented in Kerbala almost two decades ago. GeneXpert MTB/RIF assay is adopted in the hope to escalate case detection rates, however, its performance is not evaluated yet. Records of 3254 patients suspected to have pulmonary TB whom they referred to the chest and Respiratory illnesses center of Kerbala governorate were analyzed. The overall trends of TB detection rates showed declining pattern over the year before the adoption of GeneXpert MTB/RIF. In the year of adoption of Xpert MTB/RIF, the detection rates raised, then after declined again. The GeneXpert MTB/RIF has add
... Show MoreBackground: Directly observed therapy-short course (DOTS) had been adopted by World Health Organization (WHO) as hopeful strategy for treatment of tuberculosis (TB) since early nineties. Iraqi health authorities started DOTS implementation since 2001 in Baghdad. Coverage expanded gradually till 100% in 2004. War and unstable security condition hit Iraq since March 2003. Objective: The objective of this study was To evaluate the DOTS implementation program in Baghdad in different periods including 2 unstable periods for proper assessment of war and instability on treatment of TB. Patients and methods: This study had been conducted in Baghdad during four different periods (before and during 2003 war, after war; without and with DOTS). Dire
... Show MoreCriticism is inherently impolite and a face-threatening act generally leading to conflicts among interlocutors. It is equally challenging for both native and non-native speakers, and needs pre-planning before performing it. The current research examines the production of non-institutional criticism by Iraqi EFL university learners and American native speakers. More specifically, it explores to what extent Iraqi EFL learners and American native speakers vary in (i) performing criticism, (ii) mitigating criticism, and (iii) their pragmatic choices according to the contextual variables of power and distance. To collect data, a discourse-completion task was used to elicit written data from 20 Iraqi EFL learners and 20 American native speaker
... Show More The study was conducted to evaluate the antibacterial activity of water and alcoholic extracts (cold and hot) of plant Zingiber officinale against different types of bacteria includeing (Staphylococcus aureus ، Staphylococcus epidermis ، Escherichia coli ، Pseudomonas aeruginosa
ØŒProteus spp.and Klebsilla pneumoniae). High effect of the hot (water and alcoholic) extracts of plant Zingiber officinale was on the different types of bacteria. Investigation of presence of active compounds (Alkaloids, Glycoside, Tannins, Saponine and Resine) in this plant parts was carried out. Sensitivity test of the isolate