The present study was set to demonstrate the prevalence of toxoplasmosis infection and its effects on patients with systemic  lupus erythematosus (SLE) through determining their serum levels of anti-dsDNA and IL-18 antibodies. For this purpose, the sera from 132 SLE and/or toxoplasmosis patients and 30 healthy women, were collected. The study sample was divided into four groups of SLE, toxoplasmosis, SLE coinfected with toxoplasmosis, and healthy control. Anti-Toxoplasma IgG antibodies were examined for all the samples using ELISA kit. The results showed a high mean level of anti-Toxoplasma IgG among SLE patients coinfected with toxoplasmosis (104.8792±12.31585pg/ml) in comparison to that in toxoplasmosis patients (91.1705±12.577

The aim of this study is to compare the effects of three methods: problem-based learning (PBL), PBL with lecture method, and conventional teaching on the understanding of thermodynamics, group work and self-directed learning skills among physics undergraduates. The actual sample size comprises of 122 students, who were selected randomly from the Physics Department, College of Education in Iraq, for academic year 2011-2012. In this study, the pre and posttest were done and the instruments were administered to the students for data collection. Inferential statistics were employed to analyze data. The independent variables were the PBL, the PBL with lecture method, and the conventional teaching. Dependent variables of statistical analysis were

Changes in mechanical properties of material as a result of service in different conditions can be provided by mechanical testing to assist the estimation of current internal situation of these materials, or the degree of deterioration may exist in furnaces serviced at high temperature and exceed their design life. Because of the rarity works on austenitic stainless steel material type AISI 321H, in this work, ultimate tensile strength, yield strength, elongation, hardness, and absorbed energy by impact are evaluated based on experimental data obtained from mechanical testing. Samples of tubes are extracted from furnace belong to hydrotreaterunit, also samples from un-used tube material are used to make comparisons between these properti

Yucca gloriosa Variegata L. is a stemless. The whole plant of Y. gloriosa L. has vast medicinal uses. TheNative Americans and North New Mexico used a tea from the leaves and roots to treat asthma, headache,wound healing. As well as it was being consumed as daily dietary. All part of Y. gloriosa L. is rich in saponinsteroidal glycosides. Saponin extracts are well-known to be highly toxic. Hence, present study was carriedout to investigate the toxicity of saponin and estimate the LD50 value which helps in determining the safedose range for the drug that be used, as well as to determine hematological aspects and examine histologicaleffect. Different concentrations of saponin extract were injected into male mice (10,000, 8000, 6000, 400

Flexible pipes, such as GRP pipes, serve as effective underground infrastructure especially as sewer pipeline. This study is an attempt for understanding the effects of bedding types on the behavior of large diameter GRP flexible sewer pipes using three dimensional finite element approaches. Theoretical and numerical analyses were performed using both BS EN 1295-1 approach and finite element method (ABAQUS software). The effects of different parameters are studied such as, depth of backfill, bedding compaction, and backfill compaction. Due to compaction, an increase in the bedding compaction modulus (E’₁) results in a reduction of both stresses and displacements of the pipe, especially, for well compacted ba

Background: Soft Laser has been advantageous in medical applications and is widely used in clinical practice. It is applied because it doesn’t cause the significant thermal effects or tissue hurt when irradiated. The blood response to low power laser radiation provides information about processes of laser radiation interaction with live creatures. Objective: The aim of the current work was to evaluate the laser-induced changes of in vitro erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) in patients with breast cancer by irradiating a human blood sample using a green laser and comparing its effects before and after irradiation with the same power density (100mW/c

Background: Alum has been used as a treatment medication in cases of oral and gingival ulcers, and also as antiseptic mouthwash. This study aimed to examine the effects of different concentrations of Alum on inhibition zone, viability counts and adherence ability of Mutans streptococci compared with deionized water and chlorhexidine gluconate in vitro. Materials and methods: The study dealt with an in vitro study to establish a concentration of Alum mouthrinse that would have the minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bacteriocidal concentration. The second part evaluated the anti-adherence ability of the experimental agents. Results: This study found that the antibacterial effect of Alum increases with its concentration from 50 to 1

This study investigates the impact of varying glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) stirrup spacing on the performance of doubly GFRP-reinforced concrete beams. The research focuses on assessing the behavior of GFRP-reinforced concrete beams, including load-carrying capacity, cracking, and deformability. It explores the feasibility and effectiveness of GFRP bars as an alternative to traditional steel reinforcement in concrete structures. Six concrete beams with a cross-section of 300 mm (wide) × 250 mm (deep), simply supported on a 2100 mm span, were tested. The beams underwent four-point bending with two concentrated loads applied symmetrically at one-third of the span length, resulting in a shear span (a)-to-depth (h) ratio of 2.

Background: different methods can be used to remove tissue during gingivectomy and produce a good gingival margin, the most common is the conventional gingivectomy which is done by the use of scalpel, now a day’s Laser is widely spread and can be used to perform surgeries. Materials and methods: 50 patients divided into two equal groups, Group 1 gingivectomy was done by Diode Laser, Group 2 gingivectomy was done by scalpel, plaque and gingival index were measured at 1st, 2nd and 3rd visit, swab were taken and sent foe detecting bacterial growth and biopsy were taken for histopathological examination. Group 1 show no significant differences in plaque and gingival means between the visits, the bacteriological examination showed no growth of