Abstract Introduction: Aphthous stomatitis is a recurring oral ulceration condition that affects a significant proportion of the population. While several factors have been proposed to contribute to its occurrence, the link between caffeine consumption, anxiety levels, and the development of aphthous stomatitis remains unknown. This survey-based study aimed to understand the association between coffee, anxiety, and the development of aphthous stomatitis in this specific demographic, which can provide useful insights for medical management as well as preventive strategies. Material and methods: A structured online questionnaire was distributed via various social media platforms targeting a sample of the Armenian population. The questionnaire collected information on participants’ demographics, coffee use patterns, anxiety levels as measured by perceived stress scales, and the occurrence of aphthous stomatitis. Statistical analyses, including Kendall’s tau, were carried out to investigate the relationships. Results: The results revealed a significant negative association between caffeine consumption and the occurrence of aphthous stomatitis among Armenian individuals Kendall’s tau-b (τb) correlation - 240* (p<0.05). Participants who reported regular caffeine consumption, such as coffee, tea, and energy drinks, had a lesser prevalence of aphthous stomatitis than non-consumers. Furthermore, Armenians in the survey showed that the majority (83.5%) had a low to moderate stress level. Conclusion: The data we collected in our research indicate that the prevalence of Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis in the Armenian ethnicity was infrequent; over half of the participants didn’t report Recurrent Aphthous Stomatitis in the past 12 months. Which may correlate to their caffeine consumption habits, which can lead to stress reduction.
This paper proposes a novel finite-time generalized proportional integral observer (FTGPIO) based a sliding mode control (SMC) scheme for the tracking control problem of high order uncertain systems subject to fast time-varying disturbances. For this purpose, the construction of the controller consists of two consecutive steps. First, the novel FTGPIO is designed to observe unmeasurable plant dynamics states and disturbance with its higher time derivatives in finite time rather than infinite time as in the standard GPIO. In the FTGPO estimator, the finite time convergence rate of estimations is well achieved, whereas the convergence rate of estimations by classical GPIO is asymptotic and slow. Secondly, on the basis of the finite and fast e
... Show MoreImage classification is the process of finding common features in images from various classes and applying them to categorize and label them. The main problem of the image classification process is the abundance of images, the high complexity of the data, and the shortage of labeled data, presenting the key obstacles in image classification. The cornerstone of image classification is evaluating the convolutional features retrieved from deep learning models and training them with machine learning classifiers. This study proposes a new approach of “hybrid learning” by combining deep learning with machine learning for image classification based on convolutional feature extraction using the VGG-16 deep learning model and seven class
... Show MoreLow bearing capacity of weak soil under shallow footings represents one of construction problems.
Kaolin with water content converges to liquid limit used to represent the weak soil under shallow
footing prototype. On the other hand, fly ash, which can be defined as undesirable industrial waste
material, was used to improve the bearing capacity of the soft soil considered in this research. The soft
soil was prepared in steel box (36×36×25) cm and shallow square footing prototype (6×6) cm were
used .Group of physical and chemical tests were conducted on kaolin and fly ash. The soft soil was
improved by a bed of compacted fly ash placed under the footing with dimensions equal to that of
footing but with different de
The pure ZnS and ZnS-Gr nanocomposite have been prepared
successfully by a novel method using chemical co-precipitation. Also
conductive polymer PPy nanotubes and ZnS-PPy nanocomposite
have been synthesized successfully by chemical route. The effect of
graphene on the characterization of ZnS has been investigated. X-ray
diffraction (XRD) study confirmed the formation of cubic and
hexagonal structure of ZnS-Gr. Dc-conductivity proves that ZnS and
ZnS-Gr have semiconductor behavior. The SEM proved that
formation of PPy nanotubes and the Gr nanosheet. The sensing
properties of ZnS-PPy/ZnS-Gr for NO2 gas was investigated as a
function of operating temperature and time under optimal condition.
The sensitivity,
Removal of heavy metal ions such as, cadmium ion (Cd 2+) and lead ion (Pb 2+) from aqueous solution onto Eichhornia (water hyacinth) activated carbon (EAC) by physiochemical activation with potassium hydroxide (KOH) and carbon dioxide (CO2) as the activating agents were investigated. The Eichhornia activated carbon was characterized by Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) techniques. Whereas, the effect of adsorbent dosage, contact time of pH, and metal ion concentration on the adsorption process have been investigated using the batch process t
This paper presents an experimental study of cooling photovoltaic (PV) panels using evaporative cooling. Underground (geothermal energy) water used to extract heat from it during cooling and cleaning of PV panels. An experimental test rig was constructed and tested under hot and dusty climate conditions in Baghdad. An active cooling system was used with auxiliary an underground water tank to provide cold water as a coolant over both PV surfaces to reduce its temperature. The cellulose pad has been arranged on the back surface and sprays cooling on the front side. Two identical PV panels modules used: without cooling and evaporative water cooling. The experiments are comprised of four cases: Case (I): backside cooling, Ca
... Show MoreThis paper describes the problem of online autonomous mobile robot path planning, which is consisted of finding optimal paths or trajectories for an autonomous mobile robot from a starting point to a destination across a flat map of a terrain, represented by a 2-D workspace. An enhanced algorithm for solving the problem of path planning using Bacterial Foraging Optimization algorithm is presented. This nature-inspired metaheuristic algorithm, which imitates the foraging behavior of E-coli bacteria, was used to find the optimal path from a starting point to a target point. The proposed algorithm was demonstrated by simulations in both static and dynamic different environments. A comparative study was evaluated between the developed algori
... Show MoreBACKGROUND: Keratoconus is a progressive non inflammatory bilateral (usually asymmetric) ectatic corneal disease characterized by paraxial stromal thinning ,weakening that lead to corneal surface distortion ,vision loss primarily from irregular astigmatism and myopia and secondly from corneal scar. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate visual and refractive outcomes after intracorneal continuous ring (ICCR) implantation combined with intrapocket corneal collagen cross linking in patient with keratoconus. Setting: Eye Specialty Private Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq. METHODS: This study assessed the results of implantation of Myoring ICCR combined with CXL in 40 eyes with KC. Outcome measures include UDVA,CDVA(spectacle correction),refraction, complications and s
... Show MoreKE Sharquie, AA Noaimi, AG Al-Ghazzi, Journal of Dermatology & Dermatologic Surgery, 2015 - Cited by 19