Molecular identification of spp. in humans and cattle in Baghdad, Iraq.

Background And Aim: A total of 10% of the global population succumbs to amoebiasis yearly, equating to 50,000-100,000 recorded fatalities. It is closely associated with contaminated food and water supplies due to human feces. The disease's pathophysiology remains a subject of ongoing debate among experts.

Skin-on-a-chip technologies towards clinical translation and commercialization.

Skin is the largest organ of the human body which plays a critical role in thermoregulation, metabolism (e.g. synthesis of vitamin D), and protection of other organs from environmental threats, such as infections, microorganisms, ultraviolet radiation, and physical damage.

Study on the comparison between Bosentan and Macitentan in the treatment of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborns, simultaneously on sildenafil: A randomized double-blinded non-inferiority parallel clinical trial.

Background: Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) is characterized by sustained elevated Pulmonary Artery Pressure (PAP). Drug resistance and the adverse effects of current therapeutic agents warrant investigation of other targeted therapies. Bosentan has shown benefits in affected neonates.

Prevalence and molecular characterization of isolated from children and calves in Babylon province, Iraq.

Background And Aim: is one of the most prevalent intestinal parasites in humans and animals, and children in close contact with livestock are particularly at risk of infection. This study aimed to detect assemblages of and determine the origin of zoonotic transmission of in children and calves in different parts of Babylon province, Iraq.

Materials And Methods: One hundred stool samples from children (68 boys and 32 girls) and 100 fecal samples from calves (46 males and 54 females) of different ages were randomly collected.

Additive manufacturing and three-dimensional printing in obstetrics and gynecology: a comprehensive review.

Three-dimensional (3D) printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a technology used to create complex 3D structures out of a digital model that can be almost any shape. Additive manufacturing allows the creation of customized, finely detailed constructs. Improvements in 3D printing, increased 3D printer availability, decreasing costs, development of biomaterials, and improved cell culture techniques have enabled complex, novel, and customized medical applications to develop.

Shape Fidelity Evaluation of Alginate-Based Hydrogels through Extrusion-Based Bioprinting.

Extrusion-based 3D bioprinting is a promising technique for fabricating multi-layered, complex biostructures, as it enables multi-material dispersion of bioinks with a straightforward procedure (particularly for users with limited additive manufacturing skills). Nonetheless, this method faces challenges in retaining the shape fidelity of the 3D-bioprinted structure, i.e.

3D-printed microrobots from design to translation.

Microrobots have attracted the attention of scientists owing to their unique features to accomplish tasks in hard-to-reach sites in the human body. Microrobots can be precisely actuated and maneuvered individually or in a swarm for cargo delivery, sampling, surgery, and imaging applications. In addition, microrobots have found applications in the environmental sector (e.

Deep Learning-Enabled Technologies for Bioimage Analysis.

Deep learning (DL) is a subfield of machine learning (ML), which has recently demonstrated its potency to significantly improve the quantification and classification workflows in biomedical and clinical applications. Among the end applications profoundly benefitting from DL, cellular morphology quantification is one of the pioneers. Here, we first briefly explain fundamental concepts in DL and then we review some of the emerging DL-enabled applications in cell morphology quantification in the fields of embryology, point-of-care ovulation testing, as a predictive tool for fetal heart pregnancy, cancer diagnostics via classification of cancer histology images, autosomal polycystic kidney disease, and chronic kidney diseases.

Workload assessment of medical doctors at primary health care centers in the Duhok governorate.

Background: A shortage in human resources, particularly physicians, has become a challenge confronting health authorities in the Duhok governorate, as these resources are the key input for delivering health care. It has become necessary to identify the most appropriate scientifically sound method for having adequate staffing levels. This study aimed to forecast the required number of physicians to cope with the current workload at the main primary health care centers in the Duhok governorate.

One-Year Clinical Performance of the Fast-Modelling Bulk Technique and Composite-Up Layering Technique in Class I Cavities.

The aim of this study was to assess the one year clinical performance of a new application method, the Fast-Modelling Bulk Technique (FMBT), in comparison to the Composite-Up Layering Technique (CULT) in posterior cavities. Thirty patients with two class I cavities on permanent human molars were enrolled in the present study. A total of sixty class I cavities were prepared and randomly divided according to the restoration technique used: 30 cavities restored by incremental layering technique and modelling of the last layer with Composite-Up Technique (CUT) using the composite Filtek Z250XT (3M ESPE; St.

Hemp-Based Microfluidics.

Hemp is a sustainable, recyclable, and high-yield annual crop that can be used to produce textiles, plastics, composites, concrete, fibers, biofuels, bionutrients, and paper. The integration of microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (µPADs) with hemp paper can improve the environmental friendliness and high-throughputness of µPADs. However, there is a lack of sufficient scientific studies exploring the functionality, pros, and cons of hemp as a substrate for µPADs.

Repurposing FDA-approved drugs to fight COVID-19 using methods: Targeting SARS-CoV-2 RdRp enzyme and host cell receptors (ACE2, CD147) through virtual screening and molecular dynamic simulations.

Background: Different approaches have been proved effective for combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, drug repurposing strategy, has been highly regarded as an accurate computational tool to achieve fast and reliable results. Considering SARS-CoV-2's structural proteins and their interaction the host's cell-specific receptors, this study investigated a drug repurposing strategy aiming to screen compatible inhibitors of FDA-approved drugs against viral entry receptors (ACE2 and CD147) and integral enzyme of the viral polymerase (RdRp).

Increasing the packing density of assays in paper-based microfluidic devices.

Paper-based devices have a wide range of applications in point-of-care diagnostics, environmental analysis, and food monitoring. Paper-based devices can be deployed to resource-limited countries and remote settings in developed countries. Paper-based point-of-care devices can provide access to diagnostic assays without significant user training to perform the tests accurately and timely.

3D-printed microneedles in biomedical applications.

Conventional needle technologies can be advanced with emerging nano- and micro-fabrication methods to fabricate microneedles. Nano-/micro-fabricated microneedles seek to mitigate penetration pain and tissue damage, as well as providing accurately controlled robust channels for administrating bioagents and collecting body fluids. Here, design and 3D printing strategies of microneedles are discussed with emerging applications in biomedical devices and healthcare technologies.

Microfluidics for microalgal biotechnology.

Microalgae have expanded their roles as renewable and sustainable feedstocks for biofuel, smart nutrition, biopharmaceutical, cosmeceutical, biosensing, and space technologies. They accumulate valuable biochemical compounds from protein, carbohydrate, and lipid groups, including pigments and carotenoids. Microalgal biomass, which can be adopted for multivalorization under biorefinery settings, allows not only the production of various biofuels but also other value-added biotechnological products.

Machine learning-enabled multiplexed microfluidic sensors.

High-throughput, cost-effective, and portable devices can enhance the performance of point-of-care tests. Such devices are able to acquire images from samples at a high rate in combination with microfluidic chips in point-of-care applications. However, interpreting and analyzing the large amount of acquired data is not only a labor-intensive and time-consuming process, but also prone to the bias of the user and low accuracy.

The Effect of Different Bleaching Protocols, Used with and without Sodium Ascorbate, on Bond Strength between Composite and Enamel.

This in vitro study aims to evaluate whether a solution of 10% sodium ascorbate (SA) may exert a beneficial effect on the bonding of composite to enamel after using different bleaching agents and protocols. Microtensile bond strength (µTBS) was evaluated on 72 freshly extracted human central incisors, divided into eight experimental groups and one control group (total n = 9): Group 1 serves as control (nonbleached). Group 2 was bleached with 5% carbamide peroxide.

Gel green fluorescence ssDNA aptasensor based on carbon nanotubes for detection of anthrax protective antigen.

Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, is a harmful pathogen with potential ability as a biological weapon which persuades scientists to develop novel methods to detect anthrax from infected resources. In this study, a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNTs)-based fluorescence aptasensor was fabricated to detect the recombinant protective antigen domain 4 (rPAD4) of Bacillus anthracis as the most important key factor in development of anthrax. First, PAD4 was recombinant expressed in E.

Molecular genetic diagnosis of Glanzmann syndrome in Iranian population; reporting novel and recurrent mutations.

Background: Glanzmann thrombasthenia (GT) is a rare autosomal recessive abnormality of platelet aggregation with quantitative and/or qualitative abnormality of αIIbβ3 integrin. The αIIbβ3 is a platelet fibrinogen receptor, which is required for platelet aggregation, firm adhesion, and also spreading. The disease is more prevalent in the populations with a higher rate of consanguineous marriages as in some Middle Eastern populations including Iraq, Jordan, and Iran.

Soluble Factors Released From Activated T Lymphocytes Regulate C2C12 Myoblast Proliferation and Cellular Signaling, but Effects Are Blunted in the Elderly.

The key objective of this work was to investigate the impact of young and old human lymphocyte secretomes on C2C12 myoblasts regeneration. Conditioned media were harvested from isolated young and older lymphocytes treated with (activated [AC]) or without (nonactivated [NA]), anti-CD3/CD28 activators for 4 days. AC conditioned media from older lymphocytes had decreased levels of amphiregulin (367 ± 208 pg/mL vs 904 ± 323 pg/mL; p = .

Medical radiation workers' knowledge, attitude, and practice to protect themselves against ionizing radiation in Tehran Province, Iran.

Background: Medical radiation workers are potentially at a risk of unwanted ionizing radiation exposures. This study assessed the radiation protection knowledge, attitude, and practice (RP-KAP) of health-care workers who are occupationally exposed to radiation regarding protecting themselves from radiation.

Materials And Methods: This study was cross-sectional in design and was carried out in 16 hospitals affiliated to the Tehran University of Medical Sciences between May and September 2014.

Job satisfaction and its relationship to Radiation Protection Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (RPKAP) of Iranian radiation workers.

This study aimed to find the association between job satisfaction and radiation protection knowledge, attitude and practice of medical radiation workers occupationally exposed to ionizing radiation. In this crosssectional study, 530 radiation workers affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences completed a knowledge, attitude and practice questionnaire on protecting themselves against radiation and Job Descriptive Index as a job satisfaction measure during May to November 2014. Opportunities for promotion (84.

Efficacy of Miswak toothpaste and mouthwash on cariogenic bacteria.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of Salvadora persica (Miswak) products on cariogenic bacteria in comparison with ordinary toothpaste. 

Methods: The study was conducted in Zakho city, Kurdistan region, Iraq during the period from October 2013 to January 2014. A randomized controlled clinical trial of 40 students randomly allocated into 4 groups.

Evaluation of AgClNPs@SBA-15/IL nanoparticle-induced oxidative stress and DNA mutation in Escherichia coli.

The bactericidal effects of silver nanoparticles have been demonstrated in the past years. Recently, the new antimicrobial compounds of silver nanoparticles with different formulations have been developed. In this work, AgClNPs@SBA-15/IL as a new compound of Ag nanoparticles, was synthesized and characterized by XRD, TEM, SEM, FTIR, and EDX.

Regenerative function of immune system: Modulation of muscle stem cells.

Ageing is characterised by progressive deterioration of physiological systems and the loss of skeletal muscle mass is one of the most recognisable, leading to muscle weakness and mobility impairments. This review highlights interactions between the immune system and skeletal muscle stem cells (widely termed satellite cells or myoblasts) to influence satellite cell behaviour during muscle regeneration after injury, and outlines deficits associated with ageing. Resident neutrophils and macrophages in skeletal muscle become activated when muscle fibres are damaged via stimuli (e.