بحوث سكوبس — عقيل حنظل طارش الجوذري

Thyroid hormones are considered vital for cellular life history starting from its proliferation, differentiation, and ending up with its apoptosis. However, there are very limited human studies concerning the effect of thyroid dysfunction on the levels of apoptosis markers. Therefore, the aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the effect of thyroid dysfunction (hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism) on the levels of serum caspase-3, B-cell lymphoma (Bcl-2) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) among patients in Babylon, Iraq. The study included 52 male patients (aged 25-50 years) with thyroid dysfunction, visited the Endocrinology center in Al-imam al-Sadiq hospital located in Babylon province, Iraq during the period from November 2023 to May 2024. Patients were split into two groups (patients with hypothyroidism, N=26; patients with hyperthyroidism, N=26), in addition to 26 subjects without thyroid dysfunction as a control group. Levels of serum caspase-3, Bcl-2, and TSH were measured in all study subjects. The results indicated that levels of serum caspase-3 were significantly increased in both patients' groups compared to the control group (p < 0.001), while serum Bcl-2 was significantly increased in patients with hypothyroidism compared to other study groups (p < 0.001). Levels of TSH were significantly greater among patients with hypothyroidism comparing to other groups (p < 0.001). It can be concluded that patients with hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism enhance apoptosis through activation of caspase-3 specifically. Copyright© by the Egyptian Association of Immunologists.

Background: Continuous changes in socioeconomic and lifestyle aspects in Iraq have incurred a lot of adverse effects on oral health quality, especially among adolescents. However, minimal studies have been conducted among adolescent females concerning the prevalence of dental caries (DC). Objectives: This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the prevalence of DC and its severity concerning different aspects of sociobehavioral (SB) factors among female students in secondary schools and dental colleges in Babylon Province, Iraq. Materials and Methods: About 500 students from both Al-Tali’a secondary school (16–18 years) and Babylon Dental College (19–20 years) were recruited in this study from March to May 2023. DC was assessed based on the decayed, missing, and filled teeth index (DMFT) scores, and SB and socioeconomic factors were obtained from a structured questionnaire. Results: The prevalence of DC was high (98.6%), and its association with measured SB factors was not significant. However, the severity of DC was positively (P < 0.05) associated with sugar intake and previous dental visits, but negatively (P < 0.05) associated with the frequency of brushing and household wealth index. Conclusion: The results here highlight the considerable effects of SB factors on the severity of DC, which in turn reflect a poor education of oral health among adolescent females in Babylon City, and it also recommends the desperate need for creating preventive programs for reducing the occurrence of DC among the students. © 2024 Medical Journal of Babylon | Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow.

Background and objectives. Enterococcus is a lactic acid bacterium that, according to the Lancefield method of se-rology-based classification, was formerly classified as a group D Streptococcus until 1984. The current study aimed to isolate and molecularly detect E. faecium (EF) from the infected root canal, and to assess the antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates. Material and methods. Samples were collected from 50 people who had a single root canal tooth with radiographic evidence of apical periodontitis. The transport media were preincubated at 37°C for 30 minutes and vigorously agitat-ed for 60s before use and were then cultured on primary media. Aerotolerance, Gram-staining, synthesis of catalase, trypsin, and indole were used in the preliminary characterization stage. For species-level identification after preservation at 37°C, a variety of biochemical tests were used, including motility tests, carbohydrate fermentation, and the detection of enzymes. DNA extraction was achieved using the PrestoTM Mini gDNA bacteria kit. Amplification of ddI chromosomal genes from EF was accomplished using DNA extracted from these isolates. Antimicrobial sensitivity tests were conducted to investigate the sensitivity and resistance of the target bacteria against 7 antimicrobial agents. Results. The analysis of data revealed that the prevalence of EF was 70% (in 35 of the samples collected). 74% of the Enterococcus isolates tested positive for EF according to PCR findings. The antibiotic sensitivity test results showed that vancomycin and erythromycin resistance was observed in all samples of EF. As many as 94.3% of isolates were resistant to amikacin, 88.7% were resistant to gentamycin, and 91.4 % were resistant to azithromycin. Doxycycline (94.3%) and nitrofurantoin (97.1%) were more effective against the E. faecium isolated from the root canals. Conclusions. The study concludes that the EF bacteria is an important pathogen of root canal infection which is resistant to many antibiotics. © 2024, Amaltea Medical Publishing House. All rights reserved.