Baghdad Medical City

By producing reactive oxygen species, primarily reactive hydroxyl radicals, iron overload may contribute to cellular damage and change the integrity of essential organelles. Echinacea Purpura; a medical plant with a root liquid extract contains various biologically active phytochemical compounds. This study aimed to evaluate the protective effect of Echinacea Purpura on bone marrow suppression with liver and spleen cells apoptosis induced by iron overload. Fifty albino rats were divided into five groups: Group (I) [negative control] intraperitoneally injection with (0.2 ml) normal saline solution every 3 days; with daily oral gavage of (1 ml) normal saline for 4 weeks. Group (II) [Iron-overloaded]: Rats intraperitoneally injected with (200 mg/kg/day iron dextran every 3 days); with daily oral gavage of (1 ml) normal saline solution for 4 weeks. Group (III) Rats intraperitoneally injected with iron dextran (200 mg/kg/day every 3 days)+Echinacea (100mg/kg/day) orally administered for 4 weeks. Group (IV) Rats intraperitoneally injected with iron dextran (200 mg/kg/day every 3 days)+Echinacea (200mg/kg/day) orally administered for 4 weeks. Groups (V) Rats intraperitoneally injected with iron dextran (200 mg/kg/day every 3 days) and an oil solution of vitamin E (200mg/kg/day) orally administered for 4 weeks. Twenty-four hours following the treatment duration; the animals were euthanized, sacrificed and blood was drawn from the carotid artery in the neck of each male rat to be utilized for the estimation of serum Ferritin, and Hepcidin; liver tissue homogenate for malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase2, and glutathione biomarkers estimation and liver histopathological examination; spleen tissue homogenate utilized to estimate Nuclear factor erythroid 2- related factor 2 and Caspase-3 protein expression. Echinacea Purpura in 200mg showed significant elevation (p<0.05) in the serum hepcidin and antioxidant superoxide dismutase2, glutathione, and Nuclear factor erythroid 2- related factor 2 protein expression levels; with a significant reduction in Ferritin and Malondialdehyde levels and a non-significant elevation in Caspase-3 level.

One of the most potent and effective drugs in the field of chemotherapy is doxorubicin. It has shown remarkable efficacy against multiple cancer targets. Despite the effectiveness of this treatment, an important drawback is the cardiotoxicity caused by doxorubicin. This limitation has led oncologists to explore potential ways to prevent or reduce this toxic side effect. We will investigate in this study whether saxagliptin and telmisartan have any protective effects on heart tissue. We will study their effects on oxidative stress and apoptotic indicators in particular. There were a total of 28 rats, with 7 animals in each of the four groups: First group(control group): seven rats in good health were given distilled water for fourteen days in a row before being sacrificed on the fifteenth day.Group 2 (positive group): Seven rats were given a 20 mg/kg intraperitoneal dose of doxorubicin HCl as a single dose. The rats were sacrificed after twenty-four hours. In the third group, rats took 10 mg/kg of saxagliptin orally for 14 days in a row. They received a single dosage of 20 mg/kg of Doxorubicin IP on day 15, and after 24 hours, they were slaughtered .In Group 4, seven rats were given 10 mg/kg of Telmisartan orally for 14 days in a row. Doxorubicin was administered intraperitoneally once at a dosage of 20 mg/kg on the fifteenth day. The rats were sacrificed after a day. Glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA), creatinine kinase (CK-mb), and caspase 3 levels were quantified in several groups in this investigation. The doxorubicin treated group had a significantly lower GSH level compared to the saxagliptin and telmisartan groups (p<0.05). Likewise, when contrasted with the doxorubicin-treated group, the saxagliptin and telmisartan groups exhibited a substantial decrease in MDA levels (p<0.05). The doxorubicin treated group had significantly higher CK-mb levels compared to the saxagliptin and telmisartan groups (p<0.05). Finally, when comparing the groups treated with doxorubicin to those treated with saxagliptin and telmisartan, there was a substantial drop in caspase 3 levels (p<0.05). It is clear from our in vivo enzymatic analysis that saxagliptin and telmisartan show promise as doxorubicin cardiotoxicity protectants. Further research into their effects on cardiac biomarkers and anti-inflammatory capabilities, as well as further prospective preventative measures, should be undertaken in a long-term study.

NDUFAF6 encodes a mitochondrial complex I assembly factor essential for the proper biogenesis and stability of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) + hydrogen (H) (NADH)–ubiquinone oxidoreductase complex. Pathogenic variants in NDUFAF6 have been increasingly recognized as a cause of mitochondrial disease, particularly Leigh syndrome, a severe neurodegenerative disorder characterized by bilateral symmetrical lesions in the central nervous system. To date, fewer than 50 patients with NDUFAF6-related mitochondrial disease have been reported, displaying a broad phenotypic spectrum ranging from early-onset neurodevelopmental regression to milder, more chronic presentations. The molecular mechanisms underlying these phenotypes are linked to impaired complex I assembly and reduced enzymatic activity, highlighting the critical role of NDUFAF6 in mitochondrial function.Here we present a cohort of 27 patients (14 males and 13 females) from 18 families harbouring biallelic variants in the NDUFAF6 gene. The patient’s mean age was 9.15 ± 8.30 years (range: 4 weeks to 25 years); 12 patients (37%) had died by the time the data were collected for this article. The clinical presentation showed wide phenotypic variability, from mild to severe psychomotor regression (74%) most commonly before the age of 5 years, hypotonia (22%), movement disorders (30%), and hypertonia (15%). Bilateral striatal necrosis lesions were the most characteristic features on cranial MRI (67%) although white matter abnormalities were also noted (15%), occasionally accompanied by cystic formations, suggestive of early neurodevelopmental anomalies.Genomic sequencing was applied, leading to the identification of 19 distinct variants in the NDUFAF6 gene, including nine novel variants not previously reported and either absent or extremely rare in public population databases. Functional studies confirmed the pathogenicity of these variants, demonstrating a deleterious effect on NDUFAF6 protein expression and a consequent impairment in complex I assembly and stability.To date, this represents the largest reported cohort of patients with NDUFAF6-associated mitochondrial disease. Our findings provide a comprehensive overview of clinical characteristics—including age of symptom onset, phenotypic variability, and patient outcomes—aiming to improve prognostic information and facilitate genetic counselling in clinical practice.

Background: Fractures of endodontic files are one of the serious concerns affecting root canal treatment prognosis. Recently, countless innovations have been presented to optimize their microstructure and flexibility, reflected in different commercial brands. However, their performance has not been evaluated in complex root canals. Aim: To evaluate and compare the resistance to cyclic fatigue of three rotary endodontic files utilizing artificial canals designed with different angles and radii of curvature. Materials and Methods: sixty rotary instruments of the following types were used. Group I: Edge endo X7; Group II: Luster dent pliancy total solution; and Group III: Race Evo FKG. Instruments in each group were constrained into two subgroups (n=20) to be examined in artificial canals having a single curvature or a double curvature. The cyclic fatigue resistance of each rotary file was tested, where the number of cycles to fracture (NCF) and the fractured segment length (FL) were recorded. Results: In both single and double curvature canals, the Edge endo X7 files (9162.50 ± 441.14 and 2210.00 ± 341.07, respectively) demonstrated significantly higher resistance to cyclic fatigue than did the Race Evo FK (3866.66 ± 410.99 and 1825.00 ± 230.17, respectively) and Luster dent pliancy total solution (7077.77 ± 1001.84 and 1257.77 ± 126.95, respectively). However, in the double canal tests, the Luster dent pliancy total solution had a greater mean NCF than the Race Evo FK. In relation to the FL, there was no statistically significant difference between any of the groups, and only the edge of the Endo X7 file was significantly different between single- and double-curvature canals (P = 0.058). Conclusion: The Edge Endo X7 rotary file demonstrated greater cyclic fatigue resistance than did the Race Evo FKG and Luster dent pliancy total solution.

Abstract This study addresses a critical challenge in microvascular self-healing composite systems, which is determining the precise applied pressure that is required to drive different healing agents into damaged regions within a defined timeframe. It found that the generalized derived pressure formulas for Newtonian and non-Newtonian healing agents were accumulated based on the integration of experimental rheological testing (healing agent properties), damage dimensions (slit or aperture scaling), and a combination of four fluid-mechanics constitutive models, which provides practical guidance for pressure selection and filling time. These prediction models were validated by using two-phase flow simulations, which demonstrated strong agreement between the calculated pressure values and simulated results. The extracted data highlight that the rheological nature of each agent significantly influences infiltration efficiency, with low-viscosity Newtonian fluids ensuring uniform filling at modest pressures with 99.725% filling efficiency, while non-Newtonian shear-thinning agents showed acceptable infiltration under the exact required pressure. These findings confirm the accuracy of the improved models and offer practical guidance for selecting healing agents and optimizing pressure-delivery strategies for real-world self-healing composite structures.

Chloroxylenol is widely used in hospitals and other healthcare facilities to reduce the growth or the microbial load of pathogens. What’s more, biofilms are a major challenge in treating P. aeruginosa infections. The genes of PslA and pelA in two operons encode two polysaccharide polymers present in the biofilm of P. aeruginosa, Psl and Pel, respectively. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the contribution of chloroxylenol to the inhibition of the P. aeruginosa biofilm. Here, the intensity of biofilms was determined by the crystal violet and microtiter plate method, whereas the RT-qPCR technique was adopted to illustrate the effect of chloroxylenol on the expression of the pslA and pelA genes. The results showed that chloroxylenol suppresses the formation of biofilms and reduces the expression of both studied genes. As a result, chloroxylenol had inhibitory activity over P. aeruginosa biofilm via downregulating the pelA and pslA genes.

This study aims to analyze the spatiotemporal changes in drought severity in Afaj District of Al-Qadysia Governorate, Southern Iraq, using Sentinel 2 satellite data NDVI, NDWI, and NDDI indices for 2019 and 2025. The study area has a desert climate with long, hot summers and a mean annual temperature of 29.85 °C, while winter is short and mild. Rain falls between November and April, and the mean annual rainfall is less than 30 mm. The results revealed a significant correlation between the satellite indices (NDVI, NDWI, and NDDI), and they showed a wide temporal-spatial variation. Five land-use types were identified in the study area: weak vegetation, moderate vegetation, urban land, bare land, and water bodies. The area for all land cover classes decreased between 2019 and 2025, except for bare land, which increased by 28%. The study area was classified into five drought classes using the NDDI index, including: very low, low, moderate, high, and very high drought severity. The high drought severity occurred mainly in the wetlands and the surrounding area, located in the northeast part of the study area. The study area is highly affected by moderate drought severity levels in both years (40% and 60% of the total area in 2019 and 2025, respectively). The results emphasized that there would be a more severe drought in 2025 than in 2019. The expansion of severely affected land has led to a reduction in agricultural and urban land in 2025. The decline in agricultural land is attributed to land degradation and reduced productivity caused by water scarcity and increased salt accumulation in the soil. This has prompted reverse migration from the countryside to the city as farmers seek to secure livelihoods.