Background: Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is an autoimmune vesiculobullous mucocutaneous disease with life-threatening consequences. Rituximab (RTX) has recently emerged as an effective treatment for PV. Objectives: This study aims to determine changes in neutrophil and platelet counts for PV patients treated with RTX or corticosteroids combined with Imuran (azathioprine). Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Dermatology at Baghdad Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq. Thirty PV patients received two types of treatment: 15 patients were administered RTX and 15 patients took corticosteroids with Imuran (azathioprine). Neutrophil and platelet counts were detected at the hospital laboratory. Results: The age range of PV patients was 27–67 years, and the mean ±SD was 44.866 ± 10.979 years for the patient group treated with RTX and 44.133 ± 11.519 for the patient group treated with corticosteroids and Imuran. In patients treated with RTX, 26.6% were males and 73.33% were females, with a female-to-male ratio of 2.75:1. In patients treated with corticosteroids with Imuran, 40% were males and 60% were females, with a female-to-male ratio of 1.5:1. The results revealed that among patients treated with RTX, 30% of them had mucocutaneous lesions, 6.66% had oral lesions, and 13.33% had cutaneous lesions. Among the other groups treated with corticosteroids and Imuran, 23.33% had mucocutaneous lesions, 13.33% had oral lesions, and 13.33% had cutaneous lesions. Among the patients treated with RTX, 53.33% had normal range of neutrophil count, while 46.6% had neutrophil count above the NR, while in patients treated with corticosteroids and Imuran, 40% had a normal range and 60% had above the normal range. Conclusion: RTX was a more effective treatment compared to corticosteroids with Imuran because no patient remained in an active state during this study. PV was prevalent in females aged 40 years with mucocutaneous lesions.
New 1,2,4-triazole derivatives of 2-mercaptobenzimidazole (MB) are reported. Ethyl (benzimidazole-2-yl thio) acetate (1) has been prepared by condensing 2-mercaptobenzimidazole with ethylchloroacetate. The ester (1) on reacting with hydrazine hydrate gave the corresponding acetohydrazide(2)which was reacted separately with phenylisocyanate and phenylisothiocyanate, followed by ring closure in an alkaline medium giving 3-[(benzimidazole-2-yl thio) methyl]-4-phenyl-1,2,4-triazole-5-ol and 3-[(benzimidazole-2-yl thio) methyl]-4-phenyl-1,2,4-triazole-5-thiol respectively (6,7). Reaction of acetohydrazide (2) with CS2 and ethanol/KOH, gave dithiocarbazate salt (8). Cyclization of (8) with hydrazine hydrate gave 3-[(benzimi
... Show MoreTo verify the influence of magnetic flux on the characteristics of SAE 10W-30 gasoline engine oil when the engine oil is exposed to different magnetic fluxes 0, 6, 9, and 13 Volt. The following oil characteristics were measured: viscosity at 40 and 100 °C, and total acid number (TAN) mg KOH/g. The research was carried out in a completely randomized design with three replications for each treatment under the 5% probability level to compare the means of the treatments. The results of the experiment showed that there were significant differences in the studied properties when the engine oil was exposed to the above magnetic fluxes and, inversely, especially the magnetic flux of 13 Volt,
Titanium alloy surface properties have an essential role in the interaction of dental implants with bone, and alteration of the surface of the implant could improve osseointegration. This study was designed to investigate the effect of different heat treatment temperatures on titanium alloy surface properties for dental implants. The effect of different temperatures of heat treatment (750°C, 850°C, 950°C and 1050°C) were investigated on the surface topography, surface chemistry, titanium oxide layer thickness, blood contact angle, & blood drop diameter of titanium alloy. The disks were prepared from titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) and the samples were divided into five groups depending on the different temperatures of heat treatment. The hea
... Show MoreThis paper aims to study the damage generated due to creep-fatigue interaction behaviors in solid polyamide 6,6 and its composites that include 1%wt of carbon nanotubes or 30% wt short carbon fiber prepared by an injection technique. The investigation also includes studying the influence of applied temperatures higher than the glass transition temperatures on mechanical properties. The obtained results showed that the addition of reinforcement materials increased all the mechanical properties, while the increase in test temperature reduced all mechanical properties, especially for polyamide 6,6. The creep-fatigue interaction resistance also improved due to the addition of reinforcement materials by inc
... Show MoreThe efficiency of internal combustion engines (ICE) is usually about thirty percent of the total energy of the fuel. The residual energy is lost in the exhaust gas, the lubrication, and the cooling water in the radiators. Recently much of the researcher’s efforts have focused on taking advantage of wasted energy of the exhaust gas. Using a thermoelectric generator (TEG) is one of the promising ways. However, TEG depends entirely on the temperature difference, which may be offered by the exhaust muffler. An experimental test has been conducted to study the thermal performance of a different muffler internal design. The researchers resort to the use of lost energy in an ICE using TEG, which is one of the ways to take adv
... Show MoreThe aim of this research is to study the effect of high concentrations of salts, pressure and temperature on the performance of the RO membrane with time. Four different (Na2CO3) concentrations (5000, 15000, 25000 and 35000) ppm and various pressures such as (1, 3 and 5) bars at different temperatures of the feed solution (i.e., 25, 35 and 45) ◦C were used in this work. It was found that, as the concentration of salt and feed temperatures increase, the rejection of the salt decrease. While the salt rejection of the membranes increases with increase of transmembrane pressure.
This study investigates the digestion of cow dung (CD) for biogas production at laboratory scales. The study was carried out through anaerobic fermentation using cow dung as substrate. The digester was operated at ambient temperatures of 39.5 °C for a period of 10 days. The effect of iron powder in controlling the production of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has been tested. The optimum concentration of iron powder was 4g/L with the highest biogas production. A Q – swatch Nd:YAG laser has been used to mix and homogenize the components of one of the six digesters and accelerate digestion. At the end of digestion, all digestions effluent was subjected to 5 laser pulses with 250mJ/pules to dispose waste biomass.
The Mauddud Formation was one of the important and widespread Lower Cretaceous period formations in Iraq. It has been studied in three wells (EB. 55, EB. 58, and EB. 59) within the East Baghdad Oil Field, Baghdad, central Iraq. 280 thin sections were studied by microscope to determine fauna, the formation composed of limestone and dolomitized limestone in some parts which tends to be marl in some parts, forty species and genus of benthic foraminifera have been identified beside algae and other fossils, three biozones have been identified in the range which is: Orbitolina qatarica range zone (Late Albian), Orbitolina sefini range zone (Late Albian – Early Cenomanian) and Orbitolina concava range zone (Early Cenomanian), The age of
... Show MoreThe present article delves into the examination of groundwater quality, based on WQI, for drinking purposes in Baghdad City. Further, for carrying out the investigation, the data was collected from the Ministry of Water Resources of Baghdad, which represents water samples drawn from 114 wells in Al-Karkh and Al-Rusafa sides of Baghdad city. With the aim of further determining WQI, four water parameters such as (i) pH, (ii) Chloride (Cl), (iii) Sulfate (SO4), and (iv) Total dissolved solids (TDS), were taken into consideration. According to the computed WQI, the distribution of the groundwater samples, with respect to their quality classes such as excellent, good, poor, very poor and unfit for human drinking purpose, was found to be
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