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.
The present study focuses on synthesizing solar selective absorber thin films, combining nanostructured, binary transition metal spinel features and a composite oxide of Co and Ni. Single-layered designs of crystalline spinel-type oxides using a facile, easy and relatively cost-effective wet chemical spray pyrolysis method were prepared with a crystalline structure of MxCo3−xO4. The role of the annealing temperature on the solar selective performance of nickel-cobalt oxide thin films (∼725 ± 20 nm thick) was investigated. XRD analysis confirmed the formation of high crystalline quality thin films with a crystallite si
The consumption of fossil fuels has caused many challenges, including environmental and climate damage, global warming, and rising energy costs, which has prompted seeking to substitute other alternative sources. The current study explored the microwave pyrolysis of Albizia branches to assess its potential to produce all forms of fuel (solid, liquid, gas), time savings, and effective thermal heat transfer. The impact of the critical parameters on the quantity and quality of the biofuel generation, including time, power levels, biomass weight, and particle size, were investigated. The results revealed that the best bio-oil production was 76% at a power level of 450 W and 20 g of biomass. Additionally, low power levels led to enhanced
... Show MoreThe cost‐effective dual functions zeolite‐carbon composite (DFZCC) was prepared using an eco‐friendly substrate prepared from bio‐waste and an organic adhesive at intermediate conditions. The green synthesis method used in this study ensures that chemically harmless compounds are used to obtain a homogeneous distribution of zeolite over porous carbon. The greenly prepared dual‐function composite was extensively characterized using Fourier transform infrared, X‐ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms, field emission scanning electron microscope, dispersive analysis by X‐ray, and point of zero charges. DFZCC had a surface area o
A comparative study was done on the adsorption of methyl orange dye (MO) using non-activated and activated corn leaves with hydrochloric acid as an adsorbent material. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were utilized to specify the properties of adsorbent material. The effect of several variables (pH, initial dye concentration, temperature, amount of adsorbent and contact time) on the removal efficiency was studied and the results indicated that the adsorption efficiency increases with the increase in the concentration of dye, adsorbent dosage and contact time, while inversely proportional to the increase in pH and temperature for both the treated and untreated corn leav
... Show MoreThe radial wave functions of the cosh potential within the three-body model of (Core+ 2n) have been employed to investigate the ground state properties such as the proton, neutron and matter densities and the associated rms radii of neutron-rich 6He, 11Li, 14Be, and 17B exotic nuclei. The density distributions of the core and two valence (halo) neutrons are described by the radial wave functions of the cosh potential. The obtained results provide the halo structure of the above exotic nuclei. Elastic electron scattering form factors of these halo nuclei are studied by the plane-wave Born approximation.
Catalytic reduction is considered an effective approach for the reduction of toxic organic pollutants from the environment, but finding an active catalyst is still a big challenge. Herein, Ag decorated CeO2 catalyst was synthesized through polyol reduction method and applied for catalytic reduction (conversion) of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP). The Ag decorated CeO2 catalyst displayed an outstanding reduction activity with 99% conversion of 4-NP in 5 min with a 0.61 min−1 reaction rate (k). A number of structural characterization techniques were executed to investigate the influence of Ag on CeO2 and its effect on the catalytic conversion of 4-NP. The outstanding catalytic performances of the Ag-CeO2 catalyst can be assigne
... Show MoreWhen writing a text, such as a newspaper article, various types of discourse markers are frequently used to group sentences into paragraphs and parts in order to establish a discourse with certain functions, such as coordination, orientation, emphasizing the concepts presented, etc. It should also be noted that this type of mark exists in both written and spoken language. Therefore, it is convenient to dedicate a chapter to these linguistic elements to clarify their use and their classification, which is mainly based on Jose Portolés (2001), as well as the main features, specifically their features (prosodic, morphological, semantic and pragmatic).
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News headlines are key elements in spreading news. They are unique texts written in a special language which enables readers understand the overall nature and importance of the topic. However, this special language causes difficulty for readers in understanding the headline. To illuminate this difficulty, it is argued that a pragmatic analysis from a speech act theory perspective is a plausible tool for a headline analysis. The main objective of the study is to pragmatically analyze the most frequently employed types of speech acts in the news headlines covering COVID-19 in Aljazeera English website. To this end, Bach and Harnish's (1979) Taxonomy of Speech Acts has been adopted to analyze the data. Thirty headlines have been collected f
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