Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with polymorphic expression. B cells have an essential contribution in immune system activation via the production of different cytokines and functioning as potent antigen-presenting cells. Therefore, a drug that particularly targets B cells may represent an ideal therapeutic approach for SLE. Rituximab (RTX), an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody causing transient B-cell depletion, has been used to manage SLE. This study aims to assess Rituximab effects on lupus nephritis (LN) patients when added to conventional immunosuppressants. Twenty four patients, 15-32 years old, with class III/IV/V LN were involved in this study. All were on steroids before lupus nephritis occurrence. They were given rituximab induction therapy and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) maintenance therapy. RTX was indicated for refractory and relapsing SLE. Several investigations done before and after RTX treatment and in the last follow up (done one year after starting Rituximab). Those included protein in urine, serum creatinine, double stranded DNA, C3, C4, and Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR). Proteinuria decreased significantly after RTX treatment and in the last measurement (P=0.01 and P=0.001, respectively). Serum creatinine significantly decreased only in the last measurement (P=0.02). Double stranded DNA decreased remarkably after treatment (P=0.01) with a further decrease in the last measurement (P=0.006). C3 and C4 increased after treatment but the increase was significant only for C3 (P=0.002) and this increase continues till the last measurement (P=0.0006). Active urine sediments found in fifteen patients and disappeared after RTX treatment. Rituximab can be promising in treating lupus nephritis when used along with traditional immunosuppressants. It can reduce disease activity and improve renal function in such patients.
Showing animal shapes is one of the primary topics since the discovery of cave drawings, with semantic discourses, as they appeared in the ancient civilization of Iraq, with their discourse and intellectual structure, and their reflections on their plastic achievements. The research deals with three topics: the first (an introduction to the concept of discourse), the second: (the historical roots of animal forms), and the third (the manifestation of animal forms and their discourse, in Mesopotamia). Mesopotamian fauna and its concepts? What are the?, Its importance was also represented in: the presence of animals and their semantic and conceptual discourse, especially the sculptures (the lion and the bull), with the aim of revealing the
... Show MoreThis study explored the development and qualities of the response of electrochemical properties of enrofloxacin-selective electrodes using precipitation based on producing phosphotungstic, after utilizing a matrix of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and dibutyl phthalate or dibutyl phosphate as a plasticizer. The resulting membrane sensors were an enrofloxacin-phosphotungstic electrode (sensors 1) and an ENR-DOP-PTA electrode (sensors 2). Linear responses of (ENR-DBPH-PTA) and (ENR-DOP-PTA) within the concentration ranges of 2.1×10-6-10-1 and 3.0×10-6-10-2 mol. L-1, respectively, for both sensors were observed. Slopes of 51.61±0.24 and 39.40± 0.16 mV/decade and pH ranges equal to 2.5-8.5
... Show MoreThe aim of this study was to isolate and identify the cyanobacterium Scytonema hofmanni Var. calcicolum from the domestic drinking tanks as a new record in Iraqi drinking water. Scytonema hofmanni var. calcicolum, a filamentous freshwater cyanobacterium (blue-green alga). This alga was isolated from the walls of the domestic plastic water tanks in Al- karkh/ Baghdad city on July 2014. The sampling was performed by collecting three samples from this tanks, the three examined samples microscopically revealed the dominance of this cyanobacterium as unialgal in the studied samples. The results showed this alga has the ability to tolerate high temperature up to 42 Cº and very low light intensity inside the tanks which up to 10 μE/m²/s.
Examining of 80 feces samples showed that 31 samples of the house and stray cats harbored either single or mixed infection with eight species of parasites and protozoa with a total infection rate 38.75 %.The results on parasite classes are: Toxocara cati (5%), Ancylostoma tubeforme (3.75%), Capillaria felis(3.75%), Isospora sp.(10%), Cryptosporidium parvum(3.75%), Cryptosporidium muris (6.25%), Toxoplasma gondi (3.75%), Giardia sp.(2.5%) infection from feces of cats that showed single, double and triple infections. Our findings revealed the risk for public health, thus preventive measures should be implemented.
The ability to inhibit corrosion of low carbon steel in a salt solution (3.5%NaCl) has been checked with three real expired drugs (Cloxacillin, Amoxicillin, Ceflaxin) with variable concentrations (0, 250, 500, 750) mg/L were examined in the weight loss. The inhibition efficiency of the Cloxacillin 750 mg/L showed the highest value (82.8125 %) and the best inhibitor of the rest of the antibiotics. The different concentrations of Cloxacillin drug (0, 250, 500, 750) mg/L and temperature (25, 35, 45, 55) oC were studied as variables with potentiodynamic polarization, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) for surface morphology and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) depending on current values and the resistance of charge to
... Show MoreThe potential application of granules of brick waste (GBW) as a low-cost sorbent for removal of Ni+2ions from aqueous solutions has been studied. The properties of GBW were determined through several tests such as X-Ray diffraction (XRD), Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and BET surface area. In batch tests, the influence of several operating parameters including contact time, initial concentration, agitation speed, and the dose of GBW was investigated. The best values of these parameters that provided maximum removal efficiency of nickel (39.4%) were 1.5 hr, 50 mg/L, 250 rpm, and 1.8 g/100mL, respectively. The adsorption data obtained by batch experiments subjected to the Three i
... Show MoreMany waste materials can be repurposed effectively within asphalt concrete to enhance the performance and sustainability of pavement. One of these waste materials is sawdust ash (SDA). This study explores the beneficial use of SDA as a substitute for limestone dust (LD) mineral filler in asphalt concrete. The replacement rate was 0%, 15%, 30%, 45%, and 60% by weight of total mineral filler. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was employed to assess the surface morphology of Sawdust (SD), SDA, and LD. In addition, a series of tests, including Marshall stability and flow, indirect tensile strength,moisture susceptibility, and repeated uniaxial loading tests, were conducted to examine the performance characteristics of asphalt mixtures of diffe
... Show MoreThe present paper addresses cultivation of Chlorella vulgaris microalgae using airlift photobioreactor that sparged with 5% CO 2 /air. The experimental data were compared with that obtained from bioreactor aerated with air and unsparged bioreactor. The results showed that the concentration of biomass is 0.36 g l -1 in sparged bioreactor with CO2/air, while, the concentration of biomass reached to 0.069 g l -1 in the unsparged bioreactor. They showed also that aerated ioreactor.with CO2/air gives more biomass production even the bioreactor was aerated with air. This study proved that application of sparging system for ultivation of Chlorella vulgaris microalgae using either CO2/air mixture or air has a significant
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