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.
Reactive Powder Concrete (RPC) can be incorporate as a one of the most important and progressive concrete technology. It is a special type of ultra-high strength concrete (UHSC) that’s exclude the coarse aggregate from its constitutive materials. In this research an experimental study had been carried out to investigate the effect of using three types of materials (porcelain aggregate) and others sustainable materials (glass waste and granular activated carbon) as a partial replacement of fine aggregate. Four percentages had considered (0, 10, 15 and 20) % to achieve better understanding for the influence of these materials upon the compressive strength of RPC. Four curing ages had included in this study, these are; 7, 28, 60 and
... Show MoreThis study was done to evaluate a new technique to determine the presence of methamphetamine in the hair using nano bentonite-based adsorbent as the filler of extraction column. The state of the art of this study was based on the presence of silica in the nano bentonite that was assumed can interact with methamphetamine. The hair used was treated using methanol to extract the presence of methamphetamine, then it was continued by sonicating the hair sample. Qualitative analysis using Marquish reagent was performed to confirm the presence of methamphetamine in the isolate.The hair sample that has been taken in a different period confirmed that this current developing method can be used to analyzed methamphetamine. This m
... Show MoreLiterary translation is one of the most difficult types of translation ,because it conveys feelings that differ from one person to another, and since the language constitutes an obstacle to understanding the Andalusian excerpts, the translators resorted to translating it, and this was a second start to the text, different from its first start, is said from the tongue of the Al-washah , The muwashshah is a poetic art that appeared in Andalusia after the Arabs entered it ,characterized by special system It differs from the traditional Arabic poem, as it has a beginning represented in the beginning of the muwashshah and several equal parts ending with differentrhymes.
... Show MoreThe study discussed here deals with the isolation of Aspergillus niger from palm dates, the formal and the most famous fruit in Iraq, to test and qualify this fungus isolate for its ability to produce citric acid. Submerged fermentation technique was used in the fermentation process. A.niger isolated from “Zahdi” Palme dates was used in the study of the fermentation kinetics to get the production efficiency of citric acid. Kinetics of CA production via fermentation by A. niger S11 was evaluated within 432 h fermentation time and under submerged conditions of 11% (w/v) sucrose, 5% (v/v) inoculum size, pH 4, 30 °C and 150 rpm. The maximum citric acid produced was (37.116 g/l). Kine
Metaphor is a linguistic phenomenon related to people's cultures. It is an integral part of cultural heritage. This paper tackles the use of animal-based metaphors in the field of football club titles so as to draw comparisons between those in Russian with their counterparts in Arabic. Names of animals are used to refer to some clubs and teams, where these names or titles reflect animal features such as strength, preying on victims; or animal figures are employed in the club symbols, or due to the similarity of the club shirt to the animal outer shapes in colours. For instance, "an-Nawaris", which means gulls in English, is used to refer to az-Zawraa club du
... Show MoreBackground: Tap waters play an important role in fulfilling the people needs for drinking and domestic purposes. Contaminate the tap water with different pollutants has become an issue of great concern for 90% of people who are depended on the tap water as the main source of drinking. Pollutants can make their way easily into the delivering pipes which suffer from the leaking resulting in decreasing the quality of water. Objective: Therefore, assess the water quality for drinking purpose by calculating the water quality index is an important tool to ascertain whether the water is suitable for human consumption or not. Methods: In the present work, the water quality of the Al-Salam, western region of Baghdad city, Iraq was investigated for 7
... Show MoreThis study investigated the impact of lime stabilization on the fate and transformation of AgNPs. It also evaluated the changes in the population and diversity of the five most relevant bacterial phyla in soil after applying lime-stabilized sludge containing AgNPs. The study was performed by spiking an environmentally relevant concentration of AgNPs (2 mg AgNPs/g TS) in sludge, applying lime stabilization to increase pH to above 12 for two hours, and applying lime-treated sludge to soil samples. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were used to investigate the morphological and compositional changes of AgNPs during lime stabilization. After the application of lime stabilized sludge to
... Show MoreThe current study suggested a thermal treatment as a necessary proactive step in improving the adsorption capacity of bio-waste for contaminants removal in wastewater. This approach was based on the experimental and histological investigation of biowaste pods shell. This investigation showed that these shells compose of parenchyma cells that store secondary metabolites compounds produced from cells were exhibited in present study. The results also reported that these compounds are extracted directly from the cells as soon as they are exposed to an aqueous solution, hampering their use as an adsorbent material. The increase in the weight of bio-waste adsorbent at unit liquid volume increases the production of secondary metabolites compounds
... Show MoreBacteria strain H8, which produces high amount of exopolysaccharide (EPS), was isolated from soil, and identified as strain of Azotobacter chrococcum by its biochemical /physiological characteristics, EPS was extracted, partially purified and used as bioflocculant. The biochemical analysis of the partially purified EPS revealed that it was an alginate. analysis of EPS by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) show that the -OH groups present in bioflocculant are clearly seen at 3433.06 cm-1, the peaks attributed to the -CH3 groups present at 2916.17 cm-1 , and some distinct peaks such as carboxyl group showed strong absorption bands at 1604.66 cm-1, 1411.80 cm-1 and 1303.79 cm-1 indicate the chemical structure of alginate. The effe
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