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.
Incremental sheet forming (ISF) process offers a high degree of flexibility in the manufacturing of different sheet parts, which makes it an ideal candidate for prototype parts as well as efficient at fabricating various customized products at low production costs compared to traditionally used processes. However, parts produced in this process exhibit notable geometrical inaccuracy and considerable thickness reduction. In this paper, the single point incremental sheet forming variant of the process has been implemented to manufacture a highly customized cranial implant starting from the computed tomography (CT) scan data of the patient's anatomy. A methodology, from the modeling to the realization of the implant, is presented and discus
... Show MoreNonmissile penetrating spine injury (NMPSI) represents a small percent of spinal cord injuries (SCIs), estimated at 0.8% in Western countries. Regarding the causes, an NMPSI injury caused by a screwdriver is rare. This study reports a case of a retained double-headed screwdriver in a 37-year-old man who sustained a stab injury to the back of the neck, leaving the patient with a C4 Brown-Sequard syndrome (BSS). We discuss the intricacies of the surgical management of such cases with a literature review.
PubMed database was searched by the following combined formula of medical subjects headings,
Objectives: To review the failure rates of molar tubes and the effect of molar tube base design, adhesive type, and bonding technique on the failure rates of molar tubes. Data: The revolution of molar bonding greatly impacted fixed orthodontic appliance treatment by reducing chair-side time and improving patient comfort. Even with the many advantages of molar bonding, clinicians sometimes hesitate to use molar tubes due to their failure rates. Sources: Internet sources, such as Pubmed and Google Scholar. Study selection: studies testing the bond failure rate of molar tubes. Conclusions: The failure rate of the molar tubes can be reduced and the bond strength of the molar tubes can be improved by changing the design of the molar tube base
... Show MoreThis research includes theoretical and evaluation design of a polarizer filter of high transmission in the near IR region of (900-1200nm) for different incidence angles to obtain a long wave and short wave pass filter using analytical calculations. Results refer to a new configuration design in fewer layers than used in previous studies in the long wave pass at incidence angles (45o,50o,55o). Adopted Hafnium dioxide (HfO2) and Magnesium fluoride (MgF2) as coating material at design wavelength (933nm), the study also included design short wave pass polarizer by using the same coating material.
Variable-Length Subnet Masks (VLSM), often referred to as "subnetting a subnet", is used to maximize addressing efficiency. The network administrator is able to use a long mask on networks with few hosts, and a short mask on subnets with many hosts. This addressing scheme allows growth and does not involve wasting addresses. VLSM gives a way of subnetting a network with minimal loses of IP addresses for a specific range. Unfortunately, the network administrator has to perform several mathematical steps (or use charts) to get the required results from VLSM. In this paper, a simple graph simulator is proposed (using Visual Basic 6.0 Language) to perform all the required mathematical steps and to display the obtained required information (the
... Show MoreJudicial jurisprudence is one of the important legal solutions to address the shortcomings of legislation. Throughout its long history, human societies have known many cases in which the judge finds himself facing a legislative vacuum in addition to civil legal texts that are difficult for the judge to implement due to ambiguity or contradiction, which requires diligence. To rule on resolving disputes before him in order not to deny justice, but the judge in his jurisprudence was not absolute, but rather bound by certain controls represented by observing the wisdom of legislation on the one hand and taking into account the nature of the texts on the other side, and from here this research came to shed light on the jurisprudence and its cont
... Show MoreThis paper aims at presenting a comparison between objective and subjective tests . This paper attemptsto shed light on these two aspects of tests and make do a compression by using suitable techniques for objective and subjective tests .
The paper compares between the two techniques used by the objective and subjective tests respectively, the time and efforts required by each type, the extent to which each type can be reliable, and the skills each type is suitable to measure.
The paper shows that objective tests, on the contrary of the subjective ones, encourages guess> Objective tests are used to test specific areas of langua
... Show More
Cressa cretica (Shuwwayl) is a halophytic that belongs to Convolvulaceae, naturally grown in the Middle East including Iraq. Traditionally the plant is used as a paste for sore treatment, also it is used for fever, jaundice, and other illness. Regarding nonclinical use it is used as goat, sheep, and camel feed also as an oil source. Flavonoids including quercetin, kamepferol, apigenin, and their glycosides, phenolic acid as chlorogenic acid, and phytosterols mainly ?–sitosterol were the most important phytochemicals that were detected in this halophyte. Crude ethanolic, methanolic extracts and ethyl acetate fraction of the areal parts were used in clinical studies and demonstrated various effe
... Show MoreVariable-Length Subnet Masks (VLSM), often referred to as "subnetting a subnet", is used to maximize addressing efficiency. The network administrator is able to use a long mask on networks with few hosts, and a short mask on subnets with many hosts. This addressing scheme allows growth and does not involve wasting addresses. VLSM gives a way of subnetting a network with
minimal loses of IP addresses for a specific range. Unfortunately, the network administrator has to perform several mathematical steps (or use charts) to get the required results from VLSM. In this paper, a simple graph simulator is proposed (using Visual Basic 6.0 Language) to perform all the required mathematical steps and to display the obtained required informatio
Saccharin is firstly synthesized in 1879. It is a very well-known as an inexpensive substitute for sugar as it is a non-caloric sweetener. The article shows the properties, use, metabolism and various synthesis and reactions of saccharine. Moreover, the toxicological reports explain that saccharin is mostly responsible for the bladder tumors observed in the male rats, the relationship between the consumption of saccharin and bladder cancer is afforded by epidemiological studies. The benefit-risk evaluation for saccharin is hardly to indicate. Saccharin is a sugar substitute, frequently used either in food industry, or in pharmaceutical formulations and even in tobacco products. The chemistry of saccharin is inter
... Show More