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.
Aim: The Aim of the study is to compare between Er,Cr:YSGG 2780 nm laser and carbide fissure bur in root-end resection regarding the morphological variations, temperature changes and the duration of resection process.
Settings and Design: 5 W, 25 Hz, 50% water, 80% air,25.47 J/cm2 .
Material and method: twenty-one extracted single rooted teeth endodontically were treated, twenty teeth were obturated and divided into two groups according to method of resection. Group 1 root-end resected using cross cut carbide bur while group 2 root-end resected using laser with MGG6 sapphire tip of 600 μm diameter. Temperature on external root surface and duration of resection were recor
... Show MoreObjectives: To assess the level of dependence severity, locus of control, and readiness to change in male alcohol clients and measure the correlation between dependence with a locus of control and readiness to change.
Methodology: A descriptive correlational design was conducted in the substance use rehabilitation centers at psychiatric teaching hospitals in Baghdad city from November /2021 to May 2022. The instrument of the study was designed by using sociodemographic, the clinical characteristics of the client, the Short-form Alcohol Dependence Data Questionnaire (SADD), Drinking Related Internal-External Locus of Control Scale: (DRIE), and the Stages of Change Readiness and Treatment Eagerness Scale (SOCRATES). The data was co
... Show MoreMost species of Mollusca lives in salts water, on the shores of seas and lakes and some in fresh water, others are found in deserts, forests and forms and there are 45,000 species . They are invertebrate animals with lateral symmetry, slow-moving and a few of them are fast, like Octopus and Squid and some of them are economic importance. The class Gastropoda are considered the largest class belonging to the Phylum-Mollusca, as it contains more than 80%. Its importance follows from its great diversity and spread in all environments. It has an ecological importance because it plays an great role in ecosystems due to the diversity of its food methods between herbivorous and predatory. Studies on snails in Iraq are very few and modest. Hence
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The subject of this research is the study of the formal alienation of contemporary English sculpture, by comparing the most important sculptors of the new contemporary generation. This research problem is to look for the important factors in the formation of the contemporary sculptural structure of the exotic, and what is the mechanism of formation and output of these forms. The research seeks to explore (Alienation in contemporary sculpture between the works of Anthony Caro and Tony Cragg) in a comparative study. The importance of the research is to identify the concept of alien forms in contemporary British sculpture, especially in the cases of Anthony Caro and Tony Cragg that this research is considered a know
The present paper applies Fanon Psychological reading of the problem of the Black introduced in his book Black Skin White Mask to Crooks, The black Character in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. The analysis of this character infers three essential points regarding the artistic achievement of the author. First, he uses a fictional character that offers a psychological interpretation of the black problem of alienation and loneliness in a way that does not disgrace the black. Second, he applies Fanon’s way of showing the various attitudes that the black adopts in contact with the white society. Third, he affirms that the black inferiority complex comes as a result of double proc
... Show MorePoetry is regarded an interesting area of inquiry in linguistic studies due to its eccentric and aesthetic use of language. A lot of studies have been carried out so far for the analysis of poetry, yet few have dealt with pastoral poetry. The present research attempts to investigate the language of pastoral poetry in two different languages i.e. English and Arabic with the aim of finding similarities and differences. The data of the study consists of one English and one Arabic pastoral poems. Leech and Short's (2007) checklist is used as a model for analysis. The findings of the study reveal that there are more similarities than differences between English and Arabic pastoral poems as the poems rely on contrast
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