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.
Apple slice grading is useful in post-harvest operations for sorting, grading, packaging, labeling, processing, storage, transportation, and meeting market demand and consumer preferences. Proper grading of apple slices can help ensure the quality, safety, and marketability of the final products, contributing to the post-harvest operations of the overall success of the apple industry. The article aims to create a convolutional neural network (CNN) model to classify images of apple slices after immersing them in atmospheric plasma at two different pressures (1 and 5 atm) and two different immersion times (3 and again 6 min) once and in filtered water based on the hardness of the slices usin
Objective This study aimed to evaluate the effects of disinfectant solutions, namely, the alcoholic extract of Salvadora persica L. (A1 = 10% and A2 = 15%) and chlorhexidine digluconate (A3 = 2%), on the tear strength and hardness of room temperature vulcanizing (RTV) VST50F and heat temperature vulcanizing (HTV) Cosmesil M511 silicone elastomers before and after reinforcement with nanofillers (TiO2) and intrinsic pigment. Materials and Methods: A total of 320 specimens were prepared, with 160 specimens each for RTV and HTV silicone. Forty specimens were evaluated before disinfection and divided into two equal groups, namely, control (without additive) and experimental (with ad
Titanium dioxide nanorods have been prepared by sol-gel template
method. The structural and surface morphology of the TiO2 nanorods was
investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy
(AFM), it was found that the nanorods produced were anatase TiO2 phase.
The photocatalytic activity of the TiO2 nanorods was evaluated by the
photo degradation of methyl orange (MO). The relatively higher
degradation efficiency for MO (D%=78.2) was obtained after 6h of exposed
to UV irradiation.
The compound 2,2'-(((1H-benzo(d)imidazol-2-yl)methyl)azanediyl)bis(ethan-1-ol) was reacted with benzyl bromide to afford compound (1) which used as row material to prepare a series of compounds through condensation reaction, the starting compound were reacted with tosyl chloride to protect the OH group to afford compound 2, then reacted benzyl bromide to produce compound (2), then the compound (2) treated with three compounds ( 2-mercaptobenzthiazole, 2-mercaptobenimidazol and 2-chloromethyl benzimidazole) to form compounds 3a,b, 4a,b and 5a,b respectively. In the another step the click reaction of compound 2,2'-(((1H-benzo(d)imidazol-2-yl)methyl)azanediyl)bis(ethan-1-ol) with Propargyl bromide produce compound 6 which reacted
... Show MorePreparation of superposed thin film (CdTe)1-xSex / ZnS) with concentration of (x= 0.1, 0.3, 0.5) at a temperature of substrate (Ts= 80 0C) by using Thermal Vacuum Evaporation System. The measurement of X-ray diffraction shows that the compounds CdTe, ZnS, (CdTe)1-xSex and (CdTe)1-xSex / ZnS have a polycrystalline structure, the C-V characteristic shows that the capacitance degrease by increasing the concentration (x) in reverse bias, while the I-V characteristic shows the current dark (Id) increase in forward and reverse bias by increasing (x) and the photocurrent (Iph) increase in reverse bias by increasing the concentration (x), the values of photocurrent are greater than from the values of the dark current for all concentrations
... Show MoreA phytoremediation experiment was carried out with kerosene as a model for total petroleum hydrocarbons. A constructed wetland of barley was exposed to kerosene pollutants at varying concentrations (1, 2, and 3% v/v) in a subsurface flow (SSF) system. After a period of 42 days of exposure, it was found that the average ability to eliminate kerosene ranged from 56.5% to 61.2%, with the highest removal obtained at a kerosene concentration of 1% v/v. The analysis of kerosene at varying initial concentrations allowed the kinetics of kerosene to be fitted with the Grau model, which was closer than that with the zero order, first order, or second order kinetic models. The experimental study showed that the barley plant designed in a subsu
... Show MoreIn this work ,pure and doped(CdO)thin films with different concentration of V2O5x (0.0, 0.05, 0.1 ) wt.% have been prepared on glass substrate at room temperature using Pulse Laser Deposition technique(PLD).The focused Nd:YAG laser beam at 800 mJ with a frequency second radiation at 1064 nm (pulse width 9 ns) repetition frequency (6 Hz), for 500 laser pulses incident on the target surface At first ,The pellets of (CdO)1-x(V2O5)x at different V2O5 contents were sintered to a temperature of 773K for one hours.Then films of (CdO)1-x(V2O5)x have been prepared.The structure of the thin films was examined by using (XRD) analysis..Hall effect has been measured in orded to know the type of conductivity, Finally the solar cell and the effici
... Show MoreHigh temperature superconductors materials with composition Bi1.6-xSbxPb0.4Sr2Ca2-yCdyCu3OZ (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3) and (y = 0.01 and 0.02), were prepared by using the chemical reaction in solid-state ways, and test influence of partial replacement of Bi and Ca with Sb and Cd respectively on the superconducting properties, all samples were sintered at the same temperature (850 oC) and for the same time (195 h). The structural analysis of the prepared samples was carried out using X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements performed at room temperature, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and dc electrical resistivity was measured as a function of temperature. It was found that the sample prepared by partial substitution of Sb at ratio (x= 0.2
... Show MoreDuration of each developmental stage of the house dust mite Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus together with the mortality percentage were observed at a combination of five different temperatures namely 20C°, 22.5C°, 25C°, 27.5C° and 30C° and four different humidities namely 55%, 75%, 85% and 95% r. h. Results showed that temperature had the greatest effect on the life cycle period. The higher the temperature the shorter the life cycle was aid versa verea. On the other hand, humidity seems to be less effectiveness, though at the higher temperature and humidity no development was occured. Mortality among all temperatures and humidities appeared nearly the same, but at higher temperature and higher humidity and because of mould g
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