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.
Background: Dental implants provide a unique treatment modality for the replacement of lost dentition .This is accomplished by the insertion of relatively inert material (a biomaterial) into the soft and hard tissue of the jaws, there by providing support and retention for dental prostheses. Low level laser therapy (LLLT) is an effective tool used to prompt bone repair and modeling post surgery; this has referred to the biostimulation effect of LLLT. The aims of this study were to evaluate the immmunohistochemical expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and transforming growth factor -beta (TGF-β) in experimental and control groups with mechanical test. Materials and Methods: Thirty two adult New Zealand white rabbits use
... Show MoreThe study seeks to identify e-governance requirements in human resources management, which are (administrative requirements, technical, human, financial, and security) which is a new style differs from the traditional management pattern, where work depends on multiple forms and methods of Tools, (e. g. computers and various electronic software), by relying on powerful information systems that help to make management decisions as quickly and less effortless and less expensive to keep up with the tremendous technological advancements in the field of information and communication technology revolution.
The sample included 132 Person who constitute a position (Director General, assistant Director General, section managers and d
... Show MoreA new ligand complexes have been synthesis from reaction of metal ions of Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), Cd(II), Hg(II), Pd(II) and Pt(II) with schiff base LH. 5-[(2-Hydroxy-naphthalen-1-ylmethylene)-amino]-2-phenyl-2,4-dihydro-pyrazol-3-one, this ligand was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), UV-vis, 1H, 13CNMR, and mass spectra. All complexes were characterized by techniques micro analysis C.H.N, UV-vis and FTIR spectral studies, atomic absorption, chloride content, molar conductivity measurements and magnetic susceptibility. The ligand acts as bidentate, coordination through nitrogen atom from azomethin group and deprotonated phenolic oxygen atom. The spectroscopic and analytical measurements showed that
... Show MoreIn this study two types of extraction solvents were used to extract the undesirable polyaromatics, the first solvent was furfural which was used today in the Iraqi refineries and the second was NMP (N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone).
The studied effecting variables of extraction are extraction temperature ranged from 70 to 110°C and solvent to oil ratio in the range from 1:1 to 4:1.
The results of this investigation show that the viscosity index of mixed-medium lubricating oil fraction increases with increasing extraction temperature and reaches 107.82 for NMP extraction at extraction temperature 110°C and solvent to oil ratio 4:1, while the viscosity index reaches to 101 for furfural extraction at the same extraction temperature and same
Since the introduction of the HTTP/3, research has focused on evaluating its influences on the existing adaptive streaming over HTTP (HAS). Among these research, due to irrelevant transport protocols, the cross-protocol unfairness between the HAS over HTTP/3 (HAS/3) and HAS over HTTP/2 (HAS/2) has caught considerable attention. It has been found that the HAS/3 clients tend to request higher bitrates than the HAS/2 clients because the transport QUIC obtains higher bandwidth for its HAS/3 clients than the TCP for its HAS/2 clients. As the problem originates from the transport layer, it is likely that the server-based unfairness solutions can help the clients overcome such a problem. Therefore, in this paper, an experimental study of the se
... Show MoreBackground: Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is the most commonly used material in denture fabrication. The material is far from ideal in fulfilling the mechanical requirement. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of addition of 3% wt of treated (silanized) Titanium oxide Nano filler on some physical and mechanical properties of heat cured acrylic denture base material. Materials and methods: 100 specimens were constructed, 50 specimens were prepared from heat cure PMMA without additives (control) and 50 specimens were prepared from heat cure PMMA with the addition of TiO2 Nano fillers. Each group was divided into 5 sub groups according to the test performed which was mixed by probe ultra-sonication machine. Results: A highly
... Show MoreThe yellow scale insect
Excessive skewness which occurs sometimes in the data is represented as an obstacle against normal distribution. So, recent studies have witnessed activity in studying the skew-normal distribution (SND) that matches the skewness data which is regarded as a special case of the normal distribution with additional skewness parameter (α), which gives more flexibility to the normal distribution. When estimating the parameters of (SND), we face the problem of the non-linear equation and by using the method of Maximum Likelihood estimation (ML) their solutions will be inaccurate and unreliable. To solve this problem, two methods can be used that are: the genetic algorithm (GA) and the iterative reweighting algorithm (IR) based on the M
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