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 : Shoulder pain is a common problem that can pose difficult diagnostic and therapeutic challenges for the family physician It is the third most common musculoskeletal complaint in the general population, and account for 5% of all general practitioners musculoskeletal consults
Objective: To determine the diagnostic performance of ultrasonography compared with the physical examination for detection of rotator cuff tears in painful shoulder syndrome.
Method: Prospective study was done on seventy patients (48 male, 22 female), age ranged between 30-70 years (mean age 50 years), From February 2007 to July 2011, were subjected to comparative study in Al-Kindy teaching hospital with rotator cuff tears, including physical and ul
Experimental study has been conducted for laminar natural convection heat transfer of air flow through a rectangular enclosure fitted with vertical partition. The partition was oriented parallel to the two vertical isothermal walls with different temperatures, while all the other surfaces of the enclosure were insulated. In this study a test rig has been designed and constructed to allow studying the effect of Rayleigh number, aperture height ratio, partition thickness, the position of aperture according to the side walls and according to the height, the position of the partition according to the hot wall, and partition inclination. The experiments were carried out with air as the working fluid for Rayleigh number range (5*107 – 1.3*10
... Show MoreThe numerical investigation has been performed to study the radiation affected steady state laminar mixed convection induced by a hot inner varied positions circular core in a horizontal rectangular channel for a fully developed flow. To examine the effects of thermal radiation on thermo fluid dynamics behavior in the eccentric geometry channel, the generalized body fitted co-ordinate system is introduced while the finite difference method is used for solving the radiative transport equation. The governing equations which used are continuity, momentum and energy equations. These equations are normalized and solved using the Vorticity-Stream function. After validating numerical results for the case without radiation, the detailed radiatio
... Show MoreThe problem of housing in Iraq is a long-rooted and rooted problem, and it needs a great effort to find out its causes and thus give essential points that contribute to alleviating and addressing it, and it is worth noting that research into the housing problem and the housing sector in Iraq is not done in isolation from other sectors and studies. As well as the economic policies pursued and the social and political conditions. It is known that the Iraqi economy is a unilateral (rentier) economy, that is, it depends almost entirely on exporting oil and obtaining revenues, and that the economic decision and economic policies followed in Iraq are greatly affected by several factors, including the economic, social and political fact
... Show MoreThe audience is one of the important practical elements in the theatrical show and its importance is not confined to its static activity as a receiver element only, rather it went beyond that issue as an effective and influential element in the proceedings of the show and the process of meaning construction, that it gains an active role in the construction and production of the connotation that influences and is influenced by the actor, where the communication channels are open between the two sides, consequently a kind of watching and joint interaction happens between them. Thus, it has become necessary for the actor to create a suitable environment for the onlookers in order for it to be an essential part of the show system. The
... Show MoreA study conducted a laboratory experiment to measure the release of potassium and the dissolution of feldspar minerals in soils from different locations in Karbala Province (Ain Al-tamur, Qasr Al-Akhyar, Fadak Farm). The study involved the addition of organic acids (fulvic and humic) and mineral acids (sulfuric and phosphoric) at concentrations of 5% and 10% to sand-separated soil samples obtained through wet sieving. Feldspar minerals were identified using a polarized light microscope, and the percentage of each type of feldspar mineral was calculated. The results demonstrated that organic acids outperformed mineral acids in releasing potassium at both concentrations. Among the organ
An easy, eclectic, precise high-Performance Liquid Chromatographic (HPLC) procedure was evolved and validated to estimate of Piroxicam and Codeine phosphate. Chromatographic demarcation was accomplished on a C18 column [Use BDS Hypersil C18, 5μ, 150 x 4.6 mm] using a mobile phase of methanol: phosphate buffer (60:40, v/v, pH=2.3), the flow rate was 1.1 mL/min, UV detection was at 214 nm. System Suitability tests (SSTs) are typically performed to assess the suitability and effectiveness of the entire chromatography system. The retention time for Piroxicam was found to be 3.95 minutes and 1.46 minutes for Codeine phosphate. The evolved method has been validated through precision, limit of quantitation, specificity,
... Show MoreVaccine hesitancy poses a significant risk to global recovery from COVID-19. To date however, there is little research exploring the psychological factors associated with vaccine acceptability and hesitancy in Iraq.
To explore attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination in Iraq. To establish the predictors of vaccine uptake and vaccine hesitancy in an Iraqi population.
Using a cross-sectional design, 7,778 participants completed an online questionnaire exploring their vaccination status, likelihood of infection, perc