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.
Since the appearance of COVID-19 disease as an epidemic and pandemic disease, many studies are performed to uncover the genetic nature of the newly discovered coronavirus with unique clinical features. The last three human coronavirus outbreaks, SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 are caused by Beta-Coronaviruses. Horizontal genetic materials transfer was proven from one coronavirus to the other coronavirus of non-human origin like infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) of avian. Horizontal genetic materials transfer was also from non-corona viruses like astroviruses and equine rhinovirus (ERV-2) or from coronavirus-unrelated viruses, like influenza virus type C. However, SARS-CoV-2 is identical to SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. Interestingly, Wuhan ci
... Show MoreIdioms are a very important part of the English language: you are told that if you want to go far (succeed) you should pull your socks up (make a serious effort to improve your behaviour, the quality of your work, etc.) and use your grey matter (brain).1 Learning and translating idioms have always been very difficult for foreign language learners. The present paper explores some of the reasons why English idiomatic expressions are difficult to learn and translate. It is not the aim of this paper to attempt a comprehensive survey of the vast amount of material that has appeared on idioms in Adams and Kuder (1984), Alexander (1984), Dixon (1983), Kirkpatrick (2001), Langlotz (2006), McCarthy and O'Dell (2002), and Wray (2002), among others
... Show MoreSM ADAI, BN RASHID, Journal of Current Researches on Social Sciences, 2023
The main aim of this paper are the design and implementation of a pharmaceutical inventory database management system. The system was implemented by creating a database containing information about the stored medicines in the inventory, customers making transactions with the pharmaceutical trading company (which owns the inventory), medical suppliers, employees, payments, etc. The database was connected to the main application using C sharp. The proposed system should help in manag inginventory operations which include adding/updating employees’ information, preparing sale and purchase invoices, generating reports, adding/updating customers and suppliers, tracking customer payments and checking expired medicines in order to be disposed
... Show MoreChaotic systems have been proved to be useful and effective for cryptography. Through this work, a new Feistel cipher depend upon chaos systems and Feistel network structure with dynamic secret key size according to the message size have been proposed. Compared with the classical traditional ciphers like Feistel-based structure ciphers, Data Encryption Standards (DES), is the common example of Feistel-based ciphers, the process of confusion and diffusion, will contains the dynamical permutation choice boxes, dynamical substitution choice boxes, which will be generated once and hence, considered static,
While using chaotic maps, in the suggested system, called
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a prevalent clinical condition, that affects millions of individuals worldwide. Objective: To assess the level of soluble HLA-E (sHLA-E) as a biomarker in the diagnosis and immunopathogenesis of GERD patients. Methods: The case-control prospective study included 40 GERD patients who were consulted at the Gastroenterology Unit of AlKindy Teaching Hospital, as along with 40 healthy control subjects. The study period extended from January 2023 to May 2024. Blood was drawn from both groups and serum was separated to assesssHLA-E using a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Results: There was a statistically significant difference in sHLA-E levels between GERD patients and healthy cont
... Show MoreObtaining the computational models for the functioning of the brain gives us a chance to understand the brain functionality thoroughly. This would help the development of better treatments for neurological illnesses and disorders. We created a cortical model using Python language using the Brian simulator. The Brian simulator is specialized in simulating the neuronal connections and synaptic interconnections. The dynamic connection model has multiple parameters in order to ensure an accurate simulation (Bowman, 2016). We concentrated on the connection weights and studied their effect on the interactivity and connectivity of the cortical neurons in the same cortical layer and across multiple layers. As synchronization helps us to mea
... Show MoreThe evolution of cryptography has been crucial to preservation subtle information in the digital age. From early cipher algorithms implemented in earliest societies to recent cryptography methods, cryptography has developed alongside developments in computing field. The growing in cyber threats and the increase of comprehensive digital communications have highlighted the significance of selecting effective and robust cryptographic techniques. This article reviews various cryptography algorithms, containing symmetric key and asymmetric key cryptography, via evaluating them according to security asset, complexity, and execution speed. The main outcomes demonstrate the growing trust on elliptic curve cryptography outstanding its capabi
... Show MoreCharacterized the Middle East has geographic, economic, and geostrategic peculiarities, but it suffers from many problems, such as disagreement over what it means as a concept, or what it represents of a geographic extension. The question is related to the ambiguity surrounding the concept of the Middle East? The purpose of its launch? As it relates to its geostrategic, economic, and geo-cultural importance? And manifestations of this importance? And to what extent he retained his value in the strategies of the major powers? Research hypotheses:
-The multiplicity of concepts for the Middle East region, with international political and Geostrategic interests.- The geostrategic value of the Middle East has made it a focal point for
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