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.
A shocking third species emerged from a family of coronaviruses (CoV) in late 2019 following viruses causing SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-CoV) in 2003 and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-CoV) in 2012; it’s a novel coronavirus now called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2; formerly called 2019-nCoV). First emerging in China, it has spread rapidly across the globe, giving rise to significant social and economic costs and imposing severe strain on healthcare systems. Since many attempts to control viral spread has been futile, the only old practice of containment including city lockdown and social distancing are working to some extent. Unfortunately, specific antiviral drugs and vaccines remain u
... Show MoreThe aim of the present study is to examine the effectiveness of a proposed unite in voluntary work in enhancing critical thinking skills and the attitudes towards responsible citizenship among eighth grade female students in the Sultanate of Oman. In order to collect the study data, the researchers employed a quasi-experimental research design with twenty female students from Al-Sideeqah bint Al-Sideeq for basic education school. The research data were collected via a critical thinking test that consisted of twenty-five items and a scale of twenty items under three different dimensions, which aimed to measure students' attitudes towards responsible citizenship. The researchers implemented these two instruments as pre- and post the experi
... Show MoreAbstract Portable communication devices such as WLAN, WiMAX, LTE, ISM, and 5G utilize one or more of the triple bands at (2.32.7 GHz,3.4–3.6GHz,and5–6GHz)andsufferfromtheeffectofmultipathproblemsbecausetheyareusedinurbanregions.To date, no one has performed a review of the antennas used for these types of wireless communications. This study reviewed two types of microstrip antennas (slot and fractal) that have been reported by researchers (as a single element) using a survey that included the evaluation of several important specifications of the antennas in previous research, such as operating bandwidth, gain, efficiency, axial ratio bandwidth (ARBW), and size. The weaknesses in the design of all antennas were carefully identified to de
... Show MoreThis research aims to know the role and impact of participation in the capabilities of human resources programs, and for the purpose of measuring it has been determined the dimensions of these two variables by relying on standards for this purpose, was chosen as the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research / device supervision and scientific calendar as one of the important departments in the ministry and includes a large number of individuals at different organizational levels for the purpose of answering a questionnaire prepared for the purpose of measurement and access to the results and the achievement of the objectives of the research and which ha
... Show MoreThe current study aims to develop a proposed educational program based on augmented reality (AR) technology, in addition to assessing its effectiveness in developing research and historical imagination skills of the Humanities Track's female students at the secondary stage, as well as assessing the correlative and predictive relationships between the amount of growth for the two dependent variables. To achieve this, a secondary school in the city of Makkah Al-Mukarramah was chosen, and an available random sample of (30) female students from the study population was selected. The quasi-experimental approach was followed by this study, particularly one group design. In addition, two tools were used to collect study data, namely: a test of
... Show MoreDBNRSK Sayed, Journal of Strategic Research in Social Science (JoSReSS), 2020
The research aims to test the correlation relationships between wise leadership, and the business model, and to demonstrate its influence (wise leadership) on the business model. Therefore, two main hypotheses were put forward. The research was applied to a sample consisting of (87) managers and deputy managers, some of them are members on the board of directors of the researched company. The questionnaire was adopted as a basic tool for collecting data, in addition to personal interviews. A number of statistical methods were used to analyze the data and obtain results. The researcher showed a set of results, including: There is a significant correlation between wise leadership and business model. There is an influence of wise leadership on
... Show MoreIn most recent studies, long-term retention after orthodontic treatment has been hypothesized that may be necessary to maintain the stability of the dentition and avoid post-treatment changes. The bonded fixed retainer is characterized by its clinical effectiveness, patient acceptance, and lack of patient complaints as compared with a removable retainer. An electronic database (such as PubMed, PubMed Central, Web of Science, Science Direct, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and ResearchGate) has been collected using specific keywords. Of the 152 articles, only randomized clinical trials that investigated different types of fixed retainers or compared fixed with removable retainers were illustrated in tables and included in this review. The
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