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.
The influence of process speed (PS) and tillage depth (TD) , on growth of corn (Zea mays L) yield, for Maha cultivar, were tested at two ranges of PS of 2.483 and 4.011 km.hr-1, and three ranges of TD of 15,20 and 25cm. The experiments were conducted in a factorial experiment under complete randomized design with three replications. The results showed that the PS of 2.483 km.hr-1 was significantly better than the PS of 4.011km.hr-1 in all studied conditions. The , slippage ratio (SR) and the machine efficiency (ME), the physical soil characteristics represented by the soil density and porosity (SBD and TSP), and the plant characteristics represented the roots dry weight, PVI and the crop productivity (CP), except adjective of the fu
... Show MoreThe optical absorption data of Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon was analyzed using a Dunstan model of optical absorption in amorphous semiconductors. This model introduces disorder into the band-band absorption through a linear exponential distribution of local energy gaps, and it accounts for both the Urbach and Tauc regions of the optical absorption edge.Compared to other models of similar bases, such as the O’Leary and Guerra models, it is simpler to understand mathematically and has a physical meaning. The optical absorption data of Jackson et al and Maurer et al were successfully interpreted using Dunstan’s model. Useful physical parameters are extracted especially the band to the band energy gap , which is the energy gap in the a
... Show MoreCost is the essence of any production process for it is one of the requirements for the continuity of activities so as to increase the profitability of the economic unit and to support the competitive situation in the market. Therefore, there should be an overall control to reduce the cost without compromising the product quality; to achieve this, the management should have detailed credible and reliable information about the cost to be measured, collected, understood and to analyze the causes for the spread of deviations and obstacles the management faces, and to search for the factors that trigger the emergence of these deviations and obstacles
The performance of job effectively requires narrowing the meaningful routine activities and attempting employing the job procedures in favor of public welfare through adding the green impact as well as removing them from the red tapes which reflect the firmness of procedures, to enable the job parties to make their job independently, and pushing them to gain priority in the competition layer. This is not attaining easily amidst the regulatory problems expressed by the complication of procedures, the thing which make identifying the problem of the study through the following question:
Should we make the complex of procedures and their firmness a way to adopt the idea of the green regulatory tapes supportin
... Show MoreThe goal of this research is to find the effects of both the studying students groupwhich has various educational levels and the integration of the fragmented information through or during the study of history subjects for the female students of the fifth secondary literary section.
To achieve this study or case the researcher has chosen an experimental design or test by studying three groups: two are as mentioned above and the third is just ordinary team. In addition to that, there is a test after the experiment. The researcher chose on purpose female students of the literal section from two different secondary school Al Asil and Wahran both are secondary school for girls, and both are from directorate of education- Al Karkh 2nd dist
This research aims at clarifying the concept of social auditing, which is one of the most important reasons for its emergence is social responsibility accounting and its role in measuring the social performance of enterprises. The study also aimed to know how social auditing has an impact and its role in improving the social performance of business organizations, and the research refers to testing the hypotheses of an impact of social auditing on social performance through a commitment to social responsibility. The research sample consisted of 200 individuals from 20 Algerian business organizations and represented individuals who were researched in managers and em
... Show MoreThis study aims to identify the impact of using the infrastructure of the Information Technology (IT) on the performance of human resources in the public universities. This process is done by doing research in the size, quality, and efficiency of the performance, also speed of achievement and simplification of procedures. Diyala University was chosen for the diagnosis through the opinions and attitudes of its employees. Consequently, suggestions that contribute to improve the performance of the employees and thus its overall performance are obtained. Another objective of this study is identifying the human resources which are currently used in academic institutions and educational services systems because the significant role of th
... Show MoreThe educational sector is one of the important sectors in the world, and it is considered one of the means of community development. In addition, it is one of the means of making the country’s renaissance and devel-opment because it represents the factory of thinking minds that make change. There is no doubt that this sector is the same as any other sector. The deficit in the studied scientific planning has been prolonged, which led to its deterioration, and the problems of education remain diverse and inherited from previous time periods, where the hierarchical cluster analysis was used on postgraduate students in universities in Iraq, except for Kurdistan region, and the number of universities that were included in the study was
... Show MoreBackground: Errors of horizontal condylar inclinations and Bennett angles had largely affected the articulation of teeth and the pathways of cusps. The aim of this study was to estimate and compare between the horizontal condylar (protrusive) angles and Bennett angles of full mouth rehabilitation patients using two different articulator systems. Materials and Methods: Protrusive angles and Bennett angles of 50 adult males and females Iraqi TMD-free full mouth rehabilitation patients were estimated by using two different articulator systems. Arbitrary hinge axis location followed by protrusive angles and Bennett angles, estimation was done by a semiadjustable articulator system. A fully adjustable articulator system was utilized to locate th
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