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 aims of research is to identify the role of strategic human resource management Practices in organizational performance improvement in the Baghdad soft drinks company, as well as the implications of the results for both managers and practitioners.
In order to achieve the objectives of the research, the researcher designed questionnaire included (40) items to collect the initial data from the research sample consisting of (53) Single. In light of that has been collecting and analyzing data and test hypotheses using the statistical package for Social Sciences (SPSS21), and use a number of statistical methods to achieve the goal of the research, including the means, standard deviations and simple correla
... Show MoreThis research aims to discuss an important issue because of its role in increasing the efficiency of financial markets and boost investor confidence by a insider trading, which arises as a result of leaking secret information to some investors and reliable in the process of trading shares in the Iraq Stock Exchange And thus obtain abnormal profits at the expense of other investors. Research was based on the assumption that " Where shortcomings in local regulations relating to disclosure and insider trading in accounting information leads to the activate the phenomenon of insider trading in accounting information in the Iraq Stock Exchange and including a negative impact on investors' decisions ". and Because of the difficulty the discove
... Show MoreAn increasing interest is emerging in identifying natural products to overcome drug resistance in cancer patients. In this context, the present study was conducted to investigate the cytotoxic effects of neem plant (Azadirachta indica) oil in three different biological models (breast cancer cell lines, Allium cepa root tip, and mice vital organs). The cytotoxic potential of the neem oil was evaluated with two human cell lines (MCF7 and MDA-MB231) and an Allum cepa root tip bioassay. Histopathological analysis was conducted on the neem oil-treated and untreated control mice. The results revealed an anti-proliferative effect for neem oil on both estrogen receptor-positive (MCF7) and estrogen receptor-negative (MDA-MB231) breast cancer cell li
... Show MoreThe study aims to examine the problem of forced displacement and its social and economic problems in light of the Syrian crisis. Such an aim helps to know the difficulties and challenges facing the children of displaced families in learning, and the reasons for their lack of enrolment. It also clarifies whether there are significant statistical differences at among the attitudes of the children of the displaced families towards education regarding the following variables: (the work of the head of the family, the economic level of the family, and the work of the children). The study has adopted the descriptive-analytical approach; a questionnaire was adopted as a tool to collect information. The study was applied to a sample o
... Show MoreThis research aims to present a proposed model for disclosure and documentation when performing the audit according to the joint audit method by using the questions and principles of the collective intelligence system, which leads to improving and enhancing the efficiency of the joint audit, and thus enhancing the confidence of the parties concerned in the outputs of the audit process. As the research problem can be formulated through the following question: “Does the proposed model for disclosure of the role of the collective intelligence system contribute to improving joint auditing?”
The proposed model is designed for the disclosure of joint auditing and the role
... Show MoreBackground: Lead-acid battery workers are at higher risk for systemic diseases as well as oral diseases like dental caries. The aim of this study was to assess selected salivary antioxidants and their relation with dental caries among lead acid battery factory workers in comparison with non-exposed group. Materials and methods: The sample consisted of 35 subjects aged 35-45 year-old who worked in Babylon lead acid battery factory in Baghdad city and matching group that not exposed to lead were selected as a control. Dental caries severity was recorded by using DMFS index, stimulated salivary samples were collected and analyzed for the measurement of salivary antioxidants (uric acid, total protein, catalase and glutathione peroxidase enzymes
... Show MoreThe heat transfer and flow resistance characteristics for air flow cross over circular finned tube heat exchanger has been studied numerically and experimentally. The purpose of the study was to improve the heat transfer characteristics of an annular finned-tube heat exchanger for better performance. The study has concentrated on the effect of the number of perforations and perforations shapes on the heat transfer and pressure drop across a staggered finned tube heat exchanger. The Numerical part of present study has been performed using ANSYS Fluent 14.5 using SST Turbulent model, while the experimental study consist from a test rig with different models of heat exchangers and all required measurement devices were build
... Show MoreNatural convection heat transfer is experimentally investigated for laminar air flow in a vertical circular tube by using the boundary condition of constant wall heat flux in the ranges of (RaL) from (1.1*109) to (4.7*109). The experimental set-up was designed for determining the effect of different types of restrictions placed at entry of heated tube in bottom position, on the surface temperature distribution and on the local and average heat transfer coefficients. The apparatus was made with an electrically heated cylinder of a length (900mm) and diameter (30mm). The entry restrictions were included a circular tube of same diameter as the heated cylinder but with lengths of (60cm, 120cm), sharp-edge and
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