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.
Electronic remote identification (ER-ID) is a new radio frequency (RF) technology that is initiated by the Federal Aviation Authorities (FAA). For security reasons, traffic control, and so on, ER-ID has been applied for drones by the FAA to enable them to transmit their unique identification and location so that unauthorized drones can be identified. The current limitation of the existing ER-ID algorithms is that the application is limited to the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless controllers, which results in a maximum range of 10–20 m for Bluetooth and 50–100 m for Wi-Fi. In this study, a mathematical computing technique based on finite state automaton (FSA) is introduced to expand the range of the ER-ID RF system and reduce the ene
... Show MoreLinear motor offers several features in many applications that require linear motion. Nevertheless, the presence of cogging force can deteriorate the thrust of a permanent magnet linear motor. Using several methodologies, a design of synchronous single sided linear iron-core motor was proposed. According to exact formulas with surface-mounted magnets and concentrated winding specification, which are relying on geometrical parameters. Two-dimensional performance analysis of the designed model and its multi-objective optimization were accomplished as a method to reduce the motor cogging force using MAXWELL ANSYS. The optimum model design results showed that the maximum force ripple was approximatrly reduced by 81.24%compared to the origina
... Show MoreForty lower premolars with single root canals prepared with ProtaperNext files to size 25, and obturated with GP/sealer using lateral compaction. Teeth divided randomly into four groups (group n=10). Protaper universal retreatment kit (PUR), D-Race desobturation files (DRD), R-Endo retreatment kit (RE) and Hedstrom (H) files (control) were used to remove GP/sealer in each group. Removal effectiveness assessed by measuring the GP /sealer remnants in the roots after sectioning them into two halves. Stereomicroscope with a digital camera used to capture digital images. Images processed by ImageJ software to measure the percentage of GP/sealer remnants surface area in total, coronal, middle and apical areas of the canal. In the coronal area,
... Show MoreIn this research, a simple experiment in the field of agriculture was studied, in terms of the effect of out-of-control noise as a result of several reasons, including the effect of environmental conditions on the observations of agricultural experiments, through the use of Discrete Wavelet transformation, specifically (The Coiflets transform of wavelength 1 to 2 and the Daubechies transform of wavelength 2 To 3) based on two levels of transform (J-4) and (J-5), and applying the hard threshold rules, soft and non-negative, and comparing the wavelet transformation methods using real data for an experiment with a size of 26 observations. The application was carried out through a program in the language of MATLAB. The researcher concluded that
... Show MoreDiode lasers are becoming popular in periodontal surgery due to their highly absorption by pigments such as melanin and hemoglobin their weak absorption by water and hydroxyapatite makes them safe to be used around dental hard tissues. Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficiency of diode laser in performing gingivectomy in comparison to conventional scalpel technique in patients with chronic inflammatory enlargement. Materials and methods: Thirty patients were selected for this study. All of them required surgical treatment of gingival enlargements and were randomly divided into two groups: Control group (treated by scalpel and include sixteen patients) and study group (treated with diode laser 940nm and includ
... Show MoreThe determiner phrase is a syntactic category that appears inside the noun phrase and makes it definite or indefinite or quantifies it. The present study has found wide parametric differences between the English and Arabic determiner phrases in terms of the inflectional features, the syntactic distribution of determiners and the word order of the determiner phrase itself. In English, the determiner phrase generally precedes the head noun or its premodifying adjectival phrase, with very few exceptions where some determiners may appear after the head noun. In Arabic, parts of the determiner phrase precede the head noun and parts of it must appear after the head noun or after its postmodifying adjectival phrase creating a discontinu
... Show MoreThe local authority represented by the Provincial Council and the administrative units thereof has legislative and supervisory functions which are in the administration and supervision of the local public utilities as provided for by the laws in force. The subject of the interactive relationship between the federal authority and the provincial councils not organized in one of the main problems that accompanied the emergence and application of decentralized system Iraq after 2003, which began since the writing of the Constitution in force for the year 2005 and the law of the provinces No. 21 of 2008 This law has been subjected to political recordings that eventually led to the appearance of this consensus image. The weakness of the legisl
... Show MoreHypocrisy is found in various aspects of life, whether in religion, politics, or social parts. Hence, some of the church's hypocrisy is an outcome of different ups and downs in life. Starting with the problem in the novel, some of the hypocritical pastors engaged in an immense role in affecting the folk's lives because they persuaded people that God ordered them to do so. To accomplish their personal interests, the abusive monks disguise their verbal speech, smiles, and fine clothes like mild sheep to delusional followers, leaving them with guilt, shame, and spiritual scars. The present study aims to examine the hypocrisy and heresy of the church as portrayed in Okezie Nwoka's novel entitled God of Mercy. It reflects the source of
... Show MoreThis article deals with the impact of including transverse ribs within the absorber tube of the concentrated linear Fresnel collector (CLFRC) system with a secondary compound parabolic collector (CPC) on thermal and flow performance coefficients. The enhancement rates of heat transfer due to varying governing parameters were compared and analyzed parametrically at Reynolds numbers in the range 5,000–13,000, employing water as the heat transfer fluid. Simulations were performed to solve the governing equations using the finite volume method (FVM) under various boundary conditions. For all Reynolds numbers, the average Nusselt number in the circular tube in the CLFRC system with ribs was found to be larger than that of the plain abs
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