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.
One of the most essential components of asphalt pavements is the filler. It serves two purposes. First, this fine-grained material (diameter less than 0.075 mm) improves the cohesiveness of aggregate with bitumen. Second, produce a dense mixture by filling the voids between the particles. Aluminum dross (AD), which is a by-product of aluminum re-melting, is formed all over the world. This material causes damage to humans and the environment; stockpiling AD in landfills is not the best solution. This research studies the possibility of replacing part of the conventional filler with aluminum dross. Three percent of dross was used, 10, 20, and 30% by filler weight. The MarshallMix design method was adopted to obtain the op
... Show MoreThe research aimed to identify the extent to which the media offices in the ministries depend on the website of the Iraqi Council of Ministers as a source of information. Such goal includes a set of sub-goals: Knowing the reasons for media offices' reliance on the information provided by the Cabinet's website; and revealing the benefit derived from relying on the Cabinet's website.
The researcher used the survey method to screen and comprehend the extent to which the media offices in the ministries depend on the website of the Iraqi Council of Ministers as a source of information.
The mechanism of comprehensive account of the limits of research wa
... Show MoreThe research involved a rapid, automated and highly accurate developed CFIA/MZ technique for estimation of phenylephrine hydrochloride (PHE) in pure, dosage forms and biological sample. This method is based on oxidative coupling reaction of 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) with PHE in existence of sodium periodate as oxidizing agent in alkaline medium to form a red colored product at ʎmax )520 nm (. A flow rate of 4.3 mL.min-1 using distilled water as a carrier, the method of FIA proved to be as a sensitive and economic analytical tool for estimation of PHE.
Within the concentration range of 5-300 μg.mL-1, a calibration curve was rectilinear, where the detection limit was 3.252 μg.mL
This research seeks to try to address one of the important issues in society that prevents the state from achieving its social, economic, political and financial goals, represented by the low tax proceeds, through which it can achieve those goals. What is reflected on the tax proceeds, knowing that the General Tax Authority does not take into account the issue of analyzing the opportunity cost of corporate capital as one of the profit indicators when setting the annual controls, which leads to a decrease in the tax proceeds, and therefore the research objective will be to shed light on the importance of adopting the concept of analysis The opportunity cost by the General Tax Authority to achieve a tax proceeds commensurate with t
... Show MoreWe studied, in this paper, the semiotics of the visual image of women in the discourse of empowerment, through three models of advertising images expressing the particularities of the Saudi Arabian environment.
We aim to know how the mark operates and how it is interpreted, as a semantic process in which the meaning ranges from description to interpretation, and we studied two hypotheses:
-The advertising image is a structure in which the mark corresponds to the reality and the discourse to the context.
-The significance is not found in the visual sign or in the textual sign of the advertising image, but in the creative event that opens up to the social, cultural, and psychological context, and creates a field of dia
... Show MoreThis Study presents and provides Variable thoughts and aspects for representing Scientific topics " Physics for instance " as Play Shows for high School Students, by Showing a suggested Method that will Contribute in illustrating the Steps of writing the educational Scientific topic, and this method will help teachers to deliver their message to the Students " receivers " easily.The researcher have used Puppets in this method as the assisting tool for teachers, to help them deliver message Clearlym easily and Joyful.The researcher in his experiment used " Archimedes Principle " as a typical example, by Converting it into a theatrical Script, with respect to the Concept of Science, and in accordance to the Scientific educational Curriculu
... Show MoreThe present work deals with an experimental investigation of charging and discharging processes in thermal storage system using a phase change material PCM. Paraffin wax was used as the PCM which is formed in spherical capsules and packed in a cylindrical packed column which acted as an energy storage system. Air was used as the heat transfer fluid HTF in thermal storage unit. The effect of flow rate and inlet temperature of HTF on the time of charging and discharging process were studied. The results showed that the faster storage of thermal energy can be made by high flow rate of heat transfer fluid HTF and high inlet temperature of heat transfer fluid. It was found that at 65°C HTF inlet temperature, the melting and solidification pr
... Show MoreThe objective of this study is to explain the role of credit policies in agricultural development of Iraq during the period 1979-1989 which were represented by the policy of co-operative agricultural bank the organization that responsible to finance agricultural sector for various reasons. It has been shown that there was no clear credit policy existed during the period concerned due to the differences between loans from year. The loan growth rate was low in general comparing with objectives of the agricultural development plans, a low production rates comparing with loans paid, the growth rate of average number of trees in each donum and the growth rate of livestock number was also low.In conclusion there should be a clear plan for cred
... Show MoreThis study proposes a mathematical approach and numerical experiment for a simple solution of cardiac blood flow to the heart's blood vessels. A mathematical model of human blood flow through arterial branches was studied and calculated using the Navier-Stokes partial differential equation with finite element analysis (FEA) approach. Furthermore, FEA is applied to the steady flow of two-dimensional viscous liquids through different geometries. The validity of the computational method is determined by comparing numerical experiments with the results of the analysis of different functions. Numerical analysis showed that the highest blood flow velocity of 1.22 cm/s occurred in the center of the vessel which tends to be laminar and is influe
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