Background: Rituximab is a chimeric IgG1 kappa immunoglobulin that has been genetically modified to incorporate human constant region sequences together with murine light- and heavy-chain variable region sequences. People use it to treat rheumatoid arthritis and certain malignancies. Objective: The study aimed to assess the potential association between the serum levels of Factor I, CD59, interleukins (IL)-6, and interferon-gamma (IFN)-γ and the response to Rituximab treatment in Iraqi rheumatoid arthritis patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the rheumatology center at Baghdad Teaching Hospital. Ninety adult patients who have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and are receiving Rituximab intravenous infusions were included. The enrolled patients were divided into a responder group (45 patients) and a non-responder group (45 patients). The response to Rituximab was assessed according to the 28-joint Disease Activity Score (DAS28). Results: The serum levels of Factor I and CD59 were significantly higher in the non-responders group in comparison to the responders group. In addition, the serum IL-6 and IFN-γ levels were significantly elevated in the non-responders group in comparison to the responders group. The estimated marker serum levels showed a strong, significant correlation with the 6-month change in DAS28. Conclusions: In Rituximab nonresponder RA patients, serum levels of Factor I, CD59, Factor H, IL-6, and IFN-γ are higher, and they have good potential to be used in the assessment of the response to Rituximab therapy.
Nearly a century and a half has passed since Sarah Orne Jewett published her much anthologized short story “A White Heron” (1886), but commentators on the tale missed one of the most important points in the text. It is the story’s similarity to the traditional Euro-centric fairy tale of “Little Red Riding Hood”. As an author, writing at the end of the ninetieth century, a time that witnessed the demise of the Romantic movement in America and the beginning of the age of Realism, Jewett did not romanticize her characters, despite the idyllic landscape in which “A White Heron” is set. Her story can be analyzed as a text that aims at disseminating ecological awareness among her young readers. This study focuses on Jewett
... Show MoreBackground: Adipose derived-mesenchymal stem cells have been used as an alternative to bone marrow cells in this study. Objective: We investigated the in vitro isolation, identification, and differentiation of stem cells into neuron cells, in order to produce neuron cells via cell culture, which would be useful in nerve injury treatment. Method: Mouse adipose mesenchymal stem cells were dissected from the abdominal subcutaneous region. Neural differentiation was induced using β-mercaptoethanol. This study included two different neural stage markers, i.e. nestin and neurofilament light-chain, to detect immature and mature neurons, respectively. Results: The immunocytochemistry results showed that the use of β-mercaptoethanol resulted in
... Show MoreThe performance analyses of 15 kWp (kW peak) Grid -Tied solar PV system (that considered first of its type) implemented at the Training and Energy Research Center Subsidiary of Iraqi Ministry of Electricity in Baghdad city has been achieved. The system consists of 72 modules arranged in 6 strings were each string contains 12 modules connected in series to increase the voltage output while these strings connected in parallel to increase the current output. According to the observed duration, the reference daily yields, array daily yields and final daily yields of this system were (5.9, 4.56, 4.4) kWh/kWp/day respectively. The energy yield was 1585 kWh/kWp/year while the annual total solar irradiation received by solar array system was 198
... Show MoreThis study was conducted to determine the effect of different concentrations of ethanol extract of propolis against two fungi Botrytis cinerea, Altrnaria sp. The most important chemical constituents of propolis diagnosed by the Infra Red Spectroscopy, were the Flavonoids specificaly. Results showed a high antifungal activity of ethanol extract of propolis, evidently with a high concentration of extract (5) mg\ml, which completely inhibited the radial growth on both solid and liquid media (PDA &PD Broth ) of both fungi . We observed that , ethanol extract p
... Show MoreABSTRACT:
Microencapsulation is used to modify and retard drug release as well as to overcome the unpleasant effect
(gastrointestinal disturbances) which are associated with repeated and overdose of ibuprofen per day.
So that, a newly developed method of microencapsulation was utilized (a modified organic method) through a
modification of aqueous colloidal polymer dispersion method using ethylcellulose and sodium alginate coating materials to
prepare a sustained release ibuprofen microcapsules.
The effect of core : wall ratio on the percent yield and encapsulation efficiency of prepared microcapsules was low, whereas
, the release of drug from prepared microcapsules was affected by core: wall ratio ,proportion of coa
In this research, annealed nanostructured ZnO catalyst water putrefaction system was built using sun light and different wavelength lasers as stimulating light sources to enhance photocatalytic degradation activity of methylene blue (MB) dye as a model based on interfacial charges transfer. The structural, crystallite size, morphological, particle size, optical properties and degradation ability of annealed nanostructured ZnO were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and UV-VIS Spectrometer, respectively. XRD results demonstrated a pure crystalline hexagonal wurtzite with crystalline size equal to 23 nm. From AFM results, the average particle size was 79.25nm. All MB samples and MB with annealed nanostr
... Show MoreThe fall angle of sun rays on the surface of a photovoltaic PV panel and its temperature is negatively affecting the panel electrical energy produced and efficiency. The fall angle problem was commonly solved by using a dual-axis solar tracker that continually maintains the panel orthogonally positioning to the sun rays all day long. This leads to maximum absorption for solar radiation necessary to produce maximum amount of energy and maintain high level of electrical efficiency. To solve the PV panel temperature problem, a Water-Flow Double Glazing WFDG technique has been introduced as a new cooling tool to reduce the panel temperature. In this paper, an integration design of the water glazing system with a dual-axis tracker has been ac
... Show MoreIn this paper, a new third kind Chebyshev wavelets operational matrix of derivative is presented, then the operational matrix of derivative is applied for solving optimal control problems using, third kind Chebyshev wavelets expansions. The proposed method consists of reducing the linear system of optimal control problem into a system of algebraic equations, by expanding the state variables, as a series in terms of third kind Chebyshev wavelets with unknown coefficients. Example to illustrate the effectiveness of the method has been presented.
Abstract: Polarization beam splitter (PBS) integrated waveguides are the key components in the receiver of quantum key distribution (QKD) systems. Their function is to analyze the polarization of polarized light and separate the transverse-electric (TE) and transverse-magnetic (TM) polarizations into different waveguides. In this paper, a performance study of polarization beam splitters based on horizontal slot waveguide has been investigated for a wavelength of . PBS based on horizontal slot waveguide structure shows a polarization extinction ratio for quasi-TE and quasi-TM modes larger than with insertion loss below and a bandwidth of . Also, the fabrication tolerance of the structure is analyzed.<
... Show MoreHeuristic approaches are traditionally applied to find the optimal size and optimal location of Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS) devices in power systems. Genetic Algorithm (GA) technique has been applied to solve power engineering optimization problems giving better results than classical methods. This paper shows the application of GA for optimal sizing and allocation of a Static Compensator (STATCOM) in a power system. STATCOM devices used to increase transmission systems capacity and enhance voltage stability by regulate the voltages at its terminal by controlling the amount of reactive power injected into or absorbed from the power system. IEEE 5-bus standard system is used as an example to illustrate the te
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