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.
Intelligent or smart completion wells vary from conventional wells. They have downhole flow control devices like Inflow Control Devices (ICD) and Interval Control Valves (ICV) to enhance reservoir management and control, optimizing hydrocarbon output and recovery. However, to explain their adoption and increase their economic return, a high level of justification is necessary. Smart horizontal wells also necessitate optimizing the number of valves, nozzles, and compartment length. A three-dimensional geological model of the As reservoir in AG oil field was used to see the influence of these factors on cumulative oil production and NPV. After creating the dynamic model for the As reservoir using the program Petrel (2017.4), we
... Show MoreTemporomandibular disorders (TMDs) were investigated in 143 pretreatment orthodontic patients (43 males and 102 females) whose age ranged between 10-25 years at the College of Dentistry, University of Baghdad, Iraq. The study was undertaken to elucidate the prevalence and severity of TMDs in malocclusion patients and to defme the relationships between malocclusion and TMDs. The clinical signs and subjective symptoms were recorded according to the principles introduced by Helkimo (1974b). Subjective symptoms were reported by 65.7% of the patients with 22.40/0 described as severe, and the most common symptoms were TMJ sounds and feeling offatigue. Clinical signs were observed in 81.8% of the sample with 22.4 and 6.3% described as moderate and
... Show MoreExpired drug Metoclopramide was investigated as an antibacterial corrosion inhibitor for carbon steel in 0.5M H3PO4 solution using the electrochemical method at 30oC and 60oC. The results showed that this drug is an efficient inhibitor for carbon steel and the efficiency reached to 82.244 % for 175 ppm at 30oC and 76.146% for 225 ppm at 60oC. The adsorption of drug on carbon steel surface follows Langmuir adsorption isotherm with small values of adsorption-desorption constant. The polarization plots revealed that Metoclopramide acts as mixed-type inhibitor. Some parameters of inhibition process were calculated and discussed. The surface morphology of the carbon steel speci
... Show MoreExperts have given much attention on the use of waste in asphalt paving because of its significance from a sustainability perspective. This paper evaluated the performance properties of asphalt concrete mixes modified with Crumb Rubber (CR) as a partial replacement for two grade sizes of fine aggregate (2.36, and 0.3 mm) at six replacement rates: 0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, and 10% by weight. Asphalt concrete mixes were prepared at their Optimum Asphalt Content (OAC) and then tested for their engineering properties. Marshall properties, fatigue, rutting, ideal CT index test, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Energy-Dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy were deployed to examine the crystalline structure and elemental composition of the C
... Show MoreThis research aims to solve a problem in the field of accounting and financial knowledge in the world today, that is, the problem of creative accounting. Especially after the global financial crisis and the collapse of many large companies in the world, people find that they use creative accounting methods to distinguish them from reality, showing the results of their activities and their financial status. This research discusses the concept of creative accounting, the most important methods used in financial statements and its relationship with external auditing, and procedures to limit accounting creativity. This study uses descriptive analysis methods after confirming its theoretical aspects in practice. Using the statistical
... Show MoreThe objective of this study is to evaluate the bacterial count and heavy metal concentration of river water on fish micronuclei. Fish and water samples are carried out in 1 May to 1 June 2013 from Tigris River. A total of fifty three fish sample are studied. The bacteriological quality of water showed that the total viable count is ranged from 150×103 to 352×103 cfu/ml and fecal coliform counts was 1250 cell/100ml during the study period. All the metals (Cu, Hg, Pb, and Zn) are within the normal limit, but Cd was slightly elevated in river water samples. The appearance of micronuclei in red blood cells of all fish species is detect , by recording a larger number of it, in ( Abu Alsomere , Hishne , Bannini Kaber al fam & Karkoor
... Show MoreBACKGROUND Multiple myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell disorder characterized by the infiltration of clonal plasma cells in the bone marrow and the detection of a monoclonal immunoglobulin in serum and/or urine. Renal failure, anemia, hypercalcemia, and the presence of bone lesions are the hallmarks of the disease. The study aimed to evaluate the clinical, hematological, radiological, and immunophenotypic features of MM patients and to identify prognostic factors influencing survival outcomes. This cohort study included 77 newly diagnosed, untreated MM patients. Their clinical presentation, laboratory data, imaging results, and the expression of flow cytometry markers were analyzed in correlation with the 1-year overall survival (OS). The mean a
... Show MoreThe structural, optical properties of cupper indium gallium selenite (CuIn1-xGaxSe) have been studied. CuIn1-xGaxSe thin films for x=0.6 have been prepared by thermal evaporation technique, of 2000±20 nm thickness, with rate of deposition 2±0.1 nm/sec, on glass substrate at room temperature. Heat treatment has been carried out in the range (373-773) K for 1 hour. It demonstrated from the XRD method that all the as-deposited and annealed films have polycrystalline structure of multiphase. The optical measurement of the CIGS thin films conformed that they have, direct allowed energy gap equal to 1.7 eV. The values of some important optical parameters of the studied films such as (absorption coefficient, refractive index, extinction coeffici
... Show MoreBaghdad city has been faced numerous issues related to freshwater environment deteriorations due to many reasons, mainly was the discharge of wastewater without adequate treatment. Al- Rustamiya Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) have been constructed among many plants in Baghdad city to reduce the amount of wastewater discharged into natural environment and its subsequent adverse effects. This study was conducted to evaluate the performance of the plant which consist of a conventional activated sludge (CAS) and sequencing batch reactors (SBR) systems as secondary treatment units and its ability to meet Iraqi specifications. A reliability level determination and analysis also were conducted to find the plant's stability and its capabi
... Show MoreThe unprejudiced of this education is to gauge the ability of the retinoic acid to induce apoptotic cell death in hematological tumors through caspase dependent or independent apoptotic pathway, The cytotoxicity effects of retinoic acid of different concentrations (400,350,300,250,200,150,100,50,25,12.5 μg\ml) and exposure for all hematological malignancy cell lines (Human non-Hodgkin lymphoma SR and human multiple myeloma (COLO 677) and Human Monocytic Leukemia THP1 and Acute promyelocytic leukemia NB4) have been determined using a microtetrazolium (MTT) assay. Propodeum iodide and alcidine orange (AO/PI) paired discoloration was used to study the ability of retinoic acid to induce apoptosis in the infected cells and examined under fluore
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