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.
Coagulation is the most important process in drinking water treatment. Alum coagulant increases the aluminum residuals, which have been linked in many studies to Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, it is very important to use it with the very optimal dose. In this paper, four sets of experiments were done to determine the relationship between raw water characteristics: turbidity, pH, alkalinity, temperature, and optimum doses of alum [ .14 O] to form a mathematical equation that could replace the need for jar test experiments. The experiments were performed under different conditions and under different seasonal circumstances. The optimal dose in every set was determined, and used to build a gene expression model (GEP). The models were co
... Show MoreThis study aimed to identify the role of school administration in achieving educational and learning goals from the point of view of educational supervisors in the stage of basic education. The descriptive method was adopted. As for the sample size, it has reached (59) educational supervisors. A questionnaire consisting of 29 paragraphs divided into four areas was used. The data were statistically analyzed on the Chi-square test, the percentage, and the mono-variance analysis. The result showed that the school administration contributes to achieving educational goals. It also works to solve problems in democratic ways, and in modern methods, there are differences in the criteria for choosing the headmaster. The study recommended that sch
... Show MoreIn some cases, researchers need to know the causal effect of the treatment in order to know the extent of the effect of the treatment on the sample in order to continue to give the treatment or stop the treatment because it is of no use. The local weighted least squares method was used to estimate the parameters of the fuzzy regression discontinuous model, and the local polynomial method was used to estimate the bandwidth. Data were generated with sample sizes (75,100,125,150 ) in repetition 1000. An experiment was conducted at the Innovation Institute for remedial lessons in 2021 for 72 students participating in the institute and data collection. Those who used the treatment had an increase in their score after
... Show MoreThe present study was conducted with a view to determine whether focal laser therapy result in visual recovery and regression of macular edema in patients with non proliferative diabetic retinopathy and maculopathy ,and whether combined focal and scatter laser therapy in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy and maculopathy results in visual recovery ,regression of macular edema and regression of the risk factors. In the present work, a frequency doubled Nd: YAG laser was used for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy. The study evaluates 41 eyes of 33 diabetic patients both with Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus IDDM, (n=16) and Non Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus NIDDM, (n=17) with diabetic retinopathy divided into two
... Show MoreThe aim of the present research is to investigate the effecting of pH parameter on the feasibility of lead removal from simulated wastewater using an electrochemical system. Electrocoagulation method is one of electrochemical technology which is used widely to treat industrial wastewater. Parameters affecting this operation, such as initial metal concentration, applied current, stirrer speed, and contact time of electroprocessing were taken as 155ppm, 1.5 Ampere, 150 rpm, 60 minutes respectively. While pH of the simulated wastewater was in the range of 2 to 12 in the experiments. It was found from the results that pH is an important parameter affecting lead removal operation. The best value of pH parameter is appro
... Show MoreResistance spot welding (RSW) aluminum alloys has a major problem of inconsistent quality from weld to weld, because of the problems of the non-uniform oxide layer. The high resistivity of the oxide causes strong heat released which influence significantly on the electrode lifetime and the weld quality. Much effort has been devoted experimentally to the study of the sheet surface characteristics for as-received sheet and surface pretreatment sheet by pickling in NaOH and glassblasted with three thicknesses (0.6, 1.0, and 1.5 mm) of AA1050. Three different welding process parameters energy setup as a low, medium, and high were carried. Tensile-shear strength tests were performed to indicate the weld quality. Moreover, microhardness tests,
... Show MoreCO2 Laser (10600nm) is the recent method in the management of challenging skin scar resulting from trauma, burn and surgical wound. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy & safety of fractional CO2 laser (10600nm) in treatment of skin scar. Materials and Methods:Twenty patients with different types of scars treated with fractional CO2 (10600nm) laser, (10 patients) were given additional intralesional Triamcinolone. Results: All of the twenty patients included in this study showed some sort of improvements in scar texture, height and pliability and all of the ten patients who received intralesional Triamcinolone after laser show complete satisfaction. Conclusion:Fractional CO2 (10600nm) laser can be used as alternative, ef
... Show MoreA study was performed to evaluate heavy metals removal from sewage sludge using lime. The processes of stabilization using alkaline chemicals operating on a simple principle of raising pH to 12 or higher, with sufficient mixing and suitable contact time to ensure that immobilization can reduce heavy metals. A 0.157 m3 tank was designed to treat Al-Rustemeyia wastewater treatment plant sludge. Characteristics of raw sludge were examined through two parameters: pH and heavy metal analysis. Different lime doses of (0- 25) g CaO/100 g sludge were mixed manually with raw sludge in a rotating drum. The samples were analyzed two hours after mixing. pH and heavy metals results were compared with EPA and National Iraqi Stand
... Show MoreThe electrocoagulation process became one of the most important technologies used for water treatment processes in the last few years. It’s the preferred method to remove suspended solids and heavy metals from water for treating drinking water and wastewater from textile, diary, and electroplating factories. This research aims to study the effect of using the electrocoagulation process with aluminum electrodes on the removal efficiency of suspended solids and turbidity presented in raw water and optimizing by the response surface methodology (RSM). The most important variables studied in this research included electrode spacing, the applied voltage, and the operating time of the electrocoagulation process. The samples
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