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.
DBN Rashid, Al- Utroha Journal, 2018
Praise be to God, prayer, and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah and his God and his companions. The field of the judiciary to prove or invalidate some cases in the field of proof of descent and attachment to the plaintiff or exile, and other legal and judicial issues, especially in this era where the spread of previously unknown evidence, such as DNA, which was discovered in 1953, and the genetic fingerprint discovered 1984, blood analysis and a Saliva, sweat, poetry, etc. in the field of forensic evidence, in forensic medicine or medical expertise, it can be used to identify the killer, or verify his identity, using all the evidence in the scene, such as a point of blood or sweat, and the like So, as well as to prove the lineage is u
... Show MoreDigital tampering identification, which detects picture modification, is a significant area of image analysis studies. This area has grown with time with exceptional precision employing machine learning and deep learning-based strategies during the last five years. Synthesis and reinforcement-based learning techniques must now evolve to keep with the research. However, before doing any experimentation, a scientist must first comprehend the current state of the art in that domain. Diverse paths, associated outcomes, and analysis lay the groundwork for successful experimentation and superior results. Before starting with experiments, universal image forensics approaches must be thoroughly researched. As a result, this review of variou
... Show MoreZG Abdulrazaq, MR Younus, Nasaq, 2023
Politeness strategies are of significant importance to maintain the face of the addressee. Senders of formal congratulatory letters seek to create a positive image in the minds of their addresses by performing particular illocutionary acts and face-saving acts (FSAs) in the form of written texts. To the best knowledge of the researcher, this topic received little attention from linguistic researchers, especially on the pragma-stylistic level. The importance of this study arises from the fact that congratulatory formal letters are an effective tool in the successful performance of foreign relations and thus deserve investigation. The current study investigates the pragmastylistic aspects of illocutionary acts and FSA Politeness Stra
... Show MoreA new laboratory study conducted on stepped spillways in order to investigate their efficiency of dissipating flow energy. All previous study on stepped spillway indicated that the flow energy dissipation decreased as increasing in discharge. Increasing in the step numbers and the spillway slope led to energy dissipation decrease. In this study, an experimental attempt to increase energy dissipation at variable discharges was performed on stepped spillway and that leads to decreasing the cost of initiating the stilling basin or may be ignoring it. Five spillways were constructed from concrete and tested to investigate and compare among them. Three were roughed by gravel with different size for each one, one of them was s
... Show MoreNaber and toning in the modern Arab poetry Mahmoud Darwish, a model
Pharmaceutical companies assign a budget for activities and promotions that aim to change the prescription habits of the physicians to choose the most suitable medications for their patients, which will eventually grow their sales. The study's objectives were to explore physicians' and medical representatives' perspectives on the criteria of impactful professional PP and the factors influencing the interaction between physicians and medical representatives. Qualitative in-depth interviews with flexible probing techniques were carried out in 2023. A semi-structured, open-ended interview questionnaire was used to interview physicians and medical representatives (MRs) from different private clinics in several governorates in Iraq. Ten physicia
... Show MoreThis review delves deep into the intricate relationship between urban planning and flood risk management, tracing its historical trajectory and the evolution of methodologies over time. Traditionally, urban centers prioritized defensive measures, like dikes and levees, with an emphasis on immediate solutions over long-term resilience. These practices, though effective in the short term, often overlooked broader environmental implications and the necessity for holistic planning. However, as urban areas burgeoned and climate change introduced new challenges, there has been a marked shift in approach. Modern urban planning now emphasizes integrated blue-green infrastructure, aiming to harmonize human habitation with water cycles. Resil
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