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.
HTH Ahmed Dheyaa Al-Obaidi,", Ali Tarik Abdulwahid', Mustafa Najah Al-Obaidi", Abeer Mundher Ali', eNeurologicalSci, 2023
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One of the unique properties of laser heating applications is its powerful ability for precise pouring of energy on the needed regions in heat treatment applications. The rapid rise in temperature at the irradiated region produces a high temperature gradient, which contributes in phase metallurgical changes, inside the volume of the irradiated material. This article presents a comprehensive numerical work for a model based on experimentally laser heated AISI 1110 steel samples. The numerical investigation is based on the finite element method (FEM) taking in consideration the temperature dependent material properties to predict the temperature distribution within the irradiated material volume. The finite element analysis (FEA) was carried
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This contribution evaluates the influence of Cr doping on the ground state properties of SrTiO3 Perovskite using GGA-PBE approximation. Results of the simulated model infer agreement with the previously published literature. The modification of electronic structure and optical properties due to Cr3+ doping levels in SrTiO3 has been investigated. Structural parameters infer that Cr3+ doping alters the electronic structures of SrTiO3 by shifting the conduction band through lower energies for the Sr and Ti sites. Substituting Ti site by Cr3+ results the energy gap in being eliminated revealing a new electrical case of conducting material for the system. Furthermore, it has been noticed that Cr doping either at Sr or Ti positions could effectiv
... Show MoreThe chemical, physical and toxicological effects on health of synthetic dyes that used as tracking dye in the electrophoresis requires seriously search about alternative tracking dye. The present study is aimed to find an alternative dye from safe food dyes which commonly used in food coloring. Five dyes were selected depending on their chemical properties and the availability in local market: Brilliant Blue FCF, Tartrazine, Sunset Yellow FCF, Carmoisine, and green traditional, three dyes were chosen to be mixed as loading buffer: Brilliant Blue FCF, Sunset Yellow FCF as a basic because it give the whole range size of most traditional loading buffers that available in market, and adding the Carmoisine as a new indicator for the bands less t
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Certain cyclic amine derivatives of metronidazole via acetate spacer were prepared. Cyclic amines used are piperidine and piperazine to improve the physicochemical properties and reduce some of metronidazole side effects. This is believed to be done by modification of its structural features to get prodrugs with improved properties over that of metronidazole. The present work includes esterification of metronidazole with choroacetic acid, N-alkylation of the cyclic amines by the halogenated ester and characterization of their structures by spectral(UV and IR) and elemental(CHN)analysis.The melting points, degree of solubilities and partition coefficients were also determined. Both metronid
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The aesthetic contents of data visualization is one of the contemporary areas through which data scientists and designers have been able to link data to humans, and even after reaching successful attempts to model data visualization, it wasn't clear how that reveals how it contributed to choosing the aesthetic content as an input to humanize these models, so the goal of the current research is to use The analytical descriptive approach aims to identify the aesthetic contents in data visualization, which the researchers interpreted through pragmatic philosophy and Kantian philosophy, and analyze a sample of data visualization models to reveal the aesthetic entrances in them to explain how to humanize them. The two researchers reached seve
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The influence of Cr3+ doping on the ground state properties of SrTiO3 perovskite was evaluated using GGA-PBE approximation. Computational modeling results infered an agreement with the previously published literature. The modification of electronic structure and optical properties due to Cr3+ introducing into SrTiO3 were investigated. Structural parameters assumed that Cr3+ doping alters the electronic structures of SrTiO3 by shifting the conduction band through lower energies for the Sr and Ti sites. Besides, results showed that the band gap was reduced by approximately 50% when presenting one Cr3+ atom into the SrTiO3 system and particularly positioned at Sr sites. Interestingly, substituting Ti site by Cr3+ led to eliminating the band ga
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Abstract: The development of highly sensitive sensors has become an efficient field of research. In this work, an ArF Excimer laser of 193 nm with a maximum pulse energy of 275 mJ, 15 ns pulse duration and a repetition rate of 1 Hz is utilized to form a Laser Induced Periodic Surface Structures (LIPSS) of three different morphologies (nanochains, contours, grooves) on surface of CR39 polymer at a fluence range above the ablation threshold (250 mJ/cm2). The laser ablated polymer surface is then Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) activated by deposition of a gold layer of 30 nm thickness. The capability of the produced substrate for surface enhanced Raman scattering is evaluated through thiophenol as an analyte molecule. It is observ
... Show MoreIn the present study, a low cost adsorbent is developed from the naturally available sawdust
which is biodegradable. The removal capacity of chromium(VI) from the synthetically prepared
industrial effluent of electroplating and tannery industrial is obtained.
Two modes of operation are used, batch mode and fixed bed mode. In batch experiment the
effect of Sawdust dose (4- 24g/L) with constant initial chromium(VI) concentration of 50 mg/L and
constant particle size less than1.8 mm were studied.
Batch kinetics experiments showed that the adsorption rate of chromium(VI) ion by Sawdust
was rapid and reached equilibrium within 120 min. The three models (Freundlich, Langmuir and
Freundlich-Langmuir) were fitted to exper
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