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.
Television culture has become the most dangerous of our time. It manipulates with minds and hearts together; and forms consciousness. It transforms societies into actual forces rejecting certain principles by guiding the media landscape through visible connotations acceptable to the public; or provokes the citizen against elements that put a burden on the viewer or the public in order to create a positive reaction to the subject of combating terrorism by combining these ads in line with what the public wants of security and tranquility and a decent living after suffering from terrorism in the past years.
Therefore, this research deals with television advertisements as one of the most important fo
... Show MoreElectrical distribution system loads are permanently not fixed and alter in value and nature with time. Therefore, accurate consumer load data and models are required for performing system planning, system operation, and analysis studies. Moreover, realistic consumer load data are vital for load management, services, and billing purposes. In this work, a realistic aggregate electric load model is developed and proposed for a sample operative substation in Baghdad distribution network. The model involves aggregation of hundreds of thousands of individual components devices such as motors, appliances, and lighting fixtures. Sana’a substation in Al-kadhimiya area supplies mainly residential grade loads. Measurement-based
... Show MoreThe goal of the research is to develop a sustainable rating system for roadway projects in Iraq for all of the life cycle stages of the projects which are (planning, design, construction and operation and maintenance). This paper investigates the criteria and its weightings of the suggested roadway rating system depending on sustainable planning activities. The methodology started in suggesting a group of sustainable criteria for planning stage and then suggesting weights from (1-5) points for each one of it. After that data were collected by using a closed questionnaire directed to the roadway experts group in order to verify the criteria weightings based on the relative importance of the roadway related impacts
... Show MoreOne of the most serious health disasters in recent memory is the COVID-19 epidemic. Several restriction rules have been forced to reduce the virus spreading. Masks that are properly fitted can help prevent the virus from spreading from the person wearing the mask to others. Masks alone will not protect against COVID-19; they must be used in conjunction with physical separation and avoidance of direct contact. The fast spread of this disease, as well as the growing usage of prevention methods, underscore the critical need for a shift in biometrics-based authentication schemes. Biometrics systems are affected differently depending on whether are used as one of the preventive techniques based on COVID-19 pandemic rules. This study provides an
... Show MoreMangrove landscaping in the Segara Anakan Lagoon (SAL) is an adaptation pattern of mangrove ecosystems to live and grow in unstable areas. This research aimed to develop a mangrove landscape to mitigate the impacts of ocean waves, currents, and inundation due to climate change. The study was conducted in SAL and Cilacap Coast (CC) using the environmental properties and climate change data. The data obtained were analyzed using mapping and trendline analyses. The results showed that mangrove landscaping in Segara Anakan had four zones with Nypa frutican, Rhizophora styllosa, Aegiceras corniculatum, Rhizophora apiculata, Avicennia marina, Sonneratia alba identified as the best adaptation of mangrove species. Climate change give a high impa
... Show MoreInternational news websites, including Russia Today, pay special attention to the media image of Afghan women, especially after the Taliban movement took control of Afghanistan. Therefore, it was necessary to know the image of the Afghan woman, the fate of the rights she acquired in recent years, and the transformations that affected her after the Taliban took control of the government, and studied them on international news sites, specifically Russia Today.
The researcher summarized the problem of this study in the following question: What is the media image of the Afghan woman on the Russia Today news site?
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This research deals with and which was entitled: relationship between psychological time and elements of filming expression (one-day event filmsas an example). It is about the relationship of psychological time (internal) with the elements of filming expression and how the time affected when using these elements in terms of its deceleration or acceleration. In particular, this research focus on elements that slow down time or stops it when using these elements. As one day time is short and heavy at the time of spectators in terms of the large number of film events which makes the viewer runs out of breath to understand the nature of those events and then identify the causes and consequences, as they occur in a short time (one day time) a
... Show MoreKurdish language multifunctional morphemes indicate the different functional morphological, syntactical, and semantic tasks of the morphemes. The present study discusses the multifunctional task of the Morpheme Le in Kurdish Language. The Morpheme Le has marginally been included in other studies, yet up to the present times, there has not been a research inclusively dedicated to thoroughly discuss and clarify its multifunctional aspects. The present study is divided into two chapters:
Chapter one discusses the theoretical aspect of chapter two that is entirely concerned with the practical aspect of the morpheme Le. The first part of chapte
... Show MoreThe study aimed to identify the level of health awareness and health education among mothers zones, urban and rural areas as well as to identify the differences between them and to achieve this study was conducted on a sample of (121) or been Akhittarhn randomly, aged (20 - 43 years) and applied them to a questionnaire to measure the health awareness, which formed from a group of paragraphs, and after the collection of data was treated using the statistical software (SAS), where research showed many of the results are:
1/ Reached the age group ranging between (20-30 years), the highest rate for the present, where was (40.51%), while in the countryside matched by age group (31-40 years old) in terms of (54.76%)./ It turns out that the