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.
We used to think of grammar as the bones of the language and vocabulary as the flesh to be added given that language consisted largely of life generated chunks of lexis. This “skeleton image” has been proverbially used to refer to that central feature of lexis named collocation- an idea that for the first 15 years of language study and analysis gave a moment‟s thought to English classroom material and methodology.
The work of John Sinclair, Dave Willis, Ron Carter, Michael McCarthy, Michael Lewis, and many others have all contributed to the way teachers today approach the area of lexis and what it means in the teaching/learning process of the language. This also seems to have incorporated lexical ideas into the teaching mechanis
Labor movement is considered important in Britain because it is an international phenomenon of the feudal system and one of the flowerings of the era of the capitalist machine. At the beginning of the 18th century, the world witnessed a change and progress in many aspects of the industrial fields such as the different means of production .this era is called the industrial revolution which especially appeared in Britain and extended to other areas of the world .it leads to many changes in Europe and participated in different economic, political and cultural and social fields. and it has a very important role in progress and development but its disadvantage is that it is exploited by the capitalists to achieve their special rights .in othe
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The current research includes a look at the participation of Iraqi women in the combat roles, which starts from the assumption of the democratic transition that must be led - in one of its aspect - until the army or the military foundation to become a "citizen army," the matter which is represented a demand increasingly needed in the experiences of Democratic transformation that facing serious security challenges such as in Iraq, this means that the army or security foundation - which is involved in counterterrorism - should not reflect a specific group in society , and hence embody the most important democratic principles, which are equality and equal opportunities, especially gender equality. On the other hand, the influence of armed conf
... Show MoreThere are obstacles to high levels of hypertension awareness that are embedded in gender, income and lifestyle habits which need to be addressed leading to high levels of undiagnosed and uncontrolled hypertension. This study aimed to explore the various factors which affect hypertension awareness among a hypertensive population in a tertiary care hospital.
A quantitative study was conducted among hypertensive patients at a tertiary care hospital in Selangor, Malaysia. A validated and translated questionnaire was utilised as a data collection tool. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 25.
A thousand participants (female n=621, male n= 379) were recruited, and their
... Show MoreThis paper presents the syntactic dimension of ditransitive verbs in terms of the universal theory of Role and Reference Grammar (RRG). This theory is syntactic in nature, but it also covers the semantic as well as the pragmatic aspects of any linguistic phenomenon. It assumes a universal framework through which syntactic constructions can be analyzed. However, the morphological structure that each language enjoys renders the universal treatment more complicated and can question the universal nature of such a theory. In this paper, an attempt is made to check if the universal tenet of the theory is maintained over two typologically different languages: English and Arabic in respect of the way that double-object constructions (DOCs)
... Show MoreABSTRACT Background: Dental caries is a most common social and intractable infectious disease in human. Saliva is critical for preserving and maintaining oral health and salivary elements had many effects on caries experience. Aim of study: This study was conducted to assess dental caries severity by age and gender and their relation to salivary zinc and copper among a group of adults aged (19-22) years. Materials and methods: After examination eighty persons aged 19-22 years of both gender. Caries severity was documented according to DMFS index. Stimulated salivary samples were collected and chemically analyzed under standardized condition to detect salivary elements zinc and copper. Concentrations of Zinc and copper were measured by using
... Show MoreThis systematic review aimed to analyse available evidence to answer two focused questions about the efficacy of erythritol powder air‐polishing (EPAP) (i) as an adjunctive during active periodontal therapy (APT) and (ii) as an alternative to hand/ultrasonic instrumentation during supportive periodontal therapy (SPT). Additionally, microbiological outcomes and patient's comfort/perceptions were assessed as secondary outcomes.
PubMed, Cochrane and Medline were searched for relevant articles published before February 2021 following PRISMA guidelines. The search was conducted by three indep
This study compared in vitro the microleakage of a new low shrink silorane-based posterior composite (Filtek™ P90) and two methacrylate-based composites: a packable posterior composite (Filtek™ P60) and a nanofill composite (Filtek™ Supreme XT) through dye penetration test. Thirty sound human upper premolars were used in this study. Standardized class V cavities were prepared at the buccal surface of each tooth. The teeth were then divided into three groups of ten teeth each: (Group 1: restored with Filtek™ P90, Group 2: restored with Filtek™ P60, and Group 3: restored with Filtek™ Supreme XT). Each composite system was used according to the manufacturer's instructions with their corresponding adhesive systems. The teeth were th
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