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.
The annual performance of a hybrid system of a flat plate photovoltaic thermal system and a solar thermal collector (PVT/ST) is numerically analyzed from the energy, exergy, and environmental (CO2 reduction) viewpoints. This system can produce electricity and thermal power simultaneously, with higher thermal power and exergy compared to conventional photovoltaic thermal systems. For this purpose, a 3D transient numerical model is developed for investigating the system's performance in four main steps: (1) investigating the effects of the mass flow rate of the working fluid (20 to 50 kg/h) on the temperature behavior and thermodynamic performance of the system, (2) studying the impacts of using glass covers on the different parts of the s
... 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 MoreThe main objective of this study is to experimentally investigate the effect of the CMC polymeric drag reducer on the pressure drop occurred along the annulus of the wellbore in drilling operation and investigate the optimum polymer concentration that give the minimum pressure drop. A flow loop was designed for this purpose consist from 14 m long with transparent test section and differential pressure transmitter that allows to sense and measure the pressure losses along the test section. The results from the experimental work show that increasing in polymer concentration help to reduce the pressure drop in annulus and the optimum polymer concentration with the maximum drag reducing is 0.8 kg/m3. Also increasing in flow rate a
... Show MoreBackground: There are so many evidences that there was antimicrobial resistance, and there were many strains that emerged which were difficult to treat. We are living in a situation that the dissemination of multiple drug resistant bacteria can lead us to the situation, in which no treatment could be offered for bacterial infection in future.
Aim of study: Assessment of nurses’ knowledge, attitude, and practices on antibiotic use and resistance in Fatima Al Zahra hospital in Baghdad.
Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study. The study was carried on from 1st of February to 31st of March 2021. A questionnaire was constructed by the research team based on literature review and was adapted to asses
... 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
The study was conducted to assess the attitude and awareness of a sample of people regarding the indiscriminate slaughter and its effects on health and the environment compared with slaughtering in a slaughterhouse. The sample consisted of 120 persons from six equal professional groups contacted with the butchery labour (livestock keeper, truck driver, butcher, veterinarian, shopkeeper and consumer). The age ranged 22-76 years old, mean 52±10 years, lived ≥ 5 years in the Baghdad city. The results showed that there is a preference for slaughtering inside the slaughterhouse due to the presence of veterinary examination, slaughtering and preparing meat in a healthy, easy-to-clean places, unlike the indiscriminate sla
... Show MoreThis study attempts to test the interactive role played by organizational agility in enhancing the effect of organizational anomie on the behavior of planned human resources. The study of organizational anomie has increased because of the moral and legal pressures facing the organization by the external environment within its framework. To adapt to all external developments faced by these organizations, the behavior of human resources planned reflects the ability of individuals to control their behavior in different situations and situations that face them in the work.
The problem of the research indicates that there is a clear lack of understanding of what is meant by the variables studied in the sample
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The objective of this research is to analyze the relationship between the strategic planning for human resources and career path, and I have tested Search the Ministry of Health and some health centers headquarters in the Karkh district, that is applied in sample Consist of (45) Deputy Director, Head of Depts, Departmental Manager, and health center Manager.
Find interested in studying the two subjects are important and vital, at the level of organizations at the present time, namely the strategic planning of human resources and career path. To achieve the objectives of the research was designed Qusestionnair (31) items to collect Primary data. and collected t
... Show MoreThe study aims to find out the extent to which several Iraqi institutional accreditation standards (governance and administration, scientific research, curricula) are applied in two public universities (Baghdad and Middle Technical University) and two private universities (Uruk and Al-Mansour College) by diagnosing strengths and weaknesses and proposing a mechanism and procedures to help educational institution aims to reduce or eliminate the gap. The study stems from the extent of application of several Iraqi institutional accreditation standards represented as it was worked on through observation and field coexistence to reach scientific and practical facts. The method of case study and comparison betwe
... Show MoreThe comparative study tries to find the common points in two different authors’ works and in this kind of studying so many other common but the hidden points may be revealed. Postwar literature is somehow one of the best literary genres for finding the common factors and features that the poets have tried to present in their works elements such as desire to be winner, cruelty, inhumanity, and absurdity of the war. The Iranian poet late Qaisar Aminpour(1961-2007) and Yusef Komunyakaa ( 1947) from Bogalusa, Louisiana, are among the great American and Iranian poets whose works so many times have been interpreted and analyzed. The finding the outstanding and the most important points and themes in the postwar poems of these
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