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.
A new Mannich base ligand was prepared by reacting the 2-chloro.-N-(5-mercapto-1, 3, 4-thiadazol -2-yl) acetamide and Piperidine in the presence (formaldehyde) (L) ligand. A series of ligand complexes were prepared from (L) with the metal ion Co (II), Ni (II), Cu (II), Pd (II), Pt (IV), and Au (III). Various spectroscopic techniques such as C.H.N.S, FTIR, UV-VIS, , 1HNMR, 13CNMR, Magnetic moment, and molar conductivity successfully characterize the obtained compounds. The M: L ratio was determined using the molar ratio method in solution. All prepared compounds' antibacterial and antifungal activity was studied against two types of bacteria and one type of fungi at a rate of 0.02M. The standard ΔH° f and ΔEb of the ligands an
... Show MoreThere are many techniques that can be used to estimate the spray quality traits such as the spray coverage, droplet density, droplet count, and droplet diameter. One of the most common techniques is to use water sensitive papers (WSP) as a spray collector on field conditions and analyzing them using several software. However, possible merger of some droplets could occur after they deposit on WSP, and this could affect the accuracy of the results. In this research, image processing technique was used for better estimation of the spray traits, and to overcome the problem of droplet merger. The droplets were classified as non-merged and merged droplets based on their roundness, then the merged droplets were separated based on the average non-m
... Show MoreIn the present study, a novel ligand (L) made of 2-hydroxynaphthaldehyde and 3-hydrazone-1,3-dihydro-indole-2-one(3-[(3-hydroxynaphthalen-2-yl-ethylidene)-hydrazono]-1,3-dihydro-indol-2-one). The ligand was characterized by FTIR, UV-vis, mass, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and CHN elemental analysis. New complexes of this ligand were created by treating methanol and a drop of DMF solution of the produced ligand with the hydrated metal salts of Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II) in a molar ratio of 2:1 (L:M). As a result, complexes have been emerged and identified FTIR, UV-vis, C.H.N., chloride-containing, molar conductance, magnetic susceptibility, and atomic absorption. The characterization result for each complex indicated complexes wi
... Show MoreThe expansion of the social media environment has created its own linguistic realities which involve more colloquial communication and practical employment of language. This research focuses on nominalizations in detail, which are originally formed words that have been changed for a noun role. These nominalizations are examined within the context of Facebook posts. The research aims to discover the various nominalizations used and how often they appear in a large sample of data from Public Facebook Posts Corpora. Computational linguistics opened new fields of study and enabled researchers to study large amounts of data easily, making it easier to identify patterns. Two computational methods of identifying nominalization in a large dataset w
... Show MoreRecently, there has been a notable surge in interest surrounding entrepreneurial orientation and strategic entrepreneurship. These concepts are particularly relevant due to their modern characteristics that aid in adapting to the environment. They also play a crucial role in improving production, service, and technological processes to sustain value, minimize competition, and drive ongoing enhancements, ultimately leading to a position of leadership within public companies. Therefore, the primary focus of this research was to examine the influence of entrepreneurial orientation on achieving strategic entrepreneurship. This influence is further mediated by the presence Iraqi Ministry of Agric
... Show MoreThe study aimed to identify the degree of commitment of social workers working in the Ministry of Social Development to the professional principles of the social work profession in light of the Corona pandemic, and the sample consisted of (135) specialists. The study reached several results: the most important one is the degree of commitment of social workers working in the Ministry of Social Development to the professional principles of social service was great. The other result is the absence of statistically significant differences according to the variables of sex and place of residence. Moreover, the results also showed the absence of statistically significant differences in the principles of ( Acceptance o
... Show Morethis paper consists of three sections, Section one deals with the most important difficulties and characteristics of English subordinate clauses whereas section two tackles the difficulties faced by the Iraqi EFL students at the third year in the Department of English, College of languages, University of Baghdad in recognizing and producing the subordinate clauses submitting them to a test consisting of two questions (recognition and production). Finally, some pedagogical recommendation of the findings can be found in section four.
The research aims at evaluating the illustrations images and determining the availability of good image standards in the illustrations images of the content of the second intermediate stage computer's book for the academic year (2019-2020) as seen by computer teachers. The sample was randomly selected, (30) teachers who are actually teaching the subject in schools within the geographical area of the province of Baghdad (Karkh III). To achieve this goal, ten standards were identified: scientific accuracy, suitability for the level of students, image clarity, image freshness, quality of coloring, suitability of its location of the subject, Matching their content glimpsed, The subject matter is appropriate in terms of area, matching its tit
... Show MoreThis research is drawn from a doctoral dissertation, studying the approach of Sheikh Abd al-Qadir al-Muhajir al-Sanandji al-Kurdi (1303 AH) on the issue of proving the existence of God Almighty.
Sheikh Abd al-Qadir al-Sanandji was one of the scholars well versed in mental sciences. He has many books, all of them in the sciences of speech and wisdom, and among his books is the book (Raising the Eyebrow in Explanation of Ithbat al-Wajib), which is still a manuscript that has not been printed.
Through this book, the researcher studied the evidence of Sheikh Abdul Qadir to prove the existence of God Almighty, and compared it with the evidence of philosophers and theologians.
At the beginning, he presented a study on the import