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 primary goal of root canal treatment (RCT) is to expel the presence of any necrotic or vital tissue, microbes and their byproducts from the canal space before press forward with the following steps of the RCT procedures. Although this is difficult to attain, various strives had been practiced by employing chemical and mechanical methods to eliminate as much microorganisms as possible and make the canal space valid for the obturation materials to be received. The aim of this review is to demonstrate some of what new remedies that could be used as root canal disinfectant by summarizing the recent studies regarding the efficacy of different natural products against the most persistence microbiota that could be responsible for most
... Show MoreThe problem of housing in Iraq is a long-rooted and rooted problem, and it needs a great effort to find out its causes and thus give essential points that contribute to alleviating and addressing it, and it is worth noting that research into the housing problem and the housing sector in Iraq is not done in isolation from other sectors and studies. As well as the economic policies pursued and the social and political conditions. It is known that the Iraqi economy is a unilateral (rentier) economy, that is, it depends almost entirely on exporting oil and obtaining revenues, and that the economic decision and economic policies followed in Iraq are greatly affected by several factors, including the economic, social and political fact
... Show MoreWireless sensor networks (WSNs) represent one of the key technologies in internet of things (IoTs) networks. Since WSNs have finite energy sources, there is ongoing research work to develop new strategies for minimizing power consumption or enhancing traditional techniques. In this paper, a novel Gaussian mixture models (GMMs) algorithm is proposed for mobile wireless sensor networks (MWSNs) for energy saving. Performance evaluation of the clustering process with the GMM algorithm shows a remarkable energy saving in the network of up to 92%. In addition, a comparison with another clustering strategy that uses the K-means algorithm has been made, and the developed method has outperformed K-means with superior performance, saving ener
... Show MoreAlthough tattooed literary characters are not new in literature, they are still in children’s literature. Inked characters were nearly absent from children’s books and with the dawn of the twenty first century many of them portrayed tattooed characters. The problem of the study lies in the lack of studies concerning these types of characters in children’s books. The researchers aim to study inked characters in selected stories for children to show the different literary uses of tattoos in these stories, serving not only characterization but theme and symbolism as well. Two children's stories are selected for this study: Tell Me A Tattoo Story (2016) by Alison McGhee and My Teacher Has Tattoos (2023) by Darren Lopez. The researchers st
... Show MoreBackground : Shoulder pain is a common problem that can pose difficult diagnostic and therapeutic challenges for the family physician It is the third most common musculoskeletal complaint in the general population, and account for 5% of all general practitioners musculoskeletal consults
Objective: To determine the diagnostic performance of ultrasonography compared with the physical examination for detection of rotator cuff tears in painful shoulder syndrome.
Method: Prospective study was done on seventy patients (48 male, 22 female), age ranged between 30-70 years (mean age 50 years), From February 2007 to July 2011, were subjected to comparative study in Al-Kindy teaching hospital with rotator cuff tears, including physical and ul
The numerical investigation has been performed to study the radiation affected steady state laminar mixed convection induced by a hot inner varied positions circular core in a horizontal rectangular channel for a fully developed flow. To examine the effects of thermal radiation on thermo fluid dynamics behavior in the eccentric geometry channel, the generalized body fitted co-ordinate system is introduced while the finite difference method is used for solving the radiative transport equation. The governing equations which used are continuity, momentum and energy equations. These equations are normalized and solved using the Vorticity-Stream function. After validating numerical results for the case without radiation, the detailed rad
... Show MoreThe research is summarized in the construction of a mathematical model using the most common methods in the science of Operations Research, which are the models of transportation and linear programming to find the best solution to the problem of the high cost of hajj in Iraq, and this is done by reaching the optimum number of pilgrims traveling through both land ports and the number Ideal for passengers traveling through airports by Iraqi Airways, instead of relying on the personal experience of the decision-maker in Hajj and Umrah Authority by identifying the best port for pilgrim's travel, which can tolerate right or wrong, has been based on scientific methods of Operations Research, the researcher built two mathematical models
... Show More