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.
Although language research has focused on blackmail in general, less attention has been paid to emotional blackmail. To date, researchers could not locate any literature that examines emotional blackmail from a linguistic standpoint. The current study is intended to fill this gap by scrutinizing emotional blackmail from a pragma-stylistic point of view by examining the style of the characters in selected episodes extracted from the American Breaking Bad series. To carry out the study, an eclectic model comprising kinds of emotional blackmailers by Forward and Frazier (1997), Searles’ speech acts (1979), Grice’s maxims (1975), Brown and Levinson’s politeness (1987), Culpeper’s impoliteness (1996), and Simpson’s stylistic le
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fashion designers who have benefited greatly from the mobilization of ancient aesthetic ideas in the heritage of the people and guaranteed in their productions so that there is no change In the aesthetic value created by the designers of the research in the ancient heritage to find new signs that reflect the connection of man to the present as the aesthetic value of all the man created by the designs of fabrics and fashion through the ages The problem of research was determined in the absence of a precise understanding of the nature of classical thought in fashion and the absence of a clear perception of the sustainability of this thought in contemporary fashion. He
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The rate of gas induction was measured in gas-inducing type mechanically agitated contactors provided with two impellers. A reactor of 0.5 m i.d. was used with a working capacity of 60 liters of liquid. Tap water was used as the liquid phase, and air was used as the gas phase. The bioreactor mixing system consists of two equal diameter stirrers; the top impeller is shrouded-disk/curved-blade turbine with six evacuated bending blades, while the bottom impeller was disk turbine. The impeller speed was varied in the range of 50 to 800 rpm. The ratio of impeller diameter to tank diameter (D/T) and the submergence (S) of upper impeller from the top were varied. The effects of clearance of lower impeller from the tank bottom (C2) an
... Show MoreBACKGROUND: Three-dimensional (3D) printing is an evolving technology that has been used recently in a wide spectrum of applications. AIM: The objective is to evaluate the application of 3D printing in various neurosurgical practice. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This pilot study was conducted in the neurosurgical hospital in Baghdad/Iraq between July 2018 and July 2019. An X, Y, and Z printer was used. The working team included neurosurgeons, biomedical engineers, and bio-technicians. The procedure starts with obtaining Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) scan in particular protocols. The MRI, and CT or angiography images were imported into a 3D programmer for DICOM images called 3D slice where these files con
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Every cultural achievement is a creative text, and every text is a group of signs. The Winged Bull sculpture is a sort of text that is not confined to some signs; indeed, its cultural signs go far beyond as they are open-ended, everlasting and it lends itself to various horizons of interpretation. The recipient has to combine the signs of this sculpture, which belong to different patterns, in the pursuit for perfection so that he can decode its media message.
I have tackled this sculpture by adopting a semiotic approach. The semiotic approach is a modern critical approach which is as wide as culture and as rich as knowledge. It has been linked to modernism, which in turn has been linked to modern critical approaches, because it can
Fluorescence excitation by Nd:YAG pumped dye laser and single vibrational level fluorescence
spectra of 1,3 benzodioxole in a supersonic jet have been obtained and interpreted. The previous assignment of
the 0 0
0 band was incorrect. In addition, many other bands involving n20 and n19 vibrations of a2 symmetry were
confirmed. As far as a1 totally symmetric vibration is concerned. The n14 was assigned to be located in the fivemembered
ring whereas n13 seem to be located in the benzene ring as a result of the electronic transition in the
benzene ring which affects n13 and not n14 wavenumber.
Land snails constitute an important group of mollusks distributed worldwide. This study reports on land snails found in Iraq. A survey of terrestrial gastropods was performed during their activity seasons in gardens, agricultural lands and nurseries in Iraq from March 2022 to September 2023. Fifteen terrestrial snails belonging to seven families were documented. The species Euchondrus michonii (Bourguignat, 1853) was identified and recorded based on several distinct conchological characters for the first time in Iraq. The recently collected specimens, along with those previously recorded in Iraq, were included in this checklist. Essential information on each species is also presented. As there is no previous checklist or study that
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