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.
Soil wetted pattern from a subsurface drip plays great importance in the design of subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) system for delivering the required water directly to the roots of the plant. An equation to estimate the dimensions of the wetted area in soil are taking into account water uptake by roots is simulated numerically using HYDRUS (2D/3D) software. In this paper, three soil textures namely loamy sand, sandy loam, and loam soil were used with three different types of crops tomato, pepper, and cucumber, respectively, and different values of drip discharge, drip depth, and initial soil moisture content were proposed. The soil wetting patterns were obtained at every thirty minutes for a total time of irrigation equ
... Show MoreBackground: Prevention against nosocomial infection is an important issue of health care field and considered a challenge of patients’ since it reflects its effect on their quality of life. This due to that it will lead in most cases to prolonged hospitalization and also more cost.Objective: To determine the prevalence of different types of nosocomial infection and to demonstrate the association of different risk factors (hospital environment, workers, visitors) with nosocomial infection.Patients: this study was carried out in eleven months at Ba’quba general Hospital; Iraq. A total of 81 clinical specimens (urine, pus from abscess , burn swab, nasal swab, ear swab and wound swab) taken from surgical patients,102 specimens from
... Show MoreBuffering of Local anaesthesia (LA) has been suggested as a mechanism to improve injection comfort and hasten the onset of anaesthesia. Aim This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of buffered LA in the extraction of maxillary premolars and molars. Materials and Methods This randomized controlled study included 100 patients who were indicated for extraction of maxillary posterior teeth, they were randomly divided into two groups; a study group that received infiltration of buffered 2% lidocaine hydrochloride with 1:80,000 epinephrine LA, and a control group that received non-buffered 2% lidocaine hydrochloride with 1:80,000 epinephrine LA. The buffering was performed using the Onset® LA buffering system (Onpharma®). The outcome va
... Show MoreThis study aims at shedding light on the linguistic significance of collocation networks in the academic writing context. Following Firth’s principle “You shall know a word by the company it keeps.” The study intends to examine three selected nodes (i.e. research, study, and paper) shared collocations in an academic context. This is achieved by using the corpus linguistic tool; GraphColl in #LancsBox software version 5 which was announced in June 2020 in analyzing selected nodes. The study focuses on academic writing of two corpora which were designed and collected especially to serve the purpose of the study. The corpora consist of a collection of abstracts extracted from two different academic journals that publish for writ
... Show MoreThe analytical study of optical bistability is concerned in a fully
optimized laser Fabry-Perot system. The related phenomena of
switching dynamics and optimization procedure are also included.
From the steady state of optical bistability equation can plot the
incident intensity versus the round trip phase shift (φ) for different
values of dark mistuning
12
,
6
,
3
,
1.5
0 , o
or finesse (F= 1, 5, 20,
100). In order to obtain different optical bistable loops. The inputoutput
characteristic for a nonlinear Fabry-Perot etalon of a different
values of finesse (F) and using different initial detuning (φ0) are used
in this rese
Benthic invertebrates were used as bio- indicators to evaluate the pollution in -Diwania River . Five stations were selected for this purpose , extending from A1 -?? rtream to A1- Sadeer District downstream . The percentage of?ct uP?str?^ ? ?, oligochaeta to total benthic invertebrates were calculated . The population density of evaluation. 'I'he results Were ??? Tubificid worms without hair ehaetae was ©iso used IOBS(01igochaete Index of Sediment Bioindicati©n ), TUSP ? presented as indices Io (Tubificidae Species Percentage ) & degree of pollution Eo . IT was noticed that the 0 in??37.17 percentage of ©lig©chaeta to the total benthic invertebrates ranged between to 60.685 in station 3 , while the percentage ©f Tubificid w©rms t© ©
... Show MoreAhmed ibn Imad ibn Yusuf al-Aqfhasi (808 AH / 1405 AD) is a small message that speaks about the Nile River in all its sides, despite its limited papers, but it is one of the manuscripts of the important geographical literature for its geographical, historical, religious and grammatical information. it was not limited to the information of the author alore, but taken from many sources below, which added to the importance of the fact that it has saved us the names of the sources that preceded him in mentioning this river with the names of its authors.The method of the Aqfhasi was characterized by scientific methodology in writing and clarity, with reference to some of the myths that people carried in their minds about the Nile River at tha
... Show MoreAbstract Aim: Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder which affects communication and social interaction of children. It is a heterogeneous disease with various clinical presentations. Some genes are involved in its pathogenesis. It has been suggested that environmental exposure to lead can increase the risk of autism. The aim of our study was to compare blood lead levels among autistic and non-autistic children. Material and Method: This retrospective study included 107 children (60 with autism and 47 without autism) referred from the different Iraqi provinces, in the years 2015, 2016 and 2017, to the poisoning consultation center in Baghdad. Data collection including age, gender, residence, referral source, family history and blood lead l
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