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.
Background: Oral health represents an important base for human well-being; the heath of the body begins from oral cavity. Great deal has been applied to increase knowledge in the field of oral health in order to develop appropriate preventive program. This study was conducted in order to estimate the percentage and severity of dental caries and gingivitis among children attending Preventive Department in Collage of Dentistry, University of Baghdad and to determine dental treatment need for those patients, further more to study the relation of these variables with dental knowledge. Materials and Methods: The study group consists of 163 children with an age ranged from 6 to 14 years, who attended the preventive clinic for the first time to be
... Show MoreConsiderable amounts of domestic and industrial wastewater that should be treated before reuse are discharged into the environment annually. Electrocoagulation is an electrochemical technology in which electrical current is conducted through electrodes, it is mainly used to remove several types of wastewater pollutants, such as dyes, toxic materials, oil content, chemical oxygen demand, and salinity, individually or in combination with other processes. Electrocoagulation technology used in hybrid systems along with other technologies for wastewater treatment are reviewed in this work, and the articles reviewed herein were published from 2018 to 2021. Electrocoagulation is widely employed in integrated systems with other electrochemical tech
... Show MoreArrested precipitation methode used to synthesize CuInSe2 (CIS) nanocrystals were added to a hot solvent with organic capping ligands to control nanocrystal formation and growth. CIS thin films deposited onto Soda-Lima Glass (SLG) substrate by spray-coat, then selenized in Ar-atmosphere to form CIS thin films. PVs were made with power conversion efficiencies of 0.631% as-deposited and 0.846% after selenization, for Mo coated, under AM 1.5 illuminations. (XRD) and (EDX) it is evident that CIS have chalcopyrite structure as the major phase with a preferred orientation along (112) direction and Cu:In:Se nanocrystals is nearly 1:1:2 atomic ratio.
Background: Asthma is one of the most common chronic respiratory diseases in the world, standing for the most frequent cause for hospitalization and emergency cases. Respiratory viruses are the most triggering cause. Aim: To assess the role of viral infections, especially COVID-19, in the pathogenesis of asthma initiation and exacerbations. Method: Electronic search was done for the manuscripts focusing on asthma as a risk factor for complications after COVID-19 infection. The outcomes were titles, materials, methods and classified studies related or not related to the review study. Three hundred publications were identified and only ten studies were selected for analysis. Seven studies were review, one retrospective, one longitudin
... Show MoreParliamentary investigation is one of the most important means of the parliament in its oversight on the work of the government. It is different from other types of investigations carried out by the Parliament itself, such as electoral or legislative investigation. It is also different from the investigation conducted by the administration or courts. This investigation is been conducted by a committee which consisted of some of members of parliament. The committee is looking to search the truth in a case related to the public interest and for that it usually has powers to access documents relevant to the case under investigation. Moreover, it has the right to request the presence of any government official before it. The committee usuall
... Show MoreBecause of cost-effective production and abundant resources of calcium, Ca-ion batteries (CIBs) are an appropriate option to alternate Li-ion batteries (LIBs). A new category of anode materials for CIBs has emerged since the successful synthesis of carbon nanotubes, which are B and N doped derivatives of it. For high-performance CIBs, BC2N nanotube (BC2NNT) has been studied as promising anode materials. In order to comprehend electrochemical attributes, cycling stability, and adsorption behavior of BC2NNT, first-principles computations have been executed. Based on nuclear magnetic resonance computations, two types of hexagonal rings (B2C2N2 (I) and BC4N (II)) were specified that are non-aromatic. Ca has adsorption on B2C2N2 and BC4N with ad
... Show MoreLawful protection of the human gene conceded a moral concern regarding the future of existence human. After the discovery of the human genetic map, scientific experiments and research related to the human gene increased, negative applications of genetic engineering in particular that violate essential human rights, the right to human dignity to be specific. These practices represent actual challenges to the existence and diversity of current and future generations. Therefore, the presence of legal rules at the domestic and global levels is an absolute necessity to prohibit these threats and determine civil and criminal accountability for those who infringe any laws related to this issue.
Background: Accurate and rapid assessment of allograft function is essential. Cystatin C has recently been proposed as an alternative marker of glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Its diagnostic value for the longitudinal assessment of graft function has not been addressed well.
Objective: To study the validity of cystatin C as an early marker and predictor of acute transplant rejection in the first week post transplantation.
Subjects and Methods: Sixty six renal transplants recipients recruited. The study conducted in four renal transplantation centers in Baghdad for the period from September to December 2011. Serum creatinine and cystatin C concentrations measured 48 hours before transplantation and day 3 a
Corpus linguistics is a methodology in studying language through corpus-based research. It differs from a traditional approach in studying a language (prescriptive approach) in its insistence on the systematic study of authentic examples of language in use (descriptive approach).A “corpus” is a large body of machine-readable structurally collected naturally occurring linguistic data, either written texts or a transcription of recorded speech, which can be used as a starting-point of linguistic description or as a means of verifying hypotheses about a language. In the past decade, interest has grown tremendously in the use of language corpora for language education. The ways in which corpora have been employed in language pedago
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