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.
Considerable 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 MoreThe current study used extracts from the aloe vera (AV) plant and the hibiscus sabdariffa flower to make Ag-ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) and Ag-ZnO nanocomposites (NCs). Ag/ZnO NCs were compared to Ag NPs and ZnO NPs. They exhibited unique properties against bacteria and fungi that aren't present in either of the individual parts. The Ag-ZnO NCs from AV showed the best performance against E. coli, with an inhibition zone of up to 27 mm, compared to the other samples. The maximum absorbance peaks were observed at 431 nm and 410 nm for Ag NPs, at 374 nm and 377 nm for ZnO NPs and at 384 nm and 391 nm for Ag-ZnO NCs using AV leaf extract and hibiscus sabdariffa flower extract, respectively. Using field emission-scanning electron microscopes (FE-
... Show Moreتضاعف انتشار مرض السكري من النوع 2 في السنوات الأخيرة نتيجة الخلل في إنتاج الأنسولين ، والذي يمكن أن يتطور ليشكل مضاعفات مرض السكري التي تؤثر على الكلى والأعصاب والعينين. ونتيجة لذلك ، فإن التشخيص المبكر والتصنيف لمرض السكري من النوع الثاني ضروريان لمساعدة الطبيب على التقييم. وفقًا لذلك ، هدفت الدراسة الحالية إلى تحديد مستويات بروتين ارتباط الريتينول 4 (RBP4) في المرضى الذين يعانون من السكري النوع الثاني وم
... Show MoreThis study aims to calculate the percentage of loss and its causes of the horticultural crops tangerines and Seville oranges in Baghdad governorate for the 2020 agricultural season and estimate the economic impacts of losses both crops tangerines and Seville oranges at the study samples level. The research followed both methods descriptive and the quantitative mathematical in estimating the loss of horticultural crops from tangerines and Seville oranges trees and calculating the economic impact of this loss. The results showed that the percentage of losses of tangerines and Seville oranges crops on the level of wholesalers was about 12% and 13% respectively; causing economic losses estimated at about 3184.41 Euro. The results also displayed
... Show MoreThis research mainly aims to analyze local development strategy in Baghdad Governance, build the Strategic Model based on the study area's spatial interaction, and achieve the Trinity of Excellence based on the global model of excellence.
This research applied SWOT strategic analysis for the strengths and weaknesses of the internal environment and opportunities and threats of the external environment for the provincial council. In conclusion, the research specifies appropriate alternatives and choosing the best in line with the reality of the Baghdad Provincial Council. Also, the strategic goals in the national plan and the spatial interaction of the development goals,
... Show MoreKE Sharquie, AA Noaimi, GA Ibrahim, AS Al-Husseiny, Our Dermatology Online, 2016 - Cited by 3
This research dealt with the subject of negotiation skills of employees in public relations departments which is one of many skills supposed to be available to these employees. These skills combined help in the success of the job of public relations departments; and give them an important and vital role within the roles distributed in the departments of any government institution wither is governmental or non-governmental.
Negotiation is a skill that requires intelligence, tact, culture, information, intuition, and knowing to use the means of communication to access the information that is useful in reaching satisfactory results
... Show MoreMicrofibers released by synthetic clothes have a significant negative effect on the environment. Several solutions have been proposed and evaluated for their effectiveness, but studies have failed to address the human-centered aspects of these products. In this research, the possibilities and needs from a consumer perspective for a new filtering system for domestic washing machines were examined. First, a quantitative (questionnaire) and a qualitative (interviews and observations) exploration were done to understand the desired requirements from a user perspective. Next, the acceptance of various existing solutions for microfiber catching was investigated. To verify these requirements, a new concept was designed and evaluated with a
... Show MoreThis study aimed to identify the employment of the social networking platform «Twitter» in the 2016 presidential campaign led by the Republican candidate, Donald Trump; and analyse his tweets through his personal account on «Twitter» for the period from: 10/ 8/2016 to: 11/ 8/2016 which represents the last month of the election campaign.
The study belongs to the type of descriptive studies using the analytical method through an analysis index that includes sub-categories and other secondary categories. The research has adopted the ordinary unit of information material (tweet) as an analysis unit for this purpose.
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