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.
Osteopontin hormone (OPN) is an extracellular matrix protein that is expressed in bone cells such as osteoblasts and osteoclasts and associated with bone turnover and bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.
The aim of the study is to investigate serum levels of circulating OPN and its relationship with biochemical parameters and BMD in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis in Iraq. Serum samples from fifty postmenopausal women were selected from patients attending two educational hospitals in Baghdad, which are AL Wasity Educational Hospital and Baghdad Educational Hospital, during the period from November 2018 to March 2019. Twenty five postmenopausal healthy women were inc
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Comparisons of two life tables constructed to display alfaifa weevil Hypera posticoa (Gryllenhal), populations in southeentral Wisconsin, U. S. A. under epizootic and enzootic conditions of fungal diseasea, caused by Erynia phytonomi Arthur suggests that the “prepupal” stage provided the greates contribution to population changes under both conditions due to the high mortality rate. The principle mortality agents during this stage are E. phytonomi and the parasitoids complex of Bathyp1ectes curculionis and Buthyp1ectes anurus respectively under the two condition.
The woman's choice of clothing is no longer supported on the basis of the available forms of design in general. It is the interaction of design relationships with the receiver structure that reflects the character of integrated women with an emphasis on attractions pulling attention, all of these interventions reach us to the need to emphasize through this search Picking the perfect symbols of heritage in every sense of the popular beliefs of the employed in the designs of apparel fabrics women's home included a search of four chapters deal with the first problem of the research which you can employ the traditional symbols and popular beliefs in the designs of household apparel fabrics in order to raise the aesthetic value and utility of
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The media of all kinds have the task of introducing, expressing and objectively representing the cultures of different societies in various types and forms of press and media. The precept of media pluralism is the basis for freedom of expression & the cornerstone of its realization. Therefore, it is linked to the establishment of several conditions and elements in order to establish it as a principle and practice. Issues of cultural diversity in media and cultural pluralism are one of the most important elements and indicators. So, this paper aims to shed light on the concept of media pluralism and related concepts within the framework of cultural diversity and multicultural indicators. Thus, highlighting the feature
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Background: Infective keratitis is the most common cause of blindness and preventable ocular morbidity worldwide. There are many published series of infective keratitis from both temperate and tropical parts of the world, and management strategies are well established1.
Objective: The current study was aimed to detect the specific bacteria and predisposing factors that predisposed for the bacterial keratitis.
Material and methods: Retrospective study of the hospital records of 40 patients who were diagnosed as bacterial keratitis and treated at the Ophthalmology in-patient department of at Ibn Al- haithum Teaching Hospital from May 2015 to December 2015.Patients who don’t have corneal scraping, or culture and sensitivity findings
The Transformation of environments surrounding human which called (place), formed an intermediate compresser in forming awareness pictures, human knowledge, culture and thought features, and changing the systems and contexts of human societies, which led to a change the rhythm of life as a whole. So according to that the place will be encodes according to these data for psychological connotations, lead to human sense of harmony with the place in different manner format, here the search problem lies when trying to detect how Iraqi artist deliberating with the place concept, wondering how to investing place in the contemporary Iraqi drawing within its reference dimension, and showing mechanisms from comparative study for the works of two a
... Show MoreThe Research deals with the negative phenomena which appeared in the urban scenes of the Iraqi cities after 2003, particularly trespassing the architectural design of the urban Individual houses. Many academic researchers , critics, and cultural circles, drawn attention to the impact of political and cultural variable change on such phenomena without detailed analysis . The research problem is set according to central questions : If the phenomena is the trespass , what
are the sides which are being trespassed in the division of the individual house? , If the diagnosis of the phenomena denotes perceived repetition of the cases , So what's size of this transposes on the architectural design of t
