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

Faujasite type NaY zeolite catalyst was prepared from locally available kaolin, then the prepared NaY zeolite have been modified by exchanging of sodium ion with ammonium to produce NH4Y zeolite. NH4Y zeolite was converted to HY zeolite by ion exchanging with oxalic acid. Zinc and nickel promoters have been added to the prepared HY zeolite catalyst, and the effect of these promoters on the catalytic activity of the prepared HY catalyst was studied in fluid catalytic cracking process using light gas oil as a feedstock. The experimental results show that the promoted catalyst gives higher gas oil conversion and gasoline yield than HY zeolite catalyst at the same reaction temperature and WHSV. It was also found that the promoted catalyst gi

n this study, 25 clinical isolates of Proteus spp. were collected from urine, wounds and burns specimens from different hospitals in Baghdad city, all isolates were identified by using different bacteriological media, biochemical assays and Vitek-2 system. It was found that 15 (60%) isolates were identifies as Proteus mirabilis and 10 (40 %) isolates were Proteus vulgaris. The susceptibility of P. mirabilis and P. vulgaris isolates towards cefotaxime was (66.6 %) and (44.4 %) respectively; while the susceptibility of P. mirabilis and P. vulgaris isolates towards ceftazidime was (20%). Extended spectrum β-lactamses producing Proteus was (30.7 %). DNA of 10 isolates of P. mirabilis and 4 isolates of P. vulgaris were extracted and de

            The research is dealing with the absorption and fluorescence spectra for the hybrid of  an Epoxy Resin doped with organic dye Rhodamine (R6G) of different concentrations (5*10^-6, 5*10^-5, 1*10^-5, 1*10^-4, 5*10^-4) Mol/ℓ at room temperature. The Quantum efficiency Q_fm, the rate of fluorescence emission K_fm (s^-1), the non-radiative lifetime τ_fm (s), fluorescence lifetime τ_f and the Stokes shift were calculated. Also the energy gap (Eg) for each dye concentration was evaluated. The results showed that the maximum quantum effi

Background: Gingivitis is one of the most common and widely spread oral diseases in adolescents after dental caries occur in both developed and developing countries. Dental plaque is the main etiological factor of gingivitis. Another oral problem is enamel defect. The aim of this study was to estimate the oral hygiene (dental plaque), and determine the prevalence and severity of gingivitis and enamel defects among 16-17 years old secondary school female students in urban areas of Kirkuk city/Iraq. Materials and methods: A representative sample included in this study consisted of 750 secondary school female students distributed into 387 for the age sixteen and 363 for the age seventeen, they were selected randomly from different female secon

Volleyball is one of the sports that require physical and skill abilities thus many teaching models appeared to teach these abilities like group investigation model. The research aimed at identifying the effect of group investigation model on learning underarm and overhead passing in volleyball. The researchers hypothesized statistical differences between pre and posttests in learning underarm and overhead passing in volleyball as well as differences in posttests of controlling and experimental groups in learning underarm and overhead passing in volleyball. The researcher used the experimental method on (30) second year female students of physical education and sport sciences college/ university of Baghdad. Group investigation model was app

Inelastic magnetic electron scattering M1 at Ex =10.23 MeV form factors in Ca-48 have been investigated. The fp shell model space with four orbits and eight neutrons have been considered and FPD6 has been selected between 32 model space effective interactions to generates the model space vectors for the M1 transition with excitation energy Ex =10.23 MeV and for constructing OBDM. Discarded space (core and higher configuration orbits) has been included through the first order perturbation theory to couple the partice-hole pair of excitation in the calculation of the total M1 form factor and regarding the realistic interaction M3Y as a core polarization interaction with six sets of fitting parameters. Finally the theoretical calculations h

Background: Hyperthyroidism is a serious public concern, due the continuous increase in its prevalence and its impact on the mortality rates. Autoimmune hyperthyroidism is seen as a thyroid gland problem. Pro-inflammatory cytokines are crucial for the growth and development of hyperthyroidism, it was shown that the level of several pro-inflammatory cytokines were higher in the hyperthyroidism patients. Objective: This work was aimed to assessment the concentration of certain cytokine in hyperthyroid patients. Materials and Methods: Sixty hyperthyroidism patients and 30 healthy individuals with age range from (30-65) years old were enrolled in this study through their presence at the National Center for Diabetes Treatment and Research in Bag