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

Asset management involves efficient planning of economic and technical performance characteristics of infrastructure systems. Managing a sewer network requires various types of activities so the network can be able to achieve a certain level of performance. During the lifetime of the network various components will start to deteriorate leading to bad performance and can damage the infrastructure. The main objective of this research is to develop deterioration models to provide an assessment tool for determining the serviceability of the sewer networks in Baghdad city the Zeppelin line was selected as a case study, as well as to give top management authorities the appropriate decision making. Different modeling techniques

The modification of hydrophobic rock surfaces to the water-wet state via nanofluid treatment has shown promise in enhancing their geological storage capabilities and the efficiency of carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen (H2) containment. Despite this, the specific influence of silica (SiO2) nanoparticles on the interactions between H2, brine, and rock within basaltic formations remains underexplored. The present study focuses on the effect of SiO2 nanoparticles on the wettability of Saudi Arabian basalt (SAB) under downhole conditions (323 K and pressures ranging from 1 to 20 MPa) by using the tilted plate technique to measure the contact angles between H2/brine and the rock surfaces. The findings reveal that the SAB's hydrophobicity intensif

ABSTRACTBackground: In Medical ethics education, improving medical student’s attitudes toward respecting the right of patients is an essential task. The medical students’ attitude has been affected by social, educational and personality background factors.Objective: To investigate medical student’s attitudes regarding medical ethics courses.Method: The study was conducted in Al-Kindy College of Medicine on academic year (2013 -2014) for the period from January to September. A cross- sectional study design was adopted with a self- administered questionnaire form distributed to medical students in the 5th-6th under graduate grades. The questionnaire consisted of 31 items relevant to student’s opinion about attitudes concerning ethi

To decrease the impact on the environment of building waste, the recycled aggregate may be used in various sustainable engineering applications, such as roller compacted concrete pavement (RCCP). This research examined how using recycled aggregate as a partial replacement for natural aggregate as coarse or fine affected the mechanical properties of roller-compacted concrete pavement. The recycled aggregate was crushed and sieved to coarse and fine aggregate before being used in the roller-compacted concrete pavement. Compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and flexural strength were all evaluated after the samples were prepared at 28 and 90 days of curing. According to the study's findings, the partial replacem

Introduction:  Cerebral hydatid disease (CHD) is rare and the multiple-cystic variety is even rarer. In this paper, we report a case of multiple CHD and explore a possible link with a preceding spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH).   Case presentation: A 27-year old gentleman with a history of surgically-evacuated, spontaneous ICH presented with severe headache, left-sided weakness - Medical Research Council (MRC) grade II - and recurrent tonic-clonic seizures, while on a full dose of anti-epileptic medication. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans showed multiple intra-axial cystic lesions in the right hemisphere. The cysts were removed intact using Dowling’s technique through a large temporoparietal crani

Background: The majorities of statin-treated patients, in whom low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) targets have been achieved, have had recurrent cardiovascular events (CVE) with an absolute rate remain even higher among patients with disorders of insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome (MetS) and type2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) as compared to patients devoid of these conditions.Objectives: Provide updated key messages of lipid and lipoprotein abnormalities as indicator for cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in patients with T2DM and obesity, as well as the current evidence-based treatment targets and interventions to reduce this risk.Key messages: The Residual Risk Reduction Initiative (R3I) emphasized atherogenic dyslipidemia (AD)

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