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

          In this study, ultraviolet (UV), ozone techniques with hydrogen peroxide oxidant were used to treat the wastewater which is produced from South Baghdad Power Station using lab-scale system. From UV-H₂O₂ experiments, it was shown that the optimum exposure time was 80 min. At this time, the highest removal percentages of oil, COD, and TOC were 84.69 %, 56.33 % and 50 % respectively. Effect of pH on the contaminants removing was studied in the range of (2-12). The best oil, COD, and TOC removal percentages (69.38 %, 70 % and 52 %) using H₂O₂/UV were at pH=12. H₂O₂/ozone experiments exhibited better performance compared to

The skull is one of the largest bones in the body. It is classified into flat bones that maintain the important organic structures; which are the brain, eyes, and tongue. The skull is a strong support for preserving these organs but they are various according to the type of animals and the environments in which they live and the nature of their nutrition. There are many differences among living organisms in terms of the bones in the skull, their difference or disappearance and their length in the shape of the head. The samples were taken from the scientific storage in the Iraq Natural History Research Center and Museum; Cape hare Lepus capensis (Linnaeus, 1758) and Red fox Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) and the study was conducted o

Seven leafhoppers (Cicadeilidae). and one plantboppei (Delpbacidae), Homoptera were identified from a one year operated light trap at the College of Agiculture farm in Abu¬Ghraib. The leafhoppers were: Balclutha hortensis Lind.; B. rufaofasciata Merine.; psammctettix alien us Dahlbem.; P. striatus L.; Extianus capicola.; Neoaliturus haematoceps H. R.; and Orozius albicnctus Dist. The planthopper was Sogatella vibix Haupt. one year records of their populations, indicated that B. rufofasciata occured during the fall from October 10 until December 18; E. capicola from October 24 until November 21 and again in the summer from March to October. The others occured only during the summer, from the end of March and early April until Mid-Septemb

Background: Odontogenic cysts are characterized by their sluggish growth and ability to enlarge, primarily affecting the oral and maxillofacial tissues. Timely diagnosis and treatment are crucial to prevent potentially serious consequences. The present study aimed to evaluate and compare the immunohistochemical expression of cytokeratin 19 in the epithelium of odontogenic keratocyst, dentigerous, and radicular cysts.

Methods: This study analyzed forty-five formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue blocks containing odontogenic cysts. The sample consisted of fifteen odontogenic keratocysts, fifteen dentigerous cysts, and

The aim of the present research is to study different protein fractions in sera of children and adolescent with  β –thalassemia major and minor and to compare the results with that of healthy control.One hundred fifty children and adolescents were enrolled in this study,including 50 patients with β- thalassemia major , 50 patients with  β- thalassemia minor as pathological control group and another apparently 50 healthy individuals as a control group. The age of all studied  groups ranged from (4-18)years.Total protein, albumin and immunoglobulins were estimated in sera of all subjects.  A Significant  decrease  was  found  in  the  total  protein and  albumin&nb

This research is an attempt to explore a social and pragmatic phenomenon of lamentation in elegies of Gray and AL-Khansaa' who represent two different cultures. It illustrates the intended meaning of lamentation in English and Arabic and finds how the two languages express this purpose of poetry by analysing it socio-pragmatically adopting Searle's models (1969),and its modifications. Lamentation is considered as a mournful poem lamenting the death of  whole humanity as Gray's elegy and of an individual as AL-Khansaa's elegy. So, Gray portrays a universal picture concerning his lamentation, while AL-Khansaa' portrays an individual and subjective picture regarding her lamentation. As  branches of linguistics, sociolinguistics de

A new method for determination of allopurinol in microgram level depending on its ability to reduce the yellow absorption spectrum of (I-3) at maximum wavelength ( ?max 350nm) . The optimum conditions such as "concentration of reactant materials , time of sitting and order of addition were studied to get a high sensitivity ( ? = 27229 l.mole-1.cm-1) sandal sensitivity : 0.0053 µg cm-2 ,with wide range of calibration curve ( 1 – 9 µg.ml-1 ) good stability (more then24 hr.) and repeatability ( RSD % : 2.1 -2.6 % ) , the Recovery % : ( 98.17 – 100.5 % ) , the Erel % ( 0.50 -1.83 % ) and the interference's of Xanthine , Cystein , Creatinine , Urea and the Glucose in 20 , 40 , 60 fold of analyate were also studied .

Background: Opportunistic viral infections make an important threat to renal transplantation recipients (RTRs), and with the use of more intense newly-developed immunosuppressive drugs; the risk of renal allograft loss due to reactivation of these viruses has increased considerably. At the top priority of these viruses lie BK polyomavirus (BKV) and human cytomegalovirus (CMV). Reactivation of these viruses in these chronically immunosuppressed RTRs can lead to renal impairment and subsequently allograft loss, unless early detected and properly treated. Objectives: The study aimed to detect and quantify plasma viral load of BKV and CMV in RTRs using quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR), in order to study the prevalence of these two viruses i