Background: Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is an autoimmune vesiculobullous mucocutaneous disease with life-threatening consequences. Rituximab (RTX) has recently emerged as an effective treatment for PV. Objectives: This study aims to determine changes in neutrophil and platelet counts for PV patients treated with RTX or corticosteroids combined with Imuran (azathioprine). Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Dermatology at Baghdad Teaching Hospital, Baghdad, Iraq. Thirty PV patients received two types of treatment: 15 patients were administered RTX and 15 patients took corticosteroids with Imuran (azathioprine). Neutrophil and platelet counts were detected at the hospital laboratory. Results: The age range of PV patients was 27–67 years, and the mean ±SD was 44.866 ± 10.979 years for the patient group treated with RTX and 44.133 ± 11.519 for the patient group treated with corticosteroids and Imuran. In patients treated with RTX, 26.6% were males and 73.33% were females, with a female-to-male ratio of 2.75:1. In patients treated with corticosteroids with Imuran, 40% were males and 60% were females, with a female-to-male ratio of 1.5:1. The results revealed that among patients treated with RTX, 30% of them had mucocutaneous lesions, 6.66% had oral lesions, and 13.33% had cutaneous lesions. Among the other groups treated with corticosteroids and Imuran, 23.33% had mucocutaneous lesions, 13.33% had oral lesions, and 13.33% had cutaneous lesions. Among the patients treated with RTX, 53.33% had normal range of neutrophil count, while 46.6% had neutrophil count above the NR, while in patients treated with corticosteroids and Imuran, 40% had a normal range and 60% had above the normal range. Conclusion: RTX was a more effective treatment compared to corticosteroids with Imuran because no patient remained in an active state during this study. PV was prevalent in females aged 40 years with mucocutaneous lesions.
Objective Thalassemic patients present with multiple immune abnormalities that may predispose them to oral Candida, however this has not been investigated. The aim of this study was to assess oral candidal colonization in a group of patients with β-thalassemia major both qualitatively and quantitatively. Study design The oral mycologic flora of 50 β-thalassemia major patients and 50 age- and sex-matched control subjects was assessed using the concentrated oral rinse technique. Candida species were identified using the germ tube test and the Vitek yeast identification system. Results Oral Candida was isolated from 37 patients (74%) and 28 healthy subjects (56%; P = .04). The mean candidal count was significantly higher in thalassemic patie
... Show MoreThe political movements of Islam are among the most prominent phenomena of the popular uprisings witnessed by the Arab world. However, this rise and the rise of some movements led to many problems on the political theses of Islam, especially those associated with the ideas of Islamic ideologues and their slogan Legitimacy and the authorities as the origin of the divine, and said the application to achieve the Islamic solution, and then became the state in theses of some Islamists a tool to apply the law and then the preservation of religion.
In this research the relation between skin resistances and standard penetration test of over consolidated
clay soils has been studied. The research includes doing boreholes at Babil governorate in Iraq to get
undisturbed samples and standard penetration test. Determination skin friction from direct shear test between
smooth concrete and soil was explored in laboratory for design purposes and correlated with standard
penetration test values. In many foundation design problems, the shear strength between soil and
foundation materials were estimated or correlated without any direct methods for measurement.
Twelve strain controlled direct shear tests were performed simulate the shear strength interaction
between smooth c
The image of television dominates the cognitive and artistic motivations. It is the formulation of ideas and visions along with its documentary ability. It is the main element in television work as it is a story that is narrated in pictures. Therefore, attention to image building is a major point of gravity in the work structure as a whole. On the image is the element carrying all aesthetic and expressive values of news and information directly to the hints that work to stimulate and stir the imagination of the recipient to evoke mental images added to the visual images to deepen the meanings.
All visual arts carry elements and components that follow in a particular pattern to give special meanings and specific connotations. However,
Background & objective: Difficult intubation remains a risk for patients undergoing general anesthesia (GA) or mechanical ventilation in an intensive care unit (ICU). Macroglossia is a known factor for difficult intubation. But it is not routine to assess the tongue size to predict difficult intubation. Studies are found deficient in comparing usefulness of measuring thyromental distance and the tongue thickness (TT) measured by ultrasonography to estimate difficult intubation. We compared tongue thickness measured by ultrasonography and thyromental distance as a means to anticipate difficult intubation. Methodology: A convenient sample of 60 patients; 32 males and 28 females, who were undergoing elective surgery with GA were i
... Show MoreThe present study was conducted to investigate effect of prey type on the relationship between age of females of Macrocyclops albidus and reproductive performance, which included each of mean number of nauplii, age at first brood, and age at first clutch. Results revealed that the correlation coefficient between the age at first brood and clutch and age of females fed on Artemia was significant P <0.05, being 0.65 and 0.81 respectively, while the correlations were not significant P>0.05 in females fed on mosquito larvae (Culex quinquefasciatus) and Paramecium nauplii. It was also found that the correlation coefficients between mean number of the nauplii and longevity in M. albidus were significant P<0.05 whereas, the correlations were not s
... Show MoreThe Iraqi economy has suffered for a long period of inflation because of the Iraq war and the resolutions and the sanctions that were imposed on Iraq, this phenomenon overshadowed at various aspects of the economy including the tax revenue that the State seeks to optimize the total income for the budget, the research covers the years 1990-2010, these years have been divided according to the country's economic variables.
The research adopted on econometrics analysis that is based on the information and data available on topics and has been using statistical methods to test functions are formulated.
Research concluded that rates of inflation and GDP impact is limited to direct taxation and indirect in current prices a
... Show MoreThis study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of 6 isolates of Pseudomonas fluorescens and Trichoderma harzianum and there combination against Fusarium tomato wilt disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum F.sp. Lycopersisi under green house condition .The isolates of bacteria (B3) and Trichoderma (T1) were found to be highly effective in reducing the disease incidence to 13.3% , 21% respectively , compared to control treatment (40%).Furthermore, disease severity was reduced to 28 and 30% respectively in comparison to control (90%) .Colonization of the roots (cfu /g fresh root weight )by the two isolates whether alon or together was extremely high . The combination treatment had a high ability in reducing disease incidenece and sev
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