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.
The whole research paper examines the impact of ozone as either a just use-alone and coagulation benefit, mainly upon the reduction of dissolved organic carbon from the water with a moderate rate of DOC 10.75 mg/land CaCO3 calcium hardness 300 mg/l. A raw water sample has been taken from the Tigris River (Baghdad, Iraq) was being adopted in research work. The performance of ozone therapy has been assessed by calculations of DOC, DOC quantities, UV254, as well as total trihalomethane (TTHM). Research findings have shown that with 0.9 mg O3/mg DOC ozone use-alone, approximately 60% UV254 reduction and approximately 28% DOC reduction will occur.DOC fractionation analysis indicates that within the water samples, ozone could alter the co
... Show MoreBaghdad city has been faced numerous issues related to freshwater environment deteriorations due to many reasons, mainly was the discharge of wastewater without adequate treatment. Al- Rustamiya Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) have been constructed among many plants in Baghdad city to reduce the amount of wastewater discharged into natural environment and its subsequent adverse effects. This study was conducted to evaluate the performance of the plant which consist of a conventional activated sludge (CAS) and sequencing batch reactors (SBR) systems as secondary treatment units and its ability to meet Iraqi specifications. A reliability level determination and analysis also were conducted to find the plant's stability and its capabi
... Show MoreIn this study, successive electrocoagulation (EC) and electro-oxidation (EO) processes were used to minimize some of the major pollutants in real wastewater, such as organics (detected by chemical oxygen demand (COD)), and turbidity. The wastewater utilized in the present study was collected from the Midland Refinery Company in Baghdad-Iraq. The performance of the successive batch EC-EO processes was studied by utilizing Graphite and Aluminum (Al) as monopolar anode electrodes and stainless steel (st.st.) as the cathode. The Taguchi experimental design approach was used to attain the best experimental conditions for COD reduction as a major response. Starting from chemical oxygen demand COD of (600 ppm), the effects of current density (C
... Show MoreIn this work, chemical and thermal treatment were used to enhance silica extract on the purity of rice husk and to reduce the impurities associated with the extraction of silica. The thermal degradation of rice husk was studied. The characteristics and thermal degradation behavior of rice husk which investigated using thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). Hydrochloric acid was used to soak the rice husk and the study of leaching influence is followed by XRF tests for samples before and after the combustion process. Acid treatment and combustion method seem to have a clear effect on silica purity. The pyrolysis processes were carried out at Laboratory temperature up to 650 oC in the presence of nitrogen gas flowing at 150 ml/min. The effect o
... Show More: zonal are included in phraseological units, form metaphorical names for a person, give him various emotional and evaluative characteristics. This article examines the topic of zoomorphic metaphors that characterize a person in the Russian and Arabic languages in the aspect of their comparative analysis, since the comparative analysis of the metaphorical meanings of animalisms is an important method for studying cultural linguistics, since zoomorphic metaphors are a reflection of culture in a language.
Background: Cystinosis is a rare autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disease with high morbidity and mortality. It is caused by mutations in the CTNS gene that encodes the cystine transporter, cystinosin, which leads to lysosomal cystine accumulation. It is the major cause of inherited Fanconi syndrome, and should be suspected in young children with failure to thrive and signs of renal proximal tubular damage. The diagnosis can be missed in infants, because not all signs of renal Fanconi syndrome are present during the first months of life. Elevated white blood cell cystine content is the cornerstone of the diagnosis. Since chitotriosidase (CHIT1 or chitinase-1) is mainly produced by activated macrophages both in normal and inflammator
... Show MoreThe potential application of granules of brick waste (GBW) as a low-cost sorbent for removal of Ni+2ions from aqueous solutions has been studied. The properties of GBW were determined through several tests such as X-Ray diffraction (XRD), Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and BET surface area. In batch tests, the influence of several operating parameters including contact time, initial concentration, agitation speed, and the dose of GBW was investigated. The best values of these parameters that provided maximum removal efficiency of nickel (39.4%) were 1.5 hr, 50 mg/L, 250 rpm, and 1.8 g/100mL, respectively. The adsorption data obtained by batch experiments subjected to the Three i
... Show MoreBackground: The most crucial mechanism of genetic variation in N. meningitidis is the slipped strand mispairing, this mechanism generates Phase variation using simple sequence repeat (SSR) and is commonly used by the N. meningitidis to escape the immune system despite its function in eradicating the pathogenic and commensal bacteria. Some of simple sequence repeats (SSRs) that located within the genome works as phase variation while other SSRs have no role in generating phase variation mechanisms. Therefore, Aim: the main goal of the current in silico study was to detect the probability of SSR to enroll with phase variation for the entire N. meningitidis genome. Methods: Different criteria were used to judge SSR as
... Show MoreType 2 diabetes mellitus is a progressive and chronic disease manifested by β-cell dysfunction and improved insulin resistance. Higher levels of urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptors have been found to predict morbidity and mortality among diabetic patients with cardiac disease.
This study aims to explore the role of serum urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor levels as a prognostic marker among type 2 diabetic Iraqi patients.
Many waste materials can be repurposed effectively within asphalt concrete to enhance the performance and sustainability of pavement. One of these waste materials is sawdust ash (SDA). This study explores the beneficial use of SDA as a substitute for limestone dust (LD) mineral filler in asphalt concrete. The replacement rate was 0%, 15%, 30%, 45%, and 60% by weight of total mineral filler. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was employed to assess the surface morphology of Sawdust (SD), SDA, and LD. In addition, a series of tests, including Marshall stability and flow, indirect tensile strength,moisture susceptibility, and repeated uniaxial loading tests, were conducted to examine the performance characteristics of asphalt mixtures of diffe
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