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.
Background:The effects of contraception on Trichomonas vaginalis have important implications for women who suffer from infections associated with disruptions in the vaginal ecology, such as bacterial vaginitis and urinary tract infections.
Objective: To find the association of the common types of contraceptions with the Trichomonasvaginalis infection in women admitted to the Al-BatoolTeaching Hospital for Maternity and Children in Baqubah city.
Type of study: Cross-sectional study
Methods: This study consist of 75 women with contraception use and71 apparently healthy non contraception user women admitted to outpatient in Al
... Show MoreLaser shock peening (LSP) is deemed as a deep-rooted technology for stimulating compressive residual stresses below the surface of metallic elements. As a result, fatigue lifespan is improved, and the substance properties become further resistant to wear and corrosion. The LSP provides more unfailing surface treatment and a potential decrease in microstructural damage. Laser shock peening is a well-organized method measured up to the mechanical shoot peening. This kind of surface handling can be fulfilled via an intense laser pulse focused on a substantial surface in extremely shorter intervals. In this work, Hydrofluoric Acid (HF) and pure water as a coating layer were utilized as a new technique to improve the properti
... Show MoreAbstract Background: Timely diagnosis of periodontal disease is crucial for restoring healthy periodontal tissue and improving patients’ prognosis. There is a growing interest in using salivary biomarkers as a noninvasive screening tool for periodontal disease. This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic efficacy of two salivary biomarkers, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and total protein, for periodontal disease by assessing their sensitivity in relation to clinical periodontal parameters. Furthermore, the study aimed to explore the impact of systemic disease, age, and sex on the accuracy of these biomarkers in the diagnosis of periodontal health. Materials and methods: A total of 145 participants were categorized into three groups based
... Show MoreThe productivity of oil wells may be improved by determining the value of enhancing well productivity and the likely reasons or sources of formation damage after the well has been recognized as underperforming. Oil well productivity may be improved, but the economics of this gradual improvement may be compromised. It is important to analyze the influence of the skin effect on the recovery of the reserve. The acid treatment evaluated for the well AD-12, primarily for the zone Mi4; using a license of Stimpro Stimulation Software to validate the experimental work to the field scale, this software is considered the most comprehensive instrument for planning and monitoring matrix acid treatments and utilizing actual data to provide a far
... Show MoreEfficient management of treated sewage effluents protects the environment and reuse of municipal, industrial, agricultural and recreational as compensation for water shortages as a second source of water. This study was conducted to investigate the overall performance and evaluate the effluent quality from Al- Rustamiya sewage treatment plant (STP), Baghdad, Iraq by determining the effluent quality index (EQI). This assessment included daily records of major influent and effluent sewage parameters that were obtained from the municipal sewage plant laboratory recorded from January 2011 to December 2018. The result showed that the treated sewage effluent quality from STP was within the Iraqi quality standards (IQS) for disposal and t
... Show MoreThe determination of river pollution impact on the performance of water treatment plants is achieved by two main objectives. The first is to study raw and treated water qualities and comparing them with standards and the second is to evaluate the treatment plants efficiency. The analyzed data were those water quality parameters in relation to physical, chemical and bacteriological characteristics for river water and produced water by seven water treatment plants located on Tigris River passing through Baghdad City.
The results of this study indicated that all raw water characteristic are within the surface water standards established by Iraqi and USA criteria except Bacterial Counts.
Tigris River water is of good quality to be trea
Combining ultrasonic irradiation and the Fenton process as a sono-Fenton process, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) in refinery wastewater was successfully eliminated using response surface methodology (RSM) with central composite design (CCD). The impact of two main influential operational parameters (iron dosage and reaction time) on the COD removal from wastewater generated by an Iraqi petroleum refinery facility was explored. Removal of 85.81% was attained under the optimal conditions of 21 minutes and 0.289 mM of concentration. Additionally, the results revealed that the concentration of has the highest effect on the COD elimination, followed by reaction time. The high R2 value (96.40%) validated the strong fit of the mo
... Show MoreThe productivity of oil wells may be improved by determining the value of enhancing well productivity and the likely reasons or sources of formation damage after the well has been recognized as underperforming. Oil well productivity may be improved, but the economics of this gradual improvement may be compromised. It is important to analyze the influence of the skin effect on the recovery of the reserve.
The acid treatment evaluated for the well AD-12, primarily for the zone Mi4; using a license of Stimpro Stimulation Software to validate the experimental work to the field scale, this software is considered the most comprehensive instrument for planning and monitoring matrix acid treatments and utilizing actual data to prov
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