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 CuInSe2 (CIS) nanocrystals are synthesized by arrested precipitation from molecular precursors are added to a hot solvent with organic cap- ping ligands to control nanocrystal formation and growth. CIS thin films deposited onto glass substrate by spray - coating, then selenized in Ar- atmosphere to form CIS thin films. PVs were made with power conversion efficiencies of 0.631% as -deposited and 0.846% after selenization, for Mo coated, under AM 1.5 illumination. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis it is evident that CIS have the chalcopyrite structure as the major phase with a preferred orientation along (112) direction and the atomic ratio of Cu : In : Se in the nanocrystals is nearly 1 : 1 : 2
The removal of commercial orange G dye from its aqueous solution by adsorption on tobacco leaves (TL) was studied in respect to different factor that affected the adsorption process. These factors including the tobacco leaves does, period of orange G adsorption, pH, and initial orange G dye concentration .Different types of isotherm models were used to describe the orange G dye adsorption onto the tobacco leaves. The experimental results were compared using Langmuir, and frundlich adsorption isotherm, the constants for these two isotherm models was determined. The results fitted frundlich model with value of correlation coefficient equal to (0.981). The capacity of adsorption for the orange G dye was carried out using various kinetic models
... Show MoreExcessive intake of fluoride, mainly through drinking water is a serious health hazard affecting humans worldwide. In this study, the defluoridation capacities of locally available raw waste beef bones have been estimated. Several experimental parameters including contact time, pH, bone dose, fluoride initial concentration, bone grains size, agitation rate, and the effect of co-existence of anions in actual samples of wastewater were studied for fluoride removal from aqueous solutions. Results indicated excellent fluoride removal effeciency up to 99.7% at fluoride initial concentration of 10 mg F/L and 120 min contact time. Maximum fluoride uptake was obtained at neutral pH range 6-7. Fluoride removal kinetic was well described by the ps
... Show MoreMany extracted material were used as mouthwash to settle different kinds of oral fungi and bacteria. In this study an extractive of Cyperus rotundus plant E.C.R. which is very active as a mouthwash, was used in concentration range (10-25) ppm in artificial saliva at pH=6.4 and temperature range (288-318) K, to study it’s inhibitory effect on the corrosion of dental amalgam. Potentiostatic and cyclic polarization were used to follow this study. The presence of E.C.R. lead to shift the corrosion potential to the active direction and decreased the corrosion rate to about 98.87%, the inhibition action of E.C.R. resulting from the adsorption of C.R.E. layer between amalgam and saliva as FTIR spectrums shows, where the variety of FTIR adsorptio
... Show MoreShabak is one of minority related to Kurdish nation , speaking Bajalan variety especially Goran Dialect.
This study is a historic and diactological study about Kurdish Bajalan variety.The study is composed an introduction and tw0 chapters. The first chapter talks about Bajalan variety , and it has two axes . In the first axe , I talk about the geography of Bajalan variety and in the second axes the map of goran dialect . The second chapter is about Shabak variety and it is constituted of three axes : The first section is about Shabak variety , in the second section is allocated to the domicile of Shabak variety and in the third section , talks about the saint of shabak and in the end the
... Show MoreFourier Transform-Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy was used to analyze gasoline engine oil (SAE 5W20) samples that were exposed to seven different oxidation times (0 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, 96 h, 120 h, and 144 h) to determine the best wavenumbers and wavenumber ranges for the discrimination of the oxidation times. The thermal oxidation process generated oil samples with varying total base number (TBN) levels. Each wavenumber (400–3900 cm−1) and wavenumber ranges identified from the literature and this study were statistically analyzed to determine which wavenumbers and wavenumber ranges could discriminate among all oxidation times. Linear regression was used with the best wavenumbers and wavenumber ranges to predict oxidation time.
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