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.
This study aimed to explore self and public stigma towards mental illness and associated factors among university students from 11 Arabic‐speaking countries. This cross‐sectional study included 4241 university students recruited from Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Syria, Sudan, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Egypt. The participants completed three self‐administrative online questionnaires—Demographic Proforma (age, gender, family income, etc.), Peer Mental Health Stigmatization Scale and Mental Health Knowledge Questionnaire. There was a significant difference in the average mean between the 11 countries (
Abstract
The Paper highlights on one of the main activities in marketing management. That is the internal marketing in the commercial banks and its relationship with the quality services offered to satisfy customers needs and wishes in order to reach he ultimate objectives of those banks. Two state and five private banks in Basrah city (Iraq) were taken in a field study. The survey covered the opinions of (184) state bank employees and (158) clients . The analysis of the survey shows that there is a strong relationship between the internal marketing ( in the banks covered by the survey) and the quality of banking objective services and the private banks show greater interest and concern to the internal ma
... Show MoreBackground: Periodontal diseases are inflammatory diseases affecting the supporting tissues of the teeth. One of the leading environmental factors that are closely related not only to the risk but also to the prognosis of periodontitis is smoking. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of smoking on periodontal health status and to measure the levels of matrix metalloproteinase-9 in smokers and nonsmokers chronic periodontitis patients, also it aimed to test the correlation between the levels of matrix metalloproteinase-9 and the clinical periodontal parameters. Materials and Methods: Five milliliters samples of un-stimulated whole saliva and full-mouth clinical periodontal recordings (plaque index, gingival index, bleeding on probing,
... Show MoreOne of the bigger problems in drinking water is disinfection by-products (DBPs) that come from chlorinated disinfection. This study’s goal was to evaluate the drinking water in Al-Yarmouk Teaching Hospital, Ibn Sina Hospital and Ibn-Al-Nafis Hospital. Samples were collected between October 2018 and September 2019. Physical and chemical characteristics of the water were studied, including (temperature, hydrogen ion (pH), total dissolved solids (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC), turbidity, free residual chlorine, total organic carbon (TOC), total trihalomethanes (THMs), total halo acetic acid (THAAs)). Data analysis showed the highest value of study temperature, pH, TDS, EC, turbidity, free residual chlorine and TOC which was
... Show MoreMK Al-Janabi, NA Nasir, RK Jaber, AO Oleiwe, Iraqi Postgraduate Medical Journal, 2018 - Cited by 7
The sacred totem is one of the social phenomena that occupied the ideas of researchers, and took up a wide area of their research, and it is one of those phenomena that emerged from one of the translations of the Tabu; Who took a psychological and anthropological analysis Because it is one of the social practices, and the main focus of it is the human group and its source is religion. Therefore, this research came with demands, the first of which is to give a semantic concept of the Tommy sanctuary, and then the analytical aspect by standing on the sacred things in the Qur’anic text that God Almighty sanctified, and the third requirement is to examine what people have sanctified, as an analysis of the verses that have
... Show MoreHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most common cause of cancer-related death. Therefore, it is critical for researchers to understand molecular biology in greater depth. In several diseases including cancer, abnormal miRNA expression has been linked to apoptosis, proliferation, differentiation, and metastasis. Many miRNAs have been studied in relation to cancer, including miR-122, miR-223, and others. Hepatitis B and C viruses are the most important global risk factors for HCC. This study is intended to test whether serum miRNAs serve as a potential biomarker for both HCC and viral infections HBV and C. The expression of miRNA in 64 serum samples was analyzed by RT-qPCR. Compared to healthy volunteers, HCC patients' sera expre
... Show MoreBilosomes are nanocarriers that contain bile salts in their vesicular bilayer, thereby enhancing their flexibility and durability in the gastrointestinal tract. Unlike conventional vesicular systems they provide distinct advantages such as streamlined manufacturing procedures, cost efficiency, and improved stability. The main objective of this study was to attain a comparison of the pharmacokinetic parameters of nisoldipine (NSD) after administering an ordinary NSD suspension and an NSD-loaded bilosome suspension. The study used 60 Swiss albino rats weighing 200±15 g and divided into two groups (n=30 each). A dose of 2.2 mg/kg of NSD was administered from the ordinary NSD suspension to the rats of the first group and the same dose
... Show MoreIn this paper, we investigate the impact of fear on a food chain mathematical model with prey refuge and harvesting. The prey species reproduces by to the law of logistic growth. The model is adapted from version of the Holling type-II prey-first predator and Lotka-Volterra for first predator-second predator model. The conditions, have been examined that assurance the existence of equilibrium points. Uniqueness and boundedness of the solution of the system have been achieve. The local and global dynamical behaviors are discussed and analyzed. In the end, numerical simulations are confirmed the theoretical results that obtained and to display the effectiveness of varying each parameter
When a vehicle is left parked in the sun for an extended period, the gathered heat causes damage to several interiors within the cabin and causes discomfort for people and animals left inside the car. In the present work, the effect of the orientation of a parked white minibus on temperature distribution and cooling load calculation is studied experimentally in an open environment. Two different cases were studied facing south and facing east. For several hours, the temperature inside the car cabin had been monitored and measured at five separate locations. The cooling load calculations are carried out based on the experimental measurements. The results show that the overheating of parked cars always happens as a result
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