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 dyes Azo have a lengthy history and are a vital part of our daily lives. There are numerous potentials uses for these substances and their derivatives in various industries and environmental and biological research. In this study conversion of various azo compounds into other derivatives, complexes, and polymers was accomplished. This review included examining the chemistry reactions, synthesis, and applications of azo dye ligands and their complexes, mentioned spectral, analytical, thermal, and morphology methods of investigation, and confirmed by mass fragment mechanisms for some azo dyes and metal complexes. One of the aims of this review is to explain the role of these azo dye derivatives and the effect of metal complexes on
... Show MoreIn present days, drug resistance is a major emerging problem in the healthcare sector. Novel antibiotics are in considerable need because present effective treatments have repeatedly failed. Antimicrobial peptides are the biologically active secondary metabolites produced by a variety of microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, and algae, which possess surface activity reduction activity along with this they are having antimicrobial, antifungal, and antioxidant antibiofilm activity. Antimicrobial peptides include a wide variety of bioactive compounds such as Bacteriocins, glycolipids, lipopeptides, polysaccharide-protein complexes, phospholipids, fatty acids, and neutral lipids. Bioactive peptides derived from various natural sources like bacte
... Show MoreThe current study introduces a novel method for calculating the stability time by a new approach based on the conversion of degradation from the conductivity curve results obtained by the conventional method. The stability time calculated by the novel method is shorter than the time measured by the conventional method. The stability time in the novel method can be calculated by the endpoint of the tangency of the conversion curve with the tangent line. This point of tangency represents the stability time, as will be explained in detail. Still, it gives a clear and accurate envisage of the dehydrochlorination behavior and can be generalized to all types of polyvinyl chloride compared to the stability time measured by conventional ones based
... Show MoreIn this paper , some of lexical stylistic , syntactical stylistic devices , and one phonetic stylistic device are going to be illustrated in the study of the aphorisms of “life and death” . These stylistic devices are parallelism , hyperbole , alliteration , meiosis , irony , oxymoron , cliché , litotes , metalepsis , and loose sentences. This paper aims at identifying the functions and the frequencies of these devices. These stylistic devices make one speech and writing more interesting and help to get the attention of readers/ listeners
Cephalexin and its derivatives are commonly utilized in the pharmaceutical and medicinal industry due to their biological and pharmaceutical activities, including anti-microbial, anti-cancer, anti-bacterial, and herbicidal activities as well as possessing high palatability and being useful for skin and joint infections. Interestingly, some organic drugs, including cephalexin, which exhibit toxicological and pharmacological properties, can be administered in forms of metal complexes. Many researchers have synthesized organic ligands derived from cephalexin in forms of Schiff bases and azo compounds which exhibited higher biological and medicinal properties when compared to cephalexin alone. One of the important features that make Schiff base
... Show MoreIn the present paper a low cost mechanical vibration shaker of rotating unbalanced type with uniaxial shaking table was designed and constructed in an attempt to provide opportunities for experimental testing and application of vibration in experimental modal analysis, stress relief of weldments, effect of vibration on heat transfer and seismic testing of civil engineering structures. Also, it provides unexpressive solution to enhance the knowledge and technical skills of students in mechanical vibration laboratory. The shaker consists of a five main parts shaker frame, shaker table, flexible support, drive motor, and eccentricity mechanism. The experimental results show that the amplitude of the shaker is increased with increasing the f
... Show MoreThe Environmental Data Acquisition Telemetry System is a versatile, flexible and economical means to accumulate data from multiple sensors at remote locations over an extended period of time; the data is normally transferred to the final destination and saved for further analysis.
This paper introduces the design and implementation of a simplified, economical and practical telemetry system to collect and transfer the environmental parameters (humidity, temperature, pressure etc.) from a remote location (Rural Area) to the processing and displaying unit.
To get a flexible and practical system, three data transfer methods (three systems) were proposed (including the design and implementation) for rural area services, the fi
... Show MoreThe presence of alkaloids in Crassula ovata is a topic that is still unexplored, as there are no published studies on the matter. This study demonstrates the presence of an alkaloid compound (and its class) for the first time in Crassula ovata. The plant material was defatted with n-hexane, and a Soxhlet apparatus was used for the extraction process, while the acid-base method was used for the isolation of alkaloids from the chloroform fractions. The quaternary alkaloid was precipitated from the aqueous layer spontaneously, in high quantity. By using standard spectroscopic methods (including liquid chromatography - mass spectroscopy) we were able to clarify the structure of the precipi¬tated compound as a tetrahydroprotoberberine a
... Show MoreBackground: The rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into healthcare necessitates that nursing education evolves to equip students with essential technological competencies. Objectives: To explore pediatric nursing students' perceptions of AI in nursing and analyze associations with sociodemographic factors and prior AI knowledge. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2024 to March 2025 across five universities in Baghdad. A non-probability sample of 500 pediatric nursing students completed the Shinners Artificial Intelligence Perception (SAIP) tool. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential comparisons (t-tests/ANOVA) via SPSS. Results: Participants had a mean ag
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