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

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

Reservoir characterization is an important component of hydrocarbon exploration and production, which requires the integration of different disciplines for accurate subsurface modeling. This comprehensive research paper delves into the complex interplay of rock materials, rock formation techniques, and geological modeling techniques for improving reservoir quality. The research plays an important role dominated by petrophysical factors such as porosity, shale volume, water content, and permeability—as important indicators of reservoir properties, fluid behavior, and hydrocarbon potential. It examines various rock cataloging techniques, focusing on rock aggregation techniques and self-organizing maps (SOMs) to identify specific and

Background: In the past, an association between Tuberculosis (TB) and Diabetes Mellitus (DM) was widely accepted, today the potential public health and clinical importance of this relationship seems to be largely ignored. The national clinical and policy guidance in the UK on the central of TB, for example, does not consider the relationship with DM.Objectives: To determine the risk of association between diabetes mellitus and pulmonary TB.Methods: A retrospective study conducted in Ibn Zuhr hospital for chest diseases from Jan 2008 – sep 2010 , included in the study 402 patients with TB divided into diabetic & non diabetic, 96 (23.8%) were diabetic while other 306 were TB not diabetic.Results: Risk of TB among DM patients were cle

The paper proposes a methodology for predicting packet flow at the data plane in smart SDN based on the intelligent controller of spike neural networks(SNN). This methodology is applied to predict the subsequent step of the packet flow, consequently reducing the overcrowding that might happen. The centralized controller acts as a reactive controller for managing the clustering head process in the Software Defined Network data layer in the proposed model. The simulation results show the capability of Spike Neural Network controller in SDN control layer to improve the (QoS) in the whole network in terms of minimizing the packet loss ratio and increased the buffer utilization ratio.

Purpose: The concept of complete street is one of the modern trends concerned with diversifying means of transportation and reducing the disadvantages of mechanical transportation modes. This paper discusses the role of complete streets can play in developing the urban environment in the Alyarmok District of Baghdad.   Method/design/approach: The linear regression method used to analyze the opinions of 100 respondents surveyed in the study area in order to find the relationship between the urban environment and the complete street elements.   Theoretical framework: The Modern trends in urban planning aim to find alternatives to the policies of traditional transportation planning that focus on vehicular mobi

Presentation of urinary calculus ranges from painful urination to acute retention. Diagnosed by x-ray pelvis and non-contrast CT and removal of stone by various methods is the management. Variety in symptoms, sometimes make clinical diagnosis difficult until radiological investigations confirm it. In this case presentation, initial diagnosis was made of Urethrocutaneous fistula may be due to distal stricture, but on investigating, he was diagnosed as urethral calculus in urethral diverticulum , as the reason for his symptoms

A friction stir spot welding (FSSW) process is an emerging solid state joining process in which the material that is being welded does not melt. In this investigation an attempt has been made to understand the effect of tool shoulder diameter on the mechanical properties of the joint. For this purpose four welding tools diameter (10,13, 16 and 19) mm at constant preheating time and plunging time were used to carry
out welding process. Effect of tool diameter on mechanical properties of welded joints was investigated using shear stress test and Microhardness of joint which welded was studied. Based on the stir welding experiments conducted in this study the results show that aluminum alloy (1200) can be welded using (FSSW) process with