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.
Alizarin is one of the popularly used and wide separated compounds with a chemical name (1,2- dihydroxy-9,10-anthraquinone) which belong to the anthraquinones family that contain three aromatic conjugated rings and in the central rings it contains two ketonic groups.1
The provision of safe water for people is a human right; historically, a major number of people depend on groundwater as a source of water for their needs, such as agricultural, industrial or human activities. Water resources have recently been affected by organic and/or inorganic contaminants as a result of population growth and increased anthropogenic activity, soil leaching and pollution. Water resource remediation has become a serious environmental concern, since it has a direct impact on many aspects of people’s lives. For decades, the pump-and-treat method has been considered the predominant treatment process for the remediation of contaminated groundwater with organic and inorganic contaminants. On the other side, this tech
... Show MoreThe objective of this study is to determine the extent to which the determinants of organizational support contributed to enhancing the mental status of banking services in a number of banks in Dohuk governorate in order to diagnose the correlation between the perceived organizational support and the mental status of services. Availability in the environment of banks and to enhance the mental position from the point of view of customers as the main hypotheses focused on the nature of the relationship between the dimensions of research among them has been tested these hypotheses using statistical and descriptive methods have been The study concluded that the contribution of organizational support, which is
... Show MoreBackground: periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease causing destruction of the tooth supporting structures, initiated by dental plaque and modified by environmental and genetic risk factors. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) enzyme is responsible for the production of prostaglandin E2, an important mediator in the chronic periodontitis (CP) pathogenesis. Polymorphisms in COX-2 gene have linked to CP in different populations. Aim: To study the association between Cyclooxygenase-2 single nucleotide polymorphism rs689466 (-1195A/G SNP) and chronic periodontitis in a sample of Iraqi population. Methods: One hundred Iraqi subjects divided into two groups: case group consisted of 70 CP patient (35 males and 35 females) with age range 30-55 year
... Show MoreThe research aims to identify the role of strategic improvisation as an independent variable with its dimensions (Building the Solution, Intuition, Adaptation, and Spontaneity) and the Entrepreneurial Orientation as a dependent variable with its dimensions (Identifying Opportunities, Creativity, Adopting risk, and Vision). This research has been applied in the Rafidain Bank and its branches (Sunk, People, Al-Firdaws, and Alawiya); it used the questionnaire as a basic tool for collecting information. The sample was intentionality, which included all the heads of departments in the bank’s branches, which amounted to (33) workers, and data on the questionnaire paragraphs of 28 were processed using the SPSS V.23 and AMOS V.23). The most impor
... Show MoreDetermining risk indicators for dental implants is an essential strategy for preventing peri-implant diseases and effective diagnosis of dental implant success. To investigate the impact of certain potential factors on the osseointegrated dental implant. Eighty-four individuals were included in our study, 50 cases as a patient’s group and 34 participants as a control group. All cases were diagnosed based on certain criteria, 30 (60%) of patients had peri-implantitis, 20 (40%) with severe periimplantitis, 36(72%) were generalized, and 15 (30%) as localized peri-implantitis cases. The study has indicated that 44.7% of dental implants were in the anterior maxilla, followed by (27.3%) posterior maxilla, (17.4%) posterior mandible, and (10.4%)
... Show MoreThe sustainable competitive advantage for organizations is one of the requirements for value creation, which centered on the possession of scarce resources that achieve maximum flows to invest in intellectual capital, if what has been interest in them, measured and employed the way properly and style, so I figured the need for new technologies to enable organizations to measure the intellectual and physical assets and to assess its performance accordingly, so it sheds search light on the measurement of the added value of existing knowledge using the standard value-added factor is the intellectual (value added intellectual coefficient) (VAIC) and to develop a set of assumptions about the extent of the difference between the sample
... Show MoreThe aim of this study is to develop a novel framework for managing risks in smart supply chains by enhancing business continuity and resilience against potential disruptions. This research addresses the growing uncertainty in supply chain environments, driven by both natural phenomena-such as pandemics and earthquakes—and human-induced events, including wars, political upheavals, and societal transformations. Recognizing that traditional risk management approaches are insufficient in such dynamic contexts, the study proposes an adaptive framework that integrates proactive and remedial measures for effective risk mitigation. A fuzzy risk matrix is employed to assess and analyze uncertainties, facilitating the identification of disr
... Show MoreThe effects of T-shaped fins on the improvement of phase change materials (PCM) melting are numerically investigated in vertical triple-tube storage containment. The PCM is held in the middle pipe of a triple-pipe heat exchanger while the heat transfer fluid flows through the internal and external pipes. The dimension effects of the T-shaped fins on the melting process of the PCM are investigated to determine the optimum case. Results indicate that while using T-shaped fins improves the melting performance of the PCM, the improvement potential is mainly governed by the fin’s body rather than the head. Hence, the proposed T-shaped fin did not noticeably improve melting at the bottom of the PCM domain; additionally, a flat fin is ad
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