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.
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Air-conditioning systems (ACs) are essential in hot and humid climates to ensure acceptable ambient air quality as well as thermal comfort for buildings users. It is essential to improve refrigeration system performance without increasing the effects of global warming potential (GWP) and ozone depletion potential (ODP). The main objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of an air conditioning system that operates with a liquid suction heat exchanger (LSHX) through implementing refrigerants with zero OPD and low GWP (i.e., R134a and R1234yf). Liquid suction heat exchanger (LSHX) was added to an automobile air conditioning system (AACS).When Liquid suction heat exchanger was added to the cycle, primary results indicated t
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New Fourteen compounds were synthesized in four steps. The first step included synthesis of 2-biphenyl fused ring of imidazo(1,2- a)pyrimidine from the reaction of 2-aminopyrimidine and biphenyl phenacyl bromide . The second step was introduced aldehyde group from the reaction of 2-biphenyl fused rings of imidazo(1,2-a)pyrimidine with POCl3 in presence of DMF and CHCl3. 3-Carbaladehyde derivatives of fused imidazo/pyrimidine was reacted with different aromatic amines to afford new Schiff bases. These new 3- imines derivatives was reduced by using sodiumborohydride to yield another new 3-aminomethyl-2-biphenyl imidazo (1,2-a)pyrimidine derivatives in moderate yield .Some new prepared compounds were identified by melting point, FT- IR , 13C-
... Show MoreSemi-parametric models analysis is one of the most interesting subjects in recent studies due to give an efficient model estimation. The problem when the response variable has one of two values either 0 ( no response) or one – with response which is called the logistic regression model.
We compare two methods Bayesian and . Then the results were compared using MSe criteria.
A simulation had been used to study the empirical behavior for the Logistic model , with different sample sizes and variances. The results using represent that the Bayesian method is better than the at small samples sizes.
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Moderately, advanced national election technologies have improved political systems. As electronic voting (e-voting) systems advance, security threats like impersonation, ballot tampering, and result manipulation increase. These challenges are addressed through a review covering biometric authentication, watermarking, and blockchain technologies, each of which plays a crucial role in improving the security of e-voting systems. More precisely, the biometric authentication is being examined due to its ability in identify the voters and reducing the risks of impersonation. The study also explores the blockchain technology to decentralize the elections, enhance the transparency and ensure the prevention of any unauthorized alteration or
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This study presented an endeavour to integrate the value chain activities with the Balanced Scorecard for a comprehensive evaluation of an organization’s strategic performance. It also demonstrated the connection and the integration of the activities of the value chain with the Balanced Scorecard. The financial measurement was linked with non-financial measurement by integrating these techniques to achieve an appropriate performance that supports all aspects of the organizational performance. Consequently, the research problem in this study emerged, which is due to the concentration of many organizations on the measurement of financial performance. Notably, the latter caused the decline of some organizations from the competitive market. T
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Silica-based mesoporous materials are a class of porous materials with unique characteristics such as ordered pore structure, large surface area, and large pore volume. This review covers the different types of porous material (zeolite and mesoporous) and the physical properties of mesoporous materials that make them valuable in industry. Mesoporous materials can be divided into two groups: silica-based mesoporous materials and non-silica-based mesoporous materials. The most well-known family of silica-based mesoporous materials is the Mesoporous Molecular Sieves family, which attracts attention because of its beneficial properties. The family includes three members that are differentiated based on their pore arrangement. In this review,
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