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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Thyroid disease is a common disease affecting millions worldwide. Early diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disease can help prevent more serious complications and improve long-term health outcomes. However, thyroid disease diagnosis can be challenging due to its variable symptoms and limited diagnostic tests. By processing enormous amounts of data and seeing trends that may not be immediately evident to human doctors, Machine Learning (ML) algorithms may be capable of increasing the accuracy with which thyroid disease is diagnosed. This study seeks to discover the most recent ML-based and data-driven developments and strategies for diagnosing thyroid disease while considering the challenges associated with imbalanced data in thyroid dise
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The electrical and thermal performance of a typical single pass hybrid photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) air collector is modeled, simulated and analyzed for two selected case studies in Iraq. An improved mathematical thermo-electrical model is derived in terms of design, operating and climatic parameters of the hybrid solar collector to evaluate its important characteristics: collector flow and heat removal factors, PV maximum power point and its temperature coefficient, and overall power and efficiency. Unlike previous PV/T thermal models, the present model is obtained with some additions and corrections in radiation and convection heat coefficients for the top loss and for the air duct with more applicable sky temperature correlation. The well
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Abstract: The power and the size of the final spot of the laser beam reaching the target are very important requirements in most of the laser applications and fields such as medical, military, and scientific, so studying laser propagation in the atmosphere is a very important topic. The propagation of the laser beam through the atmosphere is subject to several attenuation processes that deplete the power and expand the beam. Through the simulation results of the free electron laser within the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum (400-700nm), it was found that the attenuation increases with decreasing wavelength. Laser propagation in the presence of rain and snow leads to a very large loss of power compared to propagation i
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In this review paper, several research studies were surveyed to assist future researchers to identify available techniques in the field of infectious disease modeling across complex networks. Infectious disease modelling is becoming increasingly important because of the microbes and viruses that threaten people’s lives and societies in all respects. It has long been a focus of research in many domains, including mathematical biology, physics, computer science, engineering, economics, and the social sciences, to properly represent and analyze spreading processes. This survey first presents a brief overview of previous literature and some graphs and equations to clarify the modeling in complex networks, the detection of soc
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Objectives: Although the Frankfort Horizontal (FH) and sella-nasion were routinely used as craniofacial reference planes, the inter-individual orientations were changeable when related to true horizontal (HOR). Natural head position (NHP) is a reproducible, standardized position, with the head in an upright posture and eyes focused on a point in the distance at eye level so that the visual axis is horizontal. The natural head position has importance in anthropological as well as in orthodontic fields, as this position has a relatively fixed relationship to the true horizontal and vertical planes. However, NHP is clinically not simple and it takes long time to be recorded, in addition to a deficiency in the tools utilized in the NHP and l
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In this review paper, several research studies were surveyed to assist future researchers to identify available techniques in the field of infectious disease modeling across complex networks. Infectious disease modelling is becoming increasingly important because of the microbes and viruses that threaten people’s lives and societies in all respects. It has long been a focus of research in many domains, including mathematical biology, physics, computer science, engineering, economics, and the social sciences, to properly represent and analyze spreading processes. This survey first presents a brief overview of previous literature and some graphs and equations to clarify the modeling in complex networks, the detection of soc
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