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.
In this work magnetite/geopolymer composite (MGP) were synthesized using a chemical co-precipitation technique. The synthesized materials were characterized using several techniques such as: “X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), vibrating sample-magnetometer (VSM), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) and Barrentt-Joyner-Halenda (BJH)” to determine the structure and morphology of the obtained material. The analysis indicated that metal oxide predominantly appeared at the shape of the spinel structure of magnetite, and that the presence of nano-magnetite had a substantial impact on the surface area and pore st
... Show MoreThe article deals with glutton-discursive aphorisms, maxims, sentations, paremias (proverbs and sayings) of different peoples, which reflect their character traits and aspects of life in the family, collective, society, everyday realities, which indicates the close connection of paremias with the language en vironment. Attention is focused on the parodies used in 73% of cases and nominating personality characteristics using the socio-cultural code of arabophones. It is proved that this vocabulary as the national socio-cultural code of arabophones are used to increase the capacity of the statement, and express the emotional and aesthetic positions of a person
The current study used extracts from the aloe vera (AV) plant and the hibiscus sabdariffa flower to make Ag-ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) and Ag-ZnO nanocomposites (NCs). Ag/ZnO NCs were compared to Ag NPs and ZnO NPs. They exhibited unique properties against bacteria and fungi that aren't present in either of the individual parts. The Ag-ZnO NCs from AV showed the best performance against E. coli, with an inhibition zone of up to 27 mm, compared to the other samples. The maximum absorbance peaks were observed at 431 nm and 410 nm for Ag NPs, at 374 nm and 377 nm for ZnO NPs and at 384 nm and 391 nm for Ag-ZnO NCs using AV leaf extract and hibiscus sabdariffa flower extract, respectively. Using field emission-scanning electron microscopes (FE-
... Show MoreMetronidazole therapy is recommended in the treatment of giardiasis,athough some clinical reports mention the resistance to this drug from many pathogens. Many studies were applied to show the effect of probiotic to prevent or to heal diseases of gastrointestine, but only few is known about probiotic activity against infections of protozoa. This study aims to evaluate the efficiency of Bifidobacterium against infection with Giardia lamblia in experimental mice. It was found that daily application of viable Bifidobacterium cells with a single dose (0.1ml∕mice∕day) significantly reduced the shedding of Giardia lamblia parasite cysts in feces, and infection completely disappeared at the da
... Show MorePersistence of antibiotics in the aquatic environment has raised concerns regarding their potential influence on potable water quality and human health. This study analyzes the presence of antibiotics in potable water from two treatment plants in Baghdad City. The collected samples were separated using a solid-phase extraction method with hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) cartridge before being analyzed. The detected antibiotics in the raw and finished drinking water were analyzed and assessed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), with fluorometric detector and UV detector. The results confirmed that different antibiotics including fluoroquinolones and
A study in the treatment and reuse of oily wastewater generated from the process of fuel oil treatment of gas turbine power plant was performed. The feasibility of using hollow fiber ultrafiltration (UF) membrane and nanofiltration (NF) membrane type polyamide thin-film composite in a pilot plant was investigated. Three different variables: pressure (0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 bars), oil content (10, 20, 30 and 40 ppm), and temperature (15, 20, 30 and 40 ᵒC) were employed in the UF process while TDS was kept constant at 150 ppm. Four different variables: pressure (2, 3, 4 and 5 bar), oil content (2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 ppm), total dissolved solids (TDS) (100, 200,300 and 400 ppm), and temperature (15, 20, 30 and 40 ᵒC) were manipulated with the h
... Show MoreThe present work provides to treat real oily saline wastewater released from drilling oil sites by the use of electrocoagulation technique. Aluminum tubes were utilized as electrodes in a concentric manner to minimize the concentrations of 113400 mg TDS/L, 65623 mg TSS/L, and the ions of 477 mg HCO3/L, 102000 mg Cl/L and 5600 mg Ca/L presented in real oily wastewater under the effect of the operational parameters (the applied current and reaction time) by making use of the central composite rotatable design. The final concentrations of TDS, TSS, HCO3, Cl, and Ca that obtained were 93555 ppm (17.50%), 11011 ppm (83.22%), 189ppm (60.38%), 80000ppm (22%), and 4200 ppm (25%), respectively, under the optimum values of the operational parameters
... Show MoreA new bio-electrochemical system was proposed for simultaneous removal of organic matters and salinity from actual domestic wastewater and synthetically prepared saline water, respectively. The performance of a three-chambered microbial osmotic fuel cell (MOFC) provided with forward osmosis (FO) membrane and cation exchange membrane (CEM) was evaluated with respect to the chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal from wastewater, electricity generation, and desalination of saline water. The MOFC wasinoculated with activated sludge and fueled with actual domestic wastewater. Results revealed that maximum removal efficiency of COD from wastewater, TDS removal efficiency from saline water, power density, and current density were
... Show MoreAlopecia (Baldness) is very usual trouble in current time. It is accompanied by an intensive weakening of the scalp's hair and follows a specific pattern. Hereditary predisposition plays a very important role in alopecia despite not completely understood. Alopecia can be typed to various categories according to etiology, may be due to hereditary factors, autoimmune disease, and drugs or chemicals. There are many options of strategies of treatment according to the type and causes of alopecia. Chemical or synthetic medications apply for the management of hair loss are accompanied by a wide range of undesirable effects. Naturally occurring drugs also play important role in alopecia management with minimal side effects.
Objectives: The study aims at assessing the parental treatment and aggressive behaviors among adolescents and to find out the association between parental treatment and aggressive behavior.
Methodology: A descriptive correlational design that is initiated for the period of January 1st to July 5th, 2021; The sample of the study includes 220 from the intermediate school male students in schools in the Karkh and Rusafa in Baghdad have ranged in age from (13-15) years, the researcher used the convenient sampling method (non-probability sample) in which the students were selected purposively. Parental Treatment Scal
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