Background: Rituximab is a chimeric IgG1 kappa immunoglobulin that has been genetically modified to incorporate human constant region sequences together with murine light- and heavy-chain variable region sequences. People use it to treat rheumatoid arthritis and certain malignancies. Objective: The study aimed to assess the potential association between the serum levels of Factor I, CD59, interleukins (IL)-6, and interferon-gamma (IFN)-γ and the response to Rituximab treatment in Iraqi rheumatoid arthritis patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the rheumatology center at Baghdad Teaching Hospital. Ninety adult patients who have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and are receiving  Rituximab intravenous i

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a public health problem and many studies support the link between kidney dysfunction and cardiovascular events.  Aldosterone has been shown for decades that a plasma aldosterone concentration is elevated in CKD. Whilst, Osteoprotegerin (OPG), after its capacity to protect bone, also osteoprotegerin is elevated in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), where it could predict the deterioration of kidney function, cardiovascular, vascular events and all-cause mortality. On the other hand, fibroblast growth factors (FGFs), in patients with CKD, its levels seem to increase progressively as kidney function worsens. The aim of the present study is to assess the correlations between serum osteoprotegerin

The success of endodontic therapy is relied on radicular system cleaning, shaping, elimination of micro-organisms, and three dimensional filling of the radicular complex.This study was conducted to develop and assess new root canal sealer incorporating nano-sized bioactive glass into Gutta Flow II. The following concentration was used depend on a pilot study included adding (3%) of 45S5 bioactive glass into the Gutta Flow II. These materials were tested through assessment bioactivity. bioactivity test was undertaken after immersion of the tested samples into PBS for three days, seven days, fourteen days, and twenty eight days using FTIR too. study was found that it’s peaks was appear at level 800-1000 cm-1. The results showed that GFII gr

This work deals with the production of light fuel cuts of (gasoline, kerosene and gas oil) by catalytic cracking treatment of secondary product mater (heavy vacuum gas oil) which was produced from the vacuum distillation unit in any petroleum refinery. The objective of this research was to study the effect of the catalyst -to- oil ratio parameter on catalytic cracking process of heavy vacuum gas oil feed at constant temperature (450 °C). The first step of this treatment was, catalytic cracking of this material by constructed batch reactor occupied with auxiliary control devices, at selective range of the catalyst –to- oil ratio parameter (  2, 2.5, 3 and 3.5) respectively.  The conversion of heavy vacuum gas

In this study, the behavior of screw piles models with continuous helix was studied by conducting laboratory experimental tests on a single screw pile that has several aspect ratios (L/D) under the influence of static axial compression loads. The screw piles were inserted in a soft soil that has a unit weight of 18.72 kN/m3 and moisture content of 30.19%. Also, the soil has a liquid limit of 55% and a plasticity index of 32%. A physical laboratory model was designed to investigate the ultimate compression capacity of the screw pile and measure the generated porewater pressure during the loading process. The bedding soil was prepared according to the field unit weight and moisture content and the failure load was assumed correspondin

One of the common geotechnical problems is the construction on soft soil and the improvement of its geotechnical properties to meet the design requirements. A stone column is one of the well-known techniques used to improve the geotechnical properties of soft soils. Sometimes thick layers of soft soil imposed the designer to use floating stone columns for improvement of such soil; in this case, the designer will be lost the end bearing of the stone column. In this study, the effects of several patterns of floating stone columns distribution under footing on the bearing capacity of soil and the distribution of excess porewater pressure are investigated. The soft soil used in this study has a very low undrained shear strength (cu) of

The purpose of this study is to measure the levels of quality control for some crude oil products in Iraqi refineries, and how they are close to the international standards, through the application of statistical methods in quality control of oil products in Iraqi refineries. Where the answers of the study sample were applied to a group of Iraqi refinery employees (Al-Dora refinery, Al-Nasiriyah refinery, and Al-Basra refinery) on the principles of quality management control, and according to the different personal characteristics (gender, age, academic qualification, number of years of experience, job level). In order to achieve the objectives of the study, a questionnaire that included (12) items, in order to collect preliminary inform

Objective: Atorvastatin therapy is now recommended for reduction of cardiovascular risk in type 2 diabetic patients (T2DM), based on convincing evidence of reductions in mortality and vascular events in major clinical outcome trials. The aim is to evaluate the effects of atorvastatin on proinflammatory markers (TNF-α, IL-6), HbA1c andleptin in obese patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: Sixty fivenewly diagnosed T2DM patients were randomly allocated into 2 groups; group I treated with metformin only; in group II atorvastatin was added with metformin. Twenty healthy subjects were enrolled as control group. While maintaining their usual eating habits, fasting blood samples were collected at baseline and after 12 weeks of treatment. Results

Abstract Background: Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) is an angioproliferative neoplastic disorder that occurs in different epidemiological forms. Human Herpesvirus type 8 (HHV-8) is established as a causative agent of KS that has been mentioned in textbooks and literature. In the last two decades, KS cases were up searched through many Iraqi medical researches which have been published, but unfortunately, none of which had confirmed this association. Objectives: To assess the association of latent nuclear antigen-1(LANA-1) of HHV-8 among KS patients with clinicopathological parameters and to evaluate if this procedure is valuable for diagnosing this disease through the first immunohistochemical study in Iraq. Methods: This is a clinico-immunohis