Postnatal iron deficiency, especially from ages 6 to 24 months, has long-term consequences lasting into adolescence and adulthood. We aimed to characterize iron deficiency anemia among infants from one central Israeli district by demographic and laboratory parameters. A retrospective chart review was performed on all infants from a single district who had undergone a complete blood count as part of a routine survey for iron deficiency anemia during 2010-2021.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUrinary tract infections (UTIs) in childhood are common and are associated with considerable acute morbidity and long-term complications. The need for updated data to optimize empiric antibiotic therapy is crucial. We aimed to investigate the pathogens causing pediatric community acquired UTIs, their correlation with demographic characteristics, and trends in their antimicrobial resistance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUnlabelled: Benign transient hyperphosphatasemia is a condition characterized by greatly increased serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) without laboratory or clinical evidence of underlying bone or liver disease. It is usually identified incidentally during routine blood testing. We describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of benign transient hyperphosphatasemia in a cohort of healthy infants and children.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecently-developed photo-crosslinkable PMMA (polymethylmethacrylate) colloidal spheres are a highly promising system for fundamental studies in colloidal physics and may have a wide range of future technological applications. We synthesize these colloids and characterize their size distribution. Their swelling in a density- and index- matching organic solvent system is demonstrated and we employ dynamic light scattering (DLS), as also the recently-developed confocal differential dynamic microscopy (ConDDM), to characterize the structure and the dynamics of a fluid bulk suspension of such colloids at different particle densities, detecting significant particle charging effects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSpherical colloids, in an absence of external fields, are commonly assumed to interact solely through rotationally-invariant potentials, u(r). While the presence of permanent dipoles in aqueous suspensions has been previously suggested by some experiments, the rotational degrees of freedom of spherical colloids are typically neglected. We prove, by direct experiments, the presence of permanent dipoles in commonly used spherical poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) colloids, suspended in an apolar organic medium.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIsr Med Assoc J
September 2015
Background: Several studies have identified associations between low vitamin D concentrations and risk of upper respiratory infections (URI). T lymphocytes have a major anti-viral role, are affected by vitamin D metabolism, and may mediate the link between vitamin D and URIs. Competitive swimmers have a relatively high rate of URIs, alongside a high prevalence of low vitamin D concentration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBacterial soft rot caused by Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum (Pcc) is one of the most devastating diseases of Ornithogalum species. No effective control measures are currently available to use against this pathogen; thus, introduction of resistant genes via genetic transformation into this crop is a promising approach.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab
August 2015
It is hypothesized that vitamin D insufficiency in athletes might negatively affect sport performance. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of vitamin D3 supplementation on physical performance of adolescent swimmers with vitamin D insufficiency. Fifty-three adolescent competitive swimmers with vitamin D insufficiency (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin-D concentrations (25(OH)D) < 30 ng/ml, mean 24.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBedwetting is a very common condition affecting about 15% of children 6 years of age, and is considered one of the main reasons for referrals to pediatricians. Bedwetting is a medical situation and should be managed by physicians. A child wetting his bed is distressing and this has a deep impact on the child's behavior and it is also very stressful for the parents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObservational studies identified associations between vitamin D insufficiency (serum 25(OH)D < 30ng·ml-1) and risk of upper respiratory infection (URI). Swimmers are highly prone to URIs, which might hinder their performance. The aim of this study was to examine if vitamin D3 supplementation reduces URI burden in vitamin D-insufficient swimmers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSerum vitamin D concentrations (25[OH]D) are associated with physical performance in the general population, but few studies have been published in athletes. 80 competitive adolescent swimmers from both sexes were tested for serum 25(OH)D concentrations, grip strength, balance and swimming performance at several speeds. Spearman's correlations were used to examine the associations between 25(OH)D concentrations and age-adjusted measures of performance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Purpose: Autosomal dominant hyper-IgE syndrome (AD-HIES) is a rare primary immunodeficiency disorder . It has been recognized as a multisystem disorder and is characterized by both immunologic and non-immunologic manifestations. Possible bone involvement in autosomal dominant HIES include fractures, scoliosis, cystic bone changes, and osteopenia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe objectives of this study were to characterize community-acquired (CA) enterococcal urinary tract infections (UTIs) in a tertiary pediatric center and to determine risk factors for their occurrence, their association with renal abnormalities, their antibiotic susceptibility profile, and the appropriateness of the empiric antibiotic treatment, in comparison to those of Gram-negative UTIs. In a 5-year prospective clinical and laboratory study, we found that enterococcal UTIs caused 6.2% (22/355) of culture-proven CA UTIs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClin Pediatr (Phila)
March 2011
In many countries, ibuprofen is available only in oral formulations. The authors aimed to investigate parental satisfaction and possible adverse reactions among children receiving newly marketed ibuprofen suppositories, prior to their arrival at the pharmaceutical points of distribution. Children needing antipyretic medication were recruited from 11 pediatric wards and clinics in Israel.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlants are an infinite source of bioactive compounds. We screened the Israeli flora for compounds that interfere with the organization of the actin cytoskeleton. We found an activity in lipidic extract from Iris germanica that was able to increase HeLa cell area and adhesion and augment the formation of actin stress fibers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: There is relatively little research on affective influences on physician behaviour, especially on prescribing and referrals. Affects include transitory moods and lasting emotions.
Objectives: We explored physician perceptions of the impact of four mood states on perceived rates of five behaviours: talking with patients, prescribing medications and referrals for laboratory tests, diagnostic tests and specialists.
The risk of upper respiratory infections (URIs) is increased in people who are under heavy physical stress, including recreational and competitive swimmers. Additional treatment options are needed, especially in the younger age group. The aim of this study was to determine whether 1 g/day vitamin C supplementation affects the rate, length, or severity of URIs in adolescent swimmers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: There is little research regarding specific work features that might cause chronic stress and burnout among primary care pediatricians. The aim of the present study was first, to assess specific negative and positive characteristics of the job that might be related to burnout; and second, to compare burnout levels and work characteristics among board-certified versus general pediatricians; and clinic directors versus non-directors.
Methods: Questionnaires were sent to 200 pediatricians employed full-time in pediatric primary care community centers in the largest Israeli Health Maintenance Organization (HMO).
Background: The prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents in the western world has increased dramatically.
Objectives: To assess the efficacy of routine childhood obesity screening by primary physicians in the pediatric population in Israel and the utilization of health services by overweight children.
Methods: The electronic medical records of children aged 60-83 months registered in 39 pediatric primary care centers between January 2001 and October 2004 (n=21,799) were reviewed.
Aim: To examine the parent-dependent barriers to varicella immunization in Israel.
Methods: Data were collected by questionnaire from parents of children aged 1 to 18 years who attended an outpatient paediatric centre in five cities in Israel from March to May 2003.
Results: A total of 1474 parents completed the questionnaire.
Background: Burnout is an occupational disease that impairs both quality of health care and physicians' health. It is associated with emotional distress, absenteeism, reduction in personal effectiveness, and increased risk for health problems. Burnout has rarely been investigated among pediatricians.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To evaluate the impact of an educational intervention on judicious antibiotic prescription for upper respiratory diseases in children.
Methods: A multicentre before-and-after study was conducted in five major community child healthcentres in Israel. Antibiotic prescription data were collected for all visits of patients aged 3 months to 18 years with a diagnosis of acute otitis media, tonsillopharyngitis, sinusitis or upper respiratory tract infection from November 1999 through February 2000 (pre-intervention period) and from November 2000 through February 2001 (post-intervention period).