Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation in Small and Very Small Aortic Valve Annuli: A Propensity-Matched Analysis Between Self-Expanding Versus Balloon-Expandable Valves.

Background: The management of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) patients with a small aortic annulus (SAA) postures a substantial challenge, increasing the risk of patient- prosthesis mismatch (PPM) and overall mortality.

Aims: This study aimed to compare the hemodynamic and clinical outcomes of transcatheter balloon-expandable valve (BEV) versus transcatheter self-expandable valve (SEV) in SAA.

Methods: We conducted propensity score matching (PSM) of severe AS patients with SAA who underwent trans-femoral TAVR and enrolled to the Israeli TAVR registry between the years 2008 and 2023.

Caring for young adult men with inflammatory bowel disease: Clinician and patient perspectives.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) presents unique challenges for young adult men that extend beyond physical symptoms, encompassing psychosocial dimensions affecting all aspects of life. This article draws insights from a roundtable discussion facilitated by the Crohn's and Colitis Young Adults Network (CCYAN), focusing on the experiences of young men living with IBD. It sheds light on the intersections of IBD and men's sexual and reproductive health, fertility, and mental well-being while identifying gaps in care.

How proteins manage to fold and how chaperones manage to assist the folding.

This review presents the current understanding of (i) spontaneous self-organization of spatial structures of protein molecules, and (ii) possible ways of chaperones' assistance to this process. Specifically, we overview the most important features of spontaneous folding of proteins (mostly, of the single-domain water-soluble globular proteins): the choice of the unique protein structure among zillions of alternatives, the nucleation of the folding process, and phase transitions within protein molecules. We consider the main experimental facts on protein folding, both in vivo and in vitro, of both kinetic and thermodynamic nature.

Combining academic studies with family life: Insights from ultra-orthodox nursing student-mothers with four or more children.

Background: There is a paucity of research examining how student-mothers in nursing school, who have four or more children and come from traditional societies, are able to navigate between their studies and motherhood. These mothers are expected to juggle their studies, while handling their household responsibilities, caring for their children and working to provide for their family.

Methods: This qualitative phenomenological study aimed to understand the motivations, challenges and inner conflicts faced by ultra-orthodox nursing student-mothers with four or more children.

Formation of the Native Topology of a Protein is due to the "Conserved but Non-Functional" Residues: A Case of Apomyoglobin Folding.

This paper is dedicated to the memory of Oleg B. Ptitsyn (1929-1999) and presents an answer to his question: "What is the role of conserved non-functional residues in protein folding?". This answer follows from the experimental works of three labs.

Impact of Measured and Predicted Prosthesis-Patient Mismatch After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement.

Background: Prosthesis-patient mismatch after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) can be measured echocardiographically (measured prosthesis-patient mismatch [PPMm]) or predicted (predicted prosthesis-patient mismatch [PPMp]) using published effective orifice area (EOA) reference values. However, the clinical implications of PPM post-TAVR remain unclear.

Objectives: This study aimed to elucidate the prevalence of PPMm and PPMp post-TAVR and their impact on mortality in a large international cohort.

[INTEGRATING SEX AND GENDER DIFFERENCES/GENDER MEDICINE INTO THE FACULTY OF MEDICINE CURRICULUM].

In recent decades, the recognition of the importance of sex, gender and their interrelationship for health research and for the practice of medicine has grown. Accordingly, the move to include gender medicine in medical school curricula has gained momentum in many countries. This article reviews the challenges of integrating this subject into medical school curricula and details the recent initiative to mainstream gender medicine into the six-year curriculum of the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical School in Jerusalem, Israel.

Lipoprotein(a) Levels in Severe Aortic Stenosis Referred for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation Compared to Controls.

Background: Limited observational reports link elevated lipoprotein(a) (Lp[a]) levels to aortic stenosis (AS) or to disease progression. Data on large cohorts of verified severe AS patients are lacking.

Objectives: The purpose of the study was to characterize Lp(a) levels of severe AS patients referred to transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and compare them to a large cohort of Lp(a) samples derived from the general population.

Spaceflight alters host-gut microbiota interactions.

The ISS rodent habitat has provided crucial insights into the impact of spaceflight on mammals, inducing symptoms characteristic of liver disease, insulin resistance, osteopenia, and myopathy. Although these physiological responses can involve the microbiome on Earth, host-microbiota interactions during spaceflight are still being elucidated. We explore murine gut microbiota and host gene expression in the colon and liver after 29 and 56 days of spaceflight using multiomics.

Outcomes of Pulsatile Tinnitus After Cerebral Venous Sinus Stenting: Systematic Review and Pooled Analysis of 616 Patients.

Background: Pulsatile tinnitus (PT) is a debilitating condition with substantial morbidity related to quality of life. Cerebral venous sinus stenosis has recently emerged as a noninfrequent cause of PT, either in the setting of concurrent idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) or due to primary venous stenosis. Venous sinus stenting (VSS) is an endovascular technique that can be used to treat venous stenosis.

Nourishing two hearts: The journey of nursing student mothers during academic studies and clinical rotations: A qualitative study.

Aim: To explore and understand breastfeeding experiences and challenges among student mothers who breastfeed during their academic studies and clinical rotations in nursing school.

Background: Breastfeeding is recommended for the nourishment of infants. An increasing number of students combine parenthood and higher education, including student mothers who give birth while pursuing their degrees.

Co-chaperonin GroES subunit exchange as dependent on time, pH, protein concentration, and urea.

The discovery of a subunit exchange in some oligomeric proteins, implying short-term dissociation of their oligomeric structure, requires new insights into the role of the quaternary structure in oligomeric protein stability and function. Here we demonstrate the effect of pH, protein concentration, and urea on the efficiency of GroES heptamer (GroES) subunit exchange. A mixture of equimolar amounts of wild-type (WT) GroES and its Ala97Cys mutant modified with iodoacetic acid (97-carboxymethyl cysteine or CMC-GroES) was incubated in various conditions and subjected to isoelectric focusing (IEF) in polyacrylamide gel.

Total brain volume is associated with severity of transverse sinus stenosis in idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

Background: Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is a complex neurological condition characterized by symptoms of increased intracranial pressure of unclear etiology. While transverse sinus stenosis (TSS) is often present in patients with IIH, how and why it occurs remains unclear.

Methods: IIH patients and a set of age-matched normal controls were identified from our single-center tertiary care institution from 2016 to 2024.

Association of Extent of Transverse Sinus Stenosis With Cerebral Glymphatic Clearance in Patients With Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension.

Background And Objectives: Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is a neurologic disorder characterized by symptoms of elevated intracranial pressure in the absence of a clear cause. There is a developing theory that IIH may, in part, be related to abnormal cerebral glymphatic clearance. In addition, transverse sinus stenosis (TSS) is a common finding in IIH of unclear pathophysiologic significance.

A Blueprint for U.S. Health Insurance Reform.

The current U.S. health insurance "system" was not deliberately planned and constructed but has emerged piecemeal over the past half-century through a series of incremental and haphazard reforms.

Conduction disorders following transcatheter aortic valve replacement using acurate Neo2 transcatheter heart valve: A propensity matched analysis.

Background: The ACURATE neo2 transcatheter aortic valve was developed to improve paravalvular leak (PVL) rates while maintaining low rates of conduction disturbances and permanent pacemaker implantation (PPMI) seen with its predecessor. We aimed to compare conduction disturbances rates of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) using ACURATE Neo2 with other commonly used valves.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of the Israeli TAVR registry between the years 2014-2023 was performed to compare conduction disturbances and PVL rates, and procedural outcomes, among patients treated with ACURATE neo2, Edwards Sapien 3 (S3), and Evolut PRO valves.

Improved Cerebral Glymphatic Flow after Transvenous Embolization of CSF-Venous Fistula.

Spontaneous intracranial hypotension is characterized by symptoms of low intracranial CSF volume due to various mechanisms of CSF leakage. One such mechanism is a CSF-venous fistula, treatable with transvenous embolization resulting in substantial radiographic and clinical improvement. However, the exact mechanisms underlying these improvements, including the potential involvement of the glymphatic system, remain unclear.

Data-Driven Surveillance Protocol for Patients at Risk for Peritoneal Recurrence of Primary Colon Cancer: Surveillance for Peritoneal Carcinomatosis.

Peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) is rarely discovered early due to low sensitivity of screening imaging and tumor markers, however, earlier identification may improve outcomes. This study assesses risk factors and time to recurrence of PC and implementation of a surveillance system. Patients with stage II-III colon adenocarcinoma undergoing curative colectomy between 2005-2022 were retrospectively reviewed at a single tertiary care institution.

Outcomes and predictors of left ventricle recovery in patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation.

Background: Data on the likelihood of left ventricle (LV) recovery in patients with severe LV dysfunction and severe aortic stenosis undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and its prognostic value are limited.

Aims: We aimed to assess the likelihood of LV recovery following TAVI, examine its association with midterm mortality, and identify independent predictors of LV function.

Methods: In our multicentre registry of 17 TAVI centres in Western Europe and Israel, patients were stratified by baseline LV function (ejection fraction [EF] >/≤30%) and LV response: no LV recovery, LV recovery (EF increase ≥10%), and LV normalisation (EF ≥50% post-TAVI).

High-fidelity intravoxel incoherent motion parameter mapping using locally low-rank and subspace modeling.

Purpose: Intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) is a quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method used to quantify perfusion properties of tissue non-invasively without contrast. However, clinical applications are limited by unreliable parameter estimates, particularly for the perfusion fraction (f) and pseudodiffusion coefficient (D*). This study aims to develop a high-fidelity reconstruction for reliable estimation of IVIM parameters.

Disclosure following a medical error: lessons learned from a national initiative of workshops with patients, healthcare teams, and executives.

Background: Despite the increase in disclosures of medical errors, transparency remains a challenge. Recognized barriers include shame, fear of litigation, disciplinary actions, and loss of patient trust. In 2018, the Israeli Ministry of Health initiated a series of workshops about disclosure of medical errors.