Publications by authors named "Gal Levy"

People commit to monogamous relationships with the intent of maintaining sexual exclusivity but often fail to do so. Existing research has focused on individual and relationship characteristics that render relationships more vulnerable to infidelity, paying less attention to strategies that decrease the likelihood of straying. Three experiments investigated the impact of one strategy that might encourage people to enact relationship-protective responses toward alternative partners, perspective-taking.

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The evaluation of patients following aortic valve replacement has evolved, with multiple imaging modalities available that complement each other and permit better and prompt delineation of specific structural or functional valve complications. Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) is one of the diagnostic modalities with significant technologic advancements that have made possible to evaluate high detail of the moving heart. The ability to deliver three-dimensional and multiplanar dynamic imaging with fine detail has demonstrated the technique is well suited to investigate valve complications.

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Background: Histopathologic differentiation of bacterial endocarditis from yeast-like fungal endocarditis is usually straightforward; however, an underappreciated phenomenon is the effect of antimicrobial therapy on bacterial size, shape and septa (cross-wall) formation resulting in bacterial forms that mimic yeast-like fungi. In this article we illustrate the alterations that occur in antibiotic-treated Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis and compare these changes to histopathologic findings in unaltered S. aureus and Histoplasma endocarditis, respectively.

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Objectives: Use of viscoelastic testing, such as thromboelastography (TEG), is recommended in cardiac surgery to monitor coagulation and to guide the transfusion of blood products. The Quantra QPlus System is a novel point-of-care platform that uses ultrasonic pulses to characterize dynamic changes in viscoelastic properties of a blood sample during coagulation. Despite the ability to assess similar aspects of clot formation, limited studies addressing the interchangeability of viscoelastic testing parameters exist.

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Return of circuit blood after discontinuing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is an important blood conservation strategy for reducing the need for blood transfusion. This follows the current standard of circuit blood salvaging after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). There is a variety of strategies and techniques of blood salvage described associated with CPB but not with ECMO.

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Background: When a resectable lung cancer that invades across the fissure into an adjacent lobe is encountered, options include a bilobectomy on the right or a pneumonectomy on the left vs a parenchymal-sparing resection combined with a lobectomy. Although parenchymal-sparing combinations are technically possible, the available literature reporting on the related oncologic outcomes is limited. We sought to examine the influence of resection extent on overall survival and recurrence patterns in this scenario.

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Background: Pain control is challenging during esophagectomy. An epidural is commonly used, but the sympathetic blockade can have unintended consequences such as hypotension or delayed return of bowel function. A transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block has the potential to control upper abdominal pain without these adverse consequences.

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Background: Social media may complement traditional data sources to answer comparative effectiveness/safety questions after medication licensure.

Methods: The Treato platform was used to analyze all publicly available social media data including Facebook, blogs, and discussion boards for posts mentioning inflammatory arthritis (e.g.

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Introduction: We compared clinical and objective outcomes of combined Nissen-Hill hybrid (HYB) to Nissen fundoplication (LNF) for repair of paraesophageal hernia (PEH).

Methods: This study is a single-institution retrospective chart review of prospectively collected data for consecutive patients undergoing PEH repair from 2006 to 2015 with at least 6 months of follow-up. Quality of life metrics (QOLRAD, HRQL, and dysphagia), manometry, radiographic imaging, and pH testing were administered pre- and postoperatively.

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Purpose: Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of clinically and genetically heterogeneous hereditary retinal diseases that result in blindness due to photoreceptor degeneration. Mutations in the rhodopsin (RHO) gene are the most common cause of autosomal dominant RP (adRP) and are responsible for 16% to 35% of adRP cases in the Western population. Our purpose was to investigate the contribution of RHO to adRP in the Israeli and Palestinian populations.

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Gut barrier failure has been implicated in the progression from single-organ injury to multiple-organ failure. The unstirred mucus layer is a major component of the physiological gut barrier; its role in acute pancreatitis (AP) is not clearly defined. Rats underwent biliopancreatic duct ligation-induced AP; two controls were used: biliopancreatic duct ligation with drainage and sham duct ligation.

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Objective: To test whether the mucus layer, luminal digestive enzymes, and intestinal mast cells are critical components in the pathogenesis of trauma shock-induced gut and lung injury.

Background: Gut origin sepsis studies have highlighted the importance of the systemic component (ischemia-reperfusion) of gut injury, whereas the intraluminal component is less well studied.

Methods: In rats subjected to trauma hemorrhagic shock (T/HS) or sham shock, the role of pancreatic enzymes in gut injury was tested by diversion of pancreatic enzymes via pancreatic duct exteriorization whereas the role of the mucus layer was tested via the enteral administration of a mucus surrogate.

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Articular cartilage injuries present a challenge for the clinician. Autologous chondrocyte implantation embedded in scaffolds are used to treat cartilage defects with favorable outcomes. Autologous serum is often used as a medium for chondrocyte cell culture during the proliferation phase of the process of such products.

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In all vertebrates, reproduction and growth are closely linked and both are controlled by complex hormonal interactions at the brain-pituitary level. In this study, we focused on the reciprocal interactions between brain peptides that regulate growth and reproductive functions in a teleostei fish (blue gourami Trichogaster trichopterus). An increase in gonadotropin-releasing hormone 1 (GnRH1) gene expression was detected during ontogeny, and this peptide increased growth hormone (GH) and β follicle-stimulating hormone (βFSH) gene expression in pituitary cell culture.

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