Hazelnut oral immunotherapy desensitizes hazelnut but not other tree nut allergies (Nut CRACKER Study).

Background: Data on oral immunotherapy (OIT) for hazelnut allergy is limited and its potential to cross-desensitize for other nuts is unknown.

Objective: To study the efficacy and safety of hazelnut OIT in desensitizing hazelnut and additional tree nuts.

Methods: A prospective observational study of 30 hazelnut allergic patients aged ≥4 years who underwent hazelnut OIT.

Analysis of root-environment interactions reveals mechanical advantages of growth-driven penetration of roots.

Plant roots are considered highly efficient soil explorers. As opposed to the push-driven penetration strategy commonly used by many digging organisms, roots penetrate by growing, adding new cells at the tip, and elongating over a well-defined growth zone. However, a comprehensive understanding of the mechanical aspects associated with root penetration is currently lacking.

Spatiotemporal variability after stroke reflects more than just slow walking velocity.

Background: Increased spatiotemporal gait variability is considered a clinical biomarker of ageing and pathology, and a predictor of future falls. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether the increased spatiotemporal variability observed in persons with stroke is directly related to the pathology or simply reflects their choice of walking velocity.

Research Question: Does increased spatiotemporal gait variability directly relate to motor coordination deficits after stroke?

Methods: Forty persons with stroke participated in this cross-sectional study.

Physical Activity, Social Participation, and Pain Outcomes Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

Background: Little is known regarding the effect of social participation (SP) and physical activity (PA) on pain outcomes among community-dwelling older adults in the United States.

Aims: To determine whether SP and PA are associated with pain outcomes (bothersome pain and number of pain sites).

Design: Guided by the biopsychosocial model of chronic pain for older adults, we analyzed data from 7,187 community dwelling participants in the National Health and Aging Trends Study.

Inference of long-range cell-cell force transmission from ECM remodeling fluctuations.

Cells sense, manipulate and respond to their mechanical microenvironment in a plethora of physiological processes, yet the understanding of how cells transmit, receive and interpret environmental cues to communicate with distant cells is severely limited due to lack of tools to quantitatively infer the complex tangle of dynamic cell-cell interactions in complicated environments. We present a computational method to systematically infer and quantify long-range cell-cell force transmission through the extracellular matrix (cell-ECM-cell communication) by correlating ECM remodeling fluctuations in between communicating cells and demonstrating that these fluctuations contain sufficient information to define unique signatures that robustly distinguish between different pairs of communicating cells. We demonstrate our method with finite element simulations and live 3D imaging of fibroblasts and cancer cells embedded in fibrin gels.

Older adults and stroke survivors are steadier when gazing down.

Background: Advanced age and brain damage have been reported to increase the propensity to gaze down while walking, a behavior that is thought to enhance stability through anticipatory stepping control. Recently, downward gazing (DWG) has been shown to enhance postural steadiness in healthy adults, suggesting that it can also support stability through a feedback control mechanism. These results have been speculated to be the consequence of the altered visual flow when gazing down.

Pilot studies of recruitment and feasibility of remote Tai Chi in racially diverse older adults with multisite pain.

Background: Multisite musculoskeletal pain is highly prevalent among older adults yet undertreated. Studies support the promise of Tai Chi for managing pain and lowering fall risk. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, effective alternatives to classroom-based exercise programming are warranted.

Efficacy and safety of food allergy oral immunotherapy in adults.

Background: Oral immunotherapy (OIT) is an emerging method for treating food allergy in children. However, data regarding adults undergoing this process are lacking.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of patients with food allergy aged ≥17 years who completed OIT treatment between April 2010 and December 2020 at Shamir Medical Center.

Extended Interviews with Stroke Patients Over a Long-Term Rehabilitation Using Human-Robot or Human-Computer Interactions.

Unlabelled: Socially assistive robots (SARs) have been proposed to assist post-stroke patients in performing their exercise during their rehabilitation process, with the trust in the robot identified as an important factor in human-robot interaction. In the current study, we aimed to identify and characterize factors that influence post-stroke patients' trust in a robot-operated and a computer-operated rehabilitation platform during and after a long-term experience with the platform. We conducted 29 interviews with 16 stroke patients who underwent a long-term rehabilitation process, assisted by either a SAR or a computer interface.

Does cognitive loading interfere with walking control?

Background: Cognitive-motor interference is a common method used to investigate the cognitive demands of human walking. Using this methodology, consistent effects emerge: under cognitive load, walking velocity decreases, while spatio-temporal variability of walking increases. These effects are often interpreted as indicative of an interference in the ability to control gait.

Characteristics of patients diagnosed as non-allergic following food allergy oral immunotherapy referral.

Background: Ascribing food allergy diagnosis to patients who are not allergic is well described, but its implications on oral immunotherapy (OIT) have not been studied. The aim was to study non-allergic patients referred for OIT.

Methods: All patients who began OIT at Shamir Medical Center between November 2015 and August 2020 were included.

Brief Pain Inventory Pain Interference Subscale: Assessing Interference With Daily Living Activities in Older Adults With Multisite Musculoskeletal Pain.

Objectives: This study aims to determine domains of pain interference in daily routines assessed using the Brief Pain Inventory, in relation to multisite musculoskeletal pain among older adults living in the community.

Design: The MOBILIZE Boston Study is a population-based study of 749 adults aged 70 and older.

Measurements: Chronic musculoskeletal pain was assessed using a joint pain questionnaire and grouped as: no pain, single-site and multisite pain.

Vision, cognition, and walking stability in young adults.

Downward gazing is often observed when walking requires guidance. This gaze behavior is thought to promote walking stability through anticipatory stepping control. This study is part of an ongoing effort to investigate whether downward gazing also serves to enhance postural control, which can promote walking stability through a feedback/reactive mechanism.

Cashew oral immunotherapy for desensitizing cashew-pistachio allergy (NUT CRACKER study).

Background: Oral immunotherapy (OIT) is a treatment option for patients with milk, egg, and peanut allergy, but data on the efficacy and safety of cashew OIT are limited.

Methods: A cohort of 50 cashew-allergic patients aged ≥4 years, who were consecutively enrolled into cashew OIT (target dose 4000 mg protein) between 4/2016 and 12/2019. Fifteen cashew-allergic patients who continued cashew elimination served as observational controls.

Insights into motor performance deficits after stroke: an automated and refined analysis of the lower-extremity motor coordination test (LEMOCOT).

Background: The lower-extremity motor coordination test (LEMOCOT) is a performance-based measure used to assess motor coordination deficits after stroke. We aimed to automatically quantify performance on the LEMOCOT and to extract additional performance parameters based on error analysis in persons with stroke (PwS) and healthy controls. We also aimed to explore whether these parameters provide additional information regarding motor control deficit that is not captured by the traditional LEMOCOT score.

Tai Chi Interventions Promoting Social Support and Interaction Among Older Adults: A Systematic Review.

Tai chi is known to improve balance and reduce falls in older adults. Yet, little is known about the impact of group tai chi on perceived social support and its relationship with participant self-efficacy and adherence. The current systematic review, guided by Social Cognitive Theory and Successful Aging, includes an overview of tai chi interventions with and without enhancements (e.

Home epinephrine-treated reactions in food allergy oral immunotherapy: Lessons from the coronavirus disease 2019 lockdown.

Background: Oral immunotherapy (OIT) is effective in desensitizing patients with food allergy but adverse reactions limit its use.

Objective: To study the effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 lockdown in Israel between March 15, 2020, and April 30, 2020, on the incidence of home epinephrine-treated reactions.

Methods: All patients who were in the up-dosing phase of OIT for greater than or equal to 1 month during the lockdown, or a respective period in years 2015 to 2019, were studied.

Gazing down increases standing and walking postural steadiness.

When walking on an uneven surface or complex terrain, humans tend to gaze downward. This behaviour is usually interpreted as an attempt to acquire useful information to guide locomotion. Visual information, however, is not used exclusively for guiding locomotion; it is also useful for postural control.

Anemia, Hepcidin, and Vitamin D in Healthy Preterm Infants: A Pilot Study.

Objective: The etiology of anemia in premature neonates is multifactorial and may involve anemia of inflammation mediated by hepcidin. Hepcidin expression is suppressed by vitamin D. We aimed to investigate the interrelationship between hepcidin, anemia, and vitamin D status in preterm infants.

Robot-Supported Collaborative Learning (RSCL): Social Robots as Teaching Assistants for Higher Education Small Group Facilitation.

Acknowledging the benefits of active learning and the importance of collaboration skills, the higher education system has started to transform toward utilization of group activities into lecture hall culture. In this study, a novel interaction has been introduced, wherein a social robot facilitated a small collaborative group activity of students in higher education. Thirty-six students completed a 3 h activity that covered the main content of a course in Human Computer Interaction.

Respiratory effects of acute milk consumption among asthmatic and non-asthmatic children: a randomized controlled study.

Background: A commonly held public belief is that cow's milk products increase mucus production and respiratory symptoms. Dietary milk elimination is often attempted despite lack of evidence. Our objective was to investigate whether a single exposure to cow's milk is associated with respiratory symptoms and changes in pulmonary functions in asthmatic and non-asthmatic children.

Long-range mechanical coupling of cells in 3D fibrin gels.

When seeded in fibrous gels, pairs of cells or cell aggregates can induce bands of deformed gel, extending to surprisingly long distances in the intercellular medium. The formation of bands has been previously shown and studied in collagen systems. In this study, we strive to further our understanding of this fundamental mechanical mechanism in fibrin, a key element in wound healing and angiogenesis processes.

Elastic Anisotropy Governs the Range of Cell-Induced Displacements.

The unique nonlinear mechanics of the fibrous extracellular matrix (ECM) facilitates long-range cell-cell mechanical communications that would be impossible for linear elastic substrates. Past research has described the contribution of two separated effects on the range of force transmission, including ECM elastic nonlinearity and fiber alignment. However, the relation between these different effects is unclear, and how they combine to dictate force transmission range is still elusive.