Elective fertility preservation before and after the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak.

Objective: To compare the number and outcomes of elective fertility preservation (FP) before and after the Covid-19 outbreak.

Methods: This retrospective study of 574 women who underwent elective FP between 01/2017-12/2021 included 123 women who underwent the procedure before and 451 who underwent it after the Covid-19 outbreak. The change in the number of women who underwent the procedure each month before and after the pandemic was calculated.

Evaluating the effectiveness of mandibular advancement devices in treating very severe obstructive sleep apnea: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: The repeated airway obstructions in the common disorder Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) cause health risks. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), the standard treatment, faces adherence challenges. Mandibular Advancement Devices (MADs) have been used successfully for mild to moderate OSA, as a good alternative for these patients.

The impact of talker variability and individual differences on word learning in adults.

Studies have shown that exposure to multiple talkers during learning is beneficial in a variety of spoken language tasks, such as learning speech sounds in a second language and learning novel words in a lab context. However, not all studies find the multiple talker benefit. Some studies have found that processing benefits from exposure to multiple talkers depend on factors related to the linguistic profile of the listeners and to the cognitive demands during learning (blocked versus randomized talkers).

Utilization of primary tumor samples for cancer neoantigen discovery.

Background: The use of tumor-infiltrating T lymphocytes (TIL) that recognize cancer neoantigens has led to lasting remissions in metastatic melanoma and certain cases of metastatic epithelial cancer. For the treatment of the latter, selecting cells for therapy typically involves laborious screening of TIL for recognition of autologous tumor-specific mutations, detected through next-generation sequencing of freshly resected metastatic tumors. Our study explored the feasibility of using archived formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) primary tumor samples for cancer neoantigen discovery, to potentially expedite this process and reduce the need for resections normally required for tumor sequencing.

Nephrocalcinosis tendency does not worsen under burosumab treatment for X-linked hypophosphatemic rickets: a multicenter pediatric study.

Background: X-linked hypophosphatemic rickets (XLH) is associated with uninhibited FGF23 activity, which leads to phosphaturia, hypophosphatemia and depressed active vitamin D (1,25OH2D) levels. Conventional treatment with phosphate supplements and vitamin D analogs may lead to hypercalciuria (HC), nephrocalcinosis (NC) and hyperparathyroidism. We investigated the effects of burosumab treatment, an anti-FGF23 monoclonal antibody recently approved for XLH, on these complications.

Childhood onset C3 glomerulopathy: recurrence after kidney transplantation-a case series.

Background: C3 Glomerulopathy (C3G) is a complement-mediated disease, with predominant C3 deposits, where pathogenic genetic variants in complement system components and circulating autoantibodies result in loss of control of the alternative pathway, have been described. A high incidence of disease recurrence including graft failure has been reported after kidney transplantation (KTx). Currently treatment modalities for preventing and treating post KTx C3G recurrence (plasma exchange, rituximab and eculizumab) in adults have yielded inconsistent results.

An innocent bystander or a predisposing culprit? Kidney injury following pediatric liver transplantation.

Background: Survival after pediatric liver transplantation has increased dramatically over the years, revealing extra-hepatic complications including impaired kidney function. We conducted a large single-center retrospective study to evaluate kidney outcomes after pediatric liver transplantation.

Methods: From electronic charts of 121 children who underwent liver transplantation during 2007-2020, we collected pre- and post-transplant data.

The Effect of the Mamanet Cachibol League on Psychosomatic Symptoms, Healthy Eating, and Social Support Among Arab Women: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Background: The Mamanet Cachibol League (MCL), a community-based model developed in Israel, promotes physical activity and amateur team sports among women. Women in the Arab society have traditionally played few sports, especially team sports.

Aims: The study aimed to assess the differences in health indicators and well-being, including psychosomatic symptoms, self-reported health, healthy eating habits, and social support, by comparing Arab women MCL participants and nonparticipants and examines benefits and motivations of community-based team sports for participants.

Protocol for Health Risk Information Technology-Assisted Genetic Evaluation (HeRITAGE): a randomised controlled trial of digital genetic cancer risk assessment in a diverse underserved gynaecology clinic.

Introduction: In the USA, up to 95% of individuals harbouring cancer-predisposing germline pathogenic variants have not been identified despite recommendations for screening at the primary care level.

Methods And Analysis: Our primary objective is to use a two-arm, single-institution randomised controlled trial to compare the proportion of eligible patients that are recommended genetic testing for hereditary cancer syndromes using a digital tool versus clinician interview for genetic cancer risk assessment in an urban academic gynaecology clinic. New gynaecology patients will be consented and randomised 1:1 to either the intervention arm, in which a digital tool is used for genetic cancer risk assessment, or usual care, in which the clinician performs genetic cancer risk assessment.

Stress-induced increase in heart-rate during sleep as an indicator of PTSD risk among combat soldiers.

Study Objectives: Discerning the differential contribution of sleep behavior and sleep physiology to the subsequent development of posttraumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD) symptoms following military operational service among combat soldiers.

Methods: Longitudinal design with three measurement time points: during basic training week (T1), during intensive stressed training week (T2), and following military operational service (T3). Participating soldiers were all from the same unit, ensuring equivalent training schedules and stress exposures.

Adoptive transfer of personalized neoantigen-reactive TCR-transduced T cells in metastatic colorectal cancer: phase 2 trial interim results.

Adoptive cell transfer (ACT) with neoantigen-reactive T lymphocytes can mediate cancer regression. Here we isolated unique, personalized, neoantigen-reactive T cell receptors (TCRs) from tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes of patients with metastatic gastrointestinal cancers and incorporated the TCR α and β chains into gamma retroviral vectors. We transduced autologous peripheral blood lymphocytes and adoptively transferred these cells into patients after lymphodepleting chemotherapy.

Neuronal A2A receptor exacerbates synapse loss and memory deficits in APP/PS1 mice.

Early pathological upregulation of adenosine A2A receptors (A2ARs), one of the caffeine targets, by neurons is thought to be involved in the development of synaptic and memory deficits in Alzheimer's disease (AD) but mechanisms remain ill-defined. To tackle this question, we promoted a neuronal upregulation of A2AR in the hippocampus of APP/PS1 mice developing AD-like amyloidogenesis. Our findings revealed that the early upregulation of A2AR in the presence of an ongoing amyloid pathology exacerbates memory impairments of APP/PS1 mice.

Work of Breathing: Physiology, Measurement, and Diagnostic Value in Childhood Pneumonia.

In clinical practice, increased "work of breathing" (WOB) is used to rapidly identify the acutely ill child in need of immediate clinical care, and is commonly used to support a clinical diagnosis of pneumonia. However, this key clinical sign is poorly understood and inconsistently defined. This review discusses the physiology, measurement, and clinical assessment of WOB, highlighting its utility in the recognition of pneumonia in under-resourced settings, where access to diagnostic imaging may be limited.

Mitochondrial iron deficiency triggers cytosolic iron overload in PKAN hiPS-derived astrocytes.

Disease models of neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA) offer the possibility to explore the relationship between iron dyshomeostasis and neurodegeneration. We analyzed hiPS-derived astrocytes from PANK2-associated neurodegeneration (PKAN), an NBIA disease characterized by progressive neurodegeneration and high iron accumulation in the globus pallidus. Previous data indicated that PKAN astrocytes exhibit alterations in iron metabolism, general impairment of constitutive endosomal trafficking, mitochondrial dysfunction and acquired neurotoxic features.

A Picture May Be Worth 1,000 Words, but Is It Worth a Letter? Examining Whether the Choice of Label Affects the Perception of Speech Sounds.

Purpose: Researchers often use identification or goodness rating tasks to assess speech perception for different populations. These tasks provide useful information about a listener's willingness to accept a range of acoustically variable stimuli as belonging to the same category and also about assessing how stimuli that are labeled the same may not be perceived as equally good versions of a particular speech sound. Many methodological aspects of these simple tasks have been tested, but one aspect that has not is the choice of label.

Isolated Hydronephrosis and Urinary Tract Infection by Two Years of Age: A Population-Based Study.

Objective: To evaluate the risk for urinary tract infection (UTI) in infants with isolated hydronephrosis (IH).

Study Design: A retrospective, population-based study including all infants insured by Clalit Health Services and followed from birth to age 2 years in 3 regions of central Israel. Infants were divided into 3 groups based on electronic medical record diagnoses by age 6 months: (1) control: no urological diagnosis; (2) IH; and (3) complicated urological diagnosis (CUD): any additional nephrological/urological diagnosis with/without HN.

Introducing Diinamic, a flexible and robust method for clustering analysis in single-molecule localization microscopy.

Super-resolution microscopy allowed major improvements in our capacity to describe and explain biological organization at the nanoscale. Single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) uses the positions of molecules to create super-resolved images, but it can also provide new insights into the organization of molecules through appropriate pointillistic analyses that fully exploit the sparse nature of SMLM data. However, the main drawback of SMLM is the lack of analytical tools easily applicable to the diverse types of data that can arise from biological samples.

Preserving Ethnoveterinary Medicine (EVM) along the Transhumance Routes in Southwestern Angola: Synergies between International Cooperation and Academic Research.

This study delves into the ethnoveterinary medicine (EVM) practiced by pastoralists along the transhumance routes in southwestern Angola. Within the framework of three cooperation projects, we conducted 434 interviews, collecting information on 89 taxa used for treating 16 livestock diseases. The most cited species was (132 citations), followed by (59) and (49).

Integration and usability of a digital cancer risk stratification tool to optimize identification of patients at risk for hereditary cancers: A pilot study.

Background: Patients with a personal or family history of cancer may have elevated risk of developing future cancers, which often remains unrecognized due to lapses in screening. This pilot study assessed the usability and clinical outcomes of a cancer risk stratification tool in a gynecologic oncology clinic.

Methods: New gynecologic oncology patients were prompted to complete a commercially developed personal and family history-based risk stratification tool to assess eligibility for genetic testing using National Comprehensive Cancer Network criteria and estimated lifetime breast cancer risk using the Tyrer-Cuzick model.

Precision Oncology in Melanoma and Skin Cancer Surgery.

There has been perhaps no greater advance in the prognosis of solid tumors in the last decade than for patients with metastatic melanoma. This is due to significant improvements in treatment based on two key components of melanoma tumor biology (1) the identification of driver mutations with therapeutic potential and (2) the mechanistic understanding of a tumor-specific immune response. With breakthrough findings in such a relatively short period of time, the treatment of patients with metastatic melanoma has become intensely personalized.