Glycosylated fibronectin as a biomarker for preeclampsia and preeclampsia-related complications.

Objectives: To evaluate glycosylated fibronectin (GlyFn) as a novel biomarker for preeclampsia and preeclampsia-related complications, and to compare GlyFn to traditional biomarkers, including soluble Fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) and placental growth factor (PlGF).

Study Design: Secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study (n = 524) with suspected preeclampsia (control), gestational hypertension (GH), or confirmed preeclampsia/hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelets syndrome (PE/HELLP).

Main Outcome Measures: GlyFn levels in PE/HELLP versus control and GH.

Older Parents to an Adult Child With Intellectual Disability: Balancing Dependence With Separation.

This study focuses on the experiences of older parents who have an adult child with intellectual disabilities (ID), specifically exploring their overall experiences and relationships with their offspring. A qualitative methodology incorporating semi-structured interviews was employed. Participants comprised sixteen older parents to an adult child with mild to moderate ID living in a residential village.

Tumor Necrosis Factor Inhibitor Use Increases Birthweight in Pregnant Women With Rheumatoid Arthritis Independently of the Soluble Fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase-1/Placental Growth Factor Ratio.

Background: To study whether the use of TNF (tumor necrosis factor) inhibitors (TNFi) by pregnant women with rheumatoid arthritis affects sFlt-1 (soluble Fms-like tyrosine kinase-1), PlGF (placental growth factor), or their impact on birthweight.

Methods And Results: sFlt-1 and PlGF were measured in all trimesters of pregnancy in the Preconception Counseling in Active Rheumatoid Arthritis study and were compared according to the use of TNFi. The association of sFlt-1 and PlGF with birthweight in relation to TNFi was determined.

Statins Prevent the Deleterious Consequences of Placental Chemerin Upregulation in Preeclampsia.

Background: Chemerin, an inflammatory adipokine, is upregulated in preeclampsia, and its placental overexpression results in preeclampsia-like symptoms in mice. Statins may lower chemerin.

Methods: Chemerin was determined in a prospective cohort study in women suspected of preeclampsia and evaluated as a predictor versus the sFlt-1 (soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1)/PlGF (placental growth factor) ratio.

User-Centered Configuration of Soft Hip Flexion Exosuit Designs to Assist Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis Through Simulated Human-in-the-Loop Optimization.

Soft exosuits hold promise as assistive technology for people with gait deficits owing to a variety of causes. A key aspect of providing useful assistance is to keep the human user at the center of all considerations made in the design, configuration, and prescribed use of an assistive device. This work details a method for informing the configuration of a soft hip flexion exosuit by 1) modeling the user's shape and movements in order to simulate the mechanical interaction of the exosuit and user, 2) incorporating the mechanical effects of the exosuit into a muscle-driven musculoskeletal gait simulation, and 3) using the results of these simulations to define a cost function that is minimized via Bayesian optimization.

Development of a Definition of Postacute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

Importance: SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with persistent, relapsing, or new symptoms or other health effects occurring after acute infection, termed postacute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), also known as long COVID. Characterizing PASC requires analysis of prospectively and uniformly collected data from diverse uninfected and infected individuals.

Objective: To develop a definition of PASC using self-reported symptoms and describe PASC frequencies across cohorts, vaccination status, and number of infections.

There are unique kinematics during locomotor transitions between level ground and stair ambulation that persist with increasing stair grade.

Human ambulation is typically characterized during steady-state isolated tasks (e.g., walking, running, stair ambulation).

How People With Intellectual or Development Disabilities Cope With Verbal Violence.

Violence against people is a widespread phenomenon and violence against people with disabilities even more common. Studies have examined different types of violence toward people with disabilities, but there has been almost no research to date on verbal violence involving people with intellectual or development disabilities (IDD). The present research focused on this subject.

Asymmetrical Transport of Thyroxine Across Human Term Placenta.

Fetal development is crucially dependent on thyroid hormone (TH). Maternal-to-fetal transfer of TH is a prerequisite for fetal TH availability, particularly in the first half of pregnancy. The mechanisms of transplacental transport of TH, however, are yet poorly understood.

Angiogenic imbalance in pre-eclampsia and fetal growth restriction: enhanced soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 binding or diminished production of placental growth factor?

Objectives: To assess levels of total placental growth factor (PlGF), soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) and free PlGF in women with pre-eclampsia (PE) with or without a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) neonate in order to establish whether low free PlGF levels associated with PE and SGA are due to enhanced sFlt-1 binding or decreased PlGF production.

Methods: This was a secondary analysis of a prospective multicenter cohort study involving 407 pregnancies with suspected or confirmed PE, in which total PlGF levels were calculated from measured sFlt-1 and free PlGF levels. The control group included women who were suspected to have PE at a certain point in pregnancy but did not develop PE.

Modeling the Influence of the Human Form and Ambulation Context on Moment- and Power-Generating Abilities of Soft Hip-Flexion Exosuits.

Exosuits are close-fitting devices, which are meant to be worn without restricting the motion of the user in the way that a rigid device would. These soft devices augment lower-limb biomechanics by using flexible, joint-spanning linear elements that are actuated to create moments about the spanned joints, effectively using the human body as the mechanical transmission from input to output. Consequently, the size of the moment arm that an exosuit creates about a given joint is dependent on the size and shape of the user, as well as their individualized gait patterns that depend on the terrain they are negotiating.

The History of Plastic Surgery in Israel.

Today, plastic surgery is a well-known profession with highly respected surgeons from institutions all over the world. Over the last several decades numerous clinical and technological advances have been made, thanks to the dedication and hard work of these outstanding professionals; however, things were not always this way. At the turn of the 20 century, Israel had yet to be introduced to the field of plastic surgery.

Uveitis prior to clinical presentation of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is associated with better MS prognosis.

Objective: An association between uveitis and multiple sclerosis (MS) is well-established, but the actual nature of that association remains poorly understood. We sought to determine the association between the presence of a uveitis diagnosis prior to an MS diagnosis compared to no pre-existing uveitis diagnosis in MS patients.

Methods: Patients in whom the presentation of uveitis preceded the presentation of MS (study group) and patients with MS and no uveitis (control group) were randomly selected at a ratio of 1:3 from the Sheba Multiple Sclerosis Center computerized database.

Differential effects of cyclo-oxygenase 1 and 2 inhibition on angiogenesis inhibitor-induced hypertension and kidney damage.

Vascular endothelial growth factor antagonism with angiogenesis inhibitors in cancer patients induces a 'preeclampsia-like' syndrome including hypertension, proteinuria and elevated endothelin (ET)-1. Cyclo-oxygenase (COX) inhibition with aspirin is known to prevent the onset of preeclampsia in high-risk patients. In the present study, we hypothesised that treatment with aspirin would prevent the development of angiogenesis inhibitor-induced hypertension and kidney damage.

Omeprazole Administration in Preterm Preeclampsia: a Randomized Controlled Trial to Study Its Effect on sFlt-1 (Soluble Fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase-1), PlGF (Placental Growth Factor), and ET-1 (Endothelin-1).

Background: Low sFlt-1 (soluble Fms-like tyrosine kinase-1) and ET-1 (endothelin-1) levels have been reported in preeclamptic women using proton pump inhibitors.

Methods: Here, we examined whether the proton pump inhibitor omeprazole could acutely reduce sFlt-1 and ET-1 (measured as CT-proET-1 [C-terminal pro-endothelin-1]), or increase free PlGF (placental growth factor) in 20 women with confirmed preeclampsia. Primary outcome was specified as the difference in sFlt-1, PlGF, or CT-proET-1 after 4 days of omeprazole versus 20 preeclamptic women not receiving omeprazole.

Placental trophoblast-specific overexpression of chemerin induces preeclampsia-like symptoms.

Maternal circulating levels of the adipokine chemerin are elevated in preeclampsia, but its origin and contribution to preeclampsia remain unknown. We therefore studied (1) placental chemerin expression and release in human pregnancy, and (2) the consequences of chemerin overexpression via lentivirus-mediated trophoblast-specific gene manipulation in both mice and immortalized human trophoblasts. Placental chemerin expression and release were increased in women with preeclampsia, and their circulating chemerin levels correlated positively with the soluble Fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1)/placental growth factor (PlGF) ratio, a well-known biomarker of preeclampsia severity.

A low aldosterone/renin ratio and high soluble ACE2 associate with COVID-19 severity.

Background: The severity of COVID-19 after SARS-CoV-2 infection is unpredictable. Angiotensin-converting enzyme-2 (ACE2) is the receptor responsible for coronavirus binding, while subsequent cell entry relies on priming by the serine protease TMPRSS2 (transmembrane protease, serine 2). Although renin-angiotensin-aldosterone-system (RAAS) blockers have been suggested to upregulate ACE2, their use in COVID-19 patients is now considered well tolerated.

Lower-limb kinematics and kinetics during continuously varying human locomotion.

Human locomotion involves continuously variable activities including walking, running, and stair climbing over a range of speeds and inclinations as well as sit-stand, walk-run, and walk-stairs transitions. Understanding the kinematics and kinetics of the lower limbs during continuously varying locomotion is fundamental to developing robotic prostheses and exoskeletons that assist in community ambulation. However, available datasets on human locomotion neglect transitions between activities and/or continuous variations in speed and inclination during these activities.

A phase 2 biomarker-driven study of ruxolitinib demonstrates effectiveness of JAK/STAT targeting in T-cell lymphomas.

Signaling through JAK1 and/or JAK2 is common among tumor and nontumor cells within peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL). No oral therapies are approved for PTCL, and better treatments for relapsed/refractory disease are urgently needed. We conducted a phase 2 study of the JAK1/2 inhibitor ruxolitinib for patients with relapsed/refractory PTCL (n = 45) or mycosis fungoides (MF) (n = 7).

Megalin, Proton Pump Inhibitors and the Renin-Angiotensin System in Healthy and Pre-Eclamptic Placentas.

Soluble Fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) is increased in pre-eclampsia. The proton pump inhibitor (PPI) lowers sFlt-1, while angiotensin increases it. To investigate whether PPIs lower sFlt-1 by suppressing placental renin-angiotensin system (RAS) activity, we studied gene expression and protein abundance of RAS components, including megalin, a novel endocytic receptor for prorenin and renin, in placental tissue obtained from healthy pregnant women and women with early-onset pre-eclampsia.

Biomechanical analysis of an unpowered hip flexion orthosis on individuals with and without multiple sclerosis.

Background: Gait impairment is a common complication of multiple sclerosis (MS). Gait limitations such as limited hip flexion, foot drop, and knee hyperextension often require external devices like crutches, canes, and orthoses. The effects of mobility-assistive technologies (MATs) prescribed to people with MS are not well understood, and current devices do not cater to the specific needs of these individuals.

Accurate Prediction of Total PlGF (Placental Growth Factor) From Free PlGF and sFlt-1 (Soluble Fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase-1): Evidence for Markedly Elevated PlGF Levels in Women With Acute Fatty Liver of Pregnancy.

[Figure: see text].