Publications by authors named "Novack L"

Article Synopsis
  • A study assessed the trends in various vasculitis conditions in Israel from 2007 to 2021, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • The incidence rates of giant cell arteritis, IgA vasculitis, and Behcet's disease significantly decreased over the years, while Takayasu, ANCA-associated vasculitis, and cryoglobulinemia showed no changes.
  • The COVID-19 pandemic had no impact on the incidence rates of any of the examined vasculitides, suggesting that future research should explore environmental factors influencing these trends.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Study Objective: A low dynamic driving pressure during mechanical ventilation for general anesthesia has been associated with a lower risk of postoperative respiratory complications (PRC), a key driver of healthcare costs. It is, however, unclear whether maintaining low driving pressure is clinically relevant to measure and contain costs. We hypothesized that a lower dynamic driving pressure is associated with lower costs.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Despite vaccination and antiviral therapies, immunocompromised individuals are at risk for prolonged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, but the immune defects that predispose an individual to persistent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remain incompletely understood. In this study, we performed detailed viro-immunologic analyses of a prospective cohort of participants with COVID-19. The median times to nasal viral RNA and culture clearance in individuals with severe immunosuppression due to hematologic malignancy or transplant (S-HT) were 72 and 40 days, respectively, both of which were significantly longer than clearance rates in individuals with severe immunosuppression due to autoimmunity or B cell deficiency (S-A), individuals with nonsevere immunodeficiency, and nonimmunocompromised groups ( < 0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The immunology of human babesiosis is poorly investigated. We present a comprehensive investigation of a 75-year-old man with B-cell deficiency who experienced 3 episodes of babesiosis over a 6-year period. Slowly evolving clinical immunity was observed, as evidenced by milder clinical symptoms and lower peak parasite burden after each subsequent babesiosis episode.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The current study verified the acute responses of participants to a football match in terms of blood markers. Sixteen elite U-18 male football players were divided into two groups: experimental (EG, = 10), who played a friendly football match; and control (CG), who were not exposed to any physical exertion. Intravenous blood samples were collected from both groups at baseline, pre-match, half-time, and post-match.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Loturco, I, Nunes, RFH, Lampert, RR, Silva, RLP, Hespanhol, JE, Novack, LF, Conde, JHS, Pereira, LA, and McGuigan, MR. Effects of two different low-volume resistance training programs applied during the off-season period on the speed-power performance of elite youth soccer players. .

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Social validity refers to the social significance and acceptability of intervention goals, procedures, and outcomes. Animal practitioners, who are often guided by the principles of ABA, lack the benefit of verbal participants (at least with respect to target animals) with which to assess a client's needs and preferences. The study of a learner's welfare is useful for determining areas where intervention is needed or how the learner feels about an intervention that is underway.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study compared the effects of two sprint-jump training programmes, performed on either sand or grass surfaces, on the sprint and jump performance of elite young soccer players over an 8-week training period. Fifteen under-20 soccer players were randomly allocated to the sand (n = 7) or grass (n = 8) group. Athletes performed 12 training sessions, comprising vertical and horizontal jump exercises, and linear and change-of-direction (COD) sprint drills.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Previous studies found inconsistent associations between ambient temperature during pregnancy and the risk of preeclampsia. If such associations are causal, they may impact the future burden of preeclampsia in the context of climate change. We used a historical cohort of 129,009 pregnancies (5074 preeclampsia cases) from southern Israel that was merged with temperature assessments from a hybrid satellite-based exposure model.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Despite vaccination and antiviral therapies, immunocompromised individuals are at risk for prolonged SARS-CoV-2 infection, but the immune defects that predispose to persistent COVID-19 remain incompletely understood. In this study, we performed detailed viro-immunologic analyses of a prospective cohort of participants with COVID-19. The median time to nasal viral RNA and culture clearance in the severe hematologic malignancy/transplant group (S-HT) were 72 and 40 days, respectively, which were significantly longer than clearance rates in the severe autoimmune/B-cell deficient (S-A), non-severe, and non-immunocompromised groups (P<0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Vaccination, especially with multiple doses, provides substantial population-level protection against COVID-19, but emerging variants of concern (VOC) and waning immunity represent significant risks at the individual level. Here we identify correlates of protection (COP) in a multicenter prospective study following 607 healthy individuals who received three doses of the Pfizer-BNT162b2 vaccine approximately six months prior to enrollment. We compared 242 individuals who received a fourth dose to 365 who did not.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) is a severe chronic allergic inflammation of the ocular surface with episodes of acute exacerbations, that primarily affects children and young adults. Although the etiology and pathogenesis of VKC remain unclear, studies have suggested that environmental factors may be involved. This study aims to investigate the association between exposure to meteorological and environmental factors and the incidence of VKC exacerbations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Recent research has raised concerns about the potential health effects of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure, particularly during critical periods of development such as pregnancy. In this study, we sought to investigate the presence and potential impacts of PFAS in the placenta.

Methods: We measured 13 PFAS compounds in placental tissue samples among 50 women who gave birth at a tertiary medical center in southern Israel.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

This study was aimed to describe the chemical traces of air pollution in blood of residents and evaluate the association between ambient pollution and its dose absorbed internally by a human body. The national Magen David Adom Blood Services blood donation collection platform and the National Public Health Laboratory's testing services were utilized to conduct a human biomonitoring study among blood donors in Israel. The donors' residential addresses and donations sites' locations were geocoded and merged with the levels of pollutants recorded by the nearby monitoring stations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Human biomonitoring (HBM) is crucial for identifying potential risks to human health from exposure to environmental hazards. However, it is an expensive and labor-intensive endeavor. To save on samples' collection process we suggested using a national blood banking system as a platform for a national HBM program.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

. Parkinson's disease (PD) is believed to develop from epigenetic modulation of gene expression through environmental factors that accounts for up to 85% of all PD cases. The main objective of this study was to examine the association between PD onset and a cumulative exposure to potentially modifiable ambient exposures.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: The effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccinations wanes due to immune evasion by the B.1.1.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: The Omicron variant of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) had milder clinical impacts than prior variants. This study aimed to describe the impact of COVID-19 on Autoimmune Rheumatic Disease (ARD) patients during the Delta and Omicron variants waves.

Methods: We used data from Clalit Health Services (CHS), the largest health service in Israel.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: In recent years, temperature fluctuations and adverse weather events have become major concerns, influencing overall mortality and morbidity. While the association between extreme temperatures and atrial fibrillation (AF) has been supported by research, there is limited evidence on the ability of AF patients to adapt to the changing temperatures. We explored this question among AF patients in Israel featured by extreme temperature conditions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: To determine factors associated with increased response readiness to CBRN threats of paramedics in Ontario, Canada.

Methods: An internet-based survey was distributed via email and delivered at the start of each shift presentation during October, 2019. The target population was active-duty paramedics in the Ontario region of Canada.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Yoga practices, including breathing, meditation, and posture protocols (asanas), have been shown to facilitate physical and mental wellbeing.

Methods: Seasoned yoga practitioners were recruited from the Isha Foundation. Recruitment of the comparison group was achieved using snowball sampling and were not yoga practitioners.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Polypharmacy of sedatives (PP) is a potentially modifiable, iatrogenic risk factor for ICU delirium. The extent to which sedative PP influenced development of high rates of delirium among critically ill COVID-19 patients is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that PP, defined as the use of four or more classes of intravenous agents, is a mediator in the causal pathway of mechanical ventilation and delirium.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - The spike antibody is commonly used in COVID-19 vaccines, while SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antibodies help determine past infections in blood tests.
  • - There's limited understanding of how these nucleocapsid antibodies change over time and their decline (seroreversion).
  • - The research indicates significant drops in nucleocapsid antibodies, suggesting that studies on past infections need to consider this decline for accuracy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF