Telerobotic Intergroup Contact: Acceptance and Preferences in Israel and Palestine.

We explore telerobotics as a novel form of intergroup communication. In this form, remotely operated robots facilitate embodied and situated intergroup contact between groups in conflict over long distances, potentially reducing prejudice and promoting positive social change. Based on previous conceptual frameworks and design hypotheses, we conducted a survey on the acceptance and preferences of the telerobotic medium in Israel and Palestine.

Targeting CCL24 in Inflammatory and Fibrotic Diseases: Rationale and Results from Three CM-101 Phase 1 Studies.

Background: Overexpression of C-C motif chemokine ligand 24 (CCL24) is associated with inflammatory and fibrotic diseases, including primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), systemic sclerosis, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). CM-101 is a humanized monoclonal antibody that neutralizes CCL24 to attenuate inflammation and fibrosis in preclinical models. Here we report the results from two Phase 1a studies investigating the safety and tolerability of intravenous (IV) and subcutaneous (SC) CM-101 in healthy participants, and in one Phase 1b study of IV and SC CM-101 in patients with MASLD without evidence of MASH.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Implementation of BREASTChoice , a Multilevel Breast Reconstruction Decision Support Tool With Personalized Risk Prediction.

Objective: To implement the BREASTChoice decision tool into the electronic health record and evaluate its effectiveness.

Background: BREASTChoice , is a multilevel decision tool that: 1) educates patients about breast reconstruction; 2) estimates personalized risk of complications; 3) clarifies patient preferences; and 4) informs clinicians about patients' risk and preferences.

Methods: A multisite randomized controlled trial enrolled adult women with stage 0-III breast malignancy undergoing mastectomy.

Careful Where You Cut: Strategies for Successful Nerve-preserving Mastectomy.

Breast neurotization represents an evolving technique that is not widely practiced in most centers specializing in breast cancer treatment. Recognizing the limited educational resources available for breast and plastic surgeons concerning mastectomy techniques that emphasize nerve preservation, our study sought to bridge this gap. Specifically, we aimed to provide a comprehensive exploration of the surgical applied anatomy of breast sensory innervation and a detailed, step-by-step guide for incorporating nerve-sparing mastectomy and breast neurotization into clinical practice.

Sensate immediate breast reconstruction.

As breast cancer therapies and associated oncologic outcomes continue to improve, greater attention has been placed on quality-of-life issues after breast cancer and breast cancer risk-reducing treatments. The loss of sensation that typically occurs after mastectomy can have significant negative psychological, sexual, and functional impact on patients after surgery. Further, injury of nerves not only leads to numbness, but can also cause chronic neuropathic pain, which can be very debilitating to affected patients.

Visual impairment and cognitive performance: A nationwide study of 1.4 million adolescents.

Purpose: Previous research highlights the adverse effects of visual impairment (VI) on academic achievement in children, yet its impact on cognitive performance among adolescents and young adults remains under-studied. Therefore, this investigation aimed to analyse this association in a nationwide sample of Israeli adolescents.

Methods: A retrospective population-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 1,410,616 Israeli-born adolescents aged 16-19 years, who were assessed before mandatory military service between 1993 and 2017.

BioNTech COVID-19 (BNT162b2) Vaccination and Varicella Zoster Reactivation: A Comprehensive Cross-sectional Study.

Herpes zoster (HZ) results from reactivation of latent varicella-zoster virus. Recent observations have suggested that HZ is associated with vaccination against COVID-19. To investigate the association between the vaccine and HZ severity, a single-centre, cross-sectional study of all patients diagnosed with HZ and 2 control diagnoses (cellulitis and bone fractures), between 2017 and 2021, was performed.

The Role of CCL24 in Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis: Bridging Patient Serum Proteomics to Preclinical Data.

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is an inflammatory and fibrotic biliary disease lacking approved treatment. We studied CCL24, a chemokine shown to be overexpressed in damaged bile ducts, and its involvement in key disease-related mechanisms. Serum proteomics of PSC patients and healthy controls (HC) were analyzed using the Olink proximity extension assay and compared based on disease presence, fibrosis severity, and CCL24 levels.

MolOptimizer: A Molecular Optimization Toolkit for Fragment-Based Drug Design.

MolOptimizer is a user-friendly computational toolkit designed to streamline the hit-to-lead optimization process in drug discovery. MolOptimizer extracts features and trains machine learning models using a user-provided, labeled, and small-molecule dataset to accurately predict the binding values of new small molecules that share similar scaffolds with the target in focus. Hosted on the Azure web-based server, MolOptimizer emerges as a vital resource, accelerating the discovery and development of novel drug candidates with improved binding properties.

Sensory Outcomes after Neurotization in Nipple-sparing Mastectomy and Implant-based Breast Reconstruction.

Background: Mastectomy and breast reconstruction techniques continue to evolve to optimize aesthetic and reconstructive outcomes. However, the loss of sensation after mastectomy remains a major limitation. This article describes our evolution of a novel approach that we first described in 2019, combining recent advances in breast oncologic, reconstructive, and peripheral nerve surgery to optimize sensory outcomes.

Body mass index and visual impairment in Israeli adolescents: A nationwide study.

Background: Previous research on the association between body mass index (BMI) and visual impairment (VI) in youth has reported inconsistent findings. We aimed to investigate this association in a national cohort of Israeli adolescents.

Methods: This retrospective, population-based, cross-sectional study included 1 697 060 adolescents (56.

The Role of Social Media and Breast Cancer: How Does It Impact Patients?

Introduction: Patients are increasingly turning to other sources for their health information. Social media has become mainstream, and the easy access to online communities, health professionals, and shared experiences of other patients has made social media a place where many patients turn to.

Methods: In this qualitative report, 2 patients who have had breast cancer describe the reasons why they use social media, what they perceive the advantages and disadvantages are, and what the impact of social media has been through their cancer treatment and beyond.

Proteolytic and Antiproteolytic Activity in the Skin: Gluing the Pieces Together.

Epidermal differentiation is ultimately aimed at the formation of a functional barrier capable of protecting the organism from the environment while preventing loss of biologically vital elements. Epidermal differentiation entails a delicately regulated process of cell-cell junction formation and dissolution to enable upward cell migration and desquamation. Over the past two decades, the deciphering of the genetic basis of a number of inherited conditions has delineated the pivotal role played in this process by a series of proteases and protease inhibitors, including serpins, cathepsins, and cystatins, suggesting novel avenues for therapeutic intervention in both rare and common disorders of cornification.

Dominant frontonasal dysplasia with ectodermal defects results from increased activity of ALX4.

Frontonasal dysplasia (FND) refers to a group of rare developmental disorders characterized by abnormal morphology of the craniofacial region. We studied a family manifesting with clinical features typical for FND2 including neurobehavioral abnormalities, hypotrichosis, hypodontia, and facial dysmorphism. Whole-exome sequencing analysis identified a novel heterozygous frameshift insertion in ALX4 (c.

Scarring Alopecia in Tumor Necrosis Factor-α Antagonists-Induced Scalp Psoriasis.

Background: A broad spectrum of adverse reactions associated with the use of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) antagonists has been recognized over the past years. Induction of scalp psoriasis is a less known undesirable consequence of the use of these drugs and is not well characterized.

Objective: To characterize TNFα inhibitors-induced psoriatic alopecia.

CCL24 regulates biliary inflammation and fibrosis in primary sclerosing cholangitis.

ˆCCL24 is a pro-fibrotic, pro-inflammatory chemokine expressed in several chronic fibrotic diseases. In the liver, CCL24 plays a role in fibrosis and inflammation, and blocking CCL24 led to reduced liver injury in experimental models. We studied the role of CCL24 in primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and evaluated the potential therapeutic effect of blocking CCL24 in this disease.

Outcomes of Different Quality of Life Assessment Modalities After Breast Cancer Therapy: A Network Meta-analysis.

Importance: Improvement in clinical understanding of the priorities of patients with breast cancer (BC) regarding postoperative aesthetic outcomes (AOs) is needed.

Objective: To assess expert panel and computerized evaluation modalities against patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), the gold standard of AO assessment, in patients after surgical management of BC.

Data Sources: Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, and ClinicalTrials.

Effectiveness of telehealth physical therapy for patients with pelvic floor disorders in a community hospital setting.

Purpose: To examine whether there are differences in meeting treatment goals between pelvic floor physical therapy (PFPT) patients who participated in a majority of telehealth visits versus those who participated in mostly traditional office visits at a community hospital.

Methods: Retrospective chart review was performed among patients who received PFPT from April 2019 to February 2021. Cohorts were defined as "Mostly Office Visits" (> 50% office visits) and "Mostly Telehealth" (> / = 50% telehealth visits).

Woolly hair in tricho-dento-osseous syndrome.

Tricho-dento-osseous syndrome (TDOS) is a rare ectodermal dysplasia caused by mutations in the DLX3 gene and it is not usually included as a cause of syndromic woolly hair. We present a new case of TDOS with a novel DLX3 variant and woolly hair.

CDC25C Protein Expression Correlates with Tumor Differentiation and Clinical Outcomes in Lung Adenocarcinoma.

Given that, even after multimodal therapy, early-stage lung cancer (LC) often recurs, novel prognostic markers to help guide therapy are highly desired. The mRNA levels of cell division cycle 25C (CDC25C), a phosphatase that regulates G2/M cell cycle transition in malignant cells, correlate with poor clinical outcomes in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). However, whether CDC25C protein detected by immunohistochemistry can serve as a prognostic marker in LUAD is yet unknown.

The Definition-Dependent Nature of Myopia Prevalence: A Nationwide Study of 1.5 Million Adolescents.

Purpose: The application of myopia definition varies considerably within the literature. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between different myopia and high myopia definitions and resultant prevalence estimates.

Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study of 1,588,508 Israeli adolescents assessed for medical fitness before mandatory military service at the age of 17 years between 1993 through 2015.

Cutaneous and Developmental Effects of Overexpression in Zebrafish.

Background: Gain-of-function mutations in have recently been shown to be involved in the pathogenesis of psoriasis and pityriasis rubra pilaris (PRP). Those mutations were found to activate the NF-kB signaling pathway.

Objective: Zebrafish is often used to model human diseases in general, and in skin disorders more particularly.

Novel Approaches to Breast Reconstruction.

As breast oncologic surgical procedures and approaches have evolved in recent years, so have breast reconstruction techniques. Newer advances focus on expanding the options of reconstructive approaches and patient selection, optimizing quality of life, and helping improve postsurgical survivorship. These advances span from techniques to expand criteria for nipple-sparing mastectomies, optimizing and enhancing oncoplastic surgery, evolving autologous reconstruction options, and preserving and restoring sensation after mastectomy.