Empyema Secondary to Pneumonia: Whom Should We Operate?

Empyema secondary to pneumonia is a common condition. A significant number of patients will require surgical intervention for drainage and decortication. The aim of this study was to identify predictive factors for surgical intervention.

Effects of In-House Calls on Medical Students' Perspectives of Surgical Education and Future Career Opportunities.

It has been shown that surgical residents who took few or no in-house calls during medical school felt less prepared for the residency. In this study, our objective was to assess the impact of in-house calls carried out by medical students on their perceptions of medical training, including the influence on specialty choice. The students were asked to complete an anonymized questionnaire at the first and last day of their general surgery clerkship.

Hiatal Hernia Repair: Can We Predict the Need for Mesh?

The use of mesh for paraesophageal hernia repair is controversial due to concerns about long-term complications. This study aimed to investigate whether preoperative imaging characteristics of diaphragmatic hernia could predict the need for mesh repair. The records of all patients who underwent laparoscopic diaphragmatic hernia repair between September 2015 and September 2022 were reviewed.

CRISPR-based genetic diagnostics in microgravity.

Monitoring astronauts' health during space missions poses many challenges, including rapid assessment of crew health conditions. Sensitive genetic diagnostics are crucial for examining crew members and the spacecraft environment. CRISPR-Cas12a, coupled with isothermal amplification, has proven to be a promising biosensing system for rapid, on-site detection of genomic targets.

Persistent post-bariatric-surgery hypoglycemia: A long-term follow-up reassessment.

Background And Aim: Post-bariatric-surgery hypoglycemia (PBH) is a serious complication of bariatric surgery (BS). In our previous study about three quarters of the patients developed PBH. However long-term follow-up data is lacking to determine whether this condition improves with time.

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.

Identifying patients with complicated diverticulitis, is it that complicated?

Objectives: Discriminating simple from complicated diverticulitis solely on clinical bases is challenging. The aim of this study was to identify clinical predictive factor for the need for invasive treatment for patients presenting with acute diverticulitis in the emergency room.

Material And Methods: The records of all patients, who were discharged from a university hospital between January 2010 and March 2018 with "diverticulitis" diagnosis, were reviewed.

Rapid and sensitive on-site genetic diagnostics of pest fruit flies using CRISPR-Cas12a.

Background: Bactrocera zonata, a major fruit pest species, is gradually spreading west from its native habitat in East Asia. In recent years it has become a significant threat to the Mediterranean area, with the potential of invading Europe, the Americas, and Australia. To prevent it spreading, monitoring efforts in cultivation sites and border controls are carried out.

Highly efficient libraries design for saturation mutagenesis.

Saturation mutagenesis is a semi-rational approach for protein engineering where sites are saturated either entirely or partially to include amino acids of interest. We previously reported on a codon compression algorithm, where a set of minimal degenerate codons are selected according to user-defined parameters such as the target organism, type of saturation and usage levels. Here, we communicate an addition to our web tool that considers the distance between the wild-type codon and the library, depending on its purpose.

The Israeli Surgical Oral Board Examination: Improved Objectivity Increases Knowledge Authenticity.

The oral board examination in general surgery in Israel was recently revised aiming for improved objectivity and standardization. Herein, we describe the current exam model. Between 05/2018 and 11/2020, two exams per year were conducted with the current exam model.

Ex vivo organotypic cultures for synergistic therapy prioritization identify patient-specific responses to combined MEK and Src inhibition in colorectal cancer.

Translating preclinical studies to effective treatment protocols and identifying specific therapeutic responses in individuals with cancer is challenging. This may arise due to the complex genetic makeup of tumor cells and the impact of their multifaceted tumor microenvironment on drug response. To find new clinically relevant drug combinations for colorectal cancer (CRC), we prioritized the top five synergistic combinations from a large in vitro screen for ex vivo testing on 29 freshly resected human CRC tumors and found that only the combination of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) and proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase Src (Src) inhibition was effective when tested ex vivo.

Insights into gene manipulation techniques for Acari functional genomics.

Functional genomics is an essential tool for elucidating the structure and function of genes in any living organism. Here, we review the use of different gene manipulation techniques in functional genomics of Acari (mites and ticks). Some of these Acari species inflict severe economic losses to managed crops and health problems to humans, wild and domestic animals, but many also provide important ecosystem services worldwide.

Feasibility of hybrid Ivor-Lewis oesophagectomy after sleeve gastrectomy.

Oesophageal resection is a challenging procedure, and it is more so in patients who have undergone bariatric procedures, especially after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. We present the case of a patient with a history of an laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy who underwent a hybrid Ivor-Lewis oesophagectomy in which the sleeve was successfully used to reconstruct the upper gastrointestinal tract.

Differential Detection of the Tobamoviruses Tomato Mosaic Virus (ToMV) and Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (ToBRFV) Using CRISPR-Cas12a.

CRISPR/Cas12a-based detection is a novel approach for the efficient, sequence-specific identification of viruses. Here we adopt the use of CRISPR/Cas12a to identify the tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV), a new and emerging tobamovirus which is causing substantial damage to the global tomato industry. Specific CRISPR RNAs (crRNAs) were designed to detect either ToBRFV or the closely related tomato mosaic virus (ToMV).

Semi-prone position for thoracoscopic resection of a rare oesophageal tumour.

Oesophageal schwannomas are extremely rare tumours arising from Schwann cells of the neural sheath, with less than 115 cases reported in the English literature. These tumours are usually sporadic and account for about 2% of all stromal oesophageal tumours. Diagnosis is usually confirmed by the presence of positive immunohistochemical marker S-100 and absence of CD117, CD34, smooth muscle actine and Desmin.

Immediate Pneumothorax Diagnosis by Surgical Residents Using Portable Ultrasound.

Objective: Feasibility of diagnosis of pneumothorax using handheld ultrasound by non-radiologists shows inconsistent results. The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of portable ultrasound for immediate diagnosis of pneumothorax by general surgery residents who underwent short training.

Methods: Patients who presented to the emergency department of a university hospital with suspected pneumothorax between 10/2018 and 12/2019 were included in the study.

Pilonidal Sinus Management; Bascom Flap Versus Pilonidal Pits Excision: A Single-Center Experience.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of the Bascom cleft lift (flap) and the pilonidal pits excision (Gips procedure).

Methods: The records of all the patients who underwent pilonidal sinus excision between November 2013 and August 2017 were reviewed. Inclusion criteria included either pilonidal pits excision or the Bascom cleft lift procedure.

Hiatal Hernia Evaluation Before Bariatric Surgery: Should It Be Routinely Done?

Purpose: The necessity of routine preoperative esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and upper gastrointestinal series (UGIS) in the evaluation of hiatal hernia (HH) among bariatric surgery candidates is controversial since most are detected during surgery, regardless of the preoperative work-up. The aim is to determine the accuracy of preoperative EGD and UGIS for HH diagnosis among bariatric surgery candidates.

Material And Methods: The records of bariatric surgery patients between 2011 and 2015 were reviewed.

Negative-Pressure Vacuum Therapy for High-Output Chyle Leak Following Neck Dissection.

Chyle fistula is a challenging complication following neck dissection carrying a high morbidity and mortality rate. Herein we present a challenging case of successful management of high-output left-sided cervical chyle fistula with negative-pressure vacuum (VAC) therapy in a case where all conservative treatments failed. A 40-year-old man with lymphoma and supraglottic carcinoma underwent endoscopic resection and bilateral neck dissections.

Predicting and affecting response to cancer therapy based on pathway-level biomarkers.

Identifying robust, patient-specific, and predictive biomarkers presents a major obstacle in precision oncology. To optimize patient-specific therapeutic strategies, here we couple pathway knowledge with large-scale drug sensitivity, RNAi, and CRISPR-Cas9 screening data from 460 cell lines. Pathway activity levels are found to be strong predictive biomarkers for the essentiality of 15 proteins, including the essentiality of MAD2L1 in breast cancer patients with high BRCA-pathway activity.

Long-Term Radiologic Evaluation of Microaspirations among Patients after Esophagectomy.

Objectives: Aspirations are common after esophagectomy. Data are lacking regarding its long-term radiological manifestations. The purpose of this study is to determine the incidence and radiological patterns of aspirations among long-term survivors and evaluate their clinical significance.

Clinical significance of rib fractures' anatomical patterns.

Objectives: Rib fractures are common and carry significant morbidity. Chest CT provides an accurate mapping of the fractures. The aim of this study is to propose an anatomical classification of rib fractures, and assess their relation to complication development.

Predicting Drug Resistance Using Deep Mutational Scanning.

Drug resistance is a major healthcare challenge, resulting in a continuous need to develop new inhibitors. The development of these inhibitors requires an understanding of the mechanisms of resistance for a critical mass of occurrences. Recent genome editing technologies based on high-throughput DNA synthesis and sequencing may help to predict mutations resulting in resistance by testing large mutagenesis libraries.