Implementation of a Short-term Treatment Protocol in Anemic Patients before Cardiac Surgery.

Background:  We assessed whether implementation of an immediate preoperative treatment in anemic patients could result in fewer perioperative packed red blood cell (PRBC) transfusions and improved outcomes in a real-world setting.

Methods:  From January 1, 2020, to November 31, 2022, we implemented a perioperative protocol for anemic patients (hemoglobin (Hb) level in women <11.5 g/dL, men <12.

The human connectome project for disordered emotional states: Protocol and rationale for a research domain criteria study of brain connectivity in young adult anxiety and depression.

Through the Human Connectome Project (HCP) our understanding of the functional connectome of the healthy brain has been dramatically accelerated. Given the pressing public health need, we must increase our understanding of how connectome dysfunctions give rise to disordered mental states. Mental disorders arising from high levels of negative emotion or from the loss of positive emotional experience affect over 400 million people globally.

Prevalence and Genotype Distribution of HPV Types in Women at Risk for Cervical Neoplasia in Israel.

Background: Invasive cervical cancer is caused by human papillomavirus (HPV).

Objectives: To describe the prevalence and genotype distribution of HPV types in women at risk for cervical neoplasia.

Methods: Our study summarized HPV types detected in 6654 samples that were sent to the serology laboratory from cervical clinics in northern Israel between 2006-2014.

Vulvar and Vaginal Cancer, Vulvar Intraepithelial Neoplasia 3 and Vaginal Intraepithelial Neoplasia 3: Experience of a Referral Institute.

Background: Vulvar and vaginal malignant and premalignant lesions are uncommon and are clinically heterogeneous diseases with two pathways of carcinogenesis: human papillomavirus (HPV) induced or non-HPV induced.

Objectives: To evaluate the demographic and clinical characteristics associated with vulvar or vaginal cancer and vulvar and vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia 3 (VIN3, VAIN3).

Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of 148 women with vulvar and vaginal malignancy and pre-malignancy for the period October 2004 to October 2012, and identified 59 and 19 patients with vulvar and vaginal cancer respectively, and 57 and 13 patients with VIN3 and VAIN3 respectively

Results: The median age of vulvar cancer patients was 30 years older than that of VIN3 patients.

Drug use and social control: The negotiation of moral ambivalence.

Illicit drugs occupy an ambivalent position in late modern society; one that revolves around the twin themes of pleasure and disapproval. Drawing on Freudian psychoanalysis and Eliasian sociology this article considers how people, particularly those who use drugs, negotiate such ambivalence. Patterns of drug use and associated attitudes are examined on the basis of the Crime Survey for England and Wales and a specialist survey of largely recreational drug users in the United Kingdom.

Drug policy reform and the reclassification of cannabis in England and Wales: A cautionary tale.

When the legal classification of cannabis was downgraded in 2004 it represented the most significant liberalisation of British drug law in more than 30 years. Paradoxically, however, this apparently progressive reform led to an intensification of police efforts targeting minor possession offences and its failure was confirmed in January 2009 when the decision to downgrade cannabis was reversed. This article documents the impact that reclassification had on law enforcement activities and seeks to explain why it failed to deliver a more progressive approach.

Asymptomatic carriage of Pneumocystis jirovecii and cytomegalovirus in lungs of immunocompetent patients.

Purpose: Pneumocystis jirovecii (PCP) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) are opportunistic pathogens which cause lung infection in immunocompromised individuals. However, scarce data are available regarding the carriage of CMV or PCP in immunocompetent, non critically ill patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of PCP and CMV in broncholaveolar lavage of adult immunocompetent, non critically ill patients.

Human parechovirus type 3 central nervous system infections in Israeli infants.

Introduction: Human parechoviruses (HPeV) have been recognized as the causative agents of central nervous system (CNS) infection of infants and young children in different parts of the world. The role of HPeV in CNS infection of Israeli infants and children is unknown.

Objectives: To assess the detection rate of HPeV in enterovirus RT-PCR-negative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples obtained during the years 2007-2009 from children 0-5 years old with suspected CNS infection or from very young infants with unexplained fever in four medical centers in Israel.

[Human papillomavirus types in women with cervical cancer in Haifa District].

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is recognized as the absolute cause of cervical cancer and is found in 99% of the Lesions. HPV 16 and 18 are detected in 70% of the cases. Two vaccines against HPV 16 and 18 were approved for use in Israel in recent years.

Paraoxonase 1 deficiency in mice is associated with reduced steroid biosynthesis: effects on HDL binding, cholesteryl ester accumulation and scavenger receptor type BI expression.

Objective: Selective uptake of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesteryl ester (CE) is considered as the major source of cholesterol for production of steroids in the adrenal gland in rodents. As paraoxonase 1 (PON1) is an HDL-associated lipo-lactonase that has been shown to increase binding of HDL to macrophages, we used PON1 knock-out (PON1KO) mice to test the possible role of PON1 in corticosterone (CS) biosynthesis.

Methods And Results: PON1 deficiency was associated with reduced serum CS concentration.

The legacy of 'normalisation': the role of classical and contemporary criminological theory in understanding young people's drug use.

Since it began in the mid-1990s, the debate surrounding the normalisation of adolescent recreational drug use has attracted considerable attention and has tended to polarise opinion within the field. In this article two of the main protagonists in the debate come together to discuss its legacy. Focusing on the twin themes of continuity and change the authors begin by considering the relevance of early developments in the sociology of drug use, noting that this earlier work anticipated much that has recently been written on the subject, including the emphasis on hedonism and consumption in leisure lifestyles.

Urokinase plasminogen activator upregulates paraoxonase 2 expression in macrophages via an NADPH oxidase-dependent mechanism.

Objective: Macrophage foam cells are characterized by increased oxidative stress. Macrophage urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) was shown to contribute to atherosclerosis progression. We hypothesized that uPA atherogenicity is related to its ability to increase macrophage oxidative stress.

Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) attenuates diabetes development in mice through its antioxidative properties.

Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) is a lipo-lactonase which is associated with HDL and possesses antioxidative properties. Diabetes is characterized by increased oxidative stress and by decreased PON1 activity. We aimed to analyze whether oxidative status and PON1 levels in mouse sera and macrophages could affect streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes development.

Macrophage paraoxonase 2 (PON2) expression is upregulated by unesterified cholesterol through activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway.

Advanced atherosclerotic lesions are characterized by a progressive increase in the unesterified cholesterol (UC) content and a decrease in its cholesteryl ester (CE) content. In the present study, we examined mechanisms involved in the effect of UC and CE on the expression of paraoxonase 2 (PON2) in macrophages. J774A.

Macrophage paraoxonase 2 (PON2) expression is up-regulated by pomegranate juice phenolic anti-oxidants via PPAR gamma and AP-1 pathway activation.

Paraoxonase 2 (PON2), a member of the paraoxonase gene family, was shown to protect macrophages against oxidative stress. Pomegranate juice (PJ), which contains potent polyphenol anti-oxidants, exhibits similar effects. We questioned possible association between PJ polyphenolics, macrophage oxidative stress, and cellular PON2 expression, in relation to the activation of specific PON2 transcription factors.

A biphasic U-shape effect of cellular oxidative stress on the macrophage anti-oxidant paraoxonase 2 (PON2) enzymatic activity.

Expression of macrophage paraoxonase 2 (PON2), a cellular lactonase with anti-oxidant and anti-atherogenic properties, was shown to be upregulated under high oxidative stress. The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship between the extent of cellular oxidative stress in J774A.1 macrophage and PON2 lactonase activity under various levels of oxidation, obtained by cell incubation with either anti-oxidants or oxidants.

Paraoxonase 2 (PON2) expression is upregulated via a reduced-nicotinamide-adenine-dinucleotide-phosphate (NADPH)-oxidase-dependent mechanism during monocytes differentiation into macrophages.

Paraoxonase 2 (PON2) is a member of the paraoxonases gene family. PON2 is ubiquitously present in cells, including macrophages, and it was shown to protect against cellular oxidative stress. The aim of the present study was to analyze mechanisms involved in PON2 expression during monocyte/macrophage differentiation.

Cell-induced copper ion-mediated low density lipoprotein oxidation increases during in vivo monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation.

Macrophage activation is associated with the production and release of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are capable of mediating oxidative modification of low-density lipoprotein (LDL). In the present study we questioned whether cellular capacity to oxidize LDL increases during in vivo monocyte/macrophage maturation. We developed a novel model for macrophage maturation in vivo using mouse peritoneal macrophages (MPMs) harvested at increasing intervals after intraperitoneal thioglycollate injection.

Synthesis and structure-activity relationships of cetiedil analogues as blockers of the Ca(2+)-activated K+ permeability of erythrocytes.

Cetiedil, [2-cyclohexyl-2-(3-thienyl)ethanoic acid 2-(hexahydro-1H-azepin-1-yl)ethyl ester], which blocks the intermediate calcium-activated potassium ion permeability (IK(Ca)) in red blood cells, was used as a lead for investigating structure-activity relationships with the aim of determining the pharmacophore and of synthesizing agents of greater potency. A series of compounds having structures related to cetiedil was made and tested on rabbit erythrocytes. Channel blocking activity within the series was found to correlate well with octanol-water partition coefficients but not with the specific chemical structure of the acid moiety.

Contribution of villous atrophy to reduced intestinal maltase in infants with malnutrition.

Background: It has been known for many years that small intestinal maltase activities are reduced in malnourished infants and in other patients with villous atrophy. The recent availability of human maltase-glucoamylase cDNA provides the opportunity to test the hypothesis that villous atrophy accounts for the reduced maltase enzyme activity in malnourished infants.

Methods: Mucosal biopsy specimens obtained for clinical evaluation of malnourished infants with poor responses to refeeding were examined by quantitative methods for enzyme activity and mRNA levels.