Hearing Loss in Israeli Air Force Aviators: Natural History and Risk Factors.

Objective: To investigate the natural history of hearing loss (HL) in Israeli military aviators and its risk factors.

Methods: Audiometric results of aviators with available audiometry at ages 30 and 40 years, and up to their last available audiometry were retrieved. HL DEFINITION: pure-tone threshold (PTT) of 30 dB or higher in at least one frequency in at least one ear, moderate-to-severe (M-S) HL as PTT of 45 dB or higher, and suspected noise-induced HL (NIHL) as HL at 3 to 6 kHz.

Cyclooxygenase-2 expression in primary and metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma.

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is involved in the development and progression of many tumors, and its inhibition has been shown to block tumor growth. This study examined COX-2 expression in primary and metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues from 26 primary MCCs and 7 lymph node metastases were stained immunohistochemically with a monoclonal antibody directed against COX-2, and the percentage and intensity of staining were analyzed semiquantitatively.