External Validation of CROES Nephrolithometry as a Preoperative Predictive System for Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy Outcomes.

Purpose: We externally validated CROES (Clinical Research Office of the Endourological Society) nephrolithometry and evaluated the predictive accuracy of the nomogram.

Materials And Methods: Data were collected on patients who underwent percutaneous nephrolithotomy between January 2012 and February 2015. The CROES nomogram was applied to all patients and externally validated.

Stenosing flexor tenosynovitis: Validity of standard assessment tools of daily functioning and quality of life.

Study Design: Cross-sectional.

Introduction: Stenosing flexor tenosynovitis (SFT) is a common hand disease, yet there is a lack of valid standard assessments for this population.

Purpose Of The Study: Validation of assessment for the evaluation of disability and quality of life related to SFT clinical severity.

Serum thymidine kinase 1 activity in the prognosis and monitoring of chemotherapy in lung cancer patients: a brief report.

Introduction: Thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) is a metabolic enzyme involved in DNA synthesis. Most standard treatment protocols for lung cancer (LC) include cytotoxic agents, which are potential modulators of TK1. We aimed to assess the prognostic significance of serum TK1 activity and its role in monitoring chemotherapy in LC patients.

Validating the measurement of executive functions in an occupational context for adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

OBJECTIVE. The objectives of this study were to better understand the cognitive profile of adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), their occupational performance, and their quality of life (QoL) and to examine the validity of a cognitive-functional evaluation (CFE) battery for these adults. METHOD.

Young adults with developmental coordination disorder: a longitudinal study.

We conducted a longitudinal study to assess the continuing influence of developmental coordination disorder (DCD) on quality of life and participation. Ninety-six participants (25 in the DCD group, 30 in the borderline group, and 41 in the control group) ages 22-29 yr who had been screened for DCD 3-4 yr previously completed the Participation in Every Day Activities of Life, the Life-Satisfaction Questionnaire, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) instrument. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed a significant between-groups difference, F(7, 95) = 2.

Effectiveness of Cognitive-Functional (Cog-Fun) occupational therapy intervention for young children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a controlled study.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the Cognitive-Functional (Cog-Fun) intervention for young children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Method: Nineteen children ages 5-7 yr diagnosed with ADHD were allocated to treatment and wait-list control groups. After the 12-wk intervention, the control group was crossed over to treatment.

Serum immunoglobulin levels at diagnosis have no prognostic significance in stage A chronic lymphocytic leukemia: a study of 1113 cases from the Israeli CLL Study Group.

Objectives: Hypogammaglobulinemia, commonly encountered in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), is one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality; however, its prognostic significance in patients diagnosed in early stages of disease remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to evaluate the predictive power of hypogammaglobulinemia at Bonet stage A.

Methods: Using the database of the Israeli CLL Study Group, we analyzed the relationship between low serum levels of IgG, IgA, and IgM; the presence of paraproteinemia, as well as other well-recognized prognostic markers in CLL; and time to first treatment (TTT) and overall survival.

Population-based study shows improved postnatal growth in preterm very-low-birthweight infants between 1995 and 2010.

Aim: To assess whether the postnatal growth of preterm very-low-birthweight (VLBW) infants, as determined by measures of postnatal growth failure (PNGF), improved during the period 1995-2010 and to evaluate postnatal growth by gestational age (GA) and intrauterine growth groups.

Methods: The study was based on the Israel national VLBW infant database and comprised 13 531 VLBW infants of 24-32 weeks' GA, discharged at a postmenstrual age of ≤40 weeks. Z-scores were determined for weight at birth and discharge.

Using a safe taxi service to transport newborn babies home from hospital.

Aim: To evaluate an intervention to enhance parents' use of car safety seats (CSSs) for their newborn baby's first journey home from the hospital in a population not usually exposed to television, internet and mainstream printed media.

Methods: Parents of newborn babies who did not bring a CSS to the hospital before their baby was discharged were lent a CSS to use in a 'safe taxi' service. All taxi drivers were trained to install the CSS safely.

Increased proliferative background in healthy women with BRCA1/2 haploinsufficiency is associated with high risk for breast cancer.

Previous studies indicated that BRCA haploinsufficiency was associated with activation of the EGF receptor (EGFR) signaling pathway and increased proliferative activity in mammary epithelial cells of healthy women. We hypothesized that these processes might be reflected in the expression of serologic soluble EGFR (sEGFR) and thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) activity, which signal the initial and final steps of the proliferative pathway, respectively. We found that healthy carriers of BRCA1/2 mutations (n = 80) showed a significantly higher TK1 activity than age-matched controls (P = 0.

Neonatal end-of-life care: a single-center NICU experience in Israel over a decade.

Objectives: To follow changes in the causes of neonatal deaths in the NICU at Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel, over a decade; to examine trends regarding types of end-of-life-care provided (primary nonintervention, maximal intensive, and redirection of intensive care, including limitation of care and withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment); and to assess the parental role in the decision-making process given that the majority of the population is religious.

Methods: All neonates who died between 2000 and 2009 were identified. The causes and circumstances of death were abstracted from the medical records.

An eye for a tooth.

Objective: To propose a possible link between dental extraction and intra-ocular complications.

Background: Several publications in medical literature describe intra-ocular complications after different dental procedures.

Results: Retinal detachment and vitreous hemorrhage following dental extraction with an appropriate anesthesia.

The prognostic significance of LIAISON(R) CA15-3 assay in primary breast cancer.

Aim: To investigate the prognostic significance of cancer antigen 15-3 (CA15-3) in primary breast cancer (BC).

Patients And Methods: This prospective study included 368 women: 62 patients with benign breast disease (BBD), 159 patients with invasive BC and 88 healthy blood donors (control). The median follow-up was 76 months (range, 43-99 months).

Comparison of diagnostic and prognostic performance of two assays measuring thymidine kinase 1 activity in serum of breast cancer patients.

Background: We compared two recently developed immunoassays for serum thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) activity: one manual assay (DiviTum, Biovica(®)) and one fully automated assay (Liaison, Diasorin(®)).

Methods: The study included 368 women: 149 healthy blood donors (control), 59 patients with benign breast disease (BBD) and 160 patients with primary breast cancer (BC).

Results: A regression analysis of the Liaison (y) and DiviTum (x) assays for all three groups yielded the equation y=3.

The outcomes of pregnancy in women exposed to the new macrolides in the first trimester: a prospective, multicentre, observational study.

Background: Macrolides are a group of commonly prescribed antibiotics. There is some doubt surrounding the use of the newer macrolides in pregnancy.

Objective: The present study aimed to compare outcomes of pregnancies exposed to the new macrolides clarithromycin, azithromycin and roxithromycin with non-teratogenic preparations.

Cell surface expression of CD25 antigen (surface IL-2 receptor α-chain) is not a prognostic marker in chronic lymphocytic leukemia: results of a retrospective study of 281 patients.

Using the database of the Israeli CLL Study Group, we investigated the incidence and prognostic significance of CD25 expression on the surface of lymphocytic leukemia cells. Strong CD25 expression was found in 46 (16.4 %) of 281 tested cases and was correlated with the presence of splenomegaly (p = 0.

Gastrointestinal colonization with ESBL-producing Klebsiella in preterm babies--is vancomycin to blame?

In this study, we examine the possible association between treatment with vancomycin and colonization with extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Klebsiella in our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Variables compared between newborns which developed rectal colonization and those who did not include: gestational age, birth weight, gender, and total length of hospital stay until positive stool culture or discharge, treatment with vancomycin, and positive blood culture for coagulase-negative Staphylococcus. We found that lower birth weight, younger gestational age, and treatment with vancomycin were statistically significant risk factors for gastrointestinal colonization with ESBL-producing Klebsiella.

The use of blood counts and blood cultures to screen neonates born to partially treated group B Streptococcus-carrier mothers for early-onset sepsis: is it justified?

Background: No clear recommendations exist regarding the approach to evaluate neonates born to partially treated group B Streptococcus (GBS)-carrier mothers for early-onset GBS (EO-GBS) sepsis.

Objective: To determine the yield and drawbacks of screening, all neonates born to GBS-carrier mothers who received only one dose of IV antibiotic, less than 4 hours, before delivery (partially treated).

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed of all complete blood counts (CBCs) and blood cultures obtained from infants born during the period 2005 to 2009 to GBS-positive screened mothers treated with only one dose of antibiotic prior to delivery.

Health-related quality of life two years after injury due to terrorism.

Background: During the past few decades, terrorist acts have been an unfortunate reality worldwide. There is a striking paucity of research investigating the multitude of long-term outcomes after severe physical injury due to terrorist attacks, a unique subgroup of trauma patients. The purpose of this study was to provide a profile of the long-term health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) after injury due to terrorist attacks and to explore the relationships between Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), occupational status and injury severity with HR-QOL.

Serum thymidine kinase 1 activity in breast cancer.

Aims: Thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) is an enzyme involved in DNA synthesis and an important proliferation marker. We explored the association of preoperative serum TK1 activity with clinicopathological parameters and prognosis in terms of recurrence-free survival (RFS) in breast cancer (BC) patients.

Patients And Methods: TK1 activity in serum of 120 healthy women and 161 BC patients was measured by quantitative ELISA.

Sinus floor augmentation using large (1-2 mm) or small (0.25-1 mm) bovine bone mineral particles: a prospective, intra-individual controlled clinical, micro-computerized tomography and histomorphometric study.

Objectives: To compare the amount of newly formed bone after sinus floor augmentation with two different particle sizes of bovine bone mineral (BBM) using clinical, micro-computerized tomography (CT) and histological techniques.

Methods: Bilateral sinus floor augmentations were performed in 10 patients. Six to 9 months later, bone samples were retrieved and analyzed.

In vivo degradation of collagen barrier membranes exposed to the oral cavity.

Objectives: The purpose of this human clinical trial was to compare the degradation profiles of three different collagen membranes under conditions mimicking exposure to the oral cavity.

Materials And Methods: Three collagen membranes, ribose cross-linked (RCL), glutaraldehyde cross-linked (GCL), and non-cross-linked (NCL) were tested. The membranes were placed over the buccal mucosa of 20 human volunteers, apical to the gingival margins in the maxillary premolar and molar region.

Circulating tumor M2 pyruvate kinase and thymidine kinase 1 are potential predictors for disease recurrence in renal cell carcinoma after nephrectomy.

Objectives: Pyruvate kinase type M2 (TuM2-PK) and thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) are the key enzymes involved in tumor cells metabolism and proliferation. We explored the association of their preoperative circulating levels with disease recurrence in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Methods: We measured the plasma levels of TuM2-PK levels and serum TK1 activity preoperatively in patients with RCC, using a quantitative ELISA, and correlated the results with clinicopathological parameters.

TLR2-dependent inflammatory response to Porphyromonas gingivalis is MyD88 independent, whereas MyD88 is required to clear infection.

Porphyromonas gingivalis is a gram-negative anaerobe considered to be a major periodontal pathogen. TLR2 plays a central role in the response to P. gingivalis infection in vivo.