The unboxing has already begun: One motivation construct at a time.

Murayama and Jach argue that it is not clearly specified how motivation constructs produce behavior and that this black box should be unpacked. We argue that the authors overlook important classic theory and highlight recent research programs that already started unboxing. We feel that without relying on the mechanisms that such programs uncover, the proposed computational approach will be fruitless.

Organosulfur Compounds in Garlic for Gastric Cancer Treatment: Anticancer Effects, Overcoming Drug Resistance, and Mechanisms.

Garlic has been consumed globally as a functional food and traditional medicine for various ailments. Its active organosulfur compounds (OSCs) have demonstrated significant anticancer properties, particularly against gastric cancer. However, a comprehensive review of these effects and the underlying molecular mechanisms, including their role in overcoming drug resistance, is currently lacking.

Gum Arabic induced assembly of cellulose nanocrystals in aqueous media.

Entropy-driven assembly of nematic liquid-crystal phases of cellulose nanocrystals (SCNCs) in aqueous suspensions results in the emergence of a cholesteric liquid crystalline phase (N* phase). We report that a solvated, non-adsorbing, highly branched natural polysaccharide, Gum Arabic (GA), strongly affects the assembly of the SCNCs and modifies the phase diagram: GA leads to significant crowding of the SCNC rods and induces a new liquid-liquid phase transition, where SCNC-rich and GA-rich droplets coexist. The solvated GA does not induce coagulation or gelation of the suspended SCNCs (at low concentrations of 1-3 wt% of GA).

Evaluation of vaccine perceptions in Israel's Elderly: A Comparative study of COVID-19 and influenza vaccination attitudes.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the attitudes of Israeli elderly population towards COVID-19 and influenza vaccines, and to assess factors contributing to these attitudes.

Methods: Four-hundred and one participants exhibiting symptoms consistent with COVID-19 or influenza were enrolled and filled out a questionnaire. A second questionnaire was filled out for hospitalized patients at discharge.

Noninvasive Assessment to Identify Patients With At-Risk Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), previously termed nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, is a major global health issue and a leading cause of chronic liver disease. The prevalence of MASLD is increasing globally, with the disease in some patients progressing to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), which significantly raises the risk of fibrosis, cirrhosis, and adverse outcomes. Accurate identification of patients with at-risk MASH, defined as MASH with a fibrosis stage of 2 or higher, is critical for timely intervention and management.

Medium-Term Effects of Increased Water Intake and Head-Up Sleep on Cardiovascular Health.

Background: Whether medium-term increased water intake alone, or in combination with co-adjuvant nonexercise interventions aimed to expand blood volume (BV), improve the human cardiovascular phenotype and cardiorespiratory fitness remains unexplored.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the medium-term impact of increased (+40%) fluid (water) intake (IFI) or IFI plus head-up sleep (IFI + HUS) on BV and the cardiovascular phenotype in healthy individuals.

Methods: Healthy adults (n = 35, age 42 ± 18 years, 51% female) matched by sex, age, body composition, physical activity, and cardiorespiratory fitness were randomly allocated to IFI or IFI + HUS for 3 months.

Choosing Wisely in oncology: are guidelines effective at preventing unnecessary diagnostics? The example of surveillance positron emission tomography for patients with localised colorectal cancer.

Objective: Healthcare overuse is a major challenge for healthcare systems and patients worldwide. Professional guidelines such as the 'Choosing Wisely' guidelines have attempted to reduce specific examples of overuse. We examined the use of surveillance positron emission tomography CT (PETCT) in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) treated with curative intent.

Pharmacological class effects of anticancer drugs: opportunities for decreasing healthcare spending.

In the field of general medicine, class effects, or therapeutic interchangeability, have been declared for several families of drugs including statins, calcium channel blockers and ACE inhibitors. The existence of such class effects enables healthcare payers to negotiate for substantially lower drug prices, thereby reducing financial toxicity, both at an individual and societal levels. Until now, the existence of class effects in oncology has been considered rare.

A Severe Case of Disseminated Herpes Zoster in a Patient With Crohn's Disease on Upadacitinib Who Completed the Recombinant Zoster Vaccine Series.

Herpes zoster (HZ) is caused by the reactivation of the varicella zoster virus and presents with painful vesicular lesions in a dermatomal distribution. Disseminated HZ occurs when skin lesions erupt in numerous dermatomes. Upadacitinib is the first oral medication approved to treat moderate-severe Crohn's disease and has been associated with nonsevere cases of HZ.

Thirty years from FDA approval of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (Doxil/Caelyx): an updated analysis and future perspective.

In 2025, it will be 30 years since the initial clinical approval of pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) by the Food and Drug Administration. PLD predated the field of nanomedicine and became a model nanomedicine setting key pharmacological principles (prolonged circulation, slow drug release and the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect) for clinical application of other nano-drugs in cancer therapy. The impressive reduction of cardiotoxicity conferred by PLD is the most valuable clinical asset.

Hepcidin: A missing link at the interface of malaria and hypertension.

Malaria and hypertension are seemingly unrelated communicable and non-communicable diseases, both highly pervasive in the global south. There is a debate about the potential connection between these two disorders beyond any obvious factors. The emerging evidence suggests an emerging genetic selection pressure for hypertension in malaria-endemic regions.

The Need for IRB Leadership to Address the New Ethical Challenges of Research with Highly Portable Neuroimaging Technologies.

The emergence of innovative neuroimaging technologies, particularly highly portable magnetic resonance imaging (pMRI), has the potential to spawn a transformative era in neuroscience research. Resourced academic institutional review boards (IRBs) with experience overseeing traditional MRI have a special role to play in ethical governance of pMRI research and should facilitate the collaborative development of nuanced and culturally sensitive guidelines and educational resources for pMRI protocols. This paper explores the ethical challenges of pMRI in neuroscience research and the dynamic leadership role that IRBs should play to promote ethical oversight of emerging pMRI research.

Conducting Research with Highly Portable MRI in Community Settings: A Practical Guide to Navigating Ethical Issues and ELSI Checklist.

Highly portable and accessible MRI technology will allow researchers to conduct field-based MRI research in community settings. Previous guidance for researchers working with fixed MRI does not address the novel ethical, legal, and societal issues (ELSI) of portable MRI (pMRI). Our interdisciplinary Working Group (WG) previously identified 15 core ELSI challenges associated with pMRI research and recommended solutions.

Posthumous Use of Sperm: Legal and Bioethical Reflections on Israeli Policy.

Bassan's article on the posthumous use of sperm presents a complicated picture of Israeli law. On the one hand, as previous reviews show, Israel is unique in terms of the extent of this phenomenon. The number of applications to the courts to approve the use of sperm posthumously is substantial and has been increasing since the outbreak of the war on October 7.

Posthumous Sperm Use in Times of War: Ethics, Law and Society.

This article delves into the legal developments, bioethical nuances, and societal perspectives surrounding posthumous sperm use, particularly in the context of soldiers falling during their service. It analyzes the Israeli example during The Swords of Iron War, where the bioethical dilemma is decided based on national solidarity, beyond the "clean" bioethical-legal discussion.

Peripheral magnetic stimulation for the treatment of fibromyalgia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: To systematically review and conduct a meta-analysis of studies on peripheral magnetic stimulation (PMS) for fibromyalgia (FM) treatment.

Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, CINHAL, Web of Science, and ProQuest databases were searched from inception to July 2023 for studies in adult patients with FM treated with PMS. Studies using transcranial magnetic stimulation were excluded.

Prevalence and risk factors of under-five mortality due to severe acute malnutrition in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Despite a global drop of under-five mortality by 59% between 1990 and 2019, it remains high in Low- and Middle- income Countries (LMICs)with a preponderance in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), Southern and Central Asia. Besides preterm and intrapartum complications, undernutrition contributes 45% of the deaths in these developing regions. In Africa, under-five mortality due to severe acute malnutrition (SAM) has stagnated at 10-40%, higher than WHO targets and the SDGs projections.

Communicative health literacy with physicians in healthcare services- results of a Hungarian nationwide survey.

Background: In an efficient and effective healthcare delivery, good communication plays an essential role. The communicative health literacy (COMM-HL) of the patients is an important attribute, but the number of validated COMM-HL assessment tools is low, and they do not cover all aspects of COMM-HL. That's why a new scale has been developed within an international collaboration.

Fetal cardiac function in pregnancy affected by congenital heart disease: protocol for a multicentre prospective cohort study.

Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common fetal malformation, and it can result first in cardiac remodeling and dysfunction and later in cardiac failure and hydrops. A limited number of studies have evaluated cardiac function in fetuses affected by CHD. Functional parameters could potentially identify fetuses at risk of cardiac failure before its development.

Effects of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use on migraine - a critical review.

Background: Proton pump inhibitor (PPI) drugs are widely used and are among the most significant achievements of modern pharmacology. Their primary purpose is treating and preventing gastric acid-related disorders. Migraine and PPI intake are prevalent, and many people are affected by both.

Sodium-Glucose Co-Transporter 2 Inhibitors and Severe Urinary Tract Infections: Real-World Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies.

Objective: There is limited knowledge about severe urinary tract infections associated with SGLT2i, despite this being the basis for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warning. We aim to provide real-world evidence to clarify this relationship further.

Data Source: A literature review was performed in PubMed and Embase for cohort studies published up to August 2024 using PICO-consistent terms.

Toward a biological definition of neuronal and glial synucleinopathies.

Cerebral accumulation of alpha-synuclein (αSyn) aggregates is the hallmark event in a group of neurodegenerative diseases-collectively called synucleinopathies-which include Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and multiple system atrophy. Currently, these are diagnosed by their clinical symptoms and definitively confirmed postmortem by the presence of αSyn deposits in the brain. Here, we summarize the drawbacks of the current clinical definition of synucleinopathies and outline the rationale for moving toward an earlier, biology-anchored definition of these disorders, with or without the presence of clinical symptoms.

Biomarker analysis from complex biofluids by an on-chip chemically modified light-controlled vertical nanopillar array device.

Nanostructured devices have proven useful in a broad range of applications, from diagnosing diseases to discovering and screening new drug molecules. We developed vertical silicon nanopillar (SiNP) arrays for on-chip multiplex capture of selected biomolecules using a light-induced release of the array's selectively captured biomarkers. This platform allows the rapid, reusable and quantitative capture and release of a selection of biomarkers, followed by their downstream analysis.