Assessing the role of chest CT in minor blunt trauma: evaluation of the NEXUS decision instrument across an expanded population.

Objective: To evaluate the NEXUS Chest CT ALL decision instrument (DI) in reducing unnecessary chest CT imaging in minor blunt trauma patients while preserving high sensitivity for detecting clinically meaningful injuries. Additionally, we examined the impact of delayed presentation, chronic disease, and anticoagulation/anti-aggregation medications on trauma outcomes.

Methods: This retrospective study included 853 adult minor blunt trauma patients who underwent chest CT in the emergency department (ED) of Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center between 2018 and 2022.

Anti-tumor Necrosis Factor Drug Concentration Is Not Associated with Disease Outcomes in Pouchitis: A Retrospective, International Study.

Background: Therapeutic drug monitoring is important for optimizing anti-tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) therapy in inflammatory bowel disease. However, the exposure-response relationship has never been assessed in pouchitis.

Aims: To explore associations between anti-TNF-α drug concentration and pouchitis disease activity in patients with a background of ulcerative colitis.

Hydration Effects Driving Network Remodeling in Hydrogels during Cyclic Loading.

In complex networks and fluids such as the extracellular matrix, the mechanical properties are substantially affected by the movement of polymers both part of and entrapped in the network. As many cells are sensitive to the mechanical remodeling of their surroundings, it is important to appreciate how entrapped polymers may inhibit or facilitate remodeling in the network. Here, we explore a molecular-level understanding of network remodeling in a complex hydrogel environment through successive compressive loading and the role that noninteracting polymers may play in a dynamic network.

Long Term Outcomes of Transplant Recipients Comparing Belatacept vs. Tacrolimus: A UNOS Database Analysis.

Calcineurin inhibitors have been the choice for maintenance immunosuppression (IS) in kidney transplant recipients (KTR), but they are associated with nephrotoxicity and metabolic side effects. We aim to compare the long-term outcomes of KTR on belatacept (bela) versus tacrolimus (tac) IS, in all KTRs and various subgroups. Using the UNOS-STAR files, we identified adult first-KTR from 2010 to 2022.

Associations between death anxiety and probable posttraumatic stress disorder and clinical depression and anxiety in older Israeli adults during wartime.

The outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, 2023, has presented unprecedented challenges to older adults' mental health, including increased posttraumatic stress, anxiety, and depression. The current study examined potential war- and age-related factors associated with probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), clinical depression (probable depression), and generalized anxiety disorder (probable anxiety) among older adults during the ongoing war. Moreover, due to the continued threat of death, we examined whether death anxiety is an additional contributing factor to older adults' probable PTSD, depression, and anxiety.

Enhancing Obstructive Sleep Apnea Screening and Nocturia Treatment: A Quality Improvement Study.

Importance: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is common but likely underdiagnosed in urogynecology patients with nocturia, and OSA treatment has the potential to improve nocturia symptoms.

Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the effect of implementing a universal screening protocol for OSA in a urogynecology clinic on screening rates, OSA prevalence among patients with nocturia, and symptom improvement following treatment.

Study Design: This was an observational quality improvement study at a urogynecology clinic at a safety-net hospital.

Rising Rates of Urethral Bulking: A Retrospective Study of a National Database.

Importance: Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) affects approximately 50% of women. There are limited data regarding trends in management as treatment options have changed.

Objective: This study aimed to analyze trends in the surgical management of SUI, including slings and urethral bulking, from 2012 to 2022.

Chromosome-level assembly of basil genome unveils the genetic variation driving Genovese and Thai aroma types.

Basil, Ocimum basilicum L., is a widely cultivated aromatic herb, prized for its culinary and medicinal uses, predominantly owing to its unique aroma, primarily determined by eugenol for Genovese cultivars or methyl chavicol for Thai cultivars. To date, a comprehensive basil reference genome has been lacking, with only a fragmented draft available.

Inflammatory bowel disease is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events in a sex and age-dependent manner: A historical cohort study.

Background: The relationship between inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and the risk of ischemic heart diseases (IHD) remains a subject of debate. In this study, we sought to investigate the association between IBD and long-term risk of IHD in a substantial cohort of IBD patients.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study we utilized data from a state-mandated provider in Israel (Maccabi Healthcare Services).

Primordial black holes and their gravitational-wave signatures.

In the recent years, primordial black holes (PBHs) have emerged as one of the most interesting and hotly debated topics in cosmology. Among other possibilities, PBHs could explain both some of the signals from binary black hole mergers observed in gravitational-wave detectors and an important component of the dark matter in the Universe. Significant progress has been achieved both on the theory side and from the point of view of observations, including new models and more accurate calculations of PBH formation, evolution, clustering, merger rates, as well as new astrophysical and cosmological probes.

Surgical management of ossifying fibroma in a 9-year-old Hungarian Vizsla: a case report and review of the literature.

Ossifying fibroma (OF) is a rare, benign fibro-osseous neoplasm that primarily originates from membranous bones. While most frequently documented in equines, OF has also been reported in other species, including dogs, though it remains uncommon. The condition poses significant diagnostic challenges due to its ambiguous presentation, often requiring differentiation from other benign and malignant intraosseous lesions.

Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan for the Randomized Trial of Sedative Choice for Intubation (RSI).

Background: Emergency tracheal intubation is a common and high-risk procedure. Ketamine and etomidate are sedative medicines commonly used to induce anesthesia for emergency tracheal intubation, but whether the induction medication used affects patient outcomes is uncertain.

Research Question: Does the use of ketamine for induction of anesthesia decrease the incidence of death among adults undergoing emergency tracheal intubation, compared to the use of etomidate?

Study Design And Methods: The Randomized trial of Sedative choice for Intubation (RSI) is a pragmatic, multicenter, unblinded, parallel-group, randomized trial being conducted in 14 sites (6 emergency departments and 8 intensive care units) in the United States.

Pain Perception Threshold in Young High-Altitude Natives After Acute Exposure to Severe Hypoxic Conditions.

Previous studies indicate that individuals at high altitudes have a lower pain threshold than those living at sea level. This study evaluates the differences in pain perception among young people living at an altitude of 3800 m and after acute exposure to a severe hypoxic environment at more than 5100 m. Fourteen people (BMI of 22.

A mind-body resilience intervention for emotional distress in cardiac arrest survivors and their informal caregivers - Recovering together after cardiac arrest: Protocol for an open pilot trial.

Background: Chronic emotional distress among cardiac arrest (CA) survivors and their caregivers is prevalent and worsens quality of life and recovery. Interventions to prevent chronic distress post-CA are needed. We developed (RT-CA), an intervention to increase resiliency in CA survivor-caregiver dyads (pairs).

The use of an automatic remote weight management system to track treatment response, identified drugs supply shortage and its consequences: A pilot study.

Objective: The objective of this pilot study is to evaluate the feasibility of using an automatic weight management system to follow patients' response to weight reduction medications and to identify early deviations from weight trajectories.

Methods: The pilot study involved 11 participants using Semaglutide for weight management, monitored over a 12-month period. A cloud-based, Wi-Fi-enabled remote weight management system collected and analyzed daily weight data from smart scales.

That men should put an enemy in their mouths to steal away their brains: Reconsidering the origins of model psychosis.

The promises of the Prozac century have fallen short; the number of novel, therapeutically significant medications successfully completing development shrinks every year; and the demand for better treatments constantly grows. Answering these hardships is a renewed optimism concerning the efficacy of controlled psychedelic therapy, a that has seen the resurgence of a familiar concept: intoxication as model psychosis. And yet, little has been made of where this peculiar idea originates.

Late-Stage Minimal Labeling of Peptides and Proteins for Real-Time Imaging of Cellular Trafficking.

The cellular uptake routes of peptides and proteins are complex and diverse, often handicapping therapeutic success. Understanding their mechanisms of internalization requires chemical derivatization with approaches that are compatible with wash-free and real-time imaging. In this work, we developed a new late-stage labeling strategy for unprotected peptides and proteins, which retains their biological activity while enabling live-cell imaging of uptake and intracellular trafficking.

A conceptual framework for the ethical analysis of moral conflicts in migrant live-in care.

In many industrialized countries, hiring a migrant live-in carer represents a promising solution to support families caring for an older person at home and to avoid institutionalization. Migrant live-in carers live in the household of the person in need of care and provide extensive care and social support. They usually come from geographic areas such as Eastern Europe or Southeast Asia.

Three episodes of basilar tip occlusion necessitating thrombectomies and a vertebral artery sacrifice in a patient with subclavian artery dissection distal to the vertebral artery origin: a case report.

Background: While acute occlusion of the subclavian artery (SCA) proximal to the vertebral artery (VA) origin is an uncommon but recognized cause of embolic stroke, an occlusion distal to the VA is rare and can be easily overlooked.

Case Description: We describe the clinical presentation and evaluation of a previously healthy 56-year-old woman who experienced four life-threatening posterior circulation strokes within 1 month, three of which led to basilar artery (BA) occlusions requiring thrombectomies. Workup revealed an occlusion of the right SCA located less than 1 cm distal to the VA origin.