Chromosome 7 gain and DNA hypermethylation at the HOXA10 locus are associated with expression of a stem cell related HOX-signature in glioblastoma.

Background: HOX genes are a family of developmental genes that are expressed neither in the developing forebrain nor in the normal brain. Aberrant expression of a HOX-gene dominated stem-cell signature in glioblastoma has been linked with increased resistance to chemo-radiotherapy and sustained proliferation of glioma initiating cells. Here we describe the epigenetic and genetic alterations and their interactions associated with the expression of this signature in glioblastoma.

Early impact of PCV7/PCV13 sequential introduction to the national pediatric immunization plan, on adult invasive pneumococcal disease: A nationwide surveillance study.

Background: PCV7 was introduced as a universal childhood vaccination in Israel on July 2009 and was gradually replaced by PCV13 from November 2010. We report data on adult invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), two years post PCV13 implementation.

Methods: An ongoing nationwide active surveillance (all 27 laboratories performing blood/CSF cultures nationwide), initiated in 2009, providing all blood/CSF Streptococcus pneumoniae isolated from persons ≥18 years.

The synergistic effect of ultrasound and chemical penetration enhancers on chorioamnion mass transport.

In our previous study we proposed the use of chemical penetration enhancers for noninvasive detection of fetus abnormalities that can also be utilized for direct fetal drug delivery. In an attempt to further increase the mass transport rate across the amniotic membrane, thus shortening the procedure and improving the applicability of the proposed procedure, the effect and mechanism of combining ultrasound exposure with chemical penetration enhancers' application were assessed. The combined effect was evaluated in vitro on post-delivery human amniotic membrane and ex vivo on rat's whole amniotic sac.

Stress-mediated translational control in cancer cells.

Tumor cells are continually subjected to diverse stress conditions of the tumor microenvironment, including hypoxia, nutrient deprivation, and oxidative or genotoxic stress. Tumor cells must evolve adaptive mechanisms to survive these conditions to ultimately drive tumor progression. Tight control of mRNA translation is critical for this response and the adaptation of tumor cells to such stress forms.

Metabolite profiling elucidates communalities and differences in the polyphenol biosynthetic pathways of red and white Muscat genotypes.

The chemical composition of grape berries is varietal dependent and influenced by the environment and viticulture practices. In Muscat grapes, phenolic compounds play a significant role in the organoleptic property of the wine. In the present study, we investigated the chemical diversity of berries in a Muscat collection.

Recent temporal trends in the presentation, management, and outcome of women hospitalized with acute coronary syndromes.

Background: Few data exist on the recent trends in the outcome of women hospitalized with acute coronary syndrome. We examined temporal trends in the hospital management and outcomes of women hospitalized with acute coronary syndrome in a real-world setting.

Methods: We evaluated time-dependent changes in the clinical characteristics, management strategies, and outcomes of women enrolled in the Acute Coronary Syndrome Israeli Surveys (ACSIS) between 2000 and 2010.

Serine protease inhibitors interact with IFN-γ through up-regulation of FasR; a novel therapeutic strategy against cancer.

Among the many immunomodulatory and anti-tumor activities, IFN-γ up-regulates tumor cell death mediated by Fas receptor (FasR). Our and several other studies have demonstrated the involvement of trypsin-like proteases (TLPs) in the mode of action of IFN-γ. In the present study, we tried to unravel the role of serine proteases in IFN-γ induced Fas-mediated cell death.

The MAPK ERK5, but not ERK1/2, inhibits the progression of monocytic phenotype to the functioning macrophage.

Intracellular signaling pathways present targets for pharmacological agents with potential for treatment of neoplastic diseases, with some disease remissions already recorded. However, cellular compensatory mechanisms usually negate the initial success. For instance, attempts to interrupt aberrant signaling downstream of the frequently mutated ras by inhibiting ERK1/2 has shown only limited usefulness for cancer therapy.

A medicoeconomic review of early intervention with biologic agents in the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases.

The treatment of inflammatory bowel disease with standard therapy fails to control the disease in many patients. Biologic therapy has an increasing role in altering the natural history of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and is improving patient prognosis. However, indications for treatment and issues with drug costs and value for money remain unclear.

Acute eclipse retinopathy: a small case series.

We present four young patients with acute severe solar retinopathy after observation of the total eclipse on January 4, 2011 without appropriate eye protection. Funduscopic findings were accompanied by optical coherence tomography (OCT) investigation of the macula. All our patients were young (range 14-29 years).

Predicting the stiffness and strength of human femurs with real metastatic tumors.

Background: Predicting patient specific risk of fracture in femurs with metastatic tumors and the need for surgical intervention are of major clinical importance. Recent patient-specific high-order finite element methods (p-FEMs) based on CT-scans demonstrated accurate results for healthy femurs, so that their application to metastatic affected femurs is considered herein.

Methods: Radiographs of fresh frozen proximal femur specimens from donors that died of cancer were examined, and seven pairs with metastatic tumor were identified.

Immortal time bias in drug safety cohort studies: spontaneous abortion following nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug exposure.

Objective: Experimental research of drug safety in pregnancy is generally not feasible because of ethical issues. Therefore, most of the information about drug safety in general and teratogenicity in particular is obtained through observational studies, which require careful methodologic design to obtain unbiased results. Immortal time bias occurs when some cases do not "survive" sufficient time in the study, and as such, they have reduced chances of being defined as "exposed" simply because the durations of their follow-ups were shorter.

The role of icatibant-the B2 bradykinin receptor antagonist-in life-threatening laryngeal angioedema in the ED.

Angioedema is a localized, sudden, transient, and often recurrent swelling of the deeper layers of the skin or mucosa with no epidermal component. It is caused by vasoactive substances that produce a transient increase in endothelial permeability. Angioedema involving the laryngeal components is a life-threatening situation for the patient,and it is a challenge for the emergency medicine physician to rapidly achieve a safety airway.

Terrestrial runoff influences white syndrome prevalence in SW Madagascar.

Terrestrial runoff and sedimentation have been implicated in a variety of impacts on scleractinian corals. However, despite accumulating evidence, little work has been done to investigate their influence on coral disease development. This study examined the role that river runoff and the associated sedimentation could play in affecting the prevalence of the coral disease "white syndrome" in SW Madagascar.

3,5,4'-Trihydroxy-6,7,3'-trimethoxyflavone protects astrocytes against oxidative stress via interference with cell signaling and by reducing the levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species.

Oxidative stress is tightly involved in various neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, and conditions such as ischemia. Astrocytes, the most abundant glial cells in the brain, protect neurons from reactive oxygen species (ROS) and provide them with trophic support. Therefore, any damage to astrocytes will affect neuronal survival.

Metabolite profiling and integrative modeling reveal metabolic constraints for carbon partitioning under nitrogen starvation in the green algae Haematococcus pluvialis.

The green alga Hematococcus pluvialis accumulates large amounts of the antioxidant astaxanthin under inductive stress conditions, such as nitrogen starvation. The response to nitrogen starvation and high light leads to the accumulation of carbohydrates and fatty acids as well as increased activity of the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Although the behavior of individual pathways has been well investigated, little is known about the systemic effects of the stress response mechanism.

Experimental evidence of the compressibility of arteries.

A definitive answer to the question whether artery walls are incompressible is to our opinion not yet categorically provided. Experimental-based evidence on the level of compressibility in artery walls is not easily achieved because of the difficulties associated with the measurement of very small differences in volumes under physiological pressure in these biological tissues. Past experiments aimed at addressing the question considered different species, different arteries, the experimental devices were not accurate enough and a statistical analysis of the results was missing.

Differential regulation of astrocyte prostaglandin response by kinins: possible role for mitogen activated protein kinases.

The role of kinins, well known as peripheral inflammatory mediators, in the modulation of brain inflammation is not completely understood. The present data show that bradykinin, a B2 receptor agonist, enhanced both basal and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA and protein levels and prostaglandin E2 synthesis in primary rat astrocytes. By contrast, Lys-des-Arg(9)-bradykinin, which is a bradykinin breakdown product and a selective kinin B1 receptor agonist, attenuated both basal and LPS-induced astrocyte cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA levels and prostaglandin E2 production.

Thiamine deficiency in infancy: long-term follow-up.

Background: In 2003, several hundred Israeli infants risked thiamine deficiency after being fed a soy-based formula deficient in thiamine. Approximately 20 patients were seriously affected, and three of them died. We report the clinical presentation of acute encephalopathy in 11 children and the long-term sequelae of eight children who initially survived.

Enhanced action tendencies in high versus low obsessive-compulsive symptoms: an event-related potential study.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by repeated thoughts and behaviors. Inhibitory deficits are presumably related to the onset and maintenance of this disorder. The present study investigated whether obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms are related to enhanced response tendencies in reaction to external stimuli.

"Clinical brain profiling": a neuroscientific diagnostic approach for mental disorders.

Clinical brain profiling is an attempt to map a descriptive nosology in psychiatry to underlying constructs in neurobiology and brain dynamics. This paper briefly reviews the motivation behind clinical brain profiling (CBP) and presents some provisional validation using clinical assessments and meta-analyses of neuroscientific publications. The paper has four sections.

Alerting enhances attentional bias for salient stimuli: evidence from a global/local processing task.

The present study examined the role of alerting in modulating attentional bias to salient events. In a global/local processing task, participants were presented with a large arrow (global level) comprised of smaller arrows (local level) pointing in the same or opposite directions and had to indicate the direction of the large or small arrows in different blocks. Saliency of the global and local levels was manipulated, creating global-salient and local-salient conditions.

Carotenoid derivatives inhibit nuclear factor kappa B activity in bone and cancer cells by targeting key thiol groups.

Aberrant activation of the nuclear factor kappa B (NFkB) transcription system contributes to cancer progression, and has a harmful effect on bone health. Several major components of the NFkB pathway such as IkB Kinase (IKK) and the NFkB subunits contain cysteine residues that are critical for their activity. The interaction of electrophiles with these cysteine residues results in NFkB inhibition.

The role of civil society in health care reforms: an arena for hegemonic struggles.

The present paper argues that current mainstream understandings of civil society as ontologically different from the state and essentially positive (either normative or functionally) are problematic in order to understand the development of health care reforms. The paper proposes to ground an explanation of the role of civil society in health care reforms in a Gramscian understanding of civil society as analytically different from the state, and as an arena for hegemonic struggles. The study of health care reform in Israel serves as a case study for this claim.

Use patterns of health information exchange through a multidimensional lens: conceptual framework and empirical validation.

Insights about patterns of system use are often gained through the analysis of system log files, which record the actual behavior of users. In a clinical context, however, few attempts have been made to typify system use through log file analysis. The present study offers a framework for identifying, describing, and discerning among patterns of use of a clinical information retrieval system.