Travel-Associated Zika Virus Disease Acquired in the Americas Through February 2016: A GeoSentinel Analysis.

Background: Zika virus has spread rapidly in the Americas and has been imported into many nonendemic countries by travelers.

Objective: To describe clinical manifestations and epidemiology of Zika virus disease in travelers exposed in the Americas.

Design: Descriptive, using GeoSentinel records.

Outcome of breastfed infants following post-partum methylergonovine treatment.

Objective: To evaluate maternal and breastfed infant's outcome following post-partum maternal use of methylergonovine.

Methods: A prospective, controlled observational study design was used. Mothers who contacted Beilinson Teratology Information Service (BELTIS) were followed by phone interview.

Analysis of injury patterns and roles of care in US and Israel militaries during recent conflicts: Two are better than one.

Background: As new conflicts emerge and enemies evolve, military medical organizations worldwide must adopt the "lessons learned." In this study, we describe roles of care (ROCs) deployed and injuries sustained by both US and Israeli militaries during recent conflicts. The purpose of this collaborative work is facilitate exchange of medical data among allied forces in order to advance military medicine and facilitate strategic readiness for future military engagements that may involve less predictable situations of evacuation and care, such as prolonged field care.

Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty: Equivalent Outcomes in Low and High Functioning Patients.

Objective: Previous studies suggest that patients with poorer physical function prior to undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA) have a lower postoperative functional outcome. We sought to determine if the preoperative level of function was predictive of the outcome in patients undergoing THA using modern perioperative protocols and surgical techniques.

Methods: A prospective cohort study design evaluated the preoperative and 2-year postoperative health-related quality of life (HRQoL) scores of 200 patients who underwent THA.

Data-Driven Metabolic Pathway Compositions Enhance Cancer Survival Prediction.

Altered cellular metabolism is an important characteristic and driver of cancer. Surprisingly, however, we find here that aggregating individual gene expression using canonical metabolic pathways fails to enhance the classification of noncancerous vs. cancerous tissues and the prediction of cancer patient survival.

Whole-exome identifies RXRG and TH germline variants in familial isolated prolactinoma.

Familial isolated pituitary adenoma (FIPA) is a rare genetic disorder. In a subset of FIPA families AIP germline mutations have been reported, but in most FIPA cases the exact genetic defect remains unknown. The present study aimed to determine the genetic basis of FIPA in a Brazilian family.

RNA modifications: what have we learned and where are we headed?

Proper control of the transcriptome is key for diverse aspects of gene expression, cellular functions and development, and its disruption can result in disease. A rapidly accumulating wealth of studies are identifying and functionally characterizing diverse types of RNA base modifications in protein-coding and non-coding RNAs, which have energized the emerging field of 'epitranscriptomics'. In this Viewpoint article, five experts discuss our latest understanding of RNA modifications, including recommendations for best practices and visions for the future.

Vitamin B6 Modifies the Immune Cross-Talk between Mononuclear and Colon Carcinoma Cells.

The role of vitamin B6 as a key component in a number of biological events has been well established. Based on the relationship between chronic inflammation and carcinogenesis on the one hand, and the interaction between immune and cancer cells expressed by modulated cytokine production on the other hand, the aim of the present work was to examine the possibility that vitamin B6 affects cancer development by an interference in the cross-talk between human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and those from two colon carcinoma cell lines. Both non-stimulated PBMC and mononuclear cells induced for cytokine production by HT-29 and RKO cells from human colon carcinoma lines were incubated without and with 4, 20 and 100 μg/ml of pyridoxal hydrochloride (vitamin B6) and secretion of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IFN-γ, IL-10, and IL-1ra was examined.

Safety and efficacy of coffee enriched with inulin and dextrin on satiety and hunger in normal volunteers.

Objectives: This study assessed the safety and efficacy of a new beverage on suppressing hunger and improving feelings of satiety in healthy volunteers.

Methods: In the safety study, participants (n = 269) received either 1) a control beverage-coffee alone (group C); 2) the study beverage-coffee, whey protein, inulin, and dextrin (group S); or 3) an inulin-enriched beverage (I group). The study was held over a 7-d period during which participants were required to consume 2 cups of coffee a day.

EPG5-related Vici syndrome: a paradigm of neurodevelopmental disorders with defective autophagy.

Vici syndrome is a progressive neurodevelopmental multisystem disorder due to recessive mutations in the key autophagy gene EPG5. We report genetic, clinical, neuroradiological, and neuropathological features of 50 children from 30 families, as well as the neuronal phenotype of EPG5 knock-down in Drosophila melanogaster. We identified 39 different EPG5 mutations, most of them truncating and predicted to result in reduced EPG5 protein.

Cell phone use is associated with an inflammatory cytokine profile of parotid gland saliva.

Background: There is controversy on the effects of the non-ionizing radiation emitted by cell phones on cellular processes and the impact of such radiation exposure on health. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether cell phone use alters cytokine expression in the saliva produced by the parotid glands.

Methods: Cytokine expression profile was determined by enzyme linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA) in the saliva produced by the parotid glands in healthy volunteers, and correlated with self-reported cell phone use and laterality.

Blood Flow Versus Hematocrit in Optimization of Oxygen Transfer to Tissue During Fluid Resuscitation.

The effectiveness of fluid resuscitation regimens in hemorrhagic trauma is assessed based on its ability to increase oxygen concentration in tissue. Fluid resuscitation using both crystalloids and colloids fluids, creates a dilemma due to its opposing effects on oxygen transfer. It increases blood flow thereby augmenting oxygen transport but it also dilutes the blood simultaneously and reduces oxygen concentration thereby reducing oxygen transport.

Acute hepatitis E virus in pregnant women in Israel and in other industrialized countries.

Background And Objectives: Acute hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the most common etiology of viral hepatitis in adults in developing countries. HEV is rare in industrialized countries but its incidence is rising both in returning travelers and through autochthonous infection. In developing countries HEV is associated with a high rate of fulminant hepatitis and mortality during pregnancy and contributes to poor obstetric and fetal outcomes.

Acute Splenic Infarction at an Academic General Hospital Over 10 Years: Presentation, Etiology, and Outcome.

Few case series provide a current, comprehensive, and detailed description of splenic infarction (SI), an uncommon condition.Retrospective chart review complemented by imaging evaluation and patient follow-up.All adult patients with a confirmed diagnosis of acute SI discharged over 10 years from a single academic center were studied.

Community pharmacists' support improves antidepressant adherence in the community.

The treatment goal of major depressive disorder (MDD) is achieving and maintaining remission. One of the major obstacles in attaining remission is poor adherence to the medication regimen. Community pharmacists (CPs) are accessible to primary care patients and are in a unique position to help improve adherence.

Conclusiveness of the Cochrane Eye and Vision Group Reviews.

Background: To assess the conclusiveness of Cochrane Eye and Vision Group Reviews (EVGRs). We tested the hypotheses that: (1) the majority of EVGRs are inconclusive; (2) most reviews state the need for further and better studies; (3) the conclusiveness of a given review is affected by the number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) included and the cumulative number of patients and eyes studied.

Methods: A retrospective study of all EVGRs available in the Cochrane Library in June 2013.

High temperature affects the phagocytic activity of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Background: The ability for engulfment of pathogens and inert particles is the key hallmark of the phagocytic cells. Phagocytes play a significant role in the modulation of local or extended inflammation. Since fever activates a number of factors linked with the immune response it was the goal of this study to examine the in vitro effect of hyperthermia on the phagocytic capacity, the number of phagocytic cells and the viability of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) at 37 and 40°C.

Optimising the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Unit to Improve Quality of Care: Expert Recommendations.

Introduction: The best care setting for patients with inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] may be in a dedicated unit. Whereas not all gastroenterology units have the same resources to develop dedicated IBD facilities and services, there are steps that can be taken by any unit to optimise patients' access to interdisciplinary expert care. A series of pragmatic recommendations relating to IBD unit optimisation have been developed through discussion among a large panel of international experts.

Integrating innate and adaptive immune cells: Mast cells as crossroads between regulatory and effector B and T cells.

A diversity of immune mechanisms have evolved to protect normal tissues from infection, but from immune damage too. Innate cells, as well as adaptive cells, are critical contributors to the correct development of the immune response and of tissue homeostasis. There is a dynamic "cross-talk" between the innate and adaptive immunomodulatory mechanisms for an integrated control of immune damage as well as the development of the immune response.

Regulation of the inflammatory profile of stromal cells in human breast cancer: prominent roles for TNF-α and the NF-κB pathway.

Introduction: Breast cancer progression is promoted by stromal cells that populate the tumors, including cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs). The activities of CAFs and MSCs in breast cancer are integrated within an intimate inflammatory tumor microenvironment (TME) that includes high levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin 1β (IL-1β). Here, we identified the impact of TNF-α and IL-1β on the inflammatory phenotype of CAFs and MSCs by determining the expression of inflammatory chemokines that are well-characterized as pro-tumorigenic in breast cancer: CCL2 (MCP-1), CXCL8 (IL-8) and CCL5 (RANTES).

Percutaneous interventions for left atrial appendage exclusion: options, assessment, and imaging using 2D and 3D echocardiography.

Percutaneous left atrial appendage (LAA) exclusion is an evolving treatment to prevent embolic events in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. In the past few years multiple percutaneous devices have been developed to exclude the LAA from the body of the left atrium and thus from the systemic circulation. Two- and 3-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is used to assess the LAA anatomy and its suitability for percutaneous closure to select the type and size of the closure device and to guide the device implantation procedure in conjunction with fluoroscopy.

Cerebrovascular events in inflammatory bowel disease patients treated with anti-tumour necrosis factor alpha agents.

Background And Aims: Cerebrovascular accidents [CVA] have rarely been reported in inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] patients treated with anti-tumour necrosis alpha [anti-TNF alpha] agents. Our aim here was to describe the clinical course of CVA in these patients.

Methods: This was a European Crohn's and Colitis Organisation [ECCO] retrospective observational study, performed as part of the CONFER [COllaborative Network For Exceptionally Rare case reports] project.

Factors affecting laser in situ keratomileusis flap thickness: comparison of 2 microkeratome heads.

Purpose: To identify the potential factors affect that affect the thickness of corneal flaps created using 2 different microkeratome heads.

Setting: Care-Vision Laser Centers, Tel-Aviv, Israel.

Design: Retrospective comparative study.