Recent Publications

In plants, RNA interference (RNAi) serves as a critical defense mechanism against viral infections by regulating gene expression. However, viruses have developed RNA silencing suppressor (RSS) proteins to evade this defense mechanism....Our study focuses on P8, an RSS protein from HPWMoV. Understanding its structure and assembly is a crucial step toward comprehending how these viruses counteract host defenses, aiding in combatting malnutrition.

In Israel, The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine is recommended to both genders up to age 26. Many 18-26 olds missed their opportunity for vaccination during school. Our study described HPV knowledge, attitudes and vaccination intentions among unvaccinated 18-26 Israeli adults across various demographics, aiming to inform future catch-up vaccination strategies. 

Most infants with febrile urinary tract infection (UTI) do not have an underlying anatomical risk factor. Thus, other non-anatomical risk factors should be considered. Since the most common pathogens arise from the fecal microbiota, our aim was to investigate whether the gut microbiota composition differs between febrile infants younger than 2 months with or without UTI.

The indirect impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on clinical services in peripheral hospitals has not been fully described. We compared the impact of COVID-19 on Cerebral Vascular Accident (CVA) and ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) management and outcome in an Israeli peripheral hospital.

Placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) is a term used to describe trophoblast invasion into the uterine wall. The condition can be fetal at labor due to a lack of spontaneous separation of the placenta from the uterine wall, leading to severe hemorrhage. In this study we aim to evaluate preoperative risk factors for unplanned immediate hysterectomy in PAS uterine-preserving surgeries.

In January 2016, the American Thyroid Association (ATA) published an update to the guidelines concerning the management of adult patients with thyroid nodules and well-differentiated thyroid cancers. One of the revised recommendations states that lobectomy is a reasonable surgical approach for low-risk patients. This systematic review compares the rates of completion thyroidectomy surgeries before and after the publication of the recent ATA guidelines.

Understanding the early stages of human congenital myopathies is critical for proposing strategies for improving musculoskeletal muscle performance, such as restoring the functional integrity of the cytoskeleton. SH3 and cysteine-rich domain 3 (STAC3) are proteins involved in nutrient regulation and are an essential component of the excitation-contraction (EC) coupling machinery for Ca²⁺ releasing. A mutation in STAC3 causes debilitating Native American Myopathy (NAM) in humans, while loss of this gene in mice and zebrafish (ZF) results in premature death. Clinically, NAM patients demonstrated increased lipids in skeletal muscle, but it is unclear if neutral lipids are associated with altered muscle function in NAM. Using a CRISPR/Cas9 induced stac3^-/-/knockout (KO) zebrafish model, we determined that loss of stac3 leads to delayed larval hatching which corresponds with muscle weakness and decreased whole-body Ca²⁺ level during early skeletal development. 

The optimal duration of antibiotic prophylaxis for patients undergoing primary hip or knee arthroplasty remains debated. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the outcomes of single-dose versus extended antibiotic prophylaxis.

Various interventions have been applied to reduce perineal trauma and obstetric anal sphincter injuries (OASIS). The efficacy of warm compresses during the second stage of labor for reducing the occurrence of perineal tears is controversial. Objective: We aimed to compare rates of spontaneous perineal tears requiring suturing, between women who received warm compresses plus perineal massage vs. perineal massage alone.

(Raneen Abu Shqara, Aya Banenbaum, Sari Nahir Biderman, Inshirah Sgayer, Riva Keidar, Nadir Ganim, Lior Lowenstein, Susana Mustafa)

Smad4, a critical tumor suppressor gene, plays a significant role in pancreatic biology and tumorigenesis. Genetic background and sex are known to influence phenotypic outcomes, but their impact on pancreatic weight in Smad4-deficient mice remains unclear. This study investigates the impact of Smad4 deficiency on pancreatic weight in first-generation (F1) mice from diverse collaborative cross (CC) lines, focusing on the influence of genetic background and sex. 

Systemic alterations in the oral cavity can be reflected in skin disorders like psoriasis. However, data about oral health factors that are affected and controlled mainly by oral microbiota in atopic dermatitis (AD) are sparse. This study compared the oral status and oral microbiota of AD patients and healthy controls.

Sorafenib and lenvatinib are tyrosine kinase inhibitors used in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment. This study investigates how hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection affects their efficacy in HepG2 hepatoma cells.

Time-resolved 3D cine phase-contrast cardiovascular magnetic resonance (4D flow CMR) enables the characterization of blood flow using basic and advanced hemodynamic parameters. However, different confounders, e.g., different field strength, scanner configurations, or sequences, might impact 4D flow CMR measurements. This study aimed to analyze the inter-site reproducibility of 4D flow CMR to determine the influence of said confounders.

Numerous diseases associated with COVID-19 infection and vaccination have been reported, including conditions such as the autoimmune blistering diseases (AIBD) pemphigus and pemphigoid. However, robust evidence supporting these associations is lacking. Objective: To investigate the risk of developing AIBD following COVID-19 infection and vaccination.

The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between the thickness of meconium-stained amniotic fluid (MSAF) and maternal infectious morbidity.