The Joles Jewish Hospital in Haarlem (a small city in the Netherlands) was established in 1930 to provide a Jewish milieu for local patients. Mozes Joles, a wealthy Jewish businessman, bequeathed his fortune to the Haarlem Jewish community to accomplish this objective, and its spiritual leader, Rabbi Simon Philip de Vries, was the driving force in successfully achieving this goal. The Joles Hospital was forcibly closed by the Nazis in 1943, and the postwar leadership of the Haarlem Jewish community decided not to reopen it. Instead, they used the Joles inheritance to build old age homes in both Haifa, Israel, and Haarlem, thus ensuring a Jewish environment for elderly care in both locales. The realization of one man’s charitable act bettered the lives of both ill and elderly individuals.
Background: Blunt traumatic brain injury (bTBI) and uncontrolled hemorrhagic shock (UCHS) are common causes of mortality in polytrauma. We studied the influence of fresh frozen plasma (FFP) resuscitation in a rat model with both bTBI and UCHS before achieving hemorrhage control.
Methods: The bTBI was induced by an external weight drop (200 g) onto the bare skull of anesthetized male Lewis (Lew/SdNHsd) rats; UCHS was induced by resection of two-thirds of the rats’ tails. Fifteen minutes following trauma, bTBI+UCHS rats underwent resuscitation with FFP or lactated Ringer’s solution (LR). Eight groups were evaluated: (1) Sham; (2) bTBI; (3) UCHS; (4) UCHS+FFP; (5) UCHS+LR; (6) bTBI+UCHS; (7) bTBI+UCHS+FFP; and (8) bTBI+UCHS+LR. Bleeding volume, hematocrit, lactate, mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate, and mortality were measured.
Results: The study included 97 rats that survived the immediate trauma. Mean blood loss up to the start of resuscitation was similar among UCHS only and bTBI+UCHS rats (P=0.361). Following resuscitation, bleeding was more extensive in bTBI+UCHS+FFP rats (5.2 mL, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.7, 6.6) than in bTBI+UCHS+LR rats (2.5 mL, 95% CI 1.2, 3.8) and bTBI+UCHS rats (1.9 mL, 95% CI -0.2, 3.9) (P=0.005). Similarly, non-significant increases in blood loss were observed in UCHS+FFP rats (P=0.254). Overall mortality increased if bleeding was above 4.5 mL (92.3% versus 8%; P<0.001). Mortality was 83.3% (10/12) in bTBI+UCHS+FFP rats, 41.7% (5/12) in bTBI+UCHS+LR rats, and 64.3% (9/14) in bTBI+UCHS rats.
Conclusion: The bTBI did not exacerbate bleeding in rats undergoing UCHS. Compared to LR, FFP resuscitation was associated with a significantly increased blood loss in bTBI+UCHS rats.
Introduction: When authorship disputes arise in academic publishing, research institutions may be asked to investigate the circumstances. We evaluated the association between the prevalence of misattributed authorship and trust in the institution involved.
Methods: We measured trust using a newly validated Opinion on the Institution’s Research and Publication Values (OIRPV) scale (range 1–4). Mayer and Davies’ Organizational Trust for Management Instrument served as control. Association between publication misconduct, gender, institution type, policies, and OIRPV-derived Trust Scores were evaluated.
Results: A total of 197 responses were analyzed. Increased reporting of authorship misconduct, such as gift authorship, author displacement within the authors’ order on the byline, and ghost authorship, were associated with low Trust Scores (P<0.001). Respondents from institutions whose administration had made known (declared or published) their policy on authorship in academic publications awarded the highest Trust Scores (median 3.06, interquartile range 2.25 to 3.56). Only 17.8% favored their administration as the best authority to investigate authorship dispute honestly. Of those who did not list the administration as their preferred option for resolving disputes, 58.6% (95/162) provided a Trust Score <2.5, which conveys mistrust in the institution.
Conclusions: Increased reporting of publication misconducts such as gift authorship, author displacement within the order of the authors’ byline, and ghost authorship was associated with lower Trust Scores in the research institutions. Institutions that made their policies known were awarded the highest Trust Scores. Our results question whether the research institutions’ administrations are the appropriate authority for clarifying author disputes in all cases.
Background: Human papillomavirus HPV is considered to be responsible for 95% of virus-related cancers in many organs. Oropharyngeal carcinoma (OC) is distinguished by the transformation of the healthy epithelium into precancerous cells.
Aim: The current study sought to examine the uneven gene expression of 20 genes among those scanned by microarray for oropharyngeal cancer patients.
Materials and Methods: GSE56142 dataset was extracted from the GEO in NCBI. 24 specimens were evaluated. Gene Ontology (GO), KEGG, and the protein-protein interaction (PPI) were used to depict the biological roles of the genes under investigation using types of software.
Results: Six genes out of 20 in invasive patients had a binding correlation with high expression (PDGFRS, COL6A3, COL1A1, COL3A1, COL2A1, and COL4A1), and only two genes with low expression (CRCT1 and KRT78). The expression levels of 20 genes were examined between patients with OC and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The correlation coefficient between highly expressed genes was statistically significant at the p < 0.05 level.
Conclusions: It is crucial to evaluate the high expression of particular genes as diagnostic tumor markers, particularly in the early stages.
Meir Dvorjetski was a Holocaust survivor, teacher, and historian. He is best remembered for his descriptions of the medicine practiced by the Nazis during World War II, as well as the diseases, disorders, syndromes, and deaths resulting from such practice—particularly, though not solely, on the Jewish race. Dvorjetski’s contributions to Holocaust research at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, his underground partisan work, his contributions to society, and his testimony at the Eichmann trial have all been well documented. However, his earlier years—including his survival of the Holocaust, and his less-known medical achievements and contributions to historical records regarding the Holocaust—have not been covered as thoroughly. These latter items are the focus of this paper, with a closing commentary on the relevance of his work for the 21st century.
Movement disorders associated with donepezil have been only rarely reported. Herein, we describe an older woman who developed myoclonus secondary to donepezil. A 61-year-old female presented with brief involuntary twitching. The patient reported that she consulted a general practitioner about 1 month before due to memory complaints. A diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment was made. Donepezil was started. After 4 weeks, she presented to our emergency department due to significant twitching. Multifocal myoclonus was observed. These movements occurred during rest and voluntary movement. Laboratory exams and cerebrospinal fluid analysis were normal. A cranial computed tomography and brain magnetic resonance imaging were unremarkable. Electroencephalography did not show epileptic activity. Electromyography revealed burst durations varying between 50 and 100 ms. Diazepam intravenous was started, which improved her abnormal movement within 1 hour. On the next day, she developed the same clinical symptoms of presentation. Donepezil was discontinued, and clonazepam was started. The patient had a complete recovery from her myoclonus. To the authors’ knowledge, there are six reports of myoclonus secondary to donepezil/galantamine. There is no report of rivastigmine-induced myoclonus. The most frequent presentation was multifocal myoclonus. The management was the discontinuation of the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. All the individuals recovered within 3 weeks.
Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is the most commonly performed and studied major cardiac operation worldwide. An understanding of the evolution of CABG, including the early days of cardiac surgery, the first bypass operation, continuous improvements in techniques, and streamlining of the operation, is important to inform current trends and future innovations. This article will examine how CABG evolved—from techniques to conduits – describing current trends in the field and exploring what lies on the horizon for the future of CABG.
In their article “Authorship Disputes in Scholarly Biomedical Publications and Trust in the Research Institution” in the July 2023 issue of RMMJ, Ashkenazi and Olsha examined the association between the prevalence of misattributed authorship and trust in the institution analyzing misconduct in their scholarly publications. The authors, appropriately, include “gift authorship” as one of the three principal deviations from appropriate authorship choices that they examined. In essence, gift or honorary authorship is listing an author on a scholarly publication for which that person’s contribution did not justify assigning authorship. This behavior has become commonplace.
Xenotransplantation represents a viable solution to meet the great need to provide organ donors at a time when there are not enough human organ donors. A lot of clinical studies have focused on using genetically engineered pigs as the prime source for organ transplantation. However, several religions, such as Judaism and Islam, have restrictions on the use of pigs for food or in business. In this article, we review the Jewish perspectives on xenotransplantation. Overall, the preservation of human life trumps most of the potential religious concerns associated with xenotransplantation. However, there are religious nuances related to xenotransplantation that are highlighted here, and that must be addressed by rabbinical scholars.
Rheumatoid diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and fibromyalgia, are characterized by progressive inflammation in the musculoskeletal system, predominantly affecting the joints and leading to cartilage and bone damage. The resulting pain and ongoing degradation of the musculoskeletal system contribute to reduced physical activity, ultimately impacting quality of life and imposing a substantial socioeconomic burden. Unfortunately, current therapeutics have limited efficacy in slowing disease progression and managing pain. Thus, the development of novel and alternative therapies is imperative. Cannabinoids possess beneficial properties as potential treatments for rheumatoid diseases due to their anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. Preclinical studies have demonstrated promising results in halting disease progression and relieving pain. However, there is a scarcity of patient clinical studies, and the available data show mixed results. Consequently, there are currently no established clinical recommendations regarding the utilization of cannabis for treating rheumatoid diseases. In this review, we aim to explore the concept of cannabis use for rheumatoid diseases, including potential adverse effects. We will provide an overview of the data obtained from preclinical and clinical trials and from retrospective studies on the efficacy and safety of cannabis in the treatment of rheumatoid diseases.
