Today, in the 21st century, most people are aware of the term genocide. However, few people are aware that this term only entered the English language in the 1940s, as a result of the dedicated work of a brilliant and successful man who deprived himself of a private family life so that he could be free to fight for his ideas. Although Raphael Lemkin was instrumental in the recognition of genocide by the United Nations, he died too early and was buried with no honor. This paper reviews the life and work of Raphael Lemkin, and his triumph in seeing genocide recognized as a crime.
Background: Transthyretin (TTR), also known as prealbumin, has been suggested as an indicator of protein and nutritional status.
Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the maternal and umbilical cord (UC) TTR in relation to intrauterine growth, and the serum TTR of preterm infants in relation to nutritional status and growth.
Methods: After application of exclusion criteria, 49 preterm infants (mean gestational age and birth-weight 32.9±2.9 weeks and 1822±556 g) were included in the study. Transthyretin was sampled at birth and on days 14, 28 or at discharge with growth parameters and nutritional laboratories.
Results: Mean UC and maternal TTR were positively correlated (8.5±2.4 mg/dL and 20.4±7.0 mg/dL, r=0.31, P=0.07). Umbilical cord TTR was neither an index of maturity nor of intrauterine growth. Umbilical cord TTR was higher in females (9.4±2.6 versus 7.6±1.8 mg/dL, P=0.015). Maternal TTR was lower in twin pregnancies (16.8±4.9 versus 22.5±7.3 mg/dL, P=0.007). Although TTR levels gradually increased over time in correlation with post-menstrual and chronological ages (r=0.24, P=0.011 and r=0.40, P<0.001, respectively), there was no correlation to weight gain (r=0.10, P=0.41), nutritional status, protein intake, or laboratories. The only significant correlations were between TTR and glucose and triglycerides levels (r=0.51, P<0.001 for both).
Conclusions: Although TTR levels increased over time, we could not demonstrate significant correlations between TTR and indices of the nutritional status in preterm infants at birth or during the neonatal course.
Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) gene editing is an innovative and potentially game-changing biotechnology that can potentially reverse DNA mutations in a tissue-specific manner. In addition, CRISPR is being targeted for xenotransplantation, for increasing human longevity, in animal breeding, and in plant science. However, there are many ethical challenges that emerge from CRISPR technology. This article discusses several positions that relate to these ethical challenges from a Jewish legal perspective. In addition, we present several other applications of CRISPR technology that lack a defined Jewish legal precedent and require rabbinical scholars to address and resolve them in the future.
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.
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.
We would like to thank Professor Marshall Lichtman for his letter, his interesting proposal, and using this venue to promote discussion of the topic. Professor Lichtman proposed a numerical calculation for authorship based on the authors’ perceptions of their relative contribution to a scientific publication, an idea also suggested by Jozsef Kovacs. The only limitation imposed by this system is that the total of all authors’ fractional contributions to any one publication equals no more than one. Lichtman’s interesting proposal serves as a disincentive to offer gift authorship to colleagues whose contributions were minimal, if they contributed at all.
This case study describes the successful short-term outcome of staged minimally invasive pectus excavatum correction and endoscopic mitral valve repair in a patient with severe mitral valve regurgitation and pectus excavatum.
The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were elaborated to allow authors of such papers to identify quality articles for inclusion in their scholarly work. However, we have identified several issues that point to an over-reliance on the PRISMA guidelines. Firstly, we question the rigor of implementation by authors and the rigor of verification by peer reviewers and editors, and whether they have screened papers to ensure adherence to the PRISMA guidelines. Secondly, we have identified cases where the PRISMA criteria led to as much as 99.97% of the published literature being ignored, suggesting that valid publications meeting these criteria might be at risk of being ignored. Thirdly, we have noted that exclusion is not only a quantitative problem—it is also a qualitative one, since the screening procedure groups all non-conforming literature into one basket. Fourthly, we have noted that seven copies of the PRISMA guidelines exist. This being the case, which one should be cited? To replace over-reliance on PRISMA screening, we encourage authors, peer reviewers, and editors to publish systematic reviews and meta-analyses that respect the dual criteria of scientific plausibility and diversity of included papers.
Objective: Starvation in early life can cause poor bone health and metabolic aberrations in bone minerals, leading to abnormal bone development. Holocaust survivors have been exposed to starvation and malnutrition before and during World War II. This paper aims to provide the current state of knowledge on the osteoporosis risk in Holocaust survivors and their descendants.
Methods: The PubMed and Scopus databases were searched. Papers that reported original data on the risk of osteoporosis in Holocaust survivors and in their offspring were included in the study.
Results: Ten studies were included in this review. The majority of studies were case-control ones (n=7) versus two self-reported and one longitudinal study. Despite the limited cohort numbers and the small number of studies in the literature, the data showed a potential increased risk of osteoporosis in Holocaust survivors and especially in their descendants.
Conclusions: The review of these studies showed a higher prevalence of osteoporosis among Holocaust survivors and their offspring. Knowledge of the trans-generational inheritance of osteoporosis in the descendants of Holocaust survivors should increase the awareness of primary care health workers on osteoporosis screening and early diagnosis and implementation of preventive measures, including adequate vitamin D and calcium supplementation, and pharmacological treatment.
Background and Objective: Chronic low back pain disability (CLBPD) is a syndrome that includes pain, disability, emotional impairments, and social problems. The study was conducted to examine the effect of an inpatient rehabilitation program on the performance of everyday life tasks (daily activities), and report on pain in CLBPD patients with primary activities of daily living (ADL) deficits.
Methods: In a retrospective cohort study, demographic and clinical data were retrieved from records of inpatients admitted consecutively to the program. Scores of the Spinal Pain Independence Measure (SPIM) and of changes in reported pain levels were used to assess improvement in the performance of daily activities and pain reduction. T-tests were used to assess the significance of score changes. Spearman’s correlations and analysis of variance were used to assess relationships of SPIM gain and affecting factors.
Results: Ninety-nine patients were included. Daily task performance improved in 71 patients (71.7%). The SPIM score increased from 48.7 (SD 16.3) at admission to the rehabilitation program to 57.8 (SD 12.5) at discharge (P<0.001). The SPIM score at admission negatively affected SPIM gain (P<0.001). The SPIM gain was significant for admission SPIM scores of 50 or lower (P<0.05), but differences in SPIM scores were not as noticeable for patients with admission SPIM scores above 50. Relief in pain was reported in 59 patients (59.6%) and was not associated with function.
Conclusions: The multidisciplinary rehabilitation program, which improved function and provided limited pain relief in inpatients with CLBPD primary ADL deficits, can be effective for the most severe CLBPD cases.
