Nitric oxide (NO) is a multifunctional neurotransmitter that plays a major role in neuronal and synaptic functions. S-nitrosylation (SNO), the NO-mediated protein posttransitional modification (PTM), is known to regulate physiological and pathological processes in the brain. However, the physiological role in different neuroanatomical brain regions has not been well investigated. To understand the role of SNO in the brain of juvenile WT mice, we used SNOTRAP technology. We mapped the SNO-proteome in three different neuroanatomical regions: cortex, striatum, and hippocampus. By conducting systems biology analysis, we found that the three brain regions share similar biological processes (BP) including biogenesis and developmental processes. Exclusive and different BP and molecular functions were found for each of the regions. Unraveling the BP and signaling mechanisms of SNO in the cortex, striatum, and hippocampus may help to understand the functional differences between the three regions under physiological conditions.
Abstract. In studies that use subliminal presentations, participants may become aware of stimuli that are intended to remain subliminal. A common solution to this problem is to analyze the results of the group of participants for whom the stimuli remained subliminal. A recent article ( Shanks, 2017 ) argued that this method leads to a regression to the mean artifact, which may account for many of the observed effects. However, conceptual and statistical characteristics of the original publication lead to overestimation of the influence of the artifact. Using simulations, we demonstrate that this overestimation leads to the mistaken conclusion that regression to the mean accounts for nonconscious effects. We conclude by briefly outlining a new description of the influence of the artifact and how it should be statistically addressed.
Background: Youth exposure to community violence (ECV) in the Palestinian society is an alarming problem. Yet, there is serious scarcity of research on its mental health consequences. Objectives: The study examined the relationships between youth ECV and internalizing and externalizing symptoms as well as the moderating and mediating effects of gender and support from family and teachers on these relationships. Participants, Setting, and Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among a systematic random sample of 1930 Palestinian junior and senior high school pupils (912 boys, 1018 girls, aged 12–19-year- old), using a self-administered questionnaire. Results: The results revealed that the more Palestinian youth were exposed to community violence (CV) the more they demonstrated internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Palestinian boys who were victims of CV reported higher levels of externalizing symptoms, while girls reported higher levels of internalizing symptoms. Adolescents with higher levels of family support and teacher support reported lower levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms. We have also found that gender can moderate the effects of CV victimization on internalizing symptoms and that family support can mediates the relationship between CV victimization and internalizing symptoms and moderate the relationships between ECV (both victimization and witnessing) and externalizing symptoms. Conclusions: The moderating and mediating effects of gender and social support on the relationship between ECV and mental health consequences are discussed. The implications of the results for future research and for prevention and intervention as well as the strengths and limitations of the study are also discussed.
Witnessing or experiencing violence early in childhood is a significant risk factor for later perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) by men against women. Despite a large body of research on the topic, there is a need for more specific information about how differing patterns of family violence might pose distinct risks of later mental health problems and violence perpetration. Using a self-administered questionnaire, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among 745 male university students in Israel (age = 21-4
There is no easy answer to the question of whether religiosity promotes or hinders commitment to democracy. Earlier research largely pointed to religiosity as a source of antidemocratic orientations. More recent empirical evidence is less conclusive, however, suggesting that the effect of religiosity on democratic commitment could be positive, negative, or null. We review the existing approaches to the study of religiosity and democratic commitment, focusing on support for the democratic system, political engagement, and political tolerance, by distinguishing accounts that examine a single dimension of religiosity from accounts that adopt a multidimensional approach. We show that multidimensional approaches, while effective in accounting for the effect of religiosity on discrete democratic norms, fall short of accounting for some of the inconsistencies in the literature and in identifying the mechanisms that may be responsible for shaping how religiosity affects endorsement of democratic norms as a whole. To fill this gap, we propose the Religious Motivations and Expressions (REME) model. Applying theories of goal constructs to religion, this model maps associations between three religious expressions (belief, social behavior, and private behavior) and the religious motivations that underly these expressions. We discuss how inconsistent associations between religiosity and elements of democratic commitment can be rendered interpretable once the motivations underlying religious expressions, as well as contextual information, are accounted for. We contend that applying goal constructs to religion is critical for understanding the nature of the religion-democracy nexus.
In recent years, the welfare state literature has been witnessing a religious turn, (re)reminding us the pivotal role of religion in shaping the modern welfare state. Notwithstanding its theoretical importance, this turn has been largely confined to European, North American, and antipodean settings. By drawing upon the historical case of Israeli burial services, this study seeks to make a modest step in closing this theoretical and empirical gap. Specifically, its findings point to the historical role of the Judaism in establishing universal burial services, funded by the state and operated almost exclusively by religious burial societies. Moreover, this policy legacy, which already had its roots in the British Mandate rule, is still at work, even in an era of permanent austerity. These findings problematize mainstream historical observations, which view the Israeli welfare state as a secular project, by suggesting a more nuanced and progressive role for Judaism in its history.
Honey bees live in colonies containing tens of thousands of workers that coordinate their activities to produce efficient colony-level behavior. In free-foraging colonies, nest bees are entrained to the forager daily phase of activity even when experiencing conflicting light-dark illumination regime, but little is known on the cues mediating this potent social synchronization. We monitored locomotor activity in an array of individually caged bees in which we manipulated the contact with neighbour bees. We used circular statistics and coupling function analyses to estimate the degree of social synchronization. We found that young bees in cages connected to cages housing foragers showed stronger rhythms, better synchronization with each other, higher coupling strength, and a phase more similar to that of the foragers compared to similar bees in unconnected cages. These findings suggest that close distance contacts are sufficient for social synchronization or that cage connection facilitated the propagation of time-giving social cues. Coupling strength was higher for bees placed on the same tray compared with bees at a similar distance but on a different tray, consistent with the hypothesis that substrate borne vibrations mediate phase synchronization. Additional manipulation of the contact between cages showed that social synchronization is better among bees in cages connected with tube with a single mesh partition compared to sealed tubes consistent with the notion that volatile cues act additively to substrate borne vibrations. These findings are consistent with self-organization models for social synchronization of activity rhythms and suggest that the circadian system of honey bees evolved remarkable sensitivity to non-photic, non-thermal, time giving entraining cues enabling them to tightly coordinate their behavior in the dark and constant physical environment of their nests.
The use of treated wastewater (TWW) has gained recognition as an alternative source for freshwater irrigation, and is steadily expanding worldwide. Despite the benefits of freshwater conservation and nutrient richness, there is mounting evidence of TWW adverse effects on soil, yield, and the environment. Irrigation using TWW has resulted in soil water repellency, in which preferential flow pathways and uneven soil water and chemical distribution occur. These increase deep water percolation and chemical leaching, which can lead to soil and groundwater pollution. This study was conducted in a commercial citrus orchard grown on sandy-loam soil in central Israel and irrigated with TWW, with the aim of investigating the remediation of these adverse effects, by repeatedly spraying a nonionic surfactant on the soil surface. The surfactant application succeeded to turn the soil wettable, diminishing the preferential flow pathways, and rendering the soil water and dissolved chemicals uniformly distributed. The overall water content in the 0-40 cm layer increased, and deep percolation and chemical leaching substantially decreased. The grapefruit yield increase during the two-year study period increased the water use efficiency. Electrical resistance tomography scans executed during and after irrigation events for two subsequent years revealed that a ``soil memory'' phenomenon has been developed for water repellent soils, where water flow takes place through previously developed preferential flow pathways in such soils. This study demonstrates that recurrent surfactant application enables a continuous use of TWW, while eliminating most of its prejudicial effects.
The inference of functional vegetation traits from remotely sensed signals is key to providing efficient information for multiple plant-based applications and to solve related problems [...]
Hydrophobic carriers were examined for geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol removal from water derived from an aquaculture system. A combination of adsorption and biodegradation was found to underlie the removal of the off-flavor compounds. Adsorption of these compounds by the carriers was unaffected by the presence of organic matter in the water to be treated. A model based on adsorption/desorption and first-order degradation kinetics provided an accurate prediction for experimentally determined 2-methylisoborneol removal rates. Steady removal of geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol as well as nitrate reduction were observed during long-term operation of the plug-flow reactors with water derived from an aquaculture facility. Metagenomic analysis of the microbial community on the carriers during long-term operation of the reactors revealed a predominance of denitrifying bacteria. It was found that geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol led to statistically significant changes in the abundances of 21 contigs that contained genes involved in terpene degradation. This study shows that at low ambient concentrations of geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol in nitrate and organic-rich water, such as found in aquaculture systems, their biodegradation can be accomplished by terpene-degrading denitrifiers that develop on hydrophobic carriers used for filtration of the contaminated water.
Hydrophobic carriers were examined for geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol removal from water derived from an aquaculture system. A combination of adsorption and biodegradation was found to underlie the removal of the off-flavor compounds. Adsorption of these compounds by the carriers was unaffected by the presence of organic matter in the water to be treated. A model based on adsorption/desorption and first-order degradation kinetics provided an accurate prediction for experimentally determined 2-methylisoborneol removal rates. Steady removal of geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol as well as nitrate reduction were observed during long-term operation of the plug-flow reactors with water derived from an aquaculture facility. Metagenomic analysis of the microbial community on the carriers during long-term operation of the reactors revealed a predominance of denitrifying bacteria. It was found that geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol led to statistically significant changes in the abundances of 21 contigs that contained genes involved in terpene degradation. This study shows that at low ambient concentrations of geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol in nitrate and organic-rich water, such as found in aquaculture systems, their biodegradation can be accomplished by terpene-degrading denitrifiers that develop on hydrophobic carriers used for filtration of the contaminated water.
Hydrophobic carriers were examined for geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol removal from water derived from an aquaculture system. A combination of adsorption and biodegradation was found to underlie the removal of the off-flavor compounds. Adsorption of these compounds by the carriers was unaffected by the presence of organic matter in the water to be treated. A model based on adsorption/desorption and first-order degradation kinetics provided an accurate prediction for experimentally determined 2-methylisoborneol removal rates. Steady removal of geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol as well as nitrate reduction were observed during long-term operation of the plug-flow reactors with water derived from an aquaculture facility. Metagenomic analysis of the microbial community on the carriers during long-term operation of the reactors revealed a predominance of denitrifying bacteria. It was found that geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol led to statistically significant changes in the abundances of 21 contigs that contained genes involved in terpene degradation. This study shows that at low ambient concentrations of geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol in nitrate and organic-rich water, such as found in aquaculture systems, their biodegradation can be accomplished by terpene-degrading denitrifiers that develop on hydrophobic carriers used for filtration of the contaminated water.
