פרסומים

The article examines the legacy of British colonial emergency laws through a critical comparison of their transitions into contemporary anti-terror laws in Israel and India. To employ the emergency legislation, colonial bureaucrats classified the population according to the level of their loyalty or threat to the regime. This classification (which Berda calls the "axis of suspicion") blurred the boundaries between "security threat" and political threat. Following independence, in both India and Israel this same institutional logic and these same emergency laws shaped the perception of minorities as alien, hostile and dangerous populations. There was, however, one major difference: In India, the colonial laws were used against citizens, even those from the Hindu majority; in Israel, these same laws were used primarily against Palestinian subjects (even after they were granted formal citizenship). This difference, I argue, can be traced back to the specific form of the legal/bureaucratic mechanism developed in both states to deal with the colonial inheritance. In India, the emergency laws were incorporated into the constitutional framework, while in Israel they remained as a bureaucratic legal toolkit, limiting the scope of legitimacy for state violations of citizens’ rights. The proposed War on Terror bill, which has already successfully passed its first reading in the Knesset, will make the legal situation in Israel parallel to that of India, enabling extensive violations of the civil and political rights of citizens on the basis of identity and political affiliations.

The article examines the legacy of British colonial emergency laws through a critical comparison of their transitions into contemporary anti-terror laws in Israel and India. To employ the emergency legislation, colonial bureaucrats classified the population according to the level of their loyalty or threat to the regime. This classification (which Berda calls the "axis of suspicion") blurred the boundaries between "security threat" and political threat. Following independence, in both India and Israel this same institutional logic and these same emergency laws shaped the perception of minorities as alien, hostile and dangerous populations. There was, however, one major difference: In India, the colonial laws were used against citizens, even those from the Hindu majority; in Israel, these same laws were used primarily against Palestinian subjects (even after they were granted formal citizenship). This difference, I argue, can be traced back to the specific form of the legal/bureaucratic mechanism developed in both states to deal with the colonial inheritance. In India, the emergency laws were incorporated into the constitutional framework, while in Israel they remained as a bureaucratic legal toolkit, limiting the scope of legitimacy for state violations of citizens’ rights. The proposed War on Terror bill, which has already successfully passed its first reading in the Knesset, will make the legal situation in Israel parallel to that of India, enabling extensive violations of the civil and political rights of citizens on the basis of identity and political affiliations.

Mast cells (MCs) and eosinophils (Eos) are the key players in the development of allergic inflammation (AI). Their cross-talk, named the Allergic Effector Unit (AEU), takes place through an array of soluble mediators and ligands/receptors interactions that enhance the functions of both the cells. One of the salient features of the AEU is the CD48/2B4 receptor/ligand binding complex. Furthermore, MCs and Eos have been demonstrated to play a role not only in AI but also in the modulation of its consequence, i.e., fibrosis/tissue remodeling, by directly influencing fibroblasts (FBs), the main target cells of these processes. In turn, FBs can regulate the survival, activity, and phenotype of both MCs and Eos. Therefore, a complex three players, MCs/Eos/FBs interaction, can take place in various stages of AI. The characterization of the soluble and physical mediated cross talk among these three cells might lead to the identification of both better and novel targets for the treatment of allergy and its tissue remodeling consequences.

Nitryl chloride (ClNO2) and nitrosyl chloride (ClNO) are potential sources of highly reactive atmospheric chlorine atoms, hence of much interest, but their formation pathways are unknown. This work predicts production of these nitrogen oxychlorides from ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations of N2O5 or an NO2 dimer on the surface of a thin film of water which is struck by gaseous HCl. Both of these heterogeneous reactions proceed at the liquid/vapor interface by an S(N)2 mechanism where the nucleophile is chloride ion formed from the ionization of HCl on the aqueous surface. The film of water enhances the otherwise very slow gas phase reaction to occur by (1) stabilizing and localizing the adsorbed N2O5 or NO2 dimer so it is physically accessible for reaction, (2) ionizing the impinging HCl, and (3) activating the adsorbed oxide for nucleophilic attack by chloride. Though both nitrogen oxychloride products are produced by S(N)2 reactions, the N2O5 mechanism is unusual in that the electrophilic N atom to be attacked oscillates between the two normally equivalent NO2 groups. Chloride ion is found to react with N2O5 less efficiently than with N2O4. The simulations provide an explanation for this. These substitution/elimination mechanisms are new for NOx/y chemistry on thin water films and cannot be derived from small cluster models.

There are an increasing number of reports on obesity being a key risk factor for the development of colon cancer. Our goal in this study was to explore the metabolic networks and molecular signaling pathways linking obesity, adipose tissue and colon cancer. Using in-vivo experiments, we found that mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) and injected with MC38 colon cancer cells develop significantly larger tumors than their counterparts fed a control diet. In ex-vivo experiments, MC38 and CT26 colon cancer cells exposed to conditioned media (CM) from the adipose tissue of HFD-fed mice demonstrated significantly lower oxygen consumption rate as well as lower maximal oxygen consumption rate after carbonyl cyanide-4-trifluoromethoxy-phenylhydrazone treatment. In addition, in-vitro assays showed downregulated expression of mitochondrial genes in colon cancer cells exposed to CM prepared from the visceral fat of HFD-fed mice or to leptin. Interestingly, leptin levels detected in the media of adipose tissue explants co-cultured with MC38 cancer cells were higher than in adipose tissue explants cultures, indicating cross talk between the adipose tissue and the cancer cells. Salient findings of the present study demonstrate that this crosstalk is mediated at least partially by the JNK/STAT3-signaling pathway.

Amblyopia is a deficit in vision that arises from abnormal visual experience early in life. It was long thought to develop into a permanent deficit, unless properly treated before the end of the sensitive period for visual recovery. However, a number of studies now suggest that adults with long-standing amblyopia may at least partially recover visual acuity and stereopsis following perceptual training. Eliminating or reducing interocular suppression has been hypothesized to be at the root of these changes. Here we show that playing a novel dichoptic video game indeed results in reduced suppression, improved visual acuity and, in some cases, improved stereopsis. Our relatively large cohort of adults with amblyopia, allowed us, for the first time, to assess the link between visual function recovery and reduction in suppression. Surprisingly, no significant correlation was found between decreased suppression and improved visual function. This finding challenges the prevailing view and su

We have previously introduced an easy to perform, cost-effective and highly efficient acetylation technique for solid phase synthesis (SPPS). Malonic acid is used as a precursor and the reaction proceeds via a reactive ketene that acetylates the target amine. Here we present a detailed mechanistic study of the malonic acid-mediated acylation. The influence of reaction conditions, peptide sequence and reagents was systematically studied. Our results show that the methodology can be successfully applied to different types of peptides and nonpeptidic molecules irrespective of their structure, sequence, or conformation. Using alkyl, phenyl, and benzyl malonic acid, we synthesized various acyl peptides with almost quantitative yields. The ketenes obtained from the different malonic acid derived precursors were characterized by in situ (1) H-NMR. The reaction proceeded in short reaction times and resulted in excellent yields when using uronium-based coupling agents, DIPEA as a base, DMF/DMSO/NMP as solvents, Rink amide/Wang/Merrifield resins, temperature of 20°C, pH 8-12 and 5 min preactivation at inert atmosphere. The reaction was unaffected by Lewis acids, transition metal ions, surfactants, or salt. DFT studies support the kinetically favorable concerted mechanism for CO2 and ketene formation that leads to the thermodynamically stable acylated products. We conclude that the malonic acid-mediated acylation is a general method applicable to various target molecules.

Molecular markers allowed breeders to mendelize quantitative trait loci (QTL) providing another demonstration that quantitative traits are governed by the same principles as single qualitative genes. This research extends the QTL analysis to two and three QTL and tests our ability to mendelize an oligogenic trait. In tomato, agricultural yield is determined by the weight of the fruits harvested per unit area and the total soluble solids (% Brix)-sugars and acids. The current study explores the segregation of multiple independent yield-related QTL that were identified and mapped using introgression lines (IL) of Solanum pennellii in cultivated processing tomato (S. lycopersicum). We screened 45 different double and triple IL-QTL combinations for agricultural yield, to identify QTL pyramids that behaved in an additive manner and were suitable substrate for mendelizing an oligogenic trait. A pyramid of three independent QTL that significantly improved Brix(∗)Yield (BXY - the soluble solids output per unit area) compared to M82 was selected. In the progenies of the tri-hybrid we bred using markers a nearly isogenic 'immortalized F2.' While the common mode of QTL-QTL interactions across the 45 IL-QTLs combinations was less than additive, the three QTLs in the selected triple-stack performed in an additive manner which made it an exceptional material for breeding. This study demonstrates that using the phenotypic effect of all 27 possible QTL-alleles combinations it is possible to make reliable predictions about the genotypes that will maximize the yield.

INTRODUCTION: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) of different biological sources are in Phase 1 clinical trials and are being considered for Phase 2 therapy of lung disorders, and lung (progenitor) cells derived from pluripotent stem cells (SCs) are under development in preclinical animal models. SOURCES OF DATA: PubMed.gov and ClinicalTrials.gov. AREAS OF AGREEMENT: There is consensus about the therapeutic potential of transplanted SCs, mainly MSCs, primarily involves paracrine 'bystander' effects that confer protection of the epithelial and endothelial linings of the lung caused by inflammation and/or fibrosis and lead to increased survival in animal models. Clinical trials of Phase 1 indicate safety and suggest that the efficacy of SC therapy in patients with various lung diseases will require a higher dosage than previously evaluated. AREAS OF CONTROVERSY: A growing interest in the re-epithelialization and re-endothelialization of damaged lung tissue involves the putative pulmonary differentiation of exogenous MSCs. Currently, it is not clear whether or not the observed regeneration of distal airways/vasculature is derived from lung-resident and/or transplanted SCs. GROWING POINTS: Important topics under investigation include optimization of the cell source with a decrease in cell population heterogeneity characterized by defined markers, route of delivery for effective treatment, potential dose and therapeutic protocol of SC application, development of quantitative assays and biomarkers of lung disease and repair, and the potential use of tissue engineered lung. AREAS TIMELY FOR DEVELOPING RESEARCH: Ability of MSCs to differentiate into epithelial cells of the lung, use of autologous induced pluripotent SCs (iPSCs) derived from the patients, complete biochemical characterization of the secretome of SCs used for therapy, and the incorporation of simultaneous and/or subsequent treatment with drugs which also aid in lung repair and regeneration. CAUTIONARY NOTE: Although safety of MSC-based cell therapy was proved in Phase 1, efficacy, long-term survival and preservation of lung respiratory function need to be further evaluated, cautioning against hastily translating SCs therapy from animal models of lung injury to clinical trials of patients with lung disorders.

Biomass composition of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii was studied during two consecutive cycles of 12 h light/12 h dark. As in our experimental conditions the two synchronized divisions were separated by 20 h, it was possible to show that accumulation of dry weight, proteins, chlorophyll and fatty acids mainly depends on cell division, whereas starch accumulation depends on a circadian rhythm as reported previously. Our metabolomics analyses also revealed that accumulation of five (Ser, Val, Leu, Ile and Thr) of the nine free amino acids detected displayed rhythmicity, depending on cell division while Glu was 20-50 times more abundant than the other ones probably because this free amino acid serves not only for protein synthesis but also for biosynthesis of nitrogen compounds. In addition, we performed a thermodynamic-motivated theoretical approach known as ‘surprisal analysis’. The results from this analysis showed that cells were close to a steady state all along the 48 h of the experiment. In addition, calculation of free energy of cellular metabolites showed that the transition point, i.e. the state which immediately precedes cell division, corresponds to the most unstable stage of the cell cycle and that division is identified as the greatest drop in the free energy of metabolites. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Before participating in the teachers' workshop, I used to address HOT in my teaching intuitively. But now I realize that doing so without explicitly addressing metacognition means that I had accomplished only a very small part of the job. (a participant in a teachers’ professional development workshop) Since the early days of studying metacognition, metacognitive training and instruction were shown to have positive effects on children's performance in diverse fields. As we shall see in what follows, metacognition has both domain-general and domain-specific features. Therefore, it makes sense to study metacognition in general contexts as well as in the context of specific school disciplines and even in the context of more specific learning goals. Accordingly, the goal of this chapter is to present an overview of the role of metacognition in teaching higher order thinking (HOT) in science classrooms.