פרסומים

The efficacy of two dry cow treatment (DCT) regimens for subclinical Staphylococcus aureus mastitis was evaluated in naturally infected dairy cows. At dry-off, cows were assigned to two treatment groups by randomized blocks on the basis of parity and somatic cell count (SCC). Two antibiotic DCT regimens were used, namely: (1) a single intramammary infusion containing sodium nafcillin, procaine benzylpenicillin and dihydrostreptomycin; and (2) systemic cefquinome administered intramuscularly, twice at a 24-h interval. In the intramammary (IMM) treatment group, the S. aureus intramammary infection (IMI) rate was reduced from 40% (56/140 quarters) before dry-off to 20% (28/140) after calving. Seventy per cent (39/56) of the S. aureus-positive quarters were negative after calving, and 13% (11/84) of the negative quarters were positive after calving. In the systemic treatment group, the S. aureus IMI rate increased from 39% (29/74 quarters) before dry-off to 55% (41/74) after calving. Twenty-eight per cent (8/29) of the S. aureus-positive quarters were negative after calving and 45% (20/45) of the negative quarters were positive after calving. The odds ratio of an S. aureus-positive quarter being negative after calving in the IMM group relative to the systemic therapy group was 44.6 (95% confidence interval = 2.1-909.1, P < 0.01). Parity, quarter, milk SCC and N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase were tested in the model, and were found to have no significant effect on S. aureus cure rates or new IMI rates. The IMM treatment resulted in a higher cure rate compared with that observed in previous studies. The very low cure rate after systemic cefquinome treatment was comparable to the spontaneous cure rate observed in untreated controls in previous studies. The unfavourable results of the cefquinome systemic DCT might reflect inadequate pharmacokinetic properties of the drug regarding poor udder penetration in subclinical mastitis and short antimicrobial effect compared with the IMM treatment.

An actor-oriented approach is provided to the construction of political news by looking at the competition over news exposure during political waves in Israel. Among the most important individual traits are charismatic communication skills, political standing and the extent to which the individual can be thematically linked to the wave topic.

Several lines of evidence have established the presence of an association between a 3-Mb deletion in chromosome 22q11 and schizophrenia. In this paper we present a complete high-density SNP scan of this segment using DNA pools, and demonstrate significant association between two distinct regions and schizophrenia in an Ashkenazi Jewish population. One of these regions contains the previously identified COMT gene. The pattern of association and linkage disequilibrium (LD) in the second region suggest that DGCR2, which encodes a putative adhesion receptor protein, is the susceptibility gene. We confirmed the association between DGCR2 and schizophrenia through individual genotyping of 1,400 subjects. In a gene expression analysis the risk allele of a coding SNP associated with schizophrenia was found to be associated with a reduced expression of DGCR2. Interestingly, the expression of DGCR2 was also found to be elevated in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of schizophrenic patients relative to matched controls. This increase is likely to be explained by exposure to antipsychotic drugs. To test that hypothesis, we looked at rats exposed to antipsychotic medication and found significantly elevated levels of DGCR2 transcripts. The genetic and functional evidences here reported suggest a possible role of the DGCR2 gene in the pathology of schizophrenia and also in the therapeutic effects of antipsychotic drugs.

The complexation of Fe(II) and Cu(II) ions by phenanthroline and terpyridine-based Langmuir films was studied by the effect the added ions in the subphase on the isotherms. We found that Cu(II) had a pronounced effect on the isotherm consisting of phenanthroline moieties forming a square-planar 1:2 (Cu(II)/phenanthroline) complex. However, Fe(II) affected the isotherm made of 1:1 phenanthroline/terpyridine amphiphiles as a result of forming a pentacoordinate complex.[on SciFinder (R)]

The complexation of FeII and CuII ions by phenanthroline and terpyridine-based Langmuir films was studied by the effect the added ions in the subphase on the isotherms. We found that CuII had a pronounced effect on the isotherm consisting of phenanthroline moieties forming a square-planar 1:2 (CuII/phenanthroline) complex. However, FeII affected the isotherm made of 1:1 phenanthroline/terpyridine amphiphiles as a result of forming a pentacoordinate complex. [on SciFinder(R)]

Let G = (I,J,g) be a two-person zero-sum game. We examine the two-person zero-sum repeated game G(k,m) in which player 1 and 2 place down finite state automata with k,m states respectively and the payoff is the average per stage payoff when the two automata face off. We are interested in the cases in which player 1 is "smart" in the sense that k is large but player 2 is "much smarter" in the sense that m>>k. Let S(g) be the value of G were the second player is clairvoyant, i.e., would know the player 1's move in advance. The threshold for clairvoyance is shown to occur for m near min(|I|, |J|)^k. For m of roughly that size, in the exponential scale, the value is close to S(g). For m significantly smaller (for some stage payoffs g) the value does not approach S(g).

While the traditional meaning of connected knowledge is valuable in some school subjects, it does not address the main activities of knowledge acquisition in subjects such as physics and mathematics. The goal of this article is to analyze the relationships between the concepts “learning for understanding” and “connected knowledge”, a central theme in feminist epistemology. In learning for understanding, the learner forms multiple, intricate connections among the concepts she is studying in school, between school concepts and her everyday concepts, and between school concepts and their wider context. Viewing connected knowledge as tightly related to understanding has several important implications. It brings connected knowledge into the central learning activities that take place in school science and mathematics, and gives it a high status. It contributes to our understanding of gender-related patterns in thinking; and it may form a unifying theoretical framework for many studies and projects in the field of gender fair education.

In this paper we explore whether the constitutional text has any practical meaning for welfare policy. To examine the empirical importance of the constitution, we first constructed for 68 countries an index of constitutional commitment to social security in five areas: Old Age, disability and survivors (OASDI), Unemployment, Sickness, Work Injury and Income Support. We find that the extent and coverage of social security laws is not sensitive to the degree of constitutional commitment to social security.

We perform quantitative measurements of the actual area of contact, A, formed by two rough solids that are subjected to different normal loading protocols. We show that microscopic motion, induced by Poisson contraction or expansion, produces a strong memory dependence of A on the loading history with a large corresponding influence on the system’s frictional strength. These effects, together with accompanying transient dynamics, are independent of humidity, loading rates, and material contrast across the interface.

This is a methodological and theoretical essay. In the following notes, I wish to present some reflections and raise certain questions on the tensions between terminology, conceptualization and analytic models on the one hand and linguistic reality on the other, focussing on an issue that has never ceased to fascinate me, namely the hierarchy between subtextual units — in particular, the so-called subordination or, more generally, ordination of one unit to another. In the context of Polotsky’s teaching and heritage invoked in this solemn gathering, and for Egyptian and Coptic linguists, first of all, this issue acquires a special significance and piquancy.