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This article examines the well-known story of the mother and her seven sons (II Macc.) in a unique version from thirteenth-century Northern France as it appears in an Oxford manuscript (Bodleian Library Or. 135). Noting its unique features, we compare this version of the story with a wide range of extant parallels from antiquity to the Middle Ages — particularly those of German, Northern French, and North African provenance — situating it within the Ashkenazic cultural milieu. This article seeks to combine historical and literary methodologies, arguing that context is crucial when examining stories and their tellers, in our case to better understand the ways in which Jews, as part of a minority culture, narrated their tales and the ways in which stories helped shape cultural consciousness. We address the textual choices made by the copyist of our manuscript when he chose to deviate from his models in light of the medieval cultural environment. The first part of the article examines these versions. The three most significant changes are: (i) our manuscript’s focus on the mother almost to the total exclusion of the sons; (ii) the expression of deep physical attachment between the mother and her youngest son — who is also the only son to be mentioned in the narrative; and (iii) an expanded epilogue in which some of the burning issues of medieval Jewish life in Christian Europe find unusual expression. The second part of the article discusses these changes in light of both Jewish and Christian medieval culture. The conceptions of motherhood as reflected in Jewish texts are examined, as well as the manner in which this martyrdom story was read in contemporary Christian culture, noting the similarities and differences. In light of our discussion, we suggest that this story can be understood as a bold anti-conversion narrative within Jewish contemporary discussion of exile and conversion.

This article examines the well-known story of the mother and her seven sons (II Macc.) in a unique version from thirteenth-century Northern France as it appears in an Oxford manuscript (Bodleian Library Or. 135). Noting its unique features, we compare this version of the story with a wide range of extant parallels from antiquity to the Middle Ages — particularly those of German, Northern French, and North African provenance — situating it within the Ashkenazic cultural milieu. This article seeks to combine historical and literary methodologies, arguing that context is crucial when examining stories and their tellers, in our case to better understand the ways in which Jews, as part of a minority culture, narrated their tales and the ways in which stories helped shape cultural consciousness. We address the textual choices made by the copyist of our manuscript when he chose to deviate from his models in light of the medieval cultural environment. The first part of the article examines these versions. The three most significant changes are: (i) our manuscript’s focus on the mother almost to the total exclusion of the sons; (ii) the expression of deep physical attachment between the mother and her youngest son — who is also the only son to be mentioned in the narrative; and (iii) an expanded epilogue in which some of the burning issues of medieval Jewish life in Christian Europe find unusual expression. The second part of the article discusses these changes in light of both Jewish and Christian medieval culture. The conceptions of motherhood as reflected in Jewish texts are examined, as well as the manner in which this martyrdom story was read in contemporary Christian culture, noting the similarities and differences. In light of our discussion, we suggest that this story can be understood as a bold anti-conversion narrative within Jewish contemporary discussion of exile and conversion.

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Evidence on the role of phosphatidylcholine (PC) as a membrane permeability enhancer was the driving force in forming new liq. nanosized (modified microemulsions) oral delivery system contg. PC mols. We have demonstrated the feasibility of constructing phase diagrams with a large isotropic regions capable of being fully dild. with water. The microemulsions were stabilized with mixts. composed of PC and nonionic surfactant (polyoxyethylene-40 hydrogenated castor oil, HECO40) and short-chain org. acid as cosurfactant/cosolvent. When propionic acid served as the cosurfactant/cosolvent, the isotropic region was at its max. (ca. 72% of the total phase diagram area). The presence of a blend of PC and HECO40 seems to have synergistic effects, forming an isotropic region comprising 72% of the area of the phase diagram, in comparison to 20 and 50% in systems stabilized by PC and HECO40, alone, resp. The role of the PC mols. in the formation of those microemulsions is demonstrated by comparing three soy lecithins. Lecithin with a high PC content forms larger isotropic regions with more "free diln." lines. Several nonionic surfactants were investigated, yet only HECO40 seems to have a packing parameter suitable for the formation of large isotropic U-type systems. [on SciFinder(R)]

This study applied functional theory, developed for political campaigns in the United States, to six televised debates in Israel and compared debates in both countries. In both countries, acclaims were the most common function, followed by attacks and then defenses. Policy was addressed more often than character. Incumbent candidates in both countries acclaimed significantly more and attacked less than the challengers. Incumbents used past deeds significantly more often to acclaim—and less to attack—than the challengers. The similarities discovered suggest that candidates for elective political office may employ common discursive practices that transcend national borders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This follow-up study examined the current functioning of young adult alumni of a large network of group-homes in Israel. Our aim was to identify factors explaining their current functioning and explore gender differences. Background and in-care experiences were gathered on 143 alumni (64 men and 79 women). One hundred nine of those alumni (51 men and 58 women) agreed to be interviewed. Despite their disadvantaged background prior to entering care, alumni functioned adequately and were in good health. Girls seem to have more positive in-care experiences than boys. A child's academic functioning while in care was a positive predictor for alumni current functioning status. Our study identifies areas of concern such as alumni relative low educational level, and suggests directions for future interventions and longitudinal studies.

Game theory is usually applied to biology through evolutionary games. However, many competitive processes in biology may be better understood by analyzing them on a shorter time-scale than the time-course considered in evolutionary dynamics. Instead of the change in the "fitness" of a player, which is the traditional payoff in evolutionary games, we define the payoff function, tailored to the specific questions addressed. In this work we analyze the developmental competition that arises between motoneurons innervating the same muscle. The "size principle" - a fundamental principle in the organization of the motor system, stating that motoneurons with successively higher activation-threshold innervate successively larger portions of the muscle - emerges as a result of this competition. We define a game, in which motoneurons compete to innervate a maximal number of muscle-fibers. The strategies of the motoneurons are their activation-thresholds. By using a game theoretical approach we succeed to explain the emergence of the size principle and to reconcile seemingly contradictory experimental data on this issue. The evolutionary advantage of properties as the size principle, emerging as a consequence of competition rather than being genetically hardwired, is that it endows the system with adaptation capabilities, such that the outcome may be fine-tuned to fit the environment. In accordance with this idea the present study provides several experimentally-testable predictions regarding the magnitude of the size principle in different muscles.

With the nearly universal ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, children's rights have become a cornerstone of discussions in relation to human rights and human services around the world. Although the concept of children's rights is now broadly established, the meaning of this concept and its significance for policies and programs are apt to vary across nations, cultures, religions, and age groups. With the close proximity of diverse national, ethnic, and religious groups and seemingly omnipresent political conflicts about the meaning of rights among them, the Middle East presents unusual opportunities to understand the effects of such variables on attitudes toward children's rights. Drawing from samples of Jews from Israel, Palestinian Muslims from Israel, and Palestinian Muslims from the Palestinian Authority, surveys were conducted of adolescents, young mothers (mothers of toddlers), middle-aged mothers (mothers of adolescents), and grandmothers. Attitudes toward children's rights were more strongly affected by the respondents' ethnicity and nationality than by their age.