פרסומים

Ice-binding proteins (IBPs) are expressed in various organisms for several functions, such as protecting them from freezing and freeze injuries. Via adsorption on ice surfaces, IBPs depress ice growth and recrystallization and affect nucleation and ice shaping. IBPs have shown promise in mitigating ice growth under moderate supercooling conditions, but their functionality under cryogenic conditions has been less explored. In this study, we investigate the impact of two types of antifreeze proteins (AFPs): type III AFP from fish and a hyperactive AFP from an insect, the Tenebrio molitor AFP, in vitrified dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) solutions. We report that these AFPs depress devitrification at −80 °C. Furthermore, in cases where devitrification does occur, AFPs depress ice recrystallization during the warming stage. The data directly demonstrate that AFPs are active at temperatures below the regime of homogeneous nucleation. This research paves the way for exploring AFPs as potential enhancers of cryopreservation techniques, minimizing ice-growth-related damage, and promoting advancements in this vital field.

A novel method is presented for fabricating 3D-printed Cr³⁺-doped α-Al₂O₃ complex structures, known as Ruby, using digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing and sol-gel reactions based on solutions only. The aqueous printing solution comprises aluminum and chromium chloride as the sol-gel precursor and acrylic acid (AA) as the polymerizable component. After photopolymerization, aging, and sintering at 1150°C, structures shrink up to 28±7%, achieving a final printing resolution of 55.7±0.7 μm, surpassing the nominal printer’s resolution of 200 μm. Characterization includes X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, UV-Vis, and fluorescence measurements, revealing crystalline Cr:α-Al₂O₃ composition emitting at 693 nm. The structures exhibit maximum compression stress of 89±3 MPa and microhardness of 340-500 HV, showcasing potential applications in thermal insulation, jewelry, and mechanical uses.

Neurodegenerative diseases are characterised by the formation and accumulation
of protein fibrils. The mechanism underlaying this aggregation process remains
poorly understood. Fibril fragmentation, resulting in seed generation, plays a role in
toxicity. Here we provide a quantitative picture of the impact of ultrasound on
patient-derived and recombinant fibrils from various diseases. Fragmentation of
recombinant Tau fibrils and patient-derived fibrils from Alzheimer’s Disease,
Corticobasal Degeneration and Frontotemporal Dementia generates amyloid and
non-amyloid species. Interestingly, patient-derived fibrils are more susceptible to
ultrasound than artificial fibrils. Understanding fibril fragmentation and the
generation and nature of seeds may provide insights to the molecular mechanism
of the disease progression, contributing to the development therapeutic
approaches.

Tau aggregation into amyloid fibrils is linked to the development of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer Disease. The molecular processes underlying aggregation in disease are poorly understood. Here, we introduce FibrilPaint1 as a tool to measure the size of Tau amyloid fibrils in fluids, from early aggregation stages to mature fibrils. FibrilPaint1 is a 22mer peptide with many exciting properties, which makes it a tool for diagnostics and an attractive start point for developing a class of effective fibril targeting degraders: (i) FibrilPaint1 binds fibrils with nanomolar affinity; (ii) it does also bind to oligomeric precursors, down to a size of only 4 layers; (iii) it does not bind to monomers (KD > 100 microM); (iv) it is fluorescently labelled, which allows monitoring and localising interactions. (v) FibrilPaint1 recognises various Tau fibrils, including patient derived fibrils from Alzheimer, Corticobasal degeneration and Frontotemporal dementia; (vi) FibrilPaint1 is selective for the amyloid state and does not have background binding to amorphous aggregates, blood serum or cell lysate. In combination with Flow Induced Dispersion Analysis (FIDA), a microfluidics technology, we determined the molecular size of amyloid fibrils with sub-microliter sample volumes. This set-up acts as a molecular ruler at layer resolution - we determined Tau fibril length from 4 to 1100 layers in solution. This is an interesting parameter that can be used for diagnostic applications and biochemical research in dementia.

The essay demonstrates the relationship between specific figures of discourse dominant in particular novels and the thematic concerns or plot patterns of each individual novel. The figures discussed are (1) enthymeme, prominent in Laurence Sterne’s Tristram Shandy and important also in Joyce’s Ulysses; (2) hypallage, part of the rhetoric of Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities, reflecting its plot pattern and its cluster of concerns; and (3) blazon, which helps to convey the implied author’s critique of the attitudes of the first-person narrator of Lolita.

This article analyzes Israel’s food security in comparison to other developed countries, using multiple indicators divided into four sections: food availability, food affordability, food quality and safety, and natural resources and resilience. Overall, the state of food security in Israel is better than in most countries, but the threats to food security arising from the triple risk of climate change, international conflicts, and disruptions in global supply chains, require better preparation for the future. Israel’s population growth and the slowdown in the growth rate of its agricultural production, as well as the short-term political desire to reduce prices, are leading the country to increasingly rely on food imports. Such imports expose Israel to even greater global risks, and require the formulation of a risk-management strategy that will balance local production and imports. The global triple risk to food security is currently exacerbated for Israel by the risk of shortage of labor due to the security situation, making this risk-management strategy even more necessary. This calls for the establishment of a governmental authority to oversee the formulation of a long-term food-security strategy, to break it down into feasible objectives and policy measures, and to supervise their implementation. Most importantly, in order to maintain and perhaps even enhance the productive capacity of the agricultural sector, the government must reinstall trust between farmers and the state by establishing a stable long-term policy environment.

This study delves into the intricate process of reanalysis, wherein linguistic expressions undergo grammatical or semantic changes, or sometimes both. The primary objective of this study is to explore the theoretical aspects surrounding historical changes of this nature. To facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the topic, we provide a formal description of reanalysis as an analytical tool. Our formal description allows for the differentiation of various change scenarios, enabling us to identify distinct types of shifts from one analysis to another. This approach not only focuses on what has been reanalyzed, be it the morphology, syntax or the semantics, but also emphasizes the interplay between all three linguistic modules (Form, Grammar, and Meaning) and their relationships. This holistic perspective enables a systematic examination of the significance of what remains constant at both points in time during the reanalysis process. The key insight arising from this analysis leads us to propose and substantiate the Early Semantic Stability Hypothesis. This hypothesis posits that the truth-conditional semantics of the original proposition remain unchanged throughout reanalysis, either in all contexts or in specific "bridging contexts" where the reanalysis occurs. To demonstrate these phenomena, we present a compelling test case, focusing on the development of the counterfactual conditional marker ʾilmale in Hebrew and Aramaic. Through a detailed examination of the syntactic and semantic reanalyses it underwent, we observe the emergence of unique semantic features. By adopting a formal semantic perspective, we address fundamental questions such as the level of ambiguity required for reanalysis to take place, the potential existence of universal constraints on reanalysis, and potential motivations driving these linguistic changes. This investigation provides valuable insights into the intricate mechanisms at play during reanalysis and contributes to the broader understanding of linguistic evolution and development.

Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems (EBUSs) host equatorward wind-driven near-surface currents overlying poleward subsurface undercurrents. Various previous theories for these undercurrents have emphasized the role of poleward alongshore pressure gradient forces (APF). Energetic mesoscale variability may also serve to accelerate undercurrents via mesoscale stirring of the potential vorticity gradient imposed by the continental slope. However, it remains unclear whether this eddy rectification mechanism contributes substantially to driving poleward undercurrents in EBUS. This study isolates the influence of eddy rectification on undercurrents via a suite of idealized simulations forced either by alongshore winds, with or without an APF, or by randomly-generated mesoscale eddies. It is found that the simulations develop undercurrents with strengths comparable to those found in nature in both wind-forced and randomly forced experiments. Analysis of the momentum budget reveals that the along-isobath undercurrent flow is accelerated by isopycnal advective eddy momentum fluxes and the APF, and retarded by frictional drag. The undercurrent acceleration may manifest as eddy momentum fluxes or as topographic form stress depending on the coordinate system used to compute the momentum budget, which reconciles these findings with previous work that linked eddy acceleration of the undercurrent to topographic form stress. The leading-order momentum balance motivates a scaling for the strength of the undercurrent that explains most of the variance across the simulations. These findings indicate that eddy rectification is of comparable importance to the APF in driving poleward undercurrents in EBUSs, and motivate further work to diagnose this effect in high-resolution models and observations, and to parameterize it in coarse-resolution ocean/climate models.

This essay claims that shiʿr al-tafʿīla, modern poetry which adheres to one or more of the traditional prosodic feet, witnessed a second ideological turn in the moment leading up to the 1967 defeat. Around 1967, the mixing of meters asserts itself in attempt to grapple with the epistemic rupture in Arabist ideology as keyed to the tafʿīla form. Hybrids emerge in Syria of the mid- to late-1960s, where modernistic nathr was cordoned off from poetic practice at the same time as social and political developments dictated a complex representation of interior struggles, paradoxes, and agonistic uncertainties. The readiness to experiment with metrical hybrids retrospectively highlights the silenced presence of metrical hybridity in Shiʿr magazine (1956–1964), the carrier of the Arabic modernist project. The poets of Shiʿr programmatically elided metrical thinking out of ideological considerations, and this paper wishes to rehabilitate prosody in the Arabic modernist legacy.

 

In post-conflict societies, traumatic experiences can have a profound effect on electoral behaviour. In Northern Ireland, Westminster elections between 2001 and 2017 were marked by the rise of hardline parties, but the 2019 election saw a significant shift towards the centre. The centre ground vote soared, resulting in the lowest level of political polarisation since the early 2000s. What are the factors underlying this transition to a moderate vote? Drawing on public opinion surveys and electoral data, we find that Brexit played a crucial role in incentivising voters to support parties prioritising non-sectarian constitutional interests. The findings suggest that voters employ party competition as a balancing mechanism. Our article contributes to the understanding of how individuals in post-conflict societies navigate the complex relationship between violence, politics, and peacebuilding.