פרסומים

With conventional poling techniques of pyroelectric crystals, the thickness of the periodically poled crystals is typically limited to 0.5&\#x2013;1&\#x00A0;mm. Such a small aperture of the crystal limits the amount of energy/power that this device may deliver. Here we discuss diffusion bonding as an alternative method to achieve a wider periodically poled crystal, with virtually unlimited width. It is shown that the amplified signal preserved a good beam profile despite a possible phase shift between the stitched crystals. This technique may be extended to larger aperture optical parametric amplifiers and allows for high energy output from periodically poled crystals.

This paper examines the effect of party affiliation on an individual’s political views.  To do this, we exploit the party realignment that occurred in the U.S. due to abortion becoming a more prominent and highly partisan issue over time.  We show that abortion was not a highly partisan issue in 1982, but a person’s abortion views in 1982 led many to switch parties over time as the two main parties diverged in their stances on this issue.  We find that voting for a given political party in 1996, due to the individual’s initial views on abortion in 1982, has a substantial effect on a person’s political, social, and economic attitudes in 1997.  These findings are stronger for highly partisan political issues, and are robust to controlling for a host of personal views and characteristics in 1982 and 1997.  As individuals realigned their party affiliation in accordance with their initial abortion views, their other political views followed suit.

הספר עוסק במדיניות החברתית בישראל בשנים 1965-1977 ובבדיקה היסטורית של התהליך שמוכר במדינות רבות: שינוי בסדרי עדיפות שמביא לקיצוצים והתעלמות מבעיות חברתיות. לרוב ההסברים לכך הם דטרמיניסטים: מדינות הרווחה היו אדיבות מדי ולא כלכליות, ונעלמו בגלל אימוץ של גישה כלכלית יותר "מציאותית" ופחות "נאיבית". טיעונים אלה משתלבים עם טיעונים שלאידיאולוגיה אין מקום במערכות פוליטיות מודרניות. ספר זה מציג הסבר אחר: מפלגות עם סדר יום חברתי לא שינו את האידיאולוגיה, אלא איבדו את היכולת להוציאה לפעול בגלל קריסה של המבנה של מפלגות. אפשר גם לומר, שלא סוף האידיאולוגיה הביא להידרדרות של מפלגות וקריסתן אלא שעם קריסה של מפלגות אבדה היכולת לממש סדר יום חברתי. דבר המייחד את ישראל במקרה הזה הוא המכה הקשה שספגה המפלגה השולטת – מפלגת העבודה – בגלל מלחמת יום הכיפורים ואי-יכולתה להגיע להכרעה בעניין עתיד השטחים. מדיניות החוץ המורכבת המשיכה להלום בכל המערכת הפוליטית גם לאחר מכן. מעבר לכך, נטען בספר שאי-אפשר להמשיך את ההפרדה בין המחקר של אידיאולוגיות והמחקר של מוסדות: תרומתו של ספר זה הוא בחשיפת התהליך והקשר בין רעיונות והכלי שמוביל אותם.

This article offers a rhetorical analysis of Deleuze’s concept of the past, understood not as a modification of the present but as a pre-predicative, non-subjective articulation of time. Focusing on the discussion of the three passive syntheses of time in Chapter 2 of Difference and Repetition, it traces the continuity between past, passivity and passion across Deleuze’s body of work in an effort not only to remark on the conceptual resonances between them, but, more importantly, to examine the figural and formal choices that codify those resonances, and to some extent over-determine them – in particular, Deleuze’s recourse to allegory and tragic form. Though the past is constituted as a primordial component of time, it already exceeds itself in the passivity of that constitutive moment, of that originary gesture by which it is first committed to historical experience. The process is rendered in dramatic terms: Habitus and Mnemosyne (Habit and Memory; Present and Past) are first pitted against each other – respectively, as the origin of time and its ground. They are then overthrown by an unnamed third element ‘which subordinates the other two to itself’ and opens the whole to infinity. The article thematises the significance of the past within this allegorical drama, develops the character, and draws out the temporal structures encoded in Deleuze’s figurations.

The genus Solanum comprises three food crops (potato, tomato, and eggplant), which are consumed on daily basis worldwide and also producers of notorious anti-nutritional steroidal glycoalkaloids (SGAs). Hydroxylated SGAs (i.e. leptinines) serve as precursors for leptines that act as defenses against Colorado Potato Beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say), an important pest of potato worldwide. However, SGA hydroxylating enzymes remain unknown. Here, we discover that 2-OXOGLUTARATE-DEPENDENT-DIOXYGENASE (2-ODD) enzymes catalyze SGA-hydroxylation across various Solanum species. In contrast to cultivated potato, Solanum chacoense, a widespread wild potato species, has evolved a 2-ODD enzyme leading to the formation of leptinines. Furthermore, we find a related 2-ODD in tomato that catalyzes the hydroxylation of the bitter α-tomatine to hydroxytomatine, the first committed step in the chemical shift towards downstream ripening-associated non-bitter SGAs (e.g. esculeoside A). This 2-ODD enzyme prevents bitterness in ripe tomato fruit consumed today which otherwise would remain unpleasant in taste and more toxic.

The genus Solanum comprises three food crops (potato, tomato, and eggplant), which are consumed on daily basis worldwide and also producers of notorious anti-nutritional steroidal glycoalkaloids (SGAs). Hydroxylated SGAs (i.e. leptinines) serve as precursors for leptines that act as defenses against Colorado Potato Beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say), an important pest of potato worldwide. However, SGA hydroxylating enzymes remain unknown. Here, we discover that 2-OXOGLUTARATE-DEPENDENT-DIOXYGENASE (2-ODD) enzymes catalyze SGA-hydroxylation across various Solanum species. In contrast to cultivated potato, Solanum chacoense, a widespread wild potato species, has evolved a 2-ODD enzyme leading to the formation of leptinines. Furthermore, we find a related 2-ODD in tomato that catalyzes the hydroxylation of the bitter α-tomatine to hydroxytomatine, the first committed step in the chemical shift towards downstream ripening-associated non-bitter SGAs (e.g. esculeoside A). This 2-ODD enzyme prevents bitterness in ripe tomato fruit consumed today which otherwise would remain unpleasant in taste and more toxic. © 2019, The Author(s).

The genus Solanum comprises three food crops (potato, tomato, and eggplant), which are consumed on daily basis worldwide and also producers of notorious anti-nutritional steroidal glycoalkaloids (SGAs). Hydroxylated SGAs (i.e. leptinines) serve as precursors for leptines that act as defenses against Colorado Potato Beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say), an important pest of potato worldwide. However, SGA hydroxylating enzymes remain unknown. Here, we discover that 2-OXOGLUTARATE-DEPENDENT-DIOXYGENASE (2-ODD) enzymes catalyze SGA-hydroxylation across various Solanum species. In contrast to cultivated potato, Solanum chacoense, a widespread wild potato species, has evolved a 2-ODD enzyme leading to the formation of leptinines. Furthermore, we find a related 2-ODD in tomato that catalyzes the hydroxylation of the bitter α-tomatine to hydroxytomatine, the first committed step in the chemical shift towards downstream ripening-associated non-bitter SGAs (e.g. esculeoside A). This 2-ODD enzyme prevents bitterness in ripe tomato fruit consumed today which otherwise would remain unpleasant in taste and more toxic. © 2019, The Author(s).

Carbon dynamics in canopy and roots influence whole tree carbon fluxes, but little is known about canopy regulation of tree-root activity. Here, we assess the patterns and dynamics of canopy-root carbon coupling in tropical trees. We used large aeroponics to directly study the root systems of Ceiba pentandra and Khaya anthotheca saplings at different light intensities. In Ceiba, root respiration (R ) co-varied with photosynthesis (A ) in large saplings (3-to-7-m canopy-root axis) at high-light, but showed no consistent pattern at low-light. At medium-light and in small saplings (c. 1-m axis), R tended to decrease transiently towards midday. Proximal roots had higher R and non-structural carbohydrate concentrations than distal roots, but canopy-root coupling was unaffected by root location. In medium-sized Khaya, no R pattern was observed, and in both species, R was unrelated to temperature. The early-afternoon increase in R suggests canopy-root coupling is based on mass flow of newly fixed carbon in the phloem, while the early-morning rise in R with A indicates an additional coupling signal that travels faster than the phloem sap. In large saplings and potentially also in higher trees, light and possibly additional environmental factors control the diurnal patterns of canopy-root coupling, irrespective of root location. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Congenital muscular dystrophy type-1A (Lama2-CMD) and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) result from deficiencies of laminin-α2 and dystrophin proteins, respectively. Although both proteins strengthen the sarcolemma, they are implicated in clinically distinct phenotypes. We used RNA-deep sequencing (RNA-Seq) of dy2J/dy2J, Lama2-CMD mouse model, skeletal muscle at 8 weeks of age to elucidate disease pathophysiology. This study is the first report of dy2J/dy2J model whole transcriptome profile. RNA-Seq of the mdx mouse model of DMD and wild-type (WT) mouse was carried as well in order to enable a novel comparison of dy2J/dy2J to mdx. A large group of shared differentially expressed genes (DEGs) was found in dy2J/dy2J and mdx models (1834 common DEGs, false discovery rate [FDR] < 0.05). Enrichment pathway analysis using ingenuity pathway analysis showed enrichment of inflammation, fibrosis, cellular movement, migration and proliferation of cells, apoptosis and necrosis in both mouse models (P-values 3E-10-9E-37). Via canonical pathway analysis, actin cytoskeleton, integrin, integrin-linked kinase, NF-kB, renin-angiotensin, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and calcium signaling were also enriched and upregulated in both models (FDR < 0.05). Interestingly, significant downregulation of Pax7 was detected in dy2J/dy2J compared to upregulation of this key regeneration gene in mdx mice. Pax3 and Mamstr genes were also downregulated in dy2J/dy2J compared to WT mice. These results may explain the distinct disease course and severity in these models. While the mdx model at that stage shows massive regeneration, the dy2J/dy2J shows progressive dystrophic process. Our data deepen our understanding of the molecular pathophysiology and suggest new targets for additional therapies to upregulate regeneration in Lama2-CMD.

Recombinant monomeric human leptin (hLEP) and its D23L mutant were prepared in Escherichia coli and pegylated at their N-terminus using 20-kDa methoxy pegylated (PEG)-propionylaldehyde. As determined by both SDS-PAGE and size-exclusion chromatography, the pegylated proteins consisted of >90% monopegylated and <10% double-pegylated species. Circular dichroism spectra showed that their secondary structure, characteristic of all four α-helix bundle cytokines, was not affected by either the D23L mutation or pegylation. Because of the D23L mutation, affinity for hLEP receptor increased 25- and 40-fold for the pegylated and nonpegylated mutant, respectively. However, whereas the proliferation-promoting activity in vitro of nonmutated and mutated nonpegylated hLEP was identical, that of the respective pegylated mutant was approximately sixfold higher compared with the pegylated nonmutated hLEP. This difference was also seen in vivo. Both pegylated hLEPs at all doses significantly decreased body weight and food consumption, as compared with the vehicle-treated control. Once-daily administration of pegylated hLEP D23L at doses of 0.1, 0.3, and 1 mg/kg for 14 consecutive days in ob/ob mice resulted in significantly decreased body weight and food consumption as compared with respective pegylated hLEP-treated animals, with the biggest difference observed at 0.1 mg/kg. Repeated administration of either pegylated hLEP D23L or pegylated hLEP significantly decreased blood glucose levels compared with the control before glucose challenge and after oral glucose tolerance test, but with no difference between the two treatments. The pegylated hLEP D23L mutant seems to be a more potent reagent suitable for in vivo studies than the pegylated nonmutated hLEP. © Copyright 2019 Endocrine Society.

Background: Co-translational processes in bacteria are attractive drug targets, but while some processes are essential, others are not. The essentiality of Peptide Deformylase (PDF, def) for vitality of mycobacteria was speculated, but never unequivocally proven. Results: Here we show by targeted deletion experiments that def can only be deleted from M. smegmatis when an additional copy is present; that prior deletion of tRNAfMet-Formyl Transferase (FMT, encoded by fmt) renders def completely dispensable; and that re-introduction of fmt into a Δdef mutant is not possible-constituting a definitive proof for the essentiality of def in mycobacteria. Conclusions: Peptide deformylase is essential in M. smegmatis, but the fact that inactivation of fmt renders the gene completely dispensable, and thus any inhibitor of def useless, casts doubt on the usefulness of PDF as a drug-target in mycobacteria.