Distribution and habitat characteristics of Naididae and Tubificidae in the inland waters of Israel and the Sinai Peninsula

Nineteen species of Naididae and fourteen species of Tubificidae were found in collections from inland waters in Israel and Sinai. The local distribution patterns of the majority of these species were determined. The ranges of several physical and chemical variables characterizing the habitats of each species were defined. A correlation was found between the distribution patterns of some species and the following variables: salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, current velocities and stability of the habitats.     

Tyrosine protein kinase activity in the DMBA-induced rat mammary tumor: inhibition by quercetin

Tyrosine protein kinase activity was measured in membranes from DMBA-induced mammary tumors, with Angiotensin II as substrate. The apparent Km for the peptide was 3.3 mM. This enzymatic activity is inhibited by Ca+2; Mn+2 can replace Mg+2 with an increase in the Km for ATP from 47 /microM to 172 microM. The enzymatic activity was not affected by cyclic AMP but was inhibited in dose dependent manner by quercetin, a bioflavonoid which is known to inhibit proliferation of malignant cells in vitro.     

Neurochemical asymmetries in the albino rat's cortex, striatum, and nucleus accumbens

The concentrations of dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE), serotonin (5-HT), dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) were measured in the right and left cortex, striatum, and nucleus accumbens of adult Purdue-Wistar rats. There was more DA in the right cortex and accumbens and a greater concentration of NE in the left striatum. There is more 5-HT in the left striatum and right accumbens, more 5-HIAA in the left cortex, as well as a greater 5-HT turnover in the left accumbens. These results are considered in the light of previous findings concerning the relationship of neurochemical asymmetries and behavioral lateralization.     

Sea urchin hyalin: appearance and function in development

Embryonic chicken sensory cells from dorsal root ganglia and a clonal line of pheochromocytoma cells (PC-12) extended neuronal-like processes within 24 hr of seeding on a naturally produced, basement membrane-like extracellular matrix (ECM) in the absence of nerve growth factor (NGF). Plating on ECM also induced a rapid cell attachment and flattening of these cells and supported the survival of embryonic sensory cells in primary cultures. Unlike the effect of NGF on PC-12 cells, the ECM-induced morphological differentiation was transient and led to disintegration and degeneration of processes bearing PC-12 cells. The ECM-induced morphological differentiation was not inhibited by anti-NGF antibodies, and the cells retained their ability to bind and internalize NGF in a manner similar to that observed on plastic. PC-12 cell attachment and flattening occurred on dishes coated with collagen type IV in a way similar to that observed on ECM, but precoating the dishes with fibronectin had no effect. Extension of cell processes was not induced by either substrate. Morphological differentiation but not the induction of cell adhesion and flattening was inhibited by either prefixation with glutaraldehyde, oxidation with periodate, or preexposure to concanavalin A of the ECM, suggesting that the ECM and in particular its sugar moieties play an active role in the induction of neurite outgrowth. It is suggested that close contact with the ECM provides chemical or mechanical cues that permit contactmediated elongation and directed growth of both embryonic and regenerating nerve fibers.     

Beyond the state: policing precariousness in South Africa and Palestine/Israel

This short comment on Loïc Wacquant's ‘Marginality, Ethnicity, and Penality’ begins by highlighting three of Wacquant's most important interventions. It then extends the analysis by drawing on research about urban marginality in South Africa and Palestine/Israel. Whereas Wacquant focuses on the state response to urban marginality, I suggest that it is important to look beyond the state to consider how other actors have responded to the growth of precarious populations. Specifically, I point out that private security companies and residents' associations are at the forefront of efforts to police poor black South Africans, while an imperial network of security forces polices the Palestinian precariat.     

Feminist identifications across the ethnic-national divide: Jewish and Palestinian students in Israel

This study explores young Israeli Jewish and Palestinian women’s gender ideology and their readiness to endorse the label ‘feminist’. Using data from a large-scale survey among students in the northern periphery of Israel, we found that feminism has become a source of identification for both Jewish and Palestinian young women in Israel, and that Palestinians are more inclined to endorse the self-label ‘feminist’ than Jews. We also found that each group invests the term with different meanings. Jewish students who identify as feminists tend to hold a relatively egalitarian gender ideology whereas Palestinian students who are more readily inclined to identify as feminists hold a more conservative gender ideology. These findings challenge both the liberal-modernistic perspective that perceives a correlation between feminist saliency and egalitarian gender ideology and the post-colonial perspective’s expectation that women from ethnic/racial minority groups will be disinclined to identify as feminists.     

Das totenritual einer ewe‐gruppe des südöstlichen ghana

This paper addresses some of the complexities surrounding the endeavour to create a protected space for children. Based on an ethnographic account of a kindergarten in a small town in the north of Israel during 2001, it explores notions of vulnerability and danger, protection and exposure, as these found expression in daily life at the kindergarten. The paper describes, and links, two sets of ethnographic data: first, the routine ways in which the teacher constructed the children's bodies as ever vulnerable to harm of all sorts, unless well taken care of; and second, the way in which a suicide bomb attack was presented, and mediated, by the teacher to the children. The paper argues that a close look at these two different stances on death and danger reveals a ‘discourse of vulnerability’ at the kindergarten.     

Seasonal variation in spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage in northern Israel

The incidence of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH) and ischemic stroke vary across seasons. Most studies examining seasonal variation in sICH have been conducted in countries with significant climatic changes across seasons, whereas studies from the Mediterranean region, which has a relatively mild winter, are limited in number and have produced inconsistent results. Further studies from the region are called for, especially from countries where sICH seasonality has not yet been explored. A total of 974 patients with sICH between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2014 were included in this study. The seasonal, monthly and weekday distribution of hospital admissions, in-hospital mortality, length of hospital stay and functional outcome at discharge were examined. We found that most hospital admissions due to sICH occurred in the winter (n = 286, 29%), whereas the fewest admissions occurred in the summer (n = 205, 21%; p = 0.0011). In terms of monthly distribution, most admissions were in January (n = 107, 11%), and the fewest admissions were in September (n = 60, 6%; p = 0.0004). There were no differences in the distribution of sICH between weekdays and weekends. Also, we found no significant weekday or seasonal variations in in-hospital mortality or functional outcome of sICH. Our results suggest that temporal patterns impact the natural course of sICH in northern Israel. The identification of factors, including biological ones, responsible for seasonal variation in regions with mild seasonal changes requires further research but could aid in the design of strategies for preventing sICH.     

Towards a redefinition of Jewish nationalism in Israel? The enigma of Shas

The electoral success of Shas, a mizrahi, religious political party in Israel is analysed with the help of the cultural division of labour model. Mizrahim (Jews originating in Muslim countries) are a semi-peripheral ethnic group in Israel, located between the dominant ashkenazim (Jews of European origin) and the Palestinians. While most mizrahim have been voting Likud for the past twenty-five years, increasingly the poorer among them have been shifting their vote to Shas. The key to Shas's success, where other efforts to organize mizrahi political parties have failed, is its integrative, rather than separatist, ideology. Shas seeks to replace secular Zionism with religious Judaism as the hegemonic ideology in Israeli society, and presents this as the remedy for both the socio-economic and the cultural grievances of its constituency. This integrative message, emphasizing the commonalities between mizrahim and ashkenazim, rather than their differences, is attractive to mizrahim because of their semi-peripheral position in the society.