Agri-Environmental Policy Measures in Israel: The Potential of Using Market-Oriented Instruments

This paper examines the possibilities of developing agri-environmental policy measures in Israel, focusing on market-oriented instruments. A conceptual framework for developing agri-environmental policy measures is presented, first in very broad lines (mandatory regulations, economic instruments and advisory measures) and subsequently focusing on economic instruments, and specifically, on market-oriented ones. Two criteria of choice between the measures are suggested: their contribution to improving the effectiveness of the policy; and the feasibility of their implementation. This is the framework used for analyzing agri-environmental measures in Israel. Israel currently implements a mix of mandatory regulations, economic instruments and advisory measures to promote the agri-environment. The use of additional economic instruments may improve the effectiveness of the policy. When comparing the effectiveness of various economic measures, we found that the feasibility of implementation of market-oriented instruments is greater, due to the Israeli public’s preference for strengthening market orientation in the agricultural sector. Four market-oriented instruments were practiced in a pilot project conducted in an Israeli rural area. We found that in this case study, the institutional feasibility and acceptance by stakeholders were the major parameters influencing the implementation of the market-oriented instruments, whereas the instruments’ contribution to enhancing the ecological or economic effectiveness were hardly considered by the stakeholders as arguments in favor of their use

Inhibiting α-Synuclein Oligomerization by Stable Cell-Penetrating β-Synuclein Fragments Recovers Phenotype of Parkinson's Disease Model Flies

The intracellular oligomerization of α-synuclein is associated with Parkinson's disease and appears to be an important target for disease-modifying treatment. Yet, to date, there is no specific inhibitor for this aggregation process. Using unbiased systematic peptide array analysis, we indentified molecular interaction domains within the β-synuclein polypeptide that specifically binds α-synuclein. Adding such peptide fragments to α-synuclein significantly reduced both amyloid fibrils and soluble oligomer formation in vitro. A retro-inverso analogue of the best peptide inhibitor was designed to develop the identified molecular recognition module into a drug candidate. While this peptide shows indistinguishable activity as compared to the native peptide, it is stable in mouse serum and penetrates α-synuclein over-expressing cells. The interaction interface between the D-amino acid peptide and α-synuclein was mapped by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy. Finally, administering the retro-inverso peptide to a Drosophila model expressing mutant A53T α-synuclein in the nervous system, resulted in a significant recovery of the behavioral abnormalities of the treated flies and in a significant reduction in α-synuclein accumulation in the brains of the flies. The engineered retro-inverso peptide can serve as a lead for developing a novel class of therapeutic agents to treat Parkinson's disease

Complete Phenotypic Recovery of an Alzheimer's Disease Model by a Quinone-Tryptophan Hybrid Aggregation Inhibitor

The rational design of amyloid oligomer inhibitors is yet an unmet drug development need. Previous studies have identified the role of tryptophan in amyloid recognition, association and inhibition. Furthermore, tryptophan was ranked as the residue with highest amyloidogenic propensity. Other studies have demonstrated that quinones, specifically anthraquinones, can serve as aggregation inhibitors probably due to the dipole interaction of the quinonic ring with aromatic recognition sites within the amyloidogenic proteins. Here, using in vitro, in vivo and in silico tools we describe the synthesis and functional characterization of a rationally designed inhibitor of the Alzheimer's disease-associated β-amyloid. This compound, 1,4-naphthoquinon-2-yl-L-tryptophan (NQTrp), combines the recognition capacities of both quinone and tryptophan moieties and completely inhibited Aβ oligomerization and fibrillization, as well as the cytotoxic effect of Aβ oligomers towards cultured neuronal cell line. Furthermore, when fed to transgenic Alzheimer's disease Drosophila model it prolonged their life span and completely abolished their defective locomotion. Analysis of the brains of these flies showed a significant reduction in oligomeric species of Aβ while immuno-staining of the 3rd instar larval brains showed a significant reduction in Aβ accumulation. Computational studies, as well as NMR and CD spectroscopy provide mechanistic insight into the activity of the compound which is most likely mediated by clamping of the aromatic recognition interface in the central segment of Aβ. Our results demonstrate that interfering with the aromatic core of amyloidogenic peptides is a promising approach for inhibiting various pathogenic species associated with amyloidogenic diseases. The compound NQTrp can serve as a lead for developing a new class of disease modifying drugs for Alzheimer's disease

Students in the wilderness

The relationship between wilderness and design and the landscape architect's role in that environment, was the underpinning theme of a field trip to Stewart Island involving Lincoln students and staff. One of the Lincoln University BLA programme's requirements is for students to participate in at least one field trip during their course of study. These field trips are of value both as an educational and social experience

Modern regionalism

Bruno Gilmour, a landscape architecture student was introduced to critical regionalism philosophy through a design theory paper at Lincoln University. Bruno realised the potential for critical regionalism to bind his project ideas together and justify his design decisions at the various scales in a project focusing on the Whaingaroa-Raglan area

Danish delight

Professor Jorgen Primdahl is a landscape architect, from Copenhagen. He spent nine months in New Zealand from September 2002 to June 2003 as guest of the Landscape Architecture Group at Lincoln University and was funded by the Danish Agricultural Research Council. Primdahl was here to conduct a comparative study of the relationships between agricultural landscape change and public policy interventions

Clean and green but messy: the contested landscape of New Zealand's organic farms

New Zealand's 'Clean and Green' image of nature and landscape has been naturalised into the collective psyche of New Zealanders, and is continually being promoted to tourists and visitors. There is, however, a tension in this vision in the farmed landscape. While 'Clean' refers to un-polluted, pure, pristine landscape, it also has connotations of tidiness. The increasing trend towards organic farming brings an apparent contradiction to this image, as the practices of organic farming do not conform to the general tidy appearance of cultivated landscapes in New Zealand. This paper argues that landscape tastes of New Zealand farmers are underpinned by ideologies, world views and social values and suggests a framework that could provide a context for interpreting some of the meanings embodied in the New Zealand farming landscape

Influence of values on taste

Shelley Egoz's dialogue with conventional and organic farmers confirms landscape types correlate with paradigms. Landscape architects engage in enhancing and creating environments for communities. One of the concerns is aesthetics and the form of the landscape. That form, however, might take on a contrasting meaning to different individuals or communities. Cultural landscapes, whether designed by professional landscape architects or created by others, represent a range of possible ways of life and meanings ascribed to those landscapes. The form of the farmed landscape is thus not only a portrayal of technologies but also displays people's world-views. The exploration of what constructs the aesthetic appreciation of these forms, or landscape tastes, is a pertinent question to landscape architects