Let my people know!: towards a revolution in the teaching of the Hebrew bible

Acquiring knowledge of the Hebrew Bible and comprehension of the language are major aims of the Israeli education system. Yet for most students, it fails on both counts. This article proposes that these failures are closely connected: both are rooted in an erroneous linkage between Biblical Hebrew and the language spoken in modern Israel. Modern Hebrew – or more appropriately: “Israeli” – is a hybrid of Hebrew, Yiddish and other languages. Its grammar is distinct from that of Hebrew, and it has been the mother tongue of most Israeli-born Jews for about a hundred years. There is a fundamental difference between the acquisition and usage of mother tongues and those of any other language. Since Biblical Hebrew is a foreign language for modern Israelis, it ought to be taught as such. Israeli should be acknowledged as a legitimate, distinct tongue.Ghil‘ad Zuckermann, Gitit Holzma

Объективные ограничения по увеличению количества доноров для трансплантации сердца

Cardiac transplantation is an established therapy for end-stage heart failure. The number of heart transplant procedures performed worldwide has remained relatively unchanged in recent years. Although mortality rates on the waiting list have improved due to improved ventricular assist devices and rhythm correction techniques, it remains imperative to maximize use of all potential donor hearts. The recipient now presents with multiple complexities. The continued divergence between the rising number of transplant candidates added to the transplant waiting list and the number of suitable organ donors has increased pressure on clinicians to maximize the use of available thoracic organs for transplantation.Трансплантация сердца признана методом выбора лечения терминальной сердечной недостаточности. В последние годы число таких операций остается неизменным во всем мире. Несмотря на снижение смертности в листе ожидания, благодаря применению различных методов вспомогательного кровообращения остается актуальным максимальное использование всего донорского потенциала. Реципиенты донорского сердца имеют все больше сопутствующей патологии. Сохраняющаяся диспропорция между увеличением числа кандидатов на трансплантацию сердца и количеством доступных органов требует максимального использования торакальных органов для трансплантации

Mechanical coupling in flashing ratchets

We consider the transport of rigid objects with internal structure in a flashing ratchet potential by investigating the overdamped behavior of a rod-like chain of evenly spaced point particles. In 1D, analytical arguments show that the velocity can reverse direction multiple times in response to changing the size of the chain or the temperature of the heat bath. The physical reason is that the effective potential experienced by the mechanically coupled objects can have a different symmetry than that of individual objects. All analytical predictions are confirmed by Brownian dynamics simulations. These results may provide a route to simple, coarse-grained models of molecular motor transport that incorporate an object's size and rotational degrees of freedom into the mechanism of transport.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figure

Evaluation of antigens for the serodiagnosis of kala-azar and oriental sores by means of the indirect immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT)

Antigens and corresponding sera were collected from travellers with leishmaniasis returning to Germany from different endemic areas of the old world. The antigenicity of these Leishmania strains, which were maintained in Syrian hamsters, was compared by indirect immunofluorescence (IFAT). Antigenicity was demonstrated by antibody titres in 18 sera from 11 patients. The amastigotic stages of nine strains of Leishmania donovani and four strains of Leishmania tropica were compared with each other and with the culture forms of insect flagellates (Strigomonas oncopelti and Leptomonas ctenocephali). Eighteen sera from 11 patients were available for antibody determination with these antigens. The maximal antibody titres in a single serum varied considerably depending on which antigen was used for the test. High antibody levels could only be maintained when Leishmania donovani was employed as the antigen, but considerable differences also occurred between the different strains of this species. The other antigens were weaker. No differences in antigenicity between amastigotes and promastigotes of the same strain were observed. It is important to select suitable antigens. Low titres may be of doubtful specificity and are a poor baseline for the fall in titre which is an essential index of effective treatment.Wir sammelten Parasiten und Seren von Reisenden, die aus verschiedenen endemischen Gebieten der Alten Welt mit einer Leishmaniasis nach Deutschland zurückkehrten. Die Antigenaktivitäten der isolierten und fortlaufend in Goldhamstern gehaltenenLeishmania-Stämme wurden im indirekten Immunofluoreszenztest (IFAT) verglichen. Die Antigenität wurde an Hand von Antikörpertitern in 18 Serumproben von 11 Patienten bewiesen. Neun Stämme desLeishmania donovani-Komplexes und vierLeishmania tropica-Isolate wurden in ihrem amastigoten Stadium miteinander verglichen. Hinzu kamen zwei Insekten-Flagellaten als Kulturformen:Strigomonas oncopelti undLeptomonas ctenocephali. 18 Serumproben von 11 Patienten standen für die Antikörperbestimmung mit diesen Antigenen zur Verfügung. Die maximalen Titerhöhen variierten in ein- und derselben antiserumprobe zum Teil erheblich, je nachdem, welches Antigen für den Test benutzt wurde. Hohe Antikörpertiter konnten nur erhalten werden, wennLeishmania donovani als Antigen vorlag, es ergaben sich aber auch zwischen den einzelnen Stämmen dieser Leishmaniaart erhebliche Unterschiede in der Antigenaktivität. Antigene anderer Art erwiesen sich als wenig wirksam. Zwischen amastigoten und promastigoten Entwicklungsformen einesLeishmania donovani-Stammes konnten keine Unterschiede in der Antigenaktivität erkannt werden. Für den Nachweis möglichst hoher Antikörpertiter im IFAT ist die Auswahl geeigneter Antigene von ausschlaggebender Bedeutung. Niedrige Titer erschweren deren Beurteilung als spezifisch und sind eine schlechte Ausgangsposition für die Beobachtung des obligatorischen Titerabfalles nach erfolgreicher Therapie

Phase behavior of pure lipid bilayers with mismatch interactions

Recently Corvera, Laradji, and Zuckermann (unpublished) showed that the multistate lattice model due to Pink, Green, and Chapman [Biochemistry 20, 6692 (1981)] with parameters obtained from fitting to thermodynamic data for saturated phospholipid bilayers does not exhibit a phase transition but could instead be described in terms of short-range fluctuations close to a critical point. We have extended the Pink-Green-Chapman model by including hydrophobic mismatch interactions between the lipid acyl-chain conformational states. We used Monte Carlo techniques to examine the phase behavior of the extended model and found that it exhibits first-order phase transitions above a critical value of the mismatch parameter. The results are discussed in relation to previous theoretical work as well as experimental measurements on lipid bilayers. © 1992 The American Physical Society