Israel in Bureaus of Jewish Education

A report on the track record of bureaus in Israel education, and recommendations for partnerships with other community organizations to allow BJEs to be successful in intensifying, disseminating, and improving Israel education throughout North America

Is the Endangered Species Act Endangering Species?

We develop theory and present a suite of theoretically consistent empirical measures to explore the extent to which market intervention inadvertently alters resource allocation in a sequentialmove principal/agent game. We showcase our approach empirically by exploring the extent to which the U.S. Endangered Species Act has altered land development patterns. We report evidence indicating significant acceleration of development directly after each of several events deemed likely to raise fears among owners of habitat land. Our preferred estimate suggests an overall acceleration of land development by roughly one year. We also find from complementary hedonic regression models that habitat parcels declined in value when the habitat map was published, which is consistent with our estimates of the degree of preemption. These results have clear implications for policymakers, who continue to discuss alternative regulatory frameworks for species preservation. More generally, our modeling strategies can be widely applied -- from any particular economic environment that has a sequential-move nature to the narrower case of the political economy of regulation.

Deformation of the stem of containerized black spruce seedlings

When containerized black spruce seedlings (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) are grown rapidly, they often bend over, grow horizontally and become deformed. This phenomenon, commonly referred to as spiralization, has had a severe impact on the containerized seedling industry in Quebec, particularly for producers using heated greenhouses. Research programs at Universite Laval and the Universite du Quebec a Chicoutimi have attempted to determine causes as well as possible solutions. The physiological basis of stem spiralization appears to be associated with a redubed capacity of root systems to convert the amino acid, phenylalanine, into lignin precursors that will permit the stem to lignify in a normal manner. High light levels together with an aerobic root environment were found to stimulate lignin synthesis in black spruce. The development cf spiralized stems was found to result from the sum total of a series of relatively small bending movements as well as minor corrective movements (i.e. 0-15°) measured every 2 to 3 days but integrated over the production cycle. A direct relationship was found between the maximal angle of bending and the risk that the seedling would have a significant defect at the end of the production cycle. A seedling which bent at more than 90° from the vertical at any time nearly always was classified as a defective seedling at the end of the production period. Vector analyses of seedling movements indicated that seedlings tended to move in the direction of the dominant light source. Le gauchissement de la tige est un défaut de croissance, provenant d'une verse partielle ou complète du semis pendant sa phase de croissance exponentielle. Cette déformation se retrouve principalement sur les semis d'épinette noire (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) en récipients, produits en serre pendant l'hiver. Le gauchissement de la tige entraîne des pertes importantes pour l'industrie du plant en récipient au Québec. Les travaux de recherche effectués a l'Université Laval et a l'Université du Québec a Chicoutimi ont démontré que le gauchissement de la tige était associé a la diminution du taux de transformation d'un acide aminé, le phénylalanine, en un composé qui est un précurseur de la lignine. De plus, il a été démontré que la combinaison des traitements de forte intensité lumineuse et d'oxygénation du substrat racinaire augmentait la lignification des semis d'épinette noire. La mesure de Tangle et de l'orientation de la tige, tous les 2 à 3 jours pendant la période de production, a démontre que le gauchissement de la tige résultait dune sommation de mouvements de faible amplitude (i.e. 0-15°). L'angle de la tige à la fin de la période de production était corrélé avec l'angle maximal atteint par le semis pendant sa croissance. Ainsi, un semis ayant atteint un angle supérieur à 90° pendant sa croissance était presque toujours classé inacceptable pour le reboisement, avec un angle de la tige supérieur a 15° à la fin de la période de production. L'analyse vectorielle des mouvements du plant a démontré que l'orientation de la source lumineuse dominante avait un effet significatif sur l'orientation des mouvements de la tige

Deformation of the stem of containerized black spruce seedlings

When containerized black spruce seedlings (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) are grown rapidly, they often bend over, grow horizontally and become deformed. This phenomenon, commonly referred to as spiralization, has had a severe impact on the containerized seedling industry in Quebec, particularly for producers using heated greenhouses. Research programs at Universite Laval and the Universite du Quebec a Chicoutimi have attempted to determine causes as well as possible solutions. The physiological basis of stem spiralization appears to be associated with a redubed capacity of root systems to convert the amino acid, phenylalanine, into lignin precursors that will permit the stem to lignify in a normal manner. High light levels together with an aerobic root environment were found to stimulate lignin synthesis in black spruce. The development cf spiralized stems was found to result from the sum total of a series of relatively small bending movements as well as minor corrective movements (i.e. 0-15°) measured every 2 to 3 days but integrated over the production cycle. A direct relationship was found between the maximal angle of bending and the risk that the seedling would have a significant defect at the end of the production cycle. A seedling which bent at more than 90° from the vertical at any time nearly always was classified as a defective seedling at the end of the production period. Vector analyses of seedling movements indicated that seedlings tended to move in the direction of the dominant light source. Le gauchissement de la tige est un défaut de croissance, provenant d'une verse partielle ou complète du semis pendant sa phase de croissance exponentielle. Cette déformation se retrouve principalement sur les semis d'épinette noire (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) en récipients, produits en serre pendant l'hiver. Le gauchissement de la tige entraîne des pertes importantes pour l'industrie du plant en récipient au Québec. Les travaux de recherche effectués a l'Université Laval et a l'Université du Québec a Chicoutimi ont démontré que le gauchissement de la tige était associé a la diminution du taux de transformation d'un acide aminé, le phénylalanine, en un composé qui est un précurseur de la lignine. De plus, il a été démontré que la combinaison des traitements de forte intensité lumineuse et d'oxygénation du substrat racinaire augmentait la lignification des semis d'épinette noire. La mesure de Tangle et de l'orientation de la tige, tous les 2 à 3 jours pendant la période de production, a démontre que le gauchissement de la tige résultait dune sommation de mouvements de faible amplitude (i.e. 0-15°). L'angle de la tige à la fin de la période de production était corrélé avec l'angle maximal atteint par le semis pendant sa croissance. Ainsi, un semis ayant atteint un angle supérieur à 90° pendant sa croissance était presque toujours classé inacceptable pour le reboisement, avec un angle de la tige supérieur a 15° à la fin de la période de production. L'analyse vectorielle des mouvements du plant a démontré que l'orientation de la source lumineuse dominante avait un effet significatif sur l'orientation des mouvements de la tige

On Finding a sort of Regular Value of Positive Definite Diagonalized Symmetric Matrices

We claim that given restrictions over multiple Banach Spaces (and usually one Hilbert Space) with a common arbitrary defining variable constant, we can attain a unique numerically ordered regular value of any n-dimensional Sym∗(n, R) with dimension 1 using methods of Optimization. Through this, we hope to assist in constraint based research in infinite dimensions in the field of Differential Geometry. We will, throughout this paper, study the existence and uniqueness of a two variable solution towards a Foundation for this regular value formulation of X ∈ Diagonalized Sym∗(n, R) ⊂ Sym∗(n, R) ⊂ M(n, R), briefly study the equivalence of two formulations that we conjecture under further restrictions on our variable m represent the same Foundation aforementioned, and look over several numerical examples to accompany our study

Measuring eudaimonic and non-eudaimonic goods in the pursuit of the good life: The Riverside Eudaimonia Scale and the Rich & Sexy Well-Being Scale

Well-being science has largely focused on subjective well-being, defined in terms of life satisfaction and positive and negative emotions. However, some philosophical accounts of well-being, like “eudaimonia” accounts, emphasize the attainment of goods, such as having deep social relationships and achieving one’s creative potential. We supplement psychological measures of eudaimonia by developing two self-report measures of well-being informed by the philosophical literature. The Riverside Eudaimonia Scale (RES) was designed to measure people’s perceptions of their eudaimonic well-being along several dimensions emphasized in the philosophical literature on eudaimonia. The Rich & Sexy Well-Being Scale (RSWBS) was designed to measure people’s perceptions of their attainment of other commonly valued goods that have received less attention in the literature on eudaimonic well-being: sex life, wealth, personal physical beauty, and social status. In three studies, we develop and validate these scales

Applicability of the bulk-transfer approach to estimate evapotranspiration from boreal peatlands

In northern landscapes, peatlands are widespread and their hydrological processes are complex. Furthermore, they are typically remote, limiting the amount and accuracy of in situ measurements. This is especially the case for evapotranspiration ET, which strongly influences watershed hydrology. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the validity of the bulk-transfer approach to estimate ET over boreal peatlands. The simplicity of the model relies on four assumptions: (i) near-neutral atmospheric conditions; (ii) wet surface; (iii) constant momentum roughness length depending on vegetation height; and (iv) constant water vapor roughness length, with the last two assumptions implying a constant water vapor transfer coefficient CE. Using eddy covariance data from three Canadian peatlands—Necopastic (James Bay, Québec), Mer Bleue (Ottawa, Ontario), and Western Peatland (Athabasca, Alberta)—this paper shows that these sites are characterized by frequent occurrences of near-neutral atmospheric conditions, especially the Necopastic site, with nearly 76% of the 30-min data segments occurring under near-neutral stratification. The analysis suggests these near-neutral conditions occur as a result of strong mechanical turbulence and weak buoyancy effects. The bulk-transfer approach gives promising results for 30-min and daily ET in terms of mean error and correlation, with performances similar to the Penman equation, without requiring net radiation data. The accuracy of the approach is likely related to the number of near-neutral periods and the elevated position of the water table, which backs up the wet surface assumption

Smartphone-based, rapid, wide-field fundus photography for diagnosis of pediatric retinal diseases

PurposeAn important, unmet clinical need is for cost-effective, reliable, easy-to-use, and portable retinal photography to evaluate preventable causes of vision loss in children. This study presents the feasibility of a novel smartphone-based retinal imaging device tailored to imaging the pediatric fundus.MethodsSeveral modifications for children were made to our previous device, including a child-friendly 3D printed housing of animals, attention-grabbing targets, enhanced image stitching, and video-recording capabilities. Retinal photographs were obtained in children undergoing routine dilated eye examination. Experienced masked retina-specialist graders determined photograph quality and made diagnoses based on the images, which were compared to the treating clinician's diagnosis.ResultsDilated fundus photographs were acquired in 43 patients with a mean age of 6.7 years. The diagnoses included retinoblastoma, Coats' disease, commotio retinae, and optic nerve hypoplasia, among others. Mean time to acquire five standard photographs totaling 90-degree field of vision was 2.3 ± 1.1 minutes. Patients rated their experience of image acquisition favorably, with a Likert score of 4.6 ± 0.8 out of 5. There was 96% agreement between image-based diagnosis and the treating clinician's diagnosis.ConclusionsWe report a handheld smartphone-based device with modifications tailored for wide-field fundus photography in pediatric patients that can rapidly acquire fundus photos while being well-tolerated.Translational relevanceAdvances in handheld smartphone-based fundus photography devices decrease the technical barrier for image acquisition in children and may potentially increase access to ophthalmic care in communities with limited resources