Ben-Gurion University Research Articles

Teaching corner: an undergraduate medical education program comprehensively integrating global health and global health ethics as core curricula : student experiences of the medical school for international health in Israel.

The Medical School for International Health (MSIH) was created in 1996 by the Faculty of Health Sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in affiliation with Columbia University's Health Sciences division. It is accredited by the New York State Board of Education. Students complete the first three years of the program on the Ben-Gurion University campus in Be'er-Sheva, Israel, while fourth-year electives are completed mainly in the United States (at Columbia University Medical Center and affiliates as well as other institutions) along with a two-month global health elective at one of numerous sites located around the world (including Canada, Ethiopia, India, Israel, Kenya, Nepal, Peru, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Uganda, the United States, and Vietnam). The unique four-year, American-style curriculum is designed not only to prepare physicians who will be able to work at both an individual and community level but also at both of these levels anywhere in the world. In this way, it combines elements of medical and public health curricula not limited to an American perspective.

Theoretical Models of Generalized Quasispecies.

Theoretical modeling of quasispecies has progressed in several directions. In this chapter, we review the works of Emmanuel Tannenbaum, who, together with Eugene Shakhnovich at Harvard University and later with colleagues and students at Ben-Gurion University in Beersheva, implemented one of the more useful approaches, by progressively setting up various formulations for the quasispecies model and solving them analytically. Our review will focus on these papers that have explored new models, assumed the relevant mathematical approximations, and proceeded to analytically solve for the steady-state solutions and run stochastic simulations . When applicable, these models were related to real-life problems and situations, including changing environments, presence of chemical mutagens, evolution of cancer and tumor cells , mutations in Escherichia coli, stem cells , chromosomal instability (CIN), propagation of antibiotic drug resistance , dynamics of bacteria with plasmids , DNA proofreading mechanisms, and more.

Review of Frisch, Amos, Torn Asunder: The Division of the Kingdom Narrative in the Book of Kings (Beer Sheva: Ben Gurion University Press, 2014).

Review of Frisch, Amos, Torn Asunder: The Division of the Kingdom Narrative in the Book of Kings (Beer Sheva: Ben Gurion University Press, 2014).

The Center for the Study of Conversion and Inter-Religious Dialogue, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

The Center for the Study of Conversion and Inter-Religious Dialogue, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Deep repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of dorsomedial prefrontal cortex improves social relating in autism spectrum disorder

Event Abstract Back to Event Deep repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of dorsomedial prefrontal cortex improves social relating in autism spectrum disorder Peter Enticott1, 2*, Bernadette Fitzgibbon2, Hayley Kennedy2, Sara Arnold2, David Elliot2, Amy Peachey2, Abraham Zangen3 and Paul Fitzgerald2, 4 1 Deakin University, Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Australia 2 Monash University, Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, Australia 3 Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, Israel 4 The Alfred, Department of Psychiatry, Australia Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterised by impairments in social relating. A dominant model of ASD suggests that these social relating impairments are a result of a reduced capacity for theory of mind or mentalising, which itself has been linked to a neural network that includes dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC). As individuals with ASD show reduced activity within dmPFC, we investigated whether modulation of this region with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) would improve social relating and mentalising in adults diagnosed with ASD. In a double-blind, sham-controlled clinical trial, adults with ASD underwent ten 15-minute sessions of high-frequency (5 Hz) deep rTMS to dmPFC over a two week period. Assessments of social relating and mentalising were conducted before the first deep rTMS treatment, immediately after the last deep rTMS treatment, and one-month after the last deep rTMS treatment. Participants in the active deep rTMS condition (n = 15) showed a significant reduction in social relating symptoms from pre-treatment to one-month post-treatment, and also showed lower social relating symptoms compared to those undergoing sham stimulation (n = 13) at both post-treatment assessments. There was also a significant reduction in social anxiety for those in the active deep rTMS condition. Experimental measures of mentalising, however, revealed no group differences. This research provides initial support for the use of non-invasive brain stimulation to improve social aspects of ASD. We are currently examining whether an extended stimulation protocol can yield more pronounced clinical benefits, and whether we can detect changes in glucose metabolism within social cognitive networks following deep rTMS. *This study is published in Brain Stimulation, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1935861X13002994 Keywords: Prefrontal Cortex, Theory of Mind, social cognition, Autism Spectrum Disorder, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation Conference: XII International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON-XII), Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 27 Jul - 31 Jul, 2014. Presentation Type: Poster Topic: Emotional and Social Processes Citation: Enticott P, Fitzgibbon B, Kennedy H, Arnold S, Elliot D, Peachey A, Zangen A and Fitzgerald P (2015). Deep repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of dorsomedial prefrontal cortex improves social relating in autism spectrum disorder. Conference Abstract: XII International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON-XII). doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2015.217.00174 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 19 Feb 2015; Published Online: 24 Apr 2015. * Correspondence: Prof. Peter Enticott, Deakin University, Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, School of Psychology, Burwood, Australia, peter.enticott@deakin.edu.au Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Peter Enticott Bernadette Fitzgibbon Hayley Kennedy Sara Arnold David Elliot Amy Peachey Abraham Zangen Paul Fitzgerald Google Peter Enticott Bernadette Fitzgibbon Hayley Kennedy Sara Arnold David Elliot Amy Peachey Abraham Zangen Paul Fitzgerald Google Scholar Peter Enticott Bernadette Fitzgibbon Hayley Kennedy Sara Arnold David Elliot Amy Peachey Abraham Zangen Paul Fitzgerald PubMed Peter Enticott Bernadette Fitzgibbon Hayley Kennedy Sara Arnold David Elliot Amy Peachey Abraham Zangen Paul Fitzgerald Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

Burrows ventilated by eddy penetration

Just because we aren't burrow dwellers doesn't mean that we can't appreciate the challenges of a subterranean lifestyle. Anyone who has travelled on an underground system cannot have failed to notice the stale atmosphere in the tunnels and it has long been assumed that burrowing species must contend with high concentrations of carbon dioxide in their subterranean lairs. However, a team from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, and ESF-SUNY, USA, suspected that burrow dwellers' homes might be better ventilated than we assume. Inbal Brickner-Braun, Daniel Zucker-Milwerger, Avi Braun, Berry Pinshow, Scott Turner and Pedro Berliner explain that although CO2 levels in the burrows of some rodent species were found to be high, carbon dioxide measurements in the burrows of other rodents were essentially the same as those on the surface. So, the team decided to find out how the burrows of one small species of rodent, Sundevall's jird, are ventilated (p. 4141).The team say that various processes may contribute to the ventilation of burrows. They explain that air might be forced through the tunnels by the inhabitants moving like pistons, moved by convection or diffusion, or driven by air movements at the surface. Intrigued, the team built artificial jird burrow systems to find out whether eddies from the surface could replenish air deep inside a burrow.Improvising with kitchen sieves to build the nest chamber and light-wire mesh for the burrow walls, Brickner-Braun and Zucker-Milwerger constructed two, 2 m long U-shaped tunnels, each of which descended 60 cm down from the surface and was connected to the nest chamber at the deepest point by a short tunnel. Wrapping one burrow in plastic (to seal it and allow air movement along the tunnel by convection alone) and the other in medical gauze (to permit diffusion of gases across the unsealed walls), the team buried the simulated burrows in light soil, and aligned them with the direction of the prevailing wind. Then they waited for windy days to measure the air temperature in the burrow – in the hope of seeing puffs of warm air driven by surface air currents penetrate the tunnel – to find out whether atmospheric turbulence can drive air circulation through subterranean burrows.Analysing the temperature profiles of the burrows, the team saw that eddies from the surface were able to travel deep into the burrows, but they never reached the nest in the most remote regions. However, when the team simulated the presence of a mother with four pups inside the burrows by pumping CO2 into the nest chambers, they could see that air currents at the surface dramatically affected the chamber's CO2 levels. The CO2 concentration in the sealed burrow fell spectacularly from 25,660 ppm (65 times atmospheric CO2 levels) at the lowest wind speeds to ~4000 ppm at wind speeds of 4 m s−1. Meanwhile, in the unsealed burrow with both entrances plugged – so that gases could only leave or enter by diffusion across the burrow walls – the CO2 levels were unaffected by wind speed, remaining between 8600 and 10,400 ppm. However, when both mechanisms of gas exchange were possible, the nest CO2 measurements fell as low as 2800 ppm at the top wind speed of 3.0 m s−1.The team say, ‘The nest chamber seems not to be directly ventilated by eddy penetration’; however, they suspect that fresh air carried into the burrow probably increases the CO2 gradient between the nest and main channel to boost its diffusion away from the chamber and keep the air fresh.

Laparoscopic repair of postbariatric incarcerated diaphragmatic hernia presenting as large bowel obstruction

Laparoscopic repair of postbariatric incarcerated diaphragmatic hernia presenting as large bowel obstruction Moris Batumsky, M.D.*, Boris Yoffe, M.D., F.A.C.S., Oleg Dukhno, M.D. General and Vascular Surgery Department of Barzilai University Medical Center Affiliated with Ben Gurion University of Negev, Ashkelon, Israel Minimal Invasive and Bariatric Surgery Unit of Barzilai University Medical Center Affiliated with Ben Gurion University of Negev, Ashkelon, Israel Received September 26, 2014; accepted November 8, 2014

Building up a chemical proteomics network in Europe and beyond.

ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVIn FocusNEXTBuilding Up a Chemical Proteomics Network in Europe and BeyondMaja Köhn*†, Michael M. Meijler‡, and Markus Kaiser*§View Author Information† European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Genome Biology Unit, Meyerhofstrasse 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany‡ Department of Chemistry and National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er-Sheva 84105, Israel§ University of Duisburg-Essen, Chemical Biology, ZMB, Faculty of Biology, Universitätsstr. 2, 45117 Essen, Germany*Email: [email protected]*Email: [email protected]Cite this: ACS Chem. Biol. 2014, 9, 8, 1647–1648Publication Date (Web):August 15, 2014Publication History Published online15 August 2014Published inissue 15 August 2014https://doi.org/10.1021/cb5005299Copyright © 2014 American Chemical SocietyRIGHTS & PERMISSIONSArticle Views375Altmetric-Citations-LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InReddit Read OnlinePDF (124 KB) Get e-AlertsSUBJECTS:Chemical probes,Immunology,Peptides and proteins,Probes,Proteomics Get e-Alerts

Green synthesis of gold nanoparticles using plant extracts as reducing agents.

Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) were prepared using four different plant extracts as reducing and stabilizing agents. The extracts were obtained from the following plants: Salvia officinalis, Lippia citriodora, Pelargonium graveolens and Punica granatum. The size distributions of the GNPs were measured using three different methods: dynamic light scattering, nanoparticle-tracking analysis and analysis of scanning electron microscopy images. The three methods yielded similar size distributions. Biocompatibility was examined by correlation of L-cell growth in the presence of different amounts of GNPs. All GNPs showed good biocompatibility and good stability for over 3 weeks. Therefore, they can be used for imaging and drug-delivery applications in the human body. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy was used to view the shapes of the larger GNPs, while infrared spectroscopy was employed to characterize the various functional groups in the organic layer that stabilize the particles. Finally, active ingredients in the plant extract that might be involved in the formation of GNPs are proposed, based on experiments with pure antioxidants that are known to exist in that plant.

Correction: Rozenstein, O., et al. Derivation of Land Surface Temperature for Landsat-8 TIRS Using a Split Window Algorithm. Sensors 2014, 14, 5768–5780

We have recently been made aware by a reader of a typo in Equation (4a) of our recent paper [1]. [...]

Psychological Treatment as Part of Dropout Prevention: An Israeli Program

This article reports on the integration of psychotherapy in a comprehensive dropout prevention program developed at the Dean of Students’ office of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. The program’s psychologists conducted psychotherapy with a subset of dropout prevention program participants who had reacted with emotional turmoil to the risk of university dismissal or whose academic status had deteriorated due to emotional problems. Although these psychologically distressed students were presumably more vulnerable than others in the dropout prevention program, with the assistance of psychotherapy their rate of retention matched that of the rest of the program participants. The article includes a detailed case study of one program participant’s psychological treatment.

The modified unified interaction model: incorporation of dose-dependent localised recombination.

The unified interaction model (UNIM) was developed to simulate thermoluminescence (TL) linear/supralinear dose-response and the dependence of the supralinearity on ionisation density, i.e. particle type and energy. Before the development of the UNIM, this behaviour had eluded all types of TL modelling including conduction band/valence band (CB/VB) kinetic models. The dependence of the supralinearity on photon energy was explained in the UNIM as due to the increasing role of geminate (localised recombination) with decreasing photon/electron energy. Recently, the Ben Gurion University group has incorporated the concept of trapping centre/luminescent centre (TC/LC) spatially correlated complexes and localised/delocalised recombination into the CB/VB kinetic modelling of the LiF:Mg,Ti system. Track structure considerations are used to describe the relative population of the TC/LC complexes by an electron-hole or by an electron-only as a function of both photon/electron energy and dose. The latter dependence was not included in the original UNIM formulation, a significant over-simplification that is herein corrected. The modified version, the M-UNIM, is then applied to the simulation of the linear/supralinear dose-response characteristics of composite peak 5 in the TL glow curve of LiF:Mg,Ti at two representative average photon/electron energies of 500 and 8 keV.

O17: A novel method to induce human cortical plasticity using cortical disinhibition

O17: A novel method to induce human cortical plasticity using cortical disinhibition

P368: Association between dysphagia and OSAS in acute stroke patients

P368: Association between dysphagia and OSAS in acute stroke patients

Reducing health disparities: The social role of medical schools

Introduction: Medical education based on the principles of social medicine can contribute toward reducing health disparities through the “creation” of doctors who are more involved in community programs.Purpose: This study compared the social medicine orientation of graduates from various medical schools in Israel.Methods: The authors conducted an online cross-sectional survey in May 2011 among physicians who are graduates of Israeli medical schools.Results: The study included 1050 physicians practicing medicine in Israel: 36% who are graduates from the Hebrew University, 26% from Tel Aviv University, 22% from the Technion and 16% from Ben-Gurion University. A greater percentage of physicians who studied either at the Technion or Ben-Gurion are working or have worked in the periphery (∼50% vs. ∼30% at the Hebrew and Tel Aviv Universities). Among Ben-Gurion graduates, 47% are active in social medicine programs vs. 34–38% from other schools. Among physicians active in social medicine programs, 32% of Ben-Gurion alumni estimated that their medical education greatly influenced their social medicine involvement vs. 8–15% from other schools. Hebrew University alumni described their studies as more research-oriented. In contrast, Ben-Gurion graduates described their studies as more social medicine-oriented and they exhibited more positive attitudes about the role of physicians in reducing health disparities.Discussion: Social medicine-oriented medical education induces a socialization process reinforcing human values regarding doctor–patient relationships and produces positive attitudes among future doctors about social involvement. Findings emphasize the need to develop educational programs with this orientation and to strengthen medical schools in the periphery.

Chemistry in Israel-at a Crossroads?

Such achievements are the fruits of the inspired and incisive leadership that served as the foundation of the academic world in my country—the manifestations of an early vision that has led to what we have come to know as modern Israel. David Ben-Gurion, undoubtedly one indefatigable agent of progress, as well as the country s inaugural Prime Minister, wrote two years after the creation of the State: “We are a small and poor nation, and our country has suffered neglect and devastation. This imposes a severe austerity upon us, a condition, which may last a long time. Strangely enough, these very facts forbid us austerity in two areas, in science and technology...Only if we were able to use the attainments of scientific and technological developments—can we succeed”.

ISSAC SADKA, Studies in Hebrew Syntax and Semantics: Further Chapters

Journal Article Issac Sadka, Studies in Hebrew Syntax and Semantics: Further Chapters Get access Issac Sadka, Studies in Hebrew Syntax and Semantics: Further Chapters. ( Ben-Gurion University of Negev Press, Beer-Sheva 2011). Pp. * 31 + 115. Price: $36.89. Tania Notarius Tania Notarius Hebrew University of Jerusalem Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of Semitic Studies, Volume 59, Issue 1, Spring 2014, Pages 217–219, https://doi.org/10.1093/jss/fgt045 Published: 22 March 2014

Problems Section

This section of the Journal offers readers an opportunity to exchange interesting mathematical problems and solutions. Please send them to Ted Eisenberg, Department of Mathematics, Ben-Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, Israel or fax to: 972-86-477-648. Questions concerning proposals and/or solutions can be sent via e-mail to eisenbt@013.net. Solutions to previously stated problems can be seen at http://www.ssma.org/publications. ———————————————————————————— 5295: Proposed by Kenneth Korbin, New York, NY A convex cyclic hexagon has sides 5296: Proposed by Roger Izard, Dallas, TX Consider the “Star of David,” a six-pointed star made by overlapping the triangles ABC and FDE. Let Prove that r + p = (3pr + 1)/2. 5297: Proposed by Tom Moore, Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, MA Let sn = n2, tn = n (n + 1)/2, and pn = n (3n − 1)/2, for positive integers n, be the square, triangular, and pentagonal numbers, respectively. Prove, independently of each other, that ta + pb = tc, ta + sb = pc, pa + sb = sc 5298: Proposed by D. M. Bătinetu-Giurgiu, Matei Basarab National College, Bucharest, Romania and Neculai Stanciu, George Emil Palade Secondary School, Buzău, Romania Let (an)n ≥ 1 be an arithmetic progression and m a positive integer. Calculate 5299: Proposed by José Luis Díaz-Barrero, Barcelona Tech, Barcelona, Spain Without the aid of a computer, show that 5300: Proposed by Ovidiu Furdui, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania Let n ≥ 1 be an integer. Prove that

Editorial introductions

Editorial introductions

Correction to “Comments on ‘Experimental Measurements of Vapor–Liquid Equilibrium Data for the Binary Systems of Methanol + 2-Butyl Acetate, 2-Butyl Alcohol + 2-Butyl Acetate, and Methyl Acetate + 2-Butyl Acetate at 101.33 kPa’”

ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVAddition/CorrectionORIGINAL ARTICLEThis notice is a correctionCorrection to “Comments on ‘Experimental Measurements of Vapor–Liquid Equilibrium Data for the Binary Systems of Methanol + 2-Butyl Acetate, 2-Butyl Alcohol + 2-Butyl Acetate, and Methyl Acetate + 2-Butyl Acetate at 101.33 kPa’” Jaime Wisniak†, José R. Pérez-Correa‡, Andrés Mejía§, and Hugo Segura§View Author Information† Department of Chemical Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel‡ Escuela de Ingeniería, Departamento de Ingeniería Química y Bioprocesos, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Macul, Santiago 7820436, Chile§ Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción 4070386, ChileCite this: J. Chem. Eng. Data 2014, 59, 3, 942Publication Date (Web):February 17, 2014Publication History Published online17 February 2014Published inissue 13 March 2014https://doi.org/10.1021/je500041jCopyright © 2014 American Chemical SocietyRIGHTS & PERMISSIONSArticle Views302Altmetric-Citations3LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InReddit PDF (134 KB) Get e-Alerts Get e-Alerts