Southern Part Of Israel Research Articles

On the Implementation of Quantitative Facility Location Models: The Case of a Hospital in a Rural Region

Recently a public committee has been appointed by the Israeli government. The committee was assigned to prepare regional plans for the northeastern Negev, in the southern part of Israel, in order to absorb some of the large waves of immigrants (about 400,000) expected by the year 2000. Among the strategic issues treated by the committee were the questions when, where and whether to build a new hospital in the area. The locational decision was studied by first identifying a finite candidate set of possible sites. At the final stage various quantitative locational models were employed. In the next stage a subjective multicriteria model was further used to derive locationally preferred solutions. This paper focuses on the first stage. Furthermore, the suggested solution approach is discussed in light of strategic issues.

Germination potential of Sinapis alba seedscollected in Israel

Seeds of Sinapis alba collected from the dry and hot southern regions of Israel had a lower per cent of germination and of emerging seedlings than seeds collected in northern regions, where a more normal level of rainfall occurs. These results were obtained when seeds were germinated on germination paper, sterile sand or naturally infested soil. The presence of seed and/or soilborne pathogenic fungi did not seem to play a role in the decrease of germination. The inability to germinate resulted from dormancy, since exogenous GA 3 stimulated seed germination. The intensity of dormancy depended on the origin of the seeds, being deeper in seeds which originated from the southern part of Israel than in those collected in the north. The dormancy of seeds collected at Sa'ad was expressed over a wide range of temperatures, while that of seeds collected at the Ma'abarot, Bet Dagan and Quiryat Gat stations was expressed only at high temperatures (30°C).

The association of primiparity with intrauterine growth retardation

The role of parity in the epidemiology of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) is not well understood, as some risk factors for IUGR are associated with young age and primiparity, and some are more frequent among older multiparous women. This paper examines the unique role of primiparity in the etiology of IUGR in a series of 25 614 singleton births in the southern part of Israel. The rates of IUGR were 3.5% among primiparae and 1.7% in multiparae. (Risk ratio = 1.99; 95% confidence interval, 1.69–2.35). Maternal age was associated with IUGR only among primiparae but not in multiparae. Of the obstetric factors examined, the following were found to be significantly associated with IUGR: hypertension, prior infertility, oligohydramnios, gross fetal congenital anomalies, and being a female fetus. After simultaneous adjustment for these risk factors by multiple logistic regression analysis, the odds ratio associated with parity was 1.62 (95% confidence interval, 1.30–2.01), suggesting that primiparity constitutes an independent risk factor for IUGR.

A survey of entomopathogenic nematodes (rhabditida) in the negev desert

The aim of the present survey was to isolate entomopathogenic rhabditids in an arid region. The survey was conducted in the Negev desert, located in the southern part of Israel. Soil samples were collected from 21 sites and the presence of entomopathogenic nematodes in the soil samples was determined by usingGalleria mellonella larvae as bait. Entomopathogenic nematodes, identified as heterorhabditids, were isolated only from soil samples obtained from under the canopy of irrigated fruit trees, planted in sandy soils. The nematodes from the new isolated populations were subjected to low relative humidity (75%) for 3 days after preconditioning for 72 h at 97% RH. Under these conditions, fewer than 10% survived for 48 h.

Insecticide control of a white grub,Maladera matrida, on sweet potato

In an effort to control the damage caused by the beetleMaladera matrida Argaman (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) to sweet potatoes,Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam., experiments comparing heptachlor with other insecticides were conducted in the Besor region in the southern part of Israel in 1987. Taking the percentage of clean tubers at the final harvest as the criterion of insecticidal efficacy, the best results were achieved with heptachlor (97.3% clean tubers) and with the synthetic pyrethroid Talstar (biphenthrin) (91.1% clean tubers), while the percentage of clean tubers obtained in two untreated control plots was 52.5% and 65.9%. The effect of heptachlor and Talstar was not significantly different from that of Oftanol (isofenphos) plus Becis (decamethrin), but was significantly better than that of Dizictol (diazinon), Becis, Dizictol plus Becis, Oftanol, and the untreated controls. The average tuber weights from the treatments with heptachlor, Talstar and Becis were significantly higher than those of the untreated control plots and from the treatments with Dizictol, Oftanol, and Oftanol plus Becis.

Maternal Education as a Modifier of the Association between Low Birthweight and Infant Mortality

Both low birthweight (LBW) and infant mortality rate (IMR) have been consistently shown to be associated with maternal level of educational attainment. This paper examines the mortality risk attributable to LBW in different levels of maternal education. Comprising the study population were 18,715 singleton live births to Jewish mothers ages 20-39, during the years 1977-1980 in the Negev (the southern part of Israel). Data were obtained from a linked record of birth and death certificates. As expected, proportions of LBW (less than 2500 grams) were inversely related to level of maternal education (12.2% in the lowest educational level, 7.9% and 8.0% in the two intermediate levels, and 7.2% in the highest educational level). The mortality risk attributed to LBW was found to be modified by maternal level of education. Mortality ratios standardized for maternal age and parity were computed, using educational level 3, where the lowest mortality rates were observed, as the standard population. Among LBW infants no significant differences were found across educational levels, except for the lowest educational level where only 69% of the expected number of deaths were observed. The survival advantage of LBW infants in the lowest educational level was observed both in the neonatal and the postneonatal periods. Among normal birthweight (NBW) infants, a statistically significant excess mortality was detected both in the highest and the lowest educational levels. The excess mortality of NBW infants in the highest level of maternal education was due to neonatal mortality (SMR = 2.2), while the excess mortality in this birthweight category in the lowest educational level occur mainly in the postneonatal period (SMR = 2.4).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The role of soil fumigation under conditions of intensive agriculture

The establishment of Verticillium dahliae Kleb, a soil pathogen with a wide host range, in the southern part of Israel, an area in which due to intensive agriculture, crop rotation can hardly be applied had serious effects on the vegetable production in this region. To combat the pathogen soil fumigation with methyl bromide, the methylbromide-chloropicrin mixture and a combination of ethylene dibromide + chloropicrin was applied.

Poisoning by Scorpion Stings in Israel

Summary 1. The clinical manifestations in 22 cases of poisoning by scorpions are summarized. Some of these occurred in the southern part of Israel (Jerusalem and vicinity) and the others in the northern part (Tiberias and vicinity). These cases were observed by the author in the course of 12 years (1935–47). 2. A study of the symptoms indicates that the majority of them originate in the vegetative nervous system. 3. Of the 22 cases, six (aged 6 months to 12 years) terminated fatally. 4. All the severe cases, including the fatalities, were caused by Buthus quinquestriatus. 5. A detailed description of four cases is presented. 6. The clinical literature on scorpion poisoning is reviewed. 7. Treatment applied was largely symptomatical. In five cases, a combination of atropin and Gynergen was administered, based on the work of Ahmed Hassan Mohammed and Ali Hassan (Cairo) (1940). In three of the cases, this line of treatment failed to produce any effect, whilst in the two remaining instances an improvement was noted after administration. In 5 cases, anti-toxic serum, produced by the Pasteur Institute of Algiers, was injected. Of these cases, one died, as compared with 5 fatalities out of 17 cases that did not receive specific treatment. The quantity of serum given was insufficient. 8. The author stresses the need for the production of an anti-toxic serum specific for the scorpions of his country.