Atypical Impact of Action Effect Delay on Motor Performance in Autism.

Atypical sensory perception and motor impairments are primary features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that indicate atypical development and predict social and non-social challenges. However, their link is poorly understood. Sensory perception is often integrated with motor processes when a sensory effect is temporally contiguous with the motor response.

Short-Range Effects in the Special Pair of Photosystem II Reaction Centers: The Nonconservative Nature of Circular Dichroism.

Photosystem II reaction centers extract electrons from water, providing the basis of oxygenic life on earth. Among the light-sensitive pigments of the reaction center, a central chlorophyll dimer, known as the special pair, so far has escaped a complete theoretical characterization of its excited state properties. The close proximity of the special pair pigments gives rise to short-range effects that comprise a coupling between local and charge transfer (CT) excited states as well as other intermolecular quantum effects.

Effect of entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana on the growth characteristics and metabolism of black soldier fly larvae.

Beauveria bassiana is an entomopathogenic fungus widely used in agriculture to reduce populations of various pests. However, when agricultural waste is utilized for organic recycling, B. bassiana has the potential to impact recycling performance, by affecting the survival, and body mass of decomposing organisms (such as insect's larvae).

High sensitivity and specificity in fetal gender identification in the first trimester, using ultrasound and Noninvasive Prenatal Screening (NIPS) in twin pregnancies, a prospective study.

Introduction: Determination of the fetal gender in the first trimester is important in twin pregnancy cases of familial X-linked genetic syndromes and helps determine chorionicity. We assessed and compared the accuracy of first-trimester ultrasound scans, and cell-free fetal DNA (CfDNA) in determining fetal gender in the first trimester of twin pregnancies.

Methods: Women with twin pregnancies were recruited prospectively during the first trimester.

Acupuncture Effect on Analgesic Consumption and Cortisol Levels Following Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: Pain following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is common. Various modalities of treating orthopedic postoperative pain (POP) exist; however, the optimal management of POP remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine acupuncture's effect on postoperative analgesic consumption and cortisol levels in patients undergoing TKA.

Online sports fans communities: humor, trivial knowledge, and anti-modern tendencies.

Recent technical developments and the widespread use of social networks have led to the emergence of a variety of online communities built around common interests. Among these virtual communities, one notable category revolves around sports fans. This conceptual article uses several examples of online sports fan communities in Israel to analyze their core elements.

Effects of Natural Habitat and Season on Cursorial Spider Assemblages in Mediterranean Vineyards.

Natural habitats adjacent to vineyards are presumed to have a positive effect on the diversity of natural enemies within the vineyards. However, these habitats differ in vegetation structure and seasonal phenology and in turn could affect the species composition of natural enemies. Here, we compared the species richness and diversity and the composition of spider assemblages in several locations within three commercial vineyards and the nearby natural habitats in a Mediterranean landscape in northern Israel.

An effect that counts: Temporally contiguous action effect enhances motor performance.

An action-effect temporal contiguity holds essential information for motor control. Emerging accounts suggest that the temporally contiguous action effect is rewarding in and of itself, further promoting the development of motor representations and reinforcing the selection of the relevant motor program. The current study follows these theoretical and empirical indications to directly investigate the promoting impact of action effect temporal contiguity on motor performance.

Ethnic disparities in presentation but not outcome in multiple myeloma patients: a multicenter retrospective study in Northern Israel.

Several studies showed ethnic disparities in multiple myeloma (MM) incidence and prognosis. In order to compare prognosis and overall survival between different ethnic groups, a multicenter retrospective study was conducted in Northern Israel. A total of 145 patients suffering from MM were included (72% Jewish, and 28% Arabs) who were treated between 2008-2018.

Orthorexia and Orthorexia Nervosa: A Comprehensive Examination of Prevalence, Risk Factors, Diagnosis, and Treatment.

Orthorexia nervosa is an emerging and controversial eating disorder characterized by an obsessive preoccupation with healthy eating and an extreme fixation on food purity. Despite growing public interest in orthorexia, its classification as a distinct eating disorder remains a subject of ongoing debate in the mental health community. This paper comprehensively reviews the current literature on orthorexia nervosa, exploring the prevalence rates, risk factors, diagnosis, and treatment options.

Post-Natal Short-Term Home Visiting Programs: An Overview and a Volunteers-Based Program Pilot.

Post-natal home visits have been shown to be one of the most effective ways to prevent child maltreatment and reduce risks among children. Unfortunately, these programs tend to be expensive and thus not accessible or practical in many contexts. To address this problem, this paper reviews the literature on home visits conducted shortly after giving birth, considering different types of programs and their outcomes, while focusing on short-term and volunteer-based programs, two approaches that can answer the gap in accessibility.

Feminist Semiotics of "Safe": Intimate Violence in the Time of Pandemic.

This article explores the discursive politics of intimate partner violence during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Israel. It asks how, despite greater awareness and recognition, intimate violence disappeared from the mindset of those managing the pandemic, even as it soars. The analysis traces the conditions that enable the dialectic of presence-disappearance, by reading the ideological prescriptions in policy papers, parliamentary debates, court appeals, and media debates.

Personal Well-being and Recovery in Peer Support Specialists Working at Psychiatric Hospitals.

Personal well-being is a major part of recovery for the many people who experience mental illness. Peer support specialists are mental health professionals who have themselves experienced mental illness and use their recovery experiences to facilitate the healing of others. In this study, we explored how peer specialists view their subjective well-being in their work with others and how they perceive their profession.

Augmented Placental Protein 13 in Placental-Associated Extracellular Vesicles in Term and Preterm Preeclampsia Is Further Elevated by Corticosteroids.

Placental protein 13 (PP13) is a regulatory protein involved in remodeling the vascular system of the pregnancy and extending the immune tolerance of the mother to the growing fetus. PP13 is localized on the surface of the syncytiotrophoblast. An ex vivo placental model shows that the PP13 is released via placental-associated extracellular vesicles (PEVs) to the maternal uterine vein.

Substance use, harm reduction attitudes and behaviors among attendees of nature rave parties in Israel.

Background: Few studies have analyzed harm reduction behaviors and attitudes among rave party attendees. Since the late 1980s, there has been a large Israeli rave scene, also known as 'Nature Parties'. However, only a few studies have been conducted among nature party attendees and almost all of them are from a qualitative perspective.

Goals and Success in Sport: The Perspectives of Parents and Adolescent Girls in Kayaking.

Setting objectives and evaluating success are intrinsically linked to motivation in sports and behavior during training and competition. According to social cognitive theory, the perception of success is divided into "task" and "ego", which indicate an inner orientation versus an external perspective when analyzing an athlete's achievements. These impressions can be influenced by various factors such as maturity level, gender, and the type of activity in which they participate.

Psychological capital's mediation of anxiety-related patterns of thinking and academic adjustment among university students.

The study examined psychological capital's (PsyCap) role in the relations between anxiety-related patterns of thinking (rumination, obsessive-compulsive disorder, test anxiety) and students' academic adjustment. It argued the relations are not direct but are mediated by PsyCap. Participants were 250 s-year or higher university undergraduates in Israel; 60.

Development of toxin-antitoxin self-destructive bacteria, aimed for salmonella vaccination.

The most common source of foodborne Salmonella infection in humans is poultry eggs and meat, such that prevention of human infection is mostly achieved by vaccination of farm animals. While inactivated and attenuated vaccines are available, both present drawbacks. This study aimed to develop a novel vaccination strategy, which combines the effectiveness of live-attenuated and safety of inactivated vaccines by construction of inducible self-destructing bacteria utilizing toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems.

Using imagination in response to stress and uncertainty in the time of COVID-19: further validation of the Fantastic Reality Ability Measurement (FRAME) Scale.

Fantastic reality ability (FRA) is defined as the capacity to use imagination in response to stress or trauma. With the emergence of COVID-19 and associated social restrictions, there has been an uptick in imagination use as a coping strategy. This has allowed us to further validate the Fantastic Reality Ability Measurement (FRAME) Scale at this time of stress and uncertainty.

Trajectories of COVID-19: A longitudinal analysis of many nations and subnational regions.

The COVID-19 pandemic is the first to be rapidly and sequentially measured by nation-wide PCR community testing for the presence of the viral RNA at a global scale. We take advantage of the novel "natural experiment" where diverse nations and major subnational regions implemented various policies including social distancing and vaccination at different times with different levels of stringency and adherence. Initially, case numbers expand exponentially with doubling times of ~1-2 weeks.

Couple relationship experiences of siblings and siblings-in-law of persons with intellectual disabilities.

Background: This study examined how siblings and siblings-in-law of persons with intellectual disabilities experience the establishment of and processes within the couple relationship.

Method: In-depth semi-structured interviews with 12 siblings and 12 siblings-in-law of persons with intellectual disabilities were analysed using thematic analysis.

Results: The participants did not perceive their special siblinghood as detrimental to their couple relationships.

Anxiety, anhedonia, and related food consumption in Israelis populations:An online cross-sectional study two years since the outbreak of COVID-19.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted daily life. Beyond severe health and economic consequences, psychological consequences have surfaced that require in-depth research to understand the pandemic's effects on mental health. Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the association between anxiety levels and anhedonia with food consumption patterns and changes in body weight over the two years since the COVID-19 outbreak in Israel.

Does Procrastination Have a Cultural or a Neurological Source? Evidence of its Mediating Role in the Relationship Between Psychological Capital and Academic Adjustment.

I examined the relationships between psychological capital (PsyCap), academic adjustment, and tendency toward procrastination in 3 groups of students in higher education-an ethnocultural minority group (Israeli Arabs), a neurotypical ethnocultural majority group (Israeli Jews), and an ethnocultural majority group diagnosed with learning disabilities (Israeli Jews with learning disabilities). The goal was to deepen and expand understanding of the factors that affect academic adjustment. Overall, 449 post-secondary students enrolled in various academic institutions in Israel participated in the study.

Comparative untargeted metabolic analysis of natural- and laboratory-reared larvae of black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae).

In the present study, we examined the metabolic composition of black soldier fly (BSF) larvae from natural populations (Ruhama: R and She'ar Yashuv: S) and from a laboratory-reared colony (C) using untargeted metabolomics analysis. The results revealed significant over-accumulation of metabolites from phenylalanine and purine metabolism and biosynthesis of phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan, and arginine in both natural populations, and enriched pathway analysis, compared to the laboratory-reared colony. In addition, we found accumulation of glutathione metabolism and aminoacyl tRNA biosynthesis related metabolites in R, and linoleic acid and tryptophan metabolism related metabolites in S.