Search

Background: Neospora caninum is a protozoan parasite and a main cause of abortions in cattle worldwide. However, its role in abortions and decreased fertility in sheep is not completely understood, especially due to the complex, multifactorial etiology of abortions. This study aimed to perform a longitudinal field study to investigate the epidemiology of neosporosis and its effect on fertility in endemic sheep herds. Methods: Serological (IFAT) and clinical (outcome of pregnancy) data from 153 ewe-lambs was collected in four intensive management farms in Israel during three consecutive pregnancies. Results: The seroprevalence in ewe-lambs at different farms varied between 24% and 93%. The overall seroprevalence increased from 50% in ewe-lambs to 96.6% at the end of the third pregnancy. Horizontal infection was observed in all farms, with seroconversion in 59% of seronegative sheep. Abortion rates were lower (p = 0.004) in seropositive ewes in the first pregnancy and not significantly higher in seropositive sheep in consecutive pregnancies. Seropositivity or seroconversion were not associated with abortions or repeated abortions; however, many aborting ewes were removed from the flock. Conclusions: No direct short- or long-term association was found between Neopsora infection and abortions. The variations between flocks and pregnancies suggest a more complex etiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human salmonellosis cases are often caused by Salmonella serovars Enteritidis and Typhimurium and associated with the consumption of eggs and egg products. Many countries therefore implemented general surveillance programmes on pullet and layer farms. The identification of risk factors for Salmonella infection may be used to improve the performance of these surveillance programmes. The aims of this study were therefore to determine 1) whether local farm density is a risk factor for the infection of pullet and layer farms by Salmonella Enteritidis and Typhimurium and 2) whether the sampling effort of surveillance programmes can be reduced by accounting for this risk factor, while still providing sufficient control of these serovars. We assessed the importance of local farm density as a risk factor by fitting transmission kernels to Israeli surveillance data during the period from June 2017 to April 2019. The analysis shows that the risk of infection by serovars Enteritidis and Typhimurium significantly increased if infected farms were present within a radius of approximately 4 km and 0.3 km, respectively. We subsequently optimized a surveillance programme that subdivided layer farms into low and high risk groups based on the local farm density with and allowed the sampling frequency to vary between these groups. In this design, the pullet farms were always sampled one week prior to pullet distribution. Our analysis shows that the risk-based surveillance programme is able to keep the between-farm R0 of serovars Enteritidis and Typhimurium below 1 for all pullet and layer farms, while reducing the sampling effort by 32% compared to the currently implemented surveillance programme in Israel. The results of our study therefore indicate that local farm density is an important risk factor for infection of pullet and layer farms by Salmonella Enteritidis and Typhimurium and can be used to improve the performance of surveillance programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contributes to scholarship on the media, mnemonic agents, and collective memory by examining the special role played by Israeli media in the struggle over the commemoration of Yitzhak Rabin. Shows how the media, especially television, became the main mnemonic site and the most influential mnemonic agent in these processes. Looks at how Rabin's myth is a nation-constituting myth. (SR)

Describes study of Israeli children in grades 4, 5, and 6, ages 9-12, that was conducted to test their perception of deceitful behavior in a situation comedy. The influence of television on children's perceptions of the world and on the acquisition of behavioral patterns is discussed, and understanding characters' motivations is examined. (27 references) (LRW)

Background: In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic affected healthcare systems throughout the world, including the management of patients and compliance rates of quality indicators. Objective: To measure the impact in Israel of the COVID-19 pandemic on the indicator-relevant caseload and compliance rates of the quality indicators reported by medical services providers within the Israeli National Program for Quality Indicators (NPQI). Methods: Data was collected from the reports made to the NPQI by participating hospitals and medical service providers. The indicator results for the number of cases and compliance rates for 2019 were compared to those from 2020. We assessed and compared the results of the quality indicators in general hospitals, geriatric hospitals and departments, psychiatric hospitals and departments, emergency medical services (EMS), and Mother and Baby health centers. Results: We found a decrease in measurable cases in 2020 relative to 2019, especially in geriatric hospitals. In most indicators, compliance rates rose in 2020. Few indicators had lower compliance rates associated with COVID-19 pandemic regulations. Conclusions and policy implications: Routine medical activity decreased in Israel in 2020 in comparison to 2019, as reflected by a decrease in cases, but compliance rates were better in most indicators. The results of our study imply that the functioning of healthcare quality measurement programs should not be interrupted during a pandemic. This not only allows measuring of the healthcare system's performance during a crisis, but also may assist in maintaining a high level of healthcare quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on topics including Israeli culture, Israeli history and citizenship in Israel.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on topics including ethnographic study on the Israeli Diaspora in Berlin; renewal of Judaism in Israel; and the focus on the Israeli Orthodox women filmmakers.

Previous research has demonstrated that exposure to news media increases viewers’ concerns about national security, as well as their mistrust of politicians and government. However, the contribution of entertainment media to security concerns and trust in government has received only scant attention in previous research, conducted mainly in the American context. The current investigation explores possible associations between exposure to news and political entertainment and concern about security and political mistrust using survey data (n = 512) collected in Israel in the aftermath of the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah conflict. Results demonstrate that exposure to entertainment talk shows was related to greater concern about security and high levels of political trust, while exposure to political comedy was related to reduced concerns about security and lower levels of political trust. News exposure was not significantly related to security concerns and political trust. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Relations between the media and military affairs, or the media and the security field, have been dramatically altered since 1973 and even more so since the early 1990s. Media outlets have transformed from subservient and deferential into a confrontational model, and the military ceased to be a "sacred cow". If, in the past, the media were only as a tool of the state, they have seemingly also been regarded as reflecting society and individuals. However, a deconstruction of media and news media texts reveals deep structures that have not changed. As in the past, so in contemporary time, the media continue to be a major agent in the development of the Israeli military ethos. They play a significant role in the construction of the image of the enemy (be it the Arabs, the Palestinians, or Gentiles at large). They nourish the positive image of the Jewish hero and of war ethos. They transfix macht (power) values and contribute to the construction of the gender structure of Israeli society. Eventually they nourish the aspired model of a warring society. Therefore, as research of civil military relations in Israel historically focused on the modes by which the media assisted the survival of a besieged society under conditions of prolonged war, while keeping its democratic spirit, this chapter will demonstrate how the media restrained the development of civilian ethos and impeded the development of a post-war society in spite of the accelerating decolonization process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The frequent referencing of service to the public interest as a core professional journalistic value raises the question of the correspondence between the perception of journalists and the public as to what constitutes good and bad journalism. In this study, a sample of lsraeli journalists and a sample of the lsraeli public were asked a series of questions about the core values and practices of journalism. Results suggest four major conclusions: first, lsraeli journalists have a clear, relatively uniform perception of what constitutes worthy journalism. Second, journalists and the public differ in the degrees of significance they assign to various journalistic norms and practices. Third, the public is slightly more positive in its overall assessment of the lsraeli media in comparison with the journalists. Finally, the two general assessments are constituted by different, or even opposing, components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents information on the conflicting loyalties between religion and government in Israel. In modern Israel, the Israeli Defense Forces remained one of its last sacred institutions. This same army according to religious nationalists were throwing Jews out of the "Holy Land" and "serving the interests of the enemies of the state." The withdrawal from Gaza provoked among religious Zionists their gravest historical crisis to date. The article informs that they had to choose between uncompromising religious loyalty to the "Land of Israel" and acceptance of the supreme authority of the "State of Israel." Leaders of these clericalists ruled that the "Land" takes priority over government decisions, and therefore government decisions to withdraw were violation perpetrated by the State.

Presents the texts of speeches and panel discussions among participants in a conference held by the U.S. Middle East Policy Council on March 22, 2002 regarding the feasibility of the withdrawal of Israel from the Palestinian state.

Psychological distress has been long recognized as a part of the experience of migration. It is usually related to significant losses that occur in migration, as well as to stresses, which are inherent to adjustment in an unfamiliar society. This article discusses social support and psychological distress among young immigrants from the former Soviet Union in Israel. The role of the family, a potential source of support, is complicated in migration. Family members differ in their reactions to immigration: in the extent of their attachment to the homeland, in their rhythm of adjustment to the new country, etc. This may create tensions and conflicts in the family. In addition. changes that occur in immigrant families may limit the ability of the family to extend support to the children. The need to empower immigrant parents is another important implication of the present findings. It appears that parental support is a distress-mitigating factor even when it is being given and received in a context of parent- child relationships which are unusual in western society but are accepted in the homeland culture.

In the spring of 2011, the two of us took over the editorship of the newly renamed, and somewhat reshaped, official journal of the Association for Israel Studies. The former Israel Studies Forum thus became Israel Studies Review. The current issue is the last that we will be editing, after 25 issues comprising over 200 articles written by almost as many different authors, some of whom were chosen by more than a dozen guest editors who produced our special issues. About two hundred colleagues wrote book reviews and review essays, and many more have served as peer reviewers of articles submitted to us for publication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the radical social scientists and militarism in Israel. Contentions of the radical social scientist regarding the war; Connection between the structural changes manifested in the concentration of ownership in the market and the increase in defense expenditure; Approaches of different radical sociologists to the understanding of the development of Israeli militarism.

A study of the part played by the media in the 1996 elections in Israel reflects on the evolution of new practices of electronic journalism in segmenting democracies. Contrary to prevailing perceptions about the direct barrages of television influences-such as spot advertising, and the televisual promotion of politicians-we show the following: (1) By making it their job to challenge the rhetoric of political advertising, journalists now reduce the effectiveness of the political campaign on television. (2) At the same time, recent news coverage, especially stories that are treated as ''disaster marathons," maximize television journalists' tendency toward melodramatic coverage, thus creating an atmosphere that undermines the public's ability to form a considered opinion. (3) Recent developments of identity politics cause national television gradually to lose its function as the common public sphere for the various factions of society, shifting the public debate to multicultural public ''spherecules," operating in alternative, community media. (4) Whereas nationwide television is pushed to emotional titillation as it competes for the attention of viewers as consumers, community media, expected to appeal to the emotions of their audiences as members of the collectivity, also carry out a lively, ideological (though partisan), debate. During the Israeli elections, it was the coverage of disaster, not the frontal influences of television, that determined the voting patterns. Moreover, the community media of the various cultural enclaves were more effective than nationwide media in carrying out the admittedly fragmented political debate, and in mobilizing voters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the week following the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin in November 1996, the Israeli media were confronted with a liminal situation created by the unprecedented political violence. Among the problems that emerged were potential social disintegration and anomie. One of the major factors in re-establishing social integration was the reconstruction of Rabin's biography by the media as the collective biography, so that it represented the collective identity of Israeli society. A content analysis of the Rabin myth created during this event shows the practices used by the hegemonic interpretative communities to reinvent society, and the ramifications of excluding the voices of others from the process of national deliberation on the media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A GIS MCDA model was conducted to expedite optimal wind turbine site selection. • A full characterization of turbines' impacts is critical for holistic planning. • The model allows for integrated calculation of myriad environmental criteria. • Environmentally suitable sites with significant energy potential are identified. • Negative effects of turbine proximity to homes begin dissipating after 750 m. Wind power development is an increasingly vital source of renewable electricity that significantly contributes globally to reduced greenhouse gas emissions and the combatting of climate change. The environmental impacts of wind turbines have emerged as a dominant consideration in the planning process in order to increase public acceptance, protect the surrounding environment and to conserve pristine ecosystems. Hence, ensuring holistic planning and community participation are key factors if wind-generated electricity is to be expanded. Existing macro-planning methods lack quantifiable models for assessing wind turbines' full environmental implications. The current study uses a holistic and quantitative methodology to identify suitable sites for wind turbines in the north of Israel using available GIS software. By evaluating a broad range of local environmental and spatial conditions, the research improves on existing GIS modeling. The spatial criteria that affect zoning optimization are then applied using a Multi Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). The results indicate that 0.5% of possible sites in the study area are suitable for wind turbine development according to the strictest environmental constraints. Anthropocentric environmental impacts from turbines were found to be significant whenever sites were located less than 750 m from settlements. Ecological impacts, however, were not found to be correlated with the distance from natural protected areas. The study's novel, holistic approach enables decision-makers to identify sustainable locations with maximum energy benefits and minimal negative impacts as they seek to meet renewable energy goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Choice Experiment survey was conducted with innovative attributes to wind turbines. • High rates of general public support for wind energy exist in Israel. • Noise is the major concern associated with wind turbines among the public. • The results reflect concerns of communities generally unfamiliar with wind energy. As of 2020, there are only 27 MW of installed wind capacity in Israel. Yet, the country's northern region is expected to soon become the site of numerous additional wind farms. The externalities associated with wind turbines frequently arouse concerns and objections among the general public. The relative apprehensions about different external effects remain poorly characterized. Moreover, the associated environmental costs with different effect are difficult to assess, especially for populations unfamiliar with turbines' environmental impacts. The study involves a choice experiment survey among Israelis living in the country's northern region. The questionnaire evaluated perceptions of five environmental impacts caused by wind turbines: noise, visibility; bird mortality, land use and shadow flickers. Results indicate high rates of public support for wind power. Significant concerns emerged about noise pollution from turbines. Reasonable setback distances and attention to avian populations also appear necessary to assuage public opinion. Evaluation of demographic characteristics reveals disparate preferences in different populations. Findings are relevant for policy makers in ongoing efforts to design more precise environmental standards for wind power and ensure appropriate utilization of land resources. Greater attention to environmental impacts promises to improve social acceptance of wind turbines, ensuring their optimal location and ultimate contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Increasingly, big-data electronic health record (EHR) warehouses are used for targeted readmission prevention programs (RPPs). However, the ability of EHR tools to accurately detect the "appropriate" patients for RPP according to personal and clinical characteristics (termed "care-sensitivity") is not known. We aimed to examine the ability of a previously validated EHR 30-day readmission prediction risk tool (the Preadmission Readmission Prediction Model [PREADM](1) to detect care-sensitive patients for inclusion in RPPs. Methods: Physicians and nurses from internal medicine wards of 3 general hospitals in Israel's Clalit Health Services were asked to complete a questionnaire on the personal and clinical characteristics of discharged patients. We examined the degree of concordance between the PREADM (prediction score > 40, 60% of the sample) and the clinicians' classification of highrisk patients, and the likelihood for readmission according to each. Decision trees applying CART were used on PREADM high-risk patients, to classify the patients by whether they are likely to be readmitted, using the questionnaire responses. Results: A total of 817 questionnaires on 375 patients (discharged to their home) were completed by physicians and nurses. Ninety-one patients (24.3%) had a 30-day readmission. There was concordance between high-risk PREADM classification and the nurses' and physicians' assessments in about two-thirds of patients. Lack of concordance was found in: (a): 23% of patients with a high PREADM score and a low-risk assessment by the nurses, in which the actual readmission rate was 20% ; and (b) 12% of patients with a low PREADMscore and a high-risk assessment by the nurses, which had a 33% readmission rate. Conversely, physicians' classification had poorer detection than the PREADM. Decision tree models showed that the following questions were useful in identifying high-risk patients: does the patient receive a new drug that requires follow-up (risk for readmission 38% if yes vs 24% if no); and does the patient need special equipment at home (risk of readmission 61% if yes vs 23% if no). Discussions: Among about a third of patients, the nurses' assessment was more accurate than the PREADM model, when a high-risk score cutoff of >40 was used, while the physicians' assessment was worse than that of the model. The clinical data from nurses about new drugs and special equipment needed at home helped differentiate a higher-risk population from those at lower risk of readmissions. Conclusions: Combining EHR data with insight from hospital nurses regarding patients' clinical and personal characteristics provides more "care-sensitive" information, which can allow better adaptability and synchronization across different healthcare providers and better selection of patients for inclusion in RPPs. Lessons learned: While the EHR predictive algorithms can identify most patients at very high risk of readmissions, the nurses are able to target additional patients who are suitable for inclusion in RPPs with a few simple questions during the hospital stay. Limitations: A convenience sample of patients. Suggestions for future research: Whether a combined "care-sensitive' model is able to better classify readmission risk remains to be tested to improve the predictive tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Avian Influenza (AI) has become the largest animal epidemic in the world. So far hundreds of millions birds have died or been culled due to the disease. A novel highly-pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) subtype H5N1 virus, which emerged in 1996 in domestic geese in China, passed from wild waterfowl as a lowpathogenic (LP) virus, and in the domestic birds was modified to a High Pathogenic (HP) virus due to mutational addition of basic amino acids to the cleavage site of the Hemagglutinin (HA) protein. This "A/ goose/Guangdong/1/1996" virus killed poultry but also infected at least 18 people of whom 6 died. In 2003-6 the virus spread to Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Mass mortality of migratory birds at the Salt Qinghai Lake in West China in 2005 was a turning point in the understanding of the virus co-circulation between poultry and wild birds. Israel is situated on migratory routes for over a billion birds each year in the autumn migration from Europe to Africa and in the northwards spring migration, thus the potential for virus transmission is high. The 1996's parental virus emerged in Israel in 2006, following the Qinghai Lake event, and included meat turkeys, heavy breeders and broilers. Since then, several focal outbreaks occurred in Israel every 1-3 years. In 2012, the same AIV-H5N1 was detected in meat turkeys and found also in alley cats following consumption of the bird carcasses, with 100% identity of the HA gene. A second multi-focal outbreak of AIV-H5N1 appeared in 2015 following the worldwide wave in 2014-15. This outbreak included meat turkeys, heavy breeders and egg layers. These viruses belonged phylogenetically to clade 2.2.1.2, emerged from previous clades 2.2 and 2.2.1.1. Reassortment of viral segments of a descendant-H5 AIV of the Chinese parental virus with AIV-N8 viruses created novel H5N8 viruses, first detected in China in 2010. An 2016's variant of this virus (group-B Gochang-like, clade 2.3.4.4), was discovered in May-June 2016 in wild swans at Lake Ubsu-Nur on the Russian-Mongolian border, and reached Central Asia, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Israel. The Ubsu-Nur 2016's AIV-H5N8 was genetically identical to an AIV-H5N8 that emerged in Israel six months later during the autumn migration. This was the first H5N8 outbreak in Israel, which included meat and breeder turkeys, heavy and light breeders, layers, breeder ducks and backyard poultry, but also many wild birds, not seen in the previous H5N1 outbreaks, of at least 16 species mostly waterfowl and raptors. The cleavage site of HA gene showed similarity between poultry and wild birds, as well as to grp B-2.3.4.4 European-Asian H5N8 viruses. Since October 2020, new H5 reassortants with LPAI viruses from wild birds contributed the Neuraminidase (NA) glycoprotein, have appeared in Europe and created new H5 strains. A second global outbreak of a new H5 variant occurred in 2020-21 in Russia and the Palearctic region. Following this global outbreak, a second AIV-H5N8 outbreak appeared in Israel in 2020 during the autumn migration. The outbreak included meat and breeder turkeys, heavy breeders, broilers, game birds mainly black swans (Cygnus atratus), and wild birds. The 2021--22's AIV-H5N1 epidemic season was the largest so far in Europe and Eurasia, with about 2500 outbreaks in poultry and culling of 50 million birds, and about 3600 detections in wild birds. That outbreak followed the 2020's wave of the new AIV-H5N8. Following this epidemic, a third multi-focal outbreak of AIV-H5N1 occurred in Israel in 2021, in meat and breeder turkeys, heavy breeders, organic egg layers and meat ducks. The 2021's outbreak was characterized also by affecting many wild birds, not seen before in H5N1's outbreaks in Israel, while the largest affected population was Common cranes (Grus grus) on their migration routes from Russia and Scandinavia to Ethiopia and Sudan through Israel, undergoing mass mortality of almost 10,000 birds. Other threatened species like Marbled teal (Marmaronetta angustirostris) have died also due to this virus, as well as hundreds of Great white pelicans (Pelecanus onocrotalus), and several species of waterfowl and raptors. Classification of the viruses by whole genome sequencing (WGS) revealed the same group B-2.3.4.4 clade as in the H5N8 events and similarity between poultry and wild birds. This virus probably came from Russia in the autumn migration. A new outbreak of AIV-H5N1 began emerging in Israel from November 2022, in meat turkeys, heavy and light breeders, broilers. Unlike the 2021's outbreak, this virus affected only a few wild birds. HA gene sequencing revealed the virus belonged to the same group B-2.3.4.4 clade as in previous outbreaks. In conclusion, all avian influenza subtype H5 outbreaks in Israel followed the European-Eurasian outbreaks. The virus origin was from South East Asia, reaching Israel through spillover with migrating birds via Eurasia and Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of pelvic floor disorders (PFD) in a cohort of Israeli women at late pregnancy and three months postpartum, to define changes in PFD rates and to evaluate various obstetrical factors that may correlate with these changes.Methods: A prospective longitudinal cohort study was conducted between March and July 2014. The PFDI-20 questionnaire (validated in the Hebrew language) was used to evaluate pelvic floor distress symptoms 24h and 3 months after delivery (representing the third trimester and post-partum period, respectively). Patients with a preterm delivery (<36 completed weeks of gestation), delivery of a stillbirth, non-fluency in Hebrew and patients with inability to complete the questionnaire due to a communication problem were excluded from the study. In addition to the PFDI results demographic and clinical data were collected from the patients' medical records. Routine statistical methods were used to interpret the results.Results: During the study period 117 women answered the first questionnaire and only 37 had filled the second questionnaire. The most prevalent item group reported in the third trimester was the urinary distress symptoms. Urinary frequency was the most common with 65% of patients reporting this symptom. At the post-partum period the most prevalent item group reported was the colorectal and anal distress with 31.5% of patients reporting increased straining efforts. There was a mixed trend in the changes noted between the two questionnaires. While some items improved in the puerperium as compared with late pregnancy others have worsened. In a multivariable analysis the only statistically significant finding was that at the post-partum follow-up, stress urinary incontinence was significantly associated with spontaneous perineal tears at delivery. Other obstetrical parameters including episiotomy and birth weight were not found to be significantly associated with any of the PFD items.Conclusion: We have demonstrated that PFD is prevalent both in late pregnancy and in the puerperium. There are mixed trends of spontaneous recovery following childbirth. A significant association between perineal tears and SUI 3 months after delivery was noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 'citizen science' approach was evaluated as an approach to organize an extensive radon survey to be representative of the population of either single regions or a whole country. The "RadonTest" online system allowed schoolchildren to undertake and record short-term radon tests in their homes. Measurements were carried out in Israel using charcoal in miniature flacons and simple detectors with high sensitivity. Among other things, the "RadonTest" online system implements an alternative principle of building a radon map, allowing the display of radon tests more clearly than the traditional approach, while ensuring the confidentiality of test participants. Examples of public radon maps are presented, and the first test results are discussed. A scientifically based approach for the effective identification of buildings with a high radon concentration, based on the principle of radon regulation, is proposed. • The "RadonTest" online system is a cloud service, can be used everywhere. • The system builds online database and radon map with automatic geolocation. • Can serve different test methods: charcoal, SSNTD, electrets, continuous monitoring. • User-friendly system: even school children can easily test radon in their homes. • The involvement of school children contributes to the awareness about radon risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]