University of Haifa

About: University of Haifa is a education organization based out in Haifa, Israel. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 7558 authors who have published 27141 publications receiving 711629 citations. The organization is also known as: Haifa University & Universiṭat Ḥefah.

Retrotransposon BARE-1 and Its Role in Genome Evolution in the Genus Hordeum.

Abstract: The replicative retrotransposon life cycle offers the potential for explosive increases in copy number and consequent inflation of genome size. The BARE-1 retrotransposon family of barley is conserved, disperse, and transcriptionally active. To assess the role of BARE-1 in genome evolution, we determined the copy number of its integrase, its reverse transcriptase, and its long terminal repeat (LTR) domains throughout the genus Hordeum. On average, BARE-1 contributes 13.7 x 10(3) full-length copies, amounting to 2.9% of the genome. The number increases with genome size. Two LTRs are associated with each internal domain in intact retrotransposons, but surprisingly, BARE-1 LTRs were considerably more prevalent than would be expected from the numbers of intact elements. The excess in LTRs increases as both genome size and BARE-1 genomic fraction decrease. Intrachromosomal homologous recombination between LTRs could explain the excess, removing BARE-1 elements and leaving behind solo LTRs, thereby reducing the complement of functional retrotransposons in the genome and providing at least a partial "return ticket from genomic obesity."

The Relationship Between Passive and Active Vocabularies: Effects of LanguageLearning Context

Abstract: This study investigated the relationships among 3 types of vocabularyknowledge (passive, controlled active, and free active) within the same individuals, taking 4variables into consideration: passive vocabulary size, language learning context, second (L2) orforeign (FL), length of residence in L2 context and, among the Canadians, knowledge of French.Participants were adult learners of English in Israel (N = 79) and in Canada (N = 103) at different proficiency levels. We used The Levels Test for passivevocabulary size, a Controlled Active Vocabulary Test and The Lexical Frequency Profile (forlexical richness in free written expression). We found that the 3 dimensions of vocabularyknowledge developed at different rates. Active, particularly free active, vocabulary developedmore slowly and less predictably than did passive vocabulary. Furthermore, the relationshipsamong the 3 dimensions of vocabulary knowledge differed between the 2 learning contexts.Although passive vocabulary was always significantly larger than controlled active and freeactive, the passive-active vocabulary gap was smaller in the FL than in the L2 context. Thebenefits of residence in an L2 context only began to appear after about 2 years, as passivevocabulary was activated and the gap reduced. In the Canadian context, knowledge of Frenchwas an asset at the earlier stages of ESL learning.