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.

Multiple QTL‐effects of wheat Gpc‐B1 locus on grain protein and micronutrient concentrations

Abstract: Micronutrient malnutrition afflicts over three billion peopleworldwide and the numbers are continuously increasing. Developing genetically micronutrientenriched cereals, which are the predominant source of human dietary, is essential to alleviate malnutrition worldwide. Wheat chromosome 6B derived from wild emmerwheat [Triticum turgidum ssp. dicoccoides (Korn.) Thell] was previously reported to be a source for high Zn concentration in the grain. In the present study, recombinant chromosome substitution lines (RSLs), previously constructed for genetic and physical maps of Gpc-B1 (a 250-kb locus affecting grain protein concentration), were used to identify the effects of the Gpc-B1 locus on grain micronutrient concentrations. RSLs carrying the Gpc-B1 allele of T. dicoccoides accumulated on average 12% higher concentration of Zn, 18% higher concentration of Fe, 29% higher concentration of Mn and 38% higher concentration of protein in the grain as compared with RSLs carrying the allele from cultivated wheat (Triticum durum). Furthermore, the high grain Zn, Fe and Mn concentrations were consistently expressed in five different environments with an absence of genotype by environment interaction. The results obtained in the present study also confirmed the previously reported effect of the wild-type allele of Gpc-B1 on earlier senescence of flag leaves. We suggest that the Gpc-B1 locus is involved in more efficient remobilization of protein, zinc, iron and manganese from leaves to the grains, in addition to its effect on earlier senescence of the green tissues.

Proximal minimization algorithm with D -functions

Abstract: The original proximal minimization algorithm employs quadratic additive terms in the objectives of the subproblems. In this paper, we replace these quadratic additive terms by more generalD-functions which resemble (but are not strictly) distance functions. We characterize the properties of suchD-functions which, when used in the proximal minimization algorithm, preserve its overall convergence. The quadratic case as well as an entropy-oriented proximal minimization algorithm are obtained as special cases.

Parents' Educational Involvement: A Developmental Ecology Perspective

Abstract: The objective of this review is to examine research on home-based and school-based parental involvement and generate new research questions by employing Bronfenbrenner's ecological framework consisting of the micro-, meso-, exo-, and macrosystems. This analysis shows that, although both family-based and school-based parental involvement are positively related to educational outcomes, their examination in the ecological framework prompts consideration of additional aspects of the micro- and mesosystems and their embeddedness in four exosystemic aspects (parents' networks and workplace, neighborhood, and educational policy) and two macrosystemic types (immigrant and ethnic groups). Guided by Bronfenbrenner's ecological thinking and the availability of advanced multivariate analysis methods, the next stage of this research should test multiple-step models describing factors that prompt parental involvement and mediate and moderate the parental involvement - educational outcomes links in different sociocultur...

Market orientation and performance: a meta‐analysis

Abstract: Purpose – To assess quantitatively the impact of market orientation on the performance of the firm. While much empirical work has centered on market orientation, the generalizability of its impact on performance has been under‐researched.Design/methodology/approach – A substantive meta‐analysis quantitatively summarizes the results of empirical studies of the direct and indirect impact of market orientation on three outcomes. A second, methodological meta‐analysis assessed the influence of methodological variables on explained variance in performance.Findings – The direct, indirect, and total impacts of market orientation on performance were all significant. Additionally, the geographic location of the study and the performance measure used (but not the scale) affected explained variance.Research limitations/implications – First, across study contexts, market orientation affects performance. Second, its impact might be stronger than previously thought due to the indirect paths not considered in previous r...