Hebrew College

ABSTRACT Despite growing interest in father engagement in contemporary social work, historical knowledge about how fathers were represented within early welfare practice remains limited. This article offers an original empirical analysis of 36 archival social work case files produced in the Jewish Yishuv in Mandatory Palestine during the 1930s–1940s, constituting the first systematic study of professional documentation written by early trained social workers in this context. Situating the Yishuv within the broader transnational circulation of social work knowledge between Central Europe and Palestine, the article examines how professional discourses, institutional routines, and socio-political conditions shaped paternal roles.Contrary to widespread assumptions that fathers were largely absent or marginalized in early welfare systems, the findings reveal a more complex reality. Fathers appear frequently in the files and are often described with attentiveness, empathy, and recognition of their involvement in family life. While paternal authority continued to be framed through breadwinning and disciplinary expectations, professional flexibility emerged in situations of poverty, migration, and crisis, where fathers were acknowledged as emotionally vulnerable subjects rather than solely as moral or economic actors.This pattern invites reflection not only on evolving attitudes toward fatherhood, but also on gendered asymmetries embedded in welfare practice. Fathers’ difficulties were often interpreted as circumstantial and structurally conditioned, whereas maternal shortcomings were more readily moralized and individualized. Rather than presenting a linear narrative of professional progress or failure, the analysis highlights the complex ways gendered care roles were negotiated within early social work institutions. By integrating historical insight into contemporary debates on parental engagement, this study deepens understanding of how institutional practices have long shaped notions of family, responsibility, and gender.

Efficient behavior depends on consolidating selective strategies that prioritize informative cues and suppress irrelevant signals. Previous studies have implicated the claustrum in coordinating cortical activity and large-scale brain states across behavioral contexts, yet its precise contribution to online behavioral control versus the consolidation of frontal control strategies remains unresolved. Here we combined large-scale Neuropixels recordings with targeted optogenetic perturbation of claustral neurons projecting to the anterior cingulate cortex in behaving mice. During adaptation to altered task context and constraints, frontal cortical activity reorganized into a coordinated control regime characterized by sharpened encoding of task-relevant cues, suppression of non-instructive signals, structured low-frequency dynamics, and rapid transitions between population-level neural states. Temporally misaligned claustral signaling disrupted this reorganization, selectively impairing the consolidation of efficient, cue-selective strategies across sessions without affecting trial-by-trial task execution. These findings identify a role for the claustrum in shaping frontal dynamics that consolidate adaptive control strategies.

Abstract While many socialist countries suffered from harsh economic crises, studying their impacts on economic and political attitudes is challenging because of the scarcity of reliable data in non-democratic contexts. We study a democratic socialist setting where we have ample information on such attitudes: the Israeli kibbutzim. Exploiting an economic crisis that hit some kibbutzim more than others, we find that the crisis led to reduced support for leftist political parties. This effect persisted for over 20 years after the crisis had ended. We document that the electoral movement was rooted in a rightward shift in economic attitudes, suggesting that economic crises may undermine socialist regimes by silently changing attitudes toward them. In our unique setting, we can also study recovery mechanisms from the crisis. First, we find that while a sharp debt relief arrangement restored trust in the leadership, it did not reverse the impact of the crisis on economic attitudes. Second, as part of their efforts to recover from the crisis, kibbutzim liberalized their labor markets. Analyzing the staggered shift away from equal sharing to market-based wages, we find that this labor market liberalization led kibbutz members to move further rightward in their political voting and economic attitudes.

Abstract Claims-based dementia algorithms have not been evaluated in the Medicare Advantage (MA) population, a critical gap given the rapid growth of MA and concerns about data completeness. Using community-dwelling participants from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) Round 7 (2017; n = 5,058), Round 9 (2019; n = 4,048), and Round 11 (2021-2022; n = 3,109), we validated the Bynum Standard and Chronic Condition Warehouse (CCW) dementia algorithms against NHATS classification for probable dementia. The prevalence of probable dementia was similar between MA (8.2%-9.1%) and FFS (8.1%-8.5%) across rounds. Overall, both algorithms had comparable performance in MA vs FFS populations, demonstrating high specificity (>97.9%) and negative predictive value [NPV] (>92.9%). The Bynum algorithm had similar sensitivity between MA and FFS in Round 7 (30.2% vs. 29.1%) and 11 (25.6% vs. 23.9%), but statistically significant and clinically meaningful lower sensitivity in MA for Round 9 (25.0% vs. 36.4%). However, positive predictive value [PPV] was similar between MA (62.7%-70.6%) and FFS (62.1%-70.4%) in all rounds. Comparatively, the CCW algorithm had statistically significant and clinically meaningful lower sensitivity in MA than FFS for Round 9 (30.8% vs. 46.9%) and 11 (35.0% vs. 49.3%), yet similar sensitivity for Round 7 (40.4% vs. 42.2%). The PPV in MA and FFS varied across rounds, from Round 7 (76.3% vs. 71.2%) to 11 (68.5% vs. 76.4%). Claims-based dementia algorithms have lower or comparable sensitivity in MA vs. FFS, with similarly moderate PPV and consistently high specificity and NPV. Researchers should consider these trade-offs when selecting algorithms for MA and FFS.

Abstract Frailty is a state of vulnerability in older adults which predicts adverse health outcomes. Although clinical measures, such as a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment–Frailty Index (CGA-FI) and the Fried phenotype (FP), are reference standards, claims-based measures are often used for research. Given the rapidly growing Medicare Advantage (MA) population and concerns regarding MA data completeness, we assessed performance of claims-based frailty models in detecting frailty by CGA-FI and FP among community-dwelling MA and fee-for-service (FFS) beneficiaries. We measured the Kim’s Claims-based Frailty Index (CFI) and Gilbert’s Hospital Frailty Risk Score (HFRS) in the National Health and Aging Trends Study linked to Medicare claims. In 2019 (FFS n = 2,153, MA n = 1,672), CFI had high specificity (FFS 0.97, MA 0.99) but low sensitivity (FFS 0.31, MA 0.24) in detecting frailty by CGA-FI. The CFI’s PPV was higher for CGA-FI than FP (FFS: 0.84 vs 0.44, MA: 0.90 vs 0.47). In comparison, HFRS had high sensitivity (FFS 0.91, MA 0.91) but low specificity (FFS 0.38, MA 0.43) for CGA-FI frailty, with similar results for FP. Model discrimination was good (C-statistics: CFI 0.81, HFRS 0.79), with both models performing better when benchmarked against CGA-FI. 2021 analyses were similar. In sensitivity analysis using only inpatient claims, HFRS sensitivity decreased while specificity increased. These results suggest that claims-based frailty measures may perform comparably in MA and FFS beneficiaries. However, performance characteristics between models vary – highlighting the importance of model selection for a given population or purpose.

Abstract The much-debated reconstruction of the early Scripture texts has several theoretical-philosophical and practical aspects, as this chapter demonstrates. In the absence of ancient evidence, and with the knowledge that only a small part of the data is known, only theoretical models are left. These models have been adapted to the growing understanding that variant literary traditions in the biblical books are relevant to the understanding of the earliest evidence. After a review of the history of scholarship, model a of an early text (or a series of changing texts) is preferred to model b (early parallel texts). The practical aspects of this discussion involve the comparison of variants and the preparation of text editions. From around 1900 onward there was a regression in risk-taking in textual judgment and the reconstruction of the earliest texts, in other words, a move toward the Masoretic Text.

ABSTRACT Neural and glial dysfunction are thought to underlie memory impairments in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Conversely, astrocytes are known to play a central role in the healthy brain, and their activation has been shown to enhance memory. To test whether activation of astrocytes can correct memory deficits associated with AD, we expressed hM3Dq in CA1 astrocytes of 7 months old 5XFAD AD model mice, enabling astrocytic chemogenetic Gq pathway activation, following exposure to CNO. We report that astrocytic activation results in complete memory correction, and even memory improvement of AD model mice beyond that of untreated WT levels. We went further to discover the mechanisms underlying this memory improvement in AD mice: First, using 2-photon imaging and electrophysiology, we observed increased neuronal activity (displayed as elevated cFos expression and amplified awake Ca2+ events) as well as augmented in-vivo long term plasticity following astrocytic activation. Subsequently, we observed increased astrocytic endocytosis of Aβ plaques. Finally, we report that the beneficial effects of astrocytic activation remained stable for an entire year, and persisted beyond the window of astrocytic Gq activation. Our findings that astrocytes correct memory impairments in an AD model could have important clinical implications towards treating this disease.

Abstract The mechanisms by which genetic variation shapes the epigenome across cell types and developmental stages have remained elusive. Here, we define a unifying developmental framework for DNA methylation programming, grounded in genome-wide methylation and genetic variation data from both mouse and human. In mice, we identify thousands of differentially methylated regions (DMRs) linked to sequence polymorphisms that disrupt transcription factor binding. These DMRs are programmed either during implantation or later in organogenesis, revealing two distinct periods of epigenetic regulation. Extending this logic to humans, we analyze our atlas of over 200 WGBS samples from 39 purified cell types and map 33,574 regions where common SNPs control allele-specific methylation. These include both early-established and cell-type-specific loci, many of which colocalize with eQTLs, enhancers, silencers, and disease-associated variants. Our results uncover a widespread mechanism by which genetic variation influences the regulatory landscape, linking sequence, methylation, and transcription across tissues. This cross-species atlas of sequence-dependent methylation not only clarifies the logic and timing of epigenetic programming, but also provides a foundational resource for deciphering non-coding variants in development, complex disease, and regenerative medicine.