Open University of Israel

Cake-cutting algorithms, which aim to fairly allocate a continuous resource based on individual agent preferences, have seen significant progress over the past two decades. Much of the research has concentrated on fairness, with comparatively less attention given to other important aspects. In 2010, Chen et al. introduced an algorithm that, in addition to ensuring fairness, was strategyproof---meaning agents had no incentive to misreport their valuations. However, even in the absence of strategic incentives to misreport, agents may still hesitate to reveal their true preferences due to privacy concerns (e.g., when allocating advertising time between firms, revealing preferences could inadvertently expose planned marketing strategies or product launch timelines). In this work, we extend the strategyproof algorithm of Chen et al. by introducing a privacy-preserving dimension. To the best of our knowledge, we present the first private cake-cutting protocol, and, in addition, this protocol is also envy-free and strategyproof. Our approach replaces the algorithm’s centralized computation with a novel adaptation of cryptographic techniques, enabling privacy without compromising fairness or strategyproofness. Thus, our protocol encourages agents to report their true preferences not only because they are not incentivized to lie, but also because they are protected from having their preferences exposed.

The subtropical jet dominates over specific longitudinal sectors during both winters. The major source of this zonal asymmetry is localized tropical convection. In particular, during austral winter, the wide and powerful convection over the Asian monsoon region and Maritime Continent drives a subtropical jet over the Indian Ocean, Australia and the west and central Pacific. Further downstream in the east Pacific the jet tilts poleward, gradually shifting towards eddy-driven jet characteristics, while in the Atlantic sector only an eddy-driven jet prevails.In this study, we show that the upper tropospheric circulation pattern over the whole Southern Hemisphere during winter is similar to that in an idealized model simulation, where the only zonal asymmetry source is localized tropical convection in the summer hemisphere. A similar momentum budget is found for the observations and model simulation. The first-order momentum balance is the geostrophic balance associated with a stationary Rossby wave driven by tropical convection. The upstream part of the subtropical jet (the Indian Ocean jet) is associated with a high equatorward of it, and the downstream part (the Pacific jet) is associated with a low poleward of it. This demonstrates that the subtropical jet zonally asymmetric component is a manifestation of a stationary Rossby wave in the upper troposphere. The second-order momentum balance is associated with approximate absolute angular momentum conservation in the localized Hadley cell, as is the dominant balance in zonally symmetric models. The third-order momentum balance is between meridional advection of absolute angular momentum and zonal momentum advection. Transient eddy momentum fluxes are negligible in the maintenance of the subtropical jet zonal structure.

Learning about outgroup individuals who risked their lives to save members of one’s ingroup can improve intergroup relations. However, previous studies have primarily focused on historical conflicts with clear intergroup boundaries, relied solely on self-report measures, and lacked assessments of durable effects. A preregistered preliminary experiment and a preregistered main experiment tested whether exposure to moral exemplars would improve the attitudes of Jewish citizens of Israel toward Arab citizens of Israel (their outgroup) following the October 7 attacks. Jewish Israeli participants who read true stories of outgroup (vs. ingroup) heroic acts showed more positive outgroup evaluation and reduced ingroup favoritism. In the main experiment, these effects persisted 1 week later and were accompanied by an effect on an indirect measure (Single-Target IAT) of outgroup morality immediately following the intervention. The results support the effectiveness and durability of the moral exemplar approach in improving outgroup evaluations.

The target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase is a core component of two evolutionarily conserved complexes, TORC1 and TORC2, which regulate growth, metabolism, and stress responses. In Schizosaccharomyces pombe, TORC2 is dispensable for proliferation under optimal conditions but is essential for survival and adaptation to a variety of stress conditions, including DNA damage and replication stress. The MluI-binding factor (MBF) transcription complex regulates G1/S progression and the DNA replication stress response. Previously, we demonstrated that TORC2-Gad8 is required for the upregulation of MBF-dependent gene transcription in response to replication stress. Here, we show that in response to replication stress, TORC2 is necessary for the accumulation of the initiating form of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) at MBF promoters. In contrast, the elongating form of Pol II aberrantly accumulates at MBF coding regions in TORC2-deficient cells under both induced and noninduced conditions, suggesting a defect in balancing Pol II initiation and elongation that leads to impaired MBF gene induction. Unexpectedly, TORC2-deficient cells also exhibit aberrant upregulation of stress-activated genes during replication stress, including a distinct subset of Pap1-dependent oxidative stress genes. Consistent with this, TORC2 mutant cells accumulate reactive oxygen species in response to replication stress. Together, our findings suggest that TORC2 is required to ensure proper upregulation of MBF-dependent gene transcription during replication stress and to suppress inappropriate activation of oxidative stress response pathways.

Abstract The “dolomite problem” refers to the scarcity of dolomite in Cenozoic marine environments compared with its abundance in earlier strata. This discrepancy has been attributed to changes in marine environments or to insufficient thermal maturity required for dolomite formation. We measured carbon, oxygen, and clumped isotope compositions of carbonate rocks from the Albian Nahal Me'arot reef complex (north Israel), where dolomite is confined to back‐reef lagoon facies and associated with reflux‐brine dolomitization, a process thought responsible for large volumes of dolomite in Phanerozoic rocks. Results show a negative trend between TΔ 47 (29–54°C) and δ 18 O dolomite (−3.25 to −1.35 ‰VPDB), consistent with burial alteration, and support a two‐stage process: (a) proto‐dolomite formation near the lagoon floor, and (b) recrystallization during burial. Together with compilations of Mg/Ca ratios in Cenozoic marine carbonates predicting more dolomite than observed directly, our results suggest that insufficient thermal maturity has limited dolomite formation in Cenozoic strata.

Background/Objectives: Intermittent fasting (IF) has shown feature effectiveness in reducing blood pressure, highlighting the need for personalized intervention strategies. Methods: To address this, a machine learning framework was developed to predict the likelihood of blood pressure improvement (≥5 mmHg systolic reduction) across different IF and calorie restriction protocols in premenopausal women without diagnosed hypertension. Results: The model achieved 77% accuracy and an AUC of 0.8 in distinguishing responders from non-responders. Logistic regression analysis identified dietary intervention type as the strongest predictor of success, with Intermittent Energy and Carbohydrate Restriction + free Protein and Fat (IECR + FF) and Intermittent Energy and Carbohydrate Restriction + free Protein and Fat (IECR) protocols showing the highest effectiveness (coefficients 0.55 and 0.41 respectively). Decision tree analysis revealed age in years as a critical stratification factor, with younger patients (≤47 years) responding optimally to IECR + FF combinations, while older patients benefited from IECR, Continuous Energy Restriction (CER), or Intermittent Energy Restriction (IER) approaches. Notably, waist-to-hip ratio emerged as the strongest negative predictor, indicating that central adiposity significantly impedes blood pressure improvement regardless of intervention type. Higher baseline HDL positively predicted success, while elevated LDL and the DER diet were associated with poor outcomes. The complementary analytical approaches demonstrated that logistic regression and decision tree methods highlight different aspects of the data, with the former identifying independent linear associations and the latter suggesting potential non-linear interactions and candidate thresholds involving age years, dietary intervention type, baseline blood pressure, and metabolic markers. Conclusions: This exploratory, hypothesis-generating analysis was conducted in a cohort of premenopausal women without diagnosed hypertension and is not intended to inform clinical decision-making. The observed patterns should be interpreted as preliminary and may reflect sample-specific effects or model instability. Confirmation in larger, independent, and more diverse populations is essential before any clinical relevance can be inferred.

This article examines unpublished Ottoman and British archival sources that shed new light on Circassian political aspirations in the aftermath of the Crimean War (1856–1857). These documents reveal coordinated initiatives by Circassian leaders—supported by Ottoman and European intermediaries—to mint local currency and produce medals and insignia. These acts functioned as both symbolic gestures and practical steps toward sovereignty and statehood.Through the analysis of interrogation protocols, diplomatic memoranda, and customs records, the study uncovers the intertwined dynamics of imperial strategy, material culture, and Circassian nation-building. It argues that coins, medals, and insignia operated as prototypes of sovereignty in a contested imperial borderland—eliciting suspicion, denial, and retaliatory measures from neighboring empires. By situating these episodes within the frameworks of imagined communities (Anderson) and invented traditions (Hobsbawm and Ranger), the article underscores how material culture served as a medium for political imagination and statecraft in the nineteenth-century Circassia.

This paper examines the theology of prayer in the thought of Dumitru Stăniloae, a prominent Romanian Orthodox theologian. Emphasizing an apophatic yet experiential approach, Stăniloae posits prayer as the primary means of communion with the personal God, integrating mind and heart in the pursuit of theosis. Prayer, animated by the Holy Spirit, enables the human person to transcend natural limitations and participate in divine life. Furthermore, the paper highlights the relational dimension of prayer, where forgiveness and love toward others become essential conditions for genuine communion with God. Thus, prayer is both a transformative encounter with the divine and an ethical imperative that binds love for God with love for neighbor, constituting the foundation of Christian spiritual and communal life.