The Rise of Anti-Semitism in Post Cold War Western Europe: The Effect on Current Jewish Populations in Europe, Jewish Human Rights, and the Role of the Jewish Religion Within Western Europe

Since the ending of World War II and the Cold War, anti-Semitism has been prevalent within Western Europe even though the political atmosphere has tried to dissuade and even punish those that harbored such views. The rise of anti-Semitism in Western Europe in contemporary times as evolved into a dangerous atmosphere for Jews in regards to their human rights, their freedom, and their safety. In this paper, the question of why anti-Semitism is re-emerging will be addressed as well how it is being tackled by the respective countries in which it is prevalent. Poland, Hungary, Greece, France, and Germany are used as case studies to parse out instances of anti-Semitism in Europe, what they mean for both Jews and non-Jews, and what they mean for the European Union and the global community as a whole. The research conducted relied on news reports detailing anti-Semitism and also statistics that measured the amount of anti-Semitism in each country profiled. The news reports and statistics were compared to one another and anti-Semitism was measured through various ways including the number of attacks both physical and verbal, online and virtual based attacks, protests that incited hate toward Jews, political parties that favored anti-Semitic platforms, and the role of the media in reporting anti-Semitism. The result of the research concludes that anti-Semitism is again on the rise as many factors are found to be contributing such as the Global Recession of 2008-2009, discordance by citizens of profiled countries within the EU, and feelings of anti-Semitism that have laid dormant since the end of World War II. The conclusions this paper makes are that Western Europe still has time to stamp out the rampant anti-Semitism that has been growing in recent years. There must be a full-fledged effort to address the contributing factors of anti-Semitism by using the media, the state, the global community, the church, and various factors of society and government in order to make anti-Semitism not only unattractive but also an unviable stance

Structure of the Cytoplasmic Loop between Putative Helices II and III of the Mannitol Permease of Escherichia coli: A Tryptophan and 5-Fluorotryptophan Spectroscopy Study

In this work, four single tryptophan (Trp) mutants of the dimeric mannitol transporter of Escherichia coli, EIImtl, are characterized using Trp and 5-fluoroTrp (5-FTrp) fluorescence spectroscopy. The four positions, 97, 114, 126, and 133, are located in a region shown by recent studies to be involved in the mannitol translocation process. To spectroscopically distinguish between the Trp positions in each subunit of dimeric EIImtl, 5-FTrp was biosynthetically incorporated because of its much simpler photophysics compared to those of Trp. The steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence methodologies used point out that all four positions are in structured environments, both in the absence and in the presence of a saturating concentration of mannitol. The fluorescence decay of all 5-FTrp-containing mutants was highly homogeneous, suggesting similar microenvironments for both probes per dimer. However, Stern-Volmer quenching experiments using potassium iodide indicate different solvent accessibilities for the two probes at positions 97 and 133. A 5 Å two-dimensional (2D) projection map of the membrane-embedded IICmtl dimer showing 2-fold symmetry is available. The results of this work are in better agreement with a 7 Å projection map from a single 2D crystal on which no symmetry was imposed.

Mental Retardation as a Bar to the Death Penalty: Who Bears the Burden of Proof

In holding that the execution of mentally retarded offenders is cruel and unusual punishment,\u27 the instant court followed the current trend of other states. Even before the Supreme Court of the United States rendered its decision in Atkins, state legislatures around the country, including the Missouri legislature, had enacted laws prohibiting the execution of mentally retarded offenders.\u27 Also, the Supreme Court of Missouri\u27s holding that a defendant bears the burden of proving his mental retardation is consistent with the position taken by the vast majority of states. However, the court rendered its holding in the absence of any legislation placing the burden upon the defendant.\u27 In so doing, the court was not acting in conformity with Missouri common law setting forth doctrines of statutory construction.\u27 Furthermore, by not requiring that the burden of proving mental retardation be beyond a reasonable doubt, the court arguably failed to follow precedent of the Supreme Court of the United States. This Note analyzes these issues and concludes that, while the Supreme Court of Missouri\u27s holding in the instant decision followed the trend of other state legislatures, it failed to make its decision in accordance with Missouri common law

The Interaction Of Acrylamide With Glyceraldehyde‐3‐Phosphate Dehydrogenase. Structural Modifications In The Enzyme Studied By Fluorescence Techniques

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142516/1/php1990516725.pd

Synthesis of fluorescent alanines by a rhodium catalysed conjugate addition of arylboronic acids to dehydroalanine derivatives

Several arylalanine derivatives containing fluorescent groups were prepared in good yields using a rhodium catalysed conjugate addition of arylboronic acids to N,N-diprotected and N-monoprotected dehydroalanines. The best conditions for these reactions require the use of an excess of aryl boronic acid (4 equiv.), [Rh(COD)2]BF4 as catalyst and CsF as base in dioxane:H2O (10:1) at 110 ºC. These conditions were also applied to several dipeptides with dehydroalanine residues. The photophysical properties of some of the arylalanines were studied in three solvents of different polarity. Due to the absence of the, double bond, the absorption and fluorescence emission of the new compounds are dominated by the photophysical properties of the polycyclic aromatic fluorophores (naphthalene, phenanthrene and pyrene). Considering the relatively high fluorescence quantum yield of these compounds, some of them may be useful as fluorescent markers for peptides and proteins.Thanks are due to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal), Quadro de Referencia Estrategico Nacional (QREN), and Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional/Uniao Europeia (FEDER/EU) for financial support through the research centers, CQ/UM [PEst-C/QUI/UI0686/2011 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-022716)] and CFUM [PEst-C/FIS/UI0607/2011 (F-COMP-01-0124-FEDER-022711)], and project PTDC/QUI/81238/2006 (cofinanced by Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional/Programa Operacional Fatores de Competitividade (FEDER/COMPETE), ref. FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-007467). G. P. acknowledges her PhD grant from Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT), Programa Operacional Potencial Humano/Quadro de Referencia Estrategico Nacional (POPH-QREN), Fundo Social Europeu (FSE) (SFRH/BD/38766/2007)

?2-Microglobulin Amyloid Fibril-Induced Membrane Disruption Is Enhanced by Endosomal Lipids and Acidic pH

Although the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathology of amyloidoses are not well understood, the interaction between amyloid proteins and cell membranes is thought to play a role in several amyloid diseases. Amyloid fibrils of ?2-microglobulin (?2m), associated with dialysis-related amyloidosis (DRA), have been shown to cause disruption of anionic lipid bilayers in vitro. However, the effect of lipid composition and the chemical environment in which ?2m-lipid interactions occur have not been investigated previously. Here we examine membrane damage resulting from the interaction of ?2m monomers and fibrils with lipid bilayers. Using dye release, tryptophan fluorescence quenching and fluorescence confocal microscopy assays we investigate the effect of anionic lipid composition and pH on the susceptibility of liposomes to fibril-induced membrane damage. We show that ?2m fibril-induced membrane disruption is modulated by anionic lipid composition and is enhanced by acidic pH. Most strikingly, the greatest degree of membrane disruption is observed for liposomes containing bis(monoacylglycero)phosphate (BMP) at acidic pH, conditions likely to reflect those encountered in the endocytic pathway. The results suggest that the interaction between ?2m fibrils and membranes of endosomal origin may play a role in the molecular mechanism of ?2m amyloid-associated osteoarticular tissue destruction in DRA

Dislocation interactions with characteristic interfaces in Ag-Cu eutectic

In the AgCu eutectic alloy, the observation of deformation twinning in Cu proposed to be induced by direct transmission of deformation twinning partial dislocations in Ag highlights the question of how interfaces in bi-phase materials respond to deformation. AgCu eutectic alloy was produced by both directional solidification and cast water-quenching. Control over processing variables enabled the synthesis of Ag/Cu eutectic with three predominant interface types: ones with a cube-on-cube orientation relationship with {111}Ag||{111}Cu interface habit planes, twin orientation relationship with {111}Ag||{111}Cu interface habit planes, and twin orientation relationship with near {3̅13}Ag||{1̅12}Cu interface habit planes. How dislocations interacted with each of the interfaces was determined using in situ and ex situ TEM straining experiments. It was determined that how strain transfers across Ag/Cu interfaces is consistent with criteria of strain transfer across grain boundaries in single phase materials. Specifically, the magnitude of the Burgers vector of the residual dislocation, |bres|, left in the interface should be small. This criterion was determining enough to drive Cu to twin under conditions where otherwise it would not. When transmission of a dislocation would result in a high |bres|, which is common for most slip systems encountering an incoherent twin interface, the interfaces were observed to block the dislocations. It was found that the increased effectiveness of the incoherent twin interfaces to block dislocations compared to the cube-on-cube interfaces resulted in an increased in the yield strength of the material. Interfaces with the cube-on-cube orientation relationship and mutual {111} interface plane between Ag and Cu results in transfer of twinning defects from Ag into Cu. This was found at length scales in the tens of nano-meters to the micron range. Twinning in both phases was observed after both split-Hopkinson pressure bar ex situ straining and tensile in situ straining. The cube-on-cube interfaces were still found to be barriers as dislocation pile-ups formed against the interfaces. Dislocation content at the interfaces increased as well after deformation. Incoherent and coherent twin interfaces between Ag and Cu were greater barriers to strain transfer than the cube-on-cube orientation relationship interfaces. Incoherent twin interfaces were found to allow perfect but not partial dislocation communication on the shared {111} slip plane across the interfaces due to the larger |bres| to communicate the partial dislocations. On the non-shared plane perfect and partial dislocations were blocked by the interfaces

Stabilizing interaction of exopolymers with nano-Se and impact on mercury immobilization in soil and groundwater

Remediation of metal-contaminated soils and waters using nanoparticles is highly limited by their strong tendency to aggregate in soil solution and natural water. In order to enhance the remediation of Hg0-contaminated soil solution and groundwater by Se nanoparticles (SeNPs), the effects of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) on the stability of SeNPs and Hg0 removal were investigated. EPS from the selenite-reducing bacterium Citrobacter freundii Y9 were found to make SeNPs more negatively charged by strong adsorption, which significantly enhanced the stability of SeNPs. The protein, carboxylate, polysaccharide and lipid components of the EPS were involved in the adsorption to SeNPs. Fluorescence quenching titration measurements implied that the binding of proteinaceous substances in the EPS to SeNPs was static quenching. EPS can therefore enhance the remediation efficiency of SeNPs for soil solution and groundwater contaminated with Hg0. This study highlights that bacterial EPS can be used as an effective natural dispersant for SeNPs, therefore improving the efficiency of mercury immobilization in contaminated waters.</p

Mechanism of Assembly of the Dimanganese-Tyrosyl Radical Cofactor of Class Ib Ribonucleotide Reductase: Enzymatic Generation of Superoxide Is Required for Tyrosine Oxidation via a Mn(III)Mn(IV) Intermediate

Ribonucleotide reductases (RNRs) utilize radical chemistry to reduce nucleotides to deoxynucleotides in all organisms. In the class Ia and Ib RNRs, this reaction requires a stable tyrosyl radical (Y•) generated by oxidation of a reduced dinuclear metal cluster. The Fe[superscript III][subscript 2]-Y• cofactor in the NrdB subunit of the class Ia RNRs can be generated by self-assembly from Fe[superscript II][subscript 2]-NrdB, O[subscript 2], and a reducing equivalent. By contrast, the structurally homologous class Ib enzymes require a Mn[superscript III][subscript 2]-Y• cofactor in their NrdF subunit. Mn[superscript II][subscript 2]-NrdF does not react with O[subscript 2], but it binds the reduced form of a conserved flavodoxin-like protein, NrdI[subscript hq], which, in the presence of O[subscript 2], reacts to form the Mn[superscript III][subscript 2]-Y• cofactor. Here we investigate the mechanism of assembly of the Mn[superscript III][subscript 2]-Y• cofactor in Bacillus subtilis NrdF. Cluster assembly from Mn[superscript II][subscript 2]-NrdF, NrdI[subscript hq], and O[subscript 2] has been studied by stopped flow absorption and rapid freeze quench EPR spectroscopies. The results support a mechanism in which NrdI[subscript hq] reduces O[subscript 2] to O[subscript 2]•– (40–48 s[superscript –1], 0.6 mM O[subscript 2]), the O[subscript 2]•– channels to and reacts with Mn[superscript II][subscript 2]-NrdF to form a Mn[superscript III]Mn[superscript IV] intermediate (2.2 ± 0.4 s[superscript –1]), and the Mn[superscript III]Mn[superscript IV] species oxidizes tyrosine to Y• (0.08–0.15 s[superscript –1]). Controlled production of O[subscript 2]•– by NrdI[subscript hq] during class Ib RNR cofactor assembly both circumvents the unreactivity of the Mn[superscript II][subscript 2] cluster with O[subscript 2] and satisfies the requirement for an “extra” reducing equivalent in Y• generation.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant GM81393)United States. Dept. of Defense (National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowships

Staphylococcal phenotypes induced by naturally occurring and synthetic membrane-interactive polyphenolic β-lactam resistance modifiers.

Galloyl catechins, in particular (-)-epicatechin gallate (ECg), have the capacity to abrogate β-lactam resistance in methicillin-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA); they also prevent biofilm formation, reduce the secretion of a large proportion of the exoproteome and induce profound changes to cell morphology. Current evidence suggests that these reversible phenotypic traits result from their intercalation into the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane. We have endeavoured to potentiate the capacity of ECg to modify the MRSA phenotype by stepwise removal of hydroxyl groups from the B-ring pharmacophore and the A:C fused ring system of the naturally occurring molecule. ECg binds rapidly to the membrane, inducing up-regulation of genes responsible for protection against cell wall stress and maintenance of membrane integrity and function. Studies with artificial membranes modelled on the lipid composition of the staphylococcal bilayer indicated that ECg adopts a position deep within the lipid palisade, eliciting major alterations in the thermotropic behaviour of the bilayer. The non-galloylated homolog (-)-epicatechin enhanced ECg-mediated effects by facilitating entry of ECg molecules into the membrane. ECg analogs with unnatural B-ring hydroxylation patterns induced higher levels of gene expression and more profound changes to MRSA membrane fluidity than ECg but adopted a more superficial location within the bilayer. ECg possessed a high affinity for the positively charged staphylococcal membrane and induced changes to the biophysical properties of the bilayer that are likely to account for its capacity to disperse the cell wall biosynthetic machinery responsible for β-lactam resistance. The ability to enhance these properties by chemical modification of ECg raises the possibility that more potent analogs could be developed for clinical evaluation