Publications

Objectives To show the effect of homocysteine (Hcy) on the degradation rates of proteins.

Quant. data are reported for the first time on the amts. of iron, which are transferred to the hand upon holding a firearm. Iron levels between 21-315 ng/cm2 were found on volunteers' palms after a single holding of a handgun. Detn. of the iron traces was accomplished spectrophotometrically using 3-(2-pyridyl)-5,6-diphenyl-1,2,4-triazine (PDT) as a complexing agent. The transfer of iron from firearms to the palm was found to be, by and large a chem. (dissoln.) rather than mech. dislodgement. The prime factor that dets. the amt. of iron transferred from the firearm to the hand is the moisture level on the palm. These findings are likely to be of importance in courts of law, as well as in the war against terrorism and serious crime. [on SciFinder(R)]

Quantitative data are reported for the first time on the amounts of iron, which are transferred to the hand upon holding a firearm. Iron levels between 21-315 ng/cm2 were found on volunteers' palms after a single holding of a handgun. Determination of the iron traces was accomplished spectrophotometrically using 3-(2-pyridyl)-5,6-diphenyl-1,2,4-triazine (PDT) as a complexing agent. The transfer of iron from firearms to the palm was found to be, by and large a chemical (dissolution) rather than mechanical dislodgement. The prime factor that determines the amount of iron transferred from the firearm to the hand is the moisture level on the palm. These findings are likely to be of importance in courts of law, as well as in the war against terrorism and serious crime.[on SciFinder (R)]

Water-in-oil (w/o) emulsions can be used to compartmentalize and select large gene libraries for a predetd. function. The aq. droplets of the w/o emulsion function as cell-like compartments in each of which a single gene is transcribed and translated to give multiple copies of the protein (e.g., an enzyme) it encodes. While compartmentalization ensures that the gene, the protein it encodes, and the products of the activity of this protein remain linked, it does not directly afford a way of selecting for the desired activity. Here the authors show that re-emulsification of w/o emulsions gives water-in-oil-in-water (w/o/w) emulsions with an external (continuous) water phase through which droplets contg. fluorescent markers can be isolated by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). These w/o/w emulsions can be sorted by FACS, while the content of the aq. droplets of the primary w/o emulsion remains intact. Consequently, genes embedded in these water droplets together with a fluorescent marker can be isolated and enriched from an excess of genes embedded in water droplets without a fluorescent marker. The ability of FACS instruments to sort up to 40,000 events per s may endow this technol. a wide potential in the area of high-throughput screening and the directed evolution of enzymes. [on SciFinder(R)]

Extract: All screening approaches rely on ways of compartmentalizing assay reactions, and means of rapidly screening various molecules imbedded in these compartments. Miniaturization, which has become the hallmark of modern science and technology, has also been applied to screening, thus leading to a variety of high-throughput screening (HTS) technologies that aim at the smallest possible reaction volumes and the most sensitive and rapid means of detection. These demands are general and do not depend on the type of molecules (genes, proteins, small molecules, etc.) or activity (enzymatic, binding, inhibitory, etc.) that are being screened for, nor on the target of screening (functional genomics, directed evolution, drug discovery, etc.). Conventional HTS approaches use either robotic 2D-arrays (e.g., microtitre plates), or living cells. In vitro compartmentalization (IVC) is a newly developed technology that uses the aqueous droplets of water-in-oil (w/o) emulsions as cell-like compartments.[on SciFinder (R)]

Synchrotron-x-ray and surface tension studies of a strong polyelectrolyte (PE) in the semi-dil. regime (∼O.1M monomer-charges) with varying surfactant concns. show that minute surfactant concns. induce the formation of a PE-surfactant complex at the gas/soln. interface. X-ray reflectivity and grazing angle x-ray diffraction (GIXD) provide detailed information of the top most layer, where the surfactant forms a 2-dimensional liq.-like monolayer, with a noticeable disruption of the structure of H2O at the interface. With the addn. of salt (NaCl) columnar-crystals with distorted-hexagonal symmetry are formed. [on SciFinder(R)]

Synchrotron x-ray and surface-tension studies of a strong polyelectrolyte (PE) in the semidilute regime (∼0.1M monomer charges) with varying surfactant concns. show that minute surfactant concns. induce the formation of a PE-surfactant complex at the gas-soln. interface. X-ray reflectivity and grazing angle x-ray diffraction show the complex PE-surfactant resides at the interface and the alkyl chains of the surfactant form a two-dimensional liquidlike monolayer. With the addn. of salt (NaCl), columnar crystals with distorted-hexagonal symmetry are formed. [on SciFinder(R)]

Polystyrene scaffolds were grafted with model functionalities featuring strongly interacting hydrogen bonding and aromatic stacking elements. Both glass transition temperatures and degree of microphase separation in functionalized block copolymers depend on the nature of the functionality and in particular on the strength of intermolecular interactions. The polymers under study were amorphous; it was found, however, that domain periodicities of functionalized diblock copolymers in the microphase-separated state are extremely sensitive to local interactions between functionalities and can express even subtle differences in interaction strength. The results emphasize the ability to fine-tune polymer microstructure and thermomechanical behavior using supramolecular chemistry.

Anilinium is strongly adsorbed at monolayers of the phospholipid L-alpha-dimyristoylphosphatidic acid (DMPA) and hexadecanesulfonic acid (HDSA) at the air-water interface, and undergoes chemical polymerisation under conditions where bulk polymerisation does not occur.[on SciFinder (R)]

Anilinium is strongly adsorbed at monolayers of the phospholipid L-α-dimyristoylphosphatidic acid (DMPA) and hexadecanesulfonic acid (HDSA) at the air-water interface, and undergoes chem. polymn. under conditions where bulk polymn. does not occur. [on SciFinder(R)]

Some of the results shown in Figures 1, 2, 4a, and 6 were already reported in Langmuir 20 (2004) 2081-2085. Nevertheless, these earlier results do help in comprehending the full picture of this research project. [on SciFinder(R)]

The mechanism of release of two fluorescent markers, fluorescein isothiocyanate-bovine serum albumin (FITC-BSA) and fluorescein, from water-in-oil-in-water (w/o/w) emulsions was investigated using a rapid and sensitive method based on fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). The release of FITC-BSA from a w/o/w emulsion was controlled by diffusion rather than by simple breakdown of the multiple droplets or by formation of reverse micelles in the oil phase. In contrast, the release of fluorescein from a double emulsion was controlled by formation of reverse micelles rather than by diffusion or simple breakdown of multiple droplets. A significant difference in the yield and fraction of FITC-BSA and fluorescein released from double emulsions was obsd. due to their different mol. structure and properties. The yield of FITC-BSA incorporation in a double emulsion increased with increasing FITC-BSA concn. in the internal water phase, while the yield of fluorescein decreased with increasing concn. The fraction of FITC-BSA released from a w/o/w emulsion after 24 h decreased with an increasing concn. of FITC-BSA in the internal phase. The w/o/w emulsion with internalized FITC-BSA was more stable than that with fluorescein, indicating its further application for sorting or enriching size-controlled double droplets that contained genes and water-sol. drugs. [on SciFinder(R)]

When a selection of judges turns out to be a political issue? Is there a connection between court decisions and the nomination process? With the absence of written constitution and emergence of parliamentary system without checks and balances, the judicial branch in was initially regarded as the weakest arm of government in Israel. Selection of judges was considered then to be a-political process, based mainly on professional considerations. The "weakness" of not having formally defined review powers, made it possible for the Court to incrementally increase its influence without being perceived as threatening the other branches of government. The High Court role during the 1980s and early 1990s was crucial in a situation of political stalemate. It helped strengthen democratic tendencies and probably prevented over politicization of various spheres of life. However, when the legislature decided to adapt to the new situation and granted the courts powers of limited judicial review, the courts were pushed into the center of political debate. The Israeli judiciary, which enjoyed professional autonomy and was relatively shielded from political interference, is no longer regarded as a neutral arbiter, but rather, as an active actor in the political arena. As such, professional practices such as nomination of justices and division of cases between justices have become the focus of political scrutiny, thereby posing a threat to future impartiality and independence of the judiciary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]Copyright of Conference Papers -- Law & Society is the property of Law & Society Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)