Blue Tiger Leader April 2015 Issue

Blue Tiger Leader is published twice during each semester by the Lincoln University (MO) Army ROTC Blue Tiger Battalion.

Blue Tiger Leader September 2015 Issue

Blue Tiger Leader is published twice during each semester by the Lincoln University (MO) Army ROTC Blue Tiger Battalion.

“O CRISTO AFOGADO: UMA NÃO-CRISTOLOGIA” RELIGIÃO, LITERATURA E PÓS-COLONIALISMO

O objetivo dessa tese é aprofundar, a partir do discurso pós-colonial, uma crise na perspectiva teológica da libertação. Esta promoveu, na década de 1970, uma reviravolta nos estudos teológicos no terceiro mundo. Para tanto, leremos um conto de Gabriel García Márquez chamado “El ahogado más hermosodel mundo” (1968) analizando e avaliando as estratégias políticas e culturais ali inscritas. Para levar a frente tal avaliação é preciso ampliar o escopo de uma visão que divide o mundo em secular/religioso, ou em ideias/práticas religiosas e não religiosas, para dar passo a uma visão unificada que compreende a mundanalidade, tanto do que é catalogado como ‘religioso’ quanto do que se pretende ‘não religioso’. A teologia/ciências da religião, como discurso científico sobre a economia das trocas que lidam com visões, compreensões e práticas de mundo marcadas pelo reconhecimento do mistério que lhes é inerente, possuem um papel fundamental na compreensão, explicitação, articulação e disponibilização de tais forças culturais. A percepção de existirem elementos no conto que se relacionam com os símbolos sobre Jesus/Cristo nos ofereceu um vetor de análise; entretanto, não nos deixamos limitar pelos grilhões disciplinares que essa simbologia implica. Ao mesmo tempo, esse vínculo, compreendido desde a relação imperial/colonial inerente aos discursos e imagens sobre Jesus-Cristo, embora sem centralizar a análise, não poderia ficar intocado. Partimos para a construção de uma estrutura teórica que explicitasse os valores, gestos, e horizontes mundanos do conto, cristológicos e não-cristológicos, contribuindo assim para uma desestabilização dos quadros tradicionais a partir dos quais se concebem a teologia e as ciências da religião, a obra de García Márquez como literatura, e a geografia imperial/colonial que postula o realismo ficcional de territórios como “América Latina”. Abrimos, assim, um espaço de significação que lê o conto como uma “não-cristologia”, deslocando o aprisionamento disciplinar e classificatório dos elementos envolvidos na análise. O discurso crítico de Edward Said, Homi Bhabha e GayatriSpivak soma-se à prática teórica de teólogas críticas feministas da Ásia, da África e da América Latina para formular o cenário político emancipatório que denominaremos teologia crítica secular.

In vivo function of mutated spliced leader RNAs in Caenorhabditis elegans

The role of spliced leader RNA (SL RNA) in trans-splicing in Caenorhabditis elegans has been studied through a combination of in vitro mutagenesis and in vivo complementation of rrs-1 mutant nematodes, which lack endogenous SL1 RNA. Three classes of mutant SL1 RNAs have been found—those that rescue the lethal phenotype at low concentration of transforming DNA, those that rescue at high but not low concentration, and those that do not rescue at all. These studies showed that some mutations in the otherwise highly conserved 22-nt spliced leader are tolerated for splicing and post-splicing events. A longer spliced leader also can be tolerated but only when present in high copy number. Changes in the first 16 nucleotides result in the appearance of no SL RNA, consistent with the in vitro studies by others showing that the SL1 RNA promoter partly resides within the spliced leader sequence.

Transcript leader regions of two Saccharomyces cerevisiae mRNAs contain internal ribosome entry sites that function in living cells

In higher eukaryotes, translation of some mRNAs occurs by internal initiation. It is not known, however, whether this mechanism is used to initiate the translation of any yeast mRNAs. In this report, we identify naturally occurring nucleotide sequences that function as internal ribosome entry sites (IRESes) within the 5′ leader sequences of Saccharomyces cerevisiae YAP1 and p150 mRNAs. When tested in the 5′ untranslated regions of monocistronic reporter genes, both leader sequences enhanced translation efficiency in vegetatively growing yeast cells. Moreover, when tested in the intercistronic region of dicistronic mRNAs, both sequences were shown to contain IRESes that functioned in living cells. The activity of the p150 leader was much greater than that of the YAP1 leader. The second cistron was not expressed in control dicistronic constructs that lacked these sequences or contained the 5′ leader sequence of the CLN3 mRNA in the intercistronic region. Further analyses of the p150 IRES revealed that it contained several nonoverlapping segments that were able independently to mediate internal initiation. These results suggested a modular composition for the p150 IRES that resembled the composition of IRESes contained within some cellular mRNAs of higher eukaryotes. Both YAP1 and p150 leaders contain several complementary sequence matches to yeast 18S rRNA. The findings are discussed in terms of our understanding of internal initiation in higher eukaryotes.

Trypanosome spliced leader RNA genes contain the first identified RNA polymerase II gene promoter in these organisms

Typical general transcription factors, such as TATA binding protein and TFII B, have not yet been identified in any member of the Trypanosomatidae family of parasitic protozoa. Interestingly, mRNA coding genes do not appear to have discrete transcriptional start sites, although in most cases they require an RNA polymerase that has the biochemical properties of eukaryotic RNA polymerase II. A discrete transcription initiation site may not be necessary for mRNA synthesis since the sequences upstream of each transcribed coding region are trimmed from the nascent transcript when a short m7G-capped RNA is added during mRNA maturation. This short 39 nt m7G-capped RNA, the spliced leader (SL) sequence, is expressed as an ∼100 nt long RNA from a set of reiterated, though independently transcribed, genes in the trypanosome genome. Punctuation of the 5′ end of mRNAs by a m7G cap-containing spliced leader is a developing theme in the lower eukaryotic world; organisms as diverse as Euglena and nematode worms, including Caenorhabditis elegans, utilize SL RNA in their mRNA maturation programs. Towards understanding the coordination of SL RNA and mRNA expression in trypanosomes, we have begun by characterizing SL RNA gene expression in the model trypanosome Leptomonas seymouri. Using a homologous in vitro transcription system, we demonstrate in this study that the SL RNA is transcribed by RNA polymerase II. During SL RNA transcription, accurate initiation is determined by an initiator element with a loose consensus of CYAC/AYR(+1). This element, as well as two additional basal promoter elements, is divergent in sequence from the basal transcription elements seen in other eukaryotic gene promoters. We show here that the in vitro transcription extract contains a binding activity that is specific for the initiator element and thus may participate in recruiting RNA polymerase II to the SL RNA gene promoter.

Trans-spliced leader addition to mRNAs in a cnidarian

A search of databases with the sequence from the 5′ untranslated region of a Hydra cDNA clone encoding a receptor protein-tyrosine kinase revealed that a number of Hydra cDNAs contain one of two different sequences at their 5′ ends. This finding suggested the possibility that mRNAs in Hydra receive leader sequences by trans-splicing. This hypothesis was confirmed by the finding that the leader sequences are transcribed as parts of small RNAs encoded by genes located in the 5S rRNA clusters of Hydra. The two spliced leader (SL) RNAs (SL-A and -B) contain splice donor dinucleotides at the predicted positions, and genes that receive SLs contain splice acceptor dinucleotides at the predicted positions. Both of the SL RNAs are bound by antibody against trimethylguanosine, suggesting that they contain a trimethylguanosine cap. The predicted secondary structures of the Hydra SL RNAs show significant differences from the structures predicted for the SLs of other organisms. Messenger RNAs have been identified that can receive either SL-A or -B, although the impact of the two different SLs on the function of the mRNA is unknown. The presence and features of SL addition in the phylum Cnidaria raise interesting questions regarding the evolution of this process.

Bacteria are different: Observations, interpretations, speculations, and opinions about the mechanisms of adaptive evolution in prokaryotes

To some extent, the genetic theory of adaptive evolution in bacteria is a simple extension of that developed for sexually reproducing eukaryotes. In other, fundamental ways, the process of adaptive evolution in bacteria is quantitatively and qualitatively different from that of organisms for which recombination is an integral part of the reproduction process. In this speculative and opinionated discussion, we explore these differences. In particular, we consider (i) how, as a consequence of the low rates of recombination, “ordinary” chromosomal gene evolution in bacteria is different from that in organisms where recombination is frequent and (ii) the fundamental role of the horizontal transmission of genes and accessory genetic elements as sources of variation in bacteria. We conclude with speculations about the evolution of accessory elements and their role in the adaptive evolution of bacteria.

Processing of the leader mRNA plays a major role in the induction of thrS expression following threonine starvation in Bacillus subtilis.

The threonyl-tRNA synthetase gene, thrS, is a member of a family of Gram-positive genes that are induced following starvation for the corresponding amino acid by a transcriptional antitermination mechanism involving the cognate uncharged tRNA. Here we show that an additional level of complexity exists in the control of the thrS gene with the mapping of an mRNA processing site just upstream of the transcription terminator in the thrS leader region. The processed RNA is significantly more stable than the full-length transcript. Under nonstarvation conditions, or following starvation for an amino acid other than threonine, the full-length thrS mRNA is more abundant than the processed transcript. However, following starvation for threonine, the thrS mRNA exists primarily in its cleaved form. This can partly be attributed to an increased processing efficiency following threonine starvation, and partly to a further, nonspecific increase in the stability of the processed transcript under starvation conditions. The increased stability of the processed RNA contributes significantly to the levels of functional RNA observed under threonine starvation conditions, previously attributed solely to antitermination. Finally, we show that processing is likely to occur upstream of the terminator in the leader regions of at least four other genes of this family, suggesting a widespread conservation of this phenomenon in their control.

Determining RNA solution structure by segmental isotopic labeling and NMR: application to Caenorhabditis elegans spliced leader RNA 1.

Recent developments in multidimensional heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy and large-scale synthesis of uniformly 13C- and 15N-labeled oligonucleotides have greatly improved the prospects for determination of the solution structure of RNA. However, there are circumstances in which it may be advantageous to label only a segment of the entire RNA chain. For example, in a larger RNA molecule the structural question of interest may reside in a localized domain. Labeling only the corresponding nucleotides simplifies the spectrum and resonance assignments because one can filter proton spectra for coupling to 13C and 15N. Another example is in resolving alternative secondary structure models that are indistinguishable in imino proton connectivities. Here we report a general method for enzymatic synthesis of quantities of segmentally labeled RNA molecules required for NMR spectroscopy. We use the method to distinguish definitively two competing secondary structure models for the 5' half of Caenorhabditis elegans spliced leader RNA by comparison of the two-dimensional [15N] 1H heteronuclear multiple quantum correlation spectrum of the uniformly labeled sample with that of a segmentally labeled sample. The method requires relatively small samples; solutions in the 200-300 microM concentration range, with a total of 30 nmol or approximately 40 micrograms of RNA in approximately 150 microliters, give strong NMR signals in a short accumulation time. The method can be adapted to label an internal segment of a larger RNA chain for study of localized structural problems. This definitive approach provides an alternative to the more common enzymatic and chemical footprinting methods for determination of RNA secondary structure.

Degradation of the cleaved leader peptide of thiolase by a peroxisomal proteinase.

A peroxisomal location for insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) has been defined by confocal immunofluorescence microscopy of stably transfected CHO cells overexpressing IDE and digitonin-permeabilization studies in normal nontransfected fibroblasts. The functional significance of IDE in degrading cleaved leader peptides of peroxisomal proteins targeted by the type II motif was evaluated with a synthetic peptide corresponding to the type II leader peptide of prethiolase. The peptide effectively competed for degradation and cross-linking of the high-affinity substrate 125I-labeled insulin to IDE. Direct proteolysis of the leader peptide of prethiolase was confirmed by HPLC; degradation was inhibited by immunodepletion with an antibody to IDE. Phylogenetic analysis of proteinases related to IDE revealed sequence similarity to mitochondrial processing peptidases.

Islamic Political Thought: Reviving a Rationalist Tradition

This work develops the foundations of an Islamic argument for secular, liberal democracy from within the Islamic discursive tradition. First, it challenges the presentation of contemporary Islamic political thought as a unified, continuous development of the classical canon by showing the influence of the now marginalized medieval rationalists in the development of Islamic political thought. The classical rationalist concern with divine justice forced the founders of Sunni orthodoxy to state their epistemologies and their positions on ethical ontology. The orthodox positions, and their related methods of legal-juristic reasoning, are shown to be incapable of accommodating the modern Islamic positions on political representation, slavery, and just war. This leads to the second argument of the work, that the modern Islamic discourse is better understood as a reflection of the central concern with justice and its rationalist epistemology and ethical ontology we find in the writings of classical rationalists. This argument is made by examining the works of three classical rationalists, a theologian, a philosopher, and a historian. Their political positions, shaped by their rationalism and concern with justice, challenged their orthodox contemporaries, and provide substantive critiques of the classical political accommodations, methods of politico-legal reasoning, and hence, of modern Islamist political projects. The final chapter reveals how far the mainstream of Islamic political thought has deviated from the classical discourses, since the 19th century, by adopting the language and ideals of the European Enlightenment. This shift is presented as a triumph of classical rationalism over literalism, whose epistemological foundations and ontological implications have yet to be acknowledged and appreciated.

The African-American Islamic Renaissance and the Rise of the Nation of Islam

This dissertation examines African-American Islamic culture from 1920 through 1959, a period I label the "African-American Islamic Renaissance" (AAIR). The AAIR is characterized by a significant increase in interest in Islam, extreme diversity in views about Islam, and the absence of a single organization dominating African-American Islamic culture for a significant amount of time. Previous works dealing with African-American Islam in this period have failed to fully recognize these features, particularly the last of these. As a result, explanations for the rise of the Nation of Islam (NOI) have not satisfactorily explained why it was only the NOI--and not other Islamic groups that were more popular than the NOI up until the mid-1950s--that became a "mass movement," gaining the allegiance of tens of thousands of African Americans. There has been some tendency, for instance, to assume that the NOI was the most popular African-American Islamic group by the early 1950s, a notion that is probably an inference drawn from two other popular but inaccurate assumptions: that the NOI's rise was due primarily to its radical racialized doctrines and its charismatic leaders, particularly Malcolm X, who became a popular minister for the group in the early 1950s. I argue, however, that the NOI was in fact not the most popular African-American Islamic group until at least 1955, and even as late as 1959 its official membership numbers were not particularly large by AAIR standards. Also, its doctrines were not especially unique in the AAIR, nor was its having extremely charismatic leaders. I contend that the success of the NOI in the mid-to-late 1950s was the result of three levels of changes at the time: internal, external in the AAIR community, and external in the broader U.S, culture.

Schleiermacher's Doctrine of Biblical Authority: An Alternative to Content-Based/Supernaturalist and Function-Based Rationalist Models

Author: Kerry W. Holton Title: SCHLEIERMACHER’S DOCTRINE OF BIBLICAL AUTHORITY: AN ALTERNATIVE TO CONTENT-BASED/SUPERNATURALIST AND FUNCTION- BASED/RATIONALIST MODELS Advisor: Theodore M. Vial, Jr. Degree Date: August 2015 This dissertation examines Friedrich Schleiermacher’s understanding of biblical authority and argues that, as an alternative to strictly supernaturalistic and rationalistic models, his understanding allows the New Testament to speak authoritatively in Christian religion in an age of critical, historical awareness. After classifying Schleiermacher’s position in a typology of the doctrine of biblical authority, this dissertation explores his conception of divine revelation and inspiration vis-à-vis scripture. It demonstrates that although he did not believe there is warrant for the claim of a direct connection between divine revelation and scripture, or that scripture is the foundation of faith, he nonetheless asserted that the New Testament is authoritative. He asserted the normative authority of the New Testament on the basis that it is the first presentation of Christian faith. This dissertation examines Schleiermacher’s “canon within the canon,” as well as his denial that the Old Testament shares the same normative worth and inspiration of the New. Although this dissertation finds difficulty with some of Schleiermacher’s views regarding the Old Testament, it names two significant strengths of what is identified as his evangelical, content-based, and rationalist approach to biblical authority. First, it recognizes and values the co-presence and co-activity of the supernatural and the natural !ii in the production of the New Testament canon. This allows both scripture and the church to share religious authority. Second, it allows Christian faith and the historical-method to coexist, as it does not require people to contradict what they know to be the case about science, history, and philosophy. Thus, this dissertation asserts that Schleiermacher’s understanding of biblical authority is a robust one, since, for him, the authority of scripture does not lie in some property of the texts themselves that historians or unbelievers can take away.