Boys and girls in religious school, handwriting of Reverend Gershom Seixas

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Subscription to K. K. S. I. religious school

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Report of Gershom Seixas regarding religious school

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Variation in the Understanding of Lutheranism and Its Implications for Religious Education : Meaning Discernment of Students and Teachers in Finnish Upper Secondary Schools

The study investigated variation in the ways in which a group of students and teachers of Evangelical Lutheran religious education in Finnish upper secondary schools understand Lutheranism and searched for educational implications for learning in religious education. The aim of understanding the qualitative variation in understanding Lutheranism was explored through the relationship between the following questions, which correspond to the results reported in the following original refereed publications: 1) How do Finnish students understand Lutheranism? 2) How do Finnish teachers of religious education constitute the meaning of Lutheranism? 3) How could phenomenography and the Variation Theory of Learning contribute to learning about and from religion in the context of Finnish Lutheran Religious Education as compared to religious education in the UK? Two empirical studies (Hella, 2007; Hella, 2008) were undertaken from a phenomenographic research perspective (e.g., Marton, 1981) and the Variation Theory of Learning (e.g., Marton & Tsui et al. 2004) that developed from it. Data was collected from 63 upper secondary students and 40 teachers of religious education through written tasks with open questions and complementary interviews with 11 students and 20 teachers for clarification of meanings. The two studies focused on the content and structure of meaning discernment in students and teachers expressed understandings of Lutheranism. Differences in understandings are due to differences in the meanings that are discerned and focused on. The key differences between the ways students understand varied from understanding Lutheranism as a religion to personal faith with its core in mercy. The logical relationships between the categories that describe variation in understanding express a hierarchy of ascending complexity, according to which more developed understandings are inclusive of less developed ones. The ways the teachers understand relate to student s understandings in a sequential manner. Phenomenography and Variation Theory were discussed in the context of religious education in Finland and the UK in relation to the theoretical notion of learning about and from religion (Hella & Wright, 2008). The thesis suggests that variation theory enables religious educators to recognise the unity of learning about and from religion, as learning is always learning about something and involves simultaneous engagement with the object of learning and development as a person. The study also suggests that phenomenography and variation theory offer a means by which it is possible for academics, policy makers, curriculum designers, teachers and students to learn to discern different ways of understanding the contested nature of religions. Keywords: Lutheranism, understanding, variation, teaching, learning, phenomenography, religious education

A new mode of ring cleavage of 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid in Tecoma stans (L.). Partial purification and properties of 2,3-dihydroxybenzoate 2,3-oxygenase.

2,3-Dihydroxybenzoic acid has been shown to be oxidized via the 3-oxoadipate pathway in the leaves of Tecoma stans. The formation of 2-carboxy-cis,cis-muconic acid, a muconolactone, 3-oxoadipic acid and carbon dioxide during its metabolism has been demonstrated using an extract of Tecoma leaves. The first reaction of the pathway, viz., the conversion of 2,3-dihydroxybenzoate to 2-carboxy-cis,cis-muconic acid has been shown to be catalysed by an enzyme designated as 2,3-dihydroxybenzoate 2,3-oxygenase. The enzyme has been partially purified and a few of its properties studied. The enzyme is very labile with a half-life of 3--4 h. It is maximally active with 2,3-dihydroxybenzoate as the substrate and does not exhibit any activity with catechol, 4-methyl catechol, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, etc. However, 2,3-dihydroxy-p-toluate and 2,3-dihydroxy-p-cumate are also oxidized by the enzyme by about 38% and 28% respectively, compared to 2,3-dihydroxybenzoate. Sulfhydryl reagents inhibit the enzyme reaction and the inhibition can be prevented by preincubation of the enzyme with the substrate. Substrate also affords protection to the enzyme against thermal inactivation. Sulfhydryl compounds strongly inhibit the reaction and the inhibition cannot be prevented by preincubation of the enzyme with its substrates. Data on the effect of metal ions as well as metal chelating agents suggest that copper is the metal cofactor of the enzyme. Evidence is presented which suggests that iron may not be participating in the overall catalytic mechanism.

Lecture by Jacques Judah Lyons on the history of the Jews, given before the Hebrew Religious and Literary Library Association

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Valence and spatial explanations for voting in the 2013 Australian election

This paper examines the 2013 Australian federal election to test two competing models of vote choice: spatial politics and valence issues. Using data from the 2013 Australian Election Study, the analysis finds that spatial politics (measured by party identification and self-placement on the left-right spectrum) and valence issues both have significant effects on vote choice. However, spatial measures are more important than valence issues in explaining vote choice, in contrast with recent studies from Britain, Canada and the United States. Explanations for these differences are speculative, but may relate to Australia’s stable party and electoral system, including compulsory voting and the frequency of elections. The consequently high information burden faced by Australian voters may lead to a greater reliance on spatial heuristics than is found elsewhere.

Documenting the inevitable: Voting behaviour at the 2013 Australian election

This chapter uses data from the 2013 Australian Election Study (AES), conducted by Clive Bean, Ian McAllister, Juliet Pietsch and Rachel Gibson (Bean et al. 2014) to investigate political attitudes and voting behaviour in the election. The study was funded by the Australian Research Council and involved a national survey of political attitudes and behaviour using a self-completion questionnaire mailed to respondents on the day before the 7 September election. The sample was a systematic random sample of enrolled voters throughout Australia, drawn by the Australian Electoral Commission. Respondents were given the option of returning the completed questionnaire by reply-paid mail or completing the survey online. Non-respondents were sent several follow-up mailings and the final sample size was 3955, representing a response rate of 34 per cent. The data were weighted to reflect population parameters for gender, age, state and vote.

Spirituality in Indian University students and its associations with socioeconomic status, religious background, social support, and mental health

The present study aimed to understand spirituality and its relationships with socioeconomic status (SES), religious background, social support, and mental health among Indian university students. It was hypothesized that: - (1) female university students will be more spiritual than male university students, - (2) four domains of spirituality will differ significantly across socioeconomic and religious background of the university students in addition to social support, and; - (3) there will be a positive relationship between spirituality and mental health of university students, irrespective of gender. A group of 475 postgraduate students aged 20–27 years, 241 males and 234 females, from various disciplines of Pondicherry University, India, participated in the study. Students’ background was collected using a structured questionnaire. Overall spirituality and its four dimensions were measured using the Spirituality Attitude Inventory, while mental health status was estimated based on scores of the psychological subscale of the WHO Quality of Life Questionnaire. Female students were significantly more spiritual than male students, particularly in spiritual practice and sense of purpose/connection. Hindu religion and lower family income were associated with lower spirituality. Higher spirituality was associated with congenial family environment and more support from teachers and classmates. There was a strong association between overall spirituality and two spirituality domains (spiritual belief and sense of purpose/connection) with better mental health. Findings suggest an opportunity for open dialogue on spirituality for university students as part of their mental health and support services that fosters a positive mind set and enhancement of resilience.

Photocytotoxic 3d-Metal Scorpionates with a 1,8-Naphthalimide Chromophore Showing Photoinduced DNA and Protein Cleavage Activity

Ternary 3d-metal complexes of formulation [M(Tp(Ph))(py-nap)](ClO4)(1-3), where M is Co(II) (1), Cu(II) (2), and Zn(II) (3); Tp(Ph) is anionic tris (3-phenylpyrazolyl)borate; and py-nap is a pyridyl ligand with a conjugated 1,8-naphthalimide moiety, have been prepared from the reaction of metal perchlorate with KTp(Ph) and py-nap in CH2Cl2. The complexes have been characterized from analytical and physicochemical data. The complexes are stable in solution as evidenced from the electrospray ionization mass spectrometry data. The complexes show good binding propensity with calf thymus (CT) DNA, giving binding constant (K-b) values of similar to 10(5) M-1 and a molecular ``light-switch'' effect that results in an enhancement of the emission intensity of the naphthalimide chromophore on binding to CT DNA. The complexes do not show any hydrolytic cleavage of DNA. They show poor chemical nuclease activity in the presence of 3-mercaptopropionic acid or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The Co(II) and Cu(II) complexes exhibit oxidative pUC19 DNA cleavage activity in UV-A light of 365 rim. The Zn(II) complex shows moderate DNA photocleavage activity at 365 nm. The Cu(II)complex 2 displays photoinduced DNA cleavage activity in red light of 647.1 nm and 676 rim and near-IR light of >750 rim. A mechanistic studyin UV-A and visible light suggests the involvement of the hydroxyl radical as the reactive species in the DNA photocleavage reactions. The complexes also show good bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein binding propensity, giving K-BSA values of similar to 10(5) M-1. Complexes 1 and 2 display significant photoinduced BSA cleavage activity in UV-A light. The Co(II) complex 1 shows a significant photocytotoxic effect in HeLa cervical cancer cells on exposure to UV-A light of 365 nm, giving an IC50 value of 32 mu M. The IC50 value for the py-nap ligand alone is 41.42 mu m in UV-A light. The IC50 value is >200 mu M in the dark, indicating poor dark toxicity of 1. The Cu(II) complex 2 exhibits moderate photocytotoxicity and significant dark toxicity, giving IC50 values of 18.6 mu m and 29.7 mu m in UV-A light and in the dark, respectively.

New ternary copper(II) complexes of L-alanine and heterocyclic bases: DNA binding and oxidative DNA cleavage activity

Four new ternary copper(II) complexes of alpha-amino acid having polypyridyl bases of general formulation [Cu(L-ala)(B)(H2O)](X)(1-4), where L-ala is L-alanine, B is an N,N-donor heterocyclic base, viz. 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy, 1), 1,10-phenanthroline (phen, 2) and 5,6-phenanthroline dione (dione, 3), dipyrido[3,2:2',3'-f] quinoxaline (dpq, 4), and X = ClO4-/NO3- are synthesized, characterized by various spectroscopic and X-ray crystallographic methods. The complexes show a distorted square-pyramidal (4 + 1) CuN3O2 coordination geometry. The one-electron paramagnetic complexes (1-4) display a low energy d-d band near 600 nm in aqueous medium and show a quasi-reversible cyclic voltammetric response due to one-electron Cu(II)/Cu(I) reduction near - 100 mV (versus SCE) in DMF-0.1 M TBAP. Binding interactions of the complexes with calf thymus DNA (CT-DNA) were investigated by UV-Vis absorption titration, ethidium bromide displacement assay, viscometric titration experiment and DNA melting studies. All the complexes barring the complexes 1 and 3 are avid binder to the CT-DNA in the DNA minor groove giving an order: 4 > 2 >>>1, 3. The complexes 2 and 4 show appreciable chemical nuclease activity in the presence of 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) as a reducing agent. Hydroxyl radical was investigated to be the DNA cleavage active species. Control experiments in the presence of distamycin-A show primarily minor groove-binding propensity for the complexes 2 and 4 to the DNA.

Plasmids and aromatic degradation in Sphingomonas for bioremediation : Aromatic ring cleavage genes in soil and rhizosphere

Microbial degradation pathways play a key role in the detoxification and the mineralization of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are widespread pollutants in soil and constituents of petroleum hydrocarbons. In microbiology the aromatic degradation pathways are traditionally studied from single bacterial strains with capacity to degrade certain pollutant. In soil the degradation of aromatics is performed by a diverse community of micro-organisms. The aim of this thesis was to study biodegradation on different levels starting from a versatile aromatic degrader Sphingobium sp. HV3 and its megaplasmid, extending to revelation of diversity of key catabolic enzymes in the environment and finally studying birch rhizoremediation in PAH-polluted soil. To understand biodegradation of aromatics on bacterial species level, the aromatic degradation capacity of Sphingobium sp. HV3 and the role of the plasmid pSKY4, was studied. Toluene, m-xylene, biphenyl, fluorene, phenanthrene were detected as carbon and energy sources of the HV3 strain. Tn5 transposon mutagenesis linked the degradation capacity of toluene, m-xylene, biphenyl and naphthalene to the pSKY4 plasmid and qPCR expression analysis showed that plasmid extradiol dioxygenases genes (bphC and xylE) are inducted by phenanthrene, m-xylene and biphenyl whereas the 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid herbicide induced the chlorocatechol 1,2-dioxygenase gene (tfdC) from the ortho-pathway. A method to study upper meta-pathway extradiol dioxygenase gene diversity in soil was developed. The extradiol dioxygenases catalyse cleavage of the aromatic ring between a hydroxylated carbon and an adjacent non-hydroxylated carbon (meta-cleavage). A high diversity of extradiol dioxygenases were detected from polluted soils. The detected extradiol dioxygenases showed sequence similarity to known catabolic genes of Alpha-, Beta-, and Gammaproteobacteria. Five groups of extradiol dioxygenases contained sequences with no close homologues in the database, representing novel genes. In rhizoremediation experiment with birch (Betula pendula) treatment specific changes of extradiol dioxygenase communities were shown. PAH pollution changed the bulk soil extradiol dioxygenase community structure and birch rhizosphere contained a more diverse extradiol dioxygenase community than the bulk soil showing a rhizosphere effect. The degradation of pyrene in soil was enhanced with birch seedlings compared to soil without birch. The complete 280,923 kb nucleotide sequence of pSKY4 plasmid was determined. The open reading frames of pSKY4 were divided into putative conjugative transfer, aromatic degradation, replication/maintaining and transposition/integration function-encoding proteins. Aromatic degradation orfs shared high similarity to corresponding genes in pNL1, a plasmid from the deep subsurface strain Novosphingobium aromaticivorans F199. The plasmid backbones were considerably more divergent with lower similarity, which suggests that the aromatic pathway has functioned as a plasmid independent mobile genetic element. The functional diversity of microbial communities in soil is still largely unknown. Several novel clusters of extradiol dioxygenases representing catabolic bacteria, whose function, biodegradation pathways and phylogenetic position is not known were amplified with single primer pair from polluted soils. These extradiol dioxygenase communities were shown to change upon PAH pollution, which indicates that their hosts function in PAH biodegradation in soil. Although the degradation pathways of specific bacterial species are substantially better depicted than pathways in situ, the evolution of degradation pathways for the xenobiotic compounds is largely unknown. The pSKY4 plasmid contains aromatic degradation genes in putative mobile genetic element causing flexibility/instability to the pathway. The localisation of the aromatic biodegradation pathway in mobile genetic elements suggests that gene transfer and rearrangements are a competetive advantage for Sphingomonas bacteria in the environment.

Mutational analysis of active-site residues in the Mycobacterium leprae RecA intein, a LAGLIDADG homing endonuclease: Asp(122) and Asp(193) are crucial to the double-stranded DNA cleavage activity whereas Asp(218) is not

Mycobacterium leprae recA harbors an in-frame insertion sequence that encodes an intein homing endonuclease (PI-MleI). Most inteins (intein endonucleases) possess two conserved LAGLIDADG (DOD) motifs at their ctive center. A common feature of LAGLIDADG-type homing endonucleases is that they recognize and cleave the same or very similar DNA sequences. However, PI-MleI is distinctive from other members of the family of LAGLIDADG-type HEases for its modular structure with functionally separable domains for DNA-binding and cleavage, each with distinct sequence preferences. Sequence alignment analyses of PI-MleI revealed three putative LAGLIDADG motifs; however, there is conflicting bioinformatics data in regard to their identity and specific location within the intein polypeptide. To resolve this conflict and to determine the active-site residues essential for DNA target site recognition and double-stranded DNA cleavage, we performed site-directed mutagenesis of presumptive catalytic residues in the LAGLIDADG motifs. Analysis of target DNA recognition and kinetic parameters of the wild-type PI-MleI and its variants disclosed that the two amino acid residues, Asp(122) (in Block C) and Asp(193) (in functional Block E), are crucial to the double-stranded DNA endonuclease activity, whereas Asp(218) (in pseudo-Block E) is not. However, despite the reduced catalytic activity, the PI-MleI variants, like the wild-type PI-MleI, generated a footprint of the same length around the insertion site. The D122T variant showed significantly reduced catalytic activity, and D122A and D193A mutations although failed to affect their DNA-binding affinities, but abolished the double-stranded DNA cleavage activity. On the other hand, D122C variant showed approximately twofold higher double-stranded DNA cleavage activity, compared with the wild-type PI-MleI. These results provide compelling evidence that Asp(122) and Asp(193) in DOD motif I and II, respectively, are bona fide active-site residues essential for DNA cleavage activity. The implications of these results are discussed in this report.

Photocytotoxic Oxovanadium(IV) Complexes Showing Light-Induced DNA and Protein Cleavage Activity

Oxovanadium(IV) complexes [VO(L)(B)]Cl-2 (1-3), where L is bis(2-benzimidazolylmethyl)amine and B is 1,10-phenanthroline(phen),dipyrido[3,2-d:2',3'-f]quinoxaline(dpq) or dipyrido[3,2-a:2',3'-c]phenazine (dppz), have been prepared, characterized, and their photo-induced DNA and protein cleavage activity studied. The photocytotoxicity of complex 3 has been studied using adenocarcinoma A549 cells, The phen complex 1, structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray crystallography, shows the presence of a vanadyl group in six-coordinate VON5 coordination geometry. The ligands L and phen display tridentate and bidentate N-donor chelating binding modes, respectively. The complexes exhibit a d-d band near 740 nm in 15% DMF-Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.2). The phen and dpq complexes display an irreversible cathodic cyclic voltammetric response near -0.8 V in 20% DMF-Tris-HCl buffer having 0.1 M KCl as supporting electrolyte. The dppz complex 3 exhibits a quasi-reversible voltammogram near -0.6 V (vs SCE) that is assignable to the V(IV)-V(III)couple. The complexes bind to calf thymus DNA giving binding constant values in the range of 6.6 x 10(4)-2.9 x 10(5) M-1. The binding site size, thermal melting and viscosity binding data suggest DNA surface and/or groove binding nature of the complexes. The complexes show poor ``chemical nuclease'' activity in dark in the presence of 3-mercaptopropionic acid or hydrogen peroxide. The dpq and dppz complexes are efficient photocleavers of plasmid DNA in UV-A light of 365 nm via a mechanistic pathway that involves formation of both singlet oxygen and hydroxyl radicals. The complexes show significant photocleavage of DNA in near-IR light (>750 nm) via hydroxyl radical pathway. Among the three complexes, the dppz complex 3 shows significant BSA and lysozyme protein cleavage activity in UV-A light of 365 nm via hydroxyl radical pathway. The dppz complex 3 also exhibits photocytotoxicity in non-small cell lung carcinoma/human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells giving IC50 value of 17 mu M in visible light(IC50 = 175 mu M in dark).