Purpose
Given the increased emphasis on embedding the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) in the curriculum, research, engagement activities and operations of higher education ...institutions, this comparative study aims to replicate an earlier international study of Turnaround Leadership for Sustainability in Higher Education (TLSHE) in the unique context of Malaysia and Japan. This paper also presents a case for closer focus on developing Education for Sustainability (EfS) leaders in institutions of higher learning.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is a quantitative comparative research. The authors collected data for EfS-related variables from lecturers affiliated with Malaysian and Japanese public and private universities. Building on the data and results from the TLSHE study, this study made a series of within- and between-sample descriptive comparisons from different angles and levels. To generalize the findings, this study used gender and experience outside higher education as control variables and compared the academics from the Malaysian and the Japanese institutions through the path modeling framework.
Findings
The comparisons showed that except for two domains, namely, contextual factors influencing EfS leadership and the EfS leadership development approaches, the means of all other domains based on the data collected from the Malaysian sample were the highest, followed by means from the international TLSHE sample, and finally the means from the Japanese sample. This study also observed that transparency, engagement with EfS initiatives at different levels, passion for teaching and learning, and creative and lateral thinking were among the top indicators. The inferential tests revealed significant differences between the academics from Japan and Malaysia as well.
Practical implications
The findings of the analyses can be used to ensure that the selection and development of EfS leaders (in this case, lecturers who may be formal or informal EfS leaders), not just at the central but at the local level in the distinctive context of Japan and Malaysia, focus on what counts and the good ideas embodied in the 17 UN SDGs are actually put into practice. This study has also highlighted the policy implications with respect to the gender and the previous work experience of lecturers outside higher education sector in more detail.
Originality/value
This study compares the perceptions of two samples of academics from Asian countries with the perceptions of the international TLSHE sampled EfS leaders in terms of EfS leadership-related issues and therefore, increases the awareness of academic community in this regard. It also highlights the role of lecturers (e.g. professors) as intellectual academic leaders in achieving SDGs. Moreover, this study shows that lecturers’ gender and previous work experience outside higher education should be considered when developing and implementing policies on EfS leadership.
•First extensive mutational analysis of a new DNA binding architecture.•All but one mutated residue contacting DNA decreased DNA binding affinity.•All mutated residues contacting DNA reduced ...N7-methylguanine excision activity.•Residues involved in general DNA binding are important for catalytic activity.•Base excision is enhanced by binding energy provided by the entire concave surface.
Tandem helical repeats have emerged as an important DNA binding architecture. DNA glycosylase AlkD, which excises N3- and N7-alkylated nucleobases, uses repeating helical motifs to bind duplex DNA and to selectively pause at non-Watson–Crick base pairs. Remodeling of the DNA backbone promotes nucleotide flipping of the lesion and the complementary base into the solvent and toward the protein surface, respectively. The important features of this new DNA binding architecture that allow AlkD to distinguish between damaged and normal DNA without contacting the lesion are poorly understood. Here, we show through extensive mutational analysis that DNA binding and N3-methyladenine (3mA) and N7-methylguanine (7mG) excision are dependent upon each residue lining the DNA binding interface. Disrupting electrostatic or hydrophobic interactions with the DNA backbone substantially reduced binding affinity and catalytic activity. These results demonstrate that residues seemingly only involved in general DNA binding are important for catalytic activity and imply that base excision is driven by binding energy provided by the entire substrate interface of this novel DNA binding architecture.
Bacterial formyl‐CoA:oxalate CoA‐transferase (FCOCT) and oxalyl‐CoA decarboxylase work in tandem to perform a proton‐consuming decarboxylation that has been suggested to have a role in generalized ...acid resistance. FCOCT is the product of uctB in the acidophilic acetic acid bacterium Acetobacter aceti. As expected for an acid‐resistance factor, UctB remains folded at the low pH values encountered in the A. aceti cytoplasm. A comparison of crystal structures of FCOCTs and related proteins revealed few features in UctB that would distinguish it from nonacidophilic proteins and thereby account for its acid stability properties, other than a strikingly featureless electrostatic surface. The apparently neutral surface is a result of a “speckled” charge decoration, in which charged surface residues are surrounded by compensating charges but do not form salt bridges. A quantitative comparison among orthologs identified a pattern of residue substitution in UctB that may be a consequence of selection for protein stability by constant exposure to acetic acid. We suggest that this surface charge pattern, which is a distinctive feature of A. aceti proteins, creates a stabilizing electrostatic network without stiffening the protein or compromising protein–solvent interactions.
PDB Code(s): 3ubm
•Mass spectrometric detection of multiple alkyl-DNA adducts excised by glycosylases.•Use of HPLC–MS/MS to characterize glycosylase activities.•Methods for preparation of alkylated genomic DNA and ...oligonucleotides.•Comparison of methods to characterize alkylpurine DNA glycosylase activities.
DNA glycosylases excise a broad spectrum of alkylated, oxidized, and deaminated nucleobases from DNA as the initial step in base excision repair. Substrate specificity and base excision activity are typically characterized by monitoring the release of modified nucleobases either from a genomic DNA substrate that has been treated with a modifying agent or from a synthetic oligonucleotide containing a defined lesion of interest. Detection of nucleobases from genomic DNA has traditionally involved HPLC separation and scintillation detection of radiolabeled nucleobases, which in the case of alkylation adducts can be laborious and costly. Here, we describe a mass spectrometry method to simultaneously detect and quantify multiple alkylpurine adducts released from genomic DNA that has been treated with N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU). We illustrate the utility of this method by monitoring the excision of N3-methyladenine (3mA) and N7-methylguanine (7mG) by a panel of previously characterized prokaryotic and eukaryotic alkylpurine DNA glycosylases, enabling a comparison of substrate specificity and enzyme activity by various methods. Detailed protocols for these methods, along with preparation of genomic and oligonucleotide alkyl-DNA substrates, are also described.
Alunite (KAl3(SO4)2(OH)6) is a hydrated aluminous sulfate mineral associated with acidic, oxidizing aqueous environments on Earth. Additionally, orbiting spacecraft and rovers on Mars have reported ...spectral data that indicate a range of mono- and polyhydrated sulfate phases and hydroxysulfate phases, suggesting such conditions also existed on Mars in the past. This study examines alunite dissolution rates in aqueous systems with varying pH, temperature, and solution chemistry conditions. Alunite dissolution rates in dilute solutions are 2–3 orders of magnitude slower than jarosite dissolution rates measured under analogous conditions. Similar to jarosite, alunite dissolution rates vary as a function of activity of H+ and OH− following the rate law log r (molm−2s−1)=−0.133(±0.02)pH−10.65(±0.07) at pH<5 and log r=0.194(±0.04)pH−12.53(±0.26) at pH>5. However, minimum alunite dissolution rates are shifted to higher pH (5–5.5), likely due to differences in Fe and Al speciation. Alunite and jarosite rates converge in saturated NaCl and CaCl2 brines as the activity of water decreases, suggesting that differences in water exchange rates with Fe3+ and Al3+ control dissolution rates in dilute solutions, while metal–Cl− complexation occurs at similar rates within the brines. Particle lifetimes based on measured dissolution rates in dilute solutions show that alunite particles are expected to be preserved two orders of magnitude longer than jarosite particles over a range of pH and temperature conditions. In particular, alunite is more likely to be preserved in neutral to moderately alkaline systems compared to jarosite, which is expected to be preserved in more acidic conditions. Alunite dissolution produced amorphous Al-rich alteration products at moderate to high pH. Unlike jarosite, alunite dissolution does not show a clear trend as a function of temperature; alunite dissolution rates do not increase with increasing temperature, likely due to lower alunite solubility at higher temperature. Therefore, alunite is expected to be more prevalent in hydrothermal systems compared to jarosite.
A growing body of research examining the social and political implications of geographic information systems (GIS) considers the extent to which the use of this technology may empower or disempower ...different actors and institutions. However, these studies have tended not to articulate a clear conceptualization of empowerment. Thus, in this paper, I develop a multidimensional conceptual framework for assessing empowerment (and disempowerment), and employ it in examining the impacts of GIS use by community-based organizations engaged in urban planning and neighborhood revitalization. Drawing on a case study conducted with a Minneapolis, Minnesota, neighborhood organization, I show how this multidimensional framework fosters a more complete analysis of empowerment, and therefore, development of a more detailed explanation of the impacts of this new technology.
The conversion of 5-aminoimidazole ribonucleotide (AIR) to 4-carboxy-AIR (CAIR) represents an unusual divergence in purine biosynthesis: microbes and nonmetazoan eukaryotes use class I PurEs while ...animals use class II PurEs. Class I PurEs are therefore a potential antimicrobial target; however, no enzyme activity assay is suitable for high throughput screening (HTS). Here we report a simple chemical quench that fixes the PurE substrate/product ratio for 24h, as assessed by the Bratton–Marshall assay (BMA) for diazotizable amines. The ZnSO4 stopping reagent is proposed to chelate CAIR, enabling delayed analysis of this acid-labile product by BMA or other HTS methods.
PurposeThe direction of causality between job satisfaction and job performance (known as the holy grail of industrial psychologists) is undetermined and related research findings in different ...organizational contexts are mixed. Based on the ample literature, mainly from Western countries, on the relationship between job satisfaction and job performance, a non-recursive bow pattern model was utilized to investigate the direct relationship between these two variables in an Asia–Pacific higher education system.Design/methodology/approachThis study is quantitative in approach and survey in design. Additionally, to meet the statistical requirements of non-recursive bow pattern analysis, the authors added welfare as a theory-driven instrumental variable to introduce exogenous variability. Using the efficient partial least squares (PLSe2) estimator, the authors fitted the model to the data collected from 2008 academics affiliated with Malaysian public universities and polytechnics.FindingsThe results showed that while job satisfaction is considerably influenced by welfare, it is not a significant predictor of job performance directly. In addition, a meaningful positive correlation between the disturbance terms of job satisfaction and job performance was observed, suggesting the existence of other factors that could increase both job satisfaction and job performance. The findings' theoretical and practical implications are discussed, and a list of theory-driven evidenced-based policies in this regard is provided.Originality/valueThis is the first study to test a non-recursive bow pattern model and examine the holy grail of industrial psychology based on the PLSe2 methodology, as a parametric approach to partial least squares (PLS), in a higher education context. This study also provides higher education researchers with the advantages of the PLSe2 method, especially in causal-predictive modeling, in the context of applied higher education research.
During World War II, the Hanford Site in Washington became the location for U.S. plutonium production. In 2004, a bottle containing a sample of plutonium was recovered from a Hanford waste trench. ...Here, state-of-the-art instrumental analyses, reactor model simulations, and investigative science techniques were used to provide insights as to the origin of this unknown sample, a process collectively termed as nuclear archeology. Isotopic age dating conducted on the sample in 2007 indicated the sample was separated from the spent fuel 61.6 ± 4.5 years earlier. The isotope 22Na, a detectable product of a secondary nuclear reaction, proved useful as a powerful tool for nuclear forensic analysis as (1) an easily detectable signifier of the presence of α emitting actinides, (2) an indicator of sample splitting, and (3) a measure of the time since sample splitting. Analytical results of minor actinide isotopes and reactor model simulations confirmed the material originated from the X-10 reactor in Oak Ridge, TN. Corroborated by historical documents, we concluded this sample was part of the first batch of Pu separated at T-Plant, Hanford, the world’s first industrial-scale reprocessing facility, on December 9, 1944. This sample represents the oldest known collection of man-made 239Pu in the world.
Coenzyme A (CoA)-transferases catalyze the reversible transfer of CoA from acyl-CoA thioesters to free carboxylates. Class I CoA-transferases produce acylglutamyl anhydride intermediates that undergo ...attack by CoA thiolate on either the internal or external carbonyl carbon atoms, forming distinct tetrahedral intermediates <3 Å apart. In this study, crystal structures of succinyl-CoA:acetate CoA-transferase (AarC) from Acetobacter aceti are used to examine how the Asn347 carboxamide stabilizes the internal oxyanion intermediate. A structure of the active mutant AarC-N347A bound to CoA revealed both solvent replacement of the missing contact and displacement of the adjacent Glu294, indicating that Asn347 both polarizes and orients the essential glutamate. AarC was crystallized with the nonhydrolyzable acetyl-CoA (AcCoA) analog dethiaacetyl-CoA (1a) in an attempt to trap a closed enzyme complex containing a stable analog of the external oxyanion intermediate. One active site contained an acetylglutamyl anhydride adduct and truncated 1a, an unexpected result hinting at an unprecedented cleavage of the ketone moiety in 1a. Solution studies confirmed that 1a decomposition is accompanied by production of near-stoichiometric acetate, in a process that seems to depend on microbial contamination but not AarC. A crystal structure of AarC bound to the postulated 1a truncation product (2a) showed complete closure of one active site per dimer but no acetylglutamyl anhydride, even with acetate added. These findings suggest that an activated acetyl donor forms during 1a decomposition; a working hypothesis involving ketone oxidation is offered. The ability of 2a to induce full active site closure furthermore suggests that it subverts a system used to impede inappropriate active site closure on unacylated CoA.
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