Chapter 6

Chapter 6

“ … it’s no wonder people are starting to feel overwhelmed by the Internet.” [p89] Yeah.

The author doesn’t explain “Nambu” but, obviously, I could look it up …. [p.86]

LibraryThing.com and Shelfari.com are intriguing ideas.

Overall, I appreciate this second chapter of more ‘hands-on-hints’ and I look forward to playing with these things after I finish the book.

infamy 79994.inf.00 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire

he was accordingly summoned before the Senate, and there they stood facing one another before the consuls' tribunal, the aged parent, and opposite to him the daughter, in the twentieth year of her age, widowed and forlorn, her husband Annius Pollio having lately been driven into banishment, without so much as a glance at her father, whose peril she seemed to have aggravated.

Then on the accuser asking her whether she had sold her bridal presents or stript her neck of its ornaments to raise money for the performance of magical rites, she at first flung herself on the ground and wept long in silence. After awhile, clasping the altar steps and altar, she exclaimed, "I have invoked no impious deities, no enchantments, nor aught else in my unhappy prayers, but only that thou, Caesar, and you, senators, might preserve unharmed this best of fathers. My jewels, my apparel, and the signs of my rank I gave up, as I would have given up my life-blood had they demanded it. They must have seen this, those men before unknown to me, both as to the name they bear and the arts they practise. No mention was made by me of the emperor, except as one of the divinities. But my most unhappy father knows nothing, and, if it is a crime, I alone am guilty."

While she was yet speaking, Soranus caught up her words, and exclaimed that she had not gone with him into the province; that, from her youth, she could not have been known to Plautus, and that she was not involved in the charges against her husband. "Treat separately," he said, "the case of one who is guilty only of an exaggerated filial piety, and as for myself, let me undergo any fate." He was rushing, as he spoke, into the embraces of his daughter who hurried towards him, but the lictors interposed and stopped them both. Place was then given to the witnesses, and the appearance among them of Publius Egnatius provoked as much indignation as the cruelty of the prosecution had excited pity. A client of Soranus, and now hired to ruin his friend, he professed the dignified character of a Stoic, and had trained himself in demeanour and language to exhibit an ideal of virtue. In his heart, however, treacherous and cunning, he concealed greed and sensuality. As soon as money had brought these vices to light, he became an example, warning us to beware just as much of those who under the guise of virtuous tastes are false and deceitful in friendship, as of men wholly entangled in falsehoods and stained with every infamy.

happened 885.hap.00 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire

A comet meantime blazed in the sky, which in popular opinion always portends revolution to kingdoms. So people began to ask, as if Nero was already dethroned, who was to be elected. In every one's mouth was the name of Rubellius Blandus, who inherited through his mother the high nobility of the Julian family. He was himself attached to the ideas of our ancestors; his manners were austere, his home was one of purity and seclusion, and the more he lived in retirement from fear, the more fame did he acquire. Popular talk was confirmed by an interpretation put with similar credulity on a flash of lightning. While Nero was reclining at dinner in his house named Sublaqueum on the Simbruine lake, the table with the banquet was struck and shattered, and as this happened close to Tibur, from which town Plautus derived his origin on his father's side, people believed him to be the man marked out by divine providence; and he was encouraged by that numerous class, whose eager and often mistaken ambition it is to attach themselves prematurely to some new and hazardous cause. This alarmed Nero, and he wrote a letter to Plautus, bidding "him consider the tranquillity of Rome and withdraw himself from mischievous gossip. He had ancestral possessions in Asia, where he might enjoy his youth safely and quietly." And so thither Plautus retired with his wife Antistia and a few intimate friends.

About the same time an excessive love of luxurious gratification involved Nero in disgrace and danger. He had plunged for a swim into the source of the stream which Quintus Marcius conveyed to Rome, and it was thought that, by thus immersing his person in it, he had polluted the sacred waters and the sanctity of the spot. A fit of illness which followed, convinced people of the divine displeasure.

mentioned 661.men.002 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire

A second class of critics do not regard the whole of Josephus's testimony concerning Christ as spurious but they maintain the interpolation of parts included above in parenthesis. The reasons assigned for this opinion may be reduced to the following two:

* Josephus must have mentioned Jesus, but he cannot have recognized Him as the Christ; hence part of our present Josephan text must be genuine, part must be interpolated.
* Again, the same conclusion follows from the fact that Origen knew a Josephan text about Jesus, but was not acquainted with our present reading; for, according to the great Alexandrian doctor, Josephus did not believe that Jesus was the Messias ("In Matth.", xiii, 55; "Contra Cels.", I, 47).

Whatever force these two arguments have is lost by the fact that Josephus did not write for the Jews but for the Romans; consequently, when he says, "This was the Christ", he does not necessarily imply that Jesus was the Christ considered by the Romans as the founder of the Christian religion.

motif 332.mot.003 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire

Bacteria have a different mechanism. When an incorrect/damaged mRNA is being translated, it “stalls” during the translation process and is not released. A special RNA – referred to as tmRNA – enters the ribosomal A-site and, upon its translation, the stalled mRNA and the ribosome are decoupled and the stalled (broken) mRNA is degraded.
Slides: T-14, T-15

5. Write about the following: cell differentiation; external signals and their effect on gene expression; DNA helix outside structure and its significance in recognition by DNA binding proteins.

(a) Cell differentiation: Generally, without altering their DNA sequence, cells in multicellular organisms differentiate as they synthesize different types of proein and RNA molecules.
Slide G-2
(b) External signals and their effect on gene expression: Multicelular organisms’ specialized cells can often alter their genetic expression vis-à-vis external cues. Different cell types can alter their expressions differently in the presence of the same external cue.
Slides G-4, G-5, G-6,G-7

(c) DNA helix outside structure and its significance in recognition by DNA binding proteins: The outside of the DNA double-helix is peppered with information recognized by gene regulatory proteins. Base-pair edges are exposed at the double-helix surface resulting in distinctive patterns in both the major and minor grooves of hydrogen bond donors, hydrogen bond acceptors, and hydrophobic patches. However, the patterns in the major grooves are more distinctive and, as such, gene regulatory proteins are more likely to make contact in the major grooves.
Slides G-12, G-13, G-14, G-15, G-16, G-17

6. Write about the following: Helix-turn-helix Motif, zinc finger motif, beta sheet proteins, helix-loop-helix motif; heterodimerization.

(a) Helix-turn-helix motif: This is a DNA binding protein motif. It is a “turn” comprised of two alpha-helices connected by a short extended chain of amino acids. Interactions between the two helices hold the two helices at a fixed angles. Because it fits into the major groove, the C-terminal helix is called the “recognition helix”; amino acid side-chains are involved in recognizing the specific DNA sequence to which the proteins bind. Note, however, that the structure of the various proteins that contain this motif vary, and, therefore, each protein presents this motif to DNA in a different way (this increases the number of DNA sequences that the motif can be used to recognize). Additionally, parts of the polypeptide chains outside the helix-turn-helix domain engender contacts with the DNA, providing even more specificity.
(b) Zinc finger motif: This DNA binding protein motif includes zinc as a structural element. There are many types of zinc finger motifs.
(c) Beta sheet protein: Here a two-stranded beta sheet with amino acid side chains extending toward the DNA reads the information on the major groove. The exact DNA sequence recognized depends upon the amino acids that make up the Beta sheet(s).
(d) Helix-loop-helix motif: This motif consists of a short alpha helix connected by a loop to a longer second helix. The two alpha helices that extend from the dimerization interface connect with the DNA.
(e) Heterodimerization: Some helix-loop-helix proteins lack the binding alpha extensions and thus have only half the number of DNA contacts.; this is yet another way to hold specific gene regulatory proteins in check.
Slides G-11, G-18, G-19, G-20, G-21, G-22, G-23, G-24, G-25, G-26

pharoah 330.pha.002 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire

Thesis Statement


In 1352 BC a Pharaoh of Egypt allowed the Habiru – mercenary warriors -- to settle in ‘the land of Goshen’ to act as a buffer between the Egyptians and any invading peoples from the East.

In 1352 BC, Akhenaten became Pharaoh and, within a few years, Akhenaten converted from the traditional ancient Egyptian polytheistic religion to his conceived religion of only one God, i.e., Aten. Technically, then, all of Egypt became monotheistic, but so many traditionally vested interests were threatened that the Habiru were called upon to serve as Akhenaten’s bodyguards. After Akhenaten’s death, Egypt –- but not the Habiru -- quickly reverted to the ancient polytheistic religion. Feeling threatened, a subsequent Pharaoh conscripted the Habiru to do forced labor and, eventually, the Habiru resolved to and did escape from Egypt and eventually settled in Canaan. The Habiru, in time, became known as the Hebrews.

successfully 388.suc.003 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire

Every day, Sister Antonia Brenner touches the life, mind and heart of someone in desperate need. Every day she impacts the future of another human being. Every day she saves lives and souls.

Sister Antonia lives in a prison cell in Tiajuana, Mexico. She is a Missionary Nun who has made a penitentiary her "home". In 1986, while working with a charity in Mexico, Aid for Baja, California, Sister Antonia entered prison for the first time. She was so profoundly affected that she was compelled to return, permanently and voluntarily.

She begins each day with the prison roll call that is not complete until her name has been called. Hers is not a 9 to 5 job; she is on call 24 hours a day. She has full run of the prison and walks about unescorted, serving the over 2500 residents' spiritual and practical needs. If a prisoner needs a blanket or medical attention for a toothache or needs words of praise and encouragement for a personal accomplishment, or craves a smiling hug, Sister Antonia makes sure that they get what they need.

Many things that seem inconsequential to most, are miracles for the inmates, thanks to Sister Antonia. She intervenes on the prisoners' behalf with the system. She visits their families, children and sick relatives; bringing them news from the outside. Sister is the "Mama figure" to all the male and female residents of the prison, helping them to see a future beyond the prison walls.

Sister Antonia has successfully started a hospice program for inmates who are terminally ill. She says, "People say to me that prisoners should lose their rights--that is the price they must pay for their crimes". Sister's answer, "I say, lose their freedom, yes. But deny the positive power of love within a prison, and you end up with only violent, vengeful energy". She believes this evil energy can be rechanneled in a positive direction with people returning to society.

She makes rehabilitation a reality, restoring self respect. Sister Antonia Brenner asks for nothing, yet gives everything to make a difference in the lives of people most would rather forget.

Women's International Center proudly honors Sister Antonia's devotion to humanity with the deeply deserved Living Legacy Award.