Religious orientation, mental health and culture : conceptual and empirical perspectives

This special edition of Mental Health, Religion and Culture brings together thirteen original empirical studies that employ theories and measures based on the notion of ‘religious orientation’. As originally conceived, Allport’s notion of religious orientation distinguished between the two motivational styles of intrinsic religiosity and extrinsic religiosity. Subsequent work distinguished between extrinsic-personal and extrinsic social motivations, and added the third orientation styled as quest religiosity. The first set of seven studies draws on a variety of measures of religious orientation developed since the mid-1960s, including single-item measures. The second set of six studies draws on the New Indices of Religious Orientation proposed by Francis in 2007. Collectively these studies confirm the continuing vitality of the notion of religious orientation for informing empirical research within the psychology of religion and strengthen the foundation for future work in this area

Structures and polarized electronic absorption spectra of dimolybdenum tetraformate crystals

The crystal structures of two new polymorphs of Mo(,2)(O(,2)CH)(,4) are reported. The original form is designated the (alpha)-polymorph, and the new forms are designated the (beta)- and (gamma)-polymorphs. Polarized electronic spectra in the 21500-27000 cm(\u27-1) region are presented and discussed for the three polymorphs and for Mo(,2)(O(,2)CH)(,4)(.)KCl. The band originating at (TURN)22000 cm(\u27-1) is assigned to the (delta)(---\u3e)(delta)* transition, with comparable intensity provided by the electric dipole and vibronic mechanisms. A weak progression observed near 25000 cm(\u27-1) is assigned to the (delta)(---\u3e)(pi)* transition, which is vibronically-allowed, but electric dipole-forbidden. Spectral evidence suggests the existence of a fourth, unidentified polymorph;(beta)-Mo(,2)(O(,2)CH)(,4) crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2(,1)/c with a = 5.485(1)(ANGSTROM), b = 12.365(2)(ANGSTROM), c = 19.862(4)(ANGSTROM), (beta) = 90.24(2)(DEGREES), V = 1347.1(5)(ANGSTROM)(\u273), and z = 6. Four molecules occupy general positions, while two molecules occupy positions of inversion symmetry. (gamma)-Mo(,2)(O(,2)CH)(,4) crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2(,1)/a with a = 7.939(1)(ANGSTROM), b = 11.193(1)(ANGSTROM), c = 5.5271(9)(ANGSTROM), (beta) = 110.86(2)(DEGREES), V = 458.9(1)(ANGSTROM)(\u273), and z = 2. The three polymorphs were found to differ slightly in molecular packing. Structural evidence suggests the trend (alpha) \u3e (beta)(general positions) \u3e (beta)(special positions) \u3e (gamma) in axial (intermolecular) Mo-O bond strength. The axial bonding produces observable effects in intramolecular Mo-O bond lengths, and Mo-Mo-O, Mo-O-C, and O-C-O bond angles. The orbital geometries of Mo and O explained the tilted chain stacking geometry found in most dimolybdenum tetracarboxylates;Weak progressions are evident in the spectra of the polymorphs at (TURN)6K, in addition to the three strong ones previously reported. The band origin shifts over a range of 160 cm(\u27-1), due to slight differences in Mo-Mo and axial Mo-O bonding. Progressions were assigned by separations from the band origin, based on similarity to those observed in crystals of Mo(,2)(O(,2)CCH(,3))(,4). Mo(,2)(O(,2)CH)(,4)(.)KCl shows a progression of broad peaks separated by 368 cm(\u27-1). The broadness is attributed to mixing of states by the k(\u27+) crystal field. A red shift of (TURN)150 cm(\u27-1) is consistent with structural evidence for a weakened Mo-Mo bond relative to (alpha)-Mo(,2)(O(,2)CH)(,4);Although polarizations were found to be opposite the ideal(, )z-polarized case, the spectra were shown to be similar to the spectraof Mo(,2)(O(,2)CCH(,3))(,4). Thus, the Mo(,2)(O(,2)CH)(,4) (delta)(---\u3e)(delta)* transition momentis likely to be oriented away from the molecular z axis by crystal effects as found in Mo(,2)(O(,2)CCH(,3))(,4)

Identification of antisense nucleic acid hybridization sites in mRNA molecules with self-quenching fluorescent reporter molecules

We describe a physical mRNA mapping strategy employing fluorescent self-quenching reporter molecules (SQRMs) that facilitates the identification of mRNA sequence accessible for hybridization with antisense nucleic acids in vitro and in vivo, real time. SQRMs are 20–30 base oligodeoxynucleotides with 5–6 bp complementary ends to which a 5′ fluorophore and 3′ quenching group are attached. Alone, the SQRM complementary ends form a stem that holds the fluorophore and quencher in contact. When the SQRM forms base pairs with its target, the structure separates the fluorophore from the quencher. This event can be reported by fluorescence emission when the fluorophore is excited. The stem–loop of the SQRM suggests that SQRM be made to target natural stem–loop structures formed during mRNA synthesis. The general utility of this method is demonstrated by SQRM identification of targetable sequence within c-myb and bcl-6 mRNA. Corresponding antisense oligonucleotides reduce these gene products in cells

Prayer and psychological health: a study among sixth-form pupils attending Catholic and Protestant schools in Northern Ireland

Eysenck's dimensional model of personality includes two indicators of psychological health, defined as neuroticism and psychoticism. In order to examine the association between psychological health and prayer, two samples of sixth-form pupils in Northern Ireland (16- to 18-year-olds) attending Catholic (N = 1246) and Protestant (N = 1060) schools completed the abbreviated Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire alongside a simple measure of prayer frequency. The data demonstrated a positive association between prayer frequency and better levels of psychological health as assessed by Eysenck's notion of psychoticism. Among pupils attending both Catholic and Protestant schools, higher levels of prayer were associated with lower psychoticism scores. Among pupils attending Catholic schools, however, higher levels of prayer were also associated with higher neuroticism scores

Gene banks offer breeders access to germplasm: Germplasm collections help to preserve genetic diversity

Although most of us would agree that access to germplasm is the lifeblood of our nursery industry, how many of us know that behind the scenes there is a coordinated public and private effort to deal with germplasm issues

Practical Cooling Strategies During Continuous Exercise in Hot Environments: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background Performing exercise in thermally stressful environments impairs exercise capacity and performance. Cooling during exercise has the potential to attenuate detrimental increases in body temperature and improve exercise capacity and performance. Objective The objective of this review was to assess the effectiveness of practical cooling strategies applied during continuous exercise in hot environments on body temperature, heart rate, whole body sweat production, rating of perceived exertion (RPE), thermal perception and exercise performance. Methods Electronic database searches of MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus, Scopus and Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) were conducted using medical subject headings, indexing terms and keywords. Studies were eligible if participants were defined as ‘healthy’, the exercise task was conducted in an environment ≥25 °C, it used a cooling strategy that would be practical for athletes to use during competition, cooling was applied during a self-paced or fixed-intensity trial, participants exercised continuously, and the study was a randomised controlled trial with the comparator either a thermoneutral equivalent or no cooling. Data for experimental and comparator groups were meta-analysed and expressed as a standardised mean difference and 95 % confidence interval. Results Fourteen studies including 135 participants met the eligibility criteria. Confidence intervals for meta-analysed data included beneficial and detrimental effects for cooling during exercise on core temperature, mean skin temperature, heart rate and sweat production during fixed-intensity exercise. Cooling benefited RPE and thermal perception during fixed-intensity exercise and improved self-paced exercise performance. Conclusion Cooling during fixed-intensity exercise, particularly before a self-paced exercise trial, improves endurance performance in hot environments by benefiting RPE and thermal perception, but does not appear to attenuate increases in body temperature