A POPULAR INDONESIAN PREACHER: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF AA GYMNASTIAR

Aa Gymnastiar (Gym) is a popular Indonesian Muslim preacher who seems to be now at the pinnacle of his fame. He regularly gives advice to the head of state and to ministers and yet at the same time his approach to Islam appeals to all sections of the national Muslim community. His is a familiar face in newspaper columns and above all on television screens; Aa Gym has a masterful command of the media. This article describes and accounts for his popularity and discusses it in terms of continuity and change in the rise and decline of Muslim celebrities in Indonesia. It points out the difference between Gym and some obvious forerunners such as the scholar Hamka, and stresses that the nature of Gym's appeal is new in as much as he does not come from within the circle of traditional families of Muslim ulama . He seems to draw his information as much from secular sources of self-help manuals as from books of Sufi wisdom. Although very popular and influential among the general circle of believers, he is regarded with some suspicion by those who criticize his sufistic leanings and lack of an orthodox Muslim education. The article concludes by arguing that Gym and his approach to the implementation of Muslim precepts is more representative of the nature of Islam in Indonesia today than the activities of terrorists.     

Unique patterns of androgen regulation of the expression of two genes in murine kidney

The kidneys of androgen stimulated mice exhibit a hypertrophic response but no hyperplasia or concomitant DNA replication. Androgens increase the expression of several genes in mouse kidney. The response of the beta-glucuronidase gene to testosterone in this tissue is characterized by a 1-2 day lag and relatively slow induction kinetics. The gene coding for kidney androgen-regulated protein (KAP) exhibits quite a different response to the hormone when compared on the basis of initial response to a given dose, dose required to produce maximal response, and apparent sensitivity to low levels of androgen-receptor complexes in renal nuclei. The analysis of the accumulation of the mRNAs produced by these two genes suggests that gene-specific differential sensitivity to androgen receptor complexes governs the development of the cellular male phenotype in this tissue.     

Effect of infection with murine recombinant retroviruses containing the v-src oncogene on interleukin 2- and interleukin 3-dependent growth states

The cloned murine interleukin 3 (IL 3)-dependent cell lines FD.C/1, 32Dc1-23, and KP3 can each be switched to interleukin 2 (IL 2)-dependent growth states. Replication-defective retroviral vectors have been used to introduce the v-src oncogene into each of these cell lines maintained in either an IL 3- or an IL 2-dependent growth state. These cell lines maintained in an IL 3-dependent growth state were converted to lymphokine-independent growth after infection with v-src. These same cells maintained in an IL 2-dependent growth state and infected with v-src maintained strict lymphokine dependence for growth. Another cloned murine IL 3-dependent cell line, GM, can be switched to a granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)-dependent growth state. GM cells maintained as IL 3- or GM-CSF-dependent cells readily converted to a lymphokine-independent growth state when infected with v-src. These experiments indicate that either there exist differences in the biochemical mechanisms of signal transduction through the IL 3- and IL 2-specific receptors, or developmental processes associated with the switching of cells to an IL 2-dependent growth state influence expression of the v-src gene product. These cell lines offer new ways not only for analyzing biochemical pathways that regulate cell growth, but also for analyzing the control of oncogene expression.     

Metabolism of the mutagen MeIQx in vivo: metabolite screening by liquid chromatography-thermospray mass spectrometry

2-Amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo(4,5-f)quinoxaline (MeIQx) is a potent mutagen found in cooked food. MeIQx and its isotopically labelled (13C, 15N2 and 14C) analogues were synthesised and used for metabolic studies in vivo. An equimolar mixture of MeIQx and its 13C, 15N2 stable isotope labelled analogue (containing tracer amounts of 14C-MeIQx) was given intraperitoneally to mice. Some 67% of the radioactivity was eliminated in urine and faeces within 24h. Four radiolabelled species were observed when urine was analysed by HPLC, corresponding to unchanged MeIQx and three more polar metabolites. Urine was analysed directly by HPLC-thermospray mass spectrometry. Four signals were observed containing the characteristic 1:1 isotopic doublet, corresponding to unchanged MeIQx, an MeIQx glucuronide, and two uncharacterized metabolites.     

A trophic effect of epidermal growth factor (EGF) on rat colonic mucosa in organ culture

The development of an organ-culture system for rat colonic mucosa has enabled a direct assessment of the effect of epidermal growth factor (EGF) on cell division. An augmented mitotic index (AIm) has been employed to identify changes in cell proliferation. Explants of colonic mucosa from four animals were maintained in a medium containing serum for five days. On the fifth day of culture, half of the explants received fresh medium containing EGF (40 ng/ml) and the remainder (controls) fresh medium only. At 6, 12, 24 and 48 hr thereafter groups of both experimental and control explants received the metaphase-arresting drug vincristine (4 micrograms/ml) for 3 hr prior to fixation. The proportions of vincristine-arrested metaphases within the explants were determined. Analysis of the data indicates that when serum is present exogenous EGF exerts a trophic effect which increases with time (P less than 0.001). In a second experiment colonic explants from four animals were maintained for five days in a serum-free medium and were then divided into groups, each of which received one of a range of concentrations of EGF. The AIm was determined for each group after 36 hr. It was found that increasing concentrations of EGF produce a small but significant increase in cell proliferation (P less than 0.01). This effect, however, was less pronounced than that seen when serum was present. These results suggest that EGF has a trophic action on the colon and interacts with additional factors found in serum.     

ΔF508 frequency and associated haplotypes near the cystic fibrosis locus in the Yugoslav population

Summary Chromosomes from 19 unrelated Southern Yugoslav families in which cystic fibrosis (CF) occurs were analysed for the presence of the ΔF508 mutation, using polymerase chain reaction amplification followed by dot blot and polyacrylamide gel analysis. Of the 38 CF chromosomes, 15 (39.5%) carry the ΔF508 deletion. Restriction fragment length polymorphism haplotypes for KM19/PstI, XV2c/TaqI and J3.11/PstI marker loci were determined and are compared for a total of 34 N and 37 CF chromosomes.     

Expression of adenovirus type 2 DNA polymerase in insect cells infected with a recombinant baculovirus.

Sequences encoding adenovirus type 2 DNA polymerase were placed under control of the polyhedrin promoter and inserted into the baculovirus Autographa californica nuclear polyhedrosis virus by homologous recombination. Insect cells infected with the recombinant virus produced substantial amounts of the adenovirus type 2 DNA polymerase protein which was functional in both DNA polymerase and replication initiation reactions. Thus, the baculovirus expression system can provide active adenovirus type 2 DNA polymerase that is produced in quantities suitable for biochemical and structural analysis.