Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Live/Dead'

New methodology has been utilized to provoke or increase targeted metabolic pathways in microbes. The low hanging fruit of natural products has been discovered over the last 50 years. To continue finding new metabolites to be used as possible drug candidates, methodology development such as those proposed herein are necessary. This methodology uses extracts from known pathogenic bacteria to elicit production of latent biosynthetic pathways from environmental bacterial isolates that may be active against the original pathogenic strains. A new compound, MAV-1 (1) of the diketopiperazine family (Figure 1) was isolated and identified utilizing these techniques. The structure of MAV-1 (1) was defined by a combination of mass spectroscopy (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Discovery of MAV-1 (1), a possible precursor to other known compounds, demonstrates the continuing utility of microbial sources with new chemodiversity.

Prescribed (i.e., controlled) burning is a common practice used in many vegetation types in the world to accomplish a wide range of land management objectives including wildfire risk reduction, wildlife habitat improvement, forest regeneration, and land clearing. To properly apply controlled fire and reduce unwanted fire behavior, an improved understanding of fundamental processes related to combustion of live and dead vegetation is needed. Since the combustion process starts with pyrolysis, there is a need for more data and better models of pyrolysis of live and dead fuels. In this study, slow pyrolysis experiments were carried out in a pyrolyzer apparatus and a Thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) under oxygen free environment in three groups of experiments. In the first group, the effects of temperature (400–800 °C), a slow heating rate (H.R.) (5–30 °C min−1), and carrier gas flow rate (50–350 ml min−1) on yields of tar and light gas obtained from pyrolysis of dead longleaf pine litter in the pyrolyzer apparatus were investigated to find the optimum condition which results in the maximum tar yield. In the second group of experiments, 14 plant species (live and dead) native to forests in the southern United States, were heated in the pyrolyzer apparatus at the optimum condition. A gas chromatograph equipped with a mass spectrometer (GC–MS) and a gas chromatograph equipped with a thermal conductivity detector (GC-TCD) were used to study the speciation of tar and light gases, respectively. In the third group of experiments, the slow pyrolysis experiments for all plant species (live and dead) were carried out in the TGA at 5 different heating rates ranged from 10 to 30 ℃ min-1 to study the kinetics of pyrolysis. The results showed that the highest tar yield was obtained at a temperature of 500 °C, heating rate of 30 °C min−1, and sweep gas flow rate of 100 ml min−1. In addition, the tar composition is dominated by oxygenated aromatic compounds consisting mainly of phenols. The light gas analysis showed that CO and CO2 were the dominant light gas species for all plant samples on a dry wt% basis, followed by CH4 and H2. The kinetics of pyrolysis was studied using one model-free method and three model-fitting methods. First, the model-free method of Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS) was used to calculate the rates of pyrolysis as a function of the extent of conversion. The results showed that different plant species had different rates at different conversions. Then, three model fitting methods were used to find the kinetic parameters to potentially provide a single rate for each plant species. The results showed that the simple one-step model did not fit the one-peak pyrolysis data as well as the distributed activation energy model (DAEM) model. The multiple-reaction DAEM model provided very good fits to the experimental data where multiple peaks were observed, even at different heating rates.

Thesis (M.S.) -- University of Maryland, College Park, 2007.
Thesis research directed by: Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Title from t.p. of PDF. Includes bibliographical references. Published by UMI Dissertation Services, Ann Arbor, Mich. Also available in paper.

Wildland fire, which includes both planned (prescribed fire) and unplanned (wildfire) fires, is an important component of many ecosystems. Prescribed burning (controlled burning) is used as an effective tool in managing a variety of ecosystems in the United States to reduce accumulation of hazardous fuels, manage wildlife habitats, mimic natural fire occurrence, manage traditional native foods, and provide other ecological and societal benefits. During wildland fires, both live and dead (biomass) plants undergo a two-step thermal degradation process (pyrolysis and combustion) when exposed to high temperatures. Pyrolysis is the thermal decomposition of organic material, which does not require the presence of oxygen. Pyrolysis products may later react with oxygen at high temperatures, and form flames in the presence of an ignition source. In order to improve prescribed fire application, accomplish desired fire effects, and limit potential runaway fires, an improved understanding of the fundamental processes related to the pyrolysis and ignition of heterogeneous fuel beds of live and dead plants is needed.In this research, fast pyrolysis of 14 plant species native to the forests of the southern United States has been studied using a flat-flame burner (FFB) apparatus. The results of fast pyrolysis experiments were then compared to the results of slow pyrolysis experiments. The plant species were selected, which represent a range of common plants in the region where the prescribed burning has been performed. The fast pyrolysis experiments were performed on both live and dead (biomass) plants using three heating modes: (1) convection-only, where the FFB apparatus was operated at a high heating rate of 180 °C s-1 (convective heat flux of 100 kW m-2) and a maximum fuel surface temperature of 750 °C; (2) radiation-only, where the plants were pyrolyzed under a moderate heating rate of 4 °C s-1 (radiative heat flux of 50 kW m-2), and (3) a combination of radiation and convection, where the plants were exposed to both convective and radiative heat transfer mechanisms. During the experiments, pyrolysis products were collected and analyzed using a gas chromatograph equipped with a mass spectrometer (GC-MS) for the analysis of tars and a gas chromatograph equipped with a thermal conductivity detector (GC-TCD) for the analysis of light gases.The results showed that pyrolysis temperature, heating rate, and fuel type, have significant impacts on the yields and the compositions of pyrolysis products. These experiments were part of a large project to determine heat release rates and model reactions that occur during slow and fast pyrolysis of live and dead vegetation. Understanding the reactions that occur during pyrolysis then can be used to develop more accurate models, improve the prediction of the conditions of prescribed burning, and improve the prediction of fire propagation.

This thesis uses mass graves as a lens through which to examine how people in contemporary Cambodia use the Khmer Rouge period (1975 – 1979) to reconstitute and re-imagine the world they live in. Based on sixteen months of multisited ethnographic fieldwork, this thesis will argue that the Khmer Rouge regime was a critical event (Das 1997) in Cambodian life, and as such has triggered a re-shaping of relationships between local and the national, and the national and the global, leading to new forms of social and community life and action in post Khmer Rouge Cambodia. As physical markers of violence and political instability, mass graves are inherently political and articulate these re-imaginations on the state, community, and individual level. The Cambodian state exercises and legitimates its authority by constructing modern history in reference to a narrative of liberation from the Khmer Rouge, and the ‘innocent suffering’ of Cambodia and its people, while local communities use Buddhism and animism to narrate and conceptualise the period, bringing it into expected and understandable events within Khmer Buddhist cosmology. These approaches are not necessarily in opposition to one another, but rather represent the overlapping plurality of connections with mass graves. This thesis provides a unique exploration of social relationships to mass graves in Cambodia contributing to debates within the anthropology of politics, violence and collective memory by examining how moments of national mass violence re-shape the state and relationships within it, and how destructive periods of violence nonetheless create new fields for the imagination of the political, the religious, and the social. It also contributes to the emerging field of Cambodian ethnography that combines local considerations with wider national and geo-political discourses and how these are played out at the local level.

It is unclear whether accounting for the number of rare taxa or differentiating live (cells with visible chloroplasts) and dead (empty cells) diatoms would enhance the accuracy and precision of diatom-based stream bioassessment. My dissertation research examines whether the number of rare taxa and percentage (%) live diatoms can be used as indicators of human disturbance in streams/rivers. To address my objectives, I analyzed two datasets collected at different spatial scales. The large scale dataset was collected over the course of five years and included more than 1300 sites and over 200 environmental variables from 12 Western US states (US EPA's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program). The small scale dataset included 25 streams from the Oregon Coast Range. My findings revealed that rarity definition is important in bioassessment. Rural taxa richness (number of taxa with high occurrence and low abundance) was the only rarity metric that distinguished least disturbed (reference) sites from the most disturbed (impacted) ones. Neither of the other two rarity metrics, satellite (taxa with low occurrence and abundance) and urban (taxa with low occurrence and high abundance) taxa richness, was able to do that. Results from regression tree analysis revealed that rural taxa richness increased with human disturbance, but it was significantly higher at impacted sites only in the Mountains ecoregion (t-test, p0.05). Percentage live diatoms distinguished reference from impacted sites only in the Mountains ecoregion (t-test, p=0.02) and somewhat in the Plains (t-test, p=0.05). However, % live diatoms exhibited opposite patterns in the two ecoregions. They increased with disturbance in the Mountains and decreased in the Plains. The results from the small scale study in the Oregon Coast Range revealed similar species compositions between live and live+dead diatom assemblages (non-metric multidimensional scaling) and similar relationships with their environmental variables (linear fitting). Both assemblages correlated well with in-stream physical habitat conditions (e.g., channel dimensions, substrate types, and canopy cover). Both rural taxa richness and % live diatoms can be used as indicators of human disturbance in streams/rivers, especially in the Mountains ecoregion, dependent on specific assessment objectives.

This thesis examines the function of commemorative skaldic verse at the Viking-age court. The first chapter demonstrates that the commemoration of past kings could provide a prestigious genealogical record that was used to legitimize both pagan and early Christian rulers. In the ninth and early tenth centuries, poets crafted competing genealogies to assert the primacy of their patrons and of their patrons’ religions. The second chapter looks at the work of tenth-century poets who depict their rulers’ entrances into the afterlife. Such poets interrogate the role public speech and poetic discourse play in the commemoration of the king, especially during the political turmoil that follows his death. A discussion follows of the relationship between poets and their patrons in the tenth and eleventh centuries: although this relationship is often praised as one of mutual trust and reliance, the financial aspects of the relationship were often juxtaposed uneasily with expressions of emotional attachment. The death of the patron caused a crisis in these seemingly contradictory bonds between poet and patron. The final chapter demonstrates the dramatic development in the eleventh century of deeply emotional commemorative verse as poets become adopted into their patrons’ families through such Christian ceremonies as baptism and marriage. In these verses poets express their grief after the death of the king and record the performances of public mourning on the part of the kings’ followers. As the petty warlords of the Viking age adapted to medieval models of Christian kingship, the role of the skald changed too. Formerly serving as a propagandist and retainer in the king’s service, a skald documenting the lives of kings at the end of the Viking age could occupy an almost infinite number of roles, from kinsman and friend to advisor and hagiographer.

This master's thesis seeks to dispel the myth that nineteenth century painter Paul Delaroche's art was either apolitical or politically conservative. Through an examination of Delaroche's portraits of the late Napoleon I in conjunction with contemporary napoleonic prints, one finds that Delaroche was, indeed, deeply involved with contemporary politics. A close examination of his portraits shows that this involvement manifested itself in support for both the Cult of Napoleon and for the Bonapartist party.

This is a study conducted at, and for, the National Museum of History in Stockholm. The aim of the study was to confirm or disconfirm the hypothesis that visitors in a traditional museum environment might not take part in interactivity in an interactive exhibition. And if they do the visitors might skip the texts and objects on display. To answer this and other questions a multiple method was used. Both non participant observations and exit interviews were conducted. After a description of the interactive exhibits, theory of knowledge and learning is presented before the gathered data is presented. All together 443 visitors were observed. In the observations the visitors were timed on how much time they spent in the room, the time spent on the interactivity, texts and objects. In the 40 interviews information about visitors’ participation in the interactivity was gathered. What interactivity the visitor found easiest, hardest, funniest and most boring.The result did not confirm the hypothesis. All kinds of visitors, children and adults, participated in the interactivities. The visitors took part in the texts and objects and the interactive exhibits.

Episodic turbulence is a short-lived, high-intensity phenomenon in marine environments produced by both anthropogenic and natural causes, such as boat propellers, strong winds, and breaking waves. Episodic turbulence has been shown to cause mortality in zooplankton, but its effects on marine phytoplankton have rarely been investigated. This study focused on two diatoms: Thalassiosira weissflogii and Skeletonema costatum. I found that exposure for 45 s to turbulence intensities above 2.5 cm2 s-3 caused 24-32% reduction in diatom abundance and increased the amount of intact dead cells to 22%. Turbulence also caused extracellular release of optically reactive DOM. At a turbulence level of 4.0 cm2 s-3, photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm) decreased from 0.51 to 0.38 and 0.55 to 0.50 in T. weissflogii and S. costatum respectively. These turbulence levels are comparable to those under breaking surface waves and are much smaller than those generated by boat propellers. Despite its relatively short duration, episodic turbulence has the potential to affect phytoplankton via lethal and sublethal effects. An improved technique using the Evans Blue stain was developed to enable visual live/dead plankton cell determinations. When used in conjunction with preservation and flow cytometry, this staining method allows the study of phytoplankton mortality due to turbulence and other environmental stresses.

The steel bridge system referred to as Simple for Dead load and Continuous for Live load (SDCL) has gained popularity in non-seismic areas of the country. Accordingly, it results in many advantages including enhanced service life and lower inspection and maintenance costs as compared to conventional steel systems. To-date, no research studies have been carried out to evaluate the behavior of the SDCL steel bridge system in seismic areas. The main objective of this research was to extend the application of SDCL to seismic areas. The concept of the SDCL system was developed at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a complete summary of the research is provided in five AISC Engineering Journal papers. The SDCL system is providing steel bridges with new horizons and opportunities for developing economical bridge systems, especially in cases for which accelerating the construction process is a priority. The SDCL steel bridge system also provides an attractive alternative for use in seismic areas. The SDCL concept for seismic areas needed a suitable connection between the girder and pier. In this research, an integral SDCL bridge system was considered for further investigation. The structural behavior and force resistance mechanism of the proposed seismic detail considered through analytical study. The proposed connection evaluated under push-up, push-down, inverse and axial loading to find the sequence of failure modes. The global and local behavior of the system under push-down forces was mainly similar to non-seismic detail. The nonlinear time history analysis indicated that there is a high probability that bottom flange sustains tension forces under seismic events. The finite element model subjected to push-up forces to simulate the response of the system under the vertical component of seismic loads. However, the demand-capacity ratio was low for vertical excitation of seismic loads. Besides finite element results showed that continuity of bottom flange increased ductility and capacity of the system. While the bottom flange was not continuous, tie bars helped the system to increase the ultimate moment capacity. To model the longitudinal effect of earthquake loads, the model subjected under inverse forces as well as axial forces at one end. In this case scenario, dowel bars were most critical elements of the system. Several finite element analyses performed to investigate the role of each component of preliminary and revised detail. All the results demonstrated that continuity of the bottom flange, bolts area (in the preliminary detail), tie bars over the bottom flange (in the revised detail) were not able to provide more moment capacity for the system. The only component increased the moment capacity was dowel bars. In fact, increasing the volume ratio of dowel bars could be able to increase the moment capacity and prevent premature failure of the system. This project was Phase I of an envisioned effort that culminated in the development of a set of details and associated design provisions to develop a version of the SDCL steel bridge system, suitable for the seismic application. Phase II of this project is an ongoing project and currently the component specimen design and test setup are under consideration. The test specimen is going to be constructed and tested in the structures lab of Florida International University. A cyclic loading will be applied to the specimen to investigate the possible damages and load resistance mechanism. These results will be compared with the analysis results. In the next step, as phase III, a complete bridge with all the components will be constructed in the structures lab at the University of Nevada-Reno. The connection between steel girders will be an SDCL connection and the bridge will be subjected to a shake table test to study the real performance of the connection due to earthquake excitation.

Thesis (MSc)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that at least 75% of infants receive infant formula milk (IFM) either entirely or in conjunction with breast milk during the first four months after birth. The presence of the emerging pathogen Enterobacter sakazakii in IFM has been associated with rare but fatal cases of neonatal infections and deaths. There is thus a need for accurate methods for the rapid detection of E. sakazakii in foods. At present, the methods used to detect and identify this micro-organism are inadequate, controversial and contradictory. The aim of this study was to determine the most suitable method for E. sakazakii detection after evaluation of the currently available methods. A further aim was to optimise a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for the detection of only viable E. sakazakii cells utilising the DNA-intercalating dyes ethidium monoazide (EMA) and propidium monoazide (PMA). The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) method for E. sakazakii detection was utilised to select 50 isolates from IFM and 14 from the environment, regardless of colony appearance. These isolates were identified by sequencing a 1.5 kilobase (kb) fragment of the 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) and by using the National Centre for Biotechnological Information (NCBI) database to confirm the closet known relatives. Seven of the 50 (14%) IFM isolates and six of the 14 (43%) environmental isolates were identified as E. sakazakii. The methods that were evaluated for accuracy in detecting and identifying these E. sakazakii isolates included yellow pigment production on tryptone soy agar (TSA), chromogenic Druggan-Forsythe-Iversen (DFI) and Enterobacter sakazakii (ES) agars and PCR using six different species-specific primer pairs described in the literature. The suitability of the FDA method was lowered by the low sensitivity, specificity and accuracy (87%, 71% and 74%, respectively) of using yellow pigment production for E. sakazakii identification. DFI and ES agars were shown to be sensitive, specific and accurate (100%, 98% and 98%, respectively) for the detection of E. sakazakii. The specificity of the PCR amplifications was found to vary between 8% and 92%, with Esakf and Esakr being the most accurate of the primer pairs evaluated. The current FDA method for E. sakazakii detection requires revision in the light of the availability of more sensitive, specific and accurate detection methods. Based on the results obtained in this study, a new method is proposed for the detection of E. sakazakii in food and environmental samples. This proposed method replaces the culturing steps on violet red bile glucose agar (VRBGA) and TSA with culturing on chromogenic DFI or ES agar. For identification and confirmation of presumptive E. sakazakii isolates, the oxidase test, yellow pigment production and API biochemical profiling is replaced by DNA sequencing and/or species-specific PCR with the most accurate primer pair (Esakf and Esakr). The amendments to the current FDA method will reduce the time to detect E. sakazakii from approximately 7 days to 4 days and should prove to be more sensitive, specific and accurate for E. sakazakii detection. In this study, a novel PCR-based method was developed which was shown to be capable of discriminating between viable and dead E. sakazakii cells. This was achieved utilising the irreversible binding of bacterial DNA to photo-activated PMA or EMA in order to prevent PCR amplification from the dead cells. At concentrations of 50 and 100 μg.ml-1, PMA completely inhibited PCR amplification from dead cells, while causing no significant inhibition of the PCR amplification from viable cells. EMA was equally effective in preventing PCR amplification from dead cells, however, it also inhibited PCR amplification from viable cells. PMA-PCR in particular, will be useful for assessing the efficacy of processing techniques, as well as for monitoring the resistance, survival strategies and stress responses of E. sakazakii. This will be an important step in the efforts to eliminate E. sakazakii from food and food production environments.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Wêreld Gesondheidsorganisasie (WGO) beraam dat ten minste 75% van alle babas net baba formule melk (BFM) of BFM in kombinasie met moedersmelk in die eerste vier maande na geboorte kry. Die teenwoordigheid van die voortkomende patogeen Enterobacter sakazakii in BFM is al geassosieer met skaars maar noodlottige gevalle van neonatale infeksies en sterftes. Akkurate metodes word dus benodig vir die vinnige deteksie van E. sakazakii in voedsel. Die metodes wat huidiglik gebruik word vir die deteksie en identifikasie van hierdie mikroörganisme is onvoldoende, kontroversieël en teenstrydig. Die doel van hierdie studie was om die beste metode vir die deteksie van E. sakazakii te bepaal, na 'n evaluasie van die metodes wat huidiglik beskikbaar is. 'n Verdere doel was om 'n polimerase ketting reaksie (PKR) metode vir die deteksie van slegs lewensvatbare E. sakazakii selle te optimiseer deur gebruik te maak van die DNSbindende kleurstowwe, etidium mono-asied (EMA) en propidium mono-asied (PMA). Die Voedsel en Medisyne Administrasie (VMA) se metode vir E. sakazakii deteksie is gebruik om, ongeag van die kolonie kleur, 50 isolate vanuit BFM en 14 isolate vanuit die omgewing te kies. Hierdie isolate is geïdentifiseer deur die DNS volgorde van 'n 1.5 kilo-basis (kb) fragment van die 16S ribosomale DNS (rDNS) te bepaal en die Nationale Sentrum vir Biotegnologiese Informasie (NSBI) databasis te gebruik om die mees verwante spesie te bevestig. Sewe van die 50 (14%) BFM isolate en ses van die 14 (43%) omgewings isolate is geïdentifiseer as E. sakazakii. Die metodes wat geëvalueer is in terme van akkuraatheid vir deteksie en identifikasie van hierdie E. sakazakii isolate het PKR met ses verskillende spesie-spesifieke peiler pare soos beskryf in die literatuur, geel-pigment produksie op triptoon soja agar (TSA) en chromogeniese Druggan-Forsythe-Iversen (DFI) en Enterobacter sakazakii (ES) agars ingesluit. Die geskiktheid van die VMA metode is verlaag deur die lae sensitiwiteit, spesifisiteit en akkuraatheid (87%, 71% en 74% onderskeidelik) van geel pigment produksie vir E. sakazakii identifikasie. Chromogeniese DFI en ES agars was sensitief, spesifiek en akkuraat (100%, 98% en 98% onderskeidelik) vir die identifikasie van E. sakazakii. Die spesifisiteit van die PKR produkte het gewissel tussen 8% en 92%, en Esakf en Esakr is as die akkuraatste geëvalueerde peiler paar geidentifiseer. Die huidige VMA metode vir E. sakazakii deteksie vereis hersiening aangesien meer sensitiewe, spesifieke en akkurate deteksiemetodes voortdurend beskikbaar word. 'n Nuwe metode, gebaseer op die resultate van hierdie studie, word voorgestel vir die deteksie van E. sakazakii in voedsel- en omgewingsmonsters. Die voorgestelde metode vervang die kwekingsstap op violet rooi gal glukose agar (VRGGA) en TSA deur kweking op chromogeniese DFI of ES agars. Verder word die oksidase toets, geel pigment produksie en API biochemiese profiele van vermoeidelike E. sakazakii isolate vervang deur DNS volgorde bepaling en/of spesie-spesifieke PKR met die mees spesifieke peiler paar (Esakf and Esakf) vir die identifikasie en bevestiging van E. sakazakii. Die voorgestelde wysigings van die VMA metode sal die tydsduur van E. sakazakii identifikasie van 7 dae na 4 dae verminder, en behoort ook meer sensitief, spesifiek en akkuraat te wees vir die deteksie van E. sakazakii. 'n Nuwe PKR-gebaseerde metode wat tussen lewensvatbare en dooie E. sakazakii selle kan onderskei is in hierdie studie ontwikkel. Dit is bereik deur die onomkeerbare binding van bakteriële DNS aan lig-geaktiveerde EMA of PMA om die PKR amplifisering van dooie selle te voorkom. Konsentrasies van 50 en 100 μg.ml-1 PMA het PKR amplifikasie heeltemal geïnhibeer, terwyl geen inhibisie van lewensvatbare selle bespeur kon word nie. EMA was ook suksesvol in die voorkoming van die PKR amplifikasie van dooie selle, alhoewel daar ook 'n mate van DNS inhibisie was tydens die amplifikasie van lewensvatbare selle. PMA-PKR kan ook van nut wees vir die assessering van die doeltreffendheid van prosesseringstegnieke, en ook vir die waarneming van die weerstandigheid, oorlewingsstrategieë en stresresponse van E. sakazakii. Dit sal 'n belangrike stap wees in pogings om E. sakazakii van voedsel en voedsel produksieomgewings te elimineer.

Scum is an integral component of solids management in MWWTP and is composed of fats, oils, grease and other entrained floatable materials that are collected during primary clarification. Lab scale BMP tests showed the addition of 14.5 g VS/L of scum exhibited the greatest increase in biogas production of 1.6 times per g VS added compared to the control, while a higher additional scum loading of 33.7 g VS/L reduced the biogas yield to 32% of the control reactor. Lab scale semi-continuous digestion measured the effects of scum loading and temperature of pretreatment in the scum concentrator. At 15 d and 20 d HRTs the greatest observed improvement in biogas was achieved by adding 3% scum by volume and pretreating the scum at 70°C in a scum concentrator with respective improvements of 24% and 16%.

Comment écrire à l’ère du post-humain sans avoir recours à une apocalypse postmoderne qui aurait déjà rompu avec ses origines bibliques ? Si nous sommes désormais familiers avec la manière dont les romans de Martin Amis et de Will Self assument pleinement un discours apocalyptique radical, nous explorons les possibilités d’arguer en faveur d’une esthétique apocalyptique plus complexe avec ses formes diverses et ses variations thématiques allant de la menace nucléaire à des révélations plus intimes. Les deux textes de notre corpus, London Fields de Martin Amis et How the Dead Live de Will Self, sont donc unis dans ce travail par la présence fantasmagorique de la mort (dont le meurtre de l’amour) et par la "spectacularisation" de la mort. Dans la perspective d’une fin sans cesse rejouée, le personnage est autant l’avatar de ses propres contingences - le temps, le trafic urbain, le simulacre et la mort - que la cible d’une langue qui se délite
In this resolutely post-human era how can literature disregard the appeal of a postmodern apocalypse that has long left behind its biblical origins? We argue that not only do the novels of Martin Amis and Will Self clearly engage in a radical apocalyptic discourse with all its various forms and thematic variations - from the nuclear threat to more intimate revelations - but also designate the intricate workings of a wider apocalyptic aesthetics. This is what joins the two novels of our corpus: London Fields and How the Dead Live, with the phantasmatic death or murder of love, on one side and the "spectacularity" of death on the other. With the future consisting of the endless repetition of their “end”, the characters are as much their own avatars conditioned by the contingencies of time, urban congestion, simulacrum and death, as they are the targets of an eroded language

State explosion in model checking continues to be the primary obstacle to widespread use of software model checking. The large input ranges of variables used in software is the main cause of state explosion. As software grows in size and complexity the problem only becomes worse. As such, model checking research into data abstraction as a way of mitigating state explosion has become more and more important. Data abstractions aim to reduce the effect of large input ranges. This work focuses on a static program analysis technique called dead variable analysis. The goal of dead variable analysis is to discover variable assignments that are not used. When applied to model checking, this allows us to ignore the entire input range of dead variables and thus reduce the size of the explored state space. Prior research into dead variable analysis for model checking does not make full use of dynamic run-time information that is present during model checking. We present an algorithm for intraprocedural dead variable analysis that uses dynamic run-time information to find more dead variables on-the-fly and further reduce the size of the explored state space. We introduce a definition for the maximal state space reduction possible through an on-the-fly dead variable analysis and then show that our algorithm produces a maximal reduction in the absence of non-determinism.

Reinforced Concrete Box Culverts (RCBCs) are an integral part of the national and international transportation infrastructure. The National Bridge Inventory Standards (NBIS) requires that all bridges, which include culverts with spans ≥ 20 ft. (6.1 m), be load rated for safe load carrying capacity in accordance with the AASHTO Manual for Bridge Evaluation (MBE). In Kentucky, the Transportation Cabinet manages more than 15,500 bridges, of which almost 1,400 are bridge size culverts. Of the 1241 bridge size RCBCs that were being evaluated in Kentucky between 2015 and 2018, 846 were 2-cell culverts (or 68%). The objective in this study is to evaluate 2-cell RCBCs using the finite element (FE) method and to propose dead load and live load demand equations that can be used to determine the capacity demand ratio (C/D) and the load rating. The results indicate that the maximum dead load forces (positive and negative moments, and shear) vary linearly with respect to an increase in fill height, while the variation is bi-linear for the maximum live load forces. The proposed equations are derived in terms of the clear span and fill height. The results also indicated that, for fill heights greater than 10 ft (3 m), the maximum live load positive bending moments are less than 10% of their dead load counterparts. The primary advantage of the proposed equations lies in their simple formulation when analyzing and designing 2-cell culverts, which in turn alleviates the need to conduct a detailed finite element analysis to determine the maximum forces in 2-cell RCBCs.

Post mortem interval (PMI – the time elapsed since death and discovery) is important to medicolegal investigations. It helps to construct crucial time lines and assists with the identification of unknown persons by inclusion or exclusion of a suspect’s known movements. Accurate methodologies for establishing PMI are limited to about 48-hours. Such methods involve use of increasing levels of potassium in vitreous humour, and algor mortis. This study is two-fold. Firstly, it explores the biomolecular changes in degrading porcine cartilage buried in soil environments and its potential to determine PMI in the crucial two days to two months period. Trotters were interred in a number of graves at two distinct locations exhibiting dissimilar soil environments. Weekly disinterments (for 6 weeks) resulted in dissection for cartilage samples which were processed for protein immunoblot analyses and cell vitality assays. Results demonstrate that aggrecan, a major structural proteoglycan, produces high (230kDa) and low (38kDa) molecular weight cross-reactive polypeptides (CRPs) within cartilage extracellular matrix. The 230kDa CRP degrades in a reproducible manner irrespective of the different soil environments utilised. As PMI increases, aggrecan diminishes and degrades forming heterogeneous subpopulations with time. Immunodetection of aggrecan ceases when joint exposure to the soil environment occurs. At this time, aggrecan is metabolised by soil microbes. The molecular breakdown of cartilage proteoglycans has potential for use as a reliable indicator of PMI, irrespective of differing soil environments, beyond the 48-hours period. Likewise, vitality assays also demonstrated viable chondrocytes for as long as 35 PM days. The second component of this study examined the fungal activity associated with trotters buried below ground. Results indicate that fungal growth was considerably influenced by soil chemistry and changes in the environment. Fungal colonisation did not demonstrate temporal patterns of succession. The results of this study indicate that cartilage has the potential to prolong PMI determination well beyond the current 48- and 100-hour limitations posed by various other soft tissue methods. Moreover, the long-term post mortem viability of chondrocytes presents an opportunity to explore DNA extraction from these cells for the purpose of establishing a positive identification for unidentified remains. On the contrary, the growth and colonisation patterns of post putrefactive fungi in relation to decomposing porcine trotters proved to be futile for estimating PMI. Therefore, fungi may not be a suitable candidate for evaluating PMI during the early phase fungal activity.

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This study confirmed that there is the substitution of labour for the work alive dead, described by Karl Marx and other important scholars, the EC ABC, eletroeletronic Brazilian company in the sector (segment of the industrial enterprises established in Brazil, responsible for the production of equipment that serve brown line that brings together the products: Televisions, Monitors, Video, Audio, breeding and / or writers of Versatile Disc or video - DVD and compact disc - CD), initially in its National Service Department and then in Posts Services accredited its National Network Services, according to the informatization and change of the model of management of knowledge which led to the which could be leading to a loss of jobs and the Intellectual Capital jobs in the service accredited in Post Services accredited and the loss of quality in the services offered by the PSC to customers and dealers. Adopted is the form of exploratory research of this phenomenon, currently still little examined, in 120 PSC in Brazil.(AU)
O presente estudo confirmou a existência da substituição do trabalho vivo pelo trabalho morto, descrita por Karl Marx e outros importantes estudiosos, pela EC ABC, empresa do setor eletroeletrônico brasileiro (segmento das empresas industriais estabelecidas no Brasil, responsáveis pela produção de equipamentos que atendem a linha marrom que congrega produtos como, Televisores, Monitores de Vídeo, Áudio, reprodutores e/ou gravadores de Disco de Vídeo Versátil - DVD e Disco Compacto - CD), inicialmente no seu Departamento de Serviços Nacional e em seguida, nos Postos de Serviços Credenciados da sua Rede de Serviços Nacional, em função da informatização e mudança do modelo de gestão do conhecimento o que ocasionou a descapitalização intelectual nos Postos de Serviços Credenciados e a perda de qualidade nos serviços oferecidos pelos PSC aos clientes e revendedores. Adotou-se a forma de pesquisa exploratória deste fenômeno, atualmente ainda pouco examinado, em 120 PSC no Brasil.(AU)

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
The intention of this research was to describe, and analyse death ceremonies and collective representations of Brazilian Catholics regarding death and mourning. Our objective was to study the symbolic systems developed in several societies, by starting from tribal cultures, then moving to Early Christianity from the period just before and after the institutionalisation process that gave birth to Catholic Christianity. We analysed both, the Catholic practices and representations related to death and dying, in the Middle Ages, as well as in the Modern and Contemporary times both in Europe and Brazil. We also aimed to depict death rites as a way to give meaning to life, and of keeping and reinforcing social cohesion found whenever death takes a member of a given society, thus provoking disruption and social unbalance. By doing this research on Catholic death rites we had as a goal to develop a little more the knowledge about a social and religious phenomenon that is seldom approached by researchers, the death of the believer, and Catholic groups death practices, their customs and speeches about the dead. Nevertheless, we cared to do all of these in the Brazilian scenery, a setting that grows more and more urban and secular.(AU)
Esta pesquisa procurou descrever, analisar e comparar as cerimônias mortuárias e as representações coletivas de católicos brasileiros da morte e do luto. Tivemos por objetivo estudar os sistemas simbólicos desenvolvidos em várias sociedades, começando com as culturas tribais, passando depois para o cristianismo dos primeiros séculos, antes da instauração do processo de institucionalização que originou o cristianismo católico e durante ele. Analisamos as práticas e representações católicas relacionadas com a morte e o morrer, na Idade Média, Idade Moderna e Contemporânea, tanto na Europa como no Brasil. O objetivo também foi apresentar os ritos mortuários como formas de dar sentido à vida, de reforçar e manter a coesão social, em que indivíduos vivem constantemente os desarranjos gerados pela presença da morte que arrebata um dos seus semelhantes provocando um desequilíbrio social. Ao realizar tal pesquisa sobre os rituais mortuários católicos, a meta consistiu em avançar um pouco mais no conhecimento sobre um fenômeno social religioso nem sempre abordado pelos pesquisadores: a morte do crente, as práticas mortuárias dos grupos católicos, seus hábitos e discurso quanto ao morto, dentro de um cenário brasileiro que se torna cada vez mais urbano e secularizado.(AU)

Depuis son isolement en 1977, les épidémies de pneumopathies à Legionella pneumophila (Lp) sont en constante progression. La contamination se fait essentiellement par inhalation d'aérosols contaminés, générés à partir de l'eau des réseaux de distribution. L'écologie de Lp est complexe, faisant intervenir des protozoaires dans lesquels elle se multiplie et des biofilms dans lesquels elle persiste à l'état viable mais non cultivable.
L'objectif de ce travail était de mieux comprendre cette écologie. Des incubateurs permettant le prélèvement de biofilm ont été installés in situ dans un réseau, la colonisation en eau froide et en eau chaude a été suivie pendant 1 an. Par ailleurs, un pilote reproduisant un réseau intérieur permis de comparer l'efficacité de différents traitements de désinfection. Enfin, la recherche de molécules auto-inductrices qui pourraient expliquer l'exacerbation de la virulence lors de la multiplication intra-cellulaire a été menée dans différentes conditions.
Les incubateurs ont permis l'amplification de la quantité de légionelles, rendant possible la détection par culture en eau froide et entraînant une stabilisation de la population en eau chaude. L'utilisation de sondes spécifiques n'a pas permis d'améliorer la détection dans les biofilms.
Lors des essais sur pilote, les populations des biofilms ont été analysées grâce à des méthodes moléculaires (FISH, marquage de vitalité) et par culture. Le classement des traitements par ordre d'efficacité décroissante est le suivant : dioxyde de chlore > chlore > ozone > monochloramine > cuivre-argent. Seul le dioxyde de chlore montre une activité résiduelle dans les bras morts rincés quotidiennement avec de l'eau traitée. Les amibes résistent aux traitements, et Lp retrouve son niveau de population initial quelques jours seulement après leur interruption.
Enfin, aucune sécrétion d'auto-inducteur n'a été mise en évidence, et l'incubation de Lp avec ces molécules ne semble pas modifier l'invasion des amibes.

Wastewater from the textile industry is difficult to treat effectively due to the prevalent use and wide variety of synthetic dyes that are resistant to conventional treatment methods. White-rot fungi, such as Trametes versicolor, have been found to be effective in decolorizing many of these synthetic dyes and current research is focusing on their application to wastewater treatment. Although numerous studies have been conducted on the ability of both living and nonliving Trametes versicolor to separately decolorize textile dyes, no studies were found to have investigated the use of a mixture of live and dead fungus for decolorization. This study explored potential interactions between live and dead, autoclaved Trametes versicolor biomass in a mixed system by utilizing a series of batch tests with two structurally different synthetic textile dyes. Samples were analyzed by spectrophotometer and compared with controls to determine the effect of any interactions on decolorization. The results of this study indicate that an interaction between living and nonliving biomass occurred that affected the specific dye removal for both Reactive Blue 19, an anthraquinone textile dye, and Reactive Orange 16, an azo textile dye. This interaction was seen to improve the specific dye removal during the first 10-46 hours of experimentation but then diminish the specific dye removal after this period. This effect could be due to hydrophobins, which are surface-active proteins excreted by live fungi that may alter hydrophobicity. Additionally, the presence of adsorptive dead biomass could affect dye contact with degrading enzymes released from the live fungus. By expanding current knowledge of the interactions that take place in a fungal bioreactor and their effect on textile dye decolorization, this research aims to inspire more effective and less costly bioreactor designs for the treatment of textile wastewater.
B.S.Env.E.
Bachelors
Engineering and Computer Science
Environmental Engineering

Item consists of a digitized copy of an audio recording of a Cecil and Ida Green Lecture delivered at the Vancouver Institute by Timothy O'Riordan on November 14, 1998. Original audio recording available in the University Archives (UBC AT 2263).

Mary Sibande's Long Live the Dead Queen series is an on-going installation in the Johannesburg art gallery, MOMO. The subject of this series, Sophie, is a life-sized corporeal presence; she is Sibande's alter-ego cast from Sibande's own body. A central formal element of Sophie is her costume: a voluminous dress that hybridizes the South African domestic servant's uniform and a Victorian madam's dress. A dress denoting both servitude and dominance, it immediately recalls the colonizer/colonized dialectic between the early British Victorian colonizer and many Black African peoples whom the Victorians consigned to subordination, particularly in South Africa. Sophie is seemingly fixed within this binary power system: her visible identity oscillates between maid and Victorian. Furthermore, her eyes are always downcast so that she initially appears to embrace her subservience. However, I argue that her refusal, or even inability, to acknowledge her surroundings might alternatively demarcate her into a subjective, fantasy space, and one that she necessarily controls. She conflates historical identities that persist in present South African circumstances, so she also denies our ability to locate her within logical time or space, underscoring the notion of fantasy. Within this, Sophie can reclaim agency despite her servitude, performing in various positions of power to resituate dialectical power relationships between dominant/subordinate, master/slave. In other words, the postmodern play of Sophie becomes a postcolonial opposition to subjugation. Throughout each chapter I will apply the psychoanalytic treatment of sublimation in which a socially unacceptable desire, that of a collective or individual, is displaced onto something socially appropriate within the context of that society. I can thus look more closely at the methods by which Sophie draws attention to surreptitious and manipulated power relationships, and the ways she then dislodges these relationships from the power dialectic.
text

碩士
國立臺灣大學
法律學研究所
107
The imposition of death penalty is often considered a means of societal control by the authoritarian regimes. Recent developments have shown that the legitimacy of both the death penalty per se and the sentencing scheme would be reconsidered after the political transition. However, the death penalty was not reconsidered after Taiwan’s democratization. As human rights protection has become one of the main features of democracy, it is intriguing to find how have the government and public society dealt with death penalty issues in different moments of political changes. The essay aims to find the contextual interpretation of death penalty in terms of democratic transition and tries to find the reason why the death penalty still exists in Taiwan. This essay first focuses on several factors related to abolishment of death penalty, including the numbers of executions, judgments, laws and social movements in different stage of democratization, representing different political and social contexts. Then the essay indicates that two driving forces, democratization and constitutionalism, have played important roles in reviewing death penalty in Taiwan’s context. Given that the authoritarian regime was still in power in democratic transition, it was hard for Taiwan to abolish death penalty at that time. Although Taiwan government currently still has no incentive to abolish death penalty after democratization, ICCPR and ICESCR may bring a new breeze in Taiwan and provide new standards in reviewing the legitimacy of the death penalty.

碩士
長庚大學
生化與生醫工程研究所
102
This study reports an optically induced dielectrophoretic (ODEP)force-based microfluidic platform for the separation and collection live and dead cells. The mechanism is based on the fact that live and dead cells have reverse property in under ODEP force field. Under an ODEP background, the live cells are attracted by the applied ODEP force,whereas the dead cells are repelled from the ODEP force. Combining above phenomenon and the flow control in a microfluidic system, the live and dead cells can be separated and subsequently collected in a label-free, efficient and effective manner. In this study, the operating conditions of ODEP force for manipulating the live and dead chondrocytes were first characterized. The performance of live and dead separation was experimentally evaluated. In addition, the impact of ODEP force field on the physiology of the cells manipulated was also investigated. Our results revealed that the applied voltage of 8Vp-p was suitable for the cell separation due to the maximum difference of manipulation force for the live (49.4 pN) and dead (-20.1 pN) cells. In addition, the use of the proposed scheme for live and dead cell separation was successfully demonstrated. We also showed that the recovery rate and purity of the isolated live cells are as high as 78.3±6.8% and 96.4 ±2.2%, respectively. In addition, the purified and isolated live chondrocytes were cultured and observed growth and physiology for eight days. Comparing to electrical unstimulated chondrocytes, experimental cells had no significant difference in cell growth, proliferation and morphology. Also, experimental group and control group have no significant difference in metabolic analysis of lactic acid production and DNA content analysis. In a sum, the proposed cell separation method is found particularly valuable for the biological researches in which the isolation of highly pure live or dead cells is important.

Introduction : La chronicité de la rhinosinusite, sa résistance aux antibiotiques, et ses exacerbations aiguës laissent croire que les biofilms sont impliqués dans la rhinosinusite chronique. Objectifs : Nous avons évalué la capacité des bactéries Pseudomonas aeruginosa, staphylocoques à coagulase négative et Staphylococcus aureus à former des biofilms par un essai in vitro, et si cette capacité de formation a un lien avec l’évolution de la maladie. Nous avons évalué in vitro l’effet de la moxifloxacine, un antibiotique utilisé dans le traitement de la rhinosinusite chronique sur des biofilms matures de Staphylococcus aureus. Méthodes : Trent et une souches bactériennes ont été isolées de 19 patients atteints de rhinosinusite chronique et qui ont subit au moins une chirurgie endoscopique des sinus. L’évolution de la maladie a été notée comme "bonne" ou "mauvaise" selon l’évaluation du clinicien. La production de biofilm a été évaluée grâce à la coloration au crystal violet. Nous avons évalué la viabilité du biofilm après traitement avec la moxifloxacine. Ces résultats ont été confirmés en microscopie confocale à balayage laser et par la coloration au LIVE/DEAD BacLight. Résultat et Conclusion : Vingt deux des 31 souches ont produit un biofilm. La production d’un biofilm plus importante chez Pseudomonas aeruginosa et Staphylococcus aureus était associée à une mauvaise évolution. Ceci suggère un rôle du biofilm dans la pathogenèse de la rhinosinusite chronique. Le traitement avec la moxifloxacine, à une concentration de 1000X la concentration minimale inhibitrice réduit le nombre des bactéries viables de 2 à 2.5 log. Ces concentrations (100 µg/ml - 200 µg/ml) sont faciles à atteindre dans des solutions topiques. Les résultats de notre étude suggèrent que l’utilisation de concentrations supérieure à la concentration minimale inhibitrice sous forme topique peut ouvrir des voies de recherche sur de nouveaux traitements qui peuvent être bénéfiques pour les patients atteints de forme sévère de rhinosinusite chronique surtout après une chirurgie endoscopique des sinus.
Introduction: The role of biofilms in chronic diseases is increasingly recognized. Chronic rhinosinusitis, with its chronic indolent course, resistance to antibiotics, and acute exacerbations, has an evolution that parallels that of other biofilm-related diseases. Objectives: 1-To develop an in vitro method to assess the biofilm formation capacity. 2- To determine whether biofilm-forming capacity of bacteria demonstrated in chronic rhinosinusitis has an impact on persistence of the disease following endoscopic sinus surgery. 3- To determine the in vitro activity of moxifloxacin against Staphyylococcus aureus in biofilm form. Method: Thirty-one bacterial strains recovered from 19 patients with chronic rhinosinusitis at least one year post-endoscopic sinus surgery. Evolution of disease was assessed by questionnaire and endoscopy as favorable or unfavorable. The bacteria were cultured on a 96-well culture plaque and a semi-quantitative method using crystal violet to quantify biofilm production was used. Confirmation of the effect of the antimicrobial agents on viability was performed with confocal laser microscopy, using a LIVE/DEAD BacLight staining. Results: Twenty-two of 31 samples produced a biofilm thicker or equal to the positive control. Biofilm formation was associated with a poor evolution for Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, but not for coagulase-negative staphylococci. Biofilm treated with moxifloxacin at 1000X (0.1mg/ml – 0.2 mg/ml) gave a 2 to 2.5 log reduction in number of viable bacteria. Conclusion: We have shown that Crystal violet method is able to detect biofilm formation. There is a correlation between in vitro biofilm production by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus and unfavorable evolution after endoscopic sinus surgery, suggesting a role for biofilm in chronic rhinosinusitis. Increased concentrations of moxifloxacin, easily attainable in topical solutions have a potential role in the management of biofilm infections.