This thesis aims instead to look at what a major figure like Augustine, writing about interesting ideas, does with language and meaning in theory and practice. A study of Augustine can show us something interesting about how reader/text interaction works and, more specifically, how a rather influential reader interacts with a text that he believes to be of supreme importance. The questions of the philosophy of language and the language of philosophy tend to be considered in the abstract: I consider them in terms of a particular philosopher. Aqugustine wrote philosophy in a language that is meaningful to us. This thesis examines how and why he manages to do so. Chapter I examines what Augustine said about meaning and exegesis as theoretical concepts. Augustine is, throughout his writings on meaning, concerned with how the meaning of a text relates to belief in a text. This chapter focusses primarily on an early work, De Utilitate Credendi because it directly tackles this question. Chapter 11 addresses the fact that, for Augustine, meaning is far from being purely about language: the meaning of events is just as important and is closely connected to the meaning of words, passages and texts. Chapter III looks at whether what Augustine says regarding the theory of meaning and interpretation is something that he puts into practice when he interprets biblical passages; it focusses on Augustine's Genesis commentaries. The principal conclusion reached is that, when it comes to the study of meaning, purely theoretical work benefits from analysis of complex practice.

This thesis proposes a new reading of the Cosmographia of Bernardus Silvestris and a reconsideration of the work's place in the intellectual history of the twelfth century. A complex allegory of creation, the Cosmographia depends on a wide variety of scientific, literary and theological traditions. This thesis seeks to identify the classical, patristic and early medieval traditions to which Bernardus was indebted, and it argues that the Cosmographia deployed the resources of these traditions to respond to the changing intellectual conditions of the schools of northern France where Bernardus worked.

This thesis offers a reconstructive reading of Thomas’s doctrine of the divine ideas, and its contribution to his pedagogical efforts in the Summa Theologiae to train its readers in the habit of thinking theologically. I argue that through a series of primary and peripheral gestures, Thomas appropriates the doctrine of the divine ideas to help guide his readers from the confession of faith to the understanding of humanity’s creational and soteriological dependence on God. Accordingly, Thomas’s multilevel integration of the divine ideas into the Summa typifies the convergence of faith and reason that defines the nature of theological discourse in his exposition of sacra doctrina. More specifically, this integration reflects Thomas’s understanding of the theological task as the contemplative process of discerning the fittingness (convenientia) of God’s actions revealed in the mysteries of faith. Following the pedagogical structure of the Summa, then, Thomas uses the doctrine of the divine ideas to help discern the mysteries of creation and salvation. Corresponding to this pedagogical repurposing of the divine ideas, Thomas’s intimations and subtle references to the divine ideas throughout the Summa are designed to direct the reader’s attention to the goal of theological inquiry, which is the contemplative vision of God. He does this by utilizing the divine ideas both to prepare his readers for his theological exposition on God’s creational activity and providential oversight of all that exists and supplement their understanding of these issues. Thomas’s theological appropriation of the divine ideas is, therefore, grounded in the unity of his exposition on the trinitarian life of God, which demonstrates that his integration and elevation of the doctrine is rooted in his understanding of theological inquiry as a pedagogical response to God’s self-disclosure in scripture. This process of appropriating and elevating the doctrine of the divine ideas into dialogue with the mysteries of faith culminates when Thomas extends the grammar of the divine ideas into his theological reflections on Christ’s salvific work and humanity’s response.

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José Martí (1853-1895) is commonly accepted by Cubans and foreigners alike as the creator of the Republic of Cuba. No such agreement exists as to the meaning of his social and political thought: Martí has been represented as advocating the most diverse of political, social and economic theories. The two most common interpretations are of Martí as an idealistic liberal or as a radical revolutionary. The prolixity and variety of Martí's writings permit the selection of direct quotations to support virtually any pre-determined ideological interpretation, and in Cuban politics over the last forty years Martí's writings have been used to legitimise totally opposing political regimes. An escape from such a treatment of Martí's writings is clearly essential if his thoughtvis to be properly understood, since only a fresh, objective examination of the totality of Martí 's writings and, in particular, an investigation of Martí's plans for the independent Cuba he so long and nobly struggled to liberate, will give an understanding of Martí's thought and its development. Based upon a close examination of the twenty-five volumes of the most recent edition of Martí's writings and upon a careful analysis of all significant critical studies of Martí's works, this dissertation has concentrated upon analysing Martí's socio-political thought and particularly his plans for the liberated patria. The dissertation also seeks .to explain the sources of Martí's thought and to investigate the development, if any, that occurred in his thought over a period of some twenty-five years. The extraordinary importance of Martí's childhood and adolescence is considered in Chapter I which demonstrates how decisive in the formation of his thought were his experiences both within his family and during his savage mistreatment by the Spanish authorities. Chapter II investigates the importance of his personal experience during his adult life in Latin America and in the United States and shows how these experiences led to a further development and, in his final years, to a radicalisation of his thought. The following four chapters contain an analysis of Martí's plans for the liberated Cuban Republic. Each chapter concentrate's upon a' specific aspect of these plans—the "moral imperatives" guiding the new Republic, its political structure, its social organisation, and its economic development. These chapters reveal that, if Martí did not present specific blueprints, he did adopt a coherent approach to the formation of the new Republic-and the problems it would face. His plans were based upon moral priorities rather than upon any abstract theory of government and society. The Conclusion restates the main findings of the dissertation,' underlining the uniqueness of Martí, a man capable of inspiring, more than sixty years after his death, a new vision of Cuban society. The dissertation closes with two appendices, one summarising biographical details of Martí's life, and the other analysing the historical portrayal of Martí who has visibly passed from the position of "Apostle" to that of "Revolutionary." / Arts, Faculty of / French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies, Department of / Graduate

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Pasteurella multocida serotype A:3 is a gram-negative bacterial pathogen which is one of the causative agents of shipping fever in cattle. In this study, ompH and two fragments of plpE gene (plpEN and plpEC) were cloned from the genomic DNA of P. multocida P-1062 (ATCC 15743, serotype A:3) and plpEN-ompH and plpEC-ompH fusions were constructed. In vitro expression of the genes was shown in HEK-293 cells. Later, full-length plpE gene was cloned and the recombinant proteins were expressed in E. coli and purified. Three DNA vaccine formulations, namely pCMV-ompH, pCMV-plpEN-ompH and pCMV-plpEC-ompH and five recombinant protein based vaccines, PlpEN-OmpH, PlpEC-OmpH, OmpH, PlpEC and PlpE were generated. Recombinant proteins were formulated with at least one of the adjuvants: alum, CpG, alum-CpG, oil based and oil based-CpG. BALB/c mice were immunized with these vaccine formulations and their sera were used for the evaluation of antibody and serum IFN-&gamma / titers. Protective capacities of the vaccines were also evaluated via challenge of mice with 10 LD50 of P. multocida A:3. DNA vaccines induced immune responses, but did not provide protection. All protein vaccine formulations increased antibody levels and CpG containing formulations enhanced serum IFN-&gamma / titers. 100 &micro / g of PlpEC-OmpH protein adsorbed on alum adjuvant conferred 40% protection while no protection was obtained with PlpEN-OmpH. Next, the effects of CpG, or its alum and oil based combinations as adjuvants were investigated on PlpEC-OmpH mediated protection. The vaccine formulation composed of PlpEC-OmpH and oil based-CpG adjuvant conferred 100% protection. Finally, the mice were vaccinated with recombinant OmpH, PlpEC and PlpE formulated with oil based-CpG adjuvant. OmpH, PlpEC and PlpE formulations provided 50%, 60% and 100% protection, respectively. These findings implicated that recombinant PlpE and PlpEC-OmpH fusion proteins when formulated with oil based-CpG adjuvant are potent acellular vaccine formulation candidates against shipping fever.

Par la présente recherche, nous cherchons à soutenir que dans l'éducation philosophique du jeune Nicolas de Cues (entre 1424 et 1431), la tradition albertine de Cologne, diffusée par Heymeric de Campo, a joué un rôle important. Nous pensons aussi que les traces de cette influence de l'albertinisme colonien émergent en particulier dans les écrits épistémologiques du Cusain, en particulier dans le De coniecturis et dans la collection « Idiota ». Nous montrerons que Nicolas de Cues, qui a personnellement connu Heymeric, a eu grâce à lui connaissance des doctrines néo-platoniciennes qui émergent dans le De docta ignorantia et dans les œuvres cusaniennes des années 1440. Contrairement à la perspective historiographique, qui a soutenu une origine byzantine du néoplatonisme de Nicolas de Cues, nous voulons ici montrer une origine colonienne. Nous sommes également convaincus que cette approche méthodologique permet de saisir efficacement la pensée de Nicolas de Cues dans son contexte historique, « 1430-1464 », et topographique, « entre Cologne et Rome ». Elle fournit aussi une clé pour éclairer le rapport entre la philosophie de Nicolas de Cues et certains penseurs modernes : la Cusanus-Renaissance de la première moitié du XXe siècle avait attribué à Nicolas de Cues le titre de « premier philosophe moderne » parce que, contrairement à la tradition scolastique, il aurait placé au centre de ses œuvres le problème de la connaissance humaine, ouvrant ainsi la voie à la révolution subjectiviste de la modernité. Une telle attention pour la connaissance humaine se retrouve également dans la tradition albertine, décrite comme un « illuminisme » au Moyen Age / In this research, we present the hypothesis that the Albertist tradition in Cologne played a significant role in how young Cusanus acquired his philosophical education, in the years from 1424 to 1431, and that the mediator was Heymericus de Campo. We claim that some traces of this albertist influence can be seen above all in Cusanus' gnoseological works, particularly in De coniecturis and in the Idiota collection. Contrary to the historiographical perspective that maintained the hypothesis that Cusanus’ neo-Platonism derived from Byzantine thought, we should like to sustain here that it originated in the school of Cologne and Rhenish philosophy. We are further convinced that this methodological approach provides an efficient tool for interpreting and capturing Cusanus’ thought within its contexts, both historical ( from “1430 to 1464”) and geographical (“from Cologne to Rome”). Moreover, finding traces of Albertism in Cusanus’s education and works offers a new key to interpreting and clarifying his relationship with modern philosophy. The Cusanus-Renaissance in the first half of the twentieth century saw in Cusanus the first modern philosopher because, unlike those of the Scholastic tradition, he was thought to have placed human knowledge at the core of his works, thus paving the way for the modern, subjectivist revolution. From this standpoint, Albert the Great and his “school” seem be be forerunners of the modern tradition, so much so that it was described as “Enlightenment in the Middle Ages

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e TecnolÃgico / The main goal of this work was to analyze the effect of water and potassium and interaction between these factors parameters which are related with vegetative growth (height of the plant, diameter of trunk below of the coastal and the diameter of trunk above of the coastal) and the parameters related with nutritional situation (potassium, iron and sodium) of the precocious dwarfish cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale L.) variety BRS 189. A field experiment was carried out in the parcel of ground D in at Curu-Pentecoste Irrigation District, CearÃ, Brazil, from september/2005 to february/2007. The statistical design was completely randomized blocks in split-plots, with four primary treatments, four secondary and four blocks. The main treatments corresponded to four water depths (W1 = 25% ETc; W2 = 50% ETc; W3 = 100% ETc; W4 = 150% ETc) with four levels of potassium (K0 = 0 g; K1 = 30 g; K2 = 60 g; K3 = 120 g de K2O. plant-1.year-1). The crop was installed at 7.0m 7.0 m spacing, irrigated by a microsprinkle irrigation system with 50 L.h-1 emitters. The results showed that the water and interaction water and potassium were significant to none parameters analyzed. Potassium influenced significantly height of the plant and diameter of trunk below of the coastal. The height of plant presented significant influence on water level only on the treatment were none potassium was applied. As to total nutrients in the plants: potassium, iron and sodium in a plant, only potassium presented compatible significant (8.1%) to water. To crop in studies water deficit didnât limited growing of dwarfish cashew tree. / O principal objetivo deste trabalho foi analisar o efeito das lÃminas de Ãgua, dos nÃveis de potÃssio e sua interaÃÃo sobre as variÃveis relacionadas ao crescimento vegetativo (altura da planta, diÃmetro do caule abaixo e acima do enxerto) e ao estado nutricional (potÃssio, ferro e sÃdio) do cajueiro anÃo-precoce (Anacardium occidentale L.) variedade BRS 189. Para isto foi realizado um experimento no nÃcleo D do PerÃmetro Irrigado Curu-Pentecoste, CearÃ, no perÃodo de setembro de 2005 a fevereiro de 2007. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o de blocos completos casualizados com parcelas subdivididas, composto de quatro tratamentos primÃrios nas parcelas, quatro tratamentos secundÃrios nas subparcelas e quatro blocos. Os tratamentos primÃrios constituÃram-se da combinaÃÃo de quatro lÃminas de irrigaÃÃo (W1 = 25% ETc; W2 = 50% ETc; W3 = 100% ETc; W4 = 150% ETc) com quatro nÃveis de adubaÃÃo potÃssica (K0 = 0 g; K1 = 30 g; K2 = 60 g; K3 = 120 g de K2O.planta-1.ano-1) localizados nas subparcelas. A cultura foi instalada no espaÃamento de 7,0 m x 7,0 m, irrigada por um sistema de irrigaÃÃo localizada tipo microaspersÃo, com microaspersores autocompensantes de 50 L.h-1 de vazÃo. ApÃs anÃlise dos resultados verificou-se que o fator Ãgua e sua interaÃÃo nÃo apresentaram efeitos significativos em nÃvel de 5% sobre nenhuma das variÃveis analisadas. O fator potÃssio influenciou significativamente a altura de plantas e o diÃmetro do caule abaixo do enxerto em nÃveis de 5%. A altura das plantas foi significativamente influenciada em nÃvel inferior a 5%, pelo fator Ãgua, apenas para o tratamento em que nÃo ocorreu aplicaÃÃo de potÃssio. Quanto à concentraÃÃo dos nutrientes: potÃssio, ferro e sÃdio nas folhas, apenas o teor de potÃssio se apresentou com nÃveis de significÃncia compatÃveis (8,1%) em relaÃÃo ao fator Ãgua. Com base nas variÃveis analisadas, o dÃficit hÃdrico nÃo se apresentou limitante ao desenvolvimento da cultura do cajueiro anÃo-precoce.