La presente tesis investiga la evolución de la enseñanza de Arquitectura en Brasil y la constitución del campo profesional local y su relación con el contexto socio-económico. Para ello se indaga el por qué de reproducirse recurrentemente la idea de una relación frágil entre la Escuela y la realidad profesional. Se toma la carrera de arquitecto de la UFRGS como el caso a estudiar. Se analiza el perfil sociológico de los profesionales ahí formados y la evolución de los ejercicios académicos, en un período en el que los profesionales participaron activamente de la elaboración de los Planes de Estudio. Aunque se establecieron sucesivos ajustes en la enseñanza para corresponder al cambio de la auto imagen de los arquitectos, los procesos académicos y los sociales evolucionaron según dinámicas propias. Uno de los retos actuales para la enseñanza es conciliar las demandas didáctico pedagógicas, que buscan una identidad profesional única, y la diversidad de las demandas del mercado, que implican en cierta especialización. Otro es recuperar el sentido cultural de la Arquitectura, relegado por el pragmatismo profesional que predominó en la última década del siglo XX. / This thesis investigates the evolution of Architectural education in Brazil as well as the creation of a base of local professionals and their relationship with the socio economical context. For this purpose we search the reasons why there is a feeling of recurring fragile relationship between the School and the professional reality. We take the degree of Architect from UFRGS as the study case. We analyze the sociological profile of professionals who attended that University and the evolution of academic exercises during a period in which professionals actively participated in preparing the Study Programs. Although successive adjustments were established in education to adapt to the change of image of architects, academic and social processes evolved separately. A current challenge for education is to reconcile didactic-pedagogical demands looking for a unique professional identity and the diversity of market demands implied in some specializations. Another challenge is to recover the cultural sense of Architecture somewhat banished by the professional pragmatism that prevailed in the last decade of the 20th century.

MosA is an enzyme from Sinorhizobium meliloti L5-30, a beneficial soil bacterium. Initial investigation into this enzyme categorized it as a methyltransferase. Further investigation revealed that this was incorrect, and that MosA is actually a dihydrodipicolinate synthase, part of the N-acetylneuraminate lyase superfamily. One of the characteristics of enzyme superfamilies is their low sequence identity, but relatively high structural similarity. The structural investigation reported here confirms the high structural similarity between MosA and other superfamily members. <p>Investigation of MosA was carried out by means of x-ray crystallography. It was believed that detailed structural information may shed light into not only the enzymatic mechanism, but also the inhibition of MosA by lysine, the final product of the enzymatic pathway. Insight into enzyme mechanism and inhibition may ultimately prove useful in herbicide or insecticide development, as other dihydrodipicolinate synthases from harmful fungi, bacteria, or plants, make attractive targets for inhibition. Lysine is an essential amino acid for humans, meaning that there is no endogenous lysine production to block the use of these hypothetical inhibitors. Specific inhibitors based on crystal structures have proven to be effective in the past and hopefully, will continue to be useful in the future. <p>Here we report the structure of MosA, solved to 1.95 Å resolution with lysine 161 forming a Schiff-base adduct with pyruvate. This adduct is consistent with the currently accepted dihydrodipicolinate synthase enzyme mechanism.

In order to better understand how viewers, critics, journalists and series producers help shape the “quality TV” discourse and position shows within it, this project uses case studies of 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation and Parenthood to dissect how style, narrative and paratexts influence public discourse about “quality” programs both in print and on the Internet. Using Kristen Marthe Lentz’s theories on “quality TV” and “relevance programming,” I examine how each show uses a cinematic style in combination with various strategies such as special episodes, narrative complexity, intertextuality, patriarchal narrative and feminism to align themselves with other “quality” series more readily found on basic and pay-cable, while also allowing viewers and critics on popular culture sites like the A.V. Club to make “quality” comparisons. / text

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The general objective of this dissertation was to study the state of sexual and reproductive health of the Spanish population in reproductive age, especially focusing on individual and contextual socioeconomic inequalities. Five different studies were designed to achieve this objective, one especially focused on the state of sexual health, three on the use of contraception and one on the practice of induced abortion, studying in each case the influence of socioeconomic factors. Using sources of information such as the Fecundity Interview of 2006, the first National Sexual Health Survey of 2009 and the annual Register of Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy, we were able to conduct multivariate regression studies, and when possible with a multilevel approach, to study socioeconomic inequalities in the different aspects related to sexual and reproductive health detailed. The studies of this dissertation suggest that the general state of sexual and reproductive health of the Spanish population in reproductive age is quite good; nevertheless, individual and contextual socioeconomic inequalities are detected in almost all the aspects studied. / El objetivo general de esta tesis fue estudiar el estado de salud sexual y reproductiva de la población española en edad reproductiva, centrándonos especialmente en las desigualdades socioeconómicas individuales y contextuales. Para alcanzar este objetivo se diseñaron cinco estudios diferentes, uno dedicado al estado de salud sexual, tres al uso de anticoncepción y el último a la práctica de aborto inducido, estudiando en cada caso la influencia de los factores socioeconómicos. Mediante el uso de fuentes de información como la Encuesta de Fecundidad de 2006, la primera Encuesta Nacional de Salud Sexual de 2009 y el Registro anual de Interrupciones Voluntarias del Embarazo, se realizaron estudios de regresión multivariados, con un enfoque multinivel cuando fue posible, para estudiar las desigualdades socioeconómicas en los diferentes aspectos relacionados con la salud sexual y reproductiva detallados. Los estudios de esta tesis sugieren que el estado general de salud sexual y reproductiva de la población española en edad reproductiva es bastante bueno; sin embargo, se detectan desigualdades socioeconómicas individuales y contextuales en la mayoría de los aspectos estudiados. / L’objectiu general d’aquesta tesi va ser estudiar l’estat de salut sexual i reproductiva de la població espanyola en edat reproductiva, centrant-nos especialment en les desigualtats socioeconòmiques individuals i contextuals. Per aconseguir aquest objectiu es van dissenyar cinc estudis diferents, un dedicat a l’estat de salut sexual, tres a l’ús d’anticoncepció i l’últim a la pràctica d’avortament induït, estudiant en cada cas la influència dels factors socioeconòmics. Mitjançant l’ús de fonts d’informació com l’Enquesta de Fecunditat de 2006, la primera Enquesta Nacional de Salut Sexual i Reproductiva de 2009 i el Registre anual d’Interrupcions Voluntàries de l’Embaràs, es van realitzar estudis de regressió multivariats, amb un enfocament multinivell quan va ser possible, per estudiar les desigualtats socioeconòmiques en els diferents aspectes relacionats amb la salut sexual i reproductiva detallats. Els estudis d’aquesta tesi suggereixen que l’estat de salut sexual i reproductiva de la població espanyola en edat reproductiva és bastant bo; tanmateix, es detecten desigualtats socioeconòmiques individuals i contextuals en la majoria dels aspectes estudiats.

This thesis explores the philosophical and theological motivations for early Christian celibacy prior to the appearance of monasticism. This thesis will challenge recent scholarly positions that portray early Christian celibacy only in light of the emergence of monasticism in the fourth century, and which argue that celibacy as an ascetic practice was motivated primarily by resistance to the dominant social structures of antiquity. The practice of celibacy was a significant movement in the early church well before the appearance of monasticism or the development of Christianity as the dominant social force in the empire, and although early Christian sexual austerity was similar to the sexual ethics of Greco-Roman philosophical constructs, early Christian sexual ethics had developed in relation to uniquely Christian theological and cosmological views. Moreover, a segment of the early Christian community idealized celibacy as an expression of the transformation of human nature amidst a community that continued to remain sexually austere in general. / vi, 267 leaves ; 29 cm.

The early Christian text known as the 'Letter to the Hebrews' has presented a riddle to scholarship. Its anonymity and anomalous form are puzzling. Scholars like Norman Perrin and Barnabas Lindars also-find Hebrews enigmatic because it does not appear to represent the views of any early Christian community. / This thesis contends that the riddle of Hebrews' lack of community-fit is due to a conceptual flaw. Beginning with Franz Overbeck (1882), there has been a tendency to assess early Christian texts as nonliterary, unlike later Patristic texts. Deemed nonliterary, they are thereby thought to document the situation within which they were written. For Hebrews, this has resulted in numerous reconstructions of its historical setting. None, however, has proven satisfactory. This lack of consensus casts doubt on the appropriateness of ruling out Hebrews' essential literary character. Moreover, the explanations used to justify the unique nonliterary character of early Christian literature are not compelling. Thus, the probability of Hebrews' literary character increases. / The literary texts written by Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian, are more likely comparable to Hebrews. These Patristic texts were produced in the late second century before the shape of orthodoxy became fixed. A survey of representative scholarly literature shows a low expectation of retrieving from these early Patristic texts an unambiguous profile of the author's ideological community, of the text's occasion, or of its audience. Thus, it would be unwarranted to expect Hebrews to be more representative of its situation. / Given the probability of Hebrews' literary character, the thesis demonstrates that it is inappropriate to assume that Hebrews represents ideas that extend beyond those of the author to a specific community or to a particular situation. The burden of proof is reversed. Without evidence to the contrary, Hebrews is best explained as a persuasive literary effort by an idiosyncratic author directed to a general Christian audience. / Thus, the riddle of Hebrews' lack of community-fit dissolves. Furthermore, questions are raised regarding the contemporary scholarly expectation that other early Christian writings (Matthew, James, etc.) were shaped by and for ideologically distinct communities.

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Due to their violent stellar winds, ionising radiation and famous deaths as supernovae, massive stars play a key role in galactic evolution. A complete understanding of these objects has been hindered by both their rarity and by the relatively limited volume of the Universe that is accessible with existing facilities. Addressing the first of these limiting factors, the VLT-FLAMES Tarantula Survey (VFTS) has drawn from the 30 Doradus region an unprecedented sample of over 800 O and B-type stars. The survey is beginning to uncover a wide range of global properties such as the region’s binary fraction of massive stars and their dynamics, whilst also looking in detail at some of its more fascinating objects. This thesis documents the reduction of the VFTS data set, whilst also describing the analysis for one of the serendipitous discoveries: the massive binary R139. This high-mass binary will provide an excellent future calibration point for stellar models, in part as it seems to defy certain expectations about its evolution. Outwith the VFTS, a search for binary companions around a trio of B-type supergiants is presented. These stars are surrounded by nebulae that closely resemble the triple-ring structure associated with the poorly-understood SN1987A. Do these stars share a similar evolutionary fate? While strong evidence is found for periodic pulsations in one of the stars, there appears to be no indication of a short-period binary companion suggested in the literature. Gathering observations from a wide range of environments builds a fuller picture of massive stars, but the samples remain somewhat limited. The coming generation of extremely large telescopes will open new regions for studies like the VFTS. Fully utilising these remarkable telescopes will require many new technologies, and this thesis presents one such development project. For adaptive-optics corrected, multi-object instruments it will be necessary to position small pick-off mirrors in the telescope’s focal plane to select the sub-fields on the sky. This could be most efficiently achieved if the mirrors were self-propelled, which has led to a miniature robot project called MAPS - the Micro Autonomous Positioning System. A number of robots have been built with a footprint of only 30 x 30mm. These wirelessly-controlled robots draw their power from the floor on which they operate and have shown the potential to be positioned to an accuracy of tens of microns. This thesis details much of the early design work and testing of the robots, and also the development of the camera imaging system used to determine the position of the robots. The MAPS project is ongoing and a number of the potential future tests, and avenues for new research, are discussed. This is a thesis that brings together an area of active astronomical research with cutting-edge technological development, highlighting how tomorrow’s telescopes will be an essential tool to answer some of today’s most puzzling research questions

Purpose: Current literature reports that between 7 and 14% of young, healthy women have stress urinary incontinence (SUI). No gold standard exists for quantifying urine leakage, although pad tests have been used in older, parous populations. The aim of this study was to determine the reliability and accuracy of a new pad test for young, healthy women with SUI. Methods: The pad test consisted of measuring quantity of leakage after the following activities: stair running, standing up from sitting, curl-ups, running on the spot, jumping jacks, jumping on a mini-trampoline and coughing vigorously. Bladder volume was standardised by having the volunteers drink one litre of water one hour prior to the testing. The volunteers performed the pad test on two consecutive days. Results: Sixteen nulliparous women between the ages of 18 and 30 years (7 controls and 9 with SUI) participated in this study. The mean increase in pad weight was 0.64 g (± 0.50) in the continent group and 11.89 g (± 20.32) in the group with SUI. There was no significant difference in pad weight between the testing sessions (p=0.228), however the test was not able to elicit measureable urine loss in 3 participants with SUI. Pad weights between the two groups of women were significantly different (p=0.023). The test re-test ICC for the continent group was 0.845 (95% CI: 0.139–0.973) and 0.782 (95% CI: -0.040–0.952) for the group with SUI. Significance: The results of this study support the use of this pad test in healthy young women with SUI; it appears to be reliable and challenging enough to cause measureable urine loss in the majority, and it may be useful for diagnosing and quantifying SUI without urodynamic studies.