The aim of this study was to develop drug delivery system based on poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) to achieve personalized treatment of selected skin disorders, like photo-aging, psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. Dead Sea Water (DSW) and Retinyl Palmitate (RP) were used as active agents and they were loaded in PLGA NPs prepared either as spheres or capsules by o/w or w/o/w methods. MgCl2 and bovine serum albumin (BSA) served as model active compounds. The diameter of the NPs was found to be in the range of 280 - 550 nm. The entrapment efficiency (E.E.) was less than 1% for RP, DSW and MgCl2, and 41% for BSA. Loading of Cl- together with BSA doubled the E.E. value of Cl- . In situ release studies showed a burst in the first day and more than 85% of the chloride content was released within a week. When the macromolecule BSA was encapsulated, a much slower and triphasic release profile was observed which continued for up to 80 days. In vitro tests were performed using L929 fibroblast cells. Results of MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) test revealed that none of the NPs were cytotoxic. Additionally, all particles were hemocompatible with hemolytic activity &lt / 1.5%. L929 fibroblast and Saos 2 human osteosarcoma cells were used to study the uptake of NPs by the cells. Particles accumulate near the nucleus. The characterization and cell viability tests, and drug release behavior indicate the suitability of these NPs for further testing to develop a patient specific skin diseases treatment approach.

Arabs exercised authority in Sind for over three centuries (93-416/711-1025), first as governors appointed directly by the Umayyads and ('c)Abbasids and then, from around 240/854, as independent rulers from the Quraysh tribes of Habbar b. al-Aswad and Samah b. Lu'ayy. This dissertation is concerned with four major topics in the religious history of the period: the identification of the non-Muslim religions and sects at the time of the Arab conquest; the mechanisms encouraging or impeding collaboration and conversion; the prosopography of the Sind(')i Muslim population; and the rise of the Isma('c('))il(')i state at Multan toward the end of the period. Correlations between religious and social factors are examined in two general areas: the observed differential between Buddhist and Hindu collaboration and conversion, and the decline in the recruitment, replication, and circulation of the Muslim religious elite.

Le thème central de cette thèse est constitué par les représentations de l'Altérité dans le discours de l'extrême droite roumaine. Pour plus de précision, ce qui nous intéresse c'est la façon dont sont produites les représentations de l'Autre et quel est leur enjeu politique dans la Roumanie de l'entre les deux guerres, et également, après 1989, dans la nouvelle Roumanie libérée du communisme.C'est une démarche principalement discursive, centrée au premier égard sur une analyse sémantique des discours de l'élite politique et intellectuelle des deux époques, qui se donne de dévoiler les stratégies de manipulation et de mise en altérité (de l'anglais othering) auxquelles sont sujets les différentes catégories d'Autres (les Juifs, les étrangers, les gitans, les minorités sexuelles et religieuses).La méthodologie choisie délimite d'abord les outils et les concepts de chaque discipline et les définit clairement, ainsi que le but auquel ils servent. Par exemple, pour les deux premiers chapitres, l'analyse du discours que nous utilisons est une analyse qualitative, sémantique, qui essaie de rendre compte des façons dont le discours est construit, ainsi que du rôle des tropes et du type des arguments. Pour le dernier chapitre, nous envisageons des explications qui puisent dans des perspectives différentes : de celle de l'histoire ou des sciences politiques à celle de la religion, en passant par celle de l'anthropologie ou de la psychologie.Le but de notre thèse est d'essayer d'expliquer l'évolution de ce processus - du « comment » (les moyens) au « pourquoi » (les raisons) de la mise en altérité, en réorientant la question de départ sur le portrait ou la représentation du Soi, du Nous, des Roumains.Mots clé : Identité, Soi altéré, Roumanie, Altérité discursive, Représentations sociales / Romania has witnessed in the last century the recurrence, in various shapes and on multiple voices, of extreme rightwing tendencies. Covering a wide scale, from the interwar social movements such as The Iron Guard, to the post-communist nationalist parties, it shows, if not an inner attraction, then at least a high frequency of the phenomenon.Following this path, we have decided to analyze the discourse of the extreme rightwing, in order to identify the main characteristics of the portrait of the Other. The evolution of this social representation marks the fluctuation of the Self identification based on internal and external factors. By highlighting the bias ruling over the Othering as process, we hope to enlighten the ways in which the socio-cognitive construction of the difference occurs, through the mirroring of the Self.Consequently, the selection of the methodology tools has been made according to the study material: the first two chapters are built on qualitative discourse analysis that tries to reflect the strategies, the arguments and the images used to create the illustrations of the Other. However, the third chapter shifts to the analysis of the Othering as process, aiming at explaining it from various perspectives: historical, political, religious, anthropological and psychological.The purpose of this analysis would be to account for the reasons and the means behind the Othering as phenomenon, in an attempt to better portray not as much the Others, but the Romanians themselves.

L'expression « éducation populaire » connaît en France une nouvelle fortune depuis les années 1990. La recherche vise à éclaircir le sens et les causes de ce retour en grâce discursif. On définit la séquence « éducation populaire » comme une formule, au sens de l'analyse du discours, en lien avec la notion de catégorie. L'étude du retour contemporain de celle-ci impose un long détour par son histoire. Celle-ci se décompose en deux cycles complet constitués de phases d'émergence, de consécration et de déclin autour d'un usage de la formule comme quasi-catégorie : sous-catégorie de l'Instruction publique entre la Révolution française et les années 1930, puis catégorie détachée de l'École mais associée à des formules concurrentes et bientôt reléguées par elles au rang d'ancêtre mythique. La période contemporaine se présente comme l'émergence d’un usage détaché de l’animation socioculturelle et orientée vers la formation militante et la repolitisation des politiques culturelles ; ce nouvel usage, qui demeure toutefois en concurrence avec une remobilisation du secteur Jeunesse et Éducation populaire, réintroduit en outre les pratiques d’origine scolaires que ce dernier avait écartées. / The set phrase "éducation populaire" has been especially successful in French public discourses since the 1990s. We intend to analyze this lexical comeback. The past life of the phrase can be divided in two cycles, each of them composed of successive phases of emergence, consecration and decline, and revolving around an interpretation of the phrase as a quasi-category. It starts as a subcategory of "Instruction publique" from the French Revolution to the 1930s, then becomes a category detachedfrom schooling but linked with competing phrases, and is soon discarded by these ones as a mythical ancestor. The last years witness a new, yet uncertain phase of emergence which defines "éducation populaire" as a form of radical political education or as a repoliticization of cultural policies. This new use, however, is competing with the remobilization of traditional movements. It also reintroduces the school-rooted practices which had been previously discarded.

While automated game playing systems like Deep Blue perform excellent within their domain, handling a different game or even a slight change of rules is impossible without intervention of the programmer. Considered a great challenge for Artificial Intelligence, General Game Playing is concerned with the development of techniques that enable computer programs to play arbitrary, possibly unknown n-player games given nothing but the game rules in a tailor-made description language. A key to success in this endeavour is the ability to reliably extract hidden game-specific features from a given game description automatically. An informed general game player can efficiently play a game by exploiting structural game properties to choose the currently most appropriate algorithm, to construct a suited heuristic, or to apply techniques that reduce the search space. In addition, an automated method for property extraction can provide valuable assistance for the discovery of specification bugs during game design by providing information about the mechanics of the currently specified game description. The recent extension of the description language to games with incomplete information and elements of chance further induces the need for the detection of game properties involving player knowledge in several stages of the game. In this thesis, we develop a formal proof method for the automatic acquisition of rich game-specific invariance properties. To this end, we first introduce a simple yet expressive property description language to address knowledge-free game properties which may involve arbitrary finite sequences of successive game states. We specify a semantic based on state transition systems over the Game Description Language, and develop a provably correct formal theory which allows to show the validity of game properties with respect to their semantic across all reachable game states. Our proof theory does not require to visit every single reachable state. Instead, it applies an induction principle on the game rules based on the generation of answer set programs, allowing to apply any off-the-shelf answer set solver to practically verify invariance properties even in complex games whose state space cannot totally be explored. To account for the recent extension of the description language to games with incomplete information and elements of chance, we correctly extend our induction method to properties involving player knowledge. With an extensive evaluation we show its practical applicability even in complex games.

Barley and wheat are the two most important crop species in Turkey. Molecular studies for increasing crop yield of these species are very important for the economic benefits of Turkey. Powdery mildew and yellow rust are the two main pathogens, infecting barley and wheat, respectively in our country and causing a great amount of yield loss each year. Till now, classical genetics studies were performed in order to develop resistant barley and wheat cultivars, but these studies have not been succesful. Therefore, molecular plant-pathogen interactions studies are starting to become the new tool to fight against pathogens. In this thesis, two important aspects of plant microbe interactions were investigated. In the first part, the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in powdery mildew-barley pathosysytem, and yellow rust-wheat pathosystem were studied. The expression levels of miRNAs and their putative targets were investigated via miRNA microarray analysis and qRT-PCR, respectively, in response to virulent and avirulent pathogen infections. These data were used to establish a new model for powdery mildew-barley and yellow rust-wheat pathosystems. In the second part, functional analysis of a novel F-box gene, which was a ZTL-type F-box, was performed by using Barley Stripe Mosaic Virus mediated Virus Induced Gene Silencing. This F-box gene (HvDRF) (Hordeum vulgare Disease Related F-box) was induced upon yellow rust infection and we studied its role in powdery mildew infection. The results confirmed HvDRF as a positive regulator of race specific immunity and enlarged the roles of ZTL-type F-box proteins to biotic stress responses.

Barley is one of the most important crop species in Turkey and powdery mildew is one of the most common pathogen decreasing yield in barley. For this problem, agricultural biologists apply breeding technologies in order to select and propagate resistant barley cultivars. However, this is not a permanent solution since pathogens evolve rapidly to overcome plant resistance mechanisms. On the other hand, molecular plant pathologists are trying to understand basic mechanisms underlying plant-pathogen interactions by using molecular tools in order to develop long term solutions for preventing yield loss. In this thesis, miR159 mediated regulation of barley GAMyb transcription factor is studied. According to microRNA microarray results regarding to infection with powdery mildew pathogen Blumeria graminis f.spp hordei (Bgh) at different time points, miR159 expression level showed significant differences. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that miRNA159 targets GAMyb gene in barley. In order to investigate this relationsh&amp / #8223 / p, both miRNA and miRNA target were cloned into GFP containing expression vectors through Gateway cloning and resulting vectors were transformed into Nicotiana benthamiana through Agrobacterium mediated gene transfer. Observations based on GFP expression showed that miRNA159 targets and decreases the expression of GAMyb in vivo. v To conclude, this study can be evaluated as a distinctive study for two aspects / (i) it is the first study assessing a &ldquo / putative&rdquo / barley miRNA function biologically and (ii) developed a practical and effective functional assay for miRNA studies in plants.

Landtagswahlergebnisse in der BRD werden von empirischen Wahlforschern häufig als aktuelle Stimmungsbarometer für die Bundespolitik interpretiert. Bei dieser Interpretation von Landtagswahlen als \"Bundestestwahlen\" wird jedoch häufig vernachlässigt, dass Landtagswahlen überwiegend auch Regionalwahlen sind und landestypischen Dynamiken folgen. Empirische Untersuchungen zu Bestimmungsfaktoren von Landtagswahlverhalten wurden in Deutschland bis dato entweder in Form von qualitativen Einzelfallanalysen oder als Aggregatdatenanalysen der amtlichen Wahlstatistiken durchgeführt. Eine direkte und vergleichende Quantifizierung der Effektstärken mit Survey-Daten wurde allerdings bislang nicht vorgenommen. Die vorliegende Studie wertet deshalb im Rahmen eines replikativen Surveys 17 Landtagswahlstudien aus. So können die Effektstärken der individuellen Bewertung der Bundes- versus der Landesparteien auf die Landtagswahlentscheidungen direkt verglichen werden. Als Fazit zeigt sich, dass in Westdeutschland die Beurteilung der Landesparteien einen stärkeren Einfluss auf die individuelle Landtagswahlentscheidung ausübt als die Beurteilung der Bundesparteien. In Ostdeutschland prägt dagegen bei Landtagswahlen die bundespolitische Dimension das Abstimmungsverhalten der Wähler stärker. Die Parteipolitikverflechtung zwischen Landes- und Bundesebene ist somit bei Landtagswahlen in Ostdeutschland erheblich stärker ausgeprägt als in den alten Bundesländern.:Einleitung; Theoretische Grundlagen der bundespolitischen Parteipolitikverflechtung bei Landtagswahlen; Empirischer Test der Parteipolitikverflechtung bei Landtagswahlen; Diskussion und Ausblick / Electoral studies often interpret German regional election results ("Landtagswahlen") as barometers of public opinion on federal governmental parties'' performance. However, while interpreting German regional elections as "test-elections" for the national parliament, it is often underemphasised that subnational elections often follow a unique regional dynamics. So far, empirical investigations on the determinants of German regional elections consist either in qualitative case studies or aggregate analyses of official statistics. A quantitative study of individual-level survey data, comparing directly the explanatory power of the federal versus the subnational level, is still lacking. Conducting a repeated survey design, we analyse data from 17 German regional election surveys. Thus, the effects of individual assessments of federal parties versus their subnational counterparts on subnational voting preferences can be directly compared. The conclusion of our analyses can be summarized as follows: In Western Germany, the valuation of subnational parties has a stronger impact on individual voting preferences in subnational elections than the valuation of the federal parties has. However, in Eastern Germany, the federal dimension has a comparatively stronger effect. Hence, the federal – regional ("Länder") party system linkage is clearly stronger in Eastern than in Western Germany.:Einleitung; Theoretische Grundlagen der bundespolitischen Parteipolitikverflechtung bei Landtagswahlen; Empirischer Test der Parteipolitikverflechtung bei Landtagswahlen; Diskussion und Ausblick

Bisher waren alle Versuche, eine Berufsbildungspolitik nach deutschem Vorbild in der MENA-Region einzuführen, erfolglos. Diese Dissertation betreibt Fallstudienforschung als Strategie, um den Politiktransfer des dualen Systems nach Syrien im Jahr 2000 zu untersuchen. Auf der Grundlage mündlicher Erzählungen, die die Auswahl der zu relevanten Dokumente leiten, werden eine narrative Untersuchung und eine Dokumentenanalyse durchgeführt, um die empirische Grundlage für weitere Konzeptualisierungen und Theoriebildung zu schaffen. Diese Analysen führen zu mehreren Ergebnissen. Das erste Hauptergebnis ist eine detaillierte Zeitleiste (Abfolge von Aktionen und Ereignissen), die auf der Grundlage der gesammelten Daten zusammengestellt wurde. Der politische Prozess in Syrien wird rückblickend konstruiert und die inländischen Reformen werden historisch in den globalen Kontext gestellt. Zweitens wird die „Action-Arena“ identifiziert, in dem die syrischen Entscheidungsträger gegen die vorgeschlagene Politik gestimmt haben. Basierend auf der empirischen Evidenz werden Verhaltensannahmen für die Teilnehmer in der Politik-Arena abgeleitet. Drittens werden mithilfe des Institutional Development and Analysis Framework die Struktur der Action-Arena analysiert und die kollektive Entscheidung der politischen Entscheidungsträger beschrieben. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass eine Nichtübernahme sehr wahrscheinlich ist, wenn die zuständigen Beamten als begrenzt rationale (d. h. eigen-interessierte) Entscheidungsträger modelliert werden. Dieses Forschungsprojekt bestätigt das Argument, dass jeder Politiktransfer in der Realität eine Herausforderung für einen ohnehin schon komplexen politischen Entscheidungsprozess darstellt. Während ein Politiktransfer oft als kürzerer Weg zur Formulierung einer effektiven Politik und sogar zu Innovationen propagiert wird, zeigt die empirische Evidenz im Fall Syriens, dass sie risikoreich ist und ein Politik-Lernprozess nicht unbedingt erfolgt. / In the early 1990s, several governments in the Middle East and North Africa introduced apprenticeships to their vocational education systems. Until today, all attempts to enact a new apprenticeship training policy similar to the role model in Germany have been unsuccessful. This dissertation uses case study research as a strategy to explore the dual system policy transfer to Syria in 2000. Using oral testimonies to guide the archive search, a narrative inquiry and documentary analysis are carried out to provide the empirical foundation for further conceptualization and theorizing. There are multiple outputs. The first significant output is a dense timeline (sequences of actions and events) assembled based on the collected data. The policy process in Syria is constructed retrospectively, and reforms are historically contextualized in global events. Second, the action arena where Syrian decision-makers voted against the proposed policy is identified. Founded on empirical evidence, the behavioral assumptions about the participants in the policy arena are specified. Third, using the institutional development and analysis framework, the structure of the action arena is analyzed, and the policymakers' collective decision is described. Results indicate that non-adoption is highly likely when the appointed state officials are modeled as boundedly rational (i.e., self-interested) decision-makers. This research project attests to the argument that, in reality, policy transfer poses challenges to an already complex policymaking process. While policy transfer is often publicized as a shorter path to formulate an effective policy and even innovate, empirical reality in the case of Syria shows it is risky, and policy learning needs to be assured.

Landtagswahlergebnisse in der BRD werden von empirischen Wahlforschern häufig als aktuelle Stimmungsbarometer für die Bundespolitik interpretiert. Bei dieser Interpretation von Landtagswahlen als \"Bundestestwahlen\" wird jedoch häufig vernachlässigt, dass Landtagswahlen überwiegend auch Regionalwahlen sind und landestypischen Dynamiken folgen. Empirische Untersuchungen zu Bestimmungsfaktoren von Landtagswahlverhalten wurden in Deutschland bis dato entweder in Form von qualitativen Einzelfallanalysen oder als Aggregatdatenanalysen der amtlichen Wahlstatistiken durchgeführt. Eine direkte und vergleichende Quantifizierung der Effektstärken mit Survey-Daten wurde allerdings bislang nicht vorgenommen. Die vorliegende Studie wertet deshalb im Rahmen eines replikativen Surveys 17 Landtagswahlstudien aus. So können die Effektstärken der individuellen Bewertung der Bundes- versus der Landesparteien auf die Landtagswahlentscheidungen direkt verglichen werden. Als Fazit zeigt sich, dass in Westdeutschland die Beurteilung der Landesparteien einen stärkeren Einfluss auf die individuelle Landtagswahlentscheidung ausübt als die Beurteilung der Bundesparteien. In Ostdeutschland prägt dagegen bei Landtagswahlen die bundespolitische Dimension das Abstimmungsverhalten der Wähler stärker. Die Parteipolitikverflechtung zwischen Landes- und Bundesebene ist somit bei Landtagswahlen in Ostdeutschland erheblich stärker ausgeprägt als in den alten Bundesländern. / Electoral studies often interpret German regional election results ("Landtagswahlen") as barometers of public opinion on federal governmental parties' performance. However, while interpreting German regional elections as "test-elections" for the national parliament, it is often underemphasised that subnational elections often follow a unique regional dynamics. So far, empirical investigations on the determinants of German regional elections consist either in qualitative case studies or aggregate analyses of official statistics. A quantitative study of individual-level survey data, comparing directly the explanatory power of the federal versus the subnational level, is still lacking. Conducting a repeated survey design, we analyse data from 17 German regional election surveys. Thus, the effects of individual assessments of federal parties versus their subnational counterparts on subnational voting preferences can be directly compared. The conclusion of our analyses can be summarized as follows: In Western Germany, the valuation of subnational parties has a stronger impact on individual voting preferences in subnational elections than the valuation of the federal parties has. However, in Eastern Germany, the federal dimension has a comparatively stronger effect. Hence, the federal – regional ("Länder") party system linkage is clearly stronger in Eastern than in Western Germany.