Butanol production by four different Clostridium sp. strains was investigated using glucoseP2-medium supplemented with increasing concentrations of butyric acid, added as cosubstrate.Batch fermentations were carried out in serum bottles (freely-suspended cellcultures) and fibrous-bed bioreactor (FBB) with medium recirculation (immobilized cells).Butyric acid clearly revealed to inhibit cellular growth with all specific growth rates decliningupon the increase of butyrate concentrations. However, the presence of low and moderatelevels in the medium can readily enhance the ABE-fermentation and increase butanolproduction through a shift induction towards the solventogenic phase controlled by themedium pH. In all cases it was found that 4.0 g⋅l-1 is the optimal concentration of butyratethat maximizes the yields for all ABE-solvents and butanol productivities. The non-mutant C.acetobutylicum ATCC 824 was singled out as the most efficient butanol productive strainamong all bacteria tested (10.3 g⋅l-1 butanol versus 0.72 g⋅l-1 with and without 4.0 g⋅l-1butyrate, respectively) showing a productivity augment in the order of 0.078 g⋅l-1⋅h-1 (78.5%)and yields of 0.3 g⋅g-1 from substrate and 7.6 g⋅g-1 from biomass versus 0.072 g⋅g-1 and 0.41g⋅g-1 with and without the optimal butyrate concentration, respectively. This strain alsorevealed the best overall tolerance over increasing butyrate concentrations up to ∼6.0 g⋅l-1 andthe highest glucose uptake (65.5%) among all bacteria. Furthermore, the beneficial effects ofbutyric acid were also observed through the use of a fibrous bed-bioreactor when the mutatedstrains of C. beijerinckii ATCC 55025 and BA 101 were tested. The use of this immobilizedcell system effectively improved butanol production over the free system with butanol titersin the fermentation broth around 11.5 g⋅l-1 and 9.4 g⋅l-1 for the two bacteria, respectively,roughly doubling the values attained with the corresponding suspended cell cultures when themedia were supplemented with 4.0 g⋅l-1 of butyrate. All these results confirm theenhancement of butanol formation using either free or immobilized cell culturessupplemented with butyric acid concentrations up to 4.0 g⋅l-1 in the media.

My area of research is Modern Japanese Literature and Film, and my thesis examines the collaborations between the writer Abe Kôbô and filmmaker Teshigahara Hiroshi, two artists who addressed the themes of identity and alienation in modern society through their work together. Specifically, I focus on the process of adaptation, looking at how the themes from the original texts are approached and captured cinematically. Such a study will allow me to explore the relationship between the two media, the differences in the presentation of theme and the possibilities of translation. The collaborations between Abe and Teshigahara offer a rare opportunity to conduct a survey on a specific pair of writer and director over the course of several works, tracking the evolution of their artistic vision and practice. What I hope to achieve through this project is to situate film adaptation as a valuable branch in the study of narrative, demonstrating its exciting possibilities in providing a discourse on the re-imagining of words through images.

My area of research is Modern Japanese Literature and Film, and my thesis examines the collaborations between the writer Abe Kôbô and filmmaker Teshigahara Hiroshi, two artists who addressed the themes of identity and alienation in modern society through their work together. Specifically, I focus on the process of adaptation, looking at how the themes from the original texts are approached and captured cinematically. Such a study will allow me to explore the relationship between the two media, the differences in the presentation of theme and the possibilities of translation. The collaborations between Abe and Teshigahara offer a rare opportunity to conduct a survey on a specific pair of writer and director over the course of several works, tracking the evolution of their artistic vision and practice. What I hope to achieve through this project is to situate film adaptation as a valuable branch in the study of narrative, demonstrating its exciting possibilities in providing a discourse on the re-imagining of words through images.

This thesis examines how Shinzo Abe’s historical perspectives on “comfort women” and the Nanjing Massacre are influenced by global demands. Abe’s official account on these issues have been affected by pressures to reconcile with South Korea and to face China’s rise for strategic reasons. This originates from sources including think tanks such as the Center for Strategic and International Studies and media. Joseph Nye’s concept of soft power will provide the theoretical background to analyze Abe’s views on both issues. The existence and method through which these pressures are applied will be detailed and explored. This research will hope to contribute to the understanding of historical memory in the Asia-Pacific and how it remains an issue that undergoes changes in the current political climate. / Graduate

This thesis examines the foreign policy evolution of Japan from the time of its modernization during the mid-nineteenth century though the present. It is argued that infringements upon Japanese sovereignty and geopolitical vulnerabilities have conditioned Japanese leaders towards power seeking policy objectives. The core variables of statehood, namely power and sovereignty, and the perception of state elites are traced over this broad time period to provide a historical foundation for framing contemporary analyses of Japanese foreign policy. To facilitate this research, a unique framework that accounts for both the foreign policy preferences of Japanese leaders and the external constraints of the international system is developed. Neoclassical realist understandings of self-help and relative power distributions form the basis of the presented analysis, while constructivism offers crucial insights into ideational factors that influence state elites. Social Identity Theory, a social psychology theory that examines group behavior, is integrated to conceptualize the available policy options. Surveying Japanese foreign policy through this framework clarifies the seemingly irreconcilable shifts in Japan's foreign policy history and clearly delineates between political groups that embody distinct policy strategies and norms. Consequently, the main contribution of this thesis lies in the development of a theoretical framework that is uniquely positioned to identify historical trends in foreign policy. Owing to the numerous shifts in modern Japan's foreign policy history, this research identifies and examines three distinguishable Japanese “states”: Meiji Japan (1868 - 1912), Imperial Japan (1912 - 1945), and postwar Japan (1945 - present).

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