This thesis consists of four individual studies, divided into two sections; "Narrative Structure" and "Narrative Texture". The first chapter ("Heliodoros and the Conventions of Romance") addresses the issue of the essence of romance; it attempts to get behind the narrative of the Aithiopika in such a way as to reveal how Heliodoros works within the boundaries and received practice of the genre ancient romance, and how he adapts and deviates from them. The second chapter ("Hearing Voices: Incorporated Genres in the Aithiopika") deals with genre, but in a different context. This study takes a concept- incorporated genre- from the theorist M.M. Bakhtin, and applies it to Heliodoros' narrative. Here the term "genre" takes on a broader significance, meaning not the romances themselves, but types of narrative, and ways of narrating, which Heliodoros has introduced into his story. Both chapters one and two are systematic analyses of the text; they deal with how Heliodoros has structured his narrative in ways conventional and unconventional. In the final chapters the term genre encompasses specific works and literary groupings. These studies help to demonstrate how Heliodoros has fleshed out the basic structure of the Aithiopika, or, in other words, they provide a feel for some of the texture of the romance. "Heliodoros and Homer" is explicitly narratological in outlook, showing one way in which Heliodoros has provided a paradigm for reading, perhaps not just the novel itself, but specifically within the novel the references to and allusions from Homer. "Heliodoros and Tragedy" tackles the meaning of theatricality, and references to the theatre, in an author writing in the late Roman Empire. But this chapter, too, provides a glimpse at the narrative texture, especially with regard to the way in which Heliodoros co-opted yet another literary predecessor, Euripides.

Ongoing efforts to incorporate traditional or herbal medicine practice into the main stream healthcare delivery system of Ghana has led to increased research to isolate, identify, and characterize the active ingredients in these herbal products. It has also led to the development of semi-synthetic drugs and pharmacologically-active compounds. Essential oils from different parts of Xylopia aethiopica, a plant of Africa, showed various degrees of anti bacterial activity. The activity has been attributed to the presence of Xylopic acid the major diterpene component of the fruit oil extract. This work examines the effects of extraction solvent and time of extraction on the yield of xylopic acid. Xylopic acid was isolated from the dried fruits of Xylopia aethiopica using petroleum ether and characterized using various analytical tools. This was then used as reference standard to design an HPLC method to quantify the amount of the acid extracted using different solvent systems.

The thesis consists of an introduction to and commentary on books 3 and 4 of the Ethiopian Story of Heliodorus. The introduction explores the meagre evidence for the life of the author, and concludes that he was probably a Phoenician living in the Syrian city of Emesa. The nature of the personal relationship between Heliodorus and the cult of the sun, mentioned explicitly in the final sentence of the romance, is discussed but must remain inconclusive. References to Helios in the romance are shown to be largely literary rather than programmatically religious. The narrative context surrounding the encounter between the hero and heroine of the story and the latter's strange birth, which constitutes the true opening of the romance, are investigated particularly closely. The possibility that the author represented his heroine, paradoxically born white to the black king and queen of Ethiopia, as what would today be termed an albino, is analysed, and the literary and cultural implications of this evaluated. Comparative anthropological studies of this hereditary condition in a variety of cultures show a strong connection with religious cults of the sun, while the internal evidence in the romance (particularly the heroine 's miraculous birth, the constrained sexuality of the hero and heroine, and the high degree of cultural alienation in the work) further corroborate this argument. The introduction also reviews the evidence for the date of the romance, such as the extent of the author's knowledge of the contemporary kingdoms of Axum and Meroe, his use of words and linguistic forms that were prevalent in the fourth century, the traces of Christian doctrines in the romance, the comparison between the sieges of Syene and Nisibis, and the similarity between the account of the triumphal procession of Aurelian in Vopiscus' biography of the emperor and the presentation of ambassadors to Hydaspes. This survey shows that there are strong arguments for the fourth century date for the romance. The introduction concludes with a brief survey of the language and style of Heliodorus. The commentary provides detailed discussion of key passages for the interpretation of the author's narratological strategy, with particular regard to the role of Kalasiris in the plot. Other substantial notes look at the author's treatment of the conventions of romance , his ironical use of the superstition of the 'evil eye', his subtle characterisation, and his use of literary topoi. The thesis concludes with appendices on the intertextual relationship between the Homeric epics and the Ethiopian Story, the significance of the word uvn6Eoc;, and the 'amphibolies', or double explanations for events in the narrative. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1998.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T13:39:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 3599764 bytes, checksum: fe5c9c9fdc7ef5671686bcbc401f0257 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-08-26 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Currently the arm of Brazilian agriculture, governed by flower activity, is characterized as highly profitable and promising. In this field, is increasing the use of techniques that increase the quantity and quality in the final products. Among the main products from flowers, increasing emphasis is given to the species Zantedeschia aethiopica, popularly known as Calla Lilies, who despite dominating market share considerably, little known about their behavior by hormone treatment, packaging or handling storage temperature. Thus, the objective was to evaluate the effect of gibberellic acid in rhizomes of arum, the process of packaging and maintaining them in cold storage and also of young plants in the production phytotechnical characters. To achieve this objective, three experiments. At first underwent rhizomes of arum lilly in solutions containing gibberellic acid (GA3) at concentrations of 0, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 mg L-1, using two sources of this hormone. In the second experiment, put up rhizomes in polyethylene and the set was stored at ambient conditions for up to 90 days after being planted and conduced until flowering plants. And finally the third, rhizomes were subjected to cold storage periods of 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 days in the same way, young plants (60 days) were also stored in these conditions. It was observed that the presence of GA3 anticipates flowering and confers greater production of flowers in the same way, the storage process also increases the number flower stalks. On the other hand, the packing of rhizomes and seedlings did not affect the evaluated characteristics. / Atualmente o segmento da agricultura brasileira, governado pela atividade floricultura, se caracteriza como altamente lucrativo e promissor. Neste campo, é crescente a utilização de técnicas que incrementem quantidade e qualidade nos produtos finais. Dentre os principais produtos oriundos da floricultura, destaque crescente é dado à espécie Zantedeschia aethiopica, conhecida popularmente como copo-de-leite, que apesar de dominar considerável fatia do mercado, pouco se sabe sobre seu comportamento mediante tratamento com hormônios, embalagem ou manejo de temperatura de armazenamento. Dessa forma, objetivou-se avaliar o efeito da aplicação de ácido giberélico em rizomas de copo-de-leite, o processo de embalagem e manutenção dos mesmos em câmara fria e o armazenamento também de plantas jovens em caracteres fitotécnicos da produção. Para isso, realizaram três experimentos. No primeiro os rizomas de copo-de-leite foram imersos em soluções contendo ácido giberélico (GA3) nas concentrações de 0, 50, 100, 500 e 1000 mg L-1, utilizando-se duas fontes deste hormônio. No segundo experimento, acondicionaram-se rizomas em embalagens de polietileno e o conjunto foi armazenado em condições ambiente por até 90 dias, depois, plantados e conduzidos até o florescimento. No terceiro, rizomas foram submetidos ao armazenamento a frio em períodos de 0, 10, 20, 30 e 40 dias, da mesma forma, plantas jovens (60 dias) foram também armazenadas nessas condições. O GA3 antecipa o florescimento e confere maior produção de flores; da mesma forma, o processo de armazenamento também aumenta o número hastes de florais. Por outro lado, o acondicionamento de rizomas e plantas jovens não interferiu nas características avaliadas.

Leishmania tropica ist der Auslöser von kutaner Leishmaniose beim Menschen und kommt in Afrika über den Mittleren Osten bis nach Nordindien vor. Mittels Mikrosatellitentypisierung (MLMT) wurde die weltweite Populationsstruktur dieser Spezies und der nahe verwandten Spezies L. aethiopica aufgedeckt, indem sowohl Methoden angewandt wurden, die auf genetischen Distanzen beruhen als auch solche, die auf der Analyse von Allelfrequenzen basieren. Die 195 Stämme von L. tropica sowie die acht Stämme von L. aethiopica gruppierten hauptsächlich gemäß ihrer geographischen Herkunft. Die Stämme von L. aethiopica stellten eine eigene Gruppe dar, die allerdings innerhalb der afrikanischen Stämme von L. tropica gruppierte. Vorläufige Ergebnisse einer genomweiten SNP-Analyse haben die Ergebnisse der Mikrosatellitenanalyse weitgehend bestätigt. Um die Gründe für die hohe genetische Variabilität innerhalb der Spezies L. tropica herauszufinden, wurde eine Funktionelle Klonierung durchgeführt, in der N-methyl-N’-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidin (MNNG) als Indikator für ein funktionierendes oder eingeschränktes Mismatch Repair (MMR)-System eingesetzt wurde. Dafür wurde ein Akzeptorstamm (hohe MNNG-Toleranz) mit einer Cosmidbibliothek, die genomische DNA eines Donorstammes (niedrige MNNG-Toleranz) enthielt, transfiziert. Die erhaltenen Transfektanten wurden dann auf ihre MNNG-Toleranz getestet. Die zeit- und kosteneffiziente Identifizierung von großen Mengen an Sandmücken ist wichtig für Feldstudien, in denen mehrere Tausend Mücken gefangen werden. Hier wird eine multiplexe Technik zur ligationsabhängigen Sondenamplifizierung vorgestellt, die die Identifizierung von Sandmücken-Spezies im Mittleren Osten ermöglicht. Die Spezies Phlebotomus syriacus, P. arabicus und P. papatasi können durch diese Methode mit spezies-spezifischen Sonden eindeutig identifiziert werden. Außerdem kann diese Methode dazu genutzt werden, weitere Spezies zu diskriminieren und auf gepoolte Sandmücken angewandt werden. / Leishmania tropica is the causative agent of human cutaneous leishmaniasis in foci ranging from Africa through the Middle East to northern India. By multilocus microsatellite typing (MLMT), the world-wide population structure of this species and its closely related species L. aethiopica has been revealed applying methods based on both genetic distances and allele frequencies. The 195 strains of L. tropica and eight strains of L. aethiopica largely clustered according to their geographical origins. The strains of L. aethiopica formed a distinct group, although clustering among other African strains of L. tropica. Preliminary data obtained through a whole genome sequencing approach including strains of L. tropica, L. aethiopica and L. major have largely corroborated the results of the MLMT approach. To reveal the reasons for the high genetic variability among strains of L. tropica, a Functional Cloning approach was conducted using N-methyl-N’-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidin (MNNG) as an indicator for a functioning or impaired mismatch repair (MMR) system. The transfectants retrieved from the transfection of an acceptor strain exhibiting high MNNG tolerance with a cosmid library bearing the genomic DNA of a donor strain with a reduced MNNG tolerance were screened for the restored phenotype of the donor strain. The time- and cost-efficient identification of a large amount of sand flies is important since several thousands are caught during field studies. Here, a multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification approach (MLPA) for the identification of sand flies endemic to the Middle East is introduced. The unambiguous identification of Phlebotomus syriacus, P. arabicus and P. papatasi was possible with this approach using species-specific probes. Furthermore, this technique has the potential to discriminate more species and to be applied to pooled sand fly specimens.

En Afrique sud- saharienne, plusieurs méthodes de protection des stocks alimentaires sont utilisées ; parmi elles, les insecticides synthétiques qui représentent un risque réel pour la santé humaine. Pour apporter une alternative à ces insecticides chimiques potentiellement dangereux, le présent travail a pour objectif de développer des bio-insecticides en formulant des poudres par adsorption d’huiles essentielles sur des argiles. Deux argiles naturelles du Cameroun ont été utilisées comme adsorbants des composés terpéniques des huiles essentielles de Xylopia aethiopica et Ocimum gratissimum pour la préparation d’insecticides. Dans le but d’améliorer leur capacité d’adsorption, ces argiles ont été traitées par la soude et l’acide sulfurique. Elles ont également été modifiées par des solutions de polycations d’aluminium ou de fer de rapport molaire varié ainsi que par des cations d’alkylammoniums. Une bentonite commerciale a été utilisée comme référence dans le suivi des modifications. Ces différentes matrices ont été caractérisées avant et après modifications par diffraction des rayons X, adsorption-désorption d’azote, spectroscopie infra rouge à transformée de Fourier, analyses thermogravimétriques et différentielles, et photométrie de flamme. Il ressort de la caractérisation que l’échantillon de Wak est majoritairement constitué de kaolinite, et celui de Maroua de montmorillonite. Le traitement par l’acide sulfurique et par les polycations métalliques entraînent une augmentation de la surface spécifique des argiles, tandis que la soude et les cations d’alkylammoniums la réduisent fortement. La surface spécifique de la montmorillonite passe de 82 m².g-1 à 4,5 m².g-1 après traitement au céthyl triméthyl ammonium (CTMA). Les diffractogrammes montrent une augmentation de la distance interfoliaire des argiles étudiées après modification aux cations alkylammoniums. La distance interfoliaire augmente de 5,5 Å et de 10,6 Å respectivement pour la montmorillonite et la bentonite traitée par le CTMA. Les argiles de type smectite après modifications aux polycations métalliques, présentent en revanche un étalement du pic caractéristique de l’espace interfoliaire. Les cations alkylammoniums entraînent donc une intercalation effective des molécules de CTMA et phényl triméthyl ammonium (PTMA) entre les feuillets de montmorillonite et de bentonite tandis que les polycations métalliques entraînent une exfoliation du matériau argileux. Les argiles-alkylammoniums présentent les plus grandes capacités d’adsorption des composés terpéniques malgré les plus faibles surfaces spécifiques. Ainsi, face aux composés terpéniques, la capacité d’adsorption des argiles ne dépend pas uniquement de la surface spécifique mais également de l’espacement interfoliaire de l’adsorbant ainsi que de l’affinité des molécules d’adsorbât vis-à-vis de l’adsorbant. Des tests insecticides ont montré que les formulations à base de la Mont-CTMA présentent une toxicité plus stable que celle préparée à partir de l’argile brute (Mont-Na). La formulation Mont-Na-HE perd la totalité de son activité insecticide au bout de 30 jours de conservation dans les boîtes ouvertes. La formulation Mont-CTMA-HE par contre n’en perd qu’environ 60% dans les mêmes conditions. La rémanence de la formulation varie avec l’adsorbant utilisé ; car l’effet insecticide de l’huile essentielle d’O. gratissimum persiste pendant 107 jours lorsqu’elle est fixée sur la Mont-CTMA, tandis que fixée sur l’argile brute, elle perd son activité au bout de 45 jours. Ces résultats nous permettent d’affirmer que les argiles modifiées augmentent la durée de l’effet insecticide des huiles essentielles et peuvent être utilisées pour une application industrielle dans la production des bio-insecticides. / In sub-Saharan Africa, several methods to protect food stocks are used ; amongst them are synthetic insecticides. These synthetic insecticides pose high real risk to human health. This study aims at providing an alternative to the dangerous synthetic chemical insecticides, by developing bioinsecticides formulating powders through adsorption of essential oils on Cameroonian clays. Two natural clays collected in Cameroon were used as adsorbents of terpene compounds of Xylopia aethiopica and Ocimum gratissimum essential oils, for the preparation of insecticides. The clay fractions were obtained from soil aggregates by sedimentation. In order to improve their adsorption capacity, these clays were treated with sodium hydroxide and sulfuric acid. They were also modified with solutions of aluminum, iron polycations with molar ratio varied and alkylammoniums cations. A commercial bentonite was used as reference for these modifications. These different adsorbents materials were characterized before and after modifications by X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption-desorption, infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy, thermal analysis, and flame photometry. According to the characterizations of the clay materials, Wak sample contained more kaolinite clay, while Maroua sample contained more montmorillonite clay. The sulfuric acid and metallic polycations caused an increase in the specific surface of clays, while sodium hydroxyl and alkylammoniums cations greatly reduced the SBET. For example, the Mont-Na+ SBET decreased from 82 m². g-1 to 4.5 m².g-1 after treatment with cetyl trimethyl ammonium (CTMA). Diffractogrammes showed spacing of smectites interlayer (montmorillonite and bentonite) after treatments with alkylammoniums cations at 5.5 Å and 10.6 Å respectively, for the interlayer space of Mont- CTMA and Bentonite- CTMA clays. After treatments with metallics polycations, smectite clays show a broadening of characteristic peak. Alkylammoniums cations led to an effective insertion of CTMA molecules and phenyl trimethyl ammonium (PTMA) between the interfoliar space of montmorillonite and bentonite while the metal polycations led to an exfoliation of the same clays. The interreticular spacings of kaolinite remain unchanged after any treatments. The kinetic model of pseudo second order is applicable to the adsorption of terpenic compounds by clays. Finding also showed that spread is not the only limiting factor in the process of adsorption of terpene compounds. Alkylammoniums-clays have the largest adsorption capacities of terpene compounds despite the lower specific surface they present. All this allows us to maintain that in the presence of terpenic compounds, the adsorption capacity of clays depends not only on the SBET but more on the interlayer spacing of the adsorbent and on the affinity of the adsorbate molecules toward the adsorbent. Concerning bioassays, it appears that the formulations made with Mont- CTMA presented a more stable toxicity than Mont-Na. Mont-Na-EO formulation loses all its insecticidal activity after 30 days of storage in the open boxes ; while Mont-CTMA- EO formulation only loses about 60% under the same conditions. Moreover, the Mont-Na-EO loses 50% of its insecticidal power (LD50) after 6 days ; while Mont-CTMA- EO loses the same quantity after 16 days when stored in open boxes. The remnance effect of the formulations based on essential oil varied with the adsorbent used. Because the insecticidal effect of O. gratissimum essential oil persisted during 107 days when it is adsorbed on Mont-CTMA, when adsorbed on Mont-Na, it loses all its activity for about 45 days. These results allow us to assert that modified clays increase the duration of the insecticidal effect of essential oils and can be used for industrial application in the production of bio-insecticides based on essential oils.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T18:55:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 5856.pdf: 3538745 bytes, checksum: e1d6597242126578da14362f8940d98a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-24 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / The increasing demand for water has made the treatment and reuse of wastewater a topic of global importance. Analyzing scientific and technological advances that deal with this issue, yet, require studies to guide their best job focusing on producing sanitary and environmental effective and economically satisfactory results. Considering this situation, this work aims to install, monitor and evaluate the efficiency of wastewater treatment (ETE) that works through biological processes through measuring the reduction of the organic content of the effluent during the treatment and disposal of agricultural importance of nutrients in the final residue. The ETE has been designed 2500 liters of wastewater per day and is broken down into 4 compartments as follows: septic tank, tank of microalgae with inoculant Desmodesmus subspicatus of anaerobic filter of up flow, wetlands with cultivation of Zantedeschia aethiopica L. Hydraulic detention time is 22 hours and for the checks were allocated 5 points for the collection of samples being the first raw sewage. Monitoring the ETE was developed through the analysis of dissolved oxygen (DO), hydrogen potential (pH), electrical conductivity, turbidity, chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand with 5 days incubation at 20° C (BOD520), total nitrogen (NT), total phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), sodium (Na) and microbiological tests for detection and quantification of total coliforms and E. coli. ETE efficiency reaches approximately 90% of organic matter removal providing an effluent suitable for fertigation, same for Na and Ca elements that have had their levels increased due to the accumulation of organic matter in the anaerobic filter of up flow and wetlands that provide longer detention contain hydraulic gravel in its interior. The ETE acts on nitrogen and phosphorus removal by the action of micro algae and Macrophytes used in the process. It is concluded that, after tertiary treatment for removal of pathogens, this wastewater can be used in Fertigation as NBR 13969/1997, but without discarding periodic monitoring of soil salinity. / A progressiva demanda por água tem feito do tratamento e reutilização de efluentes um tema de relevância mundial. Apesar dos avanços científicos e tecnológicos que tratam desta questão, ainda sim, há necessidade de estudos que orientem seu melhor emprego focando produzir resultados sanitários e ambientais eficazes e economicamente satisfatórios. Considerando tal situação, este trabalho visa instalar, monitorar e avaliar a eficiência de uma estação de tratamento de efluentes (ETE) que atua através de processos físicos e biológicos mensurando a redução do teor de matéria orgânica do efluente durante o processo de tratamento e a disposição de nutrientes de importância agrícola no resíduo final. A ETE foi dimensionada para tratar 2500 litros de esgoto por dia e consiste em 04 unidades discriminadas da seguinte forma: tanque séptico, tanque contento inóculo de Desmodesmus subspicatus, filtro anaeróbio de fluxo ascendente e wetlands com cultivo de Zantedeschia aethiopica L. O tempo de detenção hidráulica (TDH) é de 22 horas e para as verificações foram alocados 5 pontos de coleta de amostras, sendo o primeiro de esgoto bruto. A ETE foi monitorada quanto ao oxigênio dissolvido (OD), potencial hidrogeniônico (pH), condutividade elétrica, turbidez, demanda química de oxigênio (DQO), demanda bioquímica de oxigênio com incubação de 5 dias a 20° C (DBO520), nitrogênio total (NTK), fósforo total (PT), potássio (K), cálcio (Ca), sódio (Na) e análises microbiológicas para detecção e quantificação de coliformes totais e E. coli. A eficiência da ETE atingiu, aproximadamente, 90% na remoção de matéria orgânica proporcionando um efluente propício para a fertirrigação, mesmo para os elementos Na e Ca que tiveram seus teores aumentados devido ao maior acúmulo de matéria orgânica no filtro anaeróbio de fluxo ascendente e wetlands. A ETE apresenta remoção de nitrogênio e fósforo pela ação das microalgas e das macrófitas utilizadas no processo. Conclui-se que existe a necessidade de tratamento terciário para remoção de patógenos, com isto o efluente poderá ser utilizado na fertirrigação conforme NBR 13.969/1997, porém sem descartar monitoramentos periódicos da salinidade do solo.

This thesis seeks to analyze the Homeric allusions in the Aethiopica with an inclusive definition to explore Heliodorus’ authorial motives. To approach this project, I use textual analysis to avoid arguments rooted in assumptions of the historical context of the novel, about which we know almost nothing. I explore how links to Homer’s Odyssey are visible within the structural organization of the text and the content of the text. I also explore how the content of the novel reproduces actions and compatible settings of Odyssean characters, which therefore qualifies Heliodorus’ characters in a metaliterary commentary with Homer’s archaic epic poem. The division of Odyssean actions and traits depicted in Heliodorus’ characters introduce a new addition to the heroic legacy established by Homer and distances the hero from Greek identity. I conclude that Heliodorus’ adherences to epic conventions and departures thereof inform the subtextual commentaries conveyed in the Aethiopica.