This work examined the use of passivation polymers in the conservation of severely damaged paper. It specifically investigated the use of this functional polymer treatment to address the issues of damage to paper caused by waterlogging, mold, and internal acidity. Several experiments were designed and conducted to examine the effects of the polymers in the conservation of papers compromised by these conditions. Paper artifacts from the Bonfire Memorabilia Collection were selected and conserved using treatment protocols that included the use of the passivation polymers. The conservation of some of the damaged papers from this culturally important site demonstrated the effectiveness of the polymer treatment in real-world conservation situations. This dissertation established that the use of passivation polymers adds strength and stability to severely damaged paper.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1990. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [317]-338).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2004. / "A thesis submitted in fulfilment of requirements for admission to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, University of Sydney, 2004" Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2008. / Title from file title page. Melinda Hartwig, committee chair; Maria Gindhart, Glenn Gunhouse, committee members. Electronic text (128 p. : col. ill.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed Oct. 3, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 124-128).

Thesis (M.A.)--Florida State University, 2005. / Advisor: Cheryl Ward, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Anthropology. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Jan. 26, 2006). Document formatted into pages; contains xiv, 104 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Texas, May, 2007. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

No description available.

Despite nearly one hundred years of archaeological and palaeoecological research in Madagascar, the human colonisation of the island remains poorly understood. Long- standing narratives of this colonisation described the arrival of Austronesian- speaking peoples by AD 400, eventually reaching the Central Highlands by the 12th century. The recent discovery of microlithic tools at the rockshelter of Lakaton'i Anja has radically disrupted conventional narratives for this colonisation by more than doubling the known period of Madagascar's human history, and questioning the presumed Austronesian origins of these first Malagasy peoples. This discovery also challenges existing models for the late Holocene extinction of the island's megafauna. This thesis constitutes the first systematic review in the last thirty years of literature relating to the colonisation of the island, as well as the first to approach this multidisciplinary material in light of new archaeological evidence from Lakaton'i Anja. This study also represents the first comprehensive and comparative phytolith analysis conducted on Madagascar. Despite the wide application of phytolith analysis across regional archaeological and palaeoecological contexts, it has never before been applied here. This thesis explores the botanical impact of these early colonists in and around sites of occupation, as well as tracing the introduction of Asian rice (Oryza sativa) and domesticated bananas (Musa acuminata). New methods of phytolith analysis were developed, adapted, and applied to sediments collected from two seasons of excavations in 2012 and 2013. The sites of Lakaton'i Anja, Mahilaka, and Ankadivory D'Ralambo were re-excavated, as well as the new site of Ampasimahavelona, near Vohémar. This thesis presents and discusses these excavations as well as the earliest evidence for the cultivation of both Musa acuminata and Oryza sativa on Madagascar, and an ultra-high resolution botanical perspective on the last four millennia of Madagascar's prehistory.

Single-cell DNA analysis is not routinely carried out in a forensic setting as it is considered unreliable due to challenges associated with DNA amplification, contamination and profile interpretation. In light of the development of increasingly sensitive techniques, the question of the reliability of single-cell DNA analysis in terms of both processing and interpretation is addressed in the first part of this thesis. Optimising all stages of the DNA analysis process has provided a sensitive method which facilitates the successful outcome of a useable profile from single-cells. Although no consensus profile can be generated for this sample type, interpretation guidelines have been set to enable the robust analysis of single cells. It has been concluded that single-cells can be reliably amplified and profiled for forensic purposes. Both DNA and textile fibres have a proven track record in forensic casework yet their analysis is rarely combined. As an application of the aforementioned single-cell DNA analysis, this project explores the possibility that when fibres are transferred from one surface to another, they could also be acting as a vector for the wearer’s own DNA, through cells that have adhered to the fibre surfaces. Fluorescent staining and microscopy is used to detect the cells in situ on the fibre surface, which are then recovered and processed for DNA using the previously optimised single-cell analysis methods, along with a newly developed DNA assay designed for the amplification of low DNA template samples. The results of this study have demonstrated that cells can be visualised in situ on the fibre surface and that there is potential for cell transfer to occur. It has been concluded however, that from a casework point of view, targeting transferred fibres for cells may not be the best approach as it is time consuming and has not been shown to be effective in this study. The final part of this thesis is focused on the efficacy of massively parallel sequencing (MPS) technology for samples that are expected to be severely degraded due to age or exposure to a hostile environment. The ability of both the recently launched Illumina ForenSeq™ DNA Signature Prep Kit for nuclear DNA markers and an in-house method for the sequencing of degraded mitochondrial DNA, have been tested to determine if MPS offers a more comprehensive evaluation of degraded material than the traditional PCR-CE methods. The results of the ForenSeq kit have demonstrated the effectiveness of its low molecular weight STR and SNP markers for amplifying low template, degraded DNA samples, with alleles amplified using less than 20 pg total DNA input. This kit has also therefore shown application in the field of bioarchaeology, as it can provide the biological sex of the sample, biogeographic ancestry information and also aids detection of sample/control contamination. The in-house mitochondrial DNA assay resulted in the successful amplification and sequencing of samples for which no nuclear DNA was amplified. The high depth of read coverage in these samples, average of 18,000, allowed for the identification of even low level variants.