DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) with chemically modified end-termini are the most significant lesions resulting from radio/chemotherapeutic intervention of cancer and non homologous end-joining (NHEJ) factor Artemis nuclease has been implicated in the repair of such breaks. To examine whether the resolution of terminally blocked DNA DSBs is the biologically relevant function of Artemis, Artemis deficient fibroblasts were stably complemented with wild type or an endonuclease deficient D165N mutant Artemis. Physiological levels of wild type (WT) Artemis completely restored DSB repair proficiency and resistance to γ-radiation, bleomycin, and neocarzinostatin. Cells expressing the D165N mutants remained as chemo/radiosensitive and as repair deficient as parental cells, with persistent γ H2AX and 53BP1 foci that increased in size 6-18 hour post irradiation. These persistent foci co-localized with DNA double strand break repair factor Mre11 and also with promyelocytic leukemia protein (PML). Further, in vitro studies have revealed that DNA-PK dependent Artemis endonucleolytic activity may play a role in the repair of commonly found oxidative base damage; 8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG), a hallmark of complex DSBs. However, majority of DNA DSBs are repaired in an Artemis independent manner, and recently discovered, DNA end-specific nuclease, Metnase is a candidate enzyme for repair of such breaks. To study the role of Metnase in resolution of 3ʹ-blocked termini, several substrates mimicking such breaks were constructed. A 3ʹ-phosphoglycolate moiety on longer overhangs (4 and 6 bases) altered specificity and stimulated Metnase-mediated cleavage of the terminal 3 nucleotides. However, an 8-oxoG residue at the single-strand/double-strand border did not affect specificity or extent of cleavage. Metnase preferentially cleaved ssDNA-overhang of a partially duplex substrate, and the cleavage increased with increase in length of 3ʹ-overhangs. A D483A mutation in Metnase completely abrogated Metnase cleavage activity towards DNA ends. These results suggest that Metnase may resolve oxidatively damaged DNA ends to facilitate repair while Artemis is required for the resolution of more complex DNA DSBs that persist for longer times and are not amenable to repair by other NHEJ factors.

Nosso objetivo neste trabalho foi estudar a cerâmica de figuras negras tasienses como um documento inserido em contextos arqueológicos, parte dos objetos votivos oferecidos em santuários femininos, com destaque para o Artemísion de Tasos. A pesquisa centrou-se em Tasos, uma ilha situada no norte do Egeu, fundada por gregos de Paros. Concentramo-nos no período arcaico, mais especificamente no século VI a.C., auge das produções locais. A partir dos contextos arqueológicos, aprofundados por meio dos relatórios de escavação, analisamos as relações significativas sociais e religiosas que foram estabelecidas entre materiais votivos associados a esta cerâmica de figuras negras tasienses. Essas relações trouxeram elementos que nos permitiram interpretar o multiculturalismo imbricado aos objetos, o mimetismo e as inovações na decoração destas figuras negras, a demanda em termos quantitativos de um tipo de vaso chamado lêcana, objeto que mostrou-se carregado de informações e significados de culto. Além de características que nos revelaram práticas certamente votivas, desveladas pela sua maneira de exposição, pelos traços decorativos, que até o momento apresentam-se exclusivamente documentadas em Tasos. A pesquisa revelou a relação intrínseca ligada às diversas fases de Ártemis, aos ritos de passagem e à proteção da mulher no parto. Também mostrou que a múltipla Ártemis, protetora da mulher, atua no espaço cívico-religioso em conexão com o oîkos. Por fim, enfatizamos que todos os elementos relacionados acima foram embasados por um escopo teórico (conceito de emaranhamento cultural, recepção e inovação cultural) pertinente para alicerçarmos nossa reflexão acerca do que emergiu da documentação material nos contextos documentados arqueologicamente. / The aim of the present research was to study Thasian black-figured pottery as archaeologically contextualized documents, forming part of the votive objects offered at female sanctuaries, especially the Artemision of Thasos. The research is centered on Thasos, an island situated in the Northern Aegean, settled by Greeks from Paros. We focus on the Archaic Period, more specifically on the sixth century BC, the peak of local production. Departing from the archaeological contexts, illuminated through excavation reports, we analyze significant social and religious connections among votive materials associated with the Thasian black-figured pottery. These connections brought us elements that allowed us to interpret the multiculturalism imbricated within the objects, the mimicry and the innovations in the decoration of this black-figured pottery, as well as the special demand, in quantitative terms, of a type of vessel called lekane, an object that was loaded with information and cultic meanings. In addition, those same elements also showed us traits that reveal votive practices, judging by the way the pottery was exhibited, and its decorative features, which to date are only attested in Thasos. The research revealed intrinsic relationships linked to the diverse facets of Artemis, from a goddess protecting the rites of passage to the protection of women in childbirth. Moreover, it demonstrated that the multiple facets of Artemis, as protectress of women, acts in the civic-religious space in connection with the oíkos. Finally, we emphasize that all the elements referred to above were approached from the theoretical perspective of cultural entanglement, reception and cultural innovation, pertinent in grounding our reflection on what emerges from the material remains associated with the archaeological contexts.

The thesis works towards a new theoretically informed framework of analysis for understanding the deployment of military operations launched in the framework of the European Union's (EU) European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP). This multi level collective action approach is based on the assumption that the deployment of those operations is a highly complex process that cuts across different policy making levels from the national to the international and involves multiple actors from within and outside the EU. As a result, the thesis argues that we cannot understand the reasons behind their deployment adequately by focusing only on a single level of analysis. The thesis then develops a more holistic approach for understanding the deployment of ESDP military operations based on three different levels of analysis: firstly, the international level, where the emergence of events that threaten certain values catalyses the process leading to an operation; secondly, the national level, where EU member states formulate their national preferences towards prospective deployments based on utility expectations; and thirdly, the EU level, where the member states come to negotiate and seek compromises to accommodate their different national preferences towards a deployment. The strength of the framework is demonstrated through four case studies. These are EUFOR Althea in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Operation Artemis and EUFOR RD Congo in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the anti-piracy naval operation EUNAVFOR Atalanta off the coast of Somalia. The thesis will also provide an overview and critique of the existing theoretical literature on the deployment of ESDP military operations.

In this thesis, I have explored the possibilities of what furniture can look like on a moon base. How they will be made and what resources to use. What will the living conditions be like and why producing on a faraway place is important for future interstellar missions. By combining art and design, I will present a realistic concept that fits the need of the astronauts stationed on the moon and know what one might need when on a moon station.

No description available.

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this dissertation we present a software tool, Artemis, that symbolically executes Java virtual machine bytecode to find bugs and automatically generate test cases to trigger the bugs found. Symbolic execution is a technique of static software analysis that entails analysing code over symbolic inputs—essentially, classes of inputs—where each class is formulated as constraints over some input domain. The analysis then proceeds in a path-sensitive way adding the constraints resulting from a symbolic choice at a program branch to a path condition, and branching non-deterministically over the path condition. When a possible error state is reached, the path condition can be solved, and if soluble, value assignments retrieved to be used to generate explicit test cases in a unit testing framework. This last step enhances confidence that bugs are real, because testing is forced through normal language semantics, which could prevent certain states from being reached. We illustrate and evaluate Artemis on a number of examples with known errors, as well as on a large, complex code base. A preliminary version of this work was successfully presented at the SAICSIT conference held on 1–3 October 2012, in Centurion, South Africa. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In die dissertasie bied ons ’n stuk sagtewaregereedskap, Artemis, aan wat biskode van die Java virtuele masjien simbolies uitvoer om foute op te spoor en toetsgevalle outomaties voort te bring om die foute te ontketen. Simboliese uitvoering is ’n tegniek van statiese sagteware-analise wat behels dat kode oor simboliese toevoere—in wese, klasse van toevoer—geanaliseer word, waar elke klas geformuleer word as beperkinge oor ’n domein. Die analise volg dan ’n pad-sensitiewe benadering deur die domeinbeperkinge, wat volg uit ’n simboliese keuse by ’n programvertakking, tot ’n padvoorwaarde by te voeg en dan nie-deterministies vertakkings oor die padvoorwaarde te volg. Wanneer ’n moontlike fouttoestand bereik word, kan die padvoorwaarde opgelos word, en indien dit oplaasbaar is, kan waardetoekennings verkry word om eksplisiete toetsgevalle in ’n eenheidstoetsingsraamwerk te formuleer. Die laaste stap verhoog vertroue dat die foute gevind werklik is, want toetsing word deur die normale semantiek van die taal geforseer, wat sekere toestande onbereikbaar maak. Ons illustreer en evalueer Artemis met ’n aantal voorbeelde waar die foute bekend is, asook op ’n groot, komplekse versameling kode. ’n Voorlopige weergawe van die´ werk is suksesvol by die SAICSIT-konferensie, wat van 1 tot 3 Oktober 2012 in Centurion, Suid-Afrika, gehou is, aangebied.

Ziel der Arbeit ist die Bewertung der Glaubwürdigkeit antiker schriftlicher Quellen zur Rekonstruktion der vier Kultbilder des Zeus von Olympia, der Hera von Samos, der Hera von Argos und der Artemis von Ephesos. Entgegen der vielfach praktizierten Methode, literarische Quellen ohne Ansehen ihrer philologischen Herkunft mit dem archäologischen Befund zu vergleichen, konzentriert sich die Dissertation auf eine Bearbeitung der Texte in Abhängigkeit von ihrer literarischen Gattung, um zu überprüfen, ob die schriftlichen Informationen überhaupt sinnvoll zu einer Rekonstruktion herangezogen werden können. / The aim of this work is to explore, weather or not the analyzed ancient literary sources can be used for the reconstruction of four ancient Greek cult images: the Olympian Zeus, the Samian Hera, Hera of Argos and Artemis of Ephesos. Therefor it is not sufficient just to compare the written texts with the archaeological results. The fundamental idea of the dissertation is that moreover it is necessary to concentrate on the literary genre of the texts. Thereby it is easier to find out if the information from the literacy can be used for reconstructions.

<p>A close reading of a series of books by Eoin Colfer that enjoyed universal success showed a change in the language between the books especially with respect to minor linguistic features such as choice of location and abstract vs. concrete language. The books are about the boy Artemis Fowl, and were presumably conceived as children’s books.</p><p>My original thesis was that the writer could not be sure of the success of the first book, but would definitely be aware of a worldwide audience for at least his third book, due to, for example, questions raised by the translators. If the original audience was expected to be Irish, or British, with very much the same cultural background as the author’s, the imagined subsequent audiences would change with success. My hope was to be able to show this by comparing linguistic features. And indeed, even though some changes could be due to coincidence there was a specific pattern evolving in the series, in that the originally Irish cultural background became less exclusive and more universal. The writer also used more details concerning locations, with added words to specify a place. What could thus be expected in the translated versions would be omissions and additions in especially the first book, but less need for that in later books. This, however, could not be proven in the Swedish translations. I thus conclude that the books became easier to follow for a wider, in this case Swedish, audience mostly because of efforts by the author and less because of the translator.</p>

The thesis argues that Neopaganism on the Web is an example of mythopoesis and aims at showing both the novelty and the limits of such mythopoesis. I use the term "mythopoesis" in its original Greek meaning, i.e. "the creation (the making/crafting) of a myth or myths", thus stressing the dynamic way in which the process of creation (of myths, rituals, divinities, identities—all implicitly or explicitly played out, connected, and organised as "stories", which can be told, written or performed, as well as represented as images) unfolds in Neopaganism. Neopagan mythopoesis on the Web is new, original, and structurally different from other previous and contemporary examples of mythopoesis, either religious or not, since it does not refuse, put aside, or implicitly contradict, the rational framework elaborated by Western culture. The research involves exploring the contemporary cultural and historical context that allows for mythopoesis to take place and the technology that allows for it to develop. It analyses the key features of Neopaganism on the Web as they emerge from the mythopoeic recreation of two ancient goddesses (Gaia, and Artemis/Diana) and an ancient ritual (the Eleusinian mysteries). In covering several different fields (from ancient religions, to the Internet, to myth and ritual theory), and in examining a range of heterogeneous materials (from ancient texts, Neopagan hymns and art, to hypertexts), the analysis adopts an interdisciplinary approach.

Notre thèse traite de l’histoire des sanctuaires et de l’évolution des cultes et de la mythologie cycladiques dans la transition, qui conduit de la fin du monde mycénien à la Grèce classique. Notre première partie (pp. 13-445) est constituée d’une suite de monographies retraçant les changements, qui affectent les habitats et les places cultuelles des différentes îles de l’archipel entre le XIIe et le VIe siècle av. J.-C.. La deuxième partie (pp. 446-558) contient un essai de synthèse et une interprétation des données présentées auparavant. Plus exactement, une réflexion sur les mécanismes de recomposition de l’héritage religieux de l’âge du bronze, qui participent à la définition des panthéons insulaires archaïques. La troisième partie (pp. 559-628) est un essai d’anthropologie religieuse, dans lequel est examinée la notion de création dans la mythologie des Cyclades, à la recherche d’un imaginaire insulaire. Le premier chapitre commence par l’analyse et l’interprétation de la Cosmogonie de Phérécyde de Syros. Le second chapitre vise à mettre en évidence de quelle façon les thèmes symboliques spécifiques au système de Phérécyde se retrouvent également déclinés dans les autres mythes régionaux et trouvent leur origines dans les cultes agraires locaux les plus anciens. / The topic of our thesis is the history of the sanctuaries, and the evolution of the worships and mythology in the transition, which leads end of the Mycenaean world to classical Greece. Our first part (pp. 13-445) makes up of a continuation of monographs recalling the changes, which affect the settlements and the worship places of the various islands of the archipelago between XIIe to VIe Century B.C. The second part (pp. 446-558) contains a test of synthesis and an interpretation of the data presented before. More exactly, a reflection on the mechanisms of recombining of the religious heritage of the Bronze Age, which take part in the definition of archaic insulars pantheons. The third part (pp. 559-628) is an assai of religious anthropology, in which the concept of creation in the mythology of Cyclades is examined, in the search of an islander imaginary. The first chapter starts with the analysis and the interpretation of the Cosmogony of Pherekydes of Syros. The second chapter aims at highlighting how the topics symbolic systems specific to the system of Pherekydes are also found declined in the other regional myths and find their origin in the local agrarian worships oldest.