This thesis seeks to shed light on the cultural construction of marriage and the relative psychosocial predictors of marital satisfaction across British and Ghanaian settings. The main argument is that, Britain and Ghana stand apart in socio-cultural standing: Britain is a developed Western European country whereas Ghana is a developing West African Country. Consequently local realities and social constructions would differ across these two settings and engender different constructions and experience of marriage. The project examined the relative contributions of self-construal, self-disclosure, material support, relationship beliefs, marriage role expectation and demographic variables to marital satisfaction among British and Ghanaian married couples. These objectives were pursued through the implementation of quantitative (n=400) and qualitative (n=117) paradigms in studies of couples from London and Accra. Various multivariate analytic strategies were employed to test hypotheses about differential constructions of marriage and the predictors of marital satisfaction across the two contexts. As hypothesized, responses of British couples suggested constructions of marriage that resonate with individualist patterns (e.g., less emphasis on "traditional" marital roles), and responses of Ghanaian couples suggested constructions of marriage that resonate with collectivist patterns (e.g., relative emphasis on instrumental support). Additional analyses revealed the hypothesized role of cultural grounding indicators in mediating the relationship between predictors and marital satisfaction. Specifically, interdependent self-construal mediated the relationship between material support and satisfaction, but independent self-construal mediated the relationship between self-disclosure and marital satisfaction. Qualitative analyses of the interview data aid in the interpretation of these results. The expected and counterintuitive findings that emerged are discussed against the backdrop of individualism-collectivism descriptions of prevalent cultural patterns that implicitly and explicitly shape and determine personal relationship behaviour. Implications of the findings as well as recommendations for future studies of marriage across cultural settings are offered.

Les littératures lesbiennes francophones montrent, d’une part, que les lesbiennes sont absentes du réel, car leur existence est réduite à l’(in)visibilité publique, sociale et historique, sur laquelle elles n’ont pas le contrôle et qui voile leur capacité à se réfléchir et s’inventer par et pour elles-mêmes. D’autre part, elles développent un système de reconnaissance politique en parallèle du modèle dominant. L’objectif de cette thèse est de montrer ce que permettent la littérature, et spécifiquement les littératures lesbiennes francophones, pour conjurer cette absence des lesbiennes. Il est question, plus particulièrement, de montrer que cette occultation est freinée par des pratiques du tiers espace. Il s’agit d’une notion qui émerge des études postcoloniales, géographiques et queer of color. Elle dénote une manière de reconfigurer deux éléments, lieux, ou perspectives en un troisième qui dépasse leur condition première d’existence afin de rendre le réel plus habitable. En tant qu’outil littéraire, nous avançons qu’il s’agit autant d’une manière de lire que d’écrire. Dans la première partie, nous étudierons les trois principales cultures du visible mises en scène dans notre corpus à travers une pratique de lecture du tiers espace, c’est-à-dire en tournant notre regard vers de nouveaux lieux d’autorité dans lesquels les personnages parviennent à définir leur identité au-delà de ces cultures. Dans la deuxième partie, nous nous attarderons sur le réalisme virtuel en tant que pratique d’écriture du tiers espace. Nous nous pencherons sur ses deux dimensions, documentaire et interactive, qui réinventent aussi bien le passé que la prise de parole. Notre recherche est aussi audacieuse : elle ose nommer un corpus, celui des littératures lesbiennes francophones, participant à combattre l’absence réelle des lesbiennes de l’espace public, social et historique.

Mondialisation et cultures populaires à Barbade et Trinidad (musique, Carnaval et danse) La culture caribéenne subit de plus en plus les assauts de la mondialisation. Et la question qui se pose concerne l'impact de la mondialisation sur la culture dans la région, c'est-à- dire le passage de la culture ethnique à la mondialisation. Au cours des siècles, le Caribéen, ce métis culturel, cet individu s'est façonné au contact d'influences diverses . Il faut attendre les années 1970 pour que la Barbade et Trinidad se forgent une nouvelle identité sous l'influence du Black Power venu des Etats - Unis et du mouvement Rastafari issu de la Jamaïque. Par ailleurs, l'influence de la télévision et de la musique américaine combinée aux migrations et aux effets de la mondialisation constitue des éléments majeurs à la formation de cette nouvelle identité. Aujourd 'hui après plus de cinquante ans d'indépendance, il y a une timide appréciation de la culture locale. Timide , parce qu'à radio, on entend plus de la musique internationale (américaine, anglais) que de musique locale (calypso, soca) saufpendant le Carnaval de Trinidad et le Crop Over de Barbade. Ce que regrettent les calypsoniens qui reprochent aux radios locales de ne diffuser cette musique que pendant cette période. De la musique caribéenne, les . jeunes de Barbade et de Trinidad plébiscitentures le reggae, la dancehall, le raggasoca, la musique soca. En fait, le calypso correspond à un moment de la vie. A Trinidad, la musique indienne joue un rôle important qui correspond à la population du pays. La musique de Rihanna, l'icône du moment n'a rien de caribéen. Mais son succès phénoménal à Barbade et ailleurs permet de mieux appréhender les facettes de l'identité caribéenne, en général et en particulier, celle de Barbadien et du Trinidadien. De nos jours, les nouvelles technologies accentuent les effets de la mondialisation et contribuent à l'émergence d'une « décréolisation » pour reprendre les termes de G. Létang et d'une nouvelle identité.. / Globalization and popular cultures in Barbados and Trinidad Caribbean culture is under the influence ofglobalization. The question is here the impact ofglobalization on the culture in the region . Through centuries the Caribbean man has been made through different cultures. We must wait for the years 1970 to see Barbados and Trinidad which have been made a new identity under the influence of Black Power and the Rastafari movement coming from Jamaica. After more than 50 years ofindependence, there is a shy appreciation oflocal culture . There is more international music than calypso. In Trinidad the Indian music plays an important role corresponding ta the population of the country The new technologies increase the effect of the globalization. It constitutes the rise of the "decreolisation movement".

Doctorat en philosophie et lettres / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

This thesis describes dip tank field trials and laboratory investigations on the acaricide Amitraz. Amitraz is a triazapenta- diene compound which is relatively unstable in fouled dip washes. The field trials were conducted on the farm Sea View according to the "Total Replacement Method" and on the farm Sea Ways according to the "Lime Stabilization Method" of dipping. The results of these trials showed that Amitraz was stable in clean dip washes, and under conditions of high pH resulting from the addition of slaked lime to the dip wash. Using mixed bacterial populations optimum conditions for degradation of Amitraz in the laboratory were determined. Bacterial cultures degraded Amitraz most efficiently in media supplemented with yeast extract or with a high content of sterile cattle faeces. Amitraz concentrations were determined by gas chromatography. A culture. efficient at degrading Amitraz was enriched from a dip tank sludge inoculum. From this culture ten bacterial isolates were identified; nine of these were of the genus Pseudomonas and one was an Achromobacter sp. Experiments with both mixed and pure cultures demonstrated that bacterial degradation of Amitraz was by the process of co-metabolism. The existence of four degradation products was shown using thin layer chromatography. Tentative identification of two of the products was made.

Incorporation of probiotic cultures in products in order to replenish or supplement the normal gastrointestinal microflora is a well known and accepted practice. However survival of these cultures is a problem due to a number of reasons including effects of storage conditions. Various researchers from different countries around the world have reported probiotic product instability. Microencapsulation has been used in an attempt to solve this problem. However, most methods involve the use of organic solvents which is not ideal because their toxicity may cause destruction of the microbial cells. A novel encapsulation method for probiotics, which excludes the use of organic solvents, was developed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) (US Patent Application no. 20050112205). This thesis investigated the efficiency/potential of this new method for increasing stability of sensitive probiotic cultures, specifically bifidobacteria. Early studies using both culture dependent and culture independent techniques showed reduced numbers of viable cultures in probiotic products, mainly yoghurts, from all around the world. These results were confirmed in this study for similar products sold in South Africa. Most of the product labels did not specify viable numbers of probiotics nor the identity (genus and species names) of the microorganisms incorporated. Successful encapsulation of bifidobacteria was achieved using the CSIR patented method. Complete encapsulation was indicated by absence of cells on surfaces of the encapsulated particles and production of a product with an acceptable particle size distribution was obtained. It was also demonstrated that the encapsulation process produced no visible morphological changes to the bacterial cells nor did it have a negative effect on cell viability over time. The potential of interpolymer complex formation in scCO2 for the encapsulation of sensitive probiotic cultures was demonstrated for the first time. Once ingested, probiotic cultures are exposed to unfavourable acidic conditions in the upper gastrointestinal tract. It is desired that these cultures be protected from this in order to increase the viability of the probiotics for efficient colonization. Interpolymer complex encapsulated B. longum Bb-46 cells were therefore exposed to simulated gastric fluid (SGF) and subsequently to simulated intestinal fluid (SIF). It was found that the interpolymer complex protected bifidobacteria from gastric acidity, displaying pH-responsive release properties, with little to no release in SGF and substantial release in SIF. Thus the interpolymer complex demonstrated desirable characteristics retaining the encapsulated bacteria inside when conditions were unfavourable and only releasing them under favourable conditions. Survival was improved by the incorporation of glyceryl monostearate (GMS) in the matrix and by use of gelatine capsules. Protection efficiency of the interpolymer matrix was better when higher loading of GMS was used. Use of polycaprolactone (PCL) as an alternative to poly (vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) and incorporation of ethylene oxide-propylene oxide triblock copolymer (PEO-PPO-PEO) affected the interpolymer complex negatively, rendering it swellable in the low pH environment exposing the bifidobacteria to gastric acidity. The use of beeswax seemed to have a more protective effect though results were inconclusive. Probiotic cultures must also remain viable in products during storage. Encapsulated bacteria were either harvested from the reactor after 2 h of equilibration followed by depressurization, and then ground to a fine powder or after 2 h of equilibration the liquefied product was sprayed through a capillary tube with a heated nozzle at the end, into the product chamber. Encapsulated bacteria were stored in either sterile plastic bags or glass bottles under different conditions and then viable counts were determined over time. Survival of bacteria was generally better when the products were stored in glass bottles than in plastic bags. Bacteria encapsulated in an interpolymer complex formed between PVP and vinyl acetate-crotonic acid copolymer (VA-CA), (PVP:VA-CA) survived better than non-encapsulated bacteria under all storage conditions when the product was recovered from the reaction chamber. When the product was recovered from the product chamber, numbers of viable non-encapsulated bacteria were higher than the encapsulated bacteria for all interpolymer complex formulations. This was probably due to some exposure to high shear during spraying into the product chamber. The interpolymer complex between PCL and VA-CA i.e. PCL:VA-CA seemed weaker than the PVP:VA-CA nterpolymer complex as viable counts of bacteria released from it were lower than those from the latter complex. Addition of PEO-PPO-PEO to both the PVP:VA-CA and PCL:VA-CA complexes decreased the protection efficiency. However, results indicated that sufficient release of encapsulated bacteria from the interpolymer complexes was obtained when the encapsulated material was incubated in SIF rather than in Ringer’s solution. When SIF was used for release of encapsulated bacteria, the shelf life of B. longum Bb-46 was doubled. Encapsulation in an interpolymer complex therefore provided protection for encapsulated cells and thus has potential for improving shelf life of probiotic cultures in products. Further studies will investigate the effects of encapsulating probiotics together with prebiotics in the interpolymer complex as well as effects of encapsulating combinations of different probiotic strains together, both on survival in simulated gastrointestinal tract and during storage. The unique particles produced using the patented encapsulation technique increased the stability of probiotic cultures. This technique may find significant application in industries manufacturing probiotic products, especially food and pharmaceuticals, thereby improving the well being of consumers. / Thesis (PhD(Microbiology))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Microbiology and Plant Pathology / PhD / unrestricted

Children’s mental healthcare in Canada is undergoing a transition: instead of community- and hospital-based services working in parallel, there is a shift to increasing collaboration. When community- and hospital-based children’s mental health service providers work together, differences in their philosophical approaches to treatment can be revealed. However, client experiences of these philosophical differences have not been explored. In this hermeneutic phenomenological study, I interviewed young people and their families who had lived experience of collaboration in a mid-sized Canadian city. I considered the results of these interviews with families who were new to treatment that was shared between hospital- and community-based services in light of literature on current initiatives in collaborative mental health care. I situated my results in the context of my on-going work as a service provider in this Canadian city alongside the reflections of service providers from the two organizations that were the focus of my research: the Children's Hospital and the Community Agency. I found that young people and their parents experience their care as being in a constant state of crisis when connections between these services are not explicit. In contrast, when connections are clear, families feel more able to manage their children’s care. As well, service providers find that when explicit connections are forged between community-and hospital-based services, collaboration becomes more straightforward and is experienced as less hierarchical. The results of my research provide concrete tools, contextualized in the real worlds of current practitioners and clients, to help the future psychotherapists of Ontario work collaboratively towards supporting young people and their families who seek treatment for mental health diagnoses.

Production of secondary metabolites in plant tissue cultures The goal of this study is to determine the influence of sodium molybdate and sodium tungstate as elicitors on production of scopoletin in cell suspension culture of Angelica archangelica L. The culture was grown in a liquid culture medium Murashige and Skoog on a roller apparatus in the dark and light. The content of scopoletin was in cells and in the culture medium determined by high performance liquid chromatography with fluorometric detection. The results show that sodium molybdate served as an elicitor to the production of scopoletin positively, application of sodium tungstate did not increase scopoletin production in any case. The highest production of scopoletin after application of sodium molybdate versus the control cells was reached in the suspension culture of Angelica archangelica L. cultured in the dark at a concentration of 25,50 mg/l. Scopoletin content increased by 166,7 %. After application of sodium tungstate the production always decreased, in the medium of a suspension culture of Angelica archangelica L. cultivated in the light at a concentration of 66.00 mg/l, the production decrease was by up 62,5 %.

Coenzyme Q10 is a lipid-soluble coenzyme, synthesized in mammalian tissue to support energy production, and also act as an antioxidant. Certain medication, stress and age may deplete the body’s endogenous Coenzyme Q10 store. Numerous disease conditions have been shown to benefit from Coenzyme Q10 supplementation. It is a lipid-soluble component of virtually all cell membranes, and is located in the hydrophobic domain of the phospholipid bilayer of cellular membranes. It is also the only known lipid-soluble antioxidant that animal cells can synthesize de novo, and for which there exist enzymatic mechanisms which can regenerate it from its oxidized product formed in the course of its antioxidant function. The aim of this study was to investigate the cellular effects of Coenzyme Q10 and Triton X-100 on primary chicken embryo heart and muscle cell cultures. Triton X-100, a well known membrane disrupter, extensively used by cell biologists for that purpose, was used to investigate whether Coenzyme Q10 might offer protection to cell membranes exposed to disruption. Due to the correlation found between the chemical structures of nonylphenol and Triton X-100, it was decided to determine whether Triton X-100 possess estrogenic properties. Using the Recombinant Yeast Screen Assay for estrogenic activity, it was found that Triton X-100 induced weak estrogenic activity. The primary heart and skeletal muscle cell cultures were established by harvesting skeletal muscle tissue and hearts from 13 day old chicken embryos. After establishment of the cell cultures, the concentrations of Coenzyme Q10 and Triton X-100 were tested for cytotoxicity using the MTT, NR, and CV assays, in the form of a combined colorimetric cytotoxicity assay. The MTT assay revealed an increase in cell viability in both cell cultures upon exposure to Triton X-100 and Coenzyme Q10, alone, and in combination. Triton X-100 and Coenzyme Q10, alone, and in combination, caused a decrease in lysosomal membrane integrity, as measured by the NR assay, and both substances, alone, and in combination, had no effect on cellular proteins, as measured by the CV assay. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was done to determine the cellular effect of heart and skeletal muscle cell cultures on the external surface, more specifically the membranes, of cells in culture. Triton X-100 in the concentrations used in the study, caused membrane disruption, ranging from complete membrane lyses at the highest concentrations to membrane ruptures and apoptotic blebbing in lower concentrations. SEM revealed that no adverse effects were caused by Coenzyme Q10 on the membrane structure, in dissimilarity, cell differentiation and proliferation, including myoblast formation were seen in the presence of all the concentrations of Coenzyme Q10. Numerous ion channels were observed on cellular surfaces exposed to Coenzyme Q10. Upon exposure to 0.005% Triton X-100, after pre-treatment with Coenzyme Q10, SEM revealed a “membrane patch” formation on membranes disrupted by Triton X-100. Damage to cell membranes in the presence of Triton X-100, were less severe when cells were pre-treated with Coenzyme Q10. Confocal microscopy was utilized to investigate intracellular occurrences in the presence of Triton X-100 and Coenzyme Q10. Using Mito Tracker Red to stain active respiring mitochondria and DAPI to stain nuclei, confocal microscopy confirmed the observations made by SEM, that Coenzyme Q10 enhance cell proliferation and differentiation, and that the adverse effects to cells exposed to Triton X-100 are less severe after pre-treatment with Coenzyme Q10. ROS generation was detected, using dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate, in cultures exposed to Triton X-100, and none in the presence of Coenzyme Q10. In the presence of Triton X-100, after pre-treatment with Coenzyme Q10, ROS generation was remarkably lower. The study provided apparent evidence that Coenzyme Q10 offer protection to cardiac and skeletal muscle cells in culture after exposure to relatively low concentrations of the membrane disrupter Triton X-100. Coenzyme Q10 also promotes the process of proliferation and differentiation in primary chicken embryonic cultures of heart and skeletal muscle cells. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Anatomy / unrestricted

Many Italians characterize their food culture as respectful of tradition, favoring fresh, regional ingredients, prioritizing commensality and the group identity, and treating food as an aesthetic good. Many describe American food culture as one of speed and convenience, favoring quantity over quality, nurturing independence, and regarding food merely as a material good. Through in-depth interviews with a group of Italian Americans, this research explores the intersection between Italian and American food cultures, questioning how Italian Americans living in South Florida construct identity given the influence of the modern food system. Participants demonstrate that while a dichotomy exists between Italian cultural ideals and the reality of everyday life in the South Florida food system, many Italian Americans find ways to incorporate traditional culture into their modern lives. The results of this research offer perspective on the spaces where ethnic groups access the cultural value of food in an increasingly modern world. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2020. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection