AFRIKAANS: In die laat tagtigs en vroeë negentigs van hierdie eeu is die res van die Oumran-geskrifte wat ontdek is, openbaar gemaak. Met die gebeurtenis het talle moontlikhede vir die wetenskaplike bestudering van 'n groot aantal dokumente ontstaan. 4Qlnstruction is een van die dokumente wat beskikbaar geraak het, en is geklassifiseer as 'n wysheidsteks wat 'n legio moontlikhede vir wetenskaplike bestudering moontlik gemaak het. As gevolg van die fragmentariese aard van die teks bestaan daar nog geen vasgestelde teks vir die geskrif nie en is daar nog nie 'n volledige vertaling nie. Hierdie twee faktore asook die feit dat die fragmente tematiese ooreenstemming (maar ook verskille) toon met ander wysheidsgeskrifte, het as motivering vir hierdie studie gedien. In hierdie studie gee ek 'n eie komposisie van die teks asook 'n vertaling van die geselekteerde fragmente (4Q417 2i-ii en 4Q416 2ii-iv ) van 4Qlnstruction weer. Deur middel van intertekstualiteit word die fragmente vergelyk met ander wysheidsgeskrifte (Ben Sira, ander Qumran-geskrifte en Spreuke) uit die Israelitiese geledere, Bepaalde wysheidstemas is in die fragmente geïdentifiseer, waarna dit met ooreenstemmende temas in die ander geselekteerde geskrifte vergelyk is, Die intertekstuele studie behels 'n bestudering van die geskrewe teks sowel as die gebeurde teks, Die onderskeie geskrifte se tekste sowel as kontekste is met ander woorde met mekaar vergelyk, in 'n poging om die rede(s) vir die ooreenstemmende asook verskillende opvattings oor soortgelyke temas binne die Israelitiese 'biblioteek' te verklaar. Na aanleiding van die intertekstuele studie wi! dit voorkom asof die ooreenstemminge voor die deur van die 'bronteks' (oorspronklike teks) gelê kan word, terwyl die verskille meer verstaanbaar is in die Iig van die onderskeie geskrifte se omstandighede (konteks/ sosiaie teks). ENGLISH: In the late eighties and the early nineties of this century most of the Oumran texts which were discovered were made public. Along with this, many opportunities arose for scholars to study the many documents contained therein. 4Qlnstruction is one of the documents which became available and as a result thereof, a wide range of opportunities opened up to scholars. Due to the fragmentary nature of the text, there is as yet no formal text of the document available. The motivation for this study arises from the above mentioned factors along with the fact that the fragments have both similarities and differences within certain themes. In this study I am presenting my own reconstruction and translation of selected 4Qlnstruction fragments (4Q417 2i-ii and 4Q416 2ii-iv). By using intertextual study, the fragments are compared with other wisdom texts (Ben Sira, other Qumran texts and Proverbs) from the Israelite 'library'. Certain wisdom themes are identified in the fragments and compared with similar themes in the other selected texts. The Intertextual study involves a study of the written text(s) as well as of the actual events (social text). Hence, the text(s) and context(s) of the selected works are compared with each other in an attempt to explain the reasons for the similarities as well as the varying opinions within the similar wisdom themes contained in the Israelite 'library'. In the Intertextual approach, it appears as if the similarities can be attributed to the original Israelite theology or ideology, while the differences are due to the varying situations (context/ social text). / Dissertation (MA (Semitic Languages))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Ancient Languages / unrestricted

The Swedish regulation concerning fixed-term contract has been a topic for discussion during the last decade. It has been criticised for not following the council’s directive 1999/70/EG on the measures to prevent the abuse of fixed-term contracts. Since 2016 the regulation has changed. It has changed in order to have the legislation within the purpose and measures set in the fixed-term directive. This essay aims to clarify whether the new Swedish legislation is in accordance with the framework agreement attached to the directive on fixed-term contracts. This will be done by analysing the measures established in the framework agreement and the purpose of the directive, then compare the result with the Swedish legislation. This part of the essay will be written using the legal dogmatic methodology. Since fixed-term contracts are more common among young people this essay will focus on how fixed-term contract, and regulations on fixed-term contracts, will affect the position of young people in the labour market. It is obvious that there are some difficulties to harmonize a legislation that suits all the social partners on the labour market. In fact, it can almost be impossible. By illuminate the political discussion regarding the use of fixed-term contracts it will help to understand why this matter is so complex and how it can be a stepping stone or a dead-end job. This will be done with a legal policy method.

This thesis is an analysis of the use of combined concepts of covenant and priesthood in some late Second Temple period Jewish and Jewish-Christian texts. In this thesis I investigate 1 and 2 Maccabees, Dead Sea Scrolls, and Hebrews, to see the various ways in which these Second Temple compositions have articulated the combined concepts of covenant and priesthood on the basis of their treatment of various biblical and extra-biblical traditions. The elaborate articulations of the combined concepts of covenant and priesthood in these texts partly reflect the concern of the Second Temple Jewish authors: how significant the priestly institutions and priesthood were, not only in terms of cultic matters, but also in terms of political and identity concerns. By means of this study, I hope to demonstrate that the combined concept of covenant and priesthood is necessary for a better understanding of some Second Temple texts.

Cochlear dead regions (DRs) are areas in the cochlea where inner hair cells and/or neurones are functioning so poorly that a sound that causes peak basilar membrane motion in that region is more efficiently detected via off-frequency listening. The Threshold Equalising Noise (TEN) test is a clinical test procedure for detecting DRs. Psychophysical Tuning Curves (PTCs) can be used to identify the boundary frequency of the DR although the clinical importance of doing this has yet to be determined. Some studies have suggested that the reduction of amplification well inside the DR may be beneficial; however, other studies have been unable to replicate these findings in a more typical clinical population. Three studies were completed in order to:1. determine the prevalence of DRs in a clinical sample of the UK adult population,2. investigate repeatability, agreement and clinical feasibility of the TEN-test and fast PTCs in a clinical setting, and 3. determine the benefit of high-frequency amplification in ears with and without DRs, when listening to nonsense syllable speech material in quiet and babble. In the first study, 343 hearing-impaired adults were tested for DRs using the TEN-test. In total, 36% (95% confidence interval 31-41) of these adults had a DR in at least one ear, but frequently at 4 kHz only. Only 3% (1-5) of participants had a DR spanning more than three consecutive frequencies. These findings suggest that DRs usually only span 1 or 2 clinically-relevant frequencies. In the second study, the TEN-test was completed on 70 ears at frequencies between 0.5 and 4 kHz. Fast PTCs were measured on 20 ears at ≥ 2 frequencies. The TEN-test and fast PTCs were highly repeatable on retest (97% and 100%, respectively). There was 87% agreement between the two procedures in terms of the presence of off-frequency listening, with the TEN-test less likely to detect a DR than fast PTCs. Compared to the TEN-test, fast PTCs had a 10% lower ‘conclusive finding’ rate and the test duration was typically 40 minutes longer. Therefore, the TEN-test is more clinically acceptable, but it may underestimate the extent of a DR because of its inability to precisely identify the boundary frequency. In the third study, 18 ears with a high-frequency DR and 18 matched ears without a DR were tested. Vowel-Consonant-Vowel (VCV) stimuli were presented in quiet and babble when listening with an unfiltered and three low-pass filtered hearing aid settings. Best performance was obtained in the unfiltered condition; however the DR group performed significantly poorer than the controls in babble. There was no evidence to support reducing amplification in ears with a DR. However, participants with DRs may benefit from counseling about the limitations of listening in noise. In summary, DRs are relatively prevalent in hearing-impaired adults and can be diagnosed most efficiently in a clinical setting using the TEN-test. However, DRs are often restricted to a narrow frequency range and, in the typical adult clinical population, there is no evidence to support deviating from prescription targets.

The effects of support in steel bridges can present significant challenges during the construction. The tendency of girders to twist or layovers during the construction can present a particularly challenging problem regarding detailing cross-frames that provide bracing to steel girders. Methods of detailing cross-frames have been investigated in the past to identify some of the issues related to the behavior of straight and skewed steel bridges. However, the absence of a complete and simplified design approach has led to disputes between stakeholders, costly repairs and delays in the construction. The main objective of this research is to develop a complete and simplified design approach considering construction, fabrication and detailing of skewed bridges. This objective is achieved by comparing different detailing methods, understanding the mechanism by which skew effects develop in steel bridges, recommending simplified methods of analysis to evaluate them, and developing a complete and simplified design procedure for skew bridges. Girder layovers, flange lateral bending stress, cross-frame forces, component of vertical deflections, component of vertical reactions and lateral reactions or lateral displacements are affected by detailing methods and are referred as lack-of-fit effects. The main conclusion of this research is that lack-of-fit effects for the Final Fit detailing method at the steel dead load stage are equal and opposite to the lack-of-fit effects for the Erected Fit detailing method at the total dead load stage. This conclusion has helped using 2D grid analyses for estimating these lack-of-fit effects for different detailing methods. 3D erection simulations are developed for estimating fit-up forces required to attach the cross-frames to girders. The maximum fit-up force estimated from the 2D grid analysis shows a reasonable agreement with the one obtained from the erection simulations. The erection sequence that reduces the maximum fit-up force is also found by erection simulations. The line girder analysis is recommended for calculating cambers for the Final Fit detailing method. A combination of line girder analysis and 2D grid analysis is recommended for calculating cambers for the Erected Fit detailing method. Finally, flowcharts are developed that facilitate the selection of a detailing method and show the necessary design checks.

The main purpose of this research is to investigate Jordan and Israel's participation in the Red Sea – Dead Sea Water Convenience project from human security point of view. The Red Sea – Dead Sea Water Conveyance project is planned to desalinate water from Red Sea to the Dead Sea and provide fresh water to Jordan, Israel and possibly Palestine. I use a human security approach in this investigation because it has a broader people-centered security perspective. This approach guides the research to consider water related issues and challenges in Jordan and Israel to which the project can be a possible solution. I use qualitative content analysis to investigate the issues identified by Jordan and Israel, and how the project is estimated to address these challenges. I argue that the estimated benefits that the implementation of the project provides for human well-being in Jordan and Israel makes them to participate in this project.

This thesis explores the politics of representing the assemblage of ancient manuscripts known as the Dead Sea Scrolls to popular audiences in Israel, the occupied West Bank, and the United States. I demonstrate that these objects of national heritage are circulated along transnational routes to maintain the legitimacy of nationalist discourse abroad. Three sites—the Shrine of the Book at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, Qumran National Park in the West Bank, and a travelling exhibit presented at the Boston Museum of Science—are examined for textual narrative, spatial arrangement, and visitor behavior. Analysis of these observations illuminates two recurring motifs common to all three sites: the restoration of an ancient ethno-national landscape (“land of Israel”) in the contemporary landscape of Palestine/Israel and the important legacy of ancient Jewish society in contemporary Israel and “the West.” These motifs and the way they are presented through a framing of cultural heritage can be associated with a larger nationalist discourse maintained by Israeli state authorities and mainstream media that perpetuates a linking of western liberal and Zionist ideologies. I contend that the transnational circulation of this nationalist heritage narrative works to legitimize—at a global scale—an ongoing Israeli program of occupation and settlement in Palestinian territory subsumed under the biblical/Zionist frame of the “land of Israel.” While making preliminary suggestions toward critical interventions, I also suggest that the analysis of transnational encounters with nationalist heritage merits deeper ethnographic investigation towards understanding its impact on individuals’ political (in)action towards the Israel/Palestine conflict.

RNAs associate with chromatin through various ways and carry out diverse functions. One mechanism by which RNAs interact with chromatin is by the complementarity of RNA with DNA, forming a three-stranded nucleic acid structure named R-loop. R-loops have been shown to regulate transcription initiation, RNA modification, and immunoglobulin class switching. However, R-loops accumulated in the genome can be a major source of genome instability, meaning that they must be tightly regulated. This thesis aims to identify R-loop-binding proteins systemically and study their regulation of R-loops. Using immunoprecipitation of R-loops followed by mass spectrometry, with or without crosslinking, a total of 364 proteins were identified. Among them RNA-interacting proteins were prevalent, including some already known R-loop regulators. I found that a large fraction of the R-loop interactome consists of proteins localized to the nucleolus. By examining several DEAD-box helicases, I showed that they regulate rRNA processing and a shared set of mRNAs. Investigation of an R-loop-interacting protein named CEBPZ revealed its nucleolar localization, its depletion caused down-regulation of R-loops associated with rRNA and mRNA. Characterization of the genomic distribution of CEBPZ revealed its colocalization with insulator-regulator CTCF. When studying if CEBPZ recruits CTCF, I found that instead of regulating CTCF binding, CEBPZ depletion has a major effect on the performance of CUT&RUN, a technique for identifying DNA binding sites of proteins. How CEBPZ affects CUT&RUN is still under investigation, the study of which may help us understand the roles of CEBPZ in regulation of global chromatin structure and genome integrity.

Les teneurs en pesticides mesurées dans les eaux de drainage agricole peuvent atteindre 10 µg/L voire 395 µg/L. En Lorraine, des Zones Tampons Végétalisées Agricoles (ZTVA) ont été installées en sortie de drains agricoles afin de limiter le transfert de ces eaux de drainage vers la rivière. L’objectif de ce travail était d’évaluer l’influence de l’hydraulique sur l’épuration des pesticides et métabolites en phases dissoute et particulaire des eaux de drainage, en discriminant les processus associés. Pour cela, une approche multi-échelle intégrant des expérimentations au laboratoire en batch et en bacs pilotes ainsi qu’un monitoring pluriannuel de deux ZTVA sur le terrain (un fossé et une mare) a été mise en place. Les expériences de traçages in-situ ont montré que quel que soit le débit, la ZTVA peut être divisée en différentes zones hydrauliques : un chenal principal et des zones isolées, qui se comportent différemment vis-à-vis de l’épuration. Les efficacités d’épuration dans les deux ZTVA varient de (i) -1176% à 96% pour les pesticides dissous, (ii) -20% à 3% pour les métabolites (chloroacétanilides) à l’état dissous, et (iii) -580% à 79% pour les pesticides sous forme particulaire. L’adsorption sur les sédiments permet l’épuration des pesticides à l’état dissous dont le coefficient d’adsorption (Koc) varie de 364 à 1424 L/g (entre 7 et 65% d’épuration), et est favorisé au sein des zones isolées. Cependant, ce processus est réversible et la désorption peut expliquer les efficacités négatives mesurées sur le terrain. Par ailleurs, les pesticides plus hydrophiles (Koc varie de 54 à 401 L/g) et les métabolites (Koc varie de 0 à 0.77 L/g) sont peu épurés (entre -20 et 8% d’épuration). Enfin, les pesticides entrant dans la ZTVA sous forme particulaire sont épurés via la sédimentation des matières en suspension, plus importante dans les zones isolées que le chenal principal. Ce processus est réversible, pouvant conduire à la resuspension des sédiments. Par ailleurs, les débits entrants vont fluctuer au cours de l’année, pouvant entrainer une variation de l’épuration des pesticides. En effet, les études en batch et en bacs pilotes ont permis de souligner l’influence de l’hydrodynamique (débits, etc) sur l’épuration des pesticides à l’état dissous. Ces ZTVA jouent donc un rôle de puits (adsorption, sédimentation) et de source (désorption, resuspension) vis-à-vis de certains pesticides à l’état dissous ou particulaire, en lien avec l’hydrodynamique de la ZTVA / Pesticides amounts measured in agricultural drained water can reach 10 µg/L up to 395 µg/L. In Lorraine, Constructed Wetlands (CW) were set up between drained fields and the river to limit pesticide release. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of hydraulic on the mitigation of pesticides and metabolites in both dissolved and particulate phases of drained water, by discriminating associated processes. To do so, a multi-scale approach was performed by integrating both laboratory experiments, such as batch and dynamic conditions in pilots, and a plurennial monitoring of two different ZTVA (ditch and pond). In-situ tracing experiments highlighted that the volume of CW was not homogeneous, independently of the flow rate. CW are divided in two hydraulic zones: a main channel and isolated areas. Moreover, these two zones behave differently regarding pesticides mitigation. Annual mitigation efficiency in both of the CW studied, vary between (i) -1176 % and 96 % for dissolved pesticides, (ii) -20 % and 3 % for dissolved metabolites (chloroacetanilides), and from (iii) -580 % to 79 % for particulate pesticides. Adsorption on sediments allows the mitigation of dissolved pesticides whose adsorption coefficient (Koc) varied from 364 to 1424 L/g (mitigation ranging from 7 to 65 %), and occurred mainly in isolated areas. However, this process is reversible and desorption can explain negative efficiency measured on the field. Additionally, hydrophilic pesticides (Koc between 54 and 401 L/g) and metabolites (Koc between 0 and 0.77 L/g) are few or not mitigated (mitigation ranging from -20 and 8 %). Finally, pesticides entering CW under particulate phase are mitigated through sedimentation of total suspended solids, higher in isolated areas than in main channel. This process is also reversible, leading to sediments resuspension. Otherwise, inlet flow rates vary throughout the year, which could allow a variation of pesticide mitigation. Indeed, batch and pilots studies highlighted the influence of hydrodynamic (flow rate, etc) on mitigation of dissolved pesticides. CW act as a sink (adsorption and sedimentation) and a source (desorption and resuspension) towards specific dissolved or particulate pesticides and related to hydrodynamic of CW

This study assesses how maintainability can be improved by manual and automatic refactoring strategies. Firstly, the structure of the CSS is important and CSS rules should conform to a certain order depending on their purpose. Secondly, dead code makes files unnecessarily large and more difficult to read. Removing dead code is an important step for improving maintenance. These refactoring strategies were taken from the book CSS Refactoring by Lindstrom. The refactoring strategies were tested on a large CSS code base from an ASP.NET application called AktiveraMera. The structure was manually applied by following a step by step process where each CSS rule was classified and sorted into files and folders. For example, rules styling a specific button were put in a file which is then placed in the \emph{component-styles} folder. All these separate files are then concatenated into one file which is then minimized in order to keep it small when it is later served to the user. The divided structure makes it easier for developers to add new component-, structure-, or browser-specific CSS in the correct place. It also makes it easier to keep refactoring limited and the developer knows all rules that are relevant to a certain element are kept in the same place. The new structure introduced some visual regression. It is difficult to assess how much extra time it adds if all visual regression must be remedied, but some of the changes could probably be ignored while fixing the more egregious changes. Either way, some extra work needs to be done but according to interviewed developers it would probably be worth it. The assessment is that the new structure does improve maintainability. The tool CSS-analyser was then used to find and remove duplicated CSS, a form of dead CSS code, in order to reduce the size of the CSS files. Smaller file size (fewer lines of code) is correlated to readability and by extent maintainability since it is less code to read through and understand. However, while the results did show a reduction in file size it did introduce a lot of very obvious visual regression which means a lot more work. In an industry setting there are often time constraints and if something adds more work it might not be a good strategy. The visual regression was akin to a broken website where the entire layout is changed, so it could not be ignored if it was used on the live application in question. Maintainability can be improved by introducing some structure to the CSS code in the form of a folder structure with sorted and classified CSS rules. Removing dead CSS code is difficult to do automatically without introducing website breaking visual regression. It is much more important to make sure the structure of the CSS is good than to directly try to remove dead code, especially since the structure can make other refactoring strategies more effective.