In the early part of 1948 an announcement was made concerning the discovery of some ancient manuscripts in Palestine; to this discovery sober and distinguished scholars applied adjectives like 'sensational' and 'phenomenal' - words that not commonly applied to the discovery of manuscripts in the world of scholarship.

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The dissertation focuses on the role of liturgical commemoration of the dead in the continuous creation and maintenance of the hierarchal social order in late medieval Denmark. It argues that the ritualized practices enacted by religious experts on behalf of dead benefactors and their families played a crucial role in what can be called the world-building process. Liturgical commemoration can be described as a total phenomenon as it contains elements of legal, religious, social, economic and existential concerns. By its totality, this phenomenon opens a unique window onto the entire social reality of the late medieval period and the medieval mind. On the basis of theological treatises, liturgical commentaries, liturgical books, mainly breviaries, manuals, martyrologies, necrologies, foundation charters and wills from medieval Denmark, many of which only available in their original manuscript form, as well as material evidence such as tomb monuments, church and cemetery architectures and liturgical objects, the dissertation investigates how a specific Christian ideology of the social order, bound up on notions of this order being a creation of God, infused the many-faceted practice of liturgical commemoration. My analysis shows that the organizational principle by which the dead were placed in the layout of the sacred books and the sacred spaces were in accordance to the layout of the society of the living which in turn was in accordance with the hierarchy of the saints, after which the entire Christian society was modelled. In this way the social hierarchies were supported, legitimized and reproduced in the liturgical commemoration of the dead members of the Christian community. The elite did not abuse the Christian belief and the Church did not simply serve as an ideological vehicle to support and legitimize power. Rather, I argue that medieval society was formed by religious belief and that everything was explained, experienced and understood by means of the Christian cosmology. This is why the very production of the texts that were used to commemorate the dead in the daily office and at mass, why the ritual practices, their choreographies and objects and the sacred spaces and architectures were permeated by a specific Christian view of society - a view that was indeed hierarchical, but also deeply rooted in the Christian cosmology.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2001. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains v, 72 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 70-72).

Structured RNAs and RNA-protein complexes (RNPs) are involved in many essential biological processes and the specific conformations of these RNAs are crucial to their various functions. However, in vitro studies have found that RNA has propensity for misfolding into inactive species that often consist of extensive secondary and tertiary interactions, which can be locally and globally stabilizing, resulting in long-lived non-native conformers. DEAD-box helicases are one class of proteins that have been found to accelerate folding and rearrangements of highly structured RNAs. While these proteins have been shown to use ATP to unwind short RNA helices, it is not known how they disrupt the tertiary interactions that often stabilize both native and misfolded RNA conformations. We used single molecule fluorescence to probe the mechanism by which DEAD-box proteins facilitate global unfolding of a structured RNA. DEAD-box protein CYT-19, a mitochondrial protein from Neurospora crassa, was found to destabilize a specific tertiary interaction with the Tetrahymena group I intron ribozyme using a helix capture mechanism. The protein molecule binds to a helix within the structured RNA only after the helix spontaneously loses its tertiary contacts, and then uses ATP to unwind the helix, liberating the product strands. Ded1, a multi-functional DEAD-box protein found in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, gives analogous results with small but reproducible differences that may reflect its in vivo roles. The requirement for spontaneous dynamics likely targets DEAD-box proteins toward less stable RNA structures, which are likely to experience greater dynamic fluctuations, and provides a satisfying explanation for previous correlations between RNA stability and CYT-19 unfolding efficiency. Biologically, the ability to sense RNA stability probably biases DEAD-box proteins to act preferentially on misfolded structures and thereby to promote native folding while minimizing spurious interactions with stable, natively-folded RNAs. In addition, this straightforward mechanism for RNA remodeling does not require any specific structural environment of the helicase core and is likely to be relevant for DEAD-box proteins that promote RNA rearrangements of RNP complexes including the spliceosome and ribosome. / text

The regenerator is the key component in magnetic cycles for refrigeration and heat pumping. It works as temporal thermal energy storage and separates two thermal reservoirs. Regenerators are typically made up of porous structures which may create complex flow pathways for the heat transfer fluid through the regenerator. The periodically reversing flow allows the thermal energy exchange with the packing material in the regenerators. The performance of such thermal devices depends greatly on the geometry of the porous structure, material properties as well as operating conditions. This thesis is a study about the thermo-hydraulic properties of passive regenerators under oscillating flow conditions. The first part of the thesis presents a passive regenerator testing apparatus used to measure temperature distribution and pressure drop for various types of regenerators. Three kinds of loose spheres packed regenerator beds are characterized, and the regenerator effectiveness is evaluated. In the second part of the thesis, a numerical model is developed for the predictions of pressure drop and temperature field, and the theoretical findings are applied to experimentally obtained data to interpret regenerator performance. The dead volume is investigated quantitatively and considered to affect the regenerator performance adversely. / Graduate

This thesis argues that the return of remains deserves greater attention in humanitarian action. When remains are returned in an undignified manner, or not at all, this can harm the deceased person’s family and provoke the surrounding community. The inability to return remains has a significant impact on the deceased’s family. A conceptual framework – using concepts of posthumous dignity, boundary objects and moral injury – is outlined in this thesis. An extensive literature review was conducted to landmark events and publications regarding human remains and the impact of returning remains to families. After examining a variety of sectors and professions for return-of-remains practices, it has been observed that the way in which remains are returned to families, including what they are interred within and surrounded by, is critical to preventing moral injury and other distress to the families. The thesis also contends that efforts to return remains to families are widely and well received by affected communities; however these efforts require a well-coordinated approach of standardised procedures. Examples of prevailing practices from several professions are used to propose a humanitarian approach for the return of remains to families, with a goal of safeguarding the dignity of the dead and helping families cope with their loss. An analysis of such case material makes possible the formulation of recommendations on how to improve practices in the humanitarian sector. Protecting the dead is a responsibility of the living, and guidance is needed on how to return remains in an appropriate and sensitive manner.

Thesis (PhD.(Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering))--Universiteit van Pretoria, 2007. / Abstract in English and Afrikaans. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S. in Mechanical Engineering)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2002. / Thesis advisor(s): Young W. Kwon. Includes bibliographical references (p. 55-56). Also available online.