This small study concerns occurrences of metaphor, metonymy and conceptual metaphor in the Old English poem Beowulf. The first 224 lines of Beowulf were searched for non-literal passages. Thefound passages were sorted into the groups conventionalized metaphor, metonymy and innovativemetaphor. The conceptual metaphors were in turn sorted into target domains and source domains and grouped within the domains. These were then compared to Modern English and Modern Swedish metaphors and conceptual metaphors with the help of dictionaries and corpus studies. Beowulf was also looked at as a small corpus. Words which were suspected to be used inmetaphorical senses were searched for in the full text and the results were examined and comparedwith modern language usage. It was found evident that Old English and Modern English, as well as Modern Swedish, have many conceptual metaphors in common both when in comes to experiential metaphors and culturally grounded metaphors.

Lectins are multivalent carbohydrate binding proteins that specifically recognise diverse sugar structures and mediate a variety of biological processes, such as cell-cell and host-pathogen interactions, serum glycoprotein turnover and innate immune responses. Lectins have received considerable attention in recent years on account of their properties leading to wide use in research and biomedical applications. Seeds of leguminous plants are mainly rich sources of lectins, but lectins are also found in all classes and families of organisms. Legume lectins have similar tertiary structures, but exhibit a large variety of quaternary structures. The carbohydrate binding site in them is made up of four loops, the first three of which are highly conserved in all legume lectins. The fourth loop, which is variable, is implicated in conferring specificity. Legume lectins which share the same monosaccharide specificity often exhibit markedly different oligosaccharide specificities. This thesis primarily concerns with structure solution and analysis of lectins from the legume and β-prism II fold families using X-ray crystallography. Apart from having the property of specifically and reversibly binding to carbohydrates, lectins are also interesting models to study sequence-structure relationships, especially of how minor change in the sequence may bring about major changes in oligomerization and binding. Chapter 1 gives an overview of different structural types of plant lectins and describes in detail, their carbohydrate binding features. The details of the various experimental procedures employed during the course of this research, are explained in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 describes the crystal structure of a β-prism II fold lectin (RVL), from Remusatia vivipara, an epiphytic plant of traditional medicinal value, and analysis of its binding properties. This lectin was established to have distinct binding properties and has nematicidal activity against a root-knot nematode with the localization site identified as the high-mannose displaying gut-lining in the nematode. The crystal structure of RVL revealed a new quaternary association of this homodimeric lectin, different from those of reported β-prism II lectins. Functional studies on RVL showed that it fails to bind to simple mannose moieties yet showed agglutination with rabbit blood cells (which have mannose moieties on the surface) and some high mannose containing glycoproteins like mucin and asialofetuin. Further, ELISA and glycan array experiments indicated that RVL has high affinity to N-glycans like trimannose pentasaccharide such as in gp120, a capsid glycoprotein of HIV virus, necessary in virus-association with the host cell. The structural basis for this N-glycan binding was revealed through structure analysis and molecular modelling, and it was demonstrated that there are two distinct binding sites per monomer, making RVL a truly multivalent lectin. Evolutionary phylogeny revealed the divergence in the β-prism II fold proteins with regards to the number of sugar-binding regions per domain, oligomerization and specificity. Chapter 4 deals with the structural studies on a galactose-specific legume lectin (DLL-II) from Dolichos lablab, a leguminous plant. The lectin was found to be a planar tetramer in the crystal structures of the native and ligand bound forms, as expected from our solution studies and phylogenetic analysis. The protein is a heterotetramer with subunits differing only in the presence or absence of a C-terminal helical region at the core of the tetramer. Due to the static disorder in all the crystals, the central helix could be oriented in either direction. Structure analysis of DLL-II proved to be an interesting endeavour as static disorder compounded with twinning in the crystal made the data processing and structure solution a challenging process. Subsequent structure and sequence alignments led to the identification of an adenine-binding pocket in the hydrophobic core of the tetramer. Based on this, DLL-II lectin was co-crystallized with adenine and the structure revealed the presence of adenine at the predicted binding site. Chapter 5 describes the identification and analysis of potential plant lectins/lectin-like domains in the genome of Oryza sativa, using bioinformatics approaches. This project was initiated to study the occurrence of legume-lectin like domains (a predominant dicot feature) in O. sativa, which is a monocot. Later, a large scale genome analysis for all types of lectin domains was carried out through exhaustive PSI-BLAST, profile matching by HMMer, CDD and MulPSSM. The final validation was carried out by assessing the carbohydrate binding potential of the domain by examining the sugar binding sites. The primary interest in undertaking this work was to find the occurrence of association of these domains with other domains as in protein receptor kinases, where lectin is the receptor domain. Though primarily initiated as a bioinformatics project, further structural characterization was attempted by cloning, expression and purification of some of the annotated lectin proteins using prokaryotic expression systems. The protein expression was attained in reasonable amounts for a few of the annotated legume lectin homologs, however purification is yet to be achieved as the expressed proteins are insoluble. A part of the results described in this thesis and the other related projects that the author was involved are reported in the following publications. 1) Purification, characterization and molecular cloning of a monocot mannose-binding lectin from Remusatia vivipara with nematicidal activity Bhat GG, Shetty KN, Nagre NN, Neekhra VV, Lingaraju S, Bhat RS, Inamdar SR, Suguna K, Swamy BM. 2010. Glycoconjugate J. 27(3):309-320 2) Modification of the sugar specificity of a plant lectin: structural studies on a point mutant of Erythrina corallodendron lectin Thamotharan S, Karthikeyan T, Kulkarni KA, Shetty KN, Surolia A, Vijayan M & Suguna K. 2011. Acta Crystallographica D 67(3):218-227 3) Crystal structure of a β-prism II lectin from Remusatia vivipara Shetty KN, Bhat GG, Inamdar SR, Swamy BM, Suguna K. 2012. Glycobiology 22(1): 56-69. 4) Structure of a galactose binding lectin from Dolichos lablab Shetty KN, Lavanyalatha V, Rao RN, SivaKumar N & Suguna K (Under review) 5) Occurrence of lectin-like domains: Oryza sativa genome analysis. Shetty KN & Suguna K. (Manuscript in preparation)

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Chemistry / Takashi Ito / We have investigated the orientation of cylindrical domains in thin films of a polystyrene–poly(methylmethacrylate) diblock copolymer (PS-b-PMMA) on planar substrates having different surface roughnesses and hydrophilicities. The research in this dissertation covers the substrate surface modifications, the enhancement of the diblock copolymer film coating, and the refinement of the treatments leading to nanoporous material. Treatment of the substrate with organic mercaptans forming self-assembled-monolayer (SAM), leading to various hydrophilicities of the surfaces, was inconclusive as far as orienting the PMMA domains in the PS matrix due to thermal instability of some thiols. This directed us to a different approach involving substrate roughness. PS-b-PMMA films of 20~200 nm thick were prepared via spin-coating on silicon, gold or indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates, and annealed in vacuum at 170 °C for 60 hours to induce the formation of cylindrical PMMA domains. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images indicated the domain orientation at the free surface. In PS-b-PMMA films much thicker than the domain periodicity (L0), the domains were oriented perpendicularly to the free surface regardless of underlying substrates, reflecting the balanced interactions of PS and PMMA blocks at the polymer–vacuum interface. In films having thickness similar to L0, vertically oriented domains were observed on the Au and ITO surfaces that are covered with nanoscale grains, whereas horizontal domains were observed on the smooth Si substrates. In particular, the cylindrical PMMA domains were efficiently perpendicularly aligned when the grain size nearly was equal to L0. The perpendicular domain alignment induced by the substrate roughness was corroborated using cyclic voltammetry (CV) for gold substrates coated with PS-b-PMMA films whose PMMA domains were removed by UV and subsequent acetic acid treatments. The CV data also suggested that the PMMA domains were successfully removed, leaving a nanoporous stable PS matrix on the substrate.

No description available.

This thesis concerns the classes of analytic functions on bounded, n-connected domains known as the Smirnov classes Ep, where p > 0. Functions in these classes satisfy a certain growth condition and have a relationship to the more well known classes of functions known as the Hardy classes Hp. In this thesis I will show how the geometry of a given domain will determine the existence of non-constant analytic functions in Smirnov classes that possess real boundary values. This is a phenomenon that does not occur among functions in the Hardy classes. The preliminary and background information is given in Chapters 1 and 3 while the main results of this thesis are presented in Chapters 2 and 4. In Chapter 2, I will consider the case of the simply connected domain and the boundary characteristics that allow non-constant analytic functions with real boundary values in certain Smirnov classes. Chapter 4 explores the case of an n-connected domain and the sufficient conditions for which the aforementioned functions exist. In Chapter 5, I will discuss how my results for simply connected domains extend Neuwirth-Newman's Theorem and finish with an open problem for n-connected domains.

Reducing medication wastage is a paramount objective in promoting appropriate utilisation of finite resources and preventing negative consequences. The aim of this research was to investigate aspects of medication wastage in Malta by applying mixed methods research and, by doing so, contribute original knowledge to this area. A systematic review was conducted to appraise critically, synthesize and present the available evidence on the possible causative factors associated with medication wastage and the effectiveness of any interventions focusing on wastage reduction as an outcome measure. Findings indicated that only one published paper reported a definition of medication wastage. The main factors contributing to wastage were ‘change in medication’, ‘patient's death’, ‘resolution of patient's condition’ and ‘passed expiry date’. Very few studies reported medication wastage as an outcome measure. The Delphi technique was applied to define ‘medication wastage’ and its contributory factors in the context of the Maltese population. A definition for medication wastage was generated with 86% of panellists agreeing/totally agreeing and sixty-one possible factors leading to wastage were identified by the panellists. The perspectives of the Maltese population, healthcare professionals and students on medication wastage were investigated through cross-sectional surveys. Results of questionnaires indicate lack of patient education and knowledge with the free healthcare system and the overstocking of medication by patients due to previous or potential out of stock situations as contributors to medication wastage. The beliefs and behaviours regarding medication wastage of the Maltese public and healthcare professionals were explored during focus groups. The theoretical domains framework was adopted to design the focus group guide and to interpret systematically the findings. Five key themes emerged which were proposed as solutions to minimise medication wastage: system effects, practitioner effects, patients effects, political effects and awareness and educational effects Research results and findings from all four phases will facilitate the systematic development of strategies and policies, with emphasis on prioritisation, with the aim of minimising medication wastage at all levels.

An alcohol and anesthetic binding pocket is hypothesized to exist among transmembrane domains of the α1 glycine receptor (GlyR). Prior work has shown that amino acid residue serine-267 plays a significant role in the enhancing effects of alcohol and anesthetics and is theorized to form part of an alcohol and anesthetic binding cavity among subunit transmembrane domains. Propyl methanethiosulfonate (PMTS), an alcohol-like thiol, was previously shown to bind to a cysteine residue introduced at position 267 (S267C) and this resulted in permanent enhancement of GlyR function. If ethanol is binding to residue 267 in wildtype GlyR to potentiate receptor function then we hypothesized that covalent thiol labeling would produce receptor enhancement by the same mechanisms as ethanol. Using outside-out patch single channel electrophysiology we determined the open and closed dwell-times and burst properties of S267C GlyR in the absence and presence of PMTS. The primary consequence of PMTS binding to S267C GlyR was an increase in the lengths of burst durations, paralleling the main effect of ethanol on wildtype GlyR. Our findings thus provide a new line of evidence suggesting that ethanol is exerting its enhancing effects on the GlyR through its interactions with amino acid residue 267 in the second transmembrane domain. / text

Whether the stated goal of a program is to improve health, reduce crime, or to increase standard of living, the ultimate goal of social programs is to improve overall quality of life. An adequate measure of this outcome would help determine whether achievement of these more specific goals (e.g., health, education) really leads to improvements in overall life quality, and would allow trade-offs to be made in terms of funding across programs. However, an understanding of the determinants of life quality (i.e., the mechanism by which a program did or did not have its intended effect) is also essential to program evaluation and the design of future programs.This study constitutes the analysis of an existing dataset of individual traits, life circumstances, satisfaction with a list of 30 life domains, and overall quality of life for 193 healthy elders to test a hypothesized model of the determinants of life quality. As expected, domain satisfaction appears to be a function of life circumstances. Individuals' traits (e.g., age, sex, personality) modify this relationship, but neither they, nor respondents' reports of domain importance, appear to have any direct effect on quality of life. Instead, domain satisfactions alone are the most proximal determinants of overall quality of life. It also appears that individuals respond differently in terms of overall quality of life to reductions in satisfaction with certain domains than to increases. These findings should be evaluated further as they could affect the design of future successful programs. Because individuals' traits and individuals' ratings of domain importance seem to have no effect on the relationship between domain satisfaction and overall quality of life, it may not be essential to measure these in future studies. Finally, although the data on life domains available to this study were sufficient to generate these results, the first step in the development of adequate measures of overall quality of life and of domain satisfactions will be the construction of a comprehensive, fully-representative list of the life domains that comprise life as a whole.

In an ever-changing world, work and personal life are the main areas in which most employed adults spend their time. Today the essence of the relationship between work- and personal life is that these two domains overlap and interact. Consequently, an increasing number of employed adults are confronted with bigger demands in both their work and personal lives, and many of their daily hassles stem from job responsibilities that are incompatible with responsibilities in their personal lives. Educators' work has also become more intricate and demanding and may be one of the professions in which individuals find it difficult to combine their work and personal lives. The objective of this study was to determine how Setswana-speaking educators experienced their work-personal life interaction (WPLI), and more specifically to determine the significant domains, antecedents, consequences and strategies associated with WPLI for the participants. A non-probability purposive voluntary sample (N = 10) was taken of Setswana-speaking secondary school educators from the Potchefstroom and Klerksdorp areas in the North West Province. Data collection was done through a phenomenological method of semi-structured in-depth interviews. Data was analysed by the use of content analysis The results indicated that educators experienced factors in both their work and personal lives to be demanding. In addition, work demands led to various time constraints and strain. However, factors were identified that made the demands less overwhelming and it was also found that educators valued certain things (family, friends, leisure time, church and personal time) in their personal lives. Educators nevertheless employed certain strategies to cope with this interaction, which in turn led to numerous positive outcomes. Lastly, an interesting finding relating to this study was that educators felt a responsibility towards the children. Recommendations were made for the organisation and for future practice. / Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Pervasive computing envisions an environment in which we are surrounded by many embedded computer devices. The existence of those networked devices provides us with a mobile, spontaneous and dynamic way to access various resources provided by different (security policy) domains. In recent years, we have witnessed the evolutionary development of numerous multiple domain applications. One of the richest examples is pervasive environments. Typi- cally, the conventional approach to secure access over multiple domains is to implement a unique trusted infrastructure, extending local identity or capa- bility based security systems and combining them with cross-domain authen- tication mechanisms. However, this does not adequately meet the security requirements of communicating with unknown players in pervasive environ- ments. Moreover, it is infeasible to define a global trust infrastructure and a set of assumptions that every player will trust in the multiple domain context. A powerful design technique to address those new security challenges posed by pervasive environments is to understand them from a domain perspective. This thesis presents Localisation of Trust (LoT), an architectural frame- work designed to address the security need of how to talk to correct strangers in pervasive environments. Based on the localising trust security principle, LoT provides a generic platform for building access control over multiple do- mains from two ends: authentication and authorisation. Firstly, LoT proposes a two-channel authentication protocol to replace traditional (strong) identity- based authentication protocols by exploring desirable contextual information for different pervasive applications. Then, delegation and localised authenti- cation are deployed to achieve authorisation in pervasive environments. The heart of this different semantic is to let the right domain get involved with its local players’ interactions by helping them to convert a “token” to a usable 2 access capability, whilst keeping revocation in mind. This is done by introduc- ing a domain-oriented Encryption-Based Access Control method, using ideas borrowed for Identity-based Encryption. The second part of this thesis describes several specific mechanisms and protocols including a Dual Capabilities Model to achieve the required anti- properties for LoT. Although novel, they are intended primarily as an existence proof rather than being claimed to be ideal. Depending upon the precise application and context, other mechanisms may be better. Most importantly, the architecture-focused LoT provides such a flexibility by introducing multiple domains as a primary concern but leaving untouched the security protocols underlying each single domain and system implementation. Finally, a single domain scenario, guest access, is examined with the light of LoT. The purpose of doing so is to enhance the understanding of domain and other concepts described in LoT and demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of LoT for the scenarios chosen.