Xylose, a sugar not metabolised by brain, and glucose may be transported into brain by a common mechanism (Gilbert, 1965). In the present studies the effects of some anticonvulsant drugs on the uptake of xylose by the non-raffinose compartment of cerebral cortex slices have been examined. The slices were pre-incubated for 30 minutes in oxygenated bicarbonate media, containing pyruvate as nutrient, and raffinose, before transfer to similar media containing xylose. Employing an incubation time of 9 minutes, and a xylose concentration in the medium of 50 mM, it was found that the anticonvulsant drugs acetazolamide, 20 μM, and ethosuximide, 500 μM, caused an increase in xylose uptake, while diphenylhydantoin, 100μM, was without effect in this respect,-SH group blocking agents (5,5- dithiobis (2~nitobenzoic acid), 100μM, or iodoacetamide, 100 μM), did not appear to affect 'basal' xylose uptake by the slices, but prevented stimulation of xylose uptake by acetazolamide or ethosuximide. Studies of the initial velocity of xylose uptake by the slices, over a range of medium xylose concentrations, indicated that the xylose uptake process appeared to conform to Michaelis-Menten kinetics; the apparent Km (under control conditions) for xylose being 87 mM, and the Vmax. being 30 millimole, 1iter of intracellular water-1minute-1. Acetazolamide increased both the Km and Vmax. of the xylose transport process. Both these parameters were decreased by ethosuximide. The effect of phenobarbitone on the kinetics of xylose uptake by cerebral cortex slices has been found (Gilbert, Ortiz, and Millichap, 1966) to resemble that recorded here for ethosuximide. The anticonvulsants which have been shown to be capable of increasing xylose uptake by brain slices also increased brain glucose content 'in vivo' (Gilbert, Gray, and Heaton, 1971), - probably as a consequence of a stimulation of glucose transport into brain rather than a depression of cerebral metabolism. The uptake of glucose may, under certain conditions, be the rate - limiting factor in its metabolism by brain (Joanny, Gorriol, a Hillman, 1969; Buschiazzo, Terrell, and Regen, 1970), Glucose may also have a direct stabilizing effect on brain cells (Goldman and Good, 1969)* The stimulation of sugar uptake 'brought about by the drugs might thus contribute to their anticonvulsant effect However, the interaction of these drugs with cerebral membranes may, in addition to affecting permeability to sugars, result in other effects more directly responsible for their anticonvulsant efficacy.

Microsomes obtained from different groups or rats, following pretreatment with different dosages or 3,4-benzpyrene (BP), aflatoxin Bl (Bl), ethionine (ET) and/or a combination of these, were used to obtain initial velocity data for BP disappearance. The values for Km, Vmax and K/v for different groups were obtained by the computer analysis of initial velocity data. Vmax and Km values were used to assess the quantitative and qualitative changes of microsomal B:2 hydroxylase, respectively, caused pretreatment. BP pretreatment greatly enhanced the V and also decreased the Km values. The increase in Vmax paralleled the increase in the dosage of BP from BP(lX) to BP(3X). When ET, a protein inhibitor, was given in conjunction with BP it blocked the increase in Vmax but did not block the effect of BP on the Km. The effect of BP on the qualitative properties (Km) of enzyme was observed to be a slow time dependent phenomenon which required the simultaneous presence of both the enzyme and the inducer. / Ph. D.

The object of this thesis is the analysis of the external debt of countries which are members of the G-8. The external debt is researched through individual sectors of economy. Also there are described debt instruments and all the factors which can influence the external debt. The last part of this thesis analyses situation and development of individual debt instruments and the impact on total external debt.

The opinion of W. H. S. Jones that Oribasius is 'an author that nobody wishes to read through' is probably coincident with the view of most Classicists who have ever read the Medical Compilations to judge from the almost total neglect Oribasius has suffered. Translations of the whole work have appeared only in Latin and French. This thesis is an attempt to redress this injustice, and the commentary is designed to indicate Oribasius' source for each quotation or paraphrase, assess the accuracy and comprehensibility of the contents, and discover the reasons behind the recommendations and rejections of certain cakes, breads, fruits, and vegetables, the emphasis being on ancient food and diet rather than medicine and philosophy. Books 1 and 4 are linked by their common themes of grains and breads, and thus have been chosen for examination. With the absence of any modern work on ancient Greek cuisine, and with the fullest accounts of Roman cooking often lacking in detail or accuracy, particular care has been taken to supply as full a set of references as possible which will perhaps prove useful for further study. The text on which the commentary is based is that prepared with great thoroughness and accuracy in 1928 by J. Raeder with some small changes. The translation, the first into English, offers no claims at elegance, but is there merely to assist with the reading of the Greek text. The thesis ends with both an index listing according to the forms in which they appear all the words in Books 1 and 4, with the exception of some common particles, and also a general index.

Minimalism concerning truth is the view that that all there is to be said concerning truth is exhausted by a set of basic platitudes. In the first part of this thesis, I apply this methodology to the concept of knowledge. In so doing, I develop a model of inexact knowledge grounded in what I call minimal margin for error principles. From these basic principles, I derive the controversial result that epistemological internalism and internalism with respect to self-knowledge are untenable doctrines. In the second part of this thesis, I develop a minimal theory of vagueness in which a rigorous but neutral definition of vagueness is shown to be possible. Three dimensions of vagueness are distinguished and a proof is given showing how two of these dimensions are equivalent facets of the same phenomenon. From the axioms of this minimal theory one can also show that there must be higher-order vagueness, contrary to what some have argued. In the final part of this thesis, I return to issues concerning the credentials of truth-minimalism. Is truth-minimalism compatible with the possibility of truth-value gaps? Is it right to say that truth-minimalism is crippled by the liar paradox? With respect to the former question, I develop a novel three-valued logical system which is both proof-theoretically and truth-theoretic ally well-motivated and compatible with at least one form of minimalism. With respect to the second question, a new solution to the liar paradox is developed based on the claim that while the liar sentence is meaningful, it is improper to even suppose that this sentence has a truth-status. On that basis, one can block the paradox by restricting the Rule of Assumptions in Gentzen-style presentations of the sentential sequent calculus. The first lesson of the liar paradox is that not all assumptions are for free. The second lesson of the liar is that, contrary to what has been alleged by many, minimalism concerning truth is far better placed than its rival theories to solve the paradox.

Seit 2005 ist Indien als eines der fünf Outreach-Länder in die Diskussionen der G8 eingebunden. Dies geschah wegen seiner Rolle als eine der Kraftquellen der Weltwirtschaft sowie als viertgrößter globaler Markt. Indien betrachtet ein offenes Welthandelregime und einen größeren Kapitalfluss in die Entwicklungsländer als notwendig, um diesen zu helfen, deren Exporte zu steigern, neue Jobs zu schaffen und den Wohlstand ihrer Produzenten zu erhöhen. / Since 2005 India is as one of the five outreach-countries included in the G8 discussions because of its role as one of the world’s economic powerhouses and the fourth biggest market in the world. India regards a more open world trading regime and more capital flows into developing countries necessary to help them to increase their exports, create jobs and increase the wealth of its producers.

Variable symmetries in constraint satisfaction problems can be broken by adding lexicographic ordering constraints. Existing general methods of generating such sets of ordering constraints can produce a huge number of additional constraints. This adds an unacceptable overhead to the solving process. Methods exist by which this large set of constraints can be reduced to a much smaller set automatically, but their application is also prohibitively costly. In contrast, this thesis takes a bottom up approach to generating symmetry breaking constraints. This will involve examining some commonly-occurring families of mathematical groups and deriving a general formula to produce a minimal set of ordering constraints which are sufficient to break all of the symmetry that each group describes. In some cases it is known that there exists no manageable sized sets of constraints to break all symmetries. One example of this occurs with matrix row and column symmetries. In such cases, incomplete symmetry breaking has been used to great effect. Double lex is a commonly used incomplete symmetry breaking technique for row and column symmetries. This thesis also describes another similar method which compares favourably to double lex. The general formulae investigated are used as building blocks to generate small sets of ordering constraints for more complex groups, constructed by combining smaller groups. Through the utilisation of graph automorphism tools and the groups and permutations software GAP we provide a method of defining variable symmetries in a problem as a group. Where this group can be described as the product of smaller groups, with known general formulae, we can construct a minimal set of ordering constraints for that problem automatically. In summary, this thesis provides the theoretical background necessary to apply efficient static symmetry breaking to constraint satisfaction problems. It also goes further, describing how this process can be automated to remove the necessity of having an expert CP practitioner, thus opening the field to a larger number of potential users.

A total of sixty-four orations survive from the hand of Libanius. Four of these speeches were delivered under the reign of Constantius II (AD 337-361) and thus form a distinct chronological cluster in the Libanian corpus. The Constantian orations include Or. 59 To Constantius II and Constans (AD 346-9), Or. 11 The Antiochikos (AD 356), Or. 61 Monody on Nicomedia (AD 358), and Or. 61 For the teachers (AD 360-1). This study adopts a diachronic approach and analyses the historical and literary context of each Constantian oration with a particular focus on Libanius' self- presentation. The study suggests that Libanius' self-presentation was characterised by adaptability and versatility; it shows Libanius exploring a range of different genres and communicating with attentiveness to context and audience. The thesis also argues that Libanius' attitude to and engagement with Constantius' court fluctuated significantly from the delivery of Libanius' panegyric in the mid- to late 340s where Libanius supported Constantius after his defeat in the battle of Singara, over Libanius' encomium to Antioch in 356 where Libanius emphasised the strong connection between the Emperor and the city following the devastating reign of Gallus Caesar, to the delivery of For the teachers in 360-361, where Libanius publically voiced his criticism of the Emperor's cultural and religious policies after Libanius himself had lost imperial funding. Furthermore, the study displays the continued importance of oratory in Late Antiquity and emphasises the central role of sophists both as commentators and mediators in society.

ABSTRACT This study examined global media discourses regarding the coverage of an anti-poverty campaign for Africa by celebrities in Europe by comparing media coverage of this event in the UK, US, and African press. The Make Poverty History campaign was organized in 2005 to pressure G8 leaders meeting in Glen eagles Scotland to cancel African aid, increase aid, and make trading conditions fairer. Former rock star, and humanitarian Sir Bob Geldof, rocker Bono, and filmmaker Richard Curtis, were the central figures in organizing this campaign on the global justice movement side of things. On the political arena, former British premier, Tony Blair, also had an agenda that put Africa and climate change at the top of the G8 agenda in 2005. Given Africa's historical negative coverage in the media, this study sought to investigate how a celebrity campaign which sought to change the perception of Africa as a pitiable place in need of charity, to one of a wronged continent in need of justice, would alter, if at all, the traditional coverage of Africa. The study sought to address three questions in particular: what were global media discourses regarding the Make Poverty History campaign; how were the major players in this campaign portrayed by the press in the United Kingdom, the center of the campaign, the United States, the key player in the G8, and in Africa, the continent in which all this attention was being directed to; and lastly to establish to what degree differences existed between media coverage of this campaign, and colonial/postcolonial discourses on the continent. The findings from the Western press showed both continuities and discontinuities of colonial rhetorical modes. These discursive continuities are classification, affirmation, debasement, idealization, and negation. These discourses are not static but have variations and shifts but some clear outlines of a continuation of colonial discourses were apparent. Classification refers to arranging nations according to a single standard of political and economic development. The Western press constantly held up industrialized countries as the ideal for Africa to follow. Affirmation has to do with confirming the moral superiority of the rich nations' publics. The Western media esteem the ability of the Western public, for example, to serve as the conscience of big business to restrain them from exploiting Third World countries. The leaders of the campaign also painted outstanding leaders on a mission to save the world, while the beneficiaries of the campaign were not involved. Debasement has to do depicting the "Other" in a degrading manner. This recurred in the coverage except the trope of debasement and idealization operated together with African leaders acting as the "villains" and the ordinary people as "noble" and "unspoilt" continuing the ambivalence of colonial discourse. Negation had to do with the media being ahistorical and denying historical links between Africa's deprivation in the past and its present reality. Even the campaign itself was in denial of Africa's past by adopting its slogan as Make Poverty History. Nonetheless, accommodation is a new discourse that came out of the reading and signified diverse perspectives within Western media coverage. Some perspectives from the activist public considered left-wing have entered the mainstream, for example, acknowledgment that subsidies given to farmers in wealthy countries make African countries less competitive contributing to poverty levels. African media texts had different perspectives. These can be classified as: self-affirmation (quest for global inclusion and /raising Africa's global profile); sovereignty (quest for economic independence); and self-reliance. African publications sought to reaffirm the place of Africa within the community of nations. They also sought resist what they considered undue interference by outsiders in the inside affairs of the continent. But there was some ambivalence because they still expressed concern over being forgotten by the rest of the world. Lastly, African media texts called for Africans to fashion their own solutions to the problems they encounter instead of waiting for outside help. These discursive strategies could be seen as defensive and in direct response to Africa's portrayal in the international media. Nevertheless, the African media provided perspective and continually drew the link between Africa's current problems and its historical development and place in global relations. While the Western press focused on Africa's present dilemma, the African press provided an alternative reading of the situation by illustrating global connections in Africa's plight.

The performance of fiber-reinforced composites is often controlled by the properties of the fiber-matrix interface. Good interfacial bonding (or adhesion), to ensure load transfer from matrix to reinforcement, is a primary requirement for effective use of reinforcement properties. Thus, a fundamental understanding of interfacial properties and a quantitative characterization of interfacial adhesion strength can help in evaluating the mechanical behavior and capabilities of composite materials. A large number of analytical techniques have been developed for understanding interfacial adhesion of glass fiber reinforced polymers. Common adhesion tests include contact angle measurements, tension or compression of specially shaped blocks of polymer containing a single fiber, the single fiber pull-out test, single-fiber fragmentation test, short beam shear and transverse tensile tests, and the vibration damping test. Among these techniques, the vibration damping technique has the advantage of being nondestructive as well as highly sensitive for evaluating the interfacial region, and it can allow the materials industry to rapidly determine the mechanical properties of composites. In this work, we contributed a simple optical system for measuring the damping factor of uniaxial fiber-reinforced-polymer composites in the shape of cantilever beams. A single glass fiber- and three single metallic wire-reinforced epoxy resin composites were tested with the optical system. The fiber- (wire-) matrix interfacial adhesion strength measurements were made by microbond test. A reasonable agreement was found between the measured interfacial adhesion strength and micromechanics calculations using results from vibration damping experiments. The study was also extended to multi-fiber composites. The interfacial damping factors in glass-fiber reinforced epoxy-resin composites were correlated with transverse tensile strength, which is a qualitative measurement of adhesion at the fiber-matrix interface. Four different composite systems were tested. For each system, glass fibers with three different surface treatments were used at three different volume fractions. The experimental results also showed an inverse relationship between damping contributed by the interface and composite transverse tensile strength for all of the multi-fiber composites. / Ph. D.