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This thesis investigates the liturgical context of ecclesiastical discipline in early modern Scotland. The core question addresses the narrative being recounted within Protestant rituals of repentance, the liturgical expression of ecclesiastical discipline. Through an analysis of these rituals it is demonstrated that the primary narrative underpinning the performance of repentance is reconciliation with God and with neighbour. An examination of ceremonies officially authorised by the General Assembly, alongside descriptions of local practice, reveals how reconciliation was firmly embedded within the liturgical life of the Kirk. A secondary question addresses continuities and breaks with Scottish penitential practices prior to 1560. Although bringing a physical shift and ‘decluttering’ of performance space, many ritual continuities remained after 1560, especially in costumes, props, gestures and speech. This thesis is divided into four sections. Section One focuses upon ritual penitential practices employed by the pre-Reformation Kirk c.1500-1560. The ‘cluttered’ stage, or stages, upon which rituals of repentance were performed is also analysed. These twin themes, focusing upon pre- Reformation practice and performance spaces, provide the base-line for the assessment of ritual continuity. Section Two moves the performance to the Protestant theatre of reconciliation, 1560- 1610. After an initial exploration of the stages of discipline, rituals employed by the Kirk to effect neighbourly reconciliation are examined. They demonstrate how the expression of reconciliation and dispute settlement presents a potent visible representation of the harmonious community as the ‘true’ church. Moving from the harmonious community at the local level, Section Three investigates the liturgical performance of corporate repentance utilising the key text The Order of the General Fast. At both national and regional levels, corporate repentance became a visible expression of communal reconciliation to God and of the Protestant self-identification as the ‘new Israel’. The focus of the final section concerns excommunication, the ultimate tool of ecclesiastical discipline, and a further authorised liturgy, The Order of Excommunication and of Public Repentance, is examined. Far from permanent exclusion, the ritual of excommunication was intended to be radical soul-saving surgery, designed to reconcile an offender with both God and neighbour. In contrast with other recent studies which have analysed ecclesiastical discipline within a judicial context, the liturgical context of discipline as performed in rituals of repentance is placed centre-stage.

As a plantation owner, James K. Polk had economic interests which were bound to that peculiar institution. Consequently, many of his decisions as a politician were influenced by his southern background. Although his partiality toward"southern rights" was evident, he did not let his personal bias interfere with his determination to preserve the nation. Throughout his public career, he maintained that slavery was being exploited as a "political question" to divide the United States. Even though his opponents branded him a "sectionalist" for his position on the issues of Texas annexation, the Mexican War, and slavery in the territories, he still remained a staunch nationalist. This study proves that James K. Polk's "southern convictions" were secondary in importance compared to his concern for the preservation of the Union.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Abilene Christian University, 2006. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-108).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, 2007. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 128-134).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Abilene Christian University, 2006. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-108).

A key question in biology is how changes in gene function or regulation produce new morphologies during evolution. The nectar spur is an evolutionarily labile structure known to influence speciation in a broad range of angiosperm taxa. Here, the genetic basis of nectar spur development, and the evolution of differences in nectar spur morphology, is investigated in Linaria vulgaris and two closely related species of orchid, the primitively longer-spurred Dactylorhiza fuchsii, and more derived short-spurred D. viridis (Orchidinae, Orchidaceae). Despite considerable morphological and phylogenetic differences, nectar spur ontogeny is fundamentally similar in each of the study species, proceeding from an abaxial bulge formed on the ventral petal relatively late in petal morphogenesis. However, spur development is progenetically curtailed in the short-spurred orchid D. viridis. In each case spur development involves class 1 KNOTTED1-like homeobox (KNOX) proteins. KNOX gene expression is not restricted to the spur-bearing petal, indicating that additional components are required to define nectar spur position, e.g. canonical ABC genes, determinants of floral zygomorphy, and additional (currently unknown) factors. However, constitutive expression of class 1 KNOX proteins in transgenic tobacco produces flowers with ectopic outgrowths on the petals, indicating that KNOX proteins alone are, to some degree, capable of inducing structures similar to nectar spurs in a heterologous host. Interestingly, KNOX gene expression is high in the ovary of all study taxa, suggesting that KNOX proteins may also have been involved in the evolution of this key angiosperm feature. Although principally involved in maintaining indeterminacy in the shoot apical meristem (SAM), members of the KNOX gene family have been co-opted in the evolution and development of compound leaves where they suppress differentiation and extend the morphogenetic potential of the leaf. A similar model is presented here to explain the role of KNOX proteins in nectar spur development. Co-option of KNOX gene expression to the maturing perianth delays cellular differentiation, facilitating the development of the nectar spur but requiring additional, unknown factors, to determine nectar spur fate. As facilitators of nectar spur development, changes in the spatio-temporal patterns of KNOX gene expression may alter the potential for nectar spur development and explain the critical length differences observed between the orchids D. fuchsii and D. viridis (and among other angiosperm taxa). Taken together, the available data indicate that KNOX genes confer a meristematic state upon plant tissues in a variety of morphogenetic contexts, making the gene family a potentially versatile tool to mediate a wide variety of evolutionary transformations.

In epidemiology it is often useful to monitor disease occurrences prospectively to determine the location and time when clusters of disease are forming. This aids in the prevention of illness and injury of the public and is the reason spatio-temporal disease surveillance methods are implemented. Care must be taken in the design and implementation of these types of surveillance methods so that the methods provide accurate information on the development of clusters. Here two spatio-temporal methods for prospective disease surveillance are considered. These include the local Knox monitoring method and a new wavelet-based prospective monitoring method. The local Knox surveillance method uses a cumulative sum (CUSUM) control chart for monitoring the local Knox statistic, which tests for space-time clustering each time there is an incoming observation. The detection of clusters of events occurring close together both temporally and spatially is important in finding outbreaks of disease within a specified geographic region. The local Knox surveillance method is based on the Knox statistic, which is often used in epidemiology to test for space-time clustering retrospectively. In this method, a local Knox statistic is developed for use with the CUSUM chart for prospective monitoring so that epidemics can be detected more quickly. The design of the CUSUM chart used in this method is considered by determining the in-control average run length (ARL) performance for different space and time closeness thresholds as well as for different control limit values. The effect of nonuniform population density and region shape on the in-control ARL is explained and some issues that should be considered when implementing this method are also discussed. In the wavelet-based prospective monitoring method, a surface of incidence counts is modeled over time in the geographical region of interest. This surface is modeled using Poisson regression where the regressors are wavelet functions from the Haar wavelet basis. The surface is estimated each time new incidence data is obtained using both past and current observations, weighing current observations more heavily. The flexibility of this method allows for the detection of changes in the incidence surface, increases in the overall mean incidence count, and clusters of disease occurrences within individual areas of the region, through the use of control charts. This method is also able to incorporate information on population size and other covariates as they change in the geographical region over time. The control charts developed for use in this method are evaluated based on their in-control and out-of-control ARL performance and recommendations on the most appropriate control chart to use for different monitoring scenarios is provided. / Ph. D.

Muitas plantas apresentam crescimento indeterminado e são capazes de produzir novos órgãos e tecidos ao longo de todo seu ciclo de vida. Essa capacidade é devida parcialmente à expressão altamente regulada de genes específicos, tais como os genes SQUAMOSA Promoter-Binding Protein-Like (SPLs). SPLs codificam fatores de transcrição específicos de plantas que desempenham papéis importantes em diferentes aspectos do desenvolvimento, tais como mudança de fase juvenil-adulto, definição da arquitetura da planta e amadurecimento do fruto. A maioria dos genes SPLs são pós-transcricionalmente regulados pelo microRNA (miRNA) miR156. Apesar de alguns aspectos regulados pelas SPLs serem bem estudados, suas funções moleculares durante o desenvolvimento do fruto são pouco compreendidas. Neste trabalho, nós geramos 22 eventos transgênicos de Solanum lycopersicum cv. Micro-Tom (MT) superexpressando o precursor AtMIR156b. Plantas transgênicas exibiram morfologia foliar e floral anormal além de alteração na arquitetura vegetal. Interessantemente, a maioria dos eventos apresentou frutos de crescimento indeterminado, os quais não apresentam sementes sendo caracterizados pelo crescimento de frutos secundários além da presença de estruturas vegetativas e meristemas florais ectópicos. Fazendo uso da técnica de RT-qPCR, nós encontramos uma robusta correlação entre expressão do miR156 e o fenótipo dos frutos, sugerindo que esta rota regula o desenvolvimento e determinação do fruto de tomateiro. O mutante de tomateiro Mouse ears (Me) apresenta um fraco nível de indeterminação no fruto, sendo que os níveis do transcrito miR156 maduro são maiores no fruto mutante quando comparado aos controles MT, mas significativamente menores que nos frutos transgênicos. Oito SPLs de tomateiro foram silenciadas em diferentes níveis em frutos de diferentes eventos transgênicos e no mutante Me. O fator de transcrição do tipo MADS-box MACROCALYX (MC), o qual é ortólogo ao gene APETALA1 (AP1) de arabidopsis (alvo direto in vivo da proteína SPL3), afeta a determinação da inflorescência e o desenvolvimento das sépalas. A expressão de MC foi severamente reduzida nos frutos dos eventos transgênicos, mas não no mutante Me. Este dado sugere que a desregulação da expressão de MC deve ser responsável pelo forte fenótipo de indeterminação do fruto observados nos eventos transgênicos. Tomados em conjunto, nossos dados sugerem uma nova função para a via genética mir156/SPL na regulação do desenvolvimento e determinação de frutos carnosos, provavelmente através da regulação da expressão de MC. / Many plants have indeterminate growth and are capable of producing new organs and tissues throughout their life. This capability is partially due to the highly regulated expression of specific genes such as SQUAMOSA Promoter-Binding Protein-Like (SPL) genes. SPLs encode plant-specific transcription factors that play important roles in development, such as phase transition, plant architecture, and fruit ripening. Most SPL genes are post-transcriptionally regulated by the microRNA (miRNA) miR156. Although some developmental aspects regulated by SPLs have been well studied, their molecular roles during fruit development are poorly understood. In this work, we generated 22 transgenic events of Solanum lycopersicum cv. Micro-Tom (MT) overexpressing AtMIR156b precursor. Transgenic plants exhibit abnormal leaf and flower morphology and altered vegetative architecture. Interestingly, most events display navel-like fruits that are seedless and characterized by the growth of secondary fruits and present leaf-like structures as well as ectopic flowering meristems. By using RT-qPCR, we found a robust correlation between miR156/SPL expression and the fruit phenotype, suggesting that this pathway regulates tomato fruit development and determinacy. The tomato mutant Mouse ears (Me) displays a weak level of fruit indeterminacy. Levels of mature miR156 transcripts are higher in fruits from the mutant as comparing to MT fruits, but significantly lower than in transgenic fruits. Eight tomato SPLs were downregulated at variable levels in fruits from distinct transgenic events and Me plants. The MADS-type of transcription factor Macrocalyx (MC) gene is an orthologue of Arabidopsis AP1 (a direct in vivo target of SPL3) and affects tomato inflorescence determinacy and sepal development. MC was severely downregulated in fruits from transgenics but not in fruits from Me mutant. This data suggests that the MC misregulation may lead to the strong fruit indeterminacy phenotype observed in the transgenic events. Taken together, our data suggest a new function for miR156/SPL pathway in regulating fruit development and determinacy likely through the regulation of MC expression.