published_or_final_version / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts

Late Quaternary is an important period for paleoclimate study due to the boom of human civilization and thus its influence on climate conditions of the present interglacial period. In this study, a 52 m long borehole was drilled in a coastal embayment of Fujian, China, within which a thick marine layer from 16.05 to 32.60 m is found. Bulk organic geochemical analyses, containing total organic carbon content (TOC), carbon isotope ratio (δ13C), alkenones and n-alkanes, were analyzed for the whole core. Organic carbon isotope ratios (δ13C) of the sediment layers vary between -22.1‰ and -32.9‰, with higher values in the two marine sequences and lower in the two aquatic sequences. In the thick marine sequence, the δ13C is relatively stable, and it becomes gradually enriched from the base upwards and depleted rapidly at the top, indicating a full cycle of marine transgression and regression. The n-alkanes exhibit a similar trend, with several indexes, i.e., maximum concentration (Cmax), carbon preference index (CPI), average chain length (ACL), terrestrial-aquatic ratio (TAR), Paq and C31/(C29+C31). These results suggest the control of EAM and sea-level change in the sedimentary processes. Analysis on alkenones shows sea surface temperature (SST) variations as well as sea-level oscillations in the study site. / published_or_final_version / Earth Sciences / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Linguistics / Master / Master of Philosophy

This thesis is a critical edition of "al-Durr al-Maknūn fī al-Ma'āthir al-Māḍiya min al-Ǫurūn" (DUR.) by the Iraqi historian, Yāsīn Efendi al-Khaṭīb al-'Umarī al-Mawṣilī, 1158-1234 A.H. = 1745- 1818 A. D. covering the years 920 A. H. -1226 A. H. (= 1514/1515 A. D.- 1811/1812 A. D. ). The present thesis consists of three parts, and is divided into three volumes. The first part (Vol. I, Introduction and Notes) contains the introduction to DUR., in four chapters, with a supplement. Chapter one is composed of two sections I the first of which deals with the author's personality and his biography: name and nisba , titles and kunya, birth, background, knowledge, character, mystical leanings, social standing, and his death. The second section deals with the author's family (the 'Umarī's in MosuI). The second chapter is divided into two sections, the first is a list of all the author's works; historical, poetical, and literary, and his Naskhiyyāt. The second section is a study of the author's historical works. This study deals analytically with each work in turn. The third chapter is a study of the relevant MSS. The historical structure of these MSS is examined, and the MSS of DUR. are described individually; orthography and the style of the author…etc. are also investigated. The fourth chapter is a study of the text of DUR. It contains two sections. In the first section, peculiarities of the text are outlined as are the name of the work, the sources, the work as history, its literary forms, geographical elements and economic information. Section two comprises a study of the historical content which is embodied in this thesis under the following headings: a) Biographical material, b) Annals, c) Contemporary chronicles, d) Local History. Historical content of the biographical material is analysed, as also is the historical material in other fields. The annals cover: 1) The Ottoman conflict with Iran, 2) Eastern Europe, 3) The Mediterranean, 4) Russia and Poland. Also covered in the contemporary chronicles are: 1) The French Revolution, 2) Napoleon Bonaparte, 3) The Ashrāf of Mecca, 4) The Syrian provinces,S) Salafiyya and Wahhābiyya, 6) Istanbul, 7) Iraq. Local historical subjects covered are: 1) The local powers in the Middle East during the 18th century, 2) Iraq during the 18th century, and 3) The local history of Mosul. The last subject is studied in detail because it is of considerable importance in DUR. which contains full details of the Jalīlī house in Mosul during the 18th century. The additional supplement deals with the methods employed in editing DUR. This volume also contains appendices, tables, diagrams, maps, lists and bibliographies. Of these appendices attention is drawn to “Appe No. 1": (= Notes to the Text) which contains explanatory comments and emendations. The second part of the thesis (Vol. II Text) contains the text of the first version of DUR. (= DUR. 1 : MSS v and pl. The third part of the thesis (Vol. III, "Apparatus Criticus") contains a comparison of the DUR. 1 and DUR. 2 MSS (= v, p, Bn, B, BR)i it also contains the additional material from DUR. 2 (= MSS Bn, B, BR). In this volume, there is also a supplement of additional historical material, covering the period 1218-1226 A.H. (= 1803-1811 A.D.), taken from DUR. 2 (= MS Bn). This is compared with MSS Band BR.

The Min protein system regulates cell division in the bacterium Escherichia coli. The protein MinD undergoes a pole-to-pole oscillation, antagonizing formation of the division septum at the cell poles, thereby confining the septum formation to the mid-cell. The MinD oscillation period is 40 s at room temperature in healthy cells, but has been shown to be sensitive to stress on the cell. By fluorescently labeling MinD with green fluorescent protein (GFP), we are able to measure the MinD oscillation period as an in situ metric of cell viability using high resolution total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy. We have made several improvements to the method by which we measure and analyse the MinD oscillation period. A microscopy flow cell was designed and constructed and it provides temperature control and stability to a precision of 0.05 °C in addition to allowing controlled addition of bacterial cells and reagents of interest to the imaging region of the flow cell. This flow cell enabled us to make a precise measurement of the temperature dependence of the MinD oscillation period, for which we observed an Arrhenius dependence with an activation energy of 11.8 kcal/mol. We developed a centroid-tracking method, performed in a custom MATLAB program, to extract the values of the MinD oscillation periods from our time series of TIRF microscopy images. We measured the effect on the MinD oscillation period of exposure to the cationic antimicrobial peptide polymyxin B (PMB) and the related compound polymyxin B nonapeptide (PMBN), which does not have antimicrobial activity. Exposure to PMB resulted in a 60% increase in the average MinD oscillation period tau, whereas exposure to PMBN resulted in an 20% decrease in tau. After exposure to PMB and PMBN, we measured the Arrhenius temperature dependence of the MinD temperature dependence and calculated the associated activation energy Ea. We found that exposure to PMB resulted in a 40% increase in Ea, whereas exposure to PMBN did not significantly change the value of Ea. These results indicate that careful measurements of the MinD oscillation can yield information that can be helpful in evaluating the mechanism of action of antimicrobial compounds. / Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 177-191). / Microfiche. / xv, 191 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

Thesis (M.C.M.)--Lincoln University, 2009. / Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 141-148). Also available in electronic version. Access restricted to campus users.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Yale University, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 227-235).

Bakgrund och syfte: ME/CFS påverkar i hög grad aktivitetsförmågan, med många olika kroppsliga symptom. Även små ansträngningar kan ge kraftig försämring. För fungerande vardag krävs planering och prioritering av aktiviteter, vilket förutsätter att den drabbade vet vilken ansträngning som åtgår och vad som är viktigast. I detta arbete undersöks hur ME/CFS-drabbade upplever förmågan att utföra vardagsaktiviteter, hur viktiga aktiviteterna är, i vilken grad uppgifter bortprioriteras av hälsoskäl samt hur hälsorelaterad livskvalitet skattas. Metod: Enkätundersökningen besvarades av 32 respondenter (16-76 år) med diagnostiserad ME/CFS. Aktivitetskompetens och värdering skattades med Min Mening och hälsorelaterad livskvalitet med SF-36. Det frågades också om aktiviteten bortprioriteras av hälsoskäl. Sämsta och bästa läge kunde anges för att återge eventuell variation i förmåga. Resultat: Aktivitetskompetensen skattas lågt (28 - 35 av 100) och värdering av aktiviteter ligger betydligt högre (61). Hälsorelaterad livskvalitet redovisas för åtta områden, där fysisk rollförmåga är särskilt låg (2 av 100). Vitalitet (10), fysisk funktion (24) och allmän hälsa (25) skattas också lågt. Slutsats: Personer med ME/CFS kan uppleva mycket stora begränsningar i vardagliga aktiviteter vilket kan leda till låg aktivitet och delaktighet. De värderar aktivitet högt och sjukdomen leder därför till ofrivillig isolering som måste motverkas av kunnig sjukvårdspersonal med kompetens inom energibesparande tekniker. / Background and purpose: ME/CFS widely affects occupational competence, with many various physical symptoms. Even small efforts can cause severe deterioration. To achieve a functioning everyday life, planning and prioritization is crucial, and the individual must know what effort is needed for each activity and what matters most. This thesis examines how people with ME/CFS experience their ability to perform everyday activities, the value of activities, if activities are avoided for health reasons, and how health-related quality of life is assessed. Method: The survey was answered by 32 ME/CFS-diagnosed respondents (16-76 years). Occupational competence and the value of occupations were assessed by Occupational Self Assessment (OSA), and health-related quality of life by SF-36. It was also asked if respondents refrained from activity for health reasons. The respondents were able to specify worst and best case to reflect fluctuations. Results: Occupational competence is assessed low (28-35 out of 100) and the value of activities is assessed considerably higher (61). Health-related quality of life is reported for eight subscales, where physical ability to exercise roles is particularly low (2 out of 100). Vitality (10), Physical Functioning (24) and General Health (25) are also scored low. Conclusion: People with ME / CFS can experience very high limitations in everyday activities, which can lead to low degree of activity and participation. They value activity high and the disease therefore leads to involuntary isolation that must be counteracted by proficient healthcare professionals with expertise in energy-saving technologies.