Student Number : 0312766T - MA dissertation - School of Fine Arts - Faculty of Humanities / This dissertation is primarily an investigation into the sculpture of Jeremy Wafer and specifically his oval series, Red Ovals (1995), African Forms (1996), Red Ovals (second series) (1998) and Large White Oval (2004). The aim is to establish how, from a post-structuralist and anthropomorphic position, these non-illusionistic sculptural forms may engage the viewer experientially by evoking the body visually, physically and spatially. Wafer’s reductive articulation of surface, material and form is analysed in terms of notions of secrecy and metaphorical referencing specifically relating to the human form. A ‘sense of disquiet’ is evoked by their ambiguity, and this aspect is confronted by looking at various dichotomies and their transition and hybridisation to form the ‘unifying pattern’ that Wafer’s sculptures present. The role of process, repetition and seriality are researched within this context. The works from my Simulacra exhibition in May 2005 at the Substation on the University of the Witwatersrand Campus are discussed according to the above aspects, as they are relevant to my own sculptures.

Cell therapy involving treatment of diseases with the body’s own cells would benefit both liver diseases and Type 1 diabetes. Liver diseases are associated with a marked reduction in hepatocytes whilst Type 1 diabetes is characterized by the loss of functional insulin-producing β-cells. Treatment is currently achieved by whole organ liver (or hepatocyte) and islet transplantation methods respectively. However the major limitation to this approach is the shortage of organ donors, thus alternative sources of cells must be found. Potential sources with enormous therapeutic potential are existing cells in the liver and pancreas involved during the regeneration process. In vivo studies have shown progenitor oval cells differentiate into hepatocytes during liver regeneration and α-cells transdifferentiate into β-cells during pancreas regeneration. However neither can be fully exploited until the molecular mechanisms governing their proliferation and trans/differentiation are fully elucidated. Herein we characterise two in vitro cell models, a mouse adult oval cell line, known as BMOL-TAT1.1, and mouse adult pancreatic α-cell line, known as α-TC19 by RT-PCR and immunofluorescent staining. We found that under proliferating culture conditions BMOL-TAT1.1 were heterogenous consisting of two distinct cell types with different β-catenin signalling pathway activation. Inducible differentiation (dexamethasone) induced hepatic and non-hepatic markers in specific cell subtypes, indicating multi-potentiality. Ectopic expression of transcription factor HNF4α in homogenous small BMOL-TAT1.1 cells revealed no hepatic differentiation but potent expression of intestinal markers (Villin, ALPi, ApoAIV). HNF4α was identified as a candidate transcriptional regulator in α- to β-cell transdifferentiation, as ectopic expression in α-TC19 cells, suppressed glucagon and induced expression of several functionally important β-cell markers (GLUT2, GCK, insulin). The contribution of chromatin histone acetylation was also assessed, due to its importance in endocrine fate regulation. In toto these results have important implications for the development of potential therapies to treat liver diseases and Type 1 diabetes.

Erlangen, Nürnberg, Univ., Diss., 2005.

No description available.

No description available.

The focus of this study is to detect any similarities – or lack thereof – between the alloys of different types of oval brooches from the later Iron Age in Scandinavia. The study is furthermore concerned with how the alloys and the typologies can be mutually complimentary to one another in regards to dating or determining the age of specific oval brooches. For this purpose X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) was used on five different items deriving from Birka, Vendel and one of unknown context. The results indicate continuity with earlier studies regarding copper alloys with contents of zinc, and that this study’s brass brooches may have been produced in this alloy for its gold-like appearance. A higher level of lead can be found in the younger brooches, therefore indicating that tortoise brooches of a later date may contain more lead than their earlier counterparts. Furthermore, the study shows that brass may be mistaken for gold, and it raises questions about the use of metal originating from native copper sources. This study is a part of the Birka Black Earth Harbour project. / The Birka Black Earth Harbour project

This study presents an overview of the spreading of the Protovillanovan culture on the Acropolis of San Giovenale through a typological study of the materials such as the oval huts and the ceramics of this period. Through a typological study of ceramics this study will be able to define what type of ceramic vessels are more common during the Protovillanova period. The oval huts are included in this study in order to see the size and the spreading of the proto-urban society of San Giovenale.

This work deals with security compliance of computer systems, namely operating systems, applications and system services. Concept of security policies, their evaluation and their enforcement is described. Security compliance automation and the SCAP standard are presented. OpenSCAP project, which is used as an SCAP scanner, is described together with its tools and its usage. An idea to add support of Microsoft Windows within OpenSCAP, which was previously unsupported, is presented. The core part of the thesis is to identify necessary changes of OpenSCAP and to design an extension of this project. All these modifications are implemented. The solution is demonstrated on security policies for Windows. The solution is evaluated and further improvements are discussed.

Cílem této práce je nastudovat a zjednodušeně popsat standardy SCAP používané pro standardizované předávání informací o zranitelnostech a dalších dat souvisejících s informační bezpečností, se zaměřením na formáty XCCDF a OVAL. V textu jsou zkoumány existující přístupy a nástroje sloužící k tvorbě obsahu těchto standardů. Na základě získaných poznatků je navržen nový nástroj s cílem řešit nedostatky existujících přístupů. Text práce také popisuje implementaci a testování navrženého nástroje.

Brown impasto is a fine, commonly burnished ceramic ware in use during the Orientalizing period in South Etruria. In previous scholarship, it has only been described, and understood mainly from funerary contexts. This thesis sets out to unravel the performance and use of the ware, targeting a local understanding at San Giovenale, the settlement whose published brown impasto assemblage is arguably the largest. A statistical approach is applied within a framework of behavioural archaeology in order to understand why brown impasto technology and use changed over time and between use contexts. To elucidate patterns of change clearly, the analysis is carried out on three different scales: from side-wide, to context-specific, to artefact-specific levels. The results expose the complexity of the published material but open up brown impasto to new interpretations. Aware of the caveats of San Giovenale’s recorded archaeology, the thesis suggests ways forward to test the validity of the new findings made. / Brun impasto är ett keramiskt fingods som användes under Södra Etruriens Orientaliserande period. Godset har enbart beskrivits i tidigare forskning, dessutom endast i gravsammanhang. Den här uppsatsen reder ut dess materialegenskaper och användningsområden i boplatskontexten av San Giovenale, vars utgrävda mängd brun impasto bör ses vara större än andra undersökta Etruskiska boplatser. En statistisk analys inom ramarna av Michael Schiffers beteendearkeologi har tillämpats för att närma sig en förståelse om varför brun impasto-teknologi och dess användning förändrades med tiden och emellan de utrymmen godset användes i. För att tydligt påvisa förändringsmönster har analysen delats in i tre olika steg: ett allmänt, ett kontextspecifikt, och inom det senare, ett föremålsspecifikt. Resultaten belyser problematiken med det undersökta materialet men öppnar brun impasto för nya tolkningar. Med den stundtals bristfälliga dokumentationen av San Giovenale-materialet i åtanke, föreslår uppsatsen framtida forskningsriktningar att validera de gjorda upptäckterna med.