This dissertation aims to deal Pei Chu-yi (¥Õ©~©ö¡A772-846), the most important poet in Tang Dynasty, with his influence on the lyric development in Sung Dynasty. With the concept of intertextuality as my methodology, Pei Chu-yi is treated as a pivotal role in my new reading the lyrics composed in Sung Dynasty (960-1279 A.D.). As it will be shown, many lyrics in Sung are highly intertextualized with Pei¡¦s poems, and the works of Huang Ting-jan ¶À®x°í(1045-1105) illustrated the very example in how a poet related himself (including his personal experiences, view of literature, etc.) as a follower to the pioneering poet Pei. Therefore, from the later literary and cultural continuities with Pei, I apply the concept of ¡§intertextuality¡¨ to re-read and re-explore the ideas of ¡§text,¡¨ imitation,¡¨ and even ¡§originality¡¨ during the ancient China. In this ground, ¡§intertextuality¡¨ represents a poet¡¦s personal and historical identities via his own poems. Yet there will be some limits when doing the mentioned ¡§intertextualizing¡¨ readings. As I will illustrate, many political experiences are less ¡§straightforwardly¡¨ put into lyrics as Pei had done in his ¡§Pi-Pa Yin¡¨(µ\µ]¤Þ). In this ground, the idea of ¡§intertextuality¡¨ needs to be subdivided into two types: the general one and the specific one. The former indicates a universal humanity and emotion aroused by misfortune, blame, ideology and conflicting values while the latter shows a poetic (and subjective) identity in a poet¡¦s representing himself via his poems Several contributions can be thereby found in this dissertation. First, lyric poets of Sung Dynasty favored Pei¡¦s works, mainly composed in his exile at Chiang Chu (¦¿¦{). Second, lyric poets of Sung Dynasty found their own ways to release or relive from their political identities through Pei¡¦s poems. Thirdly and finally, we can never feature the lyric poems in Sung Dynasty without Pei¡¦s poetics. With the three main points, I further develop an ¡§affiliative ¡¨ relationship between Pei and lyric poets of Sung Dynasty. With the help of Julia Kristiva¡¦s ¡§chora¡¨ concept, I analyze some key words both used by Pei and his followers so as to display the different semiotics applied in Tang Dynasty and in Sung Dynasty. In my last chapter, I suggest several ways to re-read Pei¡¦s works with literary works in different dynasties (for instance, to intertextualize Pei¡¦s ¡§Chung Hung Ke¡¨(ªø«ëºq) with Pei Pu¡¦s drama ¡§U Tun Yu¡¨(±ï®ä«B) in Yuan Dynasty, with Hung Sheng¡¦s fiction Chung Sheng Dien (ªø¥Í·µ) in Chin Dynasty). With this ¡§intertextual¡¨ research, cross-genre studies will be more valuable and thus significant. Finally, I recommend to develop more literary ¡§affiliations¡¨ between one dynasty and the other. Such comparisons as lyric poets of Sung with Han Yu (Áú·U) or with Du Fu (§ù¨j) will renovate the traditional readings of Tang Poetry (­ð¸Ö) and Sung Lyric (§ºµü).

The increasingly stringent environmental regulations worldwide demand the use of efficient methods for air purification. Moreover, the alarming effect of greenhouse gases on the world climate requires the removal and sequestration of large quantities of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2). This work is contributed towards the development of efficient, amine-containing, lamellar structured silica adsorbents for CO2 removal. Seven different materials were prepared by impregnation of various amounts of PEI, over as synthesized, or partially extracted or calcined lamellar silica. Materials were characterized by powder XRD and SEM. CO2 adsorption capacity was measured by thermogravimetry. The effects of PEI loading, temperature, CO2 partial pressure and surface alkyl chains were investigated. PEI seems to be dispersed better in a consistent surface alkyl chain network, leading to enhanced CO2 uptake. VB-13, the material with 50 wt% of PEI, recorded the highest CO2 uptake at 75 °C, in the presence of both 15% CO2/N2 and 100% CO2 with values of 3.02 and 3.50 mmol/g respectively. The optimum temperature for CO2 uptake was found to be 75 °C for samples with high PEI loading. Moreover, higher uptake was recorded in the presence of 100% CO2 versus 15% CO2/N2 for all temperatures. Another objective of this study was to investigate the effect of humidity on the CO2 adsorption process. In that case use of the column-breakthrough technique coupled with mass spectrometry to discriminate between CO2 and water was considered. Complete understanding of the technique and the different effects of moisture on CO2 adsorption over amine-containing materials, namely promotion of CO2 uptake and stabilization of the adsorbent, were achieved, based on a thorough scrutiny of the literature. Nonetheless, because of the Covid-19 pandemic and several technical issues, some experiments could not be undertaken.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1998. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-91). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1998. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-91). Also available on the Internet.

O objetivo principal desta pesquisa é investigar porque dois parques estaduais relativamente semelhantes (PETAR e PEI) apresentam graus de conservação tão distintos. As variáveis consideradas nesta análise foram: as formas de gestão das visitações, os recursos humanos disponíveis para esta atividade e os fluxos de visitação. A hipótese central é que as diferenças podem ser explicadas em função das gestões diferentes, ou seja, o PEI é mais conservado que o PETAR pois, sua gestão é conduzida pela Fundação Florestal com a participação da comunidade local através de uma cooperativa. Tal arranjo institucional acabaria, ao mesmo tempo, resolvendo um problema de responsabilidade estatal de conservação do meio ambiente natural e visitação pública com fins educacionais, com o interesse econômico da comunidade local. Por outro lado, no PETAR, a falta de coordenação entre o interesse público e o econômico teria levado a exploração descontrolada do parque. A análise dos dados e do resultado da pesquisa de campo nos leva a concluir que o PETAR está sofrendo um processo de deterioração de suas cavernas abertas a visitação e de seu entorno fruto da intensificação do turismo, configurando assim a incidência da tragédia dos comuns. Já no caso do PEI foi constatada uma visitação mais controlada e limitada e, portanto, um grau de preservação do complexo turístico bastante superior. Constatamos que dentre os diversos fatores que podem explicar as diferenças entre os parques, essencialmente, podem ser divididos entre diferenças em infra-estrutura turística e modelo jurídico de gestão dos parques. Sendo que o PEI tem um infra-estrutura turística limitada, o que naturalmente limita as visitações e ser submetido a Fundação Florestal, o que significa autonomia de gestão. Já o PETAR, tem assistido a um crescimento exploratório e sem planejamento da sua infra-estrutura turística, o que tem levado a deterioração de cavernas e do entorno do parque, além disso o gestor do parque tem pouca autonomia na sua gestão dada as amarras jurídicas de ligação com Instituto Florestal que, por sua vez, é controlado pela SMA e suas dotações orçamentárias. / The main objective of this research is to investigate why two similar state\'s parks (PETAR and PEI) presents different states of conservation. The variables took into consideration in this analysis were: the forms of management, the available human resources and the fluxes of visitation. The main hypothesis is that the differences in their state of preservation may be explained due to the differences in their form of visitors management. PEI is more preserved than PETAR since its management is conducted by Fundação Florestal within the participation of local communities through a cooperative. Such institutional arrangement, at the same time, solves a question of state responsibility of conservation of the natural environment and public visitations with educational purposes, together with the economic interests of the local community. On the other hand, at PETAR, the lack of coordination between the public interest and the economic interest has lead to a chaotic exploitation of the park. The analysis of the data and the results of the fields work make us to conclude that PETAR is suffering a deterioration process of its caves opens to visitation and its surrounds due this chaotic exploitation of tourism. Therefore, we clearly see the occurrence of the tragedy of commons. While at PEI we observed a controlled and limited visitation that may explains the higher level of preservation of this park. Among the many differences that can explain this situation we found mainly two: differences in the infra-structure of visitation and differences in the legal model of park\'s management. At PEI we can see a limited touristic infra-structure which contained the visitations. Moreover, the park is under the management of Fundação Florestal, which means more freedom to manage the park. On the other hand, PETAR, has faced a little planned growth of its tourist infra-structure which lead to a deterioration of the caves and surrounds. Furthermore, the park manager has little autonomy due to the legal restrictions imposed by the control of the Instituto Florestal that is also controlled by the SMA and its budget limitations.

O objetivo principal desta pesquisa é investigar porque dois parques estaduais relativamente semelhantes (PETAR e PEI) apresentam graus de conservação tão distintos. As variáveis consideradas nesta análise foram: as formas de gestão das visitações, os recursos humanos disponíveis para esta atividade e os fluxos de visitação. A hipótese central é que as diferenças podem ser explicadas em função das gestões diferentes, ou seja, o PEI é mais conservado que o PETAR pois, sua gestão é conduzida pela Fundação Florestal com a participação da comunidade local através de uma cooperativa. Tal arranjo institucional acabaria, ao mesmo tempo, resolvendo um problema de responsabilidade estatal de conservação do meio ambiente natural e visitação pública com fins educacionais, com o interesse econômico da comunidade local. Por outro lado, no PETAR, a falta de coordenação entre o interesse público e o econômico teria levado a exploração descontrolada do parque. A análise dos dados e do resultado da pesquisa de campo nos leva a concluir que o PETAR está sofrendo um processo de deterioração de suas cavernas abertas a visitação e de seu entorno fruto da intensificação do turismo, configurando assim a incidência da tragédia dos comuns. Já no caso do PEI foi constatada uma visitação mais controlada e limitada e, portanto, um grau de preservação do complexo turístico bastante superior. Constatamos que dentre os diversos fatores que podem explicar as diferenças entre os parques, essencialmente, podem ser divididos entre diferenças em infra-estrutura turística e modelo jurídico de gestão dos parques. Sendo que o PEI tem um infra-estrutura turística limitada, o que naturalmente limita as visitações e ser submetido a Fundação Florestal, o que significa autonomia de gestão. Já o PETAR, tem assistido a um crescimento exploratório e sem planejamento da sua infra-estrutura turística, o que tem levado a deterioração de cavernas e do entorno do parque, além disso o gestor do parque tem pouca autonomia na sua gestão dada as amarras jurídicas de ligação com Instituto Florestal que, por sua vez, é controlado pela SMA e suas dotações orçamentárias. / The main objective of this research is to investigate why two similar state\'s parks (PETAR and PEI) presents different states of conservation. The variables took into consideration in this analysis were: the forms of management, the available human resources and the fluxes of visitation. The main hypothesis is that the differences in their state of preservation may be explained due to the differences in their form of visitors management. PEI is more preserved than PETAR since its management is conducted by Fundação Florestal within the participation of local communities through a cooperative. Such institutional arrangement, at the same time, solves a question of state responsibility of conservation of the natural environment and public visitations with educational purposes, together with the economic interests of the local community. On the other hand, at PETAR, the lack of coordination between the public interest and the economic interest has lead to a chaotic exploitation of the park. The analysis of the data and the results of the fields work make us to conclude that PETAR is suffering a deterioration process of its caves opens to visitation and its surrounds due this chaotic exploitation of tourism. Therefore, we clearly see the occurrence of the tragedy of commons. While at PEI we observed a controlled and limited visitation that may explains the higher level of preservation of this park. Among the many differences that can explain this situation we found mainly two: differences in the infra-structure of visitation and differences in the legal model of park\'s management. At PEI we can see a limited touristic infra-structure which contained the visitations. Moreover, the park is under the management of Fundação Florestal, which means more freedom to manage the park. On the other hand, PETAR, has faced a little planned growth of its tourist infra-structure which lead to a deterioration of the caves and surrounds. Furthermore, the park manager has little autonomy due to the legal restrictions imposed by the control of the Instituto Florestal that is also controlled by the SMA and its budget limitations.

Background: MiRNAs act as negative regulators of gene expression through target mRNA degradation or inhibition of its translation. In cancer, several miRNAs are upregulated and play crucial roles in tumorigenesis, making the inhibition of these oncomiRs an interesting therapeutic approach. This can be achieved by directly complementary single-stranded anti-miRNA oligonucleotides (antimiRs). A major bottleneck in antimiR therapy, however, is their efficient delivery. The nanoparticle formation with polyethylenimine (PEI) may be particularly promising, based on the PEI’s ability to electrostatically interact with oligonucleotides. This leads to their protection and supports delivery. In the present study, we explore for the first time PEI for antimiR formulation and delivery. We use the branched low molecular weight PEI F25-LMW for the complexation of different antimiRs, and analyse tumor- and metastasis-inhibitory effects of PEI/antimiR complexes in different tumor models. Results: In prostate carcinoma, transfection of antimiRs against miR-375 and miR-141 leads to tumor cell inhibition in 2D- and 3D-models. More importantly, an in vivo tumor therapy study in prostate carcinoma xenografts reveals anti-tumor effects of the PEI/antimiR complexes. In advanced melanoma and metastasis, we identify by a microRNA screen miR-150 as a particularly relevant oncomiR candidate, and validate this result in vitro and in vivo. Again, the systemic application of PEI/antimiR complexes inhibiting this miRNA, or the previously described antimiR-638, leads to profound tumor growth inhibition. These effects are associated with the upregulation of direct miRNA target genes. In a melanoma metastasis mouse model, anti-metastatic effects of PEI/antimiR treatment are observed as well. Conclusions: We thus describe PEI-based complexes as efficient platform for antimiR therapy, as determined in two different tumor entities using in vivo models of tumor growth or metastasis. Our study also highlights the therapeutic relevance of miR-375, miR-141, miR-150 and miR-638 as target miRNAs for antimiR-mediated inhibition.

Bakgrunden till genomförandet av denna studie finner sin grund i samhällets konstanta förändring som ställer nya krav på människan och organisationer. För att innovativt bemöta kraven behöver organisationer och anställda fortsätta att säkerställa och uppmuntra arbetsmotivation. Utifrån tidigare kunskap spekulerar forskarna att upplevelsen av egenmakt är ett viktigt verktyg till framkallandet av arbetsmotivation. Syftet med studien är att undersöka om det finns ett positivt samband mellan upplevd egenmakt och graden av arbetsmotivation inom den svenska kontexten. I tillägg undersöks fyra kontrollvariabler samt tre subkategorier av arbetsmotivation för att utreda huruvida anställda påverkas mer eller mindre beroende på aspekten av motivation. Teoretiska utgångspunkten är grundad i egenmaktteorin, tvåfaktorteorin, samt självbestämmandeteorin. Metoden som används är kvantitativ design och metodologi. Totalt antal respondenter blev 132 inom åldersspannet 25-66 år; enkäten spreds via Facebook. Den insamlade datan analyserades med Regressionsanalys samt Envägs ANOVA-test. Resultatet visar inget signifikant samband mellan upplevd egenmakt och arbetsmotivation hos de yrkesverksamma. Däremot visade studien att anställda med högre utbildning har lägre arbetsmotivation samt att de inre värderingarna har en betydande koppling till arbetsmotivation för den anställde. / Background to this study lies in the fact that society is constantly changing, placing new demands on people and organizations. In order to respond to the demands, organizations and employees need to ensure and encourage work motivation. Based on existing knowledge, the researchers speculate that the feeling of empowerment is an important tool for eliciting motivation. Purpose of the study was to investigate whether there existed a positive relationship between perceived empowerment and the degree of work motivation within a Swedish context. Four control variables and three subcategories of work motivation are also examined to investigate whether employees are affected differently depending on the aspect of motivation. Theoretical starting point is based on the empowerment theory, the two-factor theory, and the self-determination theory. Method was a quantitative design and methodology. Total respondents were 132 between ages 25-66; the survey was distributed via Facebook. The data was analyzed using Regression analysis and One-way ANOVA test. Results showed no significant relationship between perceived empowerment and work motivation among workers. However, the study showed that employees with higher education have lower work motivation and inner values have a significant connection to work motivation among employees.

O Programa de Enriquecimento Instrumental (PEI) é um programa psicoeducativo que busca, por meio de instrumentos apropriados, estimular funções cognitivas de forma que o aluno otimize seu pensamento e torne-o mais reflexivo. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi realizar uma avaliação da influência do Programa de Enriquecimento Instrumental sobre algumas funções cognitivas dos idosos, quais sejam: resolução de problemas, memória, atenção e concentração. Participaram 66 indivíduos voluntários de ambos os sexos, com idade igual ou superior a 60 anos, fisicamente independentes e saudáveis, com escolaridade mínima 4ª série do ensino fundamental I (atual 5º ano) e máxima 8ª série do ensino fundamental II (atual 9º ano), sem restrições quanto ao nível socioeconômico, subdivididos em dois grupos: experimental e controle. Os sujeitos de ambos os grupos foram avaliados antes do início do programa de intervenção (fase pré-teste) e ao seu final (fase pós-teste) por meio dos seguintes testes: Teste Wisconsin de classificação de cartas versão para idosos, subescala memória do Exame Cognitivo de Addenbrooke, Teste de Memória de Lista de Palavras, Teste de Repetição de Pseudoplavaras, subescala atenção e orientação do Exame Cognitivo de Addenbrooke e teste de Trilhas parte A e parte B. Com o objetivo de rejeitar a hipótese de que a melhora do desempenho do grupo experimental, que recebeu a intervenção cognitiva, pudesse ser devida a aprendizagem dos testes na primeira fase em que foram aplicados, outros testes para avaliação das mesmas funções investigadas foram realizados nas fases pós e reteste, esta última realizada após três meses do término do programa de intervenção. Os testes com este objetivo foram: subteste cubos da Escala Wechsler Abreviada de Inteligência, testes de extensão de dígitos em ordem direta e em ordem inversa da Escala de Memória Wechsler de Inteligência para Adultos, Bateria Psicológica para Avaliação da Atenção. A escala de autoestima foi aplicada nas fases pré, pós e reteste apenas para o grupo experimental. As aulas do Programa de Enriquecimento Instrumental foram ministradas ao grupo experimental pela pesquisadora durante cinco meses e meio, uma vez por semana com a duração de 90 minutos cada, totalizando 21 aulas. A avaliação dos resultados mostrou que o Programa de Enriquecimento Instrumental levou a um maior desempenho do grupo experimental quando comparado ao grupo controle em todas as funções cognitivas analisadas, as quais ou se mantiveram ou apresentaram melhoras no desempenho mesmo após três meses do término do programa. Na discussão dos resultados procurou-se identificar e relacionar os instrumentos do PEI com as funções cognitivas avaliadas / The Instrumental Enrichment Program (IEP) is a psycho-educative program that seeks, through appropriate instruments, to stimulate cognitive functions so the student optimizes her/his thinking and makes it more reflective. The objective of this research was to conduct an assessment of the Instrumental Enrichment Program influence on some cognitive functions of the elderly, such as: problem solving, memory, attention and concentration. Sixty-six volunteers from both sexes participated, aged 60 years or older, physically independent and healthy, schooled until the 4th grade of elementary school (currently 5th year) at minimum and until the 8th grade of secondary school (currently 9th year) at maximum, without restrictions on the socioeconomic level, subdivided into two groups: experimental and control. The subjects from both groups were assessed before the intervention program (pre-test phase) and its ending (post-test phase) through the following tests: Wisconsin Card Sorting Test version for the elderly, memory subscale of Addenbrookes Cognitive Examination, Word List Memory Test, Pseudowords Repetition Test, attention and guidance subscale of Addenbrooke\'s Cognitive Examination, and Trails Test parts A and B. In order to reject the hypothesis that improvement in the experimental group performance, that received cognitive intervention, could be due to the learning of tests during the first phase in which they have been applied, other tests for evaluation of the same investigated functions were performed in post-test and retest phases, the latter performed after three months of the intervention program completion. The tests used for this purpose were: Wechslers Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence cubes subtest, digit extension tests in direct and in reverse order from Wechslers Adult Intelligence Memory Scale, and Psychological Battery for Attention Assessment. The self-esteem scale was applied in the pre, post and retest phases only for the experimental group. The Instrumental Enrichment Program classes were given to the experimental group by the researcher for five and a half months, once a week, lasting 90 minutes each, totaling 21 classes. Evaluation of the results showed that the Instrumental Enrichment Program has led to a higher performance by the experimental group compared to the control group in all cognitive functions analyzed, which either remained or showed improvement in performance even after three months of program completion. The discussion of results sought to identify and relate the IEP instruments with the assessed cognitive functions

Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in America, and the most commonly diagnosed cancer among males. When metastatic, the disease can ultimately be incurable. Consequently, alternative strategies to current treatments are sought, especially in the area of immunotherapy. Vaccine immunotherapy using a specific antigen, such as prostate specific antigen (PSA) seeks to stimulate both the innate and adaptive immune system to destroy tumor cells in the body. PSA is an ideal target antigen given that it has a narrow distribution in tissues and is expressed in virtually all prostate cancer cases. An adenovirus encoding for PSA (Ad-PSA) can be used to deliver the genomic data encoding for PSA production and secretion to the target cell. This type of viral gene delivery system has already been shown to have the potential to stimulate anti-tumor activity. To enhance this activity and increase transfection efficiency, we proposed the combination of a viral system with a non-viral system, in the form of a cationic polymer such as poly(ethyl)enimine (PEI) or chitosan. Cationic polymers complex with the negatively charged adenovirus to form nanoparticles that can be used in gene delivery. Delivery in nanoparticle form can give enhanced uptake by the antigen-presenting cells necessary to initiate the targeted immune response. To further augment this response, previous research has shown that CpG sequences act as an adjuvant to enhance the efficacy of the Ad-PSA vaccines' tumor protection. CpG delivered in particulate form has also been shown to be more effective than delivery in solution. The objective of this proposal was to test the hypothesis that co-delivery of this targeted viral/non-viral gene delivery system will enhance tumor protection in a mouse model of prostate cancer. Using the OVA model antigen system, we found that the adenovirus encoding OVA (AdOVA), coupled with the polymer PEI, enhanced tumor protection in vivo compared to AdOVA alone. To move towards our therapeutic model, these experiments were repeated using chitosan as the cationic polymer carrier, delivering AdOVA, and incorporating CpG into some particles. In this set of experiments, we found that AdOVA + CpG gave the best tumor protection in challenge studies. AdOVA + chitosan + CpG showed a decrease in protective levels and numbers of antigen-specific immune cells. Further experiments focused on elucidating the mechanisms by which chitosan and CpG modulate the immune response. Using the therapeutic AdPSA model, chitosan was not found to enhance tumor protection or numbers of antigen-specific immune cells. Additional experiments found that this depression was not due to problems with viral infectivity or secretion due to chitosan complexation. A series of kinetics studies were performed which showed that peak levels of effector T cells were present 14 days later in AdPSA + CpG immunized mice than in AdPSA alone. This delayed effect may explain the increased levels of protection in AdPSA + CpG mice, and be useful in future vaccine design concerning the timing of peak response.