Typescript. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii, 1960. / Bibliography: leaves 216-224. / viii, 224 l illus., diagrs., tables

Köln, Universiẗat, Diss., 2000.

Köln, Universiẗat, Diss., 2001.

This document uses historical research and performance practices in choral music to reveal the meaning of Mozart’s Missa Brevis in C, K. 220. The focus of this research compares the development of Mozart’s composition to the Hungarian Twentieth-century composer, Zoltan Kodaly’s, setting of the Missa Brevis written for choir and organ. The author gives a detailed analysis of both compositions, which further explains the influences and musical nuances of the 18th century Catholic church music. In addition to preparing a choral performance for K. 220, other missa brevis by Mozart are briefly discussed and organized by origin, performing forces, difficulty level, and duration. This analytical approach ultimately reveals that Mozart’s K. 220 serves as a festive and unified model of choral excellence throughout the history of sacred choral music. INDEX WORDS: W.A Mozart, 1756-1791, Missa brevis, K.220, Zoltan Kodaly, 1882- 1897, Spatzenmesse, Masses, Eighteenth- Century church music, Thesis (M.Mu), Choral Conductor’s analysis, Georgia State University, College of Arts and Science

Distributional data and taxonomic keys art presented for thirty-four species of Plecoptera known to occur in Oklahoma. Ten species are new records for the state. Descriptions are provided for two species new to science, Zealeuctra cherokee and Isoperla brevis, and for the previously unknown male of Strophopteryx cucullata Frison and female of Helopicus nalatus (Frison).

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) in the Gulf of Mexico are primarily caused by dense aggregations of the dinoflagellate species, Karenia brevis. Karenia brevis produces a highly toxic neurotoxin, brevetoxin which has been shown to cause Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning (NSP) and respiratory distress in humans in addition to a wide range of negative impacts upon natural ecosystems. Karenia mikimotoi is a co-existing species present during K. brevis blooms. K. mikimotoi has caused major HAB events in other parts of the ocean, but has not been recognized as a major contributor to toxicity of blooms in the Gulf of Mexico. K. brevis and K. mikimotoi have both been associated with the presence of unidentified hemolytic toxins. Production of hemolysins has not previously been investigated for either species to date in the Gulf of Mexico. Presence of hemolysins may affect toxicity and the overall impact of HABs. Therefore, detection of hemolysins is imperative for accurate identification of potential harmful impacts of such blooms. The primary goal of this research is to define whether either species is capable of producing hemolytic activity independent of brevetoxin activity; and to identify if there is significant differentiation between a variety of clonal isolates regarding toxicity and growth rate when subjected to variable experimental conditions.

Karenia brevis is the major harmful bloom forming dinoflagellate in the Gulf of Mexico. The toxin produced by this dinoflagellate can cause large fish kills, marine mammal mortality, respiratory irritation, and neurotoxic shellfish poisoning in humans. Blooms can occur anywhere in the Gulf of Mexico (hereafter Gulf) but are predominantly observed off the west coast of Florida and the coast of Texas. The west coast of Florida has been hypothesized to be the origin for blooms of K. brevis in other regions within the Gulf based upon the frequent formation of blooms in this region. To investigate this possibility, microsatellite markers were used to determine the population-genetic structure of K. brevis in the Gulf of Mexico. The difficulties of culturing K. brevis required development and use of a single-cell PCR amplification protocol for preserved cells. Lugol's iodine-preserved bloom samples of K. brevis were destained with sodium thiosulfate and subjected to two rounds of PCR amplification. The destaining protocol resulted in the successful, simultaneous amplification of five microsatellite markers from single cells of K. brevis. A total of 18, highly polymorphic microsatellite markers are available for K. brevis. Each marker was amplified from 40 cultures of K. brevis isolated from water samples from Florida and Texas. Observed genetic diversity was high but similar to the genetic diversity observed in other phytoplankton species. No genetic divergence was detected between isolates from Florida and isolates from Texas. Single cells from a total of 38 field samples were analyzed at five microsatellite markers to determine if population-genetic structure was present in K. brevis in the Gulf. Significant genetic divergence between several individual samples was detected, reflecting the high genetic diversity present within the species. Observed genetic divergence was low between blooms from the west coast of Florida and the coast of Texas and supports the hypothesis of a common origin for blooms of K. brevis in the Gulf of Mexico.

This document uses historical research and performance practices in choral music to reveal the meaning of Mozart’s Missa Brevis in C, K. 220. The focus of this research compares the development of Mozart’s composition to the Hungarian Twentieth-century composer, Zoltan Kodaly’s, setting of the Missa Brevis written for choir and organ. The author gives a detailed analysis of both compositions, which further explains the influences and musical nuances of the 18th century Catholic church music. In addition to preparing a choral performance for K. 220, other missa brevis by Mozart are briefly discussed and organized by origin, performing forces, difficulty level, and duration. This analytical approach ultimately reveals that Mozart’s K. 220 serves as a festive and unified model of choral excellence throughout the history of sacred choral music. INDEX WORDS: W.A Mozart, 1756-1791, Missa brevis, K.220, Zoltan Kodaly, 1882- 1897, Spatzenmesse, Masses, Eighteenth- Century church music, Thesis (M.Mu), Choral Conductor’s analysis, Georgia State University, College of Arts and Science

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) in the Gulf of Mexico are primarily caused by dense aggregations of the dinoflagellate species, Karenia brevis. Karenia brevis produces a highly toxic neurotoxin, brevetoxin which has been shown to cause Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning (NSP) and respiratory distress in humans in addition to a wide range of negative impacts upon natural ecosystems. Karenia mikimotoi is a co-existing species present during K. brevis blooms. K. mikimotoi has caused major HAB events in other parts of the ocean, but has not been recognized as a major contributor to toxicity of blooms in the Gulf of Mexico. K. brevis and K. mikimotoi have both been associated with the presence of unidentified hemolytic toxins. Production of hemolysins has not previously been investigated for either species to date in the Gulf of Mexico. Presence of hemolysins may affect toxicity and the overall impact of HABs. Therefore, detection of hemolysins is imperative for accurate identification of potential harmful impacts of such blooms. The primary goal of this research is to define whether either species is capable of producing hemolytic activity independent of brevetoxin activity; and to identify if there is significant differentiation between a variety of clonal isolates regarding toxicity and growth rate when subjected to variable experimental conditions.

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) produced by Clostridium botulinum are the causative agents of botulism and represents a family of seven structurally similar but antigenically different serotypes (A to G). The BoNTs are expressed in C. botulinum as a single polypeptide chain and then posttranslationally nicked, forming a di-chain polypeptide chain consisting of a 100-kDa heavy chain and a 50-kDa light chain held together by a disulfide bond. Topologically, the neurotoxins are composed of three domains, a binding domain (HC), a translocation domain (HN) and a catalytic domain. The BoNTs act preferentially on cholinergic nerve endings in both humans and animals and thus produce a flaccid paralysis that may result in death. In southern Africa, BoNT types C and D have been associated with botulism in cattle. To combat the disease, a bivalent vaccine consisting of formalin-inactivated type C and D holotoxins is currently available, and although it is efficacious, several concerns regarding its production has been raised, most notably its cost. The development of efficacious recombinant subunit vaccines may provide a means whereby many of the production problems may be eliminated or minimized. Consequently, the aim of this investigation was to produce a recombinant botulinum neurotoxin serotype D binding domain [BoNT/D(HC)] vaccine candidate for preventing BoNT/D intoxication. Towards this end, the gene fragment for the heavy chain (HC) of the BoNT produced by the C. botulinum type D vaccine strain D-50 was amplified, cloned in Escherichia coli and characterized by nucleotide sequence analyses. An alignment of the deduced amino acid sequence with that of characterized clostridial type C and D neurotoxins demonstrated that the heavy chains are composed of highly conserved domains interceded with tracts of amino acids exhibiting little overall relatedness, although considerable identity between the components ofa specific pair is apparent in certain of the regions. The deduced amino acid sequence exhibited 99, 66 and 73% identity with the reported amino acid sequences of BoNT/D-SA, BoNT/D and BoNT/C1, respectively. Attempts at expressing the native gene sequence for the HC from BoNT/D-50 in Brevibacillus brevis 47-5Q were unsuccessful. This may have been due to differences in codon bias between the heterologous gene and B. brevis. Consequently, a completely synthetic codonoptimized gene encoding the HC of BoNT/D-SA was constructed and expressed using a B. brevis 47-5Q mutant as expression host, obtained on mutagenesis with N-methyl-N’-nitro-Nnitrosoguanidine (NTG). Extracellular expression of the 48-kDa recombinant protein was verified by Western blot analyses with anti-BoNT/D antibodies. The recombinant BoNT/DSA(HC) protein was purified from the culture supernatant and used to vaccinate mice, after which their survival against challenge with active toxin was evaluated. Mice given two subcutaneous vaccinations were protected against intraperitoneal administration of 4 X 102 mouse lethal dosages (MLDs) of 16S BoNT/D-50 toxin. Antibody levels in mice surviving challenge were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and confirmed that BoNT/D-SA(HC) was successful in evoking a protective immune response, whilst Western blot analyses indicated the presence of anti-16S BoNT/D-50 toxin antibodies in the serum. From these results it could be concluded that the recombinant BoNT/D-SA(HC) protein is an effective immunogen, able to protect against a high challenge dose of BoNT/D-50 neurotoxin. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Microbiology and Plant Pathology / unrestricted