This thesis explores a number of interdisciplinary writings on the Italian past by later nineteenth- and early twentieth-century artistically minded critics and cultural commentators, with a view to recovering their historiographical importance. Beginning with an exploration of the parameters and scope of a genre defined as 'aesthetic history', along with some theoretical work grounded in current debates about the nature of historical representation, this thesis goes on to offer in-depth discussion of texts on the Italian past by John Ruskin, Walter Pater, Vernon Lee, Henry James, D. H. Lawrence and Adrian Stokes. By offering a critical reconstruction of each author's thinking about the past, along with the cogent and ill-explored engagements they make with historiographical study, this thesis affords the reader a better understanding of some of the tensions present in historical writing - tensions surrounding issues of epistemology, visuality, psychology and materiality - during what were decades of great change in historical thinking. Moreover, this thesis offers a detailed investigation into the important role played by the Italian past in the aesthetic-historical canon, which in turn produces a more complicated picture of the connections between literature, aesthetics and historiography during this period.

This thesis focuses on US-Italian relations and cultural diplomacy in the early Cold War. Particular attention is devoted to the Congress for Cultural Freedom, an organization of left-wing anti-Communist intellectuals established in 1950 and financed by the CIA. Instead of looking at this organization from a transnational perspective, this work has as the starting point the local dimension of it. In particular, the Italian branch of the CCF: Associazione Italiana per la Libertà della Cultura and the journal Tempo Presente. Differently from other European contexts, the Italian cultural experiment failed in promoting a transnational anti-Communist culture due to domestic factors such as: the political establishment, non-governmental groups with a socialising function and the political culture of the country. This is a contribution taking further the investigation of the Cold War by emphasizing the importance of going “local” for a thorough understanding of transnational relations.

My thesis offers the first full exploration of the literature and art associated with the Genoese noblewoman Simonetta Cattaneo Vespucci (1453-1476). Simonetta has gone down in legend as a model of Sandro Botticelli, and most scholarly discussions of her significance are principally concerned with either proving or disproving this theory. My point of departure, rather, is the series of vernacular poems that were written about Simonetta just before and shortly after her early death. I use them to tell a new story, that of the transformation of the historical manna Simonetta into a cultural icon, a literary and visual construct who served the political, aesthetic and pecuniary agendas of her poets and artists. It is an account of the Florentine circles that used women to forge a collective sense of identity, of the emergence of Simonetta and her equally idealised peers as touchstones in contemporary debates regarding beauty and love, and of their corresponding lack of importance as 'real' women in the conservative republic in which they lived. In doing this, my thesis makes an important contribution to our understanding of how and why female beauty was commodified in the poetry and art of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Florence.

The thesis analyses US foreign policy toward Italy in the postwar period by considering the multi-faceted nature of the relationship between the countries. It looks at the motivations and challenges facing American visions of a stable anti-communist Italy, as well at the hopes and limitations facing Italian interlocutors in their interaction with the US hegemon. In analysing the overlaps and dissimilarities between policy toward the country and broader approaches in Europe, it explores how the Cold War shaped the US attitude toward Italy and how Italy influenced American conceptualisation of the Cold War. With particular focus on the attempt to bolster anti-communist groups before the first Italian national election in April 1948, it charts the emergence of a perception of success within the Truman Administration vis-à-vis the effectiveness of its efforts to prevent a communist ascension to power. Confident that they had shaped the election outcome, US officials considered intervention as an inaugural case of ‘Political Warfare,’ which was defined as the use of ‘all means short of war’ to achieve national objectives. Such perceptions were significant for how American officials considered events in Italy during the previous years, while it held important ramifications for the future, problematic, trajectory of US-Italian relations and ongoing American efforts to engage in organised Political Warfare.

No description available.

This thesis poses a simple but intriguing and powerful question. Can Pope Leo IX (1049-1054) continue to be described as a reforming or reform-minded pope? The approach taken rethinks Leo and rethinks reform and the analysis of each, taken together, leads to a fresh evaluation of what Leo did and how he went about it. This thesis focusses on his pontificate and is not a full life biographical portrait. The historiographical background of the last one hundred and thirty years is comprehensively analysed. This analysis shows that the descriptor of reform has been applied to Leo consistently over that period but that only one attempt has been made to define reform. This thesis puts forward a new definition of reform which is used to provide a framework for evaluation and for clarifying the answer to the thesis question. Leo’s extant papal letters and other sources provide the basis for a new and full analysis of what Leo actually did in his Synods. This analysis shows that Leo used his Synods for complex and multi-faceted purposes. These purposes were not so much to push a reform agenda but more to resolve disputes, to deal with simony and to deal with very many issues related to Church governance. Leo’s letters are also used to analyse afresh the reasons for his many journeys. The analysis shows that Leo’s journeys were undertaken for multiple reasons and were not specifically related to the long standing view that the journeys relate to Leo’s attempt to Europeanise the papacy. Finally the letters are utilised to ask questions of Leo’s overall policy approach to papal governance. This analysis puts forward new ideas about the team in the papal office and reveals a complex landscape of influences. Taken together these strands of analysis show a complex picture and highlight a new perception of Leo and that the long held premise of seeing Leo through the single prism of reform confuses and obscures the real nature of his policy approach and his pontificate. The conclusion of this thesis is that Leo can no longer be accurately described as a reforming pope but rather as an important one who was both a conservative and traditionalist. The implications of this for the grand narrative of the history of eleventh century Europe are considerable. The roles of the other principal actors need to be thought out afresh; the notion of reform itself needs to be reconsidered and the antecedents of the so-called Gregorian reform fall to be re-evaluated.

Binding of inorganic phosphate (Pi) in ATP synthase catalytic sites is a crucial step for the synthesis of adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP). ATP is the fundamental means of cellular energy in almost every organism, and in order to gain insight into the regulation of ATP catalysis, critical amino acid residues responsible for binding Pi must be identified. Here, we investigate the role of highly conserved α-subunit VISIT-DG sequence residues αSer-347, αGly-351, and αThr-349 in Pi binding. Mutations αS347A/Q, αG351Q, αT349A/D/R, βR182A, and αT349R/βR182A were generated via site directed mutagenesis. Results from biochemical assays showed that αSer-347 is required for transition state stabilization and Pi binding whereas αGly-351 is only indirectly involved in Pi binding and most likely maintains structural integrity of the catalytic site. Results from preliminary experiments on αThr-349 mutants suggest that the residue may be involved in Pi binding; however, further investigation is required to fully test this hypothesis.

Les travaux récents de Bezrukavnikov, Mirkovic et Rumynin obtiennent une bonne théorie de la localisation des Ug-modules en caractéristique positive (où g est l'algèbre de Lie d'un groupe algébrique semi-simple connexe et simplement connexe), qui donne lieu à des équivalences de catégories dérivées entre des catégories de g-modules et des catégories de faisceaux cohérents sur la variété de Springer. Dans cette thèse, on applique et étend certains résultats de cette theorie. Dans le chapitre II, on donne une construction géométrique d'une action du groupe de tresses affine étendu apparaissant dans la théorie de la localisation. Le chapitre III contient les résultats principaux de la thèse : on y développe une version appropriée d'une « dualité de Koszul linéaire », qui permet de démontrer que certains blocs de Ug peuvent être munis d'une graduation de Koszul, si la caractéristique du corps est suffisamment grande. Ceci généralise des résultats antérieurs de Andersen, Jantzen et Soergel. Dans le chapitre IV, en collaboration avec Mirkovic, on reprend la « dualité de Koszul linéaire », sous une forme un peu différente, valable dans un cadre plus général. Enfin, le chapitre I (en collaboration avec Roman Bezrukavnikov) donne des calculs explicites dans le cas de SL(3) qui ont été le point de départ de ce travail.

Distributed generation (DG) with a converter interface to the power grid is found in many of the green power resources applications. This dissertation describes a multi-objective control technique of voltage source converter (VSC) based on multilevel converter topologies, for integration of DG resources based on renewable energy (and non-renewable energy)to the power grid. The aims have been set to maintain a stable operation of the power grid, in case of di erent types of grid-connected loads. The proposed method provides compensation for active, reactive, and harmonic load current components. A proportional-integral (PI) control law is derived through linearization of the inherently non-linear DG system model, so that the tasks of current control dynamics and dc capacitor voltage dynamics become decoupled. This decoupling allows us to control the DG output currents and the dc bus voltage independently of each other, thereby providing either one of these decoupled subsystems a dynamic response that signi cantly slower than that of the other. To overcome the drawbacks of the conventional method, a computational control delay compensation method, which delaylessly and accurately generates the DG reference currents, is proposed. The rst step is to extract the DG reference currents from the sensed load currents by applying the stationary reference frame and then transferred into synchronous reference frame method, and then, the reference currents are modi ed, so that the delay will be compensated. The transformed variables are used in control of the multilevel voltage source converter as the heart of the interfacing system between DG resources and power grid. By setting appropriate compensation current references from the sensed load currents in control circuit loop of DG link, the active, reactive, and harmonic load current components will be compensated with fast dynamic response, thereby achieving sinusoidal grid currents in phase with load voltages while required power of loads is more than the maximum injected power of the DG resources. The converter, which is controlled by the described control strategy, guarantees maximum injection of active power to the grid continuously, unity displacement power factor of power grid, and reduced harmonic load currents in the common coupling point. In addition, high current overshoot does not exist during connection of DG link to the power grid, and the proposed integration strategy is insensitive to grid overload. / La Generació Distribuïda (DG) injectada a la xarxa amb un convertidor estàtic és una solució molt freqüent en l'ús de molts dels recursos renovables. Aquesta tesis descriu una técnica de control multi-objectiu del convertidor en font de tensió (VSC), basat en les topologies de convertidor multinivell, per a la integració de les fonts distribuïdes basades en energies renovables i també de no renovables.Els objectius fixats van encaminats a mantenir un funcionament estable de la xarxa elèctrica en el cas de la connexió de diferents tipus de càrregues. El mètode de control proposat ofereix la possibilitat de compensació de les components actives i reactives de la potencia, i les components harmòniques del corrent consumit per les càrregues.La llei de control proporcional-Integral (PI) s’obté de la linearització del model inherentment no lineal del sistema, de forma que el problema de control del corrent injectat i de la tensió d’entrada del convertidor queden desacoblats. Aquest desacoblament permet el control dels corrents de sortida i la tensió del bus de forma independent, però amb un d’ells amb una dinàmica inferior.Per superar els inconvenients del mètode convencional, s’usa un retard computacional, que genera les senyals de referència de forma acurada i sense retard. El primer pas es calcular els corrents de referència a partir de les mesures de corrent. Aquest càlcul es fa primer transformant les mesures a la referència estacionaria per després transformar aquests valors a la referència síncrona. En aquest punt es on es poden compensar els retards.Les variables transformades son usades en els llaços de control del convertidor multinivell. Mitjançant aquests llaços de control i les referències adequades, el convertidor és capaç de compensar la potencia activa, reactiva i els corrents harmònics de la càrrega amb una elevada resposta dinàmica, obtenint uns corrents de la xarxa de forma completament sinusoïdal, i en fase amb les tensions.El convertidor, controlat amb el mètode descrit, garanteix la màxima injecció de la potencia activa, la injecció de la potencia reactiva per compensar el factor de potencia de la càrrega, i la reducció de les components harmòniques dels corrents consumits per la càrrega. A més, garanteix una connexió suau entre la font d’energia i la xarxa. El sistema proposat es insensible en front de la sobrecarrega de la xarxa

With increased load demands from the customers, substation congestion problems have become inevitable to the utility companies. Instead of expanding related system installations to alleviate the short-term overloads on the facilities, feasibilities of integrating distributed generator (DG) units to defer the possible congestions are of much concern. This thesis presents an optimal location and reliability analyzing scheme for distribution system integrated with DG units, and provides the systematic guidance to utility companies for related operations. The methodology focuses on the substation capacity constraints and provides the optimal DG locations that can alleviate the congestion problem with highest reliability indices. The proposed analyzing scheme can supply valuable assistance to the utility companies and small independent power producers (IPP) for determining the installations and integrations of DG units to defer possible emerging substation expansions.