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Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses. / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-02

This thesis is focused on the problem of growth and integrability in multi-valued dynamics generated by $SL_2 (\mathbb{Z})$ actions. An important example is given by Markov dynamics on the cubic surface $$x^2+ y^2 +z^2 = 3xyz,$$ generating all the integer solutions of this celebrated Diophantine equation, known as Markov triples. To study the growth problem of Markov numbers we use the binary tree representation. This allows us to define the Lyapunov exponents $\Lambda (x)$ as the function of the paths on this tree, labelled by $x \in \mathbb{R}P^1$. We prove that $\Lambda (x)$ is a $PGL_2 (\mathbb{Z})$-invariant function, which is zero almost everywhere but takes all values in $\left[ 0, \ln \varphi \right]$ (where $\varphi$ denotes the golden ratio). We also show that this function is monotonic, and that its restriction to the Markov-Hurwitz set of most irrational numbers is convex in the Farey parametrisation. We also study the growth problem for integer binary quadratic forms using Conway's topograph representation. It is proven that the corresponding Lyapunov exponent $\Lambda_Q(x) = 2 \Lambda(x)$ except for the paths along the Conway river. Finally, we study the tropical version of the Markov dynamics on the tropical version of the Cayley cubic proposed by Adler and Veselov, and show that it is semi-conjugated to the standard action of $SL_2(\mathbb{Z})$ on a torus. This implies the dynamics is ergodic, with the Lyapunov exponent and entropy given by the logarithm of the spectral radius of the corresponding matrix.

This is a practice based research, based on a representation of motifs related to Kuwait's traditions and heritage through Sadu textile; the research starts with determining the factors needed by Sadu in order to move to the monumental modern art form. One of these factors is the analysis presented by the artists of the first generation in Kuwait concerning Sadu and what was presented by Sami Mohammed in his "Sadu Project" in the Eighties. From another side, to present what affected Sadu through the globalisation concept and to benefit from the same in order to show Kuwait visual culture, analyse and develop the colour philosophy in order to reach a colour group that represents Sadu modern art. This aspect of the research is bibliographic, along with other aspects, including a critical reflection on practice. The research begins by using Jacques Derrida's "Deconstruction" as a process to dismantle Sadu motifs as ornaments, symbols, colours and subject matter. It is original research as it is based on an interview with Sami Mohammed's, which revealed that, in the Sixties, he was one of the pioneer artists who used modern art as a different area in their art careers, while also building national abstraction in Kuwaiti art. The other interview is with Yahya Swailem, an art teacher and critic in Kuwait since the Sixties, who provided the research with an overview of the history of art in Kuwait. The research aims at attracting the current and young generations to the heritages and traditions of their country by transforming the Sadu textile to a Sadu modern art form in paintings and increasing the art appreciation and their cultural awareness. The research title is also the research aim and the selection of it was based on the existence of words that contributed in refining the twentieth century art as modern art and monumental and Kuwait for determining the research location that is considered the base of the research and linking them with the word "representing" that also shows something new presented by this research. Sadu was selected for this research since it is a major and essential part of the heritage and traditions of Kuwait and since it is a textile, it may be on a two dimension form and for what it witnessed through the art in Kuwait through the first generation artists. Sami Mohammed considered it a start to success in changing its form and making it more modern. The paintings produced in the research display Sadu motifs with a colour philosophy that is different from previous presentations, with a focus on large-scale paintings to gain a new meaning through monumental Sadu art.

Co-trimoxazole, a combination of a 5-to-l ratio of Sulphamethoxazole (SMZ) and Trimethoprim (TMP) , is a highly effective, broad-spectrum antibacterial agent. Since its introduction in 1968, it has been extensively used in infections of the respiratory and urinary tracts. Co-trimoxazole was developed by the systematic investigation of a series of compounds whose mechanism of action was already known. As early as 1950 synergy between sulphonamides and 2,4-diaminopyrimidines was reported. This was to be expected as both groups of drugs exert their antibacterial activity by interfering with the same biochemical pathway in bacteria. TMP was chosen from among many 2,4-diaminopyrimidines tested because of its good antibacterial activity and low toxicity. SMZ was chosen from the sulphonamides available for combination with TMP because of similarity of their biological half-lives. The widespread use of the combination coupled with the fact that monitoring of the levels of all drugs in the body is becoming increasingly important has stimulated research into rapid and efficient methods for the analysis of TMP and SMZ in biological fluids. Another consequence of the immense popularity of the combination is the appearance on the market of several generic preparations of Co-trimoxazole. It is now generally recognized that drug products from different manufacturers which are chemically equivalent may not be therapeutically equivalent. This is due to the fact that the absorption rate and/or bioavailability (extent of absorption) of a poorly soluble drug may be markedly affected by its release rate from the product and by its subsequent dissolution rate in gastrointestinal fluids. Hence bioequivalence of these various products should be established

The use of the oral route of administration for the treatment of young children with antibiotics can at times be problematic since, factors such as nausea, vomiting, taste and/or smell, in addition to the challenges associated with the administration of suspensions, may contribute to poor patient compliance. In such cases, the use of the rectal route of administration may be appropriate. Therefore, suppositories containing 250 mg azithromycin (AZI) were manufactured and assessed for potential as an antibiotic suppository dosage form. Suppositories, containing AZI dihydrate were manufactured by the fusion method, using different grades of PEG, Witepsol® and Suppocire® bases. The rate and extent of AZI release was evaluated using USP apparatus I, and samples were analyzed using a validated HPLC method. Differences in the rate and extent of AZI release were observed with the greatest amount of AZI being released from PEG formulations. The rate and extent of AZI release from formulations manufactured using fatty bases were influenced by physicochemical properties, such as melting rate and hydroxyl value, of the bases. In addition drug partitioning appeared to favor the lipid phase and had a negative impact on AZI release characteristics. Two different formulation approaches were used in an attempt to increase the rate and extent of AZI release from fatty base formulations. The use of surfactants significantly increased AZI release from formulations manufactured with fatty bases with high hydroxyl values. The use of urea or Povidone K25 in combination with AZI as a physical mixture or solid dispersion did not increase the rate and extent of AZI release from the fatty suppositories, to any significant extent. The mechanism of drug release was evaluated using several mathematical models, including the Higuchi, Korsmeyer- eppas, Zero and, First order models. In addition, in vitro dissolution profiles were characterized by the difference and similarity factors, f1 and f2 and by use of the Gohel similarity factor, Sd. AZI release kinetics were best described by the Higuchi and Korsmeyer-Peppas models and the values of the release exponent, n, revealed that drug release was a consequence of the combined effects of AZI diffusion, rate of melting of the base and partitioning of the drug which can be considered to be anomalous release.

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Regulation of slavery in current international law Abstract: This diploma thesis deals with the adjustment of slavery in international law at present. Although slavery could seem like an extinct institute at present, the opposite is true. Slavery is developing more than ever before. But it does not appear in its traditional forms. Detection is much more demanding. The aim of this thesis is to provide a comprehensive overview of international regulation of slavery and evaluate efficiency of this regulation including control mechanisms, which are enshrined in various treaties. The first part is dedicated to the prohibition of slavery as a peremptory norm. I deal with individual characters which peremtory norm has to fulfill and then derive inclusion of slavery as a peremptory norm. The other part is focused on the definition of criteria which will be used to study individual conventions. These criteria are relevant to the assessment whether specific conventions and their control mechanisms are effective. The main part of the thesis is the part in which I am focusing on the definition of conventions which regulate the slavery. In the first part, there are universal conventions which contain the element of slavery, then specialized conventions and in the last part conventions which regulate forms of slavery....

Ernst Cassirer’s The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms fails to account properly for personalized experiences; it cannot provide a basis for understanding how some experiences become personal while others do not. Our account of personalized experience will remain lacking as long as we follow Cassirer in viewing personalized experience as a non-necessary feature of other symbolic forms such as myth, language, religion, or art; instead it must be understood that personalized experience is grounded in an independent symbolic activity as basic to human cultural life as language, myth, or objectivating knowledge. This basic personalizing symbolic function is best understood as that same activity articulated in Gabriel Marcel’s phenomenological descriptions of the act of “creative fidelity.” Once this relationship has been grasped, it becomes possible to articulate a symbolic form of personalized experience by describing the unique way in which creative fidelity (as the personalizing symbolic function) spatializes, temporalizes, numeralizes (and as a result subjectifies/objectifies) its own distinct horizon of meaning (or: cultural world). The result will be a symbolic form, as Cassirer understands it, that is as far-reaching and fundamental to human cultural life as the three symbolic forms elaborated in The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms. By articulating this fourth symbolic form, we will have taken a significant step toward Cassirer’s ultimate goal of a robust philosophical anthropology.

The effectiveness of local norms with two short forms of the MMPI was investigated in this study. Comparisons were made between high-point code-type concordance rates and the overall concordance rates generated by local norms and the original norms of Faschingbauer's Abbreviated MMPI (FAM) and the MMPI-168. The use of local norms did not produce significantly higher high-point code-type concordance rates than the use of original norms. The use of local norms was indicated when one is interested in overall profile concordance. However, this finding was not replicated in the cross-validation samples. No conclusion was reached regarding the superiority of one short form over the other in terms of high-point codetype concordance. In terms of overall concordance, the FAM was found to generate higher concordance rates than the MMPI-168 when original norms were used. Overall concordance rates were not significantly different between the two short forms when local norms were used. Design changes and possible explanations for the findings were discussed. The former included increasing the sample size of the cross-validation samples to reduce sampling error. The latter consisted of the lack of congruence between the factor structures of the FAM and MMPI-168 and that of the MMPI, possible similarities between the populations sampled and those upon which the FAM and MMPI-168 were standardized, and inadequate sample size.