Per varie ragioni, tra cui le loro specifiche condizioni di crescita, la diagnosi di infezione e di contaminazione alimentare da clostridi presenta ancora numerose difficoltà sia a livello clinico-batteriologico che a livello molecolare. In questo lavoro di tesi si è cercato di ampliare lo spettro di conoscenze riguardo i clostridi e la loro diffusione; durante il primo anno di ricerca è stato studiato, applicando nuove tecniche di microscopia, il processo di germinazione di Clostridium tyrobutyricum, uno dei batteri maggiormente responsabili del gonfiore tardivo dei formaggi a pasta dura; l’applicazione di tecniche di Real-Time PCR ha nel contempo reso possibile una determinazione quantitativa dello stesso in latte. Successivamente, è stata condotta un’analisi di tipizzazione molecolare di clostridi nell’ambito di una filiera agro-zoo-casearia finalizzata alle matrici di processo al fine di individuare le possibili vie di diffusione dei microrganismi. La parte finale del lavoro è stata dedicata allo studio di espressione genica di un altro Clostridium responsabile di gonfiore ma scelto perché geneticamente indistinguibile da Clostridium botulinum, ovvero il Clostridium sporogenes; l’analisi trascrizionale dei suoi geni durante le fasi vegetativa, di sporulazione, germinazione ed esocrescita ha permesso di assegnare diverse funzioni a geni singoli o a gruppi di geni allo scopo di utilizzare queste informazioni per formulare ipotesi future anche su altre specie di clostridi patogeni. / For several reasons, including their specific growth requirements, the diagnosis of infections and food contamination caused by clostridia still presents much difficulty at the clinical, bacteriological and molecular levels. The main purpose of this work is to learn more about clostridia and their interactions with environment. First, new microscopy techniques have been used to study the germination process in Clostridium tyrobutyricum, an anaerobic bacterium responsible for late blowing defects during cheese ripening; meanwhile, the application of real-time PCR methods have been employed to enumerate C. tyrobutyricum cells and spores in milk. Then, a molecular genotyping has been set in order to identify the most common clostridia in a agro-dairy production aimed to detect the possible ways of diffusion of these microbial species. The last part concerns the study of expression patterns of Clostridium sporogenes, an apathogenic gram positive clostridium usually involved in food damage and frequently isolated from late bowled cheese; Clostridium sporogenes is genetically indistinguishable from Clostridium botulinum and is often used as a model for the toxic subtypes. The objective of this study is to use an array-based large-scale transcriptional analysis in order to study gene expression in four different steps of Clostridium sporogenes life cycle: vegetative cells, sporulating cells, dormant spores and germinating ones. Our aims includes being able to relate gene-expression patterns to specific phenotypes and to discover gene expression divergences between the different phases of living, germination and outgrowth of spore-forming bacteria. An important aim is to assign functions to groups of or individual C. sporogenes genes and use this information to formulate specific hypotheses for further testing also on pathogenic clostridia types.

The Glacier Creek volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposit is hosted within Late Triassic, oceanic back-arc or intra-arc, rift-related, bimodal volcanic rocks (Hyd or Tats Group) of the allochthonous Alexander terrane known as the Alexander Triassic Metallogenic Belt (ATMB). The deposit presently consists of four tabular massive sulfide lenses with a resource of 4.75 Mt. at 1.84% Cu, 4.57% Zn, 0.15% Pb, 0.28 g/t Au and 29.07 g/t Ag. A deposit-scale thrust fault offsets stratigraphy along the axial surface of a deposit-scale anticline. The massive sulfide lenses are barite-rich and are divided into 6 main ore-types based on mineral assemblages. There is a large range of sphalerite compositions, with low-Fe sphalerite dominant throughout the lenses and high-Fe sphalerite at the top and bottom of the lenses in pyrrhotite-rich zones. Lenses contain anomalous Sb, Hg and Tl. Gangue minerals include barite, quartz, barian-muscovite, calcite, albite, highly subordinate chlorite and locally hyalophane and celsian. Overlying massive sulfide is a tuffaceous hydrothermal sediment with anomalous REE patterns and local hyalophane. The general footwall to all four lenses is a thick unit of coherent to volcaniclastic feldspar-phyric basalt containing extensive lateral alteration. Four alteration facies are recognized based on mineral assemblages. Mass balance calculations for the footwall indicate general gains of S, Fe, Si and K with coincident loss of Ca, Na and Mg, along with trace element gains of Tl, Sb, Hg, Ba, Zn, Cu, As and loss of Sr with increased alteration intensity. Short wavelength infrared (SWIR) spectroscopy shows a general decrease in Na, K and Al content of muscovite and increase of Fe+Mg and Ba content towards ore. Integrated petrographic, mineral, chemical and sulfur-isotope data suggest a transition during deposit formation, from high-temperature, acidic, reduced hydrothermal fluids mixing with oxidized, SO4-rich seawater, to later cooler, low fO2-fS2 conditions of formation and a lack of SO4 in seawater.

Recent archaeological surveys on Peter Pond Lake have provided an opportunity to better elucidate the Late Woodland period of occupation in the upper Churchill River basin of northwestern Saskatchewan. Previous studies identified two pottery-bearing cultures in the region. This included the Kisis complex of the well-documented Selkirk composite, which is characterized by Winnipeg Fabric-impressed ware and dates from approximately A.D. 1300 through to the historic period. The second was a lesser-known archaeological entity represented by limited pottery recoveries from just two sites in the region. Early interpretations proposed this latter Narrows pottery represented an incursion of the plains adapted Old Womens phase into the region, with a suggested age of approximately A.D. 1000 to 1300. <p> Through a comprehensive analysis of pottery assemblages recently recovered from over twenty sites in the Peter Pond Lake region, this study was able to further validate the original description of the Kisis complex, but more significantly, propose a new pottery ware and complex for the enigmatic Narrows pottery assemblages. As a result, this pottery is now formally classified as Narrows Fabric-impressed ware and is considered characteristic of the Buffalo Lake complex. This complex is centered on Peter Pond Lake and appears to have an extensive presence in the region. Recently obtained radiocarbon dates indicate it is slightly younger than originally believed, and spanned from approximately A.D 1200 to 1500. Unlike previous interpretations, which suggest this pottery represents a plains influence in the region, the Buffalo Lake complex is considered a boreal forest manifestation, with origins that lie in the woodlands to the southeast. The pottery shares particular affinities with contemporaneous Sandy Lake ware that has a distribution extending from east-central Saskatchewan through to northwestern Ontario and Minnesota, with additional influences evident from Winnipeg Fabric-impressed ware found throughout northern Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.

Recent archaeological surveys on Peter Pond Lake have provided an opportunity to better elucidate the Late Woodland period of occupation in the upper Churchill River basin of northwestern Saskatchewan. Previous studies identified two pottery-bearing cultures in the region. This included the Kisis complex of the well-documented Selkirk composite, which is characterized by Winnipeg Fabric-impressed ware and dates from approximately A.D. 1300 through to the historic period. The second was a lesser-known archaeological entity represented by limited pottery recoveries from just two sites in the region. Early interpretations proposed this latter "Narrows" pottery represented an incursion of the plains adapted Old Women's phase into the region, with a suggested age of approximately A.D. 1000 to 1300. <p> Through a comprehensive analysis of pottery assemblages recently recovered from over twenty sites in the Peter Pond Lake region, this study was able to further validate the original description of the Kisis complex, but more significantly, propose a new pottery ware and complex for the enigmatic Narrows pottery assemblages. As a result, this pottery is now formally classified as Narrows Fabric-impressed ware and is considered characteristic of the Buffalo Lake complex. This complex is centered on Peter Pond Lake and appears to have an extensive presence in the region. Recently obtained radiocarbon dates indicate it is slightly younger than originally believed, and spanned from approximately A.D 1200 to 1500. Unlike previous interpretations, which suggest this pottery represents a plains influence in the region, the Buffalo Lake complex is considered a boreal forest manifestation, with origins that lie in the woodlands to the southeast. The pottery shares particular affinities with contemporaneous Sandy Lake ware that has a distribution extending from east-central Saskatchewan through to northwestern Ontario and Minnesota, with additional influences evident from Winnipeg Fabric-impressed ware found throughout northern Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.

Using Ontario health administrative data, we identified 12,143 adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) who received outpatient nephrology care prior to start of renal replacement therapy (RRT) in order to study the effect of care-related factors in predicting late start of predialysis care (PDC, defined as first outpatient nephrology visit <6 months prior to RRT start) and to explore covariates which further quantify the PDC received. Lack of an usual provider of primary care (OR 0.76; 95%CI 0.66, 0.87) predicted late start of PDC. In addition to late start of PDC, number of nephrology visits (OR 0.97 per visit; 95% CI 0.96, 0.98), and having seen a nephrologist in only 1 or 2 of the 6 months prior to RRT start (OR 1.33; 95%CI 1.18, 1.51), were also independent predictors of one-year mortality, suggesting that other measures of PDC are needed to better characterize the care received.

Using Ontario health administrative data, we identified 12,143 adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) who received outpatient nephrology care prior to start of renal replacement therapy (RRT) in order to study the effect of care-related factors in predicting late start of predialysis care (PDC, defined as first outpatient nephrology visit <6 months prior to RRT start) and to explore covariates which further quantify the PDC received. Lack of an usual provider of primary care (OR 0.76; 95%CI 0.66, 0.87) predicted late start of PDC. In addition to late start of PDC, number of nephrology visits (OR 0.97 per visit; 95% CI 0.96, 0.98), and having seen a nephrologist in only 1 or 2 of the 6 months prior to RRT start (OR 1.33; 95%CI 1.18, 1.51), were also independent predictors of one-year mortality, suggesting that other measures of PDC are needed to better characterize the care received.

This thesis reviews the architectural context of four churches in western Cilicia. These churches, namely the East Church at Alahan, the Cupola Church at Meryemlik, the Domed Ambulatory Church at Dagpazari, and the Tomb Church at Corycus, have been tentatively grouped by Stephen Hill under the name of Domed Basilicas based on their resemblance to the early 6th century models in Constantinople, the most famous being the Hagia Sophia. However, the dome comes forward in the Constantinopolitan context mainly as a feature in the establishment of a new architectural scheme that integrates a vertical axis into the oblong horizontal axiality of the basilica. Firstly, this thesis suggests that a similar integration visible in the planning of the Cilician churches is the essential point that needs to be studied. This seems to have been ignored by previous research. Consequently, the analytical approach that has concentrated on the possibility of a dome is criticized and a spatial interpretation is attempted. Moreover, as some scholars propose, these provincial examples might be the possible source of influence for the capital, if they are a local model dated to the end of the 5th century. Thus, issues pertaining to function, dating and patronage are overviewed, in order to obtain a wider perspective of interpretation. Finally, the general information concerning the Cilician examples was found to be based on surprisingly scanty and unverifiable physical testimony which points to the urgency and necessity of further fieldwork.

ABSTRACT CHANGING PATTERNS OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY IN ENGLAND FROM THE LATE MEDIEVAL TO THE EARLY MODERN AGES ULUD&Uuml / Z, &Ouml / ZLEM M.S. Department of History Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Dr. Recep Boztemur August 2003, 132 pages This thesis analyzes the changing patterns of the institutions of family and marriage in England. The period covers the late medieval ages to the early modern ages until the middle of the eighteenth century, 1753, which represents the acceptance of an important Act on marriage by the English Parliament that ended ambiguities on the law of marriage. This study attempts to investigate the family institution and marriage practices of England, which represented a different character from other European countries throughout the period. Many important historical factors occurred throughout the period, which influenced the family structure and marriage practices such as the Reformation. Within this framework, throughout this thesis, the religious, political, economic and social factors that paved the way for transition in family and marriage will be analyzed. iii

Early Ptolemaic Alexandria provides a unique perspective on cultural interactions during the Hellenistic Period. With this idea in mind, I have tracked the cultural affiliation of the city from its foundation through the early years of the Ptolemaic dynasty. In order to do this, both literary and archaeological evidence, including various foundation myths for the city, the poetry of Theocritus and Herodas, papyrological evidence as well as the city plan and archaeological remains of the Serapeum, were analyzed. Using this evidence, this thesis attempts to describe the cultural state of the ancient city and the surrounding area in its early years, and tracks its development from an entirely Greek cultural background to a multicultural one.

As found in modern art and architecture during the 1950’s and 1960’s, North Americans were conditioned through advertising and media to adopt modernism as a new and better way of life. Modernist styles such as Abstract Expressionism were promoted as leading edge ways to make art that defined American culture. In architecture, modernism infiltrated the development of suburbs and represented a way of life that promoted consumerism, leisure and the nuclear family. Much of the urban and suburban spaces we live in have been influenced by modernism. I am interested in exploring the vocabulary of modernist abstraction through the language of contemporary figuration. I am influenced by late modernist Formalism, colour field painting, gestural mark making and Abstract Expressionism.