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Gérard de Nerval's French translations of Goethe's Faust are key works in Franco-German cultural relations, but they have been mythologised; this thesis presents a nuanced view of works that continue to be the principal conveyors in France of arguably the foremost work of German literature. Less well known than his translations, Nerval's own Faustian dramas the Faust fragment ([1827(?)]), Nicolas Flamel (1831), and L'Imagier de Harlem (1851) have received little scholarly attention and yet reveal much about his, and indeed other French, interpretations of Faust. The thesis examines Nerval's convergences with and divergences from Goethe diachronically in order to identify and then compare what may be termed Goethean and Nervalian Faustian paradigms, thereby discovering more about Nervalian aesthetics. Alongside Goethe and Nerval, two literary figures of pre- eminence, the thesis investigates intercultural relations that bear on Nerval's Faustian writing in France during a dynamic period. The first chapter contextualises Nerval's Faustian writing: Nerval's own interest in, and identification with, the figure of Faust; greater interest in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in foreign culture in France; relevant aspects of the life and work of key foreign authors and artists from disparate periods and countries who contributed significantly to the development of early Romantic aesthetics in France are discussed and analysed: the reception of Shakespeare, Dante, Scott, and Byron demonstrates salient similarities with that of Goethe. Closely related to this ascendancy of foreign literature in France is the country's increased enthusiasm for and engagement with the German myth of Faust, especially Goethe's retelling of it, across different media. In Chapter Two a close reading of Nerval's 1828 and 1840 translations of Goethe's Faust, alongside Stapfer's and Sainte-Aulaire's of 1823, investigates their convergences with and divergences from the German author in lexis, prosody, content, and ideology. The issue of domestication and foreignisation in translation, as expounded by Friedrich Schleiermacher; cultural tensions between lingering neoclassical and incipient Romantic aesthetic values; social constraints in France, including censorship; linguistic barriers to translating Faust into French, and the related difficulties of translating metaphor and connotation, an aspect in which Nerval displays his poetic ability in his Faust translations, are addressed in this chapter. The final section of Chapter Two identifies and analyses pervasive divergences from the Goethean Faustian paradigm in the French translations. The third chapter considers Nerval's Faust fragment and Nicolas Flamel, identifying the principal intertextual influences on these Faustian fragments before analysing the following aspects with reference to Goethe's Faust: the protagonists' character; their relationships with women; the portrayal of the devil; and the transposition of 'Auerbachs Keller' to Paris. Similar aesthetic tensions that are found in Nerval's translations are also discovered in these adaptations. An analysis of Nerval's final Faustian drama, L'Imagier de Harlem (1851), brings Chapter Three to a close. Following the identification of key intertextual influences, divergences from and convergences with the Goethean Faustian paradigm are again identified and analysed.

This thesis explores right hemisphere involvement in perceptual biases to chimeric faces and posterior right hemisphere involvement in response inhibition through an examination of the role of eye movements. Studies of patients with focal brain lesions and neuroimaging research indicate that face processing is predominantly based on right hemisphere function. Additionally, experiments using chimeric faces, where the left and the right hand side of the face are different, have shown that observers tend to bias their responses toward the information on the left. A series of experiments were conducted using lifelike gender based chimeric faces (Burt and Perrett, 1997) to explore the relationship between eye movements and perceptual biases. A left perceptual bias was observed in experiment 1, in that subjects based their gender decision significantly more frequently on the left side of the chimeric faces. Additionally, analysis of the eye movement patterns indicated a strong tendency to first fixate on the left side of the image and subsequently a relationship between perceptual biases and eye movements. Experiment 2 examined the issue of inversion of such facial stimuli and provided evidence that the right hemisphere may still be more influential in determining gender from inverted chimeric stimuli, as a significant left perceptual bias was demonstrated to these types of stimuli. It is proposed that the chimeric bias effects found in this experiment argue against the idea that inversion destroys the right hemisphere superiority for faces. Whilst experiments 1 and 2 provided evidence for right hemisphere dominance in the processing of chimeric faces, experiments 3 and 4 investigated the influence of eye movements and exposure duration in modulating the bias. Experiment 3 and 4 demonstrate that in younger adults but not older adults that a reliable leftward bias can be obtained when stimuli are exposed for brief durations only. However, evidence is provided that indicates that the perceptual bias is enhanced in the presence of eye movements. Additionally, experiment 4 shows that the perceptual bias is demonstrably diminished in older adults, possible mechanisms for this finding are discussed. Experiment 5 reviews evidence related to dysfunction in visual search in patients with right hemisphere lesions, however what is less well understood is how well such patients are able to inhibit a response in an otherwise simple search task. Experiments 5 and 6 explore oculomotor capture in such patients. Patients were asked to search for a colour target amongst distracters and to signal target location with a saccade. On each trial an additional distracter was presented which could be either similar or dissimilar to the target and appear either with or without a sudden onset. Patients were demonstrated to have higher oculomotor capture rates by the additional distracter, and to be more susceptible to the distracting influence of sudden onsets. Experiment 7 employed an antisaccade task and a fixation task and demonstrated in the same group of patients further impairments in response inhibition. In both tasks patients were demonstrated to have significant difficulty in inhibiting an eye movement to a peripheral distracter (relative to age matched controls). Results of experiments 5-7 indicate that patients with right hemisphere lesions that spare the frontal lobe have demonstrable impairments in inhibiting responses to suddenly appearing peripheral stimuli, implicating a role for posterior brain structures in this type of inhibition.

This thesis details efforts to generate chemical probes for the interrogation of important protein targets: the CLK and DYRK kinases, ceramide synthases (CerS), and the PP2A-inhibitory protein, SBDS. Modulation of activity with chemical probes and protein degradation with PROTACs were investigated. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to chemical probes and PROTACs, introduces the relevant protein targets, and provides background on previous work by the Morris group. Chapters 2-4 are focused on the development of chemical probes and PROTACs for the CLK and DYRK kinases. In Chapter 2, an analysis of crystal structures and inhibitors of CLK1 and DYRK1a resulted in elucidation of the factors that determine selective inhibition. This analysis led to the investigation of 6-azaindole 2.3—previously reported as a DYRK1a-selective inhibitor— and it was found to be a potent inhibitor of CLK1, CLK2, and DYRK1a. Insights gained from the structural analysis were used to design quinoline 2.36, a CLK1 inhibitor with 15-fold selectivity over DYRK1a. Work in Chapter 3 led to improved pharmacophore models for selectivity and potency, which were used to develop novel potent CLK/DYRK inhibitors, including 3-quinoline 3.44, a 1.2 nM inhibitor of DYRK1a with 5.4-fold selectivity over CLK1. Chapter 4 describes a preliminary study of 6-azaindole PROTACs targeted towards CLK1/DYRK1a. A small library of PROTACs based on amide 4.5 were synthesised and initial biological evaluation by our collaborators did not indicate degradation of CLK1 or DYRK1a at 1 µM across multiple treatment times, possibly due to insufficient formation of stable ternary complexes. Chapter 5 outlined investigations with the AAL(S) scaffold. A preliminary investigation of PROTACs for the degradation of CerSs was carried out, with a small library of CerS PROTACs synthesised. These influenced cellular ceramide concentrations, via a yet-to-be-determined mechanism. The second part of Chapter 5 was focused on the elucidation of how AAL(S) binds to the PP2A-inhibitory protein SBDS. This binding site was confirmed using pull-down studies with mutated SBDS proteins. With this structural information improved activators of PP2A can be developed as well as PROTACs targeted towards SBDS. Conclusions and future directions are provided in Chapter 6, and experimental procedures in Chapter 7.

This thesis uses waste studies as a methodological framework to analyse modern dystopian literature written by authors from marginalised communities. In paying attention to stories and ontologies from outside the canon, from people who have lived experience of nightmare societies and wasted worlds, we can better understand what dystopia is and how we can survive, salvage from and mutate it. Yet the genre is still theoretically defined by canonical texts which set dated, imperialistic generic conventions. This thesis aims to expand theoretical understandings of the genre outside of the mid 20 th century western confines and concerns to which it has, to date, been limited. It does so by selecting non-canonical texts, and by engaging with them through a methodology that interrogates the creation and destruction of value (with a particular focus on what happens to those things not valued). The texts analysed here show how dystopia is signified through unjust processes of wasting: through the corruption of a utopian ideal, the state's miscarriage/s of justice, the creation of scapegoats and sacrificing of these people in the name of the dystopian ideology. However, they trouble the genre convention of dystopia as a strategy of warning: they insist that the orthodox criteria of cognitive estrangement be broadened into holistic engagement; they distort the emotional, temporal and spatial distance we feel from the protagonist's world; they show that dystopia is alive here and now - that if we are not suffering it ourselves, we are complicit in enacting it on others. In this way, these texts re-write dystopia's function as a strategy of solidarity. Furthermore, they show how waste itself troubles the genre convention that dystopian states control, bury or contaminate the memory of the past; waste and wastescapes refuse to co-operate, they linger, they insist that there is no away place or time.

This thesis contends that the post-conflict Northern Irish novel depicts and establishes increasingly diverse and progressive models of masculinity. Utilising a chronothematic approach I analyse how the portrayal of masculinities in these novels, published over the past twenty years, progresses from the violent hegemonic models of the past towards the inclusive and alternative masculinities more representative of contemporary, post-conflict society. The first chapter analyses two of Sean O'Reilly's novels set pre-and post-Good Friday Agreement. I argue that these novels are early examples of trauma fiction which illustrate the devastating effects of trauma, and the traumatising effect of hegemonic masculinity, on masculine construction. Furthermore, I contend that the lack of alternative expressions of masculinity emasculates the protagonists, who in an attempt to compensate, increasingly emulate the violent hegemonic masculinities from which they feel disenfranchised. In order to interrogate alternatives to the heteronormative discourse on masculinity, in the second chapter I examine representations of "queer" masculinity in novels published over the past two decades. I also consider the relationship between the Irish bildungsroman tradition and its relationship to the coming-out novel. Moreover I establish that while the depiction of sexuality has become more dynamic and fluid, the representations of masculinity in these novels are problematically similar. In the third chapter I utilise a unique approach to transgenerational trauma theory as a hermeneutic to analyse father-son relationships in two of David Park's novels. I posit that the generational conflict between father and son, or the "father wound", is an inherently masculine trauma that may be passed transgenerationally and is exacerbated by the impact of the Troubles. Finally, I examine the depiction of ageing masculinities as important embodiments of masculinity that serve to destabilise a hegemonic script that reinforces the power and relevance of young to middle aged men. By emphasising the plurality of ageing men, I seek to queer the spectrum of masculinity as well the depictions of how older men from the province come to terms with their pasts to renegotiate masculinities in the present.

The mammary gland of lactating transgenic animals has several advantages for production of heterologous proteins including a high cell density that results in high concentrations of secreted protein and the ability to perform several types of post-translational modifications. Transgenes were constructed from the 4.1 kbp murine Whey Acidic Protein promoter (mWAP) and the three cDNAs coding for the Aα, Bβ and γ fibrinogen chains to evaluate the requirements of the transgenic murine mammary gland for high level secretion of fully assembled human fibrinogen. After introducing the constructs into the murine zygotes by microinjection, secretion of fully assembled fibrinogen into milk was measured at concentrations between 10 ug/ml to 200 ug/ml. In one line of mice the total secretion of fibrinogen and unassembled subunits approached 700 ug/ml in milk. The level of assembled fibrinogen was proportional to the lowest amount of subunit produced where both the Bβ and γ chains were rate limiting. Also, the subunit complexes γ₂, Aαγ₂ and the individual subunits Aα, Bβ and γ were found as secretion products. This is the first time that secretion of individual Bβ-subunits by any cell type has been reported and suggests the organization of the secretion pathway in mammary epithelia is different from that in liver. Glycosylated forms of individual Bβ-chain contained a complex saccharide with low mannose. Glycosylation of the γ-chain was also observed. These results suggest the 4.1 mWAP promoter can drive expression of fibrinogen cDNAs to high levels and that the amount of fully assembled fibrinogen secreted is equal to the level of the lowest expressing chain.

This thesis presents the development, analysis, and design of a new low-ripple coupled-inductor boost topology. This topology is proposed for applications in which the conventional boost requires an input filter and two-stage output filter. One "zero-ripple" coupled magnetic provides both energy storage and second-order filtering of the input and output currents. Dc analysis is presented along with design guidelines. A novel magnetic structure is proposed which simplifies design and manufacture, while improving reliability. Small signal models for the proposed topology are presented along with hardware verification. It is found that, with proper damping, the small signal characteristics of the coupled-inductor topology are very similar to those of the conventional boost. This new boost topology offers a compact alternative to the conventional boost without sacrificing performance.

The main aim of this study was to start to develop a framework to understand socio-emotional heterogeneity in young people with congenital dermatological disfigurement. The rationales for this study were a) congenital dermatological disfigurement has been studied far less than other forms of disfigurement b) school-aged young people with disfigurement have been studied less than adults and infants c) the existing literature has indicated a high degree of psychological heterogeneity in this population which has not been adequately accounted for. Specifically, the study investigated the role of attachment and shame in explaining variance in socio-emotional functioning in 8-16 year olds with congenital dermatological disfigurement. Standardised measures were completed by 122 young people and their accompanying parent/guardian at a specialist paediatric dermatology unit. Comparisons were made between disfigurement group means and general population means. Within participant associations were also explored. The results provided some support for the proposed model. This study constituted a first step in developing a comprehensive, explanatory framework for understanding socio-emotional development in this population. The study also identified the potential influence of other illness variables and social rejection in explaining socio-emotional functioning in this group.