Be rihtre æwe: legislating and regulating marital morality in late Anglo-Saxon England

This thesis examines some projects of moral regulation, implemented by the agents of the church and king in the late Anglo-Saxon period, which sought to modify and govern marital conduct. Theories of moral regulation are analysed in the Introduction, which also examines Germanic marriage practices, as far as they can be recovered, and the Anglo-Saxon church’s inherited attitudes towards marriage. Manuscripts and texts are examined firstly as projects of moral regulation, and secondly as projects which attempted to alter marital behaviour. In Chapter 1, moral regulation is situated within the context of the Benedictine reform through the examination of one manuscript – Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, MS 201 – as a case-study in the cooperative efforts of the church and king to regulate society. In particular, the legislative and penitential texts which are compiled in MS 201 bear witness to the tendency in late Anglo-Saxon England for legislation to be moralised, and for morality to be legislated. MS 201 also includes the unique copy of the Old English translation of Apollonius of Tyre, and the marital morality inscribed therein perhaps accounts for its inclusion in this predominantly Wulfstanian manuscript. In Chapter 2 the riddles recorded in the Exeter Book are interpreted as literary exercises in regulation. This chapter establishes the possible moral and regulatory agenda of the Exeter Book riddles by offering a new interpretation of, and solution to, one riddle. It also analyses the marriages made manifest in some of the so-called ‘double entendre’ riddles, which regulate the moral relationship following Pauline exegesis: emphasis in these riddles is on the sanctity of marriage, wifely obedience, and the payment of the conjugal debt. Conversely, Ælfric, in his Lives of Saints, idealises marriage as characterised by the absence of all sexual relations. In his Life of St Agnes (examined in Chapter 3), and in his Lives of married saints (SS Julian and Basilissa, SS Cecilia and Valerian, and SS Chrysanthus and Daria, examined in Chapter 4), Ælfric makes non-sexual, companionable, and loving marriage morally paradigmatic. Whilst both marriage and morality have been studied by modern critics, neither topic has inspired extended, specific study (with a few, notable, exceptions), and the nexus between these two topics has been hitherto unacknowledged. Although new, and often profound, insight is gained into Anglo-Saxon texts by considering them in the context of moral regulation, the morality they propose, as well as the regulatory process used to impose that morality, varies across context, text, genre, and author. This conclusion is also true for marital morality, Anglo-Saxon perceptions of which differed in each of the texts chosen for evaluation. This thesis does not claim to be comprehensive; nor does it attempt to synthesise attitudes towards marriage and morality, since a synthesis does not do justice to the richness or complexity with which this topic was treated. It is hoped that this thesis will provide insight into not only individual Anglo-Saxon attitudes towards marriage but also processes of regulation and social control, and, indeed, into the intersection between attitudes and processes

Cytoskeletal dynamics of Cytotoxic T cells during migration in the tumour microenvironment

Typically, migrating T cells display an elongated polarized shape with a very dynamic leading edge and a uropod in the rear. This ‘amoeboid’ movement guarantees a fast migration driven by the formation of polarized protrusions at the front. The actomyosin cytoskeleton is responsible for the generation of the forces that are involved in this process. This thesis aims to determine what is the effect of T cell migration when different components of the actomyosin cortex were inhibited using a pharmacological approach. We found that the inhibition of each component of the actomyosin cortex, T cells display different conformation of the actin filaments and produce different type of protrusion. Furthermore, T cell migration is an important feature for the killing and clearance of canner cells. It has been reported that T cells can migrate efficiently in any kind of tissue whilst scanning for cognate antigen. On the other hand, it is known that the tumor microenvironment secretes immunosuppressive cytokines such as TGF-β impairing the antitumor activity of T cells. Therefore, we aim to determine how TGF-β affects the migration behavior of T cells and its consequences in the scanning strategy to search their cognate antigen

Water level fluctuations in rich fens: an assessment of ecological benefits and drawbacks

For the proper functioning of endangered biodiverse rich fens, base-rich and nutrient-poor (mesotrophic) conditions are required to prevent succession towards Sphagnum-dominated peatlands. Unfortunately, water- and soil quality of many European wetlands are negatively affected by changes in hydrology, eutrophication, acidification and toxicity, resulting in a decline in brown moss-dominated, biodiverse rich fens. During the past decades, water levels in European rich fen areas have often become constricted within narrow limits as a result of adjacent agricultural water management. From a management perspective, the re-establishment of fluctuating water levels in non-pristine fens is considered, in order to optimize the generic ecological quality and to conserve and restore the vegetation in current brown moss-dominated rich fens. This thesis provides an assessment of ecological benefits and drawbacks. Area-specific chemical properties of peat soils and surface water, as determined by the geohydrological setting in the landscape, turned out to strongly determine the responses to surface water level-induced water table fluctuations in the peat soil. Especially the Ca- and Fe-contents of peat soils proved to be very important factors. In addition, the timing of temporary drought or inundation in the growing season turned out to be important, because of the strong interaction between biogeochemical processes and vegetation development. These findings not only contribute to the general biogeochemical and ecological understanding of water level-induced processes in rich fens, but are also valuable to support water and nature management authorities in decision-making

The impact of subterranean termite activity on water infiltration and topsoil properties in Burkina Faso

Few quantitative experimental studies have been carried out on the influence of subterranean termite activity on the water infiltration capacity of crusted soils in the semi-arid Sahelian region. These studies found increased infiltration rates on soils that were affected by foraging galleries of subterranean termites. In this paper, remarkable results are presented from crusted agricultural fields in the Sanmatenga region in Burkina Faso with clear termite activity compared to reference fields without termite activity. Fine-scale rainfall experiments were carried out and general topsoil (upper 5 cm) characteristics were measured. Infiltration rates were found to be significantly slower on plots affected by subterranean termite activity. These results are contradictory to the findings reported in general literature. On the basis of topsoil property measurements, the reduced infiltration rates cannot be indisputably explained, and we suggest that the main responsible factor for a reduction of infiltration was related to differences in topsoil surface (upper 3 mm) properties. Two hypotheses are formulated in an attempt to explain the reduced water infiltration rates on termite plots

Short-Term Summer Inundation as a Measure to Counteract Acidification in Rich Fens

In regions with intensive agriculture, water level fluctuation in wetlands has generally become constricted within narrow limits. Water authorities are, however, considering the re-establishment of fluctuating water levels as a management tool in biodiverse, base-rich fens (‘rich fens’). This includes temporary inundation with surface water from ditches, which may play an important role in counteracting acidification in order to conserve and restore biodiversity. Inundation may result in an increased acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) for two reasons: infiltration of base-rich inundation water into peat soils, and microbial alkalinity generation under anaerobic conditions. The main objectives of this study were to test whether short-term (2 weeks) summer inundation is more effective than short-term winter inundation to restore the ANC in the upper 10 cm of non-floating peat soils, and to explain potential differences. Large-scale field experiments were conducted for five years in base-rich fens and Sphagnum-dominated poor fens. Winter inundation did not result in increased porewater ANC, because infiltration was inhibited in the waterlogged peat and evapotranspiration rates were relatively low. Also, low temperatures limit microbial alkalinity generation. In summer, however, when temperature and evapotranspiration rates are higher, inundation resulted in increased porewater Ca and HCO3- concentrations, but only in areas with characteristic rich fen bryophytes. This increase was not only due to stronger infiltration into the soil, but also to higher microbial alkalinity generation under anaerobic conditions. In contrast, porewater ANC did not increase in Sphagnum-plots as a result of the ability of Sphagnum spp. to acidify their environment. In both rich and poor fens, flooding-induced P-mobilization remained sufficiently low to safeguard P-limited vegetation. NO3- and NH4+ dynamics showed no considerable changes either. In conclusion, short-term summer inundation with base-rich and nutrient-poor surface water is considered beneficial in the management of non-floating rich fens, and much more effective than winter inundation