Structural and Interaction Studies of Bacterial Polysaccharides by NMR Spectroscopy

An introduction to bacterial polysaccharides and the methods for structural determination are described in the first two parts of the thesis. In a structural elucidation of bacterial polysaccharides NMR experiments are important as is component analysis. A short description of immunochemical methods such as enzyme immunoassays is included. Two NMR techniques used for interaction studies, trNOE and STD NMR, are also discussed. The third part of the thesis discusses and summarizes the results from the included papers. The structures of the exopolysaccharides produced by two lactic acid bacteria are determined by one- and two dimensional NMR experiments. One is a heteropolysaccharide produced by Streptococcus thermophilus and the other a homopolysaccharide produced by Propionibacterium freudenreichii. The structure of an acidic polysaccharide from a marine bacterium with two serine residues in the repeating unit is also investigated. The structural and immunological relationship between two O-antigenic polysaccharides from Escherichia coli strain 180/C3 and O5 is discussed and investigated. Finally, interaction studies of an octasaccharide derived from the Salmonella enteritidis O-antigen and a bacteriophage are described which were performed with NMR experiments.

Royal Subjects : Feminist Perspectives on Diary Writing and the Diary Form in Meg Cabot's The Princess Diaries Series

Meg Cabot’s young adult (YA) novel series The Princess Diaries (2000-2009) is one of many modern-day examples of attempts to redefine what Western society considers the classic princess narrative: the story of a beautiful princess passively waiting for Prince Charming. As critics such as Kay Stone and Sarah Rothschild emphasize, the fictional princess is traditionally linked to notions of ideal femininity which, in turn, makes princess stories interesting texts from a feminist perspective. Rothschild notes a surge in YA princess novels in recent years, with YA writers such as Cabot aiming to challenge the traditional image of the princess as a passive feminine stereotype in their re-workings of the princess story. Previous feminist research on The Princess Diaries series celebrates the main character Mia as a symbol of third wave feminism and as such, a positive role model for Cabot’s predominantly young, female readers. Mia’s characteristic Dr Martens boots are frequently cited as an example of how greatly Mia differs from her princess predecessors. However, these critics ignore important changes in Mia’s personality over the course of the series. By the end of the series, the Dr Martens-wearing heroine introduced in the first book has replaced her combat boots with high heels. In my thesis, I will argue that Mia’s transformation in terms of appearance and preoccupation with mainstream fashion, from quirky outsider to stereotype girly girl, complicates the idea of The Princess Diaries series as feminist texts. Moreover, previous feminist research largely ignores diary writing’s prominent role in the series, and the ways in which the diary format influences the reader-narrator relationship in the novels. In my feminist reading of The Princess Diaries series, I therefore use Mia’s diary writing and the diary format of the series as my starting points. I argue that while Mia’s diary writing is portrayed as empowering, and thereby inspiring, the diary format as a narrative structure creates a rather ambiguous tone and effect; questioning but simultaneously conforming to traditional, restricting notions of femininity.