ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS; TABLE OF CONTENTS; LIST OF TABLES; LIST OF FIGURES; LIST OF APPENDICES; 1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION; 2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY; 3 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE; 4 MATERIALS AND METHODS; 5 RESULTS; 6 DISCUSSION; 7 CONCLUSIONS; 8 SUMMARY; 9 Zusammenfassung; 10 REFERENCES; 11 APPENDICES; CURRICULUM VITAE