VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Late Quaternary dune activity in the Thar Desert and its implications for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions: an insight from optically stimulated luminescence dating
Keywords: Thar Desert
OSL dating
Sand dunes
palaeoenvironmental change
aeolian geomorphology

Sand dunes in the Thar Desert, owing to their location in the Indian summer monsoonal (ISM) regime, are rich archives of past geomorphological and palaeoenvironmental changes. However, existing dune records are not robust enough to allow their assessment and integration with a growing multiproxy framework of palaeoenvironmental change. Therefore, with an aim to investigate the timing of dune activity in the Thar, three research questions are answered in this thesis: (i) what are the key phases of dune activity; (ii) what is the effect of anthropogenic influences on the landscape; and (iii) how can dune chronologies be interpreted most effectively to reconstruct late Quaternary environmental changes? To answer these, systematic sampling of multiple dunes was carried out in the dunefields in the central and northern Thar, and luminescence dating was used to provide a detailed chronological framework.
Results demonstrate that the Thar dunes are >58 ka old, with preserved accumulation phases throughout the Holocene at ~11.6-8.5, 4-3, 2-1, 0.6-0.2 and 0.07 ka. First records of modern net accumulation are presented, with rates varying between 2-5 m/year, attributable to anthropogenic disturbances. Dune accumulation intensity methodology, in conjunction with available highly-resolved marine and terrestrial datasets, is used to infer palaeoenvironmental changes in the Thar. Whilst the strengthening of the ISM has been evidently shown to have a significant influence on widespread dune accumulation in the early Holocene, equivocal relationships between both lake levels/dune accumulation and monsoon variability during later Holocene suggest a complex interplay of regional and more local drivers like sediment supply, lowered sea levels etc. The study concludes with emphasis on the importance of recognising external and local controls on dune systems, and demonstrates that diverse responses to same environmental stimuli should be expected in palaeoenvironmental reconstructions.
Preparing and characterizing quantum states of light using photon-number-resolving detectors
Keywords: quantum optics
quantum metrology

A longstanding goal in quantum optics has been to realize a photon-number-resolving detector that efficiently counts the number of photons in an optical field. This goal has been largely met with the development of transition edge sensors which can count up to roughly 20 photons with efficiencies over 95%. This thesis presents three experiments that employ these detectors to characterize and prepare quantum states of light.
Firstly, we develop a weak-field homodyne detector. By replacing the photodiodes conventionally used in homodyne detection with transition edge sensors, we experimentally implement a versatile measurement device that can tune between photon counting and quadrature measurements. We study the transition between these complementary measurement regimes and determine the minimum local oscillator strength needed to perform quadrature measurements.
Secondly, we use the weak-field homodyne detector as a quantum state engineering tool. We propose a scheme to prepare a wide range of definite parity states, including two- and four-component Schrödinger cat states of arbitrary size with nearly perfect fidelity.
Thirdly, we perform optical interferometry using quantum states of light with the aim of surpassing the maximal precision achievable with classical light, i.e. the shot-noise limit. We propose and experimentally implement a scheme that uses high-gain squeezed vacuum sources and transition edge sensors to prepare loss-tolerant entangled states containing up to 8 photons. While our achieved precision does not unconditionally (i.e. without post-selecting on certain measurement trials) surpass the shot-noise limit, our results do demonstrate the robustness of these entangled states to loss despite their size.
The effect of H₂O on O₂ reduction in Li-O₂ batteries
Keywords: lithium-air battery
water
oxygen reduction

There is significant interest in aprotic lithium-air batteries due to their high theoretical specific energy. During discharge, O2 is reduced at the positive electrode and forms Li2O2. Cells are typically discharged in O2, not air, because CO2 and H2O can interfere with the discharge reaction. However, lithium-air batteries will need to use atmospheric O2 if they are to supplant state-of-the-art lithium-ion cells. Therefore, it is important to establish how detrimental CO2 and H2O are to the battery. The former is well-known to induce the formation of Li2CO3 in Li-O2 batteries, but the recent work has suggested that H2O appears to be beneficial at low concentrations in some solvents (e.g. glyme ethers), increasing discharge capacities and still forming Li2O2, while in other solvents, such as acetonitrile (CH3CN), LiOH is the discharge product. Several mechanisms have been proposed to rationalise these findings, but as yet, there is no consensus on the role of H2O on O2 reduction.
The purpose of this work was to understand how H2O affects O2 reduction in electrolytes using acetonitrile (CH3CN), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether (TEGDME) solvents, and, why the 4e- reduction appears to be unfavourable at low H2O concentrations. Electrochemical and spectroscopic analysis found that, in CH3CN, 4e- reduction occurred at lower H2O concentrations than in DMSO and TEGDME. A mechanism based on the ability of the H2O/solvent mixture to stabilise OH- was proposed, with mixtures that stabilise OH- promoting 4e- O2 reduction. The mechanism was confirmed by using pressure cells to identify the electrochemical reaction occurring during discharge. Cells using DMSO and TEGDME solvents underwent 2e- O2 reduction, even with 1 M H2O concentrations. Finally, TEGDME cells were discharged in a 13% RH at 25 °C O2 atmosphere, corresponding to 1 M H2O in solution, and Li2O2 was confirmed as the discharge product, demonstrating that it is possible for electrolytes to withstand a near-atmospheric humidity.
Learning to become and belong: a study of participation in sociocultural activity in Gunayala
Keywords: Mola
situated learning
mediated learning
sociocultural learning
community of practice
shared activity
Gunayala

This study sets as its central problem the question of whether, and how, participation in shared sociocultural activity enables and mediates the learning of girls and women in Gunayala. In line with the existing literature on anthropological approaches to learning, the study primarily uses interviews and observation to examine how Guna girls and women learn and develop through the shared practice of making Molas, which is rooted in the broader cultural traditions of the community. It argues that through participation in shared sociocultural activity, women in Gunayala learn to become independent and interdependent as well as to belong within their community and wider world. Failing to draw on this understanding of learning as situated and a process resulting from participation has far-reaching implications with regards to the way Guna children are educated and thence how the community is able to reproduce itself.
The religious policy of the Cecils, 1588-1598
Keywords: Salisbury
religious
Cecil
Britain
century
Church
policy
state
Burghley
16th

The thesis examines the Cecils contribution to three areas of religious policy during 1588-98: the control of protestant non-conformity; the loyalty of lay catholics; and the political and financial management of the episcopate.
Lord Burghley (William Cecil) supported strong measures against protestant separatists, but opposed Archbishop Whitgift's suppression of moderate puritanism. His criticism of the authoritarian claims of the church hierarchy won limited support from Elizabeth I, but when Whitgift pressed for the exemplary execution of leading separatists - against Burghley's will - the archbishop prevailed. The thesis argues, however, that at this same moment (April 1593) Burghley outmanoeuvred Whitgift in parliament by securing an anti-separatist statute that protected moderate puritans.
Burghley's central role in anti-catholic policy is shown to have reached a peak during 1590-93, to be replaced by a climate from 1594 in which councillors resisted his calls for the creation of ever-harsher sanctions against recusants. Burghley's justifications of this policies were rejected by Sir Thomas Tresham, and it is suggested that, increasingly, councillors began to re-assess the coherence and effectiveness of Burghley's measures.
The period also saw widespread changes among bishops in the established church: almost half the bench was replaced during 1594-98. Robert Cecil is shown - with Whitgift - to have been the main political patron in this process, and on occasion to have outwitted Burghley in pursuit of his own ends. Moreover, Cecil is also revealed as the crown's main agent (with Burghley's cooperation) in the diversion of church wealth to the county gentry, despite the resistance offered by some bishops.
It is concluded that the religious policies of Burghley, Cecil and Whitgift were held in a balance, and that this reflected the tensions of a decade which saw the beginnings of significant change in later Reformation politics.
The Gilbertine priories of Alvingham and Bullington : their endowments and benefactors
Keywords: England
Bullington
Alvingham
priories
benefactors
endowments
Lincolnshire
Gilbertine

This thesis has two themes. In the first place it is a study of the development of the estates of two small Gilbertine houses in north Lincolnshire from their foundation c.1150 to c.1300, by which date their holdings had reached their largest extent. It is clear that the great majority of the houses' properties had been obtained by c.1200 and by this date granges had been established at the largest holdings. At the same time the priories were receiving grants of churches, the income from which provided over half of their income by the end of the thirteenth century.
Secondly, I have examined the benefactors of these communities, most of whom were drawn from the ranks of the lesser lords of the region or from the free peasants. I have attempted to demonstrate how the fortunes of the priories and their economic growth were dependent upon the economic condition of their benefactors. Many of these men had little land to grant to religious houses and often their families were declining in importance. As a result their grants in favour of the priories were increasingly small.
Evidence for both the endowments of the priories and for the condition of their benefactors is largely confined to charters, of which a large number survive for both priories. Though it has not proved possible to describe the economy of either priory in any details the evidence does allow a detailed study of the creation of the estates of these small houses and an assessment of their importance in the life of their region.
The genetic architecture of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
Keywords: genomics
hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
sequencing
genome wide association study

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common genetic heart disorder, affecting at least 1 in 500 individuals, and a leading cause of sudden death. Genetic testing for rare, causal, genetic variants in sarcomere genes is the standard of care and conducted at scale. However, more than half of HCM patients do not carry identifiable pathogenic variants and, in those that do, there is substantial variation in penetrance and disease expression.
Here, the genetic architecture of HCM is further evaluated, under a central hypothesis that the genetic aetiology of HCM extends beyond known rare variant contributions. Through a series of case-control analyses monogenic, oligogenic and polygenic models of disease were assessed. Burden testing analyses support prior knowledge regarding the monogenic basis to HCM. Quantitative analyses directed towards quantifying the penetrance and expressivity of disease-causing HCM variants were largely underpowered. Similarly, systematic evaluation for oligogenicity was underpowered. However, haplotype analysis of a candidate variant (MYBPC325) presumed to be of importance to oligogenicity revealed synthetic association with a rare pathogenic variant (MYBPC3 c.1224-52G>A), quelling this specific oligogenic hypothesis. Polygenicity was evaluated through genome wide association analyses. The additive effects of common variants explained 34.0±2.4% of phenotypic variance in sarcomere-negative HCM, and 15.8±3.8% in sarcomere-positive HCM. Meta-analysis revealed 28 loci (13 independent genome-wide significant variants (p-value < 5×10−8) and 16 <5% local false discovery rate variants (p-value < 1.82×10−6)). A genetic risk score (GRS) assessed the aggregate impact of these independent common variants: HCM risk was halved for individuals in the lowest quintile and more than doubled for those in the highest quintile.
Collectively, these analyses reject the null hypothesis that the genetic aetiology of HCM is restricted to known rare variant contributions and extend understanding regarding the genetic architecture of HCM.
Reliving the past. How the Russian government and media use history to frame the present
Keywords: Ukraine Crisis
Russia
Messianism
Uses of history
Historical framing
Foreign Policy
Sanctions
post-Soviet identity
Political communication
Memory politics

In this thesis, I examine political uses of history in Russia during Vladimir Putin’s third term (2012-2018). Arguing that domestic politicians and state-aligned media continuously invoked history as a means of political legitimation and discursive (re)construction of Russian identity, I separate my research into two parts: 1) How did the Russian government, supported by state-aligned media, conflate specific contemporary issues with historical events? 2) How did the Russian government, supported by state-aligned media, use this conflation to promote selective engagement with history as central to Russian identity? I answer these questions through a large-scale discourse analysis of Russian media sources and official government documents, as well as interviews with cultural practitioners. I first examine the government and media’s use of historical framing (the detailed conflation of a current event with a historical precedent) in their depictions of the Ukraine Crisis, sanctions, and Russian intervention in Syria. I then use these case studies to provide a framework of historical framing that can be applied beyond the Russian context. Historical framing was also part of a larger government-led ‘call to history’, whereby politicians and the media centred Russian identity around history and ‘correct’ historical interpretation. I provide practical examples in the second part of my thesis, when I detail how the Ministry of Culture and Russian Military Historical Society promoted and funded hundreds of thousands of historical organisations, activities, and festivals to propagate a standard cultural historical narrative. Through the enormous scale of these efforts, the government also reinforced its narrative that Russians were experiencing a patriotic upsurge and had attained a heightened consciousness of their own history and cultural heritage (which I term cultural consciousness). In the conclusion, I argue that these processes and narratives are not unique to Russia and that my findings provide a template for exploring similarly politicised treatments of history and identity in other countries.
The diplomatic making of EU-China relations: structure, substance and style
Keywords: China
European Union
Diplomacy

The existing scholarly literature on EU-China relations is characterised by a dichotomous distinction between material and ideational factors and overemphasises the ‘interest versus values’ motif undergirding EU-China relations. The enigma of EU-China diplomatic relationship-building is compounded with a ‘relational gap’ in diplomatic studies. There is a dearth of a systemic theoretical framework that integrates the various dimensions of diplomatic relationship-building to interpret the dynamics of the process of diplomatic relationship-building. This study advances a novel theoretical model of diplomatic relationship-building and an associated social-network based research methodology to explore the making of EU-China relations through two in-depth case studies: the negotiations of the EU-China landmark agreement – the Agreement on Cooperation on, and Protection of, Geographical Indications (2009-2019) and the flagship EU-China climate-related bilateral cooperation – the EU-China Emission Trading System Project (2010-2019). The study purports that the making of EU-China relations is a process influenced by three essential elements – structural coordination, negotiations of technical and political substance, and the dialogue between the EU’s ‘walk the talk’ diplomatic style and China’s ‘shoulder responsibility’ diplomatic style. The process of EU-China diplomatic relationship-building is shaped by the fundamental underpinning of the relationship, encapsulated in EU-China shared intentions, which endow the EU and China with a ‘we-feeling’ that invokes shared vision and conveys the potential to unite the two parties. In so doing, the work provides a new theoretical arsenal to understand EU-China relations in a way that captures not only the ‘relational’ nature of diplomatic relationship-building but also takes us beyond the binary understanding of interests and values as sole motives in fostering international diplomacy, by integrating the social layer of ‘intentions’ in understanding diplomatic relationship-building. This work transcends traditional research in International Relations and has broader implications for exploring means by which the EU-China relationship can be better evaluated, managed and enhanced.
Studies of the crack initiation and notch sensitivity behaviour of gilsocarbon
Keywords: Radiolytic oxidation
Advanced gas-cooled reactor
Strain energy density
Nuclear graphite
Fracture
Diamond Light Source
Notch sensitivity
Finite element modelling
X-ray tomography
Digital volume correlation
Gilsocarbon
Digital image correlation
Neutron irradiation

To better understand the initiation of axial cracks in the graphite moderator bricks of advanced gas-cooled nuclear reactors, the development of a test suitable for measuring notch sensitivity from small specimens would be valuable. The test geometry is constrained, currently, to be under 20 mm in two dimensions. There is limited data on the notch sensitivity of Gilsocarbon, particularly after exposure to a nuclear environment. For the potential small specimen test geometries the microstructural scale is expected to significantly affect the fracture behaviour, which could make understanding of the component-scale behaviour difficult. The material science challenges in defining a suitable test will be outlined in this thesis, with studies of how crack initiation of the Gilsocarbon-grade graphite depends on the notch sensitivity.
Geometries based on a notched 6 x 6 x 19 mm beam will be prototyped, with over 100 beams of seven different notch geometries tested. Multi-scale, multi-camera in situ imaging will be combined with image correlation and finite element techniques to calculate the specimens’ states at fracture, and potential fracture criteria evaluated (notch strengthening factors and strain energy density, SED). Comparison with historical results will demonstrate an increased insensitivity to notch radius (from 0.05 mm to 2.00 mm), and notch depth (up to 4.50 mm). The need for non-linear simulations will be highlighted and a potential material model tested, with limited success. SED calculation from digital image correlation measurements will be evaluated as a suitable monitoring technique, agreeing with the simulations but suffering from lack of reliable coverage for predictive capability. In situ volumetric imaging will be used to understand the interactions of the microstructural phases. A non-linear, non-recoverable stress-strain response will be observed, with anomalous deformation identified and attributed to damage at the filler particle peripheries. The origin of the insensitivity of Gilsocarbon to notch radii less than 2.0 mm will be explained by the observation of a notch radius-independent fracture process zone that extends over several millimetres. This understanding will support the development of a notch sensitivity test, and the outstanding challenges and potential future work will also be identified.
Insights into the molecular mechanisms of ABC transporters and membrane insertases
Keywords: Membrane proteins
Lipopolysaccharide
ABC transporters
Mass spectrometry

Membrane proteins have a pivotal role in cellular homeostasis given their strategic position and involvement in pathways such as small molecules transport and interaction with ligands leading to downstream responses. In this thesis, I describe the application of mass spectrometry approaches to elucidate the structure, dynamics and regulation of membrane protein complexes, including ABC transporters and membrane insertases. The employment of native mass spectrometry (nMS) to membrane proteins has allowed the examination of non-covalent interactions, as described in Chapter 2 where the interaction between ABC importers and their cognate substrate binding proteins (SBPs) was analysed and the mechanism of transport of these complexes was clarified. This analysis indicated that substrate and nucleotide binding destabilise the interaction between the type II importer BtuCD and the SBP BtuF, while has no effect on the interaction between type I importer ModBC and the SBP ModA. Similarly, nMS allowed the elucidation of protein-lipid and protein-substrate interactions of the LPS transporter LptB2FG, suggesting that cardiolipin competes for LPS binding and nucleotide binding increases affinity for the substrate. The combination of nMS and cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) allowed further elucidation on the structure of this protein complex and its interactions with LptC and LptA. The combination of nMS with hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX- MS) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations yielded information on the conformational dynamics of the outer membrane LPS translocon LptDE, showing opposite effects of substrate and antimicrobial peptide thanatin. Indeed, while LPS induces opening of the periplasmic domain of LptD, thanatin stabilises this region, acting as a non-competitive inhibitor of LPS transport. In Chapter 5, nMS is again combined to cryo-EM, as well as lipidomics and in vivo studies to define the structure and subunit stoichiometry of the eukaryotic tail-anchored protein insertase complex, revealing the contribution of phosphatidylinositol binding on the stabilisation of the complex.