VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Mechanical microscopy of the interface between yttria-partially-stabilised zirconia and porcelain in dental prostheses
Keywords: Yttria partially stabilised zirconia
Dental materials
Stress modelling
Micropillar splitting
Raman spectroscopy
Phase analysis
Dental porcelain
Single crystal stiffness
Micropillar compression
Focused ion beam milling
High temperature creep
Microscale characterisation
Microscopy
Transmission electron microscopy
Neutron diffraction
Ring-core FIB milling and DIC
Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy
Nanovoiding
X-ray diffraction
Engineering
Residual stresses
Molecular dynamics

In recent decades, the high strength, high toughness and appealing aesthetics of Yttria-Partially-Stabilised Zirconia (YPSZ) has made this ceramic the material of choice for dental prostheses. During manufacture YPSZ copings are veneered with porcelain to match the appearance of natural teeth and to reduce wear. However, near-interface chipping of the veneer is observed as a persistent primary failure mode. Recent studies suggest that failure is associated with the mechanical and microstructural state within a few microns of the interface. This insight has provided the motivating driver for this study: to develop and implement new characterisation techniques to improve the understanding of the YPSZ-porcelain interface and thereby reduce failure rates.
Microscale characterisation of the interface was performed using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy. These studies indicated that YPSZ phase variation, elemental composition gradients and distinct microstructural features are present within 10 μm of the interface. Porcelain nanoscale voiding was found at the interface, and small angle neutron scattering confirmed that this is induced by tensile creep.
High resolution (microscale) residual stress analysis was performed in YPSZ using XRD and Raman spectroscopy, and in porcelain using a new pair distribution function analysis technique. Cross-validation of these results was performed using improved implementations of the ring-core focused ion beam milling and digital image correlation technique. The variation of Young's modulus, yield strength and fracture toughness were determined using spatially resolved micropillar compression and splitting. Improved evaluation of the single-crystal stiffness of YPSZ was also performed using a new neutron diffraction based technique.
The results of this analysis indicate a complex interaction within the first 50 μm of the YPSZ-porcelain interface which leads to a significant reduction in porcelain toughness and an increased propensity to fail at this location.
Multidisciplinary concurrent optimization of gas turbine blades
Keywords: Adjoint
Turbomachinery
Aeroelastics
Turbine
Optimization

This thesis presents the study and development of optimization methods that can perform concurrent aerodynamic-aeroelastic blade optimization in a multi-bladerow environment, and for realistic turbomachinery blade geometries.
The Nonlinear Harmonic Phase Solution Method has been chosen as the flow solution method of this work because of its capability to calculate the aeroelasticity features of interest (blade flutter) and the main flow aerodynamic performance in steady flow timescales.
The first optimization method that is shown is a more generic non-gradient method with an improved version of a quadratic Response Surface Model. The new Re-Scaled Response Surface Model has shown marked convergence and performance improvements against traditional surrogate models. However, the computational cost of this method for cases with a large number of design variables limits its real applications.
A gradient-based adjoint method is presented next as a cost-independent alternative that can accomplish efficient multi-bladerow optimization for a large number of variables within the current levels of computational power. The continuous adjoint system has been developed based on the same methodology as the flow solution method and it shows a more consistent relation between the flow field and its corresponding adjoint field, in agreement with the "anti-physics" information path. An adjoint interface treatment has been developed as an extension of the flow harmonic interface treatment. This unique treatment allows capture of the damping sensitivities of the vibrating blade to shape changes in adjacent rows. The application of this method to the design optimization of compressor and turbine stages has shown its capability to perform efficient multicomponent and multi-disciplinary design optimization of turbomachinery blades.
Human capital formation and the American dust bowl
Keywords: Dust Bowl
Economic history
Human capital formation
Wellbeing
Early-life health
1930s
Fetal origins
U.S. History

I use variation in childhood exposure to the Dust Bowl, an environmental shock to health and income, as a natural experiment to explain variation in adult human capital. I also examine a variety of mechanisms by which the Dust Bowl influenced later-life wellbeing, and investigate the scope for recovery from this early-life shock.
I find that exposure to the Dust Bowl in childhood has statistically significant and economically meaningful adverse impacts on later-life outcomes, for instance, increasing disability and reducing fertility and college completion. These results hold even after accounting for the possibly confounding effects of the Great Depression, migration, and selective fertility or mortality.
The effects I find are more severe for those born in agricultural states, suggesting that the Dust Bowl was most damaging via the destruction of agricultural livelihoods. This collapse of farm incomes, however, had the positive effect of increasing high school completion amongst the exposed, likely by reducing the demand for child farm labor where such labor was not essential to production, and thus decreasing the opportunity costs of secondary schooling; in this outcome, unlike in college completion, family income and student ability were irrelevant.
Many of the worst adverse effects are found amongst those exposed prenatally and in early childhood, suggesting that congenital complications in capability development, together with low parental incomes in utero and thereafter, may be to blame for such later-life disadvantage. Together, these findings imply that the Dust Bowl acted largely "indirectly," as an economic shock that in turn affected in utero and early-life conditions, rather than "directly," through personal exposure (e.g. dust inhalation) in childhood.
Lastly, results - particularly those on New Deal expenditure - imply both that remediation from early-life disaster is possible under the right circumstances, and that post-shock investment may have compensated for rather than reinforced damage to child endowments. The findings in this study are consistent with a multi-stage model of human capability formation, in which investments in one period respond to endowments in a previous one, and may either reinforce or compensate for these endowments.
Penalties reworked
Keywords: Agreed damages
Corrective justice
Taxonomy
Contract
Rights theory
Penalties
Liquidated damages
Remedies

An ‘agreed damages clause’ is a contractual provision whereby the parties agree on the damages one party must pay if that party breaches a term. A valid agreed damages clause, known as a ‘liquidated damages clause’, is enforceable. An invalid agreed damages clause, known as a ‘penalty clause’, is not. The ‘penalty rule’ is the legal doctrine that discriminates between the two types of clauses.
This thesis adopts a rights-based, interpretive and formalist methodology to examine the penalty rule as it has evolved, and exists today, in Anglo-Australian commercial law. The investigation proceeds in three parts. First, this thesis restates the law. It derives a principled account of the rule from the leading cases. Second, the thesis justifies the law as restated. It reveals a theory that rationally explains the penalty rule, providing good or legitimate reasons why the rule is as it is. Finally, this thesis refines the restated law in the light of its theoretical justification. It takes interpretive steps to improve the penalty rule, casting the rule in the best possible light.
This thesis concludes that a penalty clause is best understood as requiring one party, upon a default, to incur a detriment that is manifestly excessive in light of the clause’s legitimate function. The refined penalty rule invalidates a penalty clause by rendering it partially unenforceable. Also, this thesis illustrates that the rule encapsulates a principle of preventing consensual civil punishment, and that corrective justice norms justify that principle. As such, the penalty rule ultimately instantiates corrective justice. Further, this thesis demonstrates that a classificatory, correctivist theory scores extremely well on several criteria for evaluating private law theories. Such a rights-based theory is highly transparent, powerfully coherent, and practically beneficial. It also displays a tight fit with the current law.
In short, this thesis concludes that, viewed in the best possible light, the penalty rule is certain, elegant and (correctively) just.
The impact of innate immune cells on immunopathology in dengue
Keywords: Immunopathology
Importin-5
Calpain-2
Dengue

Dengue virus (DENV) is an arthropod-borne virus and has become a worldwide problem with steadily rising annual infection rates. Patients present with a range of symptoms from mild fever to, in some cases, life-threatening hemorrhagic fever and shock syndrome. The most severe cases require emergency hospital care and currently, there is no effective drug treatment or vaccine for dengue. As severe symptoms appear post-peak viremia, immuno-pathology is thought to be the cause and a potential trigger of this is differential activation of the immune response upon recognition of DENV. This could be due to a combination of factors including varying receptors, signalling pathways and immune regulation mechanisms. In order to understand DENV infection better, it is imperative to study the mechanisms of activation and control of immune responses triggered by the virus.
Very early events in viral infection (after 10 min stimulation) were studied aiming to identify proteins involved in differential activation of immune responses. Phosphorylated proteins were isolated from cells post-stimulation and analysed by mass spectrometry. More than 200 proteins were differentially regulated by phosphorylation in response to DENV stimulation as compared to Mock, Influenza A virus and LPS stimulation.
The effect of two specific proteins, namely Calpain-2 and Importin-5, identified to be differentially phosphorylated was investigated further. Calpain-2 was seen to be vital in the efficient production of progeny virions and the transcription of Mx1, an anti-viral interferon stimulated gene. Importin-5 is known to transport DENV NS5 into the nucleus during infection and was seen to co-precipitate with many host proteins.
In summary, it is imperative that novel treatments and vaccines are developed for dengue as it is one of the world’s most prevalent arthropod-borne viruses. It was discovered here that many proteins undergo phosphorylation/de-phosphorylation in response to DENV stimulation to a differing degree than other stimuli. Calpain-2 plays a vital role DENV infection, potentially influencing the potency of immune response. Importin-5 associates with various host proteins during DENV infection, potentially altering their function or the function of Importin-5 itself. Research into targeted inhibition of Calpain-2 function or Importin-5 interaction with DENV NS5 could lead to a successful anti-viral treatment for DENV infection.
Telamonian Ajax: a study of his reception in archaic and classical Greece
Keywords: Ajax

This thesis is a systematic study of the representations of Telamonian Ajax in archaic and classical Greece. Its aim is to trace, examine, and understand how and why the constitutive elements of his myth evolved in the way they did in the long chain of its receptions. Particular attention is paid to the historical, socio-cultural and performative contexts of the literary works and visual representations I analyse as well as to the audience for which these were produced. The study is divided into three parts, each of which reflects a different reality in which Ajax has been received (different with respect to time, place, or literary genre). Artistic representations of the hero, as well as his religious dimension and political valence, are consistently taken into account throughout the thesis.
The first part – Ajax from Salamis – focuses on epic poetry, and thus investigates the Panhellenic significance of the hero (rather than his reception in a particular place). It treats the entire corpus of early Greek hexameter poetry that has come down to us in written form as the reception of a common oral tradition which each poem has adapted for its own purpose. I establish that in the larger tradition of the Trojan War, Ajax was a hero characterised by his gift of invulnerability. Because of this power, he is the figure who protects his companions – dead or alive – par excellence. However, this ability probably also led him to become over-confident, and, accordingly, to reject Athena's support on the battlefield. Hence, the goddess's hostility towards him, which she demonstrated by making him lose the reward of ἀριστεῖα (Achilles' arms). His defeat made Ajax so angry that he became mad and committed suicide. I also show how this traditional Ajax has been adapted to fit into the Iliad's own aesthetics.
The second part – Ajax in Aegina – concentrates on the reception of Ajax in the victory odes of Pindar and Bacchylides for Aeginetan patrons. I argue that in the first part of the fifth century, Ajax becomes a figure imbued with a strong political dimension (especially with regard to the relationship between Athens and Aegina). Accordingly, I show how the presence of Ajax in Pindar's and Bacchylides' poems is often politically charged, and significant within the historical context. I discuss the influence this had on his representation.
Finally, the third part moves to Athens, as I consider Ajax's reception during three distinct periods: the sixth century, the first half of the fifth century, and finally the rest of the classical period. I equally insist on the political dimension of the figure. I demonstrate that his figure undergoes a shift of paradigm in the early fifth century, which deeply affects his representation.
By following in the footsteps of Ajax, this study prompts a series of reflections and comments on each of the works in which the hero features as well as on the relationship of these works to the historical context in which they were produced.
‘Extracting the essence’: Bcud len in the Tibetan literary tradition
Keywords: Tibet
gter ma
buddhism
bcud len
Medicine

The Tibetan practice of bcud len, or ‘extracting the essence’, has been for long a neglected aspect of Tibetan medical and spiritual knowledge with scattered evidence and little certainty regarding its origins or the extent of its effective presence, either in the past or at currently. In this study, seventy-three texts have been identified and tabulated. Of these, sixty-seven have been summarised and commented on, and five of these, each representative of one type of the practice, have been translated in full. All but a handful of these texts have not been translated previously.
The research findings suggest that, whatever its influences from Indian, Chinese or other medical cultures, bcud len soon evolved into a distinctively Tibetan method of life enhancement, with teachings that emphasise both spiritual and medical aims and the use of indigenous Tibetan remedies, accompanied in some cases by particular rituals. The content of the texts indicates that the term bcud len can be applied legitimately to practices involving ritually empowered pills and elixirs which are ingested, respiratory and yogic exercises, dietary restrictions and rituals involving mantra recitation, visualisation and yab yum union with a consort, in that all these are considered to be means of obtaining 'the essence'.
The teachings offer extensive material for those interested in the evolution and contemporary practice of Tibetan medicine, especially its botanical aspects, and for historians of ritual. In particular, the texts provide ample evidence of the lineage tradition in Tibetan religious culture, citing examples of transmissions through gter ma, whereby teachings are preserved in secret to be recovered at a future date by a gter ton or treasure revealer.
The final section contains conversations with Tibetan doctors, lamas and contemporary practitioners of bcud len in Asia and the West that complement recent ethnographic studies in the field testifying to the continuing vitality of the tradition.
Elucidating the role of non-muscle myosin II in Caenorhabditis elegans stem-like seam cell divisions
Keywords: cell fate patterning
asymmetric cell divisions
stem cell
myosin

Caenorhabiditis elegans seam cells (SC) are multipotent neuroectodermal cells that undergo both symmetrical and asymmetrical divisions throughout larval development, thus providing a valuable model system to gain mechanistic insights into the regulation of asymmetric divisions and the switch between the symmetric and asymmetric modes of division. Reiterative SC asymmetric division typically produces a differentiative anterior daughter that moves out of the seam line and joins the hyp7 syncytium and a proliferative posterior daughter that retains seam fate and carries on dividing. Non-muscle myosin II (NMY II) has emerged as a key regulator in the asymmetric divisions of the C. elegans zygote, the C. elegans Q neuroblast, and the Drosophila neuroblast systems. In addition to being an essential player in cytokinesis, nmy-2's roles in cell adhesion and migration processes further underline its potential as a regulator of seam cell asymmetric divisions.
In this thesis work, I investigated the role of NMY-2 in C. elegans seam cell divisions. I found that nmy-2 is expressed in the seam and its protein localization is dynamic during SC divisions. Post-embryonic nmy-2 knockdown using a combination of temperature sensitive mutants and RNA interference robustly reduces terminal SC number. This reduction is due to progressive SC loss after each asymmetric division as a consequence of aberrant cell fate determination. I identified three classes of cell fate transformation phenotypes following nmy-2 knockdown, and sought to dissect the cell molecular basis of these phenotypes using a dual-color fate reporter strain. Although prevalent in nmy-2 knockdown, cytokinesis defects are not the only cause of SC losses. nmy-2 also does not appear to regulate SC divisions by affecting spindle positioning. In summary, nmy-2 function is crucial to ensure the proper division and fate specification in post-embryonic SC development.
From recklessness to prudence: a study of regulatory space change in Indonesian banking from 1997 to 2008
Keywords: Regulatory Change
Banks
Indonesia
Financial Crisis
Regulatory Space
Complexity
Banking Regulation

This thesis seeks to explore the question of what it is that brings about regulatory change. Traditionally, regulation studies tend to assume that, in circumstances where a regulatory change occurs, a state or governing structure is somehow present and sufficiently powerful to engineer or direct change processes. This thesis will explore the forces that come to bear on regulatory change by examining a case study where one cannot easily make such an assumption. Between 1997 and 2008, banks in Indonesia significantly changed their business practices and behaviour. In 1997, on the eve of the disastrous Asian Financial Crisis, they engaged in banking business in an unrestrained and risk tolerant way in relative disregard of the formal regulatory framework that demanded greater prudence from them. A decade later, however, the banks by and large had taken on a restrained, risk-adverse, and more law-abiding character. Although such prudent behaviour was in line with government policy at the time, one cannot assume that the government had the ability to coerce such a widespread change during that decade, given the massive social and political turmoil that came in the wake of the crisis wiping out the economy and causing President Soeharto’s 30-year regime to collapse.
This thesis deploys an adapted version of Hancher and Moran's 'regulatory space' approach to explain how such a dramatic behavioural turnaround could have nevertheless occurred in a context where the government was in a state of relative weakness. The approach will be modified, however, in order to address issues of behavioural change within a context of banking. Specifically, it will turn to notions of aggregation of micro-level actor behaviour across a space to show links between regulatory space change and behavioural change. In so doing, it will argue that the Indonesian case study reveals that regulatory change is the outcome of a space-wide process that results from the aggregated interdependent and interacting relationships of regulatory actors whose behaviour changes as they respond to contextual changes in their circumstances.
Tailoring the synthesis of graphene and other 2D materials towards applications
Keywords: Graphene
Nanotechnology
Metal chalcogenides
Chemical vapor deposition
Nanomaterials
Hexagonal boron nitride

This thesis focuses on using Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) technique to produce various classes of flat 2D materials and also their three-dimensional architectures. Graphene, hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) and tungsten disulfide (WS2) are the main examples presented in the study: a conductor, an insulator and a semiconductor respectively. Such materials are elementary "building blocks" in a variety of applications. Many novel advances to CVD synthesis of 2D materials are identified, developed and discussed in this thesis.
Subjectivity in Sartre’s L’Idiot de la famille: Biography as a space for the development of theory
Keywords: Existentialism
Biography
Subjectivity

In the context of a renascent interest in the thought of Jean-Paul Sartre, this thesis proposes a close examination of one of his less studied texts, the study of Gustave Flaubert, L'Idiot de la famille (1971-72). The analysis focuses on theoretical developments that emerge from Sartre’s biographical enquiry, pursuing an interdisciplinary approach combining a consideration of literary theory and literary history with the perspective of Sartre’s philosophy of subjectivity.
L'Idiot is situated amongst a wide variety of texts by Sartre, from Qu'est-ce que la littérature? (1948) to the Critique de la raison dialectique (1960), identifying theoretical innovations within Sartre's understanding of the subject (ch. 1), his social theory (ch. 2), his theory of the imaginary (ch. 3), of literary production (ch. 4) and of reading (ch. 5). Additionally, hitherto largely unexplored passages highlight Sartre’s reflections on the situation of the late 1960s.
Previous analyses of the philosophical innovations presented in L'Idiot have often focused on the strictly theoretical passages in the biography. The present thesis also concentrates on the 'imagined' scenes presented throughout the text. Read as an integral part of Sartre's method, it is suggested that the dramatization facilitated by the biographical format is an integral part of the theoretical enquiry.
Despite the lack of explicit referencing provided by Sartre, the biography is explored in its open character, identifying a series of resonances and similarities with a diverse range of authors. The different chapters consider thinkers whose relationship with Sartre has received little or no attention (such as Pierre Bourdieu and Walter Benjamin), or whose work resonates with Sartre in ways that have so far gone unnoticed (Roland Barthes, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Maurice Blanchot).