VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
How incarcerated undergraduates use higher education to make sense of their lives
Keywords: prison education
higher education
sociocultural research

With over 1.5 million adults incarcerated each day in the United States, the development of successful criminal rehabilitation has now become imperative (Public Safety Performance Project, 2010). Higher education has emerged as a potential ‘solution’, with many undergraduate programmes for prisoners boasting lower rates of recidivism than any other rehabilitative programming available. This doctoral research is a mixed methods investigation of Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison, an undergraduate degree programme operating at a maximum-security correctional facility in the New York State. While most work in the field of prison education asks whether or not participation reduces recidivism, my research set out to discover how students engage with the processes of education – how they use the tools offered by membership in the social world of the prison college to reframe their understanding of their own experiences, what it means for their identities to be college students in the larger context of the prison, and how education changes their day-to-day lives and their plans for the future.
My understanding is informed primarily by student writing data, generated through the facilitation of autobiographical writing workshops with two groups of men from the programme. Over the course of two ten-week sessions, students in these workshops constructed narratives describing their experiences in education both before and during their prison terms. These narratives define education as experiences of learning – allowing for inclusion of those lessons taught by the family unit and/or “in the street” – rather than just those activities involving school. The workshop process allowed me to build and maintain a significant degree of participant trust, as well as to ask for more clarification and detail as necessary in order to build a rich and thorough understanding of their stories and experiences. This understanding was also supported by six months’ worth of ethnographic and participant observation data, and a quantitative profile of every student Hudson Link has served during its twelve years in operation.
Data analysis using a cultural-historical framework reveals that these students make sense of their lives using tools offered to them by the figured world of the prison college. Reinterpreting past experiences allows them to come to terms with their lives before prison. Identity reconstruction is achieved through guided authoring of personal change narratives, incorporation of education into the sense of self, and discoursal practices of academic English. These constructions of identity are used to reclaim the sense of agency that prison is designed to take away, which in turn influences student and graduate behaviour.
Electron microscopy studies of precipitation in nuclear reactor pressure vessel steels under neutron irradiation and thermally ageing
Keywords: Electron Microscopy
Radiation damage
Precipitation
Defects

Maintaining the safe operation of nuclear power plants (NPPs) is crucial. This requires fully understanding the mechanism of long term irradiation and thermal ageing, as well as their effects, on components including the reactor pressure vessel (RPV). The research community is collecting data that will be required to support the case for extending the operation of western-type NPPs beyond that of 60 years. One of the current dilemmas faced by the long-term operation of RPVs is the formation of nanometre scale precipitates. These precipitates are known to cause embrittlement where it increases the ductile-to-brittle transition temperature of the RPV steels. The chemistry of these precipitates is strongly dependent on the chemistry of the RPV steels. In general, these precipitates can be categorised into two types, copper-rich precipitates (CRPs) and manganese-nickel (-enriched) precipitates (MNPs) [1, 2]. The concentration of copper in the precipitates depends on the bulk content of the steel [3]. The formation mechanism of the precipitates under neutron irradiation and thermal ageing, and their influence on material degradation at high neutron fluence (Φt), is still unclear.
To understand the long term precipitation under irradiation and thermal ageing, high nickel and copper containing RPV steels with a similar microstructure an chemical composition as those currently in service were subjected to either neutron irradiation (to high neutron fluences, Φt ≥ 5 x 1023 neutrons.m-2) or thermal ageing (for as long as ≈ 50,000 hours).
CRPs and MNPs were both detected. The co-precipitation of the CRPs and MNPs were observed in thermally aged steels. The development of crystal structures in the CRPs is believed to be dependent on the size of the precipitates and the ambient temperature. When the CRPs reached a critical size, they underwent the martensitic transformation from BCC→9R→3R→FCC or FCT. The CRPs preferentially nucleate heterogeneously at the dislocation lines. Chemical analysis suggests that most of the CRPs are iron free. Under thermal ageing, the MNPs were found to precipitate at the interface of the CRPs and the matrix. These MNPs are found to be iron free too. Larger MNPs were often found to be at CPRs that were associated with dislocation lines. Also, based on the volume fraction observed, it is possible to suggest that the kinetics of nucleation and growth of the MNPs are relatively slow compared to the CRPs. This is in good agreement with the simulations reported in Refs. [4, 5].
It is the first time the MNPs are directly imaged from neutron irradiation low copper steels using electron microscopy. These irradiation-induced MNPs are densely populated in the neutron irradiated samples. It was found that the irradiation-induced MNPs are more sensitive to electron beams. It was thought that this was due to a relatively large amount of point defects present in the irradiation-induced MNPs.
Asymmetric synthesis of amino polyols
Keywords: dihydroxyproline
amino acid
lithium amide
doubly diastereoselective
amino sugar
microsclerodermin
imino sugar
conjugate addition

This thesis is concerned with the development of methodology for the asymmetric synthesis of a range of amino polyol containing compounds.
Chapter 1 highlights the abundance of the amino polyol motif in nature, the wide range of biological activities displayed by amino polyol containing compounds, and their occurrence in drug molecules. A variety of different methods for the synthesis of stereodefined amino polyols is then discussed.
Chapter 2 details a full investigation into the doubly diastereoselective conjugate addition reactions of the antipodes of lithium N-benzyl-N-(alpha-methylbenzyl)amide to enantiopurealpha,beta-unsaturated esters which contain a dioxolane unit. The “matched” conjugate addition reactions were further coupled with a highly diastereoselective in situ enolate oxidation using camphorsulfonyloxaziridine for the synthesis of keyalpha-hydroxy-beta-amino ester intermediates. Subsequent cyclisation and further elaboration allowed access to a range of amino polyol containing compounds including imino sugars, amino sugars, and amino acids.
Chapter 3 extends the investigation into the doubly diastereoselective lithium amide conjugate addition reaction to enantiopure alpha,beta-unsaturated esters which contain two dioxolane units. A full assessment into the conjugate addition of the antipodes of lithium N-benzyl-N-(alpha-methylbenzyl)amide to a series of D-pentose derived alpha,beta-unsaturated esters is reported. Subsequent elaboration of thebeta-amino ester products of these conjugate addition reactions resulted in the synthesis of (2'S,3'S,4'R)-dihydroxyhomoproline and (2'S,3'R,4'S)-dihydroxyhomoproline.
Chapter 4 describes the asymmetric syntheses of protected forms of APTO and AETD, the 2,4,5-trihydroxy substitutedbeta-amino acid residues found within the hexapeptide marine natural products microsclerodermins C, D and E. The optimised synthetic routes to APTO and AETD involved three key steps: a diastereoselective aminohydroxylation [via conjugate addition of lithium (R)-N-benzyl-N-(alpha-methylbenzyl)amide to an achiralalpha,beta-unsaturated ester followed by in situ enolate oxidation with camphorsulfonyloxaziridine], a diastereoselective dihydroxylation, and an olefination.
Chapter 5 contains full experimental procedures and characterisation data for all compounds synthesised in chapters 2, 3 and 4.
The role of plasma and vascular tetrahydrobiopterin in vascular disease states
Keywords: endothelium
nitric oxide
coronary artery disease
oxidative stress

The endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) co-factor tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) has been shown to play a pivotal role in maintaining endothelial function in experimental vascular disease models. In BH4-deficient states, eNOS becomes enzymatically ‘uncoupled’, generating reactive oxygen species instead of nitric oxide, thus promoting endothelial dysfunction. In humans with coronary artery disease (CAD), higher vascular BH4 levels have been shown to be associated with improved endothelial function, and genetic variation in endogenous BH4 synthesis has implicated a causal role. Accordingly, BH4 has been proposed as a potential therapeutic target in vascular disease states. The work in this thesis aims to further elucidate the roles of exogenous and endogenous BH4 in humans.
In a randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trial of oral BH4 therapy in patients with CAD, exogenous BH4 had no effect on endothelial function or vascular oxidative stress. Subsequent pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic analysis revealed that oral BH4 significantly augmented BH4 levels in plasma and in venous tissue (but not in arterial tissue), but also increased levels of the oxidation product dihydrobiopterin (BH2), which lacks eNOS cofactor activity. Thus, there was a null effect on overall biopterin redox status.
To further understand the mechanics of exogenous BH4 oxidation, ex vivo studies of human blood and vascular tissue demonstrated that exogenous BH4 is very rapidly oxidised to BH2; co-administration with an antioxidant had only a modest effect on preventing BH4 oxidation in blood, with no beneficial effect on biopterin redox state in the vasculature.
Finally, using a “Mendelian randomisation” approach, I studied the effects of a haplotype of GCH1 (the gene encoding the rate limiting enzyme in BH4 synthesis) on endogenous BH4 bioavailability and vascular function in healthy individuals. In patients with CAD, this haplotype has been associated with decreased BH4 bioavailability and eNOS uncoupling, however in healthy individuals the haplotype exerted no significant effect, likely due to reduced inflammatory stimulation of GCH1.
Economic inequality and social class
Keywords: inequality
income
social class

This thesis is about social class and economic inequality, using the Goldthorpe class schema. It tests theories claiming that social class is increasingly irrelevant to inequality and people's life-chances with data on incomes and material living standards from the British Household Panel Survey. It covers the period over which the survey ran, i.e. 1991-2008. During this time many prominent social theories dismissed class analyses while others sought to retain the class concept but dismissed its economic foundations, seeking to ground it in culture instead.
Economic inequality has not figured highly on the agenda of class analysts, at least not those working with the Goldthorpe class schema. There is a substantial body of work on mobility, voting behaviour, income poverty and material deprivation, but inequality in a broader sense has for the most part been neglected. This thesis is a step towards rectifying this situation. Thus it provides new information about within-career social mobility as well as income inequality within and between classes, on whether income mobility reduces class inequalities over time, and cast light on class inequalities in material living standards.
The findings suggest that class is far from irrelevant to economic inequality. Class differences in incomes are persistent, between class inequalities contribute more to inequality overall than within-class inequalities, and while income mobility does reduce class inequalities over time it is not to the extent that supports the hypothesis that class is irrelevant to people's economic fortunes.
Monocyte profile and function in sarcoidosis
Keywords: Monocytes
Interstitial lung disease
Respiratory medicine
Sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis is a multisystem inflammatory disorder of unknown aetiology. The immune pathology is characterised by dysregulated T cell (TH1) activity, macrophage activation and granuloma formation, resulting in systemic inflammation, and organ dysfunction. I hypothesised that, as the systemic precursor to the macrophage, altered monocyte activity in sarcoidosis may contribute to the early immune pathology of the disease. In this thesis, I examined their phenotype, four key monocytic functions: cytokine production, suppression of T cell proliferation, phagocytosis and fusion (as a precursor to granulomagenesis); and their gene expression profile compared to monocytes from healthy controls.
My data show that the expanded monocyte compartment comprise a greater proportion of the inflammatory (CD14++CD16+) and patrolling (CD14+CD16++) subsets, increased TNFα and IL-12 and decreased IL-10 and IL-4 production in sarcoidosis compared with healthy controls. The IL-10 deficit renders the monocytes less able to regulate T cell proliferation or their own fusion to multinucleate giant cells, potentially contributing to T cell expansion and granuloma formation respectively. Additionally, sarcoidosis monocytes are less able to phagocytose inert material. I also showed that previously reported deficiency in invariant NKT cells and low serum vitamin D levels in sarcoidosis may be linked to reduced IL-10 production by monocytes. Vitamin D treatment in vitro restored most of these deficiencies and provides a potential therapeutic method for manipulating monocyte function and disease genesis in sarcoidosis.
Aspects of the class S superconformal index, and gauge/gravity duality in five/six dimensions
Keywords: High Energy Physics
Mathematical Physics

In the first part of this thesis, we discuss some aspects of the four-dimensional N = 2 superconformal index of theories of class S. We first consider a generalized index on S1 × S3/ℤr, and prove S-duality in a particular fugacity slice. We then go on to study the (round) superconformal index in the presence of surface defects. We develop a systematic prescription to compute surface defects labeled by arbitrary irreducible representations of the gauge group and subject those defects to various tests in several different limits. Each of these limits is interesting in its own right, and we go on to explore them in some depth.
In the second part of this thesis, we construct the gravity duals of large N supersymmetric gauge theories defined on squashed five-spheres with SU(3) × U(1) symmetry. The gravity duals are constructed in Euclidean Romans F(4) gauged supergravity in six- dimensions, and uplift to massive type IIA supergravity. We compute the partition function and Wilson loop in the large N limit of the gauge theory and compare them to their corresponding supergravity dual quantities. As expected from AdS/CFT, both sides agree perfectly. Based on these results, we conjecture a general formula for the partition function and Wilson loop on any five-sphere background, which for fixed gauge theory depends only on a certain supersymmetric Killing vector. We then go on to construct rigid supersymmetric gauge theories on more general Riemannian five-manifolds. We follow a holographic approach, realizing the manifold as the conformal boundary of the six-dimensional bulk supergravity solution. This leads to a systematic classification of five-dimensional supersymmetric backgrounds with gravity duals.
Mitochondrial modulators of hypoxia-related pathways in tumours
Keywords: mitochondria
Warburg effect
Lon protease
breast cancer
HIF
hypoxia
tumour metabolism
mitochondrial unfolded proteins
angiogenesis
Proline hydroxylation

The Lon protease is a mitochondrial matrix quality-control protease belonging to the family of AAA+ proteins (ATPases associated with many cellular activities). We had previously found Lon to be upregulated in lung tumours with a non-angiogenic phenotype in a microarray study comparing these to conventional angiogenic tumours. In this project I set out to investigate whether Lon had any role in modulating the hypoxic response of tumour cells. Using a novel monoclonal antibody against Lon, I found that upregulation of Lon was present in breast and lung tumours and that higher levels of Lon are correlated with shorter overall survival in breast cancer patients. Targeting Lon with siRNA and shRNA in tumour cell lines reduced the normoxic and hypoxic stabilisation of HIF-α subunits. This is mediated through a mechanism independent of the activity of HIF-prolyl hydroxylases and independent of any changes in mitochondrial transcription. I found that the pre-imported form of Lon could bind and chaperone VHL in the cytoplasm potentially modulating VHL activity. In cell lines and human tumours, I observed that the proline-hydroxylated form of HIF-1α is induced by hypoxia and the hydroxylated form of HIF-1α is associated with shorter overall survival in breast cancer patients. This observation supports the notion that higher levels of Lon is associated with poor survival by downregulating VHL leading to higher levels of hydroxylated HIF. Finally I show that targeting Lon in cell lines is able to inhibit growth in a cell-line dependent fashion and partially reverses the Warburg effect, increasing oxygen consumption and reducing lactate production. In conclusion, I have demonstrated the broad therapeutic potential of targeting the Lon protease in tumours and highlighted a mechanism of post-hydroxylation HIF-regulation that has not been previously recognised in VHL competent tumours.
The reformed theology of Benjamin Keach (1640-1704)
Keywords: Southwark
Church History
Particular Baptist
theology
Christianity
Baptist
Reformed Theology
Benjamin Keach

Benjamin Keach, the most prolific Particular Baptist theologian of the seventeenth century, described himself as a defender of ‘Reformed Orthodoxy’. Despite this self-identification, modern scholarship has largely relegated Keach to a self-educated dissenting pastor whose major achievement could be found in his controversial support of hymn singing. Two recent dissertations have attempted to revise this view of Keach, but no scholarly work has yet attempted to wrestle holistically with Keach’s view of himself as a Reformed theologian. This work fills that void by reviewing Keach’s own understanding of the term ‘Reformed Orthodoxy’, reconstructing Keach’s connections both in the personal contacts available in dissenting London and Buckinghamshire and in the books at his disposal, examining the major aspects of his theology, and placing that theology within the spectrum of Reformed Orthodoxy. From the time of his entry onto the public theological stage, Keach quickly became identified with those with whom he networked intellectually. From his branding as a Fifth Monarchist to his identification first as a General Baptist and later as the most prominent Particular Baptist, those connections proved to be the most idiosyncratic characteristic of Keach’s theological pilgrimage. Those connections crossed the conventional lines of systematic theology and boundaries of religious sects, resulting in Keach’s theology crossing those same lines yet remaining Reformed in its major assertions. Following the organizational structure of Keach’s catechisms and confessions, this work proceeds by expounding and interrogating Keach’s major theological positions—his understanding of the Trinity including this doctrine’s foundational role in ecclesiology, the significance of the covenants, justification, and eschatology. Throughout this exposition, Keach’s theological lenses, shaped by his contacts and his independent, creative thought, become clear. Ultimately, Keach proves himself to be a capable Reformed theologian, able and willing to dialogue with the most influential theologians, yet consistently forging his own ground within Reformed Orthodoxy as a whole and more specifically Particular Baptist theology.
Semantics and refinement for a concurrent object oriented language
Keywords: formal software development
object-oriented programming
refinement
concurrency

FOOPS is a concurrent object oriented specification language with an executable subset. In this thesis we propose an extension of FOOPS with features for specifying systems of distributed and autonomous objects. This extension supports most features of concurrent object oriented programming, including classes of objects with associated methods and attributes, object identity, dynamic object creation and deletion, overloading, polymorphism, inheritance with overriding, dynamic binding, concurrency, nondeterminism, atomic execution, evaluation of method expressions as background processes, and object protection.
The main contribution of this thesis is to develop a framework for supporting formal development of software in the extension of FOOPS mentioned above. In particular, we introduce a structural operational semantics for FOOPS, a notion of refinement for concurrent object oriented programs, congruence properties of refinement of FOOPS programs, and tools for mechanising refinement proofs.
The operational semantics is the core of the formal definition of FOOPS. It is used to define notions of refinement for FOOPS states, programs, and specifications. Those notions and associated proof techniques for proving refinement are used to illustrate stepwise formal development of programs in FOOPS. The congruence properties of refinement (with respect to some of FOOPS operators) justify compositional development of software in FOOPS. The tools help to validate the framework introduced in this thesis and motivate its use in practice.