VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Individual differences and political equality [electronic resource] : two reconciliations
Keywords: Philosophy

I argue that a theory of distributive justice should explain how citizens' (a) individual differences and (b) political equality rightfully influence their distributive entitlements. Two important contemporary theories, luck- and status egalitarianism, explain (a) or (b), respectively, but not both. Two historical views (Fichte's and Rawls's) offer competing strategies to reconcile distribution-relevant individual differences—in particular, the contributions, efforts, and needs that vary from person to person—with citizens' political equality. Fichte's position that people have the right to guaranteed employment at a living wage ensures that workers' individual work efforts make sufficient contributions to allow workers to satisfy their needs. Political equality influences distributive entitlements to the extent that all citizens have equal rights (including the right to employment) and equal opportunity. Rawls guarantees equal rights and equal opportunity (in a different manner from Fichte); his view also has the effect of enhancing the talents of disadvantaged people over generations. In the long run, then—i.e., after the least advantaged people have benefited from generations of access to talent-building resources—Rawls's theory of distribution ensures that people's work efforts make sufficient contributions to provide for their needs. Fichte's account attends to people's individual entitlements in the present generation—so people need not defer gratification to their descendants, as presently-disadvantaged people must under Rawls's system—but Rawls's ambitious program allows everyone to satisfy a sophisticated need (for self-realization in work) that requires enhanced talents. Finally, I detail how luck- and status egalitarians could improve their views by appropriating Fichte's or Rawls's resources for reconciling individual differences and political equality.
Industrial debris [electronic resource] : memory, materiality, and the making of Mumbai's mill lands
Keywords: Anthropology.

This dissertation, Industrial Debris: Memory, Materiality, and the Making of Mumbai's Mill Lands, explores everyday life within Mumbai's declining textile mills and working-class tenement buildings, also known as "chawls." Like many cities across the globe, Mumbai is facing the grim realities of deindustrialization, urban restructuring, and the casualization of labor. The city's many textile workers once inhabited most of the city's centrally located chawls, but the collapse of the industry in the early 1980s has led to job loss, resettlement, redevelopment, and gentrification. Based on two years of ethnographic research amongst textile workers, mill owners, developers, activists, city bureaucrats, architects, and planners in the transforming mill lands of Central Mumbai, this study asks: "How does the experience of work help people create a sense of themselves? In asking this question, I travel between the last privately owned operational textile mill (which I call Dhanraj Spinning and Weaving, Ltd.) and the chawls inhabited by Dhanraj's remaining work force. Through these spaces, I ask what the place of work is in the production of personhood. By moving beyond the factory floor and into the domestic spaces of working-class life, the intersection of gender, class, caste, ethnicity, and regional origin is in direct and unavoidable conversation with large-scale narratives of belonging. In drawing attention to the simultaneity of multiple social positions, I argue that both Mumbai's written working-class history and its contemporary post-industrial landscape actively omit the diversity of mill labor, still evident on the factory floor and in the disappearing chawls. Specifically, I show how women and ethnic minorities are doubly marginalized through processes of transition. However, the dynamic built environment of postindustrial landscapes reflects the shifting livelihoods of poorer residents fighting to remain visible in urban centers. This study demonstrates that while the built environment may change, landscapes remain infused with memories. Through ethnographic methodology paired with feminist geography, queer theory, and theories of urban space, I excavate these traces of memory and juxtapose them against official narratives in order to make visible these processes of gendered erasure and racial anxiety. While ethnographically specific to Mumbai, this study speaks to current global economic and political trends of deindustrialization, privatization, and neoliberalism and highlights their gendered entailments.
Injection-locked laser network for solving NP-complete problems [electronic resource]
Keywords: Electrical Engineering

NP(Nondeterministic Polynomial)-complete problems are of great interest in various scientific and engineering fields. Although no algorithm has been found so far to find exact solutions to NP-complete problems efficiently, many have been discovered to search for approximate solutions in polynomial time. Quantum computation can solve problems such as factorization efficiently. However, it still requires exponential time to solve NP-complete problems because it is limited by various theoretical and practical factors, especially the requirement of a closed unitary system. This dissertation proposes a novel machine, based on an injection-locked laser network, which is capable of solving NP-complete Ising problems faster and more accurately. A proposed machine contains one master laser and M slave lasers, and implements the Ising Hamiltonian of M spins by injection from the master laser and mutual injection among slave lasers. For many Ising problems, the laser network spontaneously finds the polarization configuration with the minimum gain and loss, which is the ground state of the Ising Hamiltonian. The population of the excited states is depleted exponentially due to their finite loss difference to the ground state. The so-called minimum gain principle is confirmed both theoretically and numerically. Since the laser network operates in a highly dissipative system, it is more robust against noise and loss and more efficient compared to quantum computers which rely on a closed unitary system. Further research reveals that the injection-locked laser network has difficulties in solving Ising problems of larger scales that contain frustrated spin configurations and degenerate ground states. Because the readouts of the spin values are continuous rather than discrete variables, a false loss landscape is created in the evolution departing from the correct loss landscape generated by the desired Ising Hamiltonian. Subsequently, the minimum gain principle erroneously drives the laser network to the incorrect minimum of the false loss landscape. A self-learning algorithm is introduced to address the false loss landscape. In each iteration we execute four techniques to predict the correct configurations of problematic spins and enhance the signal-to-noise ratios. We instruct the laser network according to the predictions and enhancements, and then evolve the system until steady state is achieved to verify whether it follows the instructions self-consistently. Finally, the self-learning injection-locked laser network exhibits significantly better performance than existing algorithms based on the benchmark results for two NP-complete subsets of the Ising problems. The laser network can solve all Ising problems on cubic graphs of up to 20 spins with a small increase in time and finite success probability. The laser network can further obtain better solutions in much shorter times than the state-of-the-art approximation algorithm in solving the two-layer lattice problems of up to 800 spins.
Innate and adaptive immune barriers to neural stem/progenitor cell transplantation [electronic resource]
Keywords: Immunology.

Stem cells and their derivatives, engineered in vitro prior to transplantation or patterned endogenously by the environment following transplant, are hailed for their promise in treating numerous diseases, from heart disease to diabetes and arthritis. However, one substantial barrier to the success of such treatments is the effect of the immunological response on survival and function of the cells. To this end, the transplantation of neural progenitor cells (NPCs) into the healthy brain provides one of the most favorable situations for graft survival, since the central nervous system is an immune privileged site and NPC are immune privileged cells. Herein, we address whether major histocompatibility complex (MHC) mismatch results in the rejection of NPC grafts placed in the murine hippocampus and investigate which immune effectors affect graft outcome. These transplantation studies reveal that while some allogeneic cells survive, MHC incompatibility strongly inhibits the differentiation and retention of graft-derived as well as endogenously produced new neurons. We also demonstrate that inhibiting innate immune activation with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs decreases observed microglial activation and restores allogeneic neuron production and retention to levels seen in syngeneic grafts. Additionally, we show that MHC and activating ligand expression profiles on NPC facilitates recognition by Natural Killer (NK) cells. We utilize animals deficient for critical innate and adaptive immune receptors to establish that both NK cells and T cells influence graft survival and differentiation. Finally, we evaluate how MHC expression intrinsically influences NPC arborization in vitro. Intriguingly, MHC deficiency results in longer and more extensively branched processes. Taken together, our data suggest that MHC expression on grafted NPC facilitates NPC interaction with multiple other cell types, and consequently cannot be ignored when considering NPC transplantation clinically. Indeed, clinical application of NPC will undoubtedly place these cells into injured or diseased brains, where immune barriers may be more substantial. However, these data provide a starting point for evaluation of appropriate immune modulation strategies for such transplants.
Inner valence contributions and phase-matching effects in high-harmonic spectroscopy [electronic resource]
Keywords: Physics

Laser driven high-order harmonics can be used to monitor electron dynamics in molecules with angstrom spatial resolution and sub-femtosecond time resolution. I will discuss experiments extending high harmonic spectroscopy on two fronts: phase-matching and multiple orbital effects. First, measurable harmonic yields require phase-matched emission from macroscopic numbers of molecules. Due to this, observed spectra contain both single molecule and macroscopic responses. We study phase-matching's influence on spectral information using the Cooper Minimum in Argon as a spectral marker. In addition, we develop a phase-matching-based highly dispersive transient Bragg gratings scheme, which shows that phase-matching can actively be used in high harmonic spectroscopy experiments. Second, high harmonics originating from several valence orbitals and their subsequent interferences offers dynamical information but complicates the interpretation of data. Using molecular nitrogen, we show that adjustment and control of the molecular axis can to some extent isolate the contribution of an inner valence orbital. Using water, we demonstrate a different scheme for isolating inner valence contributions based on isotopic substitution. This technique marks the ionizing orbitals by the vibrational motion during the first femtosecond following ionization. These results show that inner valence contributions are ubiquitous and can be isolated even without vibrational or rotational pre-excitation.
Inorganic/graphene hybrid nanomaterials for electrochemical energy storage and conversion [electronic resource]
Keywords: Chemistry

The increasing demand for energy together with the growing concerns about air pollution and global warming has stimulated intensive research on energy processes ranging from production, conversion, storage, transmission and consumption. Energy storage is to become more and more important with the gradual shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources which are temporally intermittent and geographically localized. On the other hand, electric vehicles are now a trend in the automobile industry with the goal to cut emission and reduce oil consumption. It is thus crucial to develop electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices such as batteries and supercapacitors with high specific energy and power, long cycle life, low cost and safety. We aim to design and synthesize novel nanostructured electrode materials and electrocatalysts by using chemically derived graphene sheets as growth substrates for electrochemical functional materials. The unique chemical interactions between graphene and the active nanomaterials affect the morphology and size of the nanomaterials, enhance electron transport, stabilize the nanomaterials during cycling, and generate synergistic effects in electrocatalysis, leading to superior electrochemical performance. We have grown nanocrystals of hydroxides, oxides, chalcogenides and phosphates with controlled morphology, sizes and structures on graphene, affording materials that can be readily integrated in current lithium ion batteries, alkaline batteries and supercapacitors to boost their performance, as well as materials that support rising technologies such as Li-S and Li-air batteries. The novel materials we have studied also allow for deepening our understanding in materials chemistry and electrochemistry.
Instruction for struggling adolescent readers and the limited influence of curriculum materials [electronic resource]
Keywords: Education.

While many adolescents struggle to meet the literacy demands of high school, teachers in secondary schools are typically not prepared to teach reading. Districts respond to these challenges by adopting packaged reading intervention programs, sets of curriculum materials for courses aimed at quickly developing students' reading abilities. Typically, these programs are meant to be implemented "with fidelity, " or with little change from the designed lessons, but past research questions both the likelihood and the appropriateness of "implementing with fidelity." This case study examines three high school teachers' use of one such program with the goal of describing the sorts of adaptations teachers commonly made and determining the degree to which those adaptations could be explained by how teachers read the curriculum materials and how they conceptualized reading instruction. Data included curriculum materials, classroom observations, and teacher interviews. Although the participating teachers were enthusiastic about the program, each of them made substantial adaptations during planning and implementation. This was partially explained by teachers attending more closely to the student materials than to the accompanying instructional recommendations and by teachers' apparent unfamiliarity with instructional practices promoted by the program. Each teacher's adaptations tended to shift the mode of classroom instruction away from explicit instruction and discussion towards recitation and written work. The shifts also tended to lower the rigor of the academic work from comprehension tasks to memory and procedural tasks. This study illustrates the limits of a written curriculum's influence on instruction and has implications for efforts to improve practice through the adoption of materials.
Integrating geological and geophysical data to study the mechanics of multifault earthquakes with reference to the 1992 M 7.3 Landers, California earthquake [electronic resource]
Keywords: Geological and Environmental Sciences.

Earthquakes that rupture multiple faults are larger than those predicted from individual fault lengths, making understanding such events critical to seismic hazard mitigation. This research explores stress transfer across extensional steps between nearby faults to address the influence of fault geometry on fault interactions. While mapped surface data often are restricted to the realm of the geologist, and subsurface data, such as aftershocks, often are restricted to the realm of the geophysicist, integration of these data in forward boundary element method models proves advantageous in constraining the 3D geometry of the multiple strike-slip faults that ruptured in the 1992 M 7.3 Landers, California earthquake. Further forward modeling reveals that this fault geometry influences inferences of fault interactions across an extensional step along the southern-central rupture. Estimates of potential step width made with planar faults indicate direct transfer of slip across the step, while conclusions from models incorporating non-planar fault geometries indicate that slip along a crossing fault located within the step is critical to slip transfer. In general, models incorporating planar approximations to more realistic non-planar fault geometries do not capture the behavior of non-planar faults and are more sensitive to changes in model parameters, including friction and the tectonic driving stress orientation. The tectonic driving stress orientation exerts the greatest influence over non-planar fault behavior, but is poorly constrained near Landers and in many regions around the world. A new approach to inverting earthquake data for the tectonic stress state that honors the mechanical relationships among this stress, fault slip, and the stress and displacement fields surrounding the faults following slip is presented and applied in the Landers region.
Interaction of polyglutamine fibrils with the mammalian cell surface [electronic resource]
Keywords: Biology.

Neurodegeneration is currently as inexorable in its progression as it is devastating in its scope. Current therapies are largely ineffective, in large part because the etiology of disease is still undetermined. In all of these diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease, the presence of a particular form of protein aggregate -- the amyloid fibril -- has led investigators to propose that this structure is a large facet of disease pathogenesis. Though this aggregate has been observed for centuries, how amyloid or amyloid precursors contribute to disease is still unknown. In mammalian prion diseases, amyloid is also central to pathology and transmission. In these cases, the amyloid fibril is an infectious unit, transmitted from individual to individual through consumption of contaminate brain or fecal matter or through contaminated surgical instruments. Recently, we and others have observed that amyloid fibrils derived from neurodegenerative-disease-related proteins like tau, [alpha]-synuclein, and polyglutamine can be transmitted from cell-to-cell in a manner similar to prion disease. These observations raise many questions regarding the mechanism of transmission and the contribution of this phenomenon to disease progression. This study analyzed the interaction of polyglutamine fibrils with the mammalian cell surface. We identified several factors that drastically influence the binding and internalization of polyglutamine fibrils. We show that fibrillar structure and the electrostatic composition of the fibril influences its binding to the cell surface. Furthermore, we demonstrate that polyglutamine fibrils bind to distinct binding sites on the surface, and that a particular class of sites seems to consist of proteins involved in cell adhesion. Finally, we describe a novel bioassay to determine genes involved in aggregate uptake on a genome-wide scale. The findings from this work increase our understanding of how this phenomenon occurs, and by extension will provide a foundation from which to understand whether the prion-like transmission of amyloid fibrils in neurodegeneration contributes to disease progression.
Interests abroad and actions at home [electronic resource] : the politics of U.S. bilateral trade balances
Keywords: Political Science.

Despite the implications for the distribution of the gains and losses from trade, bilateral trade balances have been under-examined as both structural and institutional variables. The existing literature has failed to examine any evidence to explain why some bilateral trade balances have become politicized while others have been ignored by the government through changes in both the security relationships and economic position of the United States. This thesis addresses this omission by studying the bilateral trade balances of the United States from 1946 to the present, using a core dataset of all trade balances between the United States and its trading partners, a set of over 150 countries. This comprehensive data reveals significant bilateral variation in the politicization of bilateral trade balances in the realm of trade policy, supporting the hypothesis that variations in the size of the bilateral trade balance result in variations in political responses. This thesis makes several contributions to the literature. First, I demonstrate the importance of reconceptualizing the measurement of bilateral trade balances using the bilateral terms-of-trade. Secondly, I present evidence demonstrating the relationship between the size of bilateral trade balances and politicization. To study government action on bilateral trade balances, I analyze anti-dumping cases, showing that U.S. foreign direct investment is an important predictor of government action against bilateral trade deficits. I then analyze the impact of bilateral trade balances upon mass politicization, using an original measure of media attention. Finally, I present qualitative evidence of the variations in politicization by examining the history of trade conflicts between the United States and Japan. Overall, I demonstrate that bilateral trade balances are important to understanding variations in the politicization of trade.