VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Manipulating the coupling between electronic and spin degrees of freedom in molecules
Keywords: Single-molecule magnets
Graphene
Photomagnetism
Nanomagnetism
Graphene nanoribbons
Electron spin resonance
Electron paramagnetic resonance
Magnetometry
Molecular magnets

The miniaturisation of semiconductors is running into physical limitations. In order to further enhance computational powers, reaching the atomic or molecular level is both necessary and inevitable. At the nanometre scale, the quantum properties of materials become important. These can be used for qubits in quantum computers, which are able to process information significantly faster than traditional counterparts. One approach towards such novel nanoelectronic devices is realised via molecular magnetic materials. Single-molecule magnets, which represent the smallest possible molecular magnetic structures, are currently being tested in such devices. However, the physics of these materials is not yet completely understood. The magnetic property of electrons, known as the electron spin, plays a crucial role here. It is furthermore very sensitive to its surroundings. Interactions with neighbouring nuclear spins, for instance, lead to decoherence, which translates to a loss of stored quantum information. In order to promote the development of new elements for nanoelectronics or qubits, it is therefore essential to unravel the couplings of the spins and their surroundings, and learn how to control and manipulate them.
The present work focuses on how light, as an ultra-clean technique, can be used to manipulate the molecular spin states, and how magnetic centres interact when chemically attached to a graphene nanoribbon. We employ state-of-the-art electron spin resonance techniques and SQUID magnetometry to investigate the effect of light on a new cobalt valence tautomer, where we find an enhanced blocking temperature of a metastable light-excited state. Furthermore, we examine an Fe3Cr-based single-molecule magnet, where light causes a change in the giant spin. We then progress to graphene nanoribbons, which offer an interesting semiconducting backbone for magnetic molecules. Through a comprehensive analysis of spin-spin couplings in nitronyl-nitroxide graphene nanoribbons, we eventually prove the existence of an edge state, which allows for two-qubit applications.
Gender protection / protecting the gender order: rethinking responses to sexual violence in armed conflict and its aftermath
Keywords: Sexual violence in armed conflict
Men and masculinities
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Gender and armed conflict

This dissertation examines the gendered parameters of internationally driven responses to sexual violence in armed conflict. Responding to sexual violence in conflict is now an established priority across international policy agendas, including the United Nations Security Council’s framework on Women, Peace and Security (WPS). Over the last decade, a vast multi-sectoral response architecture has been developed to address and redress the issue. At the level of scholarship, the targeted focus on sexual violence in international security gave new life to feminist debates around the boundaries of ‘gender’ in armed conflict. In particular, scholars point to the limits of dualistic assumptions of gender positioning women as the inevitable victims of sexual violence in conflict, and men as its inevitable perpetrators. While pervasive across conflict contexts, sexual violence documented in eastern DRC has been an important focus of these developments and attendant debates across scholarship, policy and practice.
Against the backdrop of the WPS agenda and through the case study of eastern DRC, this dissertation builds on this scholarship. Empirically, it explores the relationship between internationally developed responses to sexual violence in conflict and their implications in practice. Conceptually, it examines how, why, and with what effect gendered assumptions underpinning the response architecture bear upon understandings of ‘gender’ in conflict more broadly. Drawing on extensive qualitative research conducted at the UN Headquarters in New York and in eastern DRC, I demonstrate that responses to sexual violence reify the (perceived) inevitability of female ‘victim-survivorhood’ and male ‘perpetratorhood.’ In other words, and by calling particular attention to institutional politics of policymaking and operational constraints of policy implementation, I argue that gender protection mechanisms ultimately protect ‘gender.’ In doing so, this thesis adds empirical and conceptual weight to calls for more complex, intersectional, and inclusive understandings of gender (and) protection in armed conflict and its aftermath.
Site-selective chemical phosphorylation and activation of kinases
Keywords: Kinases
Phosphorylation
Mass spectrometry
Site-selective protein modification

Phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of proteins play an essential role in their cellular function. However, the study of protein phosphoforms in a molecular level is challenging, as the isolation and characterisation of homogeneous phosphoforms is not always possible. We propose to synthesise and study these phosphoforms using a tag-and-modify approach. This methodology allows the selective chemical phosphorylation of protein via the introduction of a phosphocysteine residue (pC).
The effect of individual phosphorylation of MEK1 kinase, which plays a central role in cell differentiation and proliferation, was examined. The selective formation of homogeneous MEK1pC218, MEK1pC222, as well as the doubly phosphorylated MEK1pC218pC222 mimics of the corresponding activate MEK1 phosphoforms, was successfully achieved. The engineering of new reactants and masking techniques was critical to the task. The development of a LCMS based procedure for kinetic studies unravelled the effect of phosphorylation on MEK1 binding to its substrates, ATP and ERK1. While initial crystallisation attempts showed that optimisation was still needed. Future work should stress the utility of such methodology towards the understanding of the structural variations created by phosphorylation.
The chemical mechanism of formation of dehydroalanine (Dha) was also investigated through the design and use of deuterated probes. The selective formation of α-deuterated cysteine residues in both amino-acid and protein models allowed the elucidation of an E1cB mechanism. Moreover, this study highlighted the particularity of 2,5-dibromohexane diamide (DBHDA) as a mild, water soluble and almost universal reagent for the modification of cysteine to Dha residues in protein.
Intellectual property enforcement: remedies, procedures and processes in an international and EU copyright context
Keywords: EU Law
Copyright
Intellectual property
Remedies
TRIPs
WTO

Copyright regulation has become increasingly transnational, if not global, in its approach. All aspects of copyright law have been impacted by efforts among nations to coordinate and harmonise their copyright regimes. As the United Kingdom coordinates its intellectual property regime with that of the European Union and globally, domestic judges must grapple with an increasing number of treaties, directives, and regulatory inputs which colour every step in the process of copyright enforcement.
This research examines the expressions of how that coordination ought to, and does, impact domestic law. More specifically, this is a thesis about the Internationalisation and Europeanisation of remedies and procedures in UK copyright litigation.
This thesis approaches this topic in three parts:
Part One sets out the relevant framework of copyright regulation and protection in the United Kingdom from first principles (Chapter One). It explores the foundational instruments, the interaction between those instruments, and the overarching obligations stemming from those instruments which bear general application. This part identifes the inherent complexity and difficulties in properly applying these layered obligations (Chapter Two).
Part Two takes the layered obligations and interactions from Part One and investigates how those interactions are in fact applied across the full spectrum of remedies, sanctions, and procedures. This is considered from the perspective of monetary remedies (such as damages) (Chapter Three), tangible and injunctive relief (Chapter Four), and criminal and declaratory outcomes (Chapter Five). Part Two concludes by looking at the degree of Europeanisation and Internationalisation of procedural obligations in copyright proceedings (Chapter Six).
Part Three then reflects on the philosophy of such enforcement and its stated intended purposes (Chapter Seven) in light of the analysis undertaken in the previous chapters. The Part then argues that, based on the UK's experiences, the field of copyright remedies and procedure is, on an EU level, ripe for further harmonisation and reform to address systemic failures in properly applying transnational obligations. The Part makes a series of recommendations on improving outcomes, taking into account the purposes of copyright regulation by proposing the development of a harmonising EU regulation as the most viable course.
Topological and time based event classification for neutrinoless double beta decay in liquid scintillator
Keywords: Liquid Scintillator
Neutrinoless double beta decay
Particle identification

The SNO+ experiment is the successor to the SNO neutrino detector, which replaces its heavy water target with a liquid scintillator one. The primary physics goal is the search for neutrinoless double beta decay (0vββ) in 130Te, which will be loaded into the scintillator. Fitted with > 9300 photo-multiplier tubes, the SNO+ detector will have the highest photo-cathode coverage of any large liquid scintillator detector. This thesis shows that, at this light collection level, SNO+ is sensitive to differences in the scintillation pulses produced by electrons, positrons and gammas, and that these differences may be used to classify single-site 0vββ events and multi-site radioactive backgrounds which emit γ. This pulse shape discrimination technique (PSD) is applied to background events from radiation originating outside the detector, which limit the experiment's fiducial volume, and potential internal radioactive decays, like 60Co, which are otherwise difficult to distinguish from 0vββ. A new signal extraction framework is described and used to perform 2D fits in energy and event radius, which estimate an expected limit on the 0vββ half-life of T0v1/2 1.76 x 1026 yr, at 90% confidence, assuming an exposure of 4.0 tonne yr of 130Te. The corresponding limit on the effective Majorana mass is mββ < 49.7meV, using the IBM-2 nuclear model. Further, it is shown that adding PSD as an additional fit dimension can reduce the SNO+ 3 sigma discovery level on mββ from 190meV to 91 meV, assuming the same exposure. The final portion of this work discusses what more could be achieved using a liquid scintillator experiment which can separate scintillation and Cherenkov signals in time. A simulation of a SNO+ style detector, filled with a slow scintillator and equipped with a high coverage of fast, high quantum efficiency PMTs is used to demonstrate separation of Cherenkov and scintillation signals and reconstruction algorithms for electron and 0vββ events are described. Differences in Cherenkov signals are used to distinguish 0vββ from the solar neutrino elastic scattering background, and to demonstrate for the first time that, in principle, the 0vββ mechanism may be determined in liquid scintillator by fitting the angular separation and energy split of the two emitted electrons.
The scope of thermodynamics
Keywords: Black Hole Thermodynamics
Entropy
Philosophy of Physics
Quantum Thermodynamics
Thermodynamics

This thesis investigates the application of the laws of thermodynamics to various sub-systems of the universe. I begin by distinguishing between three diﬀerent second laws: orthodox, statistical and probabilistic. After suggesting that entropy is best understood in means-relative terms, I then show that this interpretation does not imply an epistemic understanding of thermodynamics, pace Jaynes. I conclude the discussion of phenomenological thermodynamics by arguing that thermodynamics can properly be applied to systems containing only a single particle, given the right circumstances. Next I discuss thermodynamics in the context of black holes, and examine the question of whether black hole entropy is genuine thermodynamic entropy, as opposed merely to information-theoretic entropy. I examine the original arguments by Bekenstein and Hawking, and conclude that these are unsatisfactory, but I go on to demonstrate that black holes ought to be considered to be genuine thermodynamic objects by constructing a black hole Carnot cycle. The third chapter investigates thermodynamics in the quantum realm and begins by discussing a recent argument by Hemmo and Shenker against the identiﬁcation of the von Neumann entropy with the thermodynamic entropy. Their argument is shown to be ﬂawed as it a) allows for a violation of the second law and b) is based on an incorrect calculation of the entropy. I continue by providing a derivation of the laws of thermodynamics from quantum mechanics and a few phenomenological assumptions. This approach is then compared to so-called resource theories of thermodynamics and to single-shot thermodynamics. I end my discussion of quantum thermodynamics with the analysis of an argument made by Cabello et al., who claim that thermodynamics allows for the derivation of an empirical diﬀerence between two important classes of quantum interpretation. I provide a counterexample to this claim and show that the alleged heat cost is fully accounted for in the external agent.
Relationship between the gut microbiome and behaviour at the molecular, organism, population and evolutionary levels
Keywords: Bifidobacterium
Mus musculus
Lactobacillus
Neuropeptides
Probiotics
Microbiome
Gut microbiome
Prebiotics
Homo sapiens
Behaviour
Microbiome-gut-brain axis
Macaca mulatta

Eukaryotes have evolved in the presence of microbial life and so it is unsurprising that microorganisms are functionally integrated with many aspects of animal biology. Research is revealing the numerous ways that the gut microbiome interacts with the host’s central nervous system, influencing brain development, neurochemistry, emotion and social behaviour. This microbiome–gut–brain axis is bidirectional since the behaviour and emotional state of the host can in turn alter microbiome composition and function. This thesis investigates these two-way interactions between the gut microbiome and host behaviour at the molecular, organism, population and evolutionary levels.
I demonstrate using animal models that the gut microbiome alters the expression of neuropeptide signalling pathways implicated in social and emotional behaviour, particularly in the frontal cortex. This is the first investigation into the effect of the microbiome on the brain’s opioid system. In a large human cohort I find that sociability, neuroticism, anxiety and stress are related to differences in microbiome composition and diversity, revealing a microbial dimension to human personality. I also show in a non-captive macaque population that sociability is related to differential abundances of certain bacterial taxa. From an evolutionary perspective, I find evidence that a change in gut microbiome composition may have facilitated evolution of a larger brain and complex social behaviour. Finally, I apply evolutionary theory to the microbiome–gut–brain axis and argue against the emerging hypothesis that gut microorganisms manipulate host behaviour.
This multilevel approach provides a holistic view of the microbiome–gut–brain axis, from neurogenetics, to personality, social behaviour and evolution of the social brain. Based on the novel insights from this research, I conclude that the gut microbiome is fundamental to our understanding of the mammalian brain, behaviour and evolution in ways not currently appreciated, but with implications for human psychology and well-being.
Beyond implementation: mainstreaming residential solar energy in Trinidad
Keywords: Small islands
Solar energy
Policy
Energy transitions
Mainstreaming
Culture

Small, tropical islands are energy insecure because they depend on precarious fossil fuel markets. The islands of Trinidad, Barbados and Oahu were looked at. Trinidad is the central case study and has low solar technology deployment. Barbados and Oahu have widespread residential solar energy adoption and are used as comparators. The comparisons are used to answer the question: “How could the resident population’s energy culture(s) and Government’s residential solar energy policies interact to mainstream distributed residential solar energy technologies in Trinidad?”
The Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) is used to approach energy transitions (ETs) as the product of a landscape, a regime, and niche’s interactions. Mainstreaming as a concept is not explicitly used in the MLP but refers to the process by which niche-innovations enter the regime. However, the MLP’s definition of culture was a gap in its approach to ETs. The Energy Cultures Framework is used to define ‘culture’ in the regime as ‘energy cultures’ which have norms, practices, material culture and external influences. The study investigates the role(s) of culture in ETs through the mainstreaming of distributed residential solar energy technologies in Trinidad. It focuses on the interactions between ‘culture’ and ‘policy’.
Trinidad’s historical energy policy literature was reviewed. This was followed by conducting 33 structured interviews with residents in Barbados and Trinidad, and 22 semi-structured interviews with energy officials in Oahu and Trinidad. Inductive and deductive thematic content analyses were respectively used to analyze the interviews.
Culture can create policy niches, and be considered to determine the types, goals and designs of policies that should be used to mainstream residential solar energy in Trinidad. More broadly culture transcends the three planes of the MLP and has proactive and reactive roles - which are expressed through niche-creation; technological selectivity; adaptive capacity; resisting change; and reacting to change. Mainstreaming is a useful concept in the MLP because it links innovation-adoption to socio-technical change and studying culture in the MLP broadens the consideration extended towards behaviour in socio-technical interactions.
Magnetic resonance imaging of the liver. T1 dynamics: confounders and modelling
Keywords: Quantitative liver MRI
Multiparametric MRI
Magnetic resonance imaging
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is becoming increasingly prevalent in the world population. The current gold standard for diagnosing NAFLD, however, is still the liver needle biopsy, the evaluation of which can be subjective, lacks good reproducibility, and suffers from sampling bias. Multiparametric MRI exams comprising measurements of proton density fat fraction, hepatic iron concentration and liver T1 values, with iron- corrected T1 measurements correlating well with liver fibrosis and inflammation, have been suggested as a good non-invasive candidate to diagnose NAFLD. However, T1 values and T1 measurement methods are affected by more than just iron. The work presented in this thesis focussed on characterising the complex dependence of T1 values on hepatic lipid concentration when using the MOLLI methods. Dependent on field strength, magnetic field inhomogeneities, and sequence parameters (such as echo time and repetition time), the deleterious effects of fat can result in an artificial increase or decrease of measured liver T1s. An algorithm capable of reversing the effects of fat and frequency offsets was developed and tested in phantoms and in prospectively recruited participants by comparing the outcome of the algorithm to liver water T1 values measured using MR spectroscopy.
Finally, two other influencing factors of liver T1 were also studied: liver glycogen concentration and body hydration status, both of which are subject to significant diurnal variation and their T1 effect has been shown earlier. A small study involving healthy vol- unteers undergoing metabolic interventions was conducted to determine the dependence of liver T1 values on liver glycogen concentration and hydration status.
Which God will save us? Jewish receptions of Martin Heidegger's philosophy
Keywords: Heidegger
Buber
Jewish Thought
Emmanuel Levinas
Leo Strauss

To date, scholars addressing the theme of Martin Heidegger and religion have most often examined his roots in, and impact on, Christianity. With respect to Heidegger and Judaism, critical literature has almost exclusively taken a common perspective: it discusses Heidegger’s view of Jews and the question of his antisemitism and Nazism. The present doctorate dissertation explores Jewish receptions of Heidegger’s philosophy, claiming that from immediately after the publication of Sein und Zeit and throughout the twentieth century, a central prism through which Jewish thinkers read his work was a religious one, and that they engaged with it as a provocation and challenge to Judaism, however constructed. The thesis demonstrates that Heidegger is a key reference point in the negotiation of the boundaries between Judaism, Christianity, and secularism in twentieth century Jewish thought, and that the Jewish responses to his philosophy channel a disillusionment from the political-theological premises of the modern project.
A compact, high-flux source of cold atoms
Keywords: Atom source
Quantum technology
Magneto-optical trap
Cold-atom source
Pyramid mirror
Adjustable aperture
Pyramid MOT
Ultracold atoms
High flux
Laser cooling
MOT

The ongoing drive to transfer quantum technologies from research laboratories to practical, portable devices requires the development of multiple key enabling technologies. The field of cold atoms, which includes high-precision metrology and quantum simulation, has various real-world applications including time-keeping and navigation. A crucial component in these systems is a cold-atom source that generates a flux of low-velocity atoms suitable for subsequent capture. A large flux enables fast repetition rates, high duty cycles, long measurement times, and resistance to long-term performance degradation with a good signal-to-noise ratio, all of which are essential to produce cold-atom devices and technologies that are capable of out-performing the classical alternatives.
This thesis presents the design, fabrication and characterisation of a novel cold-atom source using a compact pyramidal magneto-optical trap (MOT) with a unique adjustable-aperture mechanism. This allowed an investigation of the dependence of the flux characteristics on the aperture size, a parameter space that has not previously been explored. The measurements showed a strong dependence of the flux on the aperture size, with a negligible flux below 0.4mm, then an approximately linear increase up to 1.0mm, at which point the relationship showed possible signs of saturation. Using 87Rb, a flux of 1.18×1010 atoms/s was produced using a 1.27mm aperture, for which the mean velocity of the atoms was 21.6(3) m/s with a FWHM of 11.2(2) m/s, and the FWHM divergence of the beam was 86(2) mrad. This is the highest recorded flux from a pyramid or 2D+-MOT source, and amongst the highest reported fluxes from any MOT sources, and avenues for improvement still remain. This work fulfils the aim of demonstrating a compact and robust cold-atom source generating a high flux of laser-cooled atoms for real-world quantum technology applications.