VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Literature and the Greek auteur
Keywords: film and literature
Greek literature
film adaptations

The focus of this thesis is to trace the dialogue between the Greek cinéma d' auteur and Greek literature focusing on film adaptations of Greek literature from 1964 to 2001. It is argued that film adaptations are a sensitive prism through which to examine the auteurs? cultural politics regarding their work and, through that, understand the economy of the auteurist cultural production itself. The thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter One presents the history of the creation of the Greek cinéma d' auteur and traces its developments in relation to the concepts of national and high art. The principle argument is that Greek literature, endowed with notions of high art and national identity, played a key role in the gradual emergence, formation and consolidation of auteurism as a cinema that enunciates national identity and articulates high art values. The next four chapters examine four film adaptations each made by an acclaimed auteur. The chapters endeavour to investigate the identity politics of each director in relation to the categories of high and national art that defined the Greek cinéma d' auteur. Moreover, the chapters aim to study the politics involved in the validation or renegotiation of auteurism itself. The major contribution of the thesis is the exploration of film adaptations of Greek literature in the Greek cinéma d' auteur which has not been systematically discussed so far. Furthermore, the investigation of the two separate components that make up the subject of the thesis, namely cinema and literature, both from a theoretical perspective and within the framework of film studies, aligns the thesis with recent discussions in Modern Greek Studies and theoretical debates about authorship in films, film adaptations as well as peripheral cinemas.
Sloping convection: an experimental investigation in a baroclinic annulus with topography
Keywords: Walker Circulation
Annulus
Low Frequency Variability
Resonance
Thermal
Wave-Triads
Intraseasonal Oscillations.
Topography
Blocking
Atmospheric Circulation
Oceanic Circulation
Baroclinic

This thesis documents a collection of experimental investigations in which a differentially-heated annulus was used to investigate the effects of topography on the atmospheric and oceanic circulation. To this end a number of experiments were devised, each using a different topographic base to study a different aspect of the impact of topography, motivated by the most notable outstanding questions found in a review of the literature, namely exploring the effects of topographic resonance, blocking via partial barriers, and azimuthally differential-heating via thermal topography.
First of all, whilst employing sinusoidal wavenumber-3 topography to extend the experimental parameter space of a similar study, namely Read and Risch (2011), a new regime within a region of structural vacillation was encountered. Denoted as the ‘stationary-transition’ regime, it featured periodic oscillations between a dominant stationary wavenumber-3 flow and axisymmetric or chaotic flow. An investigation into topographic resonance followed, keeping the wavenumber-3 base, but with a sloped lid to add a beta effect to the annulus. This acted to increase the occurrence of stationary waves, along with the ‘stationary-transition’ regime, which was discovered to be a near-resonant region where nonlinear topographic resonant instability led to a 23 to 42 ‘day’ oscillatory structure. The base was then replaced with an isolated ridge, forming a partial barrier to study the difference between blocked and unblocked flow. The topography was found to impact the circulation at a level much higher than its own peak, causing a unique flow structure when the drifting flow and the topography interacted in the form of an ‘interference’ regime at low Taylor Numbers, as well as forming an erratic ‘irregular’ regime at higher Taylor Numbers. Lastly, this isolated ridge was replaced by flat heating elements covering the same azimuthal extent, in order to observe whether thermal topography could be comparable to mechanical topography. These azimuthally-varying heating experiments produced much the same results as the partial barriers study, despite the lack of a physical peak or bottom-trapped waves, suggesting that blocking is independent of these activities. Evidence of resonant wave-triads was noted in all experiments, though the component wavenumbers of the wave-triads and their impact on the flow was found to depend on the topography in question.
Moral homelands: localism and the nation in Kabylia (Algeria)
Keywords: nationalism
ethnomusicology
migration
political song
Algeria
minorities
regionalism
Berber

This thesis is a study of attitudes to regional and national identity in Kabylia, a Berber-speaking region in northeast Algeria, and among Kabyle migrants in Paris. I illustrate how Kabyles nurture a fragile balance of nationalism and regional particularism through a primarily moral notion of local community, and extend it to an alternative vision for an Algerian nation which they believe has been debased by a corrupt state regime and Arabo-Islamic ideology since national independence. The thesis is based on two years of ethnographic fieldwork divided between two places – Paris and a large village in Kabylia – and reflects my interest in how people ‘imagine’ national community through their experience as members of smaller social groups.
Many Kabyle activists today formulate an alternative vision of Algerian national politics as a federation of several regionally based affective communities, each maintaining internal solidarity. This echoes a tendency in French colonial writings on Kabylia, discussed in the opening chapter, to conceive of the region as an island, intensively connected yet defensive of its autonomy. As citizens of the existing Algerian state, many Kabyles contest assimilation by claiming to represent Algeria’s ‘true past’, and investing contemporary governance initiatives with its values. They represent the radical difference that this implies with metaphors of the Kabyle community as a family within ‘public’ national life, and accuse the state regime of reversing this relationship by adopting a language of coercive authority appropriate only within the family. The transmission of Kabyle values today relies heavily on music, and especially political song, which I demonstrate – beyond its role in disseminating dissident ideas – acts as a vehicle for a type of secular revealed knowledge widely seen as the purest embodiment of Kabyle morality.
Beyond the hollow rhetoric of Western liberalism that some see in Kabyle activism, I set out to demonstrate that the particular narrative of identity that I examine, in stressing regional uniqueness at the expense of recognition from a centralized state, also reflects anomalies inherent in the concept of ‘nationalism’ itself as a compromise between the requirements of external co-operation and internal allegiance.
Signal processing methods for the analysis of cerebral blood flow and metabolism
Keywords: cerebral autoregulation. signal processing

An important protective feature of the cerebral circulation is its ability to maintain sufficient cerebral blood flow and oxygen supply in accordance with the energy demands of the brain despite variations in a number of external factors such as arterial blood pressure, heart rate and respiration rate. If cerebral autoregulation is impaired, abnormally low or high CBF can lead to cerebral ischemia, intracranial hypertension or even capillary damage, thus contributing to the onset of cerebrovascular events. The control and regulation of cerebral blood flow is a dynamic, multivariate phenomenon. Sensitive techniques are required to monitor and process experimental data concerning cerebral blood flow and metabolic rate in a clinical setting. This thesis presents a model simulation study and 4 related signal processing studies concerned with CBF regulation. The first study models the regulation of the cerebral vasculature to systemic changes in blood pressure, dissolved blood gas concentration and neural activation in a integrated haemodynamic system. The model simulations show that the three pathways which are generally thought to be independent (pressure, CO₂ and activation) greatly influence each other, it is vital to consider parallel changes of unmeasured variability when performing a single pathway study. The second study shows how simultaneously measured blood gas concentration fluctuations can improve the accuracy of an existing frequency domain technique for recovering cerebral autoregulation dynamics from spontaneous fluctuations in blood pressure and cerebral blood flow velocity. The third study shows how the continuous wavelet transform can recover both time and frequency information about dynamic autoregulation, including the contribution of blood gas concentration. The fourth study shows how the discrete wavelet transform can be used to investigate frequency-dependent coupling between cerebral and systemic cardiovascular dynamics. The final study then uses these techniques to investigate the systemic effects on resting BOLD variability. The general approach taken in this thesis is a combined analysis of both modelling and data analysis. Physiologically-based models encapsulate hypotheses about features of CBF regulation, particularly those features that may be difficult to recover using existing analysis methods, and thus provide the motivation for developing both new analysis methods and criteria to evaluate these methods. On the other hand, the statistical features extracted directly from experimental data can be used to validate and improve the model.
Genome-wide association of statin-induced myopathy
Keywords: rhabdomyolysis
statin
myopathy
genome-wide association study
candidate gene study

Lowering LDL-cholesterol with statin therapy produces substantial reductions in cardiovascular events, and larger cholesterol reductions may produce larger benefits. Rarely, myopathy occurs with statins, especially at higher doses and in combination with certain medications. Similarly strong associations might exist between myopathy with high-dose statin regimens and genetic variants, especially those affecting blood statin levels. This study aimed to find genetic variants associated with statin-induced myopathy.
A feasibility study was completed to assess whether plausible effect sizes of 5 to10-fold higher risks per genetic variants could be detected among 50-100 cases with statin-induced myopathy and to consider the best study design. A genome-wide association study was then carried out using approximately 300,000 genetic markers (and additional fine-mapping) in 85 people with definite or incipient myopathy and 90 controls, who were all taking 80mg simvastatin daily in a 12,000 participant trial of 80mg vs 20mg simvastatin daily. The cases were also compared to 2,300 additional controls who had not been exposed to intensive-dose statin therapy. Replication of the myopathy result and lipid-lowering associations were tested in a 20,000 participant trial of 40mg simvastatin daily versus placebo.
The genome-wide scan yielded a single strong association (p = 4x10-9) of myopathy with the rs4363657 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) located within the SLCO1B1 gene on chromosome 12. This non-coding SNP was in nearly complete linkage disequilibrium (r2=0.97) with the non-synonymous rs4149056 SNP. The population prevalence of the rs4149056 C allele was 15%, and the odds ratio for myopathy was 4.5 (95% confidence interval 2.6 to 7.7) for each copy of the C allele and 16.9 (4.7 to 61.1) for CC vs TT homozygotes. Over 60% of these myopathy cases could be attributed to the C variant.
The SLCO1B1 gene encodes the organic anion transport polypeptide OATP1B1, which has been shown to regulate hepatic uptake of statins. In literature reports, rs4149056 reduced statin transport and was associated with 37% (31% to 44%) higher systemic statin acid levels per C allele. The association of rs4149056 with myopathy was replicated in the trial of 40mg simvastatin daily, which also showed that it was associated with the cholesterol-lowering effects of simvastatin. No SNPs in any other region were clearly associated with myopathy (although comparison of the myopathy cases with the 2,300 controls identified a region of chromosome 1p12 that warrants further study).
This study identified common variants in SLCO1B1 that influence the risks of statin-induced myopathy substantially. Genotyping these variants may be useful for tailoring both the statin dose and safety monitoring. More generally, such studies of the genetic determinants of serious adverse reactions with other drug classes may help to improve the balance between treatment efficacy and safety.
Transfer learning for object category detection
Keywords: Object Detection
Transfer Learning
Computer Vision

Object category detection, the task of determining if one or more instances of a category are present in an image with their corresponding locations, is one of the fundamental problems of computer vision. The task is very challenging because of the large variations in imaged object appearance, particularly due to the changes in viewpoint, illumination and intra-class variance. Although successful solutions exist for learning object category detectors, they require massive amounts of training data.
Transfer learning builds upon previously acquired knowledge and thus reduces training requirements. The objective of this work is to develop and apply novel transfer learning techniques specific to the object category detection problem. This thesis proposes methods which not only address the challenges of performing transfer learning for object category detection such as finding relevant sources for transfer, handling aspect ratio mismatches and considering the geometric relations between the features; but also enable large scale object category detection by quickly learning from considerably fewer training samples and immediate evaluation of models on web scale data with the help of part-based indexing. Several novel transfer models are introduced such as: (a) rigid transfer for transferring knowledge between similar classes, (b) deformable transfer which tolerates small structural changes by deforming the source detector while performing the transfer, and (c) part level transfer particularly for the cases where full template transfer is not possible due to aspect ratio mismatches or not having adequately similar sources. Building upon the idea of using part-level transfer, instead of performing an exhaustive sliding window search, part-based indexing is proposed for efficient evaluation of templates enabling us to obtain immediate detection results in large scale image collections. Furthermore, easier and more robust optimization methods are developed with the help of feature maps defined between proposed transfer learning formulations and the “classical” SVM formulation.
The role of international law in establishing corporate accountability through codes of conduct
Keywords: human rights
Corporate accountability
labour rights
governance

The thesis answers the following research question: what is the extent of the influence of international law on the construction and application of corporate codes of conduct, what factors determine this influence and through which processes does it occur?
The thesis uses a mix of methods: a content analysis study, used to measure the extent to which codes of conduct incorporate international labour standards and the degree to which they have changed over time in this respect; legal research on whether corporations can be liable for violating their codes and how this risk factors in the drafting of codes; and case studies of fifteen retailer corporations, which examine how their codes were created and how they are being applied.
The study's findings show there is an influence of international law on the construction and, to a far smaller degree, on the application of codes. The creation and application of codes is a politicised and contested process and codes are based on international law principally due to the pressure exerted by trade unions and NGOs, but also due to reputational risk, commercial pressure and mimicry by corporations. This influence has been selective, with corporations applying provisions in their codes that protect the rights carrying the biggest reputational risks.
These findings show the flaws in the current international framework for corporate accountability, which is based on self-regulation through codes and audits. They also raise issue of whether changes, such as a binding international treaty or the creation of more collaborative and inclusive programmes to oversee the application of codes, may be required in order to ensure wider respect for labour rights of workers.
Studies towards the synthesis of complex amino acids derived from microsclerodermins
Keywords: natural product synthesis
biologically active products
synthesis

This thesis describes the studies towards the synthesis of β-amino acids found in the microsclerodermins, a family of complex macrocyclic hexapeptides. These β-amino acids have four or five contiguous stereocentres and an aliphatic side-chain. The synthetic route utilised an aminohydroxylation reaction to install the most challenging moiety in the structure - the 1,2- amino alcohol. The work aimed to construct the core structure (five contiguous stereocentres) of the β-amino acids and install the side-chain later to enable the synthesis of multiple members (A, B, F, G, H and I) of the microsclerodermin family.
The synthesis started with Roche ester, which contained the first methyl stereocentre. It was converted to the diene precursor in four high yielding steps. The next two stereocentres were installed via a Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation. With the appropriate protecting groups in place, the remaining two stereocentres were to be installed via a Sharpless asymmetric aminohydroxylation. Various reported reagents and conditions were used to effect the transformation, but the attempts were unsuccessful. This forced us to alter our synthetic plans, and the revised synthetic route involved the use of the tethered aminohydroxylation (TA) reaction developed by the Donohoe group. After the development of an efficient protocol to prepare the TA-precursor, the alkene, with three stereocentres already in place, was successfully converted to the desired stereopentad via the TA-reaction (10 steps, 11% overall yield).
With the stereopentad in hand, installation of the side-chain of the β-amino acids through an alkenyl or alkyl linkage was investigated. For alkenyl-linked side-chains, the appropriate aldehyde was synthesised, but attempts to effect the transformation via a Horner-Wadsworth- Emmons reaction or a Witting reaction failed. With lessons learnt from those, we then focused our efforts on installing an alkyl-linked side-chain. In this case, we were able to install a side- chain via a copper-mediated displacement reaction, which gave us a protected form of the precursor of the β-amino acid of microsclerodermin B. Finally, various efforts to study the reactivity of the stereopentad and the investigations into finding the most effective set of protecting groups have been used to propose a synthetic route for the incorporation of the β- amino acid into the macrocycle.
Synthetic and mechanistic studies of arylsilane oxidation 
Keywords: arylsilane
oxidation
phenol

In this thesis, we study arylsilane oxidation from both a synthetic and a mechanistic perspective. Building upon previous work within our group, we demonstrate in an early chapter that arylhydrosilanes are surprisingly reactive to oxidation. This disproves the previous assumptions of the Tamao oxidation and provides new insights into the mechanism of the reaction. Furthermore, we find that the best substrates for oxidation are arylmethoxysilanes, and we describe rapid and efficient syntheses for these compounds. A further chapter addresses applications of arylsilane oxidation to natural product synthesis, protecting group chemistry and cycloadditions. By collecting concentration profiles of the oxidation of various arylsilanes, we reveal a rapid equilibration between arylmethoxysilanes and arylsilanols. By comparison, phenol formation (especially from silanol) is often slow. The rate of oxidation turns out to be highly sensitive to both the concentration of the oxidising agent and the substituents of the aromatic ring. In the final chapter we discuss in detail the consequences of these observations for the mechanism of arylsilane oxidation.
Simulations and modelling of bacterial flagellar propulsion
Keywords: Microfluidics
Bacterial locomotion
Boundary element method
Flagellar propulsion

Motility of flagellated bacteria has been a topic of increasing scientific interest over the past decades, attracting the attention of mathematicians, physicists, biologists and engineers alike. Bacteria and other micro-organisms cause substantial damage through biofilm growth on submerged interfaces in water cooling systems, ship hulls and medical implants. This gives social and economic motivations for learning about how micro-organisms swim and behave in different environments. Fluid flows on such small scales are dominated by viscosity and therefore behave differently from the inertia-dominated flows that we are more familiar with, making bacterial motility a physically intriguing phenomenon to study as well.
We use the boundary element method (BEM) to simulate the motion of singly flagellated bacteria in a viscous, Newtonian fluid. One of our main objectives is to investigate the influence of external surfaces on swimming behaviour. We show that the precise shape of the cell body and flagellum can be important for determining boundary behaviour, in particular, whether bacteria are attracted or repelled from surfaces. Furthermore, we investigate the types of motion that may arise between two parallel plates and in rectangular channels of fluid and show how these relate to the plane boundary interactions.
As an extension to original models of flagellar propulsion in bacteria that assume a rotation of the rigid helical flagellum about an axis fixed relative to the cell body, we consider flexibility of the bacterial hook connecting the aforementioned parts of the swimmer. This is motivated by evidence that the hook is much more flexible than the rest of the flagellum, which we therefore treat as a rigid structure. Elastic dynamics of the hook are modelled using the equations for a Kirchhoff rod. In some regimes, the dynamics are well described by a rigid hook model but we find the possibility of additional modes of behaviour.