VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Learning to see the world [electronic resource] : Pasternak and Rilke, 1911-1931
Keywords: Slavic Languages and Literatures

"Learning to See the World: Pasternak and Rilke 1911-1931" investigates the relationship between Boris Pasternak and Rainer Maria Rilke through an innovative approach to the question of poetic influence. Rather than concentrating on intertextual dialog or formal similarities in their works, this dissertation tracks fundamental changes in poetic perception introduced by Rilke, and argues that Pasternak used a Rilkean perspective to construct his own poetic universe. Although the two poets' common approach to the question of seeing -- that is, perception -- can be identified with the help of a phenomenological paradigm formulated by Edmund Husserl, their common approach to the subsequent creation of their self-contained poetic worlds is best understood in categories suggested by Martin Heidegger. The trajectory of Pasternak's development, traced in select examples from his earliest poems and translations from Rilke to Safe Conduct, includes several crucial stages. It begins with Pasternak's experimentation with new forms of representing his unique artistic vision early in his career; culminates in his synthesizing this vision into a coherent whole in his mature works; and comes to a conclusion in attempts by Pasternak to reconstruct and protect the world's unity, which was shaken by the violence of the Russian Civil War, and crumbled under the pressures of the communist authoritarian regime. By tracing this trajectory, I show how Pasternak's distinct vision of the world and its representation in his writings were shaped in dialogue with Rilke, in spite of, and indeed because of radical differences in their poetics.
Let Them Eat Yellow Cake Understanding the History of France’s Sensitive Nuclear Export Policy
Keywords: Center for International Security and Cooperation
CISAC
Stanford University
France
nuclear weapons
non-nuclear weapons states
policy
Thesis

Between 1957 and 1981, France was a liberal supplier of sensitive nuclear technology, material and equipment. During these years, France signed a total of nine contracts for sensitive nuclear assistance, six of which contributed to covert nuclear weapon programs. However, in the early 1980s, France stopped exporting sensitive nuclear technology and formally defined its nuclear export policy. This thesis attempts to understand why France exported sensitive nuclear technology to non-nuclear weapon states for over two decades and why France then halted its sensitive export activity and became a more responsible nuclear supplier in the early 1980s. It concludes that in the absence of a definitive national nonproliferation and nuclear export policy, economic interests and pressure from the domestic bureaucracy – namely, the French Atomic Energy Agency and its subsidiary firms – drove France’s nuclear export policy. However, in 1974, a new leader came to power in Paris, President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, whose conception of France’s strategic interests differed drastically from his Gaullist predecessors. In the interest of preventing the further spread of nuclear weapons and fostering a closer French-US relationship, President Giscard established a new executive council charged with upholding a responsible export policy. Through this institution, in the late 1970s, the President enacted several policies that effectively reined in France’s liberal export activity. Situated in the broader context of global nuclear trade, the findings of this thesis offer insights into the motivations of nuclear suppliers in the international system and contain lessons on how to promote policies that constrain the spread of proliferation-prone technology.
Lifetime and reliability of polymer solar cells [electronic resource]
Keywords: Materials Science and Engineering

The power conversion efficiency of organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells has increased from 4-5% in 2005 to 8.3% in 2010. The goal of a 10% single junction OPV device seems attainable making the commercialization of OPV more realistic. With advances made on the efficiency front, the lifetime and reliability of OPV devices has come into focus. To date there has been considerable work done in understanding and quantifying the lifetime and degradation of bulk heterojunction solar cells (BHJs) based on poly-(para-phenylene-vinylene) (PPV) and poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) polymers. A comparison of OPV lifetime experimental results across different research groups has posed challenges due to the lack of standardized testing and reporting procedures; however, great strides have been made in this regard during the most recent International Summit on OPV Stability (ISOS-3). Modules based on P3HT/fullerene BHJs have shown lifetimes of 5,000 hours when state-of-the-art encapsulation with a glass-on-glass architecture is used. Assuming negligible degradation in the dark and 5.5 hours of one-sun intensity per day, 365 days per year, this translates into an operating lifetime approaching three years. More recently P3HT/PCBM devices utilizing an inverted architecture have been shown to retain more than 50% of their initial efficiency after 4,700 hours of continuous exposure to one-sun intensity at elevated temperatures and have exhibited a long shelf life when stored in the dark in ambient conditions. However, results to date have yet to show polymer based OPV lifetimes greater than 3-4 years. In my dissertation I present a detailed operating lifetime study of encapsulated solar cells comprised of poly[N-9'-hepta-decanyl-2,7-carbazole-alt-5,5-(4', 7'-di-2-thienyl-2', 1', 3'-benzothiadiazole) (PCDTBT) in BHJ composites with the fullerene derivative [6,6]-phenyl C70-butyric acid methyl ester (PC70BM). PCDTBT/PC70BM solar cells achieved an efficiency greater than 6%, making this one of a small number of polymers able to achieve this level of performance. I describe an experimental set-up that is capable of testing large numbers of solar cells simultaneously, holding each device at its maximum power point while controlling and monitoring the temperature and light intensity. Using this set-up we were able to compare the PCDTBT/PC70BM system with the well-studied P3HT/PCBM system and demonstrate a lifetime for PCDTBT devices that approaches 7 years, which is the longest reported operating lifetime for a polymer based solar cell. I will further present a systematic study of the burn-in degradation mechanism behind PCDTBT:PC70BM solar cells. I will show that a photochemical reaction in the photoactive layer creates states in the bandgap of PCDTBT. These sub-bandgap states increase the energetic disorder in the system, which reduces the FF, Voc and to a lesser extent Jsc. The photochemical reactions are shown to progress rapidly when first exposed to light but subsequently decrease in occurrence, which results in the stabilization of the Voc and FF.
Light activated reassembly of split green fluorescent protein (GFP) [electronic resource]
Keywords: Chemistry

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) is an incredibly useful tool to image protein expression, location, and interactions because the chromophore forms from within the protein without need for additional enzymes or external cofactors. Split GFPs are fragments of GFP that often require fused interacting proteins in order to interact, fold, and form the chromophore and are therefore used to image protein-protein interactions specifically. In this thesis a split GFP that does not require fused interacting proteins is used to make semi-synthetic proteins. The reassembly of this particular split GFP is light mediated, and the underlying mechanism and kinetics of this reassembly process are discussed in detail. Truncated Green Fluorescent Protein with the 11th [beta]-strand removed is potentially interesting for bioconjugation, imaging, and the preparation of semi-synthetic proteins with novel spectroscopic or functional properties. Surprisingly, the truncated GFP generated by removing the 11th strand, once refolded, does not reassemble with a synthetic peptide corresponding to strand 11, but does reassemble following light activation. The chromophore in this refolded truncated GFP is found to be in the trans configuration. Upon exposure to light a photostationary state is formed between the trans and cis conformations of the chromophore, and only truncated GFP with the cis configuration of the chromophore binds the peptide. As described above, GFPs and split GFPs are typically used to observe protein-protein interactions, but this unique light-driven reassembly of split GFP is potentially useful for controlling protein-protein interactions.
Limit theorems for Ginzburg-Landau [grad phi] random surfaces [electronic resource]
Keywords: Mathematics

We study the massless field on lattice approximations of planar domains with smooth boundary, with uniformly convex, nearest neighbor, gradient interaction. This is the so-called Ginzburg-Landau (GL) interface model. It is a general model for a (2+1)-dimensional effective interface in which h represents the height. Our main results are two new limit theorems for functionals of h: (CLT) linear functionals of the height converge to the continuum Gaussian free field and the macroscopic level sets converge to variants of the Schramm-Loewner evolution (SLE). The main step in the proof of both results is a new estimate which describes how the boundary data of the field affects its law in the bulk. Along the way, we also give a new construction of the shift ergodic GL Gibbs (Funaki-Spohn) states. For the CLT, we take our boundary conditions to be a continuous perturbation of a macroscopic tilt. We prove that the fluctuations of linear functionals of h about the tilt converge in the limit to a Gaussian free field on D, the standard Gaussian with respect to a weighted Dirichlet inner product whose weights we will identify explicitly. The limiting result for the level sets resolves a conjecture of Sheffield that SLE(4), a conformally invariant random curve, is the universal limit of the chordal zero-height contours of random surfaces with isotropic, uniformly convex potentials.
Linear and nonlinear processes in hypersonic boundary layer transition to turbulence [electronic resource]
Keywords: Aeronautics and Astronautics

The design of vehicles which travel at hypersonic speeds is strongly determined by drag characteristics and heat transfer. A portion of this drag and heating is due to the boundary layer where viscosity and thermal conductivity are most important. The level of drag and heating depends on whether the boundary layer is laminar or turbulent with the latter leading to higher levels of drag and heating. In addition, as high speed boundary layers transition from laminar to turbulent flow, an overshoot of the heat transfer beyond that of turbulent flow has been observed in experiments. In low disturbance environments, transition to turbulence follows the path of receptivity, linear growth, nonlinear interaction, and finally breakdown to turbulence. The linear growth of disturbances can be determined by linear stability theory. An analysis of the predicted growth rates and integrated growth of linear disturbances for hypersonic boundary layers including thermal and chemical non-equilibrium is undertaken. The sensitivity to different chemical assumptions, transport models and thermal boundary conditions is investigated. A disturbance energy norm is proposed and its corresponding balance equation is derived. This energy norm is then to determine the effect of different terms of the linear stability equations and to compute transient growth for hypersonic laminar boundary layers. DNS (Direct Numerical Simulation) is used to simulate the nonlinear breakdown to turbulence for a variety of transition scenarios for both zero pressure gradient and adverse pressure gradient high-speed flat plate boundary layers in order to investigate the mechanism for the overshoot of heat transfer in transitional hypersonic boundary layers. The initial disturbances are excited through suction and blowing at the wall and their frequencies are chosen based on linear stability theory. Different transition mechanisms are investigated including a pair of oblique waves and 2D and 3D instabilities at higher frequencies which are unique to high speed boundary layers. Oblique breakdown shows a clear overshoot in heat transfer and skin friction and leads to a fully turbulent boundary layer. The alternative scenarios also lead to transition but further downstream and without large overshoots in heat transfer. A detailed analysis of the transitional and turbulent regions is undertaken.
Linking orogenic deformation, exhumation, and basin evolution in the Patagonian Andes and Magallanes Basin, southernmost South America [electronic resource]
Keywords: Geological and Environmental Sciences.

Convergent orogenic belts evolve through the interactions among topographic growth by crustal thickening and magmatic arc emplacement, lithospheric deformation, and mass redistribution by surface processes. While feedbacks among these processes are becoming well-understood for orogenic systems within cratonal or continental lithosphere, mountain belts that evolve in predecessor backarc and rift settings appear to exhibit fundamental differences in structural style and basin physiography. This dissertation investigates the thermotectonic evolution of the Patagonian Andes and Magallanes retroforeland basin of southernmost South America and demonstrates that inherited tectonic history can profoundly affect the style of subsequent crustal deformation, spatio-temporal distribution of rock unroofing, and many aspects of foreland basin character. Geologic mapping across the Patagonian fold-thrust belt and subsurface foreland basin stratigraphy documents ~32-40 km (19-23%) of retroarc crustal shortening and inversion of rift-related structures. This work identifies an important shift from thin-skinned thrusting across the Late Cretaceous thrust belt to early Miocene deep-seated thrusting and uplift of the Cretaceous foreland depocenter. Apatite and zircon (U-Th)/He results from across the sub-Andean orogen show that the locus of deep crustal exhumation has migrated eastward from the batholith since ca. 30 Ma. Deep exhumation has been focused on the retroarc (leeward) side of the Patagonian Andes since ca. 22-18 Ma, coeval with structural uplift and unroofing of the fine-grained siliciclastic strata in the sub-Andean thrust sheets. Detrital thermochronology and thermal modeling results indicate that (1) sedimentary burial of the Paleocene basin-fill was much deeper than previously thought, and (2) sediment recycling of Mesozoic basement zircons in Upper Cretaceous foredeep deposits was an important sediment source for the Oligocene-Miocene depocenter. Finally, elasto-plastic modeling of lithospheric deflection in the Upper Cretaceous Magallanes Basin suggests that plastic yielding during plate bending appears to be an important mechanism of lithospheric deformation in successor foreland basins. These findings have important implications for interpreting tectonic histories from basin stratigraphy and dispersal patterns compared to foreland basins that develop on cratonal lithosphere.
Linking the computational structure of variance adaptation to biophysical mechanisms [electronic resource]
Keywords: Electrical Engineering

Neurons have a limited dynamic range. To more efficiently encode the large range of natural inputs, neural circuits adapt by dynamically changing their output range as a function of the input statistics. Variance adaptation provides an informative example of this process, whereby neurons change their response characteristics as a function of variance of their input. When their input distribution changes, sensory systems shift and scale their response curves to efficiently cover the new range of input values and they focus on different segments of the frequency spectrum, for example by choosing to average out the noise in a low signal-to-noise ratio environment by low-pass filtering their input and sacrificing resolution. In multiple sensory systems, adaptation to the variance of a sensory input changes the sensitivity, kinetics and average response over timescales ranging from < 100 ms to tens of seconds. Here we present a simple biophysically relevant model of retinal contrast adaptation that accurately captures both the membrane potential response and all adaptive properties. The adaptive component of this model is a first-order kinetic process of the type used to describe ion channel gating and synaptic transmission. We conclude that all adaptive dynamics can be accounted for by depletion of a signaling mechanism, and that contrast adaptation can be explained as adaptation to the mean of a thresholded signal. A diverse set of adaptive properties that implement theoretical principles of efficient coding can be generated by a single type of molecule or synapse with just a few microscopic states. The LNK model helps to highlight important aspects of adaptation by letting us focus on individual computational blocks separately. By using the LNK model, we investigate the source of the adaptive process in On-Off retinal ganglion cells, which show strong changes in their kinetics as a function of contrast. By analyzing properties of the LNK model, we conclude that most of the adaptive effect is due to differences in the threshold of the two pathways, with a smaller contribution from different adaptive kinetics. Adaptive temporal decorrelation in the retina arises due to differential thresholding in two parallel neural pathways.
Literature and its rivals (1500-1660) [electronic resource]
Keywords: Comparative Literature

I observe three closely related functions of speech in the early modern period, communication, persuasion, and expression; and postulate theories about each in order to understand the mechanisms of discursive suppression. Drawing on a wide range of literary and cultural texts, including the works of Shakespeare, Sidney, and Milton, I argue that there was a rivalry between literary authors and religious authority over certain valued modes of speech. In the chapter on communication, I devise a normative taxonomy of speech that reflects religious orthodoxy; then, I reconstruct models of persuasion based on several recurring figures (speech as a food, drug, child, and messenger, to name a few); and last, I look at two concepts: expression, or speech that reflects a self capable of ordering things independently, in the burgeoning essay; and suppression, or speech that wishes to promote a divine order, in the form of Le Catalógue Des Livres Censurez, the first modern index of prohibited books.
The liturgy of the holy sepulchre and the templar rite [electronic resource] : edition and analysis of the Jerusalem ordinal (Rome, Bib. Vat., Barb. lat. 659) with a comparative study of the acre breviary (Paris, Bib. Nat., Ms. Latin 10478)
Keywords: Music

This dissertation consists of an edition and analysis of the twelfth-century ordinal of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. In my thesis I explore the historical events surrounding the formation of the Crusader's Holy Sepulchre liturgy and discuss the rite's most salient aspects. This is realized by analyzing the liturgy of the temporale and sanctorale sections in combination with their associated processions. I also include in the discussion a thirteenth-century breviary written in Acre for the Knights Templar chapel. This breviary follows the use of the Holy Sepulchre and permits among other things, a discussion of how the rite changed through time.
The living rock [electronic resource] : natural, human, and sacred histories of the earth, 1680-1740
Keywords: History.

The dissertation charts the birth of earth history as a new field of knowledge in the early Enlightenment. In early modern Europe, the earth was a simultaneous subject for natural, sacred, and human history. The capacious, contentious new field of inquiry which arose around this unstable object 'Earth' in the late seventeenth century was characterized by exuberant syncretism and fierce debate. Savants across the Republic of Letters drew on multiple areas of learning and culture--including antiquarianism, the life sciences, political economy, and Protestant and Catholic theology and faith--in order to better understand the planet's past and future, its fertility and vitality, and national and human origins. Eventually, the earth's history became the subject of a field of specifically natural--rather than sacred or humanistic--knowledge. This controversial and surprising development was a function of the emergence of a multi-confessional and international conversation about the earth; increasingly sharp distinctions between disciplines, pursuits and professions in the Enlightenment; and transformations in the very meaning of 'Nature' and 'history.'.
Localization and movement [electronic resource] : the yin and yang of membrane trafficking
Keywords: Chemical and Systems Biology.

Membrane trafficking is an essential process that enables cells to deliver proteins to the extracellular space and segregate proteins into different compartments. Several steps are necessary for the functional segregation and processing of proteins. Trafficking includes post-translational modification of proteins, their movement between compartments, and stable localization once they have reached their target destinations. Importantly, membrane trafficking represents a recursively-sustained system: proteins that play a role in the regulation of membrane trafficking must also be properly transported and localized. Chapter one introduces the importance of the Golgi in the sorting and packaging of proteins and the roles of molecular motors in facilitating individual transport events. To modify transported cargoes, Golgi resident glycosyltransferases need to be localized to the correct cisternae and in some cases, in correct complex with other glycosyltransferases. "Kin recognition", the association of enzymatically compatible glycosyltransferases, has been demonstrated as a mechanism for the stable localization of glycosyltransferases to their proper compartments. Myosins, dyneins, and kinesins, linked to membranes by small Rab GTPases and their effectors, play important roles in moving cargo on actin and microtubule filaments. Their regulation by adapter proteins and their combinatorial interactions both complementing and opposing movement allows for the fine tuning of cargo transport. Chapter two presents the association of UDP-GlcNAc:[beta]Gal [beta]-1,3-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase 1 (B3GNT1) and UDP-Gal:[beta]GlcNAc [beta]-1,4-galactosyltransferase, polypeptide 1 (B4GALT1). These two glycosyltransferases participate in the alternating, successive polymerization of poly-N-acetyllactosamine (polyLacNAc), a linear carbohydrate polymer composed of alternating N-acetylglucosamine and galactose residues. We show that these two glycosyltransferases colocalize by immunofluorescence microscopy, interact by coimmunoprecipitation, and when artificially retained in the ER can retain the complementary glycosyltransferase there as well. Chapter three presents the novel regulation of the KIF3 family kinesin, KIF1C, by small Rab GTPases, Rab1 and Rab6. The depletion of KIF1C impairs the plasma membrane delivery of Vesicular stomatitis virus G protein and intriguingly increases the speed of both Rab1 and Rab6 labeled vesicles. Rab6 can bind directly to the C-terminal domain of KIF1C and, like Rab1, can additionally interact with KIF1C's N-terminal motor domain. The interaction of KIF1C with Rab6 diminishes KIF1C's ability to bind microtubules. These results suggest that KIF1C acts as a brake, perhaps slowing transport to allow proper packaging and tethering to occur. Our data suggest that interaction between Rab6 and KIF1C could relieve KIF1C's braking action by displacing it from microtubules; alternatively, KIF1C may function as a molecular tether between membranes carrying Rab1 and/or Rab6.