VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Biomechanics of impact injuries and sensory perception of human skin
Keywords: Engineering.
Mechanical Engineering.

The biomechanical behavior of skin is critical for performing its functions of protecting from physical and thermal damage, facilitating sensorial perception, regulating body temperature, and preventing loss of moisture. However, injury to the skin can hinder it from protecting the individual and performing its functions. This is particularly true for fragment impact injuries as they increase the likelihood of infection and can exacerbate scarring. Unfortunately, there is a poor understanding of the damage processes involved in dynamic fragment impacts and their dependency on the impact angle, impact energy, and fragment characteristics including shape, volume, contact friction, and orientation. This paucity of knowledge presents a challenge in designing personal protective equipment intended to reduce these injuries. The focus of this thesis dissertation is to elucidate the damage mechanisms involved in cutaneous fragment impact injuries, demonstrate the influence of fragment and impact parameters on the injury mechanism and damage sequence, analyze the body's anatomical vulnerability to different types of impact injuries, for the goal of designing fragmentation resistant PPE that mitigate these injuries. The dissertation also focuses on developing a correlation between the strain state of the dermal-epidermal junction (DEJ) due to external stimuli and individuals' perception of tightness. Both topics utilize computational approaches to provide a mechanical analysis of the skin's response. A high-fidelity dynamic mechanics-driven model for cutaneous injuries was developed and used to analyze the mechanics behind single-projectile cutaneous injuries. This analysis was expanded upon using a multi-driven modeling approach involving numerical approaches and machine learning algorithms to predict multi-projectile full body cutaneous impact injuries. A structurally and topographically accurate 3D computational model of human skin was also developed to derive the strain state at the DEJ. The models provide a quantitative framework for understanding the detailed mechanisms of cutaneous damage, analyzing the influence of impact parameters on injury severity, acting as a basis for the design of PPE, and assessing the correlation between skin's mechanical response and firing rates associated with tactile perception
Black hole superradiance of self-interacting scalar particles
Keywords: Humanities and Sciences.
Physics.

Black hole superradiance is a powerful probe of light, weakly-coupled hidden sector particles. Many candidate particles, such as axions, generically have self-interactions that can influence the evolution of the superradiant instability. As pointed out in [1] in the context of a toy model, much of the existing literature on spin-0 superradiance does not take into account the most important self- interaction-induced processes. These processes lead to energy exchange between quasi-bound levels and particle emission to infinity; for large self-couplings, superradiant growth is saturated at a quasi-equilibrium configuration of reduced level occupation numbers. In this paper, we perform a detailed analysis of the rich dynamics of spin-0 superradiance with self-interactions, and the resulting observational signatures. We focus on quartic self-interactions, which dominate the evolution for most models of interest. We explore multiple distinct regimes of parameter space introduced by a non-zero self-interaction, including the simultaneous population of two or more bound levels; at large coupling, we confirm the basic picture of quasi-equilibrium saturation and provide evidence that the "bosenova" collapse does not occur in most of the astrophysical parameter space. Compared to gravitational superradiance, we find that gravitational wave "annihilation" signals and black hole spin-down are parametrically suppressed with increasing interactions, while new gravitational wave "transition" signals can take place for moderate interactions. The novel phenomenon of scalar wave emission is less suppressed at large couplings, and if the particle has Standard Model interactions, then coherent, monochromatic axion wave signals from black hole superradiance may be detectable in proposed axion dark matter experiments
Body, Name, Voice: Chanel Miller’s Self-Reclamation after Sexual Assault Through Literary Choices in Know My Name
Keywords: English
Chanel Miller
Sexual Assault
Literary Choices
#MeToo
Memoir
Text
Thesis

This thesis exploration will examine how Chanel Miller's literary choices in Know My Name allow her to stitch together the pieces of her identity that were brutally ripped apart during and following her assault. This memoir is Chanel Miller's opportunity to reclaim the triad of things taken from her: her body, her name, and her voice. Entering the #MeToo memoir genre allows Chanel to accumulate readers who intimately understand her story and can advocate for Chanel and other survivors of abuse, which is an integral shift from the trial where Chanel was shamed and belittled. Through literary choices such as the omission of the defense attorney’s and judge’s names and the emphatic repetition of the first-person pronoun, Chanel stitches back together her body, her name, and her voice, which Brock Turner and the judicial system attempted to unravel altogether.
Bootstrapping scattering amplitudes in N=4 super-Yang-mills theory
Keywords: Humanities and Sciences.
Physics.

Scattering amplitudes are a bridge between theory and measurable quantities in high energy particle experiments, such as cross sections of scattering processes. Traditionally, scattering amplitudes are calculated using Feynman diagrams. However, their computational complexity grows dramatically as one tries to calculate higher-order corrections. Recently, a new method, the amplitude bootstrap, has arisen, that aims to bypass Feynman diagrams and compute scattering amplitudes directly by using knowledge of the mathematical structures describing amplitudes. Parts of this thesis constitute a continuation in this development of bootstrap techniques, focusing on their application in a toy model, N=4 Super-Yang-Mills Theory. The rest of the thesis deals with hidden structures of amplitudes in the same theory. In particular, it includes a newly conjectured symmetry and duality of amplitudes
Boron nitride and graphene for thermal management : from fundamentals to devices
Keywords: Engineering.
Materials Science and Engineering.

Decades of advances in semiconductor technology have led to the scaling of silicon transistors towards nanometer scale dimensions, culminating in physical limitations to transistor size, and the concurrent issue of thermal degradation and excessive energy consumption. As the semiconductor industry moves towards continuously increasing computational density, for example from planar to 3-dimensional (3D) vertical stacking, the ability to effectively regulate temperature and manage heat has become a pressing bottleneck to the realization of these dense architectures. Thermal challenges in high-density memory and computation require new thermal and material considerations at the nanoscale. Accurate knowledge of temperature and heat transport within a complex system is the essential first step to successful thermal management. To this end, experimental validation of material thermal conductivity is fundamental both to understanding thermal transport and to implementing solid state thermal management approaches. The complexity of thermal transport within a dense system also necessitates novel thermal management tactics including active methods of routing heat, such as thermal switching. This dissertation evaluates the intersection of nanoscale thermal transport and nanomaterials, assessing materials that show promise for low-temperature integration in semiconductor-based systems. The studies presented in this thesis range from fundamental thermal, electrical, and material characterization thin films to the design, demonstration, and characterization of an active thermal switch. We first present thermal characterization of nanoscale boron nitride thin films transferred and deposited at low temperature (< 500 °C) for back-end of the line (BEOL) temperature compatible processes. We report the in-plane thermal conductivity measurement of large area hexagonal boron nitride thin films grown using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and transferred at room temperature to be 55-78 W/m/K from 300-400 K. We also evaluate the complementary thermal and electrical properties of low thermal conductivity boron nitride films deposited at room temperature using electron enhanced atomic layer deposition (EE-ALD). These electrically insulating films have very low cross-plane thermal conductivities (< 0.6 W/m/K) with 10 nm thick films approaching the amorphous thermal limit of BN (~0.13 W/m/k). Finally, we present the fabrication and thermal characterization of graphene-based thermal switches for active thermal management, reporting the first thermal switch based on flexible, collapsible graphene membranes with low operating voltage (~2V)
Borrowed Theory: Overshooting Storm Tops as Cloud Mountains
Keywords: Geophysics
Above Anvil Cirrus Plume
Hydraulic Jump
Supercell Thunderstorm
Text
Thesis

Wind dynamics atop supercell storms play a pivotal role in water-content transfer between the troposphere and stratosphere and may enable early, satellite-image detection of hazardous weather conditions on the ground. However, to date their study has remained limited to empirical and observational analyses. This study tests the ability of hydraulic jump theory borrowed from mountain wave theory to capture the dynamics of wind flowing over supercell storms and into Above Anvil Cirrus Plumes. I find significant agreement between mountain theory and storm top dynamics and explore modifications that may enable a complete hydraulic jump theory of extreme winds at the top of supercell thunderstorms.
Brass orchids : techniques of the posthuman in Black popular music
Keywords: Humanities and Sciences.
Modern Thought and Literature.

In this dissertation, I analyze the musical and sonic techniques employed in works by four Black American artists - the musicians J Dilla and Kanye West, and the authors Nathaniel Mackey and Samuel Delany - to develop three overlapping conceptions of the posthuman. Popular music has been a powerful tool for humans to navigate the intersection of subjectivity and technology, and the history of African-American music in particular is characterized by experimentation with music's ability to augment, extend, or mediate human subjectivity. To unpack this history, my project follows the work of theorists like Kodwo Eshun, Alexander Weheliye in proposing a critical methodology in which, as Eshun puts it, "Instead of theory saving music from itself... music is heard as the pop analysis it already is." By treating these artists' work as both aesthetic and theoretical documents, I develop a conception of the posthuman subject based on an enhanced notion of technique and reframe the posthuman not as a singular, clearly-defined subject position but rather as a broader tradition of skepticism towards the human subject woven into the legacy of Black cultural production
Breaking the Ice: Russian and Chinese Sharp Power in the Interstate System
Keywords: Arctic
Hybrid warfare
Gray-zone
Interstate
Sharp Power
Russia
China
Text
Capstone
Thesis
Student project report

This study identifies two actors, China and Russia, and investigates their relationship through the lens of sharp power––that which is less pugnacious than hard power, but more coercive than soft power, and undermines faith in or the function of democratic processes and institutions. Specifically, sharp power is one method through which states can express national attitudes within the interstate system. Sharp power is a useful theoretical framework on two fronts. First, it aids scholars in gleaning the motivations behind how Russia and China jointly and separately interface with conceptions of “order.” Second, it helps scholars and analysts to discern the robustness of Sino-Russian cooperation and identify areas of competition. The two lines of thought are synthesized in how China’s and Russia’s use of sharp power in the interstate system reveals strategic convergence or dissonance. That is, Russia’s and China’s bilateral approaches to each other are informed by how they conceive of their status within and adherence to the interstate order. To that end, this thesis addresses the question, “To what extent are the Chinese and Russian states converging on a mutual set of coercive instruments in multilateral organizations, and what threat, if any, does the Sino-Russian relationship pose to the current world order?” The following investigation hypothesizes that the sharp power framework elucidates nuances regarding how states interface with notions of order, and therefore lends insights into the Sino-Russian relationship that are not easily gleaned from the facts on the ground. In substantiating this hypothesis, the thesis covers the character of sharp power instruments, how they can be deployed in the interstate context, Russian and Chinese approaches to order (as informed by sharp power usage in multilateral forums), what these insights tell scholars about the nature of their relationship, how these dynamics play out in a key security theater––the Arctic––and possible responses from Western actors. It posits two main conclusions: (1) China is a more “responsible” player with deeper stakes in the interstate system than Russia; (2) the Sino-Russian relationship is limited primarily by a lack of coherence in their respective approaches to order and each’s status within it. Nestled in this conclusion is the assertion that the prevailing conceptualization of the “liberal international order” in political science literature risks conflating the states’ motivations, resulting in possible misdiagnosis and mal-prescription. A more accurate depiction of this order is as a highly heterogeneous and primarily legal framework, indicating that scholars need more refined analytical instruments to distinguish between illegitimate power projection and legitimate interest or presence.
Building a B Cell Differentiation Model for X-Linked Agammaglobulinemia Using Pluripotent Stem Cells
Keywords:  Department of Biology
B cell
Differentiation
Transcription factors
Pluripotent stem cells
X-Linked Agammaglobulinemia
Text
Thesis

X-Linked Agammaglobulinemia (XLA) is the most common primary immunodeficiency in males in the United States. It is characterized by the inability to produce mature B cells due to mutations in the BTK gene. Current treatments involve repeated injection of immunoglobulins, but these have limitations, as patients can have adverse reactions and this treatment does not replace the entire immune response. As a result, gene correction is considered a viable therapy for XLA; however, a robust B cell differentiation model to study the effect of using gene therapy to treat XLA has not been established. Although cytokines are not sufficient to induce differentiation, studies have shown that transcription factor-driven differentiation systems have been proven to be successful in producing differentiated cells from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs). Therefore, this project aimed to study and replicate B cell development in vitro with the purpose of designing a new differentiation model using B cell-specific transcription factors (TFs), EBF1 and PAX5. This was approached by using the gene editing tool clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-Cas9 (CRISPR-Cas9) and adeno-associated virus type 6 (AAV6) on human PSCs. First, assessment of wild type PSC potential to differentiate into B cells using cytokines confirmed inefficient B cell development. Then, an in-depth study of BTK mutations led to the generation of three pluripotent XLA-knockout cell lines that imitate the disease phenotype. The design and integration of GFP reporter constructs into the B-cell specific marker CD20 is still being studied. Finally, TF constructs were designed with the purpose of enhancing a cytokine-based B cell differentiation. These results support the development of PSC lines with transgenic B cell differentiation TFs as a model for XLA and other B cell-related malignancies, while eliminating the need for patients to provide bone marrow or hematopoietic stem cell samples.
Building and evaluating computational models of the mammalian visual system
Keywords: Humanities and Sciences.
Psychology.

Animals continuously and dynamically process sensory information in service of both flexible and inflexible behaviours. To understand the brain's complex information-processing pipeline by which such behaviours arise, we must first understand how the brain transforms sensory information from its raw form. This will then allow us determine what information is accessible downstream in the process. In this dissertation, we try to understand how the brain processes visual information, which entails building and evaluating computational models that can predict how the animal will respond to novel visual inputs. We focus on a class of models known as convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and demonstrate ways in which they can be evaluated against and be built for primates and for rodents to better understand how the mammalian visual system supports behaviour. We first demonstrate a time-resolved correspondence between a feedforward CNN and whole-brain neural responses during human object processing and develop a data-driven optimization approach to improve upon correlations achieved between the model and the neural data. Motivated by extensive empirical work in rodents on navigational and on decision-making behaviours and by the desire to integrate models of cortical and of subcortical areas that support these behaviours, we build quantitatively accurate CNN models of the mouse visual system. Although CNNs are state-of-the-art models of primate and of rodent visual processing, they are extremely brittle. We therefore examine the nature of their brittleness and show the existence of representational differences between primary visual cortex of non-human primates and the models. Finally, we suggest that building less-brittle models will require us to incorporate the temporally-continuous nature of the visual inputs that animals receive. Looking forward, we hope that models of sensory cortex can be integrated with computational models of downstream cortical and subcortical areas, so that we can better understand how flexible and inflexible behaviours arise
Building blocks for hybrid metal-semiconductor quantum circuits in InAs two-dimensional electron gases
Keywords: Humanities and Sciences.
Applied Physics.

In this work, we build up InAs as a platform for mesoscopic physics toward the eventual goal of analog quantum simulation. Specifically, we demonstrate in an InAs 2DEG quantum point contacts and quantum dots that are operational in the quantum Hall regime. Together, these serve as the basic circuit elements for controlling the flow of electrons at the nanoscale. In analogy to quantum optics, point contacts can serve as beam splitters and quantum dots can serve as artificial atoms, and having these building blocks allows us to further probe electron interactions. Our highly transparent, hybrid metal-semiconductor quantum dots have charging energies several times larger than has been achieved in other solid-state platforms, and this encourages the potential for scaling to quantum dot arrays and simulating many-body phenomena like the charge Kondo effect
Building models of spectroscopy for condensed phase systems with atomistic detail using theory and machine learning
Keywords: Humanities and Sciences.
Chemistry.

Spectroscopic techniques provide us with a means of investigating a system's microscopic structure and dynamics. Accurate atomistic simulations can help us explicitly connect spectroscopic features to the underlying electronic and nuclear structure and dynamics that give rise to them. In this dissertation, I highlight my work in rendering accurate atomistic simulations of different linear and multidimensional spectroscopies more computationally tractable by leveraging semiclassical approaches for theoretically treating spectroscopies and developing machine learning (ML) models to serve as proxies for ab initio electronic structure calculations. Chapter 1 provides a quick overview of the ML approaches I employed and theoretical background for how I used molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to simulate different spectroscopies. Chapter 2 presents work I have conducted in training ML potential energy surfaces for liquid water using transfer learning to target high-level ab initio electronic structure theories in order to accurately and efficiently conduct MD simulations. In Chapters 3 and 4, I develop ML models for electronic excitation energies in order to simulate linear and 2D electronic absorption spectroscopies for various solvated chromophore systems and highlight the inability of TDDFT to treat the extent to which hydrogen-bonding affects the distribution of excitation energies. Lastly, Chapter 5 highlights my work in developing a theoretical framework to simulate novel time-resolved X-ray diffraction experiments, which can be used to probe the orientational structural dynamics of disordered condensed phase systems, and benchmarking with results for liquid chloroform
Bureaucracy matters : organizational structure and performance in Brazil's protected areas agency
Keywords: Sustainability.

While scientists and practitioners call for increasing ambition in environmental objectives, state capacity to meet existing goals is in many places weak. I examine potential to improve government agencies' implementation of environmental public policy through more strategic resource deployment. I do so through a mixed-methods study of personnel management and deforestation control in Brazil's federal protected areas agency, the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio), which manages one of the world's largest systems of protected areas. First, I examine the subjurisdiction conditions under which additional public employees will most positively impact deforestation outcomes. To do so, I combine a comparative case study of six ICMBio management teams operating in the Amazon region with panel regression analysis covering 322 federal protected areas over ten years. I find that the Chico Mendes Institute could have prevented on the order of 1,700 km2 of deforestation over this period through more strategic allocation of its personnel. I then examine the geographic, political, and organizational factors that produced a misalignment between subjurisdiction personnel needs and actual personnel allocation in the agency's first decade. This chapter draws on historical institutional analysis and descriptive analysis of quantitative data related to personnel, protected areas, and socioeconomic characteristics of the regions in which Brazil's federal protected areas are located. Altogether, I demonstrate the value of "looking inside" of public environmental organizations to understand environmental outcomes. In addition, I generate concrete policy recommendations for the Chico Mendes Institute itself: the principal guardian of some of the most important ecosystems on Earth