VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Encoding and detecting properties in finitely presented groups
Keywords: one-relator groups
computational group theory
group theory
profinite completions
non-positive curvature
CAT(0) spaces
power subgroups
finitely presented groups
deficiency
hyperbolic 3-manifolds
geometric group theory
varieties
laws

In this thesis we study several properties of finitely presented groups, through the unifying paradigm of encoding sought-after group properties into presentations and detecting group properties from presentations, in the context of Geometric Group Theory.
A group law is said to be detectable in power subgroups if, for all coprime m and n, a group G satisfies the law if and only if the power subgroups G(m) and G(n) both satisfy the law. We prove that for all positive integers c, nilpotency of class at most c is detectable in power subgroups, as is the k-Engel law for k at most 4. In contrast, detectability in power subgroups fails for solvability of given derived length: we construct a finite group W such that W(2) and W(3) are metabelian but W has derived length 3. We analyse the complexity of the detectability of commutativity in power subgroups, in terms of finite presentations that encode a proof of the result.
We construct a census of two-generator one-relator groups of relator length at most 9, with complete determination of isomorphism type, and verify a conjecture regarding conditions under which such groups are automatic. Furthermore, we introduce a family of one-relator groups and classify which of them act properly cocompactly on complete CAT(0) spaces; the non-CAT(0) examples are counterexamples to a variation on the aforementioned conjecture. For a subclass, we establish automaticity, which is needed for the census.
The deficiency of a group is the maximum over all presentations for that group of the number of generators minus the number of relators. Every finite group has non-positive deficiency. For every prime p we construct finite p-groups of arbitrary negative deficiency, and thereby complete Kotschick’s proposed classification of the integers which are deficiencies of Kähler groups. We explore variations and embellishments of our basic construction, which require subtle Schur multiplier computations, and we investigate the conditions on inputs to the construction that are necessary for success.
A well-known question asks whether any two non-isometric finite volume hyperbolic 3-manifolds are distinguished from each other by the finite quotients of their fundamental groups. At present, this has been proved only when one of the manifolds is a once-punctured torus bundle over the circle. We give substantial computational evidence in support of a positive answer, by showing that no two manifolds in the SnapPea census of 72 942 finite volume hyperbolic 3-manifolds have the same finite quotients.
We determine examples of sizeable graphs, as required to construct finitely presented non-hyperbolic subgroups of hyperbolic groups, which have the fewest vertices possible modulo mild topological assumptions.
The role of the forward capacity market in promoting electricity use reduction
Keywords: Energy efficiency

Electricity use reduction is at the heart of an energy policy landscape increasingly defined by climate change, security and affordability. With its potential of peak demand reduction, it can be used as a cost-effective alternative to generation for contributing to capacity adequacy. In many restructured electricity markets, the forward capacity market is established as a solution to ensure capacity adequacy, with some of them allowing electricity use reduction to compete against other resources. To promote electricity use reduction, financial incentives for investment in end-use electric energy efficiency (EE) are crucial.
This thesis focuses on one novel approach of relying on the forward capacity market to incentivise electric efficiency investment, which is trialled in the Electricity Demand Reduction (EDR) Pilot in the UK. It aims to examine the role of the forward capacity market in promoting electricity use reduction, by asking two broad research questions: 1) whether the forward capacity market can serve as a primary policy vehicle to give financial incentives to support electricity use reduction; and 2) whether, as one mechanism for ensuring capacity adequacy, it can promote electricity use reduction as a capacity resource.
Case studies are conducted of the EDR Pilot, the Great Britain Capacity Market, ISO New England (ISO-NE), PJM and international electric efficiency schemes. They demonstrate that the forward capacity market, with its focus on peak savings and a savings-based approach for providing financial incentives, only plays a minor role in advancing the objective of incentivising investment in electric EE measures. The general design features of the forward capacity market pose higher requirements of participation, which may create barriers for some key customer segments to access financial incentives or target specific efficiency measure. The capacity payment, under the current market structure, may only provide a lukewarm incentive for customers to strengthen their capabilities to access support from the forward capacity market. However, it is valuable to integrate electricity use reduction in the forward capacity market. It is a viable mechanism to reward the capacity value of electricity use reduction, which requires the appropriate definition of capacity product, regulatory support for electricity use reduction and the removal of participation barriers.
Are interpretations of syntactic ambiguities under working memory load "good-enough"? Evidence from eye movements
Keywords: Psycholinguistics
Psychology of reading
Cognitive psychology
Psychology and ageing

Syntactically ambiguous sentences offer an insight into how sentences generally are processed, by examining how readers recognise and reanalyse the ambiguity. However, it is only more recently that the comprehension product of syntactic analysis has been adequately tested, demonstrating that ambiguities are not always fully processed. This work has led to the good-enough approach to language processing and comprehension (e.g., Ferreira & Patson, 2007), which argues that sentence processing is merely good enough for the current task, and that our comprehension may not exactly match the content of what has been read. The work presented in this thesis set out to examine what it means for syntactic ambiguity processing to be good enough, by monitoring patterns of eye movements as people read sentences containing a temporary syntactic ambiguity. Comprehension questions probed the extent to which the syntactic ambiguity had been resolved. Across six experiments, it was demonstrated that both online sentence processing and comprehension are influenced by the presence of an extrinsic memory load, the presence or absence of comprehension questions, the length of texts being read, and the age of participants. Eye movement patterns were more superficial if the task permitted it; similarly, syntactic ambiguities were misinterpreted more commonly as the task demands increased. The results support a good-enough, adaptive sentence processing system, where initial misinterpretations can linger in the product of syntactic analysis, and which is affected by task demands and individual differences.
Modelling angiogenesis: a discrete to continuum approach
Keywords: Volume Exclusion
Multiscale Modelling
Chemotaxis
Cellular Automata
Partial Differential Equations

Angiogenesis is the process by which new blood vessels develop from existing vessels. Angiogenesis is important in a number of conditions such as embryogenesis, wound healing and cancer. It has been modelled phenomenologically at the macroscale, using the well-known 'snail-trail' approach in which trailing endothelial cells follow the paths of other, leading endothelial cells. In this thesis, we systematically determine the collective behaviour of endothelial cells from their behaviour at the cell-level during corneal angiogenesis. We formulate an agent-based model, based on the snail-trail process, to describe the behaviour of individual cells. We incorporate cell motility through biased random walks, and include processes which produce (branching) and annihilate (anastomosis) cells to represent sprout and loop formation. We use the transition probabilities associated with the discrete model and a mean-field approximation to systematically derive a system of non-linear partial differential equations (PDEs) of population behaviour that impose physically realistic density restrictions, and are structurally different from existing snail-trail models. We use this framework to evaluate the validity of a classical snail-trail model and elucidate implicit assumptions. We then extend our framework to explicitly account for cell volume. This generates non-linear PDE models which vary in complexity depending on the extent of volume exclusion incorporated on the microscale. By comparing discrete and continuum models, we assess the extent to which continuum models, including the classical snail-trail model, account for single and multi-species exclusion processes. We also distinguish macroscale exclusion effects introduced by each cell species. Finally, we compare the predictive power of different continuum models. In summary, we develop a microscale to macroscale framework for angiogenesis based on the snail-trail process, which provides a systematic way of deriving population behaviour from individual cell behaviour and can be extended to account for more realistic and/or detailed cell interactions.
Foreign direct investment in the Russian agricultural sector
Keywords: Geography
Food Production
Russia
Foreign Investment
Financialisation
Agriculture

This thesis investigates the experiences of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the agricultural sector of the Russian Federation. The focus is on the form of FDI, and how each investor responds, and adapts, to the Russian operational environment. This is achieved through extensive qualitative, and multiple methods research on three manifestations of FDI: corporate, privately-funded investment; corporate, publically-funded investment; and smaller, individual private investment. Of interest are the Russia-specific constraints that may be largely underprepared for by foreign investors, and unexpected events that occur in the Russian space that hamper the efforts of investors. This thesis, thus, informs the reader of the variable nature of the Russian agricultural sphere, and the problems that exist within its boundaries, and presents the stories of some of the foreign investors that have tried to penetrate its market, mostly since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
The thesis consists of four papers that have either been published, or submitted for publication, in academic journals, and utilises fieldwork that was conducted between 2013 and 2014.
This thesis finds that all of the foreign investors studied have experienced – in certain aspects – failure on the Russian frontier, though there have also been certain successes. It seems that financial success is dictated by the business model of each investor; those who are afforded longer time horizons, more time to adapt on the frontier, and a source of funds that does not place short-term pressure on the business, are more likely to succeed. The Russian operating environment is unique, peculiar, and unpredictable, with a tendency to produce substantial obstacles that, for investors, are difficult to overcome; for agricultural FDI to avoid these struggles, these environmental conditions need to be anticipated and prepared for, with clear strategies painstakingly thought through before any venture physically begins on Russian soil.
Magnetotransport in graphene and related two-dimensional systems
Keywords: Energy Loss Rate
Hot Carriers
Dirac Point
Magnetotransport
Quantum Hall Effect
Graphene
2D Materials

This thesis describes studies on two-dimensional electron gases (2DEG) in graphene and related 2D systems. Magnetotransport investigations specifically in graphene and its bilayer system are demonstrated in detail, while the experimental techniques presented in this thesis are widely applicable to a large variety of other 2D materials.
Chapter 1 gives an introduction and motivation for the principal topic presented in this thesis, with a general introduction to carbon nano-materials and an overview of the current state of graphene-related research and technological development (RTD). Chapter 2 establishes a basic theoretical framework which is essential for interpreting the results presented in this thesis, starting with the crystal and electronic band structures of graphene and its bilayer, followed by high magnetic fields effects on transport properties in these 2D systems. Chapter 3 details the experimental methods directly related to the presented work.
The next three chapters report experimental results of three specific magnetotransport studies. Chapter 4 reports the disorder effects on epitaxial graphene in the vicinity of the Dirac point. Quadratic increases of carrier densities with temperature are found to be due to intrinsic thermal excitation combined with electron-hole puddles induced by charged impurities. It is also shown that the minimum conductivity increases with increasing disorder strength, in good agreement with quantum-mechanical numerical calculations. Chapter 5 reports measurements of the quantum Hall effect in epitaxial graphene showing the widest quantum Hall plateau observed to date extending over 50 T, attributed to a magnetic field dependent charge transfer process from charge reservoirs with exceptionally high densities of states in close proximity to the graphene. Using a realistic framework of broadened Landau levels this process is modelled in excellent agreement with experimental results. In Chapter 6, energy relaxation of hot carriers in graphene bilayer systems is investigated from measurements on Shubnikovde Haas oscillations and weak localisation. The hot-electron energy loss rate follows the predicted T4 power-law at carrier temperatures from 1.4 up to about 100 K, due to electron-acoustic phonon interactions. Comparisons are made between graphene monolayer and bilayer systems and a much stronger carrier density dependence of the energy loss rate is found in the bilayer system.
This thesis concludes with a summary of the most important findings of the topics that have been discussed. The significance and limitations of the present research are listed. Some suggestions and outlook are given for possible improvements and interesting areas of future research and development.
The role of surgery in early osteoarthritis of the knee
Keywords: Osteoarthritis

Early knee osteoarthritis (EKOA) is common, hard to treat and can be debilitating for symptomatic individuals. Whilst end-stage osteoarthritis is treated reliably with knee replacement surgery, such surgery is not routinely offered to those with less severe OA as it is associated with a poorer outcome. These patients are said to be in a 'treatment gap' and they are the primary focus of this thesis.
A series of large epidemiological studies were designed to clarify the natural history of symptomatic EKOA. A prospective cohort study including 1,634 symptomatic knees with EKOA found that malalignment was the most potent risk factor for structural progression. A subsequent study, which included a detailed assessment of lower limb alignment, established that this structural progression was driven by the alignment of the proximal tibia. Using semi-quantitive MRI analysis it was found that the increased structural progression seen in subjects with proximal tibia vara, was due to more full thickness cartilage loss in the central medial tibia. These are novel observations which have implications for future research as the alignment of the proximal tibia can be corrected with surgery.
Following this epidemiological description of EKOA, attention was turned to intervention and treatment. A systematic review of the literature identified moderate to very low quality evidence to support the role of surgery in treating symptomatic EKOA. A single-centre prospective cohort study for patients undergoing a novel neutralising high tibial osteotomy was established and excellent early (1yr) and mid-term (3-5 years) clinical outcomes are reported. A retrospective study was designed to investigate whether full thickness cartilage loss on magnetic resonance imaging, but not on plain film radiographs, is sufficient to warrant proceeding to unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA). Outcomes for this cohort of patients were excellent, highlighting the usefulness of MR for the early identification of patients suitable for UKA.
In summary, this thesis has reported the natural history of symptomatic EKOA and identified proximal tibia vara as a potent risk factor for structural progression. The paucity of trials investigating subjects with this disease has been highlighted and surgical interventions which are safe and clinically effective have been identified. The direction of future research in this area has been proposed.
Iranian-Armenian language contact in and before the 5th century CE
Keywords: pattern replication
multilingualism
morphosyntactic alignment
language contact

This study provides new insights into the historical language contact between Classical Armenian and West Middle Iranian, specifically Parthian. Next to an up-to-date account of known lexical, morphological, and phraseological Iranian loans in Armenian, the discussion focuses on one major and three minor syntactic patterns which, it is argued, are the result of pattern replication.
The major pattern, the Classical Armenian periphrastic perfect, has previously been the focus of numerous papers owing to its unusual construction: while intransitive verbs construe with nominative subjects and an optional form of the copula in subject agreement, transitive verbs exhibit genitive agents, accusative objects and an optional copula in a invariable 3.sg form. Based on a discussion of morphosyntactic alignment patterns in general, and of Armenian and West Middle Iranian in particular, it is shown that previous accounts cannot satisfactorily explain the syntax of the perfect. In a new approach, it is argued that Armenian exhibits tripartite morphosyntactic alignment as the result of 'copying' and adapting the ergative alignment pattern of the West Middle Iranian past tense. This analysis is supported both by the historical morphology of the perfect participle and by a corpus analysis of five major works of Armenian 5th-century historiography.
The minor patterns—ez&emacr;fe-like nominal relative clauses, subject resumption and switch-reference marking using the anaphoric pronoun Arm. ink'n, and the quotative use of Arm. (e)t'&emacr;—are equally linked to parallel constructions in West Middle Iranian, which may have served as syntactic models for their Armenian counterparts.
The final part of the study discusses the Armenian–Iranian relationship from a language contact point of view and, making use of historical, epigraphic, and literary sources, proposes that a superstrate shift of the Parthian-speaking ruling class of Armenia to Armenian as their primary language best explains the amount of Parthian linguistic material and patterns in Armenian.
The balancing effect between MAPK and NFkB pathways for the transcriptional regulation of Toll-like receptors
Keywords: Signalling pathway
Toll-like Receptor

Toll-like receptors (TLR) are a family of pattern recognition receptors crucial for pathogen pattern recognition. Upon activation, TLRs induce innate immune responses such as cytokine production. However irregular TLR activities can provide fatal, hence fine tuning of the TLR induced responses are necessary.
The TLR mediated immune responses are controlled by the positive/negative regulation of TLR signalling pathways, relocation of TLR proteins and modulation of TLR transcription. Systematic analyses of the agonist-induced transcriptional changes of TLRs were shown for the first time in my thesis. In my experiments, I have shown that each agonist induced a unique pattern of TLR transcription. Following PAM stimulation, mRNA levels of the cognate TLR1/2 increased whereas mRNA levels of the cross-regulating TLR4, 7/8/9 reduced in both cell lines and splenic macrophages from different mice strains. Through investigation of the signalling pathways responsible for mediating such TLR transcriptional changes, I then discovered the balancing effect between NFκB and MAPK signalling pathways. PAM induced TLR transcriptional changes were controlled by the additive and/or antagonistic interference between MAPK signalling cascades, ERK, JNK, P38 and NFκB signalling pathways. This was the first time that signalling synergy between MAPK and NFκB pathways were shown. Furthermore, PAM induced transcription of TLR1 and TLR8 may be partially regulated by the indirect feedback mediated by protein production. Importantly, the maintenance of the basal TLR mRNA expression also required activation of both MAPK and NFκB signalling pathways.
In addition, signalling control for TLR transcription induced by different agonists (PAM vs. LPS) or in different species (chicken vs. mice) was compared. LPS induced transcriptional changes of the cross-regulating TLR1/2 and 3 but not the cognate TLR4 in RAW cells. The LPS induced TLR transcriptional changes required activation of a combination of MAPK and NFκB signalling pathways which shared both similarities and differences to the PAM induced signalling activation. In chicken, PAM induced more potent signalling activation, regulating the TLR transcriptional changes at a lower concentration than in mice. Overall, this thesis demonstrates that the transcriptional regulation of TLRs is complex, mediated by the coordination between MAPK and NFκB signalling pathways. These studies have significant implications in providing detailed insight of TLR transcriptional regulation which plays an important role in the regulation of TLR mediated innate immune responses.
Please watch the following videos that I made for:
A short introduction about TLR regulation - https://youtu.be/LTDdEZ3S97o
A short explanation about TLR signalling - https://youtu.be/51IY5XhdJR8