VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Spirituality and the everyday: a history of the cistercian convent of Günterstal in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
Keywords: Günterstal
Christian literature, German
Freiburg im Breisgau
Cistercians
Reformation
Late medieval, 1400-1500
Convents

This thesis explores the evolving history of the Cistercian convent of Günterstal in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It is structured around the anointing of the Last Rites of a Günterstal nun who was blessed on her eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands, heart and feet. The thesis takes each body part as a symbol for understanding the changing environment and practices of the convent, especially the relationship between the nuns' spiritual and everyday lives, and the ways in which the nuns interacted with the world outside.
It argues that the nuns developed a spirituality in the later fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries which was closely connected with the everyday world around them in a series of practices which went into decline following the criticism of the Reformation. Many of these were strategies developed by the nuns themselves for breaking down boundaries between convent and world. Attempts at revival in the later sixteenth century of convent life sought to heighten the distance between the convent and the world, in part by developing new forms of internalised spirituality. Yet these attempts at reform were made more difficult by the conflicting interests of those who sought change, the criticism which had come before, and the response of the nuns themselves.
The thesis analyses a number of different external symbols of convent life, from the spaces they inhabited to the objects they handled, and shows how these represented a number of different values of what it meant to be a nun in this period, values which did not always sit easily with each other. Günterstal maintained a noble character throughout this period and the social profile of its inhabitants often jarred with the push towards religious uniformity. This thesis shows that the symbolic value of these markers became increasingly heightened over the sixteenth century and took on new forms as a direct result of the attack on the convent way of life in the Reformation.
Who cares? Analysing the place of children in maternal sentencing decisions in England and Wales
Keywords: Crime and the family
sentencing
Sentencing of mothers
women's imprisonment
Prisoner's Families
Children of Prisoners

When children face separation from their parents as a consequence of state action in the family courts, their best interests are the paramount consideration of the court and they have legal representation. Children who face separation from their mother as a consequence of sentencing proceedings in the criminal courts are neither represented nor acknowledged. The thesis analyses this differentiated treatment and explores its consequences for children, society and the state.
Explanations for the differentiated treatment are tested with reference to existing literature and original empirical research. The impact on children of imprisoned mothers is investigated to determine whether or not they suffer harm. The parameters of the state duty of care towards children are explored, to see if children of defendant mothers fall outside of it, and the way sentencing judges construct and interpret their duty towards mothers and their children within the sentencing process is examined.
This thesis establishes that without legal or moral justification, children of maternal defendants are treated without the concern given to children who face separation from their parents in the family courts. Children of defendant mothers suffer as a consequence of the 'secondary prisonisation', 'secondary stigmatisation' and 'confounding grief' which they experience, and the state has failed to uphold their rights under Articles 3, 12 and 20, and is in breach of its duty under Article 2 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989. The guidance and mechanisms for considering their welfare exist but are not engaged with by the sentencing courts, local authorities, legislators or policy makers. This has negative consequences for children, their caregivers and wider society. The thesis concludes with consideration of the implications of these findings for the state and suggests changes to ensure equitable treatment of children of defendant mothers in England and Wales.
Functional lung assessment using hyperpolarised xenon gas magnetic resonance imaging
Keywords: Functional lung imaging
Hyperpolarised xenon gas MRI

Purpose
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of mortality worldwide. The standard method for assessing lung function in COPD is spirometry, which provides global lung function information but is a poor predictor of disability and quality of life. The overall aim of this thesis is to develop utility of hyperpolarised xenon gas magnetic resonance imaging (HP 129Xe-MRI) as a technique to evaluate regional lung function.
Methods
Studies were approved by the National Research Ethics Service (NRES). Eleven volunteers and 25 patients with COPD underwent HP 129Xe-MRI, pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and quantitative computerised tomography (QCT). Gravitational-dependent gradients of HP 129Xe-MRI were compared between prone and supine postures in healthy volunteers. Lobar quantification of HP 129Xe-MRI was completed in COPD patients, who also underwent time-resolved HP 129Xe-MRI and HP 129Xe-MRI pre- and post-salbutamol to determine feasibility of detecting regional delayed ventilation and post-intervention change. The relationship between study measures was assessed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient.
Results
HP 129Xe-MR ventilation gradients were more marked in the supine than prone posture in healthy volunteers, whereas diffusion-weighted gradients were more uniform. HP 129Xe-MRI was successfully quantified according to pulmonary lobes and correlated with lobar lung anatomy (QCT) and global functional transfer capability (TLCO) (r=-0.61, p&LT;0.005). Delayed ventilation was observed with time-resolved breath-hold HP 129Xe-MRI. Differential regional ventilation change was detected with HP 129Xe-MRI post-salbutamol.
Conclusion
These data demonstrate technical optimisation of HP 129Xe-MRI in healthy volunteers and COPD patients. Successful generation of lobar HP 129Xe-MRI parameters offers an automated analysis method that can be adopted into the clinical workflow. Finally proof-of-principle data have identified roles for HP 129Xe-MRI in evaluating regional treatments and assessing therapeutic response. Future work will evaluate the role of HP 129Xe-MRI in patient selection for lung volume reduction therapy and as a surrogate end-point in drug development studies.
A complicated compassion: the paradox of sympathy in Mary Shelley's fiction
Keywords: Mary Shelley
Suicide
Sympathy

This study explores the formation and evolution of Mary Shelley’s philosophy of sympathy, one which she continued to revise and refine throughout her lifetime. Her novels, journals, and letters reveal a persistent desire to understand what she perceived to be a deeply fraught emotion, a moral sentiment grounded in paradox. Engaging with the Moral Sense philosophy of Anthony Ashley Cooper, the third earl of Shaftesbury (1671-1713), Francis Hutcheson (1694-1746), David Hume (1711-1776), and Adam Smith (1723-1790), Shelley insists that sympathy lies at the very heart of our ethical being, encouraging recognition of and respect for the other. Yet, as she demonstrates in her fiction—from Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818) to Falkner (1837)—when felt to excess, sympathy can mutate into an unnatural and harmful emotion capable of provoking antisocial, immoral, incestuous, and even suicidal behaviour. More than this, Shelley’s investigation of sympathy exposes its serious limitations. Predicated on a similarity to self, sympathy, Shelley suggests, often fails when confronted with difference. Finally, through multiple perspectives, Shelley illustrates the complex and contradictory motivations behind sympathy, showing that it can arise from genuine benevolence, self-interest, or a combination of the two, an entangling of intentions that serves to further complicate this moral sentiment. Ultimately, Shelley’s philosophy of sympathy acknowledges its shortcomings and potential dangers but nonetheless celebrates sympathy as a social virtue, as the locus of our moral selves.
The role of interleukin 33 in intestinal homeostasis
Keywords: Regulatory T cells
Interleukin 33
Intestinal homeostasis

IL-33 is a pleiotropic cytokine that orchestrates both innate and adaptive immunity. It is commonly associated with type 2 immune responses but recently expression of the IL-33 receptor, ST2, was reported on Treg cells found preferentially in non-lymphoid tissues, such as the visceral adipose tissue, muscle or colon. A crucial role of Tregs in maintaining intestinal homeostasis has been well described. However, little is known about the functional relevance of the ST2-expressing Treg population in the colon.
Phenotypic and functional characterisation of Tregs in the gut revealed the presence of two distinct populations: ST2+/Gata3+ and Rorγt+ Tregs. Thymic-derived ST2+/Gata3+ Tregs showed a more activated phenotype and produced IL-10 under homeostatic conditions. Upon microbial challenge and colitis, ST2+/Gata3+ Tregs were decreased, while Rorγt+ Tregs expanded. Furthermore, in vitro experiments demonstrated that IL-33 directly induced activation of the Gata3 pathway in Tregs, which enhanced expression of Foxp3 and ST2. Additionally, amphiregulin was also induced in Tregs upon stimulation with IL-33. However, in vivo, IL-33 was dispensable for both the maintenance of Treg cells under homeostatic conditions and Treg function in Helicobacter hepaticus−driven colitis. Investigation of the negative regulators of IL-33 showed that IL-23 inhibited IL-33-mediated effects on Tregs. We also observed increased production of soluble ST2 by stromal cells during intestinal inflammation, which likely contributed to the reduction of IL-33 bioavailability. Finally, a systematic analysis of the cellular source of IL-33 revealed that PDGRFα+ stromal cells located in the T cell zone of secondary and tertiary lymphoid tissues were a major IL-33-producing cell population in the gut.
Collectively, our findings suggest that signals received by the stromal compartment upon cell injury may trigger a specific phenotype of Tregs with a repair capacity, and thus, promote intestinal homeostasis. These findings improve our understanding of tissue-resident Tregs and open an exciting avenue to explore heterocellular signalling between stromal cells and Tregs.
What is the role of self-monitoring blood pressure in the management of hypertension?
Keywords: Self-monitoring

Patient self-monitoring of blood pressure (SMBP) has shown promise in contributing towards improving ongoing management of hypertension, however it has yet to be fully integrated into guidelines or routine general practice in the UK.
The aims of this thesis were to investigate the role of SMBP in the management of hypertension to better understand: patient and clinician attitudes to SMBP; what behaviour change SMBP targets in patients to bring about better BP outcomes; to what extent SMBP is utilised as part of routine hypertension management in the UK; and to understand patient preferences for hypertension management in light of effective models of care.
A mixed methods approach was used including: systematic reviews of qualitative and quantitative evidence; semi-structured interviews with patients; a cross sectional survey; and a discrete choice experiment.
Self-monitoring was associated with better medication adherence, which could have significant impact at a population level given the high proportion of non-adherent hypertensive patients.
Use of SMBP should be seen as a continuum from being used solely to inform clinical decisions, through facilitating interaction between patients and clinicians, to empowering patients to be autonomous for example in self-management.
SMBP was most effective when patients had the knowledge and skills to make improvements in their lifestyle, and this has been shown in clinical trials and through qualitative investigation.
Clinicians recognise the potential benefits of SMBP, but are concerned that patients may become burdened. Clinicians should feel encouraged that patients are supportive of self-monitoring, but they must ensure that patients who wish to self-manage are equipped with the skills to do so. Lack of facility to make positive change may lead some patients to feeling disempowered and clinicians need to be cognisant of this fact.
'Ludic passage': abstraction in post-war British literature 1945-1980
Keywords: post-war
abstraction
literature
1945-1980
british
abstract

This thesis traces a line of literary experimentation in post-war British literature that was prompted by the aesthetic, philosophical and theoretical demands of abstraction. Spanning the period 1945 to 1980, it observes the ways in which certain aesthetic advancements initiated new forms of literary expression to posit a new genealogy of interdisciplinary practice in Britain. It is the first sustained chronological study to consider the ways in which a select number of British poets, authors and critics challenged the received views of their post-war moment in the discovery of the imaginative and idealizing potential of abstraction. At a time in which Britain became conscious of its evolving identity within an increasingly globalised context, this study accounts for the range of Continental and Transatlantic influences in order to more accurately locate the networks at play. Exploring the contributions made by individuals, such as Herbert Read, Ian Hamilton Finlay and Christine Brooke-Rose, as well as by groups of practitioners, such as the British concrete poetry movement, small press initiatives and Art & Language, this thesis offers a comprehensive account of the evolving status of abstraction across cultural, institutional and literary contexts. The discussions build a vision of an era that increasingly jettisons the predetermined critical lexicon of abstraction to generate works of a more pragmatic abstract inspiration: the spatial demands of concrete poetry, language as medium in the conceptual artwork, the absence of linear plot in the new novel.
The dynamics of prenatal sex selection and excess female child mortality in contexts with son preference
Keywords: Son Preference
Missing women
Sex Ratios at Birth
Mortality
Sex Selection
Fertility
Excess female mortality
Asia

This thesis examines demographic manifestations of son preference in three parts.Part I develops a simulation model that formalises the decision to practice prenatal sex selection through a "ready, willing and able" framework. The model is calibrated to South Korean and Indian sex ratio at birth (SRB) trajectories. Simulations reveal how SRB distortions in both countries have emerged despite declining son preference due to the rapid diusion of ultrasound combined with growing propensities to abort as a result of weakening norms for large families. Part II examines the potential role of big data to indirectly estimate the SRB at the subnational level in India. States with distorted SRBs tend to display a relatively high Google search activity for ultrasound. SRB "now-casts" generated using search volumes perform better than lagged variable models in high birth registration states. Part III examines the relationship between prenatal sex selection and postnatal excess female child mortality in two studies. The first applies lifetable techniques to decompose population changes in child sex ratios into a fertility component attributable to prenatal sex selection and a mortality component attributable to sex-differentials in postnatal survival. This study finds that although reductions in numbers of excess female deaths have accompanied increases in "missing" female births in all countries experiencing SRB distortions, excess female mortality has persisted in some but not in others. The second study uses birth histories of the Demographic and Health Surveys for six countries that have witnessed SRB distortions - India, Nepal, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Albania - to examine if differential mortality change by sex can be explained by the uptake of prenatal sex selection. This study finds that changes in prenatal sex selection only explain mortality change in India. Across all countries, although patterns of mortality disadvantage are concentrated amongst less educated mothers, prenatal sex selection is strongest among the better educated. Differential sorting into the two behaviours offers an explanation for why the effect for prenatal sex selection is generally weak.
Ancient history in British universities and public life 1715-1810
Keywords: british
reception studies
eighteenth-century
cultural history
universities
historiography
classical reception

Over the eighteenth century, ancient history was increasingly read in English, appearing in new forms and interpretations. This reflected the development of history in universities as a subject not merely read, but taught. This teaching took on many forms: serving as a predecessor to other studies, building a knowledge base of case studies for 'higher' subjects, or (increasingly) an independent subject.
What ancient history was taught, how was it taught, why was it taught, and what did students go on to use it for? Ancient history as an independent subject had a limited role in the curriculum despite the foundation of Chairs of History in most universities. When it was taught as such, the focus was on explaining modern institutions via ancient comparisons; on the training of statesmen by classical examples; or, more rarely, on demonstrating a particular conception of social development. These uses of history could be seen across both national and subject boundaries. Whilst differences between universities are evident, evidence in the teaching of history suggests the absolute dichotomy between the English and Scottish systems has been overstated. The interesting case of Trinity College Dublin suggests common features across Britain in how “liberal education” was conceived of and how history fit into it.
The practical application of ancient history to the education of statesmen may be seen in the variety of ways it was used in political discourse. This is explored mainly in Parliament, the ultimate destination of the "statesmen" in whose training history was supposed to play a large part, via debates over questions of empire and imperial rights in the second half of the eighteenth century. Superior knowledge of ancient history constituted a rhetorical claim to the twin statuses of gentleman, being classically-educated, and statesman – showing understanding of historical context and precedent.
Tropical stratosphere variability and extratropical teleconnections
Keywords: QBO
Climate models
Holton-Tan effect
Stratosphere
Teleconnections

The Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO) is the dominant pattern of variability in the tropical stratosphere. Despite a well established theory regarding its generation in the atmosphere, the simulation in global climate models remains difficult. A set of metrics assessing the quality of model simulations is presented in this study. The QBO simulations in models submitted to the CMIP5 and CCMVal-2 intercomparison projects are characterised and compared to radiosonde observations and reanalysis datasets. Common model biases and their potential causes are addressed.
As the QBO has a long intrinsic period, knowing its influences on other parts of the climate system can be used to improve long range forecasts. These teleconnections of the QBO in observations are investigated using composite analysis, multilinear regression and a novel approach called causal effect networks (CEN). Findings from these analyses confirm previous results of the QBO modulating the stratospheric polar vortex and subsequently the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). They also suggest that it is important to take the equatorial zonal mean zonal wind vertical profile into account when studying teleconnections, rather than the more traditional method of using just one single level.
While QBO influences on the Northern Hemisphere winter polar vortex and the NAO are more clearly established, interactions within the tropics remain inconclusive. Regression analysis does not show a connection between the QBO and the MJO, whereas the CEN analysis does. Further studies are needed to understand the interaction mechanisms near the equator.
Finally, following the unprecedented disruption of the QBO cycle in the winter 2015/16, the event is described and a model analogue from the MPI-ESM-MR historical simulation is presented. Future implications are unclear, although model projections indicate more frequent QBO irregularities in a warming climate.
Investigating the function of microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) and its genetic association with Parkinson’s using human iPSC-derived dopamine neurons
Keywords: Dopamine Neurons
iPSCs
Induced pluripotent stem cells
Tau
MAPT

Parkinson's disease (PD) primarily manifests as loss of motor control through the degeneration of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons. The microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) locus is highly genetically associated with PD, wherein the H1 haplotype confers disease risk and the H2 haplotype is protective. As this haplotype variation does not alter the amino acid sequence, disease risk may be conferred by altered gene expression, either of total MAPT or of specific isoforms, of which there are six in adult human brain. To investigate haplotype-specific control of MAPT expression in the neurons that die in PD, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from H1/H2 heterozygous individuals were differentiated into dopaminergic neuronal cultures that expressed all six mature isoforms of MAPT after six months' maturation. A reporter construct using the human tyrosine hydroxylase locus was also generated to identify human dopaminergic neurons in mixed cultures. Haplotype-specific differences in the inclusion of exon 3 and total MAPT were observed in iPSC-derived dopaminergic neuronal cultures and a novel variant in MAPT intron 10 increased the inclusion of exon 10 by two-fold. RNA interference tools were generated to knockdown total MAPT or specific isoforms, wherein knockdown of the 4-repeat isoform of tau protein increased the velocity of axonal transport in iPSC-derived neurons. MAPT knockdown also reduced p62 levels, suggesting an impact of tau on macroautophagy, likely through altered axonal transport. These results demonstrate how variation at a disease susceptibility locus can alter gene expression, thereby impacting on neuronal function.