VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Writing letters in Song China (960-1279): a study of its political, social, and cultural uses
Keywords: Song China
epistolary culture
premodern China
letter writing

Even though there has been no lack of scholarly attention to Chinese epistolary texts as a source of information, discussions of the functions and practices of letter writing in imperial China are very limited. This thesis deals with how elites in Song dynasty (960–1279) China exchanged personal and political information by writing and sending letters to each other, and how the genre of letters functioned in its various forms throughout the socially transformative and culturally active period. Through contextualizing epistolary material—such as letters in manuscript and print form, letter collections, and epistolary manuals, as well as sources in other genres that describe letter writing practices—I explore the multifaceted uses of letter writing for literati officials. The study provides a systematic view of the functions of Song letter writing in political, social, and cultural realms by investigating its complex practices. Using letters in several sub-genres by important literati figures such as Mi Fu, Li Gang, and Sun Di, it illustrates the main aspects of letter writing, including format, rhetoric, topical content, and handwriting. In view of the roles played by letters exchanged among Song scholars, this research on literati correspondence provides a window on how interpersonal relationships were conducted by written exchanges during that period. It also sheds light on how epistolary culture was transformed by the literati community during one of the key periods of Chinese civilization. These insights will contribute to the research of Chinese literati culture and related fields, such as the social history of middle period China, and will also be useful for comparing China’s epistolary culture with the world’s other letter writing traditions.
An investigation of a possible non-neuronal cholinergic system in the vasculature
Keywords: Microcirculation
Acetylcholine
Mesenteric arteries
Choline acetyltransferase
Endothelium
Choline transport
Non-neuronal cholinergic system
Muscarinic receptors
Atropine
Organic cation transporters
Calcium imaging
En-face
Acetylcholinesterase
Vasculature
Endothelial cell tubes

Vascular endothelial cells express muscarinic acetylcholine receptors, which lead to NO- and endothelium derived hyperpolarization responses that constitute major pathways for vasodilation. As evidence suggests that perivascular nerves may not represent a viable source of innervating ACh, we investigated whether suggestions of a 'non-neuronal cholinergic system’ within the vasculature might act as a source of ACh that is able to influence the endothelium.
Rat mesenteric arteries were cut open and held as an en-face preparation with the endothelial cell (EC) layer exposed to measure EC [Ca2+]i. Furthermore we present the first example of EC tubes isolated from rat mesenteric arteries, used to measure EC [Ca2+]i. Immunohistochemistry was performed on intact arteries to demonstrate localization of important cholinergic proteins.
Direct application of rat whole blood induced increased Ca2+ activity in ECs that did not appear to rely on shear stress or other mechanical interaction of the blood with the endothelial cells. This response, shown to rely on IP3 mediated Ca2+ release, was attenuated by the muscarinic antagonist atropine; it was concluded that blood contains or induces the release of non-neuronal ACh.
The localization of the ACh synthesizing protein, choline acetyltransferase by immunohistochemistry provides evidence for a source of ACh originating within the endothelium. In accordance with this, the blocker of high affinity choline uptake, hemicholinium-3, had a significant effect in reversing choline potentiated responses in ECs. Taken together, we proposed that ACh is released potentially via organic cation transporter proteins located in the endothelium, upon stimulation by blood in response to an as yet undetermined signal.
The ability to influence EC Ca2+ highlights a role for blood in the local control of these cells and the data presented suggest ACh produced locally may provide physiological relevance by exerting influence on endothelial M3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors.
Validation of a climate model for extreme event attribution studies
Keywords: Extreme event attribution
Large ensemble climate modelling
Storm tracking

Probabilistic event attribution (PEA) presents a method of quantifying the change in risk of extreme weather events, both in magnitude and probability of occurrence, due to an- thropogenic climate change. Studies have so far covered numerous different extreme events in different regions (Stott et al., 2016). One method of PEA relies on computing large ensembles of climate models for two different climate scenarios, one which represents the observed climate forcings, and another the climate forcings with anthropogenic greenhouse gas contributions removed. Other PEA studies using different methodologies have also been conducted.
Until now there has been no formal validation of the climate models used in PEA studies. This thesis presents two ways of validating the models and applies these methods to a very large ensemble of a climate model simulating the observed climate for the period 1960 to 2010. The premise is, that for an attribution statement to be meaningful, the model should be able to accurately represent relevant weather statistics over a range of climate scenarios. In order to compare to observations, the period 1960–2010 is used as the range of scenarios.
Conceived as an e–Science project, this thesis presents technical development of method- ologies in the detection and attribution of extreme weather events to climate change. The first method identifies and tracks storm–like features in meteorological data. A novel set of algorithms transforms the meteorological data to a hierarchical equal–area triangular grid, identifies storm–like feature points in the data and grows the points into objects. These objects are tracked as they evolve over time by a hybrid prediction–optimisation routine, which minimises a cost function to find a locally optimal set of feature tracks. Applying the algorithms to the large ensemble of climate models, and also to the ERA–Interim data, shows that the model can successfully capture the track length, persistence and position of low–pressure systems over Europe. However, the depression depth of the systems is not as well represented.
The second method applies a forecast verification technique to the distributions of climate variables. Comparing the temperature, precipitation, mean sea level pressure (MSLP) and winds between the large ensemble and ERA–40 and ERA–Interim shows that the model can accurately represent temperature, precipitation and windspeed variables over Europe, after a bias correction has been applied. However, for low MSLP, there are irreparable biases in the low tails of the distribution. Overall, it is shown that using a large ensemble of climate models is a valid method of investigating the change in risk of extreme weather events due to climate change, as long as the variable to be attributed is carefully chosen.
Edifice and education: structuring thought in twelfth-century Europe
Keywords: Art
Medieval
Education
Architecture

This thesis explores the diverse range of textual and visual architectural representations in twelfth-century didactic texts. It argues that these representations are not arbitrarily chosen frameworks for holding data; instead, architecture can perform a certain pedagogical role. In this role architectural representations mediate between imperceptible abstract concepts in the text and the tangible world of the reader. By focusing on the relationship between text and image this thesis argues that the two play a meaningful part in conveying intangible elements of the world to the reader. The thesis creates an alternative to the historiography on architecture and its representations by redirecting focus from the development of technical drawings and onto the intellectual context of the drawings, and ultimately questions why architecture, in particular, appears so frequently in didactic manuscripts of the period.
The argument is framed by two points. First, it recognises the manifold ways in which architectural representations appear by focusing on three particular examples: quadrivial texts, Richard of Saint Victor's In visionem Ezechielis, and Honorius Augustodunensis' Gemma animae. These texts provide case studies to argue the primary point of thesis, namely, that architectural representations were used to provide tangible or kinaesthetic models to aid readers' understanding of difficult material. Second, the language and structure of the three studies reflect a dimensional framework that was used to articulate particular aspects of the drawings. The dimensional aspects of the drawings appear in texts as references to length, width, height, and the typological qualities of architecture.
Overall the thesis has two important implications. First by recognising the important relationship between text and image it is possible to draw out the pedagogical aims and processes present in some twelfth-century didactic works. Second, common examples of architectural representations, such as Gospel canon tables, are recognised as part of a broader spectrum of heuristic images and diagrams.
Characterisation of the Notch receptor/ligand interaction using C. elegans as a model
Keywords: Notch

The core aim of this project was to use the nematode worm C. elegans to probe the function of the N-terminus of Notch ligands using com- plementary molecular and in vivo approaches. Sequence analysis and structural predictions suggested that the N-termini of C. elegans Notch ligands LAG-2 and APX-1 may comprise a C2 domain, although it was concluded structural information would be necessary to confirm this. Eu- karyotic expression systems were used to produce recombinant protein fragments, and ultimately yielded a large quantity of the fragment APX- 1NE1FcHis that was purified and used for crystallography studies, although no structural information has yet been obtained from this. In parallel, assays were established to assess rescue of the mutant phenotypes associ- ated with the lag-2(q420) allele. Extrachromosomal expression of LAG-2 and APX-1 partially rescued the Lag phenotype, although overexpres- sion of ligand appeared to cause an increase in embryonic lethality. An alternative assay was established, to assess rescue of the anchor cell du- plication phenotype. Using this assay, it was demonstrated that deletion of the N-terminal MNNL or DSL domains of APX-1 abolished rescue of the phenotype observed for WT APX-1 confirming the importance of these domains in Notch signalling. Rescue was still achieved after dele- tion of the EGF-like 1 domain of APX-1, and substitutions targeting loop regions in the DSL and MNNL (DSL(ETSD), I80-K86/SS, respec- tively), but the extent of this rescue appeared to be reduced in all three constructs, suggesting these regions are required for optimised Notch signalling.
A qualitative study to identify an appropriate regulatory framework for human stem cell research in Malaysia
Keywords: stem cell research
regulation
bioethics
embryonic stem cell research

Human stem cell research (hSCR) is known as the future of medical intervention of the 21st century. It is one of the most rapidly progressing emerging technologies in the areas of science, with promising and potential benefits to develop therapy to cure many degenerative diseases that are incurable by the conventional medical procedures. Notwithstanding its importance, this field is rather controversial and ethically contentious as well as legally challenging. Malaysia is among the countries that recognise the importance of this technology. However, its current regulatory system does not seem adequate to ensure ethical compliance. In the light of this situation, one would question as to what would be the appropriate and suitable regulatory approach to this matter? What ought to be done to ensure this area progresses in an ethical fashion?
This thesis was carried out with an aim to examine the regulatory landscape of this area, by looking at the roles and techniques of regulation and its application in hSCR arena across the globe, with a focus on Commonwealth countries. An empirical study was also undertaken, using qualitative interview methods, to find out more about Malaysia's system. The empirical findings obtained, supported by the comparative analysis between Malaysia's system and of other jurisdictions, suggest that Malaysia's framework is lacking of important regulatory measures that are necessary to secure compliance.
This thesis concluded that to achieve an optimal regulatory outcome, the framework would require some improvements by adopting a combination of different regulatory techniques and strengthening its rules enforcement strategies. In addition, there are regulatory options have been identified to improve the current framework including legal transplants, however, there are challenges that need to be recognised.
Mobile phone-based rheumatic heart disease detection
Keywords: Hidden Markov Models
Mobile Health
Conditional Random Fields
Rheumatic Heart Disease

Rheumatic heart disease (RHD), the permanent damage of the heart valves caused by an untreated “strep throat” infection, is the leading cause of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in children and young adults worldwide. Simple penicillin treatment after the early diagnosis of RHD can stop recurring bouts of the condition, which lead to the most severe valvulopathy, and ultimately, heart failure. However, RHD is an under-diagnosed condition in the developing world, as such a diagnosis requires, at a minimum, a trained clinician to perform auscultation to detect pathological heart sounds. Trained medical personnel are scarce in the countries where RHD is most prevalent. A low-cost, mobile phone-based automatic diagnostic tool offers a potential solution, allowing a non-medically trained individual to screen for RHD in those countries.
An essential feature of such a device is feedback on the signal quality of heart sound recordings. The first major contribution of this thesis is the investigation of features and algorithms for the automatic signal quality assessment of heart sound recordings. These algorithms are able to differentiate between good- and poor-quality recordings in over 80% of cases when using both a low-cost mobile phone-based stethoscope and an electronic stethoscope.
Once the quality of recordings is ensured, the positions of the first and second heart sounds need to be located in a process called segmentation. This thesis extends the state-of-the art hidden semi-Markov models by: investigating additional features; extending the Viterbi algorithm; incorporating logistic regression into the model to form a hybrid generative-discriminative model; and investigating a discriminative duration-dependent probabilistic model – a conditional random field. These extensions are found to outperform the state-of-the-art method.
Lastly, the period between the first and second heart sounds can be analysed for the presence of a pathological murmur. This thesis presents automated systolic murmur classification algorithms based on wavelet and mel-frequency cepstral coefficient-based features along with denoising via cycle averaging. These algorithms outperform three methods from the literature when detecting valvulopathy, while also outperforming a cardiologist and commercial software when detecting RHD in mobile phone-based heart sound recordings.
The sustainable seafood movement: bringing together supply, demand, and governance of capture fisheries in the U.S. and U.K. to achieve sustainability
Keywords: coordination
non-state market driven governance
governance

The Sustainable Seafood Movement's "theory of change" is predicated on using markets to improve the supply of, demand for and governance of sustainable fisheries. Over four articles, this thesis will examine the implications of this approach. Article I evaluates the cultural model of seafood eco-labelling and demonstrates that while the theory of using market demand to motivate fishery improvements has been a powerful incentive, consumers have had a minimal role in incentivising that change. This is validated through semi-structured consumer interviews and structured surveys (n=196), which indicate consumers’ general understanding of sustainability issues.
Article II examines the roles of actors in the Sustainable Seafood Movement in facilitating the growth of sustainable seafood products in the supply chain, thus explaining how in the absence of large consumer demand, certified sustainable seafood product offerings have continued to grow. Article III examines the private governance mechanisms that the Sustainable Seafood Movement has established in the supply chain and how these are rivalling, complementing and substituting those of state-led fisheries governance mechanisms. At the same time both private and public governance mechanisms continue to monopolise certain spaces, such as flag state authority. Greater coordination between these two governance systems is needed to facilitate additional sustainability gains and strengthen the resilience of these governance systems. When public and private governance efforts to improve the supply, demand and governance of sustainable seafood are looked as whole, as in Article IV, it is evident that consumers/citizens are minimally engaged. Lack of consumer/citizen engagement could lead to an undervaluing of these governance systems by society. Civic engagement organizations are needed to bridge these systems and facilitate citizen/consumer/steward engagement. Public accountability mechanisms are one means to better engage the public in both governance systems, so that sustainable fisheries are realised by collective engagement of all actors.
Does mental imagery act as an emotional amplifier in bipolar disorders?
Keywords: cognitive behavioural therapy
mental imagery
bipolar disorders

Bipolar disorder is characterized by episodes of mania and depression and serious suicidal risks. Recent studies reported high mental imagery susceptibility (general use of imagery in daily life and emotional impact of prospective imagery) in euthymic bipolar patients. This thesis aims to: a) replicate these findings in patients at different phases of bipolar disorder and with varying degrees of bipolarity, and b) explore how mental imagery susceptibility, ruminative processing, and behavioural approach system (BAS) sensitivity interact to amplify mood symptoms.
Chapter 1 provides an overview of current theories of mood amplification and recurrence in bipolar disorders. Chapter 2 details the local validation of scales used in the thesis. Chapter 3 (Study 1) investigated whether mental imagery susceptibility, positive rumination and BAS sensitivity were elevated in remitted bipolar I disorder compared with major depressive disorder and non-psychiatric controls. Results suggested that these cognitive variables were elevated in remitted bipolar I disorder. Positive rumination also interacted with positive prospective images to predict bipolarity. Chapter 4 (Study 2) found that these cognitive variables were elevated in bipolar I disorder during manic and euthymic phases, compared to major depression. Further, the number of positive prospective images predicted recovery status and manic symptom severity. Chapters 5, 6 and 7 report that, compared with people without bipolar spectrum conditions, these cognitive characteristics were elevated in sub-threshold bipolar disorder (Study 3), individuals with high bipolar risks based on a behavioural paradigm (Study 4), and individuals with high familial risk (Study 5). Studies 3-5 confirmed that positive and negative prospective images interacted with rumination to amplify hypomanic and depressive symptoms respectively. Chapter 8 (Study 6) showed that suicidal flash-forwards function as a psychological escape from perceived entrapment and defeat in suicidality. Based on these findings, Chapter 9 proposes novel imagery-based techniques for targeting problematic imagery in bipolar disorders.
Capable subjects: power and politics in India
Keywords: democracy
negotiations
capabilities
poverty
caste

The principal aim of this thesis is to elaborate a politicized reading of Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach. It explores how capabilities are augmented through the forging of contentious political subjectivities. In it, I build on the criticism that Sen's framework can be more sensitive to questions of power and politics. Against some of his critics, however, I argue that its 'politicization' must focus analytical attention on politics as the struggle to produce subjects rather than limiting its understanding to negotiations over authority, resources and allocations. I draw on quantitative and qualitative analysis of ethnographic data from rural eastern India to substantiate my argument.
The first two chapters outline the contours of the debates and introduce the social, economic and political life of the study localities. Each of the four subsequent chapters elucidates the manner in which the contentious processes through which political subjectivity are forged augments capabilities. In Chapter 3 I advance the case that any discussion on capabilities needs to analyze how subjects interrogate the relations of domination and subordination which they have hitherto been compelled to inhabit. Based on an analysis of the contentions spawned by the Indian Government's National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, I point to how the notion of cooperative conflict is helpful in understanding these processes. In Chapter 4, I draw attention to the analytic importance that needs to be accorded to 'voice' in order to understand how subjects contest and reconstitute these relationships: I base my analysis on the claims made on elected representatives by different groups of people in respect to 'poverty cards'. This emphasis leads in Chapter 5 to an investigation of the ways in which agonistic exchanges in public spaces augments capabilities: this I do through an examination of two specific disputes involving a variety of local actors. I develop these insights further in Chapter 6 to show how our understanding of the processes through which capabilities may be enhanced gains analytically from an analysis of the manner in which subjects construct their identities. Chapter 7 concludes.