VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Textiles, furs and liveries : a study of the material culture of the court of Edward I (1272-1307)
Keywords: Edward the First
liveries
court
furs
Great Britain
Edward I
textiles
costume
material culture
livery

The thesis is an attempt to study the place of textile materials and furs in the life of the court of Edward I. The expenditure on such materials was considerable. In order to achieve a regular provisioning, the king relied on the great fairs but, increasingly, on merchant companies. This accompanied a shift of the ‘trade in luxury goods from the fairs to London and it is probable that the purchasing policies of the royal household had a major role in this evolution. The range of techniques involved in the transformation of materials was very wide, and various craftsmen worked for the royal court. Many of them were members of the household, but the great wardrobe also had privileged connections with urban workshops.
Costume and furnishings had a significant function in aristocratic economy and society. The king and his family appeared to their entourage in an apparel stressing the specificity of the royal lineage. Costume also occupied a major place in the exercise of the king’s largesse by way of alms, gifts and liveries. Most members of the royal household were entitled to liveries of robes, in money or in kind. When given in kind, liveries had a specific function as status- or group-sign. Members of the same office, or servants of the same rank would be given cloth of the same colour. It is not certain, however, that colours were fixed, and that liveries were used as a means of recognition in the world of politics and retaining.
The patronage of the king was also marked by the distribution of cloths of gold, in the form of oblations to churches and shrines and of gifts to aspirants to knighthood. Finally, textiles and hides played a major role in the logistics of war and on the battlefield. They were naturally used for the making of tents and other military equipment. But they were also the materials used for the display of emblems.
The symbolism of power has recently received renewed attention from historians, as has the study of the places of power and of the anthropology of power. The history of material culture is one way in which to approach medieval power-structures and, within this context, the study of textile materials and furs may prove to be a valuable approach.
The role of lipid metabolising enzymes in CD1a-associated cutaneous inflammation
Keywords: CD1a-reactive t cells
sphingomyelinase
psoriasis
atopic dermatitis
allergic contact dermatitis
CD1a

Atopic dermatitis (AD) and psoriasis (Ps) are common, relapsing-remitting inflammatory skin diseases that result in increased morbidity and reduced quality of life. CD1a contributes to AD and Ps pathogenesis via the presentation of activating neo-lipid antigens produced by endogenous and exogenous PLA2s (PLA2). In addition, very long chain sphingomyelins (SMs) have been shown to physically antagonise CD1a-T cell receptor (TCR) interactions. Interestingly, both mammals and bacteria can produce sphingomyelinases (SMases), a class of lipid metabolising enzymes, that digests SM into ceramide and phosphorylcholine.
Therefore, we sought to establish whether CD1a neo-lipid antigen generation extends beyond the PLA2 superfamily, by examining the presence of SMase-specific CD1a-dependent T cell activation, which may help to explain the role of bacterial infection in AD. Here, we used a range of techniques including skin RNA sequencing, isoelectric focusing and functional T cell assays. Through bioinformatic analysis, we discovered the elevated expression of mammalian SMase genes, SMPD1 and SMPD3, in addition to PLA2s in AD and Ps lesional tissue. Following this, we identified the capacity for bacterial SMases to degrade CD1a-preferred SMs, with potentiation by the presence of cobalt and nickel, which are two frequently occurring allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) allergens. Additionally, we demonstrated the presence of bacterial SMase-reactive CD1a-dependent T cell responses via upregulation of cytokine production and CD69.
In conclusion, bacterial SMases can effectively digest very long chain inhibitory SMs and stimulate the activation of CD1a-reactive T cells. Additionally, our results suggest that mammalian SMases may similarly contribute to CD1a neo-lipid antigen generation. This thesis expands upon our understanding of the involvement of lipid metabolising enzymes in CD1a-dependent T cell activation and provides support for a hitherto unknown pathway underlying the development skin inflammatory disorders. Therefore, here we present potential novel targets involved in disease initiation which may be amenable for therapeutic modulation.
Higgs bundles for N=1 gauge theories
Keywords: G2-manifold
M-theory
Higgs Bundle
class S
supersymmetric quantum mechanics

We consider two constructions of 4d N = 1 gauge theories in M-theory. The first is purely geometric and involves compactifying M-theory on singular manifolds of G2-holonomy. The geometries studied are ALE-fibered over a compact base M3. This fibration admits a description in terms of a Higgs bundle with three-dimensional base M3 which arises as the BPS equations of M-theory reduced adiabatically along the ALE fibers. The gauge theory sector of these compactifications originates from M2-branes wrapped on vanishing cycles of the ALE fibration with interactions set by Euclidean M2-branes wrapped on associative submanifolds traced out by the vanishing cycles. The first part of this thesis develops the physics of these models and introduces a colored supersymmetric quantum mechanics organizing and quantifying non-perturbative effects due to M2-brane instantons. In this framework we study the local models of twisted connected sum G2-manifolds and describe their possible chiral deformations.
The second construction considered in this thesis utilizes M5-branes wrapped on Rie- mann surfaces embedded in local Calabi-Yau threefolds. We focus on the subset of such configurations derived from 4d N = 2 theories of class S breaking to N = 1. Their BPS equations construct Higgs bundles differing from the standard class S Higgs bundle by an additional Higgs field. The associated N = 1 curve collects the spectral data of both Higgs fields and different curves describe distinct vacua of the same gauge theory. The second part of this thesis studies the construction of such Higgs bundles and derives the confinement properties of each vacuum from the associated N = 1 curve. This allows for the study of confinement in non-Lagrangian N = 1 theories which is illustrated by constructing an infinite class of non-Lagrangian N = 1 theories that contain confining vacua.
Translational investigation of circadian rhythm modulating drugs on metabolic disorder
Keywords: amplitude enhancers
MEIS1
Metabolic syndrome
circadian modulating drugs
circadian biology
HFD
metabolic phenotyping
metabolic screens
Metabolic disorder

The metabolic syndrome represents a cluster of metabolic anomalies (including hyperglycaemia, obesity, hypercholesterolemia), that affects 25% of the world’s population and is recognised as a major risk factor for development of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Several key enzymes identified in this disorder are directly under circadian regulation and evidence from both pre-clinical research and epidemiological studies strongly implicate disturbed circadian rhythms in metabolic disorders. Further, the recent demonstration that pharmacological enhancement of the clock ameliorate symptoms of metabolic syndrome suggests this could indeed be a novel therapeutic paradigm. In light of this, our study aimed to investigate the effects of three novel circadian modulators using a range of in-vitro models for metabolic syndrome and translate these findings to an in-vivo model of obesity.
Following a medium-throughput screen of ~5000 molecules using reporter cell-lines that track clock gene expression, 3 novel circadian modulators; Linopirdine, Diclazuril and Zaprinast were identified. Phenotypic characterization of these molecules in adipocytes demonstrated a lack of correlation between pharmacological amplitude enhancement of the adipocyte clock and metabolic phenotypes, despite displaying positive metabolic outcomes in in-vitro model system, thereby highlighting the significance of drug targets in metabolic outcomes. Using in-silico mining, followed by transcription-factor screening and siRNA knockdown, we identified a novel mechanism mediating Linopirdine’s chrono-modulatory effect. We provide the first direct evidence of MEIS1 being a regulator of circadian clock expression and demonstrate Linopirdine as a novel modulator of MEIS1 and HIF. Furthermore, in a diet-induced obesity mouse model, Linopirdine mimicked HIF and MEIS1 activation in-vivo, emphasising the significance of the drug target in predicting in-vivo outcomes. Finally, using Zaprinast as a pharmacological tool, we provided new insight on the role of cGMP in regulating peripheral circadian clocks. Thus, this DPhil thesis provides original insight into the use of chrono-modulators in the treatment of metabolic syndrome and introduces novel targets for circadian modulation.
On the locality of indistinguishable quantum systems
Keywords: fermions
anyons
local realism
ontic states

This thesis investigates local realism in quantum indistinguishable particle systems, focusing on bosonic, fermionic, and 2D non-abelian anyonic systems. The local realism of quantum indistinguishable particle systems is asserted. It proves annihilation operators represent the local ontic states in these systems. It closes the literature gap on obtaining Deutsch-Hayden descriptors in indistinguishable particle systems. The prima facie paradox of action at a distance using fermionic annihilation operators as descriptors is resolved. The work provides examples of using and interpreting the annihilation operators as local ontic states. It contains the novel construction and characterisation of the annihilation operators for 2 D non-abelian anyonic systems. The explicit form of Fibonacci anyon annihilation operators is provided, and their usefulness is shown in expressing the anyonic Hubbard model Hamiltonian algebraically. By studying the indistinguishable particle systems’ local realistic structure, the thesis showcases the relevance of the choice of subsystem lattice and exotic possible compositions of subsystems.
The somatic mutational landscape of the normal fallopian tube epithelium
Keywords: Fallopian tubes
Genomics
Ovarian cancer
Somatic mutations
Early detection

There is currently no screening test available for ovarian cancer. This is largely due to the lack of understanding of mechanisms of tumour initiation. Using single cell sequencing, we have recently demonstrated the individual subtypes of the fallopian tube epithelial cells, and how these are recapitulated in high grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) subtypes, providing compelling evidence that the fallopian tube epithelium (FTE) harbours the elusive cell of origin of HGSOC [1]. Using these insights, it was now a priority to explore the somatic mutational landscape of the normal FTE.
Investigating mutational processes in normal tissue is central to our under- standing of the cancers that originate in these tissues. Recent studies have shed light on the clonal dynamics of various tissue types in the human body, informing our understanding of how somatic mutations contribute to tissue homeostasis, ageing, cancer, and other diseases. In this study, I performed ultra-deep targeted sequencing of a collection of over 350 laser capture microdissected samples from the normal FTE of six patients (4 patients without cancer; 2 patients with concurrent HGSOC and macroscopically normal fallopian tubes). A machine learning approach was developed to enable accurate and comprehensive discovery of subclonal variants from small numbers of cells using a low-cost, high-throughput sequencing workflow.
This study has revealed that somatic mutations are ubiquitous in the normal fallopian tube, with considerable intra- and inter-patient heterogeneity. Muta- tional processes that underpin positive selection and clonal expansion of fallopian tube epithelial cells were explored in order to gain an understanding of the transformation of healthy cells into cancer cells. The highest burden of somatic mutations was found in FAT1, the NOTCH genes, and CSMD3, which are all known to play a role in the pathogenesis of both benign diseases and cancer. The majority of mutations were shown to be missense mutations with likely damaging impacts on protein function. TP53 mutations, which are pathognomonic for HGSOC [2], were found to be uncommon in the histologically normal FTE, suggesting that these may not confer large clonal advantages in the normal FTE, but as key drivers of HGSOC development likely occur later in the pathogenesis.
This is the first insight into the somatic mutational landscape of healthy human fallopian tubes and provides novel insights into fallopian tube biology and the clonal dynamics of fallopian tube epithelium. These results lay a foundation for subsequent exploration of the interface between health and disease and will be an important stepping-stone towards establishing screening tools for early detection of HGSOC.
Corporations and justice: a theory of corporate justice responsibility
Keywords: corporate justice debt
harmonisation of corporate behaviours
justice
corporation
just-profit
structural injustice
responsibility
networked injustice

Political theorists have developed theories of responsibility for injustice, but rarely identify the corporation as a responsibility-bearer. Management scholars, on the other hand, widely acknowledge that corporations bear extra-commercial responsibilities but rarely include responsibility for justice, casting corporate social responsibility as discretionary duties of benevolence, mostly in service of corporate interests. These two literatures expose a gap in corporations’ responsibility for injustice.
This thesis addresses this responsibility gap by bringing these two literatures into conversation. It argues that the responsibility gap derives in part from the gap, found in both literatures, in the conception of corporate injustice, which in turn derives from a misconception of corporate behaviour.
The thesis argues that corporations are mistakenly conceived as atomistic actors when, in reality, they operate in networks consisting of complex webs of corporate interactions. Upon setting right this misconception, the thesis identifies an overlooked mode of injustice, that of networked injustice that corporations routinely commit by their participation in corporate networks. With this conception of networked injustice, the thesis develops a non-discretionary account of corporate responsibility for injustice, termed corporate justice responsibility.
The thesis contributes to political theory by bringing the corporation firmly into the set of responsibility-bearers for injustice while also identifying networks as mediators of injustice. While networked injustice is developed in the context of corporate behaviour, the concept is applicable to any agents engaged in networked action. The thesis contributes to management and political theory by presenting corporations as fundamentally networked actors, and developing an account of non-discretionary, extra-commercial responsibility borne by corporations, grounded in their contributions to networked injustice.
By these theoretical contributions, the thesis, and the theory of corporate justice responsibility, contribute to closing the gap in accounting for corporations’ justice responsibilities.
Choreographing tragedy into the twenty-first century
Keywords: classics
decoloniality
relation
tragedy
COVID-19
performance
climate crisis
queer theory
postcolonial
chosen family
the end of the world
choreography
classical reception

What makes a tragedy? In the fifth century BCE this question found an answer through the conjoined forms of song and dance. Since the mid-twentieth century, and the work of the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, tragedy has been variously articulated as form coming apart at the seams. This thesis approaches tragedy through the work of five major choreographers and a director who each, in some way, turn back to Bausch. After exploring the Tanztheater Wuppertal’s techniques for choreographing tragedy in chapter one, I dedicate a chapter each to Dimitris Papaioannou, Akram Khan, Trajal Harrell, Ivo van Hove with Wim Vandekeybus, and Gisèle Vienne.
Bringing together work in Queer and Trans* studies, Performance studies, Classics, Dance, and Classical Reception studies I work towards an understanding of the ways in which these choreographers articulate tragedy through embodiment and relation. I consider how tragedy transforms into the twenty-first century, how it shapes what it might mean to live and die with(out) one another. This includes tragic acts of mythic construction, attempts to describe a sense of the world as it collapses, colonial claims to ownership over the earth, and decolonial moves to enact new ways of being human.
By developing an expanded sense of both choreography and the tragic one of my main contributions is a re-theorisation of tragedy that brings together two major pre-existing schools, to understand tragedy not as an event, but as a process. Under these conditions, and the shifting conditions of the world around us, I argue that the choreography of tragedy has and might continue to allow us to think about, name, and embody ourselves outside of the ongoing catastrophes we face.
Isotope fractionation during volatile loss from planets and asteroids
Keywords: evaporation
isotope geochemistry
planetary sciences
experimental petrology
zinc
volatility

Volatile element depletion trends of the terrestrial mantle and extra-terrestrial bodies relative to CI carbonaceous chondrites indicate that evaporative loss from silicate melts had a considerable effect on the trace element budget and isotopic composition of these bodies. This large scale volatile loss occurred during the early stages of planetary evolution where bodies were partially or wholly molten due to the heat generated by impactors and the decay of short-lived radionuclides. The 50% condensation temperature is often used to describe volatility in planetary sciences, but the restriction to solar nebula conditions hinders its applicability beyond the first ~3 Myr of the solar system.
This study assessed evaporative loss of Li, P, V, Cu, Zn, Ga, Ge, As, Rb, Ag, Cd, In, Sn, Sb, Cs, Tl and Pb from silicate melts. Evaporation experiments were performed in a one atmosphere gas mixing furnace at 1300 – 1400°C and fO2 between air and the iron-wüstite oxygen buffer reaction in three different melt compositions. Evaporative loss was quantified using the volatility factor which showed that evaporative loss for all elements increased with decreasing fO2 and that trace element volatility decreased in more felsic melts. Volatility factors showed reasonable correlations with CI carbonaceous chondrite normalized bulk silicate Earth abundances and experimentally determined 1% evaporation temperatures, but poor correlations with the equilibrium partial pressures and the 50% condensation temperature. The modified Hertz-Knudsen-Langmuir equation (HKL) was used to infer the apparent equilibrium constant, enthalpy and entropy of the evaporation reactions with mixed results.
The Zn isotopic composition showed that evaporative loss of Zn from silicate melts was a diffusion-limited process with a Zn depleted boundary layer in the silicate melt. Liquid – vapour fractionation factors (α(66/64)) closer to unity than expected further confirmed that evaporation was diffusion-limited. The experimental α(66/64) were used to model isotope fractionation on various solar system bodies and terrestrial materials assuming a closed-batch system. These showed that α(66/64) were able to reproduce the Zn isotopic fractionation observed in lunar basalts. For the other (extra-)terrestrial environments the observed fractionation was not reproduced using experimental α(66/64).
Knowledge in terms of Logos in Plato's Theaetetus
Keywords: knowledge
ancient philosophy
Theaetetus
Logos
Plato
epistemology

This thesis concerns the definition “Knowledge is True Belief Accompanied by Logos”, as discussed in Plato’s Theaetetus (201c-210d). I aim to show that the discussion between Socrates and Theaetetus progresses coherently and that the aporetic ending of the dialogue should be read as a genuine impasse; neither Plato nor his character Socrates favours an interpretation of logos that may render the definition successful.
First, I argue that neither a propositional nor an objectual reading for knowledge in Socrates’ Dream (201d-202c) should be dismissed before we reach 206d-e.
Second, I argue in favour of the soundness of the argument at 202d-206c and suggest that this passage constitutes an amendment to Socrates’ Dream, not a refutation.
Third, I examine the first meaning for logos (“making one's thought plain by means of speech”, 206d-e) and argue that its rejection serves as a clarification that logoi of concern must in some way be special and that the content of the true belief is different from the content of the logos, although both concern the same object.
Fourth, I examine the second meaning for logos (“being able, when one is asked what anything is, to provide the questioner with an answer in terms of its elements”, 206e-208b). I argue that this is not a simple revisiting of Socrates’ Dream, but the amended and mereologically upgraded version Socrates argued for at 202d-206c.
Fifth, I examine the third meaning for logos (“being able to state some mark by which the thing one is asked for differs from everything else”, 208c-210b). I argue that no such mark can offer the precisification required to meet the strict demands Socrates has set for knowledge. Furthermore, I highlight the issue of the accompaniment of logos and bolster the view that the final argument refutes the definition, regardless of what meaning we attribute to logos.