VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
‘It's easier if we stop them moving’ a critical analysis of anti-child trafficking discourse, policy and practice – the case of southern Benin
Keywords: Benin
anti-trafficking policy
child trafficking
trafficking discourse

This thesis offers a critical assessment of anti- child trafficking discourse, policy and practice, using a case study of the situation in Southern Benin. It seeks to achieve two main goals. First, to transcend the reductiveness of the dominant paradigm around child trafficking, including dominant representations of it and prevailing policy approaches to dealing with it. Second, to complicate the simplistic nature of much of the academic literature that explains the existence and persistence of this dominant paradigm. Based on 14 months of multi-sited fieldwork, the thesis demonstrates, first, that the institutional narrative of ‘child trafficking’ misrepresents what would be better understood as adolescent labour migration in Benin, and second, that mainstream policy approaches to tackling this fail to account for the sociocultural or political-economic conditions that underpin it. The thesis suggests that this can be interpreted as a result of the power of three framing orders of discourse – ‘Apollonian Childhood’, Neoliberalism and that of the Westphalian State – which structure both what ‘trafficking’ can mean and what can be done about it. The thesis suggests that the material and power structures of the anti-trafficking discourse- and policy-making field are such that, even where individuals within it reject both the dominant paradigm and its (and the field’s) framing orders of discourse, little space exists for them to construct meaningful alternatives. The result is a degree of formal and representational stability, hiding practical hybridity. The conclusion is offered that, while anti-trafficking discourse is presumed to be accurate and while antitrafficking policy is justified in terms of its contribution to ‘beneficiaries’, theprinciple achievement of both is the depoliticised reproduction of the institutions, orders of discourse and political-economic context within which they are constructed.
The interface between competition and the internal market: market separation under Article 102TFEU
Keywords: abuse of the dominant position
free movement of goods
internal market
market integration
market separation
Article 102TFEU

The thesis explores the interface between competition law and market integration, in the application of Article 102TFEU. It focuses on ‘market separation’ and addresses conduct that has the intent, or effect, of hindering cross-border trade, either in the form of geographic price discrimination or in the form of exclusionary abuses, in which out-of-State competitors are affected.
In doing so, the thesis delves into a comparative analysis of the Treaty requirements under Article 102TFEU when applied in market separation cases and the Treaty requirements under the free movement provisions. It begins with a comparison of the objectives of the two sets of provisions and assesses how their historical link is echoed, presently, in the requirement of ‘effect on trade’ under Article 102TFEU (Chapter I). Following this, the thesis explores the asymmetry as between the addressees of the two sets of provisions (Chapter II). It is argued that ‘undertaking with a dominant position’, as a distinct condition of the application of Article 102TFEU, is the outer limit to any expansive view of direct horizontal applicability of the freedoms. Therefore, alleged market separation by dominant undertakings should be subject to Article 102TFEU alone.
Subsequently, the material scope of the prohibitions contained in the two sets of provisions is addressed. Here, it is argued that, in the vast majority of market separation cases, there is nothing special about the interface between competition law and the Internal Market. Rather, the inherent limits of economic integration, as reflected in the notion of trade barriers, should also be taken into account under the enforcement of Article 102TFEU against dominant undertakings (Chapter III). Tensions between competition law and the Internal Market may, nevertheless, arise when non-economic values, as reflected in the notion of justified trade barriers, come into play. In these cases, the interface between competition law and the Internal Market is better conceptualised as a question of unclear attribution of the market distorting effect to the undertaking and/or the State (Chapter IV). A revised defence of shared responsibility for the market separation is proposed, which would render the legality of State intervention under the free movement provisions a necessary condition for the application of Article 102TFEU against the dominant undertaking (Chapters V and VI).
The weak vs. the strong: African, Caribbean and Pacific countries negotiating free trade agreements with the European Union 
Keywords: Pacific
Africa
negotiation
economic partnership agreement
European Union
developing countries
Caribbean
free trade agreement
international trade

This thesis seeks to explain the outcomes of trade negotiations between the European Union (EU) and seventy-six of the world’s smallest developing countries in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific (ACP). Puzzlingly, in spite of its vastly greater economic size, the EU was, for the main, unable to realise its objective of concluding six broad and deep free trade agreements with these countries.
Deploying first historical institutional analysis then statistical modelling and finally by scrutinising a wealth of primary documents and transcripts of interviews with negotiators, the thesis reveals three factors that influenced outcomes. First, coercive pressure applied by the EU on countries dependent on EU for trade preferences and aid. Second, tactics within the negotiating process, with some ACP countries and regions manoeuvring more effectively than others. Third, differences in the underlying preferences of ACP governments, with most opposing major aspects of the EU’s proposals, but a minority embracing the EPA approach. Probing the underlying reasons, the thesis finds that, contrary to the prevailing literature, lobbying by domestic economic interest groups only provides part of the answer – the analytical and ideational processes within ACP government institutions also exerted an influence.
The analysis shows that structural factors, particularly the depth of economic and political dependence on the larger state, establish the range of likely outcomes from a given negotiation. However the preferences of small states and the way in which they interact strategically with the larger state can definitively shape the final outcome. In particular, small states can exercise a degree of resistance and blocking power that is often underestimated. It also sheds light on the formation of trade preferences in small developing countries and shows that in addition to lobbying by external groups, information and ideas within government bureaucracies appear to play an important role.
Interactions between avian colonial social structure and disease dynamics
Keywords: seabird
transmission
spatial structure
colony
tick-borne virus
herd immunity

All wildlife populations harbour parasites. However, seabirds are likely to play a particularly important role in the maintenance and dispersal of infectious agents as a result of their colonial breeding habits. Seabird colonies are also known to be highly spatially structured, but little is known about the effects of this spatial structuring on seabird parasite dynamics. In this thesis, I use a tick-borne virus, Great Island virus (GIV), found in a large common guillemot (Uria aalge) colony bordering the North Sea as a model system to explore this relationship. I use a multidisciplinary approach, framed by a simple epidemiological model of the guillemot-tick-virus system.
In Chapter 2, I describe a novel epidemiological model and parameterise it using the existing literature. The model suggests the importance of spatial structure within the guillemot colony, but also identifies a key missing parameter, the rate of virus transmission between pre-breeding and breeding areas. In Chapter 3, I go on to test the potential role of independent tick movement in driving transmission between these two areas, by quantifying the mobility of host-seeking seabird ticks, Ixodes uriae. I show the potential for ticks to walk ranges described anecdotally in the literature, in just a few minutes, but stress the importance of further experiments in the field./p>
Chapter 4, I test the potential role of guillemot-mediated tick movement between pre-breeding and breeding areas. I show that pre-breeding guillemots spend a limited proportion of time ashore during daylight hours, which increases significantly as the season progresses and varies between individuals. A similar pattern is observed when considering how often they enter breeding areas when ashore; generally infrequently but varying spatiotemporally and between individuals. In Chapter 5, I apply finite mixture modelling techniques to improve existing estimates of age- and strain-specific GIV seroprevalence and force of infection in the guillemot colony. I also provide the first estimates of these parameters for eight strains, and highlight the importance of understanding strain-specific differences in GIV dynamics in future studies./p>
Finally, I bring all four data chapters together in Chapter 6, by inputting my new parameter estimates (Chapters 3-5) into my existing model (Chapter 2). Taken together, my results suggest that GIV transmission within the guillemot colony may increase in the future as a result of declining breeding abundance and success, with more frequent or extreme disruption leading to a higher risk of infection within the colony. More generally, my results suggest that seabird colonies can be highly sensitive to changes in their spatial structure, and that endemic parasites have the potential to substantially impact, and hence to be an added threat to, their seabird hosts.
Patterns of symptoms in major depressive disorder and genetics of the disorder using low-pass sequencing data
Keywords: major depressive disorder
genome-wide association study
mitochondrial DNA
comorbid anxiety disorders
rare variant analysis

My thesis aims at identifying both genetic and environmental causes of major depressive disorder (MDD), using a large case-control study: 6,000 Chinese women with recurrent MDD and 6,000 controls. One of the major challenges for conducting genetic research on MDD is disease heterogeneity. The first question addressed is how different MDD is from highly comorbid anxiety disorders. I examine how anxiety disorders predict clinical features of depression and the degree of heterogeneity in their predictive pattern. The second question addressed is whether clinically defined MDD is a single disorder, or whether it consists of multiple subtypes. Results are then compared with and interpreted in the context of Western studies. Furthermore, latent class analysis and factor analysis results are also used in association analysis to explore more genetically homogeneous subtypes. Genetic data were derived using a novel strategy, low pass whole genome sequence analysis. Using genotypes imputed from the sequence data, I show that a cluster of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) is significantly associated with a binary disease phenotype including only cases with ≥ 4 episodes of MDD, suggesting that recurrence might be an indication of genetic predisposition. The third issue examined is the contribution of rare variants to disease susceptibility. Again using sparse sequence data, I identified exonic sequence variants and performed gene-based analysis by comparing the number of variants between cases and controls in every gene. Furthermore I performed gene enrichment test by combining P values of SNP association tests at different minor allele frequency ranges. Overall, I did not find convincing evidence that rare variants aggregately contribute to disease susceptibility. However, the gene-based analysis resulted in an unexpected finding: cases have an excess of variants in all thirteen-protein coding mitochondrial genes, which was due to copy number differences in the mitochondrial genome. Both human phenotypic data as well as mice experimental data show that the increase in the mitochondrial copy number in cases is due to chronic stress.
Multi-species detection using infrared multi-mode absorption spectroscopy
Keywords: multi-mode absorption spectroscopy
difference frequency generation
gas detection
Laser spectroscopy
absorption spectroscopy
MUMAS
gas analysis
DFG
multi-mode laser

This thesis reports work extending the scope of a recently developed gas sensing technique, multi-mode absorption spectroscopy (MUMAS). The ability of MUMAS to simultaneously detect multiple species from a mixture is demonstrated for the first time. The technique is subsequently extended to mid-infrared wavelengths, realising large gains in sensitivity.
A solid-state, multi-mode laser has been developed to provide a high-performance comb source for use with MUMAS. This in-house constructed, diode-pumped, Er/Yb:glass laser operates on 10 longitudinal modes, separated by 18 GHz and centred close to 1565 nm. The extensive development and prototyping work leading to this final laser design is described.
Multi-species detection with MUMAS is reported for the first time, thus demonstrating the ability of this technique to perform multi-gas sensing using a single laser and simple detection scheme. The previously described Er/Yb multi-mode laser was used to record MUMAS signals from a sample containing CO, C2H2, and N2O. The components of the mixture were detected simultaneously by identifying multiple transitions in each of the species. Temperature- and pressure-dependent modelled spectral fits to the data were used to determine the partial pressures of each species in the mixture with an uncertainty better than +/-2%.
Multi-mode radiation has been successfully generated at 3.3 μm using quasi phase matched difference frequency generation (QPM-DFG). A mid-infrared laser comb was produced by optically mixing the near-infrared, multi-mode comb produced by the previously developed Er/Yb:glass laser with the single-mode output of a Nd:YAG laser operating at 1064 nm. This multi-frequency laser source was characterised to verify performance, and subsequently used to perform proof-of-principle MUMAS measurements on the strong transitions found in this spectral region. Spectra were recorded of NH3 and CH4 both individually and as components of a mixture. A minimum detection level for this system was determined to be 4.3 μbar m-1 for CH4, a sensitivity increase of 300 over similar measurements performed in the near-IR.
Cavitation-enhanced tumour-targeting virotherapy by ultrasound
Keywords: density
virus
adenovirus
Ultrasound
tumour
cancer
nanoparticle
gold

Systemic administration of adenovirus type 5 (Ad5) vectors for the treatment of cancer is limited by poor circulation kinetics and inefficient uptake from the bloodstream into tumours. This study reports a novel method for linkage of highly-PEGylated gold nanoparticles (AuPEG) to Ad5 by a single reduction cleavable bond. The resulting ‘dandelion’ structure provides very effective steric shielding with only minimal and reversible modification of the Ad5 capsid. This ablates in vitro cell infection, improves protection against the binding of antibodies, and enhances in vivo circulation kinetics.
Focused ultrasound is a promising technology for the non-invasive, targeted treatment of cancer. In the context of drug delivery, cavitational energy generated upon exposure of ultrasound contrast agents to focused ultrasound can be used as a powerful stimulus to move therapeutics over distances of hundreds of microns away from blood vessels. In addition to providing a platform for effective stealthing, conjugation of AuPEG to Ad5 also increases the effective density of Ad5. This increase in density imparts a second major advantage on the strategy, observed for the first time in the present study: denser particles are transported significantly farther by cavitation-induced microstreaming than identically-sized particles of lower density. Specifically, in in vitro tests using a tumour-mimicking flow-channel phantom model and in in vivo experiments using tumour bearing mice, Ad5–AuPEG was delivered farther from vessels in response to ultrasound induced cavitation than either naked Ad5 or polymer-coated Ad5.
The enhancements in stealthing and improvements in response to ultrasound provided by this strategy enabled up to 12% (S.D. 0.97) of the injected dose to be deposited in the tumour, compared to just 0.12% (S.D. 0.05) for Ad5 without ultrasound (p < 0.001). Consequently, in a survival study, mice treated with Ad5–AuPEG with focussed ultrasound had the slowest tumour growth and longest survival rate when compared to mice treated with Ad5 alone, Ad5–AuPEG alone, or Ad5 with focussed ultrasound. These results provide compelling evidence that the combination of focussed ultrasound with density-augmented stealthed Ad5 results in improved delivery to tumours and therapeutic efficacy.
This combination of ultrasound with particle modification for optimal cavitation-mediated delivery has the potential to be applied to a broad range of anti-cancer nano-medicines and therapeutics to augment their bio-availability for improved cancer treatment.
Applications of whole genome sequencing to understanding the mechanisms, evolution and transmission of antibiotic resistance in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia
Keywords: whole genome sequencing
Enterobacteriaceae
Antibiotic resistance
Molecular epidemiology

Whole genome sequencing (WGS) has transformed molecular infectious diseases epidemiology in the last five years, and represents a high resolution means by which to catalogue the genetic content and variation in bacterial pathogens.
This thesis utilises WGS to enhance our understanding of antimicrobial resistance in two clinically important members of the Enterobacteriaceae family of bacteria, namely Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. These organisms cause a range of clinical infections globally, and are increasing in incidence. The rapid emergence of multi-drug resistance in association with infections caused by them represents a major threat to the effective management of a range of clinical conditions.
The reliability of sequencing and bioinformatic methods in the analysis of E. coli and K. pneumoniae sequence data is assessed in chapter 4, and provides a context for the subsequent study chapters, investigating resistance genotype prediction, outbreak epidemiology in two different contexts, and population structure of an important global drug-resistant E. coli lineage, ST131 (5-8). In these, the advantages (and limitations) of short-read, high-throughput, WGS in defining resistance gene content, associated mobile genetic elements and host bacterial strains, and the relationships between them, are discussed. The overarching conclusion is that the dynamic between all the components of the genetic hierarchy involved in the transmission of important antimicrobial resistance elements is extremely complicated, and encompasses almost every imaginable scenario. Complete/near-complete assessment of the genetic content of both chromosomal and episomal components will be a prerequisite to understanding the evolution and spread of antimicrobial resistance in these organisms.
Lamprey neural Helix-Loop-Helix (HLH) genes and the evolution of the vertebrate nervous system
Keywords: Development
Helix-Loop-Helix Genes
Placodes
Vertebrate
Notch Signalling
Spinal Cord
Nervous System
Evolution
Lamprey
Dorsal Root Ganglia
Phylogenetics
Brain Compartments

Transcription factors of the helix-loop-helix (HLH) gene family are widespread in the animal kingdom. Among them, members of HLH subfamilies such as ASCL, Neurogenin, NeuroD, COE, Atonal, Oligo, NSCL, Hairy/E(spl) and Hey (here referred to as neural HLH genes) have been shown to be fundamental for the development of the nervous system. They are expressed at different time periods of neuronal differentiation, from the specification of ectoderm towards a neural lineage, to the ultimate differentiation of neurons. Few HLH genes have been identified in the lamprey; however, considering the wide diversity of HLH gene subfamilies in metazoans, including vertebrates, it is very likely that lampreys possess a large repertoire of HLH genes in their genome. In the present study, the identification of several HLH genes in the lamprey genome, as well as the isolation and expression of different lamprey neural HLH genes is reported. As expected, a wide repertoire of HLH genes was identified in the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) genome. On the other hand, the identification and expression analysis of different neural HLH genes of the ASCL, Neurogenin, COE and Hairy/E(spl) in the brook lamprey Lampetra planeri showed an overall conservation with other vertebrates, both at the sequence and expression pattern levels. In addition, novel features of the lamprey nervous system are revealed, such as the identification of possible new sensory cranial placodes in pharyngeal arches. Furthermore, these genes can serve as molecular markers for different cranial placodes and dorsal root ganglia (DRG), and their expression also highlights the presence of a ventricular zone in the brain and spinal cord, along with a complementary marginal zone. Finally, with the use of a Notch pathway inhibitor in developing L. planeri embryos, the regulation of expression of the isolated genes by the Notch signaling pathway was shown to be generally conserved between lampreys and gnathostomes in the spinal cord. This functional study also revealed that the lamprey spinal cord likely presents an independent developmental programme from the brain. All together, the present study shows that the analysis of neural HLH genes represents an excellent tool to understand the lamprey nervous system.
The progenitors of type Ia supernovae: what can we learn from the circumstellar medium around single degenerate systems?
Keywords: astrophysics
stars: winds
supernovae: type Ia

While the progenitors of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) have long been thought to be thermonuclear explosions of white dwarf stars, what triggers the explosion are still a topic of debate. This thesis considers constraints on single-degenerate progenitors of SNe Ia based on the presence of a Roche-lobe filling companion. The ejecta strips material from the companion, that maybe detectable via Hα emission during the nebular phase. Using the full structure from simulations produces line widths are larger than those produced in simple models.
The structure formed by the ejecta-companion interaction produce a broken reverse shock that may be visible in X-rays via the Fe Kα line at the age of Tycho's supernova remnant (SNR). If the similar structures in Tycho’s SNR are produced this way then the companion star must have been massive, with M ~ 2 M&odot;.
Detections of circumstellar material within the supernova provides another way to indirectly probe the companion star. Mass loss through winds or novae are expected to shape the circumsteller medium for single-degenerate progenitors and the velocities, v ~ 100 km s-1 appear to be consistent with recurrent nova shells, a model that is tested by analysing simulations of RS Ophiuchi.
Models of RS Ophiuchi can explain the absorption lines seen around the 2006 outburst if the mass loss is 10−6 M&odot; yr-1,. The circumsteller medium is shown to produce in the velocity and relative strengths of the features seen in SN 2006X. However, whether density in the shells is high enough to produce the required recombination timescale and to overcome ionization by γ-rays for shells at 5 × 1016 cm remains uncertain.