VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Muslim communities in England, 1962-92: multiculturalism and political identity
Keywords: diaspora
immigration
islam
politics
britain
modern britain
multiculturalism
muslims

Since the conflicts in the Gulf and Bosnia in the 1990s, and the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and 7/7, a large sociological and political literature on British Muslims has appeared. It is often a contention of these works that Muslims in Britain did not identify, and were not seen in terms of, their religion prior to the time of the Rushdie affair. This thesis contends that, contrary to these arguments, religion has been a significant referent for the claims-making of Muslim communities in England since essentially the time that those communities settled (the early 1960s). This is demonstrated through the consideration of Muslim claims-making and elite practice and policy in a number of thematic areas, including education, employment, social services, and party politics. Building on these insights, it is suggested that such misconceptions about English Muslim social and political mobilisations are attributable to the absence of an historical perspective upon British multiculturalism. This thesis, particularly in two concluding chapters, attempts to correct this absence, offering a broader consideration of British multiculturalism in the studied period. It suggests that – rather than a relatively coherent ideology or policy approach – British multiculturalism has been an institution, produced in an ad hoc manner through the largely uncoordinated actions of a large number of actors, often lacking shared aims, at both local and national level. Although subject to changes over time, this institution has observed a number of consistent ‘rules’ in the form of concepts shared by actors involved in it (such as the ‘ethnic group, ‘community leadership’ and ‘special needs’). Finally, it is suggested that multiculturalism in Britain has endured primarily due to a process of ‘path dependence’ through which many actors have ‘learned’ how to operate within the rules of the institution, and may owe their existence of prestige to it.
The Global Fund: an experiment in global governance
Keywords: Global Fund
HIV/AIDS
global governance

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was created as a new type of international organisation. Its founders uniquely enfranchised non-state actors on its Board, hoping that decision would attract new resources to combat these diseases. Funding decisions would be evidence-based rather than politically-driven. And, the institution would be deliberately ‘lean’ to promote ‘country-ownership’ of grant proposals and implementation. The Fund’s Board (‘principals’) made deliberate choices to constrain the autonomy of its Secretariat (‘agent’). Delegation was strictly limited. In theory, this was to ensure the Fund remained a catalyst for donor funding, evidence-based decision-making and country-ownership. However, the research adduced for this thesis suggests inadequate delegation opened opportunities for direct donor influence in recipient countries. This thesis assesses three specific dimensions of the Fund’s performance in its first decade. The first concerns whether the Fund successfully mobilised more resources, from more funders and did so more reliably. The second is whether the Fund made initial and continued funding decisions in an identifiable evidence-based way. The third centres on ‘country-ownership:’ whether recipient and donor countries on the Fund’s Board had equal influence and whether grant writing and oversight can be assessed as being recipient country ‘owned.’ Data is aggregated from several sources, including: the Fund’s grant portfolio, individual grant agreements and Board documentation; the U.S. PEPFAR programme; and, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. The research reveals the Fund likely gave a ‘kick-start’ to resources flowing to its diseases but PEPFAR’s arrival a year later contributed relatively more. Broad-based support did not emerge though the Fund proved relatively more successful in converting pledges to contributions. The Fund made evidence-based decisions for initial and continued funding, but the latter is a less robust conclusion given missing grant performance data. Equal donor and recipient Board representation was insufficient to ensure recipients had influence equal to donors. The Secretariat never developed an in-country presence but donors embedded themselves in-country, through grant oversight mechanisms and providing technical assistance to implementers. Principal-agent theory generally assumes agents have more information than principals, a key source of their authority. In the Fund, that asymmetry was in the principals’ favour. The scant delegation of authority to the Secretariat left donors in a position to exert control at all levels. The Fund was an experiment in global governance but has not yet proven to be a success in establishing a new model for cooperation.
Domestic sources of Ukraine’s foreign policy: examining key cases of policy towards Russia, 1991-2009
Keywords: nuclear weapons
foreign policy
oil
Ukraine
gas crises
gas
Ukraine-Russia relations
sources of foreign policy
Odesa-Brody
Black Sea Fleet

Ukraine’s foreign policy has puzzled observers since the dissolution of the Soviet Union due to its unusual inconsistency. This inconsistency exhibited itself in contradictory decisions by the Ukrainian executive carried out within a short period of time, which signalled either greater cooperation with Russia and relative cooling of relations with the West, or integration into Western institutions and worsening of the relations with Moscow. This study aims to explain the inconsistency by examining the sources of Ukraine’s foreign policy through process-tracing in four policy cases: Ukraine’s renouncement of nuclear weapons (1991-1994), the status of the Black Sea Fleet (1991-1997), the Odesa-Brody pipeline (2002-2004), and the 2006-2009 gas disputes. Contrary to dominant interpretations of Ukraine’s foreign policy vacillation that emphasise the role of external influences, especially that of Russia and the West, this study concludes that Ukraine’s inconsistent foreign policy decisions are best explained by domestic factors – intra-executive divisions and the influence of vested interests on policy-making. The work relies on the use of primary sources including archival research, elite interviews, and Ukrainian and Russian newspaper reports.
Development and assessment of in vitro tumour models for anti-cancer drug testing
Keywords: anti-cancer drug testing
3D tumor model
in vitro

The study of the development of anti-cancer drugs and preclinical efficacy tests has until today encountered a major problem identified as lack of reliable in vitro tumour models which are able to reflect in vivo tumour conditions. These models provide a clear basis for understanding tumour development processes, assisting in the selection of agents from various chemicals and testing the efficacy of drugs. There are two important characteristics for an in vitro tumour model, i.e. tumour-like structure of cell aggregates, and the in vivo-like culture microenvironment. To meet these two requirements, an in vitro perfusion based three-dimensional tumour model was developed for the three dimensional culture of cancer cells and related anti-cancer drugs tests. In order to assess this model, DLD1 and NCI/ADR cells were cultured in four different models and compared their proliferation rate, cell viability, micro tumour formation and drug responses. In addition, the comparison of static and perfusion culture were done on monolayer and in 3D also. The cells in perfusion culture showed higher proliferation rates and significantly, higher cell viabilities after a 6-day culture compared to statically cultured cells, especially for the cells in the 3D culture. Microtumours (MTs) were formed from this model, which showed significant tumour-like morphological characteristics, a denser and highly stable structure, a higher cell viability, and varied drug responses compared with spheroids. The inhibition effect of paclitaxel and cisplatin, two common type anti-cancer drugs, were tested and a comparative study was carried out using conventional two-dimensional (2D) static culture, spheroids, and the developed 3D MTs model, as well as real human tumour tissues. The results showed that the cells in 2D culture were most greatly inhibited while human tumours showed the lowest drug responses. The efficacy of anti-cancer drugs, tested in conventional 2D static culture, was greatly amplified. Besides, the response of MTs to agents was much closer to that of human tumours, when the values of spheroids are relatively closer to the cells in 2D culture. It is further supported that MTs have more tumour-like characteristics than spheroids. When compared, the inhibition to proliferation of cells in static and perfusion culture showed significantly different drug responses except for the cells on the monolayer. The shown difference between static and perfusion culture can be due to the different culture environment, and further related to the different action mechanisms of anti-cancer agents. The perfusion culture provides a more homogenous and more physiological microenvironment for the in vitro tumour growth, and in vitro perfused 3D cancer model, developed in this thesis, proved valuable for the study of in vitro cancer and related anti-cancer drug tests.
The study of candidate sialometabolism genes and sialometabolism gene regulation in Haemophilus influenzae
Keywords: sialometabolism
Haemophilus influenzae

Sialic acid (SA) is a known major virulence factor of Haemophilus influenza (Hi). This study aims to analyse the functions of some candidate sialometabolism genes, and to further our current understanding on the Hi sialometabolism gene regulation.
Two candidate sialometabolism genes (HI0227 and HI0148) and their adjacent ORFs (HI0228, HI0148.1 and HI0149) were studied. HI0148.1 and HI0149 are transcribed as a single gene in screened NTHi strains, and we refer to the combined ORF as NTHI0236 (the designation in strain 86-028NP). Across Hi strains screened, the sequences of HI0227, HI0148 and NTHI0236 are conserved. However, the sequence of HI0228 is heterogeneous. Mutants that lack the functions of HI0227, HI0228, HI0148 and NTHI0236 were compared to their respective wild type parent strains for ability to grow on SA (in aerobic and microaerophilic conditions), their ability to sialylate LPS and their ability to resist complement mediated killing. The mutants did not exhibit major differences in the tested aspects of sialometabolism compared to their respective wild type strains. Changes observed in some of the mutants in serum bactericidal assays and LPS profiles were due to the effect of phase variable genes. The sialometabolism functions of HI0227, HI0148, and NTHI0236 remain obscure, and we postulate that HI0228 is a pseudogene.
Investigation of Hi sialometabolism gene regulation was conducted using mutants that lack different steps of the Neu5Ac catabolism pathway and the Neu5Ac activation pathway. The expression of nanE and siaP, respectively representing the Neu5Ac catabolism and transport operons, were assessed using RT-PCR and qPCR. We investigated a temporal/concentration effect of Neu5Ac on the expression of sialometabolism operons, which highlights the importance of studying the Hi sialometabolism gene regulation as a dynamic process. We further demonstrated that GlcN-6P, a Neu5Ac intermediate from the catabolism pathway, is likely the SIS sugar that interacts with SiaR, the repressor protein of the Hi sialometabolism operons. We postulate that upon binding of GlcN-6P to SiaR, the SiaR-mediated repression on the Hi sialometabolism operons is relieved, resulting in the induction of the expression of Neu5Ac catabolism and transport genes.
Using ‘next-generation’ sequencing in the identification of novel causes of inherited heart diseases
Keywords: inherited
genomics
genetics
exome
cardiology
mitochondrial
whole-genome sequencing
genome

Next-generation sequencing methods now allow rapid and cost-effective sequencing of DNA on a scale not previously possible. This offers great opportunities for the research of Mendelian disorders, but also significant challenges. The sequencing of exomes, or whole genomes, has emerged as a powerful clinical research tool, with targeted gene analyses generally being preferred in the clinical diagnostic setting. These methods have been employed here with the aim of identifying novel genetic causes of inherited heart disorders and to gain insights into the utility and limitations of these techniques for clinical diagnosis in these disorders.
Data produced from the introduction of a targeted multi-gene next-generation sequencing test into clinical practice has been studied. Variation within the mitochondrial genome has been analysed to assess the importance of mitochondrial DNA variants in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The m.4300A>G mutation is identified as an important cause of this disorder, with other previously cardiomyopathy-associated and novel variants also identified. Such multi-gene tests can facilitate interpretable and phenotype-relevant results, but at the expense of limiting more extensive data acquisition.
Whole-genome sequencing has been performed in five families with different autosomal dominant inherited heart disease phenotypes of unknown genetic aetiology. In two of these likely pathogenic variants were identified, one in the gene encoding titin (TTN) and the other in the calcium channel subunit gene CACNA1C. In vitro studies were undertaken to support the pathogenicity of the TTN variant and understand the functional effects of this. In the other three families either multiple candidate gene variants were identified or no clear candidate variant was identified. This highlights the difficulties in interpreting these results, even in carefully selected families. Overall, although the research benefits of exome or genome studies are evident, the interpretation and validation of genetic variant data produced remains highly challenging for clinical diagnosis.
The control of task sets and long-term memory
Keywords: cognitive control
attention
fMRI
EEG
memory

The current thesis explores the complex relationship between cognitive control and memory. A series of experiments combined task-switching paradigms with recognition memory tests to measure how switching between tasks influences effective control over long-term memory. In these experiments, participants were presented with compound stimuli consisting of a picture and an overlaid word, and were cued in each trial whether the word or the picture was relevant (attended) or irrelevant (unattended). Participants were then tested for their memory of items presented during task switching. Experiments 1-2 indicated that switching between tasks reduces the selectivity of processing: Switching was associated with impaired task performance as well as more similar memory ratings for attended and unattended items. Experiments 3-5 extended these findings by showing that enhanced top-down control positively affected task-performance as well as memory, in both cases by increasing the selectivity of processing toward task-relevant information. Experiments 6-7 replicated key effects with simple switches of visual attention, and explored the neural correlates of successful task performance and encoding using EEG. The key finding here was that previously observed ―subsequent memory‖ effects reflect, at least in part, selective encoding processes. The last chapter extended the focus of the investigation to explore the role of control in long-term memory retrieval. FMRI meta- analyses indicated considerable overlap in neural activation found during task switching and during the adoption of different retrieval sets. The results of Experiment 8 indicated that switching during task performance and later memory retrieval were both associated with decreased selectivity of processing. Collectively, the results of this thesis suggest that selectivity of processing is a critical factor in effective task performance and successful memory, with potentially very similar mechanisms underlying the two. This work demonstrates the fruitfulness of combining research on cognitive control and memory to study questions relevant for both fields.
Light harvesting and photoconversion efficiency enhancement in dye-sensitized solar cells via molecular and photonic advancements
Keywords: energy transfer
Forster
solar cells
plasmonics
dye sensitized
photovoltaics

The main goal of this thesis is to investigate and develop the physics of dye-based photovoltaic physics through molecular and photonic routes. Numerous photovoltaics devices have been fabricated through the course of this work to study their characteristics, performance, physical composition and action. The relative youth of the field of dye-based optoelectronics provides extensive scope for new research which provides fascinating opportunities in terms of physical processes.This thesis is divided into two main projects; exploring the adaption of conventional dye-sensitized solar cells via starkly different routes which serendipitously culminated in striking similarities at their conclusion. The first route is through incorporating spectrally complementary dye molecules with the intention of extending the range of light absorption of the final devices. This initial aim was achieved and was then furthered by the realisation of an unexpected and unprecedented energy transfer process occurring, imparting enhanced photocurrent generation in both the near-IR and visibile region. The second route involves investigating the effect on dye-sensitized solar cell physics and performance of the inclusion of metallic nanoparticles with the expectation of inducing plasmonic interactions. Novel systems were designed and implemented, devices were made which display significant performance enhancement, attributed to plasmonic coupling into the dyes and thereby increasing photocapture. A number of other investigations are documented whose current completion does not sufficiently warrant independent chapters but whose scientific interest is evident.
Subduction-obduction related petrogenetic and metamorphic evolution of the Semail ophiolite sole in Oman and the United Arab Emirates
Keywords: Ophiolite
Subduction
Semail
Metamorphic
Oman

Structural field observations, combined with petrological, isotopic and geochemical analysis of metamorphic and igneous rocks associated with the Semail ophiolite of Oman and the United Arab Emirates, have been used in conjunction with geochronology and estimates of metamorphic conditions and PT paths to constrain the ophiolite emplacement history. The ophiolite metamorphic sole was formed at peak conditions of 840 ± 70°C and 11.6 ± 1.6 kbar (THERMOCALC) and 840-870°C and 11.8-13.9 kbar (conventional thermobarometry) and is characterised by an anticlockwise PTt path. Further analysis and structural constraints imply an apparent inverted sole gradient of ~2°C m-1 and ~3.7 MPa m-1. In conjunction with existing geochronology, a peak sole exhumation rate of ~12.5 mm yr-1 is indicated. Geochemical analysis and tectonic constraints suggest that the Semail ophiolite sole formed from neo Tethyan MORB crust similar in composition to the preserved Triassic-Jurassic Haybi tholeiites and Masirah ophiolite crust. The Bani Hamid granulite facies sole metamorphism peaked at ~96.5 Ma and exhibits a similar PTt path and peak conditions, but formed from oceanic island igneous, volcanoclastic and sedimentary protoliths. Anatectic granitoids in the ophiolite mantle sequence have geochemical and isotopic (Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd) characteristics compatible with derivation from the Bani Hamid sole granulites during prograde metamorphism and have ages of 98.8 ± 9.5 Ma, 93.0 ± 10.0 Ma (Sm- Nd) and 105 ± 4 Ma (U-Pb). The Saih Hatat high pressure metamorphic terrane beneath the ophiolite consists of two contrasting structural levels juxtaposed during exhumation following the subduction of the Arabian continental margin beneath the advancing ophiolite. PT analysis shows the HP event culminated at 450-550°C and 20.0 ± 1.5 kbar (THERMOCALC) and was characterised by a clockwise PTt path. In conjunction with ambiguous existing geochronology, a peak exhumation rate of ~4-12 mm yr-1 is indicated, followed by erosion at ~0.5 mm yr-1.
Characterising the cell biology of leukemic stem cells in acute myeloid leukemia.
Keywords: leukemic stem cells
microRNAs
acute myeloid leukemia

Acute Myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive haematological malignancy that mainly affects the elderly. Relapse is common and is thought to be due to the presence of chemotherapy resistant leukemic stem cells (LSC). Within the CD34+ disease (>5% of the blast cells expressing CD34) , two subtypes have been identified; an LMPP/GMPlike expanded type and a MPP/CMP-like expanded type, the former is the most common, accounting for around 80% of CD34+ AML. Both the GMP-like and LMPPlike expanded populations show LSC activity. To improve our understanding of the disease and gain better insight in to how to develop treatments, the molecular basis of the disease needs to be investigated. I investigated miRNAs in the GMP/LMPP-like expanded AML. miRNAs are small non-coding RNAs involved in the regulation of mRNA. In recent years miRNAs have been shown to be implicated in many different diseases. To investigate the role miRNAs play in AML, miRNA expression was profiled in leukemic and normal bone marrow. Bioinformatic analysis was then used to examine the different miRNA expression profiles between normal and leukemic marrow. Our study showed that miRNAs are dysregulated in AML. miRNAs from the miR-17-92 and its paralogous cluster miR-106b-92 were amongst the miRNAs to be found down regulated in AML As had been seen previously at an mRNA level, on an miRNA level the LSC populations more closely resembled more mature progenitor populations than HSC and MPP populations, however the LSC populations did display an aberrant stem cell-like miRNA signature.