VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The use of real-time fMRI neurofeedback to enhance post-stroke motor recovery
Keywords: neurofeedback
motor
stroke
rehabilitation

Real-time fMRI neurofeedback is a tool that allows individuals to self-modulate their ongoing brain activity. This may have clinical potential in disorders which are associated with aberrant brain activity, for example in stroke-induced hemiparesis.
In this thesis two studies are presented, which aim to explore the use of fMRI neurofeedback in chronic stroke patients suffering from hemiparesis. The first study examined the effect of having multiple training sessions and whether this boosted neurofeedback learning in healthy individuals. This was examined across two different conditions in which ipsilateral motor cortex activity was either up or down-regulated. Whilst cumulative effects over multiple training sessions could be observed when up-regulating ipsilateral activity, there was no apparent cumulative effect in the condition where ipsilateral activity was down-regulated.
The second study presented in this thesis is a double-blind, sham-controlled randomised trial in chronic stroke patients, in which patients were instructed to use neurofeedback to increase lateralisation of motor cortex activity. Patients were able to use neurofeedback to increase lateralisation of brain activity within training days. However, there was not any evidence that patients could continue to modulate brain activity after feedback was removed, although there were indications that this is related to how well patients performed during the neurofeedback training.
Additionally, improvements in gross motor performance of the stroke-affected limb were observed in the group receiving Real neurofeedback, compared to the Sham group. However, there was not any evidence of improvements on clinical measures of upper limb functioning. There was also evidence of changes in brain function and structure. This included increased activity in neurofeedback-related brain regions during a visuomotor squeeze task, as well as changes in the white-matter microstructure of the corticospinal tracts.
Finally, variability in patients’ neurofeedback learning success was explored with respect to baseline characteristics of the patients. No relationship could be found with baseline upper limb functioning, however there were some indications of relationships with baseline brain activity and brain structure which could help inform future studies aiming to predict neurofeedback outcomes.
Together, this work provides novel insight into the potential of real-time fMRI neurofeedback as a tool for stroke rehabilitation and opens up opportunities for future exploration of flexible and personalised treatment approaches using neurofeedback.
Homines Religiosi? Expectations and evaluations of Roman sacerdotes in the Late Republic and Early Empire
Keywords: Ancient Rome
Roman history
Roman priesthood

This thesis asserts the importance and distinctiveness of sacerdotes and sacerdotia of the Roman republic, drawing principally on late republican and early imperial evidence to elucidate the value and worth of such positions. In focusing on the behaviours, virtues and morals ascribed to these important figures and their collegia, it is demonstrated that being a sacerdos was perceived – by sacerdotes themselves, and by contemporaries, historians, and moralists – to have had an intrinsic importance and distinctiveness which demands identification and explication. This recognition, that being a sacerdos meant more than its political currency, allows us to gain a richer perspective on the worth of these important public figures than is currently appreciated.
This thesis consists of two parts. The first part examines how expectations of various sacerdotes were framed in a variety of ancient texts, and considers whether there were points of commonality between ancient authors in their expressions of expectations of the virtues, behaviours, and roles of various sacerdotes. The second part analyses the evaluations of various sacerdotes by three authors – Cicero, Livy, and Valerius Maximus. In these case studies, I consider the ways in which these writers evaluated contemporary and historical sacerdotes, and articulated their importance and distinctiveness. In contrast to existing, largely indeterminate approaches, I assert that there were perceptions of the value, worth, and distinctiveness for Roman sacerdotes of the late republic and early empire. It is demonstrated that becoming a sacerdos was perceived as not merely the possession of yet another honor, such as the holding of a magisterial position. Rather, it is shown that there was something special, even unique, about being a Roman sacerdos.
The wavefront set of representations of p-adic groups
Keywords: p-adic groups
wavefront set

In this thesis we study an important invariant attached to admissible smooth representations of a reductive p-adic group G called the wave- front set. Our main contribution is the study of the wavefront set over a maximal unramified extension K of the base field. In the first chapter we obtain an identity relating the wavefront set over K to the Kawanaka wavefront set of certain representations of the reductive quotient of para- horic subgroups of G. The second chapter gives a parameterisation of the nilpotent orbits over K, and endows them with new structure. The third chapter uses the Borel–Casselman equivalence to obtain an expres- sion for the wavefront set of Iwahori spherical representations in terms of the Springer correspondence, and uses it to compute the wavefront set for a class of representations of particular importance to the theory of automorphic forms.
Power, gender, and relative income: negotiating domestic labour in female breadwinning households in the United Kingdom
Keywords: emotion work
female breadwinner
domestic labour
female breadwinning
marital contract
housework
mental load

In the United Kingdom, the decline of the ‘male breadwinner model’ resulting from structural changes in the economy and gender relations over the past decades has led to an increase of female breadwinning households – understood in this thesis as households where women earn more than their male partners. I present chapters examining the processes and power relations underlying the negotiation and division of domestic labour implemented in some of these households. The thesis highlights the interactions between the structural and individual levels by paying attention to the meso-level of the household and to the emotional and relational processes underlying the division of domestic labour.
I present a qualitative account of these phenomena based on several types of data collected by interviewing 26 female breadwinning couples and seven individual female breadwinners. I first used a combination of two methodological tools, the Household Portrait and a time schedule inspired from time-use studies, to assess both the quantitative and qualitative division of labour in the participants’ households. I then used joint and individual face-to-face in-depth interviews to grasp both the participants’ subjectivities, and the interactions between women and men in these couples.
Despite women’s relative economic power and couples’ professions of ‘gender equality’, these couples reproduced some aspects of traditional gender roles in relation to domestic labour. I argue that a ‘marital contract’ tacitly defined women’s roles as household managers and carers of the emotional sphere, leading to an unequal division of mental load and emotion work. A fundamental content of the participants’ female breadwinning marital contract was the devaluation of women’s labour. Overall, there were asymmetries of positions and power between women and men that characterised their negotiation of domestic labour. Within this context, change was restricted to specific conditions in which women’s agency was framed by their partners’ inertia.
Understanding neglected connections between nature, conservation, and mental health
Keywords: ecosystem
nature
mental health
mental illness
biodiversity conservation

The role of natural systems in physical health is increasingly well documented. But, relationships between nature and mental illness – a leading cause of disease and a global public health priority – are comparatively poorly understood. Much of the evidence connecting these areas focuses on an important but limited set of linkages, such as the psychological benefits of green space exposure. Moreover, most of this research has concentrated on urban Global North populations, potentially poorly representing the experiences of the three billion people in the rural Global South. In this thesis, I aim to provide evidence of overlooked connections between nature, its conservation, and mental health. Chapters 2 and 3 combine qualitative interviews, scenario-based questionnaires, and statistical modelling to understand how local people in a rural Ugandan case study perceive the relationship between socio-ecological systems and their management and the social determinants of mental illness. Observational results suggest that commercial agricultural expansion is believed to benefit wealthier households but exacerbate poverty and food insecurity, and thus psychological distress among poorer ones. Equally, conserved forests reportedly have important safety net functions that appear to alleviate distress, but crop-raiding wildlife may indirectly exacerbate it. Furthermore, scenario and modelling analysis suggested that future expansion of commercial farming and tightening of conservation rules may increase depression risk among vulnerable groups. These findings highlight a risk that sustainable development policies and practices that restrict natural resource access may undermine progress toward mental health goals. Chapters 4 to 7 use self-reported data to explore conservationists’ mental health, satisfaction with goal progress, and expectations about the future and discuss corresponding implications for collective conservation efforts. For example, many responding to my global internet survey emphasised the difficulties of making a living in the conservation sector. Moreover, one in four conservationists participating in this survey reported moderate or severe distress. Personal (e.g., gender and career stage) and workplace (e.g., being overworked or feelings of contributing to conservation) factors were important predictors of distress risk. There appears to be scope for better supporting conservationists’ mental health and motivation, but further evidence, including from experimental studies, is required to evaluate potential interventions. Nevertheless, this research suggests that failing to account for the mental health impacts of conservation and sustainable development policies might undermine global mental health efforts. Equally, it suggests important avenues that could be explored to simultaneously support mental health and nature conservation goals, such as improving conservationists’ working conditions.
Data-driven battery state of health diagnostics and prognostics
Keywords: statistics
health
forecasting
lithium-ion
battery
machine learning

Lithium-ion batteries are increasingly ubiquitous in modern society but the degradation of lithium-ion cells is complex and challenging to predict. Data-driven approaches to estimating and forecasting the state of health of lithium-ion batteries have become increasingly popular in literature due to the growing availability of battery data and the improved flexibility of data-driven approaches relative to physics-based modelling. This thesis begins with a review of health diagnosis and prognosis approaches in battery literature, including a brief introduction to the principles and challenges of using data-driven approaches. The subsequent chapters investigate several of the remaining open questions.
An automated methodology for input feature generation and selection is proposed and thoroughly tested. Gaussian process regression, a well-known non-parametric form of supervised learning, is used to map from the input features to changes in capacity. The inputs are found to be good predictors of degradation and also robust to significantly increased noise and reduced sampling frequencies for the raw cycle data.
Gaussian process regression produces accurate predictions of capacity here. Piecewise, Bayesian linear regression is a faster, more transparent alternative that produces equally accurate end-of-life forecasts. A battery-focussed performance metric is proposed to assess the accuracy of the output probabilistic predictive distributions of both regression models. A proposed adaptation to sparse Gaussian process regression is found to reduce the storage requirements of a Gaussian process battery health model by 98\% without significantly impacting predictive performance.
Lithium-ion cells suffer from cell-to-cell variability in ageing rates, thereby posing a challenge to the control of battery packs and experimental design. An experiment finds that around 12 similarly used cells are required to consistently fit a population-level distribution for an empirical model. By contrast, a Gaussian process regression model requires under 5 cells in a training set to consistently fit the hyperparameters, but around 50 cells are required to produce the capacity predictive performance of other models in this thesis.
Aristotle on action and agency
Keywords: teleology
activity
desire
Aristotle
nature
action
capacity
agency
affection

Many consider Aristotle the father of philosophy of action. This sentiment is shared by contemporary philosophers with opposing views on action. The guiding question of this thesis is to determine what philosophy of action might look like for Aristotle by considering the questions Aristotle investigates, his philosophical framework within which he develops his answers, and the basic assumptions he makes in answering his questions. This requires investigating Aristotle’s views on capacities, nature, activities, affections, the relation between agents and patients, desire, and goodness. I argue that Aristotle’s approach to action emerges as a unique approach of its own.
Improved understanding of the behaviour of mercury and other trace metals in basaltic magmas
Keywords: volcanic glass
volatility
high-temperature
degassing
mercury
synthetic glass
trace-elements
piston-cylinder
high-pressure
magmas
concentration
volcan
Hg

Volcanic degassing is one of the major emission sources in nature for atmospheric mercury, and the only one able to directly reach the stratosphere and troposphere. The actual magnitude of these emissions remains uncertain, due to the difficulties of accurately measuring the Hg from active volcanoes and the lack of published mercury analysis in volcanic rocks. It is critical to improve our knowledge on volcanic Hg behaviour and emissions to be able to establish the impact of these in the current and past atmospheric mercury budget. For that purpose, we need to understand how the volatility of mercury is affected under different conditions in a degassing volcano. This thesis attempts to overcome the difficulties of obtaining in-situ mercury analysis by producing, at high temperatures and pressures basaltic melts doped in mercury and other volatiles. There is no prior experimental record on mercury at high-temperature, due to the high volatility of this element, therefore, I have tested several experimental conditions and materials to counteract the evaporation of mercury during the synthesis of the glass and/or sulfide. These involve single-capsule and double-capsule assemblies. Additionally, I have performed a series of sulfide-silicate partitioning experiments for pressures ranging from 0.5 GPa to 2 GPa. These experiments seek to determine the pressure effect on the distribution of Ag, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ga, Ge, In, Pb, Se, Sb, Tl, V, and Zn between both phases, and thus enhance the existing partitioning model that only considers melt and sulfide composition and temperature, as parameters.
Characterisation of the protective immune response to Rift Valley fever virus after natural exposure or vaccination with ChAdOx1 RVF
Keywords: One Health
Rift Valley fever
vaccines
ChAdOx1 RVF
immunology

Rift Valley fever virus is a single stranded RNA Phlebovirus. Spread by numerous species of mosquito, it is predominantly a disease of livestock including sheep, goats and cattle. Disease is characterised by extremely high mortality in young animals and abortions in pregnant animals, with significant impacts on food security and the wider economy. Spill over into humans results in a wide spectrum of disease from self-limiting febrile illness to haemorrhagic fever and death. RVFV is endemic throughout multiple countries in Africa. Current livestock vaccines have significant drawbacks and due to a lack of licenced human vaccines or therapeutics, RVF is considered a priority pathogen for the development of countermeasures by the WHO and OIE. A safe, effective and cheap vaccine that protects livestock and humans against RVF disease would be invaluable.
This thesis seeks to advance this goal on several fronts by facilitating the development of a leading RVF vaccine candidate, ChAdOx1 RVF, co-developed for use in livestock and humans. Firstly, I provide much needed data on the naturally acquired, and likely protective, immune response towards RVFV in Kenyan adults. Showing long-lasting antibodies target both glycoproteins, Gn and Gc, with the former as the principle target of the long-lived neutralising antibody response. I then analysed the factors influencing successful manufacture of ChAdOx1 RVF which has allowed the vaccine to be produced for critical livestock and human trials, improving our understanding of construct design, genetic- and thermo- stability of this vector. I show that neutralising antibodies, strongly associated with protection, were induced in the first humans vaccinated with ChAdOx1 RVF. Characterisation of the cellular and humoral response in livestock then provides important context for the vaccine’s proven ability to elicit protective immunity in multiple target species.
Finally, I explore the possibility of improving the utility of the RVF vaccine in livestock by creating a bivalent vaccine which targets an additional disease, Peste-des-petits ruminants. The extremely high efficacy of ChAdOx1 RVF in livestock, including during pregnancy, and the induction of neutralising antibodies in humans is extremely encouraging. ChAdOx1 RVF has the potential to become a vital countermeasure against RVF outbreaks, significantly improving animal and public health from a disease with pandemic potential.
Situations, presuppositions, and contexts
Keywords: definite descriptions
philosophy of language
presuppositions
anaphora
pragmatics
semantics

Definite descriptions (such as ‘the cat’) can often be used felicitously even when more than one object satisfies the overt descriptive material (such as ‘cat’). Situation semantics has been invoked to reconcile this observation with the idea that definite descriptions presuppose uniqueness. This thesis examines some of the challenges that this reconciliatory project faces. The focus is, in particular, on anaphoric uses that cross sentential boundaries and on the question of what role situations could play in modelling global and local conversational contexts as well as assertoric update.
Properties of magnetized plasma
Keywords: Plasma Physics
Magnetised plasma

This D.Phil. thesis describes the experimental determination of the voltage reflection coefficient from a vacuum-plasma plane boundary in a coaxial transmission line with an axial magnetic field B1 applied. A theoretical analysis of microwave propagation in the magnetized plasma filled coaxial line, using rotating coordinate techniques, is given, and computed solutions of the dispersion determinant agree well with the experimental results. Both experiment and theory were for conditions where the microwave-, plasma-, electron collision-, and electron cyclotron- frequencies are of the same order.
A 9 GHz coaxial microwave probe is mounted along the axis of a 44 mm diameter, hydrogen driven, dry Air filled, shock tube. Shock-ionised Air (Ms=9-14, T~4000°K, electron density = 1017-3x1019/m³ initial pressure P0=1-10 Torr, electron collision frequency =1010-1011/s) fills the coaxial line and partially reflects a microwave signal.
Initially this probe, and a similar rectangular waveguide probe, was used with B1= 0 in order to calibrate the electron density and electron collision frequency behind the shock in tenns of the shock tube parameters (p0, Ms). By using two (7.5 & 9 GHz) microwave frequencies, it was shown that the assumed electron collision frequencies are substantially correct, and the experimental electron densities agreed well with the computed equi1ibrium electron densities.
Earlier experiments with surface saturated-ion-current electrostatic probes inset into a flat plate in the shock tube flow showed that the sheath-edge ion density is close to the free-stream equilibrium ion density. The apparent ionisation potential derived from electrostatic probe results decreased as p0 was reduced from 10 to 1 Torr.
New catalytic strategies for the enantioselective synthesis of stereogenic-at-phosphorus(V) compounds
Keywords: bifunctional iminophosphorane
organocatalysis
organic superbase
catalysis
enantioselective
phosphorus(V)
FFR
P(V)

A 2nd-generation enantioselective catalytic desymmetrisation for direct access to enantioenriched P(V) stereocentres is described. Through use of a prochiral P(V) electrophile containing two thiazolidinone leaving groups and harnessing a bifunctional iminophosphorane (BIMP) superbase catalyst, this desymmetrisation protocol delivers consistently high yields (up to 99% isolated yield) and enantiomeric excess (up to 97% ee) with a broad range of nucleophiles and P(V) electrophiles. The reaction was successfully scaled up to 3.0 mmol (1g scale), delivering product in 71% yield and 94% ee. In addition, the unique modularity of this system was demonstrated, with downstream nucleophilic displacement of the second thiazolidinone leaving group enabling stereoselective access to a broad range of chiral P(V) compounds containing P-O, P-N, P-S, and P-C linkages.