VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
High performance pixels for CMOS image sensors
Keywords: Pixels
Image Sensors
Layout
CMOS sensors
IC design

Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors are the principal technology employed in commercial image sensing applications. The research interest in these devices is driven by the high demand of cameras. High-quality imagers are relevant in the mobile devices business and are even more important in the automotive market segment where the image quality is crucial for safety. However, CMOS image sensors performance can still be improved. In particular, a leakage current, intrinsic to the process of manufacturing CMOS technology, reduces the sensitivity in low light and should be minimised. In addition, the capability of the sensor to collect electrons, known as full well capacity, should be maximised.
The methods proposed in the literature to reduce the leakage current and to increase the full well capacity are either insufficient or costly as they may require process modifications. To overcome these limitations, a different approach based on simple layout modifications is proposed. The principal source of leakage current is due to the photodiode isolation. By designing pixels adjacently, the isolation can be removed thereby reducing the leakage current contribution. In order to maximise the full well capacity, a novel technique is proposed here which consist in minimising the area reserved to the transistors in the pixel array by sharing the maximum number of diffusions. The result is a pixel with a 50% increase in fill factor compared to a traditional pixel.
The proposed optimisation strategy results in a staggered pixel arrangement. This may introduce artefacts in the image when displayed. Hardware-efficient image reconstruction algorithms able to correct the artefacts are presented. Test chips were manufactured to prove the performance improvement and experimental data showed that the proposed layouts effectively reduces the leakage current and improved the full well capacity of the presented pixels. In addition, the proposed algorithms are shown to correctly reconstruct and represent the staggered acquired image on a standard display.
Cold state-selected radicals for the study of low temperature chemistry
Keywords: Zeeman deceleration
Deceleration
Radicals
Cold chemistry
Evolutionary algorithms
Velocity selection
Molecular beams
Purification
Optimisation
Hydrogen
Nitrogen
Magnetic guiding

Generating a controllable and pure source of molecular free-radicals or open-shell atoms has been one of the primary barriers hindering the detailed study of radical processes in the laboratory. In this thesis, a novel source of state-selected radicals -- composed of a Zeeman decelerator interfaced with a newly-designed magnetic guide -- is introduced. This tuneable source generates a pure beam of velocity-selected hydrogen atoms that will enable the study of radical interactions with exceptional control over the properties of the radical species.
In Zeeman deceleration, time-varying spatially inhomogeneous magnetic fields are used to create packets of translationally cold, quantum-state-selected paramagnetic particles with a tuneable forward velocity, which are ideal for cold reaction dynamics studies. In a proof-of-principle experiment, the Zeeman deceleration of nitrogen atoms in the metastable 2D5/2 state from 460 to 410 m/s is demonstrated for the first time. The covariance matrix adaptation evolutionary strategy (CMA-ES) is adopted in order to optimise deceleration switching sequences for the operation of a 12-stage Zeeman decelerator. Using the optimised sequences, a 40% increase in the number of decelerated H(2S1/2) atoms is observed compared to standard sequences for the same final velocity, imposing the same experimental boundary conditions. Furthermore, up to 98% of the initial kinetic energy of particles in the incoming beam is removed by the optimised sequences, compared to the removal of a maximum of 83% of kinetic energy with standard sequences. Three-dimensional particle-trajectory simulations show that the optimal solution uncovered by the evolutionary algorithm is not merely a local optimisation of the experimental parameters -- it is a new mode of operation that goes beyond the standard periodic phase stability approach typically adopted.
A novel magnetic guide is designed and constructed to purify the post-deceleration beam. Only radicals with a selected velocity are transmitted through the guide; all other components of the incoming beam (radical species travelling at other velocities, precursor molecules and seed gases) are removed. The guide is composed of four Halbach arrays -- hexapolar focusing elements -- and two skimming blades. The relative positions of these components can be adjusted to tune the properties of the resulting beam and to optimise transmission for a given velocity. Experimental measurements of Zeeman-decelerated H atoms transmitted through the guide, combined with extensive simulations, show that the magnetic guide successfully removes 99% of H atoms travelling outside the narrow target velocity range.
Face-to-face and internet-based cognitive therapy for social anxiety disorder: Mechanisms of change and treatment dissemination
Keywords: social anxiety disorder
cognitive therapy
internet interventions

While effective psychological interventions for common mental health difficulties exist, our understanding of how they work, and our ability to disseminate them at scale, is limited. This thesis aimed to 1) examine the mechanisms underlying clinical improvement in one such intervention, Cognitive Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder (CT-SAD), and 2) disseminate and evaluate an internet-based version (iCT-SAD) in a new culture (Hong Kong).
Following an introduction and literature review (Chapters 1 and 2), eight studies are presented. Studies 1, 2a, and 2b (Chapters 3 and 4) investigated three candidate mediators (negative social cognitions, self-focused attention, and depressed mood) of the relationship between time in therapy and social anxiety symptoms. Results indicated that cognitions consistently mediated subsequent clinical improvement, with weaker and less consistent effects for self-focused attention and depressed mood.
Studies 3a, 3b, and 3c (Chapter 5) examined ‘sudden gains’: large and stable symptom reductions between consecutive therapy sessions, in CT-SAD and iCT- SAD. Sudden gains were common in both treatments, occurring with similar frequency and magnitude. They were associated with better overall therapy outcome. There was some evidence of reductions in negative cognitions and self- focused attention prior to, and concurrently with, gains. Clients in CT made more statements indicating ‘generalised’ learning in ‘pre-gain’, relative to control, sessions.
Study 4 (Chapter 6) implemented a new iCT-SAD therapist training programme with three therapists from Hong Kong, who delivered the treatment in a pilot case series. Study 5 (Chapter 7) then evaluated the efficacy of iCT-SAD in Hong Kong compared to waitlist controls in a randomized controlled trial. Results indicated the training was effective at developing iCT skills and competence, and that iCT-SAD was superior to waitlist, showing large effect sizes comparable to UK studies. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed (Chapter 8).
Overall, the findings indicate that negative social cognitions play an important role in determining clinical improvement in CT-SAD and iCT-SAD, that the therapy mechanisms of change investigated appear to be similar between these treatment formats, and that iCT-SAD was successfully disseminated to another culture without losing efficacy.
Vital-sign data-fusion methods to identify patient deterioration in the emergency department
Keywords: EWS
Machine Learning
GP
Biomedical Engineering
Vital-sign monitoring
KDE
SVM
Novelty Detection

In the United Kingdom Emergency Departments (ED), clinical staff requires to diagnose, give treatment and discharge patients, within 4 hours of their arrival. The patients’ vital signs are traditionally managed using paper Track and Trigger (T&T;) charts, prone to human error, and bedside monitors, whose alerts are often ignored. Consequently, patient deterioration might be missed at and between nurses’ observation sets. This thesis has analysed data from a three stage study in the ED of the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, to investigate the use of an electronic T&T; system (VitalPac) and a data-fusion system (Visensia) to help staff identify physiological deterioration in patients attending the majors area.
Data was collected from a total of 10,488 ED attendances receiving standard care in stage 1, followed by two technology interventions in stages 2 and 3, respectively, for a total period of 6 months. It was shown that 9% of the observations sets, conducted on stable ED patients in stage 1, were done on unstable patients when staff was guided by VitalPac in stage 2. One of the causes might have been the increase in the Early Warning Score (EWS) completion from 52% to 100% of the observation sets. In stage 3, 35.7% of the Visensia alerts generated on continuous bedside monitor data, were deemed “technical” alerts due to data artefacts. On the other hand, clinical staff responded within 15 minutes to 85% of the “physiological” alerts.
A two-stage Machine Learning (ML) architecture was proposed to fuse intermittent and continuous vital-sign data and use a sub-population novelty detection model to identify multivariate data deviating from normal physiology. This ML approach out-performed the baseline Visensia model (a population based model, applied over the continuous data), and the National EWS system (applied over the observation sets data) in detecting patients escalated to the Resuscitation area during their ED stay, on a test set of 1,070 ED attendances (AUROCs and 95% confidence intervals were 0.737 (0.623, 0.830), 0.657 (0.521, 0.755), and 0.643 (0.522, 0.749), respectively).
Binuclear complexes as quantitative imaging agents
Keywords: lanthanides
luminescence
supramolecular chemistry
molecular imaging
photophysics

This thesis explores the synthesis of and subsequent use of mono- and binuclear lanthanide complexes in their binding to biologically endogenous dianions.
Chapter 1 outlines the properties of the lanthanides with a focus on their chemical and photophysical behaviour and self-assembly involving lanthanide-containing complexes. Medical applications are also discussed.
Chapter 2 sets the scene for anion binding with lanthanide complexes by establishing the fundamentals and thermodynamics of their interactions with dicarboxylate species. In this chapter, the focus is on the use of luminescence spectroscopy to explore the nature of self-assemblies and establish the role of local and remote structural variations (in concert with solvation effects) in tuning binding affinity for dicarboxylate guests.
Chapter 3 covers the synthesis and characterisation of a set of binuclear lanthanide complexes of ligands in which m-xylyl derivatives bridge two DO3A-derived domains.
Chapter 4 describes the synthesis and characterisation of mononuclear complexes. These exhibit greater structural variation than the m-xylyl systems, containing the DO3A core with pendent benzyl, propargyl and coumarin groups.
Chapter 5 discusses the synthesis and characterisation of two binuclear naphthyl complexes, in which 2,6- and 2,7- substituents are used to form the bridge between the two DO3Ayl domains.
Chapter 6 extends the synthesis of the style of binuclear complex described in Chapter 3 by coupling the amino derivative to the longer wavelength sensitiser acridone.
Chapter 7 provides an overview of the binding studies performed in this thesis with mono- and binuclear host complexes to an array of anionic guests, outlining and comparing methods for using luminescence and NMR to explore guest binding events.
Chapter 8 considers specifically binding to species from the glycolytic pathway and to the similar chain-length carboxylate species tartrate and lactate. These studies reveal that the dianionic species in the pathway can act as bridging ligands, and that differences in structure and photophysics can give rise to selective responses from different guests.
Chapter 9 evaluates binding to endogenous and non-biological phosphate species, both by luminescence measurements and phosphorus NMR.
Chapter 10 focuses on binding to and interactions with catechol species including dopamine. In these systems, the relative instability of catechols in solution combines with inner filter effects to present challenges to method development.
Chapter 11 lays out the conclusions reached over the course of this work and suggests possible opportunities for further work.
Chapter 12 contains experimental procedures and techniques for processing data. 
A series of appendices provide supplementary information to the core thesis, including a reference to the molecular structures of host complexes and guest anions in this thesis, X-ray crystallography data, and published papers.
Electronic structure of clusters of tetrel elements containing endohedral transition metal ions
Keywords: silicon cluster
computational chemistry

This thesis presents a series of computational investigations into problems relating to the electronic structure of tetrel clusters containing one or more endohedral transition metals. The electronic properties of this class of cluster have been the focus of research for some time, driven in part by the diverse and typically highly symmetric structures that they adopt and also by the desire to miniaturise silicon-based electronic devices. Computational studies are of great importance in this field, particularly for the lighter tetrel clusters where structural information in the form of crystallographic data is entirely absent. Perhaps as a result of the absence of benchmarking data, many controversies have emerged in the literature, with different but apparently equally valid computational methodologies delivering very different conclusions on the structure of specific clusters. Our purpose in this thesis is to provide a deeper understanding of the factors that determine structural preference in this family of clusters, and hence shed some light on the reasons for the disagreements in the literature.
Semantic dogmatics in outline: Cornelius Ernst's 'meaning of meaning' as Michael Polanyi's absent doctrine of God
Keywords: semantic dogmatics
christology
theological ontology
Cornelius Ernst
Wittgensteinian Thomism
Polanyi
dogmatic theology
worship

Cornelius Ernst’s doctrine of God as the meaning of meaning corresponds to the implicit theological ontology around which Michael Polanyi’s fiduciary epistemology coheres. Conversely, Polanyi’s account of cognitive dynamics supplements Ernst’s metaphysics of meaning with a concrete account of the involvement of the embodied subject. Both Polanyi and Ernst seek to re-orientate their respective disciplines of theological and natural science within an intrinisicist perspective of meaning. Ernst’s theological ontology secures a thematic metaphysics in which the unity of the semantic cosmos is located in the divine triunity of Meaning. This is achieved by a doctrine of creation, in which the world is always already charged by God’s self-communication (corresponding to Polanyi’s efforts to generate a biosemiotic ontology). Within this proposed ontology of meaning, the unicity of theological knowledge is safeguarded by an account of the incarnation as an ‘ontological metaphor’, which is non-identically repeated in the act of faith. As an ontological metaphor, faith has a vocative character, addressing God in an act of worship that is simultaneously doxological and doxastic. This is framed by the action of the Holy Spirit, mediated by the Church: doctrinal frameworks are semantic tools that are indwelt in worship in such a way that theological knowledge becomes connatural. The result is a ‘semantic dogmatics in outline’ which emphasises the pedagogical role of theology, balancing the necessary integrity of dogmatics with its proper eschatological provisionality.
Exploring the influence of privacy awareness on the Privacy Paradox on smartwatches
Keywords: Security
Privacy
IoT
Smartwatch
Behaviour change

While the public claim to be concerned about privacy, they rarely express protective behaviour. This disparity has been labelled the Privacy Paradox. The Internet-of-Things (IoT) is ubiquitous and data-collecting. It has therefore been considered a privacy risk. However, the Paradox has not been assessed in this context. Hence, we explored whether the issue could be mitigated in novel environments. Before analysing these devices, we began by confirming the Paradox's prevalence. This was undertaken through street surveys, which suggested that views had little relationship with behaviour. We continued by comparing user perceptions across a range of technologies. Through an online survey [n = 170], participants rated 'IoT' devices as most concerning. They were also considered less usable, potentially placing constraints on protection. To dissect the issue, we then conducted detailed interviews. Discussions were undertaken with 40 users, 20 of which had an IoT product. Protection was less common in the IoT, contributing to greater Paradox prevalence. Wearables were particularly prone, and therefore we scoped our focus to smartwatches. Through analysing participant rationale, a lack of awareness appeared the greatest IoT issue. Since educational games had proved effective in the literature, we developed privacy apps. Our online prototype was trialled by 504 smartwatch owners. In our treatment group, we found the Paradox was mitigated in posttest results. Therefore, for our final study, we implemented the first smartwatch privacy game. Through a two-month longitudinal study, we analysed empirical behaviour. Users were given an (Android) Wear OS watch, with half playing the game. Protection increased and persisted in this group, with the Paradox mitigated over an extended period. Our research has novelty, in that this has not been achieved in previous work. Furthermore, by analysing smartwatch behaviour, we provide novel insights into user rationale. As the IoT expands, it is crucial that individuals are informed to make privacy decisions.
An evidence-based evaluation of systematic conservation planning
Keywords: wildlife conservation
conservation planning
systematic map
key informant interview
evaluation

Systematic conservation planning is a discipline focused on applying spatial ecological data to help advise those faced with value-laden conservation decision-making. It holds the potential to ensure the most important areas of land and sea are retained for biodiversity and ecosystem services, whilst simultaneously helping to avoid conflict with human uses. In this thesis my aim was to outline the factors which influence the effectiveness of systematic conservation planning in terms of achieving biodiversity conservation outcomes alongside broader social and financial objectives. I began by developing a conceptual framing of impact and evaluation methods in relation to systematic conservation planning. Following this I catalogued the literature on systematic conservation planning from across 29 academic and non-academic sources, using a gold standard evidence synthesis method, systematic mapping. This involved screening over 10,000 articles, from which three constituted high-quality impact evaluations, and a further 43 discussed the outcomes of plans but lacked appropriate study designs. To improve the efficiency of conducting large evidence syntheses like this, I reviewed 22 specialist software packages used across multiple disciplines. Finally, I chose a case study approach to understand barriers to evaluation and perspectives of effectiveness amongst a range of elite interviewees responsible for systematic conservation planning exercises in Australia in the 1990s and 2000s. This thesis highlights a shortfall in efforts to monitor and report on the outcomes of systematic conservation planning interventions. One reason is the inherent challenge of interpreting impact when counterfactual analyses are difficult to conduct, but my results also suggest insufficient academic focus on implementation and evaluation in this discipline. The three high-quality impact evaluations and Australian case studies provide valuable examples of how to overcome barriers to evaluation and point to the range of factors which influence interpretations of effectiveness. Conservation academics are ideally positioned to assist in the design and conduct of rigorous evaluations and evidence synthesis activities going forwards.
Mercenaries in the eastern Mediterranean from the late Bronze Age to the Iron Age
Keywords: Sea Peoples
Saite Dynasty
Egypt
Material Evidence
Naukratis
Levant
Greek Soldiers
Mercenaries
Weapons

The thesis investigates the presence of mercenaries in the Eastern Mediterranean, specifically in Egypt and the Levant, from the Late Bronze Age to the end of the sixth century B.C.E. The time frame predates the ubiquitous mercenaries of the Classical period onwards, and traces the origins of the profession and how it manifested in the archaeological record.
The examination begins with the earliest evidence for non-local contingents hired in armies during the Bronze Age, based on the sources and archaeological remains, in order to address how to define mercenaries in antiquity. From these instances, the thesis posits a new definition for mercenaries in antiquity that encompasses the activities and characteristics of such foreign groups. The investgation then turns to the Iron Age, when the contemporary sources are scarce, but the archaeology is telling of numerous calamitous, historical events that precipitate the need for mercenaries.
Past scholarship argued that specific sites in the Iron Age Levant and in Egypt exemplify evidence of mercenary activity, based primarily on different ceramic repertoires. An evaluation of the case studies reassesses whether this is indeed the case; how do the archaeological remains function as indicators of mercenaries? What factors are revealing of nonlocal contingents situated in a different context? The material remains, and whether they indicate non-local cultural practices and activities, are investigated. By considering the available remains, in addition to the ceramics, including architecture, burial rites, ritual practices, weapons, and the contexts in which the finds are discovered, it is then possible to assess where and when mercenaries are traceable. The discoveries and interpretations from the thesis shed light on archaeological indicators for mercenary activity, and which sites suggest such evidence, and which do not.