VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Optical sectioning in the aberration-corrected scanning transmission and scanning confocal electron microscope
Keywords: scanning transmission electron microscopy
aberration-corrected
scanning confocal electron microscopy
optical sectioning

This thesis concerns the experimental application of the technique of optical sectioning in the aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). Another aim was to perform optical sectioning experiments on the still relatively new scanning confocal electron microscope (SCEM).
To test the feasibility of this technique, experiments were performed on a variety of samples to measure the achievable depth response. Deconvolution methods were explored in an attempt to further improve the depth response. Finally, some of the first optical sectioning experiments were performed in the SCEM using both elastic and inelastically scattered electrons.
The results showed a clear need to investigate confocal electron microscopy due to the missing cone problem for incoherent imaging in the STEM. This is particularly evident when imaging objects of greater width than the STEM probe. Confocal electron microscopy using inelastic electrons appeared to be a promising imaging mode for the future with this thesis consisting of early work in the field.
Skill development and youth aspirations in India
Keywords: Youth
Skill Development
Aspirations

This doctoral thesis features two kinds of skill-training programmes implemented in Tamil Nadu (India) drawing on 18 months of fieldwork. The first explores how Nokia recruits and trains semi-skilled youth to work as Operators, in the Nokia SEZ, in Sriperumbudur. I contrast this with the case of Project SEAM: a state-funded skill-training programme, implemented by a private firm through a public-private partnership (PPP). SEAM trains rural, below-poverty-line youth, to work as sewing machine operators in India’s burgeoning garment clusters. I argue that contemporary India’s development trajectory is characterised by the confluence between an increasingly pluralised network state and rapidly proliferating network enterprises, which work together to establish new workplaces and design and implement skill-training programmes for India’s rural poor. Skill-training is used as a lens to examine the complex, symbiotic relationship between these two actors, who drive these new initiatives.
Skill development programmes are predicated on the idea that aspiration is a positive, transformative force – a view that is echoed by social scientists like Appadurai (2004; 2013). I demonstrate how the network state and network enterprise, shape and mould youth aspirations, across the skill-training cycle: transforming (within mere weeks) unemployed, unskilled rural youth – into semi skilled workers, ready to work in the manufacturing sector. Youth aspirations are consciously heightened as a marketing strategy, to maximize enrollments into skill-training programmes. Aspiration is also actively taught as a valuable soft-skill, that young people must possess, to become a part of India’s new workplaces. Through an exploration of how young people encounter such initiatives, I question the idea that aspirations are positively transformational. I highlight the tension in youth experience - between aspirations elevated by the training program, and factory work’s harder realities - to illustrate the dark side of aspiration: characterized by disillusionment, disappointment and personal failure.
Analysis of complete contacts subject to fatigue
Keywords: Contact Mechanics
Frictional Shakedown
Sub-structuring
Notch Fatigue
Asymptotic Analysis
Complete Contact
Fatigue
Fretting

Engineering assemblies are very frequently subject to fretting fatigue, which is a damage process that results when very small slip displacements arise at nominally stationary frictional interfaces. Fretting accelerates the initiation and early propagation of fatigue cracks, thereby causing significant reductions in the fatigue performance of many critical engineering components. A majority of the previous research on fretting fatigue has focused on incomplete (i.e. smooth-edged) contacts, while complete (i.e. sharp-edged) contacts have received less attention.
The aim of this thesis is to contribute to the theoretical understanding of complete contacts, especially when they are subject to fatigue conditions. This problem is addressed in two separate ways. First, because fretting failures almost invariably initiate from the edge of contact, a detailed understanding of the conditions in this region should enable more accurate assessments of fatigue performance to be made. Thus, an asymptotic analysis is presented, which provides an accurate description of the contact edge under many conditions. This is done by using the elasticity solution for a semi-infinite notch to represent the state of stress near the contact edge in an asymptotic sense.
Attention is then placed on the fact that cyclically loaded frictional contacts tend toward a steady-state response in which less frictional slip (and energy dissipation) occurs than in the first few load cycles. To investigate this effect, a numerical sub-structuring procedure is described, which significantly reduces the number of degrees of freedom in finite element models of frictional contact. This reduced model is then used to calculate the shakedown limit, i.e. the amplitude of cyclic load above which frictional slip is guaranteed to persist in the steady state. The sensitivity of the steady-state solution to the initial residual displacement state is then investigated, and it is shown that initial conditions can have a large influence on the steady-state behaviour of complete contacts.
Upheaval buckling of offshore pipelines buried in loose and liquefiable soils
Keywords: upheaval buckling
liquefaction
pipelines
sand
offshore geotechnics

Pipelines used for the transportation of oil and gas products offshore are often buried beneath the seabed for protection from mechanical damage and for thermal insulation. During high temperature and high pressure operations, these pipelines are susceptible to resurfacing behaviour known as upheaval buckling, a structural response that is strongly influenced by the resistance of the surrounding soil. Despite much previous research on pipe uplift, the influence of the initial soil state – particularly in loose and liquefiable soil conditions – on the uplift resistance and corresponding buckling behaviour of the pipe is not well understood.
This thesis presents research that examines the implications of these backfill conditions in the context of the global behaviour of the pipeline. The work consists of plane-strain monotonic uplift experiments focusing on density, rate, and stress level effects on the initial pipe-soil response. This is followed by numerical modelling of the global buckling behaviour using the experimental data as inputs. Finally, plane-strain cyclic experiments examine the possibility of progressive upward displacements over a number of cycles causing eventual upheaval buckling.
A key finding from the uplift tests is that very loose backfill conditions may result in a localised flow-around failure mechanism, associated with lower peak resistance and a softer force-displacement response than with the sliding block mechanism that is typically assumed. This leads to lower peak buckling loads/temperatures than those predicted by current design guidelines. High quality data from both the monotonic and cyclic experiments was used to assess and suggest improvements to design guidance for these conditions.
Development of bioreductive inhibitors of checkpoint kinase 1 to target hypoxic tumours
Keywords: hypoxia-activated prodrug
hypoxia
bioreductive drug
DNA damage response
checkpoint kinase 1
Chk1

Hypoxia (low physiological O2 levels) is a characteristic of solid tumours. It not only alters the chemical microenvironment of a tumour but initiates a number of mechanisms which enable cells to cope and thrive under these conditions, resulting in therapy-resistant and aggressive tumours. The replication stress induced by severe hypoxia activates a DNA damage response which involves the kinases ATR and Chk1. Moreover, periods of hypoxia are often followed by reoxygenation, which induces DNA damage. Chk1 inhibitors have been used to potentiate chemotherapy with cytotoxic agents and have recently been proposed as single agents in tumours with high levels of replication stress. However, inhibition of Chk1 also affects normal DNA replication, cell cycle progression and DNA repair. The herein presented study chose known inhibitors of Chk1 and, with methods of synthetic organic chemistry, modified them into agents to selectively target hypoxic cells. Three different Chk1 inhibitors were selected and bioreductive analogues synthesised which were evaluated in chemical, biochemical and cellular assays. We found a convenient route to access a precursor of the bioreductive 2-nitroimidazole group and established a three-step protocol for the testing of bioreductive drugs. This protocol allows us to determine whether a bioreductive drug undergoes reduction and prodrug activation. In addition, bioreductive Chk1 inhibitors were shown to induce DNA damage and cellular toxicity in a hypoxia-selective fashion. While reduction of the prodrugs occurred in all three cases, fragmentation was always the rate-limiting step. We propose that the use of bioreductive Chk1 inhibitors is a promising strategy to target the most therapy-resistant tumour fraction while sparing normal tissue.
The law and policy of regulating the European Internal Market: the harmonisation of national laws governing the supply of defective services to consumers
Keywords: internal market
harmonisation
soft law
defective services
European market regulation
liability

This thesis looks into the law and policy implications of law-making within the EU in pursuit of the internal market, while protecting other interests such as those of consumers. The discussion concentrates in the field of services addressed to consumers and more specifically in harmonising at EU level the national liability rules governing their defective supply. This case study is developed on the following strands. Firstly, the withdrawal of the European Commission’s ‘Proposal for a Council Directive on the liability of suppliers of services’ [COM (90) 482 final] is examined from the following aspects: a) the political reactions which have preceded its withdrawal, b) its compliance with the constitutional principles governing the legislative process at EU level and c) the assessment of the substantive regime which it purported to establish. Secondly, having regard to a) the aftermath of the Proposal’s failure, b) the evolution of the constitutional debate concerning the existence, the nature and the exercise of EU competence to set harmonised rules and c) the law-making standards which the Union’s Institutions have set to self-restrict their regulatory power, the perspective of harmonising the liability of suppliers of services to consumers is further explored. Drawing on this case-study, this thesis examines the limits to EU law- making activity which are imposed by primary European law and also considers the policy standards which the EU has set for itself in engaging in its law-making commitments. This examination allows in turn the pursuit of broader reflections I about the law and policy factors which become crucial and deserve particular attention by the EU lawmaker when harmonising national rules governing market transactions – such as the liability for the supply of defective services – with a view to attaining and managing the internal market along with protecting other interests recognised at EU level, such as those of consumers.
Adaptive changes of influenza virus A/H5N1 neuraminidase in vitro and in vivo
Keywords: Vietnam
H5N1
influenza

H5N1 adaptation process is thought to primarily involve in changes of the 2 main glycoproteins of influenza virus: hemagglutinin HA, responsible for viral entry via binding with host cell receptors, and neuraminidase NA, a receptor destroying enzyme, promoting release of newly formed virions and preventing their self-aggregation. With their opposing roles in viral replication cycle, one rational assumption is that influenza virus needs to maintain a balance between these 2 proteins activities to ensure productive infection. Because of their impacts on both viral evolution and drug susceptibility, it is necessary to gain insight into the interplay between HA and NA proteins as this will further our understanding of the cross-species A/H5N1 adaptation process, with or without selective pressure.
One of the most suitable systems to study influenza adaptation is cultures of differentiated human epithelial cells; which have been used for more than 30 years in various types of research. This project aimed to set-up that system in our laboratory in Vietnam to passage H5N1 viruses in order to use in later studies monitoring the adaptive changes of those viruses, especially in the two major glycoproteins HA and NA. In parallel, H5N1 isolates with different oseltamivir susceptibility profile were investigated to gain clear insight on NA enzymatic properties as well as the underlying mechanism of resistance. Those H5N1 isolates were human clade 1 viruses from the period of 2004 - 2005 in south of Vietnam with different oseltamivir sensitivity. Recombinant variants, with NA derived from H5N1 viruses and other segments from laboratory adapted human seasonal strain WSN33, were generated by reverse genetic techniques and then characterized on NA enzymatic properties. We identified 2 NA mutations which were suspected to affect NA activity and/or expression. Further investigations are required to conclude whether these 2 substitutions might support or allow the virus(es) to overcome the deficiency caused by oseltamivir resistance mutation, resulting in adaptive evolution of influenza viruses.
Creative translation and creativity via translation:
Keywords: emotional expression
modern Chinese literature
translation
intertextuality

This thesis makes an inquiry into the literary translation and creation in the early twentieth-century China, particularly between the years 1900 and 1925. I combine the theoretical approaches of both translation studies and intertextuality studies to form the overall methodological framework that informs the discussions in the thesis. Although the modern transformation of Chinese literature has long been discussed and debated in various scholarly works, which often attribute the transformation to foreign influences and reconstruction of indigenous literary tradition, a theoretical language is urgently required to articulate the exact process of literary adaptation and appropriation. Rather than taking the concept of “influence” at face value, I probe the intricate process of influence by examining the way Chinese writers and translators creatively translated and intertextualized foreign literary works to construct new literary texts. The two modalities of literary production – translation and intertextuality – call for the approaches of translation studies and intertextuality studies, and only when both approaches are taken into account can a fuller understanding of the literary scene in the early years of twentieth-century China be obtained.
I apply my methodology to the study of the transformation of emotional expressions which are most frequently found in love fiction. By combining translation and intertextuality, some Chinese writer-translators such as Bao Tianxiao and Zhou Shoujuan creatively translated foreign fiction, conveying emotions different from those intended by the original texts while at the same time introducing new modes of emotional expression to Chinese literature. Others, such as Su Manshu and Yu Dafu, borrowed foreign literary texts to construct their own literary creations, appropriating the emotions conveyed by the foreign texts. As a result of the vigorous adaptation and appropriation of Chinese writer-translators, new modes of emotional expression emerged in modern Chinese literature.
Alkaloids from transannular iodoaminations
Keywords: iodocyclisation
cocaine
transannular
iodoamination
pyrrolizidine
tropane
asymmetric synthesis
alkaloids

This thesis is concerned with the development of transannular iodoamination methodology for the synthesis of pyrrolizidine, indolizidine and tropane alkaloids.
Chapter 1 introduces the concept of a ‘transannular cyclisation’ and outlines the utility of such cyclisations in the synthesis of a range of [x.y.z]-azabicyclic alkaloids.
Chapter 2 describes the development of a three step lithium amide conjugate addition, ring-closing metathesis and transannular iodoamination protocol for the preparation of the pyrrolizidine scaffold ([3.3.0]-azabicycle). Cyclisation of a hexahydroazocine occurs with concomitant N-debenzylation to give a single diastereoisomer of the corresponding C(7)-iodopyrrolizidine product, which is then elaborated to the known pyrrolizidine, (−)-7a-epi-hyacinthacine A1.
Chapter 3 delineates an extension of the methodology described in Chapter 2, and an investigation into accessing alternate diastereoisomeric pyrrolizidine scaffolds via the transannular iodoamination process. These studies culminate in the synthesis of two pyrrolizidine alkaloids, (−)-hyacinthacine A1 and (−)-hyacinthacine A2.
Chapter 4 details investigations into the further elaboration of the C(7)-iodopyrrolizidine scaffold synthesised in Chapter 2. A nucleophilic displacement reaction with azide leads to the synthesis of novel 7-deoxy-7-aminoalexine analogues, whilst radical-mediated substitution of the iodide by oxygen allows the synthesis and isolation of the pyrrolizidine alkaloid (−)-1-epi-alexine.
Chapter 5 outlines the development of the transannular iodoamination reaction to facilitate the synthesis of the tropane architecture ([3.2.1]-azabicycle). A tandem lithium amide conjugate addition and aldol reaction sequence is followed by ring-closing metathesis to give the required aminocycloheptene. Subsequent treatment with iodine results in transannular cyclisation to give a single iodotropane product which, following elaboration culminates in the synthesis of (+)-pseudococaine.
Chapter 6 contains full experimental procedures and characterisation data for all compounds synthesised in Chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5.
The cult of St Thomas Cantilupe and the politics of remembrance
Keywords: Miracles
Sainthood
St Thomas Cantilupe
Hereford
Medieval History

The thesis aims to answer the following question: how did the relationships people had with Thomas Cantilupe, Bishop of Hereford between 1275 and 1282, shape the nature of his posthumous cult? The thesis rejects the idea that the veneration of saints in medieval England was politically neutral, or that their cults represented a stable, uncontentious means of resolving social discord. Instead, it posits that the invocation and memorialisation of Cantilupe was an intrinsically political act, and one that was available to ordinary people; these memories were formulated through their personal experiences of life in thirteenth century Hereford, and the people and institutions that populated it. These arguments are primarily based on evidence drawn from Cantilupe’s canonisation proceedings, particularly records and testimonies of his purported miracles.
The first chapter discusses the historiography of saints’ cults in medieval Europe, and how their social function has typically been characterised, and outlines the principal sources for the thesis and how they will be used. The second chapter of this thesis takes the form of a brief biography of Cantilupe’s life and career, with a particular focus on how his actions might have affected the ways different people perceived him after his death. The third chapter enumerates the principal institutions and individuals that exercised power alongside Cantilupe in the diocese, and situates miracle recipients for whom we otherwise have little evidence within these contexts. Chapter four deals with the perspectives generated by Cantilupe’s interactions with the other lay and ecclesiastical authorities that constituted the structures of power in the diocese. Chapter five concerns the attitudes generated through direct experience of Cantilupe himself, or the way in which these attitudes were mediated by someone who did know him personally. Evidence that helps us to establish how ideas about Cantilupe were memorialised is discussed in chapter six.
Interpersonal trust and business relationships
Keywords: Business relations

This thesis investigated factors predicting trust in business executives' relationships with their strong and weak ties, and the structure of business trust values among executives in the UK and Hong Kong. Relationships between individualism -collectivism and business trust values were also addressed. The research draws on Zucker's (1986) definition and production of trust, Butler's (1983) reciprocity of trust, Blau's (1964) social exchange theory, similarity-attraction theory, Granovetter's (1973) tie strength, and literature concerning friendship, individualism-collectivism and trust in order to develop hypotheses in three studies.
The first study examined the notion of trust through measures of expectations of trusting behaviours that predicted dyadic trust between UK business executives and their strong and weak ties. Expectations of honesty, reliability and discretion were found to be the fundamental expectations that influenced trust in both types of ties. Expectation of reciprocity of trusting behaviours between actors was also investigated but no evidence was found for their influence.
The second study explored antecedents of trust between UK business executives and their strongest business ties. Findings differed depending on whether strongest business ties involved friendship. Common ground (e.g. similar education, interests and work place) had an indirect effect on trust in strongest business friendship ties but not in strongest business ties. These findings suggest that dyads in strongest business relationships shared less in common than relationships that contained friendship.
The third study developed a multidimensional scale of business trust values and explored its relationships with individualism-collectivism in the UK and HK. Trust values were found to be discretionary in both groups. Intolerance of questionable business practices was found in the UK group.
The research was multi-method as it combined qualitative semi-structured interviews with quantitative surveys. The thesis concludes by discussing cultural implications for the formation of trust among business people in the UK and China, and future research directions.