VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Random graph processes with dependencies

Random graph processes are basic mathematical models for large-scale networks evolving over time. Their systematic study was pioneered by Erdös and Rényi around 1960, and one key feature of many 'classical' models is that the edges appear independently. While this makes them amenable to a rigorous analysis, it is desirable, both mathematically and in terms of applications, to understand more complicated situations. In this thesis the main goal is to improve our rigorous understanding of evolving random graphs with significant dependencies.
The first model we consider is known as an Achlioptas process: in each step two random edges are chosen, and using a given rule only one of them is selected and added to the evolving graph. Since 2000 a large class of 'complex' rules has eluded a rigorous analysis, and it was widely believed that these could give rise to a striking and unusual phenomenon. Making this explicit, Achlioptas, D'Souza and Spencer conjectured in Science that one such rule yields a very abrupt (discontinuous) percolation phase transition. We disprove this, showing that the transition is in fact continuous for all Achlioptas process. In addition, we give the first rigorous analysis of the more 'complex' rules, proving that certain key statistics are tightly concentrated (i) in the subcritical evolution, and (ii) also later on if an associated system of differential equations has a unique solution.
The second model we study is the H-free process, where random edges are added subject to the constraint that they do not complete a copy of some fixed graph H. The most important open question for such 'constrained' processes is due to Erdös, Suen and Winkler: in 1995 they asked what the typical final number of edges is. While Osthus and Taraz answered this in 2000 up to logarithmic factors for a large class of graphs H, more precise bounds are only known for a few special graphs. We close this gap for the cases where a cycle of fixed length is forbidden, determining the final number of edges up to constants. Our result not only establishes several conjectures, it is also the first which answers the more than 15-year old question of Erdös et. al. for a class of forbidden graphs H.

Keywords: probabilistic combinatorics
explosive percolation
percolation
random graphs
random graph processes
Advisor: Riordan, O
The administration of François Bigot as Intendant of New France

Traditionally, François Bigot has been considered an interesting subject for historical investigation not only because he was important, having presided over Canada's civil administration at the time of the Conquest, and was attainted in a large criminal proceeding at the Châtelet in Paris; but owing to the voluminous testimony accumulated by the court, there is more evidence at the historian's disposal than for his predecessors. There is, however, every reason to doubt the court's objectivity. Although the court believed Bigot was only too typical of colonial administrators, historians have tended to exaggerate the intendant's crimes and to represent him as some strange atypical monster who single-handedly corrupted the administrative corps of the colony. Not only is this interpretation unsatisfactory since it begs the question of how it was possible for this 'monster' to perpetrate his crimes unmolested for over two decades, but by turning him into something unusual, vitiated the value of the materials as evidence for a more generalized picture of colonial administration. The questions which arise, therefore, relate not only to theintendant as an individual but to the administrative corps of the Marine as a whole, and they are related. Who was Bigot? Where did he acquire his attitudes to work and responsibility? How did he view his own activities? What did his friends and family think of him?
Questions about his early career would have been much easier to answer had any good secondary works on the Marine existed. Fortunately, access to the Gradis Papers has made it possible not only to reconstruct a cogent picture of 18th century administrative practice but has also imparted much about his family and trade interests. This thesis attempts to illuminate pre-Conquest Canada by tackling her administrators as persons rather than official functionaries, with the result that Bigot's actions are made intelligible in the context of his times.
News of Transylvania in the German printed periodicals of the Seventeenth Century,  from István Bocskai to György II Rákóczi

In the seventeenth century, news of the Transylvanian princes in weekly newspapers and biannual Messrelationen rarely comes from the principality itself, but from the cities which are the Transylvanians' allies, enemies and invaded neighbors. This thesis examines the German language periodicals of four periods: István Bocskai's rebellion against the Habsburg Emperor (1604-5), Gábor Bethlen's first march into Hungary (1619-21), György I Rákóczi's Hungarian offensive (1643-5) and György II Rákóczi's incursion into Poland-Lithuania and the subsequent Ottoman invasion of Transylvania (1657-8). Between these periods, political developments and postal improvements shift the reporting networks which carry the news of Transylvania. As a result, each prince is reported on by a different set of reporting regions altering the language of the news. Bocskai's rebellion is presented in the Messrelationen as an alliance of the unchristian Protestants and Ottomans, dependent on military success rather than political legitimacy and causing devastation in the region. This perspective continues in later periods in news from Vienna, the most consistent reporter on Transylvania, as the princes are shown to be capable of upsetting the Emperor's position in Hungary, but more feared for their association with the Ottomans. Bethlen's march is also reported on by Transylvania's allies in Prague, who present the prince with greater diplomatic importance, and supporters in Hungary, who detail the diet meetings where he is elected king, proving his legitimacy. György I's march does not benefit from a breadth of perspectives, and Vienna’s dominates the news with its concern for quick peace. György II’s invasion of Poland is largely reported from the new news centers along the Baltic, presenting him as a military commander with precedent for his claim to the Polish throne. With the Ottomans' invasion the following year, Vienna’s fears for the safety of Christendom once again dictate Transylvania’s portrayal in the news.

Keywords: Periodicals
Seventeenth Century
German Language
Transylvania
Newspapers
Advisor: Evans, R
Civil science policy in British industrial reconstruction, 1942-51

During the Second World War science came to play a large role in the British government's plans for postwar reconstruction of industry. The planners sought to improve industry's labour productivity and capacity for RandD. They drew on the consensus which had developed among scientists, industrialists and politicians favouring a great increase in state aid to universities and industrial RandD and increased government direction of research. The postwar Labour government, impressed with scientists' contributions to the war effort and faced with grave economic difficulties, was eager to enlist science in raising industrial output. By 1951, however, it had implemented few new programmes in this area. More money was being spent on the pre-existing Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and industry's co-operative Research Associations; the universities had doubled their output; the National Research and Development Corporation had begun in 1949; some publicity campaigns had raised public awareness of productivity's significance; and the economy, in the postwar boom, was performing much better than prewar. But overall the Attlee government did much less to raise industry's scientific level than it had planned. Almost every new programme was inadequately funded and staffed, and the few which survived had no realistic chance of reaching into individual factories to achieve the scientific renaissance which was necessary to return Britain to the front rank, by international standards, of innovation and industrial performance.
The thesis examines that portion of civil science policy which aimed to improve industrial RandD and productivity, from the planning stage during the Coalition through implementation by the Attlee government. After an introductory chapter, Chapter 2 covers the work of wartime ministerial and official reconstruction committees; party differences and business opposition meant that reforms favouring a greater government role in RandD and industry generally were shelved until postwar. Chapter 3 examines the Attlee government's efforts to improve industrial RandD, particularly the formation of the Advisory Council on Scientific Policy, a failed attempt to create a British MIT, and several schemes, mostly unavailing, to vitalise DSIR, the RAs and private RandD. Chapter 4 examines postwar productivity policy, particularly the work of the Board of Trade, the scientifically-orientated Committee on Industrial Productivity, various government publicity campaigns, and the Anglo-American Council on Productivity. Chapter 5 briefly sketches post-1951 developments and finds that there has been little basic change in the policies suggested for arresting British industry's technical decline relative to its competitors, despite recurrent disappointment with the results of those policies.
Towards understanding the mechanism of cohesin loading

When a cell divides into two, it is imperative that each resultant daughter receives a full complement of chromosomes; DNA is ultimately responsible for all cellular processes. Cohesion between sister chromatids from the moment of their generation in S phase is central to ensuring the fidelity of chromosome segregation. Smc1 and Smc3 proteins interact with each other via their hinges and with a bridging kleisin subunit via their heads to form the cohesin ring. It is cohesin, through entrapment of sister chromatid within its ring, that confers sister chromatid cohesion. The process of cohesin’s loading onto DNA is poorly understood. While it is thought to depend on ATP hydrolysis, opening of the ring at one of its three interfaces, and the as yet undefined action of the kollerin complex, comprising Scc2 and Scc4 proteins, the sequence of events as they occur are yet to be defined.
A recent screen for suppressors of a thermosensitive scc4 allele in budding yeast revealed a mutation within Smc1’s hinge that could bypass the kollerin subunit. Here, the Smc1 suppressor mutation is investigated. Through targeted mutagenesis, the Smc1D588Y mutant identified in the screen and two additional point mutants, Smc1D588F and Smc1D588W, are herein proven able to bypass Scc4 function completely. Thus we provide the strongest evidence to date to suggest that cohesin’s hinge is a critical factor in its loading. Biochemical evidence shows that isolated Smc1 hinge mutants are defective in their binding to Smc3 hinges. This, together with the genetic link made between the hinge and loading complex, suggests that hinge opening might be a requisite for loading.
Through mutagenesis of Scc2 and Scc4 we show that the N-terminus of each protein is responsible for their dimerisation. Furthermore, the N- terminus of Scc2 confers no function other than in its binding to Scc4. Finally, we show that Scc4 is required for the enrichment of both Scc2 and cohesin at centromeres, but not at arm loci. Our results are therefore indicative of there being two different pathways of cohesin loading.

Keywords: cell division
biochemistry
cohesin
biology
chromosome
Advisor: Nasmyth, KA
Phosphorylation of the human topoisomerase II protein

DNA topoisomerase II is an essential enzyme in eukaryotes and is required for many aspects of DNA metabolism including DNA replication, recombination, chromosome segregation and chromosome condensation. It is also a major component of the nuclear scaffold. Topoisomerase II from lower eukaryotes has been shown to be phosphorylated in vivo and this phosphorylation leads to a modulation of activity. However, unlike these lower eukaryotes, human topoisomerase II exists as two closely related, but genetically distinct, isozymes which have markedly different expression and localization patterns. Topoisomerase IIα is a 170kDa protein and topoisomerase IIβ is 180kDa. This study set out to analyse the phosphorylation of these specific isozymes and understand how this leads to the regulation of their distinct biological functions.
In order to undertake this study, two polyclonal anti-topoisomerase II antibodies were generated and a series of other polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies characterized. Furthermore, the α isozyme of human topoisomerase II was purified to near homogeneity from cultured HeLa cells. A kinase activity with the biochemical characteristics of casein kinase II co-purified with and could phosphorylate the purified topoisomerase Hot protein.
The α and β isozymes of human topoisomerase II were both shown to be phosphoproteins in vivo. The α isozyme is phosphorylated predominantly on serine residues but with a minor proportion of phosphothreonine. Both the α isozyme and a stable ISOkDa fragment of the β isozyme are phosphorylated in vitro by casein kinase II and the catalytic subunit of PKA (cAMP-dependent protein kinase). The α isozyme can also be phosphorylated in vitro by Ca2+-dependent and -independent isozymes of protein kinase C and the cell cycle-regulated p34cdc2 kinase.
Two-dimensional tryptic phosphopeptide mapping suggested that the pattern of phosphorylation of human topoisomerase Ha protein in vivo is complex with phosphorylation occurring on multiple residues. Comparison with in vitro maps suggested that casein kinase II and PKA could account for most of the phosphorylation seen in vivo. Using a one- dimensional phosphopeptide mapping approach, a major site of phosphorylation in vivo appeared to be within the C-terminal 20kDa, and that casein kinase II, PKA and PKC may all phosphorylate this region.
Phosphorylation of human topoisomerase Hoc protein by casein kinase II, PKA and PKC all led to a stimulation of activity as measured by plasmid relaxation and decatenation. In contrast, dephosphorylation led to a marked decrease in activity of the enzyme. The dephosphorylated enzyme could be reactivated by casein kinase II but not PKA phosphorylation. These data suggest that phosphorylation plays a crucial role in the control of DNA tertiary structure in human cells via regulation of the activity of topoisomerase II proteins.

Advisor: Hickson, I
Aspects of early Greek and Babylonian hymnic poetry

This thesis is a case study of early Greek poetry in comparison to the literature of the ancient Near East, especially Mesopotamia, based on a selection of hymns (or: songs in praise of gods) mainly in Sumerian, Akkadian, Hittite and Greek.
Chapters 1–3 present the core groups of primary sources from the ancient Near East: Old Babylonian Sumerian, Old Babylonian Akkadian, Hittite. The aim of these chapters is to analyse the main features of style and content of Sumerian and Akkadian hymnic poetry, and to show how certain compositions were translated and adapted beyond Mesopotamia (such as in Hittite). Chapter 4 contains introductory remarks on early Greek hymnic poetry accompanied by some initial comparative observations.
On the basis of the primary sources presented in Chapters 1–4, the second half of the thesis investigates selected elements of form and content in a comparative perspective: hymnic openings (Chapter 5), negative predication (Chapter 6), the birth of Aphrodite in the Theogony of Hesiod (Chapter 7), and the origins and development of a phrase in Hittite prayers and the Iliad of Homer (Chapter 8). The conclusion of Chapters 4–6 is that, in terms of form and style, early Greek hymns were probably not indebted to ancient Near Eastern models. This contradicts some current thinking in Classical scholarship, according to which Near Eastern influence was pervasive in early Greek poetry in general. Chapters 7–8 argue that such influence may nevertheless be perceived in certain closely defined instances, particularly where supplementary evidence from other ancient sources is available, and where the extant sources permit a reconstruction of the process of translation and adaptation. Hence this thesis seeks to contribute to the current debate on early Greek and ancient Near Eastern literature with a detailed analysis of a selected group of primary sources.

Keywords: Greek
Babylonian
Advisor: Kelly, A
Dahl, J
Some investigations using atomic beams

We describe an atomic beam resonance experiment to search for an electric dipole moment in the 3P2 metastable state in xenon. The experiment avoids the "v × E" difficulty of earlier work by using an atomic state which has a high differential polarizability. Small residual effects of order five times greater than the experimental precision are cancelled by comparison between xenon and krypton. We obtain a null result for the electron edm.
We also present atomic beam resonance measurements of the differential Stark splittings in the 3S1 metastable state of helium and the 3P2 metastable states of the rare gases, together with a theoretical result for helium.
Edward III's government of England, c. 1346-1356

This thesis examines the administrative history of the middle decade of Edward Ill's reign, between the victories of Crecy and Poitiers, It is often assumed that, after the crisis of 1340-1, the king was only able to maintain domestic peace at the cost of his own power. But the administrative records reveal that this political stability was the result not of a renunciation, but a restoration of royal authority. The king annulled the statute of 1341 limiting his control over appointment of ministers, removed from power the Stratford party which had dominated the government in the 1330's, and gave control of the departments of state to the members of his earlier household administration of 1338-40. These men, enjoying long tenure of office, then put into effect the administrative system planned in the Walton Ordinances of 1338. Bureaucratic reforms in the Chancery, the privy seal, the Exchequer and the household created a more efficient, and therefore more effective administration. These changes were co-ordinated in the king's council, which used its legislative and judicial authority to increase central control. In parliament, the king's ministers were able to direct business, obliging the Commons to grant taxes in return for remarkably few statutory concessions. And the best-enforced legislation of the period was that which accorded with government policy, implemented in the provincial sessions of the King's Bench. The greatest success of the regime however was to transform the financial disasters of the late 1330's into the financial security of the mid 1350's. This was the work of treasurer Edington, the most influential and long-lived of the ministers of this period. The success of the government, however, depended not on one man, but on the co-operation and inter-dependence of the whole administration, united in its common determination to restore the authority of the Crown.
Nuclear quadrupole double resonance

The basic theories of Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance are outlined, together with some basic NMR theory and its application to double resonance techniques.
An improved design of spectrometer using double resonance is presented, including a description of a new flow cryostat which can operate down to 4.2°K with low (250 cc/hour) consumption of liquid He. The whole apparatus may be used to detect NQR signals in solids over the frequency range 100 kHz-5 MHz.
The theory of double resonance with spin mixing by continuous coupling (D R CC) is developed and illustrated by experiments performed on HCOOD, HDO and several nitrogen-containing compounds, including Imidazole. Further experiments were then carried out on samples dilute in deuterium, including the detection of NQR in formic acid (HCOOH) due to naturally abundant deuterium. Other experiments on proton-deuteron interactions in amide groups and in water molecules are also described and compared with results previously published on fully-deuterated amides and D20 as a water of crystallisation in L-serine hydrate.
The NQR spectrum of Lanthanum Nicotinate Dihydrate is obtained using F.M. techniques and related to its structure.
The theory of Zeeman NQR in spin 3/2 nuclei is developed with reference to the double resonance technique, and the measured quadrupole coupling constants of 23Na and 2D in NaOH and some of its hydrates are discussed.
Finally, some standard theories concerning proton relaxation times in solids at low temperatures (4°K-300°K) are outlined and related to some, measured relaxation times, illustrating their significance to the double resonance technique.
The concluding chapter outlines a speculative proposal for a new spectrometer design.

Advisor: Edmonds, D
Historians and the Church of England: religion and historical scholarship, c.1870-1920

The years 1870 to 1920 saw an extraordinary efflorescence of English historical writing, dominated by historians who were committed members of the Church of England, many of them in holy orders. At a time when both history and religion were central to cultural life, when history was becoming a modern academic discipline, and when the relationship between Christianity and advanced knowledge was under unprecedented scrutiny, this was a phenomenon of considerable intellectual significance.
To understand why this came about, it is necessary to understand the intellectual and institutional conditions in the Church of England at the time. The Oxford Movement and the rise of incarnational theology had drawn Anglicans in ever greater numbers towards the study of the past. At the same time, it was still widely held that the Church of England should be a ‘learned church’: it therefore encouraged scholarship, sacred and secular, amongst its laity and clergy.
The result was to produce historians who approached the past with a new set of priorities. The history of the English nation and its constitution was rewritten to show that the church – and especially the medieval church – was the originator and guarantor of modern nationality and liberty. Attitudes to the Reformation shifted from the celebratory to the sceptical, or even the downright hostile. Economic historians even came to see the Reformation as a social revolution – as the origin of modern poverty or capitalism. New and distinctive ideas about progress and divine providence were developed and articulated.
Most of all, an examination of Anglican historical scholarship shows the continued vitality of the Church of England and the limitations to the idea that intellectual life was secularised over the course of the nineteenth century. Instead, historiography continued to be shaped by Anglican thought and institutions at this critical stage in its development.

Keywords: historiography
universities
Anglicanism
constitutionalism
Tractarianism
Church of England
reformation
medievalism
national identity
providence
secularization