VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The impact of freedom of establishment on private international law for corporations

The present thesis is concerned with private international law for corporate and insolvency disputes in the context of freedom of establishment. First, it presents the traditional rules of conflict applicable to corporate disputes that have been implemented in some major jurisdictions. Second, it analyses the relevant leading judgments of the European Court of Justice and it demonstrates the way in which, contrary to popular belief, the real seat theory has not been held contrary to freedom of establishment. The thesis then deals with the concept of letter-box companies and examines the limitations that are being placed to the use of freedom of establishment. This is followed by a juxtaposition of the factors that have lead and could lead to regulatory competition for corporate law in the USA and the EU respectively. A modest approach is taken towards the possibility of the latter occurring in the EU. Third, the thesis examines the treatment of insolency disputes in this context. A substantial part of it is dedicated to the definition of the basis for international jurisdiction for the opening of insolvency proceedings, namely the centre of main interests. It argues in favour of an objective test for the identification of the centre of main interests (COMI) and the allocations of certain burdens on both the debtor and the creditors. It then focuses on the treatment of forum shopping in the context on international insolvencies. Based on considerations of consent and economic efficiency, it suggests a definition, according to which certain transfers of the COMI should not amount to forum shopping. Finally, the thesis examines the possibility of a regulatory competition for insolvencies in the EU and seeks to demonstrate that the conditions for such a competition are more analogous between US corporate law and EU insolvency, rather than company, law.

Keywords: corporations
regulatory competition
insolvency
freedom of establishment
applicable law
jurisdiction
forum shopping
Advisor: Peel, E
Armour, J
Aspects of cerebral blood flow in humans

The technique of transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD) was used to assess cerebral blood flow (CBF) in humans. Studies were performed at rest and during dynamic submaximal exercise. In the resting experiments, TCD was combined with the technique of dynamic end-tidal forcing to study the dynamics of the CBF response to step changes in end-tidal (i.e. arterial) PC02 and PO2 In the resting and exercise experiments, the degree of consistency was examined between three indices of CBF that can be extracted from the TCD spectrum. Finally, the ventilatory and the CBF responses to acute isocapnic hypoxia were examined to try to quantify the possible reduction in ventilation that could be attributed to changes in CBF with hypoxia.
In the studies performed at rest, during either hypoxia and/or hypercapnia (Chapter 2), the three indices of CBF extracted from the TCD spectrum were all consistent. However, during submaximal exercise (Chapter 5), the indices were less consistent and results suggest that the increase in CBF with exercise that has been reported with TCD needs to be treated with caution.
The dynamic studies of the CBF response to step changes in end-tidal PC02 and PO2 in humans revealed that the CBF response to hypercapnia (Chapter 3) is characterised by a significant asymmetry, with a slower on-transient than off-transient, and also by a degree of undershoot following the relief of hypercapnia. The CBF response to hypocapnia (Chapter 4) is also characterised by a significant asymmetry, with a faster on-transient than off-transient. Furthermore, there is a slow progressive adaptation throughout the hypocapnic period. These studies show that the CBF responses to hypercapnia and hypocapnia are much faster than previously been thought.
Finally, the work described in Chapter 6 attempts to quantify the possible reduction in ventilation that could be attributed to changes in CBF with hypoxia to determine whether it could be of sufficient magnitude to underlie hypoxic ventilatory decline (HVD). The results suggest that, in awake humans, changes in CBF during acute isocapnic hypoxia are quantitatively insufficient to underlie HVD.
Stable strontium isotope fractionation in marine and terrestrial environments

The work reported in this thesis applies a new isotope tracer, stable strontium isotopes (δ88/86Sr), to address questions concerning changes in global climate that occur in response to continental weathering processes, and to constrain the modern marine geochemical Sr cycle.
Stable Sr isotopes are a relatively new geochemical proxy, and as such their behavior needs to be understood in differing forms of marine calcium carbonate, the archives from which records of past stable Sr variability in the oceans can be constructed. Foraminifera, coccoliths and corals (both aragonite and high Mg calcite) acquire δ88/86Sr values lighter than that of modern day seawater, (approximately 0.11, 0.05, 0.2 and 0.19 ‰ lighter than seawater at ~25°C respectively) providing a measureable offset which can be used to constrain the modern Sr outputs from the ocean and provide a better understanding of the modern Sr cycle.
Using foraminifera as a sedimentary archive the first marine δ88/86Sr record of seawater over the last two glacial cycles has been constructed, and used to investigate changing carbonate input and output over this 145 kyr period. Modelling of the large excursion of δ88/86Sr to heavier values during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3, reveals that this is more likely to be due to local changes in seawater or post-depositional alteration, rather then whole ocean changes.
In the terrestrial environment δδ88/86Sr has been measured in the dissolved load of rivers from the Himalaya. It is found that, in general, rivers draining carbonate catchments possess lighter isotopic δ88/86Sr values than those from rivers draining silicates. Covariations of either δ88/86Sr vs. δ30Si or δ88/86Sr vs. 1/[Sr] can be used to distinguish between rivers draining different catchment areas.

Keywords: geochemical cycles
strontium
foraminifera
Himalayan rivers
non-traditional stable isotopes
coccolithophores
glacial cycles
isotope proxy
Advisor: Burton, K
Parkinson, I
A novel foldable stent graft

This dissertation concerns the structural design of medical stent grafts. A new type of an innovative stent graft has been developed. Unlike the conventional stent grafts which consist of a wire mesh and a covering membrane, the proposed stent graft can be made from a single folded sheet of material. Firstly, a detailed symmetric design of a foldable cylindrical tube for the new stent graft has been presented. Folding is achieved by dividing the structure into a series of identical elements with hill and valley folds as in origami (Japanese art of paper folding). The folding patterns allow the stent graft to be folded and expanded both radially and longitudinally. The relationships among the design of the elements, the number of elements in the circumferential and longitudinal directions and the folded dimensions of the stent graft have been derived. It has been found that compact folding in the radial direction can be achieved by increasing the number of circumferential elements. A geometric mismatch during deployment has also been identified. The elements have to deform when the structure is expanded. Optimum designs which minimise the deformation have been found. Secondly, a new stent graft with helical folds has also been designed to improve radial strength and ease the deployment process. Helical folds are introduced by adjusting the joining position of the two edges of a sheet that had been symmetrically jointed in the symmetric design. The relationships among the number of elements in one complete circumference of a helix, the helical angle and the radius of the helical type stent graft have been established. The locations for the helical folds are optimised for easy folding by considering both geometric aspects of folding and the buckling patterns of a thin-walled tube under torsion, which are found analytically. Thirdly, using numerical analysis of the finite element method (FEM) the strain level and overall deformation of the stent graft during deployment has been calculated. Finally, the stent graft has been manufactured to verify the concept. A number of prototypes of the stent graft, which are the same size as standard oesophageal and aortal stent grafts, have been produced successfully using the same materials as current stent grafts of stainless steel and shape memory alloy (SMA) sheets. The patterns of folds on the materials are produced by photochemical etching. It has also been demonstrated that the SMA stent grafts self-expand smoothly and gradually by a near body temperature.

Keywords: structures
deployable
Advisor: You, Z
Free radical methodology and approaches to the synthesis of roseophilin

The homolytic Brook rearrangement is discussed and homolytic fragmentations of epoxides and epoxysilane chemistry are reviewed.
Thiyl radical induced isomerisation was performed on spiro alkenylepoxysilanes to generate novel alkenyl-α-trimethylsilylaldehydes rather than the products of radical Brook rearrangement. The trimethylsilylaldehydes were shown to isomerise on heating to silyldienol ethers and, via the addition of a Grignard reagent, to act as stereoselective vinyl cation equivalents. Attempts to extend the scope of the isomerisation to non-rigid systems met with failure.
A review of the antibiotic Roseophilin is presented. Cycloaddition-fragmentation approaches to medium and large rings are reviewed as a prelude to our first route, the proposed Michael addition-retro-aldol fragmentation of the Diels-Alder adduct derived from isopropyl-cyclopentadiene and cyclodec- 2-yn-1-one. The novel ynone, synthesised via the intramolecular Friedel-Crafts acylation of 10-trimethylsilyl-9-decynoyl chloride, was found to isomerise readily to bicyclo[4.4.0]dec-1(6)-en-2-one therefore the model Diels-Alder reaction with cyclopentadiene was effected in one-pot from the cyclisation precursor. Details of the attempted fragmentation of tricyclo[10.2.1.02,11]pentadeca-2(11),13-dien-3-one are then described but, due to inconclusive results, an alternative study was instigated.
The use of free-radical macrocyclisations in the synthesis of large rings is reviewed with particular reference to the synthesis of natural products. Three strategies for the formation of a bicyclo[10.2.1]pentadecanone skeleton are reported, and subsequent model studies described. Cuprate additions to vinyl lactones and epoxides are discussed. The preferred strategy, involving a cycloalkyl tether between the radical donor and radical acceptor groups, was extended to a system which was derived from the addition of various cuprates to 2-oxabicyclo[3.3.0]oct-7-en-3-one The preparation of cuprates derived directly from 6-iodohexan-1-ol and 1-chloro-6-iodohexane is described. The trans- cuprate addition products were converted successfully to bicyclo[10.2.1]pentadec-12-en-3-one, and the cis- analogues, accessible through a novel regio- and stereoselective hydroboration-fragmentation reaction of 7- (6'-chlorohexyl)-2-oxabicyclo[3.3.0]oct-7-en-3-one, led to bicyclo[10.2.1]pentadec- 13-en-3-one. The successful cyclisations of model oximes, to form nitrones having the correct connectivity for the third ring of Roseophilin, are described.
Cuprate additions to 6-(1'-methylethyl)-2-oxabicyclo[3.3.0]oct-7-en-3-one resulted in anti- attack; the cis- adducts were inaccessible via the above methodology but a few intermediates in the trans- series were prepared. Future routes and modifications to the methods developed are then discussed.
'Destiny is not where you are now': Fashioning new Pentecostal subjectivities among young women in Calabar, Nigeria

The thesis examines young women’s livelihoods in Calabar, southeastern Nigeria. It discusses how young women aim to realise their believed ‘destinies of greatness’, reconciling aspirations of fortune with present insecurities. Pinpointing a time when the city’s universities were on indefinite strikes, the discussions depict young women’s industriousness as they ‘wait’ amid uncertainty. The thesis focuses explicitly on young women’s engagement with Pentecostalism, the religion encouraging action, timeliness, and knowledge of the self and God. Understanding how young women fashion Pentecostal subjectivities attuned with ideals of urban success, the chapters focus on various ‘sites’ in their lives: church ministries, the home, sewing shops, beauty pageants. The thesis argues that young women believe they can realise future fortune by constantly partaking in acts of self-preparation. However, as action is driven by the competing forces of fear and faith, the acts young women believe will fashion subjectivities conducive to urban success are always gambles.
Illuminating the emic concept of ‘destiny’ – a classic concept in West African Anthropology, denoting personhood and lifecourse (Fortes 1987) – the thesis builds upon recent analyses of how action underpins concepts of hope (Miyazaki 2004), doubt (Pelkmans 2013), and fortune (da Col 2012; Graeber 2012). Illuminating action and futures, the discussion contributes to recent analyses of time, productivity and youth (Honwana 2012; Jeffrey 2010; Masquelier 2013a). By examining the often-ignored category of young women, the thesis develops an understanding of ‘feminine cultures of waiting’. The discussion of how Pentecostal subjectivities are fashioned, which draws different ‘sites’ of young women’s lives together, also furthers analyses of African youth by countering salient narratives of youth in violence (e.g. Vigh 2006). Focusing on young women’s livelihoods, the thesis contributes to an Anthropology of (Pentecostal) Christianity by illustrating how religious rhetoric and practice are carried out and negotiated outside formal church institutions.

Keywords: Nigeria
hope
futures
fashion
Pentecostalism
youth
Advisor: Pratten, D
The spray forming of Ni based superalloys

The main aim has been to investigate the effect of process parameters on the spray forming of UDIMET 720 and in particular to understand the mechanism of grain size evolution in the deposit using a combination of experimental and computer modelling techniques.
Samples of two spray formed Ni superalloys, MAR-M-002 and UDIMET 720, have been re-heated into the solid/liquid region and the fully solid region just below the solidus temperature for a series of times to try and reproduce the situation of grain growth in a spray formed deposit. Grain growth in the solid/liquid region follows the equation: d3=d03 +Kt, where d is the grain size, d0 is the initial grain size, K is the coarsening rate constant and t is the time. Coarsening rate constants have been determined for temperatures in the solid/liquid region and they increase with increasing temperature/decreasing solid fraction.
Existing spray forming equipment for Al alloys has been modified to manufacture UDIMET 720 deposits. Process conditions were monitored continually during spray forming, in particular the temperature of the deposit by embedded thermocouples and infra red thermal imaging of the deposit top surface.
Above a deposit temperature of ≈1250°C the microstructure consists of equiaxed fine grains (20μm-35μm) and the porosity is low (<1%). Below this deposit temperature the microstructure consists of droplet "splats" and the porosity is higher (2-4%). The measure grain size increases with increasing deposit temperature and solidification time and agrees reasonably well with the predicted grain size using the above equation.
A commercial finite difference based fluid dynamics software program, FLUENT, has been used to model the 2-dimensional dynamic and thermal behaviour of UDIMET 720 droplets during gas atomisation and spray forming. The effect of atomising gas pressure, spray distance and melt mass flow rate on the equilibrated droplet spray temperature has been examined and shows similar variations with process parameters as the measured maximum deposit temperature. The predicted spray temperature at the substrate is always higher than the measured maximum deposit temperatures under all conditions, and increases with (i) decreasing gas pressure, (ii) decreasing spray distance and (iii) increasing MFR. Mean droplet temperatures and velocities are strongly dependent on droplet size, the mean droplet temperature decreases and mean droplet axial velocities increases with decreasing droplet size.
A commentary on Plutarch's Cato Minor

The INTRODUCTION is concerned with the antecedents, the circumstances of writing and the structure of the biography.
Its first chapter surveys the successive treatments of Cato's figure in the Roman literature: immediately after his suicide at Utica a great literary controversy around Cato came into being: cicero, and later Brutus, Fadius Gallus and Munatius Rufus wrote laudatory accounts while Caesar and A. Hirtius composed defamatory Anticatones. This theme was also central a few years later in Salluet's Catilinarian Conspiracy and was taken up by the aged Augustus in a rhetorical reply to Brutus. With the completion of the Roman revolution the theme of Cato lost its urgency and relevance and during the early Principate Cato's figure is reduced to a few stereotyped acts and situation discussed in the schools of Rhetoric. Yet under the reign of Claudius and Nero a revival in the interest in Cato takes place: Seneca regards him as the Stoic Saint Incarnate, his nephew Lucan makes him the chief hero of his Pharsalia, while Thrasea Paetus composes a full scale Life of Cato: for the senatorial opposition under Nero Cato's figure again has a political relevance. The reign of Domitian ensures the end of the literary preoccupation with Cato: hero worshippers found in Thrasea Paetus and Helvidius Priscus a more recent vintage of martyrs for the cause of libertas.

Keywords: Plutarch
Cato
Rome
Scalable multi-parametric imaging of excitable tissue

The field of cardiac electrophysiological imaging has advanced tremendously in the past three decades with developments in fluorescent dyes, photodetectors, optical filters, illumination sources, computers and electronics. This thesis describes several scalable multi-parametric imaging systems and their application to cardiac tissue preparations at various levels of complexity. Using off-the-shelf components, single-camera multi-parametric optical mapping systems are described for various fluorescent dye combinations and single-element photodiode-based fibre-optic detection systems are described for drug-testing applications. The instruments described take advantage of modern voltage-sensitive dyes, multi-band optical filters and powerful light-emitting-diodes, from the ultraviolet to the red.
The two electrophysiological parameters focused on were transmembrane voltage and the intracellular calcium concentration. Several voltage and calcium dye combinations were established, which produce no signal cross-talk. Furthermore, second- and third-generation voltage dyes were characterized in cardiac tissue, in vitro and in vivo.
The developed systems were then applied to isolated Langendorff-perfused whole-hearts, in vivo whole-hearts, thin ventricular tissue-slices and human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiac tissue. The interventions applied include accurately-timed electrical and mechanical local stimulation of the whole-heart to generate ectopic beats, cardiotoxic drugs and flash-photolysis of caged-compounds.
With the high-throughput demands of drug discovery and testing, further development of scalable optical electrophysiological systems may prove critical in reducing attrition and costs. And for in vivo optical mapping, development of minimally-invasive and clinically-relevant optical systems will be essential in validating existing theories based on in vitro experiments and exploring cardiac function and behaviour with the heart intact in the organism.

Keywords: fluorescence
electrophysiology
multi-parametric
imaging
cardiac
Advisor: Ewart, P
Chiral cation-directed asymmetric 5-endo-trig cyclizations

The primary objective of this research project was to develop a novel protocol for the synthesis of densely functionalized optically enriched indanes through a chiral cation directed 5-endo-trig ring closure. In chapter two, a convergent strategy for the construction of the cyclization precursors is reported, which employs two easily adapted fragments. In chapter three, a range of quaternary ammonium salts are screened to establish the optimal phase-transfer conditions for this system. A variety of substrates were evaluated to probe the scope and limitations of this methodology. Finally, two potential mechanistic pathways for this enigmatic process are outlined and discussed in chapter four.

Keywords: catalysis
phase-transfer catalysis
asymmetric
cyclization
Baldwin's rules
indanes
organic chemistry
Advisor: Smith, MD
Barriers to the consolidation of peace: the political economy of post-conflict violence in Indonesia

What causes post-conflict violence to occur in some places emerging from extended violent conflict and not in others? Why does episodic post-conflict violence take different forms? And what causes episodic violence to escalate into larger renewed extended violence? This thesis contributes towards answers to these questions by examining the experience of Indonesia.
Six provinces saw civil war or large-scale inter-communal unrest around the turn of the century. In each, war ended. Yet levels and forms of post-conflict violence vary significantly between areas. The Indonesian cases are used to build a theory of the sources of spatial and temporal variance in post-conflict violence.
Multiple methods are employed. A new dataset, containing over 158,000 coded incidents, maps patterns of extended and post-conflict violence. Six districts in three provinces are then studied in depth. Comparative analysis of districts and provinces—drawing on over 300 field interviews—identifies the determinants of variations in post-conflict violence levels and forms.
Adopting a political economy approach, the thesis develops a novel actor-based theory of post-conflict violence. Violence is not the result of failed elite bargains, dysfunctional inter-group relations, enduring grievances, or weak states. Instead, it flows from the incentives that three sets of actors—local elites, local violence specialists, and national elites—have to use violence for accumulation. Violence is used when it is beneficial, non-costly, and when other opportunities for getting ahead do not exist. How post-conflict resources are deployed, the degree to which those who use violence face sanctions, and the availability of peaceful means to achieve goals shape incentives and hence patterns of violence. Where only violence specialists support violence, post-conflict violence will take small-scale forms. Where local elites also support violence, escalation to frequent large episodic violence occurs. Extended violence only occurs where national elites also have reason to use violence for purposes of accumulation.

Keywords: civil war
riots
Southeast Asia
violence
mixed methods
political economy
state-building
Indonesia
conflict
Advisor: Caplan, R
Hoeffler, A