VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Development of enzymatic H2 production and CO2 reduction systems

One of today’s most pressing scientific challenges is the conception, development and deployment of renewable energy technologies that will meet the demands of a rapidly increasing population. The motivation is not only dwindling fossil fuel reserves, but also the necessary curtailment of emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (a product of burning fossil fuels). The sun provides a vast amount of energy (120,000 TW globally), and one major challenge is the conversion of a fraction of this energy into chemical energy, thereby allowing it to be stored. Dihydrogen (H₂) that is produced from water is an attractive candidate to store solar energy (a ‘solar fuel’), as are high energy carbon-containing molecules (such as CO) that are formed directly from carbon dioxide.
One key aspect is the development of catalysts that are able to offer high rates and efficiencies. In biology, some microbes acquire energy from the metabolism of H₂ and CO. The biological catalysts - enzymes - that are responsible are hydrogenases (for the oxidation of H₂ to protons); and carbon monoxide dehydrogenases (CODHs, for the oxidation of CO to CO₂). These redox enzymes, containing nickel and iron as the only metals, are extraordinary in terms of their catalytic characteristics: many are fully reversible catalysts and offer very high turnover frequencies (thousands per second are common), with only tiny energy input requirements.
This Thesis uses a hydrogenase from the bacterium Escherichia coli, and two CODHs from the bacterium Carboxydothermus hydrogenoformans, as the catalysts in H2 production and CO₂ reduction systems. Chapter 3 describes the concept and development not of a solar fuel system, but of a device that catalyses the water-gas shift reaction (the reaction between CO and water to form H₂ and CO₂) - a process of major industrial importance for the production of high purity H₂. Chapters 4, 5 and 6 detail photochemical CO₂ reduction systems that are driven by visible light. These systems, operating under mild, aqueous conditions, involve CODHs attached either to TiO₂ nanoparticles that are sensitised to visible light by the co-attachment of a ruthenium-based dye complex, or to cadmium sulfide nanomaterials that, having a narrow band gap, are inherently photoexcitable by visible light.
The motivation here is not the construction of technological devices; indeed, the enzymes that are used are fragile, highly sensitive to oxygen, and impossible to scale to industrial levels. Rather, the drivers are those of scientific curiosity (can the incorporation of these remarkable biological catalysts enable the creation of outstanding solar fuel devices?), and of producing systems that serve as benchmarks and inspiration for the development of fully synthetic systems that are robust and scalable.

Keywords: carbon monoxide dehydrogenase
solar fuel
hydrogenase
Advisor: Armstrong, F
Development of style in the writings of John Cowper Powys, 1915-1929

Between 1915 and 1929 J.C. Powys wrote five novels, Wood and Stone, Rodmoor, After My Fashion, Ducdame, and Wolf Solent, and two unpublished plays, Paddock Calls and a dramatisation of Dostoievsky's The Idiot. To each of these seven works a single chapter is devoted. In addition, three short chapters fill in biographical details and bridge chronological gaps; their subjects are Powys' unpublished writings, his work as a dramatist, and his contacts with modernism. The latter chapter provides biographical support for the main critical contention of the thesis, Powys' central place in twentieth-century literature.
Bach chapter describes the biographical context in which the novel or play was written, before proceeding with a textual analysis. The critical aim is to demonstrate Powys' technique, his consciousness of aesthetic and formal questions, and his style. Powys' ideas and beliefs are discussed only with reference to his style and form of expression. The broad development from Wood and Stone to Wolf Solent is seen and analysed in terms of an increasing sophistication of technique. Particular stress is laid on Powys' treatment of his protagonist's self-consciousness, culminating in the formal solution of Wolf Solent.
As literary history, apart from placing Powys among contemporaries such as Joyce, Pound, Mann, Faulkner and Dreiser, the thesis shows the influence on Powys of Henry James, Turgenev, Hardy and others. The most important and most widely recognised influence, of Dostoievsky, is examined from critical and biographical angles.
Incidentally to its main purpose, the thesis provides the most detailed biographical record, to date, of Powys' life in these years. Contemporary documentation has been used whenever possible, and extensively; much of it, mainly correspondence, is unpublished.
Dwelling and building in Ngamiland, Northern Botswana

This thesis is an investigation of the ways in which activities of house-building are woven into the histories and biographies of the people of Ngamiland in nothern Botswana. Criticising those approaches in anthropology that have tended to see forms of buildings as the symbolic expressions of (or metaphors for) aspects of social order, the thesis argues that building practices are themselves embedded in the current of social activity - that is, of dwelling - which, over time, is generative of both persons and places. Just as every inhabitant enfolds within his or her person a set of relations with others, which are played out in the manifold tasks of everyday dwelling (including building), so every place (including the buildings found there) embodies a set of relations with other places. The first set of relations, essentially social, are captured by the notion of the taskscape, the second set, essentially material, by the notion of landscape. The thesis seeks to demonstrate the dynamic interplay between taskscape and landscape, or between social and material relations over time.
The thesis argues for several important ways in which this dynamic relationship can be considered anthropologically. The first is the notion of the 'otherplaceness' of dwelling, in which the inherent interconnectedness of the landscape is highlighted, describing the ways in which both personal biographies and the material biographies of places are mutually creative over time. This is extended to investigate the relationship between social and material permanence in the landscape through an analysis of the ways in which building with concrete has affected everyday dwelling. Another key notion is that dwelling involves a wide range of social practices that can be understood as containing both forces of a centrifugal (movement away from a centre) and centripetal (movement toward a centre) nature, being an important aspect of how social practice and homestead form are interrelated over time. This is also extended in the final chapter through an exploration of the ways in which the materiality of the homestead is interwoven with memory, biography and personal history.
Investigating a role of HER3 in anti-HER2 target therapy in breast cancer

Background
HER2-positive breast cancer is a poor prognostic subgroup, even if treated with anti-HER2 directed therapy. Trastuzumab is an important HER2-targeting antibody but only limited patients respond to this drug, and acquired resistance is a common problem. HER3 has been shown to be a key candidate in mediating resistance to trastuzumab and other ErbB inhibitors. The aims of the project are to investigate the resistance mechanisms and the relevant biomarkers in relation to trastuzumab treatment and resistance in HER2-positive breast cancer, in particular, HER3 subcellular localisation and HER3 phosphorylation.
Methods
Effects of trastuzumab on HER3 subcellular localisation and HER3 phosphorylation in relation to MET receptor were studied using western blots, nuclear fractionation, confocal microscopy, and immunoprecipitation in a panel of HER2-positive cell lines, including SKBr3 and BT474 breast cancer cells in which trastuzumab resistance was induced by long-term drug exposure. Effects of drug and knockdown experiments were tested by cell viability and proliferation assays. HER3 and MET expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry in xenograft tumours and human tissue samples, and clinical impact was assessed in different cohorts of HER2-positive breast cancer patients.
Results
Acquired trastuzumab resistant SKBr3 cells showed an increase of nuclear HER3100kD, which was derived from C-terminus of HER3. Nuclear HER3100kD could be due to the proteolytic cleavage of HER3 since it was reduced by ADAM17 or gamma-secretase inhibitor. In a panel of HER2-positive cell lines and xenograft samples, nuclear HER3 was observed only in the resistant cells. In addition, nuclear HER3 was associated with poor progression-free and overall survivals in HER2-positive breast cancer patients. It was also found that HER3 phosphorylation was maintained in acquired trastuzumab resistant cells, which was contributed by the ligand independent interaction of MET and HER3. Higher MET expression was associated with better overall survival in HER2-positive, breast cancer patients who were not treated with trastuzumab.
Conclusions
Nuclear HER3 was found in trastuzumab resistant cells and appeared to result from HER3 proteolytic cleavage mediated by ADAM17 and gamma-secretase. Further studies are required to investigate its mechanism and to identify the HER3 cleavage sites. MET was a key factor in maintaining HER3 phosphorylation during trastuzumab resistance. Lastly, nuclear HER3 and MET could be two potential biomarkers in HER2-positive breast cancer.

Keywords: trastuzumab
HER3
MET
HER2
nuclear localisation
Advisor: Kong, A
Valentine, M
Application of lead isotope analysis to provenance studies in archaeology

Advances in mass spectrometry in the second half of this century allowed very accurate measurements of isotopic compositions of various elements. In turn it was discovered that due to the radiogenic origin of some of these isotopes their composition often reflects the geochemical history of minerals and rocks. Terrestrial lead is composed of four isotopes, of which three are radiogenic in origin as daughters of uranium and thorium. In geochronology the isotopic composition of minerals helps in dating the ore and rock formations. However, if there is enough diversity amongst the isotopic compositions of different deposits, then their lead isotope composition can be used as a simple and unique 'fingerprint', which can be scientifically measured. This feature can be used as a powerful tool in the identification of sources of ancient metals, because it passes unchanged through the smelting and refining processes. However, one of the most important requirements for such 'lead isotope provenance studies' is empirical investigation of the 'fingerprints' of ore deposits which are relevant to a given archaeological research. In this dissertation the scientific foundations of lead isotope provenance studies are described and examined in detail. All available evidence concerning the possibility of distinguishing isotopically between different European ore deposits is examined and methods of visual and numerical evaluation of the lead isotope data are suggested. Two examples of applications to specific archaeological problems are also given: the identification of sources of metals used for production of Bronze Age Cretan weapons and of non-ferrous metals in the Roman Period in Southern Poland. The interpretation of lead isotope data for archaeological objects is based on nearly 1500 isotopic analyses of ores.

Advisor: Allen, K
Stochastic partial differential equations applied to hydrocarbon reservoir modelling

This thesis describe the generation of random fields using elliptic stochastic partial differential equations driven by Gaussian white noise. The intended application is that of sampling from a prior probability density in the solution of an inverse problem.
In the first part of thesis, we will study two specific examples of isotropic models, namely the stochastic Helmholtz equation and stochastic biharmonic equation. We will address the analytical properties of a particular solution and the conditions required for the uniqueness of the Green’s function. A useful formula is also derived linking the computation of the covariance function of the solution to that of the Green’s function. Moreover, in each example the correlation function and approximate realizations are computed and simulated.
In the second part of the thesis, we will investigate the possibility of using vector fields to guide the random fields. The vector fields will be used to build tensor coefficients for an elliptic stochastic partial differential equation. The model considered is capable of producing non-stationary random fields on curved layers. Approximate realizations of this model will be drawn by using the finite element method, which is applied using the MATLAB PDE toolbox.

Keywords: Stochastic biharmonic equation
Gaussian Random Fields
Stochastic Partial Differential Equations
Inverse Problems
Advisor: Hambly, B
Farmer, C
A Leader without Followers? European Union Relations with China and India on Climate Change, 1990-2009

The EU has, for a long time, portrayed itself as an international leader on climate change. Previous studies have tended to focus on the characteristics of EU leadership, but have failed to examine the extent to which EU leadership generates “followership”. Going beyond these existing approaches, this dissertation analyzes not just EU attempts at leadership but also the response of two potential followers: China and India.
Based on extensive fieldwork, the dissertation explains the pattern of EU engagement and the response to engagement in each case, and makes three key arguments. First, EU engagement was driven by a desire to build the international role of the EU, but also from 2000 onwards in particular by growing normative concern and material interest within the EU regarding combating climate change. The development of engagement was also conditioned by the broader development of EU relations with China and India. Second, EU engagement took the form of institutionalized dialogue and capacity-building projects. These were generally more extensive in the EU-China case; the EU-India relationship was significantly more limited. Both cases were characterized by a lack of EU capacity—particularly the EU-India case and to some extent by inconsistency and incoherence. Third, the Chinese Government responded through limited normative emulation and limited but growing lesson-drawing through bilateral cooperation in specific sectors. While the Indian Government also responded through limited normative emulation, the principal Indian response was resistance. Moreover, both the Chinese and Indian Governments resisted the EU approach to the international climate change negotiations.
This pattern of engagement and significant resistance stemmed partly from the EU’s failure to develop sufficient capacity for effective engagement, but also partly due to significant differences in the way each side has framed the issue of climate change. Based on these findings, the dissertation concludes that while the EU was not entirely a leader without followers, it has acted as a highly restricted leader in its relations with China and India on climate change.

Keywords: Climate Change
Energy
Environment
China
European Union
India
Advisor: Mayer, H
Occupational sex segregation

Occupational sex segregation is often regarded as the central component of gender inequality in the labour market in contemporary industrial societies. Through comparing the situation between Britain and Japan, which have contrasting features in their patterns of occupational sex segregation and in the position of women in the labour market, this thesis examines the mechanism of occupational sex segregation - how it is constructed and maintained - in the two societies with different social and economic backgrounds. Particular focus is on the impact of occupational sex segregation on individual workers' experiences, and systematic analysis is applied to investigate the impact by using a range of national-level large-scale data sets. The findings suggest that the implications of occupational sex segregation differ for Britain and Japan; for the former, occupational sex segregation contributes to gender inequality in the labour market, but this is not the case for the latter. It is suggested that occupational sex segregation could be one of the components of gender inequality in the labour market, but not necessarily the principal one. This thesis argues that the implications of occupational sex segregation in a society very much depend on the given social and economic institutions in the society that differ across countries, and thus occupational sex segregation should not be treated a priori as the central component of gender inequality.
Aspects of the imagination in the works of Charles Lamb and their relation to some contemporary ideas

The aim of this study is to place the writings of Charles Lamb in the context of his age. His work is assessed in relation to that of his friends and contemporaries, Coleridge, Wordsworth, Keats and Hazlitt, in order to ascertain how far he shared their characteristic preoccu- pations. Because of its central significance in the writings of the early English Romantics, and its problem- atic role in Lamb's own works, the concept of the imagination is employed as an unifying theme for this investigation.
The introduction summarizes the history of Lamb r s reputation, and details in particular the fluctuations in critical opinion on the question of whether or not he can be considered a Romantic. In chapter one, Lamb's early relationship with Coleridge is described and its effects upon his imaginative development analyzed. The second chapter concerns itself with the damnation imagery rife throughout Lamb's work; what he makes of the theme is compared with its use in other contemporary writings. In chapter three, another characteristic subject of Lamb's, the glorification of childhood, is similarly analyzed and considered in the context of his age. The next three chapters deal primarily with Lamb's criticism. Chapter four illustrates his critical grasp and appreciation of the central Romantic concept of the imagination as an enhancer of consciousness. His strictures against the extreme 'egotistical sublime' aspects of Romanticism are detailed in the following chapter, mainly in relation to his criticisms of Wordsworth. His close involvement with another category of imaginative activity, the sympathetic imagination, is described in chapter six, and claims are made for his innovative function in its development. The final chapter relates the earlier findings to the Essays of Elia and concludes that a study of Lamb's writings may help to correct imbalances in the conventional idea of the spirit of the age.
Priors for new view synthesis

New view synthesis (NVS) is the problem of generating a novel image of a scene, given a set of calibrated input images of the scene, i.e. their viewpoints, and also that of the output image, are known. The problem is generally ill-posed---a large number of scenes can generate a given set of images, therefore there may be many equally likely (given the input data) output views. Some of these views will look less natural to a human observer than others, so prior knowledge of natural scenes is required to ensure that the result is visually plausible. The aim of this thesis is to compare and improve upon the various Markov random field} and conditional random field prior models, and their associated maximum a posteriori optimization frameworks, that are currently the state of the art for NVS and stereo (itself a means to NVS). A hierarchical example-based image prior is introduced which, when combined with a multi-resolution framework, accelerates inference by an order of magnitude, whilst also improving the quality of rendering. A parametric image prior is tested using a number of novel discrete optimization algorithms. This general prior is found to be less well suited to the NVS problem than sequence-specific priors, generating two forms of undesirable artifact, which are discussed. A novel pairwise clique image prior is developed, allowing inference using powerful optimizers. The prior is shown to perform better than a range of other pairwise image priors, distinguishing as it does between natural and artificial texture discontinuities. A dense stereo algorithm with geometrical occlusion model is converted to the task of NVS. In doing so, a number of challenges are novelly addressed; in particular, the new pairwise image prior is employed to align depth discontinuities with genuine texture edges in the output image. The resulting joint prior over smoothness and texture is shown to produce cutting edge rendering performance. Finally, a powerful new inference framework for stereo that allows the tractable optimization of second order smoothness priors is introduced. The second order priors are shown to improve reconstruction over first order priors in a number of situations.

Keywords: markov random field
prior model
new view synthesis
optimization
Advisor: Reid, I
Fitzgibbon, A
Torr, P
Sharing the moment's discourse: Virginia Woolf, D. H. Lawrence and Albert Einstein in the early twentieth century

Using Gillian Beer's suggestion that literature and science 'share the moment's discourse' (Open Fields, 1996), this thesis explores the ideas associated with Albert Einstein's three revolutionary 1905 papers, examining the ways in which similar concepts appeared across disciplines during the early part of the twentieth century, and focusing in particular on their manifestation within the literary works of Virginia Woolf and D. H. Lawrence. The study seeks to distinguish between instances of direct influence and a shared contemporary discourse, arguing that the analysis of both is essential to studies within the field of literature and science.
Part I focuses on concepts of duality and complementarity, considering Max Planck's introduction of the quantum, Einstein's development of light quanta, Louis de Broglie's wave-particle duality and Niels Bohr's principle of complementarity. It analyses other contemporary discussions of duality and complementarity, and explores Virginia Woolf's attempts to simultaneously express both sides of dualistic models, suggesting that Woolf is a complementary writer.
Part II focuses on Einstein's theories of relativity, exploring D. H. Lawrence's adoption thereof in Fantasia of the Unconscious (1922), in particular his claim that 'we are in sad need of a theory of human relativity'. It argues that this proposed theory is directly relevant to Lawrence's fictional works, both those that precede Fantasia and those that follow it. It also analyses the impact on Lawrence of contemporary ideas of relativism, especially those of William James as expressed in Pragmatism (1907).
Part III explores the ways in which both Woolf and Lawrence write about individuals within crowds. It considers the possible links between such scenes and Einstein's paper on Brownian motion as well as contemporary studies of crowd psychology. It suggests that individual characters within modernist works can be considered as similar to the individual particles suspended in a mass which exhibit Brownian motion.

Keywords: Modernism
Literature and science
Physics in literature
Albert Einstein
D. H. Lawrence
Virginia Woolf
Advisor: Whitworth, M