VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
A critical edition, with introduction and commentary, of the libretto texts of  Montagu Slater and Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes 

A definitive text of the libretto of Benjamin Britten's opera Peter Grimes is here presented. The process by which it was created is revealed in detail. All the extant versions are collated and significant differences between them displayed. For the first time the scenarios written by Britten and his partner Peter Pears and the first surviving draft versions of scenes by the librettist Montagu Slater are published in full. Additions to the draft and final libretto texts and revisions throughout this process by Slater, Britten, producer Eric Crozier and, in the final scene, poet Ronald Duncan, are clarified and a critique provided. Marked differences in stage directions between the libretto texts and music scores are shown and versions selected or created which offer the best indicative detail for performance practice. The edited text is similarly enriched by the inclusion of performance indicators from various sources added by Britten, Pears and the work's first conductor, Reginald Goodall.
The edition is introduced by three 'Perspectives' sections which consider (1) Britten's relationship with Slater and working practice with librettists; (2) the relationship of the work to its original source, George Crabbe's poem The Borough, the difference in the portrait and treatment of the character Peter Grimes and the reasons for the difference; and (3) the particular contribution and features of Slater's writing. Thereafter follow an account of the rationale, principles and practice of the edition and introductions to every scene in which the use of source material, the evolution of the text, the plot development and performance issues of the scene, the presentation of characters and the set are delineated, the latter with reference to photographs of the original set hitherto unpublished.

Keywords: George Crabbe
Montagu Slater
Peter Grimes
Benjamin Britten
Advisor: Cunningham, V
Managing intervention for the sustainable development of the natural forest

This study develops and tests a method of intervention designed to incorporate the concept of sustainable development into management strategies for the natural tropical forest, in the particular case of forest exploitation by small-scale local sawmilling enterprises. Sustainable development is defined as a development process that satisfies jointly the goals of the biological, social and economic spheres of forest management. A review of orthodox management strategies suggested that they focus on maximizing benefits in only one or two of these spheres, and are inadequate to address the requirements of truly sustainable development. The stakeholder concept, adapted from modern corporate management theory, was identified as one model with the potential to satisfy the requirements of sustainable development. A management strategy based on stakeholder theory, termed the Integrated Management Approach (IMA), was developed for the case of locally-developed sawmilling enterprises dependent on the natural forest.
The IMA is an iterative process based on the following steps: (1) the definition of criteria and the collection of information to describe the system as it was intended to operate (i.e., the Technical Limit of the operation) and as the enterprise is found at the time of initial intervention (i.e., the Benchmark Situation of the enterprise); (2) development of Negotiation Aims, based on the information collected, according to which the enterprise can progress towards the Technical Limits necessary for sustainable development; (3) identification of stakeholders and (4) their stakes in the enterprise; (5) assessment of stakeholder satisfaction, and negotiation from that basis towards the Negotiation Aims; (6) monitoring and iteration as necessary.
Three East African sawmill enterprises were used as case studies to develop and test the IMA. The case studies exhibit many of the social, economic and biological conditions which have hindered successful implementation of traditional management systems to the natural tropical forest. The outcomes of the IMA process for each case study were compared in terms of the rating accorded criteria for each sphere and across spheres, and of the participation and satisfaction of stakeholders. In general, all parameters increased with successive iterations of the IMA, although a major change of attitude by one of the key stakeholders in the final iteration for one enterprise reversed many of the gains previously made, thereby demonstrating one of the limitations of the strategy.
The results of this study suggest that the IMA has considerable potential to progress the objective of sustainable development for the case of local sawmilling enterprises operating under frontier conditions. They also suggest that the IMA should be applicable more generally, in facilitating sustainable development for a variety of enterprises based on natural resource use.

Advisor: Hurditch, W
An evolutionary and functional analysis of the extended B7 family of costimulatory molecules

T cell activation requires antigen-independent costimulatory signals induced by the interaction of costimulatory molecules on an antigen-presenting cell (APC) with their receptors on the T cell. CD28 and CTLA-4 are both expressed at the T cell surface and mediate positive and negative signals respectively when engaged by their APCexpressed ligands, B7-1 and B7-2.
This thesis establishes that the mouse orthologue of a third CD28-like molecule, ICOS, does not bind to mouse B7-1 and B7-2. To find a B7-like ICOS ligand, the sequence motifs defining the B7 family of molecules were established and used to identify new and distant family members in both the mouse and human. In the process, several new B7 family genes were found, including a mouse ligand for ICOS, called LICOS. The evolution of the B7 family was examined via phylogenetic analysis and linked to that of the human major histocompatibility complex. Cloning and preliminary characterisation of the new genes confirmed their relationship to B7 molecules, and demonstrated their expression in tissues of immunological interest.
The original members of the B7 family, B7-1 and B7-2, have been considered to have essentially equivalent binding properties. This view is challenged in this thesis through the analysis of the affinities and kinetics of the mouse B7 interactions using surface plasmon resonance-based methods. B7-1 and B7-2 were found to have different binding properties, including distinct preferences for binding to CD28 or CTLA-4. The conservation of these properties in the mouse underscores the significance of a new view of this system established in recent studies of the human orthologues. Finally, the focus is shifting toward understanding the nature of these interactions at the T cell/APC interface. To initiate work in this area, a new bioluminescence-based assay was evaluated and used to characterise the selfassociation of B7-1 at the cell surface.

Advisor: Davis, S
The end of Richelieu

Cardinal Richelieu is traditionally accredited with defeating the power of the grands, the upper echelon of the French nobility, as part of his supposedly successful project for monarchical absolutism. Modern historians have recast Richelieu as a nobleman of his time, who advanced himself within the social and political hierarchies through marriage alliances and patronage. He therefore worked hard to forge alliances with the grands rather than trying to destroy them. Yet his ministry was riven by persistent noble conspiracies and rebellions, which have gone largely without systematic investigation. This study examines the nature and causes of that unrest during Richelieu’s final six years, offering a radical re-assessment of the opposition and the politics of the period. Noble conspiracy was not just a by-product of government by a first minister, but reflected the factional nature of Richelieu’s approach. Factional rivalry was exacerbated by the emergence, after 1638, of a struggle for the anticipated regency. After this, Richelieu took a more hostile approach to his adversaries, forcing them to adopt strong countermeasures in order to preserve their positions.
Richelieu’s opponents were surprisingly successful in asserting their independence. As well as enjoying widespread domestic support, they allied with the Habsburg powers to engineer military rebellion, posing a major threat to the Cardinal and undermining the war effort against Spain. The Spanish set their stall out for a long-term war, expecting that Richelieu’s opponents would eventually gain power and negotiate peace on more flexible terms. The ability of the grands to re-assert themselves was still a dominant characteristic of French politics. Richelieu’s legacy, on his death in 1642, was a highly volatile political situation in which success was still a long way off for France. These findings suggest the catalytic impact of Habsburg power on France’s internal divisions, which should consequently be seen as integral to the forging of the ancien régime.

Keywords: Richelieu; French History; Louis XIII; political conspiracy; Spanish History; Olivares; Philip IV; noble culture; nobility; rebellion; Bouillon; Guise; Soissons; Cinq-Mars; Anne of Austria; court culture
Advisor: Parrott, D
Sandstone weathering, Electrical Resistivity Tomography, and the deterioration of San Rock Art in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park, South Africa

Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) is a novel technique which can be used to build up a 2D pseudo-section of resistivity distribution of a porous material. Here, it is used to visualise internal moisture regimes by measuring the resistivity distribution of transects within sandstone, inferring that high resistivity equals low moisture content and vice versa. This method was used to perform two intermediate complexity laboratory tests; the first one to determine high-resolution, multi-scale drying patterns of sandstone, the second to determine capillary ingress of moisture within a sandstone block and the influence of temperature on moisture distribution. It was found that moisture behaviour showed far more complex patterns than previously acknowledged. A new model is therefore proposed which describes the influence of increased near-surface temperatures on capillary rise. This series of tests bridge the gap between field observations and mathematical models, as well as confirm the validity of ERT as a geomorphological tool.
This research was continued by investigating the role of internal moisture in sandstone weathering using the Golden Gate Highlands National Park (GGHNP), South Africa as a case study. The ERT data was correlated with Equotip (rock surface hardness) and Protimeter (rock surface saturation) measurements. Seven sites were investigated, which showed that there is a non-linear correlation between rock surface hardness and internal moisture patterns. In addition, annual change measurements confirmed that the fluctuating patterns of internal moisture can be correlated to strengthening or weakening of the rock surface. This research therefore proposes two new conceptual weathering models. The first correlates ‘optimal moisture content’ to rock surface strength. The second correlates the development of shelters and changing weathering patterns to the non-linear interaction between case hardening and internal moisture. This new approach to sandstone weathering can be incorporated into conservation methods, as rock surface loss is one of the main causes of the San Rock Art deterioration observed in the GGHNP.

Keywords: sandstone
rock art
tafoni
weathering
Advisor: Viles, H
Regulation of human RNA polymerase II CTD modifications

Transcription of human protein-coding genes and most small nuclear RNA genes is mediated by RNA Polymerase II (Pol II). During a cycle of transcription, Pol II recruits a variety of factors that facilitate transcription elongation, RNA processing and termination, through its long, unstructured C-terminal domain (CTD). The CTD in humans comprises 52 tandem heptapeptide repeats with the consensus sequence Y1S2P3T4S5P6S7. Each amino acid of the heptapeptide can be chemically modified, which influences the recruitment of other protein factors to the transcription machinery. Not all enzymes that modify the CTD have been discovered. Recent studies have identified a novel CTD phosphatase: RPAP2 in humans and its yeast homologue Rtr1, which dephosphorylate phospho-Ser5 of the heptapeptide repeats. RPAP2 has been shown to stimulate 3' end cleavage of nascent snRNAs through recruitment of the Integrator complex, and unpublished work suggests the involvement of RPAP2 in regulating vertebrate developmental programs. However, the exact mechanisms that regulate the function of human RPAP2, and thus impact on CTD modification, are not well-understood.
This thesis presents a novel mechanism whereby RPAP2 recruits protein phosphatase 1 (PP1) to snRNA genes, where PP1 is postulated to activate P-TEFb to phosphorylate Ser2 of the CTD. At the same time, P-TEFb may have a role in activating the phosphatase activity of RPAP2. Furthermore, RPAP2 itself is shown to be recruited to a number of gene promoters by the RPRD1A protein, which also stimulates its phosphatase activity. RPAP2 was shown to have another role in regulating transcription termination: by recruiting the Integrator complex, which is shown here to mediate termination of snRNA genes, and by a so far unknown mechanism on a long protein-coding gene. An attempt was made to purify and crystallise the human RPAP2 to obtain a crystal structure, however the crystallisation trials were not successful. Finally, a correlation was found in human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells between low levels of RPAP2 and high levels of CTD Ser5P, suggesting a potential involvement of RPAP2 in regulating transcription at a key developmental stage.
The results presented here contribute to the understanding of human transcriptional mechanisms and the numerous interactions within the transcription machinery. In particular, the mechanism of terminating the transcription of snRNA genes is identified. An interesting possibility is the regulation of development and stem cell differentiation by RPAP2; however the exact pathways by which this occurs are yet to be discovered.

Keywords: Transcription
RNA Polymerase
C-terminal domain
RPAP2
Integrator
PP1
Gene regulation
Advisor: Murphy, S
The common voice of the people: the importance of proclamation in Archaic and Classical Greece with special respect to Athens

The Common Voice of the People is a study of the importance of heralds and their proclamations to the communal life of the ancient Athenian polis in the Archaic and Classical periods. This dissertation aims to contribute to the growing body of modern scholarship on issues of public communication, the tension between literacy and orality, the importance of ritual in the ancient polis, and the varied roles and identities of Greek heralds. While there has been a great focus in recent scholarship on literacy and the written record, the official place of orality within the Classical polis has been neglected, and until now there has never been a full scale study of heralds and their place within the community. Building upon the recent scholarship on news dispersal within the polis I have explored the positions and roles of the ancient Athenian heralds within their community, and the historical progression of the herald’s position from Geometric Greece to the end of the Classical world. I have sought to determine what their importance and the importance of their proclamations was to the proper functioning of the Athenian community. Marshalling evidence from both literary and epigraphic evidence I employed these deductions about heralds to further explore the importance of both official state and unofficial citizen proclamations in the spread of news and within established ritual. This work explores a range of topics concerning polis life such as religion, civil communication, public notice, private citizen disinheritances and manumissions, international communication, Imperial Athenian attitudes towards subject allies, and the necessity of proclamation to the conferral of honor. The Common Voice of the People demonstrates the depth of integration of heralds and oral communication within a variety of aspects of polis life, the surprising absence of heralds from certain central aspects of internal Athenian communication, and the continued importance of orality as both a practical and ceremonial aspect of official forms of communication and ritual in an increasingly literate classical Athens.

Keywords: writing
orality
Greek history
communication
heralds
Advisor: Parker, R
Characterising the role of circulating immune cells in brain metastasis

Brain metastasis is a frequent occurrence in cancer patients and carries a high mortality rate. The incidence of brain metastasis is on the rise, highlighting the need for improved therapeutic intervention. Immune cells have been shown to promote disseminated tumour cells to colonise the lung and liver. Therefore, we aim to determine whether immune cells also facilitate brain metastasis by describing the host immune response to tumour cells attached to the brain vasculature.
We developed a model of brain metastasis by using ultrasound guidance to perform intracardiac injection of tumour cells. Using this method, we identified highly and weakly brain metastatic cell lines. To understand how cancer cells develop into brain metastases, we analysed brains harvested 4 h- 14 d after tumour injections.
At 4 h after intracardiac injection, only cell lines that developed into brain metastases were found adhered to the brain vasculature in high numbers. A small number of arrested tumour cells clustered with CD45⁺ immune cells. These tumour-CD45 clusters persisted over time whilst the frequency of solitary tumour cells declined. Tumour-associated CD45⁺ immune cells were identified to be Ly6G⁺Gr-1⁺CD11c⁻ myeloid cells. Considerably more tumour-CD45⁺ immune cell clusters were found within the brain vasculature when tumour cells were injected into mice bearing a primary tumour. Increased tumour-CD45⁺ immune cells clusters correlated with an increased number of brain metastases in the same group of mice. We also found a positive association between increased tumour-immune clusters and levels of tumour and host derived G-CSF. To establish a causal relationship between tumour cell-CD45 clusters and metastases, we developed an experimental setup for transcranial imaging. Our results suggest that tumour recruited immune cells may promote tumour cell colonisation of the brain and provides a framework for further investigation.

Keywords: brain metastasis
breast cancer
animal models
Advisor: Muschel, R
Physiological and pharmacological studies of lower urinary tract smooth muscles

The basic mechanisms regulating the function of the bladder and urethra, under both normal and abnormal conditions, are still incompletely understood, and consequently, many treatments are both empirical and unsatisfactory.
This thesis examines the physiology and pharmacology of lower urinary tract smooth muscles from rabbit, pig and cat, utilising isometric tension recording of strips of muscle taken from the lower urinary tract of these three species. Abundant cholinergic innervation of the bladder in all three species was demonstrated. Alpha-adrenoceptors predominated in the urethra, whereas responses to beta-adrenoceptors predominated in the bladder body, though alpha-adrenoceptors were present in the posterior detrusor of the rabbit.
The present studies confirmed that non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic transmitters are involved in the mechanism regulating function of the lower urinary tract. Contractile responses were seen in response to application of ATP and 5-HT. The 5-HT response was diminished by atropine and α,β-methylene ATP. A combination of these drugs diminished the contractile response more than either alone. Evidence is presented for the presynaptic action of 5-HT, causing release of acetylcholine and a non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic transmitter in the rabbit lower urinary tract, probably mediated via the 5-HT3 receptor, identified by the use of several putative 5-HT antagonists.
This thesis suggests that high KCl-induced contraction is due to initiation of depolarization of the smooth muscles membrane, triggering the opening of Ca channels, Ca entry and subsequent contraction. High KCl-induced relaxation in the pig urethra is unlikely to occur by stimulation of inhibitory nerves or by activation of the Na pump.
The results of the histological studies agree with the pharmacological study in the conclusion that the autonomic innervation of the lower urinary tract of small mammals contains non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic innervation in addition to sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves.
The development of specific agonists and antagonists to the receptors mediating the responses may play an important role in the future treatment of abnormal micturition.

Advisor: Brading, A
Dimensionality-property relationships in functional hexahydroxytriphenylene- and cyanide-containing materials

This thesis focuses on materials whose properties are directly linked with the dimensionality of their structures. We utilise diffraction techniques to characterise three systems. The first of these is an organic crystal, 2,3,6,7,10,11-hexahydroxytriphenylene tetrahydrate that contains one-dimensional water channels. These channels are polar and net polarity is achieved at low temperatures. The structure undergoes a phase transition to a non-polar state at higher temperatures. Mapping this finding onto an Ising model is undertaken in this thesis. We also investigate the possibility of transforming the same crystals to an organic metal with oxidation. Furthermore, this work characterises two-dimensional layered structures silver(I) tricyanomethanide and nickel(II) cyanide. We show that the former possesses the unprecedented property of negative area compressibility and the latter shows ordinary compressibility behaviour. Both these structures exhibit area negative thermal expansion. Finally, we investigate copper(II) and cobalt(II) doping into the structure of nickel(II) cyanide and demonstrate that the latter leads to a 10-fold increase in area negative thermal expansion.

Keywords: functional materials
crystallography
dimensionality
Advisor: Goodwin, A