VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Electronic structure/function relationships in metal nanowires: components for molecular electronics

The dramatic expansion of the electronics industry over the past 40 years has been based on the progressive reduction in size of the silicon-based semiconductor components of integrated circuits. The miniaturisation of semi-conductor circuits cannot, however, continue indefinitely, and we are rapidly approaching the stage where quantum effects will prevent further dramatic improvements in computer performance using existing technology. As a result, the field of molecular electronics, which seeks to identify and develop much smaller molecular analogues of the transistors that make up integrated circuits, has expanded rapidly over the past few years.
Recent studies suggested that extended metal atom chains (EMAC) may have many potential applications in molecular electronics, but it is clear that this potential can only be realised if we establish a link between the fundamental electronic properties of these systems and the transport of electrons. For this reason the ultimate goal of this thesis is to relate the electronic structure of extended metal chains to their electron transport properties. We address the problem using non-equilibrium Green’s function, in conjugation with density functional theory.
In the results sections of this thesis we present calculations on tricobalt, trichromium and trinickel chains. Our data suggested that in the trimetal chains, the dominant electron transport channel is the σ manifold, while the π systems establish the contact with the electrodes. The implication of this is that even when the highly polarized π channels are strongly rehybridised by the applied electric field, current flow is not affected. In the trichromium systems we find that the distortion of the chain away from the symmetric equilibrium structure does not perturb the current flow but rather enhances it. Our rather counter intuitive conclusion is therefore that ‘broken wires’ (highly unsymmetric) are more efficient conductors than their symmetric counterparts. We have performed calculation on longer penta- and heptacobalt structures chains to establish the extent to which longer structures attenuate the conductance. Our calculations show significant oscillations of the conductance due to development of a one-dimensional band structure about the Fermi level. The evolution of the electron transport properties in cobalt chains with different length is a complex one, but it is clear that narrowing the band gap in longer chains makes it increasingly likely that the Fermi level will be in resonance with one or more of the orbitals of the extended metal atom chain.

Keywords: electron transport
DFT
NEGF
Advisor: John, M
The social setting of the ministry as reflected in the writings of Hermas, Clement and Ignatius

This thesis contributes to a growing body of literature concerned with the social setting of early Christianity. It focuses on three first and early second century documents (the Shepherd of Hernias, 1 Clement, and the Ignatian epistles) and reconstructs from them the social setting of the ministry in Rome, Corinth, and Asia Minor. Relatively well-to-do patrons who invited the church to meet in their homes were the primary leaders of these communities. No attempt is made to generalize from these centres to other places.
The Shepherd of Hermas is interpreted, not as a theological treatise which attempts to solve theological problems of post-baptismal sin, but rather as expressing Hermas' social concern (one typical of sects) to protect the purity of his group. Challenges presented by prosperous householders (who were bishops) resulted in Hermas' attempts to strengthen group boundaries, thereby insulating the church from worldly influences.
1 Clement is treated not as evidence of the advent of mstitutionalizoiion in the early church, but rather as the attempt to end division rooted in a house-church structure. Following Berger and LucKmann's model of institutionalization and legitimation, it is seen as an attempt to legitimate institutions of leadership which had formed through the interaction of house-church hosts with Paul. By showing how beliefs committed members to support certain leaders, Clement legitimated their authority.
Rather than the expression of mystical Je^ire tor unity with God, Ignatius' letters are interpreted (using Weber's charismatic type) as the efforts of an 3 ut ho r-ity using his extraordinary position to protect communities from divisive house-church meetings. Protection from false teaching was initiated by reinforcing the position of bishops (the hosts of the common euchanstic assembly).
A study and a partial edition of the Anglo-Norman verse in the Bodleian manuscript Digby 86

The Bodleian manuscript Digby 86 was written during the thirteenth century. It contains verse and prose texts,in Latin, French and English, on religious and secular subjects. It is one of the earliest common place books compiled in a secular setting. It contains unique copies of several French and English poems, and the earliest known copies of several more. More than half of the manuscript is written in French. There is a strong bias towards religious and didactic texts. Most of the known authors of the texts belonged to the secular clergy. The shorter Anglo-Norman poems in the manuscript are particularly interesting, and nine of them are edited here. Of the nine poems, four are devotional, and each of these has survived in at least four manuscripts; five- are secular, and none of these has survived incomplete form in any other manuscript. None of the nine poems is referred to in the standard work on Anglo-Norman literature, M.D.Leqqe's Anglo-Norman Literature and its Background, and although they are not all remarkable literary achievements, they are all interesting either for poetic merit, or for their literary affiliations, or for the metrical and linguistic forms displayed. The Bone preere a nostre Seinqnour Jhesu Grist (l) is a contemplative and penitential prayer to Christ. It is adapted from a Latin prayer attributed to St.Edmund of Abingdon, which has survived only in MS Bodley 57. The Latin prayer has not been edited, and is not listed in the standard reference works. The Chauncoun de noustre Seinqnour (II) is composed in an intricate metrical form, and this has been obscured in previous editions. The language is sophisticated, and the style blends elements of the secular love lyric with conventional formulas of devotion. Les Avés noustre Dame (III) consists of three parts, salutations of the Virgin, a prayer of the Five Joys, and a Litany of the Saints, and it has often been listed as three separate poems. But this goes against the manuscript tradition, and it should probably be regarded as one composite whole. It has survived in eight different versions, whereby two manuscripts contain two versions each, and one version is a continental 'normalized 1 text. One of the versions has not previously been identified, because in it the first eight stanzas are missing. [Continues in thesis]
Electrophysiological effects of fentanyl, halothane and isoflurane on guinea-pig isolated ventricular myocytes

Ischaemic periods which lust only several minutes can result in a reversible reduction in cardiac contractility known as cardiac stunning. This is a potentially dangerous condition since arrhythmias and left ventricular failure are common in the stunned heart. The anaesthetics fentanyl, halothane and isoflurane have been shown to improve recovery from cardiac stunning (1,2). In this project the electrophysiological effects of these anaesthetics on guinea-pig isolated ventricular myocytes were investigated to determine the mechanisms underlying their cardioprotective effect.

Advisor: Terrar, D
Foëx, P
Discovery of a conserved Plasmodium antigen on the surface of malaria-infected red blood cells

During its intraerythrocytic stages (IE), Plasmodium falciparum, the causative agent of the deadliest human malaria, remodels the host red cell membrane with a poorly defined assortment of parasite-­encoded proteins that undergo antigenic variation. Despite the requirement for immunologic stealth, exported parasite proteins also mediate strain-independent functions such as endothelial sequestration that are critical for parasite survival and pathogenesis.
This thesis explores the hypothesis that P. falciparum displays novel structurally conserved proteins on the IE surface and these proteins may serve as useful antigens for a broadly effective anti-­malarial vaccine. In order to test this hypothesis, we developed an in vitro selection technique that sequentially incorporates unique P. falciparum isolates as the targets for Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential enrichment (Serial-SELEX) to generate nucleic acid molecular probes, aptamers, capable of recognizing conserved cell surface determinants. Ten of 11 enriched aptamers were -parasite selective and three of these aptamers demonstrated strain-independent binding to P. falciparum. Aptamer recognition extended beyond the parasites used in Serial-SELEX to other laboratory and recent field isolates. Surprisingly the same three broadly binding aptamer selected against P. falciparum also recognized all laboratory-adapted and clinical isolates of P. vivax and P. knowlesi tested, strongly supporting our hypothesis that structurally conserved molecules are present on the surface IEs. Competition studies showed that the aptamers bound a single target which was confirmed as an IE membrane protein. Aptamer­‐mediated affinity purification and tandem mass spectrometry enabled identification of the aptamer target as parasite-encoded protein. Discovery of a protein conserved between the major human malarias may have implications for vaccine development and validates the Serial‑SELEX technique as a powerful tool for antigen discovery.

Keywords: conserved
membrane
aptamer
malaria
Advisor: Newbold, C
Long, C
Electronic band structure of carbon nanomaterials

This thesis reports the study of electronic structures for single-walled carbon nanotubes, single layer graphene and thin graphite. A brief introduction is given in Chapter 1 for the geometric and electronic structures of the materials studied while a review for the theory and experimental results relevant to this thesis is given in Chapter 2.
The effects of hydrostatic pressure on surfactant-wrapped-single walled carbon nanotubes are studied in Chapter 3 by using photoluminscence and photoluminscence excitation mapping. It is found that the changes to the optical properties can be explained by the compression in carbon-carbon bonds, an effective uniaxial strain exerted on the nanotubes and changes in the surrounding environment leading to changes in the many-body interactions experienced by the nanotubes. Chapter 4 reports the study of cross-polarized photoluminescence of nanotubes isolated by conjugated polymers dispersed in solvents. The effects of Coulomb interactions on the optical bandgaps of the nanotubes are discussed here.
Chapter 5 reports Cyclotron resonances studies of graphene monolayers. It is found that a significant asymmetry exists between the electron and hole band structures near the Dirac point, and the asymmetry is bigger than that is expected in a simple tight-binding model. Chapter 6 reports a magnetoabsorption study of the electronic structures near the K- and H- points. It is found that the transitions are not describe well by the conventional Slonczewski-Weiss-McClure model, but can be described instead with a simplified asymmetric effective bilayer model.

Keywords: Photoluminescence
Cyclotron Resonance
Nanotubes
Graphene
Advisor: Nicholas, RJ
Dissecting human haematopoietic progenitors

Human haematopoiesis resembles a complex hierarchy, however most intermediate stages are only poorly defined. Efforts to characterise human progenitors have been inconsistent and failed to integrate previous knowledge. Furthermore, characterisation of normal progenitors has important implications in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) biology. We previously established that leukaemic stem cells (LSCs) resemble the immunophenotypic progenitor compartments more closely than the stem cell fraction. Therefore, I set out to characterise human stem and progenitor cells (HSCPs) on phenotypic, molecular and functional level to complete the picture of human haematopoiesis.
I purified HSPCs based on their immunophenotype from adult bone marrow (BM) and umbilical cord blood (CB) to investigate steady state and neonatal haematopoiesis. To define differentiation potentials, HSPCs were subjected to functional in vitro assays on bulk and clonal level. Limit dilution assays were used to determine the frequency of cells with multiple differentiation potentials. RNA sequencing revealed underlying lineage priming and specific gene expression signatures.
I successfully characterized the incompletely defined Lin-CD34+CD38-CD45RA+ fraction in BM and CB, containing a CD10lo lymphoid-primed multipotent progenitor (LMPP) with T cell, B cell, NK cell, granulocytic and monocytic differentiation potential, and succeeded in placing it in the haematopoietic hierarchy with relation to similar lympho-myeloid progenitors defined by other groups.
This research lays the foundation to characterise early human progenitors with a comprehensive toolkit on a phenotypic, molecular and functional level. Findings from this thesis might provide knowledge about potential targets in LSCs.

Keywords: haematopoietic progenitors
Haematopoiesis
Stem Cell Research
blood stem cells
Biomedical Sciences
Advisor: Vyas, P
Explaining the policies of the Baltic States towards Russia, 1994-2010

Despite their similar size, material resources, shared geopolitical conditions and common history, the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have pursued remarkably different policies towards Russia in the 1994-2010 period. Complex patterns of differentiation are evident across issue areas and over time.
Given the static structural similarities between the Baltic states, how can we explain their divergent policies towards Russia and the change in these policies over time? This puzzle informs the central research question of this study: Why did Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian foreign policies towards Russia diverge in the 1994 to 2010 period?
This work analyses the foreign policy of the Baltic states using typologies based on two axes: cooperative/adversarial and pragmatic/principled. Relying primarily on the liberal approach to international relations, the theoretical framework identifies six independent variables: the left/right political orientation of the government, instrumental usage of principled policies, the ethnic factor, business interests, membership in the EU and NATO, and, finally, Moscow’s own policies. It suggests that these factors played causal roles in determining Baltic policy towards Russia. Three case studies on the oil and gas sectors, as well as historical tensions, provide the empirical evidence to trace and explain the differentiated pathways of Baltic foreign policies.
The empirical analysis provides evidence to argue that due to domestic political differences Lithuania pursued the most adversarial and principled policy towards Russia. Estonia, by way of contrast, pursued cooperative and pragmatic policies regarding energy issues. On political questions, however, it maintained a principled and adversarial stance, though this was less pronounced that that of Lithuania. Finally, Latvia pursued moderately principled and relatively adversarial energy policies placing it in between Lithuania and Estonia. With regard to history, Estonia’s and particularly Latvia’s policies experienced a notable evolution from adversarial and principled to more cooperative and pragmatic policies. In sum, this work demonstrates that the typologies of Baltic policies differed across sectors and experienced both divergence and at times convergence in rhetoric if not policies.

Keywords: Russia
foreign policy
Baltic states
energy
security
Advisor: Pravda, A
Food for thought

This dissertation examines certain aspects of the Belgian archaeological record during the Lateglacial. It is geographically centred on the north-western Ardennes and has two main themes. The first is a re-evaluation of the known chronology and archaeology for this region during the Lateglacial. The main part of this is presented in chapter 2, and includes a discussion of recent radiocarbon dates from the Oxford AMS system, including some obtained in the course of this research. The second theme is an examination of a series of supposedly Lateglacial faunal assemblages from 5 cave sites in the north-western Ardennes, namely the Trou de Chaleux, the Trou des Nutons at Furfooz, the Trou du Frontal at Furfooz, the Grotte du Coleoptere and the Grotte de Sy Verlaine. All of these sites have yielded late Magdalenian archaeological finds, and the prime objective of the study of the faunal assemblages is to identify direct evidence for the human modification of animal bone. The study reveals some good evidence for the latter, but also certain bars to the interpretation of these assemblages, which are discussed in detail within the relevant chapters. This dissertation concludes with an overview of the results and interpretations presented in the dissertation. The final pages of this dissertation include a tentative exploration of the notion of ethnicity, and how this concept may be relevant to the interpretation of butchery evidence.
Coherent unsteadiness in film cooling

Film cooling is vital for the cooling of the blades and vanes in the high temperature environment of a jet engine high pressure turbine stage. Previous research into film cooling has typically concentrated on its time-mean performance. However, results from other studies upon more simplified geometries, suggest that coherent unsteadiness is likely to also be present in film cooling flows. The research presented in this thesis, therefore, aims to characterise what coherent unsteadiness, if any, is present within film cooling flows.
Cylindrical and shaped cooling holes, located upon the pressure surface of a turbine blade within a large scale linear cascade, have been investigated. A blowing ratio range of 0.5 to 2.0 has been investigated, with either a plenum or perpendicular crossflow at the cooling hole inlet. Particle Image Velocimetry, high speed photography and Hot Wire Anemometry have been used to investigate the jet downstream of both cooling holes. The impact of crossflow at the hole inlet upon the flowfield inside both cooling holes has been investigated using Hot Wire Anemometry and a further numerical model solved by applying TBLOCK.
The results presented in the current thesis, show the existence of two coherent unsteady structures in the jet downstream of both the cylindrical and the shaped holes. These structures are called shear layer vortices and hairpin vortices, and their formation is dependent on the velocity difference across the jet shear layer. Inside the cooling hole coherent hairpin vortices also appear to occur, with their formation dependent on the direction and magnitude of the crossflow at the hole inlet. The coherent unsteadiness presented here is shown for the first time for film cooling flows, and recommendations to build on the current study, in what is potentially an interesting research area, are made at the end of this thesis.

Keywords: Film Cooling
Coherent Unsteadiness
Turbomachinery
Advisor: Wheeler, A
He, L
Revelation 11:1-13

The thesis provides a descriptive survey of the history of interpretation of Revelation 11:1-13. Prior to 1000 AD it aims to be comprehensive, but after this date concentrates on Western interpretation.
Ch. 1 - Prior to 1000 AD.
Rev 11:1-13 is examined in relation to the wider complex of traditions concerning Antichrist and the return of Enoch and Elijah. The commentary tradition on Revelation is examined, including an extensive reconstruction of Tyconius. The passage is applied in two ways: 1. to two eschatological figures, usually Enoch and Elijah. 2. to the Church from the time of Christ's first advent until his return.
Ch. 2 -1000-1516
Exegesis similar to that of chapter 1 is found. There is new exegesis from Joachim of Fiore, who believes that the two witnesses will be two religious orders, and Alexander Minorita, who reads the entirety of the Apocalypse as a sequential narrative of Church history, arriving at the sixth century for 11:1-13.
Ch. 3 -1516-1700
Protestants interpret the beast as the papacy/Roman Church, and the two witnesses as proto-Protestants prior to the Reformation, often interpreting their 1260 day ministry as 1260 years. Catholics respond by applying the passage either to the eschatological future or the distant past.
Ch. 4 -1701-2004
Protestants continue to see the 1260 days as 1260 years, although this interpretation declines markedly in the nineteenth century. Both Catholics and Protestants apply the passage to the distant past of the early Church. Historical critical exegesis introduces a new exegesis, where John is regarded as having incorrectly predicted the return of two individuals shortly after his time of writing. Applications to the entirety of the time of the time of the Church increase in popularity in the twentieth century.

Advisor: Rowland, C
Modelling embankment breaching due to overflow

Correct modelling of embankment breach formation is essential for an accurate assessment of the associated flood risk. Modelling breach formation due to overflow requires a thorough understanding of the geotechnical processes in unsaturated soils as well as erosion processes under supercritical flow conditions. This thesis describes 1D slope stability analysis performed for unsaturated soils whose moisture content changes with time. The analysis performed shows that sediment-laden gravity flows play an important role in the erosion behaviour of embankments. The thesis also describes a practical, fast breach model based on a simplified description of the physical processes that can be used in modelling and decision support frameworks for flooding. To predict the breach hydrograph, the rapid model distinguishes between breach formation due to headcut erosion and surface erosion in the case of failure due to overflow. The model also predicts the breach hydrograph in the case of failure due to piping. The assumptions with respect to breach flow modelling are reviewed, and result in a new set of breadth-integrated Navier-Stokes equations, that account for wall shear stresses and a variable breadth geometry. The vertical 2D flow field described by the equations can be used to calculate accurately the stresses on the embankment during the early stages of breach formation. Pressure-correction methods are given for solving the 2D Navier-Stokes equations for a variable breadth, and good agreement is found when validating the flow model against analytical solutions.

Keywords: embankments
fluid dynamics
unsaturated soil
Navier-Stokes
breach
erosion
Advisor: Martin, C
Borthwick, A
Morris, M