VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Empty garden : A liminoid journey to nowhere in somewhere

This thesis offers interconnected reflections on the liminal space called a garden—the boundary space between nature and the man-made—and the liminoid experience found there. It explores various sensory experiences a person might have while walking through an East Asian garden and its possible equivalent, a contemporary art installation.
In terms of the form of my thesis, I chose the scroll, and scrolling, to present various forms of writing that can reflect the complex experience of an East Asian garden, in the hope that in wandering through my writings a complex and disconnected liminal and liminoid experience might unfold. The term ‘liminoid’ is defined by anthropologist Victor Turner as having characteristics of the liminal experience, but as optional, temporary and not inevitably involving the resolution of a personal crisis. If liminal is ritual, liminoid is leisure.
The Chinese landscape painting style Shan Sui is not a depiction of nature with one vanishing point, but a conceptual idea involving multiple, shifting perspectives. It seeks to capture the essence of nature and to draw out an ideal world. Similarly, the garden in East Asia is not conceived as a re-creation of nature, but as a combination of symbols pursuing a thoroughly ideological world. The fifteenth-century Korean painting, which appears at the beginning of my scroll, implies this kind of ideal through a space designated as a ‘peach garden’. The conceptual pursuit of an ideal space of nature resulted in the extreme aesthetic garden practice called Ui-won, an imaginary garden made in eighteenth-century Korea.
These precedents have allowed me to rethink the meaning of creating a ‘garden’ in relation to certain forms of contemporary practice. Lois Weinberger understands artificially transferred plants as immigrants who have been separated from their homes. He suggests that ‘letting go’ rather than cultivation makes the best garden. Tomoko Takahashi’s installations allow the viewer to reflect on sensory experience within an urban ‘landscape’ of excessive technological growth.
By reflecting on the liminal and liminoid experience of the garden, I attempt to articulate the conceptual disorientation felt in stone garden spaces and their contemporary urban equivalents. This thesis, comprising of both writing and installation works, explores the experience of liminal space informed by particular ideals evident in Shan Sui and Ui-won and manifest in East Asian gardens and in some works of contemporary art.

Keywords: Victor Turner
liminoid experience
Shan Sui
liminal space
peach garden
Ui-won
Advisor: Kiaer, I
Gaiger, J
Contracts in writing: Issues in rectification for mistake and rescission for misrepresentation

This thesis examines issues concerning the rectification of contractual documents for mistake and the rescission of contracts for misrepresentation. The principles underlying these two remedies are unclear. It has been suggested that: rectification is an instance of subjectivity trumping objectivity; rectification is a by-product of ‘partial rescission’; and a claimant may rescind a contract for misrepresentations even without believing in them.
This thesis demonstrates that: contract law’s ‘objective principle’ underlies not just contractual interpretation and formation but also rectification and rescission; rectification is not a by-product of ‘partial rescission’; and a claimant must believe in the misrepresentations in order to rescind. This thesis also justifies the rule that unilateral mistake rectification ensues only if the defendant knew of the claimant’s mistake.
Since misrepresentations are mistakes induced by mis-statements, examining rectification and rescission together will usefully demonstrate how courts should respond holistically where these concepts overlap. Where claimants contract with defendants because the defendants misrepresented that their contractual document contains C terms when in fact it contains D terms, and the defendants know of the claimants’ mistake, the claimants should have a choice. The claimants may uphold the contract on D terms; rescind the contract on D terms and walk away; or uphold the contract on C terms (and may get the document rectified to reflect C terms). Given their importance as remedies, this thesis also examines whether rescission and rectification may be precluded by a contractual clause in the very contract or document which is being rescinded or rectified.

Advisor: Peel, E
Application of barium zirconate ceramics to the synthesis of ammonia

This thesis describes investigations into the synthesis of ammonia using the ceramic proton conductor, barium zirconate. Described are the results of the fabrication and testing of barium zirconate cells for the electrochemical synthesis of ammonia, and investigations on the use of proton conducting ceramics as supports in heterogeneous catalysis. While ammonia synthesis is perhaps the most studied and optimised chemical reaction, new challenges are facing the century old Haber-Bosch process in the 21st century. As part of the need to move towards a carbon-free economy, new catalysts, and processes for the synthesis of ammonia are currently being developed.
Electrochemical ammonia synthesis is a promising avenue of research, attracting much interest in recent years. However, the goal of selectively and efficiently reducing the highly stable dinitrogen bond is not easy to realise. Previous literature investigations of this process in high temperature proton conducting cells have focussed on optimisation of electrolytes, leaving electrode catalysts relatively unexplored. This thesis aims to investigate how modification of electrode catalysts may alter rates of electrochemical ammonia synthesis. It is found that modification of the anode and cathode materials can dramatically alter the rates of electrochemical processes, but that the elucidation of electrochemical ammonia is more complex.
Barium zirconate was explored as support material for ruthenium catalysts. Due to the ability of the barium zirconate lattice to trap and store protons, it was proposed this could influence the ammonia synthesis reaction over ruthenium particles. A systematic study of how barium zirconate materials may promote ammonia synthesis was undertaken.
It was found that use of doped barium zirconate supports can provide a significant promotion effect for the synthesis of ammonia over ruthenium nanocatalysts. This promoting effect which, can be quantified using kinetic parameters, is ascribed to differences in the proton conductivities of the ceramic materials. The mechanism of this promotion is explored using neutron diffraction and in-situ x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques.

Keywords: Barium zirconate
Electrochemical ammonia synthesis
Haber-Bosch synthesis
Ammonia synthesis
Solid state proton conductors
Advisor: Weller, A
Japanese involvement in Central Asia in the early post-Cold War era (1991-1997): A Review from the Perspective of Neo-Classical Realism

This dissertation examines the Japanese foreign policy towards Central Asia (CA) from 1991 to 1997. Through the theoretical lens of neo-classical realism, this research analyses the Japanese attempt in the period to transfer economic power into influence, both political and economic, in CA. In their shaping of foreign policy, the politicians are interpreted as decision-makers, who act on the perceived the change of national power in the international arena. The bureaucrats are understood as policy-makers, who compose and implement policies according to the politicians’ guidance. The big businesses were targeted by the policy, especially Official Development Aids (ODA) policy, to be mobilised in order to amplify Japanese influence in the region. Taking the above three actors as leads, this research reveals the problems faced by Japan in the 1990s that affected the effectiveness of the foreign policy. The accuracy of the perceived power change, the stability of domestic politics, and national power supporting direct foreign investment abroad are the keys needed for a rising nation to achieve the transition from wealth to power. By studying the Japanese precedents in CA, this research may also provide some reference to the rising nation with an increasing presence in the region, namely China.

Keywords: EBRD
Japan
Neo-Classical Realism
Central Asia
China
ODA
Advisor: Whittaker, H
Influence of age on knee replacement selection and outcomes

Knee replacement is a very successful procedure and implantation rates continue to increase. Due to the success of the intervention the indications have been stretched to include patients historically considered too young and too old. Accusations of designer centre bias are used by some to explain discrepancies between national register outcome data and cohort data. This thesis examines the influence of age on selection and outcome for different types of knee replacement and attempts to untangle designer centre bias.
The first section of this thesis examines the influence of age on selection of patients for partial and total knee replacement using a combination of designer and non-designer centres. In patients sufficiently symptomatic to be offered replacement, about half of patients are eligible for partial replacement, with younger patients more likely to be eligible for medial replacement whilst older patients are more eligible for total replacement. The eligibility for partial replacement is far higher than current national usage in all age groups.
Outcomes following partial replacement were examined in designer and non-designer centres and found to be excellent in all age groups and did not vary significantly with age, or between centres. In particular revision rates for those under 55 years of age were found to be lower than that seen for total replacement. A finding strongly contrasting with national registers.
Finally, comparisons were undertaken for outcomes between partial and total replacement of the knee. In a matched comparison, partial replacement had better function and similar implant survival to total. Lifetime revision risk was determined using novel methodology, and was found to be similar in older age groups, but lower in younger age groups (<60 years) with partial replacement.
This thesis has not examined the use of partial replacement in early arthritis, and comparisons with total replacement may be confounded by indication. Possible explanations for the discrepant findings to registers include the use of partial replacement as a ‘pre-total replacement’ in young patients. Further work should examine morbidity and mortality benefits against revision risk in older patients alone (as opposed to all age groups combined).
In conclusion, this thesis rejects ‘designer’ bias, and supports the use of partial replacement in the severely arthritic knee in all age groups, provided appropriate indications are followed, and surgeons have appropriate expertise.

Keywords: partial knee replacement
osteoarthritis
knee replacement
age
knee arthroplasty
unicompartmental knee replacement
selection
Advisor: Murray, D
Mellon, S
Investigating the role of cytokines in clonal hematopoiesis

Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) is a hematologic disorder in which individual hematopoietic stem cells acquire a mutation which allows them to clonally expand (Genovese et al., 2014; Jaiswal et al. 2014). CHIP is known to occur disproportionately in older adults. While CHIP itself usually remains clinically benign, it has been shown that CHIP may serve as a precursor for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a hematologic cancer which, like clonal hematopoiesis, increases in risk and mortality with age (Deschler and Lübbert, 2006). However, it is not fully known what drives CHIP mutant clones to expand, nor what causes CHIP to develop into advanced hematologic malignancies such as AML. To date, a great deal of research has focused on understanding how cell intrinsic factors, like the gene carrying the CHIP mutation and further mutations acquired during AML development, may provide insight into CHIP development and progression. However, investigating cell extrinsic factors, such as cytokine signaling, in the context of CHIP may provide additional important clues into how CHIP mutants are able to gain the clonal advantage and ultimately develop into AML. In this thesis, I undertook a large-scale panel analyzing how expression of 25 cytokines may be dysregulated in the peripheral blood of CHIP patients. I identified 5 cytokines, TNFα, IL-8, CCL7, IFNγ and FGF-basic, which had significantly dysregulated expression between CHIP patients and controls. Although these results were not significant after Bonferroni multiple testing correction, they warrant further investigation into how they may impact HSC mutant clone expansion. Additionally, I analyzed RNA-Seq data to determine how these and a few other cytokines and their receptors are differentially expressed amongst blood progenitors, both in healthy patients and AML patients. Findings from the CHIP cytokine panel and my analysis of the RNA-Seq data suggest that inflammatory signaling may play a key role in both driving HSC mutant clone expansion in CHIP and promoting the eventual development of AML.

Keywords: cytokines
clonal hematopoiesis
acute myeloid leukemia
Advisor: Vyas, P
Debt subordination in corporate liquidation

This work examines the validity and effectiveness of certain subordination techniques of unsecured debt in corporate liquidation under English law. In practice, the validity and effectiveness of debt subordination is only relevant when either the debtor or the subordinated creditor is, or is threatening to become, insolvent. The focus in the work is on contractual and turnover subordination.
It is proposed that the general picture of debt subordination becomes clearer when we examine it from the point of view of, first, the debtor’s liquidation, second the junior creditor’s liquidation and third when they are both in liquidation. The material questions dealt with go to the very fundamentals of insolvency law, ie the role of pari passu distribution, ascertainment of which assets constitute the insolvency estate and whether it is possible to deviate from these rules contractually.
In order to answer the question whether debt subordination is effective in corporate liquidation under English law, the thesis addresses the following sub-themes: (i) whether subordination may fail being a preference, transaction at an undervalue or otherwise voidable; (ii) whether subordination may be defeated as a result of the insolvency set-off provision; and (iii) the effectiveness of the trust arrangement used in connection with turnover subordinations. These issues are evaluated through so-called complete, springing and subsequent subordinations.
The thesis proposes that the often-difficult questions concerning debt subordination in corporate liquidation can be resolved through a systematic, concise evaluation of the basic principles of the insolvency law in each liquidation respectively and that careful contractual drafting can considerably reduce the risks often associated with debt subordinations.

Keywords: Turnover trust
Divestiture
Contract
insolvency set-off
Debt subordination
Financial law
Pari passu
Liquidation
Advisor: Prentice, P
Wavefront shaping for stimulated emission depletion microscopy

Super-resolution microscopy has significantly expanded the scope of application of biological microscopes by allowing the resolution of features smaller than the diffraction limit. Several super-resolution microscopy techniques exist, among which stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy has become a tool of choice for many biological applications, particularly in living specimens. STED has also proven useful as a tool for biophysics, thanks to its capability to be combined with fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS). Unfortunately, the excellent resolution of STED microscopes comes at the cost of an increased experimental complexity, which limits the scope of potential applications. This is particularly true in deep, three-dimensional specimens, where optical aberrations and undepleted background significantly reduce measurement quality. In this thesis, we developed methods based on wavefront shaping to overcome these issues, for STED imaging and STED-FCS. We used for this an adaptive STED microscope equipped with a spatial light modulator for wavefront shaping, for which we first developed a bespoke calibration protocol. We particularly optimised the performance of z-STED, a STED confinement mode that increases the axial resolution and was so far scarcely used due to its sensitivity to optical aberrations. Using this newly calibrated z-STED microscope, we investigated the dynamics and structure of the plasma membrane of living cells. To image deeper in aberrating specimens, we developed a novel aberration correction method, based on a novel image quality metric developed in our lab. This method was then adapted to establish a new aberration correction method for STED-FCS, which we could use to increase the performance of z-STED-FCS in solution as well as in cells. Finding suboptimal performance of z-STED-FCS even after aberration correction, we investigated the origins of background noise in STED-FCS in 3D and found that it could be minimised by means of coherent-hybrid STED created with a bivortex phase mask.

Keywords: STED
STED-FCS
FCS
microscopy
Advisor: Eggeling, C
Booth, M
Natural product inspired synthesis of cysteine-derived tetramates for antibacterial activity

This thesis describes the synthesis and evaluation of cysteine-derived tetramate (pyrrolidine-2,4-dione) derivatives for the development of novel antibacterial drugs.
Chapter 1 gives a brief overview of the history of antibiotics and clinically available antibacterial drugs. It addresses the need for novel antibacterial drugs due to the emergence of bacterial resistance. While exploring different chemical approaches to tackle the problem of drug resistance, it highlights the re-emergence of natural products as a crucial source for drug development. In particular, it focuses on tetramic acid containing natural products and discusses their value in antibacterial drug discovery, their properties and synthesis. In the end, it exposes the need for optimisation of cysteine-derived tetramates due to their apparent reduction of antibacterial activity when tested in vitro in the presence of blood, hence establishing the hypotheses and aims of this project.
Chapter 2 describes the synthesis, structural and brief antibacterial evaluation of a library of cysteine-derived tetramates with increased hydrophilicity by incorporation of pendant heterocyclic rings. An effective synthetic protocol for accessing polar tetramate derivates is established and a computational study has developed detailed understanding of the controlling factors of the key Dieckmann cyclisation step. Direct evidence of strong metal chelation in these tetramate systems is also demonstrated.
Chapter 3 and 4 discuss chemical modifications on cysteine-derived tetramates to modulate their metal chelation property. Structural dependency of the metal binding ability is established, with a library of cysteine-derived tetramates exhibiting evidence for reduced metal chelation. The antibacterial activity of these tetramates is evaluated in relation with their metal binding ability.
Chapter 5 provides a detailed biological evaluation of the synthesised cysteine-derived tetramates with regard to their antibacterial potency, physiochemical properties and metal chelation ability. The potential for multi-targeting mechanisms coupled with a low cytotoxicity is also briefly addressed. It demonstrates the types of structural modifications possible to assess hydrophilic cysteine-derived tetramates with reduced metal chelation, while preserving their selective Gram-positive activity with MIC against MRSA < 8 μg/ml.

Keywords: Natural product
Tetramic acid derivatives synthesis
Antibacterial activity
Advisor: Moloney, M
English literature and the invention of atheism, 1564–1611

By the 1580s, Western European writers were discussing atheism with increasing urgency. The Greek term ἄθεος and its Latin equivalent atheos had largely fallen out of use since the decline of the Roman Empire. When these terms were readopted in the early sixteenth century, first by writers in France and soon after in Germany, Italy, and the British Isles, they immediately gained currency, becoming central to political, religious, and literary discourses. This thesis examines writing about atheists and atheism in sixteenth-century England from the 1560s to the early seventeenth century. Rather than seeking historical evidence for rising levels of ‘real’ atheism during this period, this thesis explores the role of literature in ‘inventing’ atheism as a cultural category. I use ‘unbelief’ to refer to lack of belief in the existence of God or gods and argue that ‘atheism’ is a conceptualisation of unbelief explicitly developed to attack and discredit unbelievers. Following an initial survey of the histories of atheism and unbelief, I examine the objectives and rhetorical strategies of three forms of writing in which the development of early modern conceptions of atheism is most visible. Firstly, dialogues with fictive atheists written by John Lyly, George Gifford, and Philip Sidney; secondly, the religious polemics of William Whitaker, William Rainolds, and Henry Smith; and finally, dramatic representations of atheism by Christopher Marlowe. These chapters demonstrate that atheism is a hostile designation of unbelief which emerged in response to post-Reformation anxieties about religious division and the recovery of ancient philosophies of unbelief, such as Epicurean annihilationism and Stoic pantheism. Ultimately, this thesis shows how literary techniques that allow motives and inner convictions to be inferred as ‘character’ and ‘voice’ contributed to the emergence of the atheist as a powerfully imagined cultural presence in dialogues, plays, and polemics.

Keywords: fictive writing
Atheism
Douay–Rheims Bible
Reformation
Cicero
Henry Smith
Christopher Marlowe
prose fiction
George Gifford
Machiavellianism
Philippe Du-Plessis-Mornay
William Bullein
Secularisation
construction of interiority
William Rainolds
William Whitaker
ethos
influence of Marlowe
rhetorical invention
religious polemic
John Lyly
Philip Sidney
invention of atheism
Gregory Martin
prosopopoeia
Scepticism
separatism
disputations
puritanism
translation
Epicureanism
inward/outward atheism
Calvinism
morality drama
classical rhetoric
Catholicism
fictional dialogues
Unbelief
classical reception
Cyril Tourneur
Renaissance
Advisor: Hutson, L
Dixon, L