VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Video and audio analysis for the detection of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a common sleep disorder characterised by serious sleep fragmentation due to repeated breathing pauses (OSA events) followed by brief awakenings. OSA is under-diagnosed with many consequences that may be life threatening. The standard screening test, polysomnography (PSG), requires an overnight stay in a clinic and the attachment of several on-body sensors which may be uncomfortable for some patients. Large-scale screening for OSA is limited to the availability of equipment and sleep specialists. The manual review of hours of PSG recordings is also cumbersome and costly. The increasing prevalence of OSA and the long waiting times for screening and treatment highlights a need for contact-less home monitoring solutions.
The research presented in this thesis aims to (i) investigate whether automatic processing of video recordings of sleep can be used to di↵erentiate patients with OSA who more urgently require treatment and are more likely to respond to the treatment, and (ii) investigate the possibility of deriving respiratory information (respiratory signal, respiratory rate) from video recordings of sleep and scoring individual OSA events using the derived respiratory information.
This thesis presents the analysis of PSG recordings from 259 patients with suspected OSA and 30 normal volunteers. First, PSG video recordings are used to identify moderate-to-severe OSA patients based on the pattern of their overnight gross-body movements. Then, PSG audio recordings are used to improve the identification of moderate-to-severe OSA patients based on their pattern of snoring, cessation of snoring, and choking sounds. Using the features derived from patients’ gross-body movements and audio recordings, moderate-to-severe OSA patients are di↵erentiated from mild-to-no OSA patients with an accuracy of 85.5%, sensitivity of 76.4%, and specificity of 91.1%. Next, a respiratory signal (VDR signal) is derived from the subtle respiratory movements in the PSG video recordings. Patients’ respiratory rate (RR) per minute is estimated from the VDR signals. The mean absolute error for the derived RR is 0.82 breaths per minute (bpm) for mild-to-no OSA patients and 0.98 bpm for moderate-to-severe OSA patients. Finally, individual OSA events were scored in the VDR signals and an OSA severity index was calculated. The scored OSA events had an F1score of 76.0%, sensitivity of 81.0%, and positive predictive value of 73.8% when compared to the reference OSA events.

Advisor: Tarassenko, L
Clifford, G
Development of a robust nanoscaffold as a modular vaccine platform

Protein nanoparticles have been used as platforms to multimerize and present otherwise weakly immunogenic antigens to the immune system. Virus-like particles (VLPs) are self-assembling protein cages, forming the basis of safe and immunogenic vaccines that have been administered to millions of people. However, the creation of chimeric VLPs that display heterologous antigens through either genetic fusion or chemical coupling continues to be a challenge. To address this challenge, a modular vaccine platform has been previously developed that takes advantage of the spontaneous isopeptide bond between the protein domain SpyCatcher and its peptide partner SpyTag. Fusion of SpyCatcher to the surface-exposed N-terminus of the bacteriophage VLP AP205 afforded a particle that could be covalently coupled to a SpyTag-antigen simply by mixing. In the first part of this thesis I establish a methodology for the directed evolution of SpyCatcher-VLPs. I evolve the AP205 coat protein to attempt to address limitations in solubility and yield of the SpyCatcher-AP205 platform. I then extend the scope of SpyCatcher/SpyTag-mediated vaccines by characterizing a new modular platform based on the computationally designed I3-01 nanoparticle. I3-01 was rationally engineered to reduce aggregation by removing two surface-exposed cysteines. This mutated protein was given the name MI3. Genetic fusion of SpyCatcher to the N-terminus of MI3 yielded a platform that was purified in high yield from E. coli. I show that SpyCatcher-MI3 is robust and tolerates heating, freezing, and lyophilization. Immunization with SpyCatcher-MI3 particles conjugated with the SpyTagged malarial antigen CyRPA yielded high-avidity antibodies against CyRPA. The SpyCatcher-MI3 platform's stability, simple production method, and modular quantitative coupling should facilitate the development of new vaccines.

Keywords: Vaccines
Advisor: Howarth, M
Kant &amp; Moral Character

This thesis argues that Kant has a viable, intellectualist account of moral character that is much richer and more interesting than has often been thought. This account is consistent with his broader practical philosophy, in particular, his account of moral worth. Chapter one establishes that Kant has a theory of education on which a child’s inclinations are to be trained in preparation for her to grasp the moral law and acquire full moral agency. It argues that his account of habit is complex, recognizing a kind of moral value that is broader than his definition of moral worth. Chapter two argues that sympathy is, for Kant, a primarily cognitive disposition of special importance; this is because it provides knowledge of how the moral law applies in particular circumstances, therefore enabling an agent to fulfill her duties toward others. This chapter also resolves a puzzle concerning Kant’s dual concept of character (as both intelligible and empirical) by drawing an analogy with one account of weakness of will. Chapter three develops an account of moral worth that incorporates these more palatable elements of Kant’s account of moral character with the seemingly more austere elements familiar from the Groundwork. This theory allows for positive, participating inclinations alongside ascriptions of moral worth. Further, it introduces a distinction between full and mitigated moral worth, to account for agents who, for example, act rightly but for confused reasons as in the case of Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. Chapter four responds to two objections to Kant on the basis of moral demandingness, one concerning psychological integration and personal relationships, the other concerning the value of non-moral goods more broadly. It then responds to some objections to his account of the highest good, or the idea of a world in which happiness is distributed in proportion to virtue.

Keywords: Moral Character
Virtue
Kant
Education
Moral Worth
Moral Psychology
Sympathy
Habit
Advisor: Walker, R
Hills, A
Heat transfer for fusion power plant divertors

Exhausting the thermal power from a fusion tokamak is a critical engineering challenge. The life of components designed for these conditions has a strong influence on the availability of the machine. For a fusion power plant this dependence becomes increasingly important, as it will influence the cost of electricity.
The most extreme thermal loading for a fusion power plant will occur in the divertor region, where components will be expected to survive heat fluxes in excess of 10 MW/m2 over a number of years. This research focussed on the development of a heat sink module for operation under such conditions, drawing on advanced cooling strategies from the aerospace industry.
A reference concept was developed using conjugate Computational Fluid Dynamics. The results were experimentally validated by matching Reynolds numbers on a scaled model. Heat transfer data was captured using a transient thermochromic liquid crystal technique. The results showed excellent agreement with the corresponding numerical simulations.
To facilitate comparison against other divertor heat sink proposals, a nondimensional figure of merit for cooling performance was developed. When plotted against a non-dimensional mass flow rate, the reference heat sink was shown to have superior cooling performance to all other divertor proposals to date.
Results from Finite Element Analysis were used in conjunction with the ITER structural design criteria to life the heat sink. The sensitivity of life to both boundary conditions, and local geometric features, were explored. The reference design was shown to be capable of exceeding the life requirements for heat fluxes in excess of 15 MW/m2.
A number of heat sinks, based on the reference design, were fabricated. These underwent non-destructive testing, before experimentation in a high-heat flux facility developed by the author. The heat transfer performance of the tested modules was found to exceed that predicted by numerical modelling, which was concluded to be caused by the fabrication processes used.

Keywords: high-heat flux
heat sink
cooling
divertor
Advisor: Ireland, P
Povey, T
The semantics of silence in biblical Hebrew

This thesis examines how silence was understood by speakers of biblical Hebrew. Using the biblical books, Ben Sira, Dead Sea Scrolls, and inscriptions, it evaluates how seven lexemes referring to silence were used. Each reference was examined for clues to meaning, using syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations, parallels, glosses, antonyms, and causal relations. The early versions (Greek, Latin, Aramaic, Syriac) were consulted to see if they might shed further light on ancient understandings of these words. Semitic languages were also surveyed for potential cognates that might reveal diachronic semantic development.
The chosen lexemes divided into two related domains: restraint (of sound, of action) and cessation (of sound, of motion, of life). Part 1 covers words indicating restraint: 1) חרשׁ refers to not speaking and not hearing (deafness), as well as not acting when expected to. Its counterpart is 2) אלם, referring to muteness or being restrained from speech, while 3) חשׁה can also refer to restraint of both speech and action.
Part 2 covers words indicating cessation: 4a) דמם refers to cessation of motion; 4b) דמה to cessation of life. From these roots arise many derived forms of uncertain meaning (4c): i) דּוּמָה and ii) דֻּמָה, likely referring to the place of the dead; iii) דּוּמִיָּה/דֻמיה, possibly referring to rest; iv) דּוּמָם, ‘silent’ or ‘immobile’; v) דֳּמִי, perhaps rest or cessation; and vi) דְּמָמָה, probably ‘cessation’, but often translated ‘whisper’. Other roots related to cessation are: 5) הס, an interjection meaning ‘hush!’; 6) שׁתק, referring to cessation of commotion; and 7) סכת, a hapax legomenon meaning either ‘be silent’ or ‘listen’.
Part 3 briefly introduces peripheral words, primarily the closely related root שׁקט (8), referring to rest and peace. The periphery of the semantic field is briefly considered (9), along with צמת, which means ‘be silent’ in cognate languages.
The conclusion offers some observations about the field as a whole, describing how the lexemes overlap and differ. Tables and diagrams are offered to represent the richness and versatility of this field graphically.

Advisor: Williamson, H
A socio-legal analysis of the divergent approaches of the EU Data Protection Directive and individuals’ attitudes towards novel uses of administrative data in social science research

Governments around the world are encouraging social science research using administrative data to support policy development. These initiatives depend on wide-scale public acceptance to succeed and are often supported by a legal basis. The care.data initiative in the UK, which sought to open up routinely collected health data to researchers, is an example where societal expectations of privacy diverged from legally permissible data processing practices. This discord led to the closing down of the project. The factors influencing societal expectations and causing these divergences are currently under-theorised, and little understood, particularly in the field of administrative data.
The thesis argues that data processing utilising innovative technologies challenge current constructions of privacy and the notion of the public interest in data processing. As a result, the approaches of the EU Data Protection Directive and individuals’ attitudes towards these practices diverge. In developing this argument, the contested nature of the interests of privacy and the public interest in data processing, which are interests present in the objectives of the Directive are explored. The thesis suggests that different values underpin the construction of these interests and further proposes that these different values are a potential source of the divergences between the Directive and individuals’ attitudes.
This claim is tested by examining the Directive and the empirical findings from two focus groups to identify potential divergences. The analysis suggests the Directive constructs privacy by reference to its value to society and perceives research as a data processing activity in the public interest. The qualitative findings, however, suggest individuals ascribe less value to research as an activity in the public interest. Due to individuals’ uncertainty as to the risks generated by novel practices, they adopted a more individualistic construction of privacy, enabling greater control over their data. Considering these divergences, possible legal responses are explored, including the suitability of the law aligning with individuals’ expectations, the ability of the law to guide societal expectations, and the possibility of the law fostering deliberative dialogues between the actors involved in data processing.

Keywords: Individuals' attitudes
Data protection
Administrative data
Data Re-use
Privacy
Research
Advisor: Kaye, J
Lange, B
Children’s use of personal knowledge and adult testimony in fantasy/reality distinctions

This study aimed to investigate children’s conceptual understanding of particular human attributes and their relation to children’s judgements that a person was ‘real’ or ‘not real’. The study explored the extent to which children relied on their own knowledge versus the testimony of others when making reality-status judgements about unfamiliar people with characteristics that were possible, improbable or impossible of human beings. Testimony came from a child or an adult in order to make comparisons of children’s trust in two different informants with varying amounts of knowledge. The sample consisted of 61 children between the ages of 3 and 6 recruited from a primary school in Essex.
The study employed a within-subject experimental design, in which both the attributes of the stimuli and the testimony of informants were manipulated in order to observe the effect on children’s reality-status judgements. In order to investigate the possibility of developmental trends, the sample was divided into two age groups made up of 3-4 and 5-6 year olds. A novel categorisation task and interview schedule were developed for this study, which measured children’s initial reality-status judgements and compared these with their judgements after hearing testimony from an adult or a child.
Analysis of children’s judgements showed that children across the sample distinguished between possible and impossible attributes, both in their initial judgements and in their use of testimony, but that only the older age group distinguished between improbable and impossible attributes. There were no significant differences in children’s trust in the two different informants, but children did rely on testimony differentially according to both age and the type of attribute.
The findings suggest that young children are able to reflect upon the extent of their own knowledge, and the potential reliability of other people, in order to make decisions about an unfamiliar entity’s reality status. This study extends the findings from previous research by addressing children’s understanding of the kinds of attributes that render human beings real or unreal. Future research could build on this study by employing a longitudinal within-subject design, which would suggest possible causal influences, and would also offer insights into the developmental trajectory of children’s conceptual understanding within this field.

Keywords: conceptual development
testimony
fantasy/reality distinction
Advisor: Sylva, K
Perceptions of war, savagery and civilisation in Britain, 1801-1899

This dissertation traces the complex ways in which non-European military cultures – often designated as 'savage' – and the expeditions undertaken against them – regularly conceptualised as 'savage warfare' – were understood in the Victorian imagination. It addresses how these understandings shifted across time in relation to developments such as imperial expansion; cultural and intellectual shifts including the rise of evolutionary theory; and the practical issues that emerged in response to the undertaking of wars where such opponents were met on the field of battle. It is distinctive in working at the intersection of nineteenth-century intellectual, cultural, imperial and military history, and utilises a wide range of sources. The nineteenth century was a unique period during which this eclectic and differentiated debate – which both explored and contributed to the construction of ideas on 'savagery' – arose due to the proliferation of cross-cultural knowledge and the development of periodical culture. As members of the armed forces were on the front-line of cross-cultural interactions, the military context shines a light on the richness of this discourse and helps to frame a complex debate about the boundaries between 'civilisation' and 'savagery'. While understandings of 'savagery' that embodied assumptions of ruthlessness, bloodthirstiness, and a lack of moral understanding can be traced in British perceptions of 'savage' warriors during this period, this dissertation argues that the designation of a warrior culture as 'savage' was not uncontested, nor did it preclude the admission of 'civilised' characteristics, or criticisms with regard to British conduct in 'savage' wars. By uncovering the competing discourses on how 'savage' warriors were perceived during this period, this dissertation reinforces critiques of the 'cultural determinist' notion that military cultures are fixed; emphasises the lack of coherence with regard to British perceptions of 'savage' warriors, thus contributing to scholarship that has identified the inconsistent nature of 'orientalism'; and challenges conventional periodisation of the development of colonial racism and anti-humanitarianism during the nineteenth century.

Advisor: Garnett, J
Chemical probing of glycogenesis

The polysaccharide molecule glycogen represents a crucial glucose (and hence energy) storage reserve present in a wide variety of organisms. In eukaryotes, its biosynthesis is initiated by the glycosyltransferase enzyme Glycogenin, which unusually catalyses its own autoglucosylation to form a short maltosaccharide extending from a tyrosine residue. Glycogenin’s privileged position at the heart of carbohydrate metabolism has sparked wide interest in elucidating its catalytic mechanism. However, prior studies have been hindered by an inability to access homogeneous glycoforms of the enzyme, restricting precise mechanistic analyses.
Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling represents a widely utilised reaction in organic chemistry and has more recently emerged as a powerful tool for the site-selective modification of proteins. In this thesis, we present the application of this methodology to the mechanistic study of Glycogenin, utilising a “genetically tagged” variant of the latter bearing an unnatural p-iodophenylalanine residue in place of the catalytic tyrosine. Preliminary studies demonstrate the potential of this enzyme to undergo efficient cross-coupling under benign, “enzyme-compatible” conditions. This leads to the application of this reaction as part of a novel palladium-mediated enzyme activation process for Glycogenin, allowing unprecedented access to different, homogeneously glucosylated enzyme states. These closely mimic intermediates at different stages of the autoglucosylation pathway, and are therefore catalytically active.
Comparative kinetic analyses of such Glycogenin constructs reveal unusual triphasic kinetics for the initiation of glycogen biosynthesis. Subsequent studies on both a non-natural autogalactosylation pathway and on autoglucosylation pathways initiating from non-glucose carbohydrate glycosyl acceptors reveal a surprising degree of enzyme plasticity towards glycosyl donor and acceptor, and suggest that the three kinetic phases may be additionally defined in this regard.
We also apply our methodology to investigation of a Glycogenin mutation implicated in a pathological condition arising from impaired autoglucosylation. Comparison of previously inaccessible glycoforms of this mutant challenges prior beliefs that it is entirely incapable of autoglucosylation and highlights further differences between early catalytic phases of catalysis. We anticipate that our approach may in the future enable mechanistic investigation of the other metabolic disorders and neurodegenerative conditions associated with malfunctions in glycogen biosynthesis.

Advisor: Davis, B
Belgrave's quest for moral order in Bahrain, 1926-1957

This thesis examines how colonial decision-makers in Bahrain restricted, regulated and controlled the consumption of alcohol and practice of prostitution as immoral activities. It analyzes these activities as visible sites for understanding how colonial decision-makers relied on the Law to enforce a distinct moral authority in Bahrain, and reflects on the political imperatives behind these regulatory projects. It shows how colonial actors justified moral regulations as necessary to protect local custom, and saw their ability to be seen as protecting customary values as intimately tied to their political legitimacy in Bahrain. The thesis further identifies the impact of moral regulation in constituting and reinforcing a hierarchal social order, which posited Western nationals as the ultimate benefactors of social privilege.
The thesis places the project of moral regulation in its historic context, and identifies it as a response to social and demographic changes taking place in Bahrain following two transformative events: the discovery of oil in 1932, and the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. It describes the impact of these events in driving an influx of British and American oil workers and military servicemen to Bahrain, many of whom engaged in visible displays of drunkenness and debauchery. It shows how colonial officials responsible for exercising authority over Bahrain viewed these trends with alarm, as likely to spur a broader process of social decline, and ultimately bring about challenges to Britain’s political legitimacy in Bahrain.
The thesis analyzes the regulatory responses enacted by colonial decision-makers to limit the spread of these corrupting recreational habits, in the context of a transforming urban environment. In liquor-control, it shows how colonial actors created and enforced a liquor-licensing system, which prohibited Bahraini nationals, Muslims, and most non-Muslim Arabs from purchasing and consuming liquor, while ensuring this privilege remained available to a minority group of mostly British and American nationals. It locates a second site of moral regulation laws governing prostitution. In this area, the thesis describes how colonial officials regulated and restricted prostitution as an undesirable activity, including by confining the practice to a geographic zone, subjecting prostitute women to mandatory health screenings, and justifying these actions as necessary to curb an epidemic of venereal diseases.

Advisor: Galligan, D