VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Characterisation of voltage-gated calcium channels and detection of their autoantibodies

The Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) is an autoimmune disorder of impaired neuromuscular transmission. It is associated with small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) in 60% of patients. There is considerable evidence that the defect in LEMS is caused by autoantibodies to voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) on the nerve terminal.
Two VGCC subtypes were demonstrated in cultured neuronal cell lines by the technique of K+-induced 45Ca2+ influx: one subtype was inhibited by dihydropyridines (DHPs), the other by ω-conotoxin (ωCgTx). These may correspond to L and N channels previously described for neuronal tissue. The presence of these VGCC subtypes was confirmed by radioligand binding studies using [3 Hj-PN200-11 0 and 125 I-d)ωCgTx respectively.
Pooled LEMS IgG inhibited K+-induced Ca2+ flux by 40% in SKNSH (human neuroblastoma) cells, while control IgG had no effect. The same LEMS pool reduced the density of 125I-ωCgTx binding sites in SKNSH and MAR5 (human SCLC) cells by 57% and 43% respectively. These results provide further evidence that LEMS antibodies cause a loss of functional VGCCs.
78 LEMS and 88 control sera were tested for anti-VGCC antibodies by the precipitation of 125I-ωCgTx-labelled VGCCs extracted from SKNSH cells. 42% of LEMS sera had significant levels of antibody (30-1466pM) compared to the healthy controls (<31pM). There was a high correlation between these results and those obtained using antigen extracted from MAR5 cells.
Raised antibody titres (30-82pM) were also found among SCLC patients (47%) and patients with rheumatoid arthritis or systemic lupus erythematosus (56%). The incidence of positive sera was not significant among patients with other neurological disorders, including myasthenia gravis.
Antibody titre did not correlate with disease severity across individuals. However, longitudinal studies in two LEMS patients showed an inverse relation between antibody titre and an electromyographic index of disease severity. Some of the antibodies detected may, therefore, be implicated in the neurological symptoms of LEMS. The assay may be a useful aid for the diagnosis of LEMS in some patients.

Advisor: Lang, B
Intertextuality in Babylonian narrative poetry: Anzû, Enūma Elish, and Erra and Ishum

This thesis interprets literary allusions in three major Babylonian narrative poems: Anzû, Enūma Eliš, and Erra and Išum. The use of the term 'intertextuality' recognises that these readings do not necessarily attempt to reconstruct what the authors were thinking, but are based empirically on what can be found in the text, and that multiple interpretations are possible. The methodology used has been drawn from scholarship on Latin and Greek literature.
The aim is not only to identify relationships to other poems but also to consider what these mean, closely analysing the similarities and differences in order to draw out each allusion’s full significance. A wide variety of allusive techniques have been found, showing great depth, complexity, and sophistication. Chapter One finds that Anzû alludes to Lugal-e, Labbu, Atraḫasīs, The Return of Lugalbanda, and balaĝ-laments. Chapter Two explores allusions in Enūma Eliš to Anzû, which depict Marduk as the new Ninurta. Chapter Three analyses allusions in Enūma Eliš to Atraḫasīs, which contribute to Marduk's superseding of Enlil. Chapter Four studies allusions in Enūma Eliš to Lugal-e, finding that Marduk's restoration of order after the battle owes as much to Ninurta's precedent as does the battle itself. Chapter Five examines allusions in Erra and Išum to Anzû and Lugal-e which present Išum as a new Ninurta, and Erra as a chaotic Anzû figure. Chapter Six considers allusions in Erra to Enūma Eliš, Atraḫasīs, and Gilgameš, which work together to show the cosmic order unravelling. In many of these examples, the relationship is a competitive one, where Anzû, Enūma Eliš, and Erra each conspicuously out-do the protagonists of the poems which came before them. Chapter Seven finds that the underlying structure of Erra and Išum parallels that of The Lamentation over the Destruction of Sumer and Ur, and argues it is deliberate, which raises intriguing questions about the continuity of Sumerian city laments after the Old Babylonian period. Thus it is demonstrated that allusion is a vital part of Akkadian poetics, and that close-reading Akkadian texts unlocks deeper meaning within them.

Keywords: Ninurta
allusion
Intertextuality
literature
Marduk
poetry
Advisor: Reynolds, F
Bilayer formation with fluorinated amphiphiles and applications in membrane protein studies

Every cell is enclosed by a membrane which gives structure to the cell and allows for the passage of nutrients and wastes into and out of the cell. Membranes are made up of amphiphilic lipid molecules, with one water-soluble end, and one hydrophobic end. Naturally occurring and synthetic membranes are made up of double-chained amphiphiles derived from hydrocarbons. Recently, a novel class of amphiphilic molecules derived from fluorocarbons have been reported. The properties of fluorinated amphiphiles are very different to that of hydrocarbon based amphiphiles. Fluorinated amphiphiles have been previously reported to be useful in the studies of membrane proteins. In this thesis, we explore some novel uses of fluorinated amphiphiles.
Chapter one: Provides a comprehensive review of the properties of fluorocarbon-based amphiphiles and discusses the existing uses of fluorinated amphiphiles in biochemical and biomedical research.
Chapter two: Describes some of the important materials and methods used in this thesis including a detailed description of the proteins used and the working principles behind the techniques used in the study.
Chapter three: Looks at the stability of pre-formed planar lipid bilayers in the presence of fluorinated amphiphiles (F-amphiphiles), and characterizes the behaviour of alpha-haemolysin and other proteins in liposomes and planar lipid bilayers in the presence of F-amphiphiles. We found that F-amphiphiles have an inhibitory effect on the insertion of protein into lipid bilayers, and this property has been exploited to control the number of proteins in the bilayer.
Chapter four: Using droplet interface bilayers, we investigate the electrical properties and behaviour of protein(s) in bilayers formed by F-amphiphiles. The results obtained with fluorinated bilayers are compared with results obtained in conventional DPhPC lipid bilayers. This is the first ever report to carry out such an investigation and it provides insights into the formation, stability and utility of fluorinated bilayers.
Chapter five: In Chapter five, we explore another aspect of droplet interface bilayers: the feasibility of using droplet interface bilayers to screen for membrane protein libraries. I have chosen to focus on certain fundamental aspects of the screening process that are sufficient to establish the feasibility of the method and to act as the proof of concept.
Chapter six: Summarizes all the important results in the thesis and discusses some possible future directions of this project.

Keywords: Bilayer
Membrane proteins
Lipids
Membranes
Fluorinated amphiphiles
Electrophsyiology
Advisor: Bayley, H
Advanced materials for plasma facing components in fusion devices

This thesis describes the design, manufacture and characterisation of thick vacuum plasma sprayed tungsten (W) coatings on steel substrates. Fusion is a potentially clean, sustainable, energy source in which nuclear energy is generated via the release of internal energy from nuclei. In order to fuse nuclei the Coulomb barrier must be breached - requiring extreme temperatures or pressures – akin to creating a ‘star in a box’. Tungsten is a promising candidate material for future fusion reactors due to a high sputtering threshold and melting temperature. However, the large coefficient of thermal expansion mismatch with reactor structural steels such as the low activation steel Eurofer’97 is a major manufacturing and in-service problem. A vacuum plasma spraying approach for the manufacture of tungsten and tungsten/steel graded coatings has been developed successfully. The use of graded coatings and highly textured 3D interface surfi-sculpt substrates has been investigated to allow the deposition of thick plasma sprayed tungsten coatings on steel substrates. Finite element models have been developed to understand the residual stresses that develop in W/steel systems and made use of experimental measurements of coating thermal history during manufacture and elastic moduli measured by nano-indentation. For both the graded and surfi-sculpt coating, the models have been used to understand the mechanism of residual stress redistribution and relief in comparison with simple W on steel coatings, particularly by consideration of stored strain energy. In the case of surfi-sculpt W coatings, the patterned substrate gave rise to regular stress concentrating features, and allowed 2mm thick W coatings to be produced reproducibly without delamination. Preliminary through thickness residual stress measurements were compared to model predictions and provided tentative evidence of significant W coating stress relief by regulated coating segmentation.

Keywords: functionally graded coatings
graded coatings
VPS steel
plasma facing components
JET
nano-indentation
vacuum plasma spraying
functionally gradient coatings
ITER
fusion
residual stress
FGMs
FGM
functionally graded materials
FEA
PFCs
diverter
tungsten
VPS W
first wall
tokamak
finite element analysis
VPS
W
Advisor: Grant, P
Treating the children of the poor: institutions and the construction of medical authority in eighteenth-century London

It is commonly accepted that, prior to the rise of paediatric medicine as a formal medical specialisation in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, medical care of children was primarily conducted by women in the context of the household. However, as this thesis argues, there was vibrant medical interest in children prior to the development of formalized paediatric medicine. Over the course of the eighteenth century, a network of medical practitioners interested in children’s health sought to establish their authority over the subject and, in doing so, devoted increased attention to children, channelling general medical interest into the basis for future medical specialisation.
As this thesis argues, medical authority over children’s health was gradually constructed over the eighteenth century through printed texts, institutional experience, medical understandings of disease, and efforts to devise therapeutic practices suitable to children. Key to these developments were the efforts made by medical men to supplant women as authorities on children’s health. Also crucial was the role played by institutions in providing spaces for medical practitioners to encounter children. Institutions, such as the Dispensary for the Infant Poor and the London Foundling Hospital, increased the opportunities for medical practitioners to gain experience treating child patients. As this thesis demonstrates, it was the children of the poor who provided medical practitioners with the hands-on experience necessary to bolster their emerging claims of authority. As such, institutions and poor children both had essential roles to play in the development of medical interest in children, and the translation of that interest into claims of medical authority.

Keywords: London
London Foundling Hospital
children
medicine
paediatrics
Advisor: Pelling, M
Charters, E
Towards lung volume measurement by a rebreathing technique

The work contained in this thesis was concerned with rebreathing methods of measuring lung volume. In particular, one novel rebreathing technique which uses oxygen as the indicator gas was assessed. This technique appeared methodologically simple and readily applicable in a clinical environment. In essence, it relied on a graphical extrapolation of the time related changes in oxygen concentration to allow for oxygen uptake. This technique has been tested using a mass spectrometer which enabled nitrogen and argon as well as oxygen to be simultaneously used as indicator gases.
Although the lung volumes as measured by the different indicator gases should have been the same, these were found to be different. These discrepancies were related to the concentration of the indicator gas which existed in the bag and lung prior to rebreathing. A hypothesis explaining these inconsistancies was formulated. This was based on an initial but non-sustained output of carbon dioxide into the bag-plus-lung system.
A numerical model of idealised rebreathing showed that the hypothesis was sufficient to explain the discrepancies observed. A correction procedure was devised which performed successfully in the model. This correction was incorporated into an on-line computing procedure for calculating real lung volume. When tested in normal subjects this gave consistent results for lung volume, irrespective of indicator gas employed. The corrected lung volumes were unaffected by the initial gas compositions in the bag and lung, and were also independent of non-sustained gas exchange, whether this was due to carbon dioxide and/or nitrous oxide. This technique could, therefore, be use under anaesthetic conditions, since the uptake or output of nitrous oxide no longer upsets the calculation of lung volume.
The use of more than one indicator gas, within the same manoeuvre, was shown to provide a valuable indication of the presence of errors in the system. When this approach was applied to more conventional rebreathing techniques of lung volume measurement, it also highlighted the presence of inaccuracies.

Advisor: Black, A
Hahn, C
Black, D
Scanning probe microscopy and electrochemical studies of deposition on electrode surfaces

SPM, optical microscopy, and electrochemical techniques are used to study a range of electrochemical deposition processes on carbon electrodes, particularly those associated with diffusion-controlled multiple nucleation. Anodic stripping voltammetry for analytical measurements using solid electrodes is addressed in the light of limitations arising from electrode heterogeneity, electrode morphology, inhibited electrodeposition, and incomplete stripping of deposited metal. It is shown, using direct imaging of electrode surfaces, that each of the preceding factors may produce significant deviations from ideal electrode behaviour. The electrochemical nucleation of silver on BDD is examined. Data are obtained for the nucleation rate by interpretation of the deposition voltammetry, and by inspection of in-situ optical microscopic images. The particle distributions are analyzed and a stochastic model of nucleation developed. A model for the potentiostatic nucleation and three dimensional growth of deposits on an electrode surface under hydrodynamic conditions is examined. A wall-tube and stirred cell are used to generate conditions in which the diffusion layer thickness is in the range 10 – 40 μm. It is shown that the model provides excellent fits to the experimental data. A previously unrecognised correlation between the morphology of the PbO2 deposits and their electrocatalytic activity is established. The morphology of the films are observed as a function of time and potential using in-situ AFM. Nanotrench arrays are fabricated on HOPG surfaces. Cyclic voltammetry in simple redox couples is used to provide experimental evidence that the voltammetric response of a graphite electrode is solely due to the edge plane sites, with the basal plane sites having no measurable contribution. Nanotrenches are used as templates in a simple method for generating random assemblies of metal nanobands. This method is shown to be effective for generating gold, silver and copper nanowires. The electrochemical properties of the array are investigated via cyclic voltammetry.

Keywords: voltammetry
BDD
AFM
nucleation
deposition
SPM
electrochemistry
Advisor: Compton, R
Using metamorphic modelling techniques to investigate the thermal and structural evolution of the Himalayan-Karakoram-Tibetan orogen

Metamorphic rocks constitute a vast volumetric proportion of the Earth’s continental lithosphere and are invaluable recorders of the mechanisms and rates of deformation and metamorphism that occur at the micro-, meso- and macro-scale. As such, they have the potential to provide detailed insight into important tectonic processes such as the subductive transport of material into, and back from, mantle depths and also folding, faulting and thickening of crust that occurs during collisional orogeny. The Himalayan-Karakoram-Tibetan orogen is the youngest and most prominent example of a continent-continent collisional mountain belt on Earth today and is a product of the on-going convergence of the Indian and Asian plates that initiated in the Early Eocene. Thus, it provides an exceptional natural laboratory for the investigation of such processes. Recent advances in the computational ability to replicate natural mineral assemblages through a variety of metamorphic modelling techniques have led to improvements in the amount (and quality) of petrographic data that may be obtained from a typical metamorphic rock. In this study, phase equilibria modelling (pseudosection construction) using THERMOCALC, amongst other techniques, has been integrated with in-situ U–Pb and Th–Pb geochronology of accessory monazite in order to constrain the tectonothermal evolution of four regions intimately associated with the Himalayan-Karakoram-Tibetan orogen. These regions comprise the Karakoram metamorphic complex (north Pakistan), the Tso Morari massif (north-west India), the eastern Himalayan syntaxis (south-east Tibet) and the Day Nui Con Voi metamorphic core complex of the Red River shear zone (North Vietnam). Each case study documents previously unreported metamorphic, magmatic or deformational events that are associated with the India-Asia collision. These data have allowed original interpretations to be made regarding the tectonic evolution of each individual region as well as the large-scale evolution of the Himalayan-Karakoram-Tibetan orogenic system as a whole.

Keywords: Karakoram
Red River shear zone
Himalaya
metamorphic petrology
Tibet
plate tectonics
Advisor: Searle, M
Waters, D
The evolution of a conception of citizenly duty towards military service 1854–1914: a study of London press discourse

This dissertation investigates how personal military service, which during the immensely popular Crimean War of 1854-6 was regarded as the business only of an abstract and lowly soldier-class, had by the eve of the Great War taken on the aspect of a clear and universal citizenly duty in London press discourse. It utilises text-searchable digitised newspaper archives to exhaustively review the whole body of relevant press debate in thirteen key London periodicals, identifying key shifts and trends in press conceptions of civilian military obligation over the six decades between the outbreak of the Crimean War in 1854 and the eve of the Great War in 1914. The analytical narrative that emerges highlights the importance of key events, including the Crimean War, Indian Mutiny, wars of Prussian expansionism, and Boer War, in promoting and shaping the coherent conception of citizenly duty towards military service that would go on to underpin not only the mass enlistments of 1914 but also the acceptance of conscription in 1916. It suggests also the important role of broader cultural and political trends – in particular, the advent of militarist Imperialism, the growing legitimacy of the state, the shift towards a more collectivist ‘social democratic’ liberalism, and the emergence of ‘contractual’ theories of citizenship – in facilitating a reconciliation between the military imperative towards mass civilian military participation and existing liberal values and ideologies. This dissertation reveals that the societal consensus on the duty to enlist in 1914 was by no means a foregone cultural conclusion, nor indeed the relic of an earlier heroic age, but rather the dynamic product of evolution and contestation over six decades. The present study not only provides vital context to our understanding of the ‘rush to the colours’ of 1914, but also represents the first historical investigation of an important and much-neglected aspect of the relationship between war and society.

Keywords: militia
national service
Victorian
duty
volunteers
conscription
citizenship
obligation
military service
enlistment
Advisor: Ceadel, M
An iconographical study of the works of the Meidas painter and his associates

The Introduction surveys previous work on the Meidias Painter and his Associates, and outlines the form that the present study is to take. In Chapter I the Painter and his Associates are introduced; their style is briefly assessed, and an attempt is made to establish their dates and their artistic, social and historical background.
In the following Chapters, the Meidian scenes are grouped together by subject and mood. Each group of scenes is similarly treated; the representations are first described and then discussed. Reference is made to the literary and artistic traditions behind each subject, and attempts are made to account for any unusual or especially interesting features of the scenes, and to determine the factors which influenced their design.
In Chapter II the more violent scenes are discussed, the Amazon-, gigant- and centauromachies, the Minotaur, Persians chasing women and Oedipus slaying the sphinx. Chapters III and IV discuss the 'heavenly garden' scenes which are most characteristic of the Meidian group, scenes set in paradise gardens from which all violence is excluded. In these Chapters the Meidias Painter's name vase and related scenes, Phaon and Adonis, Thamyris, Marsyas and Mousaios, Personifications, Chryse, Apollo and Artemis, Asklepios, Eleusinians, Dionysos and Aphrodite are all discussed. Chapter V is reserved for non-violent yet non-heavenly garden scenes - Nausikaa, Amymone, Ixion and Trojan themes. Chapter VI deals with non-mythological scenes, those of women and cult.
In the Conclusion it is suggested that the two major characteristics of Meidian iconography are its interest in nature and its concern to soften and romanticize mythology, and it is argued that both may derive from the contemporary social and political climate.
A catalogue of vases attributable to the Meidias Painter and his Associates is appended.
Generating functional analysis of a model economy with hetrogeneous adaptive consumers

This thesis examines the dynamics of a market with hetrogeneous and adaptive consumers who make their purchase decisions repeatedly. The main mathematical tool applied is the generating functional formalism. This tool allows for forming an average over the randomly assigned strategies of the consumers while simultaneously retaining all macroscopic information. The focus lies on the analysis of the stationary state of the ergodic region. First, the problem and the appropriate model are described, the generating functional analysis is then applied and finally the analytical results are interpreted and compared to numerical computer simulations.