VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Towards an analogy of beauty in the theology of Karl Barth

Hans Urs von Balthasar’s interpretation of Karl Barth’s theology of beauty remains the dominant one in theological aesthetics. It claims that Barth recovers theological beauty (i.e. divine beauty) but does not acknowledge any genuine relationship, or in other words analogy, between this and worldly beauty (i.e. natural and artistic beauty and human understandings of beauty). He supports this by a suspicion that Barth’s concept of analogy itself may be incoherent: a form of ‘theopanism’ in which the relation between God and world simply alternates between metaphysical dialectic and identity. This thesis establishes an alternative reading of the matter. It argues that Barth does not merely recover theological beauty but also develops an analogia pulchritudinis: throughout his career he intentionally develops an analogy between theological and ecclesial beauty and he also consistently affirms that the world’s beauty may bear witness to God. It substantiates this claim by means of a more comprehensive analysis than Balthasar attempts. Whereas Balthasar’s interpretation is based simply on an analysis of Barth’s most extensive account of beauty, Church Dogmatics §31.3, this thesis considers this passage in its proper context: both its historical context of Barth’s reflections on beauty throughout his career and its immediate literary context of his concept of God’s glory in Church Dogmatics §31.3. The argument proceeds in three stages. The first section allays Balthasar’s fear that Barth’s concept of analogy is incoherent. The second argues that Barth develops an analogy of theological, ecclesial and worldly beauty throughout his work. The final section then illustrates its significance especially for contemporary theological aesthetics.
Assessing the composition and timing of Late Quaternary volcanic eruptions in southern South America using tephra layers from lacustrine and peat sequences

Volcanic ash (tephra) deposits from large, explosive events travel great distances and can form visible or invisible (cryptotephra) layers in sedimentary archives. These layers have unique chemical (glass) compositions which are useful for stratigraphic correlations; correlating tephra over wide regions can provide temporal constraints on varying magma chemistry, eruption style, frequency and magnitude. Eruptive behavior has been proposed as partially controlled by ice-unloading at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum, ~18 ka. This thesis aims to compile detailed eruption records from southern South America over the last 80 ka to improve event frequency datasets, facilitate stratigraphic correlations, and enable the evaluation of climatic influences, particularly ice-unloading, on explosive volcanism.
The visible tephra layers of two sedimentary archives, Lago Puyehue (Chile) and Laguna Potrok Aike (Argentina) were examined. Tephra componentry (via microscopy), and geochemical characterisation of glass-shards (via WDS-EPMA major elemental analysis) were used to investigate temporal changes in the frequency and composition of tephra deposits. A reference chemistry database was developed by analysing glass-shards from proximal deposits to produce robust tephrocorrelations. These records provide evidence for numerous eruptions in southern South America over the past 80 ka. The records do not show any systematic changes in eruption composition or frequency over time, suggesting the effect of changing ice loads is limited in this context. These records often have tephra layers that appear to be primary but are actually reworked, with low glass concentrations, rounded minerals, and/or heterogenous glass compositions. This reworking is likely caused by wind, basin morphology, and tephra loading.
Cryptotephra records from three Falkland Islands peat archives were also examined to better understand the dispersal of Andean volcanic deposits. Moreover, extensive age-modelling was undertaken in this thesis to refine the ages of 49 explosive Quaternary eruptions from southern South America. The eruption stratigraphies of particular volcanoes were also modelled using novel Kernel Density Estimates to better constrain temporal variation in frequency and the age-uncertainties.

Keywords: Age-modelling
Tephochronology
Quaternary
Volcanic frequency
Bayesian statistics
Advisor: Smith, V
Fontijn, K
Wastegård, S
Europe's quiet administrative governance of migrant integration

Amidst the so-called refugee and migration crisis, the ‘European Integration Network’ (EIN) was established in 2016 as a European Union soft-governance practice. The thesis analyses how administrators learn in soft-governance networks, studying in particular what mechanisms are involved in facilitating different types of learning and conditions under which they operate best. Studies on micro-level roots and mechanisms of learning are surprisingly scarce. Relying on 50+ interviews with EIN practitioners and documents, this thesis finds that facilitated networking and ‘soft’ interactions result in updating individual administrators’ beliefs regarding policy instruments (‘instrumental learning’) and their paradigmatic frames (‘paradigmatic learning’). This is triggered, amplified, and sustained by transformational conduits. Professional trust within peer groups determines which instruments administrators choose. Meanwhile, informal, emotionally-charged interactions with stakeholders frame instruments. Updated frames may in turn penetrate a trusted peer group with a specific instrumental focus. Alongside the organic interaction of conduits, their purposive activation in two ideal-type practices is explored: (i) platforming, recurrent interactions within a formal network structure, and (ii) elevating, accelerated experiences within network sub-groups. The European Commission asserts itself in learning by managing the net-work and encouraging members with aligned paradigms and organisational resources to co-shape these practices. In particular elevating activates conduits that establish direct paradigmatic experiences resonating in subsequent networking. Findings are probed by exploring learning about Portuguese migrant one-stop-shops and Swedish collaborative governance. The probes underscore a social dimension of learning. Ties created at the elevating stage iterate back to the platform and compound network effects as peer groups re-shuffle and gateways open. Overall, the focus on administrative learning contributes to better understanding how soft governance operates quietly under the political or legalistic surface. Under the right conditions, exchange on policy instruments and frames about migrant integration appear more successful than posited by other studies.

Keywords: administrative networks
migrant integration
soft governance
EU
learning conduits
learning practices
Advisor: Ebbinghaus, B
Observation of s-Channel Single Top Quark Production at the Tevatron

Testing the Standard Model (SM) and looking for new phenomena have been the focus of generations of particle physicists in the last decades. Following this spirit, this thesis presents two searches.
The first is the search for single top quark production from the exchange of an s-channel virtual W boson using events with an imbalance in the total transverse energy, b-tagged jets, and no identified leptons. Assuming the electroweak production of top quarks of mass 172.5 GeV/c2 in the s-channel, a cross section of 1.12(+0.61)-0.57 (stat+syst) pb, with a significance of 1.9 standard deviations, is measured. This measurement is combined with the result obtained from events with an imbalance in total transverse momentum, b-tagged jets, and exactly one identified lepton, yielding a cross section of 1.36<(+0.37)-0.32 (stat+syst) pb, with a significance of 4.2 standard deviations. The first observation of single-top-quark production in the s channel through the combination of the CDF and D0 measurements is also reported. The measured cross section is σs = 1.29(+0.26)-0.24 pb. The probability of observing a statistical fluctuation of the background to a cross section of the observed size or larger is 1.8 × 10-10, corresponding to a significance of 6.3 standard deviation.
The second is the search for W'-like resonances decaying to tb. No significant excess above the SM prediction is found. Using a benchmark W' → tb left-right symmetric model, 95% C.L. mass-dependent upper limits are placed on the W' boson production cross section times branching ratio to tb. Assuming a W' boson with SM-like couplings and allowed (forbidden) decay to leptons, W' → tbis excluded with 95% C.L. for W' boson masses below 860 (880) GeV/c2. Relaxing the hypothesis on SM-like couplings, we exclude W' boson coupling strength values as a function of the W' boson mass above 10% of the SM coupling strength for MW0 = 300 GeV/c2. The constraints obtained with the present analysis are the most stringent for charged resonance masses below 570 GeV/c2 decaying to a top and a bottom quark.

Advisor: Hays, C
The concept of legal system

Introduction - The theory of legal system is primarily the study of four problems (1) The problem of existence - what are the criteria for the existence of a legal system? (2) The problems of identity and membership - what are the criteria determining which laws belong be a given system? (3) The problem of structure — Is there of necessity a common internal structure to all legal systems? An internal structure is a structure at internal relations. An internal relation exists between laws if and only if one at them affects the existence or meaning of the other. (4) The problem of content - is there of necessity a common content to all legal systems?
This thesis is an introduction to the study of the first three problems. It aims to give them precise formulation, demonstrate their importance, examine some views concerning their solution which were advanced in the past and make a start on another attempt to solve them.
[Abstract continued in thesis]

Keywords: theory
concept
system
legal
Advisor: Hart, H.L.A.
Modelling progressive multiple sclerosis for new treatment strategies

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune, demyelinating, degenerative disease of the central nervous system. Secondary progressive (SP) MS differs from relapse-remitting (RR) MS in clinical symptoms and histopathology. As disease progresses, the proportion of B cells and plasma cells increases in the brain. Moreover, meningeal tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS) are present in a large proportion of SPMS patients and are associated with more severe pathology. Treatment is available for suppressing relapses in RRMS, but no disease modifying therapy (DMT) is available for the ongoing disease worsening in SPMS. This is, in part, due to a lack of preclinical models for SPMS. There is a need for rodent models of SPMS to investigate disease mechanisms and treatment options. This thesis describes the development of two new rodent models of SPMS, characterised by glial activation, lymphocyte infiltration, demyelination, and neuronal death behind a closed blood-brain barrier (BBB).
Focal MS-like lesions were induced by first immunising mice with MOG and CFA intradermally, followed by an intracranial injection with heat-killed mycobacterium tuberculosis in either the striatum or the piriform cortex. Mice were treated with anti-LINGO-1 or anti-CD20 antibodies 4 weeks after initiation of the lesion. Treatment effects on the different aspects of the focal lesions were evaluated by immunohistochemistry.
MS-like lesions formed in the brains independent of injection site. However, TLS were only formed in mice with lesions in the piriform cortex. Both types of lesions continued to grow over time. Anti-LINGO-1 therapy promoted oligodendrocyte survival and reduced glial activation in the brains of these mice. Treatment with anti-CD20 decreased the extent of glial activation, significantly decreased the number of B and T lymphocytes, and reduced the size of the TLS.
SPMS with and without TLS can be modelled in rodents, with lesions that continue to evolve over time behind an intact BBB. Two different treatments were shown to be effective in this model, demonstrating the potential of using anti-LINGO-1 or anti-CD20 as a DMT for SPMS.

Advisor: Anthony, D
Performing gender on the English-language stage: Tirso de Molina’s comedia urbana

This study analyses gender in three of Tirso de Molina’s comedias urbanas and their subsequent performances on the modern, English-language stage. Using case studies of three particular Tirso productions from the past decade, I argue that the plays invite a queer reading when tested on the modern stage. To do so, my study involves a seamless consideration of the three aspects of live performance: the play texts, performances, and their subsequent reception.
My introduction opens with a discussion of gender and sex in seventeenth-century Spain, as well as the staging of gender in the comedia in the original period. I ultimately argue that Spain’s performance practices and its attitude towards gender queered spectatorship and—paradoxically—both empowered and objectified female performers.
In chapter 1, I propose a tripartite analysis of gender in the comedia that involves textual study, an analysis of how gender is embodied and performed by actors through choices of casting and characterisation, and a consideration of how gender is decoded and read by spectators. I discuss how the modern theatre grapples with the staging of gender, particularly focusing on Shakespeare performance as a model, as well as modern Spanish- and English-language productions of comedias.
Chapters 2 through 4 offer case study examples from modern productions of three Tirso plays: Marta la piadosa, El amor médico, and La celosa de sí misma. In each chapter, I consider both the original Spanish play text and its subsequent performance on the modern English-language stage, analysing two aspects of each play: first, the dramaturgy, which offers on the surface a largely heteronormative message through its rigidly structured narrative but which is ultimately subversive; and second, the plays’ characters, who exhibit queer potential, either through their cross-dressing, their ambiguous gender, or their hyperbolic gender performance.

Keywords: Spanish drama (classical period, 1500-1700), Theater (production and direction)
Translation
Tirso de Molina
Advisor: Thacker, J
Properties and dynamics of two-dimensional colloid-polymer mixtures

The depletion interaction, aggregation behaviour and network formation in quasi-two-dimensional colloid-polymer solutions are studied using optical microscopy and optical tweezing. First, the polymer used as a depletant throughout this thesis, xanthan gum, is characterised. The intrinsic viscosity, coil overlap concentration and radius of gyration are determined using a novel combination of passive micro-rheology and polyelectrolyte rheology theory. The Mark-Houwink coefficient is also found, which can be used to characterise the molecular weight of future xanthan samples, under the experimental condition described herein. Next, the depletion interaction between two superparamagnetic particles, near to a wall, is measured using a combination of optical tweezer microscopy, statistical analysis and first passage time theory. The interaction strength is measured for two concentrations of polymer in the dilute regime and one in the semi-dilute regime. Due to the particles' superparamagnetic nature, their response to an applied magnetic field is used to probe the semi-dilute regime which would not be possible by passive methods alone. Having characterised the interparticle attraction range and strength, the two-dimensional aggregation behaviour of the same colloid-polymer system is investigated, at three successively increasing concentrations and analysed using established aggregation theory. Past a polymer concentration threshold, the strength of interaction is found to have no measurable effect on the systems aggregation kinetics. Finally, the network formation as a function of polymer concentration is analysed. The network strand thickness and coordination number distributions are found to have a strong dependence on the interparticle interaction strength. The structural dynamics and network coarsening behaviour pre and post network formation is also shown to depend strongly on the polymer concentration. Cluster and network dynamics are quantified using bond-order orientational analysis which shows a competition between inter-cluster particle rearrangements and cluster aggregation at low polymer concentrations that are significantly diminished at higher polymer concentrations.

Advisor: Aarts, D
Dullens, R
Genetic screening to investigate treatment resistance in MLL-rearranged leukemia

Despite the promise of targeted cancer therapies, some subsets of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL) continue to present a dismal prognosis. Translocations in the mixed lineage leukemia (MLL) gene generate MLL fusion proteins and cause MLL-rearranged (MLLr) leukemia, an aggressive subtype of AML and ALL which is common in infants and children. MLLr leukemia is resistant to conventional chemotherapy. I used CRISPR/Cas9-mediated mutagenesis to investigate miRNA function and BH3 mimetic drug sensitivity in MLLr leukemia. I began by testing a published model for the role of a non-coding RNA in MLLr leukemia. The MLL-AF9 fusion protein activates the transcription factors HOXA9 and MEIS1, which are both predicted targets of the oncogenic miRNA miR-196b. I used dual-sgRNA CRISPR/Cas9 knockout to generate and characterise a miR-196b null mutant MLL-AF9 cell line, demonstrating that miR-196b ablation reduces colony-forming capacity but does not affect expression of HOXA9 or MEIS1. Next, I investigated the genetic basis for venetoclax resistance in MLLr leukemia. Venetoclax is a potent inhibitor of the anti-apoptotic protein BCL-2 and is an effective monotherapy in CLL but not in AML or ALL. I optimised a system of pooled CRISPR/Cas9 editing to compare the contributions of BCL-2 family proteins to venetoclax resistance in MLL-AF9 cells. Finally, I used this system to conduct a pooled genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 screen in MLL-AF9 cells. My results suggest that the 26S proteasome mediates venetoclax resistance in MLLr leukemia. I provide evidence that the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib synergises with venetoclax to kill MLL-AF9 cells in vitro. The work presented in this thesis demonstrates that CRISPR-Cas9 screening is a powerful tool for investigating the causes of resistance to targeted cancer therapy.

Keywords: CRISPR
oncology
apoptosis
drug discovery
miRNA
molecular biology
mixed-lineage leukemia
leukemia
Advisor: Milne, TA
Fulga, TA
Mathematical modelling of fluid flows during ureteroscopic kidney stone removal

A ureteroscope is a hand-held surgical device. The scope consists of a handle and a long, thin shaft which is inserted through the urethra of the anaesthetised patient; visualisation is provided by a microscopic camera embedded in the scope tip. To prevent stone debris and blood from obscuring the image, a weak saline solution continuously flows from a suspended saline bag, through a long, thin cylindrical channel within the ureteroscope shaft -- the working channel -- and flushes out the kidney. The fluid returns through an access sheath, a rigid tube surrounding the scope shaft. This process is termed irrigation. Remote areas of the kidney are accessed by utilising the flexible scope tip and kidney stones are removed via auxiliary working tools which are passed through the working channel.
This thesis is concerned with the mathematics and fluid mechanics of ureteroscopy with an aim to improve surgical visualisation and safety through a mechanistic understanding of irrigation flow rate, kidney pressures, and flow patterns within the kidney as functions of relevant clinical parameters.
We commence by modelling flow through an isolated scope, incorporating the effects of saline bag height, scope tip deflection, and working tools. We use a hydraulic network approach to equate irrigation inflow through the working channel with a return flow through the access sheath. We validate mathematical predictions with the results of bench-top and ex-vivo experiments.
Flow through the working channel containing a working tool, and flow through the access sheath containing the scope shaft, are modelled as flow through coaxial cylinders, where the position of the inner cylinder is unknown. We determine positions for the inner cylinder and elliptical cross-sections for the ureteroscopic instruments to minimise axial flow resistance, thereby maximising irrigation flow rate for fixed saline bag height. To aid ureteroscope design, we also consider the Stokes resistance to movement of the inner cylinder, highlighting the effects of ellipticity and inner cylinder position.
We then characterise the influence of inertial pressures losses (minor losses) -- due to connections between tubular components of ureteroscope irrigation systems -- as quadratic corrections to unidirectional, fully-developed theory. We explore the effect of minor losses with numerical simulations and bench-top experiments.
Finally, we turn to modelling flow patterns within the kidney through a combination of numerical simulations and particle image velocimetry experiments. Flow symmetry-breaking is observed and quantified both theoretically and experimentally as a function of Reynolds number and domain length. We use the computed flow fields to simulate the flushing of kidney-stone dust through solutions to an advection-diffusion equation describing the dynamics of a passive tracer. The time required to irrigate the kidney depends on the Peclet number, with relevant scaling law determined by the position and size of flow recirculation zones.

Advisor: Waters, S
Moulton, D
Turney, B
Probabilistic machine learning: methods and applications to continuous control

Probabilistic inference is at the core of many recent advances in machine learning. Unfortunately, exact inference is intractable in all but the simplest models. Thus, approximate inference methods are required use probabilistic methods for large and complex models. Broadly speaking, there are two different paradigms for approximate inference, sampling methods and variational methods. Sampling methods attempt to construct approximate samples from the target distribution, which can then be used to approximate expectations with respect to the posterior. Variational methods instead rephrase inference as an optimisation problem and form parametric approximations to the target distribution.
In this thesis, we present contributions to sampling methods and variational methods with a focus on scalability. Firstly, we introduce a novel sampling technique based on Hamiltonian Monte Carlo that uses a relativistic kinetic energy to improve robustness to hyperparameters. We then describe a novel algorithm for distributed Bayesian learning based on expectation propagation techniques. In addition, we present a novel normalising flow that can be used to form more flexible variational approximations within variational inference.
We then describe two applications of probabilistic thinking and variational techniques to the field a continuous control. Firstly, we describe how reinforcement learning can be viewed as probabilistic inference and introduce a novel algorithm for learning priors in reinforcement learning leading to substantial improvement in learning speed and final performance in certain settings. Lastly, we describe a probabilistic model that can be used to compress thousands of expert policies trained to reproduce motion capture data into one model that is capable of one-shot imitation. We further demonstrate that it is possible to reuse our model, resulting in naturalistic movements on challenging control tasks.

Keywords: Continuous Control
Machine Learning
Advisor: Teh, Y