VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
(De)contextualising Buddhist aesthetics

(De)contextualising Buddhist Aesthetics is a practice-led artistic research project focusing on the interchanging transition between Buddhist and artistic practices. Essentially inspired by the concept of vipassanā meditation, I created a series of performances involving repetitive actions centring on the tasks of re-arranging readymade objects into multiple precarious configurations. Many exercises challenge the laws of gravity and other physical limitations of objects, as well as encouraging the learning experience through the process of trial and error. During the course of mindful observation of the performing body and objects, the mental state gradually gains moments of stillness and silence, which approach the meaning of emptiness (suññatā) in Buddhism. Repeated failures generate intermittent feelings of exhaustion and disappointment, which naturally become part of the progress, and can be personally used to develop insight into the notions of impermanence and the non-self derived from dhamma (Buddhist teachings). The video and photography documentations were edited and altered to generate a visual experience that echoes my thoughts and feelings developed during the proceedings; these moving images later inspired other series of hand-made artworks, including collages, drawings and paintings on paper and canvas, exhibited as part of the installations. Various techniques were applied so these objective components resonate a comparative experience of uncontrollability and controllability: dynamic and stillness, fast pace and slow rhythm, abstract and representation. Some two-dimensional pieces are transformed to three-dimensional and their displays keep changing from location to location, and from time to time, in conjunction with an unstable state of the mind. All artworks were created in various formats and interrelate and inform each other. They act together as evidence of the endless journey of artistic learning, which also mirrors the concept of self-learning in Buddhist meditation.

Keywords: vipassanā meditation
Buddhist practice
Buddhist emptiness
mindfulness
video art
performance
contemporary art
installation
Advisor: Chevska, M
Thompson, A
Genetic analysis of variation in complex traits

Variation is a universal property of life, and much of contemporary genetics research is directed towards understanding the causes of variation in traits. Here I present the results of my investigations into the genetic and other causes of trait variation in humans and mice. I address these questions in the context of two distinct research projects, which use pre-existing data to investigate the causes of trait variation, through a range of analytic techniques.
I first extract trait data from historic breeding records from the incipient Collaborative Cross (a genetic reference population of recombinant inbred mice) and use them to map genetic factors affecting litter size and other reproductive traits. Mapping reveals significant quantitative trait loci associated with litter size and time between litters, as well as a number of suggestive loci. I characterise the genetic effects at these loci and investigate candidate genes. The most robust finding, a litter size locus on chromosome 5, explains around 3% of observed variation and 24% of the variation attributable to genetics.
Using data obtained from the Netherlands Twin Registry—a longitudinal database of Dutch twins—I investigate the prevalence of parent of origin effects on gene expression traits in peripheral blood in humans. I first phase individuals’ genotypes by parental origin and use these genotypes to calculate the heritability of over 44,000 gene expression traits partitioned into that attributable to matching and nonmatching parent of origin. I replicate prior genomewide heritability estimates for many traits, but I find little evidence of widespread parent-of-origin effects on human gene expression in blood. On further examination, the small sample size severely limits the power to detect such effects. Nonetheless, I identify approximately 200 genes enriched for immune system processes that show evidence of parent-of-origin-specific effects on heritability.

Keywords: Genomics
Variation
Complex trait
Genetics
Advisor: Mott, R
Iqbal, Z
Investigation of cross-reactive antibodies against Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes

Cross-reactive antibodies have recently come into focus as promising tools for targeted vaccine design in the fields of HIV and influenza, but the identification of such antibodies that bind to Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes has proven difficult due to extensive clonal antigenic variation on the surface of these cells. In this study, I report the identification of cross-reactive human monoclonal antibodies that bind to P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes from most parasite strains tested. These antibodies gained broad reactivity through the insertion of a large piece of DNA between the V and DJ segments of the antibody heavy chain, which is encoded on chromosome 14. The core of the insert, which is the primary element required for binding to the infected erythrocytes, codes for the collagen-binding domain of LAIR1, an immunoglobulin superfamily inhibitory receptor that is encoded on chromosome 19. In each of the donors studied, the LAIR1-containing antibodies were derived from a single B cell clone and acquired mutations that increased binding to infected erythrocytes and reduced binding to collagen. The targets of these antibodies were identified as members of the RIFIN variant surface antigen family. The LAIR1-containing antibodies were able to opsonize and agglutinate P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes, suggesting that they may be useful in reducing parasite burden in vivo. Using newly developed assays, I show that the presence of LAIR1-containing antibodies is not limited to a particular place or population, but can be found quite commonly in individuals from different malaria-endemic areas. These findings demonstrate a novel pathway of antibody diversification by interchromosomal DNA transposition that results in the production of functional antibodies and suggest that RIFIN epitopes that are recognized by the LAIR1-containing antibodies may be potential candidates for the development of a blood-stage malaria vaccine.

Keywords: Plasmodium falciparum
Antibodies
LAIR1
Advisor: Marsh, K
Bull, P
Complexity-generating reactions and the synthesis of alkaloids

This thesis describes attempts to apply the furan oxidative N-spirocyclisation methodology to the synthesis of three alkaloids, namely pandamarilactone-1, lycopladine D and hederacine B.
Starting from 5-chloro-1-pentyne, pandamarilactone-1 is synthesised in 10 steps and 9% overall yield. The structure of pandamarilactone-1 is confirmed by HMBC data and sitespecific hydrogen-deuterium exchange in methanol-d4. Furthermore, the reactivity of pandamarilactone-1 with aqueous ammonia shows that pandamarine is not an experimental artifact from the isolation process and is most likely a genuine natural product.
Along the synthetic route towards lycopladine D, the versatile chemistry of a bicyclic enamine is demonstrated by its ability to generate complex multicyclic molecules. A key tricyclic lactam, which is a common structural core found in several other fawcettimine-type Lycopodium alkaloids, is also furnished. The synthesis of the spiro-N,O-acetal and its stereochemistry is also discussed. Furthermore, isotopic labelling studies show that the ammonium ylids of a tricyclic aminoketone intermediate undergo intramolecular Hofmann elimination in preference to Stevens rearrangement. This provides an alternative pathway for tricyclic aminoketone ring expansion to afford bicyclic enones.
For the synthesis of hederacine B, a key spirocyclisation precursor is synthesised by dibromocyclopropane electrocyclic ring expansion step followed by intramolecular Heck cyclisation. The regioselectivity of the ring expansion and cycloheptenyl cation capture is controlled using two different approaches. Applying the furan oxidative N-cyclisation methodology, the formal synthesis of 9-epi-hederacine A and 9-epi-hederacine B is completed in 23 and 25 steps, respectively, from Hajos–Parrish ketone.

Advisor: Robertson, J
Studies into iridium-catalysed asymmetric allylic alkylation towards the total synthesis of a dolabellane

In recent years, iridium-catalysed asymmetric allylic substitution has received considerable attention because it is a valuable tool to selectively synthesise chiral compounds with high ee from simple starting materials. This thesis presents an efficient catalytic system for the decarboxylative iridium-catalysed asymmetric allylic alkylation (AAA) in which a wide range of allylic β-ketoester substrates was converted into chiral ketones in good yields with high regio- and enantioselectivities. A possible mechanism for decarboxylative iridium-catalysed AAA is also proposed in this thesis.

Advisor: Burton, J
An optical lattice clock with neutral strontium

Strontium optical lattice clocks can measure the passage of time with extraordinary precision. Capitalising on this precision, we can anticipate the deployment of lattice clocks to search for new physics beyond the standard model, to build new technologies for geodesy and navigation, and potentially to underpin a future redenition of the SI second.
This thesis reports on the construction and evaluation of a robust Sr optical lattice clock at NPL. We describe the apparatus needed to capture, cool, and load samples of neutral strontium atoms into a magic-wavelength, far off-resonant lattice trap at 813 nm. We provide details of our optical local oscillator - the "clock laser" - and how it is used to realise an Sr-referenced optical frequency standard. We rigorously characterise the various contributing factors which limit the performance of the clock, focusing on the standard measures of (1) frequency instability, and (2) systematic frequency uncertainty. Finally, we introduce new innovations for improving the accuracy of the 88Sr lattice clock, including methods of "modified hyper-Ramsey" and multi-photon spectroscopy of the clock transition.

Advisor: Gill, P
Baird, P
Experimental studies and simulations of shock-compressed silicon

The response of silicon to shock-compression has been an area of active research for decades. However, despite considerable improvements in both experimental techniques and computer simulations, the behaviour has not been unanimously constrained. This work introduces a new Lagrangian Elastic code which aims to approach the modelling of solids from a different direction to traditional hydrodynamics codes. We present data from a white-light Laue diffraction experiment, which along with molecular dynamics simulations, suggest that a kinetically inhibited phase-change may be indirectly responsible for the previously reported anomalous elastic response of silicon. We also present data from a monochromatic x-ray diffraction experiment which show the first observed diffraction from a shock-induced high-pressure phase in silicon.

Advisor: Wark, J
Novel chalcogenide nanomaterials production and application

In this work, chemical vapour deposition (CVD) using chloride precursors has been employed for the synthesis of various nanostructures of tungsten disulphide (WS2). By tuning the synthesis conditions and precursors, the process was successfully employed for synthesis of 3D nanoflowers of WS2, 2D WS2 domains and mixed metal dichalcogenides of Mo and W. The structural evolution of the nanoflowers has been presented along with the composition changes which sheds light on the nucleation and growth mechanism. The presence of few-layered WS2 along the edges of the nanoflowers was revealed using high resolution microscopy. Various exfoliation techniques were employed to isolate these nanosheets from the nanoflower. Solvent exfoliation produced a cluster of nanosheets with increased amount of edge sites which exhibited excellent catalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) when in combination with commercial fuel cell grade carbon black (BP 2000), shown by studies using a electrochemical setup. The growth of 2D WS2 domains was also investigated using a similar CVD strategy, as employed for nanoflowers, to study the influence of various parameters such as sulphur sublimation temperature, synthesis temperature, time period, substrates position and precursors on the final deposit. It was observed that the shape, thickness and size of the domains vary within the substrates depending on the growth condition and parameters. The composition-controlled synthesis of MoxW1-xS2 was achieved by employing the same atmospheric-pressure CVD using Mo and W chloride precursors. By controlling the sublimation temperature of the precursors it was shown that the growth temperature, which was varied from 650 °C to 800 °C, dictates the alloy composition with W dopant composition varied from as little as a few percent (x=0.98), to over 50% (x=0.42). This work shows the versatility of the CVD process to produce different morphologies of WS2- 3D nanoflowers to 2D domains- making it ideal for wide range of applications from catalysis to optoelectronic devices, and could be extended for synthesis of analogous TMD compounds.

Advisor: Grobert, N
Dillon, F
Socioeconomic risk and the class-basis of reasoning during market transitions

This dissertation investigates the nature by which social class membership and identity figure in judgements of transition institutions for the citizens of post-communist Central and Eastern Europe. Using a unique dataset and a series of novel conceptual frameworks, it argues that social class is, in effect, an operationalisation of socioeconomic risk and vulnerability—a premise from which several important implications derive. Drawing on social identity theory, it presents and tests a model of self-conceptualisation, grounded in the belief that individuals variously identify with their social classes, depending on their perceptions of shared socioeconomic risk. From this, it follows that strong identifiers should derive more relevant information about the emerging market system from class-level economic experiences, and therefore accord these cues greater weight in judgements about transition institutions. Beyond testing this theory of interpersonal variation, it invokes signal detection theory from cognitive psychology to determine whether cross-group differences in economic vulnerability are responsible for observed class differentials in reliance on class-based economic cues. It then takes a wider view of class-based economic cognition by considering how the process of transition, itself, influenced the evaluative calculus of post-communist citizens. Building on cognitive mobilisation theory in political science, it is posited that on-going exposure to the prevailing economic system endows these citizens with the ability to link their class-level economic experiences to the effects of the market mechanism. The analysis largely supports the constituent hypotheses, as well as the larger notion that perceptions of shared socioeconomic risk led social class experiences to figure prominently in the minds of post-communist citizens.

Keywords: post-communist
marketization
Transition Economies
signal detection theory
identity economics
social identity theory
social class
Advisor: Evans, G
Duch, R
Magnesium ring-opening polymerisation catalysts

This Thesis describes the synthesis and characterisation of new magnesium borohydride, alkoxide and amide complexes, and their uses as catalysts for the ringopening polymerisation (ROP) of rac-, L-, D-, meso-lactide and &epsiv;-caprolactone.
Chapter One introduces cyclic esters and possible mechanistic pathways leading to polyesters by ROP. Common techniques for polymer characterisation are described and an overview of ROP from an industrial perspective is also given.
Chapter Two describes the synthesis and characterisation of a series of magnesium alkyl, halide, borohydride and alkoxide complexes supported by the 3-tert-butyl, 5- methyl tris(pyrazolyl)methane ligand. Computational analysis will be discussed to gain further understanding from the viewpoint of bonding and structures.
Chapter Three describes the activities of magnesium borohydride and benzyloxide catalysts in the ROP of cyclic esters. Detailed mechanistic studies for the ROP of LA using a magnesium borohydride catalyst are discussed.
Chapter Four describes the use of borate ester species as chain transfer agents in the immortal ROP of rac-LA and &epsiv;-CL. The effect of non-activated catalysts and borate ester species on the occurrence of transesterification side reactions is also discussed.
Chapter Five describes the synthesis and characterisation of a series of magnesium amide, borohydride and halide complexes supported by the chiral bis(oxazolinylphenyl)amine ligand. The catalytic activities of the magnesium borohydride complex in the living and immortal ROP of LA are also discussed.
Chapter Six contains experimental details and characterising data for the new complexes reported in this Thesis.
CD Appendix contains .CIF files for all the new crystallographically-characterised complexes and .xyz files containing the coordinates of the geometrically optimised structures.

Advisor: Mountford, P
Testing coherence in narrative film

This thesis aims to explore how narrative films that are marked by crucial obscurities and explanatory gaps in their development manage to become coherent. More specifically, the thesis is interested in examining how these obscurities and explanatory gaps can be understood as meaningful aspects of the films' organisation.
Since the function of coherence in film has rarely been examined directly, the thesis first attempts to illuminate it by drawing on the work of two aestheticians who have examined it more systematically. Thus, the first part of the thesis discusses the work of Victor F. Perkins and George Wilson, while attempting to explore aspects of the work of these two aestheticians through the analysis of specific films. The writings of Perkins and Wilson provide a good starting point for the thesis because they raise crucial questions regarding the ways through which narrative films manage to deal with significant tensions in their organisation and intelligibility.
The main body of the thesis (the second part of the thesis) then examines four narrative films, each of which is marked by a significant aspect of apparent incoherence. In each case, the thesis attempts to show that this aspect of apparent incoherence – rather than merely obstructing the film’s intelligibility – essentially contributes to the creation of the film’s idiosyncratic internal logic. In order to understand how this becomes possible, the thesis pays close attention to the ways in which the various components of each examined film relate to each other, observing and analysing the aesthetic strategies which enable each examined film ultimately to come together.

Keywords: Coherence
Comprehensibility
Film As Film
Tension
Victor F. Perkins
Film Criticism
Film Studies
Intelligibility
Narrative Film
George Wilson
Close Reading
Advisor: Klevan, A
Essays in education economics

This thesis examines three different aspects of education policy to ascertain their effects on individual outcomes, both in the classroom and in the labour market. The goal is to provide new empirical evidence using robust identification strategies that can inform better policy.
The first chapter looks at the role of pre-primary education in Germany using the German Socio-Economic Panel data set (GSOEP) to determine if attending an early education programme for longer increases the probability of attending a higher-level secondary school at age fourteen. I employ family fixed effects estimation and quasi-experimental analysis to control for selection. The results of the family fixed effects estimation show a small and negative impact of attending early education for more years. In the quasi-experimental analysis, based upon a federal law change in 1996, I find no impact of more years of early education on later schooling outcomes.
In the second chapter of this thesis, I again use the GSOEP to examine the recent German reform to extend the length of the primary school day. I exploit the quasi-experimental roll-out of reform to assign treatment to women and look at whether increasing school hours increases the likelihood that mothers enter into employment or extend their hours if already working. I find that the policy has an effect at the extensive margin, drawing more women into the labour market, but that there is no significant impact of the policy at the intensive margin.
In the final chapter I turn my attention to how peers' non-cognitive traits impact an individual's learning outcomes. Using an educational panel from Flanders, Belgium, I use the linear-in- means model of peer effects as well as several non-linear models to see how peers’ personalities in a classroom affect Dutch and math scores. The results show that having more conscientious peers on average positively impacts Dutch and math scores, but that a greater dispersion of conscientiousness hurts Dutch outcomes. I also find that having more extroverted peers on average hurts math performance.

Keywords: Education policy
Non-cognitive skills
Early education
Returns to education
Maternal labour supply
Peer effects
Advisor: Bell, B
Stevens, M
Bounds for the normal approximation of the maximum likelihood estimator

The asymptotic normality of the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) under regularity conditions is a long established and famous result. This is a qualitative result and the assessment of such a normal approximation is our main interest. For this task we partly use Stein's method, which is a probabilistic technique that can be used to explicitly measure the distributional distance between two distributions. Since its first appearance in 1972, the method has been developed for various distributions; here we use the results related to Stein's method for normal approximation.
In this thesis, we derive explicit upper bounds on the distributional distance between the distribution of the MLE and the normal distribution. First, the focus is on independent and identically distributed random variables from both discrete and continuous single-parameter distributions with particular attention to exponential families. For discrete distributions, the case where the MLE can be on the boundary of the parameter space is treated through a perturbation approach, which allows us to obtain bounds on the distributional distance of interest. The bounds are of order n^(-0.5), where n is the number of observations. Simulation-based results are given to illustrate the power of the bound. Furthermore, often the MLE can not be obtained analytically and optimisation methods (such as the Newton-Raphson algorithm) are used. Even in such cases, order n^(-0.5) bounds are given for the distributional distance related to the MLE.
The case of multi-parameter distributions follows smoothly after the detailed discussion related to a scalar parameter. Apart from extending our approach to a multi-parameter setting, we also cover the case of independent but not necessarily identically distributed (i.n.i.d.) random vectors with specific focus on the widely applicable linear regression models.
Going back to the single-parameter setting a different approach to get an upper bound on the distributional distance between the distribution of the MLE and the normal distribution, based on the Delta method, is also developed. The MLE for a Generalised Gamma distribution gives an illustration of the results obtained through this Delta method approach.
Finally, we relax the independence assumption and results for the case of locally dependent random variables are obtained. An example of correlated sums of normally distributed random variables illustrates the bounds. Again, results that do not require an analytic expression of the MLE to be known are given. We end this thesis with ideas currently in progress and further open research questions.

Keywords: Normal approximation
Stein's method
Maximum likelihood estimator
Advisor: Reinert, G