VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Development of Al93Fe3Cr2Ti2/ Nano-size γ-Al2O3 Nanocomposite by Ball Milling Process

The strength of conventional aluminium alloys decreases rapidly above 150°C, which limits their applications at elevated temperature. Rapid solidified (RS) nanoquasicrystalline Al93Fe3Cr2Ti2 (at.%) alloy has previously shown outstanding mechanical performance and microstructural stability at elevated temperatures (&GT;300°C). In order to obtain an outstanding Al-based material with very high strength in a broad range of temperature, it is proposed to produce a nanocomposite consisting of nano-size ceramic particles homogenously distributed in a nanoquasicrystalline alloy matrix. The main challenges of processing nanoquasicrystalline nanocomposites in ball milling are to prevent the metastable quasicrystalline phase from decomposition and to avoid the agglomerations of nano-size γ-Al2O3.
[abstract continues in thesis]

Advisor: Galano, M
Audebert, F
Pompeii, Insula IX.3: a case study of urban infrastructure

This thesis takes insula IX.3 in Pompeii as a case study and examines how life-sustaining basic utilities and services were made available in this city block. The evidence comes in the form of finds, as documented by nineteenth-century excavators, and structures, either those still standing or those discovered during recent excavations by the Expeditio Pompeiana Universitatis Helsingiensis. Building on concepts deriving from consumption studies and studies of humans and their material culture, this thesis focuses on patterns and non-conformity, and approaches observed phenomena from the point of view of need and desire, cost and efficiency, ownership and law.
An analysis of broad-ranging evidence is made possible by operating at a city block level, and patterns can be recognized because the city block contains 19 units. Comparative material and written sources are used to put the evidence in context. Some of the evidence conforms to previously-identified patterns while other evidence reveals new patterns, to be tested further in other contexts. It is shown that basic utilities and services were generally readily available. Nonetheless, there are clear differences between units, and some parts of the city block were more advantageously positioned than others. These reveal differences in hierarchies of needs, social and economic standing, and the impact of the physical constraints in the arrangement of utilities.
Some units shared the use of particular utilities. Servitudes, which made these kinds of arrangements possible between adjacent properties, best explain some situations. However, in the majority of cases they most likely derive from common ownership. As a result, the city block contained fewer properties than the number of units. This sheds light on the social relations within the city block and gives grounds for discussion of dominance and dependence. It is shown that the city block contained four clusters of units dominated by large households which were surrounded by dependent units smaller in size. The configuration enabled the owners to play out and gain social, political and economic power.

Keywords: city infrastructure
Pompeii
property ownership
Advisor: DeLaine, J
COIN-operated anthropology: cultural knowledge, American counterinsurgency and the rise of the Afghan diaspora

This thesis explores the encounter between the Afghan-American community and the U.S. military-industrial complex in the production of cultural knowledge for counterinsurgency (COIN) operations in Afghanistan. It focuses on the narratives mobilized as 'expertise' by Afghan-American contractors from the major diaspora hubs in California and Virginia, who were employed as role-players, translators, and cultural advisors by the U.S. military and defense contractors. I discuss how such narratives gained currency and shaped the perceptions of Afghanistan in the U.S. foreign and security policy communities. The goal of the thesis is to demonstrate the extent to which COIN-centered cultural knowledge production both defined political strategies toward Afghanistan and also reconstituted the Afghan diaspora in America. The thesis contributes to emergent ethnographic studies on militarism by looking at its effect on American society in general and the Afghan diaspora in particular. The broader application of the thesis findings is to move beyond critiques of the troubled connection between anthropology and the military, and to analyze the relationship between citizens and the state in terms of national and biopolitical security.

Keywords: counterinsurgency
cultural knowledge
Militarism
Diaspora
Knowledge production
Afghanistan
Advisor: Van Hear, N
Deciphering cis/trans RNA regulatory interactions in vivo

Post-transcriptional regulation of the genetic programme is achieved through the sophisticated interplay between cis regulatory elements and trans interacting factors. Deciphering these interactions, especially those between microRNAs (miRNAs) and destabilising miRNA response elements (MREs), requires technologies that permit their unbiased interrogation under native, physiological conditions. Here I describe the development of miR-TRACE, a novel and versatile platform for miRNA-target identification that analyses in vivo miRNA-MRE binding. Following iterative optimisation I demonstrate the reliability of this technology in identifying bona fide miRNA targets on a candidate scale. Subsequently, I implement several experimental and computational innovations to develop miRTRACEseq, a multiplex platform enabling unbiased high-throughput analysis of miRNA-MRE interactions across the transcriptome. As a proof of concept, I applied this technology to a highly conserved candidate miRNA in S2R+ cells (miR-184) and implemented a logistic regression model to map all miR-184 MREs. This analysis confirmed known miR-184 MREs but also discovered novel targets.
In parallel, during my thesis I have applied the core principles underlying miRTRACE to study the translational quiescence of bicoid (bcd) mRNA during Drosophila oogenesis. Several lines of evidence, foremost bcd’s association to mRNA processing bodies (P-bodies), suggest the possibility of a miRNA-mediated mechanism underlying bcd silencing. To explore this scenario I have developed a multipronged experimental approach employing miR-TRACE, unbiased small RNA interactome capture, and computational analysis. Together, these analyses uncovered several miRNAs specifically associated with bcd RNA in ovary tissues, of which the two most notable candidates were miR-184 and miR-989. Interestingly, the levels of these miRNAs are significantly reduced in a bcd pulldown from embryos, a finding consistent with relief of bcd silencing in this tissue. This study provides the first evidence for a potential role of miRNAs in regulating the translation of bcd RNA. This opens up a completely new line of investigation in the quest for elucidating what remains one of the most enigmatic accounts of gene expression regulation during the oocyte-to-embryo developmental transition.

Advisor: Fulga, T
Cerundolo, V
Towards an imaging lattice for magnetically trapped atoms

The imaging of neutral atoms confined in an optical lattice has been demonstrated by a number of groups, resolving single fluorescing atoms in samples of hundreds of atoms. To obtain a high signal the atoms remain confined in the wells of a deep optical lattice whilst fluorescence excitation light is applied for high resolution imaging. In most cases, the excitation light frequency is chosen so that there is a concomitant laser cooling effect. In existing implementations of an imaging lattice the preceding manipulation stage has used optical trapping and manipulation. In this thesis I describe work towards applying this imaging lattice technique on a magnetic trapping apparatus, in particular for carrying out quantum simulation experiments.
An introduction to the specific challenge of performing a quantum simulation of the fractional quantum Hall effect is given, with the link to and nature of the imaging lattice technique explained. The existing quantum-gas machine that has been developed to produce Bose-Einstein condensates of 87Rb in this work is then described, including the new optical lattice subsystem and the associated diode laser system. An auxiliary project to develop a servo-control system for frequencies that are several GHz away from an atomic reference is presented.
We implement an optical lattice using laser light with a frequency detuning of -20 GHz below the D1-resonance line. The construction and geometry of the individual dipole trapping beams in combination with our existing apparatus is discussed as well as the alignment methods used. We confirm the presence of three independent 1D lattices through diffraction, and observe the decay of a BEC loaded into a lattice using absorption imaging. We observe good long-term alignment and operational stability of the optical lattice.
This system will enable us to ultimately detect single fluorescing atoms in the optical lattice, following the application of excitation light co-propogating with lattice beams, via an imaging system with a moderate numerical aperture of 0:27.

Advisor: Foot, C
Industrial policy refraction: how corporate strategy shapes development outcomes in Brazil

This dissertation is motivated by a desire to understand why multinational firms respond to industrial policies in different ways, and how their responses shape development outcomes. From 18th­century United States to modern-­day Brazil, governments have relied on tariff and non-­tariff barriers to induce industrial development within their countries' borders. For states seeking to catch up, the acquisition and assimilation of frontier technology has always been paramount (Abramovitz, 1986).
Multinational firms based in industrialized countries have long been seen as sources of technology (Evans, 1979). Despite their importance in the process of economic development, they are often underspecified in the literature. Scholars of various disciplinary persuasions have examined industrial policy's antecedents (Dobbin, 1994; Breznitz, 2007) as well as its design principles (Rodrik, 2004; Sabel, 2009), but few have examined its object: the firm. My aim in this study is to explore how corporate strategy moderates the relationship between an industrial policy's aims and its outcomes.
I examine two multinational information and communication technology (ICT) firms, explaining why they have responded to the Brazilian Informatics Law in different ways, and why these differences matter. On the basis of interviews, extended periods of observation and secondary materials, I develop a multilevel comparative case study that focuses on these firms and their Brazilian subsidiaries, as well as on their local research and development (R&D) partners and the teams of engineers that comprise them.
I introduce the inductively derived concept of industrial policy refraction, proposing that foreign firms respond to host countries' industrial policies in ways that are consonant with their corporate strategies; that centralized firms are less likely to comply with a host government's demands than are decentralized firms. Refraction is not categorical, but a matter of degree. My findings are brought to bear on three traditionally disparate bodies of research –industrial policy, corporate strategy and institutional theory – extending each and also bringing them into fruitful communion with one another.

Advisor: Sako, M
Thun, E
Fine structure of the HIV-1 glycan shield

The HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein trimer (Env) is covered by an extensive array of glycans that shield it from immune surveillance. The high density of glycans on the trimer surface imposes steric constraints that limit the actions of glycan processing enzymes, such that multiple under-processed structures remain on specific locations. These oligomannose-type glycans are recognized by broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) that are not thwarted by the glycan shield but, perhaps paradoxically, target it. In multiple studies, bNAbs have been shown to be capable of providing passive protection from viral challenge, making Env a focus of antibody-mediated vaccine design.
Here, the development of a workflow for the semi-quantitative, site-specific N-glycosylation analysis of a soluble recombinant, native-like trimer mimic (BG505 SOSIP.664) is reported. The resulting data reveal a mosaic of dense clusters on the outer domain of Env and allow mapping the extremes of simplicity and diversity of glycan processing. Although individual sites usually minimally affect the global integrity of the glycan shield, examples are identified of how deleting certain glycans can subtly influence neutralization by bNAbs that bind at distant sites.
Env is a trimer of heterodimers of gp120 and gp41, which is generated by cleavage of an endogenous protease. In this thesis, the detailed effect of protease cleavage on glycan processing is examined by comparing the site-specific N-glycosylation profiles of the native-like trimer mimic to the corresponding uncleaved pseudotrimer and the matched gp120 monomer. Trimer-associated glycan remodeling forms a localized subdomain of the native mannose patch.
Furthermore, the glycosylation analysis of further Env immunogens – a glycan-depleted trimer and a flexibly-linked, uncleaved trimer (both based on BG505 SOSIP.664) – provides important insights into the robustness of the HIV-1 glycan shield and the Env maturation pathway. Overall, this thesis reveals how structural constraints shape Env glycosylation and the network of bNAb-targeted glycans that should be preserved on recombinant vaccine candidates.

Keywords: HIV
N-glycosylation
mass spectrometry
Vaccine design
glycobiology
Advisor: Crispin, M
Zitzmann, N
Study of mixed mode electro-optical operations of Ge2Sb2Te5

Chalcogenide based Phase Change Materials are currently of great technological interest in the growing field of optoelectronics. Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) is the most widely studied phase change material, and it has been commercially used in both optical and electronic data storage applications, due to its ability to switch between two different atomic configurations, at high speed and with low power consumption, as well as its high optical and electrical contrast between amorphous and crystalline states. Despite its well-known optical and electrical properties, the operation in combination of optical and electrical domains has not yet been fully investigated.
This work studies the operation of GST nano-devices exposed to a combination of optical and electrical stimuli or mixed mode by asking, is it possible to electrically measure an optically induced phase change, or vice versa? If so, how do the optical and electrical responses relate to each other, and is it possible to operate GST with a combination of optical and electrical signals? What are the technical constraints that need to be considered in order to fabricate GST devices that could be operated either optically or electrically?
In order to answer these questions, experiments that characterized the optical and electrical responses of GST based nano-devices were performed. It was found that different crystallization mechanisms may have influence in the response, and that the thermal and optical design characteristics of the device play a key role in its operation. Finally a proof of principle, of an opto-electonic memory device that can be read electrically, reset optically and write electrically, is presented. This opens up possibilities for the development of new opto-eloectronic applications such as non-volatile interfaces between future photonics and electronics, high speed optical communication detectors, high speed cameras, artificial retinas and many more.

Keywords: Ge2Sb2Te5
GST(225)
Nano-devices
GST
Phase Change Materials
Mixed mode electro-optic operation
Optoelectronics
Advisor: Bhaskaran, H
Crisis, credibility, and corruption: how ideas and institutions shape government behaviour in India

Anti-corruption movements play a vital role in democratic development. From the American Gilded Age to global demonstrations in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, these movements seek to combat malfeasance in government and improve accountability. While this collective action remains a constant, how government elites perceive and respond to such agitation, varies. My dissertation tackles this puzzle head-on: Why do some democratic governments respond more tolerantly than others to anti-corruption movements?
To answer this research question, I examine variation across time in two cases within the world’s largest democracy: India. I compare the Congress Party government's suppressive response to the Jayaprakash Narayan movement in 1975, and the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government’s tolerant response to the India Against Corruption movement in 2012.
For developing democracies such as India, comparativist scholarship gives primacy to external, material interests – such as votes and rents – as proximately shaping government behavior. Although these logics explain elite decision-making around elections and the predictability of pork barrel politics, they fall short in explaining government conduct during credibility crises, such as when facing nationwide anti-corruption movements.
In such instances of high political uncertainty, I argue, it is the absence or presence of an ideological checks and balance mechanism among decision-making elites in government that shapes suppression or tolerance respectively. This mechanism is produced from the interaction between structure (multi-party coalition) and agency (divergent cognitive frames in positions of authority). In this dissertation, elites analyze the anti-corruption movement and form policy prescriptions based on their frames around social and economic development as well as their concepts of the nation.
My research consists of over 110 individual interviews with state elites, including the Prime Minister, cabinet ministers, party leaders, and senior bureaucrats among other officials for the contemporary case; and a broad compilation of private letters, diplomatic cables and reports, and speeches collected from three national archives for the historical study.
To my knowledge this is the first data-driven study of Indian politics that precisely demonstrates how ideology acts as a constraint on government behavior in a credibility crisis. On a broader level, my findings contribute to the recently renewed debate in political science as to why democracies sometimes behave illiberally.

Keywords: United Progressive Alliance
Decision-making
Ideology
Liberal
Arvind Kejriwal
India
Jayaprakash Narayan
Right-wing
Populism
Anna Hazare
Indira Gandhi
Elites
Protests
Corruption
Reform
Indian National Congress
Manmohan Singh
Advisor: Bermeo, N
Characterization of pilE antisense RNA in Neisseria meningitidis

Expression of Type four pili is important for colonization and virulence in Neisseria meningitidis, which is a major causative agent of bacterial meningitis and septicaemia. Pili mediate adhesion, twitching motility, DNA uptake, and can be subject to phase and antigenic variation (Av). Pilin expression and Av may be modulated in response to environmental cues; however, the mechanisms of regulation are still unclear.
This work demonstrates the identification of a novel cis-encoded RNA on the antisense (AS) strand of pilE, which encodes the major pilin subunit. The AS promoter is conserved in different N. meningitidis isolates, suggesting that the AS RNA may play an important role N. meningitidis biology. By Northern blot and strand-specific qRT-PCR, the AS transcript was shown to be expressed during specific conditions, namely after overnight growth and in response to salt stress. The AS RNA was found to encompass sequences antisense to the entire pilE coding sequence and 5' untranslated region, and extends to a promoter upstream of pilE that drives expression of a G4 small RNA that is important for pilin Av.
Noncoding RNAs are increasingly recognized as important regulators of gene expression in bacteria. AS RNAs often modulate expression of the sense mRNA, however in this study, overexpression or deletion of the AS RNA had no significant effect on pilE transcript or pilin levels despite its long stretch of complementarity to the pilE mRNA. Potential trans targets were also investigated by performing RNAseq analysis to identify differentially expressed genes in the absence of the AS RNA. Expression of the AS RNA was found to reduce the frequency of pilE variation. The possible influence of the AS RNA on G4 small RNA transcription was investigated by examining its effect on the levels of G4 small RNA and RNA:DNA hybrids. Although technical issues prevented us from obtaining definitive results, our findings suggest the AS RNA forms RNA:DNA hybrids, adding an additional layer of complexity of molecular processes in the pilE locus of N. meningitidis.

Advisor: Tang, C
Exley, R
A measure for measure: moderation and the mean in the literature of Spain's Golden Age

This thesis presents the first sustained analysis of the reception of the Aristotelian golden mean in early modern Spanish literature. It argues that the critically-neglected ethical credo of moderation was an important part of the classical inheritance on which Golden-Age authors frequently drew, and that despite its famous origins in moral philosophy rather than literature, it was subject to just the same kind of imitative reworking as has long been acknowledged for literary predecessors. The analysis is divided into two sections. The first takes a synoptic view of the period, assessing the transmission of Aristotle's doctrine to the Renaissance and exploring what it meant to the Golden-Age mind. That includes identifying a particular early modern reformulation of the mean, which I argue was an important factor in the popularity of the Icarus and Phaethon myths, as analogues for Aristotle's moral. The body of the thesis then comprises three case studies of the role of moderation in works which span the period’s chronological and generic range: the poetry of Garcilaso; Calderón's 'El médico de su honra'; and Gracián's 'Criticón'. These studies explore three important general trends in the reception of the mean: the association of excess and moderation with particular literary models; the incorporation of the mean into Christian thought; and its parallel existence as non-technical, commonplace wisdom. However, each chapter also constitutes an innovation within its own field, offering a reassessment of Garcilaso's relationship to literary tradition; a re-reading of the characters and plot structure of 'El médico', including the controversial King Pedro; and an analysis of the elusive moral approach behind Gracián's allegorical novel. The mean is thus remarkable for both the breadth and depth of its incorporation into literature, and a focus on its treatment offers substantial new insights into some of the canonical works of the age.

Keywords: Moderation
Excess
Calderón
Garcilaso
mediocritas
Aristotle
Golden-Age literature
Gracián
Mean
Advisor: Thacker, J