VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Forward performance measurement with applications in indifference valuation

In this thesis, we present basic ideas and key results for forward performance measurement. Besides, we provide an explicit construction of the optimal processes of a class of time-monotone forward performance processes. Moreover, starting with a two parameter family risk tolerance function, we construct a class of forward performance processes. By letting the parameter go to zero, we obtain the forward exponential utility. Finally, using the forward exponential utility, we solve the integrated portfolio management problem by the so-called utility-based approach and compare it with its classical backward indifference counterpart.

Advisor: Zariphopoulou, T
Neutral current electroweak interactions and the structure of the proton

In this thesis we investigate the scattering of neutrinos and antineutrinos off free protons in the deep inelastic region via the neutral weak current. In the BEBC experiment, a hybrid detector consisting of a large liquid hydrogen bubble chamber and electronic counters for muon and hadron identification, has been exposed to the CERN wide band beam of neutrinos with energies up to 300 GeV. The detector provides the possibility to discriminate efficiently between hadron-induced and neutrino-induced muonless events.
We are interested in the structure of the proton as it is resolved by the neutral carrier Zº of the electroweak force. The kinematical scaling variable X(BJ)
that represents information about the proton structure cannot be reconstructed in an experiment using a hydrogen target. Thus the X(BJ) dependence of the cross section for free protons has so far not been accessible. We construct a method that links the measurable distribution in a new variable w1 that incorporates the hadronic momentum longitudinal and transverse to the beam, to the one in X(BJ), in a model-independent way. It is shown that even with the statistics of about a thousand events it is possible to recover the X(BJ) dependence fo the neutrino proton cross-section with appreciable precision.
This method is then applied to the data that consists of 2200 neutrino and 1060 antineutrino neutral current events, after correcting for various backgrounds and cuts. We observe a neutral current proton structure that is consistent with the notion of parton universality. The results are compared to two other investigations which employ isoscalar heavy targets, and we find agreement in as far as they are comparable.
Furthermore we study the connection between the neutral current structure functions and distributions in the hadronic scaling variable w. It is found that they are related by simple formulae which do not incorporate any dependence on further kinematical variables, in the scaling approximation. We advocate the use of the w dependence of the neutral current cross section as an important piece of information that can provide access to some quantities that are measured only indirectly in charged current and electromagnetic scattering, and to the behaviour of the structure functions at small values of their argument.

Advisor: Myatt, G
Free surface disturbances and nonlinear runup around offshore structures

Diffraction of regular waves, focused wave groups, and random seas by arrays of vertical bottom mounted circular cylinders is investigated using theoretical, computational, and experimental methods. Free surface elevation η is the defining variable used to test the potential theory developed. In addition, the nonlinearity of focused wave groups is investigated through the Creamer nonlinear transform and analysis of numerical wave tank data.
Linear focused wave group theory is reviewed as a method for predicting the probable shape of extreme events from random wave spectra. The Creamer nonlinear transform, a realistic model for steep waves on deep water, is applied in integral form to simulate nonlinear focused wave groups. In addition, the transform is used to facilitate analysis of nonlinear wave-wave interactions within focused wave groups from a uni-directional numerical wave tank developed at Imperial College London.
Experiments in an offshore wave basin at HR Wallingford are designed to measure free surface elevation at multiple locations in the vicinity of a multicolumn structure subjected to regular and irregular waves for a range of frequencies and steepness. Results from regular wave data analysis for first order amplitudes are compared to analytical linear diffraction theory, which is shown to be accurate for predicting incident waves of low steepness. However, second and third order responses are also computed, and the effects in the vicinity of a second order near trapping frequency are compared to semi-analytical second order diffraction theory.
Analytical linear diffraction theory is extended for application to focused wave groups and random seas. Experimental irregular wave data are analysed for comparison with this theory. Linear diffraction theory for random seas is shown to give an excellent prediction of incident wave spectral diffraction, while linear diffraction theory for focused wave groups works well for linearised extreme events.
Adrenergic regulation of regional fat metabolism

Introduction: An increased gluteofemoral adipose tissue (AT) mass is associated with a protective cardiovascular and metabolic risk profile, and effective fatty acid retention in femoral AT has been proposed as a possible mechanism. Catecholamines are important regulators of AT lipolysis and blood flow (ATBF). The aim of the thesis was to investigate regional differences in the adrenergic regulation of fatty acid release and ATBF between abdominal and femoral AT in vivo. Furthermore, in vivo regional fatty acid trafficking was studied in a physiological setting over 24 h.
Methods: Regional fatty acid trafficking, along with the measurement of ATBF, was studied with the arterio-venous difference technique and stable isotope tracers in healthy volunteers. Adrenergic agonists (isoprenaline, adrenaline) were infused either locally by microinfusion, or systemically. Local microinfusion of adrenoreceptor antagonists (propranolol, phentolamine) was used to characterize specific adrenoreceptor subtype effects. The trafficking of dietary fatty acids was studied over a 24 h period involving three meals containing stable isotope-labelled fatty acids along with intravenous infusions of another labelled fatty acid.
Results: Femoral ATBF and lipolysis was less responsive to adrenergic stimulation with adrenaline compared to abdominal AT. This was due to increased femoral α-adrenoreceptor responsiveness. When studied over 24 h, femoral AT showed a lower lipolysis rate compared to abdominal AT, while dietary fatty acids were extracted more avidly by abdominal AT. Uptake of non-dietary fatty acids (derived from very-low-density lipoproteins or unbound non-esterified fatty acids) was comparable between abdominal and femoral AT.
Conclusion: There are fundamental differences in response to adrenergic stimuli between abdominal and gluteofemoral tissues and the ability of femoral AT to trap non-dietary fatty acids may provide protection of other tissues from ectopic fatty acid deposition.

Keywords: fatty acid trafficking
catecholamines
adipose tissue
Advisor: Frayn, K
Karpe, F
A laser based straightness monitor for a prototype automated linear collider tunnel surveying system

For precise measurement of new TeV-scale physics and precision studies of the Higgs Boson, a new lepton collider is required. To enable meaningful analysis, a centre of mass energy of 500GeV and luminosity of 1034cm-2s-1 is needed. The planned 31km long International Linear Collider is capable of meeting these targets, requiring a final emittance of 10 micro-radians horizontally and 35nmrad vertically. To achieve these demanding emittance values, the accelerator components in the main linacs must be aligned against an accurately mapped network of reference markers along the entire tunnel. An automated system could map this tunnel network quickly, accurately, safely and repeatedly; the Linear Collider Alignment and Survey (LiCAS) Rapid Tunnel Reference Surveyor (RTRS) is a working prototype of such a system.
The LiCAS RTRS is a train of measurement units that accurately locate regularly spaced retro-reflector markers using Frequency Scanning Interferometry (FSI). The unit locations with respect to each other are precisely reconstructed using a Laser Straightness Monitor (LSM) and tilt sensor system, along with a system of internal FSI lines. The design, commissioning, practical usage, calibration, and reconstruction performance of the LSM is addressed in this work.
The commissioned RTRS is described and the properties of the LSM components are investigated in detail. A method of finding the position of laser beam spots on the LSM cameras is developed, along with a process of combining individual spot positions into a more robust measurement compatible with the data from other sub-systems. Laser beam propagation along the LSM is modelled and a robust method of reconstructing CCD beam spot position measurements into positions and orientations of the LSM units is described. A method of calibrating LSM units using an external witness system is presented, along with a way of using the overdetermined nature of the LSM to improve calibration constant errors by including data taken from unwitnessed runs.
The reconstruction uncertainty, inclusive of both statistical and systematic effects, of the LSM system is found to be of 5.8 microns × 5.3 microns in lateral translations and 27.6 microradians × 34.1 microradians in rotations perpendicular to the beam, with an uncertainty of 51.1 microradians in rotations around the beam coming from a tilt-sensor arrangement.

Keywords: ILC
least squares minimisation
network reconstruction
tunnel surveying
linear collider
laser straightness monitor
straightness monitor
accelerator alignment
laser beam spot fitting
Advisor: Reichold, A
Personalised information filtering using event causality

Previous research on multimedia information filtering has mainly concentrated on key frame identification and video skim generation for browsing purposes, however applications requiring the generation of summaries as the final product for user con- sumption are of equal scientific and commercial interest. Recent advances in computer vision have enabled the extraction of semantic events from an audio-visual signal, so it can be assumed for our purposes that such semantic labels are already available for use. We concentrate instead on developing methods to prioritise these semantic elements for inclusion in a summary which can be personalised to meet a particular user's needs. Our work differentiates itself from that in the literature as it is driven by the results of a knowledge elicitation study with expert summarisers. The experts in our study believe that summaries structured as a narrative are better able to convey the content of the original data to a user. Motivated by the information filtering problem, the primary contribution of this thesis is the design and implementation of a system to summarise sequences of events by automatic modelling of the causal relationships between them. We show, by com- parison against summaries generated by experts and with the introduction of a new coherence metric, that modelling the causal relationships between events increases the coherence and accuracy of summaries. We suggest that this claim is valid, not only in the domain of soccer highlights generation, in which we carry out the bulk of our experiments, but also in any other domain in which causal relationships can be iden- tified between events. This proposal is tested by applying our summarisation system to another, significantly different domain, that of business meeting summarisation, using the soccer training set and a manually generated ontology mapping. We introduce the concept of a context-group of causally related events as a first step towards modelling narrative episodes and present a comparison between a case based reasoning and a two-stage Markov model approach to summarisation. For both methods we show that by including entire context-groups in the summary, rather than single events in isolation, more accurate summaries can be generated. Our approach to personalisation biases a summary according to particular narrative plotlines using different subsets of the training data. Results show that the number of instances of certain event classes can be increased by biasing the training set appropriately. This method gives very similar results to a standard weighting method, while avoiding the need to tailor the weights to a particular application domain.

Advisor: Brady, M
Determining the mechanism of pathogenesis of mucolipidosis type IV and related lysosomal storage disorders for development of novel therapies

Mucolipidosis type IV (MLIV) is a rare, autosomal recessive, neurodegenerative, lysosomal storage disorder. MLIV is caused by mutations in a gene (MCOLN1) encoding a TRP channel family member known as Mucolipin 1 or TRPML1. TRPML1 is a lysosomal transmembrane protein that appears to be required for normal lysosomal pH regulation, recycling of molecules and membrane reorganisation including lysosomal biogenesis, fusion and exocytosis. The exact function of the channel is unknown but it is permeable to multiple ions including Ca2+, Na+ and K+, possibly also Fe2+ and Zn2+. How normal TRPML1 function regulates lysosomal processes is not clearly understood. Mutations in the MCOLN1 gene can lead to complete loss of TRPML1 function, partial loss of function or mislocalisation, all of which lead to lysosomal dysfunction, lysosomal lipid storage and ultimately neurodegeneration. The disease processes that lead to neurodegeneration are poorly understood and at present no therapy exists for MLIV.
We have discovered that TRPML1 results in regulating lysosomal Ca2+ homeostasis that is the opposite of the Ca2+ dysregulation associated with Niemann-Pick type C disease (NPC). Our findings indicate that disrupted function of TRPML1 leads to enhanced Ca2+ release via the NAADP receptor, recently shown to be the lysosomal two-pore channel TPC2. This indicates that TRPML1 is not the NAADP receptor as suggested by others, indeed NAADP mediated Ca2+ release is enhanced with multiple NAADP induced lysosomal Ca2+ release events occurring in TRPML1 null cells compared to single releases in normal cells. This phenotype appears to be responsible for the cellular dysfunction associated with MLIV disease cells, enhanced lysosomal fusion, defective endocytosis and potentially even altered lysosomal pH. Several of these phenotypes are normalised by the NAADP receptor specific antagonist Ned-19. These findings illustrate that the NAADP receptor is central to MLIV disease pathology and may be a novel candidate for disease therapy.

Keywords: Niemann Pick C
TRP channel
lysosomal
storage
rare disease
calcium
mucolipidosis type IV
Advisor: Platt, F
Lloyd-Evans, E
The social worlds and identities of young British Sikhs and Hindus in London

This thesis is centred on exploring the identity options and orientations of young British Indians, from Sikh and Hindu backgrounds, who are British born and living in the London area. Recent socio-political debates have assumed a lack of Britishness amongst these young people, an assumption that is rooted in the belief that high bonding capital within ethnic minorities has led to a lack of bridging capital. This thesis argues that such statements are an essentialisation of the reality of these young people. In fact, their sources of belonging are far more complex, and far less threatening than we may be led to believe. Through the utilisation of eighty in-depth interviews, this thesis presents the intricate social worlds of these young people and the range of orientations (positive and negative) they feel towards component parts of their social worlds, as well as examining the strength and permeability of boundaries that demarcate these social worlds. The final substantive chapter deals with Britishness, and uncovers and presents the different perceptions and understandings that these young people have about British national identity and the ways in which it is accommodated (or not) alongside other important sources of belonging. It is found that a multi-dimensional approach to identity and belonging is best suited to understand the diverse and highly individualistic trajectories of these young people and that 'diverse-dual identities' are the most common pattern of belonging in this particular empirical case.
This thesis make a significant contribution to the existing theoretical frameworks on identity and assimilation as well as the current socio-political debates on Britishness and the cultural integration of ethnic minorities in Britain, by presenting data on an under-researched group, British Indians, and highlighting the range of experiences within this group and the sources of this diversity.

Keywords: Intergroup Contact
Assimilation
Sociology
British-Sikh
Ethnic Identity
Dual-identities
Social Identity
Multiculturalism
Identities
Britishness
Social boundaries
British-Hindu
Ethnic minorities
Nationalism
Advisor: Heath, A
Arene chromium tricarbonyl complexes in synthesis

The work described in this thesis concerns the application of arene chromium tricarbonyl methodology to the stereoselective elaboration of aromatic systems and in particular to the synthesis of homochiral N-methyl-l,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines. The first chapter deals with the benzylic alkylation of substituted 1,3-dihydroisobenzofurans. Coordination of the precursors to the chromium tricarbonyl unit renders these alkylations stereoselective, thereby permitting a diastereoselective synthesis of c/5-l,3-disubstituted-l,3- dihydroisobenzofurans after decomplexation.
In the second chapter, the benzylic carbanion stabilising ability of the chromium tricarbonyl fragment is exploited in the enantioselective conversion of (+)-(S)-amphetamine to (+)-(lR,3S,4S)-and(-)-(lS,3S,4R)-l,2,3,4-tetramethyl-l,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline.
The modified reactivity of some of the protected derivatives of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine upon coordination to the chromium tricarbonyl moiety is discussed in chapter 3 as a method for the functionalisation of these alkaloids.
The fourth chapter assesses the stereoselectivity observed in the acid-mediated cyclisation of homochiral N-(3,4-dimethoxybenzyl)halostachine to N-methyl-4-phenyl-6,7- dimethoxy-l,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline. Complexation of the precursor to the chromium tricarbonyl group renders the cyclisation highly stereoselective. The diastereoselectivity observed in the acid-mediated cyclisation of homochiral N-(substituted-benzyl) phenylpropanolamines to the corresponding 3-methyl-4-phenyl-l,2,3,4- tetrahydroisoquinolines is investigated and the mechanism by which these cyclisations occur is discussed. Coordination of the cyclisation precursors to the chromium tricarbonyl moiety renders the cyclisations completely stereoselective thereby permitting the synthesis of homochiral 4-aryl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines.
The last chapter describes an extension of this cyclisation reaction enabling the synthesis of homochiral l-aryl-l,2,4,5-tetrahydrobenzazepines. The stereoselectivity observed in the acid-mediated cyclisation of homochiral N-(3,4-dimethoxyphenethyl)halostachine to Nmethyl- l-phenyl-l,2,4,5-tetrahydrobenzazepine is assessed. The chromium tricarbonyl complex of this cyclisation precursor undergoes a stereoselective cyclisation to furnish the homochiral 1-aryl benzazepine after decomplexation. The diastereoselectivity observed in the acid-mediated cyclisation of homochiral N-3,4-dimethoxyphenethyl phenylpropanolamines is also investigated and the mechanism by which they occur is discussed. Coordination of one of these precursors to the chromium tricarbonyl unit renders the cyclisation stereoselective to give homochiral N-methyl-1 -phenyl-2-methyl-7,8-dimethoxy-1,2,4,5-tetrahydrobenzazepine after decomplexation.

Advisor: Davies, S
Studies on secretion from the chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla

This thesis describes metabolic changes occurring in chromaffin cells when secreting catecholamine (principally adrenaline), and the factors involved in maintaining the rate of secretion.
In perfused pig adrenal glands, 31p nuclear magnetic resonance showed that nucleotide stored with catecholamine in the secretory vesicles (chromaffin granules) of the chromaffin cell was distinguishable from cytoplasmic nucleotide. Intragranular pH was 5.52 ± 0.15 (± SD, n=8) in ischaemic glands and rose (+ 0.22 ± 0.16 (± SD, n=6)) on recovery of cytoplasmic ATP during perfusion. This suggests that catecholamine accumulation by the granules is not driven by an ATP-generated pH gradient in intact tissue, as cytoplasmic ATP did not reduce intragranular pH.
Perfused cortex-free ox adrenal medulla consumed 0.51 ± 0.19 (± SD, n=8) μmole 02/min/g wet weight after 210-230 minutes of perfusion, and this rose 30% during 4 minute O.lmM acetylcholine stimulations. This enhancement correlated with secretion but depended on the mode of stimulation, indicating that ATP consumption in secretion itself was an inadequate explanation. The proton-translocating Mg-ATPase of the chromaffin granule may hydrolyse ATP at its uncoupled rate on entering the plasma membrane during secretion by exocytosis. 1.4 ± 0.9 (± SD, n=12) moles of catecholamine were secreted per mole of enhanced oxygen consumption over 16 minutes. From this ratio, the oxygen consumption enhancement is shown to be much larger than that predicted from uncoupled proton pumping. Ouabain-sensitive oxygen consumption rose from < 6% to 18 ± 8% (± SD, n=4) during prolonged acetylcholine stimulation in the absence of calcium, suggesting that Na,K-ATPase was not responsible for all of the oxygen consumption enhancement.
On continuous stimulation, secretion showed a biphasic decline in both pig and ox. A decline was also observed on intermittent stimulation. Cell death, potential-sensitive calcium gating and acetylcholine receptor desensitisation were only minor contributors. Little recovery occurred on resting the tissue for 2-3 hours between stimulations. The results are explained in terms of depletion of a pool of chromaffin granules adjacent to the plasma membrane.

Advisor: Radda, G