This study aimed to explore the emotional and behavioral problems of Turkish adoptees and compare them with non-adopted peers raised by their biological parents. To fulfill this aim, 61 adopted children aged between 6-18 were compared to 62 age and gender matched non-adopted children. A second classification was made in terms of being followed in a child psychiatry unit. Both parents were asked to rate their children&rsquo / s problem behaviors on &ldquo / Child Behavior Check List / 6-18&rdquo / , temperament characteristics on &ldquo / School Age Temperament Inventory&rdquo / , their own personality traits on &ldquo / Basic Personality Traits Inventory&rdquo / and own parenting styles on &ldquo / Measure of Child Rearing Styles&rdquo / . Children were asked to rate both parents&rsquo / availability and reliability as attachment figures on &ldquo / Kerns Security Scale&rdquo / and parenting styles on &ldquo / Measure of Child Rearing Styles&rdquo / . Adolescents between ages 11-18, rated their own problem behaviors on &ldquo / Youth Self Report&rdquo / . Group differences and correlations were analyzed. The results indicated non-significant differences between adopted and non-adopted groups in all of the measures. Children in clinical group unit displayed more problem behaviors, were less task persistent and had more activity than children in non-clinical group. Children under 10 years rated their mothers as being more available attachment figure, being more accepting and responsive than their fathers. Contrary to the literature, age of the child at the time of adoption was not found to be related with problem behaviors or attachment relations. On the other hand, results indicated that the older the child learned about her/his adoption status, the more emotional and behavioral problems occurred. Findings of the study were discussed in the frame of relevant literature. Clinical and policy implications were offered.

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of social support, perceived control, locus of control and demand on adopting coping strategies to deal with workto- family conflict (WFC) and family-to-work conflict (FWC). A questionnaire was administered to Turkish dual-career couples with diverse occupational backgrounds (N = 300). Results suggested that (a) those who received social supported adopt problem-focused coping strategies through the effect of having high perceived control, (b) those with external locus of control adopted emotion-focused coping strategies which in turn increased family-to-work conflict, but not such relationship was observed on work-to-family conflict, and (c) work/home demands moderated the relationship between perceived control and coping strategies only when it was measured as a combination of both self-reports and objective demand indices. Practical implications of the findings are discussed along with the limitations of the study.

The aims of the present study are to examine the traumatic effects of EMI on the offended partners as well as to find out the predictors (coping, resources, and forgiveness) of the severity of PTSD. The participants of the study consisted of 189 married women who had continued their marriage after discovery of partners&rsquo / EMI. EMI was assessed with one item measure with the six-point continuum starting from &ldquo / entirely sexual&rdquo / to &ldquo / entirely emotional&rdquo / involvement. The instruments of the study: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Scale-Self Report (PSS-SR), Ways of Coping Inventory (WCI), The Conservation of Resources Evaluation (COR-E), and Forgiveness Inventory (FI: its reliability and validity study was completed for the present study). Although EMI is a traumatic event that was not consist with the DSM-IV, the results of the present study revealed that 34.4% of participants completed the whole DSM-IV criteria for PTSD. More specifically, the rates of participants who met the criteria were: 50.7% A (stressor), 97.9% B (intrusive recollection), 85.2% C (avoidant/numbing), 91.0% D (hyper-arousal), 93.1% E (duration), 85.7% F (functional significance). In addition, the results of the present study showed: Coping / problem-focused group had lower PTSD than emotion-focused coping groups, Resource / a resource loss group had higher PTSD than resource gain group, and Forgiveness / stage I-impact group showed the highest PTSD whereas the stage III-recovery group showed the lowest PTSD. Furthermore, the final model of regression analyses revealed the predictors of PTSD total symptom severity as emotion-focused coping, resource gain, and stage I-impact, and these variables explained 46 % of the total variance. The results were discussed in accordance with the relevant literature.

The current study aimed to examine two potential positive outcomes of an earthquake experience, namely posttraumatic growth (PTG) and earthquake preparedness behavior. Variables that may be related to PTG and earthquake preparedness behavior were examined after earthquake victimization by using two models, which were the Person Relative to Event (PrE) Model (Mulilis &amp / Duval, 1997) to understand earthquake preparedness behavior, and Model of Life Crises and Personal Growth (Schaefer &amp / Moos, 1992) to understand PTG. In order to examine earthquake preparedness behavior, the roles of demographic variables, event-related variables, cognitive appraisal factors, and coping strategies, and in order to examine PTG, environmental factors, system factors, event related factors, earthquake specific coping and cognitive appraisal factors, and general ways of coping responses factors were examined. Data was collected by a questionnaire consisting of three parts. The first part was a socio-demographic information form. The second part of the questionnaire included set of items designed to examine past earthquake experience, the severity of past earthquake experience and reasons to prepare for a possible future earthquake. The third part of the questionnaire consisted of eight scales. These scales were Ways of Coping Inventory (WCI) to measure coping strategies used in stressful situations, Revised and Translated Mulilis-Lippa Earthquake Preparedness Scale (MLEPS) to measure the level of earthquake preparedness behavior, perceived difficulty and perceived effectiveness of being prepared, Religiousness Scale (RS) to measure the level of religious resources of participants, The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) to measure perceived adequacy of social support, The Quality of Life Scale (WHOQOL) to measure the quality of life of the participants, Psychological Well-Being Scale to measure the level of psychological well-being of participants, Traumatic Stress Symptom Checklist (TSSC) to measure posttraumatic stress, and Post-traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) to measure stress-related growth. One hundred ninety nine adults (105 females and 94 males with an age range of 18 to 73) were participants of the study. The participants were from Kaynasli, D&uuml / zce. The participants were selected on the basis of their age, gender, and the type of their houses. They were contacted through home visits. In the result section, the level of the different categories of earthquake preparedness behavior, self-efficacy and outcome efficacy / the reasons of preparedness and nonpreparedness for earthquakes, the variables related to earthquake preparedness behavior and PTG were presented. Hierarchical regression analysis results revealed that perceived responsibility to prepare for earthquakes, outcome efficacy, and problem-focused coping were positively and posttraumatic stress was negatively related to earthquake preparedness behavior. As a result of the regression analysis, it was found that being married, perceived social support, well-being, problem-focused coping, and seeking social support coping were significant predictors of the level of PTG. The results of regression analysis also showed that, general problem focused coping was more efficient than earthquake specific active coping after earthquake victimization for the development of PTG. The results of the study were discussed within the relevant literature, shortcomings of the current study, clinical implications and suggestions for future research were proposed.

The purpose of the study was to examine the influences of basic personality traits, cognitive emotion regulation and interpersonal problems on the cognitive aspects of personality disorders. 1298 adult participants (411 males and 887 females) between the ages of 18 and 68 (M = 26.85, sd = 7.95) participated in the study. In the first part of the study, Inventory of Interpersonal Problems was adapted to Turkish, and psychometric properties of the adapted inventory as well as Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and Personality Belief Questionnaire were analyzed and were found to have good validity and reliability characteristics. Differences in demographic variables and correlational data for the measures were examined. Direct and mediational models were used to investigate the relationship among basic personality traits, cognitive emotion regulation, interpersonal problems and personality disorder beliefs. The results revealed that openness and neuroticism were associated with positive and negative emotion regulation, respectively. Neuroticism, negative valence and catastrophization were associated with interpersonal problems positively whereas extraversion was associated with them negatively. In terms of personality psychopathology, neuroticism, catastrophization, blaming others, and being cold and domineering in relations were found to be positively associated with personality disorder beliefs. Furthermore, the effect of neuroticism and negative valence on personality disorder beliefs was mediated by interpersonal problems, with the effect of negative valence also being mediated by negative cognitive emotion regulation. The findings and their implications with suggestions for future research and clinical applications, were discussed in the light of relevant literature.

L’objectiu general de la tesis ha estat el desenvolupament d’assajos i biosensors per a la detecció de toxines que estan presents en el medi aquàtic i l’estudi de la seva aplicabilitat a l’anàlisi de mostres reals. Per tal d’assolir aquest objectiu, s’han caracteritzat proteïnes fosfatases recombinants en quan a activitat, emmagatzematge i estabilitat operacional, així com també la capacitat de ser inhibides per toxines marines (àcid okadaic i els seus anàlegs) i d’aigua dolça (microcistines). S’han establert factors equivalents d’inhibició per a l`àcid okadaic i els seus anàlegs i diverses variants de microcistines, contribuint així a entendre millor la complexitat de perfils multi-toxines en mostres naturals. D’altra banda, s’han explotat l’ús de partícules magnètiques com a suports d’immobilització d’anticossos i enzims en biosensors electroquímics i com a transportadors d’anticossos en immunosensors òptics. Finalment, s’ha avaluat l’aplicabilitat dels assajos i biosensors per a l’anàlisis de mostres de marisc i cianobactèries, correlacionant els resultats amb altres tècniques d’anàlisis establertes. / El objetivo general de esta tesis ha sido el desarrollo de ensayos y biosensores para la detección de toxinas que están presentes en el medio acuático y el estudio de su aplicabilidad al análisis de muestras reales. Para lograr este objetivo, se han caracterizado proteínas fosfatasas recombinantes en términos de actividad, almacenaje y estabilidad operacional, así como la capacidad para ser inhibidas por toxinas marinas (ácido okadaico y sus análogos) y de agua dulce (microcistinas). Se han establecido factores equivalentes de inhibición para el ácido okadaico y sus análogos y varias variantes de microcistinas, contribuyendo a entender mejor la complexidad de perfiles multi-toxinas en muestras naturales. Port otra parte, se ha explotado el uso de partículas magnéticas como soportes de inmovilización de anticuerpos y enzimas en biosensores electroquímicos y como transportadores de anticuerpos en imunosensores ópticos. Finalmente, se ha evaluado la aplicabilidad de los ensayos y biosensores para el análisis de muestras de marisco y cianobacterias, correlacionando los resultados con otras técnicas de análisis establecidas. / The general objective of this thesis has been to develop assays and biosensors for the detection of toxins from aquatic media and to study their applicability to the analysis of samples. To achieve this goal, recombinant protein phosphatases have been characterised in terms of activity, storage and operational stability, as well as ability to be inhibited by marine (okadaic acid and its analogues) and freshwater (microcystins) toxins. Inhibition equivalency factors (IEFs) for the okadaic acid analogues and several microcystin variants have been established, contributing to better understand the complexity of multi-toxin profiles in natural samples. Moreover, magnetic particles have been exploited as antibody and enzyme immobilisation supports in electrochemical biosensors and as antibody carriers in optical immunosensors. Finally, the applicability of assays and biosensors to the analysis of shellfish and cyanobacteria samples has been evaluated, and correlations with other analysis techniques have been established.

OBJETIVOS: El propósito de este estudio fue determinar la actividad antimicrobiana de los aceites esenciales (AEs) de corteza de canela, hojas de canela y de clavo y de los compuestos puros eugenol, cinamaldehído y vainillina frente a Listeria monocytogenes Scott A y Escherichia coli O157:H7 y el efecto de la vainillina sobre la termorresistencia de L. monocytogenes Scott A en leche de vaca semidescremada. METODOLOGIA: Se determinó la Concentración Mínima Inhibitoria (CMI) y la Concentración No Inhibitoria (CNI) de los antimicrobianos en Caldo Tripticasa de Soja (CTS) mediante el modelado de la curva dosis-respuesta obtenida al graficar las áreas fraccionadas frente a la concentración de antimicrobiano, a pH 6 y 7. También se determinaron las Concentraciones Parcialmente Inhibitorias (CPIs) y las Concentraciones Mínimas Bactericidas (CMBs). La actividad de las combinaciones de antimicrobianos se determinó mediante el método del tablero de ajedrez, que permitió obtener la Concentración Fraccionada Inhibitoria de las mezclas (CFI) y los isobologramas correspondientes. La actividad de los antimicrobianos y sus combinaciones se determinó también en leche pasteurizada de vaca con diferentes concentraciones de grasa (entera, semidesnatada y desnatada) a temperaturas de 7 ºC y 35 ºC. La resistencia térmica de L. monocytogenes Scott A se ensayó en leche semidescremada calentada a 55 ºC, 58 ºC, 60 ºC y 62 ºC con 900, 1400 y 1800 ppm de vainillina. Dos modelos matemáticos se usaron para ajustar los datos obtenidos: el modelo “shoulder+log-linear” de Geeraerd y el modelo Weibull. RESULTADOS Y DISCUSION: E. coli 157:H7 fue más resistente a los AEs de corteza de canela, hojas de canela y clavo que L. monocytogenes. La vainillina y el cinamaldehido mostraron una actividad antimicrobiana similar frente a los dos microorganismos. El antimicrobiano con menor CMI frente a L. monocytogenes fue el AE de corteza de canela seguido por el AE de clavo, cinamaldehído el AE de hojas de canela, el eugenol y la vainillina. La menor CMI frente a E. coli O 157:H7 la presentó el cinamaldehido, seguido por el AE de corteza de canela, el eugenol, el AE de clavo, el AE de hojas de canela y la vainillina. Los antimicrobianos con menor CMB, fueron el eugenol, los AEs de clavo y hojas de canela seguidos por el cinamaldehido, el AE de corteza de canela y la vainillina. El pH no afectó los valores de CMI ni de CMB. Todas las combinaciones de antimicrobianos ensayadas fueron aditivas para L. monocytogenes; para E. coli O157:H7 las mezclas con AE de corteza de canela fueron indiferentes y las mezclas con vainilla fueron sinérgicas. En la leche de vaca el AE de corteza de canela fue el antimicrobiano más efectivo, seguido por el AE de clavo, AE de hojas de canela y la vainillina. Los AEs de canela y clavo aumentaron su actividad antimicrobiana en las mezclas, especialmente las combinaciones de AEs con vainilla. La incubación a bajas temperaturas y el menor contenido de grasa de la leche aumentó la actividad antimicrobiana de los AEs. La incorporación de vainillina en la leche disminuyó la termorresistencia de L. monocytogenes, incrementando la tasa de muerte y disminuyendo la longitud del hombro de las curvas de destrucción térmica, efecto que fue más evidente cuando se usaron las temperaturas más bajas. CONCLUSIONES: La vainillina y los AEs de corteza de canela, hojas de canela y clavo presentan actividad antimicrobiana en leche de vaca frente a L. monocytogenes y E. coli O 157:H7. Las dosis necesarias de los antimicrobianos para producir la inhibición se reducen combinando los antimicrobianos entre sí. El uso de concentraciones sub-inhibitorias de vainillina en leche semidescremada favorece la inactivación térmica de L. monocytogenes. / OBJETIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine the antimicrobial activity of cinnamon bark, cinnamon leaves and clove essential oils (EOs) against Listeria monocytogenes Scott A and Escherichia coli O157:H7 and the effect of vainillin on the thermal resistance of L. monocytogenes Scott A in semiskim cow’s milk. METHODOLOGY: The MIC (Minimal Inhibitory Concentration) and the NIC (Non Inhibitory Concentration) of the antimicrobials was determined in Trypticase Soy Broth (TBS), modelling the dose-response curve based on the fractional area against the concentration of antimicrobial. Partially Inhibitory Concentrations (PICs) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentrations (MBCs) were also determined. The FICs (Fractional Inhibitory Concentrations) index of mixtures of antimicrobials was established by the checkerboard method and the corresponding isobolograms. The activity of the antimicrobials and their combinations was determined in pasteurised cow’s milk. The effect of storage temperatures (7 °C and 35 °C) and the effect of milk fat on the antimicrobial activity was also evaluated. Finally, the heat resistance of L. monocytogenes in pasteurized cow’s milk heated to moderate temperatures (55, 58, 60 and 62°C) with different levels of vanillin (900, 1400 and 1800 ppm) was studied. Two models were used to fit the data: the “shoulder+loglinear” model and the Weibull model. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION. The antimicrobial with the lowest MIC against L. monocytogenes was cinnamon bark EO, followed by clove EO, cinanaldehyde, cinnamon leaves EO, eugenol and vanillin. The antimicrobial with the lowest MIC against E. coli O 157H was cinamaldehyde followed by cinnamon bark EO, eugenol, clove EO, cinnamon leaves EOs and vanillin. The pH did not affect the MICs and CNIs values. The antimicrobial with the lowest MBC against L. monocytogenes was clove EO, followed by eugenol, cinnamon leaves EO, cinnamon bark EO, cinamaldehyde, and vanillin. The antimicrobial with the lowest MBC against E. coli O157:H7 was eugenol followed by clove EO, cinnamon leaves EO, cinamaldehyde, cinnamon bark EO and vanillin. Mixtures of all EOs were additive against L. monocytogenes; against E. coli O157:H7mixtures with cinnamon bark EO were indifferent and mixtures with vanillin were synergistic. The antimicrobial with the highest antimicrobial activity in semi-skim cow’s milk was cinnamon bark EO, followed by clove EO, cinnamon leaves EO and vanillin. Incubations in milk with low fat content or at low temperature increased the antimicrobial activity. Mixtures of EOs increased the antimicrobial activity of individual components and combinations with vanillin were the most effective. Thermal resistance of L. monocytogenes in milk was reduced by vanillin at all temperatures tested. Vanillin increased the death rate and reduced the shoulder length of L. monocytogenes of thermal destruction curves in milk. This effect was more evident when working at lower temperatures. CONCLUSIONS: Cinnamon bark, cinnamon leaves and clove EOs show antimicrobial activity in pasteurized cow’s milk. Antimicrobial mixtures reduce the concentration of individual components to inhibit microbial growth. Sub-inhibitory concentrations of vanillin in semiskim milk increase the thermal inactivation of L. monocytogenes .

Computed Tomography and Microcomputed Tomography are X-ray based technologies. They were tested in this thesis as potential tools for the optimization of the processing of dry-cured meat products. On one hand, several prediction models and Computed Tomography analytical tools were developed for the non-destructive analysis of water activity, salt content and water content distribution within dry-cured hams during processing and were successfully applied to three case studies. On the other hand, Microcomputed Tomography were used to characterize, evaluate and correlate the changes in the microstructure with the texture of non-acid pork lean fermented sausages. Some Microcomputed Tomography parameters could be correlated with the instrumental texture, although the Microcomputed Tomography was not accurate enough to distinguish between lean and fat when these constituents were emulsified. In conclusion, Computed Tomography and Microcomputed Tomography can be considered as suitable technologies for the non-destructive characterization and for the optimization of dry-cured meat processing. / La Tomografia Computeritzada i la Microtomografia Computeritzada són tecnologies basades en raigs X. Ambdues es varen testar en aquesta tesis com a eines potencials per l'optimització del processat de productes carnis curats. Per una banda, es varen desenvolupar diversos models de predicció i eines analítiques derivades de la Tomografia Computeritzada, per l’anàlisi no destructiu de la distribució de l’activitat d’aigua i els continguts de sal i d’aigua durant el processat de pernils curats, aplicant-se posteriorment de manera satisfactòria a tres casos d’estudi. Per altra banda, la Microtomografia Computeritzada es va utilitzar per caracteritzar, avaluar i correlacionar canvis en microestructura i textura d’embotits crus curats elaborats amb baix contingut de greix. Alguns paràmetres de la Microtomografia Computeritzada es van poder correlacionar amb la textura instrumental, encara que es va observar que la Microtomografia Computeritzada no permetia distingir acuradament entre magre de porc i greix quan aquests components es trobaven emulsionats.

The aim of this study was to determine whether NIRS technology would be suitable to develop a control system to correct drying conditions in order to avoid the appearance of defects in the product. Several predictive models for moisture, aw, and the salt content on the surface of the products (dry-cured sausages and dry-cured hams) have been obtained for the entire process, and an on-line control of the drying process have been developed. / L’objectiu d’aquest treball ha estat determinar si la tecnologia NIRS és una tècnica adequada per poder desenvolupar un sistema de control de l’assecat que corregeixi les condicions de treball dels assecadors evitant l’aparició de defectes en el producte. S'han obtingut models de predicció de la humitat, la aw i el contingut de sal a la superfície dels productes (llonganissa i pernil curat) en tot el procés d’elaboració i s'ha desenvolupat un sistema de control on-line del procés d’assecat.

This study aimed to find out the effect of type of advertisement &amp / number of advertisement manipulation on memory for and attitude towards advertisements. Type of advertisement was manipulated via embedding either superimposed advertisement(s) or traditional commercial(s) in a movie. The number of advertisement manipulation was made through embedding either 1 or 7 advertisements for both types of advertisements in the same movie. With respect to type of advertisement manipulation, it was hypothesized that, both superimposed advertisements and traditional commercials may have an access to LTM for later recall and recognition. However, it was expected that, the recall and recognition scores of the viewers exposed to superimposed advertisement(s) will be lower compared to traditional commercial viewers due to the shorter duration and background distraction characteristics of superimposed advertisements. Regarding number of advertisements manipulation, it was hypothesized that, regardless of the type of advertisement, the recall and recognition scores of the viewers exposed to 7 advertisements will be lower compared to viewers exposed to only 1 advertisement due to retroactive and proactive inhibition. Secondly, it was hypothesized that, for both types of advertisements the viewers exposed to 7 advertisements will be able to recall at most 5 advertisements concerning that, at most 4 or 5 chunks (advertisements) could be processed in STM at one time (Simon, 1973). Further, it was expected that, the processing capacity of STM for viewers exposed to 7 superimposed advertisements might be reduced due to simultaneous view of the advertisements with the ongoing program, which may result in less processing of chunks (advertisements) and therefore lower levels of recall as compared to viewers exposed to 7 traditional commercials. In the present study, in addition to attitude towards the embedded advertisements, viewers&rsquo / attitude towards to program was also measured concerning the potential effects of program environment related variables on attitude towards advertisements. However, in relation to both attitude towards program and attitude towards embedded advertisements, it was proposed that, the variations will be on an individual basis / thus, no main effect was expected with respect to both aspects of attitude measurements. 60 undergraduate students from METU participated in the study. Data gathered via administration of 2 different attitude scales and 3 different memory scales. The results of the present study confirmed some of the hypothesizes. However, some were only partially confirmed and for some, no evidence could be obtained. On the whole, it was concluded that, the effectiveness of traditional commercials are superior compared to superimposed advertisements with respect to memory for advertisements. However, when individuals are exposed to multiple advertisements (7 in our case) this difference was negligible between traditional commercials and superimposed advertisements. The implications of the study were discussed.