Nesta tese estudamos o conceito de grau de um morfismo irredutível em ${m mod}A$ relacionado ao conceito de teoria de partições pós-projetiva e pré-injetiva de uma álgebra de artin $A$. Introduzimos o conceito de grau de um morfismo irredutível em relação a uma categoria ${\\mathfrak D}$ de ${m ind}A$ e estudamos o caso em que ${\\mathfrak D}$ é um elemento da partição ${\\bf P_0}, \\cdots, {\\bf P_{\\infty}}$. Dentro do contexto de grau de um irredutível em relação a uma subcategoria resolvemos um problema proposto por Chaio, Le meur e Trepode em \\cite. Utilizando as partições pós-projetiva e pré-injetiva obtemos outra demonstração para a caracterização de álgebras de tipo finito obtida em \\cite e obtemos uma caracterização semelhante para subcategorias de módulos $\\Delta$-bons de tipo finito de ${m mod}A$ tal que $A$ é uma álgebra quasi-hereditária. Também utilizamos a teoria de partições para provar que, dada uma álgebra quasi-hereditária $A$ e ${\\cal F}(\\Delta) \\subseteq {m mod}A$, se $({m rad}_{\\Delta}^{\\infty})^2=0$ então ${\\cal F}(\\Delta)$ é de tipo finito. / In this thesis we analyse the concept of the degree of an irreducible morphism associated to the theory of postprojective and preinjective partitions. We introduce the idea of the degree of an irreducible morphism with respect to a subcategory ${\\mathfrak D}$ and we study the case in which ${\\mathfrak D}$ is an element of the postprojective partition ${\\bf P_0}, \\cdots, {\\bf P_{\\infty}}$. By using the concept of the degree of an irreducible morphism with respect to a subcategory ${\\mathfrak D}$ we present a solution to a problem recently proposed by Chaio, Le Meur and Trepode in \\cite. We also use the theory of postprojective and preprojective partitions to give another proof to the characterization of finite type algebras obtained by Chaio and Liu in \\cite and we apply similar techniques to obtain a characterization of finite type ${\\cal F}(\\Delta)$ subcategories where ${\\cal F}(\\Delta)$ is the subcategory of $\\Delta$-good modules of the category of finitely generated modules over a quasi-hereditary algebra. We also prove that given a quasi-hereditary algebra $A$ and ${\\cal F}(\\Delta) \\subseteq {m mod}A$, if $({m rad}_{\\Delta}^{\\infty})^2=0$ then ${\\cal F}(\\Delta)$ is of finite type.

A presente tese tem por objetivo analisar as decisões dos agricultores familiares de Frederico Westphalen/RS com relação à sucessão geracional nas suas propriedades, sob a ótica da teoria da decisão e orientações de valor, elencando os diferentes fatores que influenciam sucessores e sucedidos nesse processo. Para alcançar este propósito, além de análises bibliográficas e documentais acerca do tema e suas nuances, teorias balizadoras e elaboração de uma construção histórica dos sistemas agrários do campo empírico, considerando o papel de pessoas e instituições nessa construção, foi aplicado um questionário a 50 potenciais sucessores e a 50 sucedidos, buscando compreender os direcionamentos decisórios destes atores sobre sucessão. Os dados coletados a campo, entre os meses de julho e setembro de 2015, foram tabulados com o suporte estatístico do programa Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS), gerando cruzamentos e informações relevantes acerca do tema e suas relações com o futuro das propriedades rurais familiares. O estudo mostra que a abertura de possibilidades e alternativas de aprimoramento acadêmico dos potenciais sucessores, mesmo em áreas agrícolas, tem oportunizado uma gama de escolhas profissionais que contribui para o constante desinteresse pela sucessão. A postura dos pais nessas situações também é condicionante para que o filho desperte ou não o interesse pela propriedade e tenha uma preparação adequada para assumi-la, sendo o incentivo dos sucedidos visto como um condicionador importante nas decisões dos potenciais sucessores O estudo aponta também para uma necessidade de pensar a sucessão geracional como um processo e não como uma decisão pontual. A participação dos filhos nas decisões cotidianas da propriedade, bem como na divisão dos resultados financeiros e das responsabilidades, mostram-se fatores determinantes para que esse processo aconteça. Além de delinear e analisar fatores influenciadores das decisões dos atores, o estudo classifica potenciais sucessores e sucedidos dentro das orientações de valor de Ruth Gasson (1973) – instrumental, social, expressiva e intrínseca. Comparando as orientações de pais e filhos, tem-se uma importante diferença de percepção. Assim, tem-se nas variáveis que influenciam o processo decisório dos atores e suas percepções e orientações de valor, atreladas à importância da agricultura familiar, como base de sustentação econômica e social local, a justificativa para que se estruturem alternativas viáveis em prol da manutenção do jovem no campo. / The aim of this thesis is to analyze the decisions of family farmers of Frederico Westphalen / RS regarding the generational succession in their properties, from the point of view of decision theory and value orientations, listing the different factors that influence successors and successors in this process. In order to achieve this purpose, besides bibliographical and documentary analyzes about the theme and its nuances, beacon theories and elaboration of a historical construction of the agrarian systems of the empirical field, considering the role of people and institutions in this construction, a questionnaire was applied to 50 potential successors and 50 family farmers, seeking to understand the decision making process direction of these actors over succession. The data collected in the field between July and September 2015 were tabulated with statistical support from the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS), generating crosses and relevant information about the theme and its relations with the future of the properties rural areas. The study shows that the opening of possibilities and alternatives for academic improvement of potential successors, even in agricultural areas, has provided a range of professional choices that contributes to the constant lack of interest in succession. The parents attitude in these situations is also a condition for the child to arouse or not the interest for the property and to have adequate preparation to assume it, being the incentive of the successes seen as an important conditioner in the decisions of the potential successors The study also points to a need to think of generational succession as a process and not as a one off decision. The participation of the children in the daily decisions of the property, as well as in the division of the financial results and the responsibilities, are determining factors for this process to happen. In addition to outlining and analyzing factors influencing actors' decisions, the study ranks potential successors and succeeded within Ruth Gasson (1973) value orientations - instrumental, social, expressive, and intrinsic. Comparing the orientations of parents and children, one has an important difference of perception. Thus, the variables influencing the decision-making process of the actors and their perceptions and value orientations, linked to the importance of family agriculture, as a basis for local economic and social support, are the justification for structuring viable alternatives for maintenance the young man in the field.

Nesta tese estudamos o conceito de grau de um morfismo irredutível em ${m mod}A$ relacionado ao conceito de teoria de partições pós-projetiva e pré-injetiva de uma álgebra de artin $A$. Introduzimos o conceito de grau de um morfismo irredutível em relação a uma categoria ${\\mathfrak D}$ de ${m ind}A$ e estudamos o caso em que ${\\mathfrak D}$ é um elemento da partição ${\\bf P_0}, \\cdots, {\\bf P_{\\infty}}$. Dentro do contexto de grau de um irredutível em relação a uma subcategoria resolvemos um problema proposto por Chaio, Le meur e Trepode em \\cite. Utilizando as partições pós-projetiva e pré-injetiva obtemos outra demonstração para a caracterização de álgebras de tipo finito obtida em \\cite e obtemos uma caracterização semelhante para subcategorias de módulos $\\Delta$-bons de tipo finito de ${m mod}A$ tal que $A$ é uma álgebra quasi-hereditária. Também utilizamos a teoria de partições para provar que, dada uma álgebra quasi-hereditária $A$ e ${\\cal F}(\\Delta) \\subseteq {m mod}A$, se $({m rad}_{\\Delta}^{\\infty})^2=0$ então ${\\cal F}(\\Delta)$ é de tipo finito. / In this thesis we analyse the concept of the degree of an irreducible morphism associated to the theory of postprojective and preinjective partitions. We introduce the idea of the degree of an irreducible morphism with respect to a subcategory ${\\mathfrak D}$ and we study the case in which ${\\mathfrak D}$ is an element of the postprojective partition ${\\bf P_0}, \\cdots, {\\bf P_{\\infty}}$. By using the concept of the degree of an irreducible morphism with respect to a subcategory ${\\mathfrak D}$ we present a solution to a problem recently proposed by Chaio, Le Meur and Trepode in \\cite. We also use the theory of postprojective and preprojective partitions to give another proof to the characterization of finite type algebras obtained by Chaio and Liu in \\cite and we apply similar techniques to obtain a characterization of finite type ${\\cal F}(\\Delta)$ subcategories where ${\\cal F}(\\Delta)$ is the subcategory of $\\Delta$-good modules of the category of finitely generated modules over a quasi-hereditary algebra. We also prove that given a quasi-hereditary algebra $A$ and ${\\cal F}(\\Delta) \\subseteq {m mod}A$, if $({m rad}_{\\Delta}^{\\infty})^2=0$ then ${\\cal F}(\\Delta)$ is of finite type.

O principal tema deste trabalho é o estudo dos sistemas estratificantes sobre álgebras hereditárias. Um dos principais problemas é a construção de sistemas estratificantes completos cujos elementos sejam todos módulos regulares, sendo este problema resolvido para álgebras hereditárias do tipo mansa e as álgebras de Kronecker generalizadas. Para as álgebras hereditárias de tipo mansa exibimos um limitante para o tamanho dos sistemas estratificantes formados só de módulos regulares e, usando tal limitante, concluímos que não é possível que tais sistemas estratificantes sejam completos. Para as álgebras de Kronecker e as álgebras de Kronecker generalizadas concluimos que nenhum sistema estratificante sobre esta álgebra pode ter elementos regulares e construímos todos os possíveis sistemas estratificantes completos sobre esta álgebra. Definimos o conceito de sequência especial de um módulo inclinante, estabelecemos que todo módulo inclinante tem uma sequência especial e estudamos quando uma sequência, de dois e três somandos diretos de um módulo inclinante, é uma sequência especial. / The main topic of this work is the study of stratifying systems over hereditary algebras. One of the main questions to be considered is the construction of complete stratifying systems whose elements are regular modules. We solve this problem for tame hereditary algebras and for the Kronecker generalized algebras. In the case of tame hereditary algebras, we obtain a bound for the size of the stratifying systems composed only by regular modules and, by using this bound, we conclude that such stratifying systems can not be complete. For the Kronecker and for Kronecker the generalized algebras we conclude that no stratifing system over this algebra can have regular elements. Next we construct all possible complete stratifying systems over this algebra. Furthermore, we define the notion of special sequence of a tilting module and we establish that all tilting modules have an special ordenation. Also we study when an sequence of two and three direct summands of an tilting module, is a special ordenation.

A audição representa a principal fonte para o aprendizado da fala e linguagem durante a infância e a surdez e a privação de estímulos auditivos pode implicar em dificuldades emocionais e sociais àqueles indivíduos afetados. Aproximadamente 360 milhões de pessoas sofrem de perda auditiva no mundo, o que corresponde a 5,3% da população mundial. A surdez pode se desenvolver em decorrência de causas genéticas (hereditárias), não-genéticas e ambientais. As infecções pré-natais e a exposição a ruídos constituem as causas ambientais mais comuns. Já a surdez hereditária, constitui o transtorno neurossensorial mais comum em humanos, com uma prevalência de 1:1000 nascidos vivos. Mais de 70% dos casos de surdez hereditária constituem casos não-sindrômicos, destes cerca de 70% cursam com surdez congênita ou pré-lingual. Na maioria dos casos, a perda auditiva hereditária é neurossensorial, heterogênea, com diferentes padrões de herança e com uma grande quantidade de genes envolvidos. Estudos têm demonstrado o importante papel dos genes GJB2, GJB6 e SLC26A4 na fisiologia do ouvido interno e alterações nestes genes têm sido relatadas como causa da surdez hereditária. Desta forma, o objetivo deste estudo foi investigar a base genética e o papel do gene SLC26A4 na perda auditiva neurossensorial (PANS) nãosindrômica pré-lingual em pacientes atendidos pelo serviço de Genética Médica do Hospital das Clínicas de Ribeirão Preto. Para isso, uma série de 88 casos foi investigada quanto a características clínicas e moleculares. A amostra abrangeu indivíduos de ambos os sexos, com idade de 2 a 63 anos, provenientes de 88 famílias diferentes, assistidos durante o período de 2003 a 2013. As amostras foram triadas pela técnica de High Resolution Melting (HRM) e em seguida levadas para o seqüenciamento para caracterização das alterações. Na série de casos estudada, 23,9% (21/88) dos pacientes portadores de surdez neurossensorial não-sindrômica pré-lingual evidenciaram alterações nos genes GJB2, GJB6 e SLC26A4 sugeridas como patogênicas. A prevalência de alterações no gene SLC26A4 foi de 28,4% (25/88), não relacionada à Síndrome do Aqueduto Vestibular Alargado (SAVA). Dentre as 11 alterações encontradas neste gene, três constituem mutações não descritas: p.Gly139Arg, p.Ile254Val, p.Asn382Lys. Os genótipos mais freqüentes neste estudo foram a c.35delG/c.35delG no gene GJB2 (5/88), a dupla heterozigose com o gene GJB6 c.35delG/del(GJB6-D13S1854) (3,4%) e chr7:g.107301238C>G/wt no gene SLC26A4 (10,2%). Entretanto, apenas 19,3% dos indivíduos apresentaram genótipos sugeridos como responsáveis pelo fenótipo estudado. Alterações particulares no gene SLC26A4 podem sugerir a explicação para a surdez genética para aproximadamente 9,1% destes casos. Destes, cinco casos de heterozigose preditas como patogênicas (p.Ile300Leu; p.Asn324Tyr e p.Asn382Lys), dois casos de heterozigose composta (chr7:g.107301201T>C/chr7:g.107301238C>G e chr7:g.107301238C>G/p.Gly139Arg) e um caso de dupla heterozigose com GJB2 (chr7:g.107301238C>G/c.35delG). Isto ressalta a importância do gene SLC26A4 para o diagnóstico molecular de surdez hereditária e reforça a sua potencial contribuição para o processo de aconselhamento genético. Entretanto, nossos dados sugerem a necessidade de testes funcionais a fim de elucidar o papel destas alterações para o estabelecimento do fenótipo, como também, a presença de outros genes ou regiões envolvidas naqueles casos em que mutações monoalélicas não foram suficientes para justificar o fenótipo. / The hearing is the main source for learning speech and language during childhood and deafness and deprivation of auditory stimuli can result in emotional and social difficulties to those affected individuals. Approximately 360 million people suffer from hearing loss worldwide which corresponds to 5.3% of the world population. Deafness may develop due to genetic (hereditary), non-genetic and environmental causes. Prenatal infections and exposure to noise are the most common environmental causes. Hereditary deafness is the most common sensorineural disorder in humans, with a prevalence of 1:1000 live births. More than 70% of hereditary deafness cases are nonsyndromic, about 70% of these occur with congenital or prelingual deafness. In most cases, inherited sensorineural hearing loss is heterogeneous, with different patterns of inheritance and with a large number of genes involved. Studies have shown the important role of genes GJB2, GJB6 and SLC26A4 in the physiology of the inner ear and changes in these genes have been reported as cause of hereditary hearing loss. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the genetic basis and the role of SLC26A4 gene in non-syndromic prelingual sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) in patients enrolled in the Medical Genetics Service of Hospital das Clínicas de Ribeirão Preto. For this, a series of 88 cases were submitted to a clinical and molecular investigation. The sample consisted of individuals of both sexes, aged 2-63 years from 88 different families, assisted during the period 2003-2013. The samples were screened by the technique of High Resolution Melting (HRM) and then taken for sequencing to characterize the mutations. In the series of cases studied, 23.9% (21/88) of patients with non-syndromic prelingual sensorineural deafness showed variants in genes GJB2, GJB6 and SLC26A4 suggested as pathogenic. The prevalence of mutations in the SLC26A4 gene was 28.4% (25/88), not related to non-syndromic EVA. Among the 11 mutations found in this gene, three are reported as novel mutations: p.Gly139Arg, p.Ile254Val, p.Asn382Lys. The most frequent genotypes found in this study were the c.35delG/c.35delG in GJB2 gene (5/88), the double heterozygosity with GJB6 gene c.35delG/del(GJB6-D13S1854) (3,4%) and chr7:g.107301238C>G/wt in the SLC26A4 gene (10,2%). However, only 19.3% of subjects presented genotypes suggested as responsible for the studied phenotype. Particular mutations in the SLC26A4 gene may suggest the explanation for the genetic deafness to approximately 9.1% of these cases. Of these, five cases of heterozygosity predicted as pathogenic (p.Ile300Leu; p.Asn324Tyr and p.Asn382Lys), two cases of compound heterozygosity (chr7:g.107301201T>C/chr7:g.107301238C>G and chr7:g.107301238C>G/p.Gly139Arg) and one case of double heterozygosity with GJB2 gene (chr7:g.107301238C>G/c.35delG). Those data highlights the importance of the SLC26A4 gene for molecular diagnosis of hereditary hearing loss and give strength to its potential contribution to the genetic counseling process. However, our data suggest the need for functional tests in order to elucidate the role of these changes to the phenotype, as well as the presence of other genes or regions involved in those cases that monoallelic mutations were not sufficient to justify the phenotype.

The development of whole exome sequencing has transformed the study of disease predisposition. The sequencing of both large disease sets and smaller rare disease families enables the identification of new predisposition variants and potentially provide clinical insight into disease management. There is no standard protocol for analysing exome sequencing data. Outside of extremely large sequencing studies including thousands of individuals, statistical approaches are often underpowered to detect rare disease associated variants. Aggregation of variants into functionally related regions, including genes, gene clusters, and pathways, allows for the detection of biological processes that, when interrupted, may impact disease risk. In silico functional studies can also be utilised to further understand how variants disrupt biological processes and identify genotype-phenotype relationships. This study describes the exploration of sequencing datasets from cancers and benign tumour diseases including: i) hereditary diffuse gastric cancer, ii) sweat duct proliferation tumours, iii) adrenocortical carcinoma, and iv) breast cancer. Each set underwent germline whole exome sequencing followed by additional tumour or targeted sequencing to identify associated predisposition genes. Variants within a cluster of risk genes that are involved in double strand break repair were identified as associated with hereditary diffuse gastric cancer risk via gene ontology enrichment analysis. This cluster included PALB2 within which, using externally collated data, loss of function variants were identified as significantly associated with hereditary diffuse gastric cancer risk. Germline protein-affecting variants in the myosin gene MYH9 were identified in all individuals with a rare sweat duct proliferative syndrome, suggesting a role for MYH9 in skin development, regulation and tumorigenesis. These MYH9 variants were analysed in silico to identify a genotype-phenotype relationship between the clinical presentation and variants in the ATP binding pocket of the protein. Tumour matched normal sequence data from adrenocortical carcinoma cases was used to elucidate the role of Lynch syndrome genes in disease pathogenesis. Within the breast cancer set, candidate genes were selected to undergo targeted sequencing in a larger set of cases to further explore their role in breast cancer risk. Risk associated genes identified within this study may ultimately aid in diagnosis and management of disease. This thesis has also generated multiple novel tools and sequencing analysis techniques that may be of use for further studies by aiding in the prioritisation of candidate variants. The described techniques will provide support to researchers working on rare, statistically underpowered datasets and to provide standard analysis pipelines for a range of dataset sizes and types, including familial data and unrelated individuals.

Bakgrund: Cancerfallen ökar och ärftligheten till bröst- och äggstockscancer samt prostatacancer via mutation i BRCA1/2 generna är dokumenterad. Genom att sätta ljuset på positivt BRCA bärares upplevelser av att leva med risken för ärftlig cancer kan sjuksköterskors möjlighet att stärka deras hälsa öka. Syfte: Att belysa hur det är att leva med vetskapen om att bära på positivt BRCA för att med grund i detta kunna skapa en vårdverklighet som främjar de drabbades hälsa. Metod: Litteraturöversikt, baserad på 14 kvalitativa artiklar från CINAHL. Resultat: Resultatet presenteras under tre teman med sammanlagt åtta underteman. Temat I väntan på cancern belyser hur de drabbade upplever livet med cancern som följeslagare, sin förändrade hälsobild och framtidsutsikt. Kampen för att hålla cancer på avstånd belyser upplevelser av livet kring valen av egna strategier, förebyggande kirurgi och övervakning samt förlusten av något viktigt i livet. Vägen till stöd och förståelse belyser upplevelser av att finna stöd och förståelse samt livet med att bli lämnad åt sig själv. Konklusion: Drabbade av positivt BRCA kan genom sjuksköterskors lyssnande öra få den vägledning och förståelse de så väl behöver. / Background: Cancer rates are increasing and the predisposition for breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) and prostate cancer due to BRCA mutations is documented. By highlighting the impact emotional awareness of living with the heritable cancer risk nurses may have the possibility to support those affected. Aim: To create knowledge about how to live with positive BRCA and the result produces an augmented reality in health care. Method: A literature review based on 14 qualitative articles read through CINAHL. Results: The result is presented in three themes and eight subthemes. The theme On hold for cancer highlights how women and men suffer medical and psychological implications from being diagnosed with positive BRCA. It also highlights the impact of change in health and the impact for the future prospect. The theme Struggle against cancer describes strategies for improving the diagnosis, the choice between surveillance and preventive surgery and the loss of something important. The theme On the road towards support and understanding tells the story about finding support or being left on your own finding strategies for better health. Conclusion: BRCA-positive patient are able through the listening ear of nurses find the much-needed counseling for management of the high risk of developing cancer.

Hereditary hearing loss is the most common sensory disorder, affecting 1 in 500 newborns. There are more than 538 million individuals with genetic hearing loss worldwide and this number is expected to grow to 1 billion over the next three decades. Currently, the only option for individuals with hearing loss is mechanical intervention such as hearing aids or cochlear implants. In the past decade, many studies have highlighted the need for personalized gene therapy or molecular intervention to treat genetic deafness. However, in order to fulfill this vision a comprehensive understanding of the intricate mutation-gene-phenotype nuances and relationships is required. Toward this goal, we unraveled novel mutation-gene-phenotype associations and mechanisms in four deafness-causing genes (CIB2, COL11A1, CEACAM16 and DFNA5), by using a combination of in-depth phenotyping, human genetics, cutting edge genomic technologies, murine mutant models, and functional assays. These novel insights revealed mutations in CIB2 do not cause Usher Syndrome, mutations in COL11A1 can cause either non-syndromic or syndromic hearing loss, CEACAM16-related deafness is due to two distinct mechanisms, loss of function and gain of function, and coding variants can influence mRNA assembly and cause DFNA5-related hearing loss. Elucidating these novel mutation-gene-phenotype relationships has improved our knowledge of the pathogenic mechanisms underlying hearing loss and provided much needed answers to individuals seeking a diagnosis for their deafness. Recognizing the complexities associated with genetic hearing loss and the challenges in interpreting the clinical significance of genetic variants, we established the first deafness-specific variant database, the Deafness Variation Database (DVD), which classifies over 876,000 variants across 152 deafness-associated genes. This breadth of data provided us with a unique opportunity to explore the molecular landscape of deafness. We show that over 96% of coding variants are rare and novel and that mutational signatures are unique to each gene and are driven by minor allele frequency thresholds, variant effect, and protein domain. The mutational landscape we define shows complex gene-specific variability, making an understanding of these nuances foundational for improved accuracy in variant interpretation. Overall the work presented in this thesis improves our understanding of deafness biology, identifies novel targets for therapeutics and enhances clinical decision-making.

We live in a time where computing devices power essential systems of our society: our automobiles, our airplanes and even our medical services. In these safety-critical systems, bugs do not just cost money to fix; they have a potential to cause harm, even death. Therefore, software correctness is of paramount importance. Existing mainstream programming languages do not support software verification as part of their design, but rely on testing, and thus cannot completely rule out the possibility of bugs during software development. To fix this problem we must reshape the very foundation on which programming languages are based. Programming languages must support the ability to verify the correctness of the software developed in them, and this software verification must be possible using the same language the software is developed in. In the first half of this dissertation we introduce three new programming languages: Freedom of Speech, Separation of Proof from Program, and Dualized Type Theory. The Freedom of Speech language separates a logical fragment from of a general recursive programming language, but still allowing for the types of the logical fragment to depend on general recursive programs while maintaining logical consistency. Thus, obtaining the ability to verify properties of general recursion programs. Separation of Proof from Program builds on the Freedom of Speech languageby relieving several restrictions, and adding a number of extensions. Finally, Dualized Type Theory is a terminating functional programming language rich in constructive duality, and shows promise of being a logical foundation of induction and coninduction. These languages have the ability to verify properties of software, but how can we trust this verification? To be able to put our trust in these languages requires that the language be rigorously and mathematically defined so that the programming language itself can be studied as a mathematical object. Then we must show one very important property, logical consistency of the fragment of the programming language used to verify mathematical properties of the software. In the second half of this dissertation we introduce a well-known proof technique for showing logical consistency called hereditary substitution. Hereditary substitution shows promise of being less complex than existing proof techniques like the Tait-Girard Reducibility method. However, we are unsure which programming languages can be proved terminating using hereditary substitution. Our contribution to this line of work is the application of the hereditary substitution technique to predicative polymorphic programming languages, and the first proof of termination using hereditary substitution for a classical type theory.

This thesis details a continuing body of research investigating the contribution of personality to disordered eating and alcohol abuse in young women. There is growing evidence of high levels of reward sensitivity in women with both disorders, and high levels of punishment sensitivity in dysfunctional eating women. However, it is unlikely that personality alone accounts for the development of such dysfunctional behaviour. Two studies were conducted to further examine the contribution of reward and punishment sensitivity to these disorders. In the first study, 443 university women completed self-report measures of alcohol use, dysfunctional eating, reinforcement sensitivity, parental drinking, family environment and maternal eating. Reward and punishment sensitivity were better predictors of disordered behaviour than family factors, although maternal dysfunctional eating significantly increased the risk of daughters' dysfunctional eating. Punishment sensitive daughters of bulimic mothers reported the highest level of bulimic symptoms themselves. Punishment sensitivity also functioned as a partial pathway variable between family risk and disordered eating. Given the stronger contribution of personality to disordered behaviour, a second study was conducted in which 131 women completed behavioural tasks under conditions of reward and punishment. Performance on a computerised measure of punishment sensitivity was associated with greater levels of dysfunctional eating but not drinking. However, performance on a card-sorting task of reward sensitivity failed to correlate with self-reported reward sensitivity or disordered behaviour. It was concluded that an innate sensitivity to reward increases the risk of disorders characterised by strong approach tendencies, whilst high punishment sensitivity, perhaps due to a chaotic family, increases the risk of dysfunctional eating, particularly daughters of eating disordered mothers.