Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is an impairing mental illness and has a core component of emotional dysregulation. Evidence suggests the emotional cascade model describes how this emotional dysregulation leads to engaging in risky and life-threatening behaviors, such as non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). Specifically, this model describes rumination as a cognitive component that links the emotional and behavioral dysregulation. The current study aimed to expand the model by investigating how individuals with heightened BPD traits engage in NSSI and in cognitive strategies to cope with their negative affect. Specifically, it was investigated whether behaviors like suicide attempts and cognitions differentiated between those with mild/moderate and severe NSSI. Criterion for severe NSSI was hospitalization or medical care because of NSSI. Participants (N = 292) were screened to endorse a history of NSSI and then self-selected to take a self-report survey through Mturk. Correlations and a binomial logistic regression were completed. Results indicated suicide attempts, BPD symptoms, and anger rumination differentiated mild/moderate and severe NSSI. Evidence reinforces the strong relationships between NSSI, suicide attempts, and BPD. Additionally, it reinforces anger rumination as a potential cognitive mechanism in NSSI. Future research can continue to test this model and include other potential thought processes to increase efficiency in assessment and treatment of BPD and NSSI.

Small-signal stability is of great concern for distributed power systems with a large number of regulated power converters. These converters are constant-power loads (CPLs) exhibit a negative incremental input resistance within the output voltage regulation bandwidth. In the case of dc systems, design requirements for impedances that guarantee stability have been previously developed and are used in the design and specification of these systems. In terms of three-phase ac systems, a mathematical framework based on the generalized Nyquist stability criterion (GNC), reference frame theory, and multivariable control is set forth for stability assessment. However, this approach relies on the actual measurement of these impedances, which up to now has severely hindered its applicability. Addressing this shortcoming, this research investigates the small-signal stability of three-phase ac systems using measured d-q frame impedances. Prior to this research, negative incremental resistance is only found in CPLs as a results of output voltage regulation. In this research, negative incremental resistance is discovered in grid-tied inverters as a consequence of grid synchronization and current injection, where the bandwidth of the phase-locked loop determines the frequency range of the negative incremental resistance behavior, and the power rating of inverter determines the magnitude of the resistance. Prior to this research, grid synchronization stability issue and sub-synchronous oscillations between grid-tied inverter and its nearby rectifier under weak grid condition are reported and analyzed using characteristic equation of the system. This research proposes a more design oriented analysis approach based on the negative incremental resistance concept of grid-tied inverters. Grid synchronization stability issues are well explained under the framework of GNC. Although stability and its margin of ac system can be addressed using source and load impedances in d-q frame, method to specify the shape of load impedances to assure system stability is not reported. This research finds out that under unity power factor condition, three-phase ac system is decoupled. It can be simplified to two dc systems. Load impedances can be then specified to guarantee system stability and less conservative design. / Ph. D.

Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) is a metal additive manufacturing (AM) technique that creates objects layer by layer from a bed of loose powder, using a laser beam as the heat source. This layer-wise approach allows for the fabrication of highly complex structures and intricate geometries with high accuracy, including solid, porous, and lattice structures. LPBF offers significant potential for use in industries such as aerospace, biomedical, and automotive due to its ability to fabricate unique and sophisticated designs. This technology has recently attracted significant attention for the fabrication of multimaterial parts with improved properties and applicability in different fields. However, challenges persist in understanding the relationship between process parameters and the properties of resulting multimaterial parts and interfaces. Additionally, limitations exist in design and interface selection for multimaterial fabrication using this technique. Negative thermal expansion (NTE) metamaterials, discussed in this research, are mechanical structures that show negative expansion properties by contracting with increase in temperature, while expanding with a decrease in temperature. These metamaterials are typically multimaterial systems where constituents with positive coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) are strategically integrated, resulting in an overall NTE effect in one or more directions This research focuses on the design, simulation, and fabrication of negative thermal expansion (NTE) metamaterials using Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) with Grade 304L Stainless Steel (SS304L), Grade 300 Maraging Steel (MS300), and Invar 36 (Invar) alloys. Bimaterial combinations of SS304L-MS300 and SS304L-Invar were explored. After determining the optimal processing parameters, results showed that a robust, defect-free interface could be achieved in both combinations. Various lattice structures were designed based on these alloy pairs and analyzed using finite element analysis. The designs with the high NTE potential were successfully fabricated through LPBF, using optimal interface parameters. Thermal expansion testing of the fabricated structures demonstrated NTE behavior in line with FEA analysis predictions. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)

No / Drawing on recent critical debates concerning the ontology of leadership, this article outlines a radical rethinking of the concept – not as the study of heroic individuals, skilled practitioners, collaborators or discursive actors – but as the marker of a fundamental and productive lack; a space of absent presence through which individual and collective desires for leadership are given expression. Where current critical debates tend to oscillate between variants of the physical and the social in their analyses, this article considers the potential for a negative ontology of leadership; one in which absence, ideological practices and the operation of empty signifiers form the basis for empirical investigation and critical reflection.

Yes / We outline the valuation process for a No-Negative Equity Guarantee in an Equity Release Mortgage loan and for an Equity Release Mortgage that has such a guarantee. Illustrative valuations are provided based on the Black ’76 put pricing formula and mortality projections based on the M5, M6 and M7 mortality versions of the Cairns–Blake–Dowd (CBD) family of mortality models. Results indicate that the valuations of No-Negative Equity Guarantees are high relative to loan amounts and subject to considerable model risk but that the valuations of Equity Release Mortgage loans are robust to the choice of mortality model. Results have significant ramifications for industry practice and prudential regulation.

Yes / The extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling pathway regulates many cellular functions, including proliferation, differentiation, and transformation. To reliably convert external stimuli into specific cellular responses and to adapt to environmental circumstances, the pathway must be integrated into the overall signalling activity of the cell. Multiple mechanisms have evolved to perform this role. In this review, we will focus on negative feedback mechanisms and examine how they shape ERK1/ 2 MAPK signalling. We will first discuss the extensive number of negative feedback loops targeting the different components of the ERK1/2 MAPK cascade, specifically the direct posttranslational modification of pathway components by downstream protein kinases and the induction of de novo gene synthesis of specific pathway inhibitors. We will then evaluate how negative feedback modulates the spatiotemporal signalling dynamics of the ERK1/2 pathway regarding signalling amplitude and duration as well as subcellular localisation. Aberrant ERK1/2 activation results in deregulated proliferation and malignant transformation in model systems and is commonly observed in human tumours. Inhibition of the ERK1/2 pathway thus represents an attractive target for the treatment of malignant tumours with increased ERK1/2 activity. We will, therefore, discuss the effect of ERK1/2 MAPK feedback regulation on cancer treatment and how it contributes to reduced clinical efficacy of therapeutic agents and the development of drug resistance.

Yes / Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) is usually associated with outbreaks and sporadic cases of severe infantile diarrhoea in the developing world, and less commonly with sporadic cases in developed countries. Very little evidence indicates that EPEC is a food-borne pathogen for adults. In a previous study, two groups of adult travellers became ill, and eae+ E. coli of serogroup O111 was isolated from affected individuals and epidemiologically linked to food consumption. Here the strain responsible was further investigated and characterized as an unusual atypical EPEC. PCR analysis of the designated type isolate showed the presence of the rorf1 and espB genes of the LEE pathogenicity island, which was inserted at the chromosomal selC locus. The isolate was negative for the enteroaggregative E. coli EAST-1 toxin present in other strains of EPEC associated with food-borne outbreaks. The strain adhered sparsely to HEp-2 cell monolayers in a diffuse manner, but fluorescent actin staining demonstrated that it was capable of inducing polymerization of actin at the sites of bacterial attachment. Strain P2583 is the first EAST-negative EPEC to be confirmed as a cause of outbreaks of infection in adults following the consumption of contaminated food or water.

The relationship of attributional style to anxiety and depression in children and adolescents has received little attention in comparison to studies conducted with adult populations. However, preliminary studies suggest that children and adolescents evidence similar attributional style patterns to those expressed by adults. This study further examines the relationship of anxiety and depression to attributional style to determine the utility and applicability of the adult model to children and adolescents. In addition, this study examines the accuracy of obtaining attributional style ratings using hypothetical events (i.e., questionnaire method) versus real-life events. Further, this study was designed to study the relationship of emotional measures of anxiety and depression (Le., Children's Depression Inventory and Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale) versus cognitive measures of anxiety and depression (Negative Affect Self-Statement Questionnaire). It was hypothesized that real life events (as measured by the Specific Life Events Schedule; SLES) would prove to be a concurrently valid measure of attributional style in relation to hypothetical events presented through a questionnaire method (as measured by the Children's Attributional Style Questionnaire; CASQ). As well, it was predicted that real life events of the SLES would prove to be a more accurate measure of attributional style than hypothetical life events of the CASQ, in relation to achieved depression scores. Furthermore, it was predicted that certain indices of attributional style and negative self-statements would prove to be significant predictors of depression (as measured by the CDI) and anxiety scores (as measured by the RCMAS). / Master of Science

Background. Decades of research have found alcohol and negative affect (NA) are global and proximal risk factors for psychological and physical intimate partner violence (IPV), especially among college students. Despite recognition as the most common form of IPV, bidirectional psychological and physical IPV (i.e., instances where both partners are perpetrating and experiencing victimization) remains an understudied topic. Clarifying alcohol and NA’s influences on bidirectional IPV may inform the development of intervention programs. We hypothesized that the association between alcohol use (number of daily drinks and Heavy Episodic Drinking [HED]) and IPV would vary as a function of NA. Methods. Dating college students (N = 232; 67.7% women; 83.89% white) who drink alcohol completed daily surveys for 60 consecutive days assessing daily alcohol use, NA, and IPV perpetration and victimization. Generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) tested the within- and between-person associations and interactions between alcohol use, NA, and psychological and physical unidirectional and bidirectional IPV. Results. A significant interaction between NA and the number of drinks before unidirectional psychological IPV perpetration emerged, such that the alcohol-IPV association was weaker at lower levels of NA. A main effect of NA emerged as a proximal antecedent of unidirectional psychological victimization and bidirectional psychological IPV. Main effects of within- and between-person alcohol use were insignificant across other models. Conclusion. On days of low NA, college students were less likely to perpetrate psychological IPV after drinking. Future research should clarify whether positive affect weakens the alcohol-IPV association and assess additional moderators of this link. / These data were collected by the author’s advisor (Dr. Meagan J. Brem) and was supported by a Visionary Grant from the American Psychological Foundation (APF) and by grant F31AA026489 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) awarded to Dr. Brem. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the APF, NIAAA, or the National Institutes of Health. / Master of Science

Yes / Constitutive models that conform to separable KBKZ specification have been shown to fit steady-state strain hardening rheological data in planar and uniaxial elongational flows, but with inaccuracy in the rate of strain hardening. The single parameter Molecular Stress Function model of Wagner [Rheol. Acta, 39 (2000), 97-109] has been shown to accurately fit the rise-rate in experimental data for a number of strain hardening and strain softening materials. We study this models accuracy against the well characterised IUPAC LDPE data, and present a method for full implementation of this model for flow solution which is suitable for incorporating into existing separable KBKZ software. A new method for particle tracking in arbitrarily aligned meshes, which is efficient and robust, is given. The Quadratic Molecular Stress Function (QMSF) model is compared to existing separable KBKZ based models, including one which is capable of giving planar strain hardening; the QMSF is shown to fit experimental rheological and contraction flow data more convincingly. The issue of `negative correction pressures¿ notable in some Doi-Edwards based models is addressed. The cause is identified, and leads to a logical method of calculation which does not give these anomalous results.