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rhe non-copulatory estrous behaviour of semi-free ranging female Japanese monkeys was observed for 3 months, in order to investigate the role of the female in the establishment of mating pairs. It was concluded that the females play a very active role in the formation of mating pairs, showing three times more solicitation behaviour than males. They also reject more than 30% of the advances they do receive. This is interpretated as an indication of selectivity in the choice of sexual partners. The behaviour of the female in this courtship context is described, with emphasis on preceptive or solicitation behaviour. The data were tested for behavioural differences based on the female's age, rank, parity, number of offspring and the presence of an infant, and for differences based on the age, rank and spatial status of the interacting male. Age of the female had the greatest effect on behaviour, with older females behaving in a more calm, sophisticated manner when soliciting a male. Age was also the most significant male variable, with females showing more rejection to younger males. Other than age related findings it must be concluded that these sociological characteristics of the animals are not predictive of the females' courtship behaviour. A number of alternate lines of inquiry for future research are suggested. They include an investigation of the hormonal basis of estrous behaviour, a multivariate analysis, and a sequential analysis of behaviour. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

This thesis presents research aimed at examining rejection sensitivity in adolescent girls with borderline personality disorder (BPD) features. Although rejection sensitivity has been discussed more generally in the literature, few studies have identified how this construct may contribute to psychopathology in adolescence. There is also limited research regarding outcome behaviours that may be associated with high rejection sensitivity as well as factors that contribute to the manifestation of this construct. Here, this thesis aims to further the understanding of rejection sensitivity in adolescence and provide evidence to support the clinical utility of examining and offering treatment for this factor in youth presenting with BPD features. Although research has shown that BPD and high rejection sensitivity are strongly correlated, few studies have investigated the outcomes that may result from having this comorbidity. In the first paper of this thesis, disordered eating was examined as an outcome behaviour in a clinical sample of girls with BPD features. The results showed that girls who met diagnostic criteria for BPD had significantly higher disordered eating behaviour and that rejection sensitivity, operationalized as fears of abandonment, mediated this relationship. In the second paper of this thesis, the relationship between self-esteem, BPD features and perceived peer rejection was investigated in a longitudinal community sample of adolescent girls. We tested the sociometer hypothesis (Leary, 2005) that self-esteem served as a metric to detect the degree of belongingness in a group context. The results indicated that the relationship between BPD features and perceived peer rejection depended on self-esteem over time. Overall, the two studies presented in this thesis contribute to the knowledge regarding rejection sensitivity in adolescents with BPD features and explores correlates and outcomes of this relationship to aid in the identification of novel treatments to target and ameliorate rejection sensitivity in this population. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

yes / Boron is a vital element for growth of creations, but excessive exposure can cause detrimental effects to plants, animals, and possibly humans. Reverse Osmosis (RO) technique is widely used for seawater desalination as well as for waste water treatment. The aim of this study is to identify how different operating parameters such as pH, temperature and pressure can affect boron concentrations at the end of RO processes. For this purpose, a mathematical model for boron rejection is developed based on solution-diffusion model which can describe solvent and solute transport mechanism through the membranes. After a wide and thorough research, empirical correlations developed in the past are filtered, adopted and calibrated in order to faction with reliability as part of the solution-diffusion model of this work. The model is validated against a number of experimental results from the literature and is used in further simulations to get a deeper insight of the RO process. The general findings of the boron rejection model are supporting the case that with increasing pH and operating pressure of the feed water, the boron rejection increases and with increasing feed water temperature the boron rejection decreases.

This research investigates the harmonic and narrowband disturbance rejection problem for linear time-periodic (LTP) systems. The consequence of disturbances on LTP systems is similar to their linear time-invariant (LTI) counterparts, but is complicated by the interaction of the disturbance and plant acting at different frequencies, which manifests itself in the modulation of the disturbance signal. The result, for an m-periodic plant and disturbance containing a single tone, is that the output contains m tones. Using various disturbance rejection architectures, harmonic and narrowband disturbance rejection is investigated for linear time-periodic plants. Included are classical and multivariable feedback controllers, fixed-gain feedforward designs using finite impulse response (FIR) filters and H-infinity synthesis tools, and adaptive feedforward controllers. The objective of time-periodic, narrowband, disturbance rejection seeks to place a zero in the controlled system's disturbance path and align the zero direction, defined by the null space of the controlled system at the disturbance frequency, with the disturbance. In this research, constraints on controlled system infinity-norms specify nominal performance and robust stability objectives. Periodic controllers are found using existing LTI H-infinity control theory, and causality is satisfied using two techniques which can be added easily to H-infinity solvers: loop-shifting and Q-parameterization. The resulting controllers are high-gain, narrowband-pass, periodic filters; the closed-loop sensitivity has a zero at the disturbance frequency, and the disturbance is in the sensitivity's null space. It is also shown that classical designs do not achieve the same performance levels as periodic controllers. Similar developments are made using the feedforward disturbance rejection architecture. Objectives are given which minimize the weighted infinity-norm of the controlled system. Such feedforward controllers achieve perfect disturbance rejection. A multivariable equivalent of the tapped-delay line is used in the description of periodic FIR filters. In addition, periodic FIR filters are made adaptive using an algorithm similar to filtered-X least mean square (LMS) but modified for periodic systems. / Ph. D.

Peer rejection (PR) can be damaging to cognitive and emotional well being and lead to risky behavioral consequences (e.g., violence, increased peer pressure susceptibility), particularly for adolescents (Sebastian et al., 2010; Williams, 2007). Interventions designed to minimize the impact of and repair damage related to PR in youth have been somewhat successful (e.g., Mikami et al., 2005), although the need for further research into potentially pliable mechanisms underlying adolescent peer relationships remains. One suggested mediating factor is experiential avoidance (EA), which is the major target of acceptance- and mindfulness-based interventions such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT; see Hayes, 2004 for a review). The present study built on the recommendations of Biglan et al. (2008) and Theodore-Oklota et al. (2014) in designing and implementing a prevention program aimed at reducing EA of PR experiences, with the hope of minimizing cognitive, emotional and behavioral consequences of PR. For this initial pilot, selected ACT components (acceptance, cognitive defusion, and values) were presented in age-appropriate form to six participants over five individual intervention sessions. The program was successful in reducing EA and cognitive fusion and/or improving mindfulness and acceptance for most participants, with some exceptions. Additionally, results showed a decrease in existing symptomatology for several participants (e.g., anger, depression, poor self-concept, overall stress). However, value congruence was not significantly improved for any of the six completers. Results are discussed in terms of theoretical implications and recommendations for further research, particularly in terms of how the existing pilot intervention could be altered and augmented to maximize effectiveness. / Ph. D.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第23099号 / 医博第4726号 / 新制||医||1050(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 濵﨑 洋子, 教授 浅野 雅秀, 教授 羽賀 博典 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

La greffe cardiaque est le traitement ultime de l’insuffisance cardiaque. Le rejet aigu pose plusieurs problématiques, en particulier sa survenue imprévisible même sous traitement immunosuppresseur, et un diagnostic histologique qui nécessite des biopsies endomyocardiques (BEM) invasives répétées, et qui souffre de nombreuses limites. Le besoin de critères diagnostiques et prédictifs, idéalement non invasifs, nous a conduits à étudier le rejet aigu de greffe cardiaque sur le plan moléculaire. Nous avons caractérisé les profils d’expression génique (PEG) myocardiques et sanguins lors de différentes phases du rejet cellulaire (RC) et du rejet médié par les anticorps (RMA), par analyse sans a priori des transcriptomes sur puce à ADN. Par une première étude des PEG myocardiques menée sur une collection historique de BEM, nous avons montré la modification des PEG tissulaires lors du RC. Pour le même grade histologique, deux profils de RC aux degrés d’activation immunitaire différents ont été identifiés. De plus, les PEG myocardiques étaient modifiés dès un mois avant la survenue d’un RC, quand l’analyse histologique ne montrait encore aucune anomalie. Par une seconde étude conduite sur une collection prospective de BEM et échantillons sanguins, nous avons confirmé les résultats de la première étude, et de plus montré l’existence de modulations des PEG également dans le sang périphérique, aussi bien pendant un épisode de RC qu’un mois avant. Enfin pour la première fois la modulation tissulaire et périphérique des PEG a été montrée dans le RMA en transplantation cardiaque. L’existence de voies modulées dans les deux types de rejet devrait conduire à la recherche de biomarqueurs. / Heart transplantation is the last treatment in case of terminal heart failure. Acute rejection after heart transplantation raises several issues due to its occurrence despite immunosuppressive therapies and the requirement of invasive and repeated endomyocardial biopsies (EMB) that have several histological grading limitations. The need of non-invasive diagnostic and predictive criteria led us to study the acute rejection of cardiac allograft using a molecular approach. We characterized myocardial and peripheral blood gene expression profiles (GEP) during acute cellular rejection (CR) and antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) by mean of microarray analyses. By a retrospective study conducted on a historical EMB collection, we first showed a strong immunologic modulation during CR. For the same CR histological grading, two transcriptional profiles were identified according to the inflammation level. Moreover, myocardial GEP modifications were observed one month before the occurrence of CR, while histological characteristics showed no abnormality. A second study conducted on a prospective collection of both EMB and peripheral blood samples confirmed the results obtained on EMB and showed peripheral blood GEP modulations during both CR and even one month earlier. Finally, we have also shown for the first time in heart transplantation, myocardial and peripheral GEP modulations in AMR. Identification of modulated pathways in both types of rejection should allow for the determination of rejection biomarkers.