Bipolar disorder is a serious mental disorder, affecting anywhere from 2 to 4 percent of Americans. Though research has indicated that this disorder can be devastating for patients, less is known about how the disorder impacts family members. There is no research that has considered impacts on family members adjusting to college. The purpose of the current study was to determine the extent to which having a family member with bipolar disorder impacts adjustment to college, as well as factors that might account for worse functioning. Two groups were recruited: students with a bipolar family member (n = 25) and students with no family history of the disorder (n = 50). Participants were interviewed regarding their own histories of a mood disorder, as well as mood disorder histories in their immediate families. They then completed surveys assessing adjustment to college, functioning, caregiving burden, parental relationship, and attachment style. Students with a family history of bipolar disorder had significantly lower social adjustment scores, lower personal-emotional adjustment scores, and lower financial functioning scores than students without this history. Lower scores were found even after controlling for psychopathology. Avoidant attachment behaviors, anxious attachment behaviors, and aspects of the paternal relationship were identified as potential mediators. Caregiving burden was identified as a partial mediator. Implications for families and educational institutions are discussed.

Abstract not available.

Most of the time, in a nano-fabrication facility, the efforts of a researcher are devoted to optimising the fabrication process in order to avoid defects and obtain the best result in terms of precision and quality of the fabricated device. However, it is inevitable that during the sample fabrication, a variable intrinsic amount of disorder is introduced. This feature can be exploited to develop novel applications spanning different areas of optics. A perfect unclonable cryptographic system based on new integrated optical fingerprints chip is presented and a proof of concept is provided. The role of disorder at the nanoscale is further studied in the fabrication processes such as electron beam lithography and dry-etching. In this scenario, the randomness is the starting point to develop new technologies for structural coloration and holograms.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・論文博士 / 博士(医学) / 乙第13291号 / 論医博第2189号 / 新制||医||1039(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 椛島 健治, 教授 小池 薫, 教授 妻木 範行 / 学位規則第4条第2項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex disorder with large individual variability, where every case has differences in the type and severity of symptoms. Despite the recent increase in diagnoses, scientists have advanced considerably less in their understanding of the mechanisms of ASD because few individual genes that are implicated in ASD are mutated in much more than 1% of patients. One proposed mechanism is that the dysfunction of GABAergic interneurons may play a role in the development and progression of the disorder by interrupting the excitatory and inhibitory balance of neural networks. In our research, we elucidate the role of one class of interneurons in ASD by knocking out a high-risk gene (phosphatase and tensin homologue on chromosome ten, or PTEN) selectively in somatostatinexpressing (SOM+) interneurons. Since many symptoms of autism spectrum disorder present themselves as social anxieties, we test our mouse model in a variety of settings to observe social interaction and social preference, anxiety-like behavior, and repetitive stereotyped behavior. We found that in the SOM+ conditional knockout of PTEN, mice had elevated levels of anxiety and fear recall, suggesting a potential disruption of amygdala function. We then investigated potential dysfunction at the cellular and circuit levels using confocal microscopy, electrophysiology, and 2P local circuit mapping. We found that SOM+ cells lacking PTEN were overgrown morphologically, with larger cell bodies and larger, more complex dendritic arbors. Additionally, SOM+ cells in the central amygdala (CeA) lacking PTEN had elevated levels of excitatory drive from the basolateral amygdala (BLA) as well as a drastic disruption of lateral inhibition within the CeA, seen by decreased connection probability and reduced inhibitory post synaptic currents. Given what is known about central amygdala circuitry, these deficits in CeA SOM+ neuron activity conceivably underlie the fear and anxiety-related phenotype observed in mice with a conditional SOM+ PTEN knockout. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2021. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

No description available.

Bose-Einstein Condensation is a macroscopic occupation of bosons in the lowest energy state. For atoms, extremely low temperatures are required to observe this phenomenon. For photons, condensation has been demonstrated at room temperature, requiring a large number of particles (N ∼ 77000) and very complicated setup. Here we study the possibility of observing BEC of light at room temperature with a much lower number of particles by leveraging disorder in a dielectric material. There is no constraint in the number of photons in the system like in the previous research. We investigate what happens to photons once they are put inside a cavity with a disorder. The analysis is carried out by using time-dependent quantum Langevin equations, complemented by a thermodynamic analysis on quantum photons. Both approaches give the same expression for the critical temperature of condensation. We demonstrate that photons in a disordered cavity with arbitrary initial statistical distribution reach thermal equilibrium and undergo a Bose-Einstein Condensation if the temperature is sufficiently reduced. In our model we demonstrate that the temperature is related to the losses of the system. At this state, photons follow Boltzmann distribution. It is demonstrated that by only varying the strength of disorder, it is possible to change the critical temperature of the phase transition, thus making condensation possible at room temperature. This work opens up the possibility to create new types of light condensate by using disorder.

No description available.

Parent knowledge of ASD may be relevant to early identification and intervention services for children with ASD. By understanding how knowledgeable parents of young children are about ASD, researchers and practitioners can intervene and educate this population. This study sought to determine the knowledge base of ASD among parents with children five years and younger and if developmental, behavioral, and autism-related concerns predict knowledge of ASD. The sample of parents consisted of 167 mothers and fathers. All participants completed a knowledge questionnaire (i.e., ASKSG) and reported their level of developmental, behavioral, and autism-related concerns of their oldest child between the ages of 2 and five years. Results revealed that the sample of parents had a relatively low knowledge base of ASD, as determined by a percentage correct on the ASKSG of 43.9% (SD=20.1). Additionally, developmental, behavioral, and autism-related concerns did not collectively predict the sample’s knowledge of ASD; however, autism-related concerns independently predicted knowledge. The results of this study provide information to researchers and practitioners that can be used to educate parents of young children regarding ASD. By doing so, early and appropriate identification of ASD may be improved. In turn, children and families may have increased access to early intervention services and thus may result in better developmental outcomes.

When designing assessment measures to capture psychological symptoms it is essential to ensure the individual completing the measure understands what is being asked of them. In the most basic sense, readability relates to how easy it is to understand something when you read it. Understanding readability can inform clinicians and researchers about selecting appropriate measures for their clients and participants. One commonly used formula to determine a given text's readability is the Flesch Kincaid Grade Level (FKG). Newer approaches of measuring readability utilize technological programs, such as Coh-Metrix and Question Understanding Aid (QUAID), that analyze text characteristics to determine the impact on comprehension. The current project investigated the readability of seven measures of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). Assessments of IGD have been largely adapted from validated measures of other constructs (i.e., gambling disorder, internet addiction) or created based directly on the proposed criteria of IGD. Prior to the current study, researchers had not yet critically examined the readability of measures of IGD. Assessment of readability is of critical importance given IGD is most likely to impact adolescents, a population that has lower levels of literacy because critical reading skills are developing throughout adolescence. It was hypothesized that measures of IGD may be difficult to read for adolescents. Items within seven measures of IGD were examined utilizing FKG, Coh-Metrix, and QUAID formulas for calculating readability and potential problematic question characteristics. Results found that the mean FKG ranged from 5.40 to 12.28 and indicated six of the seven measures contained at least one item written above an 8th-grade reading level. Coh-Metrix analysis found all measures contained at least one and up to eight items that were written at a below average level of syntactic simplicity (z =