Thesis (M.Sc.)--York University, 2004. Graduate Programme in Chemistry. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 100-103). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ99372

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Psychology, 2004. / Title from first page of PDF document. Document formatted into pages; contains [1], iii, 54 p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 33-37).

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, August, 2002. / Title from PDF t.p.

Background: Around 33-50% who attend treatment for substance use disorder (SUD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) have a history of trauma. Experiencing trauma can lead to psychological disorders, difficulties with emotional regulation and dissociation. SUD and AUD can be chronic, relapsing disorders and understanding what individual factors affect addiction has important implications for treatment. Objective: The systematic review was interested in whether alexithymia affects abstinence after relapse prevention treatment (both psychological and pharmacological). The review was also interested in whether alexithymia is a stable trait after relapse prevention treatment (both psychological and pharmacological) as measured by the Toronto Alexithymia Scale. The research study investigates the relationships between trauma, dissociation, alexithymia, emotional regulation and SUD, AUD and polysubstance use. There has been little research looking at the relationships between these variables and how they compare in different types of substance use. It was hypothesised that patients with poly-substance addiction will have higher incidents of trauma, dissociation, alexithymia and poorer emotional regulation when compared to alcohol and drug dependence alone. Methods: A systematic search of articles published between January 1989 - January 2017 was carried out following the Cochrane (2008) guidelines. PSYCHInfo, Medline and Cinahl were the key databases searched. Papers were quality assessed to identify strengths and weaknesses. The research study is a qualitative, cross-sectional design that involved ninety-one AUD, SUD and poly-substance use participants who were attending outpatient NHS addiction services. They were asked to complete questionnaires assessing trauma, dissociation, alexithymia and emotional regulation. Results: The systematic review found twelve articles that related to the review questions. The systematic review found alexithymia did not impact on abstinence and there was no difference between abstinence after treatment between low and high alexithymic groups. There were mixed results for whether alexithymia score changes after relapse prevention treatment. Overall, the results suggest that alexithymia is relatively stable across SUD and AUD after relapse prevention treatment. The empirical study found that there is no difference between type of addiction and trauma, alexithymia and emotional regulation. People with polysubstance misuse reported significantly higher levels of dissociation than the other two groups. Multiple regression was conducted on the full data set and it was found that emotional regulation, alexithymia and dissociation were able to predict trauma in alcohol, drug and polysubstance users. Conclusions: The systematic review found that despite the assumption that people with alexithymia have higher rates of relapse and attrition this is not the case. Alexithymia has no impact on treatment outcome. The review also found that CBT was identified as an effective relapse prevention treatment for people with alexithymia. The research paper highlighted that the type of substance used by people who have experienced trauma may not be as important as previously thought. Also, understanding that poor emotional regulation, alexithymia and dissociation commonly co-occur with trauma so it may be important to screen for this when treating people with trauma who have co-morbid addictions.

Tereza Petrásková Toušková - Cognitive Disorganisation and Insight in Schizophrenia 1 SUMMARY Conscious awareness is related to brain activities represented as unita- ry, integrated and changeable processes reflecting binding of diverse modalities of basic neural informational processes and their subjective components. According to recent research disturbances of self- awareness and conscious experience have a critical role in pathophysi- ology of schizophrenia, which in early stages of the disease mainly in- clude overactivation of the HPA axis. Together these studies suggest that the processes of disrupted awareness and conscious disintegration in schizophrenia likely might be related and represented by similar dis- ruptions on the brain level, which in principle could be explained by various levels of disturbed connectivity and information disintegration that may negatively affect usual patterns of synchronous activity consti- tuting adaptive integrative functions of consciousness. In this context, a purpose of the theoretical part of the disertation is to describe basic neu- robiological mechanisms underlying integrative processes in the brain with its complementarily related mental activities including self- awareness and insight reflecting interrelated processes between mind and brain that implicate...

The availability and assimilation of NH₄⁺ plays an integral role in the growth of microorganisms and the production of amino acids by these organisms. This study investigated the dissociation of NH₄⁺in aqueous solution, its availability and effect on the enzymes of NH₄⁺ assimilation and its influence on lysine production by Corynebacterium glutamicum.In aqueous solution the extent of dissociation of NH₄C1, {NH₄)₂S0₄ and (NH₄)₂HP0₄ increases with decreasing concentration. A model is proposed for the dissociation of these molecules. It is believed that at very low concentrations, dissociation to NH₃ plus the respective counter-ions occurs. At these low concentrations the NH₃ acts as the substrate for glutamine synthetase. At the higher concentrations dissociation is to NH₄⁺ which is the substrate for glutamate dehydrogenase. At these higher concentrations the enzyme activities obtained for glutamate dehydrogenase, at equivalent concentrations of the above ammonium salts, were different when based on the total concentration of NH₄⁺, and similar when based on the concentration of free NH₄⁺. L-Iysine occurs in the +1 ionic form, at pH 7,2. The lysine which is produced during fermentation associates with the anionic counter-ion of the ammonium salt used. The concentration of the free NH₄⁺ in the media appears to affect both the rate of lysine synthesis as well as the yield. The lysine fermentation occurs in two stages; a growth (or replicative) phase, during which very little lysine is produced, and a lysine synthesis (or maturation) phase. During the lysine synthesis phase there is no cell replication, however an increase in the mass of the biomass produced is apparent. Evidence is provided for the possible concomitant synthesis of the the cell wall polymer, glycerol teichoic acid, and lysine. On the basis of this evidence, a nucleotide balance is proposed for lysine and teichoic acid synthesis. The replicative phase and the maturation phase have to be effectively separated to obtain optimal lysine yields and titres. It is believed that teichoic acid synthesis during the replicative phase must be kept to a minimum for optimal yields and titres to be obtained, and on completion of the cell wall and therefore teichoic acid synthesis, lysine synthesis ceases. As the production of lysine appears to be affected by the NH₄⁺ concentration in the culture media, it is proposed that a futile cycle may exist around the transport and assimilation of the NH₄⁺. If the fermentations are run at low free NH₄⁺ concentrations, it was shown that lysine yields of 0,66, on the glucose utilised, are attainable during the fermentation.

Anionic metal-oxalate complexes have been generated in the gas phase and an attempt at determining plausible structures were made. Two different experimental techniques were coupled to mass spectrometry: Infrared Multiphoton Dissociation (IRMPD) and ion mobility. Both techniques were compared to theoretical structures calculated using various levels of theory. With the use of IRMPD, frequencies were generated for each complex and compared to theoretical frequencies. Plausible structures for all complexes were found using the M-series of density functional levels of the theory when the 6-311+gd basis set was used and Bhandhlyp functional was appropriate for the lanl2dz basis set. Using ion mobility allowed for collision cross-sections to be calculated and compared to theoretical collision cross-sections of the various structures. Unfortunately no plausible structures were determined using this technique due to a lack of calibrants for the negative mode of ion mobility.

Deep geological disposal is a method of managing high level, long-­‐lived nuclear waste. It is a concept that many countries are exploring for the possibility of managing nuclear waste generated from power production. For deep geological disposal to be viable then areas where problems may surface have to be explored. Bentonite clay has been proposed as the material to be used for the backfill of the repositories. Its swelling properties ensure that it will expand to plug the bore holes that will be made for the waste, its impermeable nature restricts contact between groundwater and the waste package and its stability on a geological timescale all make it desirable as a backfill material. This project looks at the role that colloids formed from the bentonite clay could have in facilitating radionuclide transport away from a nuclear waste repository. Several radionuclides (Eu(III), U(VI), Th(IV) and Am(III)) have been considered in this research, and information from these studies will be used in the BELBaR project’s outputs, which will eventually support a disposal safety case. Ternary systems of 152Eu(III), bulk bentonite and EDTA ([Eu] = 7.9 x 10-­‐10 M; pH = 6.0 – 7.0) have been studied. Without EDTA, there was slow uptake in a two-­‐stage process, with initial rapid sorption of Eu(III) (96%), followed by slower uptake of a smaller fraction (3.0 % over a period of 1 month). The reversibility of Eu(III) binding was tested by allowing Eu(III) to sorb to bentonite for 1 – 322 days. EDTA was added to the pre-­‐equilibrated Eu bentonite systems at 0.01 M. A dissociation rate constant of approximately 4.3 x 10-­‐8 s-­‐1 (values in the range 2.2 x 10-­‐8 – 1.0 x 10-­‐7 s-­‐1) for pre-­‐equilibration times ≥ 7 days was measured. Eventually, the amount of Eu(III) remaining bound to the bentonite was within error of that when EDTA was also present prior to contact (4.5 % ± 0.6). Eu interactions with colloidal bentonite were studied, and the dissociation rate constant measured by a resin competition method. A dissociation rate of 8.8 x 10-­‐7 s-­‐1 and a range of 7.7 x 10-­‐7 – 9.5 x 10-­‐7 s-­‐1 were measured. For both bulk and colloidal bentonite slow dissociation was observed for Eu(III), but there was no evidence for ‘irreversible’ binding. The interactions of 232U(VI) with bentonite colloids ([U] = 5.43 x 10-­‐10 M; pH = 8.8 ± 0.2) have been studied using a resin ion exchange competition technique. The reversibility of the interaction was studied by allowing U(VI) to sorb to bentonite colloids for periods from 1 – 35 days. A fraction of the U(VI) was removed from the solution instantaneously (28-­‐50 %), and after 3 days, the amount of U(VI) remaining on the bentonite colloids was 17-­‐ 25%. With time, the amount of U(VI) retained by the bentonite colloid is reduced further, with a first order dissociation rate constant of 5.6 x 10-­‐7 s-­‐1. Whilst the dissociating fraction was small (24% (+34; -­‐12 %)), complete dissociation was not observed. Although slow dissociation was observed for U(VI), there was no convincing evidence for ‘irreversible binding’ of the radionuclide by the colloid. The interactions of 228Th(IV) ([Th] = 3.79 x 10-­‐12 M; pH = 8.8 ± 0.2) and 241Am(III) ([Am] = 3.27 x 10-­‐9 M; pH = 8.8 ± 0.2), with bentonite colloids have been studied using an ion exchange competition technique. Th(IV) was not fully associated with the bentonite colloids, and filtration showed that the uptake after 1 week was 78.3% (± 2.7%). Am(III) was weakly associated to the bentonite colloids, the uptake after 1 week was 20.1 % (± 5.2 %). Cellulose phosphate was added to the radionuclide/bentonite colloid systems (1 g for Th(IV), 0.2 g for Am(III)), an amount that was sufficient to retain the radionuclide when no bentonite colloids are present. A fraction of the Th(IV) is initially removed by the Cellphos (75-­‐93 %), and after 7 days the amount of Th(IV) remaining on the colloids is 1 -­‐ 3 %. Over the time of the experiment, the amount of Th(IV) retained by the bentonite colloid appears to remain level and the amount bound to the bentonite colloid at the end of the experiment is 2.1 % ± 0.88 % which is within experimental error of the steady state equilibrium of the system. A fraction (48-­‐94 %) of the Am(III) is also initially removed by the Cellphos, after 7 days the8amount of Am(III) remaining on the colloids is 1.2 – 9.3 %. However, after 35 days of contact time with the cellulose phosphate it appears that Am(III) is released back into the system, preventing dissociation rates from being calculated in this case. Studies of the association of Eu(III) to the clay colloids and its subsequent dissociation in this thesis follow similar trends to those described elsewhere in the literature (Missana et al. (2008), Bouby et al. (2011)). The Eu/bentonite colloid dissociation rate calculated here (8.8 x 10-­‐7 s-­‐1 (± 9.1 x 10-­‐7 s-­‐1)) is within error of the dissociation rates for trivalent ions estimated by Wold (2010) (Am(III) 5.6 x 10-­‐7 s-­‐1 Cm(III) 1.7 x 10-­‐6 s-­‐1). The U(VI) studies in this thesis show a dissociation rate of 5.6 x 10-­‐7 s-­‐1 (± 4.2 × 10-­‐7) which is within error of the U(VI) dissociation rate estimated by Wold (2010) (8.3 X 10-­‐7 s-­‐1). Reliable dissociation rates could not be obtained from the Am(III) and the Th(IV) studies in this thesis, other studies (e.g. Bouby et al. (2011) showed signs of irreversible binding of Th(IV) to bentonite colloids, however, no irreversible binding was observed in this thesis. Am(III) did not appear to be a close analogue of Eu(III) in these systems. All of the isotopes studied in this thesis showed no evidence of irreversible binding to bentonite or bentonite colloids. As such, the role that bentonite colloids will have in the facilitated transport of radioisotopes away from a repository is likely to have only a limited impact, at most, on the environmental safety case.

Thesis advisor: Ellen Winner / Actors make imagined characters in imaginary circumstances come alive, as if they were real. What cognitive processes make it possible for actors to accomplish this feat? The goal of this dissertation was to examine three characteristics that actors may possess and that might make this possible: dissociation, flow, and empathy. Acting students (n = 44) and non-acting students (n = 43) first completed a baseline measure of dissociation, and then performed a monologue that was given to them. This performance was recorded and later rated on dimensions of acting. Participants next completed self-report measures of dissociation, flow, and empathy. It was hypothesized that acting students would score higher than non-acting students on all three measures, and that dissociation of all participants would increase post-performance. I also assessed whether acting experience, dissociation, flow, empathy, and/or the time taken to prepare the monologue for performance predicted performance ratings. The results revealed that acting students scored significantly higher than non-acting students on flow (and some of its subscales) and empathy (and some of its subscales). Although no group differences emerged on pre-performance levels of dissociation, only acting students significantly increased their level of dissociation post-performance. Finally, acting experience was the only significant predictor of performance ratings for both acting and non-acting students. This research demonstrates that, compared to non-acting students, acting students report higher levels of empathy and flow immediately after performing a monologue. Additionally for acting students, levels of dissociation rise after performing the monologue. Empathy and dissociation are likely important tools used by actors to “become” a character, and flow is likely the result of actors’ ability to immerse themselves fully in the performance. Nevertheless, acting experience is the strongest predictor of how a performance will be rated. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Psychology.

Binge-watching, the act of watching large amounts of television at a time, has become a popular phenomenon internationally; however, it has yet to be sufficiently defined. In order to define binge-watching, data was collected on specific watching instances from 216 undergraduate students at a large research university. Hierarchical and k-means cluster analyses were conducted in Phase I to empirically determine how binge-watching should be defined. In Phase II, that definition was tested by correlating the number of instances of binge-watching in a one-week period, collected by seven days of daily diary logs, with several theoretically related measures including body mass index, dissociative tendencies, psychological distress, compulsion to watch, boredom proneness, and escapism through watching. The data-driven definition was found to be that eight hours or more of continuous watching was binge-watching, while anything less than that was not. In Phase II, the frequency of binge-watching through the seven-day period was calculated based on that new definition. The frequency of binge-watching was positively correlated with body mass index and dissociative tendencies with statistical significance at the alpha = .05 level. Compulsion to watch was not statistically significant; however, there was a positive correlation. These findings indicate that the proposed data-driven definition has concurrent validity. Psychological distress, boredom proneness, and escapism through watching were not statistically significantly related to binge-watching frequency, nor did the effect sizes indicate a correlation may exist. Potential reasons for these results are discussed. The definition found in this study will be helpful to other researchers as research into binge-watching continues to grow.