Neurotic ambivalence in children who act-out

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University.THEORY: Ambivalence, designating the coexistence within a subject of love and hate for the same object, was differentiated into two, qualitatively different types. Normal ambivalence was held to comprise positive and negative affects felt for an object because of the reality characteristics of that object, these affects being free of anxiety. Neurotic ambivalence was held to comprise positive and negative affects felt for an object when both of the affects are associated with anxiety. Except with regard to the parent or parent substitute, neurotic ambivalence is not based on the reality characteristics of the object but is the result of displacement. PREDICTIONS: In a situation where the child is confronted with an adult whose power and disposition toward him are unknown and who thus cannot be an object of rational affect, the delinquent child will display an intense, equal, neurotic ambivalence; the neurotic behavior problem child will display an intense, hostile or negative, neurotic ambivalence; the over-compliant child will display an intense, loving or positive, neurotic ambivalence; and the normal child will display neurotic affects of a low intensity [TRUNCATED

Simulated Environments for Food Packaging Design Assessment

Using applied retail research, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the viability of using a simulated environment to conduct packaging design validation tests in order to gain deep insights into the ways in which shoppers make buying decisions. The resultant knowledge will provide empirical data on packaging design for Welsh food Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

Investigation of factors affecting prediction of protein-protein interaction networks by phylogenetic profiling

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The use of computational methods for predicting protein interaction networks will continue to grow with the number of fully sequenced genomes available. The Co-Conservation method, also known as the Phylogenetic profiles method, is a well-established computational tool for predicting functional relationships between proteins.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here, we examined how various aspects of this method affect the accuracy and topology of protein interaction networks. We have shown that the choice of reference genome influences the number of predictions involving proteins of previously unknown function, the accuracy of predicted interactions, and the topology of predicted interaction networks. We show that while such results are relatively insensitive to the <it>E</it>-value threshold used in defining homologs, predicted interactions are influenced by the similarity metric that is employed. We show that differences in predicted protein interactions are biologically meaningful, where judicious selection of reference genomes, or use of a new scoring scheme that explicitly considers reference genome relatedness, produces known protein interactions as well as predicted protein interactions involving coordinated biological processes that are not accessible using currently available databases.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These studies should prove valuable for future studies seeking to further improve phylogenetic profiling methodologies as well for efforts to efficiently employ such methods to develop new biological insights.</p

Geometry vs Realism: an exploration of visual immersion in a synthetic reality space

With the broader aim of using a synthetic reality environment to improve and develop packaging designs for Welsh food Small-Medium Enterprises (SME), two studies were undertaken in a simulated environment to explore the geometry and realism of visual content of supermarket shelves, in relation to psychological variables that correlate with sense of presence. The first experiment compared two types of visual geometry: Linear perspective and ‘Natural’ perspective (using non-linear projection techniques) as well as the realism of the depicted supermarket scene (by comparing a Computer Aided Design (CAD) image versus a photograph). Results from the first experiment showed that the type of image geometry had more of an impact on the sense of presence than the realism of the depicted supermarket scene. A second study was then conducted to test whether a hybrid image of CAD components and a photograph could create a similar sense of presence compared with a photograph alone (because the use of a hybrid image can reduce costs). The results showed that there were no significant differences between the hybrid image and the photograph in terms of creating a sense of presence

Ischaemic bowel within the thoracic cavity—An unusual cause of a pleural effusion

SummaryDiaphragmatic defects are a rare complication following thoracic or upper gastro-intestinal surgery. We present a case of a 78-year-old man who presented with ischaemic bowel that had herniated through such a diaphragmatic defect, 7 years after an oesophagogastrectomy for carcinoma. The patient was taken for an immediate laparatomy for resection of the infarcted bowel, and thereafter made an uneventful recovery. Patients found to have diaphragmatic defects should be considered for surgical repair to prevent this potentially life-threatening complication

The topology of the bacterial co-conserved protein network and its implications for predicting protein function

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Protein-protein interactions networks are most often generated from physical protein-protein interaction data. Co-conservation, also known as phylogenetic profiles, is an alternative source of information for generating protein interaction networks. Co-conservation methods generate interaction networks among proteins that are gained or lost together through evolution. Co-conservation is a particularly useful technique in the compact bacteria genomes. Prior studies in yeast suggest that the topology of protein-protein interaction networks generated from physical interaction assays can offer important insight into protein function. Here, we hypothesize that in bacteria, the topology of protein interaction networks derived via co-conservation information could similarly improve methods for predicting protein function. Since the topology of bacteria co-conservation protein-protein interaction networks has not previously been studied in depth, we first perform such an analysis for co-conservation networks in <it>E. coli </it>K12. Next, we demonstrate one way in which network connectivity measures and global and local function distribution can be exploited to predict protein function for previously uncharacterized proteins.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our results showed, like most biological networks, our bacteria co-conserved protein-protein interaction networks had scale-free topologies. Our results indicated that some properties of the physical yeast interaction network hold in our bacteria co-conservation networks, such as high connectivity for essential proteins. However, the high connectivity among protein complexes in the yeast physical network was not seen in the co-conservation network which uses all bacteria as the reference set. We found that the distribution of node connectivity varied by functional category and could be informative for function prediction. By integrating of functional information from different annotation sources and using the network topology, we were able to infer function for uncharacterized proteins.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Interactions networks based on co-conservation can contain information distinct from networks based on physical or other interaction types. Our study has shown co-conservation based networks to exhibit a scale free topology, as expected for biological networks. We also revealed ways that connectivity in our networks can be informative for the functional characterization of proteins.</p