Teaching our children when to eat:how parental feeding practices inform the development of emotional eating-a longitudinal experimental design

Background: Emotional eating in children has been related to the consumption of energy-dense foods and obesity, but the development of emotional eating in young children is poorly understood. Objectives: We evaluated whether emotional eating can be induced in 5-7-y-old children in the laboratory and assessed whether parental use of overly controlling feeding practices at 3-5 y of age predicts a greater subsequent tendency for children to eat under conditions of mild stress at ages 5-7 y. Design: Forty-one parent-child dyads were recruited to participate in this longitudinal study, which involved parents and children being observed consuming a standard lunch, completing questionnaire measures of parental feeding practices, participating in a research procedure to induce child emotion (or a control procedure), and observing children's consumption of snack foods. Results: Children at ages 5-7 y who were exposed to a mild emotional stressor consumed significantly more calories from snack foods in the absence of hunger than did children in a control group. Parents who reported the use of more food as a reward and restriction of food for health reasons with their children at ages 3-5 y were more likely to have children who ate more under conditions of negative emotion at ages 5-7 y. Conclusions: Parents who overly control children's food intake may unintentionally teach children to rely on palatable foods to cope with negative emotions. Additional research is needed to evaluate the implications of these findings for children's food intake and weight outside of the laboratory setting. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01122290.

Novel evaluation procedure for internal and extraction efficiency of high-power blue LEDs

Internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of a high-brightness blue LED has been evaluated from the external quantum efficiency measured as a function of current at room temperature. Processing the data with a novel evaluation procedure based on the ABC-model, we have determined separately IQE of the LED structure and light extraction efficiency (LEE) of UX:3 chip. Full text Nowadays, understanding of LED efficiency behavior at high currents is quite critical to find ways for further improve­ment of III-nitride LED performance [1]. External quantum ef­ficiency ηe (EQE) provides integral information on the recom­bination and photon emission processes in LEDs. Meanwhile EQE is the product of IQE ηi and LEE ηext at negligible car­rier leakage from the active region. Separate determination of IQE and LEE would be much more helpful, providing correla­tion between these parameters and specific epi-structure and chip design. In this paper, we extend the approach of [2,3] to the whole range of the current/optical power variation, provid­ing an express tool for separate evaluation of IQE and LEE. We studied an InGaN-based LED fabricated by Osram OS. LED structure grown by MOCVD on sapphire substrate was processed as UX:3 chip and mounted into the Golden Dragon package without molding. EQE was measured with Labsphere CDS-600 spectrometer. Plotting EQE versus output power P and finding the power Pm corresponding to EQE maximum ηm enables comparing the measurements with the analytical rela­tionships ηi = Q/(Q+p1/2+p-1/2) ,p = P/Pm , and Q = B/(AC) 1/2 where A, Band C are recombination constants [4]. As a result, maximum IQE value equal to QI(Q+2) can be found from the ratio ηm/ηe plotted as a function of p1/2 +p1-1/2 (see Fig.la) and then LEE calculated as ηext = ηm (Q+2)/Q . Experimental EQE as a function of normalized optical power p is shown in Fig. 1 b along with the analytical approximation based on the ABC­model. The approximation fits perfectly the measurements in the range of the optical power (or operating current) variation by eight orders of magnitude. In conclusion, new express method for separate evaluation of IQE and LEE of III-nitride LEDs is suggested and applied to characterization of a high-brightness blue LED. With this method, we obtained LEE from the free chip surface to the air as 69.8% and IQE as 85.7% at the maximum and 65.2% at the operation current 350 rnA. [I] G. Verzellesi, D. Saguatti, M. Meneghini, F. Bertazzi, M. Goano, G. Meneghesso, and E. Zanoni, "Efficiency droop in InGaN/GaN blue light-emitting diodes: Physical mechanisms and remedies," 1. AppL Phys., vol. 114, no. 7, pp. 071101, Aug., 2013. [2] C. van Opdorp and G. W. 't Hooft, "Method for determining effective non radiative lifetime and leakage losses in double-heterostructure las­ers," 1. AppL Phys., vol. 52, no. 6, pp. 3827-3839, Feb., 1981. [3] M. Meneghini, N. Trivellin, G. Meneghesso, E. Zanoni, U. Zehnder, and B. Hahn, "A combined electro-optical method for the determination of the recombination parameters in InGaN-based light-emitting diodes," 1. AppL Phys., vol. 106, no. II, pp. 114508, Dec., 2009. [4] Qi Dai, Qifeng Shan, ling Wang, S. Chhajed, laehee Cho, E. F. Schubert, M. H. Crawford, D. D. Koleske, Min-Ho Kim, and Yongjo Park, "Carrier recombination mechanisms and efficiency droop in GalnN/GaN light-emitting diodes," App/. Phys. Leu., vol. 97, no. 13, pp. 133507, Sept., 2010. © 2014 IEEE.

A simulation conceptual modelling procedure for SCM applications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to outline a seven-phase simulation conceptual modelling procedure that incorporates existing practice and embeds a process reference model (i.e. SCOR). Design/methodology/approach – An extensive review of the simulation and SCM literature identifies a set of requirements for a domain-specific conceptual modelling procedure. The associated design issues for each requirement are discussed and the utility of SCOR in the process of conceptual modelling is demonstrated using two development cases. Ten key concepts are synthesised and aligned to a general process for conceptual modelling. Further work is outlined to detail, refine and test the procedure with different process reference models in different industrial contexts. Findings - Simulation conceptual modelling is often regarded as the most important yet least understood aspect of a simulation project (Robinson, 2008a). Even today, there has been little research development into guidelines to aid in the creation of a conceptual model. Design issues are discussed for building an ‘effective’ conceptual model and the domain-specific requirements for modelling supply chains are addressed. The ten key concepts are incorporated to aid in describing the supply chain problem (i.e. components and relationships that need to be included in the model), model content (i.e. rules for determining the simplest model boundary and level of detail to implement the model) and model validation. Originality/value – Paper addresses Robinson (2008a) call for research in defining and developing new approaches for conceptual modelling and Manuj et al., (2009) discussion on improving the rigour of simulation studies in SCM. It is expected that more detailed guidelines will yield benefits to both expert (i.e. avert typical modelling failures) and novice modellers (i.e. guided practice; less reliance on hopeful intuition)

Fitting an MSD (Mini Scleral Design) rigid contact lens in advanced keratoconus with INTACS

Keratoconus is a bilateral degenerative disease characterized by a non-inflammatory, progressive central corneal ectasia (typically asymmetric) and decreased vision. In its early stages it may be managed with spectacles and soft contact lenses but more commonly it is managed with rigid contact lenses. In advanced stages, when contact lenses can no longer be fit, have become intolerable, or corneal damage is severe, a penetrating keratoplasty is commonly performed. Alternative surgical techniques, such as the use of intra-stromal corneal ring segments (INTACS) have been developed to try and improve the fit of rigid contact lenses in keratoconic patients and avoid penetrating keratoplasties. This case report follows through the fitting of rigid contact lenses in an advanced keratoconic cornea after an INTACS procedure and discusses clinical findings, treatment options, and the use of mini-scleral and scleral lens designs as they relate to the challenges encountered in managing such a patient. Mini-scleral and scleral lenses are relatively easy to fit, and can be of benefit to many patients, including advanced keratoconic patients, post-INTAC patients and post-penetrating keratoplasty patients. © 2011 British Contact Lens Association.

Design and evaluation of a consulting system for database design

Database design is a difficult problem for non-expert designers. It is desirable to assist such designers during the problem solving process by means of a knowledge based (KB) system. A number of prototype KB systems have been proposed, however there are many shortcomings. Few have incorporated sufficient expertise in modeling relationships, particularly higher order relationships. There has been no empirical study that experimentally tested the effectiveness of any of these KB tools. Problem solving behavior of non-experts, whom the systems were intended to assist, has not been one of the bases for system design. In this project a consulting system for conceptual database design that addresses the above short comings was developed and empirically validated.^ The system incorporates (a) findings on why non-experts commit errors and (b) heuristics for modeling relationships. Two approaches to knowledge base implementation--system restrictiveness and decisional guidance--were used and compared in this project. The Restrictive approach is proscriptive and limits the designer's choices at various design phases by forcing him/her to follow a specific design path. The Guidance system approach which is less restrictive, provides context specific, informative and suggestive guidance throughout the design process. The main objectives of the study are to evaluate (1) whether the knowledge-based system is more effective than a system without the knowledge-base and (2) which knowledge implementation--restrictive or guidance--strategy is more effective. To evaluate the effectiveness of the knowledge base itself, the two systems were compared with a system that does not incorporate the expertise (Control).^ The experimental procedure involved the student subjects solving a task without using the system (pre-treatment task) and another task using one of the three systems (experimental task). The experimental task scores of those subjects who performed satisfactorily in the pre-treatment task were analyzed. Results are (1) The knowledge based approach to database design support lead to more accurate solutions than the control system; (2) No significant difference between the two KB approaches; (3) Guidance approach led to best performance; and (4) The subjects perceived the Restrictive system easier to use than the Guidance system. ^

A quantitative approach to the organizational design problem

The span of control is the most discussed single concept in classical and modern management theory. In specifying conditions for organizational effectiveness, the span of control has generally been regarded as a critical factor. Existing research work has focused mainly on qualitative methods to analyze this concept, for example heuristic rules based on experiences and/or intuition. This research takes a quantitative approach to this problem and formulates it as a binary integer model, which is used as a tool to study the organizational design issue. This model considers a range of requirements affecting management and supervision of a given set of jobs in a company. These decision variables include allocation of jobs to workers, considering complexity and compatibility of each job with respect to workers, and the requirement of management for planning, execution, training, and control activities in a hierarchical organization. The objective of the model is minimal operations cost, which is the sum of supervision costs at each level of the hierarchy, and the costs of workers assigned to jobs. The model is intended for application in the make-to-order industries as a design tool. It could also be applied to make-to-stock companies as an evaluation tool, to assess the optimality of their current organizational structure. Extensive experiments were conducted to validate the model, to study its behavior, and to evaluate the impact of changing parameters with practical problems. This research proposes a meta-heuristic approach to solving large-size problems, based on the concept of greedy algorithms and the Meta-RaPS algorithm. The proposed heuristic was evaluated with two measures of performance: solution quality and computational speed. The quality is assessed by comparing the obtained objective function value to the one achieved by the optimal solution. The computational efficiency is assessed by comparing the computer time used by the proposed heuristic to the time taken by a commercial software system. Test results show the proposed heuristic procedure generates good solutions in a time-efficient manner.

Design and evaluation of a consulting system for database design

Database design is a difficult problem for non-expert designers. It is desirable to assist such designers during the problem solving process by means of a knowledge based (KB) system. Although a number of prototype KB systems have been proposed, there are many shortcomings. Firstly, few have incorporated sufficient expertise in modeling relationships, particularly higher order relationships. Secondly, there does not seem to be any published empirical study that experimentally tested the effectiveness of any of these KB tools. Thirdly, problem solving behavior of non-experts, whom the systems were intended to assist, has not been one of the bases for system design. In this project, a consulting system, called CODA, for conceptual database design that addresses the above short comings was developed and empirically validated. More specifically, the CODA system incorporates (a) findings on why non-experts commit errors and (b) heuristics for modeling relationships. Two approaches to knowledge base implementation were used and compared in this project, namely system restrictiveness and decisional guidance (Silver 1990). The Restrictive system uses a proscriptive approach and limits the designer's choices at various design phases by forcing him/her to follow a specific design path. The Guidance system approach, which is less restrictive, involves providing context specific, informative and suggestive guidance throughout the design process. Both the approaches would prevent erroneous design decisions. The main objectives of the study are to evaluate (1) whether the knowledge-based system is more effective than the system without a knowledge-base and (2) which approach to knowledge implementation - whether Restrictive or Guidance - is more effective. To evaluate the effectiveness of the knowledge base itself, the systems were compared with a system that does not incorporate the expertise (Control). An experimental procedure using student subjects was used to test the effectiveness of the systems. The subjects solved a task without using the system (pre-treatment task) and another task using one of the three systems, viz. Control, Guidance or Restrictive (experimental task). Analysis of experimental task scores of those subjects who performed satisfactorily in the pre-treatment task revealed that the knowledge based approach to database design support lead to more accurate solutions than the control system. Among the two KB approaches, Guidance approach was found to lead to better performance when compared to the Control system. It was found that the subjects perceived the Restrictive system easier to use than the Guidance system.

Surgical Procedure Characteristics and Risk of Sharps-Related Blood and Body Fluid Exposure.

OBJECTIVE To use a unique multicomponent administrative data set assembled at a large academic teaching hospital to examine the risk of percutaneous blood and body fluid (BBF) exposures occurring in operating rooms. DESIGN A 10-year retrospective cohort design. SETTING A single large academic teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS All surgical procedures (n=333,073) performed in 2001-2010 as well as 2,113 reported BBF exposures were analyzed. METHODS Crude exposure rates were calculated; Poisson regression was used to analyze risk factors and account for procedure duration. BBF exposures involving suture needles were examined separately from those involving other device types to examine possible differences in risk factors. RESULTS The overall rate of reported BBF exposures was 6.3 per 1,000 surgical procedures (2.9 per 1,000 surgical hours). BBF exposure rates increased with estimated patient blood loss (17.7 exposures per 1,000 procedures with 501-1,000 cc blood loss and 26.4 exposures per 1,000 procedures with >1,000 cc blood loss), number of personnel working in the surgical field during the procedure (34.4 exposures per 1,000 procedures having ≥15 personnel ever in the field), and procedure duration (14.3 exposures per 1,000 procedures lasting 4 to <6 hours, 27.1 exposures per 1,000 procedures lasting ≥6 hours). Regression results showed associations were generally stronger for suture needle-related exposures. CONCLUSIONS Results largely support other studies found in the literature. However, additional research should investigate differences in risk factors for BBF exposures associated with suture needles and those associated with all other device types. Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol. 2015;37(1):80-87.

Iowa Department of Transportation : A Design for Growth, 1971

This report has been prepared to provide a succinct documentation of the results of an intensive "finding" as to the requirement for an Iowa Department of Transportation, the recommended general organizational characteristics, and the implementation process requisite to instituting an Iowa Department of Transportation. This report specifies, in summary, the systematic procedure employed in the analysis, followed by a presentation of the fundamental concepts associated with a department of transportation and documentation of the "need" for a state department of transportation. The majority of the report is devoted to presentation of a best judgment as to how an Iowa Department of Transportation should be organized and implemented. The report concludes with a discussion of a recommended approach to the implementation of the department, and issues and recommendations for review.

Highway Location Reference Procedure Project, 1990

The purpose of the proposed Highway Location Reference Procedure is stated in the contract as follows: "Establishment of a highway network locational reference process that will primarily allow for the proper correlation of pavement management data, and secondarily provide the basis for other existing and future data base integration and for the planned Iowa DOT Geographic Information System. In addition, the locational reference process will be able to correlate network applications with a statewide spatial location method to facilitate the relationship of Iowa DOT data to that of other agencies and to allow for the graphic display of the network in map form." The Design Specifications and Implementation Plan, included in this Final Report, are intended to provide the basis for proceeding with immediate development and implementation of the pavement management system. These specifications will also support the future Iowa DOT implementation of other integrated data bases and/or the planned Geographic Information System.

Simplified design method for energy dissipating devices in retrofitting of seismically isolated bridges

Abstract: Highway bridges have great values in a country because in case of any natural disaster they may serve as lines to save people’s lives. Being vulnerable under significant seismic loads, different methods can be considered to design resistant highway bridges and rehabilitate the existing ones. In this study, base isolation has been considered as one efficient method in this regards which in some cases reduces significantly the seismic load effects on the structure. By reducing the ductility demand on the structure without a notable increase of strength, the structure is designed to remain elastic under seismic loads. The problem associated with the isolated bridges, especially with elastomeric bearings, can be their excessive displacements under service and seismic loads. This can defy the purpose of using elastomeric bearings for small to medium span typical bridges where expansion joints and clearances may result in significant increase of initial and maintenance cost. Thus, supplementing the structure with dampers with some stiffness can serve as a solution which in turn, however, may increase the structure base shear. The main objective of this thesis is to provide a simplified method for the evaluation of optimal parameters for dampers in isolated bridges. Firstly, performing a parametric study, some directions are given for the use of simple isolation devices such as elastomeric bearings to rehabilitate existing bridges with high importance. Parameters like geometry of the bridge, code provisions and the type of soil on which the structure is constructed have been introduced to a typical two span bridge. It is concluded that the stiffness of the substructure, soil type and special provisions in the code can determine the employment of base isolation for retrofitting of bridges. Secondly, based on the elastic response coefficient of isolated bridges, a simplified design method of dampers for seismically isolated regular highway bridges has been presented in this study. By setting objectives for reduction of displacement and base shear variation, the required stiffness and damping of a hysteretic damper can be determined. By modelling a typical two span bridge, numerical analyses have followed to verify the effectiveness of the method. The method has been used to identify equivalent linear parameters and subsequently, nonlinear parameters of hysteretic damper for various designated scenarios of displacement and base shear requirements. Comparison of the results of the nonlinear numerical model without damper and with damper has shown that the method is sufficiently accurate. Finally, an innovative and simple hysteretic steel damper was designed. Five specimens were fabricated from two steel grades and were tested accompanying a real scale elastomeric isolator in the structural laboratory of the Université de Sherbrooke. The test procedure was to characterize the specimens by cyclic displacement controlled tests and subsequently to test them by real-time dynamic substructuring (RTDS) method. The test results were then used to establish a numerical model of the system which went through nonlinear time history analyses under several earthquakes. The outcome of the experimental and numerical showed an acceptable conformity with the simplified method.

Optimal static and sequential design : a critical review

The aim of this thesis is to review and augment the theory and methods of optimal experimental design. In Chapter I the scene is set by considering the possible aims of an experimenter prior to an experiment, the statistical methods one might use to achieve those aims and how experimental design might aid this procedure. It is indicated that, given a criterion for design, a priori optimal design will only be possible in certain instances and, otherwise, some form of sequential procedure would seem to be indicated. In Chapter 2 an exact experimental design problem is formulated mathematically and is compared with its continuous analogue. Motivation is provided for the solution of this continuous problem, and the remainder of the chapter concerns this problem. A necessary and sufficient condition for optimality of a design measure is given. Problems which might arise in testing this condition are discussed, in particular with respect to possible non-differentiability of the criterion function at the design being tested. Several examples are given of optimal designs which may be found analytically and which illustrate the points discussed earlier in the chapter. In Chapter 3 numerical methods of solution of the continuous optimal design problem are reviewed. A new algorithm is presented with illustrations of how it should be used in practice. It is shown that, for reasonably large sample size, continuously optimal designs may be approximated to well by an exact design. In situations where this is not satisfactory algorithms for improvement of this design are reviewed. Chapter 4 consists of a discussion of sequentially designed experiments, with regard to both the philosophies underlying, and the application of the methods of, statistical inference. In Chapter 5 we criticise constructively previous suggestions for fully sequential design procedures. Alternative suggestions are made along with conjectures as to how these might improve performance. Chapter 6 presents a simulation study, the aim of which is to investigate the conjectures of Chapter 5. The results of this study provide empirical support for these conjectures. In Chapter 7 examples are analysed. These suggest aids to sequential experimentation by means of reduction of the dimension of the design space and the possibility of experimenting semi-sequentially. Further examples are considered which stress the importance of the use of prior information in situations of this type. Finally we consider the design of experiments when semi-sequential experimentation is mandatory because of the necessity of taking batches of observations at the same time. In Chapter 8 we look at some of the assumptions which have been made and indicate what may go wrong where these assumptions no longer hold.

Design of evacuation plans for densely urbanised city centres

The high population density and tightly packed nature of some city centres make emergency planning for these urban spaces especially important, given the potential for human loss in case of disaster. Historic and recent events have made emergency service planners particularly conscious of the need for preparing evacuation plans in advance. This paper discusses a methodological approach for assisting decision-makers in designing urban evacuation plans. The approach aims at quickly and safely moving the population away from the danger zone into shelters. The plans include determining the number and location of rescue facilities, as well as the paths that people should take from their building to their assigned shelter in case of an occurrence requiring evacuation. The approach is thus of the location–allocation–routing type, through the existing streets network, and takes into account the trade-offs among different aspects of evacuation actions that inevitably come up during the planning stage. All the steps of the procedure are discussed and systematised, along with computational and practical implementation issues, in the context of a case study – the design of evacuation plans for the historical centre of an old European city.

Design and application of experimental methods for steel sheet shearing

Shearing is the process where sheet metal is mechanically cut between two tools. Various shearing technologies are commonly used in the sheet metal industry, for example, in cut to length lines, slitting lines, end cropping etc. Shearing has speed and cost advantages over competing cutting methods like laser and plasma cutting, but involves large forces on the equipment and large strains in the sheet material. The constant development of sheet metals toward higher strength and formability leads to increased forces on the shearing equipment and tools. Shearing of new sheet materials imply new suitable shearing parameters. Investigations of the shearing parameters through live tests in the production are expensive and separate experiments are time consuming and requires specialized equipment. Studies involving a large number of parameters and coupled effects are therefore preferably performed by finite element based simulations. Accurate experimental data is still a prerequisite to validate such simulations. There is, however, a shortage of accurate experimental data to validate such simulations. In industrial shearing processes, measured forces are always larger than the actual forces acting on the sheet, due to friction losses. Shearing also generates a force that attempts to separate the two tools with changed shearing conditions through increased clearance between the tools as result. Tool clearance is also the most common shearing parameter to adjust, depending on material grade and sheet thickness, to moderate the required force and to control the final sheared edge geometry. In this work, an experimental procedure that provides a stable tool clearance together with accurate measurements of tool forces and tool displacements, was designed, built and evaluated. Important shearing parameters and demands on the experimental set-up were identified in a sensitivity analysis performed with finite element simulations under the assumption of plane strain. With respect to large tool clearance stability and accurate force measurements, a symmetric experiment with two simultaneous shears and internal balancing of forces attempting to separate the tools was constructed. Steel sheets of different strength levels were sheared using the above mentioned experimental set-up, with various tool clearances, sheet clamping and rake angles. Results showed that tool penetration before fracture decreased with increased material strength. When one side of the sheet was left unclamped and free to move, the required shearing force decreased but instead the force attempting to separate the two tools increased. Further, the maximum shearing force decreased and the rollover increased with increased tool clearance. Digital image correlation was applied to measure strains on the sheet surface. The obtained strain fields, together with a material model, were used to compute the stress state in the sheet. A comparison, up to crack initiation, of these experimental results with corresponding results from finite element simulations in three dimensions and at a plane strain approximation showed that effective strains on the surface are representative also for the bulk material. A simple model was successfully applied to calculate the tool forces in shearing with angled tools from forces measured with parallel tools. These results suggest that, with respect to tool forces, a plane strain approximation is valid also at angled tools, at least for small rake angles. In general terms, this study provide a stable symmetric experimental set-up with internal balancing of lateral forces, for accurate measurements of tool forces, tool displacements, and sheet deformations, to study the effects of important shearing parameters. The results give further insight to the strain and stress conditions at crack initiation during shearing, and can also be used to validate models of the shearing process.

Design, development and guidance of the Airborne’s quadrotor

The main goal of the Airborne project is to develop, at technology readiness level 8 (TRL8), a few selected robotic aerial technologies for quick localization of victims by avalanches by equipping drones with two forefront sensors used in SAR operations in case of avalanches, namely the ARVA and RECCO. This thesis focuses on the design, development, and guidance of the TRL8 quadrotor developed during the project. We present and describe the design method that allowed us to obtain an EMI shielded UAV capable of integrating both RECCO and ARVA sensors. Besides, is presented the avionics and power train design and building procedure in order to obtain a modular UAV frame that can be easily carried by rescuers and achieves all the performance benchmarks of the project. Additionally, in addition to the onboard algorithms, a multivariate regressive convolutional neural network whose goal is the localization of the ARVA signal is presented. On guidance, the automatic flight procedure is described, and the onboard waypoint generator algorithm is presented. The goal of this algorithm is the generation and execution of an automatic grid pattern without the need to know the map in advance and without the support of a control ground station (CGS). Moreover, we present an iterative trajectory planner that does not need pre-knowledge of the map and uses Bézier curves to address optimal, dynamically feasible, safe, and re-plannable trajectories. The goal is to develop a method that allows local and fast replannings in case of an obstacle pop up or if some waypoints change. This makes the novel planner suitable to be applied in SAR operations. The introduction of the final version of the quadrotor is supported by internal flight tests and field tests performed in real operative scenarios by the Club Alpino Italiano (CAI).