Dietary habits and obesity: the role of emotional and cognitive factors

In post-industrialised societies, food is more plentiful, accessible and palatable than ever before and technological development has reduced the need for physical activity. Consequently, the prevalence of obesity is increasing, which is problematic as obesity is related to a number of diseases. Various psychological and social factors have an important influence on dietary habits and the development of obesity in the current food-rich and sedentary environments. The present study concentrates on the associations of emotional and cognitive factors with dietary intake and obesity as well as on the role these factors play in socioeconomic disparities in diet. Many people cognitively restrict their food intake to prevent weight gain or to lose weight, but research on whether restrained eating is a useful weight control strategy has produced conflicting findings. With respect to emotional factors, the evidence is accumulating that depressive symptoms are related to less healthy dietary intake and obesity, but the mechanisms explaining these associations remain unclear. Furthermore, it is not fully understood why socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals tend to have unhealthier dietary habits and the motives underlying food choices (e.g., price and health) could be relevant in this respect. The specific aims of the study were to examine 1) whether obesity status and dieting history moderate the associations of restrained eating with overeating tendencies, self-control and obesity indicators; 2) whether the associations of depressive symptoms with unhealthier dietary intake and obesity are attributable to a tendency for emotional eating and a low level of physical activity self-efficacy; and 3) whether the absolute or relative importance of food choice motives (health, pleasure, convenience, price, familiarity and ethicality) contribute to the socioeconomic disparities in dietary habits. The study was based on a large population-based sample of Finnish adults: the participants were men (N=2325) and women (N=2699) aged 25-74 who took part in the DILGOM (Dietary, Lifestyle and Genetic Determinants of Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome) sub-study of the National FINRISK Study 2007. The participants weight, height, waist circumference and body fat percentage were measured in a health examination. Psychological eating styles (the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R18), food choice motives (a shortened version of the Food Choice Questionnaire), depressive symptoms (the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale) and self-control (the Brief Self-Control Scale) were measured with pre-existing questionnaires. A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to assess the average consumption of sweet and non-sweet energy-dense foods and vegetables/fruit. Self-reported total years of education and gross household income were used as indicators of socioeconomic position. The results indicated that 1) restrained eating was related to a lower body mass index, waist circumference, emotional eating and uncontrolled eating, and to a higher self-control in obese participants and current/past dieters. In contrast, the associations were the opposite in normal weight individuals and those who had never dieted. Thus, restrained eating may be related to better weight control among obese individuals and those with dieting experiences, while among others it may function as an indicator of problems with eating and an attempt to solve them. 2) Emotional eating and depressive symptoms were both related to less healthy dietary intake, and the greater consumption of energy-dense sweet foods among participants with elevated depressive symptoms was attributable to the susceptibility for emotional eating. In addition, emotional eating and physical activity self-efficacy were both important in explaining the positive association between depressive symptoms and obesity. 3) The lower vegetable/fruit intake and higher energy-dense food intake among individuals with a low socioeconomic position were partly explained by the higher priority they placed on price and familiarity and the lower priority they gave to health motives in their daily food choices. In conclusion, although policy interventions to change the obesogenic nature of the current environment are definitely needed, knowledge of the factors that hinder or facilitate people s ability to cope with the food-rich environment is also necessary. This study implies that more emphasis should be placed on various psychological and social factors in weight control programmes and interventions.

Mobile Base Stations Placement and Energy Aware Routing in Wireless Sensor Networks

Increasing network lifetime is important in wireless sensor/ad-hoc networks. In this paper, we are concerned with algorithms to increase network lifetime and amount of data delivered during the lifetime by deploying multiple mobile base stations in the sensor network field. Specifically, we allow multiple mobile base stations to be deployed along the periphery of the sensor network field and develop algorithms to dynamically choose the locations of these base stations so as to improve network lifetime. We propose energy efficient low-complexity algorithms to determine the locations of the base stations; they include i) Top-K-max algorithm, ii) maximizing the minimum residual energy (Max-Min-RE) algorithm, and iii) minimizing the residual energy difference (MinDiff-RE) algorithm. We show that the proposed base stations placement algorithms provide increased network lifetimes and amount of data delivered during the network lifetime compared to single base station scenario as well as multiple static base stations scenario, and close to those obtained by solving an integer linear program (ILP) to determine the locations of the mobile base stations. We also investigate the lifetime gain when an energy aware routing protocol is employed along with multiple base stations.

Uptake of permanganate from aqueous environment by surfactant modified montmorillonite batch and fixed bed studies

Organo-clay was prepared by incorporating different amounts (in terms of CEC, ranging from 134-840 mg of quaternary ammonium cation (QACs) such as hexadecytrimethylammonium bromide (C19H42N]Br) into the montmorillonite clay. Prepared organo-clays are characterized by CHN analyser and XRD to measure the amount of elemental content and interlayer spacing of surfactant modified clay. The batch experiments of sorption of permanganate from aqueous media by organo-clays was studied at different acidic strengths (pH 1-7). The experimental results show that the rate and amount of adsorption of permanganate was higher at lower pH compared to raw montmorillonite. Laboratory fixed bed experiments were conducted to evaluate the breakthrough time and nature of breakthrough curves. The shape of the breakthrough curves shows that the initial cationic surfactant loadings at 1.0 CEC of the clay is enough to enter the permanganate ions in to the interlamellar region of the surfactant modified smectile clays. These fixed bed studies were also applied to quantify the effect of bed-depth and breakthrough time during the uptake of permanganate. Calculation of thermodynamic parameters shows that the sorption of permanganate is spontaneous and follows the first order kinetics.

Ideas generated in conceptual design and their effects on creativity

Search of design spaces to generate solutions affects the design outcomes during conceptual design. This research aims to understand the different types of search that occurs during conceptual design and their effect on the design outcomes. Additionally, we study the effect of other factors, such as creativity, problem-solving style, and experience of designers, on the design outcomes. Two sets of design experiments, with experienced and novice designers, are used in this study. We find that designers employ twelve different types of searches during conceptual design for problem understanding, solution generation, and solution evaluation activities. Results also suggest that creativity is influenced positively by the type and amount of searches, duration of designing, and experience of designers.

First and second law thermodynamic analysis of air and oxy-steam biomass gasification

Gasification is an energy transformation process in which solid fuel undergoes thermochemical conversion to produce gaseous fuel, and the two most important criteria involved in such process to evaluate the performance, economics and sustainability of the technology are: the total available energy (exergy) and the energy conserved (energy efficiency). Current study focuses on the energy and exergy analysis of the oxy-steam gasification and comparing with air gasification to optimize the H-2 yield, efficiency and syngas energy density. Casuarina wood is used as a fuel, and mixture of oxygen and steam in different proportion and amount is used as a gasifying media. The results are analysed with respect to varying equivalence ratio and steam to biomass ratio (SBR). Elemental mass balance technique is employed to ensure the validity of results. First and second law thermodynamic analysis is used towards time evaluation of energy and exergy analysis. Different component of energy input and output has been studied carefully to understand the influence of varying SBR on the availability of energy and irreversibility in the system to minimize the losses with change in input parameters for optimum performance. The energy and exergy losses (irreversibility) for oxy-steam gasification system are compared with the results of air gasification, and losses are found to be lower in oxy-steam thermal conversion; which has been argued and reasoned due to the presence of N-2 in the air-gasification. The maximum exergy efficiency of 85% with energy efficiency of 82% is achieved at SBR of 0.75 on the molar basis. It has been observed that increase in SBR results in lower exergy and energy efficiency, and it is argued to be due to the high energy input in steam generation and subsequent losses in the form of physical exergy of steam in the product gas, which alone accounts for over 18% in exergy input and 8.5% in exergy of product gas at SBR of 2.7. Carbon boundary point (CBP), is identified at the SBR of 1.5, and water gas shift (WGS) reaction plays a crucial role in H-2 enrichment after carbon boundary point (CBP) is reached. Effects of SBR and CBP on the H-2/CO ratio is analysed and discussed from the perspective of energy as well as the reaction chemistry. Energy density of syngas and energy efficiency is favoured at lower SBR but higher SBR favours H-2 rich gas at the expense of efficiency. Copyright (C) 2014, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of heat-treatment processes on the electroless Ni-B coating and its natural aging mechanism

A Ni-B coating was prepared with EN using potassium borohydride reducing agent. The as-plated micro-structure of the coating was confirmed from XRD to be a mixture of amorphous and supersaturated solid solution. Three kinds of phase transformation were observed from the DSC curve. Different from the previous works, the formation of Ni4B3 and Ni2B was found during some transformation processes. The key factors which influence the variation of micro-hardness and micro-structure in deposits are the formation, the size and amount of Ni3B, Ni4B3 and Ni2B. Aging of the deposits treated under some heat treatment conditions occurred at room temperature. Changes of the micro-hardness indicated aging phenomena evidently. the natural aging phenomena are concerned with various kinds of decomposition of borides, especially with Ni4B3 phase. The extent of natural aging depends on the formation and the quantity of Ni(4)B3 and Ni2B.

Market survey of the periwinkle Tympanotonus fuscatus in Rivers State: Sizes, prices, trade routes and exploitation levels

Tympanotonus fuscatus was collected from 23 markets through Rivers State (Nigeria), a few in neighbouring states, and from an unexploited population at Buguma. The size distribution of shells was determined,and information on prices and trade routes was also obtained. The mean shell length of specimens from the unexploited Buguma population was 46.4 mm, compared to 30.4 mm for the Buguma market samples. Mean sizes in other markets showed a geographic pattern: the smallest were from the Adoni-Ogoni-Opobo sector (28.1-30.9); the largest were from the Nembe-Brass sector (37.7-44.2) and Bendel State (35.7-45.6); The results suggest the population structure of Tympanotonus in much of Rivers State has been strongly impacted by overharvesting. They show that local market as well as some in Cross River State, are increasingly being supplied by road with specimens from the Benin River area of Bendel State. Differences between shell types; and relations between shell size, selling price and market distance from source, are also discussed

Factors influencing cannibalism and abundance of walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) on the eastern Bering Sea shelf, 1982–20

Cannibalism is thought to be an inf luential top-down process affecting walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) recruitment in the eastern Bering Sea (EBS). In summer, many age-1 pollock occupy the same depths as those of adult walleye pollock, making them vulnerable to cannibalism. We examine factors that inf luence the occurrence and amount of cannibalism, as well as the abundance and co-occurrence of predator and prey walleye pollock. Large walleye pollock were generally found in deeper waters and avoided cold temperatures; whereas, age-1 walleye pollock were found in broader bottom depth and temperature ranges. The occurrence of cannibalism was highest in the area where predator and prey walleye pollock co-occurred and the amount of cannibalism was highest on the middle and outer EBS shelf. Both the occurrence and amount of cannibalism were influenced by location, bottom temperature and bottom depth, and the abundance of prey walleye pollock. The abundance of both large and small walleye pollock decreased during the 1982–2006 survey period in the EBS and, hence, the occurrence and amount of cannibalism also decreased. The occurrence and amount of cannibalism observed in the diet samples from the summer survey were good indicators of year class strength, as estimated by the stock assessment model. There was more cannibalism of age-1 walleye pollock when predicted recruit abundance was highest, indicating that summer cannibalism on age-1 walleye pollock, a top-down process, does not control walleye pollock recruitment in the EBS.

Changes in consumer tastes in the demand for fish and meat in Malaysia

In this article the demand for fish and its substitute was estimated using a very flexible demand function, the Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) developed by Deaton and Muelllbaeur (1980), incorporating the habit formation variable to measure the impact of the changes in tastes in comsumer demand for fish and meat products from 1960 to 1990 in Malaysia. Information on price and income elasticities for these meat groups was also obtained. To incorporate consumption habit variables, the dynamic translating procedure proposed by Pollak (1970) and Pollak and Wales (1981) has been adopted. The overall results of the maximum likelihood estimates of the dynamic AIDS model are quite good where 19 of 30 coefficients are significantly different from zero and the minimum budget shares, the constant, are between zero and one for each meat type. Consumers tend to purchase and consume fish, chicken, and pork almost daily. Beef and mutton are only consumed occassionally since they are relatively more expensive. This finding is consistent with the trend observed in the per capita consumption and budget share where fish, chicken, and pork tended to dominate over beef and mutton from 1960 to 1990.

Validation and interpretation of annual skeletal marks in loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) sea turtles

Numerous studies have applied skeletochronology to sea turtle species. Because many of the studies have lacked validation, the application of this technique to sea turtle age estimation has been called into question. To address this concern, we obtained humeri from 13 known-age Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) and two loggerhead (Caretta caretta) sea turtles for the purposes of examining the growth marks and comparing growth mark counts to actual age. We found evidence for annual deposition of growth marks in both these species. Corroborative results were found in Kemp’s ridley sea turtles from a comparison of death date and amount of bone growth following the completion of the last growth mark (n=76). Formation of the lines of arrested growth in Kemp’s ridley sea turtles consistently occurred in the spring for animals that strand dead along the mid- and south U.S. Atlantic coast. For both Kemp’s ridley and loggerhead sea turtles, we also found a proportional allometry between bone growth (humerus dimensions) and somatic growth (straight carapace length), indicating that size-at-age and growth rates can be estimated from dimensions of early growth marks. These results validate skeletochronology as a method for estimating age in Kemp’s ridley and loggerhead sea turtles from the southeast United States.

Shortspine thornyhead (Sebastolobus alascanus) abundance and habitat associations in the Gulf of Alaska

Shortspine thornyhead (Sebastolobus alascanus) abundance was estimated from 107 video transects at 27 stations recorded from a research submersible in 1991 off southeast Alaska at depths ranging from 165 to 355 m. Numbers of invertebrates in seven major taxa were estimated, as was substrate type. Thornyhead abundance ranged from 0 to 7.5/100 m2, with a mean of 1.22/100 m2, and was positively correlated with depth and amount of hard substrate. Invertebrate abundances were not significantly correlated with numbers of thornyheads. Shortspine thornyhead abundance estimates from this study were several times higher than estimates produced by bottom trawl surveys off southeast Alaska in 1990 and 1993, the two years of survey that encompassed the submersible transects; however, the trend of increasing abundance with depth was similar in the trawl surveys and in the submersible transects, suggesting that trawl surveys systematically underestimate abundance of shortspine thornyheads

Consumption pattern and consumer preference for value-added fish and fish products in north zone of India

Present paper attempts to analyze consumption pattern and consumer preferences towards value-added fish and fish products in north zone of India. Results reveal that socio economic variables affect consumption of value-added fish and fish products. A total of 49 percent respondents were of middle age group (35 to 50 years). All were literates except 7% from the rural area. All were purchasing fish at least once in 15 days. A total of 90% respondents in rural, 11% in semi urban and 50% in urban area were unaware of value-added fish and fish products. About 10% of respondents had consumed it, out of which most were from urban area. Demand analysis by Cobb Douglas (CD) Demand function revealed that when price of fish, price of the substitutes, income of family and family size were used as independent variables, variation in demand of fish explained by CD Demand function was about 39% in urban area, 24% in semi urban area and 22% in rural area. From Garette ranking technique major problems in fish consumption found were irregular supply, lack of fresh fish, high price and presence of bones in fish. While lack of awareness, unavailability, no preference and unacceptable taste were major problems for consumption of value-added fish and fish products.

The fish stocks in Uganda aquatic systems: opportunities and challenges for transformation

The status of fish stocks in a water body at any one time is a function of several factors affecting the production of fish in that water body. These include: total number (abundance) and biomass(weight) present, growth (size and age), recruitment (the quantity of fish entering the fishery) including reproduction, mortality which is caused by fishing or natural causes, Other indirect factors of major importance to the status of the stocks include production factors (water quality and availability of natural food for fish), the life history parameters of the different species making up the stocks (e.g. sex ratios, condition of the fish, reproductive potential (i.e. fecundity) etc), Changes in fish stocks do occur when any of the above listed factors directly influence aspects of growth, reproduction and mortality and therefore, numbers and standing stock (biomass). In the exploited fisheries, major research concerns regarding stocks relate to the listed factors especially: estimates of stock abundance/biomass, the quantity of fish being caught,where the fish are caught, which species are caught (relative abundance)when the fish are caught, how the fish are caught. The balance between stock abundance and amount of fish caught provides the basis for intervention. Due to the diverse characteristics of the physical water environment, fishes are in general, not evenly distributed throughout a water body. Shallow and vegetated areas tend to support higher abundance and diversity of fish species. In addition, seasonal variations in fish abundance are so strong that fluctuations in catch have to be expected at fish landings.

Preparation and performance of cellulose acetate/polyethyleneimine blend microfiltration membranes and their applications

A modified microfiltration membrane has been prepared by blending a matrix polymer with a functional polymer. Cellulose acetate (CA) was blended with polyethyleneimine (PEI), which was then crosslinked by polyisocyanate, in a mixture of solvents. In the membrane, PEI can supply coupling sites for ligands in affinity separation or be used as ligands for metal chelating, removal of endotoxin or ion exchange. The effects of the time of phase inversion induced by water vapor, blended amount of PEI and amount of crosslinking agent on membrane performance were investigated. The prepared blend membranes have specific surface area of 12.04-24.11 m(2)/g and pure water flux (PWF) of 10-50 ml/cm(2) min with porosity of 63-75%. The membranes, made of 0.15 50 wt.% PEI/CA ratio and 0.5 crosslinking agent/PEI ratio, were applied to adsorbing Cu2+ and bovine serum albumin (BSA) individually. The maximum adsorption capacity of Cu2+ ion on the blend membrane is 7.42 mg/g dry membrane. The maximum adsorption capacities of BSA on the membranes with and without chelating Cu2+ ion are 86.6 and 43.8 mg/g dry membrane, respectively. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mechanism on flame retardancy of polystyrene/clay composites-The effect of surfactants and aggregate state of organoclay

Effects of organically modified montmorillonites (OMMTs) with different type and amount of modifiers on flame retardancy of polystyrene (PS) have been studied. The results from morphology analysis, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and cone calorimeter have showed different mechanisms for the flame retardancy of PS/OMMTs composites, depending on surface property of OMNTrs. One is the catalysis of acid sites formed on the surface of octadecylammonium modified MMT (c-MMT) via Hoffman decomposition on the carbonization of degradation products, which promotes the formation of clay-enriched char barrier.