Food and Mood: Exploring the determinants of food choices and the effects of food consumption on mood among women in Inner London.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between food and mood against the backdrop of increased mental health and nutrition cognizance within public health and scientific discourses. Mood was defined as encompassing positive or negative affect. Methodology: A constructionist qualitative approach underpinned this study. Convenience sampling in two faith-based settings was utilised for recruiting participants, who were aged 19-80 (median,48) years. In total 22 Christian women were included in the research, eighteen were in focus groups and four were in individual semi structured interviews. All were church-attending women in inner London. A thematic analysis was carried out, resulting in four central themes relating to food choice and food-induced mood states. Findings: Women identified a number of internal and external factors as influencing their food choices and the effect of food intake on their moods. Food choice was influenced by mood; mood was influenced by food choice. Low mood was associated with unhealthy food consumption, apparent addiction to certain foods and overeating. Improved mood was associated with more healthy eating and eating in social and familial settings. Discussion: Findings indicate food and mood are interconnected through a complex web of factors, as women respond to individual, environmental, cultural and social cues. Targeting socio-cultural and environmental influences and developing supportive public health services, via faith-based or community-based institutions could help to support more women in their struggle to manage the food and mood continuum. Successful implementation of health policies that recognise the psychological and social determinants of food choice and the effect of food consumption on mood, is essential, as is as more research into life-cycle causal factors linking food choice to moo

A market survey of geothermal wellhead power generation systems

The market potential for a portable geothermal wellhead power conversion device is assessed. Major study objectives included identifying the most promising applications for such a system, the potential impediments confronting their industrialization, and the various government actions needed to overcome these impediments. The heart of the study was a series of structured interviews with key decision-making individual in the various disciplines of the geothermal community. In addition, some technical and economic analyses of a candidate system were performed to support the feasibility of the basic concept

The Impact of Face-to-Face Orientation on Online Retention: A Pilot Study

Student retention in online education is a concern for students, faculty and administration. Retention rates are 20% lower in online courses than in traditional face-to-face courses. As part of an integration and engagement strategy, a face-to-face orientation was added to an online undergraduate business information systems course to examine its impact on retention. The study methodology consisted of an early email contact, distribution of course documents, a follow-up phone call, and a pre-course face-to-face orientation. The retention rate of students who attended the orientation was over 91% with a p-value of 0.9143. The retention rate of students not attending the orientation was just under 18%. Findings suggest that face-to-face orientations impact retention positively

Course Revitalization As A Change Driver Throughout Undergraduate Business Curriculum

This paper describes the revitalization of Business Information Systems and Communication, a high enrollment, prerequisite course for all undergraduate business students in the Coles College of Business.  An overview of the course components is presented and original structure described. The rationale for change, technologies leveraged and measures of success are presented. The change drivers are identified and their impact on undergraduate curriculum delineated. Lessons learned and future implications are discussed

Evaluation of liquid methane storage and transfer problems in supersonic aircraft

Evaluation of liquid methane storage and transfer problems for future supersonic aircraft cryogenic fuel requirement

Primary Traits Of Oral Business Presentation: Translatable Use For Assessment In A Virtual Learning Environment

As more and more classes are taught on-line, new challenges for assessment of student learning have come about. In this paper on the use of digital video (DV) as an acceptable means to assess student oral business presentation skills, content analysis was used to test for the presence of primary traits inherent in effective formal business presentation. A specific set of traits was identified through a comprehensive literature review. Primary traits: eye contact or absence of reading, vocal variety, credibility or confidence, appearance of nervous mannerisms, and the purposeful use of the body represented the five independent variables in a one-level experiment. The five factors were accumulated into a survey instrument for use by study assessors experienced in evaluating formal business presentation skills. Study assessors looked at each speaker to determine if they could assess the five traits. Overall results indicated the five primary traits were noticeable 88.8% of the time, thereby rejecting the null hypothesis. This suggests that digital video may offer a technological solution for oral presentation skills assessment. This is an important finding for faculty in time and distance constrained environments. Future research is suggested to isolate quality characteristics in the digital film environment and to examine the impact that digital video has on student learning and skills

Digital Video Presentation and Student Performance: A Task Technology Fit Perspective

The article presents findings of a study regarding the adaptation of the Task Technology Fit (TTF) model in the teaching and learning process in the U.S. It emphasizes the three dimensions of fit, which include the Ease of Learning, Task Match and Ease of Use, which were applied in the context of digital video for oral presentations in the classroom environment. It stresses the importance of the digital technology in education, wherein the results of the study showed significant improvements in the oral presentation skills with the application of digital tools

NASA technology utilization survey on composite materials

NASA and NASA-funded contractor contributions to the field of composite materials are surveyed. Existing and potential non-aerospace applications of the newer composite materials are emphasized. Economic factors for selection of a composite for a particular application are weight savings, performance (high strength, high elastic modulus, low coefficient of expansion, heat resistance, corrosion resistance,), longer service life, and reduced maintenance. Applications for composites in agriculture, chemical and petrochemical industries, construction, consumer goods, machinery, power generation and distribution, transportation, biomedicine, and safety are presented. With the continuing trend toward further cost reductions, composites warrant consideration in a wide range of non-aerospace applications. Composite materials discussed include filamentary reinforced materials, laminates, multiphase alloys, solid multiphase lubricants, and multiphase ceramics. New processes developed to aid in fabrication of composites are given

Three Essays on the College Admissions Process.

Over the past several decades, the perceived returns to college completion have influenced both conventional wisdom and national policy. Yet there is significant heterogeneity in these returns by student and by school. This has helped to create industries and policies designed to match students to the colleges of their choice. Preparatory industries improve students’ SAT scores, automatic admissions programs extend college access to diverse populations, and merit-based scholarships funnel students toward particular colleges. Each of these presents students with unique incentives. In this dissertation, I study the impact that each has on students’ preparation for college and their enrollment choice. In my first chapter, “The Impact of Admissions Policies and Test Prep on SAT Scores,” I study how college policies impact student behavior and SAT scores. I find that when colleges cannot view how often students take the SAT, the optimal score evaluation policy is unclear depending on policymakers’ objectives. In my second chapter, “Does Student Effort Respond to Incentives? Evidence from Automatic College Admissions,” co-authored with Lindsay Daugherty, Paco Martorell, and Isaac McFarlin, Jr., I study how students respond to academic policies in high school. We use the Texas Top Ten Percent Law as a quasi-experiment to study whether students shirk if they are guaranteed admission to college, finding evidence that their grades fall slightly but their class participation does not. In my third chapter, “Iowa's National Scholars Award and the Efficiency of Merit Aid: A Regression Discontinuity Analysis,” co-authored with Stephen L. DesJardins, I study the impact that rule-based merit aid has on the probability of student enrollment at the University of Iowa. We find a jump in students’ probability of enrollment at the award cutoff. Analysis of an earlier, tiered version of the award suggests that it could be effectively targeted towards very high-achieving applicants. These chapters analyze several points of the college application process, from standardized testing to enrollment choice. There is much additional work to be done in studying this process, and it is my hope that future work on these topics will represent an important step forward in the economics of education.PHDEconomicsUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/102308/1/dleeds_1.pd

High Prevalence of Microvascular Complications in Adults With Type 1 Diabetes and Newly Diagnosed Celiac Disease

Objective: The implications of celiac disease (CD) in adult patients with type 1 diabetes are unknown, with respect to diabetes-related outcomes including glycemic control, lipids, microvascular complications, quality of life, and the effect of a gluten-free diet (GFD). We identified CD in adults with type 1 diabetes and investigated the effect of a GFD on diabetes-related complications. Research design and methods: This was a case-control study conducted at a U.K. teaching hospital. Patients with type 1 diabetes aged >16 years (n = 1,000) were assessed for CD. HbA1c, lipid profile, quality of life, retinopathy stage, nephropathy stage, and degree of neuropathy before and after 1 year on a GFD were assessed. Results: The prevalence of CD was 33 per 1,000 subjects (3.3% [95% CI 2.3–4.6]). At diagnosis of CD, adult type 1 diabetic patients had worse glycemic control (8.2 vs. 7.5%, P = 0.05), lower total cholesterol (4.1 vs. 4.9, P = 0.014), lower HDL cholesterol (1.1 vs. 1.6, P = 0.017), and a higher prevalence of retinopathy (58.3 vs. 25%, P = 0.02), nephropathy (41.6 vs. 4.2%, P = 0.009), and peripheral neuropathy (41.6 vs. 16.6%, P = 0.11). There was no difference in quality of life (P > 0.1). After 1 year on a GFD, only the lipid profile improved overall, but in adherent individuals HbA1c and markers for nephropathy improved. Conclusions: Adults with undetected CD and type 1 diabetes have worse glycemic control and a higher prevalence of retinopathy and nephropathy. Treatment with a GFD for 1 year is safe in adults with type 1 diabetes and does not have a negative impact on the quality of life. Long-term microvascular and neurologic complications are responsible for major morbidity and mortality in type 1 diabetes (1). Intensive glycemic control reduces these complications and improves quality of life (1). Even patients with good glycemic control have complications, suggesting that other factors increase the risk (2). Coexisting medical problems may be a confounding factor when managing glycemic control (2). The association between celiac disease (CD) and type 1 diabetes was recognized over 30 years ago, particularly by pediatricians. The prevalence of CD in patients with adult type 1 diabetes has been reported as 1.8–8.4% (3–6). Despite a large number of prevalence studies, other important clinical factors have not been well investigated, including glycemic control, quality of life, microvascular complications, cardiac risk factors, and bone mineral density. Investigations of the effect of CD on glycemic control have been conflicting, with some studies showing improvement (7) and some deterioration (4,8) and others showing no effect (9). The difficulty in interpreting these studies is that most involve pediatric populations and are small, retrospective, and uncontrolled, leaving this question unanswered. There have been no quality-of-life assessments before and after the diagnosis of CD to assess the impact of the diagnosis and a subsequent gluten-free diet (GFD) (3). Adapting to a GFD with the restrictions of a diabetic diet may negatively impact quality of life. Peripheral neuropathy affects up to 30% of patients with adult type 1 diabetes and is a major cause of morbidity (1). Neuropathy is associated with both type 1 diabetes and CD; therefore, patients with both conditions may have a higher prevalence (10,11). In gluten-sensitive neuropathy, the pathophysiological changes lie in the humoral immune response, and a GFD seems to be beneficial (12,13). There are no studies examining neuropathy in patients with type 1 diabetes and CD or the effect of a GFD. One study examined whether CD may contribute to autonomic neuropathy in a cohort of patients with type 1 diabetes. They found no difference in the prevalence of positive antibodies in patients with and without autonomic neuropathy (14). Two previous studies have examined the effect of CD on diabetic nephropathy but were conflicting (15,16). There are currently no studies examining the prevalence of retinopathy in individuals with both type 1 diabetes and CD. Recent data in nondiabetic CD cohorts have shown a reduced risk of ischemic heart disease, possibly attributed to lower cholesterol levels and a lower prevalence of hypertension (17). Reduced bone mineral density has been associated with both CD and type 1 diabetes, but there are little data on people with both conditions (18). The aim of our study was to identify undetected CD in adult patients with type 1 diabetes and investigate the effect on diabetes-related complications before and after a GFD