Creatures of Habit: Predictions About Delaware’s Future Treatment of Disclosure Only Settlements and What It Means for Plaintiffs’ Attorneys Seeking a Pay Day

Scholars agree that in order for states to either obtain or maintain the business of corporate merger litigation, they must engage in competition with one another. Delaware has participated in this competition in the past to maintain its position as the country’s leading forum for corporate merger litigation. One of the most prominent aspects of this type of litigation is the “disclosure only settlement.” In the 2016 case In re Trulia, the Delaware Court of Chancery broke from a well-established precedent of approving disclosure only settlements and indicated it would be applying a heightened level of scrutiny to them. As a result of this heightened standard, it is likely that plaintiffs’ attorneys will seek out other forums that do not apply such a level of scrutiny to disclosure only settlements. If Delaware wishes to maintain its status as the leading forum for corporate litigation, it will need to employ new strategies. To this end, Delaware has suggested that plaintiffs use something known as the “mootness dismissal scenario” to circumvent the heightened scrutiny that comes with this common type of settlements. This Note hypothesizes that Delaware will continue to promote the mootness dismissal scenario in an attempt to remain competitive. It will be left to plaintiffs’ attorneys to respond by either continuing to file suit in Delaware or testing the waters in what may be friendlier jurisdictions

Cementing Good Law by Tolerating Bad Outcomes: Examining the Eighth Circuit\u27s Commitment to Upholding the Defense of Qualified Immunity for Prison Officials in \u3cem\u3eKulkay v. Roy\u3c/em\u3e

On February 2, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit decided Kulkay v. Roy and affirmed the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota’s dismissal of plaintiff’s civil rights claims under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. The plaintiff, a former inmate at a Minnesota correctional facility, sued the correctional facility and related officials for failing to install safety features on a piece of machinery and not providing him with adequate usage training after he suffered damage to his hand while operating the beam saw. The district court held that the plaintiff inmate failed to state a claim under the Eighth Amendment due to qualified immunity. The Eighth Circuit affirmed this decision, holding that the prison officials did not exhibit deliberate indifference and therefore were entitled to the defense of qualified immunity. The Eighth Circuit based this reasoning in the fact that the plaintiff failed to show that the prison officials acted with deliberate indifference towards his health or safety. This comment argues that the Eighth Circuit was correct in re-emphasizing its commitment to the standard of deliberate indifference because the underlying policy motivations for the defense of qualified immunity dictate that a few bad outcomes, such as plaintiffs not receiving damages for harm caused to them, be tolerated in order to cement an otherwise good law

Stature at Time of Diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

Objective. To assess the stature of children with type 1 diabetes mellitus at diagnosis. Methods. We collected data from 451 records of children who were examined in a pediatric diabetes clinic and used data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for 10 522 children as control group. Analytical techniques included linear and logistic regression modeling. A semiquantitative meta-analysis evaluated 38 earlier publications that contain information on height at the onset of diabetes. Results. Children \u3c1 year of age were shorter than their peers by 1 standard deviation, whereas those from 3 years to near puberty were taller by approximately 0.3 standard deviation. Adjusting for parental height caused this difference to disappear for the older children but not for the infants. The meta-analysis results paralleled these observations. Conclusions. Taller children generally seem to experience increased risk for development of diabetes mellitus type 1, except perhaps during infancy or early adolescence. This observation may have implications regarding pathogenesis of this disorder

Crime, Violence, Discipline, and Safety in U.S. Public Schools: Findings from the School Survey on Crime and Safety - 2015-16

These reports present key findings on crime and violence in U.S. public schools, using data from the School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS). SSOCS provides information about school crime-related topics from the school's perspective, asking public school principals to report the frequency of violent incidents, such as physical attacks, robberies, and thefts in their schools. Portions of this survey also focus on programs, disciplinary actions, and policies implemented to prevent and reduce crime and violence in schools.The survey was first administered in the spring of the 1999–2000 school year and repeated in school years 2003–04, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2009–10, and 2015–16. The 2015–16 survey was developed by the National Center for Education Statistics of the U.S. Department of Education with the support of the National Institute of Justice of the U.S. Department of Justice

Portion, package or tableware size for changing selection and consumption of food, alcohol and tobacco.

BACKGROUND: Overeating and harmful alcohol and tobacco use have been linked to the aetiology of various non-communicable diseases, which are among the leading global causes of morbidity and premature mortality. As people are repeatedly exposed to varying sizes and shapes of food, alcohol and tobacco products in environments such as shops, restaurants, bars and homes, this has stimulated public health policy interest in product size and shape as potential targets for intervention. OBJECTIVES: 1) To assess the effects of interventions involving exposure to different sizes or sets of physical dimensions of a portion, package, individual unit or item of tableware on unregulated selection or consumption of food, alcohol or tobacco products in adults and children.2) To assess the extent to which these effects may be modified by study, intervention and participant characteristics. SEARCH METHODS: We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, eight other published or grey literature databases, trial registries and key websites up to November 2012, followed by citation searches and contacts with study authors. This original search identified eligible studies published up to July 2013, which are fully incorporated into the review. We conducted an updated search up to 30 January 2015 but further eligible studies are not yet fully incorporated due to their minimal potential to change the conclusions. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials with between-subjects (parallel-group) or within-subjects (cross-over) designs, conducted in laboratory or field settings, in adults or children. Eligible studies compared at least two groups of participants, each exposed to a different size or shape of a portion of a food (including non-alcoholic beverages), alcohol or tobacco product, its package or individual unit size, or of an item of tableware used to consume it, and included a measure of unregulated selection or consumption of food, alcohol or tobacco. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: We applied standard Cochrane methods to select eligible studies for inclusion and to collect data and assess risk of bias. We calculated study-level effect sizes as standardised mean differences (SMDs) between comparison groups, measured as quantities selected or consumed. We combined these results using random-effects meta-analysis models to estimate summary effect sizes (SMDs with 95% confidence intervals (CIs)) for each outcome for size and shape comparisons. We rated the overall quality of evidence using the GRADE system. Finally, we used meta-regression analysis to investigate statistical associations between summary effect sizes and variant study, intervention or participant characteristics. MAIN RESULTS: The current version of this review includes 72 studies, published between 1978 and July 2013, assessed as being at overall unclear or high risk of bias with respect to selection and consumption outcomes. Ninety-six per cent of included studies (69/72) manipulated food products and 4% (3/72) manipulated cigarettes. No included studies manipulated alcohol products. Forty-nine per cent (35/72) manipulated portion size, 14% (10/72) package size and 21% (15/72) tableware size or shape. More studies investigated effects among adults (76% (55/72)) than children and all studies were conducted in high-income countries - predominantly in the USA (81% (58/72)). Sources of funding were reported for the majority of studies, with no evidence of funding by agencies with possible commercial interests in their results.A meta-analysis of 86 independent comparisons from 58 studies (6603 participants) found a small to moderate effect of portion, package, individual unit or tableware size on consumption of food (SMD 0.38, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.46), providing moderate quality evidence that exposure to larger sizes increased quantities of food consumed among children (SMD 0.21, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.31) and adults (SMD 0.46, 95% CI 0.40 to 0.52). The size of this effect suggests that, if sustained reductions in exposure to larger-sized food portions, packages and tableware could be achieved across the whole diet, this could reduce average daily energy consumed from food by between 144 and 228 kcal (8.5% to 13.5% from a baseline of 1689 kcal) among UK children and adults. A meta-analysis of six independent comparisons from three studies (108 participants) found low quality evidence for no difference in the effect of cigarette length on consumption (SMD 0.25, 95% CI -0.14 to 0.65).One included study (50 participants) estimated a large effect on consumption of exposure to differently shaped tableware (SMD 1.17, 95% CI 0.57 to 1.78), rated as very low quality evidence that exposure to shorter, wider bottles (versus taller, narrower bottles) increased quantities of water consumed by young adult participants.A meta-analysis of 13 independent comparisons from 10 studies (1164 participants) found a small to moderate effect of portion or tableware size on selection of food (SMD 0.42, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.59), rated as moderate quality evidence that exposure to larger sizes increased the quantities of food people selected for subsequent consumption. This effect was present among adults (SMD 0.55, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.75) but not children (SMD 0.14, 95% CI -0.06 to 0.34).In addition, a meta-analysis of three independent comparisons from three studies (232 participants) found a very large effect of exposure to differently shaped tableware on selection of non-alcoholic beverages (SMD 1.47, 95% CI 0.52 to 2.43), rated as low quality evidence that exposure to shorter, wider (versus taller, narrower) glasses or bottles increased the quantities selected for subsequent consumption among adults (SMD 2.31, 95% CI 1.79 to 2.83) and children (SMD 1.03, 95% CI 0.41 to 1.65). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: This review found that people consistently consume more food and drink when offered larger-sized portions, packages or tableware than when offered smaller-sized versions. This suggests that policies and practices that successfully reduce the size, availability and appeal of larger-sized portions, packages, individual units and tableware can contribute to meaningful reductions in the quantities of food (including non-alcoholic beverages) people select and consume in the immediate and short term. However, it is uncertain whether reducing portions at the smaller end of the size range can be as effective in reducing food consumption as reductions at the larger end of the range. We are unable to highlight clear implications for tobacco or alcohol policy due to identified gaps in the current evidence base.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Wiley via http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD011045.pub

Reductions in entrée energy density increase children\u27s vegetable intake and reduce energy intake

The energy density (ED; kcal/g) of an entr&eacute;e influences children\u27s energy intake (EI), but the effect of simultaneously changing both ED and portion size of an entr&eacute;e on preschool children\u27s EI is unknown. In this within-subject crossover study, 3- to 5-year-old children (30 boys, 31 girls) in a daycare facility were served a test lunch once/week for 4 weeks. The amount and type of vegetables and cheeses incorporated into the sauce of a pasta entr&eacute;e were manipulated to create two versions that varied in ED by 25% (1.6 or 1.2 kcal/g). Across the weeks, each version of the entr&eacute;e was served to the children in each of two portion sizes (400 or 300 g). Lunch, consumed ad libitum, also included carrots, applesauce, and milk. Decreasing ED of the entr&eacute;e by 25% significantly (P &lt; 0.0001) reduced children\u27s EI of the entr&eacute;e by 25% (63.1 8.3 kcal) and EI at lunch by 17% (60.7 8.9 kcal). Increasing the proportion of vegetables in the pasta entr&eacute;e increased children\u27s vegetable intake at lunch by half of a serving of vegetables (P &lt; 0.01). Decreasing portion size of the entr&eacute;e by 25% did not significantly affect children\u27s total food intake or EI at lunch. Therefore, reducing the ED of a lunch entr&eacute;e resulted in a reduction in children\u27s EI from the entr&eacute;e and from the meal in both portion size conditions. Decreasing ED by incorporating more vegetables into recipes is an effective way of reducing children\u27s EI while increasing their vegetable intake.<br /

Dietary intake based on physical activity level in Korean elementary school students

Prevalence of childhood obesity is increasing significantly worldwide due to energy imbalance perhaps stemming from undesirable dietary behavior and physical activity level. The objective of the study was to examine the effects of physical activity level on nutritional status in elementary school students. The subjects were comprised of 287 elementary school students between 4th and 6th grades in Seoul, Korea. The level of physical activity was scored with a modified Godin leisure-time exercise questionnaire and was categorized as active, moderately active, and sedentary. Dietary intakes were obtained using a 24-hour food recall method. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to test for global significant differences of nutrient intakes by physical activity level. Boys were more active than girls. Daily intakes of energy in moderately active boys were significantly higher than in the sedentary group, but intakes of calcium and iron in moderately active boys were lower than active boys. For girls, physical activity level did not affect nutrient density at all. Intakes of calcium, vitamin C, and folate for both boys and girls were below 50% of recommended intake. Physical activity did not affect nutrient density and our participants were exposed to nutritional imbalance. Therefore, the results suggest that nutrition education regarding balanced diet and optimum physical activity is required for children's health and growth

Time Use and Food Pattern Influences on Obesity

The rise of obesity in the United States over the past 25 years has resulted in an increase in the number of research studies published related to the causes, consequences, and possible solutions to the problem. Most would agree that obesity is a multi-dimensional problem that requires a range of solutions related to individual diet and activity, food and built environment, and public policy. Examination of complex relationships between food choice, time use patterns, sociodemographic characteristics and obesity has been limited by data availability and disciplinary focus. Using the theory of the production of health capital, this paper links empirical data from the Consumer Expenditure, Current Population, and American Time Use Surveys to provide estimates of the impacts of food expenditure and time use patterns on obesity in single female headed households of 31–50 years of age