Superelastic NiTi honeycombs: fabrication and experiments

In this paper we demonstrate a new class of superelastic NiTi honeycomb structures. We have developed a novel brazing technique that has allowed us to fabricate Nitinol-based cellular structures with relative densities near 5%. Commercially available nickel-rich Nitinol strips were shape-set into corrugated form, stacked, and bonded at high temperature by exploiting a contact eutectic melting reaction involving pure niobium. After heat treatment to restore transformational superelastic response, prototype honeycomb structures were subjected to severe in-plane compression loading at room temperature. The specimens exhibited good specific strength, high specific stiffness, and enhanced shape recovery compared to monolithic shape memory alloys (SMAs). Compressive strains of over 50% could be recovered upon unloading. The demonstrated architectures are simple examples of a wide variety of possible built-up topologies, enabled by the bonding method, that can be engineered for customizable net section properties, arbitrary shape, and kinematically enhanced thermomechanical shape-memory and superelastic response.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/58146/2/sms7_1_S17.pd

Higher Retail Prices of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages 3 Months After Implementation of an Excise Tax in Berkeley, California

Objectives. We assessed the short-term ability to increase retail prices of the first US 1-cent-per-ounce excise tax on the distribution of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), which was implemented in March 2015 by Berkeley, California. Methods. In 2014 and 2015, we examined pre- to posttax price changes of SSBs and non-SSBs in a variety of retailers in Berkeley and in the comparison cities Oakland and San Francisco, California. We examined price changes by beverage, brand, size, and retailer type. Results. For smaller beverages (£ 33.8 oz), price increases (cents/oz) in Berkeley relative to those in comparison cities were 0.69 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.36, 1.03) for soda, 0.47 (95% CI = 0.08, 0.87) for fruit-flavored beverages, and 0.47 (95% CI = 0.25, 0.69) for SSBs overall. For 2-liter bottles and multipacks of soda, relative price increases were 0.46 (95% CI = 0.03, 0.89) and 0.49 (95% CI = 0.21, 0.77). We observed no relative price increases for nontaxed beverages overall. Conclusions. Approximately 3 months after the tax was implemented, SSB retail prices increased more in Berkeley than in nearby cities, marking a step in the causal pathway between the tax and reduced SSB consumption

Low-density open-cell foams in the NiTi system

It is shown that open-cell metallic foams having very low density, and that display martensite transformations required for shape memory and superelastic behavior, can be fabricated using a powder-metallurgy technique. Results are presented on experiments in which a polymeric precursor foam was coated with an equiatomic NiTi powder slurry and subsequently sintered to yield foams with relative densities as low as 0.039. Although contaminated with interstitial impurities, they displayed unambiguous calorimetric signature of the B2→B19′B2→B19′ transformation. The results are of considerable significance to potential applications requiring ultralightweight structures with the unusual dissipative and strain-recovery properties of NiTi shape-memory materials. © 2003 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/71336/2/APPLAB-82-16-2727-1.pd

Individual- and Population-Level Impacts of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Health Warnings

Introduction. Implementing health warnings on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) could reduce consumption of these products and associated diseases. This dissertation aimed to design effective SSB warnings, evaluate their impact on actual SSB purchases, and model the expected effects of a national SSB health warning policy. Methods. In the first study, a national sample of U.S. adults (n=1,360) completed an online randomized experiment investigating their responses to SSB health warnings with different characteristics. In the second study, I conducted a randomized controlled trial in a naturalistic replica of a convenience store to evaluate the impact of SSB health warnings on adults’ (n=400) beverage purchases. The third study applied a microsimulation model of dietary behaviors and body weight to quantify the effects of a national SSB health warning policy on U.S. adults’ SSB intake, total energy intake, body mass index (BMI), and obesity status over five years. Results. In the first study, SSB health warnings that described the health effects of SSB consumption, began with the marker word “WARNING,” and were displayed on an octagon-shaped (vs. rectangular) labels were perceived to be more effective than warnings without these characteristics (ps<0.001). In the second study, SSB health warnings reduced SSB purchases by 32.4 calories/transaction, a 22.4% reduction over the control arm (p=0.019). The third study found that implementing a national SSB health warning policy would reduce U.S. adults’ average SSB intake by 26.2 calories/day (95% uncertainty interval [UI]: -28.3, -24.1) and total energy intake by 32.4 calories/day (95% UI: -34.2, -30.5). If sustained over five years, these dietary changes would reduce average BMI by 0.61 kg/m2 (95% UI: -0.64, -0.57) and obesity prevalence by 2.1 percentage points (95% UI: -2.4%, -1.7%). Conclusions. Small changes in the design of SSB health warnings will likely enhance their impact on SSB consumption and obesity. Implementing health warnings could improve population health.Doctor of Philosoph

SOCIAL CAPITAL AND HOUSEHOLD INCOME DISTRIBUTIONS: EVIDENCE FROM MICHIGAN AND ILLINOIS

Social capital is a resource increasingly recognized as having important economic and social consequences. Robison and Siles (1999) examined some of these consequences at the U.S. state level and this study extends their efforts. Their 1999 study found important connections between the distributions of social capital and the distributions of household incomes. This study asks if the relationships between social capital and household incomes discovered at the state level are also present at the community level.Consumer/Household Economics, Institutional and Behavioral Economics,

Effects of red meat taxes and warning labels on food groups selected in a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: High consumption of red and processed meat contributes to both health and environmental harms. Warning labels and taxes for red meat reduce selection of red meat overall, but little is known about how these potential policies affect purchases of subcategories of red meat (e.g., processed versus unprocessed) or of non-red-meat foods (e.g., cheese, pulses) relevant to health and environmental outcomes. This study examined consumer responses to warning labels and taxes for red meat in a randomized controlled trial.METHODS: In October 2021, we recruited 3,518 US adults to complete a shopping task in a naturalistic online grocery store. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four arms: control (no warning labels or tax), warning labels only (health and environmental warning labels appeared next to products containing red meat), tax only (prices of products containing red meat were increased 30%) or combined warning labels + tax. Participants selected items to hypothetically purchase, which we categorized into food groups based on the presence of animal- and plant-source ingredients (e.g., beef, eggs, pulses), meat processing level (e.g., processed pork versus unprocessed pork), and meat species (e.g., beef versus pork). We assessed the effects of the warning labels and tax on selections from each food group.RESULTS: Compared to control, all three interventions led participants to select fewer items with processed meat (driven by reductions in processed pork) and (for the tax and warning labels + tax interventions only) fewer items with unprocessed meat (driven by reductions in unprocessed beef). All three interventions also led participants to select more items containing cheese, while only the combined warning labels + tax intervention led participants to select more items containing processed poultry. Except for an increase in selection of pulses in the tax arm, the interventions did not affect selections of fish or seafood (processed or unprocessed), eggs, or plant-based items (pulses, nuts &amp; seeds, tofu, meat mimics, grains &amp; potatoes, vegetables).CONCLUSIONS: Policies to reduce red meat consumption are also likely to affect consumption of other types of foods that are relevant to both health and environmental outcomes.TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT04716010 on www.CLINICALTRIALS: gov .</p

The influence of ion beam mixed Ni---Al surface layers on fatigue in polycrystalline nickel

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/26250/1/0000331.pd

Shape memory alloy honeycombs: experiments & simulation

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/76238/1/AIAA-2007-1739-156.pd

Reactions to graphic and text health warnings for cigarettes, sugar-sweetened beverages, and alcohol:An online randomized experiment of US adults.

We aimed to examine reactions to graphic versus text-only warnings for cigarettes, SSBs, and alcohol. A convenience sample of US adults completed an online survey in 2018 (n=1,352 in the analytic sample). We randomly assigned participants to view a: 1) text-only warning without efficacy information (i.e., message intended to increase consumers’ confidence in their ability to stop using the product), 2) text-only warning with efficacy information, 3) graphic warning without efficacy information, or 4) graphic warning with efficacy information. Participants viewed their assigned warning on cigarettes, SSBs, and alcohol, in a random order. Across product types, graphic warnings were perceived as more effective than text-only warnings (p<.001) and led to lower believability, greater reactance (i.e., resistance), more thinking about harms, and lower product appeal (all p<.05); policy support did not differ. Compared to SSB and alcohol warnings, cigarette warnings led to higher perceived message effectiveness, believability, fear, thinking about harms, policy support, and greater reductions in product appeal (all p<.05). The efficacy information did not influence any outcomes. Graphic warnings out-performed text-only warnings on key predictors of behavior despite causing more reactance