Software for identification of Ill-defined systems:a water quality example

This paper describes an information system (STEPS) designed to support the identification of ill-defined systems, and subsequent use for prediction of their behaviour. Ill-definedness is brought about by unavoidable inadequacies in model structure, usually in conjuction with sparse and unreliable empirical data. The uncertainty modelling used in STEPS is based on set-theoretic concepts, i.e. the uncertainties are expressed in terms of bounds, and not in terms of statistical parameters. The set-theoretic framework is outlined briefly. To assist the identification STEPS also contains recursive parameter estimation tools based on the stochastic concept rather than the set-theoretic concept. STEPS also provides support tools for data management, for model structure improvement and for the construction of predictions with the model. The information systems is demonstrated by applying it to the identification of a simple dissolved oxygen model for a lake

Food-specific decentering experiences are associated with reduced food cravings in meditators: a preliminary investigation

This study examined the association of food-specific decentering experiences with food cravings in a sample of meditators. Decentering refers to viewing one’s thoughts as transient mental events and thus experiencing them as less subjectively real. This process has been suggested to be a key mechanism underlying the effects of mindfulness and many contemplative practices. Although most earlier studies have focused on the effects of decentering with regard to negative affect, some studies have shown that brief inductions of decentering among non-meditators reduce food cravings as well as unhealthy food choices. Here, we report a preliminary investigation of whether the food-specific decentering experiences that meditators have in daily life are associated with fewer food cravings. A small sample of meditators (N = 33, female = 15) answered a number of questions about decentering experiences with regard to thoughts about food, and they completed the short version of the Food Cravings Questionnaire–Trait and a measure of meditation experience. Results confirmed that both more meditation experience and more food-specific decentering experiences were associated with fewer food cravings in daily life. In addition, results suggested that when participants had stronger decentering experiences, they experienced fewer food cravings, regardless of their level of meditation experience. Exploratory analyses further revealed that decentering was more strongly associated with reduced cravings in women than in men. These preliminary findings suggest that food-specific decentering experiences indeed help meditators deal with food desires, and thus extend the evidence for decentering effects into the domain of reward. Future research might investigate this in larger samples, validate a food-specific measure of decentering, and consider the broader implications of decentering experiences in daily life

Mindfulness reduces reactivity to food cues: underlying mechanisms and applications in daily life

Purpose of Review: Mindfulness-based interventions are becoming increasingly popular as a means to facilitate healthy eating. We suggest that the decentering component of mindfulness, which is the metacognitive insight that all experiences are impermanent, plays an especially important role in such interventions. To facilitate the application of decentering, we address its psychological mechanism to reduce reactivity to food cues, proposing that it makes thoughts and simulations in response to food cues less compelling. We discuss supporting evidence, applications, and challenges for future research. Recent Findings: Experimental and correlational studies consistently find that the adoption of a decentering perspective reduces subjective cravings, physiological reactivity such as salivation, and unhealthy eating. Summary: We suggest that the decentering perspective can be adopted in any situation to reduce reactivity to food cues. Considering people’s high exposure to food temptations in daily life, this makes it a powerful tool to empower people to eat healthily

Nonlinear set-membership estimation: a support vector machine approach

In this paper a support vector machine (SVM) approach for characterizing the feasible parameter set (FPS) in non-linear set-membership estimation problems is presented. It iteratively solves a regression problem from which an approximation of the boundary of the FPS can be determined. To guarantee convergence to the boundary the procedure includes a no-derivative line search and for an appropriate coverage of points on the FPS boundary it is suggested to start with a sequential box pavement procedure. The SVM approach is illustrated on a simple sine and exponential model with two parameters and an agro-forestry simulation model

The decentering component of mindfulness reduces reactions to mental imagery

Four experiments examined whether reactions to mental imagery can be reduced by the mindfulness component of decentering, that is, the insight that experiences are impermanent mental states. In Experiments 1a, 1b, and 1c, participants vividly imagined an unpleasant autobiographical event or a rewarding food. When instructed to adopt a decentering perspective in comparison to an immersed perspective during imagery, participants experienced less negative affect and fewer cravings to eat. In Experiment 2, participants were exposed to an attractive or a neutral food, and we assessed salivation and eating-related imagery. Although imagery did not differ between groups, the attractive food elicited less salivation in decentering relative to control participants. We suggest that decentering can make one’s imagery of consuming a food and of reliving of negative experiences less compelling, and thus reduce affective responses to both unpleasant and rewarding imagery, even if the imagery itself is kept active in mind

RECONSTRUCTION OF UNKNOWN CHARACTERISTICS IN A THIRD-ORDER SYSTEM

The article considers dynamic identification of unknown characteristics in a third-order system. A realtime algorithm is proposed for the solution of the problem. The algorithm relies on constructs from stable dynamical inversion theory, which combines methods of the theory of ill-posed problems and positional control theory. In the proposed procedure, the reconstruction algorithm is represented as a control algorithm for some artificial dynamical system -a model. The model control is adapted to current observations so that its realization eventually "approximates" the unknown input

Set-membership estimation from poor quality data sets: modelling ammonia volatilisation in flooded rice systems

A set-membership (bounded-error) estimation approach can handle small and poor quality data sets as it does not require testing of statistical assumptions which is possible only with large informative data sets. Thus, set-membership estimation can be a good tool in the modelling of agri-environmental systems, which typically suffers from limited and poor quality observational data sets. The objectives of the paper are (i) to demonstrate how six parameters in an agri-environmental model, developed to estimate NH3 volatilisation in flooded rice systems, were estimated based on two data sets using a set-membership approach, and (ii) to compare the set-membership approach with conventional non-linear least-squares methods. Results showed that the set-membership approach is efficient in retrieving feasible parameter-vectors compared with non-linear least-squares methods. The set of feasible parameter-vectors allows the formation of a dispersion matrix of which the eigenvalue decomposition reflects the parameter sensitivity in a region

Emergy synthesis for aquaculture: A review on its constraints and potentials.

The search for healthier protein sources and the growing demand for food by an increasing world population require aquaculture systems to not only be economically and technologically viable, but also sustainable. Among other methods, emergy synthesis is a powerful tool to assess the sustainability of production systems in a biophysical perspective.Early View - Online Version of Record before inclusion in an issue

Daily Intravoxel Incoherent Motion (IVIM) in prostate cancer patients during MR-guided radiotherapy: a multicenter study

Biological, physical and clinical aspects of cancer treatment with ionising radiatio