Flight experience with the Ogee wing at low speed

Flight test of ogee wing at low speeds - flight characteristics and landing approach speed evaluatio

Representational capacity of a set of independent neurons

The capacity with which a system of independent neuron-like units represents a given set of stimuli is studied by calculating the mutual information between the stimuli and the neural responses. Both discrete noiseless and continuous noisy neurons are analyzed. In both cases, the information grows monotonically with the number of neurons considered. Under the assumption that neurons are independent, the mutual information rises linearly from zero, and approaches exponentially its maximum value. We find the dependence of the initial slope on the number of stimuli and on the sparseness of the representation.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures, Phys. Rev. E, vol 63, 11910 - 11924 (2000

Extending the impulse response in order to reduce errors due to impulse noise and signal fading

A finite impulse response (FIR) digital smearing filter was designed to produce maximum intersymbol interference and maximum extension of the impulse response of the signal in a noiseless binary channel. A matched FIR desmearing filter at the receiver then reduced the intersymbol interference to zero. Signal fades were simulated by means of 100 percent signal blockage in the channel. Smearing and desmearing filters of length 256, 512, and 1024 were used for these simulations. Results indicate that impulse response extension by means of bit smearing appears to be a useful technique for correcting errors due to impulse noise or signal fading in a binary channel

Investigation of additives for improvement of adhesive and elastomer performance Final report

Improvement additives for adhesive and elastomer performanc

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 /

The texture and taste of food in the brain

Oral texture is represented in the brain areas that represent taste, including the primary taste cortex, the orbitofrontal cortex, and the amygdala. Some neurons represent viscosity, and their responses correlate with the subjective thickness of a food. Other neurons represent fat in the mouth, and represent it by its texture not by its chemical composition, in that they also respond to paraffin oil and silicone in the mouth. The discovery has been made that these fat-responsive neurons encode the coefficient of sliding friction and not viscosity, and this opens the way for the development of new foods with the pleasant mouth feel of fat and with health-promoting designed nutritional properties. A few other neurons respond to free fatty acids (such as linoleic acid), do not respond to fat in the mouth, and may contribute to some 'off' tastes in the mouth. Some other neurons code for astringency. Others neurons respond to other aspects of texture such as the crisp fresh texture of a slice of apple vs the same apple after blending. Different neurons respond to different combinations of these texture properties, oral temperature, taste, and in the orbitofrontal cortex to olfactory and visual properties of food. In the orbitofrontal cortex, the pleasantness and reward value of the food is represented, but the primary taste cortex represents taste and texture independently of value. These discoveries were made in macaques that have similar cortical brain areas for taste and texture processing as humans, and complementary human functional neuroimaging studies are described. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. [Abstract copyright: This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Perceived thickness and creaminess modulates the short-term satiating effects of high protein drinks

Previous research suggests that increasing beverage protein content enhances subsequent satiety, but whether this effect is entirely attributable to post-ingestive effects of protein or is partly caused by the distinct sensory characteristics imparted by the presence of protein remains unclear. To try and discriminate nutritive from sensory effects of added protein, we contrasted effects of three higher energy (c. 1.2MJ) and one lower energy (LE: 0.35MJ) drink preloads on subsequent appetite and lunch intake. Two higher energy drinks had 44% of energy from protein, one with the sensory characteristics of a juice drink (HP-) and the second thicker and more creamy (HP+). The high-carbohydrate preload (HC+) was matched for thickness and creaminess to the HP+ drink. Participants (healthy male volunteers, n=26) consumed significantly less at lunch after the HP+ (566g) and HC+ (572g) than after HP- (623g) and LE (668g) drinks, although the compensation for drink energy accounted for only 50% of extra energy at best. Appetite ratings indicated that participants felt significantly less hungry and more full immediately before lunch in HP+ and HC+ compared to LE, with HP- intermediate. The finding that protein generated stronger satiety in the context of a thicker creamier drink (HP+ but not HP-), and that an isoenergetic carbohydrate drink (HC+) matched in thickness and creaminess to the HP+ drink generated the same pattern of satiety as HP+ both suggest an important role for these sensory cues in the development of protein-based satiety

The effectiveness of a social media intervention for reducing portion sizes in young adults and adolescents

open access journalAbstract Objective: Adolescents and young adults select larger portions of energy-dense food than recommended. The majority of young people have a social media profile, and peer influence on social media may moderate the size of portions selected. Methods: Two pilot-interventions examined whether exposure to images of peers’ portions of high-energy-dense (HED) snacks and sugar-sweetened-beverages (SSBs) on social media (Instagram) would influence reported desired portions selected on a survey. Confederate peers posted ‘their’ portions of HED snacks and SSBs on Instagram. At baseline and intervention end participants completed surveys that assessed desired portion sizes. Results: In intervention 1, Undergraduate students (N=20, Mean age=19.0y, SD=0.65y) participated in a two-week intervention in a within-subjects design. Participants reported smaller desired portions of HED snacks and SSBs following the intervention, and smaller desired portions of HED snacks for their peers. In intervention 2, adolescents (N=44, Mean age=14.4y, SD=1.06y) participated in a four-week intervention (n=23) or control condition (n=21) in a between-subjects design. Intervention 2 did not influence adolescents to reduce their desired reported portion sizes of HED snacks or SSBs relative to control. Conclusions: These preliminary studies demonstrated that social media is a feasible way to communicate with young people. However, while the intervention influenced young adults’ reported desired portions and social norms regarding their peers’ portions, no significant impact on desired reported portion sizes was found for HED snacks and SSBs in adolescents. Desired portion sizes of some foods and beverages may be resistant to change via a social media intervention in this age group

The Relative Attenuation of Self-stimulation, Eating and Drinking Produced by Dopamine-Receptor Blockade

Spiroperidol, which blocks dopamine (DA) receptors, attenuated self-stimulation of the nucleus accumbens, septal area, hippocampus, anterior hypothalamus and ventral tegmental area. Dopamine is thus involved in self-stimulation of many sites (in addition to the lateral hypothalamus). The attenuation was not a simple motor impairment of the speed of bar-pressing in that the nucleus accumbens and septal self-stimulation rates were lower than those in treated animals self-stimulating at other sites (Experiment 1). Feeding was partly attenuated, and drinking was much less attenuated by the spiroperidol. Since the rats bar-pressed for brain- stimulation reward, chewed pellets to eat, and licked a tube to drink, dopamine-receptor blockade may attenuate complex motor responses most. Alternatively, the blockade could affect brain- stimulation reward more than the controls of eating, and these latter more than the controls of drinking (Experiment 2). In Experiment 3, feeding and drinking were equally and severely attenuated when rats had to bar-press to obtain food or water. The attenuation was to a level similar to that found for self-stimulation. These experiments suggest that dopamine receptor blockade impairs eating, drinking and self-stimulation by interfering with complex motor responses