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Compositions and methods for weight loss maintenance
No full textCompositions and methods for inducing weight loss, fat loss, maintaining weight or fat loss, suppressing appetite, reducing calorie intake, reducing weight gain, decreasing feed efficiency, increasing metabolic inefficiency, increasing energy expenditure, increasing thermogenesis and/or resetting metabolic set are disclosed. The compositions have a therapeutically effective amount of a ketogenic supplement, e.g., a ketone diesters, such as R,S 1,3-butanediol diacetoacetate. Compositions of one or more beta-hydroxy butyrate, beta-hydroxybutyrate salt, and medium chain triglycerides are also disclosed
System and method for the activation of active ion transporters without the consumption of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) molecules
No full textA system and method for controlling active ion transporters, such as sodium-potassium (Na/K) pumps to actively transports 3 Na+ and 2 K+ ions by consuming one ATP. The system and method provide an oscillating electric field that is effective in running the active ion-transport at their physiological running mode by consuming one ATP molecule to actively transport ion and to synthesize one ATP for each pumping cycle. The ATP molecule that is synthesized compensates for the ATP molecule that is consumed in actively transporting ions, resulting in a net-consumption of ATP that is significantly reduced, theoretically to zero
Three-dimensional printed swabs for diagnostic testing
No full textA three-dimensional printed swab may include a shaft defining a longitudinal axis of the swab, and a tip portion integrally formed with the shaft. The tip portion may include a plurality of protrusions each extending outward from the shaft and transverse to the longitudinal axis. A method for fabricating a three-dimensional printed swab may include receiving a digital three-dimensional model corresponding to the swab, and integrally forming, via three-dimensional printing and based at least in part on the digital three-dimensional model, a shaft and a tip portion of the swab. The shaft may define a longitudinal axis of the swab. The tip portion may include a plurality of protrusions each extending outward from the shaft and transverse to the longitudinal axis
Save the Date! March 20-22, 2026 Eastern Bird Banding Association Conference and Meeting
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Investigating Momentary Body Image Disturbance, Affect, and Disordered Eating Among College Students
No full textDespite evidence that eating disorders are associated with elevated mortality rates, increased risk of suicide, and societal and financial burden, treatment outcomes for individuals with eating disorders remain poor. Body image disturbance has emerged as a robust risk factor for the development and maintenance of disordered eating (e.g., overeating, binge eating, purging, restriction) and theoretical and clinical perspectives most commonly operationalize body image disturbance as a trait construct. However, empirical evidence suggests body dissatisfaction may fluctuate, and these fluctuations may play an important role in the relationship between risk factors and disordered eating. The current study employed ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to investigate the interaction between state weight and shape concerns and momentary affect on restrained eating, compensatory behaviors, binge eating, and any disordered eating engagement among 78 university females who were at high risk for an eating disorder. Results did not support the hypothesis that momentary negative or positive affect moderated the relationship between state weight and shape concerns and disordered eating outcomes. Within-person, greater positive affect predicted restrained eating and greater weight and shape concerns predicted binge eating. Between-person, greater positive affect and greater weight and shape concerns predicted restrained eating, and greater weight and shape concerns predicted any disordered eating. Findings suggest that momentary weight and shape concerns and positive affect influence disordered eating engagement, and interventions may benefit from targeting state-level affect and body image antecedents of disordered eating. Other complex models (e.g., mediation) should be explored to disentangle the dynamic relationship between state-level antecedents of eating behavior
Conflicting Social Information and its Impact on Sentence Comprehension in Young Adults with DLD: An Eye Tracking Study
No full textIndividuals must recognize linguistic and non-linguistic social cues to resolve contextual ambiguities in their conversations. When the linguistic and social cues match, sentence processing is facilitated. However, conflicts between linguistic and social stimuli (i.e., incongruency) can lead to prediction errors which slow sentence processing. Limited research has explored the social cognition conflict resolution skills in individuals with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) despite their documented emotion processing deficits. This study considers the role of social prediction processing in adults with DLD as they engage in a social cognition conflict resolution task.
Young adults with DLD (n=29) and typically developing (TD) peers (n=42) participated in an eye tracking study that used the Visual-World Paradigm (VWP) to assess the impact of linguistic and non-linguistic social stimuli on real-time auditory sentence processing. Group membership was determined utilizing an established language battery for identification of individuals with DLD (Fidler et al, 2011). Using the VWP, participants first viewed a facial expression prime that was positive or negative in valence. The participants then heard an auditory sentence with an emotion word that either matched the emotional valence of the facial prime or was emotionally incongruent with the facial prime. Two picture scenes that differed in emotional valence were presented at the same time as the sentence. The participant viewed the facial prime, listened to the sentence, and selected the picture that best matched the meaning of the sentence. Independent variables included congruency (valence of facial expression prime and embedded emotion word) and language ability (DLD or TD).
Statistical analyses considered eye movement behavior, as well as reaction time (RT) and accuracy of participant responses. A generalized additive mixed effect model (GAMM) analyzed the proportion of fixations to the target picture. Data was analyzed before and after target emotion word onset. Results revealed differences in the time course of sentence processing between groups. The TD group seemed to use an adaptive strategy, prioritizing accuracy/caution over speed to resolve incongruencies. The DLD group appeared to use a suppression strategy whereby they prioritized the current linguistic aspects of the sentence. A linear mixed effects (LME) model was run to measure task accuracy and RT. Both groups had slower RTs for the incongruent condition; however, the DLD group had higher accuracy rates in the incongruent condition, which may indicate more careful and deliberate processing. Overall, these findings suggest individuals with DLD do generate social predictions based on initial social information but are slower to update their mental representation when conflicting social information is presented
Room-Temperature Multiferroic Epsilon Iron Oxide Semiconductors: Thin-Film Growth and Characterization
No full textThere is an ever-growing need for larger computing power, nonvolatile memory and energy efficient devices as the number of applications that draw upon the current base of computer resources increases. At the forefront of research aiming to meet this need is the field of multiferroics. If it is possible to leverage the fast and energy efficient application of an electric field with the data storage capabilities of magnetic materials, then it would be possible to not only increase the robustness and energy efficiency of current memory, but possibly present new types of device components for computation application as well. Currently, there is not yet a material that satisfies the necessary requirements that would make this a reality. However, there are multiple research avenues that are being explored to satiate growing energy needs with multiferroic devices. One path towards the effective utilization of multiferroic materials has been not the direct control of magnetization via polarization state, but by control of the chirality of the magnetization vector as seen in bismuth ferrite (BFO) magneto electric spin orbit devices (MESO) [1]. BFO however is difficult to use in application because of its low magnetization and insulating nature. Another path towards electric field control of magnetism is the control of topological magnetic states such as antivortices and skyrmions with an electric field [2]. However, these states are hard to produce and unstable [2-7].
One particularly exciting material under study today is that of ε-Fe2O3, a multiferroic material that exhibits both magnetism and ferroelectricity well above room temperature [8]. Although theoretically determined to be classified as a charge transfer insulator, it possesses a moderate band gap of 1.6-1.9eV, making it a candidate for integration into devices as a semiconducting layer. Traditionally, conduction on this scale would make a harmful impact on a ferroelectric materials ability to hold a polarization state, but ε-Fe2O3 has been shown to hold its polarization for long periods of time [8]. It is also characterized as a hard ferrimagnet, boasting coercive fields up to 2 T, with a moderate magnetic remanence of ~40 emu/cm3. It has been synthesized into various forms, such as nanoparticles, micron sized crystals, and thin films. In thin film format, it has a reduced coercivity that has been attributed to the triaxial alignment of the easy axes within the material. While exciting research has been done on this system in the thin film regime, there is still a need for a detailed analysis of the effect of the growth parameters on various aspects of the resulting thin film.
In this work, thin films of ε-Fe2O3 were grown under various conditions and were characterized structurally, magnetically, and ferroelectrically using a suite of measurement techniques. These include atomic force microscopy (AFM), magnetic force microscopy (MFM), piezo force microscopy (PFM), in and out of plane X-ray diffraction (XRD), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), and 4-point resistivity measurements. We identify several key observations on growth conditions that lead to enhanced surface and magnetic properties of resultant thin films, allowing detailed surface magnetic characterization. By tuning the energy of the growth process, one can balance strain, crystallinity, phase purity, and magnetic coercivity within desired amounts. Through detailed magnetic measurements, such as first-order reversal curves (FORC), we identify that this system possesses large interaction and coercive field distributions. We identify these features as resulting from intergrain interactions and a grain size distribution through the assistance of micromagnetic calculations.
Through extensive micromagnetic calculations, a predictive model was developed to explain the magnetic behavior of films grown on substrates promoting triaxial crystallite domain growth, such as STO. We show a dependence of magnetic domain size and coercivity on grain size and anisotropy constant and use this to explain the experimentally obtained MFM images. These calculations show the existence of topological magnetic states being stabilized on ε-Fe2O3, the first time shown in thin films of the material, and identify these features in the experimentally obtained MFM images.
Lastly, we apply the obtained model to our thin film system utilizing the measured anisotropy constant and grain size distribution, and obtain a reasonable match for the magnetic field dependent characteristics of our sample. This demonstrates the utility of our predictive model, which is able to account for changes in anisotropy constant as well, such as those resulting from doping and strain.
This work advances the fundamental understanding of multiferroic ε-Fe2O3 thin films and widens their possible uses towards technological applications. We also provided a predictive model for future studies. Additionally, we demonstrate the creation of stable topological magnetic states such as vortices and antivortices in this system, opening up the possibility for future study on this interesting phenomenon in this material
On Some Hypergraph Coloring Algorithms
No full textOf a given bipartite graph G = (V, E), it is elementary to construct a bipartition in timeO(|V |+|E|). For a given k-graph H = H(k) with k ≥ 3 fixed, Lovász proved that deciding whether H is bipartite is NP-complete. In this thesis, we consider the average running time of this problem. For that, let B_n = (B^(k))_n be the collection (family) of all bipartite k-graphs H on the fixed vertex set [n] = {1, ...., n}. We construct, of a given H ∈ B_n, a bipartition in time averaging O(n^k) over the class B_n. We provide two proofs of our result. When k = 3, this result expedites one of Person and Schacht, which it also extends to all k ≥ 3. In this thesis, we also consider another related result of Person and Schacht cast in the setting of k = 3. Let Fn be the family of [n]-vertex 3-graphs containing no copies of the Fano plane as a subhypergraph. Since the Fano plane is not bipartite, it holds that B_n ⊆ F_n, which Person and Schacht proved is nearly an equality (in a sense made precise later). They also established an algorithm which properly and minimally colors a given H ∈ F_n in time averaging O(n^5 (log n)^2) over the class F_n. We expedite this average time for the closely related concept of an optimal 2-partition [n] = X_H ∪˙ Y_H of a fixed H ∈ F_n, which minimizes over all 2-partitions [n] = X ∪˙ Y the number e_H(X) + e_H(Y ) of edges e ∈ E_H with e ⊆ X or e ⊆ Y We give an algorithm which constructs, of a given H ∈ F_n, an optimal 2-partition [n] = X_H ∪˙ Y_H of H in time averaging O(n^3) over the class F_n