Weight

We characterize the set of functions which can be approximated by smooth functions and by polynomials with the norm �f � W k, ∞ (w):= k� �f (j) �L ∞ (wj), j=0 for a wide range of (even non-bounded) weights wj’s. We allow a great deal of independence among the weights wj’s.

The goal of this study is to obtain globally optimum shapes for two-dimensional structures subject to quasi-static loads and restraints. For this purpose a technique is proposed, using which the volume (or weight) of a structure can be minimized. The emphasis is on how one can define the shape precisely, and find a shape that accurately reflects the globally optimum shape.

As design constraints, stresses developed in the structure should not exceed the maximum allowable stress, and connectivity of the structure should not be lost during shape changes. Optimization is achieved by a stochastic search algorithm called direct simulated annealing (DSA), which seeks the global minimum through randomly generated configurations. In order to obtain random configurations, a boundary variation technique is used. In this technique, a set of key points is chosen and connected by cubic splines to describe the boundary of the structure. Whenever the positions of the key points are changed in random directions, a new shape is obtained. Thus, coordinates of the key points serve as design variables. In order to apply the optimization procedure, a general computer code was developed using ANSYS Parametric Design Language. A number of cases were examined to test its effectiveness. The results show that this technique can be applied to two-dimensional shape optimization problems with high reliability even for cases where the entire free boundary is allowed to vary.

L’heure, la qualité d’un restaurant, la température, le taux de chômage, le QI, la durée d’un entrainement, la réussite d’un lycée, la richesse, une côte de popularité... Il semble impossible d’échapper aux chiffres ! Mais à quoi servent-ils exactement ? D’où viennent-ils ? Et pourquoi met-on le monde en chiffres ?
Les chiffres régissent une bonne partie de nos vies : ils servent à coordonner nos actions, à établir des règles de vie commune et à trouver des conventions au sein des collectifs. Ils contribuent aux prises de décision et à l’exercice du pouvoir. Ils participent à nos quêtes de justice et d’harmonie, et à la construction de la confiance. Et ils prétendent aussi refléter la réalité de façon objective.
La puissance des chiffres provient-elle de leur capacité à énoncer des certitudes, de notre soumission volontaire à des artifices utiles, de leur aptitude à fabriquer un monde et à nous l’imposer, ou des leviers qu’ils nous offrent pour s’entendre et agir ?
À travers une analyse sociologique et historique de la quantification, Olivier Martin nous montre toute l’étendue de l’empire des chiffres dans nos sociétés.

Olivier Martin, sociologue et statisticien, est professeur à l’Université de Paris et dirige le Centre de recherche sur les liens sociaux (CERLIS - CNRS).

The question of whether or not life success halo effects occur for weight for Black and White women was examined in an experiment using a 2 (race of woman) × 2 (weight of woman) × 2 (sex of participant) design and measures of perceived life success, attractiveness, and personality. The thinner White woman was expected to receive higher life success, attractiveness, and personality ratings than the heavy White woman. However, the heavy Black woman was expected to receive higher ratings than the thinner Black woman. The results were consistent with expectations. These results are discussed in terms of prior research on beauty, weight, and stereotyping.

Discourse about health that focuses predominantly on body weight is referred to as the weight-centered health paradigm (WCHP). In recent years, there has been a significant increase in critical analysis of the WCHP. This has resulted in arguments for a paradigm shift away from focusing on weight and focusing instead on health and well-being. The aim of this study was to identify, critique, and synthesize the values, claims, and assumptions of the WCHP and to develop a framework to be used as a heuristic for building competency to critique the WCHP. Qualitative content analysis of the literature was used to identify themes, relationships between themes, and structure of the framework. The resulting WCHP 3C Framework encompasses the context, critiques, and consequences of the WCHP. The context includes the promulgators and tenets of the WCHP. Critiques of the WCHP raise ideological, empirical, and technical concerns. Consequences of the WCHP include an enhanced adipophobicogenic environment, reduced health and well-being, and reduced quality of life. If used as a heuristic to enhance critical competence, the WCHP 3C Framework may help contribute to a paradigm shift in weight science.

The lichen genera Usnea has long been shown to produce several secondary chemical products the most well known of which is the polyphenol and dibenzofuran, usnic acid (UA).  The extracts of Usnea rich in UA have been used in creams, powders, shampoos, deodorants, oral drops and recently in weight loss supplements.  UA has been shown to have some degree of antiprotozoal, antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic activity 1 .

Early in 2004, nearly 300 elk died in Wyoming where state officials reported that Parmelia species of lichen and UA was found in elk stomach samples 1.  The FDA received over 21 Adverse Event Reports (6 confirmed) regarding a dietary supplement containing Usnea was reported to have been associated with liver toxicity including a death and 7 cases of liver failure 2-3.  In 2001, the FDA issued a health warning for the supplement in question and it has since been taken off the market.  However, surprisingly other Usnea-containing products remain.

UA concentrations as low as 0.3 μM directly affects the mitochondria 4.  The compound has been shown to uncouple mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and resulting in decreased ATP synthesis (hence the weight loss) and cellular respiration.  As an uncoupler, UA is estimated at 50 times greater potency than the classic uncoupler dinitrophenol (DNP).  In addition to it’s uncoupling effects UA stimulates the production of reactive oxygen species which also contributes to it’s cellular toxicity 5.  It is currently unknown whether chronic low dose exposure to UA causes mild hepatic oxidative damage.  UA has a chiral center and can occur as two enantiomers, however, the most predominate isomer in nature is the (+).  Also, UA may exist in equilibrium as keto or enol tautomers (Figure 1).

At the NCTR, National Toxicology Program (NTP)-supported studies are underway which will evaluate the long term toxicity of UA in the form of Usnea lichen dispersed in 5LG6 rodent diet.  Mechanistic studies will also explore the basis for UA hepatotoxicity.  Confidence in the validity of these studies is supported by regular analysis of the test material lichen(s) as well as pure UA dispersed in the vehicle chosen for dosing.  The wild harvested Usnea obtained as the test material for study consisted in fact two Usnea species, U. cavernosa (approx. 5%) and U. scabrata (approx. 90%).  Therefore, it was necessary to evaluate the UA content of each lichen component as well as the test material mix for UA content in various stages of pulverization (Table 1, Figure 2, Figure 3).

Bodyweight—the number on the scale—has been constructed as an objective measure of health, and weight loss as synonymous with healthier. Weight has been used as a way of
classifying and controlling people, ignoring the embodied, relational, and cultural meanings attached to health and weight. Instead, these subjective experiences are lumped into a numerical category. Our society’s obsession with weight is weighing us down and most of us should toss out our scales. Scale stories offer a departure from canonical narratives about physical health and body image by emphasizing emotions and lived experiences instead of bodyweight and numerical categories.

Early balance weights have been found at several Early Dynastic/Akkadian/Ur III sites in southern Mesopotamia since the late 19th century but not all were identified as such and very few have been published adequately. The existence of weight metrology already in the Chalcolithic period cannot be verified so far. In Syria, a steadily increasing number of weights have come to light in excavations at Early Bronze Age sites in the last decades. In a recent comprehensive and not yet published study, the author has assembled nearly 2000 third-millennium balance weights from 163 sites between the Aegean and western India, and discussed them under chronological, contextual and metrological aspects. In this contribution, some results concerning Mesopotamia and western Syria will be presented.

Robotic technologies are being employed increasingly in the treatment of lower limb disabilities. Individuals suffering from stroke and other neurological disorders often experience inadequate dorsiflexion during swing phase of the gait cycle due to dorsiflexor muscle weakness. This type of pathological gait, mostly known as drop-foot gait, has two major complications, foot-slap during loading response and toe-drag during swing. Ankle foot orthotic (AFO) devices are mostly prescribed to resolve these complications. Existing AFOs are designed with or without articulated joint with various motion control elements like springs, dampers, four-bar mechanism, series elastic actuator, and so forth. This paper examines various AFO designs for drop-foot, discusses the mechanism, and identifies limitations and remaining design challenges. Along with two commercially available AFOs some designs possess promising prospective to be used as daily-wear device. However, the design and mechanism of AFO must ensure compactness, light weight, low noise, and high efficiency. These entailments present significant engineering challenges to develop a new design with wide consumer adoption. © 2014 Morshed Alam et al.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24892102 
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/tswj/2014/867869/abs/

Syrup obtained from yacon roots could be well positioned as a nutraceutical product due to its high fructooligosaccharides content. We examined the beneficial effects and tolerance of yacon syrup on human health.Obese and slightly dyslipidemic pre-menopausal women were studied over a 120-day period in a double-blind placebo-controlled experiment. We used two doses of yacon syrup, 0.29 g and 0.14 g fructooligosaccharides/kg/day.At the start and end of the study, anthropometric measurements, blood glucose, calcium, lipid and insulin concentrations and Homeostasis Model Assessment index were determined.The recommended daily consumption of yacon syrup with no undesirable gastrointestinal effects is 0.14 g fructooligosaccharides/kg.Daily intake of yacon syrup produced a significant decrease in body weight, waist circumference and body mass index. Additionally, decrease in fasting serum insulin and Homeostasis Model Assessment index was observed. The consumption of yacon syrup increased defecation frequency and satiety sensation. Fasting glucose and serum lipids were not affected by syrup treatment and the only positive effect was found in serum LDL-cholesterol levels.Yacon syrup is a good source of fructooligosaccharides and its long-term consumption produced beneficial health effects on obese pre-menopausal women with insulin resistance.

Une phénoménologie pondérale est-elle possible ? Qu'est-ce que les discours et les pratiques des danseurs peuvent nous apprendre sur le vécu du poids dans nos mouvements quotidiens ? Et inversement qu'est-ce que le poids nous apprend sur nos manières humaines d'habiter le monde ?
Cet article a paru dans S. Camilleri & J.-S. Hardy (éd.), Ens mobile. Conceptions phénoménologiques du mouvement, Peeters, 2018


'Ens mobile'
Conceptions phénoménologiques du mouvement

Series: 
Bibliothèque Philosophique de Louvain, 102

Editors:  Hardy J.-S. , Camilleri S.

Year: 2018
ISBN: 978-90-429-3661-4
Pages: IV-267 p.
Price: 72 EURO

Summary:
Cet ouvrage est le tout premier à proposer un tour d’horizon historique et systématique des multiples conceptions phénoménologiques du mouvement. Après une introduction qui s’efforce de retracer la Begriffs- und Wirkungsgeschichte de cette notion de mouvement, et par là de montrer comment elle fut longtemps l’apanage de la philosophie de la nature avant que la phénoménologie ne s’en empare et lui rétrocède toute sa dimension subjective et charnelle, les auteurs livrent une série d’analyses détaillées qui se répartissent en deux grandes parties. Dans la première, il s’agit d’examiner critiquement le traitement que des penseurs-clés lui ont réservé. Sont ainsi étudiés le sens et la portée des notions de kinesthèse, de géostatisme et d’a priori matériel chez Husserl, mais également le concept de mobilité chez Heidegger, la dynamique de l’existence chez Patocka ou encore l’interprétation merleau-pontienne du cas Schneider. Dans la seconde partie, il est davantage question d’explorer de nouvelles voies, d’articuler des usages neufs et de développer des interprétations inédites du mouvement à partir de la méthode et de la conceptualité phénoménologiques, en dialogue avec les sciences cognitives, la religion et les arts – en l’occurrence la danse. L’ensemble pose ainsi les jalons pour une approche phénoménologique renouvelée du mouvement vécu.

SummaryLoom weights are common finds in archaeological excavations in Europe and the Near East. They represent the only remains of warp-weighted looms. The function of the warp-weighted loom is well known from ethnographic studies. The function of loom weights, however, has not been investigated and cannot be deduced directly from ethnographical data, since loom weights in antiquity were very different from those used in the twentieth century AD. This paper reviews the functional elements of a loom weight. The weight and thickness of loom weights are established as the defining functional parameters for the operation of the warp-weighted loom. A series of systematic tests demonstrated that the weight of a loom weight defines what yarn to use and the thread density. The thickness of a loom weight, and thus the width of the row of loom weights hanging closely together, defines the width of a fabric and – together with the weight of the loom weight – the thread count and density of the fabric. This new knowledge provides the methodological framework for archaeologists to calculate textile production possibilities from any given loom weight, as long as the weight and thickness are preserved. Furthermore, it allows scholars to assess textile production on sites where no textiles are preserved.Loom weights are common finds in archaeological excavations in Europe and the Near East. They represent the only remains of warp-weighted looms. The function of the warp-weighted loom is well known from ethnographic studies. The function of loom weights, however, has not been investigated and cannot be deduced directly from ethnographical data, since loom weights in antiquity were very different from those used in the twentieth century AD. This paper reviews the functional elements of a loom weight. The weight and thickness of loom weights are established as the defining functional parameters for the operation of the warp-weighted loom. A series of systematic tests demonstrated that the weight of a loom weight defines what yarn to use and the thread density. The thickness of a loom weight, and thus the width of the row of loom weights hanging closely together, defines the width of a fabric and – together with the weight of the loom weight – the thread count and density of the fabric. This new knowledge provides the methodological framework for archaeologists to calculate textile production possibilities from any given loom weight, as long as the weight and thickness are preserved. Furthermore, it allows scholars to assess textile production on sites where no textiles are preserved.

Are you interested in losing weight? Are you tired of diets that advocate low or no fats and crave your high-fat meats? You may well be considering going on the keto diet, the new kid on the block. Endorsed by many celebrities including Halle Berry, LeBron James, and Kim Kardashian among others, the keto diet has been the subject of much debate among dietitians and doctors. Do you wonder if the keto diet is safe and right for you?

This book is the first in-depth history of the U.S. Customary System to appear in almost 200 years. In addition to a wealth of historical information difficult to find elsewhere, an appendix provides a uniquely detailed set of data proving that weights of grain can be (and anciently were) used as physical constants, a basis for Bosak's related paper "Canonical Weights of Grain as a Key to Ancient Systems of Weights and Measures." Unlike most current treatments of the Customary System, The Old Measure is intended as a serious scholarly resource rather than just another tract arguing against the metric system, which is acknowledged to have strengths of its own.