Reconceptualization of Eating Addiction and Obesity as Displacement Behavior and a Possible Treatment

Purpose: Displacement behavior is a bio-behavioral mechanism that allows an animal to deal with situations that cannot readily be faced nor avoided, or that are thwarting. It may explain compulsive overeating (eating addiction). Resembling addiction, displacement behavior is irrepressible behavior that is contextually inappropriate, e.g., sleeping or feeding when threatened by a predator, or binge eating in response to a work altercation. It is thought to be due to rechanneling of overflow brain energy to another drive (e.g., feeding drive) when two drives, e.g., fight or flight, equally oppose each other. Moving the opposing drives out of equilibrium, by resolving the person’s underlying problem/stressful situations, theoretically should mitigate the displacement mechanism and addictive overeating. Methods: We developed a mobile phone intervention targeting addictive overeating, including a displacement mechanism component. A displacement use subgroup (N=37) ages 14-24 with obesity (mean BMI= 38.1) identified life situations they could neither face nor avoid, or that were thwarting them, and developed action plans to address each situation. Feasibility and acceptability were evaluated. Results: Participants found the displacement component to be understandable and user-friendly. The majority (26/37 – 70%) used the core “Dread List” feature to input 90 individual dreaded/problem situations fueling displacement-based overeating, coupled with action plans to address each problem. Conclusion: The displacement mechanism may be a useful basis for treatment of eating addiction and obesity, and may provide individuals with hope that they can curb their addiction without relying on willpower to not overeat. A randomized trial evaluating the displacement intervention is planned.

Reverse Engineering and Optimization of a Steering Mechanism Component in a Competition Ground Vehicle

In this paper, reverse engineering of a steering system component in a competition vehicle was successfully carried out. A CAD model was generated by means of NURBS curves from 3D scanning. Additionally, two manufacturing methods were compared to obtain the component namely, CNC and Casting. Simultaneously, a topological optimization was carried out from the failure diagnosis of the part; hence, to determine the failure, different loads were simulated in a transient and elastoplastic FEM simulation using an isotropic bilinear hardening model, in order to detect the displacement of a faulty component. The methodology implemented in the study showed satisfactory results for the different stages of the process.

Synthesis of Glycerol Carbonate from Glycerol, a By-Product of Biodiesel Production

Methyl esters of fatty acids (also known as biodiesel) made from transesterification of vegetable oils and animal fats with methanol, have shown a lot of promise as alternative diesel fuels. Glycerol is the inevitable byproduct of transesterification process. While there are existing markets for glycerol, a significant increase in availability of glycerol, resulting from the expanded use of vegetable oils and animal fats, would destabilize the glycerol market. In this study, the synthesis of glycerol carbonate from glycerol and dimethyl carbonate was investigated. Glycerol carbonate is a key multifunctional compound employed as a solvent, additive, monomer and chemical intermediate. The resulting glycerol carbonate was obtained in almost quantitative yield. According to measured data a well-elaborated mathematical model of the reactor was used for experiments can be adequate to assign parameters of kinetic equations of the assumed reaction mechanism. Component mass balances were built into the reactor model and order of reactions was fixed.

A Bivariate Normal Model of Mechanism Coupler-Point Position

A bivariate normal model of the coupler-point position of a four-bar linkage is presented. Elliptical confidence regions are established as a function of the statistical properties of the mechanism component dimensions. A measure of mechanism merit based on the probability of deviation from mean path is developed. The probabilistic models are verified by Monte Carlo techniques.