BACKGROUND Ethnic disparities in lung function have been linked mainly to anthropometric factors but have not been fully explained. We conducted a cross-sectional pilot study to investigate how best to study ethnic differences in lung function in young adults and evaluate whether these could be explained by birth weight and socio-economic factors. METHODS We recruited 112 university students ...

Differences in maternal characteristics only partially explain the lower birth weights of infants of African-American women. It is hypothesized that economic and social features of urban neighborhoods may further account for these differences. The authors conducted a household survey of 8,782 adults residing in 343 Chicago, Illinois, neighborhoods to assess mean levels of perceived social suppo...

We propose a dual-objective MPC formulation in which the dual objective is the convex combination of an economicand regulatory stage cost, using a specially formulated stateand input-dependent dynamic weight function. The purpose of the dynamic weight function is to promote increased economic performance while ensuring asymptotic stability for the economically optimal steady-state setpoint. Fir...

Behavioral economic-based interventions are emerging as powerful tools to help individuals accomplish their own goals, including weight loss. Deposit contract incentive systems give participants the opportunity to put their money down toward losing weight, which they forfeit if they fail to lose weight; lottery incentive systems enable participants to win money if they attain weight loss goals....