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Wendelstein 7-X, a superconducting optimized stellarator built in Greifswald/Germany, started its first plasmas with the last closed flux surface (LCFS) defined by 5 uncooled graphite limiters in December 2015. At the end of the 10 weeks long experimental campaign (OP1.1) more than 20 independent diagnostic systems were in operation, allowing detailed studies of many interesting plasma phenomena. For example, fast neutral gas manometers supported by video cameras (including one fast-frame camera with frame rates of tens of kHz) as well as visible cameras with different interference filters, with field of views covering all ten half-modules of the stellarator, discovered a MARFE-like radiation zone on the inboard side of machine module 4. This structure is presumably triggered by an inadvertent plasma-wall interaction in module 4 resulting in a high impurity influx that terminates some discharges by radiation cooling. The main plasma parameters achieved in OP1.1 exceeded predicted values in discharges of a length reaching 6 s. Although OP1.1 is characterized by short pulses, many of the diagnostics are already designed for quasi-steady state operation of 30 min discharges heated at 10 MW of ECRH. An overview of diagnostic performance for OP1.1 is given, including some highlights from the physics campaigns.

Purpose Hookah is an increasingly popular tobacco product among college students. The purpose of this study was to determine if college students are aware of tobacco and nicotine content in hookah, and examine associations between college students’ knowledge and perceptions of hookah and their past 30-day hookah use. Methods Participants were 5451 young adults attending one of 24 2- and 4-year colleges. Analyses examined if hookah knowledge was uniquely associated with current hookah use, over and above perceptions of harm and addictiveness, number of other tobacco products currently used, and socio-demographic factors. Analyses were first conducted for the entire sample and then only for current hookah users. Results 26.9% of all students believed hookah did not contain tobacco and 38% believed that hookah did not contain nicotine. Students who believed that hookah contained tobacco were at increased odds of hookah use, and those with increased perceptions of harm were at decreased odds of hookah use. However, hookah knowledge was not associated with hookah users’ intensity of use. Moreover, although increased perceptions of harm were associated with lower intensity of use among current users, increased perceptions of addictiveness were associated with higher intensity of use. Conclusions This study shows gaps in knowledge of hookah contents, and adds to the body of literature, which provides evidence for mandating warning labels as well as tobacco interventions for college students.

Objectives We examined patterns of tobacco and electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use among college students. Differences in sociodemographic characteristics between non-users of these products and 4 mutually exclusive groups of tobacco/e-cigarette users were assessed. Differences in cigarette cessation attempts and dependence between exclusive cigarette smokers and users of cigarettes and at least one alternative tobacco product also were examined. Methods Participants were 5468 18-29 year-old students from 24 colleges in Texas who completed an online survey. Results Multiple-product use was more prevalent than single-product use. All 4 current tobacco/e-cigarette-user groups were more likely than non-users to be men and older. College students who were younger when they smoked their first cigarette, and those reporting ever needing a cigarette, were more likely to be multiple-product users than cigarette-only users. There were no group differences in cigarette cessation attempts or any other variables. Conclusions Using multiple products is associated with some indicators of dependence, but does not seem to aid or deter college students' smoking cessation attempts. Longitudinal research is needed given that transitions in tobacco/e-cigarette use continue throughout young adulthood.

Despite widely reported side effects, use of energy drinks has increased among college students, who report that they consume energy drinks to help them complete schoolwork. However, little is known about the association between energy drink use and academic performance. We explored the relationship between energy drink consumption and current academic grade point average (GPA) among first-year undergraduate students. Participants included 844 first-year undergraduates (58.1 % female; 50.7 % White). Students reported their health behaviors via an online survey. We measured energy drink consumption with two measures: past month consumption by number of drinks usually consumed in 1 month and number consumed during the last occasion of consumption. We used multiple linear regression modeling with energy drink consumption and current GPA, controlling for gender, race, weekend and weekday sleep duration, perceived stress, perceived stress management, media use, and past month alcohol use. We found that past month energy drink consumption quantity by frequency (p

This paper describes the design of the Thomson scattering system at the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator. For the first operation campaign we installed a 10 spatial channel system to cover a radial half profile of the plasma cross section. The start-up system is based on one Nd:YAG laser with 10 Hz repetition frequency, one observation optics, five fiber bundles with one delay line each, and five interference filter polychromators with five spectral channels and silicon avalanche diodes as detectors. High dynamic range analog to digital converters with 14 bit, 1 GS/s are used to digitize the signals. The spectral calibration of the system was done using a pulsed super continuum laser together with a monochromator. For density calibration we used Raman scattering in nitrogen gas. Peaked temperature profiles and flat density profiles are observed in helium and hydrogen discharges.

Evidence is building regarding the association between inadequate amounts of sleep and the risk of obesity, especially in younger children. Less is known about the relationship between change in sleep and change in weight during adolescence. The objective of this study was to examine the longitudinal relationship between change in sleep duration and change in body mass index (BMI) and percent body fat (PBF) in a cohort of adolescents. The cohort included 723 adolescents (mean age = 14.7 years at baseline) from Minnesota. Total sleep duration was assessed via self-report. BMI and PBF were objectively assessed. Covariates used in the multivariate analyses included energy intake as assessed through 24-hour recalls, activity levels as assessed by accelerometers, screen time/sedentary behavior, depression, and sociodemographic characteristics. For both males and females, average BMI and PBF increased slightly over the 2 years and average sleep duration decreased by about 30 minutes. The authors saw no statistically significant longitudinal relationships between change in total sleep and change in BMI or PBF over time in either girls or boys. The only longitudinal relationship that approached statistical significance was a positive association between sleep and PBF in females ( p = .068). This research contributes to the literature as the only study to date to examine how change in sleep duration during adolescence may be related to a concomitant change in BMI and body fat. The findings of this study do not support the hypothesis that a decline in sleep duration during adolescence increases obesity risk.

Despite the known deficits in sleep that occur during adolescence and the high prevalence of substance use behaviors among this group, relatively little research has explored how sleep and substance use may be causally related. The purpose of this study was to explore the longitudinal bi-directional relationships between sleep duration, sleep patterns and youth substance use behaviors. Participants included 704 mostly white (86.4 %) youth, 51 % female, with a baseline mean age of 14.7 years. Self-reported substance use behaviors included past month alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use. Sleep measures included sleep duration on weekends and weekdays, total sleep, weekend oversleep, and weekend sleep delay. Cross-lagged structural equation models, accounting for clustering at the school level, were run to determine the longitudinal association between sleep and substance use adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics, pubertal status, body mass index z-score, and depressive symptoms. Cigarette use and weekend sleep were bi-directionally related as were marijuana use and total sleep. No other bi-directional associations were identified. However, alcohol use predicted shorter weekend oversleep and marijuana use predicted increased weekend sleep and weekend oversleep. Sleep patterns and duration also predicted adolescents' cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use. Sleep, both patterns and duration, and substance use among youth are intertwined. Future research is needed to explore these bi-directional relationships, as well as other important contextual factors that may moderate these associations.

The current study examined the role of school connectedness as a moderator of the associations between overt and relational forms of peer victimization and early adolescents’ subsequent adjustment problems. Data were collected from 490 adolescents when they were initially in the sixth and seventh grades and again 1 year later. Regression analyses indicated that overt, but not relational, victimization predicted increases in boys’ and girls’ conduct problems and social anxiety and girls’ depressive symptoms across the 1-year period. School connectedness was associated with decreases in adolescents’ conduct problems across time and buffered the impact of overt victimization on girls’ subsequent conduct problems. Study findings highlighted the protective role of the school context for girls experiencing overt victimization.

Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of death in the United States;1 these deaths are both premature and preventable.2,3 Most adult smokers begin to smoke in adolescence.4,5 By eighth grade, more than a quarter of US students have tried cigarettes, and by the end of high school, the percent who have tried smoking increases to more than half.6,7 In fact, every day nearly 5500 youth under age 18 try cigarettes for the first time, and almost 3000 more become daily smokers.3,8, Tobacco use also increases after school transitions, for example, the transition from middle to high school.8–10 The pattern for initiation of cigarette use is the same as that seen for other drugs (alcohol and marijuana): use begins gradually in elementary and middle school, accelerates in late middle and high school, continues to increase during young adulthood, and gradually stabilizes or decreases in middle adulthood.8 Given the addictive nature of smoking, the focus of public health efforts has been to prevent smoking among children.11–13 Recent research on health behaviors and peer influence, particularly in the area of obesity, has offered a hopeful sign: perhaps peer group effects,14 which partly cause poor health behavior, can also improve health behavior. If influential persons within peer groups change behavior, this may lead others in the peer group to improve behavior, even if they themselves are not a direct target of the intervention. The ripple effects of changes in health behaviors carrying over to others is known as a social multiplier.15 The existence of social multipliers means that scarce prevention resources could conceivably be concentrated on smokers or potential smokers rather than spreading resources more thinly across all children, who may or may not be at specific risk for smoking. Peer influence may be the most significant social risk factor in adolescent experimentation with drugs such as tobacco; it is more powerful than parental influence.16–18 Keefe19 showed that as youth age, parental influence on substance use decreases, but peer influence remains strong and consistent. The result that peers are more influential than parents in predicting adolescent substance use, and cigarette use in particular, is well replicated.19–21 Peers have also been shown to have a greater influence on adolescent substance use than antismoking information from the media,26 which makes sense intuitively because peers are more proximal or immediate.16,23 This influence of peer smoking on the individual is robust, whether the adolescent is in middle or high school and whether he or she is a trier or an experimenter.16 Interestingly, peer smoking seems to change middle school students’ strong intentions not to smoke more than it increases levels of smoking intentions.24 There are several reasons that peer effects have a strong effect on adolescent smoking. First, adolescents tend to spend most of their time interacting with peers and tend to disengage from parents.25,26 Second, cigarette use has been found to represent a symbol of identification with a particular peer group, moreso than alcohol and marijuana.8 Third, repeated exposure to nicotine may lead adolescents to develop a more favorable sense of the tobacco smell, or addiction to nicotine via chemical reactions, which increases desire for cigarettes.3,27 Fourth, there is evidence for a “false consensus effect” in which adolescents overestimate peer acceptance for smoking as a social norm.28–30 Finally, in terms of self-selection, adolescents may choose to associate with their peers because this increases cigarette availability.21

To determine whether alcohol use behaviors and alcohol-related consequences differed among students attending two-year versus four-year colleges.Participants (N=13,700) from 7 two-year and 11 four-year colleges completed the 2010 College Student Health Survey. Alcohol use behaviors included past year alcohol use, past month alcohol use, and binge drinking over the past two weeks. Alcohol-related factors included average calculated blood alcohol level and average number of alcohol-related consequences. Cross-sectional mixed-effects regression analyses were conducted to determine if the prevalence of alcohol-related behaviors and consequences differed among two-year and four-year students.Students attending four-year colleges, particularly males, were more likely to report past year alcohol use, past month alcohol use, and binge drinking, as well as a higher average blood alcohol content and a greater number of alcohol-related consequences than their two-year counterparts (p0.05). Among female students there were fewer differences between two-year and four-year college students. Many differences remained after adjusting for socio-demographic factors (e.g., age, race/ethnicity), however, with the addition of living situation as a covariate, several of the differences among males were no longer significant.Significant differences in alcohol-related behaviors and consequences exist among students attending two-year versus four-year colleges. While the prevalence of alcohol-related behaviors and consequences was lower among two-year college students, they are not a population to be over-looked. The prevalence of alcohol use remains high among both two-year and four-year college students, making it important for researchers to design appropriate interventions for all students regardless of the type of institution being attended.

INTRODUCTION Snus, a smokeless tobacco product, was introduced in the United States in 2006. Because it is available in a variety of flavors and is relatively easy to conceal, snus might be particularly attractive to adolescents. Yet, no studies have examined snus use in U.S. adolescents. This brief report examined (a) differences between adolescent snus users and non-snus users on a variety of demographic, behavioral, and intrapersonal factors and (b) prevalence of snus use among current users of various other tobacco products versus nontobacco users. METHODS Participants were 8,472 6th- to 12th-grade students who voluntarily completed the 87-item Texas Youth Tobacco Survey during class time. RESULTS Overall, 7.1% of students reported ever trying snus; of these, 77% were male, 68% were in high school, and 46% were White. Mixed-effects regression models indicated that the prevalence of cigarette, chew, cigar, and alcohol use was higher among snus users than among non-snus users. Compared with non-snus users, snus users performed more poorly in school and perceived snus, cigarettes, chew, and cigars to be less dangerous. Finally, current users of cigarettes, chew, and cigars had a higher prevalence of snus use than did their peers who did not use the respective products. CONCLUSIONS Among U.S. adolescents, snus use may be part of a constellation of health compromising behaviors. Additional research is needed to determine who is using snus and identify the determinants and consequences of snus use, all of which can inform interventions and policies aimed at decreasing tobacco use among youth.

Both substance use and obesity are prevalent among youth. As youth age, substance use rates increase and over the past three decades, obesity rates among youth have tripled. While these two factors have both short- and long-term health impacts, little research has explored how substance use and obesity among youth may be related. This study explores the bi-directional longitudinal relationships between substance use and body composition. Participants (N = 704; 50.7% female) were mostly white (86.4%) with a baseline mean age of 14.7 years. Objectively measured body composition was used to calculate body mass index z-scores (BMI z-score) and percent body fat. Cross-lagged structural equation models, accounting for clustering at the school level, were run to determine the longitudinal association between body composition and self-reported substance use (alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana), adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics, pubertal status, and weight satisfaction. Baseline alcohol use predicted decreased BMI z-score at follow-up and a similar association with percent body fat approached significance. Baseline cigarette use predicted increased percent body fat. No longitudinal associations were seen between baseline body composition and future substance use. Our results suggest that substance use contributes to subsequent body composition; however, body composition does not contribute to subsequent substance use. Continued research that explores these relationships longitudinally is greatly needed.

Obesity may cluster in families due to shared physical and social environments.This study aims to identify family typologies of obesity risk based on family environments.Using 2007-2008 data from 706 parent/youth dyads in Minnesota, we applied latent profile analysis and general linear models to evaluate associations between family typologies and body mass index (BMI) of youth and parents.Three typologies described most families with 18.8% "Unenriched/Obesogenic," 16.9% "Risky Consumer," and 64.3% "Healthy Consumer/Salutogenic." After adjustment for demographic and socioeconomic factors, parent BMI and youth BMI Z-scores were higher in unenriched/obesogenic families (BMI difference = 2.7, p 0.01 and BMI Z-score difference = 0.51, p 0.01, respectively) relative to the healthy consumer/salutogenic typology. In contrast, parent BMI and youth BMI Z-scores were similar in the risky consumer families relative to those in healthy consumer/salutogenic type.We can identify family types differing in obesity risks with implications for public health interventions.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to describe the extent to which vending offerings in 106 schools in the St. Paul-Minneapolis, Minnesota metropolitan area, met criteria for types of beverages, fat, and calories based on selected criteria offered by the Institute of Medicine. METHODS: Schools where youth participants were attending for the 2006–2007 school year were identified and invited to participate in the study (n = 143); 81% of schools (n = 116) agreed to participate. RESULTS: Of the 116 schools, 106 had vending machines. Across schools with vending machines (n = 106), 5085 food and 8442 beverage items were offered. Overall, only 18% of beverage items met criteria for calories and type of beverage; significantly more items in public schools met the criteria as compared to private schools (19% vs 12%; p < .01). This difference was also significant for high schools as compared to middle schools (18% vs 22%; p < .01). For food items, 41% met calorie criteria, 45% met fat criteria, and 22% met both fat and calorie criteria. Significantly more food items met both criteria in public than private schools (22% vs 18%; p = .01), while high schools (22%) and middle schools (21%) were similar. A very small proportion of foods (

The objective of this study was to determine whether obesity prevalence and weight-related behaviors (e.g., diet, physical activity) differ among students enrolled in two-year community/technical colleges and those attending four-year colleges/universities. This information could inform the development of intervention strategies. Through an existing surveillance system of Minnesota post-secondary education institutions, survey data were collected from 16,539 students from 27 campuses (14 two-year college campuses, 13 four-year college/university campuses; 2007-2008), including self-reported physical activity, media use, dietary patterns, weight control behaviors, height and weight. Unadjusted analyses indicated that students enrolled in two-year colleges, particularly females, had a higher prevalence of overweight/obesity, lower levels of physical activity, more television viewing, higher intakes of soda, fast food, and diet pills compared to students attending four-year colleges (p

Research is limited on how the social environment of the home is related to childhood obesity.The purpose of this research was to examine the relationships between positive family meal practices, family stressors, and the weight of youth and to examine parental weight status as a moderator of these relationships.The study enrolled 368 parent/child dyads from a Minnesota sample. We used mediation analysis to examine the associationsFamilies represented by an overweight parent reported fewer positive family meal practices (p 0.001), higher levels of depression (p = 0.01), and fewer family rules (p = 0.02) as compared to families represented by a healthy weight parent. For overweight parents, positive family meal practices mediated the relationship between some family stressors and child weight.This research suggests that the home environment may affect the weight of children in the family, and the effect is more pronounced in families with at least one overweight parent.

This paper presents the approach of the dual-laser wavelength Thomson scattering (TS) system for the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator. The dual-laser wavelength TS method is based on two lasers with different wavelengths being fired quasi-simultaneously. This method has two advantages compared to a single laser wavelength TS system. First, the dual laser availability allows an in situ spectral calibration, and second, higher electron temperatures can be measured without any change in the spectral filter setup of the polychromators. The W7-X dual-laser wavelength TS concept is based on high power lasers: a set of standard Nd:YAG lasers with λ = 1064 nm wavelength and a Nd:YAG laser with λ = 1319 nm wavelength newly developed for this application. This laser uses a different transition line with 34% efficiency compared to the main 1064 nm Nd:YAG line. Simulations of the expected performance of the new dual-laser wavelength system show that electron temperatures up to Te = 15 keV can be measured compared to the original design parameter up to Te = 10 keV. The in situ spectral calibration can be performed using a range of temperatures from 1 keV to 10 keV using TS measurements of the 1064 nm versus 1319 nm TS simultaneously.

ObjectiveTo examine neighbourhood food environments, adolescent nutrition and weight status.DesignCross-sectional, observational study.SettingMinneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan region, Minnesota, USA.SubjectsA total of 349 adolescents were recruited to the study. Participants completed 24 h dietary recalls and had their weight and height measured. They also reported demographic information and other diet-related behaviours. Geographic Information Systems were used to examine the availability and proximity of food outlets, particularly those captured within the 800, 1600 and/or 3000 m network buffers around participants’ homes and schools.ResultsAdjusting for gender, age and socio-economic status, adolescents’ sugar-sweetened beverage intake was associated with residential proximity to restaurants (including fast food), convenience stores, grocery stores and other retail facilities within the 800 and/or 1600 m residential buffers (P≤ 0·01). BMIZ-score and percentage body fat were positively associated with the presence of a convenience store within a 1600 m buffer. Other individual-level factors, such as energy, fruit and vegetable intake, as well as convenience store and fast food purchasing, were not significantly associated with features of the residential neighbourhood food environment in adjusted models. In addition, school neighbourhood environments yielded few associations with adolescent outcomes.ConclusionsMany factors are likely to have an important role in influencing adolescent dietary intake and weight status. Interventions aimed at increasing neighbourhood access to healthy foods, as well as other approaches, are needed.

The results from the investigation of neoclassical core transport and the role of the radial electric field profile (Er) in the first operational phase of the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) stellarator are presented. In stellarator plasmas, the details of the Er profile are expected to have a strong effect on both the particle and heat fluxes. Investigation of the radial electric field is important in understanding neoclassical transport and in validation of neoclassical calculations. The radial electric field is closely related to the perpendicular plasma flow (u⊥) through the force balance equation. This allows the radial electric field to be inferred from measurements of the perpendicular flow velocity, which can be measured using the x-ray imaging crystal spectrometer and correlation reflectometry diagnostics. Large changes in the perpendicular rotation, on the order of Δu⊥∼ 5 km/s (ΔEr ∼ 12 kV/m), have been observed within a set of experiments where the heating power was stepped down from 2 MW to 0.6 MW. The...

We examined changes in adolescent self-reported parent-child communication using growth curve models conditional on family meal frequency over a 3.5-year period among a population of racially diverse, low-income adolescents from an urban environment (n = 4,750). Results indicated that although both family dinner frequency and adolescent perceptions of parent-child communication scores were characterized by negative linear growth over time (both p < .001), family dinner frequency was positively associated with adolescent perceptions of parent-child communication scores over time (p < .001). Study findings suggest that families with teenagers may enhance parent-child communication and ultimately promote healthy adolescent development by making family dinner a priority. In addition, the communication benefits of family dinner at the beginning of sixth grade may be protective through eighth grade.

Objective To determine if weight status affects the relationship between weight-related beliefs and consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and fast and convenience store food purchases (FCFP). Design Observational, cross-sectional. Setting Twin Cities Metropolitan area, Minnesota, USA. Methods Body composition and psychosocial survey were obtained for 345 adolescents. General Linear Models tested adjusted (age and sex) associations between weight-related beliefs and consumption of SSB and FCFP. Significant associations were tested for moderation by weight status. Results SSB was positively related to perceptions that people worry too much about their weight (β = 0.103, p = 0.016), with no moderation present. FCFP were positively associated to perceived barriers to maintaining a healthy weight (β = 0.042, p = 0.004) with a subsequent significant interaction by weight status. Stratified models showed a significant association between perceived barriers to a healthy weight and FCFP for overweight adolescents (β = 0.345, p = 0.022). Conclusions Addressing perceived barriers to a healthy diet may lead to important risk reduction.

While the epidemic of childhood obesity is well documented, the etiology of the disease is poorly understood.1,2 One venue that has been investigated for its contribution to the epidemic and called upon to help reduce the risk is the school environment.3,4 Beyond food served as part of the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP), it is well recognized that youth have many other options for eating and drinking during the school day. An important source of this additional food that is largely unregulated is the competitive foods or foods that “compete” with the regular meal pattern lunch such as foods offered as fund-raisers or incentives, foods available in vending and in schools stores or foods available on the a la carte line.5,6 A la carte foods are foods and beverages available in the cafeteria that are not part of the regular reimbursable meal pattern. Foods available through a la carte are of particular interest because of their availability in large numbers, the majority of which are high in fat and sugar.4,5 The presence of an a la carte line in schools has been shown to impact the dietary intake of youth across the entire day.7,8 Interest in understanding the role and extent of competitive foods in schools and attempting to encourage schools to offer more healthful options in a la carte and vending has been growing in the past 2 decades. In 1996, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published the Guidelines for School Health Programs to promote lifelong healthy eating, one of the first government documents to draw attention to other sources of food in schools and its potential to impact the health of school children.9 In 2004, USDA passed the Child Nutrition and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Reauthorization Act10 that required the development of a wellness policy that included, among other things, guidelines for competitive foods in schools. Most recently, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published specific criteria to be applied to evaluate the healthfulness of foods offered outside of the NSLP.11 With this interest, a variety of stakeholders, including school staff, community interest groups, public health nutrition advocacy groups, and researchers, have attempted to assess and evaluate what schools are offering through their a la carte programs and the healthfulness of those choices. Current reports of a la carte foods tend to be descriptive in nature, for example, reporting the proportion of schools that offer salty snacks or soft drinks. While this information has been important in drawing attention to the types of foods that are offered in schools, more work needs to be done to increase our understanding of how the food environment of schools may be related to health.5 The intent of measuring the healthfulness of an environment is actually to assess an attribute of the environment that may affect health; for example an environment that offers more healthful options as compared to fewer healthful options. This characterization is most useful if it results in a measure that has construct validity (eg, being able to show that schools with more healthful foods in the environment have students who eat more healthful foods) or a measure that can rank order schools along a continuum that assesses the degree of obesogenic potential or conditions leading to obesity.12 We know very little about how tools compare with regard to their ability to rank order schools along some continuum of “healthfulness” or “obesogeneity.” A number of methods have been used to identify and quantify foods offered on school a la carte lines including the use of cash register data,13 inventories,7 and checklists.5 However, each method has its limitations with regard to expense, amount of data reduction required, validity, and reliability. There is a great need for tools that are efficient, reliable, and valid indicators of the “healthfulness” of the school food environment, both for school stakeholders and for researchers attempting to characterize school food environments along some continuum of healthfulness or obesogeneity. The purpose of this study is to compare 2 approaches for ranking schools with regard to healthfulness of foods available on the a la carte lines: a detailed inventory approach, and a checklist approach. The hypothesis is that a checklist approach is a valid method for assessing the healthfulness of the a la carte food environment of schools, particularly when resources for data collection may be limited.

The aim of the Thomson scattering system is the measurement of electron temperature and density profiles with high time and spatial resolution. The whole Thomson scattering optical system is optimized to minimize losses of scattered light with wavelengths from 700 nm up to 1064 nm. A five-channel polychromator serves as spectral analyzer of the scattered light. The light is carried to the polychromator input via fiber bundles of 3 mm diameter. High performance dielectric interference filters will be used for spectral analyzing. Their transmission curves will be chosen according to the range of electron temperature that is supposed during W7-X operation (from 10 eV up to 10 keV). The design of the polychromator must be optimized for a high throughput and size compactness. The article describes three possible polychromator setups. The main difference between these designs is the usage of relay and field lenses. The optical properties of the designs will be derived both by measurements and by simulations. Limitations considering high Numerical Aperture (N.A.) and fiber bundle size are discussed.

The objectives of this study were to determine: (1) if the number of outdoor alcohol advertisements around schools varied by ethnicity of students in the school; and (2) how the content of alcohol advertising around schools varied by the ethnicity of students in the school.All outdoor alcohol advertisements within 1500 feet of 63 Chicago schools were documented and coded for content and theme. On average, the ethnic make-up of schools was 54.9% African American, 24.4% Hispanic, and 16.2% White; 79.7% of students were low SES. To compare the mean number and type of ads by ethnicity of the school, schools were coded by ethnicity (i.e., 20% or more Hispanic students compared with less than 20% Hispanic students).Youth attending schools with 20% or more Hispanic students were exposed to 6.5 times more alcohol advertising than students attending schools with less than 20% Hispanic students. Schools with 20% or more Hispanic students were also surrounded by more beer advertising and alcohol advertisements on bars and liquor stores.Alcohol advertising is more prevalent around schools with 20% or more Hispanic students. Policies should be considered to reduce the amount of alcohol advertising around schools.

Despite the need for effective obesity prevention strategies, little research is currently available to assess adolescents’ knowledge around basic concepts of energy intake, expenditure and balance. Using data from 349 adolescent-caregiver pairs (recruited from Minneapolis/St. Paul metro region, MN, 2006-2007), cross-sectional linear regression was used to assess adolescent and parental knowledge related to energy intake and expenditure as a predictor of adolescent weight-related behaviors and outcomes. Findings indicated that knowledge related to energy intake and expenditure was highly variable, with a substantial proportion of participants (particularly adolescents) lacking knowledge on a range of concepts. Adolescent knowledge was positively associated with moderate physical activity and negatively associated with television viewing (P< 0.05), but it was not associated with sweetened beverage consumption, fast food intake, weight status, and/or body composition. While overall parental knowledge was a significant predictor of adolescent knowledge (p

To examine cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between weight status and measures of risk and protective factors in youth.Participants included 3010 students (72.1% white, 27.9% nonwhite), with a baseline mean age of 12.7 years from the Teens Eating for Energy and Nutrition at School (TEENS) study. Surveys were administered in grades 7 and 8. Cross-sectional and longitudinal mixed-effects regression analyses were conducted to determine the association between body mass index z-score percentiles (BMI) and risk and protective factors (including substance use, depression, fighting, optimism, and spirituality).Only depression was associated with BMI at the beginning of grade 7. However, by the end of grade 8, binge drinking, alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) use, fighting, and depression were all cross-sectionally associated with BMI. Longitudinally, BMI in grade 7 did not predict risk and protective factors in grade 8. However, ATOD use, fighting, depression, and optimism in grade 7 predicted BMI in grade 8.This study suggests there is a notable co-occurrence of unhealthy factors (including weight status, ATOD use, depression) which appears to develop during the critical transition period through early adolescence. Specifically, earlier ATOD use, depression, increased fighting, and decreased optimism may lead to unhealthy increases in weight status, whereas early indicators of increased weight status do not appear to predict increases in these factors. This work yields important insights into the causal mechanisms underlying adolescent behavior patterning and the progression with which these unhealthy risk factor profiles are adopted during this critical age.

Young adolescent alcohol users drink at higher rates than their peers throughout adolescence and appear to be less amenable to intervention. This study compares those who reported alcohol use in the past year to those who reported no use in a multiethnic, urban sample of sixth graders in 61 schools in Chicago in 2002 ( N = 4,150). Demographic, behavioral, intrapersonal, and socioenvironmental factors were identified based on behavioral theories and potential mediators of the Project Northland Chicago intervention. Single and multiple regression models were created for users and nonusers to determine associations between these factors and alcohol use behavior and intentions. The multiple regression models explained 35% and 56% of the variance in alcohol use behavior and intentions between students for nonusers and users, respectively. Results suggest that primary prevention programs for alcohol use should occur prior to sixth grade, particularly for the substantial group at high risk for early use.

Within this paper it is established that the total plasma energy W for Wendelstein 7-AS plasmas is uniquely related to the density near the separatrix nes, for an extremely wide range of conditions, in the fashion W = 5.47 n es 0.7 [ kJ, 10 19 m - 3 ] . This expression holds for peaked core density profiles (Normal Confinement, NC) as well as those with an edge transport barrier (High Density H-mode, HDH). It encompasses absorbed powers P = 0.26–2.4 MW over a line-averaged density range n ¯ e = 1 – 40 × 10 19 m - 3 (Pecrh = 0.26–1.5 MW: n ¯ e = 1 – 10 × 10 19 m - 3 ; Pnbi = 0.7–2.4 MW: n ¯ e = 7 – 40 × 10 19 m - 3 ), including even attached/detached conditions at the target plates. A consequence of this scaling for a boundary-island divertor – which is an inherent feature of the Wendelstein stellarator line, requiring a large nes to effect detachment – is that detachment on W7-AS can be expected and is only found for high-confinement situations, i.e. the HDH-mode.

Many college students exhibit unhealthy eating behaviors, consuming large quantities of high-fat foods and few fruits and vegetables. Perceived stress has been linked to daily dietary choices among college students; however, this work has been conducted among predominantly white, female populations. The role of perceived stress management in moderating this relationship is unclear. This study investigated the relationship between perceived stress and dietary choices among a diverse sample of male and female college freshmen and assessed whether perceived ability to manage stress moderated this relationship. 613 students from a large, public university completed an online survey which assessed past week consumption of various foods and beverages (e.g. soda, fast food, fruits, vegetables), as well as perceived stress and ability to manage stress. Hierarchical linear regression examined the association between perceived stress and past week dietary choices, and the moderating effect of perceived ability to manage stress, controlling for demographic variables. Perceived stress was positively associated with past week soda, coffee, energy drink, salty snack, frozen food, and fast food consumption (p

In recent years a movement has spread across the USA to designate colleges 100% tobacco-free in an effort to reduce tobacco use and exposure to tobacco marketing among college students. As of January 2016, there are over 1000 tobacco-free campuses within the US.1 Although federal policies restrict tobacco companies from marketing their products to those under 18 years of age, tobacco industry documents show that they actively target young adults aged 18 years, their youngest legal demographic, through a variety of methods.2 Despite the efforts of advocates to eliminate the presence of tobacco on college campuses, one area of tobacco control that often gets overlooked is the …

Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) is a large optimized stellarator (B=2.5T, V=30m3) aiming at demonstrating the reactor relevance of the optimized stellarators. In 2015 W7-X will begin its first operation phase (OP1.1) with five inertially cooled inboard limiters made of graphite. Assuming the heat loads can be spread out evenly between the limiters, 1 second discharges at 2 MW of ECRH heating power could be run in OP1.1. The expected plasma parameters will be sufficient to demonstrate the readiness of the installed diagnostics and even to run a first physics program. The diagnostics available for this first operation phase, including some special limiter diagnostics, and their capabilities are being presented. A shorter version of this contribution is due to be published in PoS at: 1st EPS conference on Plasma Diagnostics

PURPOSE: To investigate the temporal relation between energy drink and alcohol use among adolescents. METHODS: Data were collected from adolescents attending public high schools in two waves (n=894). RESULTS: Path analysis indicated that energy drink use at baseline was positively associated with the number of drinking days but not binge drinking or average drinks per drinking day over the past 30 days at follow-up. This relation remained while controlling for race, age, gender, previous alcohol use, and impulsivity. CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol use prevention efforts should consider energy drink use as risk factors for adolescent alcohol use. Language: en

Few studies of the food environment have collected primary data, and even fewer have reported reliability of the tool used. This study focused on the development of an innovative electronic data collection tool used to document outdoor food and beverage (FB) advertising and establishments near 43 middle and high schools in the Outdoor MEDIA Study. Tool development used GIS based mapping, an electronic data collection form on handheld devices, and an easily adaptable interface to efficiently collect primary data within the food environment. For the reliability study, two teams of data collectors documented all FB advertising and establishments within one half-mile of six middle schools. Inter-rater reliability was calculated overall and by advertisement or establishment category using percent agreement. A total of 824 advertisements (n=233), establishment advertisements (n=499), and establishments (n=92) were documented (range=8–229 per school). Overall inter-rater reliability of the developed tool ranged from 69–89% for advertisements and establishments. Results suggest that the developed tool is highly reliable and effective for documenting the outdoor FB environment.

Aim: Energy drink consumption has been associated with a variety of health risk behaviours, yet little research has explored the relationship between energy drinks and dietary behaviours of emerging adults. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between energy drink consumption and dietary behaviours among energy drink users and non-users within a sample of college youth. Methods: College freshmen ( n = 585, m age = 18.7 years; 47% non-Hispanic White, 20.9% Hispanic, 25.5% Asian, 2.7% non-Hispanic Black and 4.4% other; 56% female), at a large, southwest university self-reported their energy drink consumption in the past week and a variety of dietary behaviours, including past week soda, diet soda, pre-packaged salty snacks, pre-packaged sweet snacks, fast food, restaurant food, frozen food, fruits, vegetables, milk and breakfast consumption. Linear regression analyses were run to determine associations between energy drink consumption and dietary behaviour among users and non-users of energy drinks. Analyses controlled for gender, race/ethnicity and body mass index (BMI). Results: Overall, 17.5% of students had consumed energy drinks in the past week. Energy drink users were more likely to be male, White and have a greater BMI. Students also reported low past week intake of fruits, vegetables, milk and breakfast. Past week energy drink consumption was associated with increased soda and frozen meal consumption. Conclusion: Given a rapidly expanding energy drink market, future dietary interventions among college youth may want to consider the implications of energy drinks, as results of this study suggest consumption of these beverages is associated with unhealthy dietary behaviours and a greater BMI.

The dependence of impurity transport on plasma parameters in the modular stellarator Wendelstein 7-AS was investigated by means of a laser blow-off technique. An increased impurity transport at higher heating power and lower magnetic field strength as well as no effect of the isotope composition on the impurity confinement was observed. The most critical scaling with respect to stationary operation at high density is the improved confinement of impurities at high densities, leading to a degradation of plasma energy by increasing radiation and to a loss of density control. This was attributed to a reduction of the impurity diffusion coefficient with density. After installation of island divertor modules, a transition from normal confinement into the high-density H-mode (HDH) at a certain power-dependent threshold density appeared. This transition is characterized by a strong reduction of the impurity confinement time and an increase in energy confinement time. In the HDH operational regime, access to even higher densities (4 x 10{sup 20} m{sup -3}) than achieved before became possible under stationary operation conditions. Impurity transport measurements and model predictions indicate that the reduction of the impurity confinement in HDH is caused by not only a reduction of the inward convection in the coremore » plasma but also possibly by changes in the edge transport. Comparison of experimental data with an axisymmetric transport model should elucidate the role of stellarator-specific transport aspects.« less

An impurity transport model based on diffusivity and the radial convective velocity is proposed as a first approach to explain the differences in the time evolution of Al XII (0.776 nm), Al XI (55 nm) and Al X (33.3 nm) lines following Al-injection by laser blow-off between normal confinement discharges and high density H-mode (HDH) discharges. Both discharge types are in the collisional regime for impurities (central electron temperature is 0.4 keV and central density exceeds 1020 m−3). In this model, the radial convective velocity is assumed to be determined by the radial electric field, as derived from the pressure gradient. The diffusivity coefficient is chosen to be constant in the plasma core but is significantly larger in the edge region, where it counteracts the high local values of the inward convective velocity. Under these conditions, the faster decay of aluminium in HDH discharges can be explained by the smaller negative electric field in the bulk plasma, and correspondingly smaller inward convective velocity, due to flattening of the density profiles.

The research on divertors for stellarators is at the beginning. Extensive studies are being prepared on large helical device (LHD) and W7-X. W7-AS is now being operated with an open island divertor (ID) which serves as a test bed for the W7-X diverter. The divertor enables access to a new NBI-heated, high-density operating regime with improved confinement properties. This regime-the high-density H-mode (HDH)-displays no evident mode activity, is extant above a threshold density and characterized by flat density profiles. high-energy- and low-impurity-confinement times and edge-localized radiation. Impurity accumulation, normally associated with ELM-free H-modes, is avoided. Quasi-steady-state discharges with n e up to 4 x 10 20 m -3 , edge radiation levels up to 90% and plasma partial detachment at the divertor targets can be simultaneously realized. The accessibility to other improved confinement modes in W7-AS (conventional H-mode anti OC-mode) is not restricted by the divertor. The results provide a promising basis for future experiments, in particular on W7-X, and recommend the ID as a serious candidate for solving the plasma exhaust problem in stellarators.

The installation of divertor plates in the W7-AS stellarator has allowed attainment of a high energy confinement regime at high density, where the radiation profiles reached steady state. In this regime, the radial profile of the radiated power is hollow. Raising the density to the point where the radiated power approached the input power led to plasma detachment and a decrease in diamagnetic energy. This defines the density limit in a stellarator and a scaling law for this maximum density can be heuristically derived on the basis of power balance considerations. The installation of two bolometer cameras away from the divertor plates and three bolometer cameras in the vicinity of the divertor plates has provided insight into the features of high density operation of a divertor in a stellarator. In the main chamber, tomographic inversion at the density limit has shown that a poloidally asymmetric radiation profile developed as the density limit was approached. In the divertor, radiation in front of the divertor plates occurred while the plasma was attached and this radiation zone vanished at plasma detachment. Steady state discharges of up to 1.5 s have been achieved for neutral beam injection power of up to 2 MW. A precursor to a spontaneous transition out of the high confinement regime has been identified.

Integrated data analysis of fusion diagnostics is the combination of different, heterogeneous diagnostics in order to improve physics knowledge and reduce the uncertainties of results. One example is the validation of profiles of plasma quantities. Integration of different diagnostics requires systematic and formalized error analysis for all uncertainties involved. The Bayesian probability theory (BPT) allows a systematic combination of all information entering the measurement descriptive model that considers all uncertainties of the measured data, calibration measurements, physical model parameters and measurement nuisance parameters. A sensitivity analysis of model parameters allows crucial uncertainties to be found, which has an impact on both diagnostic improvement and design. The systematic statistical modelling within the BPT is used for reconstructing electron density and electron temperature profiles from Thomson scattering data from the Wendelstein 7-AS stellarator. The inclusion of different diagnostics and first-principle information is discussed in terms of improvements.

Objective To identify the most important social and personal characteristics related to early sexual debut among troubled teenagers. Method One hundred ninety‐eight youths aged 12‐19 years were recruited from outpatient mental health clinics and completed self‐reports and interviews about their age of sexual debut; family, peer, and partner relationships (e.g., parental hostile control, negative peer influence, need for intimacy); and personal characteristics (e.g., achievement motivation, externalizing problems). Broad‐band (externalizing, internalizing) and narrow‐band (depression/anxiety, delinquency) psychopathology was assessed with the Youth Self‐Report and Child Behavior Checklist. Results Optimal Data Analysis was used to generate a classification tree model to identify variables associated with whether or not youths initiated oral, vaginal, and/or anal sexual activity before or after age 14. Three social context variables (parental hostile control, negative and positive peer influence) and one personal characteristic (externalizing problems) correctly classified 87.4% of teenagers as initiating sexual activity at ≥14 or >14 years of age. Conclusions Parental behavior and peer influence were the most important variables associated with the timing of sexual debut. Results support a social‐personal framework for understanding sexual risk‐taking among adolescents in psychiatric care, and the data offer relatively strong evidence that specific factors could be used to identify troubled teens at risk for early sexual debut. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry , 2003, 42(5):594‐608.

After reconstruction, the ruby Thomson scattering diagnostic for the W7-AS stellarator is now in operation to again cover the complete plasma cross section (420 mm), where the former photomultiplier-based polychromator system has been replaced by two individual Littrow-type polychromator setups (focal length 50 cm), using intensified charge coupled device cameras for light detection. A single-pulse ruby laser with high pulse energy is used as a light source. The light scattered by the plasma electrons is imaged upon a set of 45 fiber bundles. 30 bundles provide a high spatial resolution of 4 mm at the inner edge of the plasma. The remaining part of the view chord is observed with a spatial resolution of 20 mm. At the output, the fiber bundles form the entrance slits of the Littrow-type spectrometers. The spectral resolution of the edge spectrometer can be modified by exchanging the diffraction grating. Depending on the installed diffraction grating (600 or 1800 lines/mm) a total wavelength range of 80 nm (suitable for plasma edge investigations) or 320 nm (suitable for gradient investigations) can be surveyed. The spectral intensity and geometrical calibration of the presented diagnostic setup can be done in situ by means of a neon spectral lamp and a calibrated tungsten strip lamp. The absolute sensitivity calibration for the system is achieved using either Raman (at 723.8 nm) or Rayleigh (at laser wavelength) scattering as hydrogen gas filled up in the vacuum vessel (up to 100 mbar). Examples of electron density and temperature profiles measured under different plasma conditions are presented.

A promisingnew operational reg ime on the Wendelstein stellarator W7-AS has been discovered, fulfillingthe conditions of optimal core behavior in combination with edge parameters suitable for successful divertor scenarios. This regime, the high density H-mode (HDH), displays no systematically evident mode activity, and is edge localized mode (ELM)-free. It is extant above a power-dependent threshold density and characterized by flat density profiles, high energy- and low impurity-confinement times and edge-localized radiation. Impurity accumulation, normally as

Stellarators have the intrinsic property of steady state operation. However, on present-day stellarators the pulse length is usually not only limited due to technical reasons, but also by physical problems. Lack of density control and a subsequent radiation collapse terminate the discharges quite often at high densities. To improve the control of the plasma-wall interaction, the island divertor concept was developed for optimized stellarators. To test this divertor concept on W7-AS, all limiters were removed and replaced by ten divertor modules. In subsequent divertor experiments a promising new plasma operational regime has been discovered which is termed 'high density H-mode' (HDH-mode). During the transition into that regime a clear reduction of ELM-like events and turbulent fluctuations is observed. The HDH-mode combines good energy confinement with very low impurity confinement resulting in low core radiation, but high edge-localized radiation. Consequently, stationary discharges at densities of typically 2 x 10 20 m -3 can be performed within the accessible pulse length of about 1 s. At densities above 3 x 10 20 m -3 a controlled transition from attached to partially detached plasmas is observed. The still edge-localized radiation reaches 90% of the heating power so that the power load onto the divertor target plates is further reduced. At a lower toroidal field of 0.9 T average β-values could be raised from earlier 2% to more than 3% in magnetic field configurations with rather smooth flux surfaces at the plasma boundary. The recently obtained results render excellent prospects for W7-X, the larger superconducting successor experiment of W7-AS.

The background of the present investigation is to enhance the overall adherence of vapor grown carbon fibers (VGCF) to the surrounding polymer matrix in different applications by forming polar groups at their surfaces and by modifying the surface morphology. This has been done by plasma treatments using a low-pressure plasma with different gases, flow rates, pressures and powers. Two different types of carbon fibers were investigated: carbon microfibers and carbon nanofibers. The characterization of fiber surfaces was achieved by photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), contact angle measurements and titration. These investigations were accompanied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The oxygen plasma treatment of the fibers changes the surfaces by forming a layer with a thickness of the order of one nanometer mainly consisting of functional groups like hydroxyl, carbonyl and carboxyl. After functionalization of the complete surface, a further plasma treatment does not enhance the superficial oxygen content but changes slightly the portions of the functional groups. A comparison of the methods applied provides a largely consistent image of the effect of plasma treatment.

The stellarator Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) has been designed to show that optimized stellarators can achieve and sustain fusion relevant plasma conditions. One of the main optimization criteria was the reduction of the neoclassical transport, which is considered as one of the most critical issues of the stellarator concept. While the demonstration of the neoclassical optimization will definitely be one of the most important aspects of W7-X, several additional topics are equally important due to the boundary condition that fusion relevant conditions should be demonstrated and sustained. Hence, low neoclassical transport needs to be achieved in a scenario which is compatible with divertor operation, high densities, and an acceptable impurity concentration without further accumulation during stable operation. So far, these issues have mostly not been tackled experimentally in the first experimental campaign. W7-X had its first plasma in December 2015 and the first operational campaign (OP1.1) was mainly intended for testing and commissioning purposes. In OP1.1, W7-X was operated in a limiter configuration without divertor and at low densities. Nevertheless, valuable insights could be gained which help to prepare and understand the first experiments with a test divertor planned to start in the second half of 2017. As will be shown in this contribution, one of the interesting observations in OP1.1 was the presence of an operational limit, where above a critical density the power balance seems to be dominated by radiative losses. Such a behavior is well-known from other stellarator experiments and while it can be expected that this critical density is particularly low for OP1.1 (high impurity concentration connected to the limiter operation and conservative wall conditioning), this observation also shows that impurity related radiation losses will be an important issue to keep track of as the density is progressively increased in the next experimental campaigns of W7-X.

An overview of the diagnostics which are essential for the first operational phase of Wendelstein 7-X and the set of diagnostics expected to be ready for operation at this time are presented. The ongoing investigations of how to cope with high levels of stray Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH) radiation in the ultraviolet (UV)/visible/infrared (IR) optical diagnostics are described.

Many young adolescents are dissatisfied with their body due to a discrepancy between their ideal and actual body size, which can lead to weight cycling, eating disorders, depression, and obesity. The current study examined the associations of parental and peer factors with fifth-graders' body image discrepancy, physical self-worth as a mediator between parental and peer factors and body image discrepancy, and how these associations vary by child's sex. Body image discrepancy was defined as the difference between young adolescents' self-perceived body size and the size they believe a person their age should be. Data for this study came from Healthy Passages, which surveyed 5,147 fifth graders (51 % females; 34 % African American, 35 % Latino, 24 % White, and 6 % other) and their primary caregivers from the United States. Path analyses were conducted separately for boys and girls. The findings for boys suggest father nurturance and getting along with peers are related negatively to body image discrepancy; however, for girls, fear of negative evaluation by peers is related positively to body image discrepancy. For both boys and girls, getting along with peers and fear of negative evaluation by peers are related directly to physical self-worth. In addition, mother nurturance is related positively to physical self-worth for girls, and father nurturance is related positively to physical self-worth for boys. In turn, physical self-worth, for both boys and girls, is related negatively to body image discrepancy. The findings highlight the potential of parental and peer factors to reduce fifth graders' body image discrepancy. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York (outside the USA).

The purpose of this study was to examine how objective measures of attention to food/beverage advertising were associated with the unhealthy food/beverage preferences and choices of children and adolescents. A self-report survey and eye-tracking session were completed by 102 youth (mean age=11.6 years; 56.4% were white; 43.1% were female) between April and November 2010. Participants viewed 40 food/beverage advertisements on a computer and their eye movements were recorded. Objective attention measures included total viewing time, fixation length (time spent viewing characters/logos, unhealthy food/beverage items), and fixation count (number of times an individual stops to examine characters/logos, unhealthy food/beverage items). Food/beverage preferences and choices were measured by self-report. The preferences index summed responses to 12 questions measuring snack food and sugar-sweetened beverage preferences and the choices index summed responses to eight questions measuring consumption of snack foods and sugar-sweetened beverages. Regression models examined whether attention to food/beverage advertising was associated with food preferences and choices, controlling for sex, age, and body mass index z score. The length of time and number of times participants looked at unhealthy food and beverage items within advertisements were each significantly associated with unhealthy food/beverage preferences of youth (P0.05). Associations were no longer significant after controlling for demographic characteristics. Attention to advertising was not significantly associated with food/beverage choices. Research with larger samples is needed to more fully understand the role of attention. Future research should also examine the association between attention to advertising and purchase requests, given the important role of parents in the decision-making process surrounding food choice.