Walter V. Bingham's Library.

Reports on the donation of her husband's library by Millicent Todd Bingham to the Department of Psychology at the University of Oslo, Norway. During the German occupation the library belonging to the Department of Psychology in Oslo was nearly all lost. The Bingham collection (close to 600 volumes plus periodicals) gives a picture of Walter Bingham's wide interests in the field of psychology and its classical works. This generous and invaluable gift will make studies richer and the work more fruitful among Norwegian psychologists both in the present and in generations to come. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Boreal freshwater fish diet modifies the plasma lipids and prostanoids and membrane fatty acids in man

The effect of fish diet on 43 healthy male students was studied. They ate a fish-containing meal for 15 weeks on an average of 3.7 times per week. Twenty-one of them voluntarily restricted their lipid intake while the rest ate normally. Controls continued their usual eating habits (19 students). The meals consisted of Finnish freshwater fish (87%) (vendace, pike, perch and rainbow trout) and brackish water fish (13%) (Baltic herring) that provided about 1 g of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids per day (0.25 g eicosapentaenoic acid and 0.55 g docosahexaenoic acid). During the diet, ω-3 fatty acids increased in erythrocyte ghosts and platelets at the expense of ω-6 fatty acids. The concentration of serum cholesterol diminished in those fish consumers who lowered their lipid intake. Apolipo-protein A₁ and B were lowered in both fish-consuming groups. Triglyceride levels also showed a tendency to decrease. The formation of thromboxane B₂ during incubation of whole blood decreased in both fish-consuming groups. The decrease of plasma 6-keto-PGF_1α was not statistically significant, if compared with the controls. The results obtained indicate that a moderate intake of fish-containing meals has some beneficial effects on the plasma lipid and prostanoid metabolism, when coronary heart disease risk factors are considered.     

A boundary element solution of the edge crack problem

The equations of the boundary element method and of a stressed semi-infinite crack in an infinite plane are combined to formulate the solution to the finite edge cracked plate. The coupled integral equations are solved numerically by the most elementary form of the boundary element method and by Gaussian quadrature. Results for the stress intensity factor and crack opening displacements are presented for several fundamental problems.

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Résumé On combine les équations de la méthode des contours élémentaires et d'une fissure semi-infinie soumise à contrainte dans une plaque infinie en vue de formuler la solution applicable à une plaque finie fissurée sur ses bords. Les équations intégrales couplées sont résolues de manière numérique par la forme la plus simple de la méthode des contours élémentaires ainsi que par une quadrature de Gauss. On présente les résultats pour le facteur d'intensité de contrainte et pour le déplacement d'ouverture de la fissure dans le cas de divers problèmes fondamentaux.

     

Theory and applications of self-tuning regulators

This paper reviews work on self-tuning regulators. The regulator algorithms, their theory and industrial applications are reviewed. The paper is expository—the major ideas are covered but detailed analysis is given elsewhere.     

Practical issues in the implementation of self-tuning control

Implementation aspects of self-tuning regulators are discussed in the paper. There is a large discrepancy between simulation or academic algorithms and practical algorithms. In the idealized environment of simulations it is easy to get different types of adaptive algorithms to perform well. In practice the situation is quite opposite. The adaptive or self-tuning controller must be able to handle nonlinearities, unmodelled dynamics and unmodelled disturbances over a wide range of operating conditions. Some aspects of how to implement self-tuning controllers are discussed in the paper. This includes robustness, signal conditioning, parameter tracking, estimator wind-up, reset action and start-up. Different ways to use the prior knowledge about the process are also discussed.     

An ergonomic study on plate shears, applying physical, physiological and psychophysical methods

An ergonomic evaluation model for hand tools was developed and applied in a project aiming at assessment of work with plate shears. Measurement variables were physical, physiological and psychophysical. They included tool force and opening angle, wrist movements, muscular strain and fatigue, subjective rating of symptoms, and localization of symptoms, in a group of male professional platers. Different hand grips were studied in a series of cutting tasks (4.2 m cutting length). Results showed that working with conventional plate shears is extremely physically demanding. The peak force required was in the range of 26 to 72 per cent of the subjects' maximal hand grip force. There was ample localized muscle fatigue in the forearm. Psychophysical and electrophysiological data agreed with respect to aspects of muscular strain and fatigue. Workers' preferences in the short run seemed to focus on productivity rather than on ergonomic quality. There is a need for development of improved tools, based on formulated requirements.     

Community cardiovascular disease control programmes

A comprehensive approach to the control of cardiovascular diseases on community level is a new venture. There is not yet enough experience in any country with this approach. However, the attempts to develop new approaches are fully justified, since the present stress on hospital care and treatment of the patients has only little changed the incidence of cardiovascular diseases among our populations.     

Effect of different fatty acids on triacylglycerol secretion in isolated rat hepatocytes

Lipoprotein triacylglycerol secretion was studied in isolated rat hepatocytes incubated with different albumin-bound fatty acids and labeled glycerol. The release of labeled triacylglycerol was stimulated more by unsaturated fatty acids than by saturated ones. When lipoprotein secretion was related to cell triacylglycerol synthesis, an effect of unsaturation was no longer observed. Instead the secretion rate, expressed in this manner, increased with increasing fatty acid chain length. For the first time, the secretion of molecular species of triacylglycerol has been studied. The distribution of labeled glycerol among different species was the same in the cells and in the secreted product, indicating that different triacylglycerols were secreted without selectivity. It is concluded that the fatty acid structure influences lipoprotein triacylglycerol secretion and it is emphasized that the effects observed depend on the method of quantitation of the secretion rate.     

Towards a hierarchical system of models to coordinate National and regional economic developments

Papers in Regional Science -