Behavioural research in telematics.

Discusses telematics, a new field of behavioral research in Canada that has grown with the technical developments in which computers and telecommunications have been combined. Three domains of behavioral research reflect relationships between humans and the technology and use the evidence and methods of different areas of psychology: (1) interface studies address perception and performance questions, (2) dialog studies focus on cognitive processes, and (3) impact studies investigate social relations and how institutions and individuals are affected by telematics. Studies conducted during the past 5 yrs by the Behavioural Research and Evaluation division of the Department of Communications, Government of Canada, are described in each of these 3 domains. Behavioral research in telematics is expected to be an increasingly important activity in which psychologists may play an active part as the technology disseminates. (French abstract) (47 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pollution-prevention analysis and the quenching of steels

With the goal of improving process efficiency and reducing risk, this article describes a pollution-prevention analysis technique that can be applied to most secondary steel heat-treating operations involving quenching. Costs, risk assessments, and pollution-prevention options are discussed, as are the effects of quenching on two subsequent processes—parts cleaning and tempering. In contrast to many process comparisons, the issues of worker exposure, material safety and toxicity, liability, waste reduction, reclamation, and disposal are emphasized.     

Influence of regular aerobic exercise on psychological health: A randomized, controlled trial of healthy middle-aged adults.

Evaluated 120 healthy, sedentary, middle-aged adults randomly assigned to either a 6-mo home-based aerobic exercise training program or to an assessment-only control condition. Adherence across the 6-mo period by the exercise group was demonstrated by self-report and heart rate microprocessor methods to exceed 75%. A 14-item Likert rating scale was used to measure a variety of psychological variables. Significant between-groups differences favoring the exercise group were found on scale items closely associated with actual physical changes that occurred with exercise (satisfaction with shape/appearance, perceived fitness). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Physical attractiveness and self-perception of mental disorder.

Prior research has reported a relation between physical attractiveness and severity of mental disorder, with less attractive people being more maladjusted. However, because these two variables have been measured simultaneously, it has not been possible to separate cause from effect. To clarify this question, in this study we first measured physical attractiveness, social competence, and perceived risk of developing a mental disorder in 280 college women. Seven months later, we measured the subjects' self-perception of having a mental disorder. Women who were more attractive were higher in social competence and lower in perceived risk of mental disorder. More attractive women were also lower in self-perception of mental disorder 7 months later. This relation between attractiveness and self-perception of mental disorder remained significant even after controlling for the Time 1 measures (social competence, perceived risk of mental disorder, and age). The implications of these findings for the hypothesized role of attractiveness in the determination of adjustment are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evacuated-tube directional-radiating cooling system

A new type of radiative cooling system is described. The radiator makes use of nonimaging optics and evacuated-tube technology to radiate significant amounts of heat to the 3 K environment of outer space. The nonimaging optics are used to direct the radiation overhead, through the most transparent part of the 8–13 μm atmospheric window. The required optical concentration is small, and relatively simple mirror geometries are possible. The evacuated-tube technology is used to attain storage temperatures at or below the freezing point, even when dewpoint temperatures are well above the freezing point.     

THE DEPENDENCE ON CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE CETANE QUALITY OF HYDROTREATED LIGHT CYCLE OIL

The dependence of the cetane number of hydrotreated light cycle oil on chemical composition has been investigated. Cetane number was related to hydrogen content and aromaticity. The latter was determined by high performance liquid chromatography and also by carbon-13 n.m.r. spectroscopy. Specific correlations were developed in each case and a regression coefficient of 0.99 and a standard error of 1.25 were obtained for the best case. The usefulness of predicting cetane number from fuel composition is discussed.     

Behavioral effects of centrally administered arginine vasopressin in the rat fetus.

Arginine–8 vasopressin (AVP) was administered to rat fetuses on Embryonic Day 20 via intracisternal (IC), intrahemispheric (IH), or intrathecal (IT) injection. The IC administration of AVP promoted a 4-fold increase in motor activity, including the uncommon patterns of mouthing, licking, and facial wiping. The IH injection of AVP had little effect on fetal behavior, but IT injection resulted in pronounced increases in fetal activity, including mouthing, licking, and wiping. The IT administration of a V? antagonist blocked AVP effects, whereas IH injection potentiated AVP-induced changes in fetal behavior. The IC blockade of V? receptors suppressed facial wiping to a chemosensory fluid (lemon) and reduced oral grasping of an artificial nipple, whereas IH injection of the V? antagonist promoted facial wiping responses and increased grasping of the nipple. These data suggest that AVP may play a role in the development of responsiveness to stimuli encountered in the context of suckling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral effects of milk in the rat fetus.

Intraoral infusion of milk to the rat fetus promoted changes in behavior (mouth and rearlimb movements), reduced responsiveness to perioral cutaneous stimulation, and resulted in expression of a fetal stretch response. Milk also altered the temporal organization of fetal movements over periods up to 30 min. The orosensory characteristics of milk, in the absence of ingestion, was sufficient to evoke these behavioral effects. Reduced responsiveness to a perioral stimulus had a rapid onset (