Effects of visual alcohol cues on alcoholics' autonomic arousal.

Determined whether visual alcohol cues alone (slides showing drinking environments and alcohol beverage bottles) were sufficient to elicit autonomic arousal. 82 male alcoholics (aged 25–64 yrs) were shown alcohol-related or control slides while electrodermal responses were being recorded. Each slide was presented for 4 sec and interstimulus intervals varied between 20 and 30 sec. The frequency of skin conductance responses (SCRs) and the amplitude of the first SCR to each picture presentation were greater to alcohol slides than to control slides. The Ss showed slower habituation to alcohol-related slides as compared with control slides. Pictures of hard liquor yielded higher SCR amplitudes than did pictures of beer. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Discrete Time Estimation of the Mean Doppler Frequency in Ultrasonic Blood Velocity Measurements

A new Doppler frequency estimator operating in the discrete time domain is derived from an analysis of the Doppler signal statistics. It is shown that the estimator gives a nearly unbiased estimate of the mean frequency of the signal spectrum, regardless of the spectrum shape. The discrete time implementation gives the advantage that, under specified conditions, the range-velocity product of a pulsed Doppler velocity meter can be increased.     

Vocabulary in interviews as related to respondent characteristics

Responses in personalinterviews about education and career with 415Swedish men and women (age 34) forms the basisof a speech corpus with 1.8 million words. Thevocabulary is described by means of two sets ofvariables. One is based on the number of tokensand types, word length and sectioning of therunning text. The other set divides the corpusinto grammatical categories. Both sets ofvariables are related to a number of backgroundvariables such as gender, socioeconomicbackground, education, and indicators of verbalproficiency at age 13 and 32. This possibilityto study the relationship between vocabularyand a broad set of respondent characteristicsis a unique feature of this corpus.     

Static characterization and parameter extraction in MOS transistors

This paper describes the basic concepts for efficient parameter extraction. The focus is on efficiency in parameter extraction and often analytical manipulation of the model equations can be used to increase efficiency. In particular, extraction of the linear region miniset parameters, and how series resistance and effective geometry can be derived from these parameters, will be discussed. Furthermore, extraction of the saturation and subthres-hold region parameters are discussed and the importance of the underlying model is highlighted.     

A multivariate process monitoring strategy and control concept for a small-scale fermenter in a PAT environment

This work describes a multivariate monitoring and control concept for bioprocesses based on historical process data. The concept is demonstrated for a Saccharomyces Cerevisiae (baker’s yeast) fermentation process executed in a small-scale bioreactor, which is equipped with common probes to analyze the broth and off-gases. The data of “in-control” fermentation processes were evaluated by means of a principal component analysis to define confidence limits for subsequent fermentations. A violation of these limits indicated that a process had to be classified as “out-of-control”. Fault diagnosis was provided by the components of the squared prediction error, which can also be used to determine the appropriate counteractions, e.g. via an expert system control strategy as described in this study. The sensitivity of fault diagnosis was demonstrated via various erroneous runs. The duration of bioprocesses can vary distinctly, which complicates the definition of time dependent control limits. Therefore, this study utilizes a three-component partial least squares regression model to quantify the current batch maturity during the process. This maturity is then used to reference current data to the appropriate historical data and the assigned control limits.     

Olfactory sensitivity to group-specific substances in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.)

The olfactory sensitivity of three groups of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) toward substances emanating from their own groups was studied. Thresholds were determined by electrophysiological recordings of the induced waves from the medial and lateral part of the olfactory bulb surface. The intestine contained more potent olfactory substances on a gram per liter basis than skin mucus, urine, or amino acids. Chemical fractions were obtained from a parallel study on the nature of the naturally occurring substances by Stabell et al. (1982). A retarded fraction from chromatography on a Sephadex G-25 column contained the most potent material. The most potent fractions of the intestinal content evoked responses mainly in the medial part of the olfactory bulb, whereas the lateral part responded to amino acids. The results suggest that all salmon smolts of the waterways contribute to an odor trail in the coastal currents, thus facilitating the odor-dependent migration of the mature salmon.     

Fire research in scandinavia—A long-term program

The author contends a great imbalance exists between two fundamental concepts in designing buildings. On the one hand, considerable care and thought go into designing for static and dynamic loads; but design for fire resistance is dealt with in an extremely conventional and stereotyped way. He feels it is essential—in Scandinavian and in other countries—that long-term experimental and theoretical research programs be undertaken so that design for fire resistance can be carried out in conformity with fundamental principles conventionally used in static design of load-bearing structures. Note: This article is based on Proceeding No. 129 (1964), “General Programme for Scandinavian Long-term Research,” of the National Swedish Institute for Materials Testing, (Statens Provningsanstalt), Stockholm, Sweden.